The mage next to her staggered from the force and swore in surprise as she shot upwards into the shaft, more air energy being pulled from the crystal to launch her again and again through the air. Air rushed down the shaft creating more curses from those below who seemed genuinely confused by the happening and Kasui just smirked as she sailed up through the shaft, finally coming to the glass room above. She sailed out of the shaft and with a final burst of air, pushed herself past the hole in the floor, coming to a gentle landing on the floor.
She looked around the hole where another group of armed guards stood, and confused by the commotion down below, they did not see the wavering shape that was Kasui bounding out and away from the elevator shaft. She ignored them and instead started jogging away from the area. Kasui exited the glass room and made for the service stairwell she had come down, crashing through the door not caring what noise she made.
She vaulted up the stairs through the eerily lit landings until she reached the door that exited into the T intersection hallway. Opening this door quietly, she looked around expecting to see the guards that had been there previously. Discovering no one in sight Kasui pulled the door open and slid through, feeling the youths head smack into the door as she went past. She didn’t care though and hurriedly left the service stairway behind.
She ran up the gently sloping hallway and came to the T intersection she had entered from. She stopped and looked over at the air duct she had used to enter the facility, debating the validity of dragging the youth through such a place. She scowled, realizing it was not feasible, seeing as there had been areas she had had extreme difficulty using. Moving again, Kasui continued past the intersection until she came to a double set of doors. Not knowing where these doors went, she hesitated for a moment before sucking in a breath. Gritting her teeth, Kasui kicked the doors open and found herself looking at a mess hall devoid of life. The hall was lit up by flashing red lights indicating some sort of evacuation procedure.
Kasui wasted no time and moved onwards, jogging past tables that had been left in a hurry, complete with half-finished plates of food. Reaching the other side of the mess hall she once again kicked open a set of double doors, revealing a long hallway with many empty rooms and offices branching off from it. She jogged up the corridor with apprehension running rampant through her mind. Turning a corner at the end of the corridor she came to another double set of doors and this time heard a murmur of voices behind it. Kasui pushed this door open only slightly and peeking through the gap, found herself confronted with the facilities missing personnel.
A crowd of people was gathered in the large room, a foyer of sorts as there was a reception counter on the left side of the room, and a series of elevators on the right. All the people seemed to be listening to a man up the front who was organizing the situation and barking orders. A number of guards seemed to be checking ID's and letting small groups access the elevators. Scowling, Kasui flicked her gaze about until she noticed a tall dark haired man surrounded by guards. The group were let through the guards blockading the elevators and stood silently as they waited for one of the many elevators to descend.
Recognizing the man as Prince Bradley, Kasui narrowed her gaze and pushed the doors open to slip through. One of the people in the crowd turned around, a look of confusion on her face as she saw a door flapping open and closing by itself. Kasui didn’t care one bit and simply skirted the crowd, ignoring all the people in the room’s center. She approached the group protecting the prince, slipping through the blockading guards with ease. As an elevator door opened and the prince and his entourage entered, Kasui flitted in after them, just managing to squeeze into the large elevator before the doors closed. She stayed silent and pressed against the wall away from the other occupants. Fortunately there were only five of them and the elevator could easily fit double that number rather comfortably. As the elevator started to rise, the Prince turned to look at one of his guards, his gaze hard and cold.
"Captain. What news is there of the main lab. Was anyone found?'' came the princes query, his voice calm and even. It was a tone of voice that betrayed a profound sense of confidence even when under extreme stress.
"No sir. The guards failed to locate any infiltrator. Under your orders they shot up the place, and then swept the area, but found no one other than the three scientists, already dead. From their wounds, it is believed a skilled knife wielder was the infiltrator. Reviews of CCTV showed, well nothing. I saw when the scientists died. But there was no-one there. It was, baffling to say the least. Also, my men discovered what is missing" the captain nervously replied, a look of fear on his face.
As the prince haughtily stared the nervous captain in the face, the man continued and Kasui couldn’t help but smirk. She knew a fair few of her own commanders that carried airs of authority just like this prince of Gestonia.
"Whoever they are, they managed to access the mainframe and download a vast amount of experimental data, and they have also taken item thirty two from the lab" the captain continued, a look of utter terror on his face.
The prince’s face instantly darkened and he took on a tight lipped expression.
"That is, disappointing. How is someone able move about this facility so easily without being seen and with an unconscious youth. As soon as we are safely away from the area, you will detonate the explosives throughout the facility" the prince ordered, turning away from the captain as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened.
"But my lord, the workers and guards are still inside" the captain said, visibly scared of the prince and seemingly unsure of what to actually do.
"I don’t give a damn. They let this person get in, and without item thirty two in my possession, this project has no basis. This area has been compromised, so it will now cease to exist", Prince Bradley stated with such an unemotional and cold tone of voice that it even affected a crouching Kasui to the point she felt a shiver run down her spine.
As the prince and his guards stepped out of the elevator Kasui shuffled after them, her face grim as she listened to the captain pass on the princes orders, obviously distraught. The man was being ordered to commit an atrocity and was evidently struggling to cope with it.
Kasui straightened up as she was free from the elevator and just stared at the princes back as he strode confidently away. She contemplated putting a dagger in his back but decided against it. Completing that objective of assassination would only compromise the rest of the mission. She could already feel her magic slipping and was beginning to feel weak in the legs from her overuse of her magic. She was working on a tight clock now.
She sucked in a breath and looked around, finding herself in a hangar of some sort. Looking up, Kasui blinked in surprise as she found herself staring at a single airship in a docking bay. It was being prepped for flight and she swore inwardly. Turning away from the sight, Kasui quickly fled from the location. She sprinted down the hangar, not caring what noise she made now, startling more than a few of the workers who looked around in surprise at hidden noises. She made a beeline for a large exit at the hangars end and before she knew it, she was standing out in the morning sun on a small airstrip. She scowled and looked around getting her bearings. From her mission briefing, Kasui knew she was due south of her rendezvous point with her people.
She ran north, her pace slowing considerably as her tiredness caught up with her, her cloak of invisibility flickering and breaking in places. It was an effort just to keep it place. She could not afford to be seen yet. Coming to a fence guarding the perimeter, Kasui let out a low hiss and grit her teeth as she gathered a burst of air energy from a crystal studding her belt and used the power to vault over the fence. She crashed heavily to the ground and fell to her knees, her invisibility finally slipping. She just stayed there, in plain sight for a moment, the youth still dangling on her shoulder.
Gritting her teeth even harder, Kasui stood up on unsteady feet and started stumbling towards her rendezvous point. After a few minutes, she reached the
forest and disappeared into the tree's safe from view. She kept walking and stumbling until she reached a clearing in the trees. She sighed and just dropped the youth on the ground, the poor guy thumping into the dirt. She slumped against a tree, plainly exhausted as she lifted her gaze to stare at the small cargo ship parked in the clearing. Her hand went to her earpiece and she pressed it, speaking quietly.
"Silver bird to Cerberus. I am at the rendezvous. Open the fucking ship" she snarled into the device, her façade of professionalism cracking under exhaustion. Instantly the ships bay door opened, dropping to the ground and a young pale skinned man with a mop of brown hair appeared. He stared hard at Kasui, his gaze then dropping down to look at the unconscious youth.
"What the hell Kasui, who is that man, what the hell is going on?" her agency handler demanded, not wasting his time in questioning Kasui.
"This is item thirty two, and whoever he is, he warrants the base being self-destructed to stop him from being taken by us, so I suggest you shut the fuck up and get us out of here now" Kasui snapped back at the irritating little man, her voice a practical growl. She pushed off of the tree and staggered towards the ship. She pushed the man in the shoulder making him stagger and she took an immense pleasure in that as she walked up into the ship.
Cowed by Kasui's obvious irritation, the young man shot a dubious look at the unconscious youth before moving over to grab him. Dragging the youth inside the ship, he just stared at Kasui before barking an order to the pilot in the cockpit. Instantly the ships bay door closed and the ship rumbled as it prepared to take off. He deposited the unconscious youth on the floor and turned his full attention to Kasui.
"Now if you would be so kind Kasui, explain to me what's going. We didn’t hear a thing from you for a while and then the place started moving like a kicked ants nest" the man asked of Kasui, a lilt to his voice displaying a hint of nervousness.
Kasui just sat herself down on one of the ships benches hugging the wall of the vessel and stared straight back, her eyes half lidded as she seemed about ready to drift off to sleep in her exhaustion. She sighed and lifted a hand to rub her eyes.
"Look Ryan. I'm not entirely sure myself. When I got to the main lab, it was filled with what I can only describe as human experiments. It was actually pretty fucking horrible, so I don’t want to talk much about it. Anyway, I got the data" Kasui said, a hand snaking around to her rear pouch. She pulled out her portable device and lobbed it at Ryan. The man caught it and frowned slightly as he stashed it in a pouch of his own.
"Two out of three then. Did you manage to have a crack at Bradley?" Ryan queried, his gaze locked on the dark skinned Samite woman as he surveyed her, noting the sheen of sweat on her dark skin.
"I got this close to the man" Kasui stated as she showed Ryan by spreading her hands a foot apart.
"But I couldn't move against him without compromising the rest of the mission" she continued as she dropped her arms down beside her. She just sat there now, slumping forward somewhat.
"Well, that's alright. It was a low priority. Now what the hell are we going to do with him, is he even alive"? Ryan asked whilst looking down at the young man splayed out before him, a small frown etched into his face.
"Ryan, do I look like a fucking doctor. I don’t know, take him back to the Union for fucks sake. Let the scrubs there deal with the fucking kid" she snapped, her irritation and frustration shining through brilliantly.
"So how about you do me a fucking favor and shut the fuck up so I can get some rest" Kasui added in a growling manner. Ryan just took a step back, his hands being raised in a form of surrender.
"Yeah yeah, alright. I'll figure it out. That’s my job after all. So you get your rest then" he stated, a weak smile on his face. He left the unconscious youth on the ground, not bothering to even tie him down or anything. Instead, he just moved towards the cockpit and took his place next to Manny the pilot. He strapped himself in and sighed even as Kasui leant into a corner of the cargo bay and closed her eyes, trying to get whatever sleep she could. It was going to be a long flight.
"Well Manny, things can't exactly get any worse right" Ryan murmured softly from the cockpit, a grim look on his face as the ship rose further into the sky. The ocean appeared in the distance and Ryan just sighed yet again.
* * *
Prince Bradley strode onto the bridge of his flagship, his face clouded in anger. He glared about the bridge, a number of his crew simply avoiding his gaze and hurrying about to do their work. Bradley curled his lip in disgust and threw himself down into his captain’s chair, which was more comparable to a throne then a commander's seat. Fuming in silence, he just waited as his crew made ready for takeoff.
It didn’t take long for the doors of the hangar to open, letting the bright sunlight spear into the cavern that was the docking bay. Pursing his lips, Bradley looked out over the runway even as his airship began to glide forward, its huge structure gently floating off of the ground and out of its holding bay. As the ship exited the hangar, he finally let out a sigh, relaxing some as his thoughts turned to the impending fireworks display. Bradley felt only a niggling sense of loss at the fact that he had to destroy the secret facility, but he had determined the place was now useless to him, as not only had the place been discovered by an unknown force, but his research and main test subject had also been stolen.
Bradley scowled at that and just thought about when the subject had first been discovered in Rindai. The prince had been overjoyed when he found the absolutely phenomenal youth, and had wasted no time in orchestrating a series of events that left the young man in his custody. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Bradley had brought the boy to his facility in Curaw and tried to duplicate the boy’s condition. But after five years, he had nothing to show for it but a number of twisted creatures that would be completely and utterly useless for his ambitions.
His research had had such promise in the beginning, but now was just a complete waste of resources and time. Even though his asset had been stolen, Bradley still had all the data from the base however, all sent to a backup network periodically long before the infiltrator had helped themselves to the information. And simply put, with all that research data still in his possession, Bradley could start over.
"My lord" one of Bradley's staff officers addressed him, standing off to the side with a rather nervous expression. Bradley just turned his gaze, a slight look of annoyance on his face as his eyes settled on the man.
"You have my attention. What is it?" Bradley asked, his gaze latched on the man's face with a rather haunting expression. The man just looked like he wanted to run then but stood his ground and sucked in a breath before answering the Gestonian prince.
"My lord, the radar crew just identified an unknown aircraft to the west. The aircraft has just taken off and is making towards the sea at a fast pace. It is flying low and only occasionally coming on the radar" came the man’s response as he stepped back, seemingly eager to leave the princes presence.
Bradley perked an eyebrow at the man's words and then lifted a hand to wave him away. As the man let out a sigh and back-pedaled, Bradley sunk into himself somewhat, his mind whirring quickly in thought. Numerous possibilities ran through Bradley's mind, first and foremost the probability of the ship belonging to those responsible for his current predicament. He drew in a long breath and turned his gaze to his first officer, who was standing nearby to the man who had reported just moments before. The first officer was just standing there now, evidently expecting orders from his prince.
"Change our course. Follow that craft and try to identify it. Then maybe we will destroy it" Bradley ordered, his tone flat and level, portraying his comfort in the situation. As his officer made off to get things underway, Bradley just slumped in his chair, his attitude becoming rather bored as he gazed out of the ships bridge, nothing but hills visible, pockmarked by farmland and townships, and in the distance, the sea.
As the airship turned towards the west, Bradley just smil
ed softly as his hopes soared, wondering if the ship was actually harboring those that had ruined him.
Chapter 17
* * *
Niall pushed into the command center, not evening waiting for the guards to announce him. He stopped just inside the entrance, his eyes flicking around the room, which was buzzing with activity. He could see relief on many faces, and yet just as many showed signs of stress or nervousness.
His eyes settled on a large overbearing man, who stood straight right next to Phidel, holding her hand even as the duo peered over the command table, the man occasionally pointing out something on the map.
Feeling a nudge on his left arm, Niall turned sharply, surprised and saw his friend Keran standing next to him, his same mischievous look as ever plastered on his face. The man’s look was overshadowed by a hint of tiredness though, and Niall surmised he had only just returned.
"Niall. Good to see you up and about. Thought you would be fooling around with one of Her Majesties staff officers by now" the man stated with evident glee. Niall just scowled at his friends manners. Niall technically far outranked Keran now, but at times it did not feel that way. Most likely because the man was a noble.
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