Two men were standing watching a recording play out on a screen.

The scene they viewed showed the inside of a medical storage room. A boy no older than sixteen was frozen in place, a box of supplies in his hands. Upon seeing something, he dropped the box in fear, fell to the floor and began begging for his life.

"Wait p-please-e no, I-I was forced. They said they'd go for my family if I didn't help-p." He pleaded.

A soldier came into view, rifle in hand. Their mask was missing, the face of the soldier was easily recognizable as that of a woman's.

Her rifle was trained to the boy's head but no shot rang out.

An unknown man from outside the room called out, yet his voice was incomprehensible through the recording.

The boy, sensing the woman's dilemma, continued to beg and lie.

"I-I have a family, a mother and father. My-y baby sister-r was just born, you don't want her to grow up without her brother-r? Do y-you-u?"

The soldier seemed to have made her decision, her gun calmly lowered.

In response, the boy breathed a sigh of relief. But it was short-lived, for in the next moment, her mind changed.

Her eyes located the camera tucked in the corner of the room, silently recording the whole affair.

A gunshot echoed throughout the metal room.

"Clear!" She shouted before exiting the room.

The recording was paused.

The older man of the two seemed to be in his late fifties, a well-trimmed moustache adorned his face. His appearance and bearing were akin to an eighteen-hundred general.

The younger man, however, resembled an unremarkable teenage boy. He looked worried, a droplet of sweat rolling down his brow.

"So this is your so-called agent of the King's Guard?" The older man mocked.

The younger boy spoke out in panic to her defence.

"Napoleon, please listen to me. She had to kill them otherwise her cover could have been blown. Think about it, if she let him go and the Authority found this recording, then she'd be finished."

Napoleon was a codename, all Homebase agents had one. It was a tactical decision to protect each agent's identity. It was also especially useful for agents who needed to maintain regular contact with those not fully committed to the cause.

"No, listen to me Alexander. I trusted you here, you promised an elite agent and said all we had to do was reestablish contact. Yet not only did our attack backfire, here I see that "agent" you spoke so highly of, executing one of our men while in the uniform of the enemy. What do you say to that?"

Alexander was not a codename. In truth, it was his birth name. Unlike Napoleon, Alexander was born into the King's Guard. That meant that he had no government identity to protect. If a traitor ever gave his name to the Authority, the system they used would come back with a blank.

It may seem like the perfect set of circumstances for a rebel. But it had its drawbacks. Alexander would never be able to roam freely as every checkpoint or random ID check could prove to be his last. He was forced into this life and could never leave it; King's Guard till death.

"The attack wasn't a total failure, we dealt a massive blow to the British Authority's image, and we stole enough medical supplies to last every cell in the country almost five years. Look, I understand we missed the primary target, but give me one more chance. I won't fail again."

Napoleon's face remained stern and unconvinced. But after reflecting on it, he relented.

"Fine, you have one more shot, but if you fuck up again, I'm permanently taking you off duty. Is that clear?"

"Clear as crystal, Sir."

"Good, but I'm severely limiting your resources. You'll have to do this solo. I can't afford to waste any more assets on this."

"Sir, can I request the use of an informant. I have the perfect one in mind; however, he might need a bit of persuasion."

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"Who do you have in mind?"

"Felix Dunero, a student at Alvudinum Academy. Phoenix's current schooling. He is the only student who managed to stay undetected after the Tutor was exposed."

"You plan to have a friendly face make contact for us?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Why didn't you do this earlier?"

"The Tutor's elimination put a dent in our communications. Felix has only recently succeeded in reestablishing contact with us."

"How much will this cost us?"

"10,000 FedCR and a way out the country."

FedCR, otherwise known as Federation Credits, are the sole currency used by the Imperial Federation, accepted all across the Latin world and widely referred to as the global currency by Latin Countries.

"The money should be easy enough. After all, we did just receive a 500,000 FedCR donation from the Imperial Federation. But I can't make any promises on a way out."

"So what should I tell him?"

"Tell him he'll receive everything when the job is completed. It's not like he can complain if we leave him out to dry."

"I won't lie to him, Sir."

"Then give up on Phoenix."

Silence.

"I can't do that, Sir."

"Well then, you best get to it. The money is on the table, take what you need."

Alexander didn't reply, he couldn't. He took the money, left the underground chamber and using a burner phone, made a call.

Felix picked up instantly, this was his only chance to find an escape, to finally be free. However, the false hope offered to him by Alexander was just that, false.

The two agreed to meet today at a quiet cafe on Alna Street known as Citizen's Brew.

Citizen's Brew was run by a couple, the two of them have been close associates of the king's Guard for nearly eight years now and often host private meetings between rebels.

They had set the meeting for 7 PM tonight. Fortunately, the cafe was close to an old manhole, meaning Alexander didn't have to spend too long above ground and risk getting caught by a patrol.

It was 6:15 PM when Alexander entered the cafe. He made it a practice to arrive early and scout the place beforehand, even if a site were trusted like Citizen's Brew, it wouldn't stop the Incendium Medicus from bursting out the floorboards and killing them all.

But much to Alexander's relief, there was no sign of that happening anytime soon. It appears as if Citizen's Brew is still flying under the radar for now.

He sat down at a table by the front window and ordered a house special. Alexander never had a taste for hot drinks, so whatever type it was mattered little to him. He was only ordering one to not attract suspicion.

The time flew by quickly as the clock soon turned seven. He had seen Felix enter 30 minutes ago but decided against saying anything until the time was right.

Alexander stood up and went towards Felix, who was acting a little jumpy. That wasn't surprising for a first-timer; this was a dangerous job and not meant for the weak-hearted.

"Felix Dunero, I'm Alexander. May we speak in another room." Alexander introduced himself.

Felix looked behind him and upon confirming no one was there, he composed himself.

"Yes, of course we can. Please lead the way."

We went behind the counter and into a backroom, a table and some chairs were had already been prepared for our use.

I took a seat first and then signalled for Felix to do the same.

"Please, Mister Dunero. Take a seat, and there's no need to be so nervous."

Felix took his seat opposite Alexander and clarified.

"I'm not nervous Alexander and you may call me by Felix. It'll make this easier on the both of us."

"And naturally, you can call me Alex; all my friends do."

"Well then, Alex. Could we move this along? No offence, but I'd prefer to spend as little time as possible with a member of the King's Guard."

"None taken. I believe this is what you asked for?" Alex said as he placed 10,000 FedCRs on the table.

"I did and what about my transport?"

"We have a boat arranged for you and your family to take you to Imperial Federation territory as soon as the job is done." Alex lied.

"Just me, I have no family."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware."

"Let's just... get on it with it. The job, please?"

"Right. I need you to get in contact with one of your classmates, Valentina Octavia. You are to hand her this letter, I would warn you not to open it but you should already know that."

"Why Valentina?"

"That's not for you to know. Can you complete the job?"

"I can but only if you tell me everything. Why do you want Valentina to have this?"

Alex thought about it for a moment, this was his only real option left. Sure, it was stupid to tell him, but nothing could stop him at this stage of the game.

"Phoenix or as you know her, Valentina, was one of our best agents in the Camulodunum cell. Well, she was, until it was destroyed three years ago."

"Three years ago? Are you telling me Lady Valentina, daughter of Major-General Octavia, was a rebel agent when she was fourteen?"

"Actually, she's been an agent from when she was twelve. But yes."

"Fucking hell... So why now? Why didn't you try and contact her three years ago?"

"Not many people survived the Camulodunum cell's destruction, that meant not many people remembered her. It doesn’t help that Agent identities are kept top secret and rarely shared between cells. So it's only happening now because I'm behind it."

"This seems personal."

"It is. There are only three people I've ever looked up to in my life, my mum, my dad, and Phoenix. Out of all of them, only Phoenix is still alive."

"Seriously? You looked up to a twelve year old?"

"Not just a twelve year old, but one of the best infiltrators we've ever had. She could slip into anywhere, if we needed a weapons factory blown up, we sent her. If we wanted scouting done on a military convoy, she'd do it. No matter what it was, if it involved stealth or a secured building, she'd get it done. That's who Phoenix was."

"Alright, alright, I get it." Felix paused before continuing. "But what if she says no?"

"She won't."

"We obviously know her differently."

"Obviously, so will you do it?"

"You can count on me." Felix said while standing up and offering his hand.

Alex soon followed after him and accepted the handshake sealing the deal.

"Good luck Felix, and don't mess this up."

"Don't you worry about me, you focus on your end of the deal."

"I will... you can trust me." Alex lied.