Year 2033, February
14:00 P.M
Somewhere in Stockholm, Sweden
. . .
. . .
"An orphanage?"
I read the sign of a large, yellow building in front of me. "Eugene's Orphanage?"
The building in itself was pretty, in a sense that it looked new. Perhaps it was repainted sometime that year.
"Can you say that again, Ava?" prompted Eugene as he puffed his chest all of a sudden.
"Eugene's Orphanage," I repeated.
"Why is the orphanage in my name, you asked? Well, it's because this very building was built by Mom the same year I was born," said Eugene.
But I didn't even ask him that.
For the past few days where I lived with Maltyie and Eugene, I could say proudly that I was used to their everyday lives. Maltyie's obsession with buying me a lot of new, expensive clothing still bugged me. And I did not even intend to wear most of them.
"Wait, where are you going?"
Eugene pulled my arm when I was about to go back to Maltyie's car. She was still inside, searching for something in her purse.
"Going back, obviously," I said. "I don't see why I should be here."
"Oh, no, no, Ava. Bad girl. I work part-time here in the orphanage and today, I just want to introduce you to the kids."
"What? No. I don't want to. And don't treat me like a kid."
"Please, Ava, I beg of you!" Eugene suddenly fell on his knees, narrowing his eyes at me. "I've already promised my boss. She'll be mad if I don't keep my word, and you know what that means, right?" He shook my body violently and I swiped his hands away from me.
"That doesn't concern me, at all."
"But why you listened to Maltyie, and not me? Come on, please!"
'Because I have seen what Maltyie could do in just a blink of an eye,' I thought. Those words did not come out of my mouth, sadly.
"You're afraid of Sis?" asked Eugene.
"N-No..."
"Oh."
Eugene grabbed me by the waist and carried me on his shoulder. "Sorry, Ava. I don't have a choice. Those kids want to meet you after I said you would come today."
"Let go of me!" I yelled.
Clearly, he had not seen my Aegis in action. Though, due to the Aegis suppressor drug flowing through my veins, I couldn't use it.
Except for my first Aegis's capability of talking directly in my mind.
"Hmm, I want to help you, Ava. But I can only enhance your limbs for you albeit a small fraction," said the monotone voice in my head.
I felt the sensation of my muscles burning mentally. A sudden burst of energy helped me to pull away from Eugene's grasp.
"Woah, you're strong," said Eugene with a shocked expression.
"Look! It's Ava!" called a voice.
I turned my head and what surprised me was a bunch of kids suddenly pouring out from the orphanage's front door. They surrounded me in mere seconds.
The fact that they knew my name made my blood boiled.
"Come on in!"
"We've been waiting for you!"
"Ava, Ava!"
"You look weird... for a girl."
My eyes shot a glare at that boy who questioned my being weird. Apparently, my purple dress did not fit his image of a proper girl.
"Hey! Don't pull me!" I shouted.
The kids kept tugging at my dress, forcing me to move. Before I knew it, I was ushered inside the orphanage.
"Ava, isn't it? Nice to meet you."
I looked up and a young woman came into view. Her hair was black, tied into a ponytail at her back. She was wearing an apron, with a black cardigan underneath.
"I don't--"
The loud voices of the kids muffed my own.
"Ava, let's play!"
"No! She gets to play with me first!"
"Wait, who decides that?!
"Duh, it's me who gets to play with her first."
"No!"
My body was bouncing around and about from all the kids pulling at me. I was starting to get angry myself, however, the young woman in apron intervened.
"Now, now, kids. Ava's not gonna play with you if you're all being like this." Her delicate hands slowly pulled me to her side, holding my shoulders. "How about you all form a circle, hm?"
"Alright, miss!" said all the kids simultaneously.
They all soon formed a condensed circle around me. The woman, on the other hand, gave me a look of anticipation.
Though, I was oblivious to what she had in her mind.
"Miss Jones!" called Eugene. He was panting when he pushed the door open.
Everyone stared at him.
"What is it, Eugene? You look exhausted," said the woman in an apron.
"Er, my sister, she's adamant on wanting to come in!"
"You fought with her?" prompted Miss Jones.
"Hey, Eugene, get off the damn door!" yelled Maltyie. She literally yanked him off the doorstep and pushed his body until he stumbled. Then she looked at everyone in the orphanage.
"Eh-hem." Maltyie put on her best happy face, paired with a shining smile to look more the part. "Hi, Jacqueline!" said Maltyie as she waved.
"H-Hi." Jacqueline tilted her head sideways. "Eugene... "
"Is gonna be alright!" Maltyie closed the door and even locked it.
"Hey! Why you locked us in?!" shouted a girl.
"N-Nothing," mumbled Maltyie. Forcing her way through the dense circle of kids, she slung her arm around Jacqueline and whispered to her.
Even so, I could basically hear every word she said.
'Totally not whispering,' I thought.
"Erm, if I may ask, Jacqueline, where's your brother?" asked Maltyie with a restrained voice.
"Oh. Derrick is quite busy these days. You know, he's a general," said Jacqueline.
"I know that. I mean, where's he at now?" prompted Maltyie.
"Erm, I'm not sure myself, Maltyie. I rarely see him nowadays. I thought you have his phone number?" said Jacqueline as she frowned at her.
"Y-Yes, of course, I did."
"Have you called him?" asked Jacqueline.
"Call h-him? No way!"
"Why not? You're his friend since you two were in military school together. Surely he will pick up his phone if you tried?"
"W-What if he doesn't?"
Jacqueline sighed and swept a quick look at the kids. "You know, Derrick has asked me that one time where you decline his invitation for the class reunion."
Maltyie gulped. "And you said what?"
"I said to him that, since you're both adults, you should get some time to discuss that matter for yourselves. I know you're afraid of him, Maltyie, but you're quite popular if I remember correctly. Back in your military school," said Jacqueline.
"I'm not afraid of him, Jacqueline! It's just..."
My face must be contorted into different kinds of expressions just from seeing Maltyie. She seemed to have a difficulty in keeping herself together.
I did agree with the fact that Derrick was quite terrifying after he had become a general. But before that, he was too nice to be a soldier.
'Didn't Derrick said he has a daughter?' I said in my mind.
"Um, Miss Jones," I said.
She and Maltyie looked at me.
"Yes, Ava? What is it?"
"I remembered Derrick said he has a daughter."
"Oh, yes. Indeed, my brother has that cute little gem with him. She's about your age. Unfortunately, he and his wife divorced ten years ago, literally after the baby was born. Our mother takes care of her right now," said Jacqueline.
In a matter of seconds, Maltyie's face was right in front of mine, staring straight into my eyes. "You've met Derrick?!" she asked.
"Um, yes," I replied. To reveal more than that where everyone was watching would be a stupid decision. "What's your connection with him? Your face's red the whole time you talked to Miss Jones."
"M-My connection with him?" Maltyie jerked her head back at my question.
The kids of the orphanage started to make noises after that, particularly teasing Maltyie and her awkwardness.
"What's with you, Malt?! You barged inside and started to look flustered all of a sudden," said a boy who I assumed was a year older than me.
"I think she beat Mister Derrick so bad that she felt sorry for him!" said a girl.
"Nah, she's just an old hag," said a boy sitting just a meter from me.
"What did you say?!"
Maltyie's expression was back to normal, with her blue eyes resembled the storm in a calm ocean. The kids scrambled away from her as she chased them all over the place.
Jacqueline caressed her forehead. "She's still the same Maltyie I know."
"How old is she, Miss Jones?" I asked.
She cast a glance at me. "She's thirty."
"How about you?" I prompted.
"I'm twenty-five. In case you're curious, my older brother is also thirty."
I had a hand at my chin. "Has she always been like that?"
Jacqueline breathed another sigh. "Not really. Maltyie is a stern person even as a cadet back in the days. It's just that whenever the topic is about my brother, she's kind of not that into the conversation. A weird side of her pops up when that happens," said Jacqueline. "Besides, when she meets Derrick, she does not hide her intention of avoiding him. I mean, she even refused a lot of meetings and parties when Derrick is certain to be there."
I nodded at her while my eyes caught sight of a boy a lot younger than me approaching. He was carrying a lot of heavy, thick books by himself.
"Um, Ava right? Can you help me with this?" said the boy.
"Oh, William. I'll get that for you," said Jacqueline, her hands swiftly lifted the load away from William.
"What's that for?" I asked both of them.
"It's for this evening. We have our own reading time, where Miss would choose someone to read a book to everyone else. It's random though," answered William. His dark hair almost covered his eyes entirely.
"A reading time?!" I exclaimed.
"You can join us if you want, Ava," offered Jacqueline.
"Of course! I want to!" I said, my eyes were beaming like never before.
Later that evening, William was chosen by Miss Jones to read a book called 'I Wish'. Just by looking at the title, one could predict the storyline where someone was in need of a desperate miracle, reversing a mistake that she or he had made.
Obviously, that was the story as William read it out loud.
Maltyie and Eugene were sitting on a sofa, talking about something.
It was not long before I waved goodbye to the people of the orphanage, eager to get back and stuffed all the food I could in my mouth.
"Now, let's head back quick. I've to cook dinner for tonight," stated Eugene.
"We can just do takeaways, Eugene," said Maltyie.
"Huh? No way. It's cheaper if you cook by yourself."
Eugene was about to reach the car when a few military trucks surrounded the orphanage.
"What the..." Eugene stepped back a bit as soldiers in black leaped out from the back of their trucks. A man in the standard military uniform walked towards Maltyie, who was shocked by what was happening.
"General of The Army, Maltyie Holm," said the man in question as he bowed. "We've received an order to search this area for possible terrorist activities and illegal storage of military weapons. And Miss Jacqueline Jones is to be arrested for that very reason."
"What?! You've got it all wrong!" shouted Maltyie. "I've been here for as long as I can remember. There's no such thing!"
"I'm sorry for this inconvenience, General of The Army. If you could step aside for a while, we can begin conducting our search and apprehension of Miss Jacqueline Jones," said the man.
Maltyie lifted her head. "Tell me, officer, who sent you? Who issued this ridiculous order? Do you have a search warrant?"
Sweat trickled from the officer's forehead. "Er, I'm not allowed to tell you that."
"Really? Even if it's an order from me, the highest-ranking soldier in the Great Corporate United?"
The officer was confused, whether to follow what he had been ordered to do from the beginning or obliged Maltyie's issued order.
"Tell me your real reason, soldier," said Maltyie. "This is a false claim, is it not? Did you want to frame her? It's easier for you all to abduct her with a reason like that. Just like you did with a lot of the innocent civilians. And the excuses that you all used always don't make any sense."
"Er, no, it's not that."
"Then, tell me. This is an order."
"I'm sorry, General of The Army. I can't. H-He will punish me!"
"He? Is it my father?" asked Maltyie.
The officer shook his head in denial. "No. It's not His Supremacy."
"Who's this soldier abusing his power and authority? You still don't want to tell me?"
"I'm sorry. He'll punish me." The officer looked at the rest of the soldiers that had lowered their rifles. "He will punish all of us."
"I see. Then, with my authority, I ordered ALL OF YOU to cease this operation right now," yelled Maltyie.
"But--"
"NOW! If you can't do that, I'll make sure you're all fired and your names will be on the blacklist," pointed Maltyie.
"R-Right away, General of The Army." The office shouted an order and all the soldiers entered their military trucks. They left without a moment of hesitation.
"What just happened?" Jacqueline jogged towards Maltyie, leaving the kids poking their heads out of the front door in curiosity.
"It's the same thing, Jacqueline. It happened again," answered Maltyie with a low tone.
Jacqueline could not help but darted her eyes away. "I see. It's not safe, huh? Even in this country, we're still... especially the women are not safe anymore."
Maltyie glanced at me and suggested that she and Jacqueline talked someplace else. Eugene followed behind both of them, leaving me in the garden.
My eyes squinted from the orange sun casting its beautiful light at the flowers, making it more pretty than usual.
Back in Canada, the same thing also affect the women populace, and it was much worse. In the end, the Great Corporate United was corrupted, mainly because of the soldiers that abused their power to obtain anything that they wanted. And ordinary people did not have the slightest chance against them.
Alicia and Bart.
Somehow, I had a gut feeling that they were involved. And I swore that I would be the one to take them down.
Slowly and painfully.