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100 Systems Invasion 66. Smuglers
Keira's face scrunched up in a mix of confusion and annoyance. Nate must have told him about her. She shot him a glare, which he shrugged off innocently.She finally asked, "And who might you be?""I'm sorry, where is my manner?" Still holding out a hand, the man with slicked-back hair and candy cigarette hanging between his lips chuckled lightly. "Giovanni Montana, but people like to call me Mr. Bones.""Uhm… likewise?" Keira tentatively shook hands with him, hoping he wouldn't accidentally crush the bones in her hand, and quickly withdrew from him."Oh, no, please don't be mistaken. There's no need to be afraid of me, I don't hit women. They called me Bones not because I like to break bones, as you might have thought, but more about my, ugh… how do I say it, frequent rigid state of the certain organ on my lower half."Realization kicked in. Keira's eyes bulged out in shocking disbelief. That was truly unexpected. And horrifying if she thought about it again. She'd never have guessed
100 Systems Invasion 67. No Less
Inside was a rebellious edition of a corporate office, Keira concluded.Of course, it had posters of Playboy bunnies. Colorful glass with three bullet holes depicting an angel from the sky, who knows where a partially illegal businessman like Mr. Bones got it. Two golden horse sculptures on the table. As well as a blue pumpkin with a big hole on top – probably to empty the seed before he carves it."It's not even August," Nate muttered, a little too loud if his first intention was not to be heard by the building's owner. Although, the shabby businessman didn't give even a single reaction.Keira shifted from one foot to the other. Uneasy in this strange place and unusual situation. She lingered near the door, leaning against the wall as she wished this transaction would go faster.'Transaction,' she repeated in her head, trying to stifle her chuckle at her own choice of words.Hearing her, Nate looked over his shoulder; a raised eyebrow easily conveyed his silent question.Mr. Bones al
100 Systems Invasion 68. In Eston
Invasion Day 20Eston, Middlesbrough, UKIt was unbelievable how Rhea spent her afternoon.Walking down the road, yeah, she had done that before. Repeatedly. It was nothing new in her life. Living in a little town like Lithgows made walking around to reach somewhere an everyday thing. Moreover, when she was a high school student.There was a big river just on the outskirt of her village, and her school was on the other side. To get there, she could either ride on a bus and spend a half-hour waiting at the bus stop if she was unlucky and another half-hour for the ride. Or she could walk on foot and cross the river through an old, narrow, wooden bridge. As it directly crossed the river, she only needed a forthy minutes to walk to school. Moreover, it was free, so Rhea often found herself walking to school. Except when she was exhausted.So, a four to five hours walk to town, well, that was not that much difference. It was like when Rhea walked to school. She just needed to repeat that s
100 Systems Invasion 69. The Accused
Rhea's blue eyes widened in terror as she hastily scooted away from the bearded driver. Her eyes darted around to spot another speck of blood on the dashboard and a folded knife just between them. "Please stop the car," she whispered in horror."I was joking," Jo smiled, but his furrowed brows made him look suspicious.The sirene behind continued to shriek, followed by a booming distorted voice from the police car's speaker, "Please stop the car."Instead of stopping the car like the police ordered, Jo slammed his foot on the gas pedal.Rhea shrieked, and she was thrust backwards in her seat as the car shot forward. She was terrified beyond belief. "Oh, God! Please stop the car!" Jo ignored her, but his eyes darted from the empty road to the rearview mirror. The police car behind them accelerated in turn, tailing them. Then, right ahead, there was a slower heavy boxed car. Jo made a diving turn and swiftly passed it, making Rhea bump her head to the side glass. Then, finally, there w
100 Systems Invasion 70. Howls
Standing in front of two police officers of Livingard, Rhea's mind brought back some bitter memories she did not want.From her previous experience, the police here was not entirely defending justice. First, she had to get her hope crushed because the border police officers were in cohort with the people who bought her from her uncle and aunt. Second, she had to find it in a hard way and make herself a fool in the process, nonetheless. The second time, she found out that the very boss who led the entire human trafficking ring she was forced into was a high-ranking officer in law enforcement.So, finding herself yet again in front of two police officers, Rhea did not know what to expect anymore."I'm screwed…" Jo sighed in defeat, which prompted the proud police officer in front of Rhea to chuckle darkly."Get the fines," he said to his fellow officer, and five seconds later, he was handed some piece of paper. "It's a pleasure to finally hand it to you.""Screw you.""And your driver's
100 Systems Invasion 71. Wolf in the Flesh
It was the first time Rhea saw a wolf in real life.The wolf looked like how a wolf would in a book or movie. Nothing special, unlike the jet-black wild wolf she saw in a show. Or the majestic white wolf in legends. The animal in front of her looked just like the usual wolf. Short, triangular ears. Broad snout. A long tail. Looking slender yet seems powerful in its built. Its back was grey, so was its upper head. While the rest of its fur was light brown, and the underside was white.Rhea could not believe it."Should we continue?" Jo asked, stepping slowly on the gas pedal.As Jo drove the car past the watchful gaze of the wolf, Rhea felt a shudder run through her body. Either it was a creepy coincidence, or Lucian somehow controlled the wolf to appear there and failed Rhea's escape. Which sounded impossible. Both of them.It was some minutes later that Jo stopped the car. They were near the first building in the outskirt of Stradfield's little town. "Are you sure you want to get off
100 Systems Invasion 72. The Walk Down
Sprinting to the beach, Rhea suddenly stopped before her sneakers touched the wet sand. Quickly taking them off, Rhea looked around for a place to put them without getting worried that the wave would sweep on them or someone take them away. Not that she was suspicious of some people enjoying the beach there, or that her shoes were extremely pricey – they were, not that Rhea knew about that, because it was Lucian who paid – but Rhea didn't want to lose her only pair of sneakers.She looked back to Lucian's parked car on the edge of the beach, where the dry ground met with green patches of grass. Squinting her blue eyes, Rhea calculated how much force she needed to get her shoes to the car's side. The light brown-haired girl got into a stance as if she would throw a slider with her sneaker as the ball. Then, Rhea let go of one of her sneakers in a powerful side swing. It flew in a bent trajectory and landed safely on the dry sand, though still a little far away from the car."Ah, I need
100 Systems Invasion 73. At Least We Try
'Let him be, don't talk to him, whatever, just ignore him.'She didn't even want to see him. But bottling her overflowing emotions? It was a ridiculous idea.Then a notification chimed in, breaking into her bubble of thought, pulling her from the suffocating underwater feeling. 'How's' your girl's day out with Emi?' Mikhal texted her, oblivious to the chaos she made herself. 'She was great.' She texted back.'Cool. No more outings today?' His reply came seconds later, followed by three dots, signifying he was typing now. 'Imma starts the afternoon shift today. Dunno what to expect.''Expect the worst.''Never know u'r such a pessimist.'She wasn't. Fine, maybe she was. Just at the moment, though. Rhea responded with a laughing emoticon. Followed by a string of crying yellow faces.'What was that?' She bit her bottom lip, 'I want to go out.' Her thumb sent it before she even read the line. She considered deleting it. No use, Mikhal already typed again.'I'm free, if you were asking
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- 100 Systems Invasion
79. Table Turned
The raid was a bust.The lieutenant didn't even wait until they were in the privacy of his office before chewing him like useless gum. He demanded, "What is this, Monroe?"Mark bit back the urge to say, 'What did I tell you about raiding it yesterday, Sir?' He waited quietly and avoided any eye contact from the many people in bulletproof vests with bold 'PPD' on their back, strapping their gun back into safety and rounding up their failed attempt. "Why did I spend three hours of driving to the middle of nowhere with a full squad to take down a drug lab and slavery den while there's nothing here?"Again, instead of pointing out that the raid should have been done as quickly as he had suggested, Mark waited."Tell me, Monroe, why are you even screwing up this bad after the rookie slip up with that fake journalist in the warehouse?"'This is not my fault,' he thought. "We are too late, Sir," he said."Too late? Are you saying I'm too slow to act?" Madsen retorted angrily. "Do you even k
- 100 Systems Invasion
78. Make a Move
"You're so annoying, do I have to remind you every hour?" Rhea grumbled from the passenger seat, watching the dark-haired man behind the steering wheel as the car drove itself to the hill house. "Old news," Lucian commented and then glared at her. "But I already said not to let him into this again."Of course. "Mikhal's right. You do sounds like a jealous secret boyfriend.""Ha. Ha." There was no humor behind that. "First, I am not your boyfriend, I'm your fiance. Second, you're the one keeping this a secret, not me."Rhea grinned, "You didn't deny the first one? Are you jealous?""So what?" She frowned but didn't say anything else. She still couldn't figure out why he was jealous of that tall coworker of hers. No matter how many times she asked him, Lucian wouldn't tell.'Or you just never believe his answer,' a small voice at the back of her head supplied helpfully. She brushed it off because it was total drivel. There was no way Lucian actually felt jealous just because he liked
- 100 Systems Invasion
77. Running for Life
She was not as reckless as Lucian sometimes said to her. But she was still new in this espionage thing, and Mikhal suddenly pushed her down to the ground. Her heart raced, pounding noisily along with the blood in her ears. Mikhal's tall figure was equally low by her side. Confidence may fool many people, but she had none of it right now. Especially not after a burly man in a tank top suddenly pointed his long firearm in her direction, right before she took another shot of the drug lab with her phone. Breathing quietly, they waited in suspenseful silence until the man turned his weapon away from their direction. Another man came out of the drug lab's door, probably exchanging words before both of them went inside again. Rhea exhaled in relief, shoulders slumping down as both Mikhal and her shared a look. They moved closer, trying to get more proof from the small window at the side of the building now known as the drug lab. Not only from the chemical glasses with some colored liquid
- 100 Systems Invasion
76. Into Hidden View
After four days of work, Rhea finally got her day off again. Mikhal texted her, 'Meet you at East Station in twenty.' Smiling to herself, Rhea texted back an affirmation. "So…" Liz glanced at her from behind the steering wheel, "If I may ask, where are you going, Miss Rhea?""Out," she merely said."Any specific place in mind?"Rhea locked her phone, "Not really."The bespectacled girl looked uncomfortable for a second before she asked again. "Do you have any companions?""Yes.""Oh. Who is that?"Rhea narrowed her eyes, not liking where the bespectacled girl was going with this. "Is this an interrogation?""No, of course, not." Liz hastily said, topping it with an awkward laugh that she tried to make it sound natural. "I'm sorry if it came out like that, Miss Rhea. I didn't mean to."She sighed, turning to the sturdy houses that came into view as they finally reached the town's area. "It's fine. Lucian ordered you to do that, right?" Liz stayed silent, so she'd take that as a yes.
- 100 Systems Invasion
75. Coping Mechanism
The cafeteria was full of cola and burgers. "Free dinner for everyone!" one of the senior staff called out as they entered it. Rhea grinned – almost jumped in excitement – as her favorite food was served in front of her for free. Emi, on the other hand, chimed in a loud voice, "We don't pay to eat here!"She stuffed her face with the burger. She sat surrounded by a white shirt and blue vest-wearing staff, finally having a nice break out of the craziness of the afternoon shift. "I can't believe I was so excited about it before."Emi smiled broadly, munching on her mouthful bite of burger. She looked funny. "Didn't I tell you that it's crazy?""Yes, but you carefully left out the fact that it is precisely like that oddball group all over again, except, it happens continuously. Marching in a group in the lobby, then shoving each other to get in the elevator. Why do we only have four elevators, anyway?""But it only happens in the afternoon. After that, it's pretty slow, isn't it?"Rhea h
- 100 Systems Invasion
74. Unwritten Law
Lucian had been at the scene of serious diplomacy once, ages ago as he was still ten, where his father was showing him how to negotiate with a foreign mafia boss from another country. Earl would sign an agreement of letting said mafia boss move into Livingard and give him a little territory on the border to set up whatever operation they had planned. Earl would get back his prized butler slash right-hand man safely in one piece in exchange. He was fond of that man, his favorite butler. A middle-aged friendly guy who had a penchant for cutting apples into beautiful figures and dragging Lucian out of bed before dawn for a morning run. So, hearing that his favorite butler would be back after missing – he was captivated by the foreign mafia after accidentally crashing his motorbike to the mafia's daughter on the road – for three days, Lucian was eager when his father wanted him to tag along. It was supposed to be a valuable learning experience for him.One of the foreign mafia subordinat
- 100 Systems Invasion
73. At Least We Try
'Let him be, don't talk to him, whatever, just ignore him.'She didn't even want to see him. But bottling her overflowing emotions? It was a ridiculous idea.Then a notification chimed in, breaking into her bubble of thought, pulling her from the suffocating underwater feeling. 'How's' your girl's day out with Emi?' Mikhal texted her, oblivious to the chaos she made herself. 'She was great.' She texted back.'Cool. No more outings today?' His reply came seconds later, followed by three dots, signifying he was typing now. 'Imma starts the afternoon shift today. Dunno what to expect.''Expect the worst.''Never know u'r such a pessimist.'She wasn't. Fine, maybe she was. Just at the moment, though. Rhea responded with a laughing emoticon. Followed by a string of crying yellow faces.'What was that?' She bit her bottom lip, 'I want to go out.' Her thumb sent it before she even read the line. She considered deleting it. No use, Mikhal already typed again.'I'm free, if you were asking
- 100 Systems Invasion
72. The Walk Down
Sprinting to the beach, Rhea suddenly stopped before her sneakers touched the wet sand. Quickly taking them off, Rhea looked around for a place to put them without getting worried that the wave would sweep on them or someone take them away. Not that she was suspicious of some people enjoying the beach there, or that her shoes were extremely pricey – they were, not that Rhea knew about that, because it was Lucian who paid – but Rhea didn't want to lose her only pair of sneakers.She looked back to Lucian's parked car on the edge of the beach, where the dry ground met with green patches of grass. Squinting her blue eyes, Rhea calculated how much force she needed to get her shoes to the car's side. The light brown-haired girl got into a stance as if she would throw a slider with her sneaker as the ball. Then, Rhea let go of one of her sneakers in a powerful side swing. It flew in a bent trajectory and landed safely on the dry sand, though still a little far away from the car."Ah, I need
- 100 Systems Invasion
71. Wolf in the Flesh
It was the first time Rhea saw a wolf in real life.The wolf looked like how a wolf would in a book or movie. Nothing special, unlike the jet-black wild wolf she saw in a show. Or the majestic white wolf in legends. The animal in front of her looked just like the usual wolf. Short, triangular ears. Broad snout. A long tail. Looking slender yet seems powerful in its built. Its back was grey, so was its upper head. While the rest of its fur was light brown, and the underside was white.Rhea could not believe it."Should we continue?" Jo asked, stepping slowly on the gas pedal.As Jo drove the car past the watchful gaze of the wolf, Rhea felt a shudder run through her body. Either it was a creepy coincidence, or Lucian somehow controlled the wolf to appear there and failed Rhea's escape. Which sounded impossible. Both of them.It was some minutes later that Jo stopped the car. They were near the first building in the outskirt of Stradfield's little town. "Are you sure you want to get off
