Silhouettes of America [Completed]

35 CUNJUR | Avery

Current Time: Tuesday, 15:00 EST
Current Location: Chicago, USA - 41.8781*N, 87.6298*W

Hugo and I agreed to devise a plan as soon as they extract answers from Corinne. If she doesn’t talk, they’d be forced to do some physical torture. But if she does talk, the better.

Change is coming. I can’t wait for Hugo Pavlova to deliver his speech tomorrow.

BEEP!

My phone rang. I looked at the screen to see an unknown number giving me a call.

“Who are you?” I asked.

I heard a rough voice on the other line. “ARMOR.”

“What do you—”

“See you at the back of Grant Park, Avery Collins,” he cut me off. “Now.” The call ended.

What the hell.

I felt nervous. Is ARMOR gonna bomb the President’s national address tomorrow? I stood up and prepared myself for another battle.

xx

I hid behind a bush as soon as I arrived at the back of Grant Park. Dozens of litter scattered around the area, and there were vandalisms on the wall.

ARMOR, face me! Says one.

DON’T TAKE OFF YOUR ARMOR, ARMOR. YOU’LL DIE INSTANTLY, says another.

No face. The leader wears a mask. ARMOR is shy, says the one written in red ink like blood.

I don’t know if I’d laugh with the last one, but it does make sense.

“F*ck you ARMOR,” I murmured. The hairs on the back of my neck began to rise as cold air brushed past my skin. The lot is empty. Feeling impatient, I yelled, “You should know that I hate playing hide and seek. Show up, masked terrorists!”

A warm hand tapped my shoulder from behind. I quickly grabbed it, twisted it down and pulled the person by the collar.

“As expected from a Collin’s,” the man said, grinning.

The hell. My heart suddenly dropped upon recognizing his face. It was the same man, who, after the fight in my dad’s base, showed up and began talking to me but I eloped.

“What are you up to?” I asked. I pointed a revolver on him, incase he might be a threat. “You told me before that you’re my dad’s friend but this time, you called and told me you’re ARMOR. What kind of trick is this?”

“I know you’ll come without having a second thought if I tell you I’m ARMOR, so I did. And I guess, you’ll never run away from me this time,” he said, his thick brows twitched as he talked.

I was tongue-tied. This man right here knew how to play tricks on people. He knew how to get someone by the hook. Familiar. Dad used to train me how to read the opponent’s mind and predict their next move.

“Your father, Jacob Collins is one of the strongest disciples in ARMOR,” he said when I am in no disposition to talk. There was a different kind of fire that was burning in his teal eyes. Desire for freedom?

“He cut all ties with you to protect you,” he added.

“Wait. Who the hell are you? And why are you telling me this? What do you know about me?” I attacked him with questions. He ignored my grilling and went on with his monologue. “He swore to protect America at great lengths and that’s why he created us.”

“You’re one of the men he trained?” I asked, this time, lowering the revolver.

“Yes.”

I bit my lip. This guy could know everything about ARMOR and my dad’s plans which Colbie failed to tell me. “Can you tell me everything I need to know? Help me, please!”

He averted his gaze on the cars that passed by the road. Then he met my eyes again. “Once a soldier, always a soldier. My master is gone, and I’ll bury his secrets to the grave.”

The hell.

“You’re crazy! Can’t you see the State is crumbling? If my dad was alive, he would strive for the peace USA deserves!”

The man remained apathetic. He hauled something from his pocket and gave it to me. It was a tiny flash drive. “I’ll get on my way now. Have a nice life,” he said coldly and left.

My jaw dropped. What is this USB for?

“Wait!” I called out but he walked straight ahead and disappeared in a corner.

The hell.

If only Dino is here, then I would’ve gained instant access to what’s inside this thing. But he’s in Colorado with Luke. Poor thing. I kept the revolver back inside my jacket. I looked around me and began to walk. There could be computer shops nearby. I made a run to the main road and crossed the street. Huge stores stood beside each other. Fastfood restaurants were abundant. I haven’t seen much of Chicago before, so I asked a young boy who was carrying a few newspapers in hand, with the headlines, ‘A Speech for Peace by the US President’.

I snapped my fingers infront of him. “Hey sweetie, do you know any computer shops nearby?”

“Yes, it’s right there,” he said as he pointed on my back and told me to walk a few steps then cross a road where some Eastern Redbud trees lined. It was beside a bicycle shop.

“Thank you.” I kissed his forehead and followed the direction he gave me. I got to a computer shop and inserted the USB to the port, my fingers quivering with tense. There was only a single document inside. I opened it and saw a map of the world. Six countries were highlighted along with their names written in bold.

China
USA
North Korea
Japan
United Kingdom
Russia

C U N J U R.

I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to crack CUNJUR. Nothing came to mind. I tried to unhide the hidden files but there’s none I could get. Then it hit me …

The file name is PROJECT CUNJUR.

I gasped. These 6 countries in the world have the strongest military.

The hell.

I studied battle techniques and read books about war. I know how war-minded people used to think.

ARMOR is planning for world domination. A war between the countries with the strongest military. A world war IV.

**