The City of Ionia

I walked to the station alone with my hands stuffed in the jacket's pocket, fiddling with my fingers. I kept my head down, taking each step while staring at the sidewalk. Surprisingly, the sidewalk was clean to the curb without a single crack. They must have someone working solely to maintain the sidewalks.

My mind raced towards different conclusions for the boys. Ultimately, I arrived at one plausible outcome.

Will they all leave me?

It was possible. They started their own lives, and I haven't done anything regarding that. I reached back into my old roots and participated in a raid.

Ring, ring.

"Eh?"

I grabbed my phone from my pants. An unknown number called me. I didn't know what to do. Usually, only Sydney or Owen called. Their names would be at the top. However, it was a phone number without a name. I didn't know what that meant.

"H–Hello?" I held the phone close to my ear with both hands.

"Howdy. Is this Jill?" It was a thick, unclear voice, almost like he spoke with something in his mouth.

"Sp–Speaking?"

"Fernando. We met at Ruben's. How've ya been?"

I stopped walking so I could focus on the call.

"Good. You?"

"Not too bad myself. Hey, so, there's gonna be a car swooping by with Alice and I. Stay where you are for a few minutes."

"Uh, do you need to know where I am?" I asked while looking around.

"Don't worry. Just stay where you are."

"But—I… uh, he hung up."

I looked around again and walked in a small circle. How did he know where I was? Did I mention my location? I didn't think so. So how did he know?

I continued pacing and moved onto a different thought. Why did he contact me? How did he contact me? Did he get my information from Ruben? That would be the only explanation, but I still wasn't sure.

Regardless, I stood close to the street and watched a few cars go by. It's crazy to think how different my life was just a few months ago.

While pondering, an all–black car slowly pulled over. The door opened from the inside, where Alice glanced at me before commanding me to enter. I did so silently.

In the backseat, I stared out the window as the car slowly began to move. Alice sat on the other side, leaving the middle empty. Fernando was in the passenger seat with an alcohol bottle in his hand and wearing the same hat as last time.

"How well do you know the mission, Jill?" Fernando asked before taking a quick sip.

"I think I can manage my own."

"Good. We're taking them down tonight."

Eh?

"To–Tonight? I thought Ruben would give me a call or something in advance."

Fernando chuckled with his stomach. "He's an asshole, right? I planned on going to the bar with a few buddies. When working for Ruben, you're on call. That's his policy."

I didn't like the 'on-call' policy. I told Fernando I didn't have any weapons, but he told me not to worry. There was a supply in the trunk.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I turned my head to Alice, who stared at the back of the seat in front of her with a handgun resting in her lap. Wasn't it dangerous to have that weapon unconcealed? I didn't want to ask since she wasn't friendly.

Fifteen minutes went by before stopping in front of a lifeless building—vacant from light. I looked up only to see darkness, and not a single window had lights on. The building itself wasn't big—roughly five stories high. It acted like a child among the adults compared to the other buildings.

Everyone exited the car, and Fernando popped the trunk open.

"Donte, do you have my cigar?"

Donte was the driver who worked under Fernando. He was bald and dark skinned with a full beard. He pulled out a thick, brown stick thing and handed it to Fernando, who placed it gently in his mouth like a cigarette, and used a lighter to ignite the tip.

Compared to cigarettes, which smelled like filth, this cigar smelled like vanilla. I wasn't sure if my nose was broken or if it did smell pleasant. Regardless, it didn't affect my nose the way cigarettes did, making it tolerable.

Fernando tipped his hat down, fully covering his eyes from my angle. "We got revolvers and miniature railguns. Can't carry anything heavy since you need mobility."

"Do you have any blades?" I asked.

"A dagger where the blade can turn invisible."

"Huh? Meaning?"

He moved some weapons that were poorly thrown in the trunk and held a medium–length dagger. "Press this small blue button to make it invisible, and press it again to make it normal," he said as he handed me the dagger.

I did what I was told and, believe it or not, the blade turned invisible. Fernando explained that the blade was still there and could still make contact, but nobody could see the length of the blade. An unbelievable concept, I thought it made it inconvenient for the wielder. How was I supposed to know how close the blade was to the enemy? Or how could I block an attack if I didn't know how to position my blade for defense, probably? Regardless, it was amazing how Ionia could create such a unique weapon.

He also showed how to conceal the blade. It didn't have a cover. Instead, the blade itself could vanish, like water evaporating into the air. But instead of going into the air, the particles retract into a ring, where they rematerialize on my command.

It was a bit confusing at first, but I had to get used to it.

"I'll use it," I said while tucking it inside my jacket.

"Great. Now here, take a full–body shield." He handed me a small, metal circle with a faint blue light at its core, which I stuck on my nape.

I moved my neck around and barely felt a difference. The device was weightless and tiny, so it didn't affect any movements.

Alice walked away from the car and headed toward the small, five-story building.

"You leaving?" Fernando asked with the cigar still in his mouth.

She turned around. "I'm going to finish setting up," and disappeared into the building.

Fernando tipped his hat downward and explained the plan. Alice acted as recon, meaning she had insights into a few security cameras and a layout of the basement we had to infiltrate. I wore a thin steel bracelet that Fernando had handed to me on my left wrist. It was a tracking device that allowed Alice to guide us within the basement via an earpiece, which Fernando had me insert into my inner ear. The basement itself acted as an underground nightclub. Entrance was free to those who brought women, so Fernando wouldn't have to pay since I was there.

"Here, wear this." He handed me a small cube. "It's not a translocator. Don't throw it or lose it. Keep it safe."

"Ok…? What is it?" I shoved it into my pocket and patted it a few times, ensuring it was securely in place.

"Don't worry about it. The basement's a few blocks down. We'll walk." He tapped the toe cap of his boots. His boots were high-heeled with a pointed toe and a high shaft that ran up his shins. His coat was long and fluttered with the small gust of wind.

Weird how he dismissed my question.

I adjusted the dagger's handles within my jacket when I heard a sharp voice crackling in my ear. It was unexpected and too close.

"Check, check. Can you hear me?"

I twitched and my shoulders jerked up as if I got a static shock from the dryer. My hand instinctively went to my ear.

It was Alice's voice, which was unexpected.

"Loud and clear. We'll be there shortly," Fernando said.

"Security check is uncommon, so you should be fine. In the event of a security check, we have someone on the inside to handle it. Nothing to do on your part."

"I thought Ruben mentioned high security?"

"It's on and off. Depends on the day."

"Thank you for the input," Fernando said.

"Over."

"Heh, that bastard." He turned his head to me. "You ready?"

"Somewhat," I replied.

He smirked and adjusted his hat. "Welcome to your first mission."

And so, my first raid in the City of Ionia began.