Somewhere on Earth.
A car stopped in the middle of a forest and Eder Six stepped out of it. He looked around, taking in the tall trees around before carrying out a device from his pocket. He shakes it a few times, trying to get it to work before slipping it back into his pocket. "Now what?"
[Are you there yet?]
"No, Yvonne," he replied. "The device they sent has stopped working, so I'm just standing here surrounded by trees."
[Look around, maybe you'll find something]
The maroon-haired man sighed and took some steps forward. He stopped and walked a few steps in another direction before stopping again. He raised his hand to his ear and switched off the communication device he had on. "Are you really just going to keep following me?" He said out loud.
There was no reply at first, but after a few seconds, he heard footsteps and a man who looked in his late thirties walked out from behind a tree. He wore Jean trousers and a black leather jacket and had light brown faux hawk hair.
"How did you know I was following you? I'm sure I did well to remain quiet."
"Apparently not very well. Plus I have some really good hearing," Eder stated. "Gabe?"
"Yes. I am Gabe, and you must be Heather?"
Eder nodded. "Yeah, I'm Heather," he said reluctantly.
The light brown-haired man chuckled. "I must say, I expected you to be a female. I've never heard of a male Heather before."
Eder shrugged. "First time for everything I guess."
"Right." The man narrowed his eyes at the maroon-haired man. "Follow me, let's get indoors," the man said before turning his heels to start walking.
"Sure --- should we take the car?"
Gabe shook his head no. "It's walkable."
They walked in silence until they arrived at a small old bungalow house. "Welcome to the temporary base of the Red Dot." The man pushed the door open and stepped into the building.
The Red Dot, the newest group in town, is the individuals responsible for the attacks in different parts of the planet after the London incident.
Eder glanced back in the direction they came from before following behind the light brown-haired man into the building.
As he stepped into the building, Eder felt as though he had walked into an entirely separate world largely different from the one he was in before entering the house.
The place was scattered and had trash all around: there were boxes, crates, and a few other people sitting around the place each doing separate things. "This is not everyone, you'll get properly introduced when we return to our main base."
Eder furrowed. "Uhh, I think there's been some misunderstanding. I never said I wanted to join the Red Dot."
"What? Then what the fuck are you doing here? You clearly said that in your message."
The maroon-haired man slipped his hands into his pocket and sighed. He raised his head to the ceiling, thinking back to what Yvonne told him.
.......
"Eder, right. Just the guy I've been waiting for --- please sit," Yvonne said as the Ghost agent entered her office.
Eder sat on a chair and crossed his legs. "Is something wrong?" He queried.
Yvonne shook her head no. "No, everything's fine," she replied. "Well, not 'everything'… there's something I want to ask you first."
"What is it?"
"How loyal are you to Earth, and UNEAD?" She queried.
Six scoffed. "What kind of questions is that? I've been working for UNEAD for a very long time with no complaints from either side, I believe that enough tells the story of my loyalty."
"Great." She leaned back in her chair and anxiously bit her lower lips, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "You know the Red Dot?"
"Uh-huh," she nods. "They've been terrorizing the planet since the London incident, stealing techs and hijacking transport ships, it's hard not to know them.
"Good. See I want you to meet with them," she stated.
Eder's brows shoot up.
"Yes. The guys from ALKAN found an anonymous forum where they post instigating information and even recruit people to join their team."
"Okay," he drawled. "So I'm to make a calm conversation with them and give em a cookie for their hard work?"
"Actually, yes. I want to fund the Red Dot and give them enough ammunition to launch an extensive attack on Serenova Isle."
The maroon-haired man furrowed. "Why?" He asked. "If I remember correctly, we spent over a hundred billion on that island."
She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Let me explain it more extensively."
......
"I apologize for the miscommunication. I do not intend on joining the Red Dot. You see, I am just a retired engineer from Nator who shares the same ideology as you do: 'The world's technological advancement will only be the cause of its extinction.'"
A smile slowly crawled up the light brown-haired man's lips before it turned into a full smile. "Yes, finally, someone who sees what we see."
"The world doesn't see it, not just Earth, the entire Galaxy! It's only a matter of time before the AIs, and all the mixed, pathetic humans turn against us," he explained. "I tried explaining this to the people with footage of the event from London but all they took from it was the Weir involved, they do not see it, that is why the Red Dot shall show them the truth!"
"And that is why I am here," Eder stated. "Do you know the Serenova Isle?"
The leader of the Red Dot nods. "Of course I do. Serenova Isle was created four years ago by different technological society that we both know are all owned by UNEAD. Only thinking of that place makes my blood boil," he said. "We had plans of destroying the place, but we do not have enough resources for the operation, it's why we've been hijacking those cargo ships."
"Well, now you do not need to worry about that." The maroon-haired man sat on an empty chair that looked a little more decent than the rest available. "I'm willing to offer you as much money as you need, weapons, and even well-trained men to join the operation."
Gabe held Eder's stare for a couple of seconds before turning to his men who went silent the moment Eder made his offer. "You'll sponsor the whole operation?" He probed. "And for what? What's in it for you?"
"I've told you, time is moving too fast for us. The world is not ready for an advancement as big as that... We need to end the island before it is launched to the world."
Gabe pulled a chair and sat on it. He leaned back on the chair and crossed his legs before inhaling softly. "When should we expect the weapons?"
.
.
.
At the London port.
"Hey."
The former Storm agent turned to identify the speaker. A bright smile poured all over his lips as he realized who it was. "Jesselyn," he said out loud.
She mirrored the look on his face before outstretching her hand and pulling him in for a tight hug.
They both remained in each other's grip for a few moments before breaking apart. "How long has it been?"
Jesselyn let out a broken chuckle. "Well, for me it's just a few days ago that you told me away."
"I'm sorry," he replied. "I should have been more reasonable rather than acting the way I did."
Jesselyn smiled. "It's fine, and you were right. There's nothing to go back to on Winter Weir," she stated before grabbing his hand in hers. "We just have to forget what happened and start a new life, right."
The dark-haired man slowly nods. "Yeah, about that. I've been having these feelings and thoughts; both telling me to return to Winter Weir and get back our home from that maniac."
"Oh," she exclaimed.
"Come on guys," Yvonne said, cutting their conversation before Jesselyn could reply. "It's time." She led the duo toward the ship that was to take them to the island.
Eder walked up to Yvonne and pulled her aside before speaking. "Are you also going?"
"Are you crazy?" She yelled almost immediately he uttered the question. "That island is about to become a bloody battlefield, I wouldn't even dare dream of going there," she stated.
"Apart from the Weirs, who else is going?"
"I planned on keeping our agents away from the island but Ada also requested to go, you know how she is."
"Does she know about the plan?"
Yvonne replied by shaking her head. "Just you and I." She stayed quiet for a second before speaking again. "Oh, and I also want you to be on the island too."
"I thought you want to keep your agents away from it?" He asked before slipping his hands into his pocket.
"I do, but as of now, you are a double agent, my friend," said Yvonne. "Plus I do not trust the Red Dot to do a good job. You'll be there to complete the job if they fail to; pushing him so hard until he breaks."
"I see." Eder looked up at the ship as the dark-haired man and Jesselyn climbed into it. "And if the Red Dot questions my being there?"
The dark-haired woman opened her mouth to speak but couldn't make anything out. She stayed quiet for a few seconds before finally speaking. "You'll cross that bridge when you get there."
...