CHAPTER 5 | THE HOOLIGANG INCIDENT
August 6, 2022 - 10:15am
City Hall, Eden City, New Eden
“Esmeralda Montoya,” Yasu’s voice was sharp, “You’re the last one to be interviewed. Remember, your testimony is being recorded for future reference and final judgment on the matter. Tell us your account of this morning’s events.”
The girl had never been inside the well-guarded Elders’ Chambers before. A black marble table separated her and the three present Elders. Their chairs sat atop the only sources of light in the otherwise dark room. Still, their faces were obscured by barriers, visually not unlike the one Lucia used when they fought.
Esme took a deep breath, then spoke.
“Elder Vera met us at the Saint Headquarters at around 5:40 a.m. I was the third one there. By 5:45 a.m, we walked through her cloak, the Charon’s Thread, and appeared directly in front of the Garden a moment later. We were about an hour into the expedition when Soji—”
“And for the record, by Soji, you mean Adesoji Ojo, the blight user, and half-bloom mutant,” Yasu interrupted. Vera and Hedeon shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
“Yes. Soji.”
“Noted. Proceed.”
“We were getting overwhelmed by some of these larger blooms when Soji walked in out of nowhere. All of us were shocked to see him, but then the blooms stopped fighting us. And then they…bowed to him and spoke.”
“Kabiyesi. ‘His Majesty’ in Yoruba, according to one of your fellow Saints. This was the word they uttered, yes?”
“I think so.”
“I see. The other Saints also described his presence and physical appearance as bloom-like. Would you agree that Adesoji Ojo was indeed, bloom-like, in appearance and presence?”
“I…I—”
“Keep in mind that an unreliable testimony could potentially disturb your assessment of your fitness to be a Saint,” the old woman bluffed. Vera was the one who had the final say in whether or not Esme could join, but the girl didn’t know that.
This was everything she’d been working towards. Her hands were calloused from hours of gripping weapons and weights until her muscles screamed and eyes stung from sweat. Now she had it, right in front of her. Esme needed only to coax it forward with a single word. And yet…
“What am I thinking? It’s obvious what I need to do here…I can’t throw it all away for a kid I just met!” Esme exhaled, mind made up.
“I’m not sure. It was dark.”
“I see. That’ll be all, unless the other Elders have any questions for you?”
Vera spoke up.
“It figures Yasu would jump on this opportunity, with Tamara being gone.”
“Esme,” she called, “you mentioned that Soji appeared an hour into the expedition. What was our situation at that point?”
Yasu shot a look at Vera.
“Well…we were being overwhelmed by a horde of blooms. They were bigger, stronger than anything I’ve ever seen. Two of the other Saints were downed, and the situation made it hard to organize a retreat. That was until Soji showed up.”
“Would you say that his appearance and subjugation of the blooms saved lives?”
“That’s a leading question!” Yasu spat.
“I’ll rephrase…what was the overall outcome of Soji’s forbidden arrival?”
“I think,” Esme began, “that if Soji hadn’t shown up when he did, at least one of us might’ve died.”
“Thank you, Esme. That’ll be all.”
The girl nodded, then left the Chambers, briefly allowing a slit of light through its massive doors before it was swallowed by darkness again.
“Vera,” Yasu’s voice trembled with rage, “what are you doing? Aside from the fact that the boy broke a Tenet by entering the Garden, those spine devils bowed to him? ”
“I am aware. But this is a situation that cannot be rushed. There is much to learn from this incident. Blooms have never retreated into the Garden before.”
“And what is it you’re hoping to learn? How much time before the bloom boy learns how to command an army of them? How long before he learns to make more of him?”
“That’s funny, coming from a Rose,” Hedeon yawned.
“And what exactly do you mean by that, Elder Cain?”
“The hypocrisy is loud, sensei. Are you not the Family who relies on the juices of the Spine’s fruits to bring out the full potential of your ability? Or has calling it Rose Ink, and making a grand show of the Inking Ceremony clouded the truth that much?”
“I don’t appreciate that tone, young man! Have you both lost your minds, all because of Tamara Cain?”
“What does my sister have to do with this?”
“You two would have pushed for execution the moment news of the bloom boy first broke had it not been for her making a game out of all this! And now, you have the effrontery to call me a hypocrite?”
“Is it not obvious?” Hedeon retorted.
“That’s enough! Given the evidence presented here today, I motion to execute Adesoji Ojo for carrying out actions that are in direct disregard of the Fourth Tenet, in addition to the previous affliction of being a bloom himself!”
“Denied,” Vera replied calmly, “we have no grounds to execute minors for a non-violent offense without trial. And the trial must wait until the Eden Conference, before the G20 and International Criminal Court of Maestro Affairs..”
Yasu took a slow, deep, breath. The opportunity to get rid of the boy was dancing along her fingertips.
“I got carried away with trying to grasp it, and almost sidestepped protocol.”
“You’re right. That was…unbecoming of me. We shall hold the boy in our custody until the Conference in November.”
“Are you sure that’s the best idea?”
“Excuse me?”
“Visitation Day is around the corner. People will expect to see the bloom boy at the campus. And if they don’t, the rumors that are certainly already circulating about him entering the Garden will be all but confirmed. I propose we put him under house arrest instead,” Hedeon said.
“Do you think I don’t see what you’re trying to do here?”
“I’m only trying to save us from grief. The Contract you people forced on my sister doesn’t stop her from waltzing in here and making a mess before or during V-Day. We need to present a fortified front. Not just to maestros, but to all the world leaders of maestro society.”
“He raises a point, Yasu,” Andel walked out from behind a pillar hidden in the darkness.
“I was wondering when you’d egress from your little perch, Andel. And that’s Elder Rose to you.”
“Oh, if it isn’t the False Elder,” Hedeon jeered.
“No need to be so standoffish, we’re not so different, Hedeon. Elders,” he bowed then took a seat at the table. Hedeon rolled his eyes.
“This table is for Elders, boy.”
“And I am soon to be Elder. I’ve decided to take the mantle after all.”
“Does your father know that?”
“Indeed he does. But rather than dwell on it, let’s continue with business. I believe we ought to place the boy under house arrest like Elder Cain suggested. We’ll have heavy surveillance on him. One of my Family’s best, the Crowe Sisters.”
“What is he playing at?” Hedeon rubbed his chin, combing over Andel’s tone for a grain of deception. The Talia was the kind of man who was too self-centered to be considered inherently benevolent or malevolent. Taking the mantle of Elder from his father after so many years of evading the duty set off alarm bells.
“That settles it, then. Three against one, or two, if you’re adamant about counting Edgar’s vote,” Hedeon sighed. He’d have to look into Andel at a later time.
Yasu shook her head.
“Andel…you better not be two-timing me! You have them fooled, even I almost believe you.”
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“Very well,”she said, “release the bloom.”
~
August 6, 2022 - 10:42am
Eden Holding Facility, Eden City, New Eden
Soji paced back and forth in his cell, mildly impressed by its reinforced interior as he tried to keep warm. Liquid nitrogen flowed continuously into the dim, cramped box, maintaining a temperature that made it almost impossible for him to transform. He could warm himself up slightly, but even then, only for a few seconds.
“Considering it’s only been a month, this is a pretty solid cage,” he croaked. Immediately after the blooms retreated, Vera gathered all of them into her cape, then dragged him to a waiting room. Moments later, guards dressed in black escorted him to a tower where he was now a tenant.
“I still can’t process any of this…who was that boy? Why did he lead me to the Garden? To the tree? And those blooms…what the fuck was that?” Soji asked himself the same questions over and over again with no answer in sight. There were a couple things he knew, but too many pieces were missing to see the big picture.
“I know my being at the Garden has to do with the way I’ve been doing things without realizing, like someone else is trying to take control. Until today, I thought it was Daisy, trying to reach me somehow, but I know for certain it was that boy. And I almost fully bloomed, too. I know Doc said I’d jump like ten percent, but this felt like way more…” The boy looked down at his hands.
His nails were fully sharpened, albeit shorter than earlier that day. Even as he slowly froze over, his body felt a strength that typically relied on heat. His senses were further heightened, the incessant hiss of the machine keeping his cage cool irritating him to no end.
The sound of footsteps approaching the cell drew his attention and stopped him in his tracks.
“Should I try and make a run for it? This situation is bad, and I don’t see Tamara popping up conveniently like last time.”
Before he could settle on a plan of action, the steel vault door whirred ominously, then swung open to reveal Miguel accompanied by two guards.
~
The car ride back was silent, as when Soji attempted to explain himself, a stern Miguel silently shushed him, then pointed at his ear and spun his finger around. They’re listening to us, is what the boy gathered. Of course they were. The dreaded bloom boy marched himself to the Garden and commanded an army of blooms with his mere presence. That he’d been let out so soon was a surprise, but Soji was just happy to have feeling in his fingers again, no matter how malformed they might be.
“I better get those gloves back on when we get back…I don’t care how bad I itch, I can’t afford a repeat.”
~
Trailing behind Miguel, Soji set foot in their student residence once more, and felt ready to collapse from exhaustion at the scent of home. From the doorway, he could hear idle chatter, and feel the prickle of atma users against his skin. Becoming more of a bloom meant a worsening relationship with atma, it seemed.
Kuro dashed into the hallway, worry evident on his face. It was clear he hadn’t gotten enough sleep. Dione and Israel followed after him, just as concerned.
“Soji! Miguel told us everything.” The boy ran to embrace his friend, when a grim, gravelly voice affixed him to the spotless wooden floor.
“That’s close enough.” The kids and Miguel looked up to see a tall, slender woman whose white skin practically glowed in the shadows of the staircase’s bannister. She had straightened black hair with gray streaks that matched her black and silver attire; a plain, straight dress that dragged along the stairs, peppered with silver sequins, and a black feather shrug cape.
Everything about the woman made Soji’s hairs stand on end, from her dark eyes that seemed to swallow him up, to the feeling of her atma. She appeared before him, a whole and powerful woman, but her atma was incomplete, like the echoes of her soul abruptly stopped, then began elsewhere. Without even thinking, his body strengthened with heat.
“Don’t,” the elsewhere spoke, poking a chopstick into the back of his head. A similarly tall woman with messy hair, wearing a hoodie and pajama pants, made Miguel jump. He’d sensed her atma, but to him, it felt like the ambient atma that usually tickled the residence walls. These maestros were clearly professionals.
“You’re—” Soji began.
“Elsabet…” the woman behind Soji interrupted. He turned his head slightly to see that she had dark rings under her eyes, and a smug grin that creeped him out.
“...and Annabeth Crowe. We’re to be your wardens, bloom boy.” The woman on the staircase finished.
“Yep, yep, yep,” Elsabet nodded, “you can’t leave campus, but we also can’t have you getting too close to any of the other students until we can be sure you didn’t bring anything back from the Garden…”
“...intentionally or otherwise.”
“Why do you keep finishing my sentences? You always lean into the ‘crow’ and ‘sisters’ part too much!”
“Be serious for five minutes, Elsa.” The sisters began bickering.
Kuro facepalmed.
“More eccentrics…are all maestros like this?”
He took a step closer, immediately cutting the sisters’ argument short and earning a scathing spotlight under their gaze. Their atma flared in unison, and the boy responded in kind.
“You don’t want to get your friend killed, do you?” Elsabet asked. The boy’s hand twitched, emboldened by his side’s numbers. But after a moment, he backed down, realizing that if the Elders only sent these two to keep Soji in check, then a rookie like him was no different than a worm. He glanced at Miguel, who shook his head.
He dispelled his atma.
“Great! Now let’s talk about the next steps…I hope we can all get along,” Elsabet smiled.
~
With Hedeon and Vera having hastily left the Chambers, no doubt to try and reach Tamara, Yasu remained seated, arms crossed. Andel, too, stayed behind, eyes glued to the blue glow of his phone screen.
“Was this your doing, Andel? Did you drug the boy and drop him off at the Garden?”
“Of course not. Poison is too boring, and I have no way of verifying if it’d be effective on him. This was something unprecedented. But, it works in our favor.”
“And how, pray tell, is this a boon for us?” The woman rubbed her temple. She could already hear the hushed whispers about the morning’s incident spreading.
“Because, now, in addition to our grounds to execute him, we begin spinning a plausible story for what’s to come.”
“I see. Spare me the details. Is there anything you need from me?”
“Only one thing. On Visitation Day, ensure that all the Elders are out of the city, just for a couple hours. After that, my end of the bargain will be done.”
~
October 4, 2003 - ?:??am
Unknown, Unknown, South Korea
Fear kept Hyeseong Lee’s eyes glued together. Despite his hands pressing against his ears, death screamed at him. Panicked yelling, blades cutting bone and flesh, and fire crackling were noises he wished, more than anything, that he could escape. He opened his eyes, and stifled a scream, tears streaming down his face.
Hidden beneath a bed that his teacher had stuffed him under, Lee now stared at that same teacher’s face, except now no light reflected in the old man’s eyes. This wasn’t fair. He preached of peace, of using atma to extend one’s longevity, and good morality. And now, he lay on the cold stone floor of a temple, skull bashed in by superstitious locals who followed a mysterious group of religious leaders.
As anger, despair, and fear mixed together in the ten year-old’s heart, he saw a man’s crocodile skin wing-tipped boots walk into the room. The man bent over the dead monk, and frisked his body, looking for something. His golden watch reflected light into Lee’s eyes, almost making him miss the tattoo of a tree with a snake wrapped around its trunk on the back of the man’s hand.
From the dead monk’s saffron robes, the man with the tattoo produced a dirty medallion shaped like a dharmachakra. He chuckled softly, then left the room while the young Lee cried into his hands.
“Life has inevitable suffering,” the boy remembered his teachings. He thought the rigorous physical training he underwent daily was the suffering. This was…unjust.
“There is cause to our suffering. There is an end to our suffering,” hearing the words in his teacher’s voice, the sediments of resolve slowly solidified. Perhaps, now, it was up to him to discover the reason for his pain, and be its end. Distorted by sorrow, the fourth truth resonated within him as he uttered a word he knew to be forbidden at the temple.
“Bond.”
~
August 3, 2022 - 3:37am
British Museum, London, United Kingdom
A high pitched ringtone shocked Hyeseong Lee out of his dream of the past. He was a big man now, with a body chiseled by continuous training and strenuous jobs. He cleared messy waves of black hair from his face and inhaled deeply when he saw who was calling.
“Bong-cha…I’m working,” he said, holding the phone far away from his face.
“I don’t care! You haven’t replied to my messages about the stuff I want you to bring back!” A young girl whined. In the background, he could hear a toilet flushing.
“Eh? Are you skipping class to berate your hyung-nim?” Lee gently reminded her to speak respectfully, especially while hiding in a school toilet to ask for gifts.
“N-no…I’m on lunch break!”
“I’m sure you are. Don’t worry, I’ll get you everything you asked for. I’ve got to go.”
The man cut the call before his sister could protest. He sat back in his chair, eager to fall asleep when another irritant came running down the halls.
“Boss…” The voice of a young woman, no older than nineteen, speaking quietly reached his sensitive ears, and batted away the forming cocoon of sleep.
“What is it, Dee?”
“It’s done,” the woman said, holding a massive sledgehammer over her shoulder. She’d tied her hair into two crimson space buns, matching the blood that glistened against her umber-brown skin.
Lee stood up, towering over her. His phone clattered onto the ground as he unbuttoned his blazer. With a swift motion, he ground the little Nokia underneath his black loafers. The two began walking, leaving the secluded hallway of the British Museum.
“How did you fall asleep? Weren’t you calling your sister?”
“It was brief. She wanted to add to the list of things I should bring back.”
Dee laughed.
“And it was brief?”
Lee chuckled quietly. This sense of family is what made their organization strong. They all kept secrets and separate lives, sure, but they cared for, and loved one another like a healthy family would.
“As long as we have that, we’re unbeatable,” Lee had once said.
They arrived at the Museum’s Ancient Egypt exhibits that were being emptied into wooden crates. The men and women that made up the Hooligang dressed themselves in formal attire that was further protected by bloodied raincoats. The bodies of guards were strewn all over the place, red staining what should’ve been a spotless interior at three in the morning.
“Hmph. I only slept for a few minutes and you all made a mess of things,” the man commented.
“It was an accident. One of the guards wanted to be a hero. I think she’s still hiding around somewhere,” Dee shrugged.
“No matter. I doubt our client cares either way.”
“Speaking of clients, is there a reason—” A gunshot startled the girl, who took a moment to inspect herself. Lee looked down at his chest, irritated at the sudden bullet hole in his suit. His gaze flicked to a security guard who’d revealed herself to be hiding behind a wall.
Without hesitation, Lee launched his muscle bound body at the woman, hand raised to block anymore incoming bullets. He reached her in just a couple seconds, and grabbed the gun from her. She didn’t even have time to react when he slammed the barrel of the pistol through her forehead, killing her instantly. Blood sprayed on his face and suit, further annoying him, and pushing him to pull the trigger several times.
He walked back to Dee, wiping his face clean with the handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket..
“You were saying?”
“Right…why aren’t we taking the Eden job from those Chinese guys? They keep calling me, it’s annoying.”
“They want us to go and fetch ‘a girl who swims through shadows’. Someone like that seems like a handful, even after we manage to sneak into that place. It would have been easier if Javier got into the Institute like we’d planned, but it’s no use spilling milk.”
“That’s not how that saying goes.”
At that moment, Dee’s phone rang again, causing her to sigh. What were the odds they’d pick that moment to call?
“We’re not interested!” She yelled.
“Oh? I haven’t said a word yet,” Iosef said. Dee raised her eyebrows in surprise, turning the device’s volume down.
“Who is this?”
“A ghost. I’d like to speak to the leader of the Hooligang. The one they call Mother.”
“This is she.”
“No, no, no. I want to talk to the real Mother, Hyeseong Lee, the lone survivor of the massacre at—” Dee tore the phone away from her ear in shock, and gestured for Lee to take it.
“He mentioned your temple.”
Lee took the phone begrudgingly.
“Who is this?” He demanded.
“Mr. Lee. Like I told your associate, I’m but a ghost. One who is willing to pay a hefty sum to have a job done.”
“What’s the job?”
Lee listened carefully to the man on the other end of the phone. Dee watched his jaw clench and eyes harden like she’d seen hundreds of times. She twirled her hammer in excitement; they were going to make some money.
“Understood.” Lee cut the call, other members of the Hooligang looking on in curiosity.
“Well?”
“Call those Chinese guys back. We’re going to Eden after all.”
~
August 8, 2022 - 8:05am
Eden City Hangar, Eden City, New Eden
From its highest tower, Andel overlooked the buses gathering near parked planes, all readying themselves to carry the Institute’s visitors to its campus. Getting the Elders to be absent had been a trivial task, especially with Hedeon and Vera always running off together like newlyweds. It hadn’t been easy, getting this far, but all the pieces were in the right place. Iosef had ensured Tamara stayed busy for the time being, while he cleared the playing field for their group to strike.
His only dissatisfaction was how much he had to rely on others to get it to work, but soon enough, none of that would matter. The oncoming conflict would set the Institute alight, and he alone would rise from the ashes. The man smiled when he saw Hyeseong Lee step out of a plane, followed by the members of the ruthless maestro organization he’d researched thoroughly.
“I’ve brought the snakes into Eden…now squeeze the life out of it!”