Friend Or Foe

A sharp man walked through very expensive looking corridors, with his entourage. A woman at his side with a utility tablet, a man in a suit behind him with a gun and three other guards surrounding them.

The main man turned a sharp left and his fingers went onto a keyboard, typing in the code extremely fast with precision. It seemed as if he'd been doing this for quite a while.

He entered the room, hands behind his back. The room was huge. The wall opposite the door was composed entirely of windows overlooking the city. Ariden City. No person was on the roads, instead sentries patrolled each junction and were stationed at each traffic light.

To him, this was what peace looked like. This is what the world needed.

To his right were shelves of books. He didn't read them, they were just for aesthetic. After all, why would he need to? His technology allowed his access to everything- well, almost everything - in the world, so why would he need the actual copies of these mere books.

He sat at his desk, his back facing the window. It looked like a regular desk for most bosses. Except, it was made of metal with turquoise highlights and had absolutely nothing on it beside a digital clock.

With a click of a button, the entire table opened up revealing contents hidden inside. Screens popped up around the perimeter of the desk, each displaying various things like texts, video feeds, codes among other things.

He swiveled in his chair so that he faced the window. The lady and the guy in a suit that were following him both positioned themselves on either side of the desk.

The suit guy stood on his left, his gun draped across his torso and his eyes glued in front of him as if he was a statue. The lady stood dutifully on his right, tapping away on her device.

She spoke, "Sir, the patrol team has arrived and is waiting to debrief with you." Her voice was sharp, professional and determined.

A grin spread across Vision's face.

"Send them in, Miss Cozbi."

The lady, Cozbi, nodded. A squad came in through the doors that the three just entered from. They didn't all look at their best, some had bandages on their injuries while others had their exposed skin decorated with scratches and small cuts.

Cozbi gasped as she saw all of them and that was all Vision needed for his grin to disappear. He didn't address them. They had to speak for their failure by themselves.

The commander of the squad came forward. He was on crutches from the two wounds that resided in both his legs.

"My squad and offer our deepest apologies, sir. We did as told and scouted the area in District 7. The turnout was not as expected. We did find the targets, but were unable to apprehend them."

The commander spoke shakily and lowered his head. Nobody knew if it was from pain, embarrassment or fear.

They all decided on the latter. The soldiers were all shaking themselves, struggling to keep their composure. Everyone knew what would happen if they failed.

The silence was deafening after the commander reported what had occurred during their mission.

Tension filled the air. Soldiers, guards, these people could hear their own shallow breaths, their own heartbeats. They could hear the blood rushing in their ears, they could feel how their fingers twitched.

They all waited for the inevitable to come.

"So," Vision stated, clasping his hands by his face, his grin appearing once again, "You all were bested by children?"

No one dared to speak. The commander remained silent, head still bowed.

"Tell me, Commander. How did these 4 measly children defeat an entire squad?", Vision asked, deadly calm.

"We were close to retrieving one of them. The oldest and probably the most capable, but they seemed to have training. Military training," the commander explained.

"That's good to know, but it doesn't answer my question," Vision said, his patience wearing thin.

"Sir, she was there. The girl you mentioned. The one that you needed. She came to save him. We couldn't engage due to your orders." Vision's grin grew wider.

So, she is there.

"There was someone else too. We weren't aware of his presence. The drone didn't alert us either-"

The commander was interrupted.

"Enough excuses. You had strength in numbers."

"With all due respect, sir. This team had no field experience. You sent me and the commander out with a bunch of rookies. If we had a more experienced team, this mission would have been successful," a soldier piped up from behind the commander.

Vision swiveled around to face them. If that wasn't enough to make the temperature in the room drop, then the boss standing up surely did.

Vision chuckled condescendingly, and waved his left hand. The guy in the suit that stuck to his side, raised his gun and shot the soldier with a ray. He crumpled to the floor, crying out in pain. His uniform was singed and crinkled around a tear by his shoulder which exposed a gaping wound that bled profusely, smoke coming out of it as well.

"I see you're blaming your failure on my decisions, soldier."

Vision slowly walked up to him and yanked him up by his collar. "Know your place," he threatened, his composure never leaving him.

"Your failure had nothing to do with me and more to do with your negligence." He let the soldier go, who fell back down and turned to the commander. "You should keep your soldiers on a tighter leash." The commander stared in front of him.

"This mission was not a complete waste. We've got more intel as to what these youngsters are capable off. We also know that they have an ally. I hope you take all of this into consideration when it's time for your next assignment. I expect no more failures from you lot, is that understood?", the man addressed the entire room.

" Yes, sir!", they chorused.

"Very well, you all are dismissed. Except for you, Commander. We have much to discuss," Vision smirked as he made his way back to his chair.

xxx

"Who the heck are you?", Sabrina screamed at the mysterious person that swooped in to save them on a hover bike.

"Wow. Is that how you say 'thank you' in your language?", the stranger retorted while taking off his helmet. His face was hidden behind a bandana.

"Even though Lia's choice of words weren't that great she does have a point. Thanks for helping us, but that doesn't make us trust you," Cody said, sounding extremely mature.

Archer stared at the stranger's every movement, waiting for him to try something.

"I don't expect you to trust me right off the bat. It would be pretty stupid of you. Nice to know that you're competent. Looks like my plan might work after all," he commented leaning on his bike, muttering the last part to himself.

"Hey, scowly over there. You know staring isn't a nice thing to do. It's pretty rude, actually,"he called out to Archer.

"I don't care."

"Okay. Let's just cool it. That was pretty intense back there," Riley, the voice of reason spoke to extinguish some fire between her friends and their savior.

Sabrina could still feel the adrenaline running through her veins, even if it was wearing out. She eyed the stranger, inspecting him, checking to see if he had any tricks up his sleeve.

He doesn't look like he's looking for a fight. He might have hidden weapons though.

As if reading her mind, the stranger pulled a blade out of a sheath hidden in his sleeve by his forearm. Then took out two others, one from each of his boots. He laid them on the floor in front of him and then kicked it away towards them. The stranger then took off a belt that held various compartments and threw it with his blades as well. He raised his hands in surrender.

"In all seriousness, I mean no harm. I just want to talk," he stated then turned his attention to Sabrina. "I may have some useful information for you."

Sabrina and the others exchanged looks of concern. Archer walked forward and retrieved the stranger's weapons.

"Okay. We just need you to answer some questions first," Riley told him. He nodded while looking down. "First, we need to go inside. We don't need to give our position away," Sabrina pointed out, scanning their surroundings.

Everyone nodded. The cloaked guy turned to his bike. "What are you doing?", Cody asked him.

He tapped a few buttons and his hover bike disappeared from view. "Covering our tracks," he replied and turned around with a flash drive and a small device in his hand.

Riley looked at where the bike had been.

It couldn't have just disappeared... Could it?

After a few seconds, she could make out a vague outline of its shape. It was still there.

"Invisibility?", Sabrina asked, slightly surprised. "Yup. I integrated it into the modifications that I made myself. It can only stay invisible when it's stationary," he explained.

She nodded and then gestured for him to follow. He passed the device and flash drive to Cody before ruffling his hair. Archer, being the protective big brother, shoved him away.

They went into the manager's office. They didn't clean it up. Why? Because they wanted it to look like it was abandoned.

"So, what's your name?", Riley asked him. The stranger leaned against the table and looked at the four teenagers standing in front of him. He was around Archer's height, so he towered over the others and wasn't all intimidated by them.

Of course, she'd be the one to question him. She made the best impression on him, so they all figured that it would be best for the person that he trusts to ask him things. That doesn't go to say that he trusted them at all, she just made him more comfortable.

"Sam," he replied.

"Well, thank you, Sam, for helping us back there," Riley said sincerely. He smiled, but it was hidden by the bandana.

"The question is, why did you do it?"

Ah, there it is.

"If I'm being completely honest, I have no idea,"he laughed dryly. They all were on edge once he said that.

"I just go around by myself. I loot, I survive and when it comes to it, I help others. Not all of them, just those who really need it. I saw you guys and how screwed you were, so I thought why not?"

"I'm glad you helped us," Riley admitted after a moment. He nodded.

"I'm also grateful for what you did. Thank you," Sabrina spoke up. He acknowledged her as well. She still didn't trust him, especially after their run-in with him from before.

"You said you had information for us. What is it?"

"That depends. I heard the guards talking about you guys being a rebel force or something-" Sabrina shot a look at her three friends as if to say 'I told you the drone was bad' "-I don't usually do this team thing, but I'm willing to help out."

The rebels were shocked to say the least." We'd rather not talk about this here," Archer said. "You're right. You also need some food and rest after the shot you took," Cody told him. Archer was too weak to argue so he just agreed.

"You may have saved us, but don't forget what happened last time," Sabrina warned him. It took a while for the stranger to recall what happened, but when he did he looked at her. "Wait. You guys know each other? That's explains why you hesitated to get on the bike," Riley directed at Sabrina.

Archer looked alarmed at the girl.

She's addressing this now?

Dizziness tugged at him and his eyelids grew heavy. Archer swayed on his feet. Cody yelped and ran to his side to steady him.

"Okay. I don't know what happened between you guys, but he needs attention. We'd rather go down and talk about this there because you two are not staying up here," Cody told the two girls.

"Sure, we'd rather go down," Riley agreed looking at Archer worriedly.

"Before we go, I just want to talk to this one about something," Sabrina told them and folded her arms. Riley and Cody each steadied each side of the older boy.

"What is it?", Sam asked. "I don't trust you," Sabrina clarified. "Okay? I'm guessing that's not what you wanted to tell me," he said. "The last time I saw you, you almost killed him," Sabrina explained pointing her thumb at Archer. Riley and Cody looked utterly confused and horrified.

"I don't kill. I literally just threw a net," he said casually. "Yeah, that net stopped him from being able to get away from wolves," Sabrina sneered. "If I was just a second late, he wouldn't have been here. If you could modify that bike, why couldn't you consider the dangers of that area?", her volume increasing as she spoke.

"I didn't know, okay? I'm sorry. He rushed me first, I had to do something," Sam told her. "That does not change the fact that he could have died!", Sabrina yelled. She stepped forward with each sentence, yelling at the guy who just saved their lives. He didn't say anything, though.

Archer tried his best to stand up, ignoring the protests from the two beside him. He managed and then held up his hand to stop them from trying to steady him again. He took one shaky step forward, almost toppling over. He didn't have the adrenaline to run or even walk properly, like he did back at the entrance, but he tried his best. One foot in front of the other.

The other girl was still yelling and reprimanding the new guy. She didn't notice the brunette boy approaching from behind. He finally caught up to her. He reached his hand out and put it on her shoulder, gently. Comfortingly.

Sabrina stopped and looked back at him. The world just stopped. Everything was quiet.

"Hey, Lia. It's okay. I'm okay," he told her softly. He told her and only her. She closed her eyes and out her hand on top of his and nodded. He smiled gently at her, but she didn't see it.

The moment was gone as soon as it came. Archer pulled back and walked out of the room. Riley and Cody just watched with their mouths agape. Sabrina was embarrassed at her outburst and quickly followed him out, but not before shooting a look back at the newbie.

Riley ran after her and Cody just looked at the new guy, sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck and following his friends.

Sam, on the other hand, was completely dumbfounded, but followed them anyway.