Chapter 23 - Interests And Agreements

"SURROUND THE UNAFFECTED GROUNDS NEAR THE AREA!! I REPEAT, SURROUND THE UNAFFECTED GROUNDS NEAR THE AREA!!"

Thousands of soldiers from the I.E.A. are beginning their operations in taking over the Solace District. They are to defend the place and build an extended base by the time it's clear of radiation.

Whilst a small group of soldiers were on the lookout, one of them noticed something at the walls surrounding the whole district. "Hey! Look over there, something's moving!"

His comrades that were napping wasn't much concerned. "Must be your imagination Scott."

"Yeah, the radiation might be getting to you." They chuckled.

"Fine you lazy fucks, I'll check it on my own." Scott leaves the two and heads to the area where he saw this strange thing. He then finds a sick man that was crawling on the ground. "Ah!" He pulls out a gun and points at it.

"Y-You! Stop moving!" He says.

"...lp... me... help... me..." the man begged.

Scott pondered whether to kill this man to end his misery or to help him up and deliver him to the medics. This man must be a citizen of this district and a supporter of the E.D.L., but still, this person looked to pitiful in his eyes. Scott's kindness got the best of him as he puts back his gun.

"Alright sir, can you stand?" When he was about to touch this man on the shoulder, he went in shock when the man grabs on to him and had his shape deforms into a liquifide state.

"Ah!—" before Scott can let out a scream, this thing entered his body through his mouth. His whole body dried up instantly, and as the thing left his body, his corpse crumbles to dust.

Eventually, this entity stole Scott's appearance and wore the uniform he left behind. "...finally... with this, I'll accomplish my mission soon." The current Scott is now a disguise for this unknown being.

A finger from his right hand transforms into an ear piece that allowed him to communicate with someone. The other line immediately picks up his call. "Sleek, you called?"

"I've heard E.D.L. lost its territory here in the North West."

"Yeah. The I.E.A. had a lot of cards up their sleeve, it only took them about 4 months to take it away from the E.D.L."

"Although the war still goes on until one completely defeats the other."

"...you never call for meaningless talk Sleek, what do you want to know? Last time we agreed that I'll be the one to call and update you regarding my progress."

Sleek sneered. "Of course. I think I'll have to make a few adjustments in our agreement."

The other line went silent for a moment. "I know I don't get to complain here. Let's cut to the chase, what are these adjuments you made?"

"My queen is suffering in the hands of Reize Hilton, I don't think I can let you drag this for much longer. Though if you do fulfill your part of the agreement within my expectation, I'll reward you with the object of your interest..."

"...and if I don't meet your expectation?"

"If you haven't, then I'll have to call it off with you. Good bye."

"Wait, what are you—" Sleek cuts the call with this person and went straight to Scott's colleagues. It appears and behaves just like Scott so the others did not suspect it with anything. It grins and spoke. "I'm back."

Meanwhile, the one from the other line have been cursing Sleek relentlessly. People around were creeped out and rushed to leave the women's comfort room. As Claire left her cubicle, she looks at herself in the mirror for a moment and practiced a calming inhale-exchale exercise.

"...all is good... all is good... right. As long as I keep rising up the ranks and get those promotions, all will go according to plan." She assured herself. "But what the hell is Sleek planning!? What's he gonna do to cancel our agreement!?" Though she can't help but be stressed about Sleek's ambiguity.

Claire eventually left the ladies room to return to the dormitories to rest for a while, though her plan was put to halt when she bumped into Captain Wright. "Ms. Duvent!"

She gets into position and salutes to greet the Captain. "A pleasant afternoon, sir!"

"You seem to be fine."

"Y-Yes... is there an order for me, Captain?"

Wright looked at her from top to bottom, there were not any serious injuries to be seen. He smirks as he knew that his plan is bound to be a success, he deems Claire Duvent as the key for this mission. "There is, follow me."

They went straight to his office, and from there, Raphael have already gathered enough members for the mission. Raphael was able to bring the soldiers that ranked 4th, 7th, and 13th. "Good afternoon, Captain!" They all greeted.

"Well done rounding up some people for the team." Wright praised Raphael. "However, we'll have to replace of them."

Raphael notices Claire's presence behind Wright, which got him a little startled. He wanted to keep her out of this mission because he knows damn well that Wright might make good use of her incredible speed in retrieving the power source.

"Captain Wright, I strongly suggest we go with these high ranking fighters. They will put us in a more greater advantage in accomplishing the mission." He pressed on his plan to have everyone he picked to be in the team.

Claire seemed to understand what Raphael was trying to convey, with that, she knows that she must be included for this mission even if she doesn't know their agenda yet. This will also be an advantage for her as this will help her rank up. Wright did the talking for her. "I can see why you choose them, but Claire right here is perfect for the job."

She smiles smugly at Raphael.

His brows furrowed in dismay at Claire.

"Then what about her rank?... I can't acknowledge her unless she ranks atleast 20th or above." He then pulls the 'rank card', using her low rank against her so she wouldn't be able to join the team.

Still, Wright seemed to have a lot of faith in Claire. "She's not in that high league yet, but this novice shows promise and might one day become a part of it." Although he had himself wonder about it. "...state the rank you've accumulated." He ordered.

"After my first deployment at the North Western Territory, during my three days of duty, I have ranked 114th." Everyone was taken aback by how fast she was able to attain that rank for a rookie. Will this be proof that Claire is qualified to join this mission?