Chatter fills Kyte’s ears as the auditorium doors swing open. Orientation week was finally over and there was a buzz in the air. Out on the University’s central plaza, Kyte could see all the different types of students milling about. Some strolled off to spend their last weekend of vacation in the high-end shopping streets just a couple blocks down from the campus. Others were crowding the campus bookstore to buy last-minute access to their online-textbooks. The ambitious ones could be seen knocking at professor’s doors hoping for an early spot on their team. But by far the most popular student activity was finding others of one’s field. Clusters were already forming on the misty grass. Kyte better get moving.

Looking around, she spots a small group of students carrying passes to the Mercury labs.

She jogs over and easily immerses herself into the group once she tells them her field of study was also Mercury engineering. As a group, they walked into the labs, and then out with their curiosities satisfied. Kyte stays near a boy that had off-handedly mentioned he knew a professor that let her students use the high-end lab equipment for independent research. Someone told a joke, that frankly Kyte did not find it funny, but ripples of laughter were already moving through the crowd.

“Hahah,” Kyte laughed with the most mirth she could muster, “ is that so–”

“Are you Kyte?” A firm voice demanded. Kyte tilted their head backwards. Behind them stood a man and a woman. Both were dressed in simple military uniforms with a gold insignia on their chests, showing them to be the city vanguard.

“Hmm? Yes, that is I,” Kyte responded.

“We are going to need you to come with us,” the other one said.

Kyte shot a glance at the small crowd of students whispering with each other. Could the vanguard be any more tactless?

“Lead the way,” Kyte responded nonchalantly. They could see the vanguards’ shoulder’s drop slightly. Did they really expect Kyte to put up resistance in the middle of campus? That was almost insulting.

Kyte was escorted via a nondescript hovercraft–which they had recently learned was nicknamed ‘huvos’ by the natives–to a very imposing building. It floated several meters off the misty ground, connected by several gold, ornamental bridges. The front doors easily dwarfed Kyte’s measly 4 story apartment complex and were similarly adorned with gold designs that shifted and swirled. Much to their disappointment, Kyte wasn’t able to soak in the grand lobby in all its splendor, having been whisked away into a small side door immediately upon entering. The door opened up to a small corridor; well, small by towering-gold-building standards. One corridor led to another, then another, and another, until even Kyte couldn’t be bothered with remembering them all. Finally, they arrived in front of a door decorated with wood carvings. One of the vanguards inserted what looked like a tiny figure into a matching hole in the wood. A soft click sound echoed through the hallway. The door then slid open to reveal a traditionally Chinese style chamber within. All the wood gleamed with an undertone of gold. Add the distinct scent and Kyte had no doubt that the smallest item could pay for a year’s tuition. In the back center of the room was a large embroidered screen. Walking closer, Kyte could begin to make out a figure sat behind.

“Kneel!” commanded the vanguard to their left.

“What–umph!” Kyte was unceremoniously pushed down, making their knees painfully hit the wood floor.

“Be grateful that we aren’t making you bow,” the other guard hissed. It took all of Kyte’s self-control to not roll their eyes. Feeling confident now that they are in home base huh? Kyte opened their mouth to retort when another voice cut through the thickened air.

“Is this kind of uncouth behavior routine for you vanguards?”

The guards flinched and straightened, backs taut like over-pulled bow strings. Fear was painted across their faces: all sweat and clenched jaws. “No, your Grace!” The two answered simultaneously.

“Then prove it,” ordered the figure behind the screen. The two immediately dropped to their knees and pressed their foreheads into the ground.

“Yes, your Grace! We sincerely apologize for our incompetence! Please have mercy, Your Grace!”

They were not dignified with a reply.

Instead, Kyte felt the figure’s eyes shift to them.

“You.”

“Yes, your Grace?” What did they want? Kyte wondered.

“I’m torn between disappointment and mild amusement.”

“Sorry?”

“Speaking out of turn. I will forgive your impudence this once. However, if you do so again” the figure shifted to address the vanguard, “they will cut the tongue off.” To prove this mysterious figure’s point, both guards drew a thin blade from their sleeves. Kyte thickly swallowed but made no sound.

“Hmph, You learn quickly, perhaps you will yet survive. Back to the topic at hand, I can not adequately express how disappointing it is that a student of the Azure tier’s top University would be part of some underworld scheme. How much resources did they spend convincing you to their cause? Or better, how many strings did they pull to get you so close to us? All only to fail immediately. I admit, the futility of their situation amuses me.”

Words threaten to burst out of the seams between Kyte’s clenched teeth, but they chew them up and swallow them all back down.

The figure continues. “No defiance? Very well then. Let us move on to questioning. There is only one of interest: What is Nico ******** planning.”

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“Who?”

“Don’t waste your breath pretending.”

Kyte gritted their teeth. They silently cursed the growing clamminess of their palms. Play dumb.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I just came here less than a week ago. The mafia’s very existence is news to me!...Your Grace.”

The figure behind the screen flicked their wrist, sending fabric cascading down like autumn leaves. The two vanguards shot to attention, quickly bowed, and left the room. Kyte did not try to stand up.

Less than a minute later, loud voices and footfalls sounded down the hall. Kyte strained to listen. At first it was all too muffled, but soon they could pick up barked commands matching the voices of the vanguards that had just gone out. Then they picked up a third voice.

“....it’s really not that deep, officer. C’mon, I’m just any old law abiding citizen now. No need for hostilities. We can be friends. I know a nice place downstairs, with a real pleasant bartender too. How about I treat you two to a drin–OW!”

All of Kyte’s meals from the last week made the pilgrimage from the sewer pipes back into their bowels and threatened to climb up and out their throat. They watched in slow motion as the lock clicked again with the matching key. The door swung open. Between two seething vanguards hunched a man cuffed at the neck, hands and feet with what Kyte knew were dripping in Mercury. His clothes were still nice, if not a little scuffed, and his dark hair had a familiar shine of prussian blue. It took all of Kyte’s focus to keep their expression at true neutral.

Nico. They have Nico.

As if he had heard her thoughts, Nico tilted his head up and looked at Kyte. He smiled. It was all wide and toothy.

“Why, pleasure seeing you here, Kyte.”

Kyte politely smiled back on instinct. She was painfully aware of how their own eyes darted frantically around the room, never quite landing on either Nico or ‘Your Grace’.

“I see that you have finished yapping.”

Speak of the devil.

“Your Grace, just because this man here knows my name doesn’t prove anything,” responded Kyte just a little too quickly. Maybe there was still a way out. Stay calm and think it through. No one knows what you don’t reveal.

“Hmph. You still struggle even now? Very well.”

The figure reached into their left sleeve and pulled something out. Their form blocked the item’s silhouette. Then, they tossed it over the dividing screen. It landed with a quiet cling. That stupid cat face stared back up at Kyte. The letters ‘N’ ‘I’ ‘C’ ‘O’ mocked them with their feline companion. Kyte was at a loss for words.

“That shut you up nice. That keychain was found in your crumbling apartment by the vanguard. They had been tipped off by a report that a medium height, smartly dressed person with long dark hair was seen biking down the streets with the mafia’s newest and most infamous renegade in tow.”

The figure scoffed. “I was quite taken aback at the described scene. It sounded horribly theatrical. But to my delight, the investigation proved fruitful. Of course, you–Kyte– might have escaped with reasonable doubt. However, that keychain before you eliminates all other explanations. Nico was also hilariously easy to find, lying hungover in a pool of cheap wine in a shady bar. Now, I have not only the clumsy accomplice but also the government’s most wanted criminal’s lapdog.”

Kyte didn’t know who they wanted to strangle more: Nico, or this figure behind the screen. Was there even anything they could do now? There has got to be.

A thought surfaced. An audacious request.

“Your Grace, surely my arrest and trial would stain the reputation of not only the university but your government. I can picture the explosive headlines and spiraling rumors now. Wouldn’t it be better if we settled things a bit more discreetly? Say perhaps a deal where I can maybe prove my innocence?”

The figure was silent. So was Nico, his eyes dull and trained intently on Kyte. No one moved. Once again the silhouetted figure broke the silence.

“...Heh. Not bad for some quick thinking. However, none of what you listed will happen. Nico here is long overdue for capital punishment. And you, can discard all hope of stepping foot in the class–”

“I see that the guests have already been informed of their task. Isn’t that right Yinzhu.” Said a new voice.

The figure, or Yinzhu, snapped their head towards the door. Everyone else followed suit. A tall man dressed in an expensive gold robe with long white hair stood in the doorway. His face was severe and his brows set in a permanent furrow. To his right stood an equally tall man in dark clothing with a pair of sharp hazel eyes behind his glasses. To his left stood a woman in a wool suit holding a tablet looking very unimpressed.

“Chairman, you can not be implying that you actually want to bargain with these criminals?!” Yinzhu’s voice shook the tiniest bit. Kyte couldn’t tell if it was from rage or fear. They looked back at the Chairman’s imposing stare. Both probably. Though fear might be smarter.

“How can you be taught by me and still be so naive? Your inflexible mind will be your undoing Yinzhu.”

A small, guttural sound could be heard just barely above the shocked silence.

The Chairman shifted his gaze from the screen to Nico, who glared up at him through his lashes, head held down by the guards.

“Nico here will be of great help, now that he’s a stray.” Nico bristled, but kept his mouth shut. The Chairman’s gaze moved to Kyte. They stared back.

“And this one here is a Mercury engineering student, who too will be beneficial. In fact, these two are perfect for the mission. Now, these criminals need a warden. It will need to be someone with great fighting prowess and wit–and a high position. I wasn’t able to pick a candidate, but seeing how much you, Yinzhu, care for justice. I’m sure you would be honored for the position.”

At those last words, the screen suddenly dematerialized. Yinzhu shot up, fist clenched and with a barely concealed scowl. Kyte was shocked at how much Yinzhu looked like the younger and slightly more feminine version of the Chairman. Same nose, brows, and hard gaze. The main distinguishing difference was Yinzhu’s still ink black hair.

“Chairman! I cannot leave my post. I oversee the special operations unit and I already have a team–”

“What team? I’timad alone can not make up for the deserters. Your abilities as a leader are also under investigation. To place your trust and the lives of other cadets in XO’s hands, in a petty thief and known loose cannon, was a grave miscalculation. This mission is my mercy to you. Do not disappoint me again.”

Yinzhu stood dangerously silent. Her steely eyes trained on the man before her. Her stance was that of a cornered predator on its haunches, ready to strike its last.

The Chairman only gave an eyeless smile at Yinzhu’s fury, daring her to oppose a direct order. He didn’t say a word until Yinzhu’s shoulder dropped and her scowl schooled into a frown.

“I am very pleased you accepted Yinzhu. You will be briefed this afternoon on the details along with these two. I expect results the first of next month. Good day.”

Then the Chairman turned around and left, followed by his assistants? Vassals? Either way, only his swishing robes remained as evidence of his destruction.