"All the world's a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed."
Number Thirty-One
Tired, Krad grudgingly decided to go back to the facility. Running around the city did him some good; he was able to spend the rest of the afternoon in serenity. Away from the headaches, away from the troubles. Plus, he was able to flirt his way through several restaurants and eat his fill, and he was also able to score some company in the League. He was relieved that despite the lack of practice, he was still sociable enough to mingle with normal people. However, being in places filled with food and music backfired on him.
Shame.
He missed eating home-cooked meals, not to mention yapping at a certain girl for always being irresponsibly late for her voice rehearsals.
Food and music. Her. Just great. Why was it so easy to find something that would remind him of her, yet it's painstakingly difficult to not think about her?
As he jogged near the gates, he noticed that a black van with no plate numbers was approaching him, followed by men in motorcycles. Escorts. Friggin luck.
The King of Zombie land had just arrived.
Krad was just about to do a one hundred eighty degree turn when one of the heavily-tinted windows slid down, and Cecilia's head popped out. Another headache. Shit.
"Oy! Gneiss! Where do you think you're going?" she shouted as the van parked right in front of him, forcing him to acknowledge one of the top ranking people in his Have-To-Avoid List.
"None of your business," he said smoothly, lips in a thin line.
Cecilia did a girlish giggle that spelled disaster. "You can't go. If you do, you're not going to be back tonight or tomorrow. You're going to go MIA. I don't want that."
He hadn't planned that far, but heck, what could he say? He had no choice but to stay away from the facility with all those people inside it. Even if it meant he had to get a plane and go to another State.
"I can See you, Gneiss," she warned with an eerie grin. "I can See the truth."
Truth.
Krad steeled himself and flipped her a bird. "Stick your nose where it belongs, old hag."
He saw 03 sitting beside the woman, and the Japanese guy was staring at him with that annoyingly unfathomable expression of his. This facility had too many an Equation already, and he didn't like that. Not with the King of the Zombies lurking round. To hell with him. To hell with everyone.
Cecilia gave an exasperated sigh. "Come on. Stop being stubborn. You're only to make my sweet niece worry."
Well, if she put it that way...
"I'm her bodyguard, not her nanny," he snapped. "And if you don't hurry now, you'll miss seeing her before her operation. Stop wasting my time."
"Gah." Cecilia stepped out of the van. Despite wearing strappy sandals, she was able to close the distance between her and Krad and grab onto his arm – a feat seemingly impossible given Krad's quick reflexes. "If you don't want me telling the world your secrets, you better come, you brat."
A devil! How could she stoop so low?
"I don't care," he lied.
"Really?"
"Fine," he grumbled hesitantly. "But I'll walk. You don't have to give me a lift."
"Okay. Problem solved," she agreed happily. She released him and turned to 03 who looked bored sitting alone at the backseat. "Arashi, can you make sure he doesn't run off somewhere?"
Krad clenched his fists. "What exactly are you playing at?"
Cecilia's face morphed from mischievous to plain silly. "No-thing," she sang. "It's just that young agents these days amuse me. Don't kill each other, okay? My brother will have to talk with the two of you later. He just doesn't know it now. Adieu."
The van sped away, leaving the two dumbfounded agents in the sidewalk. Everything happened so unexpectedly that Arashi didn't even have the chance to react.
"What a bitch," Krad muttered before he started walking towards the facility, hand in his pockets. 03 warily followed a couple of meters behind him, his face bearing no signs of protest or resentment or anything. Yeah, Zombie King indeed.
The few blocks felt like an eternity with 03 staring openly at the back of his head. He wanted to run the rest of the way, but he'd rather play it cool than let the other Equation know how much he got under his skin.
He listened intently to the sounds of cars and civilians around them. It was better than hearing the crunch of boots behind him.
"She's childish, isn't she?"
The man known to be as tight-lipped as a statue was making small talk. Huh. Miracle.
"You're talking now?"
"I want to know something," 03 spoke evenly. "Is your memory back?"
The buzz of the city disappeared. Krad felt that the question was something he would regret if he answered.
"I don't give a dam– "
03 interrupted him sharply. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But first, I have to tell you what I discovered."
Krad paused mid-step at the seriousness of 03's tone. Sighing, he resigned and made a beeline towards the fast food chain they just passed. He occupied one of the plastic chairs outside the store. "Make this fast."
03 leaned on the table, arms crossed; staring impassively at each of the cars that drove passed them.
"I... found the former 02," he started uncomfortably. "Or rather, he found me."
Krad closed his eyes and breathed through his mouth. He didn't like the sound of that. "And?"
"The war isn't over. The real boss of the Light is making a move."
"The real boss?" His eyes snapped open, a feeling of dread rising from the pits of his gut. "I thought he was eliminated."
"It was a fake. The real one is still at large."
As long as the roots were not taken out, the battle would never cease. History would only repeat itself, and unfortunately, the number of Rare Kinds in the world had been steadily decreasing. If this continues, soon the concept of being Gifted would be extinct. "Have you informed the Master?"
"Of course," 03 deadpanned, "I came here to give him the full details. Too risky to tell it via phone. The line can be easily rigged."
Yes, measures should be taken. Krad wondered if the facility here had enough security to protect someone as precious as Faye. He had to review the plans and the strategies implemented and see through the loopholes.
"Are you sure that we can trust this informer? He could be setting us in a trap. He betrayed Creed once. He could do it again."
"You don't know the whole story." 03 faced him with murder in his eyes. There was more to this mess; the trouble ran deeper than anyone had ever imagined. Krad could only channel his frustration through his labored breaths. It was obvious that as soon as the Master gives the go signal, he would be out hunting some pests. Maybe it was for the better.
"What's the catch? Why are you telling me this? The Master will brief me as soon as you give him a full report. You didn't have to isolate me."
"I owe you one."
"What do you mean?"
"I had to pay you back for saving my life."
"Nonsense."
03 shook his head, dismayed by Krad's attitude. His patience was at its limit, not to mention that time was an enemy. "The Master won't be telling you this, but I think you have the right to know. You'll have to listen carefully to what I say."
Krad studied the man. He didn't trust him either. He had no reason to. They were far from friends. Truth be told, 03 was the last person in the universe he would ever get along with. He was everything Krad was not. 03 might be a man of few words, but he's very frank not only with regards to his thoughts, but to his feelings as well. He was a man who valued friendship, unlike Krad who had trust issues. Most of all, he was the man who was able to keep Faye's smile.
It was his existence that Krad hated the most.
"I'll judge whether to believe or not."
"That's enough."
03 pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jean pocket and handed it over to Krad. It was a picture of a sinister-looking man with scarred cheeks...
"Falcon," Krad whispered inaudibly, pale with disbelief. "It can't be. Falcon is dead. He died –"
"No. The explosion was simply his means of escape. He's alive. He's the founder of Light."
"This is insanity."
03 shook his head. "That's barely the gist of it. I discovered something... one of the Master's secrets accidentally. I'm telling you this because this concerns you. And to be honest, I'm confused as hell."
"What are you talking about?"
"Falcon is an experimental superhuman."
"That's old news," Krad stated flatly. "I've encountered him dozens of times, engaged him in fights for who knows how many times. I know that he's artificially enhanced for combat."
"That's not all. His ability to manipulate electricity came from a lab, but he had another one."
"What?"
"He is Gifted by birth too. Meaning, he possesses two special abilities. Ivan didn't find out Falcon's true Gift, but we both suspect that he is the main reason why you lost your memory. He did something to you –"
Krad scrutinized the criminal in the picture. Looking closer, he lost all sense of reality when he realized that something was written on the chain necklace hanging on the man's neck.
"M-Meric?" His eyes were wide.
03 appraised him. This was the most crucial and threatening among all the information he had gathered. "I wanted to ask you about that. Falcon's real name is Meric Underwood. How are you two related?"
"I-I don't understand," Krad stammered. The muscles on his arms were taut. His mouth could barely tolerate the sudden dryness that the news brought about.
"All files about him are either destroyed or corrupted. I figure that if your memory is back--"
"It can't be -- Meric is... Meric is my father's name."
*
Unedited