Chapter 02: Countdown

9:30 in the evening.

In one of the rooftop near Raizel's house, a group of man gathers. Some were standing, others were on the railing, eyeing the lively house just a few meters away from them.

"We're on the right place, right?" asked the man, he threw his cigarette and took his riffle. 

"Yeah. Can't believe it, huh? They were actually hiding right under our noses," another man said. He also took his riffle.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Sniper, take your position. You, sh*theads, start moving. We are starting this operation. Remember, do not underestimate or you might be killed." 

"Aye aye, Captain"

And soon, all the boys moved.

...

Meanwhile... On the skies above L.A. Space wrapped and distorted, then barely visible runes start forming into a shape similar to that of a circle and a snowflake. Next to it, a man with a purple cloak silently floated in the air.

"What now, master?" Along with him is another man whose persona seems to exist, and also not exist. On the first look, you know he is there. But when you look for another time, you'll doubt your eyes if the man truly exist. This man was referred as master.

The master replied, "Wait for it to ripe. Then you may harvest. Surely, they won't be able to speak nonsense, right?"

"But master..."

"Don't worry too much about it. They won't be coming in the next few hours", the master said with confidence. He put his hands behind his back and look down below.

By that time, the boys were already on the side of Raizel's house, encircling and sealing all exits.

...

Raizel, who was inside, suddenly felt a danger's coming. She suddenly stopped running. Her brother, who just returned from their mother's room and was chasing her, bumped into her and fall down with his butt. He was about to shout at her when she swept him in the feet without warning.

"Raizel, I'm no longer a baby, what do you think you are do—"

"There's a fly," she said. Her brother became confused.

"What fl—" He stopped talking. He probably realized what she means. Trained, he kept his mouth shut and whispered, "I'll walk."

Raizel put him down and they walked to where their mother was. On the way, she stopped to take her sword. That's right, she's a swordman. In every mission, she use sword if it's way too dangerous. If it is just a light mission, she would use an alternative such as baseball bat, stick, pole, or anything long and sturdy. Today, the danger was targeted towards her family's life. She can't afford to treat this lightly, so she'll use a sword.

She silently took her mother and brother to the secret door prepared for times like this.

They stared at each other silently. It was only broken when her mother said, "I always trust you. You know that. But as your mother, I can't help but worry." It was as if she was seeking assurance from her, which she gladly gave.

"It's fine, mom. I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll be right behind you," she replied. Her mother smiled and give her a nod.

"Don't die, stupid sister. I haven't had my revenge yet," said her brother while snorting, but the worry between his eyebrows was clearly written.

She chuckled, ruffled his hair, and said, "Yeah, you haven't had your revenge yet so I won't die. Go now. They are almost here." She saw the passing shadows faintly visible in the window frames.

"Take care," her mother's last words before she closed and locked the door. If she knew that'll be their last conversation, maybe... she did not let them go.

After she saw them gone, she switched off all the lights. The time was 9:48 p.m

....

Outside, all of the man felt something's amiss when all the lights were turned off. But they did not move and await the order of their Captain instead. They just thought that the family was finally ready to sleep.

"Fools! What were you all doing?! Zephyr already caught a whiff of your smells! Kill her now!" They all cringed and hold their ears, feeling as if it were about to burst from the sudden sound waves they received from the earpiece. But it did not took long before they all moved and entered in an unconventional way.

Some entered by shattering the windows, others entered by bombing the roof, while most of them shattered the doors and walls. In not more than a minute, the house was in ruins. On the center of the house was Zephyr, sitting breezily with her hands on her sword. 

"Don't move and let us kill you." 

.....

9:52 p.m.

Raizel silently observed her surrounding. There were man on the rooftop, on her left, right, front, and back. Each of their gun nozzle's were pointed on her vital points. However, she's not bothered. She even find time to peel a lollipop. 

She threw the peel and put the lollipop in her mouth. The peel, on the other hand, slowly glide and fall down the ground. However before it even touch the surface of the ground...

Shnng! 

Swoosh!

Slash!

Her silhouette flashed and vanished for about a second and...

Clang! Clang!

The barrels of the riffles were all cut in half and fall down the ground. It is now impossible to fire guns. 

.....

"F*ck, what just happened?"

"You lots were all fools! Useless. I told you to fire once she's on sight! Who the hell told you to give warning on a prey? Ugghh! Sniper, why aren't you moving?"

Everyone can not be bothered by their boss's rants on their ears. They were all frozen and terrified. The girl just zoomed instantly in their eyes, cut their riffles and vanished. It is way too fast that they have no time to react nor pull their trigger. 

Back then, if she intended to kill them... they dare not continue this thought. The message was clear, the girl was telling them she could kill them instantly whenever she want too. So her Zephyr code name, the wind spirit, has a credit tied to it.

"Why aren't you guys moving? You have knives, don't you? Fight blade with a blade! Why do you choose this time to be useless?!" The boss continue to rant.

"Sniper, why aren't you firing?"

The sniper became pissed and replied, "I can't concentrate! F*cking shut up or I'll kill you instead!"

The Captain was terrified by the cold voice and immediately quit his rants. The minions surrounding the girl also recovered from their shock and took their weapons out.

The girl remained cool. She sit like a chimpanzee, her hands holding the sword lazily lie on her legs while her other hand holds the lollipop stick. There's a slight smile on her lips and under the moonlight, her drooping eyes flashed a dangerous glint.

This scene somehow made every minions present to hesitate. Their instinct were telling them to run, but the thought that they aren't alone... or maybe because they thought they have a sniper backing them, they still decided to attack despite the slight feeling of fear.

The first man ran and attacked her, aiming for her heart but she just tilted her body to the right. The knife barely grazed her arms, but it's not enough to wound her. As a reply, she hit the man on his sleeping acupoint, placed at the back of the head, and with her sword sheathed. Her execution was fast that no one on the scene was able to witness her hand movements.

The man fall down, unconscious. But no one could be bothered by this. Everyone's back was drenched in sweat. 

"Don't go solo, attack in group," said the Captain. With this command, they were able to regain their confidence. Finally, their captain's acting like a real captain now. It somehow boost the group's morale.

"If you can't defeat her, create chaos and give opportunity for the sniper. After one shot, failed or not, everyone will have to retreat. Again, I said it before going here but I'm gonna say it again. We're only here to buy time. It'll be nice if we can kill her but if we can't, then don't be greedy or it might cost you your lives. If anyone ruins the King's plan, whether you are dead or alive, I'll eliminate you along with your family. Put that in your mind, assh*l*s." The captain solemnly gave his command. 

The minions, in return, became serious once again. They all attacked in groups, creating chaos. But it is to no avail. The sniper fired but she only changed the bullet's trajectory by deflecting it with her still sheathed sword.

...

All of these actions fall upon the eyes of the man and his master floating above the skies of L.A.

"Uhuh, a good seedling," said the master while playing with his beard.

The man became bothered by this reaction and reminded his master, "We are only allowed to take one seed, Master." 

"Hmph. Why would I follow that dumb old man?"

"But Master-"

"Alright, alright. That's enough. He won't know it anyway. Besides, I like that seedling, we'll also take her," said the master with finality in his tone. The man can no longer refute. He silently retreated to the side with a bow.

....

Meanwhile, on her mother's side...

After entering the safe room, the mother and son pair proceeded to a tunnel connected under Vincent Thomas Bridge. But then,

"He's right. You would really come out from this place huh? I wonder..." 

A man was leaning on the wall. He was holding a gun on his hand, staring at the mother and son duo.

"... what do you think Zephyr would feel when she saw your lifeless body?" He asked this while playing with his gun. 

Seeing the two remaining silent he continued. "Oh, you probably don't know that name." Realizing this, he looked up then continue his monologue, "I see, what is her real name again?"

Then he suddenly flicked his finger and exclaimed, "Ah, yeah! I remember. She goes by the name Raizel. Raizel Mikael Smith. You know her, don't you?"

The mother and son's eyes grew large. 

The man, seeing them surprised, take it as an answer and said,

"So you do know her. If that is so, then you must be Raia Smith, her mother and Renz Michael Smith, her brother."

"So.. so what about it?" Renz tried to sound unafraid. But the tremble in his voice said otherwise.

"That means... I won't be killing a wrong person," said the man without remorse. He then pointed his gun towards the mother and son pair.

.....

After the sniper fired a failed shot, the guys all retreated and Raizel did not give chase. The danger she felt did not disappear. These guys weren't out to kill her. She can tell from their attack that there is no killing intention on their blades, only fear and determination. Thus, there's probably something fishy going on here. 

She touched her necklace involuntarily. It was the flashdrive that contains information about her and also.... about that person.

It is not that she's not aware of what is happening here, just that... she have no guts to confirm her suspicion. She's afraid to face the truth.

'I can be afraid, yeah. But it doesn't change the fact that I have to face it. Damn! How can fate be this unkind?'

Lamenting is useless. And so, she made her mind work. 

'If the target isn't me, who could it be? And why?'

Mulling over this thought, her phone suddenly vibrated. She fished it out of her pocket and saw an unregistered number and the time that says, 10:22 p.m. She pressed the answer and put it next to her ear.

"Corrine," she called out.

"Zeff! Thank God, it got through." Corrine was their hacker. She deals with all electronic jobs. She's also a secretary. "Listen carefully, Zeff. I'll say it only once," said Corrine in hushed tone. She can also hear her panting over the phone.

"I'm listening," she answered, not asking what is happening or why she sounds to be in dire state.

"Alright. After three minutes, this phone call will be wired. You cannot contact me by that time. Throw your phone away and leave your place, or they might locate you."

'Too late for that,' she thought.

"One of us is a spy..."

'I thought so,' and she also have a general idea who it is. 

"They're target is not us,"

She could tell that from the last encounter.

"It's our family..." Her expression became grave. "They are researching something really unpleasant. Our families will be hindrance so they are out to kill them. I don't know how they did it but they already got our information. That's not all, they also got their hands on the confidential blueprint of our house and our headquarters. Savvy Crayon's most likely involved. Take your family and run for now."

She tried to remain calm and asked, "Who else did you contact?"

"Only you. I'm working on contacting others—"

"Don't. Don't contact anyone and just run. I have a rough idea who the spy is. Go to where you think is the safest. I am sending you a file, read it only if you're on a safe location. Until then, do not meet any of our comrades. After reading it, I'm sure you'll know what to do next." Then she hanged up, sent the file through an exclusive email, slashed her phone into pieces, and run towards where her family was.

However... she's too late.

....

Reaching the end of the tunnel, she was greeted by her brother's cold body lying next to her dead mother. Her eyes burned in rage. She checked their body with a bloodshot eyes. Seeing it riddled with bullets, her chest heaved up and down as her mind became consumed by killing intent.

It was at that time she heard footsteps moving away from there. Without second thought, she sprung towards it like a hungry wolf detecting a prey.

.....

The man who just killed Raizel's family whistled while playing with his car key. Just as he was starting his car, he suddenly saw a silhouette with a bloodshot eyes running towards his direction.

His hands tremble a bit with the intense killing intent he sensed. Fortunately, he was able to start his car and step on the gas pedal in time. He sighed when he managed to pull away. But it wasn't long when he saw her in the side mirror, chasing his car.

"F*ck!" He can't help but curse as he accelerate the car speed. He know that she won't let him live once she caught him. And he was completely aware of the difference in skill level between them.

He only let his guard down when he saw her stop. He stared at the lean figure of the girl. She stand there upright with a sword in hand, staring coldly at his direction with dark aura emitting all around her. His hairs on the body stood up from those stares. It was as if death was staring straight through his soul. Now that he noticed, she wasn't showing any sign of fatigue or being out of breath. A monster, tsk.

He crossed the bridge calmly. But then, he was terrified by the view he saw from the side mirror. Zephyr, which he thought was left behind, was hopping from car to car. And worst, she was just three cars away from him!

Time check, 10:49 p.m.