The City of Ionia

"AAAHHHH!!"

I fell onto the dusty floor. The room around me spun in a nauseated swirl. Air rushed to my lungs as though I were underwater. The ground beneath me was different. It was an unfamiliar room that made my head spin. My hands trembled as I forced myself to stand.

The portable desk had multiple monitors that flickered a faint light in the dim room. Loose papers littered the desk with a drink stain on an empty sheet. They were handwritten notes about the current mission, including timestamps, personnel, weapons, and inventory.

On one sheet, I noticed my name. I picked it up and read what it had to say.

Left monitor. Click on the play button.

Alice

"Left monitor…" I moved the mouse, which Tim taught me how to use, and clicked on a blue play button.

"Jill, you probably don't know what just happened, which is normal. This is a brief explanation before I save you. You are about to be teleported to my current location. Remember the small cube Fernando gave you and told you to keep it safe? In short, that cube allowed us to exchange our current locations. I'll take care of this. Man the station. And don't mess around with my monitors."

The voice recording stopped.

I deeply exhaled. "Man the station? So, stay here and do nothing?" I mumbled.

I sat on a rolling chair near the desk and used my foot to spin myself around gently. I rubbed my face, trying to make sense of the situation.

I exchanged locations with Alice. Somehow, the cube Fernando gave me allowed me to do that. The science behind it was beyond my understanding. I mean, I barely knew how to operate a phone.

More importantly, I pondered the two people I fought. What was their relationship with McNeil? Were they security? Were they something else? Patrol guards? I wasn't sure. I didn't expect to run into anyone there, and judging by Alice's reaction, nor did she.

On top of that, though, was a SCAR agent. I couldn't even begin to fathom how and why a SCAR agent was there. There was a good chance that things wouldn't go my way if I couldn't exchange spots with Alice.

I slid my foot against the ground to halt the chair's momentum. I stood and noticed a half–empty plastic water bottle on the edge of the table. My throat burned. Licking my dry lips, I took a small, much-needed sip of water, avoiding contact with the brim.

I put the bottle down and listened closely to a noise that came from across the room.

From the deep shadows near the far wall, a man stepped forward. No mask or armor. Just cold eyes locked onto me. His face was pale under the dim flickers of the monitor, and his dark suit gave him a more confident appearance.

"You must be one of Ruben's minions. Took me a while to find this location. Weird place for a portable setup."

He held a dagger in his right hand, its hilt long and narrow, as he gripped it firmly. It wasn't a normal dagger. Truthfully, I couldn't classify it as a dagger given it didn't contain a blade.

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It was a bladeless dagger, similar to mine.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"What I want doesn't matter. I just do what the big boss says. And the big boss told me that he wants you all dead."

I backed up to the table. There was nowhere for me to run. He blocked the only way out.

"Is McNeil your boss?

He spoke weirdly. His speech was uneven and unpredictable, pausing at odd times and dragging some words. It felt like he was toying with his sentences.

"Boss? Who's my boss? Someone who keeps me going and doesn't betray. McNeil isn't just my boss, he's a dear friend of mine. Unlike Ruben."

"You know Ruben," I asked while delaying the inevitable.

"Ruben… everyone knows Ruben. Incredibly popular, owns roughly every bar, and woos the women with his charm. I never saw what women saw in that man. Is it the money? He does have an endless supply of ions."

"No idea." A quick but safe reply. Truthfully, I didn't know what women saw in him either.

"Regardless of that all, he is… how should I put this… a douche. You know," he licked his lips while making weird faces. "You work for him, right?"

"Just this one time."

"No… no, no, no, no. That's what everyone says. It's what I said before. You don't work for him once. You work for him until he uses you dry. He exploits and blackmails you until you comply with his demands. And if you try leaving him… boy, he'll kill you in a way where you still breathe. You seem new to all this. Let me tell you the basics before I slit your neck. Ruben… uses you for his personal gain. You are a pawn on a chessboard. You are meant to be used and sacrificed. When he doesn't need you anymore, or when you try to leave his circle, he will take that personally and try to kill you. Take it from a man who experienced it all."

That was a lot to digest. Questions buzzed around my mind, but I didn't want to dump them all at once. Instead, I took one that I could ask this person only.

"You worked for Ruben?"

"A while back." He licked his lips again. "Ruben and I drank a lot together. One day, I wanted to leave his circle. He took offense at that and killed me in a way where I could stand. He didn't physically kill me. He killed my soul. I came home one day to my girlfriend lying dead with a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. Ruben sat in the living room, drinking a glass of red wine. I'll never forget this. He tapped me on the shoulder and insisted it was my fault. Since then… I plotted my way to get revenge. That's when I discovered McNiel and his… how do I put this… mission. McNeil wants to dethrone Ruben and steal his system of favors, and make it… more beautiful… without using fear as a device."

"More beautiful… huh?" I muttered.

He shoved his finger in his eye, twisting and curling inside his head. "It was a pleasure talking to a lovely woman on this fine evening. Unfortunately, my time is cut short." He raised his bladeless dagger to his chest. "Make this easy for me."

I took a breath and took off my jacket. All I wore underneath was a white shirt with a small moose logo underneath the collarbone. I grabbed my bladeless dagger and held out my hand.

I tapped the small blue button along the side of the handle. A faint ring sounded, and a hollow ring began to hum softly. Like threads being pulled from thin air, tiny glowing particles swirled within the ring's center. They spun faster and formed a gentle stream of light as they forged together and twisted into the shape of a blade. Within seconds, the blade was crystal-clear, as though it had never been touched in battle.

Frozen with cold eyes, I pretended that what just happened was amazing. If I were alone, I would be jumping in excitement and awe.

He licked his lips and smiled broadly enough to creep me out. "That blade. One of Ruben's… I'm assuming. Great blade. Easily portable." Whenever he spoke, he twitched his neck forward like a chicken. "In the end, it's just a normal blade."

"At least I have a blade."

He continued to smile while jerking his neck. "You'll see."