The two agents escorted the reptile to an island inhabited by demons outside of the main city of Olympus. As they crossed the bridge, the soldiers of the Order Militant marched around the island to ensure no one could leave and every demon would remain indoors. Darous Island was given to demon refugees who escaped Hell but promised to help the Order by any means necessary. After generations, the demons born on that island remained loyal to the Order, even if they might face persecution from the Olympian authorities. However, they prefer the random cases of injustice over the continuous suffering they would face if they lived in Hell.
Jackson admired some of the architecture; he could tell which parts of Hell some demons came from by just how they designed the doors or roofs of their homes. If he weren’t in a hurry, he would enjoy spending time on the island to examine every house and talk to every demon. But if he had to guess, he would believe most of the refugees came from the Diyu regions. Specifically, from the Tivilian Kingdom or the Southern Reaches.
Tanks, soldiers, and rapid deployment barricades surrounded a small clinic where the demons stayed inside with the hostage. The Order Militant’s officers barked at their underlings to prepare for a siege and kill any demon that either attacked them or would be foolish enough to set foot outside. The agents took the reptile inside of the command tent to see Howard calibrating his rifle while Irene talked to an Militant officer only for his eyes to shift to Jackson the instant he saw his green scales. Irene marched away from the officer like and ignored him like he never existed in the first place.
‘Get that man out of my fucking tent!’ Irene growled at the two agents. ‘He shouldn’t be here, we have this under control, and I will not have him fuck everything up.’
An agent stepped towards Irene, unfaced by his burst of anger. ‘Operator Jackson Abernu was ordered to take part in this situation…’
‘I don’t give a shit if God himself gave that order, I will not work with a psychopath.’ Irene interrupted the agent before he turned to the reptile. ‘I know what you did in Salt Lake and that massive fuck up in Sweden, I will not have someone like you have any involvement in this!’
Jackson didn’t respond, instead, he stared at Irene with a heartless gaze. Like he was unbothered by the venomous tongue lashing that Irene gave him. But his lack of a response made Irene furious, to him, the reptile was nothing more but a monster who was given the right to live under the leash of the Order. If Jackson was not under the protection of the Order, Irene would execute the reptile without hesitation. But he wouldn’t mind finding an excuse to put a bullet in between the reptile’s eyes.
‘Operator Zackarie Irene, cease this behaviour at once.’ An agent took their sunglasses off to reveal their yellow eyes. ‘We know your concerns with working with Abernu, but we demand you put them aside for the sake of the mission.’
‘I am in charge, my team will handle this without him.’ Irene argued.
‘No,’ the agent replied. ‘The Hell Blasters were called in for their expertise against demons and the creatures of Hell, not for their leadership. Need I remind you that we are in charge of this operation, or do I need to force disciplinary action on you and your unit to make things clear?’
Irene opened his mouth but closed it to stop himself from saying anything foolish. ‘No, everything is crystal clear.’ He said before he walked over to a table with the layout of the clinic. ‘I assume I have to debrief… him.’ Irene mumbled to himself. ‘The demons arrived here on the 2nd of December, on the morning of the 4th of December they took our hostage and barricaded themselves in the clinic. Which was about a few hours ago by now. We have them surrounded, their escape routes are closed off, but I doubt they planned for an escape. It is clear they are ready for a fight. They have one hostage, a young boy named Daylan, and an artefact known as the Koncradam. The demons in question are part of an elite force called the Lucarian Knights which is currently being led by a man named Vashian.’
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The reptile broke his silence, his voice rang with a hint of surprise. ‘Why is he here?’
Irene raised a brow, suspicious of the reptile. ‘Know him by any chance?’
Jackson gave Irene a nod. ‘We've worked together before, he was part of my old unit.’
‘Ah, no wonder he wanted to talk to you!’ Irene rested his hand on his holstered pistol, seeing this Howard held onto his knife as he believed a fight would commence if either of them suspected Jackson of being a traitor.
‘For what purpose?’ Jackson asked.
Before Irene could answer, the agent cut him off with a swift gesture of his hand. ‘To negotiate with you, we suspect he believes he could make the situation end in his favour by talking to someone familiar.’
‘How did he get into Olympus?’ The reptile coldly asked.
Irene pulled out a cigar from his pocket. ‘He came to the Order to help train my unit, or so the Order Diplomatics told me.’ The two agents glared at Irene for his comment, but he ignored them as he lit his cigar. ‘Since you two used to work together, Vashian must’ve used his reputation to butter up the idiots at the door meant to keep this realm and our secrets safe.’
‘That is enough, Operator Zackarie...’
Irene slammed the table before the agent could finish. ‘This is ultimately your fuck up! Don’t pretend you left out the fact that Jackson and Vashian knew each other!’ With a stressed puff of his cigar, he turned to Jackson. ‘But I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. If the agents of the Order Diplomatics want you to negotiate with their leader. We need to set some parameters. We need Daylan and the artefact. I can’t give a shit if you must kill them, just get them back.’
The reptile paused as he examined the map, on it were tokens that indicated where the demons and the hostages were located in the building. From what the reptile could see, there were an estimated 10 demons hiding inside of the clinic. Understanding what he had to do, he gave Irene a subtle nod, ‘anything else?’
‘Yes,’ Irene replied as he reached for his pocket to pull out a small device with a clip. ‘We want to listen in. Attach this bug anywhere inside your shirt, preferably near the collar and please don’t fuck up and destroy it or tell them you are bugged. Having the least charismatic negotiator is one thing, but having an idiot destroying valuable equipment and compromising our mission is another.’ Jackson took the bug from Irene and latched it inside his shirt.
‘One last thing before you proceed.’ The agent said to Jackson. ‘If negotiations fail, we will storm in and take the hostage, dead or alive, and the artefact by force if necessary. We are only allowing negotiations because we want to know why the Lucarian Knights would do everything to risk peace between The Order and the Kingdoms of Hell. Any questions, Operator Jackson Abernu?’ The reptile shook his head before he made his way to the clinic. Jackson knew he would be safe if Vashian was willing to talk to him, but after being bugged, he also knew he had to be extra careful so as to not cause any further problems.