The Zeta Squad, along with Vincent, reached the Eye’s Western European Outpost at noon, local time. The gang arrived at the entrance hidden behind a thick covering of trees at the Sierra Norte de Sevilla – a western mountain range of the Sierra Morena, Andalusia, Spain. Hugo knocked at the wooden door, but no one answered.

  “It doesn’t feel like anyone’s home,” said Neil.

  Camille leaned closer to Ella. “Hey, El,” she whispered. “Weren’t Outposts supposed to be bigger?”

  “Yeah,” she replied then looked at the Sokidu. “I was thinking the same thing.”

  It was just a small wooden structure stuck to the side of a mountain.

  “It’s just the entrance, you guys,” Hugo explained. “The Outpost extends within the mountain.”

  The structure was nearly impossible to find and even if someone was to stumble upon the tiny wooden entrance, the actual Outpost was always safe within the thick walls of the large mountain. What the Zeta Squad was looking at was only the reception area.

  “All of the Eye’s Outposts are hidden like this,” Gina added. Just like Hugo, she had also worked at an Outpost albeit for only a year. “They’re always deep in forests, buried underneath sand dunes, or inside mountains. The heavy density of Ki from all the natural elements keeps the places nicely camouflaged.”

  Looking at Camille and Ella, Marcus said, “That makes so much sense.”

  After several minutes, the wooden door opened. Two Sokidus welcomed the squad and took them into the Outpost. There was no one else there.

  “Where is everyone?” Hugo asked.

  “Aa, the Palace called for a change of personnel yesterday,” one of them replied. “Right now, it’s just me, Ben here, and Master Naji. Oh, and my name is Riley.”

  The duo was wearing standard Sokidu outfits, and not only did they look the same, but they also had the same dark black buzz-cut hair, chevron moustaches, and soul patches.

  “Sanders, right?” Hugo smiled. “You’re Riza’s students. He told me about the talented Sanders twins. And you guys just graduated too. Congrats on the promotions!”

  The brothers smiled. “Thank you so much, Master Baylis,” Riley said as they both bent down into a half bow.

  “Oh, and sorry to keep you all waiting out there,” Ben added, raising his head up. “We were just checking who you were. We weren’t informed of your arrival.”

  Neil then asked, “You said Naji. Faris Naji?”

  Riley nodded saying, “Yes, sir.”

  Hugo looked at the Sokidu and said, “Really? Faris is here?”

  “Yes, sir. He joined us this morning to watch over till the new resident staff arrives.”

  ‘That’s strange,’ Hugo thought. ‘I can understand Faris. He’s a better Mystic than even Dustin and Fiona – in the same league as Master Al Gohari. But why the twins? They are weak, inexperienced Sokidus who only recently graduated. Why send them to an Outpost? Doesn’t make any sense at all.’

  “How did they convince him to help?” the captain asked. “The Palace must have offered him something big.”

  “We’re not sure, Master,” Ben said with a chuckle. “He’s upstairs actually… if you wanna ask him… or not…”

  Hugo sighed. “So, you guys know who we are, right?”

  “Yes, of course, sir. You’re Master Hugo Baylis and the Zeta Squad.”

  “Right. Well, we are actually on duty right now and won’t be bothering you for long. We just need to rest up for a bit and then we’ll be gone.”

  “Of course, Master.”

  “And we’ll also have a few guests coming over by the evening. Hope that won’t be an issue.”

  “Not at all.”

  The twins directed the group to the stairs and left. With no resident staff at the Outpost, the kitchen was closed as well. So, they had gone to fetch lunch for the visitors from the nearest city.

  Upstairs, the Zeta Squad found Faris Naji – the man described as a freelance Mystic.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said with a big smile. “Hugo frikkin Baylis! What’re you doing here, brother?”

  The two embraced and shared a laugh. “Been way too long, old friend,” said Hugo. “You were the last person I would’ve expected to find here.”

  They grew up in the same neighbourhood, were batch mates, and had graduated from the same academy the same year. Later, Hugo chose to become a Sokidu and continued on to become a Zaatsu, while Faris ended up becoming a Mystic. But both men were experts of their respective fields with very few people matching them. And to top it all off, they were mentored by the best of the previous generation – where Hugo spent two years with Warren Ford, Faris spent a few more with Mustaqeem al Gohari.

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  Faris looked at the group standing behind. “So, this is your squad, huh?” He nodded. “Looking sharp. Looking sharp. How’s it going, gang?”

  They had all heard of the freelance Mystic. He was a well-known operative of the Eye albeit a bit controversial and difficult to control. His skills as a Mystic were revered across the board by one and all, friend or foe, and made the 32 year old quite famous. However, for some odd reason he had chosen to not be a part of the Parliament.

  But the gang stood stunned. The person in front of them looked nothing like the Mystic they had imagined. A baggy t-shirt and a pair of cargo pants, a baseball cap with a ponytail poking out of it and a full beard, and flip flops – he looked nothing like the Parliamentarian Mystics who were always impeccably dressed.

  “Hey, Hugo,” he said. “Your guys seem to be confused.”

  The Zaatsu giggled saying, “Would you blame them?”

  “So, anyways…” Faris turned, smiling, to face his friend, “What brings you guys here?”

  “Oh, duty. What else? I’m actually surprised to see you here. What on earth did they offer this time?”

  He laughed. “Ah, you know. In the spirit of charity and all. Parliament called asking for help. They were shuffling operatives here at the Outpost and I was in the neighbourhood. So… I mean, I thought, why not. It's just for today.”

  “Feels odd though…”

  “Hmm, you can say that again. But what’s new, bud?”

  The smiles had disappeared. “They could have at least spared a Zaatsu or a Mystic,” Hugo added. “It’s just those 2 kids, man.”

  Faris nodded. “Yeah. I am a bit perplexed myself.” With a hand on his friend’s shoulder, he smiled and said, “I’m keeping track, even if you aren’t.”

  “List must be long by now…”

  “Oho, you’ve got no idea…”

  Then everyone freshened up and gathered downstairs at the cafeteria. The twins brought lunch. People ate in groups. The Zeta Squad occupied one table and chatted all the way through the meal. Accompanying them, at the far corner of the long table, were Ben and Riley who were content with listening more than speaking. They found it hard to lose their grins. After all, they were sharing a meal with such illustrious Martial Artists.

  Faris and Hugo were sitting behind them conversing in hushed voices and whispers. Occupying the far edge of their table, four chairs away, was the White Bolt. He ate in silence.

  Finishing up his meal, Faris looked over. “You look unwell, brother,” he said, looking at Vincent. “And you haven’t said anything all this time either.”

  He nodded and kept eating. He had not been completely healed by the Eye compatriots and was still wounded from his interrogation. The Mystic got up and went and sat down right next to him. He poured him a glass of water. With closed eyes he recited a spell silently with a hand atop the glass.

  “Drink it,” he said, looking up at the bounty hunter. “It’ll help.”

  Vincent looked over and waited.

  Faris leaned ahead. “Come on, drink it,” he stressed. “Your jaw is hurting. You’ve barely eaten anything. Drink up, friend.”

  Everyone was looking at the two. Gina, sitting right behind Hugo, leaned closer and whispered, “Master Baylis, is he healing him?”

  Hugo nodded but did not say a word. And eventually, Vincent drank the water. In less than a minute, his wounds began to heal. And in no more than five minutes, many of them had healed completely, including the ones on his neck and jaw.

  “Appreciated,” he said with a nod.

  The Mystic smiled and said, “Anytime, bounty hunter.”

  Ella leaned in and whispered, “He knows Vincent?”

  Marcus looked at her. “Yeah, this guy is weird, man,” he said.

  As Faris then stood up, he picked up Vincent’s plate as well and brought it with him to his seat. Placing the plate next to his own, he looked over and said, “Come on over. Sit here with us. It’s disrespectful to eat alone. A meal should be shared.”

  He took a piece of chicken from the box in front of him and placed it in the bounty hunter’s plate. Then, he took a spoon full of yoghurt from his plate and ate it.

  “There,” he said. “Now that’s a meal.”

  Vincent smiled and slowly got up. He walked over and sat beside Faris. “I didn’t know those looking still believed in tradition,” he remarked with a smile.

  Faris laughed. “Oey you were right about this one,” he said looking at Hugo. “He’s something else.”

  With the meal done, everyone got up to head over to the barracks to get some rest. Vincent, standing next to Faris and Hugo, said, “Doesn’t it bother you?”

  They looked over. “What does?” the Zaatsu asked.

  “Feels a little too convenient that they’re reshuffling operatives today…”

  The friends shared a look before Faris looked at Vincent and said, “I have not let my guard down since you people arrived here.” Leaning closer, he added, “I have an eye on the entire area. Things have not made much sense… or in other words, things have made the wrong sense often. Discrepancies… what can I say? It’s been that way for years now.”

  “The world belongs to the enemy.” The White Bolt sighed. “Time is their friend, Mystic. Not yours. Over time, you and everyone else like you will be forgotten while they will continue to be. And they will continue to grow. The longer this drags out the more the people will forget, and there will come a time when even your own people will ask you, ‘did that even happen?’ and ‘what proof do you have?’ Victors write history, clowns… just a tale with a powerful narrative, not the truth.”

  Hugo crossed his arms and asked, “And which side are you on?”

  Ben walked over and asked, “You guys wanna wash hands or something? The bathrooms are vacant now.”

  Vincent looked at Hugo. “You waited until they all left,” he said then smiled. “Right now, both of us could afford to wait. Now that the place is vacant, we can easily go in and wash our hands. See where I’m going with this?”

  “Sitting it out,” Faris commented as he nodded. “I get where you’re going.”

  “No, you don’t.” The White Bolt looked at him. “I’m just going to the bathroom.”

  As he left, Hugo looked away. His eyes met Camille’s. She was waiting at the foot of the stairs.

  A flick of her eyes toward the bounty hunter – a quiet question.

  He tilted his head: not sure.

  She arched a brow.

  He gave the ghost of a smile, the kind only she would catch. And that was enough. She nodded, subtle as breath.

  He started to turn, but her gaze held him. Wider now.

  She looked down, then back at the Mystic beside him.

  He closed his eyes, a small shake of the head.

  This time, she nodded and went upstairs.

  Soon, everyone was upstairs inside the dormitory. A skilful whistler, Marcus soothed the gang for a while until most of them were asleep. But it was not just a lullaby. It was a breathing exercise. It calmed his nerves and regulated the air in his body helping him fall asleep. And by 2:30 p.m., seniors, juniors, and freelancers had all dozed off.