The sun's rays illuminated Slezzy's room. The alarm on the young man's cell phone awakened the couple who rested there, causing them to wake up and start preparing their things afterwards. Slezzy went to get ready for work, while Emmeline prepared breakfast, in addition to waking Rainn.
Slezzy was still thinking last night. Everything had been crazy for him. Sanches' words were reflected in his mind.
— Rainn! It's time to wake up! — warned Emmeline, in the boy's room.
The boy made lazy sounds. He did not want to get up for another day of school.
— Come on, Rainn! Tomorrow is the weekend and we'll be able to enjoy every hour! But first, you need to go to school! — insisted the girl with a happy and encouraging tone, finally convincing the boy.
Slezzy, still getting ready in the bathroom, laughed at that.
After everyone got ready, Slezzy invited his companion to the balcony of the apartment in order to gather, while watching the rest of the city from there.
— Yesterday, I had the biggest opportunity in all this work time, Emmy! But unfortunately that... extreme kidnapping... was such a coincidence!
— I understand your ambitions, Slezzy. But... I can't help but confess that I was very worried! So... I want you to reconsider my request.
— I told you, Emmy... that's my vocation! And I'm absolutely sure of that!
Not to mention that... we will never face any financial problems!
Emmeline answered, unhappy:
— Money... that's not the problem, Slezzy! I don't want Rainn... to lose his company for life. Besides... I... can't lose you! You know very well that... this family was the only one I had left after...
— You don't have to say that... — Confronted Slezzy, hugging the girl right away. She cried on her shoulders. — Those bastards will still pay with their lives!
The boy Rainn, only eight years old, surprised the couple to arrive softly, well below the two:
— I'm ready, Emmy! — he said as he held the backpack straps on his back. His school clothes were orange and very elegant.
Soon after, the three hugged right there, on that balcony, between laughs.
After a few minutes, everyone gathered at a small table in the kitchen, and served themselves with a humble breakfast — a type of cereal, a box of milk and a jar of juice.
After lunch, Rainn said goodbye and left the apartment, walking to his school, which was about two blocks from the condominium.
It wasn't long before the couple also said goodbye once again:
— Please... if you need to stay late at work, let me know!
— Leave it, Emmy! — Slezzy exclaimed, kissing the girl's forehead.
Then the young man left the house and locked his main door, leaving for the stairs and later for the exit of the condominium.
To get to work, Slezzy needed to take only a single bus, whose station was only a hundred meters. On the way, he thought radically at the time last night, but specifically, in the kidnapper's last words, prior to Saith's fatal shooting.
"They...! They look like demo..."
Upon reaching the station, Slezzy entered a bus that coincidentally had arrived at that exact moment.
"Did he mean... demons?" The young man could not stop that kind of thinking. Then, suddenly, he remembered some excerpts from the report he had seen the day before.
"Something supernatural due to recent testimonials..."
The bus arrived at its destination: the city center. The destination station was near Kentrika Square, and there, Slezzy walked towards the NCC building.
Kentrika Square, also known only as Kentrika, was the main point of the city. It had a square shape and was marked by a stone statue in its center: a blindfolded woman, standing, who held a kind of scale with her hands, referring something related to justice. Almost all around was surrounded by grass. And the flow of pedestrians was very high.
There were four buildings, one at each corner of the extensive square, easily visible. Each building represented a government—aided department. The first was the headquarters of the FMA, bypassed by a large green field along its perimeter. The second belonged to the NCC. The last two were the most important in the city: the Government Headquarters and the Arnault Building, which, in turn, was the most luxurious, being responsible for the management of various services, such as firefighters, hospitals, among others.
As he walked through the square, Slezzy finally reached the gateway to the NCC.
Taking the first step into the place, the kid received glances from several employees. No one had forgotten the day before: he had confronted his superiors, disagreeing with a government order, in front of all the other officials in the meeting room.
With each step inside that place, Slezzy became more and more embarrassed. However, walking to the elevator area of the building, still on the ground floor, he spotted his newest acquaintance: Agent Sanches, who was already inside one of the transport machines. Then the young man sped up his steps in order to reach it.
He entered the elevator before the doors closed. Inside, he began to sigh slightly due to the small fatigue. However, he was soon overcome with happiness upon noticing that he was beside the curly—haired man.
— Why... did you come back here, boy? — provoked Sanches, while taking the last sip in a cup of coffee.
— As much as I've done "that" ... I can't just not come here! I still have to work... to prove that order wrong!
— For me, you would already be on the streets. But I do not speak in the sense of a promotion, I speak in the sense of fired! — Sanches laughed after his provocation. — You can relax, kid. It's just a joke!
As the elevator went up, the two remained in absolute silence.
Slezzy was a bit embarrassed, however, as Sanches was his only friend from there, it was even a bit comfortable to hear that.
The elevator doors have opened. The pair were on one of the top floors of the building, in the main office of the institution and also where Slezzy spent almost his entire morning, every day of the week, rummaging and filing criminal reports on the NCC's online platform.
The two left the elevator, still side by side and in slow steps.
Soon, they were surprised by the presence of the man in the suit who had attended the last meeting, Edward, the member of the Government Security, who was coming in the opposite direction of both.
— Oh, Sanches! Don't tell me that tonight you slept with your newest pet! — provoked that man, laughing then.
Edward went towards the elevator and, entering it, turned and faced the pair with fixed eyes, until the door closed and ended the tense climate.
— Why is this guy... still here? He doesn't work for the government?
— It really does suck. These guys think they own the world... because they have a free pass to go anywhere... except the "billionaire building".
— You mean that fancy building?
— Exactly. The Arnault building, the largest in the city, backed by the richest man in Maple. However, I don't know if he has any connection with the government... — Sanches had a few laughs all of a sudden.
— Why are you laughing? Although... you always laugh at almost everything, don't you?
— I always laugh when I remember the baldness of that man... — He replied with a sequence of laughter soon after.
They went into the office. There, the secretaries who worked on their desks, typing on the computers, glanced at the newest duo.
Lieutenant Jan, standing in front of the door of his own room, spotted the two and summoned them through a hand signal. Then he entered her in slow steps.
— What a shit. I'm not patient at all for an early warning. — warned Sanches, without laughing this time, inexpressively.
On the way to the Lieutenant's room, it was possible to hear a report, which was broadcast on TV from one of the rooms of the noisy office.
"Yesterday, NCC officers took a lethal attitude after many attempts in the Dominic Street kidnapping case. The night was long and controversial for the people who lived around. One of the snipers of the Armed Military Forces was responsible for shooting the criminal not yet recognized..."
Entering the room, the two sat in front of Lieutenant Jan's table, in two wooden chairs, at first glance chic.
Slezzy was a mess.
— Sanches, are you ready for a new partner on the streets!?
— But of course. — He replied, sprawling in the chair.
Slezzy opened a huge smile on his face.
— But definitely not this kid, if that's the proposal — he concluded.
— What? Are you kidding!? Tell me you have another candidate? — replied the young man, restless.
— Calm down! — warned Sanches. — Do I really need to say the obvious? You are not prepared at all! You never even picked up a firearm and already want to go out through these streets!?
Slezzy took him seriously.
Lieutenant Jan has interrupted:
— Sanches' former partner... died on a mission... over a year ago. He was executed by one of the city's biggest mafias.
— Han?
Sanches, with an intonation similar to that of the Lieutenant, added:
— Of course you needed to mention that. Well... our "great lieutenant" had given the idea to recruit one of the prodigies of the Blue Order. However, it happened that, even with a great tactical and practical knowledge, this recruit did not know how to deal with the real and unique situations of these macabre streets and dominated by the most diverse types of criminals.
"Blue Order?" Slezzy preferred not to yield his doubt. However, he resumed:
— Who... killed... this recruit?
— The old Baron. — replied Jan. — Anyway, I believe you saw our dear friend, Edward, while they were coming here. In fact, he came to offer a vacancy for an internal preparation course provided by the FMA.
The Lieutenant rose from his chair, observing Kentrika Square, through a large glass screen next door.
— That's when... I had the brilliant idea to sign him up, Slezzy.
— What? I will go to the FMA? — asked the young man, facing the Lieutenant with bright eyes, before the unexpected news.
— Temporarily! — said Jan. — And I can say with propriety that this will be the best preparation you can get.
— Wait... why didn't you summon another officer... with more experience?
— Um... maybe I fell for that "new talent" crap. But... that doesn't rule out the possibility of another NCC officer in the same training.
Slezzy, overcome with happiness, went up to Sanches, hugging him.
— Get off me, boy! — replied the Agent, refusing the gesture.
Watching the scene, the Lieutenant smiled and warned the duo:
— Waived! Slezzy, you'll be transferred to the FMA starting next week. So I recommend you enjoy your last day of work here. Ah! And... please don't waste this opportunity.
— I will not disappoint you, Lieutenant! — Slezzy exclaimed, standing up.
The pair said goodbye to the superior and soon left the room.
— Good luck with your tedious work, kid. Also, I wish you great training! We'll see you around... — Sanches said.
— Sure! — replied Slezzy, greeting the Agent.
They split up soon after.
Sanches set off in the direction of one of the elevators, while Slezzy headed towards his desk to complete his final day of work still as a secretary.
The other employees watched and gossiped, confused.
After a few minutes, Slezzy was already starting to scan on his computer, but this time calmly, since the next steps of his journey would be different from there.
Still, the same TV in the other room, which was always on, continued to broadcast an unusual report:
"Today, the Western Hospital received another sequence of patients... with a common point at least... scary. They claimed to have received a visit from supernatural creatures, who presented themselves and offered them a kind of contract..."
Slezzy's attention was taken by the story.
"...they were sedated, and some even induced to coma, because they were extremely restless. The curious fact is... this kind of thing has become more common since the last few months. However, doctors still claim that this would be the effect of a new drug, marketed and distributed by city mafias..."
Slezzy associated those quotes with the kidnapper's line from the night before, getting thoughtful for a long time.
Finally, he emptied his head somehow and returned to work.
*
After the sound of the alarm for the lunch break of that institution, Slezzy had already finished all his work.
As he rearranged his desk and collected his belongings, Lieutenant Jan bumped into him:
— Hey! I suggest you make the most of this weekend. Clear your mind! I hope I never see you working in this office hell again, really! So... give it your all in this training!
Slezzy smiled at me.
— Yes sir!
— Dismissed, recruit! — said Jan, returning to his room then.
Slezzy stood up and walked towards the elevator.
Definitely, that was the greatest relief of his life: to finally get out of that office, through a great opportunity granted by the FMA.
The young man left the building and made the same journey back to his home, crossing Kentrika Square and entering the bus station.
*
After an hour, Slezzy had already gotten out of the vehicle and was only a hundred meters from his home. Now on foot.
He passed through an alley, which even with the clarity of the day was still dominated by darkness due to the shadows of the buildings around him.
Slezzy walked slowly, already accustomed to the place, as it was his daily route.
However, the young man suddenly felt what appeared to be a large, icy hand, which squeezed his left shoulder. He stopped his steps and totally stopped. That was not like the hand of any human being.
Soon after, a cold arrogated his body, and the mysterious figure who touched him spoke, with a thick voice:
— Hello!
After that act, the hand that was on the young man's shoulder was removed.
Slezzy turned slowly, until he visualized the figure of two creatures, giant and shaded, perhaps two meters and a few centimeters tall each.
The appearance of these two was similar to that of a human being. They had wings and casual attire, both darkened in color.
Soon, a creature confronted the young man with a strangely uplifting tone:
— Pleasure, Slezzy! We are... the Sam Brothers!