The City of Ionia

He pushed himself towards Alice faster than before. Rewinding his fist, he twisted his body, ready to throw a lethal punch that could knock any human stone cold.

But at the moment, Alice wasn't human.

In a flash, she got to Juan's side when he was in midair.

"Too slow." She slammed his face into the wall with brutal force, creating a small dent in the wall.

Even though Juan had enhanced reflexes, Alice's Ascension overpowered Juan's base state. There was no keeping up. His defeat was guaranteed to begin with. It's just that he didn't know.

On the ground, he held his mouth with a couple of teeth out of his mouth.

Alice turned to Julia. Her teeth clattered as she slowly backed away without looking back. Alice took her time before blitzing Julia.

Julia didn't react. It's not like she was too scared to move, but she didn't see Alice coming. To her, Alice stood still, barely creeping over.

In the blink of an eye, Alice closed the gap and covered Julia's entire face with her palm, slamming her into the wall. She threw her body across the hallway with no remorse.

Alice thought that would be it, but Julia's serum shone. She coughed blood out of her mouth, but managed to stand.

"That's a defense type, alright. Even after taking lethal strikes, your legs still have the energy to stand."

Julia hunched her back, too weak to stand with proper posture. "I thought I was—"

Before she finished her sentence, Alice blitzed her way behind and punched her in the lower spine. That strike alone made Julia fall. Yet this time, she didn't stand. She lay there without moving.

"Now, what to do with you?" Alice said while looking at the SCAR agent, who hasn't moved an inch this entire time. "You appear smaller than the usual combat ones. What gives?"

No response. It stood there frozen as a statue.

"You have to be a C-tier agent. You don't look bulky enough to be the ladder. C-tier means someone is home there. Open up before I punch a hole through that suit."

"Howdy, Alice. Finished business here. How's things look on your end?"

Fernando…

Alice controlled herself and took a deep breath. The soft glow beneath her skin vanished. She was human again.

She pressed the small earpiece. "Different from anticipated. Had to switch spots with the new girl. I ran into two VT serum users and, well, a SCAR agent that hasn't done anything."

"Ah, yeah, the SCAR agent. Listen, that thing is a defect. It doesn't fight. It's only there for intimidation purposes. Just brush it aside and act like it isn't there."

That could be why it didn't engage in the fight. Alice based her assumption on past references and experience. Being a defect explained the robotic antics and inability to engage in combat.

Then why did those two say it wouldn't attack unless they were in 'absolute danger '? Was it a fear tactic?

"Will do. I'll come out now."

"Sounds like a plan. Also, we had a rat on our squad."

"A rat?" Alice questioned as she left the scene and headed to the main room. Either Julia or Juan mentioned something about a rat.

"Antonio. That bastard crossed us and reported information to McNeil. Explains why McNeil isn't here. Otherwise, he's present."

Antonio was one of Fernando's men who participated in missions like these.

"What'd you do to him?"

Fernando snickered on the mic. "Killed the man. What else?"

Alice stopped and looked down at her shoes. "He had a son…" she softly said.

"Should've thought about that before crossing the best gun–slinger in the city," he said with not an ounce of remorse. "Anyways, care for a drink?"

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"I'm sober."

"Neh, always gotta kill the mood."

***

Alice and Fernando leaned against the wall just outside the club. The frosty weather made Alice rub her hands together and shiver.

Fernando extended his arm, offering a cigar. Alice declined and exhaled into her palms before rubbing them together.

"I don't know how you fight with a cigar in your mouth," she said.

"You get used to it. Plus, it calms the nerves."

They had to stay in the area and wait for Ruben's cleaners to arrive. Interestingly enough, Ekoyo, leader of the cleaning group, was part of the Branded 7. Alice couldn't blame her for joining. It was a lot of work cleaning up all the bodies and blood after each mission. They had a way of disposing of everything, leaving no trace of life. Like a thumb drive being erased of its data. Gone without a trace.

"Can you wait for them? I should check on Jill." Alice said. She didn't want to check on her, but she also didn't want to stand in the blistering cold.

"Don't make me stand here alone," he said with a cigar in his mouth.

"You have Donte waiting in the car. Tell him to come out." Alice pushed herself off the wall. "Plus, I have to make sure she isn't dead."

Alice tried contacting Jill through the earpiece, but it was radio silent. She assumed Jill was sleeping, but who knows. Maybe someone came and attacked her. After all, there was a rat, so that position wasn't completely safe.

Fernando snapped his fingers and pointed past Alice. She turned around to find a black van pulling up to the club at dangerous speeds. It abruptly stopped, and out came a woman with clothing that made Alice gag.

"Ekoyo," Fernando said with the cigar still in his mouth. "You look… provocative as usual."

"Are you trying to cover your lustful eyes with your hideous hat?" Ekoyo said, as though speaking to a baby.

"Tsk, my hat is covering more than what your clothes are."

Ekoyo was a little on the chubby side, with long, wavy hair that fell behind her shoulders. She was notorious for wearing skimpy and provocative clothing. She always wore shorts that were too short, and a top that showed more than it covered. Every night, she partied as though the world would stop the next day. And during those parties, she would indulge herself in activities that Alice had no interest in participating in.

"God forbid when a girl wants to have fun. The men love it. And the women. I don't discriminate. Oh, Alice, what are you making that face for?"

"I'm not making a face."

Ekoyo pointed right at Alice. "You are. It's scrunched up, and your nose is flaring. If you are disgusted by how I spend my nights, then that's understandable. An introverted girl like you wouldn't understand."

"I'm not introverted. I don't like parties or showing my skin."

"Which is why you always refuse to go to the beach with me. I invited you like… 30 times in the past year."

Alice lowered her head. "I don't go there anymore." She mumbled quietly enough so no one understood her words.

"Hm? Repeat that for the class, please."

"Ok, Ekoyo. Why don't we drop it? Say, when is the rest of the crew arrivin'?"

"In a few. Meantime, why don't we find ourselves a bathroom and have a little fun?" Ekoyo said as she threw herself onto Fernando.

He immediately pushed her away. "I prefer not to catch any diseases. Hey, Alice."

"Huh—?"

"Go check on Jill," he said while adjusting himself away from Ekoyo.

Alice nodded and headed to the building where she had originally been. Even if Jill weren't there, she would still have to go back to clean her setup. Hopefully, Jill didn't touch her monitors or do something she wasn't supposed to. Those monitors were expensive and were a hassle to get.

Alice climbed multiple stories of stairs before reaching the floor. She was so accustomed to the stairmaster that climbing stairs in any building felt like a regular workout.

She retraced her steps and found the room with her setup.

"Oh." She said as she entered the horrors.

The table was split clean down the center, one leg bent at a weird angle. The monitors flickered occasionally, struggling to stay alive. Loose cables hung around, and the floor was littered with pieces of cracked plastic, metal, and any other remains of whatever this room once had.

Alice clicked her tongue a few times. An expensive setup gone. Just like that. Annoyed as she was, there were bigger fish to catch.

Near the wall lay a man with a suit flat on his back. Alice leaned over him and shook her head in disgust. He wasn't responsive, which wasn't surprising. Blood covered his entire body.

Alice made a face and looked away, where she noticed Jill near the fall wall. Her back was pressed against the wall, and one arm limped across her chest. Her once white shirt was covered in blood. Her head rested on her shoulder at an uncomfortable angle, mouth slowly open, and she breathed softly.

Alice grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialed Ruben. It rang a few times before he answered.

"Hey, Alice. Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Uh, what should I do with Jill?"

"Well, why are you calling me about it? Ask her."

"No—I—she's asleep and in rough shape. I don't know if you want to—"

Background noise from Ruben's side disturbed Alice's train of thought. Multiple women yelled at Ruben to hang up, which caused Alice to sigh in frustration.

"Apologizes. I have a few guests over. Take care of her for now. You have a loft. Allow her to crash on your couch and she'll be gone by morning. Sounds like a plan?"

"What? No. Tell me her address and I'll drop her off."

"Don't send her home. She lives with others, and they cannot see her in this state. Take care of her for now, please."

Alice groaned and hung up. "I'm not a babysitter." She squatted to Jill's eye level and stayed there for a bit. She examined her bloody face and messed-up hair, and couldn't help but smile.

The way Jill slept in that uncomfortable position. The way her hair was dirty and all over the place. The red on Jill's shirt reminded Alice of her daughter, who would always spill ketchup on herself. Alice prohibited her daughter from wearing a white shirt during mealtime. It was little memories like those that kept Alice going. All she did was smile.