War: A Business

Chapter 60:Bonifacio

   The train is virtually empty. Only the people we saw earlier sat on the seats farthest to us, while Levi and I sat next to each other.

   Oddly about maglev trains, they ran smoothly and silently even if they are accelerating close to the speed of sound. The cars didnt even make a sound as it sofly buckled like turbulence of a airplane.
 
   The growl of the wind sofly echoes through the whole train. I felt it further accelerating, going faster every second.

  I adjusted my holster discreetly, underneath my polo shirt. Thankfully, in this country, it is legal to carry weapons.

   I stared at the window. The sky's complexion gradually transformed into cerulean, allowing the grasslands to slowly appear from the darkness.

"Pretty fast, right?" He said, tapping his fingers on his thigh.

"Yeah." I answered."I haven't rode one of these since I was deployed."

"How long had you've been deployed?"

  I scratched my chin, trying to remember." About three months, I guess."

"What company?"

"Sons of War." I blurted out. Why did I say that? This is supposed to classified information.

"I know what you're thinking." He chided."You can trust me. I won't tell anyone; we're both soldiers, remember?"

"Sure." I exhaled a sigh of relief.

"The world's sure going to hell in a hand basket. Conflicts in South America, Middle East, the Arctic Region, Europe, Oceania, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and even right inside of our borders." He sighed. "What conflict are you rotated to?"

"Here." I answered bluntly.

"So, you and your men are now guarding the construction of the Intramuros De Norte from hostile militant elements, right?"

"Yes."

  He suddenly knock on my metallic prosthetic legs.

"Nice legs." He complimented.

"Thanks, I guess?"

"What happened?"

"I was shot on both my legs."

"Oh."

  Then, the train suddenly deccelerated gradually. I looked on the window. Buildings begin to appear on the edge of the countryside. The orange and white lights of the city resembled dim stars, lighting up the early morning.

  I felt the train going even slower. We are now inside the city's borders. Buildings in every shape and size are spread out neatly in rows, between the rows are roads and trees between them. The traffic is running smoothly because there are less cars than in the mainland.

  We stopped at the city's only train station. All of the doors opened with a sharp hiss. The sound of the doors locked in place signaled the rest to rush out of the train.

  We walked out without hurry. I looked at the time displayed on the large digital clock hanging on the center of the ceiling.

  The time is 4:13 am. Still early in the morning.

  We passed the empty chairs and got inside the building. The inside is more glamorous than I imagined. It has a domed glass roof, to let natural light in. The whole place is spacious; clearly designed to service many passengers. Counters were lined up on the far end of the station. The indoor garden is surrounded by small cafes.

  As we approach the wide glass doors, I saw heavily armored and armed personnel patrolling the corridors. I noticed that there are surveillance cameras with machine guns attached at every conceivable corner. Drones equipped with machine guns floated above us.

  The doors, guarded by a security guard armored with power-armor, opened automatically.

   We walked down the stairs, towards the sidewalk. After we exit the premises, we sat on the nearest wood and steel bench.

  "Security is tight." He remarked.

"Yeah." I agreed. "Why though?"

"Remember the terrorist attack at this station three years ago?"

  A memory of this station burning in flames on the news suddenly popped up inside my head.

"Yeah." I recalled." The Lotus organization did it, right?"

"Yes." He answered.

"I remembered fighting them in Kazakhstan."

"Wait, did they go that far?" He exclaimed."But they're literally a country away from them. How did they cross that?"

"We dont know either, all we know is that, they destroyed the wall between Kazakhstan and the Sino-Russian Dead Zone. Our investigative branch are still investigating it."

"These days, everything is possible."

"Right."

"Who will book our trip?"

"I will." He volunteered. Then, he got quiet, working on his Holo."Done."He said after a while.

  The man holding a leather briefcase we saw earlier placed himself on the bench on the other side of the stairs.

"The ride will be here shortly." He announced.

   After a while, a car, colored with matte pink, stopped in front of us.

"That's our ride?" I grinned, trying not to laughed.

"Yup." He answered.

"Nice taste." I jester.

"Shut up." He jokingly retaliated.

  We rode in the car. I placed myself on the shotgun seat. He sat on the back. Our driver is actually a robot.

  Then, it accelerated. We cruised smoothly on the roads. Even in this provincial city, it still feels like I'm in the countryside. Maybe because it still has a large amount of space between buildings, or the number of vintage, Chinese settlements oddly blending in a urban setting, or the large number of vegetation compared to other cities.
 
  After traveling from road to road, we  stopped in front of a large church. Levi and I stepped out of the car. As soon as we got out, the taxi had already left.

"Did you pay for it?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered.

  I stared at the church. The exterior is minimalistic. Made of either stone or concrete, this place resembles a fortress more than a church, if not for the wooden doors and a brown wooden cross embedded within the front of the walls of the church.

  Then, Levi opened the two wooden doors.