BANG!
Izu flinched at the sound of gunfire, frozen in his spot. His eyes dilated as he stared at the rcenary who had almost shot him squarely in the head. To his surprise, instead of Izu falling, a bullet struck the rcenary, snapping his head back before his entire body collapsed with a loud thud.
"Huh?" Izu blinked and turned his head toward where he believed the shot had co from.
Much to his surprise, the person looking back at him was—
"Tyga!" he called loudly, rushing over. He almost didn’t recognize the man, as Tyga was wearing local clothing.
When Izu stopped in front of him, he bobbed his head and quickly checked Tyga’s condition. Izu and Tyga weren’t close—hell, they wouldn’t have even spoken much back when they were in the Order. Still, they would at least greet each other when they crossed paths. After all, the two had gone to the sa school and even trained in the sa year to join the Order.
"You’re... you’re fine," Izu breathed out as he t Tyga’s eyes.
Tyga gave a subtle smile. "Barely," he said, glancing at the rcenary he’d taken down. "Even so... thankfully."
"Thanks. That guy almost got ," Izu gulped, wetting his dry throat as the sll of sulfur in the air grew stronger. "Where are your other team mbers?"
"We’ve disbanded," Tyga answered as he marched toward the rcenary Izu had shot. "We shouldn’t have ford that cursed team in the first place. We would’ve had a better chance if we’d just worked alone."
Like Tyga, Izu approached the fallen rcenary and began looting him. Even though Izu was already ard, he knew that with the number of rcenaries still swarming the square and its surrounding area, he’d need more ammunition.
"I see," was all Izu said as he busied himself checking the rcenary’s pockets.
A brief silence settled between them as they focused on what they were doing. Once Tyga finished looting his target, he rose to his feet and turned toward Izu.
"You’re not going to ask what happened to our cursed team?"
Izu paused and looked up. "Why would I?"
"Unexpected things happen," he added as he stood. "I’m just glad you guys are fine. I’m sure that put the madam at ease."
"The madam?" Tyga furrowed his brows, prompting Izu to chuckle as he walked back over.
"Mhm." Izu stood confidently before him, as if—for a brief mont—the walls he usually kept up around other Order mbers had disappeared. Or perhaps it was simply Lola’s insanity that had numbed him for now.
"The madam was the angriest when she heard about your capture," he said, not going into detail as they didn’t have the luxury of ti. "Her goal for this mission was to make sure all of us returned alive and in one piece. She said if she failed, the master would divorce her."
"Huh?"
"I think that’s what she said initially," Izu shrugged. "But so far, we’re all fine. We just have to keep it that way."
Tyga studied Izu, who was clearly exhausted after endless hours on this mission. Though Izu was quiet and usually kept to himself, he appeared surprisingly relaxed and confident. Still, Tyga couldn’t help noticing the difference in how worn down they were.
"What should we do?" Tyga asked, pushing aside his own thoughts and focusing on the task at hand. "How do I help?"
Izu’s brows lifted because he hadn’t expected Tyga, of all people, to ask him for instructions.
"Well..." Izu cleared his throat and shook his head, forcing himself to refocus. "For now, I need to clean up the square and the surrounding area. Reinforcents are already on the way, and the Bellemonte guys are helping."
"I see." Tyga nodded, only to pause when Izu continued.
"But before you charge into battle, you need to co with ."
With that, Izu had already started walking across the road. Tyga followed, confusion clear on his face.
"Where are we going?"
"Pika," Izu answered quietly. "You don’t have comms, right? The madam instructed him to make sure everyone stays in the loop. Pika hacked into the region’s cybersecurity—he’s currently holding control over the entire network."
"It’ll be easier for us if we know what’s happening with everyone," he continued as Tyga listened closely.
The more Tyga heard, the more stunned he beca. His eyes widened slightly as he studied Izu’s profile, then shifted to the comm unit in Izu’s hand.
So that’s why Izu hadn’t just looted weapons, but he’d taken the rcenary’s comms too. But Pika...?
Tyga furrowed his brows. Up until this mission, he’d barely heard anything about Pika. He knew Izu well—they grew up in the sa community and entered the Order at the sa ti. On top of that, Izu was fairly well-known, despite being assigned to what was considered the "weakest" team. Personally, Tyga had always thought Izu deserved a spot in the Inner Circle.
But Pika?
Tyga was certain that even if he asked everyone involved in this mission, most would know nothing about him. Aside from the brief note that Pika belonged to the Cyber Security and Software departnt.
"I didn’t know Pika could do that," Tyga murmured, earning a chuckle from Izu.
"I didn’t know either," Izu said, glancing back at him. "But I guess since the Order’s cybersecurity has always been stable and there weren’t any real threats, that unit stayed mostly idle. Or... what they do just isn’t as flashy as this."
That thought alone made Tyga knit his brows, a flood of questions surfacing.
If soone like Pika existed within the Order—soone this capable, yet overlooked—how many others were there? How many mbers never got the chance to shine simply because the Order had been stable for too long?
"Pika." Unaware of Tyga’s internal spiral, Izu pressed his earpiece. "I’m with Tyga. We’re heading your way—we need comms for him before he joins the fight. Which tunnel are you in right now?"
*
*
*
"Which tunnel are you in right now?"
Pika paused as Izu’s quiet voice reached his ears. He turned to see several residents stopping behind him.
"Wait," he whispered to the people he’d rescued and was guiding toward the safe zone. "Just a mont."
He pressed his earpiece, opened the compact laptop strapped to his arm, and checked his current coordinates.
"I’m currently in..." he replied, giving the exact location. "But Izu, I can’t stay here and wait. I’ll leave spare comms at this location—just pick them up."
"Got it."
Pika smiled faintly as he secured the devices in a safe spot, then turned back to the group. Just a day ago, he never would’ve imagined being seen as so kind of savior. Maybe he still wasn’t, but knowing he was helping was enough.
His lips pressed into a thin line as he exhaled.
"Let’s go."
And just like that, Pika led the group out of the danger zone—alone—saving more than a dozen lives along the way.
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