章節 27: Chapter Twenty-Seven: Former Soldier
The entire crew reunited together and traveled into Pilloa, Omnia. Everyone, including Benjie and the children all came along. Taking two large cargo trucks there, the team managed to make it into Pilloa without being noticed. First thing they wanted to do when they got there was make their way into Vega and find shelter to keep the kids safe. "Isn't Vega full of criminals though?" Silas asks.
"Look at the bright side" Dana says, "at least we won't have to go to school now".
"We know people who can keep you safe" Zia says. "We don't want anything happening to you kids, and with all that's going on, we're afraid you'll be put in danger if you're not hidden".
"We definitely can't keep them in Marina" Tanya says. "Too many adult places for kids to be. Something bad would definitely happen".
"Agreed" Alex says. "We'll have to stay in Therio".
"Marina... Therio?" Haru asks.
"There's two cities under the ocean that make up Vega" Tanya explains. "Therio is the main city, and to the farthest edge of Vega is Marina. Marina is also called Shark City. You see, in Marina, they-".
"That was enough intel... thanks" Haru says. "Who runs this place?".
"Well... nobody does" Tanya explains. "But the Wolf Pack have a lot of influence because of their sheer numbers".
"I've never heard of them before..." Ying says as she thinks to herself.
"You should have..." Alissa says. "Y'all worked with them when launching that assault on the Omnium Guild".
"We did?" Ying asks.
"Is anyone else really nervous about this?" Benjie asks.
"Yes" Silas responds.
"No, now get moving" Holly says impatiently as they approach the plateau by the ocean.
"Out of curiosity, how did this structure get here?" Benjie asks.
"It's a man made mountain" Tanya says.
"Plateau" Holly corrects.
"Whatever..." Tanya replies. "Been there for about a century. Not sure how, but it was used to keep Vega well hidden. If you climb to the top, you could probably see some of Vega under the surface of the ocean".
"Cool..." Carl says in amazement.
The crew enters Vega, and as soon as they make their way more and more into Therio, the more they feel like everyone was staring at them or watching them. Not a single moment passed that they felt that they weren't being watched somehow. Eventually, they're met near the middle of the city by a patrol of Wolf Pack lackeys, whom just approached by way of several fancy looking cars with black windows. "Six Guns?" One of them asks. "Our leader wants to speak to you".
"Convenient" Siran says, "we need to speak with them too. Tell them to come to us, we can't bring the kids into Shark City".
"That's not a problem at all" a man says as he slowly steps out of one of the fancy looking cars. He was a tall and well dressed man with a gray tailored suit. He had a shaven face and combed backwards hair, but a condescending look on his face. "The name's John Frueder. New head of Wolf Pack".
"John...?" Tanya asks. "You're the one Don trusted to take over?".
"Is that jealousy I'm sensing, Tanya?" John asks. "There's no need for jealousy".
"You're right" Tanya says in an irritated tone. "There isn't a need for jealousy, and I'm not. I'm surprised someone as sleazy as you was able to take charge".
"You understand the mafia is an organization of criminals, right?..." Holly asks.
"Criminals or not" Tanya says, "the pack has standards".
"Ouch" John says. "Harsh words from someone who was previously my senior".
"Excuse me?" Haru asks as she looks at Tanya.
"You're excused" Tanya says. Tanya then looks back at John and says "You better have gotten your shit together at least, for Don to have trusted you so much to show you how to run the pack. If I remember correctly, last time we knew each other, you were notorious for screwing over your own crew".
"You're assuming a lot" John says.
"Like what?" Tanya asks. "That you screwed up?".
"No" John says with a smile. "That the old man trusted me, or even had a choice".
"Did you threaten Don!?" Tanya panics.
"Nothing of the sort" John replies calmly. "The man was too soft and couldn't handle his job. But he's smart enough to know that. With his favorite gone though, he only had one other choice. Only one other person could look at people, see their weaknesses and have the set in the right spot in the field for this kind of work".
"Look at people?" Tanya asks sarcastically. "You mean look down on people".
"Doesn't matter anymore anyways" John says. "The fact of the matter is, you're not welcome here".
"Wait, what?" Tanya asks.
"I second that" Siran says. "What?".
"The Six Guns aren't welcome in Vega" John says. "Do I have to spell it out?".
"Why?" Tanya asks.
"Mind your own business, that's why" John says as he turns around and starts to get in the car. "See yourselves out, you won't be taking shelter here" he says right before he closes the car door.
"Dick!" Tanya shouts in frustration.
"Sorry, guys" one of the Wolf Pack lackeys says. "Nothing personal, but we have things here to pay careful attention to, and it's been ruled that you'll be in the way. Of course, you can try to stay, but you will be run out eventually".
"That son of a-" Siran begins to say.
"Wait!" Zia says as she grabs Siran's shoulder. "We can't cause trouble with these guys right now. Think about the kids! If they get ahold of them, who knows what will happen".
"If it's any consolation" the lackey explains, "stick to the East of Omnia. The west currently is under the rule of America, and the East has become nearly lawless. Nobody can stop you from being there".
"How has it become lawless?" Alex asks in worry.
"A rebellion" the lackey explains. "Some of those we have connections with".
"Which explains the boom in business" Vivi adds.
"Indeed" the lackey replies. "Maybe some of them think you're to blame, but if you wanted a place to look, try sticking around Pilloa. I'm sure people like you will find some way to fix something up".
The crew immediately leaves Vega and arrived in Pilloa again. After a bit of time, Zia suggested visiting Mahina village again. With no better place to go, the crew went that way in search of at least some in tact building they can use as shelter. They looked through the ruins of the village but found nothing. Not long after, they decided to drive around the forest south of Mahina village. However, they suddenly came to a stop several dozen kilometers away from the village after spotting a strange, castle like structure sticking above the treetops within the forest. There was even a dirt road leading up to it. With everyone coming to an agreement, they decided to head that way. When they approach the castle, they saw it looked partially ruined and was falling apart. There were holes in some of the stone walls, but wooden boards with plastic tarps hanging over them as a way to keep rain from getting inside. "If I didn't know any better" Alex says, "I'd say someone has been staying here".
"Yeah, but who?" Finn asks.
"Guess we'll have to find out" Vivi says.
The castle was tall, but also a lot smaller than they first thought it would be. It looks to have several floors, but the building wasn't built very wide nor expansive. For a castle, it was too small, and looked like more of an improvised shelter with many floors. The day was coming to an end, and they had no choice but to find somewhere to stay. With that in mind, the crew walked up to the building and simply knocked on the front doors. Several seconds of silence passed, that felt like minutes as they waited. But eventually, someone slowly cracked open the door just a little bit and peeked through. "Who are you people?" The man asks.
"W-well... we are..." Siran begins to explain.
Vivi sighs, then says "We're The Six Guns. Are you gonna let us in or not?".
"The Six Guns!?" The man asks. "You're not Ly'Lum?".
"You thought we were Ly'Lum?..." Alex asks.
Without answering, the man closes the door and the sound of a bolt lock on the bottom of the other door could be heard sliding as a chain lock on the door that was previously opened comes loose too. The doors suddenly swung wide open and expose a large room absolutely packed with civilians from many different cities who're just trying to find an escape. "Please, come right in" the man says. "My name is Jake Hemming. Pleased to meet you".
"What the hell is this?" Alex asks.
"A refugee camp" another, middle aged man says. This man looked muscular and shaven, with short brown hair. "I'm Ryan Fokker, the head of- and only security of this place".
"The only security?" Zia asks.
Ryan sighs, then says "This is where many refugees and other civilians come to hide. I'm the only one here with enough combat experience to keep them protected. My job here is to make sure everyone here stays safe".
"Then your plan if Ly'Lum actually do come by is to fight them off all by yourself?" Alex asks.
"To go down with a fight" Ryan says, "as the others get away. As long as their safe, then my job is taken care of".
"Combat experience..." Vivi says. "Does that mean you're a-".
"Former Ly'Lum soldier" Ryan says. "Sergeant First Class Fokker. And what is it exactly The Six Guns are doing here?".
"Looking for a place to stay safe" Ying says.
"Shit... even you?" Ryan says.
"Wow... zero diplomacy, Ying" Alex says.
"What she means is" Vivi explains, "a place to keep these others safe".
"And what's in it for us?" Ryan asks.
"I beg your pardon?" Vivi asks with a scornful look on her face.
"I don't have a reason to trust you" Ryan says. "And with all the rumors of the stuff your crew is behind, we'd likely be better off without you. So unless there's something you can provide that won't endanger the people here, then there will obviously be some trust issues between us".
"Security then" Siran says before anyone else can speak up. "We'll run the security here. We'll call the shots and keep them safe, and you won't have to worry about it anymore".
"And you think that you have the experience to call the shots?" Ryan asks.
"If not me" Siran says, then points at Alex, "then how about him? He is also a former Ly'Lum soldier".
Ryan looks at Alex in disbelief at first. "No way" Ryan says. "A former soldier a part of The Six Guns?".
"Second Lieutenant Schulf" Alex says. "Last lived and stationed in Farnhardt".
"Then that makes you..." Ryan says.
"Your commanding officer?" Alex asks.
"I was going to say lame" Ryan says, "but okay".
"Lame?" Alex asks.
"Well, we all know that most of the time, people are raised to higher ranks to be put in desk jobs when they're seen as good strategists but not good for combat" Ryan says. "Usually those people can't really fight and suck on the battlefield. I'm assuming your case wasn't much different".
Alex's left eye begins to twitch in anger, then Siran says "Oh yeah! You did mention you weren't particularly good at magic when we first met".
"Siran..." Alex growls.
"But you did get much better" Siran adds. "I mean, what do you think The Six Guns have been doing this whole time? Not fighting?".
"As of late?" Ryan asks. "Yes... not fighting. Otherwise, you could've dealt with this sooner".
"... He's got us there" Siran says.
"It's not that simple" Haru says. "And we're here now. Are you going to complain about it all day or are you finally gonna grab the ball you pretend you have and stand up like a man?".
"You..." Ryan says. "I don't like you".
Haru takes a step closer to Ryan and says "Too bad, sour puss. I'm not here to make friends. Now are we going to have a deal the easy way, and am I going to have to hit you in the sack so hard that you'll cough out your balls by dinner?".
"Fine... you wanna help?" Ryan asks. "We could always use more hands on deck. First things first, who here knows how to cook?".
Everyone looks back at Robin who was being very quiet. "What?" He asks.
"Alright, we got one volunteer" Ryan says.
"Shit!" Robin pouts.
"I'll help with that too" Tanya suggests.
"Aren't you going to be helping with security?" Siran asks.
"Just call when you need me" Tanya says.
"Anyone else?" Ryan asks, however, nobody answered. "Great. Then the kids can go... be somewhere else, and the rest of you will be on security".
"Umm, actually" Benjie speaks up, "is there another job I can take? I'm not the fighting type".
"Watchman, done" Ryan says as he walks away.
"This guy is an asshole" Mikoto says.
"Most people in the military are assholes" Haru says.
"But you're kinda nice" Rose says.
"Give it time" Haru replies.
"Reminds me of a certain someone else" Satomi says as she looks at Alex.
"Didn't you guys have a band or something that you bailed on?" Alex asks.
"Yeah, but those dudes are chill" Satomi says. "They'll be fine on their own".
"Why don't you guys try being the entertainment here or something?" Alex asks. "Help drown out all the noise with your... other noise. I have the feeling this place will get on my nerves fast".
"Yeah, as if" Satomi replies. "First off, our instruments are still at home in Japan. Secondly, there is like... zero quality equipment here. Not that I need the best of the best, or whatever, but how exactly do you expect us to just perform out of nowhere?".
"I dunno" Alex says. "Stand on a table and dance or whatever. I don't care".
"We are not strippers!" Satomi shouts.
"You are so loud" Demetri calmly protests. "Can you be quiet for minute? I need to see if there's anywhere around that can provide drink".
"Wait, count me in, doc!" Blake says as he follows behind Demetri.
"So, what do we do now?" Zia asks.
"Listen and wait" Siran says. "We need time to come up with a plan. For now, relax and spend time with our kids and try our best to stay out of trouble until we can think of something solid here".
"I agree with that one, at least" Vivi says.
"Then I'll be busy digging up all the intel I can on the current status of this rebellion mess" Holly says. "I'll let you know what I find when I can come to something conclusive".
"Thanks, Holly" Siran replies in relief.
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