"I'm sorry about this and I know that this isn't what you wanted. To tell you the truth, I never wanted to have to tell you this. This city isn't what it seems. No, maybe this entire world isn't what it seems. In this world perspective is key. The way you look at your environment, the people around you, and even yourself. That dictates the amount of 'truth' you see. So please don't-"
Tired of listening, Farra reached out and turned down what was playing over the radio. It was just some ad for an upcoming sci-fi movie that was coming out in a few weeks and had been playing over and over again all day. Not that anyone really listened to it anyway. Sure they heard the words, but taking them in and attempting to understand them was another matter entirely.
It's incredible how much people put up with nowadays. In bustling major cities like this one, traffic could become an absolute nightmare. On a day like today, with cars jammed bumper to bumper, you'd think the president himself had come to give a speech.
Trapped together in their car, Meiying and Farra were forced to make small talk.
"Why are you so into this case anyway? Normally you'd be on your ass right now doing nothing. Last mission I saw you swiping through Tinder, any matches?", Farra asked.
"Hey, you saw that!"
"I've got eyes like a hawk. Nothing gets past me."
"Doesn't matter now anyway, my account got banned."
"What for? Hold on, let me guess. You got reported because they thought you were too young to be on there?"
"Hurry up and retire you washed-up bitch."
From there it took another ten minutes for them to be able to get through the next light.
"How much longer?", Meiying groaned.
"Only five. You know, these parts of the city don't look as impressive as downtown."
"What'd you expect? Normal people live here too. I'm pretty sure North Miami is a pretty average income area."
"Aren't most mages loaded with cash though? What are a pair of mages doing in an average place like this?"
"They're second rate no doubt. Most mages who hide out in this country are. Plus these guys don't come from any major, or even minor, magical families, can't expect too much."
After being forced to stop once more due to traffic, Farra reached over to the backseat to get a file.
"Let's see here... the Hernandez brothers."
The two brothers, Carlos Hernandez, and David Hernandez, are aged 19 and 24 respectively. Both of the brothers were born in the Dominican Republic and only moved to the United States ten years ago. While it can be determined that they stayed in Miami for a few years, they left the city for work-related reasons. During this period their whereabouts and activities were unknown. A few months ago they suddenly moved back and got an apartment in North Miami. The younger brother, Carlos, has been cooped up in their apartment while the other brother, David, has been spotted interacting with shady individuals.
"To be honest, these guys look like they could be promising."
"Farra, if that's your gut feeling then I'm even more certain they'll be completely worthless."
Farra smirked. "You're always so quick to judge. Maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised for once."
Meiying rolled her eyes. "I doubt it. Let's finish this and move on to the next guy on the list."
As they finally pulled up in front of a run-down apartment building, Meiying and Farra stepped out of the car, stretching their legs after the long drive.
Taking a glance around the neighborhood, it's reasonable for foreigners to get a negative impression. Unlike the rest of the city, this area was exceptionally average-looking and bleak. There was graffiti on some nearby walls and nearby stores and lots of street art depicting Caribbean peoples and culture.
To be honest, I'm not sure how many people realize just how diverse the city of Miami is, specifically, how many Latino people live here. Over 70% of the population have their roots in a Hispanic or Latin country, the second two largest demographics, White American and African American, both only have around 10 percent each.
Even I've got roots in a Latin country. My father's side of the family comes from Haiti. Now, do I speak Creole or really know about the culture? Not really, but to be fair, if it's not properly passed on from parent to child, culture dies out. Is that a good thing, a bad thing, or something neutral? I don't know, the better question would likely be how I feel about it personally.
...
Well, it's not like this chapter is about me anyway. But, yeah, Farra comes from a prim and proper European family, and Meiying is from a middle-class family from China. Neither had experienced a place like this one.
The Latino Capital of America.
Farra leaned against her car as she looked up at the apartment building. "Whelp, you can head on in any time you want."
"What's that mean? Did I say you had permission to stay out here?"
"Since when were you my boss?"
Despite her constant nagging, Farra accompanied Meiying as they entered the apartment building. It was shockingly empty. Every one of their footsteps had an eerie echo in those gloomy halls. The two women made their way up the creaking staircase to the Hernandez brothers' apartment.
"219. Yup, this is the one."
Farra knocked on the door, and they waited.
-And waited.
-And waited even more.
Turning around, Farra simply shrugged her shoulders and prepared to walk off. "Guess they're not home."
Before she was allowed to take even a single step, Meiying grabbed her hand. "They're here. Or, at least one of them is. Listen."
Begrudgingly, Farra put her ear to the door and listened to what was happening on the other side. The sounds were somewhat faint, but there was something moving on the other side. The irregularity of its movement meant that it was unlikely to be some kind of machine. It was a person.
Pulling away from the door, Farra knocked again. "Listen, this'll be quick. We just want to ask you a couple of questions."
"Yo no hablo ingles!"
Butting in, Meiying yelled, "We know you speak English. You even won your high school spelling bee."
There was another period of silence, but this time he responded.
"Are you with the police?"
"Guess again."
"...Magic Order?"
"Bingo. Second Batallion ranking officers too. You gonna unlock this door now?"
After a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing a cautious-looking young man with light brown skin. He wore a white shirt with long black pants. From what they could see of the room behind him, it was a mess.
"Can I help you?" he asked, eyeing them warily.
Before Meiying could respond, Farra stepped in. She knew if Meiying took the reigns on this it'd get ugly.
"Like we said before, we're only going to ask you a couple of questions. Firstly, you're Carlos, correct?"
"Yes... Ma'am my brother and I have been following regulations to the tee! I understand it's your job to look into potential violations, but we haven't done anything."
"Please calm down sir. This isn't about that and I'm confident that you and your brother aren't breaking regulation. I'm here to ask you about a disturbance in the leylines that happened recently."
"Something like that happened? I hadn't noticed?"
"Oh? Well, maybe your brother has. Is he in?"
"No... he hasn't been home in a few weeks. If that's all then I'd like for you to leave."
Without waiting for a reply, Carlos attempted to slam the door shut. Expecting this, Meiying quickly shifted forward and placed her foot between the doorframe.
"Just now... you lied."
"Excuse me?"
Glaring up at Carlos, Meiying had a cold look in her eyes.
Slow on the uptake, Farra put her hand on Meiying shoulder to dissuade her.
"Come on let's just move on to the next guy like you wanted to."
"Don't tell me that you believe him. You need to get out more. He lied to us two times now. His brother is here."
At first, Farra was about to argue with Meiying, but after taking a glance at Carlos's face, she knew it was true.
Pushing the door open even more, Meiying smirked. "It's clear that you're trying to hide something from us. Given that fact, using the power and authority given to me by the Second Battalion of the Magic Order, I hereby place the Hernandez brothers under investigation."
With panic and fear showing in his eyes, Carlos attempted to push back against Meiying's assault. He was outclassed though. Pressing forward, Meiying inched the door open.
"Please! Don't come inside the apartment!"
Meiying yelled out, "That's no longer an option!"
With one final shove, the door swung open and Carlos was flung back. It was then that Meiying heard a chant.
"By the glory of crimson light and the unyielding might of the captivating setting sun. Harboring the fierce cries of thousands of ending lives. Wrath, sphere, contact, twice done yet first set. Red Slugger."
Reacting quickly, Farra shouted, "At your stomach."
Flinging her head down, Meiying spotted the baseball-sized glowing red orb floating near her midsection. The moment it made contact with her body, it exploded.
The explosion sent Meiying sprawling backward, crashing into the hallway wall with a thud. Smoke filled the air, and the apartment's doorframe was splintered. Farra, instinctively ducking, shielded her face from the debris.
The look on Carlos's face was one of pure dread. He was facing someone off to the side.
"Brother! There was no need to kill her!"
Emerging from the shadows of the apartment, David Hernandez stepped forward. He was taller and more muscular than his younger brother, with a hardened expression that suggested he'd seen his fair share of trouble. His hands were still glowing faintly red from the spell he'd just cast.
"It'd be bad if they caught onto what we're doing. Start packing the stuff so we can get out of here. I'll finish off the other one."
Moving back, Farra was terrified. She wasn't a fighter in the slightest and as her first experience out in the field, this was quite traumatizing.
Meiying, though slightly battered, slowly pushed herself to her feet, her eyes blazing with determination. "You think that's enough to take me down?" she spat, wiping blood from her lip.
"Meiying you're not dead!"
"Of course not. No self-respecting mage would be finished off by such a low-tier spell."
David didn't seem fazed by her insult, instead, he readied his hands to fire again. "If that's the case why did you get so beat up from a single shot."
"Caught me off guard is all. I'll show you how a real mage fights."
Stepping forward, it seemed as though Carlos also intended to fight. Whatever fighting spirit he harbored was quickly shattered by a single glare from his brother. "Carlos, I said to pack our stuff."
"Bu-But brother!"
"Now!", David barked.
Spooked, Carlos did as he was told.
"I feel bad, you've really got him whipped, huh? Your little brother is going to need all the help he can get," Meiying taunted. "But I promise you, neither of you is getting away."
David raised his hands, crimson energy crackling at his fingertips. "We'll see."
"By the glory of crimson light-"
"Don't think I'll let you chant again!"
Rushing forward, Meiying darted toward David, her eyes locked on his. She intended to interrupt his spell before he could finish the incantation. However, midway through her dash, an explosion caught her attention. The apartment wall had been destroyed and more glowing red orbs burst through the wall from seemingly nowhere. They hovered menacingly in the air around her.
"When did he-?"
Meiying halted. Due to her understanding of how magic like this worked, she knew that he couldn't have summoned more orbs without completing a chant. That means these were orbs that he summoned with his first chant.
"Annoying."
As one orb came barrelling toward her, Meiying sidestepped it. The orb went crashing into the wall and exploded. The shockwave knocked Meiying down and opened up an opportunity for a dozen more orbs to come flying toward her.
As she watched the battle unfolding in front of her, Farra came to a realization. Picking up rubble from the previous explosion, she chucked it at the red orbs. Just like she expected, they all exploded on contact.
"I see! This spell is derived from an old Spanish spell. In the original spell, I think it was around nine, but this seems to be around fifteen or so..."
"I appreciate the scholarly deduction, but can you tell me what you figured out?"
"Sorry! Each time he chants he summons around fifteen of those red orbs. Based on the explosive power and number, you'd think it'd be a fairly taxing spell, but it's quite moderate in terms of energy cost. That is because of the spell's two restrictions. The first is lackluster control of the orbs after summoning. The second is that they don't explode on command. They explode whenever they make contact with an object or person."
"I see... So the best way to deal with it is?"
"Throw around a bunch of small objects to make them explode early."
"Done talking?"
In the time that it took for Farra and Meiying to speak with one another, David had surrounded himself in red orbs.
"Two... no maybe three dozen.", Meiying examined.
Grabbing two handfuls of rubble, Farra confidently stood up. "I've got your back so don't worry."
"Nope, relying on you in a fight with this second-rate loser would hurt my pride. Sit back and enjoy the show."
With an exasperated sigh, Farra retreated to a safer distance, clutching the rubble she'd gathered. "Fine, but if you get blown up again, don't say I didn't offer to help."
David sneered, his confidence bolstered by the surrounding orbs. "You're a fool."
Ignoring his taunts, Meiying began to march forward. She didn't utter a single word or chant a single spell. Slowly through, her body became enveloped by a feint blue glow.
David launched the orbs at her with a flick of his wrist, each one streaking through the air like a guided missile. But Meiying didn't dodge. Instead, she walked straight into the path of the first orb. As it collided with her body, the orb detonated in an explosive crimson flash.
As the dust settled, the only sound in the air was David's gasp of surprise. Meiying had emerged from the explosion completely unscathed.
David's eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly sent the remaining orbs hurtling toward her. One by one, they exploded upon contact with her body, each blast doing little more than slowing her down.
Faltering in his resolve, David took a step backward. This prompted Meiying to shoot forward with unprecedented speed. Before David could blink he felt the impact of Meiying's powerful right hook on his face. David's body flung back like he'd been hit by a truck. Any remaining orbs fizzled out of existence.
Standing there smiling to herself, Meiying's hand still crackled with surging energy.
"Consider that payback for that first attack."
Coughing and disoriented, David had been bested. Yet, for some reason, the flame in his eyes wasn't one of a defeated man. When he scampered back onto his feet, his narrow gaze still harbored a deep resolve.
"Carlos..."
"I understand."
Carlos muttered a quick spell, and a thick cloud of smoke erupted from his hands, filling the hallway. Meiying coughed, her vision obscured by the dense smoke. She heard hurried footsteps of men retreating deeper into the apartment.
"Farra! Don't let them get away!" Meiying yelled.
The dazed observer had suddenly returned to being an active participant and so Farra rushed into the apartment.
Waving away the smoke in front of her, she did her best to follow the footsteps, but before she could spot the two men, the footsteps suddenly disappeared.
Once the smoke disappeared, both Meiying and Farra were alone in a mess of an apartment.
Meiying cursed under her breath and Farra began to examine their surroundings.
"There's some residue from a magical tool... How'd guys like these get their hands on one?"
"Doesn't matter now."
"Yeah, but I'm gonna have to mention it in the report... Well, that can wait for after we eat. You feeling Denny's?"
"...I fought so you're paying."
"Deal."