“And yet, I'm not the woman I was when they chased me through the woods all those weeks ago, ready to end myself with my tiny knife. These men don't deserve my life. In fact, they owe me theirs.” ― Rebecca Quinn (Entangled)

  * * * *

  Lucas looked from the slip of paper in his hand to the door that he was standing in front of.

  Needless to say, that when Lucas finally had a chance to read the address that Louis had scribbled for him in a hurry, he was very nervous when he realised that the address leads to an apartment in Zalfari.

  The place where he and Leonid have both high-tailed out of not even a month ago.

  Underground territory.

  Lucas also recalled the conversation that he had with Louis when they were out of ESA headquarters the day before, far away from prying eyes and ears when the younger agent could tell Lucas what he knew about his ‘contact’.

  “I got to know Earl about two years ago during a chess tournament that I had. I later found out that he is an act activist, mostly operating under a pseudonym. He’s pretty well-known online. We shared similar interests and hobbies, so we became friends. He was even a flash fiction writer. I even helped to proofread some of his stuff. It’s how we became friends. But about two years ago, one of his stories that I was reading seemed strangely similar to a case that Team Delta was then investigating. This was before anything relating to Aegis became Team Alpha’s responsibility.”

  “A case relating to them that became one of the writer’s stories?”

  “Yeah. I asked Earl about it. He didn’t tell me in so many words. But I know what he isn’t saying. Furthermore, he is an art activist. He’s not as outspoken as some, but the fact that he’s even an activist to begin with tells me a lot about him. The last that I saw of Earl, however, he wasn’t in good health. I hadn’t seen him in person for nearly a year. Our interactions have been mainly through messages and emails for the past year, and even that has been lessening in recent months. Whether Earl will tell you anything or not is going to be up to you, Lucas."

  Lucas swallowed nervously, looking around his surroundings again. He had entered Zalfari when it was nearing sundown, wearing a hoodie with the hood drawn over his head in the hopes of not being recognised.

  So far, he hasn’t been stopped by anyone even as he followed the route that Louis had drawn out for him to Earl’s apartment, and Lucas had counted that as a blessing. But considering Leroy’s words the last time he was in Zalfari, Lucas is fairly certain he had eyes on him from the first moment he stepped foot in the town.

  Knock! Knock!

  Lucas raised a fist and knocked on the door. There was however no answer. And yet, Lucas is fairly certain there is someone in the apartment.

  “Earl? Earl Verga?” Lucas called out. “I know you’re in there. Louis sent me. He said that you had information on Aegis. I would like to know more about them. Earl?”

  There was silence for several moments before Lucas heard the faint sounds of shuffling in the apartment—like someone was dragging their feet towards the door. With a light creak, the door then opened.

  A haggard-looking young man who looked to be about a few years older than Lucas stood in the doorway, wearing an oversized grey shirt with the sleeves covering his hands, and baggy black pants. His dark hair is shaggy and falls to his shoulders—looking as if he’d just rolled out of bed. His complexion is almost waxen, with sunken cheeks and eyes.

  This man in front of Lucas looked as if a strong wind would knock him over, with how ill he looked. There was even a faint smell of medicines and sickness from him.

  “Come in.” The young man—Earl Verga, spoke in a hoarse voice, beckoning Lucas into his apartment. He then turned and walked back into his apartment without even waiting to see if Lucas would follow suit.

  “Excuse my interruption,” Lucas murmured, removing his shoes before entering the apartment.

  It looks to be a small two-room apartment. The main area of the apartment had art supplies and even art canvases on easels that were concealed by coverings thrown over them. Even with just a mere coffee table in a corner, the entire place looks cramped.

  The entire apartment however had a smell of sickness and death—Lucas would know. He had visited the hospital enough times in the past for cases that he had been investigating to be well-acquainted with the smell.

  Earl coughed harshly even as he cleared some papers and paint boxes off the coffee table, beckoning for Lucas to sit.

  “It’s one of my better days,” Earl reassured, seeing the concerned look that Lucas gave him. “I’m not going to die right here. Don’t worry.”

  But you’re not denying that you’re dying, Lucas thought to himself. Louis did mention that Earl is sick. Does he even know that his friend is dying?

  “Does…Louis know?”

  “What? That I’m dying?” Earl stated matter-of-factly in a manner so reminiscent of someone describing the weather. He coughed harshly again, reaching for a cup of water that was on the surface of the table. “He knows I’m sick. But we’re not exactly close friends. We’re more text buddies than anything.”

  Lucas has no idea what to say to that. Louis did say that Earl is an art activist. If he is one, it’s even a miracle that he even spoke to Louis, especially if Earl knew that Louis was from the ESA.

  And the fact that until Louis had told Lucas about Earl, he had never even heard about him proved that Earl had never been arrested or even appeared on the radar of the ESA.

  “Earl—”

  “Louis did say that you might be coming.” Earl cut Lucas off. “I never confirmed or denied anything, but he still guessed everything either way. Should have expected that from one of the ESA’s best criminal profilers and intelligence operatives.” He coughed harshly into his hand, with Lucas pretending not to notice Earl wiping something suspiciously red onto his pants. “Right from the start, I knew he was from the ESA, even when Louis said nothing.” He smiled a thin smile. “You lot give off a different vibe. You live and work in the underground circles for long enough, and you start to learn how to tell apart the civilians from the ESA agents. Or even identify one of our own.” He added the last part. “He however at least never said anything about me to anyone. The fact that Louis even sent you here tells me a lot.” Earl gave Lucas a calculating look. “Aegis, isn’t it?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Lucas nodded. “I’m Lucas Alescio,” he introduced himself, not knowing if Louis had informed Earl who he was. But if Louis didn’t, it’s only polite to introduce himself. Earl’s fingers twitched, and while his eyes looked exhausted, the look in them was sharp and assessing when he immediately locked onto Lucas’ face the moment Lucas had said his name.

  “…Alescio…?” Earl murmured. “I see. So you’re…” He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

  Lucas is starting to become really annoyed at the reactions of the people from the underground the moment he introduces himself. But for now, he put it aside.

  “Louis implied that you were one of Aegis’ past clients. Long before they became as well known as they are now.” Lucas went straight to the point. He knew enough from Elijah and even Louis that the people of the underground prefer it if you are frank and forthright with them. “I just…” He struggled with his words. “I just want to learn more about them, that is all. Why are they doing the things they did? What makes them this way?”

  Earl coughed harshly once more, but his coughs were more pronounced and lasted longer—to the point that it even alarmed Lucas.

  “Should I—”

  Lucas half-raised from where he was seated but was stopped from getting up any further when Earl latched a hand around his wrist.

  “No.” Earl’s voice was hoarse, but his eyes were clear. “Stay seated.” Reluctantly, Lucas fell back into his seat. “As you can see, I’m ill. I probably don’t have long to live.” He coughed again. “My doctor said that I have less than a year left. I probably don’t even have months.” He shook his head. “At the very least, I want someone to know my story should I pass on.”

  Why aren’t you in the hospital, then? That was the first thought on Lucas’ mind, but he knew better than to voice it.

  He knew by now that members of the underground don’t go to the hospital even if they’re dying, preferring to turn to underground doctors instead. Lucas wasn’t sure if it was because of some misplaced pride or if they feared being arrested should they be admitted to the hospital.

  But whatever the case, the underground circles treated hospitals like the plague.

  “So it’s true? You had encounters with Aegis before?”

  “Yes.” Earl nodded. “Though that was before they became as well-known as they are to the public today. Before becoming as famous as they are now amongst the civilian population, they’ve already gained some reputation amongst the underground circles. It’s how I learnt about them.”

  Somehow, Lucas felt that it wasn’t the complete truth.

  “Why did you engage their services? You’re not a Gifted, are you?”

  “No.” Earl shook his head. “I’m not. But my younger sister was.” Lucas tensed. And with the past tense used, it likely meant that Earl’s sister is no longer amongst the land of the living. “If you’re an ESA agent, and likely also a Gifted, then you of all people should know that Eldario is not the best place for a Gifted to be in.” As much as Lucas wanted to deny that, he knew it as the truth. “My parents died when my sister and I were kids due to a raid on our home by hunters when Angie’s Gift woke. I was about fifteen. And my sister was ten. We barely managed to escape alive, and by the skin of our teeth. The years after that had us constantly on the move and on the streets, doing whatever we could to survive and to eat. Never staying in one place for long. Always being on the move and on the lookout for hunters. Until we settled in Zephys.”

  Zephys. The territory of the infamous street gang. Even years after their destruction, no street gang claimed Zephys as their own. There are still street gangs there that protect the place—gangs and crews that were already there back when Blade was at the height of their power. But not a single one of them had claimed Zephys as their own territory.

  It really proves just how much influence and respect that Blade and its members have amongst the underground.

  “Blade.”

  Earl nodded. “Yes. My sister was one of the first members to join up with them,” he admitted, much to Lucas’ surprise. “I was a Normal. Unlike Angie, I wasn’t a Gifted. Even still, Blade never cared about that. I could barely fight and barely knew my way around a weapon. But they didn’t care. They even helped me out. Helped us out. I wanted a normal life, and they helped me find a job as a barista at a cafe whose owner they knew at that time. The owner in turn has connections with literary houses and even art studios, so he connected me with the people that helped to kickstart my career. Life was simple. But for once, we didn’t have to hide anymore. I didn’t have to fear for Angela’s life.” Earl’s hands slowly clenched into fists, and Lucas was almost startled to see that Earl was trembling. “…Until it happened.”

  “…The destruction of Blade.”

  Earl nodded. “At that time, I was out of Zephys to attend a convention when I received news of what had happened. My sister. My friends…” He choked back a sob which only ended up in making him cough. “They needed me, and I wasn’t there. I wasn’t there!” He coughed harshly again. This time, Lucas was alarmed to see Earl coughing out blood which he wiped from the edges of his lips with the back of his hand. “I knew there were survivors of Blade out there still. But the hunters… They were hunting down all those survivors. So whichever of us that had survived had to scatter to the four winds. I knew, however. I believed in my heart that there were those of us who still survived.”

  “From my understanding, it was the ESA that attacked them. Not the hunters.” Lucas said, confused.

  “That was the assumption, yes.” Earl nodded. “But it was the hunters behind it. And until about two years ago, it wasn’t confirmed to prevent a civil war between the hunters and the underground. For the first time in my life, I truly wanted to kill someone.” He admitted. “My sister… She did nothing. Her only sin is just being a Gifted. When I realised that the deaths of my sister and all my friends were due to hunters, I started trying to track them down.”

  “Blade might be famous and relatively skilled, yes. But why would the hunters go to all that trouble to wipe them out?” Lucas wanted to know.

  “Precisely because of their power, and due to how much influence they have amongst the underground.” Earl pointed out. “I don’t claim to know the reasons why the hunters seem to have some kind of vendetta against not just the Gifted, but also the underground. But you weaken the power of the most powerful street gangs in Eldario, if not take them out of the picture entirely, and you cripple the entire underground and the Abyss.”

  Lucas felt his heart go cold. Hunters were turning up dead all over the place about two years ago. None of those deaths were ever solved and were soon attributed to Aegis, especially after they started gaining quite the reputation to their name.

  Were those deaths requested by Earl?

  The small smile tugging at the ends of Earl’s lips seemed to imply that Earl knew exactly what Lucas was thinking. “You know what happened after that.”

  “Why are they doing the things they did? Aegis, that is.”

  “We live in the underground because the system fails us.” Earl pointed out. “We don’t—can’t trust in the justice system of this country. The Gifted are second-class citizens in the eyes of most here, if not outright monsters. To most of the people here, a Gifted doesn’t even deserve basic rights. There is a reason why most of the Gifted community is also counted amongst the underground. And you wonder why Aegis is a hero to those of the Gifted community? To the underground?”

  “Well…”

  “You’re an ESA agent. You know the truth. With this chaotic world that we live in, do you truly believe that Aegis is evil? Have you ever known Aegis to kill an innocent?”

  * * * *

  An hour later, Lucas was walking away from Earl’s apartment, and trying to make his way out of Zalfari as quickly as possible without also making himself look suspicious. The sun was already setting even as he made his way out of the town.

  “Blade had been coming up a lot in conversations that I had with my teammates lately. Especially their leader. To be honest, I was really surprised when I learnt that the Death Reaper is a woman. Most street gangs and crews that became as renowned as Blade are normally run by men.”

  “Well, the underground is still primarily patriarch-run and is also a male-dominated society. But occasionally, we do get those few women who can stand on par with men and are legends in their own right. Blade’s leader is one such person. She took less than a year to put Zephys under her thumb. Most of Blade’s members are skilled in their own right. And not all of them are Gifted, either. To be honest, it’s more of a surprise that you didn’t know who Blade’s leader is. Almost everyone in the underground does. Even the ESA. And the hunters. Even some of the civilians do. That’s how famous she is.”

  “What is her name?”

  “She’s more commonly known as the Death Reaper. And trust me, she earned that name. But as for her real name? Sera. Sera Kroix.”