New Rules

"I called every leader of the inspection team because of an important announcement I had to make."

Louise scrambled a lot of figures in her notebook and it isn't stopping there at all. She's pre-occupied with Randall's actions a few nights ago. It was enough to make her sleep at 3 in the morning, and got awoken by the sudden movement in her lips.

Louise still had to survey the four remaining members, but why does she had to tail Randall first? With the kiss he made, Louise feared of running into him whenever she needed to accomplish a weekly report.

Vincent Bass, Etienne Jules, and Jon Cho Kingsley are known to be a trio and didn't even get separated at once. Leo, perhaps, had a tighter bond with Randall. All five of them have secrets to unravel, but Louise would find a hard time to do it after the kiss.

That damn kiss… why did it have to come at the wrong time?

"Ms. Louise Shelton, are you alright?" Someone called her. Louise shook off to the reality. She raised her eyebrows, wondering what's wrong. The three inspection team leaders' fleeted their eyes to Louise.

It's not like her to get out of the box and think of something else than work.

"Yeah?" Louise felt embarrassed. Her cheeks reddened.

"I kept calling you earlier. Have you done tailing Randall Cross? Did you find something?"

Jeremy Tyran isn't the same fool as he was back then. From Louise's notes, he kept on believing that the Cassanos say the truth, even though, some of them aren't. Louise was the one who planned out the tailing agenda for them to be concise of the spies' personalities.

Jeremy got along. He knew this would be a good idea to catch Leo's secrets.

Louise was suspicious of Cassanos' boss, too. Leo has smoldering eyes no one would dare to look at when the situation was heated. He can kill with just a glare of his pupils.

Louise only felt excited to tail them one-by-one, but starting this morning, he didn't feel anything close to it. She just wanted to scrape off Randall from the list on her weekly reports. Better yet, she'd eradicate his existence out of the members of the Cassanos.

That would be the best choice. But all of that only exists in dreams.

"I didn't find anything else but his usual routine, Mr. Tyran. He goes to a fancy restaurant alone. For a week, he goes twice. He only eats steak and drink a sip of wine. After that, he'll go home to the mansion along with the Cassanos."

Jeremy nodded, and scribbled up to his notes. Everyone also jotted down what she said. Louise checked her document, and it said the same thing. This is the first time she lied in a progress of their undercover.

She's the commander-in-chief of the inspection team, but Louise's leadership skills will get ruined by a single kiss.

"Alright, let's stop for the tailing for a while. This new rule we have to implement before the end of the next month is about the spies' shelter and accommodation," Jeremy explained.

Louise' colleague, by the name of Kiara, stood up and rolled down the white board to the other side. It contained the words of the new reinforcement. Louise read it, widening her eyes when it sunk in.

"Calvorite's New Sector Rule. It is only for temporary measures, and based on the number of fugitives and runaways coming here from the Telamur, we had to make sure that every house of Calvorite is clear of any Telamur citizens."

Jeremy pertain his marker right in between of the words, and explained, "As the inspection teams of the Calvorite, we had to carry out these missions right after we implemented it to the public. By then, they have no right to say no about the raid."

Louise raised her hand. For a while, she got worried. This might make a backlash to everyone in the Calvorite, pushing them at the edge, and can spark an uprising. With their privacy at stake, the citizens wouldn't allow strangers to survey everyone inside their homes.

"How about their privacy, Mr. Tyran? Every citizen in Calvorite, even in Telamur, has the right to say no. Right now, we don't want to poison everyone's mind---"

"We don't invade their privacy, Ms. Louise Shelton. We are protecting them from the fugitives who might have hidden their identities in the Calvorite. Some of them insinuated to wealthier families and pretended to be a normal maid. It's not about privacy anymore. It's about the protection of the Calvorite citizens."

It all felt wrong. The Telamur have come to the deepest of times, labeling them as criminals, or even revolutionists with activism and seeking political claims that proven to be wrong in every way. Louise' mother might be the president, but somewhere, she might get awoken by the reality of what they're doing to the citizens.

Telamur isn't a greedy land. They're begging for freedom.

Those time chips—Tempus Moneda, in its name—has been an invisible shackle binding the citizens to their land, even if it means a torture and a death if you stepped out of the line.

Louise licked her bottom lip, ready for an argument.

"Telamur isn't a criminal land, Mr. Tyran. They shouldn't be labeled as someone with higher crime rates. Certainly, Telamur isn't going to be like that if it's not for the Tempus Moneda. Do you think---"

Jeremy took a step, a crippling smile cross in his lips. Louise halted in her words.

Before she even zipped her mouth, she realized what she's saying.

Louise was going against her mother and how she process rules in the government.

"Are you going against your mother?" Jeremy asked.

The three of her colleagues snickered behind her. Louise swallowed. Maybe that kiss of Randall was enough to taste the reality. But with the new implementation of the rules, the Calvorite citizens would most like be the one to revolt.

"I'm just spitting facts, Mr. Tyran. Idris was once three homes of land. Gelcius got obliterated because of their revolution against my mother, and I've read all about that. My mother talked a lot about it, too, at home. Telamur and Calvorite were the only ones left, and you, as the head sector of one of the home lands, will label the other land as filthy?"

This is what the authority has come. If only Louise know how to use it, maybe, she's not on a bad side at all. Revolution couldn't be controlled. If the people have gained power to topple over the administration, her mother will get dragged to death in a prison.

It's the least favorite thing in the world, but repenting from a crime is a must.

If only Louise can expose the secrets her mother has, then all of these unjust actions will be done for good.

"Telamur have Tempus Moneda. They have time chips controlling the person's actions. One step out of the boundary and they're dead. Do you think if you, Mr. Jeremy Tyran, act as a Telamur citizen for a day, you wouldn't run away from your land?"

For a moment, she made a point. Louise isn't defending anyone. She's merely stating a difference between a Telamur citizen, a Calvorite one, and the leaders of the country.

"Know your privilege. Not everyone has the same side as you. You are the head sector, and have the guarantee to sleep at home in the comfiest bed possible. But everyone there in Telamur had to worry about their time stamp decreasing at every breath they take. They're life is on the edge, so don't label them as a criminal who needed to be shackled."

Louise lifted her chin, crossed her arms over her chest. Jeremy's veins in the neck throbbed in vain. It was enough to see that he already lost in a debate with the president's daughter.

"Admit that you got mistaken from labeling them as a terrorist, Mr. Tyran. They're Idris' citizens, too, so don't make them like any different from ours."

Louise fleeted a glare to him for a while before going back to her seat.

Jeremy couldn't remove his stare from her. She's one hell of a fierce woman.