Zeta stood among a large chattering crowd, one that grew larger as time passed. She was in a general audience standing area positioned towards the front and just behind her was a seating area. A barrier separated the two groups. Roren, Jonas, and Chloe were with Zeta. They socialized, blending in with the crowd. As people sifted in, they allowed them to go up front, to be closer to the stage.
The stage was being set up and finalized as people entered. A lighting and audio crew configured the stage to their desire, lights faded in and out, while a man tested the speakers ensuring it was projecting the sound he wanted. Cameras were perched around the stage and positioned elsewhere to capture the crowd. The evening settled and the moon crept in.
Large projectors on both sides of the stage showed the words Cops and Robbers before transitioning into videos as the technical crew finished setting up.
“I hate events like this,” Jonas said. “Why don’t they just watch it at home? It’s free. Plus, it’s not like they’re viewing it live. They’re still watching behind a screen.”
“It seems fun,” Roren said.
“I think I have to agree with Jonas, sadly,” Chloe said.
Roren shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind watching it as a social experience. I heard they’re setting it up so viewers can spectate safely up close. They’re finalizing the kinks and logistics, but it sounds cool. I’d be down to do that.”
“Haven’t heard of it,” Jonas said. “Sounds like a dumb idea.”
“It’s a tragedy waiting to happen,” Chloe said.
“How about you, Zeta?” Roren said as he added her into the conversation. She was hardly speaking, which was mostly due to nerves, but she wondered how they were so calm. Was it their experience or did they know more about the mission than they were letting on? “What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of shows like these?”
Zeta remembered when Cops and Robbers was a huge fad, and how her school followed that trend. She watched the show as a social activity, to have something to talk about in class. She even went to friends’ houses a few times to watch the show. It was fun to watch the competitors fight the criminals, but she grew out of it.
She answered, “I used to watch it a lot, but I haven’t seen anything recently.” She looked at one of the monitors, which now projected videos of the many competitors. A flame user and a clairvoyant were among them. She stared a few more seconds to see if she would recognize anybody. She did not. “What are we doing here?”
“I’m waiting for a friend, or two rather.” Roren said. “Lots of money goes into these types of businesses, you should know that, but more money comes into sabotaging them. One friend is going to tell me where Isaiah Delton is while another friend will tell me where the third parties are. You see, we are not the only group that has Isaiah Delton on their radar.
“But, don’t worry about that,” Roren said. “That’s my role. You play yours as support and everything will go well.”
Zeta nodded, hoping to absorb all the info dumped onto her. She placed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie. The night was turning chilly, but it did not warrant one to wear such thick clothing.
Roren looked down at his phone, then around. His head stopped turning and stared at a direction opposite of the stage, then he walked away. She watched as Roren’s body crossed through the crowd before disappearing.
A lump in her throat formed and for a few seconds she forgot to breathe. Once she did, her throat swallowed in the spit, and her mind raced. This was an opportune moment, but one look at Chloe and she reconsidered her following actions. Jonas was turned facing the stage, which now had an MC that hyped the crowd, but Chloe shook her head slowly. She mouthed the words but Zeta understood what she meant.
Not worth it, Chloe mouthed.
Zeta sighed, but suddenly scrunched her face. Her defiant human nature slid in and took control.
She could disappear into the crowd just as easily as Roren did, never to be seen again. There would be no stopping that, especially with the ability she had.
She went over the plan she conjured, but the more she thought about it, the less viable it was. She had planned on running, then taking off her hoodie to obscure her presence, but the plan was too simple, too dumb to truly execute. It was one thing to do all that, but it was another thing when so many variables were at hand, especially considering how Chloe was aware.
Zeta stared angrily at the stage thinking about her poorly fleshed out plan and how she doubted anyone in the group would catch on. In a sudden move, she positioned herself to run before being grabbed.
Chloe forcefully pulled Zeta by the wrist back towards her.
“I can kill you before you even get a chance to use your powers,” Chloe snarled. “It wouldn’t make any difference if you died right now. We’ll carry on the mission with or without you. I can make your heart explode, make it look like an accident—”
“So, why don’t you just let me leave,” Zeta cried out. Isolated tears rolled down her face. Heads in the crowd turned their direction, Jonas included. “What’s so wrong about me leaving then?”
With a quirky voice, Jonas said, “Come on, Amelia! Didn’t you want to be here? I bet you’re tired from all this standing. Let’s find someplace to sit before the show starts.” He looked at Chloe to continue his act. “You should already know how Amelia is. You have to approach her differently. Better yet, let’s find something to eat and cool down a bit.”
The crowd around them quickly turned away and allowed them to walk by without an issue. Jonas and Chloe walked together hand-in-hand, while Zeta walked in front of them.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
In just a few seconds Zeta was defeated and any sense of escape left Zeta’s mind. She did not want to call Chloe’s bluff, especially since Chloe’s powers were probably now amplified by Jonas’. She wondered how Jonas’ power amplified Chloe’s, how violent or quick an explosion could become. She did not want to find out.
Chloe and Zeta sat together at a picnic-styled table, their hands now holding one another’s while Jonas ordered food.
The sense of distrust was all the more apparent, and Zeta wanted to tell them she would behave, but her mouth did not want to move.
Jonas returned with four hot dogs and a bucket of fries. The hot dogs were cramped together on a medium-sized tray, while the fries bucket could easily feed a family of four.
“Okay,” Jonas said with a fry in hand. “Let’s just reset. Chloe, you can let go of her hand. I think she understands. Zeta, you have to listen to our instructions. Please don’t try to escape. I gave you the benefit of the doubt hoping you would behave yourself, but I guess I have to keep a closer eye on you.”
“You’re telling me you weren’t paying attention?” Chloe said. She let go of Zeta’s wrists, but the possibility she implanted a bomb on Zeta still existed.
“What can I say? I trusted her,” Jonas said.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Did you contact Roren?”
“I did,” he said. “He said to meet him at the gates, but I told him I ordered food, so he’s coming here now.”
“We could have just eaten on the way.”
“He said something about energy reserves or something, but he’s probably just thinking about things.” He turned to Zeta. “Are we good?”
Zeta eyed the French fries, grabbed one, and bit into it. “We’re good.”
“Good. I knew you were sensible,” Jonas said. “Don’t eat too much. We still have a mission to do.”
“You literally bought a bucket of fries,” Chloe said.
“It was the only option they offered, or at least I thought it was. I already paid when I noticed the smaller option, so I couldn’t have—“
“I don’t need an explanation,” Chloe said as she grabbed a hot dog.
The group ate as they waited. It was not until Zeta finished her hot dog that she noticed Roren coming their way. He smiled and Zeta notified the others. As Roren came by, he raised his right hand and waved at them to stand up. They left the bench, and another group immediately took their spots.
Jonas handed Roren the remaining hot dog and offered the bucket. Roren turned down the fries but gladly accepted the bun. He took a bite and chewed fully before explaining the situation, talking as they walked.
Roren said, “My one friend told me the location of Isaiah Delton. He’s one of the potential big shots the Cops and Robbers directors plan on utilizing. He might get live coverage, he might not. It depends on whether or not they can corner him, but I’m sure they will.”
He took another bite into the hot dog and paused to chew.
“My other friend told me where potential third parties could be. He confirmed one that has already caught my attention, so we’ll handle them. They seem the most viable to interfere with our plans.”
He took his third and final bite.
“I’m not too sure how to fully proceed with the plan, but I’ll think of something.”
“Fuck,” Jonas said.
“What is it?” Roren said.
“I need to buy an energy drink,” he said. “I’m getting a bit tired.”
“Time is ticking, Jonas.” Roren looked down at his watch. “But, I suppose we should go if I want things to run smoothly. Once we’re out, we’ll find a shop.”
“Sounds good,” Jonas said.
As they made their way outside, the sounds of the crowd decreased in volume, but the noise was prevalent nevertheless. The few stragglers running late were coming in, but everyone was inside the venue for the most part. Upon exiting the venue, Zeta’s hearing ringed slightly, but it adjusted back to normal after a few minutes.
A black, tinted car pulled up. The driver exited the car without so much of a word and walked down the street as if he did not own the car. Roren entered the driver’s seat and Chloe went towards the front passenger seat. Zeta took this as a cue to enter the back of the car in the seat just behind Roren.
While this happened, Jonas ran across the street and entered a strategically placed corner store. Today would be one of their highlighted sales days.
The car continued to idle and Roren honked the horn a few times to tell Jonas to hurry up. Roren was ready to press his hand against the middle of the steering wheel another time, but Jonas finally ran out the store.
Jonas briskly jogged towards them and jumped into the car. Roren gave him no time to close the door and he was midway into the vehicle while it was in movement.
“My bad. My card got declined for some reason.” Jonas held two energy drinks in his hands and offered one to Zeta. “I bought an extra one but I don’t think I need it.”
“No, thank you,” Zeta said. “I don’t know how my powers work with caffeine.” And the way Jonas handled himself, she did not want to become dependent on them.
“Roren? Chloe?”
Two more negatives came from the pair.
“Fine, I’ll just have them both.”
“One should be enough,” Roren said. “Unless your tolerance really is that fucked.”
“I’ll drink one,” he said. “Save the other for later if I need it.”
Jonas pulled the pop tab, the can opened up, and he took a sip. “Never had this brand before. It has more caffeine than I usually drink, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Once he became acclimated with the flavor, he tilted the can upwards and chugged the rest of the drink down. He was careful not to spill a single drop. He crumpled the can, rolled down the window, and tossed it out the car.
“What group are we expecting to meet?” Jonas said.
“A bunch of nobodies,” Roren answered.
“That’s what you say about every other organization,” Chloe said.
Roren said, “It’s the truth. The ones worth worrying about know not to mess with us, or at least most of the time.”
Roren drove through the city, maneuvering around the congested roads. Even as night approached, the city was illuminated and almost as bright as day. Zeta wondered how darkness would consume the city, if it were to ever succumb to a power outage.
When they reached their destination, Roren pulled up to a curb. The car continued to idle when they left it and, similarly, a different man entered the car. Zeta watched as the car drove away and turned her head back towards the group. They walked along the sidewalk.
“Are we close?” Zeta asked. The slow realization she would have to get combative soon settled in.
Roren tilted his head forward to the left pointing to a building in the distance. “The ones we’re focusing on right now are in there. I’m hoping we can split them up and ruin their plans a bit.
“The way these show runners function is very meticulous. They box these criminals up like rats in a cage. It’s artistic what they can manage by pulling strings behind the scenes. Just on the other side of these buildings is a highway. It’s where Isaiah Delton is expected to end up.”
“So, it’s staged?” Jonas said. He opened the other energy drink and took a sip. “Just another reason to not watch that shitty show.”
Roren looked annoyingly at Jonas’ second can, but made no comment. Instead, he said, “It’s not. They’re just good at manipulating the environment that they’re able to create an entertaining stage. He won’t end up at that exact spot exactly, but he’s sure to be on that highway. Not sure when though.”
“There’s a difference between pulling the strings and staging something up? That makes sense, I guess.” Jonas took another sip, then laughed loudly into the air. “Entertainment over justice, right? They must make millions if they’re allowed to profit off capturing notorious criminals. I think it’d be cool to be a criminal. Show those fuckers that they can’t catch a guy like me.”
“You would be the first person to get captured in an episode,” Chloe said jokingly. “Not even the main event, just someone to pass the time. Filler content.”
“Zeta, this is our stop,” Roren said. He guided her towards a building with a windowed entrance. A doorman opened a door as they approached. He thanked the doorman, and without turning his back, he said, “Chloe, Jonas. You know what to do.”