LIGHTNOVELONLINE 『Chapter 13: Negotiations』
A typical summer day at the academy. The sun shines brightly, the kids are lively, and there hasn't been any spiritual notices throughout the day. Most students are out playing soccer. Some are out taking the opportunity to spar. You notice one of your peers grilling outside. His odd purple streak in his hair glimmers in the sunlight. He's wearing a tanktop and, from what it looks like, shorts, for the first time in a long while. He's one of the few people you actually respect, seeing as how he rivals your intelligence, even if its in different fields.
You hear a voice call out to you. "Jinsei!"
You look around yourself...yes. Jinsei. Jinsei Tsudzuku, casually sitting on a bench. Doing... nothing. You turn around and see who the voice came from. Ah yes, your old friend.
Kai Miyagi. A handsome tall student with black spiky hair, a biker jacket atop his uniform, baggy pants, and a cheesy grin permanently plastered on his face.
"Man, what's up with you? You're just sitting there moping around." He goes up to your face, pinches your cheeks, and rapidly pulls them in and out in a teasing fashion. "Nyu! Nyu! Nyu! Nyu!"
"Stop that," you say to him, slapping away his hands.
"Oh come on, you love it."
"I don't," you respond, turning your face away to hide your smile.
He sits right next to you, wraps his arm around your shoulder, and pulls you closer to him. He forces his face to take on a serious expression and looks rapidly at all the people, like a prairie dog scouting out for predators. "What are we looking at?" He says in the goofiest, serious voice possible. To be frank, you think this is stupid. Yet you're smiling.
"Nothing, I'm just-"
A cold shiver runs down your spine. You look around. Despite the sun shining on you, the breeze is surprisingly cold.
Kai looks at you, and stops his expression. "What's wrong?" He asks you.
"Nothing I'm just...It's not just me right?"
He tilts his head. "What do you mean?"
"It's cold right? Like the wind is cold?"
He looks at you confused. "...I don't... No, not really? I'mma be honest, I'm burning in this weather. I should probably take off this jacket actually..."
"I see..." you respond. "I suppose I'm just skinny."
"Tch, no shit! You should eat more dude, I'm serious," responds Kai with a smile. "It's not healthy to be as skinny as you are."
"I'm fine," you say, rolling your eyes.
"Oh come on, who are you trying to impress? Eh? C'mon, tell me." Says Kai, playfully nudging your arm
"I'm not interested in anyone at the moment... or in general."
"...I call bullshit" says Kai, before yawning and stretching his arms out.
"You can call it whatever you want, it's the truth."
"Yeah man, you're just needlessly flexing how hot you are by being all lean and toned or whatever. I totally believe you," responds Kai, smiling.
Your cheeks turn red.
"Say anyway," he continues, "so what's up with you anyway? I see you sitting alone out here."
"I'm simply observing..." you say instinctively.
"Observing? Observing what?"
"Observing..."
You pause.
"I...I don't know?"
He raises his eyebrow. "That's a first."
"No I...I don't know why I'm here...?"
You start to shiver more and more. You look at Kai once again.
He looks concerned.
For a split moment you could've sworn blood adorned his face yet, he's perfectly fine right now.
"Jinsei... are you okay?"
"I-I..."
You try to speak up. You hear your heart beat thump through your chest. You feel your blood rush. Your fingers twitch. All of this yet you can't move. After trying to speak louder and louder, an audible murmur finally leaves your lips.
"Kai..."
"...Jinsei?"
"Kai..."
In one last attempt to move, you force all of your muscles, all of your ki, to move your body. You touch his face and frantically grasp it. One last physical memory. His soft lips. His pointy nose. His malleable cheeks. His radiant, golden eyes. His eyelids, his small ears, memorizing every single skin cell, follicle, and molecule that makes up his face.
As much as he instinctively wants to pull back, he lets you do this to him. You uncover his face. He looks at you worried, and gently holds your head with his hands as well.
"Jins-"
"Kai!"
All of a sudden you're in a different place. It's pitch black outside. You're inside A cramped pick-up truck with two other people: Chad, and Edward. The truck stops to a screeching halt. The driver, Chad, immediately looks back. "Jinsei, are you okay?" He asks.
"Apparently not," responds the passenger, Edward, rolling his eyes.
"What... what happened?" You ask. You notice the time on the truck's clock: 11:32 PM
"You were talking in your sleep when all of a sudden you screamed the word Kai and startled both of us." Explains Edward.
"Ah yes... nevermind that."
Chad pauses and looks back at you once more. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
You stare at him.
"If you need to get something off your chest," he continues, "I can gladly-"
"Its none of your concern," you rebut.
"Thank fuck..." you hear Edward whisper under his breath.
You ignore Edward and continue talking to Chad. "Keep driving. How long do we have until we reach the field?"
"Well, they said to park the truck on the side lane and walk some acres through the cornfields," explains Chad. "Otherwise, we're pretty close, say... ten minutes?"
"Alright. Move forward."
Chad then drives forward, closer to the underground.
.
.
.
3:40 AM
Jinsei stands in the middle of the Wisconsin plains, only a mile or so away from the city.
Next to his feet are the unconscious bodies of Jules and Vincent. Both of them are bound by red strings, both from their own blood mixed in with Jinsei's blood. The strings are tight, cutting into their wrist and ankles. An excessive amount of tape covers both of their mouths.
Tired, Jinsei simply stands, and waits, crossing his arms. Despite his injuries, the metal that he controls is doing a fine job hiding underneath his clothes, puppetting his body as a sort of pseudo-exoskeleton. This of course gives his mind a break, disabling telekinesis he used to perform the same function. He reapplies his hair tie, and styles his hair into a manbun again. Standing for a long while, he simply waits.
Fifteen yards away, surrounding Jinsei, four people encroach on the sorcerer, all wearing invisible cloaks. Not a single sound escapes their lips. Nor a rustle from the ground they step on, nor a flap from their clothes. All of their sights are on Jinsei. They too, simply wait.
RING RING RING RING
Jule's phone rings in Jinsei's pocket. The sorcerer sighs.
"(It's all or nothing,)" he thinks to himself.
After three rings, Jinsei picks up the phone.
"Jules...Jules! Are you alright?" asks a female agent through the phone.
"Quit the act," demands Jinsei. "We all know what's happening here. I would like to talk to your director. I know he's listening in."
A pause from the other side occurs. Silence for a few seconds, indicating they muted the phone. The agent unmutes and responds: "who is this?"
"I am not interested in talking to you. Both of your agents are defeated, and I would like to negotiate with your director. If I do not speak to him within the next minute, both of these agents will suffer the consequences."
Another pause occurs. Within thirty seconds, the gruff voice of an old man comes out of the phone. "Chief Washington speaking. Who do I have the displeasure of talking to?"
"Hello sir, you may call me Scion for now. I'll be straightforward with you. Both of your agents have been defeated however, they are fine... for now. Both are unconscious and for things to go smoothly, I'd prefer if you listened to me carefully."
"How do I know you're not full of shit."
"Well for starters, I can confirm the identities of the agents." Jinsei then pulls out the IDs of the agents that he rummaged through earlier while he was waiting. "One, is Vincent Pinkerton, and the other is Jules..." Jinsei, confused, looks at the front and back of the ID card. "...no surname..."
"And what does that prove? You could've just taken their IDs and have their corpses lying around."
"Well for starters, if I already killed them, I'd have nothing to negotiate with. And if I did kill them, I'd have a bullet in my head by now."
"Well if he's alive, can I speak to Vincent?"
"He's unconscious. And besides, I'm not stupid. I don't know what you'll do, but I know enough not to let you talk to an agent. Especially when it has to do with bargaining. But I can promise you, they're both alive. I'll even make a contract right here, right now, to prove it. If Jules and Vincent are dead, then I too will die within the next five seconds." Jinsei pauses for five seconds before returning to the phone. "And here I am."
"Tch. Nice theatrics. What is it that you want exactly?"
"You're one to talk. Before we start negotiating, I want to make it clear: I want all of your men to stand down."
Silence occurs from the other side, before Washington responds: "What?"
"I can assure you, I can see them all." [Scanning] the area, Jinsei blankly looks forward. "I'm not just talking to you, Washington." Jinsei puts the phone on speaker, before continuing. "I can see you," he says, looking straight forward, "you, with the shortbow," he continues, looking to his right, "you," looking to his left, "and you, with the swords", not even bothering to look behind himself.
Confused, the cloaked agents all become stiff, unmoving from their position. Unbeknownst to the technologically invisible agents on the field, are two other invisible sorcerers. Though the CIA agents' cloaks hide their thermal signatures and bend light to make them invisible, Solomon's spell, [Guardian Angel] makes the devices seem like futile imitations. Undetectable by every means of the word, be it thermal, spiritual, mental, physical, and every other definition in-between, Solomon and Chad crouch patiently in the tall grass, waiting for Jinsei's signal. Solomon shivers; be it out of nerves or because its a cold, damp night in the field is up in the air. Chad on the other hand stares at the agent standing between himself and Jinsei. Though still invisible to the eye, Chad can clearly sense their soul, and feel the vibrations coming from their ki to the ground. "(Eight feet away...)" Thinks Chad to himself, waiting to pounce.
Jinsei patiently waits for Washington to respond.
No response. Not to be confused with the phone being muted; there is simply no response.
Jinsei puts the phone close to his face, and walks forward. "I know what you're doing," states Jinsei. "It won't work. But to keep things civil between us, I'll show you proof about your plan." Jinsei walks slowly yet surely towards the invisible foe right in front of him, and stretches his arm out. "Here," he states, handing his phone to the air. "Go ahead Washington. Give them an order."
Dead air, before the Chief responds again: "Go ahead. Pick up the phone," reluctantly responds Washington.
Out of thin air, a hand slowly unveils their own cloak. They reveal themselves to be a short, lightskin girl, standing at 5'2", sporting a similar suit that Vincent and Jules are wearing. Her hair is styled into a puffy, black afro. She takes off the nightvision goggles that take up the majority of her face. She has freckles.
She slowly yet surely reaches for the phone. Meanwhile, the three other agents see the perfect opportunity to grab Vincent and Jules' bodies, but simply wait for Washington's orders. Sweating by the second, they patiently stare at their comrade. Chad on the hand clenches his teeth, and readies the handsign to call upon one of his family's spirits. Solomon quivers.
The girl finally grabs the phone, and slowly holds it near her mouth.
She whispers, albeit, loudly.
"Boss...
I think he's onto us..."
Everyone; Washington on the other line, Solomon and Chad, the three other agents, and Jinsei, all make the same semi-irked face.
"..." An audible sigh is let out on the other side of the call. "Geovanni... just give him back the phone."
Geovanni casually obliges: "Here you go."
"Thank you." Simply responds Jinsei.
Jinsei walks back to the center, in-between all the other agents. "Now that that's out of the way," says Jinsei aloud, "I want to continue with a disclaimer. Both of these agents have been defeated, and those who fight me will face a worse consequence."
All four of the agents' ki spikes up. Chad clenches his fist, brimming with ki that rivals all of the others combined.
"I would rather it not come to that, so let's all agree to a truce for now." States Jinsei. "So what do you say, Washington? A temporary truce for a moment of time. Your men will hear every word of what I have to say, and I'll answer any questions you may have; complete transparency."
Washington pauses before continuing. "Fine. Who are you? You have a minute to explain yourself."
"You may call me Scion for now. I am a former student of Japan's Ordinance Academy. Due to some illegal actions, I am now a fugitive on the run, traveling from country to country, until I ended up here. I met up with other sorcerers residing in the states and, as I'm sure you know, we eventually got our hands on the railroad spike. I'm well aware of your government's sour relationship with Japan's spiritual field. However, I'm willing to help your organization as long as you help me. May I continue?"
"...You may."
"Thank you. What I have to offer is invaluable information pertaining to the Ordinance Academy, how it works, who is in control, and most importantly, how they get so strong. With my help, I can teach your agents to get a better grasp at magic, ki, and psychopower. Not only that, but with me and my group, if you need something done in Japan, you don't run the risk of having an an operative, being found and causing concern for the Ordinance Academy."
"And what do you want in return?"
"Simple. I want immunity, and your aid. First off, your technology department, along with the rest of your resources will help me with my goal a lot faster compared to my own resources. Secondly, having immunity from the law for me and my crew will be helpful. I doubt we'll be causing much concern, but it certainly helps. Additionally, I trust that with our agreement, we'd stop getting hunted down by your men. Finally, with my knowledge and your resources, we will be able to take down the Ordinance Academy for good."
"...But what is your goal exactly?"
Jinsei hesitates for a split second. With a hoarse voice, he explains: "I need to bring back the dead."
"...But won't that cause the apocalypse?"
A soft noise comes out of Jinsei's mouth, before it grows into a quiet chuckle. "So I'm sure you're aware of that too? I shouldn't be surprised considering its a law that most countries agree not to do. However, keep this in mind, Chief Washington. In the span of humans being on this planet for thousands of years, you mean to tell me that in all of the civilizations aware of magic, none of them- not one king, pope, or emperor has ever tried to resurrect anyone, much less themselves? You mean to tell me that not a single person managed to succeed bringing back their loved one? In the span of roughly more than ten thousand years? I do not agree. In fact, I find that incomprehensible. Even for magic being a rarity, for humans, with all of their greed, remorse, and selfishness, not one of them managed to succeed? No; no. We're still standing here. They say not to do it, but its as most religions are: simple morale tales to control the will of humans. You shouldn't do it. But you and I know the world doesn't work on simple 'shouldn'ts'. The only thing that matters is if we get punished, or not."
The wind blows. The fields rustle. Nobody moves an inch. It takes a couple of seconds for Jinsei to register that he is talking to someone, much less a crowd of people. Everyone simply stares. Some are confused. Others are weary. Some are worried. While others are nonchalant. They all stare at him. Silence.
Washington too, stays quiet, before speaking up.
"I... see your point."
"And do not worry. I'll share my information, just as much as you let me have access to all of your data. I presume your government would find resurrection to be useful."
"Yeah, no, that's pretty handy all things considered. But, we have concerns over the railroad-"
"Yes, the railroad spike. Do not worry, we'll gladly hand you back the spike, as long as we're able to have access to it with your permission. From what I know of it, it'll come in handy with dealing with the sorcerers of Japan."
"Very well then Scion. I hate to admit it but, you drive a hard bargain. So when would you like to officially join-"
"Let me make it very clear, Washington."
"He keeps cutting me off..." murmurs the chief under his breath.
"We; my group and I, do not work for you. We are simply partners in the matter. We have access to your resources, you have access to my intel and teachings. That's it. With this in mind, I hope you will agree to my contract: any form or command pertaining to: withholding information, lying, deception, act of betrayal, or harm against each other's parties will punish the deceiver by death. This goes for the leaders of the groups, as well as those following under them. Do you agree to these terms?"
Washington on the other line clearly sucks in some air, before exhaling a loud sigh. "Yes."
"Good. I assume we're done here." Instantly, the red wires restricting Jules and Vincent all melt into red strings of flimsy goop.
"Precisely." An audible click is heard through Washington's side of the call before he continues: "All four of you can stand down."
A raspy voice coming behind Jinsei responds: "𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕕𝕠 𝕨𝕖 𝕕𝕠 𝕟𝕠𝕨 𝕓𝕠𝕤𝕤?"
"You figure it out. They're your co-workers now. Just come back to the base whenever you all are done."
And with a simple *click* Washington leaves the call(s).
The three other agents all uncloak themselves, and take off each of their own earpieces.
The first one is a tall, slender man standing at around 6'3". He's wearing a cape, a pointed archer's cap, a quiver full of arrows on his back, pointed leather boots, dark green vest and puffy trousers skewed with maroon accents. In his hand is a wooden shortbow that seems so finely crafted, the only conclusion is that it's handmade. For some odd reason, his cap seems to always hide his eyes in the same angle, no matter where the light is coming from.
"Good evening. My name is Scotia. Pleasure to meet you."
The one with the raspy voice is a man wearing a latex body suit covered in bandages and leather wraps. He stands at 5'7", with long, black, shoulder-length hair. An unnecessary amount of belts scatter throughout his outfit. Aside from keeping his clothes together (which already fit him perfectly), they seem to serve no practical purpose. His slim boots seem to make no sound, despite their rubber making. Despite his body suit acting as a one piece, the torso is styled as a tanktop. Yet he still wears forearm bands full of belts. His mouth and neck are permanently covered by bandages. The only slivers of skin exposed are his pale hands with elongated fingernails. He sheathes the two katanas in hands into his hip holsters. He takes off his nightvision goggles, only to reveal his serpentine eyes.
"ℤ𝕏𝕍ℂ𝟡," he hisses.
"That's your name?" Says Chad, as Solomon disables [Guardian Angel].
Immediately, all the other agents ready themselves with either their weapons and/or ki. "Hang on!" Alerts Jinsei. "They're with me."
ZXVC9 holsters his swords and turns to Jinsei. "𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟 𝕜𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕤, 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕟'𝕥 𝕪𝕠𝕦?"
"No," assures Jinsei. "I only had my comrades on standby, just in case the negotiation were to go sour. But since we're all on the same side now, there's nothing to worry about."
The bandaged agent grumbles.
Chad then turns to ZXVC9. "You didn't answer my question."
In an annoyed tone, ZXVC9 responds, "𝕐𝕖𝕤, 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥'𝕤 𝕞𝕪 𝕟𝕒𝕞𝕖."
"...Really?" Says Solomon in a genuinely confused tone. "That's your god given name? Your parents actually called you that?"
The short lightskin girl props up. "He just thinks it sounds cool."
"𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕞𝕖 ℤ 𝕚𝕗 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕥𝕠𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕝𝕖," mutters Z.
Chad turns to the girl, "is his voice real too?"
She ponders "Ummmmmm...I actually don't know?"
"𝕆𝕜𝕒𝕪 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕥𝕠 𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕤 𝕞𝕖 𝕠𝕗𝕗," responds ZXVC9 in an irked tone.
"Who?" Responds Solomon.
"𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦💀"
"Oh look, he does that too..." says Chad. "What's your name by the way?" he continues, asking the girl.
"The names Geovanni. You can call me Geo... or Vanni. I don't mind either." She presents her hand outwards. "Pleased to meet ya!"
Chad shakes her hand, which inexplicably morphs into a perfectly choreographed complicated bro-tier handshake that involves a interlocking specific fingers, a fist bump, a double slap, patty cake, a flip or two, and a headbutt.
"Nice to meet you," says Chad with a pleasant tone.
Solomon turns to his comrade, "Chad have you met this woman before?"
Chad turns to his friend. "No."
"Then how'd you-"
"I have no idea, I'm actually a little freaked out right now."
"Helloooo..." says one last voice behind Chad and Solomon.
The two of them turn around.
"Sorry," he continues. "I've been calling out to you guys for several minutes but I hate to interrupt."
They see a soft looking 5'4" man wearing the typical suit that Vincent, Jules, and Geovanni wear, though with tinges of orange and striped with blue accents. He wears circular prescription glasses and has dirty-blonde short hair. He slings his 50 cal. sniper rifle on his back.
"My name is Decker; Dani Decker- not to be confused with my older, more popular brother hehe..."
Chad and Solomon stare at him.
"...We don't even know who he is," states Chad in a confused tone.
"Sorry, I'm just used to people recognizing Decker and then clarifying, hehe...."
Chad rolls his eyes. "...Ok...?"
"Anyway, here's to hoping a bright and productive future with each other," says Dani with a gentle smile. "By the way, I don't think you've introduced yourselves. Who are you?"
Chad scratches his head and awkwardly stands around. "Hi I'm... Chad."
"..."
Silence.
"That's it?" Asks Vanni.
"...Yeah.
...
I'm not really good at the whole introduction thing. I work with Solomon over here and as you've already met, Jinsei over there."
"Who do work for?" Asks Dani.
"Umm... what."
"FBI? DEA? Or are all of you just an independent group?"
"I uh... I don't feel comfortable telling you where I work and all but, if you just wanna know on the magic side of it, we just do our own thing. It's kinda just like...yeah."
All of the agents blankly stare. "That's uh... very interesting, Chad!" Says Dani with a forced smile.
"(Dammit now he thinks I'm the pathetic one)" thinks Chad to himself.
"Howdy fellas! My name is Solomon Belko! I'm a devout follower of Christ and it is my mission to spread the lord's influence." Says Solomon.
"Lord's influence... what does that mean?" Asks Scotia.
"Simple. It is my mission to tear down those that oppose the one true god, and also to claim vengeance against Japan for their brainwashing comics. Their influence over the country, as well as their wrong opinions and false gods just rub me the wrong way, you know? I'll admit, the last one is more of a personal pet peeve rather than a mission I was tasked with but, I am his servant, and he'll watch over me as long as I continue my mission. That's all there is to it." Responds Solomon with a smile.
All of them stare.
Rustling coming from the ground, the sorcerers and agents look at the center: Vincent and Jules are waking up.
Jules sits up. He opens his eyes and sees Jinsei nonchalantly standing a couple feet away. Jules glares at Jinsei; Jinsei gives an apathetic look. Jules starts: "...So you're still-"
"OH FUCK," yells Vincent, recognizing Chad from afar. "Oh hey Geo," he continues. "Say, what are you doing over here? And more importantly, why're you standing right next to these pricks?"
"As in these guys?" asks Geo, pointing at Chad and Solomon. "Or this one?" Pointing at Z.
"𝕆𝕜 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕠𝕟𝕖'𝕤 𝕛𝕦𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕔𝕖𝕕."
"Yeah...Yeeeeaaahhh..." Reluctantly agrees Geovanni.
"Anyway, what's going on?" Continues Vincent. "This asshole rammed me through a brick wall and now none of you are fighting."
Chad walks up to Vincent and lends him a hand. "Well, by the looks of it, as of two minutes ago, we're co-workers now."
"Oh great, I have a lecture awaiting me." Vincent rolls his eyes and gets up with his own hands. "Uh, yeah, I'll just forget about the fractured bones and hematomas all over my body."
"Great, glad to hear," responds Chad.
"YEAH. I HOPE YOU ARE."
"YEP."
"MM-HM."
"SURE THING BUDDY.
"OF COURSE PAL."
Z looks at them annoyed. "𝕀 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜 𝕀 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕖𝕚𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕪𝕠𝕦."
Vincent immediately turns to Z: "Bitch I know I don't like you."
Chad turns to Geo and whispers, "damn it, that one's actually pretty good."
"Yeah no I'm stealing that..." concurs Geo.
Meanwhile, Jules stands awkwardly next to Jinsei. They both stare at their co-workers before Jules starts.
"I suppose none of that was personal, I'm assuming?"
"Of course," says Jinsei. "We don't know each other. It's all-"
"Just business?"
"Correct. And for the most part I'm glad."
"What do you mean?" Asks Jules.
"Don't mistake this as a compliment however..." Jinsei scratches the back of his neck. "You're... very annoying to fight."
Jules blankly looks at Jinsei. "I'll... keep that in mind...?"
"I'm glad I didn't fight you with more training. Even if you depended a majority of your fight with magical items, simple plans took you a long way."
"Thanks."
Jules kicks the dirt before he turns to Jinsei.
"What's your plan anyway?"
"To simply use your organization for my benefit. Since taking down the Ordinance Academy is in both of our interests, we're both even."
The air sits still.
Jules then pries further.
"But why-"
"That's none of your concern."
Jules looks Jinsei up and down. Despite still being a novice, he can sense Jinsei's ki is stiff, and his soul briefly brims with one sentiment.
Malice.
"...My bad. I won't pry further."
"As you should." Mutters Jinsei with a hoarse breath.
The group all eventually circle around five minutes later.
"Alright gang," starts Dani. "Now that we're all on the same page/side, we can go about things in two ways. We can all go back our own separate ways, the way we came from and whatnot, or we can go about things differently."
"What do you mean by different?" Asks Solomon.
"That's the thing, I don't know either. I was just bringing that up just in case someone had a different plan of going about things."
"Oh, actually, I have an idea," says Geovanni.
"Alrighty then," says Dani. "We'll flip a coin. If its heads we go the first plan and go back the way we came. If it's tails, we go with Geo's plan."
Dani flips it.
. . .
Dani checks which side landed.
.
.
.
4:00 AM
Indigo blankets the sky. The temperature is lukewarm, and the air is humid. A bored waitress at Denny's mops the floor; the two cooks idle around, distracting themselves by cleaning the grill and pans. It's been dead for about an hour.
The entrance door then slides open.
The waitress looks over. "Hello, be with you an a min-"
She sees a rag tag of nine people, wearing different types of outfits. Some look clean and refined. Others look unusual. And then there's four men that look like they just crawled out of a bus that trampled over them. Some awkwardly, others nonchalantly, walk into the Denny's.
"Howdy ma'am!" Greets Solomon with his arms spread out. "Table for nine please. And do take your time." He says with a smile.
A phone rings in Jinsei's pocket.
RING RING RING RING
He checks it; it's Edward.
Jinsei picks it up. "What happened?"
"What happened? You guys left and never came back. You know they're closing soon, right?"
"Oh yeah... we're..." Jinsei looks at the table ordering food while the waitress silently stresses over the orders. "We're quite busy at the moment."
"Well then, where am I supposed to go now?"
"Can't you use your ability to go bac-"
"Oh yeah- I mean... I guess I can. It's just super exhausting so I wanna leave that for when I really need it."
"...Then what's the problem?"
"Well I'd really prefer if you guys just picked me up, not gonna lie."
"We left the truck, so you can use it."
"Oh yeah, good idea! Little issue though, uh, you guys never gave me the key."
Jinsei freezes and turns to Chad. "Did you not leave the keys in the truck?"
"...No, that's stupid. Why?"
Jinsei sighs. "Can't you ask someone a favor? Or get one of those taxi apps or something?"
"Mmm... I mean those cost money but... I guess. Though, I could probably slip in a favor with this person I met. Well whatever, I'll figure it out. Meet you at the hotel?"
"Sure. Oh before you hang up, I need to inform you that we work with the CIA now."
"...uh...so we work for the government?"
"Not 'for', with the government."
"...I don't know how to respond to that but uh...how much does that change?"
"In the grand scheme of things, very little-"
"Oh thank fuck, ok. And we get to get away with things more often right?"
"That's an odd question but I suppose technically yes-"
"Alright cool you can tell me the details later bye."
*CLICK*
Jinsei looks at his phone, weirded out.
.
.
.
Earlier.
2:00 AM
Meanwhile, at the Underground.
Just as Chad and Jinsei go up the elevator, Edward complains to himself. All of a sudden, a purple haired, androgynous person sits right next to him. Edward notices they have a small notebook in one hand. "So," they say with a smile. "What's your name?"
Edward, clearly caught off guard, looks at them.
"...Huh?