Chapter 32 - Desperate Measures Don't Pay Off Pt 1
Business block, Zithen family complex, State Zhyphrese, Draconian continent Voldage, and the Year 2041, Planet Grimoire.
At long last, it looked as if the trainees would finally start participating as they wanted. It had taken far longer than anyone anticipated, but now was the day when the program officially began. Davi stood with her staff, watching the trainees quietly sit on chairs, stairs, and the floor. A few were milling around in the middle of the lobby. There were even some practicing a few dance steps outside.
Dawn had broken just an hour before, but it was still fairly dark. It was rare when sunlight broke through the canopy of huge leaves. Davi frowned because she could smell moisture in the air. "I hope the storm holds off until the trainees reach the arena." From what she recalled, it was an indoor setup. That was the only way it would be utilized entirely.
Davina remembered seeing pictures of the changes made within. "So ornate and fabulous." For a brief second, she felt envious of those going inside. Then she recalled just how big the arena was. "Nah, I'm safer outside of that thing." She shook her head with a smile. Besides, I'll be able to watch the broadcast."
That was a perk of living in the complex.
People got their first crack at watching everything live on television or any other device that permitted live streaming. It was convenient in a place that didn't do well with any device that didn't run on magic. Footsteps coming down the staircase got Davi's attention. She stared in bewilderment at Midda Cilin and Thera Tae-Jun, looking worse for wear when they appeared in one of the doorways.
At last, Davi sighed. "What happened?" She thought the elevator was working, but evidently, it was not.
Cilin and Tae-Jun rolled their eyes in unmistakable frustration. At last, Tae-Jun spoke very calmly. "We managed to reach the fourth floor, but then the mechanism jammed." He shrugged. "Fortunately, we got out through the emergency exit on the roof of the elevator shaft." His gaze skimmed the faces of those folks gathered in the lobby as he spoke.
Davi couldn't wait to hear what they'd discovered. Indeed, there was a reason the door jamb hadn't raised alarms. Otherwise, she would've known something was wrong—or would she? Davi glanced sideways at her staff, who looked stupefied at what was being told in scarily calm wording.
Cilin simply watched the others watching them with expectation that turned to fear as soon as Tae-Jun turned to stare at them with cold eyes.
"Then we found the exit to get to the fifth floor since the fourth one was jammed." Tae-Jun stopped talking, his face darkening ever so slightly.
"Once we went down the stairs and saw what caused the jam, we knew there was no point in coming down another elevator. All doors were sealed permanently shut with some kind of hard substance." At that point, Cilin continued speaking about what had happened. Clearly, he knew when Tae-Jun was about to explode.
Cilin cleared his throat. "We found that the door had been barred with these." He held up four badly bent iron spikes. "He was just a little ticked after discovering this." At that point, he handed them over to Davi. It was apparent what had nearly made them late now.
What had been sturdy was no longer straight by any stretch of the imagination. While there'd been murmurs from the trainees and snickers. There was no squeak after the revealed state of the iron spiked bars.
Goodness gracious, someone was in a horrible mood to completely reshape those bars. These had been premium-grade iron and plated silver, too. All the bars were utterly destroyed except for the silver, which had been left in place.
Davi was speechless. She examined the spiked bars in horrified silence. Then, she turned her head toward where all the trainees were waiting. Sure enough, a few were smirking. Did they expect a scene to occur? Davi wouldn't be surprised if Tae-Jun did go after them.
However, right then, the transportation for the trainees arrived. Davi exhaled. "I'll check the security monitors," she said under her breath to Cilin and Tae-Jun. "Once I find out who did this, I'll report them." She'd also ban the individuals from ever setting foot in her building. This type of behavior was just plain immature and dangerous.
Tae-Jun and Cilin nodded, thanking her for her understanding. Then, they exited and climbed into one of the vehicles.
*
Once inside the vehicle, Tae-Jun and Cilin slightly relaxed. "Well, that wasn't what either of us expected," Cilin growled, aggravated.
"Nope, but I suppose we should've." Tae-Jun sighed. "We didn't leave anything behind that we'd regret doing so, right?"
Cilin frowned slightly. "No, I only left some clothes that I can replace easily enough. What about you?"
Tae-Jun pondered. "Mmm, the same," he admitted. "I just had a bad feeling about bringing anything valuable." He tapped his wrist, where the communicator was securely fastened. "My other devices are stowed elsewhere." He shrugged. "As for clothing? Well, I didn't have that much to begin with, and I have different ways of storing stuff that I don't want to leave behind."
Since he'd seen Tae-Jun make things vanish into thin air, Cilin nodded. "Very handy to have a spatial storage device on hand." He agreed with a faint smile. "You can use that for other things in the future if the idol program doesn't fly."
Tae-Jun's body twitched when Cilin said that. "Yeah, you're right. I could use my strength in other ways that would be far more useful." Tae-Jun agreed. He seemed somber. "I don't understand why they're taking such desperate measures that aren't paying off?"
Cilin's expression turned speculative. "I have a few ideas on why this is happening now." He looked at Tae-Jun. "For what it's worth, I think there are more people besides us who have enemies."
Tae-Jun blinked at Cilin because they'd shared the same thought about why this happened when it did.