Damselflies And Dragonfly (5)
At the top of the building. The second-last floor was a fancy, small dinner where galas, banquets, weddings, and any celebration of the most wealthy in Lýmoca could come to enjoy their evening. But on the very last floor, the 'tip' of the enormous, notorious building, a large dispatch was embraced by darkness.
A woman with creamy white skin, long black hair, breathtaking black eyes, short, and of a delicate beauty walked around a single spot in the enormous dispatch. She seemed pensive, looking down and lost.
The moon was far from being half a moon, so a light in the high ceiling took its place, ushering a light haze like the moonlight would, forming a small ring which far surpassed the spot she circled.
Lesly Rivera, vice president of the nation of Lýmoca, breathed a little harsh. She has been here for a few days already. This meeting was important. Maybe it was counterproductive when contemplating their political party nation, that which the president formed at the beginning of this term. Everyone in his cabinet, or more importantly, everyone in their core circle, agreed.
She took her phone out and dialed a number with just a few whispers from her lips. The call was finally taken after a few seconds, letting Lesly exhale a slight sigh of relief. “Senator Ol’ Pak? Thank you for taking my call. I’m gladdened that I can assure you miss Valyer will attend. Yes. She has shown an important interest in the new party, indeed.”
“Oh… well, I believe the situation will return to the ordinary. It has always been like that, hasn’t it? It’s the way of politics, hm.” Lesly looked through the windows. Her eyes gleamed but remained solid, calm, and still. With no emotion.
“I will be contented, yes. I know, and I understand. You won’t have any fair treatment, unless you don’t come~. Haha, well, it will be good to see you again.” Lesly smiled as she finished the call, giving out some giggled words with narrowed eyes.
Once the call went finished, she relaxed her face and manually began another call. A couple of seconds later, the phone call was taken, Lesly adopted a polite demeanor. “Mister Feks. I was just about to begin some little work here when I realized… I believe I haven’t received your answer, sir. May I know why?”
“I’m listening… Yes, it does make sense- but! Senator, if you’ll allow me, This isn’t a recruiting sect, alright~? Everything is about forming a little image towards the future race for the elections, not to take sides. Such thing isn’t necessary, as we are all Lys, we believe in our future, not our power alone… Mhm…”
“It is always a pleasure to exchange these ‘pleasantries’. Every now and then, nothing like a little chat, indeed… Of course, testing knowledge with a brighter, wiser mind is a praise for me, ahahaha…”
“I most agree, Senator Gracial. But a talk like this, with our colleagues, can only continue tomorrow. Wouldn’t you say so, sir?” Lesly slowly finished her second call. A few good-humored, laughing, muffled sentences could be heard from the phone before it ended.
“Sigh…” Lesly stopped for a moment, half-dialing a number before leaning back on a sofa’s back. She looked at the ceiling, recuperating her breath before finishing dialing the number. “Benito Metelti! You’re hiding from me, I can tell. How many years has it been? This feels much better than hearing your voice in the chamber, sir. I have missed your guidance.”
“No, this is no, haha, trick.” Lesly wore a thin, mirthful smile as she spoke. If any person foreign to Lýmoca’s politics were to hear her call and look at her behavior, they would’ve thought she called a senior family member.
“No, sir. Of course not,” Lesly spoke with her eyebrows becoming a little heavy, lost, and sad. So far, her voice was always tranquil, soft, confident or appeased at times, and eloquent. But now, she became a little more blunt and brief, more honest.
“It’s not Lýmoca who is in danger, not even Luis- ah, yes… President Luis… Heartez… Remember our bait back then, Mr. Metelti? They are not trickery nor lies, at least not anymore, scoff… Yes. Lýmoca might still hold itself afloat, but, will our President? I also think not, in fact… nobody can… I know… but it was necessary… You’ve seen it, too. Even if just a little, right?”
“I see. I understand… I won’t beg, there’s no use when it comes to you, Mr. Metelti… The President needs you. People in power, others? Perhaps, but no one like you, sir. I hope we are successful enough to show it to you.”
“Hehe… No, don’t you worry about us, mister. Our struggle is Lýmoca, but not its people. It is its moving, talking, and spreading stain… R- really? Then, will you… you’ll come?!” Lesly jumped her eyebrows, widening her breathtaking eyes.
“Thanks! I mean… oh, sorry, hahaha… Yes, mister. I’ll remind you why you promised my family to keep me safe. Mhm, Le- oh heavens, Lesly the Cute will be p- sigh, you know the rest. Big hug, oldie. Goodbye…” Lesly finished the call with a cute grin on her lips. She felt contented.
“Sigh!” Lesly looked up, slumped her shoulder, if only a little, and rested her head, hanging it backwards on her neck. With her eyes closed, she couldn’t help opening them with a bright flashing across them.
“Llama a él[call him],” Lesly said while leaving her phone atop the sofa’s backrest, walking a little away. She remembered the voice message he left her earlier during the day. She wanted to hear if the meeting went well. Right, she also wanted to let him know she successfully invited Metelti.
Beep. “Hello, Lesly?” Luis’s voice sounded from her phone. Lesly smiled, quickly stepping towards her phone. She leaned over, smiling and trying to hide its sound of forming from the other party, “Hey, there. Slow cerebellum.”
“Oooh, I assume things went well for you,” Luis was in his office as he smiled, speaking to Lesly from several hundreds of kilometers away. Lesly responded, “You first, I called only after I finished doing my part. Tell me about yours.”
“Well,” Luis relaxed in his chair, squinting his eyes before starting, “I need more chances with Lázaro, but… the field marshal actually visited me. Other officers also came to me. Can you believe it?”
“Oh, hahaha.” Lesly didn’t expect that. They spent the following few minutes talking of how Luis achieved a rather significant major improvement in their plans in just one day, after a failed meeting, and a brief one. The latter ended up being fruitful, while the former ended in despise.
“Well, your best comrades, Pak and Valyer are coming. Feks might come, as well. Many confirmed upper echelons of the country will assist. Who knows, we might even see Rentería there, if the situation arises. We might even meet others there with as much influence and with validity. We have many opportunities still.” Lesly softly uttered.
“Well, that’s on you. I have to throw the pleasantries to you alone. Are you fine?” Luis shook his head, saying before asking. Lesly smiled, though just a bit. “Sigh. Thanks. Mhm, I will be- oh… well… I’m fine for now?”
“Hahahaha…” - “… Pfft- hahaha!” Both laughed. Before Lesly forgot to tell Luis, she rushed to speak, “I successfully invited Metelti! He is really lacking some laughter. I have to bring him to you as soon as I can.”
“Let’s hope he doesn’t become… saturated. We should be… respectful.” Luis said, his words turning more and more solemn and dejected with each pronunciation. Lesly dropped her eyelids to an almost close. “Yes, Luis. It’s over now. Don’t be a coward and fail, now.”
“As long as I have people to remind me.” Luis replied with a helpless smile. Everything went silent after that. While it was comforting somehow, there was an inexplicable sense of anxiety and desperation among them.
“Good night… Lesly,” Luis muttered first. Lesly gasped a breath of air into her lungs before returning the gesture. “Good night, slow bellum.”
Beep- beep. Both parties hung at the same time, looking ahead in the distance. They felt pensive for a while before returning to their roles in this nation.
Luis sighed before pressing his forehead down on the backs of his hands, elbows atop the desk. Suddenly, his phone rang again. He sat straight and annoyed before looking at its screen. Immediately, his thoughts of any other number bothering him at this hour were erased.
“What are you doing awake at this hour?” Luis said with a brilliant smile. The other side contested, “Should I hang up instead?”
“No, no! Don’t give me that, now. Young, indecisive, lady.” Luis shook his head, but still with a smile. He sighed into the phone before the other side’s melodic voice sounded, trying to appease the ‘old man’ in the president’s office. “I never wanted to talk about it before, but it’s time to say it. I’m afraid you’ll waste more chances.”
“…” Luis grew stern. The other side took a deep breath in before going, her voice was provoking, and decisive. “You may very well lose the chance to your third term in the next elections. You know better to tell me otherwise. So why not… go ahead and be radical. Even if you’re not going to save Lýmoca from its many stains, I want to have a dad where history tells of a thorough and revolutionary man, a nation’s leader.”
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“You either fall and Lýmoca returns to all of the past it has silently persevered, or you don’t, and you stay. That means you would’ve convinced more people, opened their hearts, or tricked them. Means; more followers and image. It is the power necessary for all those changes you’ve sought, father.”
“So, no matter what you think or want to protect, dad. Don’t you dare let me down again. Serve those politicians and anyone who harmed me, and might harm us and Lýmoca, pay for it!”
“… E- Es-” Luis was stunned. His eyes went round, and he had difficulty just to speak. The other side harrumphed delicately, just like a lady would, and ‘bid farewell’ before hanging, “Hmph! Thanks aren’t necessary, make your sweet princess proud, dad.”
Beep.
“!” Luis stood up, slapping his chair’s armrests. He gulped as he felt the hot sweat tell his body and mind how much he needed that. Taking a deep breath, Luis gulped and looked at his screen. “Open files.”
With that, Luis checked his drawers. He looked at a pair of contacts and glasses before choosing the latter. It wasn’t that he felt uncomfortable with those. He just didn’t want to use them before his pupils were properly allocated so he could see these things without ‘outside’ help. But they wouldn’t let him have that yet.
Putting those glasses on, Luis looked at his screen and studied records and analyzed images and videos that the screen only showed to his glasses. His hands moved like working a keyboard or a mouse, where there was nothing, not even drawings on the table.
The glasses were protected from the back, sides, and in the reflection, so only Luis could see all of these.
… Back in Sargonde, Lesly had just finished her call with Luis when she felt the need to wet her dry lips. She walked to a stand table at the side with phone in hand. Work had to always be first. Lesly grabbed a bottle of liquor and served her a full glass, almost.
She emptied it, wasting no time to savor it. She’s had ample training in the last 2 terms to even like most liquor nowadays. Lesly looked at her glass. It looked sad empty, so she poured another, and then another.
“Aaagh…” Lesly didn’t even stumble as she finished the last glass before deciding it was enough. It wasn’t a big glass, but those were many full drinks still. Just as she wanted to find the nearest sofa to count the stars, which were just light bulbs barely lighted up, her phone rang.
She took it out, feeling annoyed and like burning the whole world a few times. However, the yelling voice on the other end woke her up like she was sleeping on an earthquake and fell sideways along with her building.
“Lady Lesly, are you alright? There’s been an assassination. There might be an attempt on you, too. The secretary’s head was cut off his body. We’re sending the nearest 5 guards to you. But we can’t find the culprit. A couple cameras were disabled, but no one else is hurt, and- aa- and-”
“Ease it down,” Lesly sat up at once. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought of so many things and possibilities. The other side continued after a couple of breathing sounds, “Yes, Lady. About 2 minutes ago, there was a girl who ran out of the building and almost got run over. She’s safe. However, secretary Iván was found deprived of life, his head was cut off, and some medics said he was poisoned beforehand.”
“Don’t close the building, secure everyone’s evacuation. Light up the green torch, don’t let any guard spread this information. We’ll lock down the students’ phones for now. It doesn’t matter if they already divulged some. Everyone should keep it safety and confidential. If I receive news after tonight that the opposition somehow knew it at these hours, I’m watching over each of you.”
“Of course, Lady. We are beginning evacuation, is there-” The other side spoke for a bit before Lesly, who stood up, began giving directions regardless if they were already on motion. “Use the auxiliary stairs to evacuate everyone as fast as possible before sealing them. Those halls and stairs are wide for a reason. You should have all elevators blocked, so divide the guards to a few dozens per floor and more in the most recurrent ones.”
“Cross any intersection, compartment, storage, bathroom, and janitor room after checking any possible infiltration, nothing else. Don’t fight the enemy alone. Gather the food in one place and disconnect all electricity that can be used by the public. From now on, the only ones to speak to me are the LTS of each floor, understood?”
“Yes, Lady!” The other side responded. Lesly nodded and said a few more things before hanging up. She softly sighed, dropping her shoulders and looking at her front. She turned her head to the same table stand from before and stepped forth.
However, just as she was going to, the instinct, gut feeling, sixth sense, third eye; made her stop before turning around. She was just facing the only open, wide windows in the dispatch, facing southeast and all of Sargonde’s capital state city. Lesly Rivera gulped as she looked at the entrance, where a shadowed figure stood without moving.
Plop- splash. The figure threw a ball towards her left front, but it wasn’t a bag, it was a…
‘Iván…’ Lesly thought as the head of one of her greatest helpers in the daily work of politics and forming these new relationships as a new political party fell near her left foot. Her eyes trembled. This wasn’t the first corpse she’s seen, or a severed limb, but this time it came from a known source, and a freshly cut head at that.
Tumble- thud. Lesly stepped back, only to trip with a sofa’s back with her mind, already revolving, twirled like a tornado as she fell on her bum. Her long black dress hugging her knees and thighs kept her legs in a reverse V form.
‘Those were many calls.’ Thought Phesx as he finally arrived at his destination.
. . .
At the stairs leading to the dispatch. 5 minutes after Lesly picked the call. There was a group of 12 guards standing before the entrance, 2 metallic doors as thick as an arm, and another 2 dozens running upstairs. When they met, their sweaty faces and anxious selves were at the top.
“She hasn’t responded to any more calls!” One of the new guards yelled. Another guard said while pointing at the entrance, “It won’t open with our LT’s keycard. Did you bring it?”
“Yeah, I got it.” The new guard took a small, thin, transparent card from his left chest pocket. He passed it to the other guard as they all took positions. The new ones already had their vests and submachine guns readied, to which they gave 3 full bags of the same to the others.
As soon as everyone had their vest and a firearm, they got ready to enter. With tactical spectacles-googles and masks covering only their nostrils prepared, some sleeping grenades’ levers were pulled. Immediately after, the doors were opened by a guard.
The grenades were thrown inside as they rushed in. They exploded in not so loud noises, and expelled smoke and steam from their structures’ corners. Yet, as they entered and checked everywhere for enemies hiding around the perimeter, they were flabbergasted with the dispatch’s littering.
Everything was a little messy, with sofas turned and bottles spilled everywhere. Even a lavish fridge was disconnected and thrown to the side. Meanwhile, a figure wearing a cloak and red mask faced them with their back.
The guards slowly walked to the cloaked figure, but they were noisy. They weren’t bad, but to Phesx, this was lazy work. He turned around, with his firearms hanging from his back and aiming upwards becoming visible by the lights of the city when he turned around.
“Stay!” - “Don’t move! Drop your weapons and to your knees!” - “Drop down! Where is the vice president?!”
“…” Phesx said nothing and actually lifted his arms, all high up. He slowly turned his head towards the window, which was windy and clearly broken. The guards’ minds clicked at once. One of them walked towards the windows after an LT gestured to them.
Only then did the guards realize the dispatch was all dark, and that the sleeping grenades weren’t working on this person, although it was probably because of the mask. If they had a SA’s hearing, they would’ve heard his breathing noises.
“Shit!” The guard peeked through the broken window, feeling chillier than before. “Fuck, cap. I think this bastard kill-” Bang bang bang bang bang!
Before the guards heard the end of the guard’s words, and realize what was happening, the guard crouched and aimed at them, taking a small pistol out and killing 5 of them in one go. However, they didn’t aim at the guard, who murdered his comrades, but Phesx, who did nothing.
Before they shot at him after taking aim, Phesx just ‘bounced’ his body up with his arms still high up. He tilted to the right after going airborne, evading a row of bullets that were too slow to follow. Meanwhile, 2 bullets from the guards’ submachine guns reached the crouched guard whose right arm was grazed.
“Agh!” The hidden Artista, whose status was easily recognized by Phesx, as he was one of the few to step silently, looked at Phesx in a rage. But the guards understood what was happening and aimed at the guard now, too. However, another guard beside them suddenly extended his arms sideways, stretching 2 long blades that were yet flexible like solidifying gum.
They had a few neon blue lights at their contours, before becoming reddish after cutting through half the necks of 2 other guards. The Artista jumped to flee the self-encirclement, but the guards were ready this time. Furthermore, the guards notified the others of everything they saw through radio communication.
Phesx watched as a few more Artistas revealed themselves and killed the guards. The vests were useless as only the tactical eye-nose gadgets offered also 0 protection, but it at least covered part of their heads.
‘Eh, whatever.’ Phesx shrugged as a few Artistas got to kill the guards. He joined the fun, taking a submachine gun from a guard before dashing over the sofa. He rolled on the floor once and stumbled a guard from the back. Phesx wrapped his legs around the guard’s right leg and broke it with ease before aiming at the head from below the right ear and shooting as the guard fell.
The guard had absolutely no chance, dying in 1.2 seconds after Phesx touched the ground. Just then, an Artista threw blue spheres around, whereas 1 bounced towards him. Phesx rolled his eyes and gave the guard’s corpse a good use by sending it to eat the multiple, quick electric explosions with his spine.
Then, feeling his neck in danger, Phesx leaned to the left, hanging his head towards the same side. A bullet shot past him, straight through where his neck would’ve been holed on his right if he had remained in place. Phesx fell on his back and aimed backwards, staring upside down.
A female guard looked at him for a second before both eyes instinctively followed the bullet heading towards her glabella. It was so much out of her capabilities that her eyes ‘dislocated’ and bled from their outer corners before her head was struck, falling limp backwards.
An Artista rushed towards him from the back just as he was standing up. Phesx stepped back with his right foot, avoiding a blade with blue lights and ‘hugging’ it with his right side and below his armpit. Looking back, he saw the Artista’s grin not leave as he said, “Sorry.”
The Artista then left for another guard as Phesx had to void another 3 bullets that an Artista sprayed for fun to 2 guards who were crouching by jumping over a stand table thrown at the side. Riverlye really seemed to have fun tonight, and for a mission of such high-profile as this.
…