The Vicinal is the name of the special forces that work under the government. It's a small private unit, composed solely of men in uniform who are trained to take down threats and protect civilians from harm; it's a well known division that has been around ever since the technology has been invented which happened in the year of 2XXX, and they were created by the upper class people.
Their only attention to create this unit is because they wanted to catch the high-level criminals deemed to pose a threat to society. And tonight was the night where they will take the rumored bomber that almost blew up the Rast Tunnel into the court for the last trial he will get to face.
About ten vehicles of two different types drove out onto the road, passing by several buildings in a silent night. When they arrived at a specific junction, five of them changed their path towards the east while the rest continued on the highway towards the north side, away from the Utopia City.
One of the Vicinal who were driving yawned while his friend on the passenger seat already dozed off. They have been driving for hours since they left the prison, and the exhaustion has started creeping up on them.
He knew that the time is supposed to be their sleeping hour, so it wasn't a surprise to see that his other comrade also fell asleep before reaching their true destination, though not because of tiredness. It was more due to the boredom he had accumulated during the drive. The only thing keeping him awake was the music coming from the radio.
It was now almost eleven o'clock when they reached the outskirts of an industrial area. From there, they will go through the streets where they will arrive at their destination. If everything goes according to plan. If one single person didn't ruin this whole mission, maybe they will get to enjoy their vacation after this hellish week.
In the state of darkness surrounding him, something on the road caught his eyes. At first, it was just a blur. However, when the vehicle became closer and began moving slowly, he could make out the shape of a human being.
Seeing the person didn't move after a few minutes, the agent's curiosity got the best of him and he opened the window.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Don't you know how dangerous that is?! Get away from the road now!" He shouted from inside the truck.
No response came from the figure as he tried calling them multiple times. Instead, his sleeping colleague starts half awake, looking around in confusion.
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm getting some sleep here, is it wrong?" He replied, irritated by the lack of sleep.
"What?" The driver glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, confused with his question. "That question isn't meant for you, sleepy-head."
When the agent woke up fully, all the fatigue vanished from his eyes. He then saw what his comrade saw.
In the distance, he was able to see someone walking in the middle of the road. It was still dark, but the moonlight allowed him to see the appearance of the mysterious figure.
"Dude, are you sure that's a human?" He asked cautiously.
"You thought it was a ghost or what? Enough with your nonsense and go out there, check that person if they are drunk or anything."
"Why me? You should go check it out yourself since you seem to have the ability to do it."
"Don't forget I'm your Senior, you idiot." He snapped.
"But what if they tried to bite me?"
"Has your brain lost its function because of the lack of sleep? Stop worrying for nothing! No such things like vampires or zombies exist in reality. Now go!"
"If anything happened to me, please tell my fish that I love her more than my life since I'm willing to sacrifice myself for the sake of my country. Also-"
"I heard you, you moron. Hurry up or we are going to be late."
He decided not to say anymore about the matter and climbed down the truck to investigate the strange situation. His movements were too cautious with every step and seemed like a heavy burden. The darkness and silence in this place made it difficult for him to concentrate. Even now, he could hear his own thoughts. His mind was working on a hundred scenarios at once.
If this person was crazy enough to walk in the middle of the road at eleven in the night, the chances of a friendly encounter happening were slim to none.
Finally deciding to act upon his decision, he walked carefully toward the stranger while holding a gun, pointing to the figure. He stopped at a good distance in front of them. As far as he knew, this person wasn't armed. In any case, he needed to take precautions.
"Um... Excuse me." He called out nervously.
Still no response from them.
He took another cautious look at his surroundings before trying again. This time, without any noise or warning, he spoke again. "Excuse me. Are you okay?"
This time, he received a reply.
"Dear audience, would you like to see a magic trick?"
The figure showed a gun finger and pointed it back to the agent while saying his line with a calm tone. "Boom..."
BOOM!!!
At the same time a loud explosion was heard coming from behind, causing the agent to jump in surprise. When he looked around, a group of Vicinal got out of the vehicles and appeared around the edge of the road. The sound must have shocked them all entirely and now they are ready to shoot anyone who attacks them.
His comrade who's still in the driver seat, starts talking on the walkie-talkie.
"This is the North Team. Sir, we got a situation! There is an attack! I repeat! We have been attacked by someone on foot! Request assistance!"
He then turned off the radio and went out from the truck, joining others that formed a circle around the vehicles.
Seeing his comrade safely joined with their teammates, he turned back and pointed the gun to the stranger once again. When the flashlights coming from the Vicinals illuminated the stranger from head to toe, he noticed the hat they wore.
It was purple, looked like some sort of a hat-trick, and covered the stranger's face quite nicely, only his nose and lips visible. But what stood out most for him was the person's hair. It seemed to be a ginger color that shone with a warm light in the dark street.
"Put your hands on your head. You have no chance to run. So don't ever make any single move if you want to live."
"Oh do I? But a magician never reveals his tricks until he can actually perform them."
The person said mockingly while holding the tip of the hat. Slowly, a smirk started forming on his lips.
"Now then, have a seat and get ready for a show."
<<13>>
RING RING~!!
The sound of phone rings startled the middle-aged-man who was just about to walk outside of the court building in Utopia City. When he looked at the ID caller, he frowned seeing the unknown number and yet he still answered it, thinking it might be one of his clients.
"Hello?"
A male voice came out from the other line.
['Mr. Phillip, forgive me for bothering your evening but I am in dire need of your help.']
"Who is this?"
['You may call me One.']
"Mr. Wan? I'm afraid I haven't had a client with such a name before. Why, pray tell?"
['My identity is not important. Just give me your help. This matter is regarding to the case you are involved with now.']
His eyes widened slightly. "W-What kind of case do you mean, sir?"
Don't tell me, he knows that I'm the one who handles the Rast Tunnel case? But, how does he know? I believe Jess and I are the only ones who know about this.
Phillip thought to himself.
['From the way you stutter, I could tell that you knew what I'm talking about. That makes it very much obvious. Therefore... My request is very simple. I would like to speak with you alone so please turn around and go back to your office immediately.']
Phillip felt like he was stuck between two sharp swords with a single point between himself and either the man or his fate. Both options sounded extremely terrifying, but in spite of that, he decided to turn off his phone.
"This guy must be trying to play some kind of trick on me." Was his final conclusion.
He doesn't have any time for this nonsense and moreover, he was the last person to leave this building since the security was doing a patrol a few seconds ago.
Without wasting a second longer, he rushed towards his car which was waiting right in front of the main entrance. His bodyguard already opened the door for him and he was about to slide inside when a flashlight appeared at him.
"What is going on?! Who is there?!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, raising his hand to defend himself against the sudden attack.
The light moved toward him and his heart almost dropped when a truck emerged from the side of the road, approaching him at breakneck speed.
"SIR!!!"
The bodyguard quickly pulled Phillip out of the way in time to avoid clashing into a speeding truck but as soon as he did, both of them were knocked over on the hard road. They stayed still on the ground, unable to get up due to the force of impact.
CLASH!!!
Both of their jaws hanging open as they saw the same vehicle collide against Phillip's car door, revealing the right side of the car that no longer has its doors.
TRANGG!!!
They turned their heads and watched, stunned, as two car doors already fell on the road with the shattered windows. Just in a few minutes, Phillip's expensive car has lost its perfect body.
The truck that caused the scene, stopped and the window rolled down, revealing Three with his hoodie while having a lollipop in his mouth. He pointed to the door and waved his index finger a few times, indicating to them to go back inside the building.
"He's waiting." Those words came out from Three mouth before he rolled up the window again.
Phillip and his bodyguard were left speechless. They sat in a daze until the bodyguard suddenly spoke again.
"Although I don't get what is happening, I think it's better if we do as he told, sir."
After some time, Phillip sighed and agreed. What choice does he have anyway?