Ren
Ren was dead certain that something was going to go wrong. He’d rather it happened sooner rather than later when he’d be neck-deep in enemy territory. Getting the guard uniform was easy. Too easy, in fact. It took Aliyah less than fifteen minutes to return with a uniform in his exact size. A functional ID too, belonging to someone called Officer Nishiyama. That was the first red flag. Even the hard part, infiltrating enemy ranks, was dreadfully simple. By some miracle, none of the soldiers seemed to notice their comrade dying his hair red all of a sudden. Ren was bracing himself for the moment everything would fall apart. And given how smoothly everything had gone, he knew it couldn’t be long before some disaster struck.
Dread laced his steps as he followed the troops to the black castle: Kazanagi. Built during the Green Invasion, the war fortress had been refurbished with Roland’s technology as a favor to the Mitsurugi High Council. Ren pulled a cap over his head to avoid the sight of the snipers patrolling the rooftop. The jute and steel uniform clawed at his skin like a hundred miniature spears, but he’d rather have those than the real deal impaling his torso.
“Move your asses, cadets!” The troop commander cried out. “Mr. Roland wants a full sweep of the perimeter.”
Ren noticed a bunch of them pointing at him and whispering something. He prayed it was just the usual bias against the Reds. The gentle pitter-patter of the early morning rain was muffled over his thumping heart. The front of the citadel had been transformed into a soldier camp overnight. He saw grizzled men running and screaming orders all over the place as the fresh recruits struggled to keep up. The smell of gasoline and gunpowder drenched in the morning rain sent a shiver down his spine. But none could compare to the sheer terror he felt when he heard the robotic cocking and loading of rifles, the same rifles that had once gunned down his people. Ren shut his eyes and kept moving as Trent’s gentle reassuring voice echoed inside his head.
“Castle’s on high alert, innit?” the trooper behind him asked.
“What is the occasion?” Ren asked in return.
“Got me. Apparently, some big wig’s come down from the West and wants double the security, for some reason.”
“You mean, he is here?” Ren asked cautiously.
“Them’s the words around,” said the trooper. “See the battlefield ‘round the castle? He’s calling all the shots. Rumors are he’s payin’ for it too. Ain’t no way the Ministers are happy ‘bout it.”
“And what do soldiers think of him?”
“Got quite the tongue on ya, don’t ya, douchebag? Here’s a bit of advice, from one soldier to another, if you wanna last in there, keep yer head down. Ya get flogged for asking too many questions round these parts.”
The troops halted in front of the closed drawbridge as their commander raised the alert in a voice akin to a lion’s roar. “Beta Squad is here. Open ‘er up!”
A pair of bulky men on the first floor returned his signal. “Brace yerselves!” Ren jumped back as they turned a mechanism with such speed that the drawbridge shook the ground with its fall. The path to the black castle was wide open.
In all his years on the Isles, Ren had never dared to venture close to Castle Kazanagi. As a war fortress, it terrified him. As a political battlefield, it was of little interest to him. Part of him wondered what it looked like on the inside, but that part was never brave enough to do it. Even as he stepped into the castle surrounded by a full battalion of armed soldiers, that part was screaming at him to tuck tail and run away. But that might just have been the shivers. While not as cold as Lucidea, the Isles were no stranger to sub-zero temperatures.
To his not-inconsiderate surprise, it was warm on the inside, really warm. It was no ordinary warmth either, he knew it well. He’d felt it for months in Lucidea. It was… It was just like Dr. Boon’s building.
By the Gods, they have brought central heating to the Black Castle!
It wasn’t just the heating. The entire castle had been refurbished to look like something out of a furnishing catalog. As he walked with his face fixed to the floor, he realized it was Lucidean marble, polished to perfection and reflecting the LED lighting from the roof. He came across plastic plants at every step with the occasion painting to brighten up the mood. The smell of foreign perfumes nearly made his eyes water.
Ren felt as though he’d been transported back to Lucidea.
And the men in there, those were the strangest of them all. Ren had expected flowing robes, vibrant colors with elaborate makeup, and all sorts of trinkets, proud men upholding Mitsurugi tradition. Instead, it was black and gray coat suits as far as the eye could see.
Ren was shattered.
“Hey, eyes up!” said the trooper behind him.
“It’s so… different,” Ren muttered softly. “This is not Mitsurugi. This is wrong.”
“Shush! You tryin’ to get killed or something?”
“Forgive me. I am new,” Ren replied in a rehearsed tone.
“Well, get your shit together, man Just stay close, okay? And follow the commander’s lead.”
The troops were asked to wait at the reception area. They sat on plush red sofas in perfect symmetry while the commander got clearance from the overseer at the main desk. Thanks to his honed skills as a thief, Ren was able to infer the entire conversation from their lips and body language alone.
The commander coughed and stammered. “This is Beta Squad reporting for duty, sir!”
“You were expected fifteen minutes ago,” said the overseer in a cold and interrogative voice.
“We were delayed, sir!” The commander lowered his head. “We had a malfunction with the new uniforms. Some men, well, they don’t find the new materials too comfortable.”
“Careful there, commander. Mr. Roland does not appreciate tardiness.”
The commander stiffened his lips. “Forgive me, sir! It will not happen again.”
“It better not,” sighed the overseer. His shoulders slouched and his body language became somewhat softer. “Look, I don’t like serving that foreign scum any more than you do but as long as he’s in charge, we have to listen. At any rate, we have more important matters at hand. Mr. Roland suspects there might be a mole among your soldiers.”
Ren nearly fell off his seat. Already? This is bad. This is really bad.
“Hey, you okay there?” the trooper asked.
“Yes, I… uh… need to use the restroom,” Ren answered.
“Oh, straight ahead, second door on the right. Be quick about it or the commander will have your hide.”
Ren got up and walked slowly until he was out of the commander’s sight. His Thieves’ Guild training let him fade into the background with relative ease. Not to mention, his bright red hair meant that most men had little interest in talking with him at all. Near twenty years of progress and the Mitsurugi army was only one percent Reds. If anything, his hair served as a deterrent for anyone that might have tried to approach him.
Ren estimated fifteen minutes before the commander would notice his absence. That should have given him ample time to infiltrate the surveillance room. But considering that he had no idea where the surveillance room was, how to find it, or even his own location inside that godforsaken castle, the time was evidently not “ample”. This is a mess.
“Hey, you over there!”
Ren ignored the voice, his mind still lost in contemplation.
“You, Red. I’m talking to you!”
Ren’s hair stood on ends as he gulped and turned around as slow as humanly possible. A man twice his height and quadruple his girth assaulted him with fierce black eyes. Ren was appalled by the stench of his bright green beard but maintained the blank face of a world-class poker player.
“My good sir! I am honored to stand in the presence of a highly decorated officer such as yourself. Do tell me, how may I be of service to you?” he spoke softly with a salute and an innocent smile.
The hulking man, ready to attack him with a barrage of expletives and pent-up frustration, was taken aback by his politeness. And like an angry wife faced with an apology from a reasonable communicative husband, he had no idea how to react. However, he knew better than to let it show. He coughed to steady himself and spoke with the gravitas of a war veteran. “Watch where you’re going, young man. We must not embarrass ourselves in front of the foreigner. As proud men of the Isles, it is our sacred duty to… to uh…”
“To uphold the values of Mitsurugi and its people?”
“Yes! That,” the giant said hurriedly. “So, what’s your problem, kid? We’re kinda busy here, you know?”
“Forgive me, sir. I am new here. I was asked to deliver a message to the surveillance room, but it seems I do not know the way.”
“Oh, that’s it? That’s the east end of the fourth floor. Huge sign. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you, sir!” Ren jumped and shook his hands. People skills were an essential part of Thieves’ Guild training. “You truly are a most ideal military officer.”
“Oh, stop!” The giant blushed. “You watch your back in there. Words around that there’s an impostor among us.”
Ren felt a strange sensation. Like someone was strangling him from inside his own body. “I see. And… what does this person look like?”
“We do not know.”
“I see.” He sighed with relief. The strangling sensation got weaker.
“But the word is, he’s stolen Officer Nishiyama’s ID and uniform. So, shouldn’t be too hard to find him. What’s your name, by the way?”
Ren saw the word ‘Nishiyama’ engraved across his breastplate in bright golden letters and turned around with the swiftness of a frightened gazelle. “I am Officer Nishisakurazawanakamurakamineta. Oh, look at the time! The surveillance room must be waiting for my message. Thank you again, sir! I really must be going. Bye!”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
He was two staircases away before the man could say, “Could you repeat that?”
∆∆∆
With two close encounters in as many minutes, Ren wondered if he was becoming more like Hope. He swiftly brushed aside the notion upon noticing his distinct lack of high-tech power armor and persistent death wish.
“Are you certain he went this way?”
Ren ducked behind a corner upon hearing the voice. The strangling sensation was back and stronger than ever. He felt ready to puke out the contents of his nonexistent breakfast. Not this again.
“I think so. He told me he had to go to the surveillance room,” said a familiar voice.
Once Ren had gathered enough courage to peer around the corner, his eyeballs became as wide as onion bulbs. It was the giant man from earlier. He walked in a somewhat awkward fidgety manner next to a tiny but important-looking man whose uniform was adorned with gold medals.
“Then, why didn’t you stop him?” the senior officer demanded.
“He looked so sweet and innocent. He… reminded me of my son. How was I supposed to know?”
“Your sweet and innocent boy is the most-wanted fugitive in the country, Colonel. Now, get your act together and help me find this son of a bitch.”
They couldn’t have been more than a few feet away from him. Ren steadied his breath and hid behind a potted plant. He watched in aching silence as the two men walked past while very loudly discussing all the various ways they would torture him. Once their voices were out of earshot, Ren decided that he had had enough. No more sweet-talking strange men. No more waiting to run away until the very last second. If he wanted to see this mission through, he had to act like he meant it.
With what can only be described as facial scrunching of the highest order, he caked his bright red hair in mud from the potted plant, giving it a deep-brown color and an odor strong enough to drive away any would-be interrogators.
“I must be more careful from now on,” he whispered to himself and tightened the cap over his forehead, letting a few splotches of mud fall to his feet.
The new strategy worked like a charm. He kept his head laser-focused on the pretty floor tiles, only raising it enough to give passersby a slight nod. His hair was the perfect disguise, as long as no one got too close, which considering his foul smell, no one was inclined to do regardless. And as a final measure, he’d used a broken tile to chip away a few letters from his nameplate. For everyone in the Black Castle, he was now Officer Ni Ma of Beta Squad.
After what felt like forever, he reached the fourth floor. It was the same as the last three, except the plants had the unmistakable stench of “foreign-made” about them. While not a patriot by any means, Ren had spent many a year studying the flora growing near the Thieves Guild hideout. He knew them by color, growth rate, leafage, floral pattern, and of course, smell. And these plants did not smell like anything he’d seen before. Except for a certain variety he’d seen in an office in a far-off corner of the world.
Roland.
He tightened his fists and kept walking while every part of his brain cried out one thing in unison: “Please, don’t let me run into him.”
He calmed himself by attempting a few breathing techniques that Hope had taught him. Ever since their misadventure in New Manhattan, she’d been giving him lessons in secret. She’d helped him learn all sorts of tricks and techniques that had helped her manage stress over the years.
“Deep breaths. In… Hold… Out. Happy thoughts. I am… in control. Again, from the core, Deep breaths. In… Hold…”
Ren felt a tight slap across his back that nearly knocked him to the floor. But before he could run or retaliate, a powerful voice pinned him in his place. “Daydreaming in the middle of duty, are we, young man?”
He turned around ever so slightly to see if the soldiers had caught up to him but found himself unable to open his eyes. The fear was so great that his eyelids had been glued shut.
“Is that any way to treat your seniors? Open your eyes, young man! Look upon me when I’m speaking with you.”
Ren half-opened his eyes to sneak a peek. Seeing no uniform but instead, a black coat suit decorating a figure that could not possibly belong to a military officer, he opened his eyes fully and found himself beholding the warmest face he’d seen in ages. It was an old man, with a beard that was neither green nor blue, and gray hair that was in the middle of vacating his head. He carried an air of authority about his manners but his face, even with his stern scowling expression, carried a rare humility that felt as though it was trying to put Ren at ease.
“Well, have you gone deaf or dumb?” asked the old man. “Answer me and answer me swiftly.”
Ren shook his head. “Neither, sir.”
“And what’s this smell? Are you not permitted an hour of official bathing time in the morning officer, Ni… Ma?”
“Forgive me, sir. We were called early today. They said it was an emergency and someone new was in charge,” said Ren, hoping his bluff would work.
The old man stroked his beard thoughtfully and raised a thumb at himself. “Are you familiar with me, young man? Do you know the stature of the person you address?”
“I am afraid not, sir.” Ren shivered. This is it. I am doomed.
The old man tightened his frown, then smirked, and let out a belly laugh. “I’m only fooling with you, young man. The rest of the Council is so uptight, I never get to fool around anymore.”
There was a moment of silence as Ren contemplated the information presented to him.
The old man laughed again. “Ha ha! That dumbfounded expression on your face says everything. Honestly, kids these days. I can read you like a newspaper on a toilet seat. I am indeed Councilman Yujin Kitagawa. I take it you’re a fresh recruit. Hoo boy, you chose quite the first day to come to work.”
“Indeed, sir.”
“Care to join me for a walk to the ground floor? I could kill for a coffee.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dare to impose, sir.”
“Nonsense! I’d love the company.” The old man chuckled.
“Thank you, sir. But I must respectfully decline. I have orders to deliver-”
“It can wait. Besides, you’re legally obligated to listen to me. Come along now!”
Before Ren could think on the merits and demerits of reentering the area he’d earlier barely cleared with his life, the old man had already dragged his skinny arms halfway across the floor.
Since cutting loose and running wasn’t on the list of possibilities, Ren started thinking of a new strategy. Staying hidden wouldn’t be too hard. He was accompanying a national figurehead. If anything, it’d make the others even less likely to look at him with suspicion. As far as getting rid of him was concerned, Ren had already made a plan.
The key was coffee.
Trent had given him a vial of sleeping agent. When injected into the standard-issue smoke bombs given to every soldier, it created a cloud of sleeping gas that acted quickly and disappeared without a trace in seconds. If he could somehow slip the sleeping agent into the coffee, he could get rid of the Councilman and take out the surveillance team without raising any eyebrows.
There was just one problem.
“Don’t you think for a second you’re going to give me the slip, young man! I can smell a bird farting on the other side of the globe.”
“I would never dream of it, sir,” said Ren. “If it’s not too much trouble-”
Before Ren could get another word in, the Councilman elbowed him in the stomach. “Don’t be so uptight. It’s not every day I get a break from my duties. Believe it or not, handing off the reigns of our country to a complete outsider does come with certain perks.”
Ren kept walking silently.
“The others don’t share my sentiment, but you have to understand, working in the Council is a load and a half.”
“I am sure it is, sir,” Ren spoke with a hint of aggression.
“Bah! You wouldn’t know it. I bet you all only see us as worthless shrimp munchers. Do you think we sit on our asses all day just waving a stick while you men do the real work? Well, don’t you?”
“Not at all, sir!”
Before he knew it, they were at the cafeteria. Ren kept his head low as the rotund Councilman became the center of attention for an already agitated soldier unit. “Bring me an extra-strong brew and failing that, a gun to shoot myself!” he barked.
Once he was done, Ren requested half a dozen cups of Joe, a “special request” from the surveillance team, he called it. He wondered how he would get the Councilman to surrender his drink but seeing the vat of vapor emanating from it gave him a brilliant idea.
As the Councilman was about to put the coffee to his lips, Ren snatched it away with an apologetic look. “It is scalding hot, sir! Let me hold it in my tray for a while.”
The old man was happy to comply. “Warming up to the barmy fool, are we, young man?”
Ren shook his head as they started back for the fourth floor. “You are my superior. It is my duty to look out for you.”
“Is that so?” The Councilman raised an eyebrow. “Do you recall the core values of the Mitsurugi army, Officer Ni Ma?”
Ren thought for a moment about the army patrols he’d seen as a child. Every morning from eight to twelve, they’d be out patrolling the streets of Isla Kengen. He’d always thought them a weird bunch with their strange clothes and stranger weapons and unflinching devotion to the country. “Diligence. Equality. Trust,” he finally replied.
“And do you believe the army embodies those values?”
“I am afraid I do not follow, sir.”
“Your hair isn’t naturally brown, is it?” said the Councilman nonchalantly.
Ren’s heartbeat came to a standstill. His feet were plastered to the floor. He shook with fright but kept the poker face going as long as he could. Then, he remembered his training and clear his throat for a confident answer. “No, si-”
Councilman Kitagawa gestured for him to remain silent. The room was choked with tension and Ren was struggling to breathe. The tray in his hands was shaking violently.
“You are a Red. I could tell by your scars.”
Ren instinctively reached for the marks on his neck. He had committed the biggest blunder imaginable. And now, he was going to pay with his life. As the Councilman walked towards him like a drill instructor on the first day of army training, Ren remained frozen. When the old man stood next to him, Ren closed his eyes and silently accepted his judgment.
By astronomical surprise, instead of a cold punch to the gut, he was met with a loving embrace.
What. On. Earth?
“I am sorry, my child.” The Councilman sobbed. “You shouldn’t have to live like this. In hiding. In shame of your heritage. It’s our fault we couldn’t create a better world for you.”
“Sir, I do not understand,” said Ren, as his brain attempted to comprehend the current situation.
“Shh, my child. You don’t have to say anything. I understand how painful it must be for you. Wanting to serve your country and being met with nothing but angry eyes and harsh words. All because of the color of your hair. It is truly a tragedy.”
Seeing no way out of his strange predicament, Ren decided to play along. As the old man tightened his embrace, Ren used the opportunity to pour a drop of sleeping agent into each cup of coffee.
When the old man finally let go, he breathed a sigh of relief. “Let’s keep moving. No sense in keeping your superiors waiting. You said you wanted to go to the surveillance room, correct? Let me accompany you. I’m sure we have plenty to talk about.”
Ren nodded and glanced around from the corner of his eye. His heart sank. The giant man and his senior were on the same floor as him. And given the tone of their conversation, they didn’t exactly look thrilled to have come up empty-handed. “Let us go, sir,” he said and gave the old man a gentle nudge as they crossed over to the next floor.
“How old are you?” asked the Councilman.
“Twenty-three.”
“Gods, you must have been what, three years old when it all went down? I was forty back then and it still made me sick to my stomach. Nasty business, the whole of it. Believe it or not, if it weren’t for that Roland fellow, things would be much worse.”
“You mean, Mr. Roland helped against the Green Invasion?”
“Indeed,” the old man smiled. “He came to our shores with a whole bunch of white boys with strange weapons that spat metal. Helped us overthrow the whole regime. Flash forward to the present, he’s got the unanimous support of the Council. That’s why no one dares to speak ill of him. Don’t bite the hand that feeds and all that. Speaking of which, let me taste that coffee. I can’t stay awake a moment longer.”
“Oh, I would not, sir. It is still plenty… warm.”
By the time he finished speaking, the old man had already downed an entire mug. “Hot dang, that hit the spot. Hoo boy! I feel a bit dizzy.”
Ren rubbed his eyelids and sighed. “Shall I take you to the restroom, sir? You seem a bit ill.”
“That’d be swell. Sure, just give me a second. Oh dang. You’re a good kid, officer Ni Ma. Let’s move it!”
Councilman Yujin Kitagawa made it as far as the restroom’s entrance before he decided to “catch a nap on the pretty little floor tiles.” Ren had to roll him the rest of the way in, all the while praying that any passerby would mistake the old man for a bean bag.
Even asleep, he kept mumbling, “You’re a good kid.”
Ren felt as though someone was twisting a knife in his gut. He rested a hand on the old man’s chest and said, “I promise I will come back for you.”
∆∆∆
Three and a half hours after entering the Black Castle, Ren was standing in front of the surveillance room. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It had been a bumpy ride, but his hard work was about to pay off.
He took a deep breath and opened the door. One of the personnel took a half-glance at him and turned back to the million computer screens fixed on the far end of the room. Ren only caught a brief glance, but the man looked dead inside. His eyes were strained to the point of looking bloodshot, his lids were drooping like a zombie, and he smelled even worse than him. Even standing a good ten feet away, Ren felt ready to vomit. He looked around the room and saw that every single one of them looked as though they hadn’t slept in a week.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Bring it over. We got a job to do!” the guy said weakly.
The others murmured in agreement as they typed away at their respective screens.
“This is a mercy,” Ren muttered to himself and handed them their respective drinks. He watched as they all took a big sip and drifted off to dreamland one by one.
“Hoorah!” Ren exclaimed sarcastically. “Giving overworked employees the rest they deserve. Truly the makings of a world-class criminal.”
He jammed his flash drive into the main computer. Several minutes of beeping followed. When it stopped, the main computer lit up with a million lights. Dazzling colors splashed across its gigantic monitor, finally ending in a black and red logo of a blindfolded angel, with the words ALTAIR scribbled over it. Ren fell to the floor in exhaustion as the words GOOD JOB appeared across the screen.
“All done.” He sighed.
“Not so fast, son,” the monitor spoke up in Roland’s voice. “Did you forget about me?”
Oh, no. No.
Ren could only gape in awe as the symbol on the screen changed into the white and golden B of Blink Incorporated. He felt the earth get pulled from under his feet.
No. No. No.
“I’ve got a squad headed your way. Do us both a favor and do not resist.”