The dreaded day… The dreaded day has finally arrived.
I don't know how I made it but I did. As much as I wanted to skip the tedious ceremony, it was a compulsory event and probably the last of such things.
Red and green blazers did not match my blond hair. As much as I found them atrocious, there was hardly anything I could do. Seriously, the Academy should allocate better budget to employ more fashion designers than nosy investigators. Lined up in a neat row, the fifteen of us waited for the director to show up and make his speech.
Of all the things I hated about the ceremony, Raoul's valedictorian's speech took the Pantiumite. It was no surprise about who should be given the honour. With how prominent his achievements are to the Inner City, the Academy couldn't refuse even if they wanted to.
After what felt like forever of waiting, a frail looking old man dressed in ceremonial robes hobbled
"Place that box to the left. I'll unpack that later. The table goes here. Yes, please help me fix the shutters. Ah, you can leave the equipment against that wall…"Eleven in the morning and I was already busy with the office. Felix really didn't have to get such a huge office for me. I suppose the good thing was how I had a secure place for Night Walker's activities with all the security and privacy. I'm not entirely over how the entire floor was made into my private office and even the lift to this level was only accessible with my identity card.The robotic movers helped shift the heavy equipment. Things were progressing really smoothly and everything should be done with it by the end of the day. Of course, the office had everything including a pantry and a bathroom with shower facilities. Did Felix expect me to pull all-nighters in my office? Then again, that man knew how much of a workaholic I was. Perhaps it isn't a coincidence t
Waking up in a soft and warm bed was one of the most pleasant feelings in the world. I would have given anything for this feeling to last a little longer. Unfortunately, there was no time to be lazing around with so much to do. Slipping into the routine that I've become so used to, everything felt perfect until I scrolled through the morning news notifications.On the very first page was the headlines screaming in bold fonts – Raoul Harper, new promising researcher joins Centurion!Unable to feel anything more than disappointment, I sighed. Somehow watching that obnoxious poot get ahead of me again lit the fuse of dissatisfaction at how unfair everything was. A new and different kind of fire burned inside of me. Mia's murderers, Raoul Harper, Luna's divided society, the income gap… my determination to finish the business proposal and launch Luna into chaos multiplied.Those were some really tough words
Using the private network, I gave Nash a call. No more than three buzzes later, his gruff voice greeted me.With a chirpy tone fully intended to annoy him, I returned the greeting. "Hey, old man! How have you been?""Cut the small talk, brat. I've known you long enough. How are things progressing on your end? You haven't been coming to visit lately."I chuckled. "Aww, how sweet… Are you feeling lonely without me around, Papa?"I could almost see Nash cringing at the word 'Papa'. Half expecting him to yell at me and cut the line, I was surprised to only to hear a heavy sigh from the other side. He didn't even bother retorting! Is Spxtro going to end tomorrow?"Whatever. Is it tough over there?"I got the underlying message and to be honest, I was far from fine. The office was solace but the apartment in Area Thirty could do with some work. The walls are
"How was the date yesterday?"The red palm print on my cheek spoke for itself along with the stormy expression on my face. Unfortunately Felix couldn't see my expression over a voice call."Anyone who claims that females are relatively fragile creatures should try getting slapped by one. This palm print might become permanent!" I hissed in response, still not completely over the humiliating incident.The pompadour loving investor guffawed long and loud without consideration to my bruised pride. Good thing I was prepared for such a reaction and held the dialler a distance away before it could cause some serious hearing damage. I stared at the massive pile of paperwork and vaguely remembered the reason for my call. While my plans for the business proposal were nearly finished, the official documentation for it said otherwise. Trust the Parliament to make things difficult…I managed to look over three pages of
The trip was short and unfulfilling. The feeling only became stronger and it was becoming hard to ignore as I scaled up the outside of the building. Tapping on the window of the fourteenth floor, I waited for the man to respond. After a minute of waiting and still no response, I decided to let myself in.The room was dark and hardly furnished. To the left was a small desk with a work terminal. To the right was a bed that looked as if someone had slept in it till recently. There were no other doors in the room except the one leading to the main corridor. From Kevin's report, Ignacio was somewhere in this room.Approaching the empty bed, my hitman senses tingled. The sheets felt warm to touch as if someone had been sleeping in it till recently. There wasn't time to think when I caught some movement from the corner of my eye.Ducking down out of reflex, I twisted around just in time to see my attacker hold a rather harmless
"Alert me of any approaching patrol-bots.""Yes, sir."The door slid open and I stepped into Raoul's bedroom. The lump underneath the duvet lay unmoving, soundly asleep. It was freezing outside and being under warm covers sounded nice.Just before reaching out to the sleeping figure on the bed, I felt a taser pen point to my jugular and an arm holding me in a chokehold fashion. The movement was swift and my reflexes were dull from exhaustion. A taser pen or two wouldn't knock me out, courtesy of Nash's training. However, being in a situation as such certainly wasn't thrilling."What is the Night Walker doing in my room in the middle of the night?" my assailant hissed."Well, it looks like I've been found out! Who would have thought Raoul Harper was capable of subduing a criminal? I guess you're not as fragile as you appear to be."Snarling, the chokehold tightened and I ga
It was quiet. Tension was in the very air we breathed and every channel showed the same thing.Four days after the murder of the century's most promising scientist, the media continued to hound for answers. Spencer remained tight-lipped as usual but anybody could see how livid he was."The Night Walker is an extremely dangerous person who should not be allowed to walk in the Inner City. We are unable to reveal any details about Raoul Harper's murder but there is one thing we know for sure. The Night Walker is responsible."As expected of Spencer, he was faster than I gave him credit for. Even after wiping out all physical traces, I couldn't erase eyewitnesses.Tired of hearing the repetition of Spencer's warning and advice for citizens to lock up at night and add extra security measures, I put the tablet to sleep. When Mia was murdered in cold blood, no one bothered to offer a single word of console or remorse for
An unfamiliar ceiling…As my brain started to function I felt warm. There was a blanket and I was in someone else's bed. The room was dark and I had no clue where I was. The first thing I did was to check my clothes.Nope. Everything was still intact as when I arrived at Nash's house.Suddenly it clicked. Nash!The door clicked open and light filtered into the room while I was recollecting my memories of what happened."Oi brat, you're awake now?"There was that gruff voice with a hint of warmth and relief. I smiled at how even after everything that happened, Nash was still trying to pretend that he doesn't care with his usual grumpiness."I am now. What happened?"Nash grunted and plopped down onto his bed. "You blacked out all of a sudden. Ignacio said that it was some sort of panic attack. Never knew the man was adept at
“Hurry up! Haute Couture won’t carry themselves!”Scowling at the shrill scream from the office, I hollered back twice as loud. “I have only one pair of arms you fussy old hag! Why don’t you help me out instead of braiding measuring tapes!”The bespectacled tiny woman hopped off the desk and strode over to smack me with a ruler. Hands posed on hips with a menacing glare, Lisa poked me in the chest with a bony finger.“This is your fashion show! You take pride in delivering these clothes. I don’t care who you were, you’re now my one and only disciple. The great Lisa Lishan’s legacy depends on you. Don’t you start getting cold feet now! Show them what you can do, Titus.”Confidence radiated from the sm
It wasn’t as chaotic as it was noisy. The plan devised by Khronos had been simple and Io was more than willing to help. The reporter was now outside of my door, talking over the loud crowd.Spencer was at the front line, restraining the mob that demanded my release from the official arrest. The door to my apartment remained the only barrier between the Night Walker and the rest of Luna.“... as you can see, the situation is tense. The Night Walker has yet to make his appearance but we are certain he will surrender soon. The head of Patrol Guards, Spencer Creed, is ready to arrest Titus Crowley – the Night Walker and former CEO of Luna Services. Mr Creed, what do you have to say about the situation?”Spencer barely glanced at Io or the camera, focused on ensuring his orders were being carried
Soft. The ground was too soft and it was warm too!As the sleepy haze cleared and my senses sharpened, I became more aware of my surroundings. There was movement in the room and the lights were too bright. Stabbing pain reminded me why I should have pretended to be asleep. Surely that groan has alerted the guards on duty.“Titus, are you awake?” the gentle yet familiar whisper shocked me into opening my eyes again.I cursed once at the pain but never stopped trying to verify if it was really him.My voice was hoarse from both emotions. Those forest green eyes were too real to be a mere dream. The same smell of snow and steel greeted me and I knew it hadn’t been a dream.“Nash!”
I know it sounded dramatic to complain about waking up to a dull throb at the back of my skull and a sharp pain in the back of my neck but I really couldn’t care about my image. The current predicament didn’t permit it.Used to waking up to the white walls, staring at a grey one had been a shocker. I might have jolted a little but nobody is complaining. It’s not a surprise to see how my arms were locked together in a very cold and heavy metal chain. I twisted a little to test the strength of my confines and groaned mentally. My heart sank after accessing my situation and running through my available options. The captors certainly knew who they were dealing with. The hidden knife I had was useless against metal restraints.Lying on the uncomfortable ground in a dimly lit room, I stared at the laser bars. Running through them would be suicidal a
Upon reaching my destination, the sight of Alastair greeted me. With air sprawled around his head like a halo, body curled up on a nearby couch with a slight rise and fall of his chest and a relaxed expression on his face, it made me slightly envious of his oblivion to the chaos outside.“The next two corridors are clear for you to proceed. Once you get there, place that device on top of the electronic locks and give them the charged orbs I handed you.”I heard Nash’s reply from the cramped sitting area and glanced over to Khronos’ workstation. The scientist trained his eyes on the screen, observing an insane amount of cameras. Seeing Khronos working gave off a vastly different experience from hearing him while on the job. The man’s brows were knotted in deep focus at the screens and rapidly firing away at the keyboard while occasi
Faster! Move faster!“There he is! Shoot him!”I cursed as a shot grazed my upper arm. They weren’t keeping their chill anymore. Rion wanted me dead, no doubt about it. Nash would have my head for not telling him there were people out for my blood. That was all the motivation I needed to run quicker.“Titus! What do you think you’re doing? Get back to base now!”Wincing at the sheer volume, I reached for the mute button.Just as I rounded a corner, a new group of men decked in Luna Security uniforms appeared. They didn’t have much time to react when Baby Blue covered the area. I needed a diversion…Up ahead was an alley, perfect for
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”I sighed silently as Nash’s concerned voice crackled from the communicator. Before I could answer, Khronos beat me to it.“Yes, he is sure. Goodness! Have some faith in your protégé! It’s just a simple break and enter mission, elimination if something goes wrong. If he can’t manage it, you can step in.”Nash grunted but settled down once more. It had been two hours since I started the stakeout, waiting for Kalifa to appear. Khronos was positive that she would make her trip to the secret lab today and I was to follow her out from her hidden apartment.Rion certainly spared no expenses in ensuring the safety of his lover. As Kalifa was escorted into a wheeler fr
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon again,” I told Nash frankly as he threw something to Khronos. It was a large bag and I couldn’t help but be a little curious about the content. The scientist rummaged through the items and smiled when he found what he was looking for.“These are the remaining supplement pills from the last batch. Cass will inform us when a new batch arrives. Meanwhile, you can analyse those. The rest of them are gifts that Sable hasn’t thrown away. You might want to work on them at once. I’m not sure how long DNA can last on these things.”Khronos smirked. “Thanks for the hard work. You, on the other hand, need to get checked and then rest. No more running errands for the both of you, doctor’s orders.”Annoyed at the scientist, I wa
It wasn’t difficult to set the bone in place but Cass’ sour expression made things a lot harder than it should be. Maybe treating him like a child was a bad idea. Sable tried to make light of the situation by sharing some of her funny backstage moments with the production crew but it worked as well as a wet sponge drying the ocean.The anecdotes dwindled and eventually died with Cass looking no more pleased than a man signing his death warrant. The idol appeared exhausted with her futile attempts and I didn’t blame her. Clearing my throat in an attempt to ease myself into a conversation starter, I tried to break the ice.“I’ll start with the introduction. Titus Crowley. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”The grim features only scrunched up more, morphing the sour expression to so