The sky outside was gray, and the parking garage’s lighting was dimly lit.

Inside, a tan earth pony was being accompanied by three men, and four women. They all wore Greatcoats, and the color resembled that to a funeral of some sort. Except for one of the women, wearing a regal purple instead. They had just arrived at an exit, where they met with the pouring rain. They took out their umbrellas and started to walk over to the building across the street.

The rain was all too familiar to the pony, as it was for everyone else in the group.

“You’re not thinking about that, right?” asked the woman in purple.

The pony only sighed, before reluctantly nodding his head.

She rolled her eyes, then used her hand to straighten out her long dark brown hair. “Damn, I don’t expect to make this moment anymore awkward. Just don't think about it, okay?”

“Eeyup.”

They’d reach the entrance to that building, closing their umbrellas and resting them at their side. When they went in, they were met with curious gazes by the first couple of people. Their footsteps and the clopping of the pony’s hooves would only make more. The Pony could only cower at this sight, his tail tucking away between his hind legs.

“Bi-er, Haystack, it’s all right. You’ve been through this before.” Marianne asserted, her shoulders tensing. “Remember?”

“Yeah, but…”

“The life of a mercenary is always going to be like this… Well, at least for us, so you can’t hide in that shell for long.”

“Hmm… Eeyup.”

"Plus, be happy that we're working with the FBI to let you off the hook." Marianne said with a smile. "Okay?"

  Haystack smiled also. "Mmm Hmm."

They arrived at the elevator, calling it before entering. As it ascended upwards, Haystack could only stare blankly at the people below. They returned that gesture. The windows that wrapped around the elevator would soon be replaced with walls. He simply sulked after that. ”Ah’m back here again… am ‘ah?

And he stared and stared and stared…

The elevator would soon stop, making the pony feel a little woozy at this.

In a couple seconds, the door would slide open. He and the others would walk out into the now empty hallway. During this, Haystack looked down at the logo that was painted over the white towel. Which depicted three letters that were lined next to a Horizontal arch that clenched onto the globe. That, and combined with the three letters, formed a wrench.

"Get used to it, Big Mac." he thought to himself after looking at it. "Get used to it."

He and his group then approached the fancy blue doorway in front, and waited…

“Ah, Marianne, Bi- I mean, Haystack,. Come on in.” said the man through the speaker above.

They nodded, entering through the double doors. On the other side, a long table where men and women sat in their formal attire.

“Morning Mister Blutarch.” Marianne greeted, giving a casual wave to the elderly man in the blue suit.

“Good Morning, Marianne.” he’d reply in his modest British accent, but without moving. “Good Morning, Haystack.”

“Um… Good Mornin’.” he said shyly.

“It’s been two months since your last report. Any Progress?”

Marianne only smirked. “Actually... we got something else. Remember the boy that we said we'd hunt down?"

"Yes, what about it?" Blutarch asked.

"Well, after two years sir, we found him."

The entire board gasped at this, but their leader simply kept his cool. “Hmm, shocking. I honestly didn’t know that he’d still be alive after all.”

Marianne would take out a grey circular object. Twisting the knob would reveal onto them a large widescreen hologram. With that, she showed Blutarch where he was located, and photos of his whereabouts. Using footage from surveillance cameras and hidden ones. The target looked nonchalant and oblivious to this. “Well, from what we’ve uncovered, it looks like he didn’t go that far.”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I'd have figured."

Marianne took a deep breath before continuing. “You know how the Red zone works, Blutarch. You just have to hope that no one with a gun will find you.”

Blutarch gave a smirk of his own. "So, will you need my men to finish him off?"

   Marianne smiled. "Don't worry, Blutarch... We got it all under control."

  Blutarch stood from his chair, declaring with such pride, "Hmm, understood, as CEO of Builders' League United, I grant you permission to hunt this man down!"

The people in the room all clapped and cheered. Haystack on the other hand, felt his stomach tie in knots, and did his best for everyone else to not notice.

It was a typical night for the target.

“In this High School classroom,” said the man on TV. “The young mares and stallions are being taught about Equestria’s role in the Global Economy. Even though they are sealed off all trade from the rest of the world, they still contribute greatly to world events. Including its peacekeeping missions worldwide, and being a part of the G-Nine…”

He had been watching this for fifteen minutes now. Scene after scene, happy pony after happy pony. Despite the fact that they were unintentionally taunting him, he still accepted that it was at least something worth watching after a long day of work.

The documentarist asked in an encouraging tone, “Excuse me Madame, how do you feel about Celestia’s isolationist policy?”

The teal-coated filly beamed with joy even before the question was asked. She quickly brushed her blue mane with a hoof before answering. “Well, I think it’s an all right plan. I know that the world isn’t that evil, but she only does it to protect us…”

The target admired her enthusiasm, but it would quickly disappear when home was rearing up.

“The little foals however are taught your basic learning skills that any child here at home would be taught.” The video now cut to little foals listening diligently to their teacher. “They learn every day so that someday they’ll acquire the skills to find their cutie marks, a symbol on their flanks that marks their destiny for Equestria’s future. It is unknown about their origin, but scientists have ceased investigating it since the end of World War II. More on that, later… Next, our guide takes us to the east end of Canterlot…”

He sighed.

“… it was a different story for this young filly and her father. They own a small hardware store in East Canterlot’s shopping district. The nice stallion showed me how everything worked in the store, even showing me the many gadgets that engineers and farmers’ alike use...”

With due time, it would cut to the father, feeling sentiment as his little backstory was being told. “We… we never really started off that well. I dropped out of High School to support the family, but… I made stupid mistakes along the way.”

“Hmm, I see.” said the documentarist. “Well, what was it like?”

The stallion looked away for a quick glance, the frown deepened before looking back. “I thought I had the entire thing under control… But… then the recession came…  I was dumb enough to buy a house I couldn't afford. We… we were thrown out of the house. Then, we just went our separate ways after that… I came here, met my wife… and… a lot of stuff happened when little Rosie was born.”

The next scene was of him and his daughter standing out in the hot sun, the two sitting on rickety pillows as they waited patiently for new customers. The documentarist would narrate over the scene as usual. “The country’s poverty level began to increase during its industrialization in the early seventies. Today, more than twenty percent of the population is now below the Poverty line. What makes it worse, is that tuition fees are required in order for a foal to receive basic education… Unfortunately, the poor are unable to afford said tuition, leaving many foals to start working since they’re seven…”

Sad… he’d think. He kept watching through the interview, with the dad still spewing out more sappy content. He’d admit that he felt sorry for the poor guy, kind of reminded him of...

“Grrr!” He shook his head rapidly, choosing to turn the TV off afterwards.

A loud ping was heard before a lady spoke via loudspeakers, “Attention citizens of The Den, curfew will begin at ten thirty. You only have two and a half hours of leisure before the bells ring. All lawbreakers will be put down with lethal force. Additionally, food rations are still available. If you have not stopped by to receive your ration, please head to your local restaurant to do so. Thank you, and have a great evening.”

  There was a loud click before it all went quiet. With that done, he chose to turn the TV back on just for the hell of it.

“… We do our best every day to have a decent life… And, if Purple Shine was here…” The stallion began to hold back tears. “… S-she’d be proud of us.”

“Well, I hope she would.” the documentarist comforted.

“Mmm Hmm.”

  It cut to a photo of the purple mare who sat on a hill with a cheerful smile. “However, despite their limitations, many of the lower classes I’ve met continue their lives with high hopes during these tough times…”

  Then out of nowhere, there was a grumble coming from Ivan’s stomach. "Damn it."

  He stood up with reluctance showing through his body and trudged his way towards the compact fridge at the end of the room. He bent down to open it and…

  Nothing. Then he figured it out. "Ugh, shoot!"

  He had no other option left, so he put on his shoes and got going.

  When he went out into the streets, he’d see that white lights over the horizon were starting to appear. It was always like that every night. He only made a slight moan at this, knowing what he had to do. Suddenly, he felt droplets of rain hit his brown hair. He looked up to find that the sky was now a lit brownish color. There would be thunder along with another drop hitting his nose.

  With that, he began to run. “Damn it.”

  It would rain even more with due time. Fortunately for him, he made it to the restaurant before it would worsen. Inside the restaurant, smooth jazz played while many of the lights were shut off, making for some dim lighting. One of the officers would turn on the TV. Which had the same show running as well.

“And here, within the Everfree forest, lies the ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.” narrated the man, the camera pointed at ancient ruins in a humid looking forest. “The Ponies of Equestria know this as the old Castle where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna used to live, but you at home may know this as the ruins where the Great trot occurred.”

  He listened intently as he waited, sitting down in one of the tables.

“The Great Trot of Nineteen-ten would forever be marked in both Human and Equestrian History.” he said, cutting to a photo of the people who joined. “Where twelve individuals aged ten to forty, walked from the massive fields of Kansas all the way to this temple in Equestria. For more than five months, the group endured many trials by both nature and humanity itself. Despite the ridicule and the harsh weather, they still reached Equestria. Sadly, it has been reported that only one made it alive... before dying shortly after…”

   Sad that people are more than willing to keep going through all that hell. he’d think.

  The few people that were there, were starting to leave with their food. As always, he was left alone; and he was okay with that. He’d see cars begin to park outside, but the waitress near the door made sure that they wouldn’t enter; all thanks to the ‘Sorry, we’re CLOSED’ sign. Once that was done, she swayed her hips with every step towards him. With hands intertwined and a modest demeanor, saying, “Enjoying the wait?”

  He looked at her pretty face, bewildered. “What?”

“I said, if you’re enjoying the wait.”

  Bewildered, he answered nonetheless. “Uh… yes…, yes I am.”

“Good.” she’d say before reaching towards her apron. With a quick snap, she’d wield a pistol in hand. Her expression would shift to a darker shade. “Cause you won’t be coming back here… or anywhere else.”

  The woman would pull back the hammer.

“Do it, ma’am.” Ivan told her, his eyes looking at the pistol with indifference.

  The lady lost her stern demeanor. “Well…, I'll do it."

  She kept the pistol pointed at his head, but her hands could only shake.

  Ivan sighed. "You can take your time, I got all night."

  Immediately, she looked away from him. Her eyes closing as her hands continued to shake. Then, it stopped. Slowly, she put the pistol down, and breathed in, and out. Then with a compassionate tone, she'd say,  “Get down.”

“What?”

  Her hand would pull Ivan out of his seat with full force.

  The window would shatter into pieces as bullets from the outside would come flying in. The lady would be hit relentlessly, tainting her pearl uniform with splotches of red. She’d fall to the ground with her eyes flared open without end.

  Ivan, now behind the toppled table, decided to take a brief glance at her lifeless body.

“Geez, right the hell out of nowhere." he’d mutter bewilderedly, before looking up to find those people approaching him with guns blazing.

  Rat-at-at! Rat-at-at!

  Thw-Thw-Thw-Thwap!

“Fall back, fall back!”

“What?”

  When he heard something hit the floor next to him. When he looked in that direction, a young woman in light beige body armor looked at him with such awe.

“Uh…” The curly dark hair she had rang bells immediately. “Jackie?”

  “I-Ivan….” For her, it all felt as if the world she was fading-

  Thwap! Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!

  Bullets broke through the table, missing him by inches.

  Their minds snapped out of it, with Jacklyn the first to begin orders. “Uh… c-come with me!”

“What?”

  She took out her pistol, handing over to him. “Come on!”

  Her face showed that of dread. “… Please.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Ugh, fine.”

  They stood up and fired more suppressing fire at the enemy as they made their second charge. It was enough to shoot one of them in the stomach. When he did, Ivan managed to catch a glimpse of his beret. A musket, a sword, the two crossed underneath a blue dove. It was screaming Déjà vu to him. “Strange.”

  They’d run towards one of the windows near the door. Outside, he could see the police sirens in the distance.

“At least the cops are here.” Ivan muttered.

  They could see police officers come out of the vehicle, only to meet with the men in black. After a brief moment though, the officers were opening fire on them as well.

“Son of a bitch!”

“This way!” She directed him towards the counter, where two of the cooks confronted them with rifles pointed at them.

  BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! ...

“They’re in on it too?”

“Push!” she shouted.

  The two vaulted out of cover and opened fire on them.

  BLAM!

  The cook was put out of its misery.

  Rat-at-at!

“Aargh!”

  Whack!

  The other cook was out cold to even care about his wound.

“Nice kick.” Ivan complemented.

“Hmm, thanks… I guess.” she blushed, looking away to hide her frown.

  They’d reach the back door; and without fretting, Ivan kicked it open. Luckily for them, it was empty.

“Erm… uh… this way!” she’d repeat with a rapid point, leading Ivan over the wooden fence and into the streets. Sadly, four police cars would be waiting for them, shooting at them like Cavalry men.

“Stop right there!” one would shout.

  Schrrreeech!

  The officers in the front of the pack would be met with gunshots to their faces.

“Grrr, get out there and deal with him!” the officer would order with such rage.

  The others would get out of their vehicles and open fire.

  Despite being distraught for what she just saw, she grabbed Ivan’s hand, and quickly pulled him out of their hiding spot. Ivan kept shooting to ensure their safety.

  BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Click!

   Past the medium sized trees lied multiple apartment buildings; where the two chose to rest, their enemy in hot pursuit.

“So.... It’s been awhile, huh?” she said, stifling a laugh. “How’s it been?”

“Hmm, it’s been fine so far.” he’d say. “Uh… can I get more ammo?”

“Oh, yes.” She dug through her pockets and got out two more clips for him.

“Thanks.” he nodded, sliding the magazine into the slot.

  Cl-click!

“You’re welcome.” she grinned.

  While he pointed the pistol at into the darkness, she could only look at him the same way she looked at him before.

  ”You haven’t changed, haven’t you?”

  BLAM!

“Aaaargh!”

“Huh?” she gasped.

  Behind her now, one officer was now bleeding from the chest.

  BLAM!

  Another would be shot in the head.

“Dear Luna!” she’d gasp.

“Let’s go. We don’t have time.” Ivan would grab her by the hand and lead them out of cover.

  Running down the street wasn’t enough to get her out of the trance she fell into once more. She kept gazing at Ivan, who led her far away from where they were…

“No, no you haven’t.”

“Jackie… Jackie.”

  Her eyes widened once she heard his voice. “Uh… yeah?”

  With a worried look, he asked. “Where to?”

  She looked from left to right and right to left, before coming up with her answer. “Oh, uh, this way, follow me!”

  He did as such.

  A black sedan would drive up to the restaurant. Officers and troops alike would stop to look at it park right in front of them. One of the officers would go and meet the lady coming out. Marianne stepped out of the vehicle with her regal demeanor, only this time she wore the color in a raincoat.

“Ah, Miss Petit. I-”

  One of her body guards ran in between them, hands clenching onto his assault rifle.

“At ease, Greg." she ordered calmly. "He’s all right. Anyway, just call me Marianne.”

  Eyeing at the intimidated officer, he gave a nod. “Yes, Madame.”

“And don’t call me that either.”

“Oh alright, Marianne.”

  He stood to the side and let him walk up to her.

“So, what’s the status, Chief?” she asked firmly.

  The Chief frowned. “Um…can I show you?”

  She briefly bowed. “Of course, come along Haystack.”

  Haystack would follow. "E-Yes Ma'am."

  Some of the men would glance at him, some would give him curious gazes, etc. He couldn’t believe that this continues to happen to him, looking at every human being who looked back at him with mixed reactions. Haystack reluctantly kept trotting past the men and women, knowing that he had a job to do.

  She followed the officer towards the restaurant.

“Damn.” she muttered disapprovingly.

  When she got inside, she could only look at the body of the young waitress. Behind her, was a knocked over table.

“She turned on us, Marianne." reported the officer. “Fortunately, she didn’t make a single dent.”

“Good.” Marianne would say, observing the scene. “But that doesn’t make up the fact that that’s what got him to escape.”

“I know, ma’am. It was an unexpected move by her.”

“Yeah, one that is expected from people like her. You should've kept a closer eye, you know.” she looked up at the ceiling, finding a dangling tile riddled with bullet holes. “Shoot, that shield brought him some time then.”

“Some clever escape he did there.” said the chief with a whistle.

  Haystack entered the room, only to gasp in horror at the corpse.

  She turned to see him, only to roll her eyes at his disgust. She then sighed. “Well then, looks like we need to set up a full perimeter on the area before he-”

“Um…” It would only take a quick turn of the head to find what he needed. “H-hey Marianne, look at that.”

“Hmm?” Marianne faced where his hoof was pointing at. It was a trail of bullet casings. She knelt down to take a closer look. “Um… did you by any chance arm those guys with assault rifles?”

“No.” said the officer. “They were armed with pistols.”

“And did the target have a weapon of some sort.”

  The Chief raised an eyebrow, looking at the open ceiling quizzically. “He didn’t seem to shoot until after your boys retreated.”

  She stood back up. “So...”

  There was a short pause as her eyes narrowed. “Greg, did you see someone by his side?”

“Uh… um…”

  She looked down to find a trail of those casings down the corridor.

‘W-we were hit with suppressing fire, Ma’am.” Greg managed to say. “We couldn’t tell.”

“Ugh, go ask the others if they saw something, alright?” Marianne ordered.

  As the conversation proceeded, Haystack took the opportunity to have a look around. He only needed to head behind the counter to stop everything.

“Sweet Celestia.” he shouted, mouth agape. “Hey Marianne, look!”

  They quickly rushed over to his location, finding the same thing.

“Looks like he wasn’t alone then.” she said, rubbing her eyes.

“How do you know that?”

“One is dead, and the other is out cold." the officer explained. "Not to mention that I doubt anyone can be so ruthless and so merciful at the same time. Especially in a gunfight.”

  All Haystack could say was, “Eeyup.”

  There would be a sound of static coming from the Chief’s walky-talky before, “Chief, we’ve engaged the target; but we have four officers down, over!”

  The officer responded with such haste, as the news sunk into each of them. “Oh Shoot…! D-did you subdue the target, though? Over.”

“No, sir. He and an accomplice got away.”

  He groaned. “Damn, have your squadron fall back to the nearest outpost.”

“Yes sir, out.”

  He put the walky-talky away. “Grrr, should we deploy the military for this job?”

  Marianne rolled her eyes. Calmly, she’d take one of her two Ivory colored revolvers out of her pockets. “Chief Frederickson, I’ve worked with Mister Bentley personally. He’s an involuntary killer with great skill, so deploying the military won’t make any difference, unless you want to order more body-bags from City-Hall.”

“But-”

  Marianne put his hand up in the air. “Not to worry, sir. We have it under control.”

  Frederickson snapped. “What do you mean, ‘under control’?”

  Marianne gave a short chuckle before reaching into her walky-talky. “Maribelle, did you spot them?”

  There was a short pause. “Yes.”

“Uh…” The chief froze. “How… H-how old is this ‘Maribelle’ person?”

  Marianne chuckled. “Age doesn’t matter, sir. Then again, it didn’t matter to anyone, didn’t it?”

  She eyed the chief with a little smirk, giggling while he cracked under pressure.

“Eeyup.”

  The chief jumped at the sound of his voice. Now looking at the serious pony, he only stood there as he spoke. “The girl’s a mystery that we often don’t question. Am 'ah right, Marianne?"

  Marianne smirked. “Yes, yes you are."

  The two were now headed towards an intersection when they could see a light get brighter and brighter. In a bush nearby, Ivan pushed her down by gently holding her head. The squad cars drove past them without even spotting them.

“Ivan, do you think they’ll search every house for us?” Jacklyn questioned worryingly.

“I doubt they will.” replied Ivan. “But we have to-”

  Another squad of cars drove from behind, prompting them to shift position.

“Well, since we’re here, I’d like to ask one single question.” he said, the two getting up and jogged across the street.

“What is it?” she asked beamingly.

“Why the hell are you here?” Ivan asked with annoyance.

  The question clenched at her heart. “Um…”

“You should be back in Chicago, shouldn’t you?”

“But…” She began to rapidly tap her fingers against the rifle.

  Ivan rolled his eyes. “Seriously Jackie, you’re some how many miles away from home. So...” During that pause, he took a soft breath. “What’s going on?”

  She wanted to speak, but knew that...

  Something else caught his attention.

“Shhh.” he hushed, beginning to gain speed. “Gimmie your knives.”

“What?”

“Just gimmie them, now!”

  She could only make a little squeal as she scrambled to fulfill his demand. She slid out the knife from her holster, then handed it over to Ivan. With a little skip, she reached over to the knife holstered next to her ankle. “Here.”

  With this she had to ask, “Do… do you know what it is?”

“Mmm Hmm.” he said firmly. “I have a good feeling."

  He could practically hear the footsteps of that entity. Thus, once he stood under a street light, he readied into a battle stance while hearing the footsteps get louder and faster.

  Swooosh!

  Clang!

  Both sides now had their blades against each other. In front and passed the midsized Katana was a girl with long blonde hair, who wore a long black poncho over her black dress. Ivan's eyes widened, distraught by what he's seeing. However, he quickly regained his focus, granting him his first remark. “Maribelle, long time no see, huh?”

“Hmm, like it really mattered.” Maribelle said with a little smile.

“Yeah, I should’ve known that the three of you didn’t die back there. The note in the car was kind of a giveaway”

"I agree." she said.

"By the way, aren't you supposed to be acting shy or something?" Ivan continued. "There's no moon out."

"Hmm, that's the magic of science, right?"

  His eyes narrowed. "You're don't know why, don't you?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Tsk, not a clue. Plus, I'm six, don't you think I should've grown out of it by now?"

"Touché." he groaned.

"Also, do you really think I knew everything about me, or anything about that lab?"

  He shook his head briefly.

"Exactly."

  Then there was silence, which gave Jackie an opportunity to look at Ivan's opponent further. ”Sh-she’s… she’s just a…little girl.”

  When the conversation picked up…

“So, who’s the lady here?” she nodded towards her.

  She could only hold her gun close as her shoulders tensed.

  Ivan gave his answer. “She’s just an old friend, nothing for you to be concerned about.”

Maribelle blew a raspberry and laughed briefly. “Fine, just curious is all.”

“So, it didn’t work out back in Equestria?” he’d ask.

  She snarled. “Let’s not talk about that.”

“Hmm, fine.”

  She kept glaring at him.

  Ivan’s face turned into a frown. “Hmm, I’m surprised that it took you guys that long to find me.”

“I have to commend you for that. We honestly didn’t know that we’d find you here of all places.” she giggled wittingly. “We even went back to Chicago to see if you returned.”

  The news was a hard blow to him.

  Maribelle could only lose her angered expression for a much gloomier one. “It’s sad though, we had to tell your mom and step-dad the harsh news.”

  Ivan gritted his teeth, holding it in.

  It was quiet for a little while more.

“So, are you going to let me go, or start the duel?” he asked calmly. “The cops aren’t around, and I’m certain that it won’t last long.”

  The proposal rocked Jackie to the core. “I-Ivan, you shouldn-”

“Sorry Jackie, but you should know why.”

  Maribelle could only. “Hmm, at least you’re in…”

  She pulled back and aimed for his throat. “Agreement!”

  It was blocked by one of the knives. She pouted at this, and pulled back to make the next strike. It was the same result every time no matter where she aimed for. Ivan would take several steps back to maintain his distance, but Maribelle was like an artillery barrage. It was hard to catch up, but he managed. There were instances where she was just inches away from hitting her target, but the constant blocks would deny her that privilege.

  For Jackie however, it was only about sitting back and watching Ivan risk his life. Seeing the girl’s katana nearly take a jab at him, as well as questioning why she’s even holding that, made her want to faint right then and there.

  Clang!

“Grrr!” Ivan pushed it back, causing her to target his chest.

  Clang!

  She had enough. Instead of repeating the same tactic, she jumped into the air, and charged at his face with her foot. It too was blocked. While in the air she kept kicking like bullets from a Gatling gun, but in wouldn’t end in her favor. Her target’s next block caused her to lose her balance and fly into the air. Hastily, she regained her balance and slashed her sword like an executioner.

  Clang!

“You know you could’ve just ran by now.” Maribelle chuckled, putting as much force as possible against the knives.

“Well, I was proven wrong then.” Ivan said, his body outside of the streetlight’s view.

“You were the one who didn’t make a move.” She lowered the sword, when she took advantage of his weakening hold.

“Consider it a decisive victory then.” His hold began to strengthen again.

  Maribelle smirked. “Right, but don’t expect me to give up that easily!”

  The sword soared straight toward Ivan’s throat.

“Ivan!” Jacklyn screamed, her heart breaking from the sudden attack.

  The sword flew out into the distance before landing down the street with another clang.

  His hands weakened again, slowly being lowered. Seconds later, one of them made a slash at the girl’s torso. She’d collapse onto her knees, clenching on in pain before a punch to the face would make it worse.

  She could only watch in revulsion, watching Ivan’s knife aim for her throat. However, “I-Ivan stop!”

  The knife was halfway there before he stopped. Ivan looked directly at her horrified face, unable to say anything after that.

  With trembling legs, she told him, “Can we... can we go now?”

  He lowered the knife. “Hmm, alright.”

  He then looked down at the wounded girl, who was both panting and numb. “See you never.”

  Maribelle did nothing as he watched him walk towards his ‘friend’. “I-Ivan?”

  He turned around, “What?”

“Y-you know we’re mercenaries… right?”

  He turned around. “Of course.”

  They ran off, leaving her alone. “Damn it… why the hell… Arrgh, I don’t even know anymore.”

  She then took out her walkie-talkie. “Grrr. B-Haystack…?”

“Yeah?” he said in a panic.

“I’m… I’m gonna need a medic.”

“Don’t worry, Ah’m on my way!”

  Static!

  Maribelle could only mutter, “Damn it, Ivan.”

  They continued running as she led them to where they needed to go. She didn’t say a word to him, and Ivan could tell that it wasn’t a good idea to talk to her at the moment. So, she let her do what she needed to do until the moment was right. They ran down another five blocks before looking at a sign that read, ‘MOTEL TRANQUILITY: 5 miles’

  She gasped before declaring, “This way!”

  It’d take a while, but they would reach the small motel. Going inside, the two would shiver from the rain's cold grasp.

"Damn, that's some rain out there, huh?" Ivan uttered, giving out a slight giggle.

On the other hand though, Jackie didn’t say a word, she just went over to the bathroom. Ivan groaned. “Let me guess. It’s about that fight I had, right?”

  She came out in nothing but a green shirt and shorts on. She held onto the wall for support before turning to look at him, her eyes watering. “What have you been doing, Ivan? ... How the hell did you end up here?”

  He took a moment to conjure up what needed to be said.

  “Well, to eliminate that debt I had with the police,” He took a deep breath. “… Let’s just say that I took a job to eliminate that debt. Now, judging by this situation, you can already tell that it didn’t work out.”

  He sat against the wall. “So, how have you been doing?”

  Not knowing what to say, she simply put on a smile to hide her impatience. “Well, I’d rather ask if you’re okay first.”

  Her smile would vanish. “No seriously, how’s it been?”

  She didn’t give a response, frowning.

  This caused Ivan to roll his eyes. “Ugh, never better. The workplace is garbage but passable , you know?”

“Um… I’ve… I’ve been doing well.” She fiddled with her fingers. “I’ve been really worried about you since you left and all and… I’m just glad that you’re all right.”

  Ivan smirked. “Hmm, I find it surprising that you’d deny the news.”

  She looked towards the flower portrait behind her. “Um… Your parents looked... they were sad to see you gone... They told us that they found your uniform, riddled with bullet holes.”

  Ivan let out a small growl. “Of course they’d say that.”

  She only looked back at the wall in front of her.

  Ivan grumbled. “Now I’m working from eight to six…”

Another breath was taken.

“I’ve been through a lot lately.” He looked at his baby blue uniform. “I’ve been working at a plantation every day for a while now… and that’s it.”

“But…, don't you want to go b-”

“You know how the law towards deserters and dead people work in Chicago, right?

“Oh… right.” Her eyes began to water.

  There was an awkward pause before Ivan resumed the conversation. “Judging by the uniform, I’m guessing that you joined a mercenary group yourself.”

  She was now rubbing her eyes clean. “Heh, you’re right.”

  Ivan looked at the logo on her sleeve, depicting a four point star underneath a sword. “Huh, you work for Nova. I’ve heard of them, provides the RED hub in Chicago with security.”

“Yep.”

“Well, that’s not like you to be wielding a rifle. You know that, right?”

“I know.”

“Then why’d you join?”

  She clenched onto her hands. “Well… after graduating, I realized that jobs were becoming scarcer now.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I couldn’t find one myself… then Nova was offering job placements and… and, you know.” She continued. “A year went down the line, and then… things started getting worse back there, and… yeah.”

“Hmm… So you left the city undetected.”

  She nodded, crossing her arms and looking down to await her fate.

“I see.”

  Her formation loosened upon hearing this.

“You got some nerve doing that, you know.”

  She curled one of her hands into a fist. “Like I said… things have gotten worse over there.”

“Well, it’s a dog eat dog world, you know. The least you can do is obey the orders handed to you.”

  The silence returned. She only calmed after this, despite holding on to those feelings she had just seconds ago.

“So… what are you going to do now?” Ivan asked.

“So, where did the pony go?” asked Chief Frederickson, the two walking down the next crime scene.

“Went to go pick up little Maribelle.” Marianne answered. “Grrr, turns out that our plan was a total failure after all. Damn it!”

"Hmmph, you have some nerve using children in your missions."

   "Yes, yes we do." Marianne said confidently.

  He watched the officers being covered in body bags, using that as a change of topic. “Four of my boys dead, huh?”

“Yeah, they weren’t fit to fight that guy. Not to mention that one of my men was wounded critically.”

“Of course.”

“Grrr, two years of searching for him and we end up with-”

  Clink!

“Huh?” She looked down to find something underneath her feet: A Dog Tag to be specific.

  Marianne put the Dog Tag in front of her, which read.

  She kept it in that place for a little while before lowering it back down. She then began to rub her eyes tersely. “Um… Chief? What else is there to report?”

“That’s one daring move you did there. Do you think they’ll take it well?”

“Uh…” Her shoulders tensed again. “I’m… not sure.”

“Well, your answer should’ve been that they won’t.”

Tears were starting to leave her eye. “Yeah… I know.”

  “So… what do we do now?”

  She went over to the bed, lying down. “Well, when I came here, I was planning on finding my way to the Green zone.”

  In shock, he sat up. “Uh, uh, seriously?”

  She held onto her arm, nodding.

“For your information, no one is allowed to-”

“I know, I know.” she admitted. “But trust me, I know a way we can get in.”

“Uh, how?”

“Well, I have relatives in Washington State. They can help me get in, simple as that.”

  He scoffed. “And?”

“You can live with us if you like, find a job that fits you…” She turned to face the ceiling, putting a little smile on her face. “… Maybe find that special someone, you know?”

  His eyes watered, but it was best that he didn’t cry. “Yep.”

“Does that mean you wanna go?”

“Well… the cops are after me…. Going to work will obviously get me killed… Not to mention that going back to Chicago is yet another death sentence… so… okay.”

  She'd smile. “That’s great.”

“Well… how do you plan on getting us out of here?” There was no response. “Uh… Jackie?”

  She snapped out of her little trance. “Uh… what?”

  He repeated. “I said, how do you plan on getting us out of here?”

“Hmm, the… the only way out is through that gate, right?”

“Yeah… also the walls are too thick for any tank to blow it up. Not to mention the soldiers and armor that are on the top.”

“So…” She started rubbing her arms as the smile faded, struggling to find the right words for her next statement.

“I’m all right with that.”

  She made a soft little gasp.

  He looked back at the outside rain. “We’ve been through worse back in Chicago, right?”

  She was reluctant to nod, but she did.

“Then it’s safe to say that we either win or die trying.”

  The smile was now coming back. “I guess you’re right.”

  They stayed there a couple of seconds before Jacklyn spoke up. “So… do you think we could just call it a night, then?”

“Mmm Hmm. I'm gonna stay down here, though. You know... to let the clothes dry without making things awkward.”

The thoughts made her cheeks redden. “Uh... Okay.... Well, good night then.”

Then she flipped over to the other side and simply started his sleep afterwards.

“Uh… good night.” He did the same thing also.

  Through the silence, the same flow of tears was still attached to Jacklyn's eyes. “Ivan?”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you scared of who you’re dealing with?”

“Jackie… it doesn’t surprise me one bit.” he comforted. “Just relax okay?”

  She hesitated to form a smile, but she gave in regardless. “Mmm Hmm.”

  Ivan smiled too for a moment. “Good. Well, Good night.”

“Yeah, heh, sweet dreams.”

  It was quiet after that. Their feelings still remaining in each of them.   Next Chapter: Chapter 2 Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 55 Minutes