Loud shouting came from outside.
"Amp, are you in there? What's the status?"
Amp said nothing.
The shouting faded. The lights in the room glowed brighter and more intense as beads of sweat fell from his brow.
This… this is familiar.
The small smirk on the man's face began to disappear as he thought to himself.
Was I wrong? The possibility was low, but… would this guy truly risk being decommissioned just for a kid he didn't know?
At that moment, a man wearing a black coat and heavy F.F.H. armor burst into the room, holding an automatic rifle.
"Amp! It's F.F.H. Eisenhelm. We were sent to—"
The man turned, instantly stopping in his tracks.
"Amp, don't do it," the man shouted. Amp slowly began to turn toward him. The man immediately lowered his gun.
"I'm Detective Sergei, head inspector of Eisenhelm. We've been tracking ringleader of rogue groups, with what we've just been told, we believe this man is one we're looking for. We believe he is the Baron."
Sergei inched closer, arms widened.
"I know he deserve this. Many good men die because of him, but if he die now, those men will still be dead and someone else will replace—"
"No!" Amp bellowed, his voice booming throughout the room. "Someone new may take his place, but they won't be able to come up with the same type of filth that he can."
"That is ridiculous, he is just one man to compare him to thousands. Look. This is F5 order. I already have your file. I know you've already been decommissioned. If you decommission again, your brain may not recover. Your memories are hazy, yes? If it happen again, you will become puppet."
Amp looked him in the eyes.
"Is that a threat?"
Sergei looked back. "No. It is guarantee. We are not strong enough to stop you, but—F.F.H is. Please, just follow order."
Amp stood silent. As the Baron hung from his fists, Amp thought to himself:
He's right. Even now, my memories are fragmented. I still have to figure out why I was decommissioned in the first place, but even so—
He looked at the Baron. The man's eyes were like the eyes of a plastic doll: hollow and empty.
Amp scowled as he thought to himself.
This man must die.
Suddenly, he felt a tap on his thigh. He turned to see the young boy standing there, looking at him and shaking his head.
In a lowered tone, Amp replied, "You guys don't understand. I know how this goes. Guys like him have too much influence, too much power. You won't get another chance like this. Let me finish this."
With a slight gulp and a faint bead of sweat on his forehead, Sergei responded.
"I swear on daughter's life: once we get him to cell, he won't ever leave Eisenhelm prison."
"People—especially your men—are going to die because of this," Amp said. "Are you prepared to live with that?"
"We already know the risks."
Amp then dropped the Baron. With the boy in hand, he walked past Sergei.
"When he comes for you, no one will be spared."
Sergei saluted. "Thank you anyway, sir."
He then rushed over, quickly grabbing the Baron and cuffing him with special, heavy titanium-steel handcuffs.
"I've been waiting long time to get my hands on you," Sergei said enthusiastically as he slammed him against the wall.
The Baron said nothing. His eyes were fixed completely on his son and Amp as they walked out of the caravan.
As they stepped out, the Baron spoke coldly, calmly.
"That was a mistake, Inspector. I promise you this—before this day ends—"
He leaned in until his face was an inch from Sergei's, his voice dropping to a whisper."—I'll have your head on a spike."
"Shut up—" Sergei slammed him again. "—You will get all the time in the world to speak."
Now standing a fair distance away from the caravan, Amp stood next to the boy.
"I understand that he's your father, but—"
"That's not why I wanted you to stop," the boy's device read aloud. "I don't care about him. I stopped caring a long time ago. What I do care about is no one being injured or killed on my account. I've seen enough blood."
The Holo—a small, diamond-shaped device hanging from his neck like a necklace—dimmed as it finished speaking.
A small smile tugged at Amp's lips, but then it dropped almost as quickly as it had appeared.
They watched in silence as the Baron and the woman called Sasha—now surrounded by at least thirty soldiers—were loaded into a military vehicle.
Amp turned to the boy. "How old are you, uh…?"
"Ian Garrison. I'm thirteen."
Amp's eyebrow lifted slightly, but he said nothing.
"What? Not impressed?"
"I've met Neo child soldiers before," Amp replied. "You're impressive, but that goes for a lot of kids."
A few seconds of silence followed until Ian finally asked, "So, what are you really going to do?"
"..."
"What you said to the inspector—that no one will be spared," Ian continued. "What did you mean by that?"
"Just let me enjoy the scenery—this field, the hills, the forest in the background," Amp said, taking in a deep breath of Eisenhelm's sweet, clean air. "I don't really get to see such sights in New Sentinel."
Amp turned to him and Ian gave him the look of someone who had been stuck in three-hour traffic.
Guess that's done with
"I'll be frank with you," Amp admitted. "The arrival of the F.F.H. made things unnecessarily complicated. I had to make sure you got to safety. I have not let him go."
Ian looked at him. "But there are soldiers surrounding him. Are you planning on going against the F.F.H?"
"I won't have to."
"What do you mean?"
Just then, Ian noticed Sergei approaching them.
Amp is planning something, but given his position, his hands are tied. Maybe I should warn this guy
Sergei stood in front of them, saluting and exclaiming,
"Sir! We successfully detained both criminals. We'll soon be off."
He then hunched over, taking a deep breath.
"Sorry, you guys go so far away, I had to run to —"
Ian's Holo cut him off. "Thirty men is not enough. You should've brought more. And how strong are their restraints? They both have superstrength —the woman especially."
Sergei looked at Ian. "What is that, and how you speak using necklace—?"
He spotted Amp shaking his head and stopped.
"Okay. Don't worry about it. They're being held with titanium cuffs. No one but Level 2 can get through."
Sergei then turned to Amp. "It may be because of bad English, but I sensed too much anger between us."
"You can rest assured," Amp replied curtly. "My anger was not at you."
Sergei coughed, clearing his throat. "Uh, right. Thank you. Uh Maybe we should not speak in front of young boy?"
"Ian is smarter than both of us put together," Amp replied. "If anything, we're the children here."
"I don't know how it is in the West, but here in Eisenhelm, kid is kid."
Sergei turned and knelt to talk to Ian, who was intensely watching the five military vehicles surrounding the Baron. Removing his hat, Sergei said,
"You know, we're in need of smart, talented people. If you want, I could get you in—"
"No thanks," Ian replied. "Eisenhelm's infrastructure is too far behind to produce anything worthwhile."
Sergei's jaw tightened and, with an exhale, he put his hat back on and stood up.
Amp looked away, slightly grinning. Sergei stood next to him, grumbling and scratching his goatee.
"Sometimes, kid is an asshole."
Sergei then reached into his pocket. "Can you sign this for my daughter?"
He handed Amp a small pink-and-red teddy bear. As Amp held it, he felt the sleek, soft material—somehow both cool and warm.
"This must've been expensive. Mohair?"
"Very and yes."
Sergei handed him a marker.
Amp replied, "What did you do?"
"I made very brave smart choice of becoming Chief Inspector.
Did you know that Eisenhelm City has the world's highest death rate for officials?
I know this because wife like to remind me in case I forget—"
Amp said nothing.
"—I joke, of course. Family is supportive, but on nights I'm lucky to go home early, I always see tear stains on wife and daughter's pillows. Next morning, they have smiles on their faces as if nothing wrong. But I know. We all know, someday, Dad might not come back."
He looked Amp in the eye.
"I'm not telling you this for sympathy. I tell you this because this is same for every family in Eisenhelm. So, if I have to make a deal with scumbag piece of shit like the Baron, I will. So long as it keeps the people of Eisenhelm safe."
Amp finished signing the bear and, as he handed it back, he told him, " You're a good man, Inspector."
Sergei nodded. "Thank you, but I wouldn't be so sure."
"Any man who is lucky enough to have people crying for them must be a good man."
"You say that, but I'm going to sell this online for profit, buy her cheap teddy bear."
They both began to laugh.
Sergei continued, "I love her, but I also have to be practical."
Suddenly, Sergei was tapped by Ian.
"What's taking so long? Why aren't you guys moving?"
"Relax, kid. We just making sure escape route is clear. It take maybe ten minutes."
"Why so long?"
"That is average time. Too much interference in the area. Is why we bring car and not plane."
"But there shouldn't be any interference now," Ian insisted. "I took care of it."
"Maybe for few seconds, but it came back as soon as we get call."
Ian's eyes began to look around frantically. He squatted down, his right hand over his mouth.
"Uh, kid?"
Ian's Holo sounded out: "He must've made a backup program without me knowing. We all need to get out of here, right now!"
Meanwhile, inside the heavily armored truck, the Baron turned to Sasha.
"Cover your head and drop down."
The guard next to him shoved him with a rifle. "No talking."
Sasha instantly dove to the floor.
As she did, a large explosion detonated in front of the truck.
Amp, Sergei, and Ian all turned toward the blast.
"No!" Sergei shouted. Flaming fireballs and rocks began to rain down on the vehicles and his men.
Sergei started to bolt toward the flames, but like a piece of clothing caught in a door, he was yanked back.
"What the—let go of me!" he yelled, violently turning around, spit flying from his mouth.
As he turned, he smacked Ian to the floor, slightly winding him.
"Arrgh!"
Looking up, Ian saw Sergei, fully enraged—hands clenched, chest heaving—facing off against Amp, who held him in place with one hand.
"Calm down. I'm doing this for your own good. Think of your family," Amp said calmly.
Immediately, Sergei launched a punch at him. To no one's surprise, there was a loud, dry, visceral crack.
"Ugh! You son of– "
Still held by Amp, Sergei twisted in pain, clutching his shattered shoulder.
Ian spoke up. "Amp, maybe you should—"
"Are you sure you want me to do that?" Amp asked, pointing toward the battlefield.
Still grimacing, Sergei turned, and so did Ian.
There, on the battlefield, was a sadist's dream and a pilgrim's nightmare. Soldiers were being eaten alive; men were impaled, hanging in the sky. Others ran, not out of fear, but because their bodies had begun to cook from the inside—their blood boiling out of every orifice.
Just fourteen rogues had completely overwhelmed them. Their leader, the Baron, watched on with no expression. To him, this was just another day.
Amp let Sergei go.
Sergei pulled out his sidearm and aimed it directly at Amp's head. Unflinching, Amp's blue eyes burrowed into him.
"That won't bring your men back."
Sergei's eyes widened. With a rough, guttural, primal howl, he yelled,
"You knew. You knew they were coming!"
Amp glanced at the fallen bodies and flaming vehicles.
"I told you this would happen," Amp said. "I told you how it would end, and you did not listen. You said you knew the risks. Do you remember?"
As the screams of men haunted the air,
Sergei kept his gun trained on Amp, gripping it as if holding it hard enough might bring them back.
"Damn you!"