"The Slims?"
Linel's hand paused in the air for a split second. He raised an eyebrow before taking one of the sweet gems and feeding it into his mouth.
"What are they doing here?"
"That's a good question."
Sucking on her sweet, Mary made a face of pure joy before she nodded her head.
"The garden is a fantastic place to spy on people entering the gate between the outer containment area and the center containment area. Unfortunately, it isn't so effective in spotting four children entering the garden from the front gate."
She shot us a cheeky smile as she cleaned her lips. Then she popped another sweet onto her tongue, smiling at the taste.
"Every week, at least one member of the Slim family will pass through the middle gate. On most days, it's Jeremy, although I've occasionally seen his sister or even their loyal servants come in his place. And every time I see them, they're usually in disguise or masquerading as some other nobleman. Although they should probably try harder if they want to avoid being spotted."
Licking her fingers, Mary polished off her sweets before getting up from her seat.
"Jeremy came here yesterday, so I'm afraid there isn't going to be any more news for about a week. I've been trying to befriend one of the guards to spill where they have been going, and when he does, I'll find a way to contact you and tell you about it. Or you could pull Zack and Flint over to our side and make my life easier."
She chuckled as she opened a wardrobe and stuffed the leftover sweets inside, together with the snacks Zack had gifted her. Closing the closet, she then led us out of her house and towards the gate. As we walked past the garden, its eternally flowing waterfall drowning the plants near it, she casually looked left. In the distance, framed by two flowering trees, a metal gate and two guards stood. This gate was slightly different from the front gate, a metal slab perforated with holes and two bored-looking guards leaning against it. One guard yawned, his hand moving to cover his mouth. Finishing the yawn, he randomly tilted his head in our direction before freezing. Jumping up from the gate, he frantically waved his hand, a bright smile shone on his face.
Waving back, Mary reciprocated with a gentle and elegant smile.
"I have a feeling that whatever the Slims are hiding might concern Zack and Flint, although I hope that my guesses about what's going on in there are wrong."
Dropping her hand, Mary escorted us out of the garden, through the foyer, and right up to the gate.
"Mary!"
Henry, the guard who had waved at Linel when we first approached the gate, gave his partner an energetic nod before skipping over to us.
"Good afternoon Henry. How has work been?"
Giving the guard a pleasant smile, Mary waved goodbye at us as we parted ways. Skirting around us, the guard continued to approach her, and we could hear his enthusiastic voice sound out from behind us. Passing the guard house, we gave the other guard a polite bow, before scurrying out of the asylum and back to Middle Street.
"I feel that we came away with more questions than answers."
Knotting his hands behind his head, Linel sighed as we took the quickest route back. Glancing at the sky, the cool blue color indicated that it was still early enough in the day to cram some other things into our schedule.
"At least our main question was answered. Somewhat."
Walking beside Linel, Oliver fished his notebook out from his pocket and started scribbling on it. Mummering, the sound of his pencil scrapping on paper built a wall of sound between him and the rest of us. Shrugging his shoulder, Linel turned away from Oliver to talk to us instead.
"So what else is on the agenda today?"
Giving a 'carefree' grin, he leaned towards us and slung a hand over my shoulder.
"Well, I was thinking of going to Middle Middle Market to pick up my locket. It has been a few days since I ordered it, so it should be ready by now."
I laughed as his arm tickled a particularly sensitive area, and used my hand to push it to a more comfortable position.
"I can't follow you. My parents have a reunion with my grandparents today, so I need to get back before sunset."
Glum, Frank looked nervously at the sky, as if the moment it showed even a small tint of red he would dash home.
"Ah. Right, tonight."
The weight from my shoulders disappeared as Linel removed his arm to hit himself softly on the face.
"I forgot, my father has a guest over tonight, and he wanted me to attend their meeting. I'll have to pass on the trip to Middle Middle Market."
Pursing his lips, Linel allowed himself a second to mourn over the loss of fun, before clearing the regret from his system and smiling at us.
"Then I guess this is where we part."
Stepping into Middle Street, the four of us walked together until halfway through the long stretch of road flanked by houses. Saying farewell to Linel, we watched him slip between two houses before continuing our way.
"Has Linel said how long he's going to stay in Middle Street before moving back to High Street?"
We walked closer to Oliver, filling in the gap Linel created when he left.
"I think he said his transfer is getting delayed until the situation calms down. Since his father is currently very busy due to the reforms in the research centers."
"I see. I guess things are also pretty rough for those in High Street."
Sharing a glance at each other, the two of us mutually decided to drop this depressing topic for more lighthearted things.
Reaching the end of the stretch of houses, we waved goodbye to Frank before heading straight to Middle Middle Market.
"What did your system say."
Waiting for Frank's back to disappear, we slowed down our steps as I lowered my voice and leaned over to peek at his notebook. His usual garble of words was scribbled onto the pages, an attempt, I think, to disguise his questions to the system as musings or keywords for his thoughts to bounce off. The current page he was on contained 'Asylum', 'Investigate', and 'Others?'.
Looking up from his notebook, he briefly glanced around at our surroundings before whispering to me.
"Ava said that she would bring up the Asylum to the other systems, and see whether they can find out any information about what Mary was mentioning. I suspect that one of the systems will probably be sticking to Jeremy to spy on his actions."
Closing his notebook, Oliver broke away from our conversation to give a nod to the air beside him, before turning back to me.
"In other words, there isn't anything we can do now except search for more volunteers."
Entering Middle Middle Market, the two of us immediately headed down the semicircle road and straight to the Big Loop, where the Locket shop was.
"...It feels as if we aren't doing much."
Mummering to Oliver as we kept to the middle of the road, the area which was least crowded, I saw him shoot a weary grin at me as he shook his head.
"Well, there isn't much us children can do alone in such a larger-than-life issue like this. It would be one thing if we had authority and money, such as Mark and James, or reputation such as Elaine, Van, Camellia, and even ... Daniel. However, as children, there isn't much we can do by ourselves."
Reaching the 'bottom' of the road, at the foot of the Big Loop, I stared as Oliver's expression turned determined, with a tint of guilt and helplessness as his words brushed against my ears, like a siren's call to action.
"The most important thing we can do, however, is to connect these groups. A thousand ants can bring down even the largest of predators. Even if not all those ants survive."
We dropped the topic as our feet carried us to the store. Shooting Oliver a look, I saw him take a deep breath to further harden his resolve, before gesturing me to face forward.
"Dear customer, have you come to collect your locket?"
In front of us, the store owner that previously suspiciously stared at Oliver, smiled at us as she reached into her store to take out my locket. Passing her the receipt, she nodded her head as she pocketed it without looking, and thanked us for buying her products. Clutching the locket, we bowed goodbye to her and turned around to head back home.
"I guess we can go home now."
Holding the locket up to my eye, I let a satisfied smile slip onto my lips as the swirls caught the afternoon light and sparkled under the sun. Using my free hand, I rubbed it across the warm wood and sighed at how smooth it felt to the touch. Bringing it closer to my chest, I used my nails to gently pop open the cover, preparing to calculate how big or small of a picture I would need to fold or cut in order to fit it in here. There were only so many existing pictures of Leo, and I didn't want to ruin the ones stored carefully in my album at home. Maybe I should pay some money for a copy of it to be made so I could stick the copy into this little treasure box.
I smiled as I opened the small thing, excited to have something always on hand to remind me of my brother, to keep him alive in my heart and mind, and as a reminder of what was at stake if the MDVA prevention act wasn't abolished.
Flipping the cover up, the smile on my face turned dim at the last thought. However, the moment I saw the insides of the locket, my face froze and all the excitement died inside me. There was a note inside.
'Meet me at the faction meeting warehouse before sunset.'
"Oliver."
Closing the locket, I casually passed it to Oliver while keeping my face straight.
"What is it?"
Receiving it from me, Oliver showed a look of confusion before opening the locket. Seeing the note, his face remained impressively still, and he slowly closed it before returning it to me.
"Do you think we should bring some other people together with us?"
I gave a pointed look at Oliver, gesturing vaguely to the area around us. Receiving my hint, Oliver shook his head.
"She isn't back yet. And even if she came with us, there isn't really anything she can do."
We walked 'up' the semicircle road, our expression muted even though I could feel a chill seep into my heart.
"But we can't just head there alone."
Stuck, the two of us slowed our steps and wandered towards several benches where we could stop and talk. Coincidentally, these benches were also next to the toilet.
"Is there anyone in Middle Middle Market that we could turn to?"
We sat down on an empty bench and racked our heads for an answer. Several people came to mind, Vick, Sky, and Jasper, who we bought Oliver's furniture from; Shirly, who sold wares in both Middle Middle Market as well as in Top Bottom Street Market; or even Ivan who owned the warehouse we were meeting in. However, all of them weren't ideal for bringing to a potentially dangerous secret meeting. They either had too many people to remain inconspicuous, were too important to endanger, or wouldn't be able to provide much safety. Especially if the locket store owner didn't come alone.
Feeling a little stumped, I let my eyes wander around the area as something in my brain screamed at me. It was as if I was forgetting someone. Someone who was physically fit enough to defend against anyone the locket store owner would bring, but wasn't three whole people. Someone strong who was already, or in the future would be, tied with the faction.
As my gaze reached the toilet, a familiar face was giving me a raised eyebrow from in an area in front of it.
"Cale."