Compensation

"I want you to kill half of your people right now."

The warehouse turned silent. Beck frowned, his mouth hanging open while some of the guards tightened their grips on their rifles, keeping them trained on Jamie.

"I'm sorry? You want me to kill half my men?" Beck questioned, wondering if he heard the boy right.

"My brother's arm was so messed up that the bone was sticking out." Jamie locked eyes with the man, letting him know he was dead serious. "You kill them or I walk."

Beck put his hands on his hips before looking at his feet, letting out a deep breath. The strength that Jamie could provide was absolutely ESSENTIAL to his plan.

After a minute or two of silence, just as Jamie was about to walk away…

"...Alright."

Suddenly, among the small army of armed guards, red lights appeared on some of their rifles. Jamie heard their sounds of confusion as more lights appeared until half of them had red guns while the rest were normal. After a second of silence, chaos ensued.

Gunfire. Knives being drawn. Fist fighting. Among the guards, those whose guns didn't turn red started attacking those who did, who tried to fight back only to find that their guns had been disabled. Some managed to fight back, stabbing their attackers or stealing their working rifles.

Beck and the two people accompanying him stepped back as the small army fought, while Jamie hid behind Prime to block any stray rifle blasts.

After a ton of gunfire, snapping, shouting, and more noises, there were slightly less than half of the original amount of guards left standing, as some of the ones tagged with red lights were able to fight back.

The survivors were tired and out of breath, some of them sporting injuries. They looked to Beck, who nodded at them. Taking it as some kind of order, they went to leave the warehouse, some glancing one last time at Jamie before walking out the door.

"There. Are you satisfied now?" Beck clapped his hands.

He wasn't happy about wasting a lot of his people, but he knew it was worth it in the long run. This loss was for an investment that he would profit from greatly.

Looking at the carnage, Jamie was glad that he told Amy to leave. He smiled at Beck.

"Very." Jamie turned around and walked towards the warehouse exit. "I'll swing by your office tomorrow."

Jamie walked out the warehouse and into a nearby alley, finding Amy hiding by a dumpster. Her face lit up when she saw him.

"Is everything okay?" She asked as Jamie helped her up.

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about those guys anymore. Let's go home."

They started walking back to the shop, Jamie taking the lead so they could avoid any cops.

"Did you kill those people? After you told me to run?"

Amy asked out of nowhere. Jamie looked at her before clearing his throat.

"No, don't worry. We talked it out." A half-lie.

"When you killed the cops that took me hostage… have you killed people before, Jamie?"

Jamie took a deep breath. "Yes, I have. Do you see me differently because of it?"

"Well no, but…" Amy faltered. "Could you maybe stop killing people? I… I don't want you to become some crazy murderer or something."

"Hey, you know I won't become like that." Jamie wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.

"Look, there will be times where I have to do things I'm not proud of, but I promise not to kill unless it's necessary. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay." She squeaked and nodded. Jamie smiled before ruffling her hair, the two of them going home.

Jamie was smiling, but he felt guilty for lying to her. Killing his enemies was necessary. Without killing his enemies, he wouldn't level up. Without leveling up, he wouldn't grow stronger. Without strength, how could he protect his family?

"Sorry."

"What was that?" Amy turned around.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh, okay."

Back in the warehouse, Beck was looking at the bloody remains of the guards that he had ordered to be killed. The white haired man walked up to him from behind.

"Was it worth it?"

Beck sighed. "It hurts, but yes, it was worth it."

"We can do it without him. It would just take more time. Give me a year, I'll plant more people in Dynamos-"

"I'm tired of waiting, Lowe." Beck shook his head. "It's so close, I can feel it."

Looking at the corpses one last time, Beck turned around and began to leave. Lowe followed him, gesturing to the purple haired woman it was time to go.

"Besides," Beck looked back at Lowe with a grin. "You were the one who sold me the info about the kid and his mecha in the first place."

The white haired man scratched the back of his neck. "I suppose it would be wise to have faith in this boy."

"Trust me. Changes are coming. Big ones."

Lowe looked at his boss's back with a look that was hard to describe. The woman behind him stayed silent.

"Somehow, I don't doubt it."

******

Dynamos Headquarters.

Two men sat across each other on a round table by the port, the ocean to their right, enjoying some tea and biscuits.

They both wore white long coats, but one of them had streaks of blue mixed in. The one with the white and blue long coat was middle aged and bald, while the one with the pure white coat was tall, blonde and had sharp yellow eyes.

"How was your search in the wasteland, sir?" The bald man, Griggs asked.

Victor took a deep sip from his tea before replying. Sweat rolled down Griggs' forehead as he watched. After what seemed like forever, Victor placed his cup back down on the table and sighed in disappointment.

"Unfortunately, I found nothing. I ended up eradicating all those beasts for nothing. It's possible that the intruder has made their way into the city."

"Nothing?" Griggs' face fell. "The reports from the higher ups said that the intruder broke through the forcefield with a mecha. The attack was strong enough that it's still being repaired as we speak."

"I found traces of a crash and dead beasts, but that was it." Victor turned towards the ocean. "There is no other trace of life in that wasteland."

"Indeed that is… unfortunate." Griggs gulped.

"I shall continue my search for another week at most. If I still find nothing, then I will have to report back to my superiors."

"I see."

They went silent, continuing to eat their tea and biscuits. Victor calmly enjoyed his meal while Griggs barely ate, seemingly deliberating over something.

Seeing that Victor was about to finish his food, Griggs decided to act.

"Agent Victor, could I show you something, sir?" He blurted out.

"Hmm?" Victor looked up at Griggs before drinking the rest of his tea. He patted his mouth with a napkin before standing up. "Alright then."

Griggs stood up as well, bumping the table in his nervousness. Clearing his throat, he led the way as Victor followed, going all the way to the other end of the port, opposite where the main headquarters building was.

What awaited the two was a wide array of generators encircled by a chain link fence. A miniature power plant. The air was static with energy as the blocky generators hummed, and tesla coils spat out electrical bolts. Victor raised an eyebrow as he sensed an appealing energy within the generators.

"Mana?"

"Yes, I have some of the Fledgling Wizards insert their mana into them from time to time, to make it last longer."

"Efficient. Is that all you wanted to show me?"

"No, there's more, sir." Griggs unlocked the fence and entered, going deeper inside.

They navigated through rows of generators, up until they reached the border wall separating the northern side of the slums (where the port and HQ were located), and the wasteland.

Up against the massive wall was a large cage with thick steel bars. Inside, a silhouette of a figure hugging their knees could be seen.

Leaning towards the cage, Griggs pulled out a flashlight, turning it on and aiming it at the inside of the cage. Curious, Victor leaned in as well.

The flashlight revealed a young man, huddled up against the wall, putting a hand up to cover his purple eyes as he winced from the sudden appearance of light, his hair a paler purple. Around his wrists was a slab of iron that had anti-mana properties.

"We captured him nearly a decade ago, when he broke into HQ looking for food. In a small scuffle, he killed nearly 10 officers with a single spell, just as a kid."

"That strong? What's his affinity, and what's his current realm?"

"Ghost, and he's soon to break into the Superior Realm." Griggs said proudly, looking at the man in the cage like a prize of some sort.

"And that's while having his mana suppressed all this time. I wish to gift him to you, sir. I believe he will make a great Agent like you are."

"A very gracious gift. I will make sure to put in a good word with my superiors." Victor smiled. "I shall take him with me when my search is done."

"Of course, sir."