Where Shall We Start?

I searched the whole apartment, looking for anything valuable. Cash, bank cards, jewelry I could sell… I stuffed it all in the suitcases I found under the bed. I also packed some clothes. The man who used to live here was the same size as me, and had quite a good taste. His outfits would be useful when going to fancy clubs.

I picked some of the woman's sporty clothes for the boy. Unfortunately, they weren't the most suitable for a teenager, but would need to do for now. I would need to get him some more later, if I end up deciding to keep him around.

The boy's eyes were following my every move as I was walking around the apartment. He was wriggling impatiently, opening and closing his mouth as if he had something to say, but was unsure whether he could speak, and so didn't make a noise.

Good. Cause he wasn't allowed to speak without my permission.

Only when I was done with my looting did I come over to him. "Alright, so here's what we're gonna do now. I'm gonna untie you, and you will go to the bathroom to wash yourself and change into the clothes I left there for you." I started slowly untying him as I spoke. " Then we're gonna move somewhere else. You will follow me obediently, acting as if everything is perfectly normal."

The boy just kept nodding his head without a word. Once free from bonds, he slowly got up, massaging his wrists. He must have been sore from lying tied up on the floor for so long. He still stared at me as if he wanted to ask something.

I raised my eyebrows seeing him just stand in place. "What are you doing? Didn't you hear what I said? Go on, don't waste my time."

The boy bit his lip in response, hesitating for a moment, but ended up obediently going to the bathroom.

While I was waiting for him, I laid down on the sofa, thinking about where to go next. Normally I would just scout the apartments I had keys for, but having a human baggage made things much more difficult. I wouldn't be able to flee if needed with the boy around.

Which meant, I had to get proper paid accommodation.

Of course, I could afford it. I had cash, and I could easily get more, but it just felt like such a waste of money. He'd better make it worthwhile all the effort.

A few minutes later, he was out and ready to go.

I looked him up and down. "Are you really 15?" I couldn't help but ask. It wasn't visible so much in his uniform, since it was his size, but he was quite short and scrawny for his age. The woman's clothes were a bit loose on him.

He just nodded his head again, pouting. My comment seemed to make him unhappy. I just shrugged my shoulders and went over to the window. There was no need for me to be considerate of his feelings.

I take a good look outside. The window faced an empty back alley. "Pull up your hood, we're gonna jump from here." I didn't want to use the stairs, since we might get spotted by neighbors. I've just arrived in this world, I preferred not to have the police searching for me already.

Once again, the boy only nodded, his lips sealed tight. Although I did not like chatty people, his forced silence was starting to get on my nerves. But I knew that if I were to tell him to speak up, he wouldn't shut up for the next few hours. And we did not have time for that now.

"And don't try anything funny," I just added shortly. "Cause I will catch you, and kill you. Now follow me." Not waiting for him to nod in response, I jumped out of the window.

***

I rented a double room at a cheap hotel a fair distance away from the apartment. It was better not to remain in the same area.

The room was small, with only two beds and a table in the corner, and no other furniture. I took a seat on one of the beds, pointing to the other with my chin. "Go on, take the seat," I ordered the boy.

He seemed uneasy, pulling on the bottom of his T-shirt anxiously, but he still sat down obediently, his eyes glued to the floor.

I leaned forward, resting my chin on my hands. "Alright then. Where shall we start? You said you're still a trainee, right?"

The boy just nodded without a word again. I clicked my tongue, annoyed. "Answer me properly."

He took a deep breath and finally straightened up. "Yes. I have over two years of training left to be an official field agent. It hasn't even been a year since I started."

"A field agent, huh?" So that's what the fighters called themselves. Well, the naming didn't really matter. "So, how come they sent you on a mission already? Or was it supposed to be part of your training?"

"Well…" The boy hesitated for a moment. "Not really. It's just that the main force is busy, or so I've heard."

Now that I was curious about. "Busy? With what?" I made myself sound disinterested, just so the boy wouldn't know that the information he had had some value.

"I don't know for sure, since it's classified information or something, but there are rumors that some rogues teamed up against us," he explained.

However, I had no idea what he was talking about. "Rogues?"

He looked at me and blinked a few times, unsure what I was asking about. "Rogue outliers," he eventually added.

I just stared at him with my brows furrowed. I didn't know the terms he mentioned, but I wasn't about to admit it openly.

After a long moment of silence, he seemed to have finally understood. "Oh, well, rogues are… The outliers that don't belong to our organization. Like you."

I stood up with a sigh and lit a cigarette. I started walking back and forth, thinking about everything I'd just learned.

So, the people I fought against so far haven't been the main attack force. Because the main attack force was busy fighting against other people, who were just like me? And those people teamed up to face the organization together?

I had a feeling things would get even more annoying in the future.