Aespra didn't even look at him. Her eyes stayed glued to the screen, expression flat. She responded in the same tone one might use to comment on a loading screen.
"Killing is wrong, Osprey. We should be good people. Leave Liam alone."
Osprey scoffed. "Well, ex-fucking-scuse me. May I remind you of your body count?"
Aespra didn't flinch. "This is why you'll never get a girlfriend. You live in the past."
His brow twitched. "Bitch? I mean… body count like headcount?"
Without missing a beat, Aespra replied, "Who I use my mouth on is none of your busi—"
"I MEANT HEADCOUNT LIKE MURDER COUNT! HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU'VE KILLED!?"
She blinked, then shrugged. "You should've just said that."
"I DID!???"
"Mmmk," she hummed, leveling up in her game as if the conversation had already ended.
Osprey takes a breath, collecting himself, clearing his throat and focusing back on the topic at hand.
He thinks deeply going further than his friendship with Mr. N, realistically speaking if we killed Liam we wouldn't have the strength needed to declare for the presidency battle.
Issak would hate me but I'm saving all of our lives here. We have no shot even with "Liam". He just doesn't understand that. Plus I'm his best friend. He'd forgive me right..
But that's the thing, I'm his best friend. Why would I thwart his plans… I can't betray him like that, I trust him. And I know that but.
As Osprey rolls over uncomfortable he simply sees no future where they can win. He is one of the most skilled fighters in this organization.
He is Elite Guard Rank # _ for Mr. N's Revolution. One of the 10 most capable fighters in Mr. N's army for crying out loud. Yet he knew the truth. To have a direct faceoff with the President's Elite Guard? Its suicide… His elite guard is levels above ours.
'Sigh' As Osprey looks towards the sky he feels hurt. The pain of anxiety swelling in his chest.
Beside him, Aespra paused her game, sensing the shift in Osprey's demeanor. Her voice was soft. "Are you okay, Os?"
She gently stroked his white hair, finally giving him her full attention.
But he didn't answer—not really. She wouldn't understand, he thought. She doesn't know the terror of the president's elite guards. If I told her, she'd just laugh it off—maybe tease me, maybe call me paranoid. She doesn't understand because she depends on me to keep her safe. I'm the one who's supposed to be unshakable. Unkillable.
But what happens when the protector gets scared?
When you're the one everyone relies on—when you're at the top of the food chain—who the hell do you run to?
The thought sinks in like a stone in his chest. A quiet, invisible kind of despair. Osprey's eyes darken, the flicker of anxiety twisting into something heavier. Something colder.
No one's coming to carry this for me.
So the invincible sniper swallows it. All of it.
I'll shoulder this myself.
Osprey gets out of her lap, he says aloud, "I wanna challenge that Liam guy to a duel. I need to know why the boss brought this guy in. Why he stole him from one of our allies? I heard about him and I've seen footage but. I'm not that impressed. I've seen crazier.
He raised his binoculars, focusing them on a distant rooftop condo, where Liam lay fast asleep. "Let's watch for ten hours. Then I'll confront him."
Aespra yawned loudly. "No way, man. I'm not staying on this big, BORING-ass wall for the next 10 hours. Let's go get some cream puffs and snacks. It'll be quick."
Osprey blinked. Did she just ignore everything I said...?
"We can't leave," he said, baffled. "We're the only ones with vision like this. We just kidnapped one of the most wanted science experiments in history—this could be the start of World War Three ...."
Osprey was starting to regret his decision to promote Aspera to Elite Guard Rank 10, perhaps she wasn't ready? She hasn't been on a lot of missions she doesn't understand the danger-
Aespra turned to him with a sly smirk. "If you come with me... I might let you... cream... my puffs…"
A beat of silence.
"That's all you had to say," Osprey replied. He was already gone.
Aespra blinked. Osprey teleported to the stairwell door.
"0.o"
"I'm sure if Liam's so strong," Osprey called back, "he'll be just fine now innit."
She grinned. "Good boy. And you're paying, okay?"
He gave her a wink as they started walking away.
-
Behind the Military Base with Liam and Mr. N was a small camp located 900 metres south.
Enter Class 1-B one of the most proficient units in the entire United States program.
The National Guard for the United States has roughly 5,283 soldiers. Mr. N is one of if not the most notable distributor of soldiers to the national guard. As his training methods always yielded the best results.
President's Elite Guards: 10
Lieutenants: 20
Mr. N's Elite Guards: 10
Lieutenants: 20 ||
2 Lieutenants for each member of the Elite Guard.
Infantry A: 1,000
Infantry B: 3,943
Specialized Ops.Aerial Division: 100
Sea Division: 180
James looked at his map, not having a cellphone he used a traditional paper map. "I'm close" he whispered, walking quickly.
The 16 year old boy from Connecticut came here on a scholarship, his results in combat and tactics were both elite for his age.
James walked quickly, boots sticking in the wet mud of the wetlands, each step heavier than the last. His heartbeat stuck in his ears. As he squinted his eyes through the fog he finally found the backgate.
He approached the reinforced entrance, presenting his ID to the two armed guards.
The guards exchanged a glance, then nodded, unlocking the massive steel door.
As James stepped inside the military base something felt off, "Follow the arrows for Infantry B Class B" as he followed slowly but surely his anxiety deepened into something else entirely.
James thought to himself 'This is the real deal. I can't turn back now, I'm one step away from the National guard, one of the biggest honors a man can be granted.
The national guard was the special forces for each country, a place where you can truly make a name for yourself as a modern warrior.
However James knew that if his talent didn't hold up he would be shipped off to the common army or police force.
Anything but that. "There is no honor in being in the common army, it was talentless and depressing. The equivalent of slave work with hardly enough money to support yourself much less your family.
The elite guards are the ones who forced human evolution, they are the ones who popularize new fighting styles, they create new martial arts from scratch, they are the ones who popularize new military tactics THEY ARE THE ONES WHO CONQUER AND UNIFY NATIONS!.
I want to be like them...
In a dim alleyway, Osprey and Aspera pressed against each other, they touched and kissed, laughing as their bodies brushed together. They were oblivious to the disaster their recklessness had set in motion—unaware that their actions would spark a butterfly effect so powerful, it could become the very catalyst for the world's destruction.