“Don't get burned by revenge as a dish best served cold.” ― Tamerlan Kuzgov

* * * *

Leonid is solely regretting following Lucas on whatever harebrained scheme he had cooked up in his mind even as they walked through the streets of Zalfari. Both ESA agents were in their street clothes. Even so, they didn’t miss how there were several pairs of hidden eyes on them even as they walked through the town.

Even the ESA knew about the attack on Zalfari a few years ago, and how the previous guardians of the town were killed in said attack. The Premier however didn’t waste any time in appointing a new guardian. And it seems like in the two years that followed, the new guardian not only managed to restore Zalfari to its former glory. They even managed to grow Zalfari even further.

Even amongst the ranks of the ESA and the hunters, Zalfari is a place where they are to tread carefully, as it’s one of the strongholds of the underground. It isn’t a lie to say that nearly every inhabitant in the town has ties and connections to the underground and the Abyss.

Honestly, it’s a damn miracle the underground didn’t declare war on the hunters after the attack on Zalfari that also ended up wiping out Whirlwind.

“I’m getting a bad feeling about this,” Leonid muttered beneath his breath even as he followed Lucas, palming his side for the umpteenth time where he had his gun concealed. “If we walk out of here missing our skin or something worse, I’m only going to say ‘I told you so’.”

Despite Lucas having his back to Leonid, the latter could almost see Lucas rolling his eyes at him. “We’re just here to get some info.”

Leonid wanted to groan. “Remind me to give you a crash course on how the underground works,” he grumbled. Or rather, he’ll get either Elijah or Taylor to give Lucas that lesson.

“The Black Cat…” Lucas murmured, looking from the slip of paper in his hand to the bar that they were currently standing in front of. It is a two-storey tall building with a standing signboard outside it that has the logo of a black cat face with golden eyes and the name of the bar written beneath it. “Here it is. Like Elijah told us.”

Outwardly, it looks like any normal bar that one can find in Eldario. But Leonid isn’t fooled. Throughout his years in the ESA as an agent, he learned how to read the signs of whether an establishment has connections to the underground or not. Even if he wasn’t aware of Zalfari’s connections and reputation with the underground, Leonid would be able to tell that The Black Cat is likely one of the safe houses of the Abyss—or even one of those places where mercenaries and bounty hunters can go to receive jobs.

There are places like that scattered all over Eldario—some of them hidden in plain sight even. Only members of the underground will know how to look for the signs. Zalfari however operates out in the open and is widely known as Abyss territory.

Only the insane and suicidal will try to pull anything in there. And while officially, hunters and ESA agents aren’t exactly forbidden from stepping foot in there; they would be watched extremely closely from the moment they entered.

Leonid’s flight or fight instincts kicked in overtime even as he followed Lucas into the bar, with a bell tinkling somewhere in the establishment as they did so.

It is a Friday night. Thus, Leonid wasn’t surprised to see the bar crowded. On the slightly elevated stage in a corner, there was even a singer playing a guitar whilst singing into the microphone. The chattering died down upon their entrance; even as nearly every single pair of eyes in the bar were fixated on their arrival.

Leonid wanted to groan even as those same pairs of eyes followed their trek even as they walked over to a corner of the bar where a young man was seated, nursing a drink in his hand.

If they ever managed to get out of here unscathed, it is going to be a miracle.

“Are you Ethan?” To his credit, Lucas managed to ignore all those pairs of eyes trained on their backs, directing this question to the young man seated in the corner. “Elijah sent us.”

The lips of the informant quirked even as he looked from Lucas to Leonid, and back again. “He told me that you’ll be coming.” Ethan nodded. “I think I know what you both are here for, but do take a seat.” He gestured with his chin towards the two empty chairs in front of him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leonid spied on how the bartender behind the bar looked ready to march in their direction. But a quick, subtle shake of the head from Ethan stopped him in his tracks.

The music and the murmurings started up again. But there were still several pairs of eyes trained on their table; even if they tried to not make it look obvious.

“I have no idea how much Elijah had told you—”

“Oh, he said nothing. He just implied that I might want to hear you out at least.” Ethan cut Lucas off, leaning back into his chair and studying both ESA agents in front of him with a look that made Leonid feel as if he was getting x-rayed. It made him feel like with just one look from the informant, every single secret or thought that he ever had was being made known. “Something about Aegis?”

There were quick looks in their direction once more.

Honestly, at this point, Leonid wouldn’t even be surprised anymore if the entire bar were listening to their conversation. Even the singer on the stage is barely paying attention to his performance.

“I’ll go straight to the point then.” Leonid had to take his hat off to Lucas. His best friend either had balls of steel, or he just didn’t care or didn’t notice that the attention of nearly the entire bar was on them. “Aegis. Do you know who they are?”

“At this point, everyone in the underground knows of them.” Ethan shrugged nonchalantly. “Even the civilians do at this point. That group hadn’t exactly been keeping quiet for the past year. The case with The Butcher only made damned sure that if there is anyone in Eldario that doesn’t know who they are… Well, they do know now.” Ethan shrugged, lighting a cigarette before inhaling it.

Lucas and Leonid winced at the mention of that infamous hunter. The death of Walden will likely join the already increasing mountain of unsolved cases that are attributed to Aegis.

And while the newspapers in Eldario will know better than to outright write any pieces that speak out against the hunters; it is apparent from the articles by the reporters that none of them hold The Butcher in a very good light. And for good reason.

“Do you know who the members of Aegis are?” Lucas asked again.

Ethan said nothing for several moments, only taking a puff of his cigarette that he was holding in between two fingers, inhaling and then breathing out a stream of smoke into the faces of the two ESA agents. Much to their credit, neither one of the two flinched or even coughed.

“I wonder?” Ethan said at last. There was something in those green eyes that made Leonid wary. “Considering that Elijah is the one that referred you both to me, and I do respect him enough at least to give you both a free card, I am only going to give you one piece of very good advice.” Ethan stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray on the table in between them. “Stop digging into Aegis. And if you do, don’t use underground resources. Losing your skin is going to be the least of your worries if you do.”

“You can tell us something at least, can’t you?” Lucas ignored the implications of Ethan’s words. “Like Aegis’ leader, Zero? I can pay you anything I need to. I just need some information.”

“Pay me? You think this is a matter of money?” Ethan is starting to get annoyed, even as he narrows his eyes dangerously at Lucas. “I might be an informant, but even I had rules in how I operate. Only the suicidal would want to cross the path of Aegis and Zero. The last one that did…” He shrugged. “Let’s just say that she was used as an example of what would happen if someone crossed Zero.”

There was a faint snort from someone in the bar.

“Is Zero… Is Aegis’ leader a man or a woman? Are they a Gifted?” Lucas pressed.

“I’m only going to say one thing about Zero—and it’s honestly information you can find easily if you just ask the right people.” Ethan was silent for several moments before speaking. “The Abyss might be patriarch run for the most part, and it’s still a male-dominated society. But occasionally, we do get women that can easily kick our asses. The current Premier for one is a woman. And from my experience, it is women that can be the most dangerous people of all, especially amongst underground society.”

“Zero… Is Aegis’ leader a woman?” Leonid wanted to know.

Ethan scoffed. “I’ve told you what I can. I will not say anymore. Not even for Elijah’s sake.”

“You can tell us something, surely? What Aegis is doing now, it isn’t right—”

“Tell me something. You both are Gifted, aren’t you?” Ethan cut Lucas off, albeit rudely. “Why are you even with the ESA?”

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“W-What do you mean?”

Ethan let out a long exhale like he was exasperated. “As an informant, I had my ear to the ground, and I had access to lots of information that even most of the regular informants wouldn’t have. So I know a bit about how the ESA works, and had my own opinion on your current chief. I give you that she is decent at least, and is one of the few non-corrupted government officials I know of. But the truth of the matter is that it is the hunters who are the ones really in power right now. And everyone and their grandmother knows that at least a good half of the ESA is under their control. Your chief is a figurehead at best. And you and I both know how the hunters feel about the Gifted. Why are you helping them? Turning against your own?”

Somehow, Ethan’s words are really familiar. And if truth be told, Leonid had asked himself that question countless times over the years. He had long grown jaded with the ESA. And if not for Tiara and a few others, Leonid would have turned his back on the ESA long ago.

Though like any ESA agent, Leonid knew as well that there is no such thing as resignation from the ESA. Much like the hunters, the only way out is through death. Serving the ESA is for life.

“What Aegis is doing isn’t exactly right, either—”

Ethan shot a sharp look over the shoulders of the two ESA agents before turning his attention back to Lucas. “How is the ESA any different then?” He wanted to know. “What is the protocol right now when it comes to apprehended Gifted?” He didn’t stop for an answer. “You turn them over to the hunters, isn’t it? What do you think happens to them? To those Gifted?” Leonid grimaced. He had actual first-hand experience of what those ‘apprehended Gifted’ go through, and even he is unable to deny the truth in Ethan’s words. “How many do you think will survive?”

“Then you think Aegis has the right idea?”

“When the legal law system in Eldario does nothing but protect the hunters, then I think Aegis has the right idea.” Ethan wasn’t phased. “We probably will never know just why they’re doing the things they did, but I got a vague guess for the reason. Way too many people—Gifted and Normals alike, have died at the hands of the hunters and even the ESA. Maybe to you, Aegis is the bad guy because you’re the ones trying to apprehend them. But to us, and even the Gifted of the land, they are our protectors.” He set his glass down on the table with a light thud, his eyes cold. “When the supposed protectors of the land have now become the Bogeyman, then it becomes a real problem.”

“Elijah said something similar,” Leonid admitted.

A ghost of a smile crossed Ethan’s face. “Yeah, he would,” he agreed. “Whether he is an ESA agent or not, Elijah was once one of us. Whatever his reasons are for joining that goddess-forsaken organisation that you call the ESA, he will never turn on us. Neither would Taylor.”

Lucas only frowned with that reminder. Though honestly, it isn’t like Elijah had kept it a secret just who had his allegiance, and it definitely isn’t the ESA.

“We’re getting off topic.” Lucas interrupted. “You won’t tell us anything, will you?” It was a statement, not a question.

The smirk on Ethan’s face answered Lucas’ question better than anything else could. While Ethan Simmons is one of the few informants who occasionally accept jobs and requests from ESA agents, he is picky about the kind of people he accepts said jobs from, and what kind of information he is required to supply.

Ethan will never turn against the people of the underground for one, and he is extremely crafty and cunning, having earned his reputation for a reason. ESA agents who had dealings with Ethan in the past had mentioned how dealing with him is a double-edged sword in essence.

You never know if he is going to turn on you.

“My allegiance is to the underground. To her. To Zero.” Ethan said at last. “She earned her reputation for a reason. All those in Aegis did. If you’re so determined to make them your enemies, then you’d best prepare yourself. There is no person insane enough to want her and Aegis on the warpath against them. If you want to take on a member of the most feared gang in Eldario, you’d best prepare to put your very life on the line. I will not help you. Neither would anyone from the underground if they even got a lick of sense. I am not about to end up on her shit list. I will not turn on her. Not for anything. And neither would any other informant. We know better than that. Not especially now that that woman is in town, and on the warpath.”

There was silence for several moments, even as Lucas glared, but Ethan didn’t back down. If anything, the informant seems rather amused with Lucas’ reaction.

“Lucas,” Leonid warned him in a voice low enough that only his best friend could hear him.

“I will find out who Zero is,” Lucas swore.

If anything, Ethan only looked more amused. “I wish you luck trying.” He then looked over Lucas’ shoulder, and his smirk only widened. “And I also wish you luck in leaving this place alive and in one piece.”

“What?”

All sounds in the bar came to a stop just then.

As one, Lucas and Leonid turned around just in time to see two figures approaching them—with the crowd in the bar parting ways to allow them to pass.

They’re a male and a female pair; with their faces blank even as they approached Lucas and Leonid. From the deference that the others in the bar were giving them, Leonid could warrant a guess that they might just be the guardians of Zalfari.

“Leroy. Alisa.” Ethan remained seated where he was, even as he nodded to the pair as they approached. “The barkeep called you? I could have handled it.”

Alisa only nodded at Ethan’s words; her gaze flickering across Lucas and Leonid. Both men tensed, one hand on their sides. All their fight and flight instincts were kicking in overtime.

“Trouble?”

“I can handle it.”

“ESA?” Leroy murmured, even as his gaze turned accusing as he turned his attention towards Ethan. “What are they doing here?”

“Intel.” Ethan shrugged. “They want information on Aegis.”

Leroy and Alisa narrowed their eyes as one, even as their hands fell to their sides where Leonid spied the tell-tale bulges of a gun holster at their hips. And he would bet that the pair before him had other concealed weapons on their person as well.

“I didn’t say anything.” Ethan was quick to reassure the pair. “I saw what happened to the last fool who tried double-crossing her. I’m not as foolish. I’m in no hurry for a repeat performance.” He met with Leroy’s eyes fearlessly. “That, and whether you believe me or not, my allegiance is with her. I’ll do anything for her. I will never betray her.”

“I am honestly starting to wonder at this point just what she did for you,” Alisa muttered, and Ethan only smirked.

“Who are you both?” Lucas was looking back and forth between Alisa and Leroy. “Zalfari’s guardians?”

“Sadly, for you both, that is, yes.” Leroy nodded curtly. “You’re both fools if you think I didn’t have eyes on you both the moment you stepped foot in my town.” His smile was cold and didn’t reach his eyes. “Leonid O’Boyle and Lucas Alescio.”

Whisperings started to echo around the bar like hissing fires.

“‘Alescio’?”

“He just said ‘Alescio’, didn’t he?”

“A relative of that man…?”

Lucas was bewildered and taken back by the sudden venom-filled glares and whispers that were suddenly thrown his way.

Alisa sighed, “Leroy, don’t start.” She gave her companion a look, combing a lock of her hair behind her ear. That small action caught Leonid’s attention, and his gaze was immediately drawn towards the distinct blade tattoo visible on her under-wrist.

“That tattoo…” Leonid murmured absently. “You’re survivors of Blade.”

It was a statement, not a question. No one, civilian or underground member, is insane enough to use Blade’s symbol if they’re not a member themselves.

Lucas turned sharply towards Leonid with that comment. “‘Blade’? That infamous street gang? Eldario’s most dangerous gang?”

“You know your stuff,” Leroy noted. “Sadly, for you ESA agents and the hunters, that is—there are survivors. You didn’t get all of us that night.” A cold smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes spread across his lips.

“I also have a certain message from Zero to pass on to you,” Alisa added, and both ESA agents immediately turned their attention towards her. “‘The children are fine’,” she quoted.

“‘Children’?” Leonid parroted in confusion.

It only took Lucas several moments to realise what Alisa meant. “The missing children that were held captive in the basement of the Butcher,” he realised. The same children that Team Alpha and Team Delta were looking for.

“We’re taking care of them right now. They will have a choice in what they want to do once they’ve recovered. Whether they want to return to their former lives, or if they want to try carving out a life for themselves in the Abyss—it will entirely be their choice. And we will do everything in our power to ensure they are protected and able to live their own lives.”

“They can’t be allowed—”

“Excuse me?” Ethan who had remained silent throughout everything slammed his hands down on the surface of the table. For the first time since meeting the informant, Ethan looked angry. “‘Can’t be allowed’? What gives you the right to decide what happens to those kids?”

“We just want to make sure that those kids will be taken care of.” Lucas backtracked, seeing how angry Ethan looked.

“And you think we can’t do it?” Leroy looked angry as well. “If anything, I’ll say that they’re better off with us than with you lot. At least we look after our own.”

Lucas looked as if he wanted to argue, but Leonid stomped on his foot to silence the former. He still wanted to walk out of here alive and in one piece, thank you very much.

“Don’t argue,” Leonid warned Lucas, speaking in a voice low enough that only Lucas could hear him.

“You ESA agents are all the same. Same as the hunters.” Leroy’s lip curled. “You’re all poison. So caught up in your own sense of righteousness and justice that you’ve forgotten exactly what it is that you’re fighting for.” Lucas’ eyes widened a slight fraction with those words. “I have no idea whether you’re trying to fool yourself or us. You and I both know how Eldario and the current legal system works. Even the current laws for the Gifted is a joke at best. No one in Eldario cares about them. The only place they could even call home at this point is the underground.” He let out a slight exhale. “I think the both of you have overstayed your welcome. Kindly show yourselves out.”

Leonid knew a warning when he heard one, and nodded.

“Come on, Lucas. Let’s go.”

Leonid didn’t even wait for Lucas to agree; he merely grasped Lucas by his upper arm and nearly pulled him out of the bar. He didn’t let go until they were out of Zalfari.

“I can walk!” Lucas was annoyed, finally pulling his arm out of Leonid’s grasp and rubbing at it.

“Elijah and I both warned you,” Leonid said sharply. “We told you not to shoot your mouth off in there. And more importantly, to never ever say anything about the ESA, or Goddess forbid, the hunters! The fact that they allowed us to walk out of there alive is a Goddess damned miracle!”

“I’m sorry.” Lucas sighed with frustration, kneading his forehead with his knuckles. “I didn’t mean to. I just got…frustrated in there.”

Leonid let out a snort. “Yeah, from what I heard about that informant, he tends to bring out the worst of people,” he remarked. “And that is exactly what makes him so good at his job.” He let out a light exhale. “The thing with the underground, Lucas, is that there is one absolute rule amongst them. And not just them, but also the Gifted. ‘Survival of the fittest’.” He met with Lucas’ startled eyes. “It is why they have a system like the Pit, and even duels to the death. Leftovers from a system that had existed long enough. Back when Eldario’s underground scene is extremely cruel and ruthless and lawless. If I hadn’t dragged you out of there, we wouldn’t be leaving alive.”

Lucas was silent as he contemplated Leonid’s words. “Zero… They know who they are,” he said at last.

“If they do, they sure as hell are not telling us.” Leonid shrugged. “Whatever information that we can uncover about Aegis and Zero definitely won’t be coming from the underground. It’ll be a death sentence.” He warned Lucas with his eyes. “The Abyss and the underground… They don’t give second chances. That was a warning earlier. From Ethan. From the new guardians of Zalfari. From all of them.”

“Zero…” Lucas murmured. “Just who are they?”

* * * *

In The Black Cat, Ethan watched the doors of the bar even as it swung shut behind the pair of ESA agents even as the taller of the pair dragged his shorter companion out. He definitely wouldn’t be surprised if the pair had hightailed it out of Zalfari.

Sighing, Ethan met with the grim gazes of Leroy and Alisa. They knew that this day would come; when ESA agents or even hunters come poking about in Zalfari about Aegis.

“Someone should get the word out to Sera,” Ethan said at last. “She needs to be warned.”

Leroy sighed and nodded. “I’m on it.”