Uhra walked grinning down the hallway, Ruigh in tow.
Ruigh looked at Uhra annoyed.
"Where are you going? We have to inform the others."
"Yeah, that's what I'm doing," he replied.
Ruigh drew in a sharp breath.
"You've been walking through the house for five minutes, looking into rooms and shaking your head. How is that informing anyone?"
Uhra looked at him with feigned innocence.
"Boy, boy, I'm searching for them. Is that so hard to see?"
Ruigh held his head as if he was getting a headache.
"Ten are outside right now monitoring the surroundings, and the other eleven should be in the common room."
Uhra looked at him grinning.
"You mean the living room?" he asked, grinning.
Ruigh exhaled in despair.
"Just come," he muttered and took the stairs down.
Uhra followed him with a mocking grin.
Ruigh stopped in front of the common room, but before he could open the door, Uhra had already pushed it open and stepped inside.
The room was partly a living room, but also not.
There was indeed a couch and a TV on the wall, but countless monitors and more chairs than a family would have ever needed.
The killers sat at the table or on the couch.
Their heads turned as the door swung open.
Uhra stepped in confidently and spread his arms solemnly.
"We know where the base is."
The killers looked at each other.
One asked: "And where is it supposed to be?" Another asked: "And how do you know that?"
Uhra grinned and explained:
"From the kid Aren brought with him. The enemy's base is in Karuka City. Some old house on the outskirts."
The killers whispered among themselves, their expressions ranging from excited to skeptical.
One shook his head.
"That's way too obvious."
Another nodded.
"Yeah, it could be a trap."
A killer with a scar looked thoughtfully at his feet.
"But it's the only lead we've got."
Uhra leaned against the wall.
"Exactly – the only lead for now."
One with a headband crossed his arms.
"I want to hear that again from Aren." He walked toward the door. "Then we can really be sure…"
He didn't get any further, because Aren entered the room.
He walked hunched over and staggered with every step.
He slowly raised his gaze – a deep shadow lay over his face.
"You are ordered to infiltrate the enemy's base in Karuka," he whispered as he staggered through the room.
The killer with the headband stared at him in surprise.
"But Sir," he asked timidly, "we don't even know if the child is telling the truth and anyway, I think–"
Aren's arm wrapped around the killer's throat.
"You're not supposed to think, you're supposed to obey," he growled.
The killer gasped and writhed under the grip.
Aren whispered softly:
"Don't ruin it…"
The grip around the killer's throat tightened.
"Don't ruin it."
The killer nodded trembling.
"Yes, I won't ruin it. I obey."
Aren let him fall to the ground and stepped back to the door.
"Make preparations. Tonight you set out."
The truck drove through the night. Ruigh sat on the bench attached to the inner side of the truck wall, fidgeting with his harness.
Uhra, sitting next to him, grinned. "Hey, kid, need some help?" he said, stretching out his arms.
Ruigh glared at him. "Keep your hands to yourself."
Uhra smirked mockingly. "Ah, someone's tense." He made a sweeping motion with his hand. "Then take a look around."
Reluctantly, Ruigh lifted his gaze. An uneasy silence filled the truck. Most of the killers stared into nothingness. Only the sweat on their foreheads and their darting eyes betrayed their nervousness.
Annoyed, Ruigh turned back to Uhra. "Yeah, they're nervous. So what?"
Uhra grinned. "Aren't you?"
Ruigh crossed his arms and stared blankly ahead. "That's anticipation."
Uhra laughed, nodding. "Exactly. Anticipation."
A killer beside them chuckled. "It's going to be fun, taking down this enemy." He rubbed his hands together with a grin.
The scarred killer tilted his head. "Does anyone know what danger level he's at?"
Uhra scratched his head. "Of the three danger levels—B, A, and X-Factor—this one's probably an A-level."
The truck came to a stop.
Uhra giggled. "Ah, we'll find out soon enough."
They climbed out of the truck and spread out silently in the shadows of the house.
The building was five stories tall, its large windows long broken, the facade overrun with vines and ivy as if nature itself was reclaiming the abandoned structure.
Around the house stretched a small woodland, where the killers now crouched, hidden and silent.
Ruigh pressed himself behind a large bush, peering through a gap in the undergrowth to get a glimpse of the house.
Beside him, Uhra moved silently like a snake through the foliage.
"We're going in," he whispered with a grin, sliding past Ruigh.
Ruigh felt his body tense. It was starting.
The mission had begun.