The masked man effortlessly dodged a shot from the last man who stood between him and the gate to the mansion.
He approached the man and grabbed him by the neck with his left hand. The guard gurgled as the masked man raised him off the ground, he wiggled his leg in the air continuously while trying to unhand himself from his opponent's grip but it was fruitless. He succumbed to breathlessness and went permanently unconscious.
The masked man threw the man on the ground and turned to the gate in front of him. The glove around his hand retracted and a burst of flame began to evolve around his hand.
"Come with me," Luna said, pulling the dark-haired man with her.
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Marcus sat on a chair at one far end of the room, periodically nodding his head as he listened to the mint-haired lady, Venus speak.
"We need to act fast, one mistake and they'll catch on to us and be able to counter, so there is no room for mistake. Any question?" She stopped and scanned the room.
Yvonne buried her face in her hand and sighed.
"Say whatever it is you want to say…"
"You know exactly what I want to say," the dark-haired woman chipped. "This is stupid, it is suicide."
She turned to Marcus who turned away from her the moment their eyes met. She hissed before speaking again. "They are in enemy territory so you know damn well they'll be prepared for any sudden act from us. They are more equipped, and most importantly, they have the Moonfour gun that can shoot a light distance away, this. Is. Stupid."
"Actually, it is not," a voice said from behind.
They all turned to see the speaker. She was light-skinned with a yellow shortly cut hair that stopped below her ear which complimented her dark brown eyes. She had plump lips and wore a battle-ready outfit.
"Amaya?" Yvonne mumbled.
The yellow-haired girl bowed a little before moving further into the empty room. "I did some calculations on Venus' plan which involves taking the woman named Havishma, a high figure of Winter Weir, and using her as leverage to negotiate said planet into destroying the Moonfour gun and withdrawing from our planet have a ninety-seven percent chance of succeeding," she revealed. "It all depends on the condition if we can successfully apprehend Havishma."
Venus' lips curled up a little. "There… now will you stop spewing bullshit."
Yvonne sighed and sat back on her chair. "Very well."
"Thank you." Venus turned to look at Cake Armi, then Ada, Amaya, and every other Earthling in the room before stopping on the maroon-haired man, sitting in a wheelchair with bandage all over his body.
"What? Just because I'm in this state doesn't mean I can't fight," Eder said while barely raising his left hand from his lap.
Venus inched forward and placed her hand on Eder's head. "You've proofed your worth already, now just leave the rest to us."
Eder sighed. "That hurts."
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The Prime Hall, Winter Weir.
"Before we add anything," Scarlett started. She got up from her seat and walked to the middle of the room. "There's a pressing matter Miss Havishma wants us to address, she believes it is one of the things that is stopping Winter Weir from progressing."
"And what might that be?" One of the members of the People queried.
"The four years tenure of a Prime's reign." After spilling the last words, the sky-blue-haired girl marched back to her seat, leaving the room swallowed by silence.
Damiano furrowed and scanned everyone's face. "What?… What are you implying?"
"The constant changing of the ruling Prime ruins the planet's progress because it leaves not enough time for progress to be done."
The caramel-haired man turned to Galliard and signaled his confusion. He had no idea what they were planning but since it involved Miss Havishma, he knew it would only spell trouble for him.
"Are you saying… the time limit is--- short?"
Scarlett nodded yes. "That is exactly what I am saying." She locked eyes with the Prime of Winter Weir and furrowed. "Due to the short period offered, the Prime has very little time to see to every aspect of the planet, leaving them to only focus on growing one part: mostly the economy."
She paused for a second before speaking again. "Just recently, I was attacked by a group of mercenaries in my house. These people are given free roam around the planet… that… that is something that needs to change."
"That is a lie! C-can you prove that you were attacked?"
Everyone in the room turned their attention to the panicking caramel-haired man.
The head of ARCHER rose on her feet. "My agents managed to get there in time and arrested most of them, they are currently under investigation."
The side of Scarlett's lips curled up a little. "It worked, he is rattled," she muttered to herself.
A few days ago, after the incident at Scarlett's house.
Scarlett stepped out of the spaceship that just landed on Department H's. She looked around the place and sighed. "I never thought it'd be this much life-threatening to be associated with politics."
Erins looked at her before turning into a salute. "I'll be on my way now, ma'am," he stated.
"Actually, I need to talk to you, Mr. Tothe."
"Yes…"
The two headed to the pad designated for the use of Scarlett and sat on a chair across from each other. "I have already told this to Madeline and she agreed, so I'd like you to also do the same."
"What is it?"
"Keep Miss Havishma out of the loop on this incident. I want it to remain out of her senses, at least until she returns to Winter Weir."
Erins nodded. "Understood. Then here's something I also found out."
"Hmm?"
"The one who orchestrated the kill on you was Prime Damiano Silverr."
The sky blue-haired lady's eyes widened until it was almost too big for her eye socket to contain it. "W-what? Do you know what you just said?"
"I do," said Erins. "I've been following you around, especially when you meet with others outside your domain, and during your meeting with Damiano, I posed as one of his bodyguards and heard his plan to put a bounty on your head."
"No way... I never thought he would stoop to such a low level."
"Most people believe everything is fair in war and politics."
Present time.
Scarlett clenched her fist. "That's right, I may not be as good a politician as my father or any of you here, but I have something even better…" she whispered to herself. Steve notices this and smiles.
"What's the matter, Damino? Why are you being all agitated? I never said those men were sent by you, unless."
"Err… of course not," he cleared his throat and managed to regain his composure. "I'm only like this because if it were true it'll mean I'm not good at my job."
"Right." The sky blue-haired girl turned to the area where the people were seated. "Increasing the years will also make a stronger body of the STATE, an impenetrable one that will stop any future infiltration by spies. I hope we consider."
"Wow." One of the members of the people said.
"I felt as if it were Miss Havishma that was standing before me." Another stated.
"That is an outstanding input, one that we most surely need to take into account before anything else. So I suggest we put this meeting on hold and have we the People and the Prime discuss this matter more intensively before proceeding with the Prime meeting."
They all nodded in agreement, and in a few minutes, everyone but Damiano had left the room for recess.
"Did you really send men after that young lady?" Galliard asked while slowly approaching him.
The caramel-haired man raised his head to the ceiling and sighed. "Stupidly so. Since my time as the Prime was coming to an end, I thought if she was gone, and with Havishma away, I could simply swoop in and take the position, but it didn't work."
"Well now there's no need for that is there?"
"You mean the meeting?"
Galliard nod. "In a few minutes, you'll be able to increase how much longer you get to sit there, personally, I suggest making it ten years in total."
"For some reason, that doesn't make me excited."
"Then increase it to twenty years, make it thirty if that works for you. Half of the job is already done, all you have to do is bring in good words."
"That's the problem," Damiano chipped. "The bill was passed by Havishma, doesn't that raise any question? Why does she want it to increase when she knows that I'm the one on the seat?"
Galliard's smile faded and his face became more serious. "You're right, it does raise some questions… but not one you need to worry yourself about. We couldn't spread the thought of Havishma being dead because of those two brats."
He continued. "But if you can steal this moment, we could use those extra years you've got to end everyone working for Havishma, and make her death not just a thought, but a reality."
The caramel-haired man looked up at his partner with a smile. "Perhaps so."
....