The sun set low on the horizon. Streetlights flickered on one by one, brightening up the city once again.
Both of them watched calmly, the waves tossed up and down as gusts of wind hit them.
"Kinda cold," Sara muttered.
"Sure is," Julian replied, tossing a pebble into the water. It barely created a ripple in the sea.
"But the place looks more dead, if you ask me."
"It does?" Sara turned to him. "Neomar has only slightly less population than Corsalis, the last time I checked."
"Yeah, but that doesn't change how this place looks." He glanced back at the streets. Barely any sign of living beings. Vehicles passing by were rare. "Straight out of a graveyard."
"Or they are just relaxing." Sara also turned her head back. "They'll be alive again tomorrow morning."
"Relaxing, yeah." He said lazily, turning back to the sea. "I also want something like that."
"Don't start again," Sara quickly replied.
"Hello, Missy. I'm also a human being, if you don't know. My mind also needs some time to cool off."
"Thanks for clarifying," Sara said. "I mistook you for some programmed robot."
He threw the rest of the pebbles in his hand and sighed loudly. "I need—"
His sentence was cut short by the sound of a car approaching. He turned back quickly. Sara followed right after.
Simon walked out from the driver's seat and said, after examining their tired look, "We'll start by tomorrow morning. Get some rest first."
"I definitely need this," Julian responded, glancing at Sara.
"Fine by me," Sara replied, walking towards the car.
…
After having dinner with Sara and Julian, Simon went to his room. He checked the time on his wristwatch. It was past ten.
Time passed, and he found himself walking towards the exit. He didn't feel like sleeping yet. The receptionist at the counter glanced at him but didn't say anything.
The glass door opened, and he walked out. Everything around him was silent, the cold wind brushed past him as he crossed the yard. The lights from the pole barely reached the path he was walking on. Then his foot stopped halfway, just before touching the surface—
He thought of dismissing it as a pebble, but curiosity took over him. He landed his foot and looked down. Something black, but it didn't look like a random rock; he picked it up quickly to examine it.
An earbud. The small blue light flickering told him it was on.
He inserted it in his ear, but the only sound he heard was static. He walked closer towards the metal gate, the static sound started to fade as the signal grew stronger.
A podcast, he thought. Two people discussing space and how the concept of singularity works inside a black hole.
He pushed the metal gate, the hinges groaned lightly.
Then it stopped. The podcast.
A figure was standing across the street, right next to the flickering streetlight. A man, wearing formal black and white clothes, his hair tied back like a snake's tail.
The figure started to walk, his shadow stretched.
Simon also followed on the other side of the street. Then, hesitatingly,
"Viper?" He said.
A calm reply reached his ear a moment later, "Simon?"
Both exchanged knowing glances, their steps slow but deliberate.
"Still, no one has called me by that name for ages," Viper replied lazily. "It feels kinda nostalgic."
"That's the only way I remember you."
"Well, you're not wrong, I guess. But hey, you look the same as ever."
"He said the same thing," Simon's tone lowered.
"He?" Viper glanced at him as he tapped a cigarette against his thumb.
"Mamba."
The cigarette dropped on the pavement, and Viper froze slightly. Then he picked it up slowly. He searched for something in his pockets.
Simon glanced at him and said, "Here." He tossed a lighter to Viper.
Viper put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it. The smoke swirled up, then faded in the dark. "So it is true." He tossed the lighter back to Simon.
"Yes," Simon continued walking.
"What about Asp and Adder? Are they also..." His voice faded at the end.
"I don't know. But they could be alive somewhere."
"No," Viper cut in quickly. "I saw them dead. With my own eyes. Are you sure it wasn't just your imagination?"
"No," Simon said calmly. "He was the same as when I last saw him. Same face. Same voice. Even the same behavior."
"Then why did you kill him?" Viper took a long puff before continuing, "You should've asked first."
"He had gone insane." His calm broke. "I didn't know if he knew who he was, or who he had been. But I knew one thing: he wanted to die."
"That's your problem, you know," Viper scoffed. "Too kind for fuck's sake."
They both fell silent for a moment. A car passed.
"What about Boa and Python?" Viper filled the silence. "Have you tried reaching them?"
"Boa is overseas, and there's nothing about Python." Simon's head turned slightly. "Only you."
"Only me..." Viper spat out the smoke. "So you're here just because you wanted to know what happened back then. Who was behind, Mamba?"
He replied lazily. "Did I get that right?"
"Half of it, yes."
"Then what's the other half?"
"Personal reasons."
Viper's eyes narrowed slightly. "Can't hurt to give me a little more, can it?"
"Paul Vaxlar," Simon replied calmly, head turned to Viper.
Hm, Viper's steps stopped, and he made a thinking-like face. "He's one of your new guys, I suppose... still, can't recall much about him."
He threw the cigarette into the dark. "So, it concludes that you aren't here for your past deeds, correct? Your priority is Paul Vaxlar."
Simon needed to digest Viper's words carefully. Was Paul just an excuse for coming to Neomar? To know about Mamba? Was that why he acted so quickly?
No.
The past was the past, already buried deep inside the coffin. He didn't have time for digging now. He had to look forward, not behind.
He didn't want to lose another one.
"Yes," Simon nodded faintly.
"Good," Viper stopped and slowly crossed the street. "But it doesn't mean I can't help you with Mamba. I'll tell you what I have on him."
Both passed each other. Simon caught a faint smirk on Viper's face. "But then again, don't believe every word I say."
"I know."
After reaching the opposite side, they started walking again.
"On the 26th of May 2023, we were assigned a task. It was very simple, honestly, maybe too simple. The High Table wasn't receiving the correct payment for the things going on here in Neomar, mostly transportation from overseas. We had to check things clearly and figure out whatever the fuck was going on here."
"I also remember," Viper glanced at Simon, "that you were also asked, weren't you?"
"Yeah, but I was busy with other work," Simon replied calmly.
Viper tilted his head. "Yeah, so we arrived in Neomar that same evening. Everyone agreed to take the matter slowly. The next day we split into two groups: me, Python, and Boa; Mamba, Adder, and Asp."
"For two days, we moved with no contact between the groups. We'd already decided that before, that we should discuss everything at the end."
He yawned slightly. "As we all thought, Neomar wasn't that simple, as it looks on the map. It had its own world going on, with different rules. When we thought we had gathered enough information, we visited the directors of this station on the fourth day."
He quickly sensed Simon's gaze. He chuckled faintly. "That's not where things went wrong."
He continued as he stretched his arms. "Three of them agreed cleanly, but the last two? They were kind of hard to negotiate with, but hey, Boa was there to save the day. The price was a little lower, but anything that ends without bloodshed is acceptable."
HIs voice dropped lower. "But the first three weren't satisfied with that."
"We all considered going back the next day, but..." He stopped and looked at Simon. "But things went wrong, and I don't even know why to this day."
Simon also stopped and turned his head to Viper.
"Those three—Mamba, Adder, and Asp—weren't inside their room. We tried everything for hours, but nothing helped. Then Boa did what we all were thinking."
He started walking again, his tone back to normal. "We went back to the place where the deal was made. The situation was already out of our control. At least two dozen people died, not even including the three directors and our guys."
"I feel disgusted even remembering that scene," Viper scoffed. "We found the rest of the bodies later. Then we received the next order: clean everything. We threw Mamba and the rest into the sea, so don't tell me he came back from the dead when I checked it personally."
"When we got back, our story was already twisted. The deal had been made; nothing else mattered. At first, we thought those two left were behind this, but it wasn't them. We received the final order not to discuss anything about this again."
He exhaled finally. "That was basically it."
Simon nodded faintly, thinking it over before saying anything. "Do you know anyone named Varga? Or Vincent Ganjo?"
"Nah," Viper's reply came quickly. "Never heard that name before."
"What about Liam Hart?" Simon asked again.
"Liam… Liam," Viper mumbled the name a few times before replying. "Doesn't ring any bells."
"Then the tablet suppliers supplying to Corsalis?"
"I know a few," Viper answered, nodding to himself. "That's the reason you're here? This doesn't sound like a personal reason."
"We aren't here for the tablets," Simon said calmly, "only the man behind the curtain."
"Heh…" Viper scoffed, "How high are you trying to pull the curtain exactly?"
"Until I drag him out."
Viper's eyes narrowed at how serious Simon sounded. "Paul Vaxlar—I guess he's really a handful of a guy. I'll meet him one day, maybe, when I get back to Corsalis."
Simon stayed silent.
"Alright," Viper said lazily, "Do you have a name, or at least a picture?"
"Only the sound of his voice."
"Great. Guess you weren't empty-handed after all." Viper's steps slowed a little. "But before you try anything funny," his gaze narrowed, "just remember, step back when the structure demands it."
Viper stopped and waited for Simon's reply.
The wind blew past them. His shadow was still in place. Simon's shadow stretched slowly then stopped.
"I know."
"Good." Viper started walking again. "I have four places for you: the docks, a warehouse, medical facilities, and the market. Start there, and I hope you can find something."
"Thanks," Simon replied a second later.
"Don't mention it. Just say hi to your new buddies for me."
Simon didn't reply and threw the earbud to Viper, who caught it quickly and smirked faintly.
Simon kept walking, plans already forming in his mind: Who to send? Where to send them? How long would it take?
Then something clicked, and he reflexively glanced back. "How long..."
The words faded into darkness, just like Viper.