“I swear to the temple spirits Brinus Helios has magic,” Samantha spoke aggressively but quietly in the corner booth of the late-night cafe. She held her palm over the speaker as the waitress dropped off her Vindalfi Frappuccino at her table. She smiled sweetly at the waitress before she went off to take more orders and deliver more coffee to the patrons of the humble cafe. Her expression changed entirely as she stayed adamant about her stance despite not hearing Colletta’s response. “I can prove it.” She said lastly.
“That would be a waste of time and resources. Your orders are to return to HQ and await further instructions. There may be another candidate.”
Her boss hung up on her before she could speak more about the subject. She would’ve talked about how heat-resistant Brinus had shown if she had the chance. That bit of information would have swayed Colletta’s mind on the subject, but without iron-clad proof, she didn’t believe it would’ve been enough. No heatsink gel was present in the vents, nor were any isotopes of personal shielding present lodged into the metal ductwork. The evidence piled up, but only from Samantha’s perspective.
Her orders were to return to the order and await another candidate test. 99 percent of the candidates she observed never had any magic. She was bound to find one eventually, statistically speaking of course. Magic was rare but it’s been years since a candidate was found with such an interesting property about themself.
She forewent a text to Colletta and chose to disobey, she would pursue Brinus Helios and find her proof.
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Samantha had obtained the reports of Brinus and his break-in. Despite the lack of evidence to nail Brinus with crime and punishment, the police and detectives neglected the facts that didn’t pin the crimes. She looked at the technical data that was around the break-in. At the correct times, down to the millisecond, all systems functioned normally to supply heat to the ducts. Samantha wondered if it was planned.
“Maybe it was?” Gadger asked.
Gadger was a low-level Magi. Perhaps the lowest level. His particular magic type was called a “Seeker.” It seemed like a prestigious title, but unfortunately, the Seekers were kept doing secretarial work. A Seeker could find any piece of documentation and record, but with digital means and the evolution of data storage, they were made obsolete. Gadger fell by the wayside, and most seekers now kept the records of old scrolls and books written millennia ago. He tagged with Samantha for a change in scenery and a thrill.
“How could it be planned? If he has magic, he doesn’t know about it.” Samantha reminded him.
He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window of the small records room at the local precinct. He was making well sure that nobody had been listening. “Unaware of magic, sure, but it still doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it. I know a great deal about ancient magic, I read about it all the time. It’s the new stuff that gets digitally recorded I can’t access.”
Samantha sighed and tucked her hands in a fist beneath her chin to avoid smacking them on the desk in frustration. “Well, what do you remember?”
“There are all types of magic and Magi. He could be something we haven’t seen before.”
Samantha scoffed. “Thousands of years of documentation and the chances of finding a new type of magic or magi would be nearly impossible.” Then a realization hit. “If he is a new type of magic, he could be dangerous. He might even be culled from the herd to protect everyone.”
Gadger leaned forward to meet Samantha in the eyes. “We can always try the direct approach.”
“We already tested him. It showed up negative.”
Gadger shook his head. “I say we go old school. There hasn’t always been technology, and the Magi had their ways of testing candidates long before that. We know a little about him already, let’s test what we know.”
Samantha nodded. “Well, he might be resistant to heat, let’s fire him up.” She turned to a console in the room and asked the AI. “Locate Brinus Helios.”
The AI responded. “Brinus Helios was last seen exiting Cooper’s Corner Store on 99th and Aurora Street.”
“Let’s hurry.” Samantha prompted.
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A cigarette was resting on his lip and a lighter’s flame was brought to it. Brinus was having a smoke just around the corner inside an alleyway. A few people strolled by in and out of the local shops and the various vendors lining the streets. It was dim in the evening and he was taking a moment to relax before grabbing a bite to eat for dinner. He scrolled on his TriQuarter around the different social media sites and found very little entertainment or exciting news about his favorite streamers and sources of information. He sighed and looked at the sunset, enjoying the colors for a moment before someone got his attention from behind him.
“Brinus Helios?” His name was called. Samantha was further along in the alleyway and barely visible in its dim ambient light.
Brinus thought it was another fan of the video of him punching the rage-baiter. “Yeah, what?” He drawled out, not wanting the attention at the moment.
Samantha came further forward, and in her hands was a small device. She clicked it, and a flare shot out in a fiery burst. There were people behind him, and he needed to ask fast to prevent harm from coming to the innocent civilians behind him. He took the only thing he had in his hands and threw his TriQuarter to meet the fireball halfway. To the TriQuarter’s misfortune, it blocked the fireball, but not before being melted and destroyed.
“What the fuck!?” He yelled, and Samantha cocked the fire shooter for another shot.
Brinus only stepped backward and allowed the people on the sidewalk to pass between him and the threat. Samantha couldn’t risk shooting blindly across the crowd. She had to retreat.
She met with Gager around the corner. He was more excited than he needed to be. “Did you get proof?” He asked.
Samantha’s TriQuarter was set to active scan mode and she checked it. It had no readings other than the destruction of Brinus’s TriQuarter. “Damn, nothing good.” She sighed. “We should go, I bet that made him angry.”
“We need a better plan,” Gadger suggested.
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Brinus sat at a booth in a cafe. The waitress brought a hefty space-ham sandwich complete with an authentic and non-replicated tomato. He bit into it with a collective crunch and savory squish of all the elements within the sandwich. His eyes rolled back when he tasted real ingredients and hummed in delight.
When he opened his eyes, Gadger had sat down at the other side of his booth. Awkwardly, Gadger waited patiently for Brinus to finish chewing the enormous bite before speaking. “Hi, Brinus Helios I presume?”
Brinus rolled his eyes and decided to take his sandwich to go, standing and walking away, but not before Gadger spoke once again to him. “You were attacked tonight, weren’t you?” He asked.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Brinus stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, again with a large bite of sandwich in his mouth. Again, Gadger waited for him to finish the bite.
“What is it now? Is someone after me?”
“We believe so, and we’d like to bring you into the precinct for a few identification questions. Basic stuff, looking at photos of people you might know or have seen. We want to know who is attacking you and why.” Gadger passed Brinus his business card.
He took a second to read it. “Alan Gadger. Hm.”
“It would be a great help if you could come in, first thing tomorrow morning, we may be dealing with a terrorist or someone of equal interest.” He said.
Gadger let Brinus finish his sandwich in peace, allowing him to sit back down in the booth and enjoy the meal. The waitress brought him a cola while Gadger took his leave.
He didn’t go too far though. Samantha was just around the corner watching. She met up with Gadger once he had left the Cafe’s view. “Is he going to come in? What did you talk about?”
“I think he might be coming in. I didn’t say too much, and I think playing to his curiosity will benefit us. Besides, wouldn’t you want to know who tried to kill you?”
“I suppose.” She admitted. “C’mon, we’ve got gear to get before tomorrow.”
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The door to the interrogation room opened, and in came Brinus to meet with Gadger who waited for him patiently. He had several documents ready which were photos and documents all forged and faked. Gadger had a skill for documents and knew exactly how to make them authentically false. Brinus came in, tired from the early morning and groggy without any coffee or stimulants. He had only smoked five cigarettes already and had no breakfast.
He threw himself into the chair on the bare side of the desk and tossed his shoes up on the surface. With a loud exasperated sigh, he stared at the lights above squinting but defiantly peering into them. “Let’s get this here over with. Who attacked me?”
“Well, we have a few suspects,” Gadger said and shuffled through a few documents. “Now, the rage-baiter you had punched was from the Federacy, right?”
“Yeah? What of it?”
“We’re wondering if this is some sort of retaliation in regards to that. An angry girlfriend or mother or sister.”
With a fresh photo in his hand, Gadger held up the first AI-generated candidate. It was a middle-aged woman with dark hair.
“No.” Brinus told him.
Gadger held up another, a blonder, younger woman.
“No,” Brinus said again.
Gadger picked up-
“No.” He said preemptively.
Gadger scoffed. “You hadn’t even seen it yet.”
“Don’t have to,” Brinus said sarcastically. “I didn’t even see who attacked me, it was too dark. I don’t know where you got these here photos. They look generated.”
Gadger turned and looked at the photo in his hand before and it down onto the stack of unseen photos below. “Can you tell me anything? What was she wearing?”
“This here bullshit is pointless,” Brinus said. “I’m leavin’ now, I need a new TriQuarter.”
He got up and reached for the door when it was kicked open into the room.
Samantha was there with a heat-ray gun and brought it up to aim it right at Brinus’s chest. She wore a mask to obfuscate her identity. However, in quick succession, Brinus grabbed the edge of the door, and slammed it on Samantha, catching her arm and the weapon in the door jam. She dropped the weapon with stunned arms, and Brinus kicked it across the floor and out of reach. He flew the door open again and kicked Samantha to the far wall of the hallway. He leapt out of the room and took off at a sprint before anyone could regain their wits, or possibly fire another shot. The officers in the precinct let Brinus go out the front door, and nobody got in his way or stopped him.
“DAMN IT!” Samantha cursed and held her bruised arms to her torso. “Little fucker smashed my arms with the door!” Gadger was late in looking where Brinus was going. He was out and gone at a terribly rapid pace.
“Good Spirits, are you ok?” Samantha stopped and looked smugly at Gadger.
“Oh yeah fine indeed mmm-yes dandy NO YOU FUCKING IDIOT! I’M HURT!”
The police major brought a medical kit with painkillers and bruising regenerators. He smiled and chuckled.
“First time?” He said.
“Why didn’t you catch him? He escaped!” Samantha was howling in pain from her injuries.
“We don’t have a warrant for the kid. He’s your person of interest, not ours.” He clarified.
Gadgers took a regenerator and started scanning and applied its healing rays over her arms. “Maybe we should give up.” he said.
Samantha was angry and defeated. “I guess. The order is going to fley me when I get back. I disobeyed direct orders and got nothing for it.”
“I’m sorry,” Gadger said. “I’ll do what I can to make it… sting less.” He changed the setting on the regenerator for deeper tissue and zapped Samantha with it.
“Thanks.” She said, enjoying the sensation of a lack of sensation in her arm.
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The group home was quiet later in the morning. Brinus and Ted were together in the yard with half of the dirt shoveled out of it. In the trench was a sewage pipe in desperate need of repair. A new section was cracked and leaking from growing tree roots that eventually pressed on the pipe. The waterline was shut off, and he had to work diligently and fast so that the residents of the home could have their water services restored. The only help he received was Ted’s info dumping on blast.
After laying in a new section of pipe, he put on a pair of black-out goggles and tossed a pair to Ted as well so he could watch. He seemed interested and there wasn’t much of a chance the kid would go away, so he let him stay and watch.
The bright flare of the plasma welder on the steel pipe brightened like a sun and melted the metal together to create a bond. It fascinated Ted, but his attention diverted when Gadger approached, staying back enough to not be blinded by the flare.
Ted tapped Brinus on the shoulder. “Hey, we have a guest.”
Brinus removed his goggles and saw Gadger, and he took it as a cue to approach.
Brinus sighed. “What do you want now?” He asked.
“Oh don’t worry. Uhm, I just wanted to tell you that we caught the person who attacked you. They turned themself in. Just an angry fan of some video thing.”
“Ah, if I’d known punchin’ someone in the face would make me famous, I should do it more often.”
Gadger chuckled. “You can do that professionally too.”
They both laughed, but Gadger had the guilt of the attacks on his mind. He wanted to apologize to put his mind at ease. “The last couple of days must have been hard on you, it was all unnecessary. We apologize for any inconvenience.” He tipped his brow to Brinus and Ted and let them get back to their work, but not before noticing something gross.
“Brinus, you have some brown on your arm.” He pointed out. “Might want to get that sanitized.”
Brinus saw it, shrugged, and relit the plasma torch. He set the flame to his arm and charred the bit of sewage from his arm. It was shocking, but his arm was fine without harm. The spot was nothing but ash and blew away with a puff from his lips. “There, sanitized.” He remarked.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” Gadger said and left them in peace.
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Samantha stepped before Colletta and presented the file. She opened it and saw the proof that Brinus Helios did in fact have magical ability.
Colletta was surprised but stern. “You disobeyed orders and ignored our calls.” She said as she thumbed through the reports and data collected by their TriQuarters. The deciding piece was the last part where Gadger met with him and kept his TriQuarter scanning while they talked. Brinus thought nothing on the act, but being unphased by a 2,000 degrees torch was no ignorable feat.
“Although…” Colletta hesitated while she read the reports and data. “Looks like you were right. Well done.”
Samantha smiled, pleased with herself and her makeshift accomplishment.
“However,” Colletta continued. “Do you realize what you have found?”
Samantha shook her head. “All I know is that the boy has magic and is immune to fire.”
Colletta shuffled the papers in order and folded them into a folder. She folded her hands and placed them atop of the file. “He is a fire mage, a DARK fire mage.”
Samantha didn’t know what the think, and her curiosity needed to be quenched. “What does that mean? What’s the difference?”
Colletta leaned forward and lowered her brow, she was dead serious and made sure Samantha acknowledged this before speaking. “He’s dangerous. He’s immune to his own abilities and anything related to heat, fire, and energy.”
Samantha cocked an eyebrow and thought. “There hasn’t been a dark mage in over 100 years? Are you sure?”
“Average mages are not immune to the elements. His threat level is critical, and luckily, he is young and malleable, or else we may need to remove him from the playing field.”
Samantha’s breath caught. “Kill him? He’s just a kid!”
“Only if he’s goes bad, and that’s always a risk with any Magi. We need to get him out of the Syndicate and into a place of high discipline. Perhaps the military so his abilities can be put to a good use. To stifle him is to build pressure, and he can be explosive in his own way.” Colletta leaned back and sighed. “I wasn’t expecting this. This changes our plans going forward with the candidate program, it wouldn’t fit him. First, we need to determine if he has magic or just the resistance to heat and fire. We will bring him in on false charges and then force him to use magic.”
Samantha thought of the people in Brinus’s life. He needed good role models and positive morals. “So the plan is to get him away form the Orin Syndicate, and away from bad influences. Who’s that boyfriend of his?”
Colletta briefly opened the the file and looked at the synopsis page. “Harper Magnus. He, first of all, should be dealt with.”