Today was the day. The day he'd not only get these stupid tests out of the way but also when they'd finally play their hand. Coincidently, they'd be happening around the same time which meant he'd be absent from the meeting. Probably for the best, this whole thing hadn't stopped feeling iffy to him. It did make it a tad more difficult to concentrate throughout the day. The smidge of anxiety stuck with him as he tried to complete this magical theory test.

Filling out an exam with purposely wrong answers didn't sit right with him. Not that he was trying to fail. More like, when the question asks 'Who first postulated the theory behind the change of nature regarding ambient magic after the Fall?' the answers were all imperial citizens. Now Cal didn't know if it was or was not an imperial the first came up with it. However, he was damn sure of the other questions in here they couldn't take credit for.

Plagiarists who preach the tenants of honor. He doubted they saw the same hypocrisy he did.

There were other things not related to historical figures that struck him as wrong. He didn't dwell on them long, it wasn't like he spent years of his life researching. Deferring to experts made sense.

He finished quickly and dropped off his exam at the teacher's desk; leaving the classroom right after. He wasn't the first or even the second. A good amount of students beat him to it by a large margin. A glance at their papers told him the time-honored tradition of Christmas treeing had transitioned to this world as well.

He'd been walking to his next class when someone caught his attention.

"Excuse me, you are Callum Ardere correct?" From their dress, he identified them as a staff member.

"That's right." Cal responded, wondering if this was some sort of setup.

The man held out an envelope.

"This arrived for your person two days ago. We apologize for the delay in delivering it" He said with a bow.

"Don't worry about it." Cal waved him off, receiving the letter.

Ripping it open, he read the contents.

Dear Valued Customer,

We are sad to inform you that your order of Zor Melon Fruit was lost in transit and will not be prepared by your specified date. Our attempts to locate it have proven unsuccessful. We are currently attempting to get in contact with our regular consultants who specialize in the retrieval of misplaced produce. In consideration of the shelf life of said fruit, we recommend you pursue alternatives.

Our sincerest apologies,

The Haslin Fruit Company

He read it twice, to ensure he didn't miss anything before crumbling and reducing it to ash.

Whoever in the world had the balls to kidnap his handler wouldn't have them for long, Cal would make sure of it.

He took a breath, calming himself. He needed to be smart about this. He pushed his senses to the limit while heading in a random direction. People were watching him. It was the same type as it had been all week. The student type with nothing better to do. The teachers and staff paid him no extra mind. Which led him to believe he hadn't been compromised yet.

How long could Olivia last under interrogation? He wasn't planning on finding out.

He reached the dorms and quickly dropped off his things. He scribbled on a piece of paper, placed it on the coffee table, and departed.

The trolley was agonizingly slow. Cal thought his tapping foot might bore through the floor before they ever made it to the station. Appearances were important though, Olivia would have advised him against dashing out of the Academy like a lunatic he was sure.

Once in the city, he was less reserved. Making it to the grocer in record time. He landed in front of the green-painted building. Those who saw him were startled, his entrance and clothing being unusual in these parts.

He stood straighter, marching in as if he owned the establishment. It wasn't as crowded as it had been during his last visit. A consequence of it being the middle of the day on a weekday. Some customers persisted, with one currently chatting with the storekeeper.

He approached the counter, heedless of the current conversation.

"I'm here to inquire about my shipment."

The customer was close to berating him for his rudeness when she caught sight of the emblems on his blazer. Her eyes widened and she wisely took a step back.

"Of course my good sir." Haslin addressed him with a bow and bagged up some produce, handing it to the woman who stood in place. "Daisy, why don't you take these on the house? I have an important customer to see to." She remembered herself and took the bag before retreating from the store with haste.

"About your shipment, I hope the letter made it to you alright. All the details were included."

Haslin said with an easygoing smile.

"We need to have a private conversation." Cal leaned in and whispered. Using the severity in his tone to convey he wasn't interested in playing games right now.

The other customers had taken notice now, watching warily.

Haslin stared him down for a moment and then nodded.

"Excuse me everyone" Haslin clapped, gaining the other occupant's attention. "I'm afraid I'll have to close the shop for a few minutes, I need to have a discussion with the sir."

They looked relieved, even as some of them muttered complaints under their breath while filing out.

"What happened?" Cal asked the minute Haslin finished locking the front shutters to the floor.

"It's in the letter, read between the lines." The man grumbled, stretching out his back after getting up from his crouch. "She missed a check-up. I sent some feelers and she's not at the Rusty Pint."

That was a horrible name for the bar, Cal was surprised she hadn't changed it.

"How long ago was that?"

"Three days, sent the letter after the first. Also, you can't waltz in here like that. Do you know how long I've spent cultivating this cover?"

He was well aware of the amount of procedures he'd just bulldozed past, he wasn't about to be constrained by some red tape.

"I'm going with the cover you already gave me. Seems noble-like to come in making demands after something goes wrong on your end."

"Sending that letter was already a stretch for me. Do you think a shop like mine is consorting with nobles?" The man waved a hand across the shop.

Cal didn't see the huge deal, it was worn sure but the product was quality.

"If it worries you so much, I'm in the culinary club. I'll get them to source some things from you."

"Culinary club? As a noble? What do you all gather ingredients and then order your servants to cook it for you?" The man said with a laugh that contained no joy.

"No. Now you mentioned contacting another team. What's their status?"

Haslin got serious again, giving him a glower.

"You know I can't tell you that. There's information compartmentalization for a reason. What's your ID? I need to log a complaint with your supervisor about this type of behavior."

If only he could right now.

Cal didn't bother rattling off his code name, opting to slam a hand on the counter. The man didn't flinch at the noise, looking unimpressed at the brutish display.

Cal removed the hand.

"Sir." Halsin responded, eyes glued to the table. "The team's last contact was at zero one hundred hours. The agent's status remains unknown. No publicly listed prisons and detention centers have them on record. Several black sites have been investigated with similar results."

Cal took back the star, placing it in his pocket. If there was a time to use the authority it granted now seemed like it.

"Who's leading the search?"

"ID BZ-171, Captain Davis."

Both were unfamiliar to Cal.

"Where are they?"

"ID CR-181 Speciliast Philis is currently at cover job-"

"Stop." Cal raised a hand. "I don't need all those details. Is there a place I can meet them?"

"Sir, a number of them will be maintaining their covers. Any current base will have a skeleton crew. The location fluctuates, I can provide a list of venues."

"Do so."

Haslin grabbed a blank sheet of paper and started carefully writing the list. He handed it to Cal. There were seven of them on here. Cal saw a problem.

"I need it marked on a map."

Haslin didn't question him and produced one from a drawer. Marking seven dots. They were scattered across the vast city. He plotted a route to hit them all.

He was done here then.

"That will be all." He stated.

Haslin nodded, his demeanor shifting to the cheerful storekeeper as he opened up the front to the waiting customers.

Cal set off to find this team.

Hopefully, they'd not be useless.

—

LB-120 was feeling pretty useless. He wasn't being useless, manning the base was a necessary task. That didn't stop his brain from telling him to get outside and start doing something.

Anything.

That wasn't his lot today. No, his job was to sit here and wait. Funny how the recruiter failed to mention how much of that he'd be doing during his service.

"Stop being so twitchy Lennard." CS-003 chided him from her position on the couch. She was sprawled out. Her back was propped up by a pillow and her feet were on the armrest. In her hands was a magazine she idly flipped through. "It's a miracle you got this post being that way. Take the break that's been given, it's not as if your primary assignment is anything important. "

He was about to claim he wasn't twitchy when he realized at some point he'd gotten up and started pacing. Scowling he took his seat at the desk again, turning it to face the couch.

They all had primary assignments and the comments on his were unappreciated. Stopping a summoning in the city was of vital importance.

At least they were in one of the nicer hideouts. No dingy basement or drafty warehouse. Simply a nice, unassuming apartment over an oddly successful haberdashery.

He crossed his arms and flexed his thighs, focusing on stopping any involuntary movement. For a time the only sounds were from the shower in the background and page flips.

"How are you not the least bit concerned?" He asked CS-003, or Casey as she was known. He wasn't sure how long she'd been at this post, just that she had been the previous rookie before him. "That missing agent knows the Captain's contact. If they give whoever that is up we could all be blown."

It'd be the greatest intelligence disaster since…well hard to tell as those were usually covered up but it'd be really bad.

"If you haven't noticed it yet." Cassey drolled, crossing her legs. "The Empire's Internal Affairs department is a bastion of nepotism and incompetence. I don't know why we even bother putting agents in there in the first place. They do a far greater job of sabotaging themselves than we could ever dream of."

"If that were true we wouldn't have a missing agent!"

She raised an eyebrow at him and he clamped down on his foot that had started tapping again.

"I know you're stationed away from them but have you met a noble yet?" He shook his head at the question. Outside of the capital, you'd find no greater concentration of nobles than in Postremo Lux. It was his luck, he thought sincerely, that his post was more along the line with the people he grew up with. The rough and tumble sort willing to throw hands the one minute and down a pint together the next. Shame they were all imperials.

"That explains it." She scoffed. "Trust me, if they had her we'd have heard something about it by now because they'd be fighting over the credit. I'm betting she caught the eye of the wrong type of person."

He looked at her with skepticism.

"You're trying to tell me a Federation agent was taken by what, a common lecher?"

"Crazier things have happened. We weren't given her dossier who's to say what type of training she has."

That was true. They'd been provided a picture and her cover occupation. Who she was wasn't relevant. All they needed to do was retrieve if possible and eliminate if not.

Standard procedure, agents may be valuable yet ultimately they were all expendable when it came to ensuring the integrity of their network in the city.

It was grim, it was reality.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Dead gods, none of them wanted to resort to that. If only because they understood it could be them one day. However, they all knew what they were signing up for. There'd be no hesitation if the call had to be made.

He swiveled his chair to face the desk again. On it was a newspaper with an unfinished crossword puzzle. He'd not been able to concentrate on it before. He didn't think now would be any better. On the other hand, it beat stewing in silence.

Nine across, a flower that blooms in the winter. The second letter was 'I'. Right, that's what made him quit the first time. He didn't know anything about flowers.

"Technically, any flower can bloom then if you're good enough."

The knife hidden in his sleeve flashed as he swept it back, aiming to sever the throat of the unknown speaker. He missed, the young man taking a few steps back, straight into Cassey's punishing turning kick. Somehow he ducked in time to dodge it.

Lenard flung his other arm out, a parade of small throwing knives honing in on the intruder. In a blur, one of them was plucked and used to parry its brethren. Cassey's next kick lashed out, slower than the first. The intruder grabbed it, a mistake Lennard had made once before with his colleague.

Once.

Her other foot burst into flames and kicked at the intruder's face. Scoring a blow with the ball of fire engulfing his whole head.

Lennard spun up a water manifestation. It wasn't to douse the flames. Cassey's body impacted the couch, knocking it over.

His attack would cause a good deal of collateral damage, he'd have to worry about that later. As he was about to launch it, a yell made him freeze.

"Halt!" His captain, dripping wet and dressed solely in a towel leveled her weapon towards the red-haired intruder. The barrel of the revolver was longer than her forearm and he couldn't help his mind from questioning if she showered with it. "Move another inch and lose several."

The lone movement in the room was from Cassey who had moved to a crouch.

"Because I'd blow your head off."

Lennard held back a groan. Leave it to the captain to not only crack a lame joke but then explain it in a situation like this. Whatever this was.

"Well, I definitely found the right people judging by that." The man said eyeing the revolver. Guns weren't unheard of in the Empire however they certainly weren't common. "Who's in charge here?"

Lennard didn't like the way he said that. It was too casual. Too at ease. The man had taken Cassey's kick head-on and gave nothing so much as a flinch. He was fast too, getting between both of them without either noticing. Lennard's augmentation was admittedly not as good as it could be. Cassey's was and he threw her like a child.

Lennard looked at his colleague still low to the ground. Her eyes were struggling to choose between looking at the captain or the interloper. She wasn't hurt and the throw had simply toppled the couch instead of putting her through the wall. Which someone like this should be able to easily accomplish.

It spoke of arrogance. His eyes trailed back to the man, taking in his attire. High quality to say the least. Familiar to boot. That was an Academy uniform. So this was a noble? If they were all this quick to underestimate them it was no mystery as to why the Federation could lead them by the nose.

"Haslin sent me." The noble said in way of explanation.

"I don't know anyone by that name." His captain responded cooly, firearm still held aloft.

The name was foreign to Lennard. He made a note to look into it later.

He tensed as the man moved. His attack remained on standby, waiting for the captain's cue. Heedless of his incoming demise the noble reached into his pocket and withdrew something. He tossed it in the air, letting them all see the star glimmer as it rose and fell.

He should not have that.

The others remained ready for combat.

"There was a report of the Fifth being active in Helfiem a week ago." Lennard stated, giving words to what everyone was thinking. "No other Constellation member would change their face."

Which left the question as to how that star got here. It wasn't a forgery, they'd all been shown one upon graduation. You couldn't fake these and the prospect of a member losing theirs was laughable. That meant…he didn't know what it meant.

He gripped his knife uneasily. Dimly he was aware of his heart rate skyrocketing.

"Fairwater." His captain spoke.

Lennard didn't understand the meaning. The noble did if the tilt of his head was any indication.

"Small place, although I can't say I got to see most of it. You?"

"My visit was brief."

A chuckle resounded that sent a chill down his spine.

"Hells, wasn't that a ride? I wouldn't want to go on it again."

"Could have fooled me. Sir." She offered an awkward salute with the hand holding the gun. The other was occupied making sure the towel didn't drop. "Stand down. He's one of us."

Cassey relaxed immediately and Lennard forced himself to follow suit. If the captain said so that was that.

"Captain Davis reporting. Sorry for the mix-up."

It dawned on him that they might have just assaulted a superior.

"Don't worry about that." The man didn't sound like one much for formality, Lennard could relate. "I was told you were tracking down the agent that went missing. Where are you at with that."

"We are, I can brief you myself" Her voice trailed off, seeming to remember her hair was soaking wet.

"Maybe have someone else start." the man said, taking note of her plight.

"CS-003. One, you have your own; stop staring at my tits. Two, brief the man on everything we have."

"Yes, Ma'am." Cassey replied, giving an admirable attempt to keep her focus on the captain's eyes.

"LB-120 with me." His captain demanded as she turned on her heel and marched back into the bedroom.

He nearly pointed at himself before thinking better of it. His steps brought him to the bedroom and she shut the door after him. Placing an adhesive pad on the door. It lit up, signaling the privacy ward had been activated.

She walked to the bathroom and shut the door. Her voice echoed from the other side.

"Ask your questions now. I know you have them. It's why I picked you."

That's what this was about? He wasn't about to turn her down if she was offering.

"Do you know him?"

"Ask a smarter one."

Fair, he'd seen the flicker of recognition come across her at the man's reply.

"What's Fairwater?"

"Sleepy little coastal town. A couple of thousand residents max."

"What happened there?"

"He already told you."

Ugh, she was being cryptic. The man had said something about a ride, that didn't make any sense.

"First word." she called out after not getting a response.

Hells?

"You can't be serious-"

He jumped at the fist impacting the door.

"I damn well am. Happened about three years ago, the containment team I was on got called to deal with a summoning. Some magical beast had washed to shore with its core intact. Rather than turning it in for the bounty like a normal person, the lunatic had delusions of grandeur and attempted a summoning. Attempted because for once that knowledge being restricted worked and he knew far less than your average cultist. When we got there the readings were unintelligible. We got ordered to wait for backup. They turned out to be the Fourth along with that guy, or kid back then."

"You met the Fourth!" He'd zeroed in on that fact. The Fourth was an enigma. She came and went as she pleased. Killing whoever she felt like. Rumor was she'd offed someone for blinking at her the wrong way.

"Yes, those two are related somehow. I valued my life too much to ask how. None of that is the point. Anyways, we go in and they deal with the summoner instantly." She gave a self condescending laugh "My dumbass was disappointed it ended so soon. I wanted to see more of her in action. I got my wish. Things went to shit and fast, the magic going crazy. At the end of the day, three of us grunts along with my captain at the time ended up stranded in one of the hells."

Lennard was finding it difficult to comprehend those words. Individually they made sense, put together? People didn't come back from the hells.

The door cracked open and a hand reached out.

"Left my clothes on the bed. Hand them over?"

He did so and the door closed again. He heard the ruffling of clothes.

"Thanks, where was I? Right, we end up on the other side with those two."

That was easier to stomach. With a member of the Constellation, anything was possible.

"What they don't teach you in boot camp is that the biggest problem when you get to the hells isn't the demons, it's the disorientation. I can't compare it to anything. The four of us weren't able to move. We flopped around like dead fish while puking our guts out." She let out a lengthy exhale. "Those two could. Good thing because the locals weren't exactly thrilled to see us."

The door opened and she walked out, sitting on the bed and brushing her now-dry hair.

"I know what you're thinking and let me tell you the Fourth isn't the reason I'm here. That b-" She cut herself off, eyes darting around for a moment. "She wasn't in any danger. Not that I knew of. She also didn't give a rat's ass about us making it out of there. That kid out there?" She nodded her head in the direction of the door. "Only reason we made it out of there. Watched him run straight into a horde of demons."

That was impressive. He'd fought a couple himself as part of the standard training they did. Dealing with a lot of the buggers at the same time could be tricky.

"We have to work on controlling your expressions. You're too easy to read. I said a horde. Not several. Not dozen. Not even a hundred. A horde. A horde filled with categories ranging from one all the way to a fucking five. The Fourth took care of the big guy, as for the rest? I watched the kid tear into them and they tore right back."

He frowned, replaying those words in his mind.

"No, I didn't misspeak. I watched him get torn limb from limb and eviscerated countless times. Whenever I thought we were next he'd show up, not a scratch on him. I'd say it scared the shit out of me but I'd already defecated when we first crossed over. I chalked it up as a hallucination. It wasn't, the others saw the same. Demons didn't understand it either, the smarter ones ended up turning tail and running. Can you believe it? I didn't know they had any survival instinct to speak of."

She collapsed back on the bed.

"We managed to survive a week over there. I won't bore you with details, don't even have them. I was out of it most of the time."

"Why haven't I heard of him?"

"Hmm." She turned her head, having gotten distracted by some thought. "It's classified. I'll be subject to disciplinary action if they find out I told you. He was a minor back then. I'm guessing that's why. With the star he's carrying I'll bet they'll make his status official when they need some PR win."

"Now" She sat up and walked over knocking her knuckles against his skull lightly "use that brain I hired you for to ask the question. What is he doing here?"

If he took her words at face value, which he was hesitant to do. Lennard had no clue why someone like that would be in the city let alone the Academy. They ruled that angle out months ago.

He'd come asking about the missing agent. The girl they'd been searching for. His stomach sank and a look of horror came upon him.

She clasped him on the shoulder.

"Figure it out?'

The girl was his handler.

"Oh fuck." the words escaped his lips in a whisper.

If they didn't find her in one piece...

She patted him on the cheek.

"Shape up. We'll turn this city upside down if we have to."

That did little to reassure him. Was it simply his lack of experience or was he not cut out for this type of life?

She'd made it to the door while he was reviewing the life decisions leading up to this point.

"In the meantime, let's make sure the murder machine is nice and happy. And word of advice? Don't mention the Fourth at all. Unless you feel like getting us all killed. The two of them do NOT get along."

This wasn't in the field manual.