“Edward, have you ever played chess?” Master asked the teen.
“No, I haven’t.” He replied
Master and Edward walked down a hallway. Their steps clicked along the hard concrete floor. Tall windows revealed a city skyline, long shadows were cast on the hallway as the sunset. Lights of buildings had begun to turn on as the dark took over the light.
Master had a curious look on his face. “Really? A kid of your intelligence never playing chess?” He asked innocently.
Edward tried to think why he hadn’t before, memories gave him the answer, “Well I never had the chance, my,” Edward paused. “My brother wasn’t the type for strategy, he was more athletic than me.” Edward had a small sad smile on his face.
Edward struggled to run through the tall grass, each blade smacked him in the face. The footsteps behind him got closer and closer. He picked his pace up and darted toward the forest. Maybe he could lose him there and outmaneuver him he thought to himself. He smiled and knew his plan would work now if only he could- A larger force smacked against his back. He yelped as he was tackled to the ground. Edward rubbed his head in pain, the kid before him stood up and laughed in triumph. “I got ya, Ed!”.
Edward pouted, “No fair! Why can’t I be as fast as you?”
The kid smiled brighter than the stars. He extended his hand down to Edward. Edward took it, “That's because….” The kid stated. Edward stood and looked up at him slightly. “You get to have that.” The kid started to poke his head.
Edward smiled, but as soon as it appeared it disappeared. He looked down at the ground. “But sometimes it hurts me.”
Two arms encircled him, Edward looked up at him, the kid gave him a more tame smile, “Don’t worry, I will never let it hurt you.” Edward knew that couldn’t always happen, but he still smiled and returned the hug. “Thank you.”
“Edward.”
Edward was thrown out of his daydream. He blinked a few times and looked up at Master. “Yes, Master?”
Master looked down at him with a neutral expression. The sun was getting lower. “I had asked you why you used the word ‘was’ when you were referring to your brother.”
Edward froze for a second and stared at his shoes. “Well, he died a few years ago.”
Master stared at Edward for a few seconds, “I see.” He said finally; then continued to walk.
Whatever excited mood Edward was in for finally being able to see Master, was replaced with darkness, a dark cloud of thoughts hovered over him. This was almost as bad as dealing with Eiden, almost. He walked quickly to catch up to Master. The man led him through a door at the end of the hall, as he stepped inside the last rays of yellow and orange disappeared behind the horizon.
The room the pair entered had no window and a lone table. One light shone down on the table, two chairs sat opposing each other. Master gestured over to the table, “here take a seat.” Both sat down at the table, Edward on the black side, and Master on the white. “Now before we begin our match, do you know how all the pieces move?”
Edward nodded.
“Good, I will stress one of the most important rules, this King is the most important piece and should not be lost. If the King falls the match ends. Do you understand?”
Edward looked over the board and nodded. He would win, if it was strategy then the victory would be his, he thought. However, Master was much older, he could tell the man was smart. Creeping thoughts of doubt entered into his mind, they choked his confidence. He forcefully pushed them down, they would be back, he knew this but this is all he could do. He looked Master in the eyes, “Yes Master.”
Master saw the shift in demeanor and smiled, “I shall go first, white always begins.” Master moved in with pawns on the kingside.
Edward mirrored the move.
Master moved another pawn up beside the other, sacrificing it.
Edward took it without hesitation. Master was down a pawn, maybe Edward had overestimated Master’s ability.
Master moved his kingside knight, right in front of the black. Edward was questioning Master’s plan, started to get nervous, what if he was doing something that he was unaware of; the young teen shook his head. He shouldn’t worry about what Master was doing, he needed to focus on his plan. He wanted to protect every last piece, the boy moved up a pawn kingside to protect his pawn. Edward’s eyes widened in fear at his mistake, his pawn was vulnerable to Master’s knight. He grew concerned.
Contrary to Edward’s But instead of Master taking his pawn, Master took his kingside pawn on the edge and moved it diagonal to his pawn.
Edward moved his pawn up, threatening Master’s knight.
Master’s knight went around his pawns.
To threaten his knight, he moved up his pawn.
Master took his pawn and was diagonal to his king, Edward desperately took the knight, but it was too late. The knight was a mere distraction, and he fell for it. Master effortlessly battered his defenses with his queen, rook, and bishop, in just a few moves Edward’s king was taken.
Edward stared at the board, he lost. Any sense of self-worth left the boy. Dark thoughts entered his mind again.
“Do you know why you lost?” Master asked without a hint of disappointment. Edward continued to stare at the board, he shook his head. “Well, I will tell you, although you have a higher IQ you have much less experience, intelligence that is not put to the test can hardly be called intelligence at all.” The end of that statement made Edward lookup, he hadn’t thought about that before. Master was right, he had never played chess. How could he expect to win?
Master continued, “In order to best use your potential you must sharpen it with experience, experience outranks everything. You can only win if you lose and learn why you did.”
The boy would need every bit of experience he could get if he wanted to win. A dull throb began at the top of his head. He tried to subdue the pain with pressure, but it only exaggerated the pain.
Master rose from his chair and Edward did the same, “That is all for today, you must go and get ready for the mission.”
Percival never mentioned any mission to Edward, he gave a quick bow and started to leave the room. When he was halfway out the door, Master called his attention. “One last thing Edward.” He stopped, the man’s eyes pierced into him. “Why do you want to win?”
Edward thought this for a few moments, the pain intensified, making his answer all the harder to give. The pain led to his brother, parents, and his own dark thoughts. He met Master’s gaze, “I don’t know. I just wanna do what my brother would have done: try.”
Master nodded, Edward turned around and shut the door. Night fully engulfed the city.
***
Edward stared at the imposing mansion, it was an impressive facade of lights and decorations. However, it was nowhere near the size of the Tower. As their car approached the gate, once at the gate cars were stopped and an invitation to the event had to be provided. The view of the mansion faded in black, he ran his fingers over the black void. It felt slightly different from regular glass, as well as warmer in temperature.
“I would prefer for people to see you as little as possible,” Percival said blandly.
Edward frowned in his mask, he didn’t see the point in it, they would see him anyway. A tremor ran down his right leg, shaking the car as well. The pain returned to his head, not only in the same spot but it spread to his frontal lobe. A sickening feeling grew in Edward’s stomach, the fact they couldn’t see what was going on made him anxious. The limo jolted to a stop, Edward started to panic. It felt like someone ripped him out of his own body and shook him about. He couldn’t breathe, his helmet became a prison. Footsteps circling the car, electronic beeping emanate from outside. The beeping got closer and closer, louder and louder, he heard nothing but it. The boy trembled to the bone, he couldn’t take it anymore, he couldn’t, he had to do something. Someone, someone was calling his name, he felt like he was drowning.
A warm and firm hand gripped his shoulder. Edward was shoved back into his body with senses intact. Tremors still shook the teen. Percival leaned down to his level, his grey eyes stony, “You are fine Edward, we made it past the gate.” Edward’s breathing slowed, the shaking lessened. “Stay focused, everything will turn out okay as long as we stick to the plan.” Edward stilled and nodded, the boy needed to be strong, not only for his sake but for his brother’s sake. The car slowed to a stop, “Get ready we are at the entrance,” Percival warned.
The door was thrown open, the noise of the party, the light of the Mansion all attacked his senses. He squinted as he exited the vehicle, seconds later Percival was at his side. People were everywhere, some stood in groups, talking and laughing, gold-lined each coat and decorated each dress. The women had hair pulled in all sorts of designs, some wore hats that didn’t look like they could fit through the door. People funneled into the mansion, the line snaked through the front lawn, ignoring the sidewalk. Edward’s eyes shifted to the entrance itself, it was flanked by two guards wearing ceremonial clothing. They both held halberts, the light from the house reflected off them. Ballroom music filled the air, waiters handed drinks to guests as they entered.
Many passed by him and looked at him curiously. He had to be strong, the boy tried his best to ignore them and walk with confidence. Having Percival at his side made it easier to act like he was meant to be there. Percival and himself were just people in the crowd, nothing more, nothing less.
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The guards clashed their halberts together, the sound made Edward flinch. “Proper identification must be given to enter the mansion!” Said one of the guards firmly.
“Do you know who I am? That is my identification!” Said the gentleman. He gestured arrogantly, his face almost turning red.
The guard shook his head, “I am sorry sir but it has a few marks that disqualify it.
The gentleman looked bewildered, “Those are simply stains!” He got in close to the guard and shoved a finger in his face. Before the man could say anything further another voice chimed in.
“Is there an issue here? A woman asked. The man’s eyes went wide at the sight, the man backed off from the guard. It was none other than Cornelia Gaston, Dame of Governor Talin. She was young, mid-20s Edward remembered from his research.
“This sir’s identification is invalid.” The guard explained. Cornelia ignored the man, who was trying to justify why he should get in despite that. “I was just going to explain that since there was just a bombing at the police station in the Capital District, security is of the utmost importance.” The guard went on.
Cornelia nodded to the guard, then turned to the still fuming gentleman.
However Edward wasn’t focused on her response, he reflected on the bombing. Eiden’s action had consequences that were going to make their objective ever harder to achieve. Dread filled the boy’s stomach. Edward looked up at Percival, expecting some sort of reaction to the news, on the contrary, the butler looked straight ahead with no concern. Edward looked back at the man, who was then getting escorted by a guard, “Get your hands off me. I’ll make sure Governor Talin hears about this!” Cornelia said something under her breath making the guards snicker. Her eyes then laid on Edward, making him freeze. Percival didn’t skip a beat and prodded him forward.
The guard from earlier eyed him warily, Percival handed them their identification. The guard checked over them, his eyes roved over the faked identities. He looked back at them, “Although these papers pass I cannot let you in due to that child’s mask, he must take it off to come in.”
“My dearest apologies sir but he simply cannot,” Percival said respectfully.
The guard raised an eyebrow, “And why is that?” Cornelia placed a hand on her chin, observing the exchange
“Well this poor child had a bad accident, he can no longer talk and he can only breathe with this mask. Here I have the medical records to prove it.” Percival took more faked papers out of his coat pocket and handed them to the guard. Edward looked down, he was on the brink of having a panic attack. The guard read over the papers and looked at the other guard, and then at Cornelia. The guard just shrugged.
Cornelia looked at the documentation then back at the two of them. The Dame looked conflicted, which pushed Edward closer to a breakdown. Once the conflict left her face, all the boy did was hold his breath, waiting to trudge all the way back to their limo. “Let them through.”
They uncrossed their halberts and opened the door. Percival thanked the guards and both of them passed the security scanners without a hitch. Edward let out a massive breath of relief. They did it, he couldn't believe it. Once they were inside they took in the scene. The decorations were extravagant, flowers adorned every window, red, white, and blue ribbon was strung everywhere. A large golden chandelier hung from the ceiling that must have been ten feet high. Percival prodded him along toward the marble staircase that descended to the tunnel.
Cornelia brushed past them, Edward got a better look at her attire, it was ceremonial, a large blue cape with gold trim and a large collar that popped out to her jaw. The rest was a form-fitting military uniform, long white gloves, and white boots. The state symbol, a sword surrounded by a pair of wings, was stitched across the back of the cape.
She was walking towards a tall, grey-haired man; Governor Talin. He wore the fanciest clothing of them all, a large white cap, with the state symbol as well. It clung to large, golden epaulets. His undergarment was dark blue with gold accents, with a popped color. His pants matched it as well and had white gloves and boots like Cornelia. The Governor greeted the Dame with a smile, Edward failed to make out their conversation. Only bits and pieces, something about that lack of extra security. Her green eyes displayed annoyance, pushing her blond hair back occasionally.
The conversation was clearer as they passed by, they spoke in hushed tones. What he did hear frightened him, “I’ll join you once I have the perimeter secured.” A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead when he heard that. That put a hard time limit on Eiden’s plan.
Edward and Percival reached the staircase, it was like a railroad station with people standing in line to board. The two of them got in line and soon enough they boarded, they were handed canvas bags. Edward struggled to get the bag on. Not even Percival could get it to go over his head. If it was any other situation he would have laughed. It took the combined effort of a good-natured woman and Percival to get it on. It took a moment for the world to right itself from all the pushing and shoving. His vision was completely obscured, he hadn’t got the chance to observe the tunnel, he was frustrated with himself when he realized this. He didn’t have too much time to be frustrated, something caught his attention, that voice, he thought. As soon as he heard it, it was gone.
The train shot off at high speeds, it jolted from it, the wind blew against his exposed skin. The train shifted from side to side destroying Edward’s and no doubt everyone’s sense of direction. The whole experience was nauseating, the world went wrong again. After what felt like forever the train slowed to a stop. Edward ripped off his bag, tearing through the canvas, not wanting the feeling of his head being ripped off. Percival thanked the lady who helped them as they exited the train. Marble steps ascended to two large doors. To Edward’s relief, everyone was focused on getting to the party than looking at him and his mask.
Guards flanked the entrance of the concourse. Upbeat music filtered into the stairway, it made him feel relaxed, despite all people.
This part of the plan was the most tricky. They had to wait until everyone was inside, they couldn’t immediately head to the medical bay. Once he had his ‘emergency’ there was no going back, the longer they were in the control room the bigger the risk. The fact Cornelia was eventually joining the party, added extra risk. Edward questioned Eiden’s ability to adapt to the changing situation. In the meantime they, well, Percival had to socialize.
Edward and Percival entered the Grand Ballroom, the first thing Edward noticed was not the people but the largest chandelier he had ever seen, completely crystal, two flags flanked it. The flag on the right was the Imperial States flag, it was red, white, and blue. 13 red and white stripes dominated it with a blue canton in the corner that had 17 stars. The flag on the left was the Carolina flag, it was composed of a large blue field and a smaller red field at the bottom. There was a white cross in the upper left-hand corner with a silver crown over it.
The room was filled with people, some talked amongst themselves and some danced. A waiter immediately offered Percival a drink, Percival declined politely. Percival seemed to blend in seamlessly with the crowd, he laughed when they laughed, thought as they thought, Percival, put on a good show.
Edward, on the other hand, distanced himself and started to observe people. There weren't many more that would arrive, the count he got from the guest list was reaching capacity. There would be about one more train that would arrive. He was the youngest one there, most were in their late teens and above. Edward’s thoughts switched to Eiden, ‘the willingness to destroy’, does it really take ‘the willingness to destroy’ to accomplish something?
Edward was rattled out of his thoughts when someone ran into him. He tumbled to the ground and his helmet smacked against the wood flooring. “Oh sorry! I didn’t see you there!” A friendly voice said. Edward rubbed his helmet, even with it on it still hurt, but that was not what he was focusing on, it was that voice. Edward first looked at the hand outstretched towards him, then to the face of the hand.
“Leo?” He breathed.
Dark brown eyes with messy black hair looked down at him, “Are you ok?”
Edward couldn’t breathe. He started to choke. It couldn’t be him, there was a body. It couldn’t. It had to be a memory. He couldn’t focus, the world started to spin, his muscles locked up. Edward started to uncontrollably shake. A crowd surrounded him. The world started to move very quickly, someone had picked him up. Memories crushed him like a tidal wave, he was drowning, and there was nothing he could do, not then anyway. All he heard was a noise, like shattering glass.
***
A bright light shone down on him. He shot back up and looked around. He was in a medical bay, Percival sat in the corner alone. Percival looked at him, “Your timing was impeccable, the last train had arrived just after you had your incident. The Governor will arrive soon, we must move quickly.”
Edward blinked and blinked again. He nodded and got off the bed not even paying any attention to the doctor on the floor with a tranquilizer in his neck. Edward couldn’t remember how they got to the medical bay or exactly why. He didn’t care, all that mattered was completing the mission. Any emotions he tried to reach were only just a whisper, something quiet, distant, something not wanting to be heard. He shook his head of these nonessential thoughts as they walked out of the medical bay. He had to think about how they were going to escape when Cornelia would arrive. Indeed, that would be the most critical part, for everything else was all but to take place. There was a possibility of not killing the Governor at all, but that was up to Eiden, all Percival and he needed to do was to enable him to do this.
Edward wasn’t afraid, not when they walked down the hallway, not when he saw the guards to the control room, not even when Percival disabled the guards.
Percival raised one of the guard's fingers and pressed it into the scanner. The door swooshed open and Percival immediately took out the one sitting at the control panel and another one on a laptop at a desk. The control room was quite dim, only the light of the computers lit up the room. The hum of computers filled the room. Edward walked without hesitation to the main computer. He began to shut down all of the security for the Northside of the complex, all of the scanners, alarms, locks, everything he could find. He pulled up an entire version of the complex with even more detail than what Eiden had given him. He combed through the map, taking in every detail, every small thing that could be known.
Edward flashed the ‘go-ahead’ signal to Eiden, Eiden, as well as the 50 others, were camped up at a ridge about a klick away from the Northside of the complex. Eiden would then have to traverse through dense forest that was littered with sensors. Then there was a wall. It greeted all who made it through the forest. Twelve feet high, three feet thick of pure concrete. And as an added measure it went four feet below the ground. The only way was to scale it, even then that was a task in itself, it was lined with autocannons, grenade launchers, and at the very top was an electric fence.
Edward solved all of those obstacles, except for the height, in an instant. All of the terms for Eiden to enter the building had been met. The victory was not assured though, Edward thought back to his chess match with Master. Intelligence-not put to the test can hardly be called intelligence at all. True, they had complete knowledge of the building but they lacked the resources or number of smart people for overwhelming victory, they were always at a disadvantage. Cornelia was coming, nothing could stop that. But, Edward could limit her effectiveness. Edward drummed his fingers against his mask, the building was the answer, if he could manipulate the outside defenses, that meant that he had control over all of the Northside, building included.
He could through all the things he had control over. A plan started to form in his mind. As he was thinking he noticed something odd in the tunnel. Something that wasn’t in the diagrams or anything Master told him. Perpendicular lines, six of them, cut the tunnel into equal parts. He hovered over the lines, ‘EMERGENCY BLAST DOORS’. Edward was perplexed, he hadn’t felt any shift in the air movement on the train that would signal that there was some type of door. Edward’s eyes shifted towards 6 blinking buttons on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. They were each labeled, ‘BULKHEAD 1’ to ‘BULKHEAD 6’. At that moment it hit Edward at how they could escape.
Edward switched to the cameras. He could see everything, from Eiden and the group in the forest to the Governor boarding the train. Time was of the essence, Edward looked back at Percival, who stood silently by the desk. When Edward caught his gaze, Percival gave a slight nod.
“Cornelia will come, Eiden needs to know,” Edward said in a hushed tone.
Percival studied him for a moment and gave him a thoughtful nod. “I will go and warn him when the time is right, for now, we must sit and wait.”
“But what about me? The chances of me getting caught increase exponentially if you leave me.” Edward looked at him blankly.
Percival then put the ball in his court, “And how do you suppose we solve that?”
Edward thought about it. Percival upholds the plan above all else, he must realize if the control room were to fall the entire plan would follow, which means Percival trusts his judgment. The boy made his decision, “When you meet up with Eiden send Alexa to protect the control room.”
Percival nodded and smiled, “Why Alexa? Is it cause she’s pretty?”Percival’s tone slightly went higher for whatever reason when he said that.
Why did he say that? The boy was confused. Edward frowned, “No. She is one of the people that has potential.”
Percival nodded and frowned, but said nothing.
Edward thought nothing of it and went back to looking through the computer.