The city of Moscow had a cloudy weather, yet the cold wind brushing against Flinch's skin; a white jacket couldn't hide his skin from the freezing temparature of the country.
He tried finding a charging station but each spot had a Russian Fixer, guarding it. So he couldn't contact Edward Lim for updates.
He hid behind a clothing rack in front of a thrift shop to prevent getting seen by the Russian Fixers. These individuals are 4th to the highest elite soldiers in Russia who had legal access to TriggerLines.
"Мам, у того парня на спине было полно проводов "
(Mom, that guy had plenty of wires on his back!.) said the kid in a brown jacket walking with his mom as he pointed at Flinch.
The irony; the innocence of the kid toward deadly devices can get him killed in a split second. But the kid's mom replied in a calmer tone, "Не обращай на него внимания, сынок. Он, наверное, слушает музыку."
(Don't mind him, son. He's probably listening to music.)
I wish I had better vocabularies when it comes to speaking Russian.
The warehouse should be here somewhere, Jezz is probably waiting for me.
***
"How long would it take 'till we land?" Elis asked, sitting quietly on the plane.
"It wouldn't be that long…" Edward replied. "Greydome to Russia isn't that far."
"…Then we still have more time to reach Flinch before he dies."
Edward looked at him; he felt skeptical, "How so?"
"Russian Fixers exist in that place; they have legal access for TriggerLines. It's whether you betray us or team up to stop Flinch."
Edward began to wonder, if Flinch was somewhat stopped by the PTF, then who would save the kids that was held in a leash by Gaò Yang.
"…Then—" Edward didn't finish his words.
"…" Elis and the rest stared at him.
***
The plane finally arrived at Edward's private touchdown zone; the wheels skittered across the ground as dusts flew off in the air.
As the cargo door opened; the cold wind brushed against their skin as if a ghost touched them.
"Everyone wear your coats," Iris commands. "…The weather here isn't the same as the one in Greydome, you'll get used to this. Your oversized shirt wouldn't protect you from the harsh temperature."
"…Thanks," Edward reached out for the brown coat inside the plane. "Where is he now?"
Edward muttered, he then added:
"…He's probably getting prepped up in the warehouse; he has weapons there, but it's a tough destination—there are Russian Fixers everywhere."
"…We need Flinch alive, can't let him lie down on the freezing ground of this country," Elis replied. "If there are Russian Fixers nearby, don't let them catching a glimpse of our devices."
"Do we need some weapons?" Iris asked, pushing a wooden crate. "…Maybe a few would do."
"Yes, conceal them," Elis replied.
"We're currently in Asia," Captain Graves said.
"Isn't Russia a european country?" Elis asked.
"Are you stupid?" Captain Graves playfully knocked his head. "…This country is eurasian, there are no sea between them."
"…I shouldn't skip class."
***
Inside a sealed warehouse next to an abandoned hospital, lies a blonde man wearing a black jacket. He tapped his fingers across the screen of his phone; Flinch was seen walking in the distance.
"…There you are, my friend!" The blonde man yelled, his english was so thick—must be a Russian.
Jezz ran toward him, raising his hand for a secret a handshake.
"…How are you, brother? I've been waiting here for hours—and why do you look so roughed up?"
"…Russia Fixers are a pain in the ass," Flinch hissed, as he wiped the blood on his lips. "…These motherfuckers thought they can win against me; all of them had lousy abilities made for mediocores—imagine being able to manipulate waters but you'll lose breath everytime you use it."
"…Being a volunteered individual, whether forced or not—it's like gambling when having your first ever ability," Jezz laughed. "…I prepared some things for you inside, come!"
***
[BEIJING, CHINA]
There is a room painted with pure red; golden dragon paintings are everywhere—yet the room felt dimmed.
"先生,这是您的茶."
(Sir, here's your tea.)
A black haired Chinese lady handed a plate with a red tea-cup sitting on it; the other Chinese man whose face is covered in shadows, reached out for the tea-cup.
"谢谢."
(Thank you)
"对了,你刚才有没有跟俄罗斯总统聊过我们合作的事?"
(By the way, did you have a word with the Russian president about our sharing?)
The female butler bowed, then replied:
"他已经在问您的定价了,确实有点贵,不过那些孩子能力更强——质量很好,高阳大师."
(He already asked for your decision on price, it's expensive, however, those kids has better abilities—it's good quality, Master Gaò Yang.)
"没问题.告诉总统,我之后会亲自跟他谈."
(It's no problem. Tell the president I'll be having some words with him later.)
Without any words, the female butler bowed once again before humbly leaving the room.
"…Good quality, huh?" Gao Yang muttered.
***
Elis and the rest walked in the streets of Chernogorsk—where people seems to be withered flowers; their expressions were dry as dying leaves. Iris glanced at the Russian Fixer who's glaring at them. "…I've been deployed to deadly missions back in the day—this one felt more dangerous," Iris whispered. "It feels like we're holding gasoline containers while walking in the filled of smoldering coals."
"…Try not to drop one," Elis replied, whispering. "We can't use my or Edward's abilities here; we'll get exposed."
"My ability is good for crushing enemies—" Edward replied, but was soon cut off by Elis.
"…Even so, we don't know what kind of abilities are waiting for us—so better keep a low-profile."
A Russian Fixer walked, heading straight toward them—Elis talked in english to reduce suspicion, which the Russian wouldn't be able to comprehend.
"…Keep walking—wait for him to stop us."
The elite soldier was a few centimeters away from them when he yelled something in Russian; Elis quickly decoded the situation. The Russian yelled that felt like three words to him—he then noticed the body language; the soldier wasn't staring at them, his left-hand was resting while the other was pointing something in the distance.
It was a relief; the Russian Fixer was yelling to someone—so the rest kept on walking.
"…I told you," Elis wheezed as he walked. "Whose heart here is beating around 200Bpm?"
"…You're a confident one. We still need to stay low as possible." Captain Graves replied, calmly. "By the way, how long till we get to the warehouse?"
"…We're should be close now," Edward replied.
***
Minutes of walking, Elis and the rest noticed a little boy getting lured by a Russian Fixer by giving him a chocolate. Elis's heart sank even more when he noticed a white-van with an opened door waiting for them.
I want to do something; I want to do something!
Despite those soon to be done decisions running in his head, he wasn't able to do anything and watch the little boy disappear from the place he once called home, just to be taken by Russian Fixers he once called heroes.
Edward was about to activate his TriggerLine; Elis stopped him.
"…We can't do that now—for the faint-beep is loud enough for that Fixer to hear," Elis calmed him. "If we die here, Flinch and the rest of the kids in the Killing Trade will die."
After the little boy enters the vehicle; the van drove away with a deafening sound of the kid laughing inside—he thought those armors meant safety.
"…We'll get those kids out of the hell, so by surviving this mission—we'll make ourselves even more useful," Elis said. "…We're close to Flinch."
Edward formed a smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
"Эй, ты!"
(You there!)
"Это частная территория! Могу узнать ваши имена? Похоже, вы не отсюда, ребят."
(This is a private property! May I know your names, because it looked like you guys are not from here.)
When Elis turned his head to the source of the sound—it was a Russian Fixer.
Elis kept his composure, then took a few steps, "I can't understand Russian, sir! We're tourist and we find ourselves lost."
"…I can speak english a little bit, may I know your name first?" Elis couldn't tell the emotions of the Russian Fixer; he's english is so thick, he couldn't even tell if this man is angry or not.
"My name is…" Elis has to think of a name within 2 seconds. "…E-Eddie Purple."
"You are a tourist, what country are you from?"
"England."
"And where exactly are you headed?"
Elis placed his hands behind him as he lifted up the sleeve that is hiding the TriggerLine, gesturing Edward to use his ability since there are no other Russian Fixers nearby, "To the hospital with you."
"Why do I required—" before the Russian Fixer could even finish his words, a white car slammed against him without warning.
"…That'll keep him from talking, come on let's hurry," Elis said as he started running.
***
[The president's office]
"Mister Gaò Yang, I've already asked you to name the price," The Russian president said, his phone pressed against his ear. "…Why are we having some difficulties when it comes to sharing, aye?"
"President, do you have any idea what would be your reaction if I told you about the price I've made?" Gaò Yang replied through the other line. "…That's why I keep telling you to name the price yourself."
"₽68,608,385.62 in Greydome currency is 900,000…how's that sound?"
"₽38,115,769.79," Gaò Yang insisted.
"…You were naming the price after all," The Russian president chuckled.
"…You made me," Gaò Yang replied.
***
Elis and the rest had finally arrived at the warehouse, to see nothing but opened crates of illegal rifles and Greydome's ballistic missiles, nevertheless, there are no signs of Flinch.
"He's not here…" Elis muttered.
"Shit, he's going to infiltrate the president's office," Edward whispered, his voice sounded with a mixture of fear and concern. "…We can't let him yet!"
"How did you know?"
"…The weapons are barely empty; the missile is already on standby mode," Edward pointed at the blinking blue light under the D.I.Y timer of the ballistic missile. "…He will activate it anytime."
Edward turned to Captain Graves then asked, "Can you defuse this?"
"A few experience wouldn't do the trick, I can only defuse landmines."
"We only have a few hours to stop him," Iris cuts in as she started rushing out the warehouse.
"…How do we know where Flinch is?" Elis replied, voice was raised a little. "If we don't have enough time to stop him those explosives will obliterate this place—and it's over for greydome."
Before the group almost had their hopes wasted, Iris took a step forward.
"…I know we're hopeless but—aren't we all ignoring the elephant in the room?"
"What do you mean?" Elis asked.
Iris gestured them to turn around; the group obeyed and turned their head.
A figure stood from the distance in the warehouse—it was Jezz. He shouted something in Russian, it sounded angry.
As Jezz got closer to us, he soon stopped when he noticed Edward.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Edward who wasn't the typical guy who'd explain everything to a former comrade as Jezz himself.
The question hung heavy in the air; Jezz looked at him with a mixture of disdain and confusion.
"Why are you with the—" Jezz froze after seeing the badge on Captain Graves's pants. "…The PTF."
Those last words was a whisper of disbelief, he felt betrayed and the organization they built had crumbled that easily.
"…What are you doing with them?"
"Listen it's not what it looks like—t-this people standing next to me are friends, they're willing to help us," Edward tried to explain.
"Those people standing next to you are the Public Task Force, and a student," Jezz cuts him off. "…We were close to success, we're close to reaching that one file."
"You don't understand, these Russians are no joke. They have especialized TriggerLines compared to us!"
"So you're saying we have to abandon this plan when Flinch had finally entered the Kremlin?"
Edward froze after hearing those words; Elis on the other hand just stood there—he knew something bad would happen; he never said anything yet, as if the right words got stuck in the end of his tounge.
"…If Flinch was here, he would probably knocked you out good, huh?" Jezz was reaching for something behind him.
The rest isn't stupid enough to not see this coming, they suddenly pulled out their guns and aimed it at Jezz.
"Whatever it is, don't even dare," Iris demanded, her voice stern.
"I was ignorant Jezz! You have to trust me on this one!" Edward yelled. "They're here to help us to stop the Killing Trade!"
"What do they even know about the Killing Trade huh?"
Elis stepped in, lifting the sleeve that was hiding his device.
"…I know everything about the Killing Trade."
"A Triggered alongside the Public Task Force? Did Hendrick added something to the rule book including the ability of Triggereds to join the army?" Jezz chuckled, mockingly. "…Despite that, I have every knowledge about the happenings in Greydome for several years—you're the disavowed task force."
Captain Graves narrowed his eyes, keeping his composure.
"What choice do I have then?" After Jezz successfully reached something behind him, there was a loud beep.
"He's a Triggered!" Elis shouted.
"Jezz, you have to stop!" Edward stepped in with a yell. "…It doesn't have to be this way!"
"…You have choices, whether you team up with them or with me. Either way, I can kill all of you." Jezz grimaced.
Illusions of Jezz started multiplying consecutively next to him—each clones had their own arsenals, as if they had different perspective toward weapons.
Some of the clones closed every escape ways including the windows, leaving the warehouse in a sound proof battle field. Silence filled the air, punctuated by the sound of their loud breathing.
"…As long as we fought fair and square," Jezz shrugged.