Shadow Thief

26 - Outside Maple

"You know," he said into my ear, sending chills down my spine, "I can when something's wrong with you, even if you don't feel like telling me."

"I know."

---

When the moon was at it's highest peak, I regretted moving, but I was about to fall asleep and someone needed to keep watch. Theo was already sleeping on my shoulder, refusing to let go of my waist.

"Theo," I said quietly, poking him in the stomach.

He grumbled a bit before looking down at me with tired half lidded eyes.

"Hm?"

"Time to go back to the tents."

"Already?" He yawed, stretching his arms to their full length before standing up. I instantly missed the warmth of his body against mine, but didn't mention it.

"Yeah. Come one, let's go back to the others."

Nodding, he came over and wrapped his arms around me again, this time from behind.

"Just a little longer," He mumbled into the back of my neck. If today was a normal day, if I wasn't planning on leaving, I might've shrugged him off. Today wasn't a normal day. I was leaving in four to five days and I wasn't going to get the chance to say goodbye. So I let him.

After a minute or so, he let me go and we walked back into the camp. I said goodbye, asking Theo to wake up Bryce for the next watch.

When I crawled into the tent, Mila was snoring away at the far side while Mercy was laying on her side, watching me with drowsy eyes.

"Why can't you just tell him you like him?" She whispered.

I laughed a little at that. "Sometimes things just weren't meant to be."

"Then change things."

I smiled at her, twisting around so that I faced the entrance of the tent. The opposite direction of Mercy. Maybe I should've stayed up longer for watch, enjoying the long gone warmth. I wasn't sleeping much tonight anyways.

---

The next morning, we were off again, heading out in the direction of danger. We were allowed to take seven horses this time. One for supplies and the rest for each of us. We could hide them in the dense trees and tie them down. Unlike the desert where we were out in the open, minus a few rocks.

At night, we reached another clearing not far from the human trafficking center. Dismounting the horse, I checked my weapons, making sure they were properly secured before turning to leave. As I was about to walk off, someone caught my wrist. I turned back to see Mila giving me a worried look.

"Will you be okay?"

"Of course I will,"  I replied. "I'll be perfectly fine." I gave her a reassuring smile before heading off in the direction of the compound.

---

It took me half an hour to walk to the tall compound. With all the trees and bushes, it was easy enough to avoid being seen by the buildings guards. When the rest of Squadron came, we'd have to be careful and precise to avoid being caught. Thinking of Levi and Bryce, the words precise and careful didn't come to mind. We'd have to take out some guards to get all of them inside.

When I picked out a place where trees reached above the walls to break in. Using all my daggers, I scaled the tree to an outreaching branch. From there, I walked until I was over solid rock before dropping down two feet. I'd need to find another way in if I was planning on getting everyone else inside.

Walking across the thin wall, I stayed low, letting my black clothes bled in with the dark night. From up here,  I could see that there were twenty or so buildings, ranging in sizes from ten by ten to big. Sighing, I went over the info from a few days ago.

The target had dark skin with black hair. A scar below his lower left cheek. Samuel Verenza, was his name. He was the ring leader around here. If I caught him, the rest would fall shortly behind.

If the Kaiser really was out for my head, then I had to be extra careful. He knew I was good, and probably wouldn't send me into an easy job. I wanted to be extra careful when fighting this guy, and I especially didn't want the others fighting him.

My eyes scanned the perimeter as I caught sight of the man. He had two daggers strapped to his waist. Two guards flanked him, both with swords strapped to their waists. Smirking to myself, I followed the man from the high vantage point of the roofs of buildings. He was heading towards the center building, the largest.

When I was on the roof of the huge building, I was hit with a horrible scent. I gagged, trying not to vomit out the contents of the small dinner that I'd eaten not long before. Taking small breathes, I watched the man pull a cloth from his pocket and covered his mouth with it.

One of the two guards pulled a key from his pocket to unlock the door. It screeched as it slid open. I lost sight of them as they went into the building. Sighing, I pulled the collar of my shirt over my nose and dusked into the third story window.

What I though would be a three story building turned out to be single story. I was horrified by what I saw inside. Kids, children crammed into a room together with little to no room to move. They sat on hay bails that stacked all the way to the roof, thought non of the dare went that high. Smart move, too. I doubted they could get that high with those meatless twigs they called arms.

I felt a rage build inside me as I watched the man examine the kids. He stopped every once and a while to grab onto one's arm or face to examine them. Like animals, I thought. He treats them like animals.

I had no choice but to watch the man pick through the kids before turning and leaving the room, his two guards following him. He came to another building where I watched him comfortably tuck himself into bed and sleep.

Right now, I thought. I could go in there and end it all right now. I could kill him, slit his throat and leave the rest for dead. But if I did, someone else would just rise to the top. Especially without the rest of my squadron to ensure that the man was secure. They could make sure that the kids were taken care of.

Letting out a low growl of anger at myself, I went off and found a back door to leave unlocked. No, even better, I broke the lock so that they'd have to take the time to fix it instead of just locking it.

---

I'd finally reached the camp only to find that they weren't alone. I drew a single dagger and approached the camp cautiously. When I could better make out faces, I could see Baylee talking to Mercy. Sighing, I sheathed my dagger and came into the clearing.

All eyes were on me as I approached. I took a seat besides Theo who I could tell had been waiting for me.

"What happened here?" I asked, going along with it.

"Good to see you too, Shadow," Baylee replied in a half sarcastic tone. "It seems like our missions overlapped. We were sent off just an hour after you. I was talking with you squadron here and we all agreed that working together would be for the best. So, here they are, my Squadron Four."

I was introduced to the whole of Squadron Four. There were four boys and a single girl. I was glad to see that there was at least one other archer who could work from afar besides Mila. Along with the archer, three of them use swords while the last guy used daggers. I honestly don't remember any of their names.

"So," Baylee said, after we'd all introduced ourselves, "seeing as you went out for recon, why don't you tell us what you saw?"

Nodding, I indulged them in the gruesome details of the human trafficking center.