Year 2033, April
01:00 A.M
Goz Beida, Chad, Africa
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"They should be around here," I whispered.
Two men in green uniforms passed me as I hid in a dark alley.
When I was about to step out of hiding, they halted.
"Do you . . . smell something?" said one of them.
"Yes. The banquet at Master's palace. Of course, I'm going there," said the one on the left.
"No, I mean--"
"But that's tomorrow, right? It's just that I can't wait to lay my hands on the food."
"Huh? But we were only supposed to guard outside the palace."
"It doesn't matter. I'm sure we'll get a chance. I heard Tabetha has been bringing the food to us outsiders."
"I'm sure Master Gheele let her. Anyway, I forgot what I wanted to say."
"You'll remember soon enough. Let's get going. I want to drop at my bed as soon as I can. Sleepy as heck."
Both of them continued their patrol as I carefully moved out of the shadows.
"I need to change my clothes," I said to myself.
The dark blue military uniform I wore had been a burden to me. After a week of trying to escape the eyes of the patrolling soldiers, I had no time to do anything else.
Using my Aegis would attract attention. Particularly Gheele's. His Aegis crystals were everywhere.
My feet came to a stop at an empty street and I whistled with my hand.
"There should be no soldiers around here," I mumbled. "At least I hope so. It always looked deserted anyways."
I crouched at a wall away from the streetlights and waited there.
My eyes thoroughly scanned any sort of movements for a few minutes, trying to find the silhouettes of the people I wanted to meet.
"Sir Relly," said a woman's voice.
I turned my head towards an alley in front of me and three women in black combat suits approached slowly.
"Get in the alley," I said to them.
The four of us slowly settled at a dark corner and exchanged information.
"Sir Relly," said Kat.
"I know. Agatha is tracking me. And I couldn't risk Lily the way she is now. Caesar's presence made it worse. I'm just glad Agatha hadn't found all of you yet."
Bee nodded. "It's hard, but we managed."
"We have the information you wanted us to find, Sir Relly. It took us some time," said Arc.
"It is what it is. But first, I'll clear some things up," I said. "First, the soldiers stationed in Chad are on the outlook for us, specifically me. I'm sure you all know that already."
The trio nodded in agreement.
"Second, we've lost Bart and Hughes. It's a shame to lose those two Aegis Users. Now, we're down to four, excluding Alexander. I cannot trust him," I said.
Kat narrowed her eyes. "How is that possible? Sir Hughes . . . dead? He's quite strong."
"I know. The search party I had sent found him somewhere in Yellowknife. Refusing to go back, he wanted to assist Miranda quickly," I said.
"Which brought his downfall. A shame indeed," stated Arc.
"How about Bart? How can he die? I thought Aegis Users cannot lose," said Bee.
"That's wrong. We CAN lose. It's just that it's so rare. The first death among Aegis Users that had happened was only due to her age. This incident brought us to two deaths in battle. And I'm not sure how, but Ava could be the cause."
"That kid we captured?" remarked Bee. "We should have killed her then."
"No. His Supremacy wanted her for the second Aegis implant. I supposed it was a mistake to even bring her with us from the beginning, but that's all in the past now," I said.
The trio nodded again.
I took a deep breath and looked at them in the eyes. "And third, we have to move our own from now, separate from the Great Corporate United. Since we're at the heart of Neo Africa, it would be hard for us to escape even into Kazakhstan."
"It can't be helped," said Kat.
"Yes, we just have to think of something from now on," said Bee.
"A new objective, perhaps?" said Arc.
"Indeed. Putting that aside, did you get the info on her?" I asked.
"Yes. The escaped Aegis User should be somewhere in Neo Africa, hiding. And Gheele Folami didn't know this yet. At least, we haven't spotted any Users other than Caesar and him at this place," said Arc.
"Where exactly?" I prompted. "If anything, we need that Aegis User to boost our fighting strength. His Supremacy would be happy."
Bee sighed. "From what we got . . . the escaped Aegis User is somewhere in Chad."
"I mean, if we have her from the start, we could have prevented our loss against Gheele Folami," said Arc.
I nodded. "That's correct. Still, I can't believe Gheele is that powerful. His Aegis crystals are spread throughout the entire region of Neo Africa. He could just invoke a large wall at his borders just from him sitting in his chair at his palace."
Kat shook her head. "How can she help us in defeating Gheele, Sir Relly?"
"That Aegis User's specialty could be useful against Gheele. Remember, even when Lily, Hughes, and me combined, we still couldn't put a scratch on him. Only when Aya stepped in that he could be stopped. For that to happen again would require some serious luck. But we don't have time for that," I stated.
"Agree," said the trio simultaneously.
"When did she escape, might I ask, Sir Relly?" asked Arc.
"It has been quite some time. Five years ago, I think. That girl broke out of her confinement in our temporary lab in Kazakhstan," I answered.
"I see. When do we start searching for her, Sir Relly?" asked Kat.
"Tomorrow. I heard there's a banquet at Gheele's palace. We can move more freely on that day," I said.
"Then so be it," said Bee.
"That Aegis User who'd escaped from our lab . . . we must get her into our side no matter what," I said.
She was our key to obtaining Neo Africa after all those years. Relying on Ava was a mistake that could have been undone.
But, if our plan worked, Gheele Folami would surely be in the hands of the Great Corporate United.
And after all that, I could get more influence. My business would be booming.
I grinned at my thoughts.