“Wait!” Sam spat out the second a thought buried in her head burst up to the surface. “Sorry, is there a way to check for messages through your screen?” she asked after realizing her reaction was a bit over the top.

Kaylen turned back with a concerned look after initially heading for the patio. “Why, who would you need to contact tonight?”

“I had to ask my dad about a pilot me and Sebastian met earlier… some random from Infinity asking us for our autographs. If my dad’s trying to message me now, he might get worried it isn’t getting through.”

“What was his name?”

“Something Hispanic. Oh, wait. I remember Sebastian saying he had an accent from, shit, where was that country again? Started with an A...” She initially had paused to allow Kaylen a second to respond, but upon a long, drawn silence she looked up to see she was gone. “Was it something I said?” she mumbled to herself before taking her mobile out to check her signal strength by force of habit. Right…

Footsteps were heard once more as Kaylen appeared with her hand stretched out and open. “Mobile. Watch. Both.”

Sam hesitated, but never thought to consciously and outrightly deny someone she owed so much. “Okay, but… why?”

Kaylen took the two items and quickly turned for the patio, ignoring Sam’s reaction to the hammer she held in her other hand.

All Sam could do was sit back and watch, now feeling her gut turn toward exasperation for once rather than fear. She could tell exactly what was about to happen, and she had lost so many handsets she lost count completely.

Not again! Are you serious!?

And when Kaylen returned while being followed by an angrier Sebastian and Renzo, she quickly tossed the four items on the counter top. “You’ve been bugged,” she flatly announced and quickly proceeded to smash them to oblivion.

“Wait! How do you know!” Sam screamed in between the loud bangs. Finally, the hammer stopped as she took her hands off her ears. “What made you think that all the sudden?”

“You said some rando from Argentina asked for your autograph, right?” Kaylen answered back as she caught her breath. “You DO realize Hexa policy keeps your little top priority ops on the complete down-low, right? How would some rando from a soon-to-be hotbed just… like, fully recognize you two just in passing on a random ass street in Colombia?”

Sam felt a different punch to the gut this time, realizing their folly. She and Sebastian had both downplayed their need for security once back on Earth, but it made sense now. She had forgotten it was only her time in Bogota that ran her through operations at lower-level classification levels. Everything else was experimental. “Well, shit…”

“How do you know that?” Sebastian popped in with his curiosity genuinely piqued.

“I’ve technically been living as a merc for an Underground cell based out of Bahia Blanca,” Kaylen spoke as she looked over at Renzo. “You can ask him more later since he got the whole spill, but once your girl here mentioned an Argentine, my antenna went full on, and yeah…”

[Good thing I still have my shit intact,] Renzo chuckled as he tried to keep his own nerves calm. [Or I wouldn’t know what the hell you two are going on about. Brother, is that true about who you met?]

“Yes,” Sebastian answered back but in English, knowing Sam just lost her translation capabilities once more. “We weren’t being careful. We do need to avoid the open from now on, Sam. But we can use Renzo’s things tomorrow and see if your father answered back.”

“Look, hold on,” Kaylen fussed after a heavy sigh. “I can most likely get something done about that but not until the morning. Can we stretch back and chill, for real? Real fuckin’ tired right now.”

[Say less,] Renzo chuckled with a similarly exhausted sigh, standing up to head for the refrigerator once more. [Good thing I stay stocked up!]

Sam forced a smile, knowing it would be best to loosen up. But the worries brought about concerning the Argentine they met along with the stress from being without her own means of communication stripped away yet again sat heavy on her mind. Definitely NOT the way I envisioned our last few days of vacation starting. She then noticed Sebastian didn’t seem quite as bothered as he normally would have been. Must be nice to have family to feel comfortable around. Reminds me of…

She shook her head immediately, forcing out the memories of her first encounter with Sebastian and Renzo in the same place months back, seeing Sebastian join in on what she swore had to be a mockery of her. She knew he was a changed man, but seeing the two together again was a bit tougher than expected, and in ways she had forgotten up until now.

She let out a long breath as she reached for the beer Sebastian passed over to her as they headed outside.

Just enjoy the night while you can. Stop overthinking shit.

.

.

●　● Palermo District, Buenos Aires, Argentina

At water’s edge, several square kilometers of reclaimed land just beyond the grounds of the old Jorge Newbery Airport stretched out to the sea, providing the space needed for decades of port expansions. But being the first of such projects, its age showed as even through the night’s darkness it stood out compared to its more modern backdrop.

“Thank you for making time on such short notice, Representative,” Isaiah spoke to Orsi as the two stood outside the gates of the outermost, least used dock.

“I always assume the most importance when I get unexpected messages from you, Reaper, especially when it must be in person,” Orsi lightheartedly replied, taking note of the condition of the old warehouse they were about to walk into. “Not trying to hide in the mountains this time?”

Hiding… he thought to himself upon the mild confrontation. I have to admit, this whole final operation is only the second time I’ve been this scared since coming to Earth.

“I made a point not to this time, but let me get to business first if I may,” Isaiah continued through the masking of his thoughts, opening the door to what would lead to the old front office reception. They eventually ended up in a smaller, separate office space behind the empty reception desk. He then turned on the light and closed the door, reaching for the top notebook placed on a stack of others.

But things have gotten almost out of hand twice too many times. I have to take these steps forward before she has a chance to read my moves.

“I need to alter our plans somewhat.”

Orsi kept his calm demeanor, hiding his wariness. “I pray it’s only to delay as I still fear my boy might need more time given the heaviness of his assignments so far away.”

He showed him the notebook, pointing to the writing up top, which wrote: “Package intercepted. Traces and witnesses -> Codename Angel. Confirmed by Codename Sly,” followed by transmission histories between himself and others below. He awaited Orsi’s response through any change in his demeanor, following his eyes along the way. And by protocol Isaiah had suggested, Orsi remained silent. “You know who that is. Alternate route, and shorten the execution date by three days.”

Orsi flashed a grimace before smiling as if he realized he too had his own say. “No wonder you couldn’t risk this over even the most secure line.”

Of course, he remembers my mother. May his grudge be still as large as it was before.

“I need more from you on the surface if this is how we will do things,” Orsi finally responded. “Especially if you want this done sooner. You have to be by my side out there before unleashing that thing if you want this plan to work.”

Isaiah wasn’t fazed, rather he was fully accepting as if he already planned to accommodate such a counter offer. Holding back the weight of the risk carried by going public, he firmly replied: “Of course. Full frontal. Name, face, everything.” But even the thought of it still had him beyond anxious deep down.

Orsi returned the visible confidence with a grin and a handing back of his notebook. “I will have this taken care of, then. Leave it to my men. And as for your new boy? He’ll adapt.”

.

Isaiah saw him off before retiring back to the same office room. It was rather quiet, and only the sounds of a skeleton crew kept up what little background noise there was as the visible surface operations had to remain active. Staring back at his notes he had been reorganizing since over a week ago, his mind slipped back into recounting the news of his mother’s recent involvement.

“She was looking for you, but yet she still came for me first,” Marian spoke to Isaiah over the secure satellite linked line. “I can’t tell if she’s doing this out of desire to rip our operations apart or if she’s actually trying to help you.”

“Thank you for sticking to the plan. It really means a lot.” He sat in his truck, doors closed, windows up despite the muggy, sweltering evening weather.

She let out a tired sigh before pressing on: “Then could you please answer my concern?”

He knew he couldn’t avoid this one even though he tried. He always had a strained relationship with his mother, and it was far beyond what his sister had ever dealt with. But that was why it hit harder to hear his mother reaching the inevitable point of direct involvement, much harder than it hit when Sam came into the picture. “If it’s out of motherly love,” he started with an equally strained mind. “She would have actually tried to stop Sam from ever taking part. She’s not in it for us, she’s in it for something else.”

“It’s unlike you to lie about your family.”

“I…”

Wait… Am I lying?

He got caught off guard, which was even more unlike himself.

“This is one big reason why I called you. You may act like you aren’t worried but you can’t stop me from being worried. You can’t show your face at this rate. She’s coming and I don’t know how to stop her, but you can help me figure out what I can do.”

“It’s because I can’t stop to think about these things. You know we never have time or resources to waste on emotions. I have my assets in line and I can simply set things to an earlier date.”

“You still have other options.”

“No.” Confidence built back up the moment he let go of his thoughts concerning his mother. The plan in front of him, the success he foresees based upon what he had built all this time, that is what brought him respite as always. “Things are still as we planned. The people need to see every one of us. Riots don’t win over the big fish, peer pressure does. I already have secured backing from the networks in the NAU, EU, and China’s renewed alliance in the Pacific. My mother can’t stop anything once the Underground fully goes public.”

Marian paused, but not because she felt she couldn’t make a convincing retort. “I had another reason why I called you- I got a huge tip from a connection back in Akkadia. She was the one who stole the Curtana. It’s somewhere on Earth as we speak.”

Isaiah couldn’t respond. He instead was the one left unable to retort. “Sorry. I’ll contact you again once I process this.”

He remained in his seat in silence, heavy with thought long after disconnecting.

Marian’s right. The Curtana? One of the very devices being sent to destroy me? I was lucky to survive the Galatine as it was, and if she wanted to stop me, she’d leave it in Hexa’s hands. Mom, what the hell are you trying to do here?

.

That was the last conversation he held with Marian, even after Gabriel gave him a heads up that confirmed everything Marian explained about his mother. Thoughts continued to race through his head, and the continued silence further amplified the ruckus going on inside.

After taking a seat, he reached for a headset that had been placed on the table and began clicking on several switching and encryption devices before dialing in a channel. “Bender, status report,” he spoke up once the connection was established.

“My men and I are in place, waiting for the cargo to pass through,” Adrian’s voice answered back moments later.

“Update for orders. Once you secure the packages, move them directly to the backup coordinates and make your switchover the second our transportation we secured for you arrives.”

“But,” Adrian fussed. “That puts the plan days ahead of schedule!”

“You are about to not only deal with Samantha Knight and Sebastian Navarre but also people far more worrisome.”

“Wait, you knew I let those two go?” Adrian questioned with a gulp of guilt.

“You chose right to ignore those orders from Rex’s lackeys, but the reality of it all remains unchanged. You have to take into consideration the chances of them showing up.”

“Then, who else has us in a hurry?”

“For one, turns out Kaylen Rodgers is Emilia of Enrai, and she might become a factor depending.” He took the silence as indication he had never been properly filled in by Rex after the temporary switchover of hands away from Bishop. “And the other is someone who knows our operation possibly. Someone we can’t trace but they can’t trace us either if we move while they’re radio dark.”

It took a long second for Adrian to digest the situation, but he couldn’t argue. “Understood.”

“And again, I know how tough it’s been leaving your post of two years with Bishop, but trust us, his merging with Rex will be his undoing and you need no part of it.”

“I do trust you, but only because the man I owe my life to does. But no matter, we will light up the dawn tomorrow. And I will see you on the other side.”