A nearby café sufficed. I landed outside and kindly asked one of the employees to change the football match to a news channel, much to the dismay of the other men enjoying a pint. However, the reporter’s words and my getup quickly made them realise the situation, and accept a little inconvenience. “Fine,” I said to Charlene Jefferson, the minister of education on the other side of the line then hung up. I put aside my insecurity, my paranoia, my regrets, to see to it that my conscience wouldn’t be the one to murder me for my inaction.

I stepped outside with a bombardment of phone cameras following me. I checked the location of the school on my phone’s map and slipped my goggles back on. From there, I had Grav and the jetpack show their true colours, getting me to near Mach speed. However, the beginning of braking would prevent that speed from being maintained for long. According to the TK’s thermal vision, there were six targets, and two of them were in spots that gave a clear shot.

Six… I thought about how to cleanly do this, but judging from the TK’s report to me, it seemed someone was murdered periodically. The criminals never stated their demands, and neither did they let anyone in or out. No wonder she resorted to calling me. I should change my number. Now, I rubbed my chin in thought, let’s see here. Two can be taken out easily. That leaves four. Two more are staying still, but not in line of sight, and the last two are patrolling. After a few minutes of analysing the situation, a couple of bullets rang out and another person was killed.

“How many dead?” I questioned my android.

“Seven,” it answered as we watched on from another building.

Damn, the media will make it hard to sneak in. If I let the TK take out the two guys by the window, I’d still have to rush in blindly and locate exactly where the other four are. But if I manage to sneak in, I can calmly plan out what to do and make sure no one dies. I looked at the media personnel surrounding the building once more. If they’re doing a live feed, then I’m sure the criminals are watching the news. That means those guys will see me coming. I’ll have to distract them somehow. And so, I decided to let the TK be that distraction. Although, that meant having to deal with all six bad guys myself.

After making a big show and landing behind the media, they immediately turned their backs whilst I snuck in from around the back of the building. A window was open, all it took was some cutting through the burglar proofing with Z-21 to get me inside. I quickly found the staircase and pinpointed all their locations from afar. All of the hostages weren’t huddled into one place, so whatever I was going to do, it would have to be done before they could react, or without them realising.

Once I observed the patrols’ patterns, I stepped down quietly and hid behind a cubicle. The minute he stood out the line of sight from his partners, Z-21 cleaved through his body, ending him near-instantly. I made sure to catch him, so he wouldn’t make noise after falling. Once his body was hidden a bit better, I moved again, hiding behind the slightly tinted glass of an office. The second patrol was grabbed from behind and strangled into unconsciousness. Won’t be long ‘til they realise something’s up. Gotta move fast here…

With steady feet, I hopped over a counter and struck another one through the chest with my sword, then blasted one with my pistol, creating a small hole in him. The fifth target became lucky because I missed my shot. The sixth man was tackled to the ground before he could do anything. The one whom I missed was also tackled, but by my TK which destroyed part of the building’s wall and smashed itself into him. Once we had them down, disarming them was a cinch.

My TK instructed the criminals we captured to slowly walk outside with their hands up, straight into police custody. Whilst it led the men to the police barricade, it scanned the surroundings for anymore that may be in hiding.

With my sword drawn, EXO on, pistol brandished and eyes on alert, the very people I rescued felt like they were still hostages. They didn’t budge an inch. For a second, it made me question who I was. “Charlene Jefferson’s son, call your mom. The rest of you are free to leave now.”

With that announcement, I simply walked out the front door. If not for the barricade of police officers, I’d be swimming in a pool of reporters’ microphones and cameras. However, that didn’t stop them from screaming the questions over yonder at me. Those questions were ignored, but one voice stopped me from flying off – Hana’s. After LocalHost was attacked and Backslash became a target of Cennet, how could I deny Hana?

In five minutes, I was in the back of their panel van, fist-bumping the cameraman, Jack, and getting a microphone clipped onto the chest area of EXO. The lighting was up, the camera was rolling, and Hana’s makeup was perfect. But she suddenly told Jack to cut, then sighed. “Fuck me,” she cursed under her breath and dug around her pockets for a cigarette. “My son’s in his room again, Jared. Did you ask him to do something?”

“N-no. We haven’t spoken for a while now.”

“I hope I’m just imagining things,” she placed her cigarette back, and we had quite the normal interview. The minute it was over, I flew over to UGO Medical.

It was quite a scene there. On one side of the compound, there were police, and on the other side, TEOs. Where do I even start? To begin with, I had to find the contact that Serrette and the Andinos talked about. Someone that Mark Taylor was delivering the canisters of chemicals to. The entrance was blocked by police and TEO alike, somewhat butting heads over who had jurisdiction. “Suppose I can’t convince you guys to let me pass, can I?”

They all shot me strange looks, but the police eventually made a path. The TEOs nearby had an issue with that, and refused to let me through. An argument ensued, and guns were quickly pointed with me in the middle of it. The air was tense, as even more police and TEO from nearby joined the standoff. “Well, here’s an idea. How about we not kill each other? It’s fine, I’ll leave,” I told them, slowly backing away.

Well, UGO Medical is off limits for now. Why would we accept chemicals we aren’t cleared to have? With a defeated sigh, I resorted to going to the home address I saw on the documents. It was on the outskirts of the city, more around the chaparrals. The area was certainly a rich one, with massive houses lining the streets. I slowed my pace and found the house, then landed in front. The television was on, and so were the lights, so I rang the doorbell. A man answered the door, “Who are y–”

He stopped when he looked at me properly. “You’re that hero kid. I don’t want you here, you’re dangerous. Leave before I call the cops.” He slammed the door shot whilst I stood there, a bit dumbfounded.

Should I just, force my way in? I wondered, but soon dismissed the idea. I’d imagine my moms and dad would have grown used to the life-threatening stunts I pulled from time to time, but breaking into someone’s house? No way. They’ll kill me. But, do I have a choice?

As I stood there, contemplating what on earth to do, a car pulled up in the driveway. A young man, no older than twenty. He assisted his mom with a few bags of groceries. She finally wiggled her way out, parking a little close to the fence, and immediately took notice of me. I nodded, and began leaving.

“Ban?” she said, calling a name I hadn’t heard in a while. “Wait! You’re Jared, right? Diana’s son.”

I chuckled lightly, “Caught me…”

“What are you doing here? Come on in!” she invited me without a second thought. I took her up on the offer and helped her son carry some bags in.

When her husband noticed me, his face contorted a little, but he let it go, seeing that she invited me in. Once she kicked off her shoes and got a little comfortable, we sat around the kitchen’s countertop whilst watching her son watch television. I drank a bit of the orange juice she poured for me and had some semblance of admiration for a normal family such as this.

“I’m Carol,” she extended her hand and we shook, “I’m on the board at UGO. I was there when your mom told everyone you were Ban!” She looked a bit excited, pushing some hair behind an ear. “So, what brings you here, hero?”

Hero, huh? Can’t get used to that no matter how many times I hear it. I sighed, “Well, I needed help with something.” Something’s off here, I told myself, doubting my very doubts about this place. “You only have one kid, right?”

“Mhm,” she nodded proudly and her eyes went to the young man, then back to me.

Scrubbing through my memories, I recollected bits and pieces of the meeting. It was a meeting that would convince the board of directors at UGO to give me Anna as a partner, and in return, I would give UGO the headgear technology and prosthetics that worked in tandem. During that test, it was Carol I chose to test the prosthetics and headgear. My eyes closed when I realised what was going on. “Carol, one of your son’s limbs were missing, but it’s back now.”

“Hmm?” she didn’t break her composure. “What are you talking about?”

I looked her in the eyes and hopped off the stool, coming closer to her and speaking softly, slowly, right next to her ear. “I don’t particularly care about exposing you. I’m not trying to turn you in. All I want to do is ask you for any details you can remember about making the deal. Any information on Cennet will help me.”

“Why would I have any information on–”

“I know your son has Vasc running through his veins. I know canisters of chemicals from Neo-Chem was delivered here by Mark Taylor, chemicals you aren’t authorised to handle. So, can we skip all this and just get to the important parts?”

She was taken aback, so much so, her trembling hand also rested her glass of juice down whilst she stared off into the distance, somewhere at the living room where her son sat. Her face displayed hesitance and self-doubt, no doubt simmering on the recent widespread and eclectic string of murders. No matter how one looked at it, I was the hero and Cennet was the villain. It was such a black and white case of moral unambiguity that it almost felt planned. And could you doubt it? This was Cennet we’re talking about, the most cunning and guiling person I’d ever had the displeasure of meeting. But I knew the truth. I wasn’t the white knight of truth and justice everyone thought I was. And Cennet as well, was not the black mire of evil and deception. However, to get what I wanted here, describing the ills that reflected his surface-level character was necessary.

“Carol, just this morning, students as young as your son were killed brutally, systematically, without a second thought. Would you really like Cennet to continue running wild like that? I won’t claim to know what the murder toll is, but I bet I can blindly say that it’s never been as high as it is. What Cennet is doing is setting the very security of this country on fire. Police are spread like butter, and because of that, other criminals are popping out of the woodworks.” I closed my eyes, as if almost losing my belief in her, “It’s…” I stopped and thought about bringing the wrong attention to this family with my simple presence. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here.” The irritating friction that pushing the stool back where it was caused her to somewhat jerk out of her mind.

“Wait!” She asserted softly, then clenched her teeth and closed her eyes, balling her fists ever so slightly. I had her. “Let me show you something.”

A couple minutes later, I stood around in her study whilst she entered a code onto a safe. The beep signalled it was open. “What will you do?” she asked, particularly when I took notice of the chemicals.

“I never saw ‘em. But, maybe tell your son the truth sometime? Up to you. So, what’s this list?” I questioned the paper in her hand, and even at that point, she resisted a little from giving it to me.

“It’s um,” her hand touched her forehead as if in stress, “a list of educational institutions he’s interested in ‘upping’ the security for. But…”

“It’s not for security is it?” I asked. Her eyelids slammed into one another, almost like she didn’t want to hear the truth, despite already knowing it. “They’re his targets. Carol, why did he give you this list? As far as I know, you just needed Vasc.”

At that point, she sighed in annoyance, “Don’t you understand? I’ve been funding him.”

“Why the fuck did you do that?! All you had to pay for were the chemicals to make Vasc!”

“Jared,” she leaned against a bookshelf, “the state will never adhere to Cennet’s demands. He knows this. Therefore, to prove that there is a problem, he has to amplify that problem.”

I took a while to understand where she was coming from, but the revelation sent a rupturing choler through me. I slammed the shelf next to her, somewhat cornering the woman, “Are you delusional?! You’ll commit mass murder just to prove there’s a security problem? You’re okay with slaughtering children just to prove that schools need tighter security?” I backed off, rubbing my temples to ease the sudden onset of information overload. More and more thoughts of the ludicrous logic pervaded my mind. “What sense does that make? Like you said, the state will never give in to Cennet’s demands.”

“You’re right, they won’t, but enough death can achieve anything. It may be hard for you to understand, Jared, but sacrifice is needed.”

Is, she crazy? I simply couldn’t see from her perspective. How would killing children, save children? Was that Cennet’s way of ensuring another case like Jonathan didn’t happen? I glanced at the list again, skipping through the near-five thousand schools listed. What really irked me, was that I had no one I could trust. After Serrette and the Andinos tried to kill me, after Sean Murray and other TEO members proved to be unreliable, who was I supposed to show this list to? I lost some strength in my legs and slid down the bookshelf until I hit the floor, curling into myself as I realised the true hopelessness that this situation insinuated. What am I going to do? What was a single teenager to do against something of that scale? Police? Military? Tactical Enforcement Operatives? Who did Cennet not have in his pocket? Rosa? Sure, I could trust her at least, but which services would she turn to in order to stop something like that? Police, military, and TEOs. Hell, it was laughable.

I, sincerely felt like giving up. The thorny path suddenly seemed like a mistake. Was all this pain worth it? Is it? Have I been trying for no reason? “Why’d you bother helping me?”

“Cennet figured you’d come here,” she closed the safe again, “he said it was okay to give you whatever you want.”

I scoffed at that. Not surprised. I took another look at the list. The best thing I could do is tell police the day before it happens so whoever’s on Cennet’s payroll won’t be able to do much with the time. Then again, I grunted, he probably prepared for everything possible if he was alright with basically telling the enemy his plans. I kept skipping through, looking for a date, but there was no such thing. Not even Carol knew when I asked her, so timing when I could tell the heads of security was impossible. It forced me to do it as soon as possible, which would give Cennet’s spies as much time to plan as they want. “Fuck!” I cursed under my breath.

My back was against the wall here, I didn’t know what to do, or even what to think. My fingers quaveringly touched on the ankh pendant slung around my neck.

I went back home in the middle of the day and caught my daredevil dad replacing a bulb on one of the chandeliers. It was so high; he needed a makeshift scaffolding to do it. “Oh hey,” he greeted when he looked down and saw me, “what’s up? You’re usually never home at this time.”

I exhaled and pondered on how I would even word the question. Hell, I didn’t even really know what question I wanted to ask. All I knew was I needed some clarity to my muddled and hazy thoughts. The house seemed so quiet; the world, seemed so quiet. It felt like just dad and I existed, like there were no worries. But there could be no such thing. Peace of mind was something I’d long since parted ways with since Jonathan’s death. A heavy and suffocating shadow of angst and wrath loomed in the background, only growing incrementally as time passed, keeping its presence under wraps.

“Earth to Jared,” dad snapped me out of my thoughts, “mind hitting the switch?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” I did as was asked, then turned around to see dad release a sigh of relief. “Say, dad, if you knew something bad was about to happen – something really bad – but there was no one you could trust to help you,” I replaced the headgear to hang around my neck, “what would you do?”

He said nothing, instead choosing to simply stare at me. What’s he thinking? I wondered. He finally broke eye contact when he looked at the scaffolding and made his way down. His calloused palms shook my dirt-blonde hair, ruffling it.

“I know they’re the same person,” he began, confusing me a little, “but I need to ask who’s asking. Jared or the hero?”

“Does it matter?” I eyed him, “Would the answer be different?”

He chortled softly, “Nah,” he admitted, “it’s just that I can’t help but think the advice I’m about to share will help the hero, but endanger Jared. Those mothers of yours won’t be happy.”

“Tell me anyway,” I urged him.

After a playful shrug, he took a few seconds to let an air of seriousness encapsulate us. Without breaking eye-contact, he placed his hand on my shoulder, “There will be times when you’re on your own, when your back’s against the wall. There will be times when you feel the entire world is working against you. I’ve had those times, and I lived through them by trusting myself. When it felt like the world was going one way and I was going the other, of course I stopped and doubted myself. I lived in fear that I made the wrong decisions, I lived in fear that those decisions would haunt me for the rest of my life. And for a while, I even followed everyone else. But even after I abandoned my own path to go where everyone else was going, I still wasn’t able to see what they were seeing, because I’m different from everyone else, and so are you. Don’t doubt the path you’ve taken, even if it’s weird or against the norm. No one will see its beauty like you can. Work on that path and do your best, until you can look back and say that you’re proud for following what you believed in.” He removed his hand from my shoulder and stretched his arms, “Besides, before you trust others, you have to learn to trust yourself.”

“Trust myself, huh?” I shivered a little. Can I even do that? I questioned my very ambitions. Do I really care what happens to a bunch of strangers? A dilemma I’ve fought with reared its head again. It wasn’t like before, when Cennet specifically forced me to live in the face of danger. Yet, I still found myself in the thick of things. Couldn’t I just let all of this go? Why am I doing this? I took a step back, literally and figuratively, looking at myself. Yet, I could see nothing. What the hell? I grew frustrated at my indecisiveness. Does it even matter anymore? Is it wrong to help others even if I don’t actually care? Of course not. I answered myself and concreted my resolve once again. This path that I wanted to follow, was one I’d have to trust myself with.

Besides, I wasn’t totally alone, was I?