Hunter was quick to find that Detective Dallas was right to question why anyone would travel to Vrotland for a holiday as the republic had no tourist attraction whatsoever.
The duo searched online, visited monuments, and landmarks, and ended up in a spot named Little Paradise which was just a regular park.
"Ugh!" Ishani groaned. "I hate this country!" She sat on a bench, the gray-eyed woman was wearing a yellow crop top and a miniskirt.
"You and me both," the sprite seconded, joining her on the bench. He was wearing a black hoodie under a gray short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black trousers.
"You know, I was really looking forward to tonight."
Hunter smiled. "Me too."
Then there was a short pause.
Hunter turned his head so that he was now facing the battlemage. "What do you say we go to the movies and have dinner afterward?"
Ishani turned to the sprite, a wide smile on her face. "Let's do it."
With renewed goals and mission, the Metropolitan School of Mysticism students rose from the bench but the weather suddenly turned dark and the clouds pregnant with rain.
"Not this again!" Ishani exclaimed.
It had rained for nearly five hours that morning alone. Nevertheless, the rain started without warning - as a downpour.
"Come on!" Hunter grabbed the dark brown-haired woman by the wrist and began racing through the streets to search for some sort of shelter.
They ran for a couple of minutes before they found one in the form of a shed built in front of a local restaurant.
Hunter saw the spot first and quickly led them under the outbuilding. They watched the rain from the safety of the shed in silence until Ishani suddenly burst into laughter. "We literally just got rained on our parade," she said in between laughs, and the sprite couldn't help but laugh along with her.
A cold wind blows and the battlemage shivers. Noticing this, Hunter took off his gray shirt and then his black hoodie which he handed over to Ishani. "You must be cold," he said.
With a slight smile, Ishani collects the hoodie and wears it while the sprite puts his gray shirt back on. The dark brown-skinned girl brought her arm up to her face and sniffed the hoodie.
Hunter's eyebrows shoot up. "Ahem," he cleared his throat. Ishani's eyes widened with the realization that she was not alone and her cheeks flushed as she turned around.
A man holding two umbrellas approached them. "Hey guys, we are still open if you want to order something," the man said, he had a thick Asian accent.
Hunter turned to Ishani. "What do you say?"
"Let's do it."
The man hands the couple an umbrella and leads them to the restaurant. "What would you two like to eat?"
Hunter defaults to the gray-eyed woman who asked the restauranter to prepare anything he'd take. He nodded and told them to: "take a seat," before disappearing into the kitchen.
The duo looked around the empty restaurant and found a seat at the back.
Hunter looked out through the window as the rain continued to pour violently. "How do people even enjoy this?"
"Hunter ..."
The sprite turned to the indo-african and noticed she was looking ahead. He followed her gaze to a small TV that was stationed at the other side of the restaurant where a newscaster reported the news.
"Earlier today, the infamous drug lord of Vrotland known as Ferb was arrested by the Transnational Security at a club in the southeast ..."
"Shit ..." Hunter said.
"We gotta call Camille."
.
.
.
A limousine carrying Skylar, Jade, and Olivia drives through the streets of West Lionwell. "That woman was lying about who she was," said Skylar.
"Who?" Olivia asked.
Wade and Leah were sent back to their respective agencies while the three directors tried to meet with the United Republic's Director of Transnational Intelligence but were turned away as the latter was allegedly out of the country.
"The one with the gray hair that claimed to be Chief of West Lionwell's defense staff. I know a secret agent when I see one and that woman is certainly a secret agent," said Skylar.
"That doesn't make sense," said Jade. "Why would she claim to be the chief of West Lionwell's defense staff if she wasn't - a position we could easily figure out the holder with a Google search?"
Olivia holds up her phone. "Jade's right, she is the chief of the defense staff," on the screen of the Bureau's director's phone is a picture of the admiral in her military uniform and her title of Chief of West Lionwell's Defense Staff written in bold above the picture.
.
.
.
After leaving West Lionwell, Skylar booked a flight and flew to Stonbrum to meet with Camille.
After some warm greetings, they got down to business. "How's everything coming along?" She asked.
"It was going pretty well until today," said the red-eyed woman.
"What happened?" Skylar asks.
"I had to delay the mission in Vrotland after Hunter was arrested because I thought he'd be on police radar but earlier today, the police arrested Ferb," said Camille.
"Hunter was arrested in Vrotland? I knew those Republicans were up to something."
"Is something wrong?"
"What did Hunter say he was arrested for?" Skylar asked.
"They didn't charge him. Apparently, they thought he was someone else," Camille explained.
"What was he doing?" The aqua blue-haired woman asked.
"Scouting the area for possible escape routes. I know the plan was to keep this under wraps but I think you should ask the TranSec to hand over Ferb to the Alpha Sector."
"I can't do that," said Skylar. "The rumors about the United Republics repealing the Meridional Accords are true, I fear they're going to get themselves in something they don't understand."
"You think the Hunter's arrest was on purpose."
"I know it was, they were trying to delay your mission."
"We were outsmarted."
"Yes, whoever came up with the plan was ahead of us. They knew Hunter was a part of the Alpha Sector and was here for a secret mission. They knew arresting him would make us delay the mission and since Hunter was close to Ferb's house, they took a gamble and arrested him."
"They couldn't have anticipated the Alpha Sector not going for Ferb anyway ..."
"Unless whoever is pulling the strings knows we're trying to keep this away from the Bureau and that you're involved in the mission," said Skylar.
"This is bad," Camille stated.
"Who do you have involved in the Vrotland mission?" Skylar asked.
"Apart from Hunter? Max and Hunter's friend Ishani. I sent Hachimura there this morning to follow Ferb, she was an excellent tail in the Retribution."
"Get Sypha and Aislinn to join them ... Through a portal."
"What's the plan?"
"We're going to get Ferb anyway," said the aqua-blue-eyed woman. "Well, some non-mystics are."
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