XXIV ‖ call of duty

LONDON
February
Location: Elysium, Lethe

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Jax didn't try to approach further after being pushed away and I refused to carry on with the topic. He only let out a sigh as silence settled tensely between us. The air surrounding us felt so brittle that it threatened to shatter, and if it doesnt, I might.

Keeping my gaze down, I wished I could churn up some excuses to get me out of this place but I waited tor Jax to say something. After all, he's my mentor.

"Pick up your dagger and come towards the mats," Jax said, impassive. 

He removed his hands from me and stood from the gym seat while I cursed deep in my heart that I still had to face him and bear with all the awkwardness for at least an hour because he hadn't called off the training like I hoped he would. But I also realised that beyond my fragile self, I'm still part of Elysium and no one would wait around to care for your emotions because the next mission might just be your funeral if you skipped on any possible training days.

My gaze went towards Jax and saw that he walked towards the training mat without turning his head back even once. All the warmth that existed a moment ago left with him and dread pushed against me like an invisible gale, rooting my feet towards the ground and keeping me from running towards him to pull him back. The apology that formed against my mouth forced my chest into a tight squeeze but I inhaled deeply and tightened my jaw to make sure that I don't act in any way I wasn't ready for. Gripping my dagger, I dragged myself towards the training arena.

He trained me like how he normally would, punctilious and with patience. My mind conflicted against all that had happened ago while still trying to stay neutral and professional. To be honest, an hour had never felt so arduous but I managed somehow. At the end of it, all the muscles in my body were taut into a near cramp and I panted erratically to catch my breath.

"Take five and we'll spar," he said, only slightly breathless.

"Spawn of Hades," I muttered unhappily in a barely audible voice. 

My comment dissolved into the silence before a burst of laughter sounded and Jax grinned, "Not correct but I'll take that as a compliment." 

He screwed his bottle of water and rested it back on the bench while I lay on the mats still trying to get rid of the burn in my chest every single time I tried inhaling air. The only thing was that his light-hearted laughs from a moment ago had tore down the heavy tensity that sat in between us and I couldn't help but smile. 

"I'm sorry," I breathed. 

"You never had to apologise, sweetness," he responded. 

"Why are you so insistent on me and willing to put up with all my shit?" I asked. 

"I already said," he talked with a paced tone. "It's all because it's you." 

"Jax, I will never understand if you don't explain everything to me."

"I can't, latreía mou." 

My heart would shudder whenever he called me that even though I had no idea what it meant. For odd reasons, it felt personal, as though that term of endearment was reserved by him for me and it belonged solely to me. Yet, there was no point asking him about us when I kept getting the same rejection all the time. I sighed, "At the very least,  explain what is it that you're always calling me?" 

"Hmm," he raised his brows amusingly and his lips curved up playfully, still refusing to give me a slightest hint. 

In response, I scowled at him, "You better not be scolding me." 

"You know I wouldn't do that," he chuckled. Picking up his dagger, he stepped into the training mats once again. I had wanted to grumble out a complain and call for an additional moment of rest before my brace vibrated on my wrist and I looked towards the line of texts that had formed itself on the screen. 

My eyes went straight to the sum listed for bounty. "What—" I didn't finish my sentence because I had lost all the vocabulary to spew. 

"Iva," Jax called my name, concerned.

"I've never seen such a huge payout," I gasped, lifting my gaze to meet his. 

"Your focus is all wrong, sweetness," he rolled his eyes. "Do you even see who we're dealing with this time?" 

"Well, I had thought it would be Pelleas." 

"You don't want to go against Pelleas," he frowned. 

"Why not? For a devil, that diabolo has a pretty exotic and handsome face," I joked. 

"You're not serious," he exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. 

"Of course not," I laughed, pushing myself up to stand. "Don't be so serious, partner. We have a mission waiting." 

"Cheeky, aren't you?" 

"Never said I wasn't," I grinned. 

The ghost of a smile glinted across his charming face and I internally protested at the unfairness of his attractiveness that sent my heart on a little tango. Despite that, we quickly packed and left the gym. 

◩

Time Elapsed: 00:10:25 | 10:45:19 AM

Instead of heading to the weapons room like the standard procedure for normal missions, we headed to the planning room instead. The screens lit up when we entered and a voice sounded from the system. "Hey, Iva." 

"Seth?" I was slightly surprised.

"Yes, it's me," he laughed lightly. "I'm appointed to be the back support for both of you and all necessary information would be displayed on the screen in a moment. However, I failed to pin and track Myerscough's location. Jaxen, please advise." 

"Let me try." 

◩

Time Elapsed: 01:05:46 | 11:40:40 AM

"I have bypassed the critical security and would be able to access her location soon," Seth mentioned through the system. "I'm going to fix a keylogger on her device." 

"Don't," Jax advised, his fingers moved swiftly across the on-screen system and halted Seth's attempt to programme. "A direct fixing would alert and activate the fail-safe operation of their system. Not only would that scramble the device's keystrokes and it would also blow our cover. Install a rootkit first to disable the system security logs and conceal the keylogger." 

"Which variant?" Seth asked. 

"Kernel." 

"The installation is too complex and I won't be able to execute that in time," Seth responded, sounding perplexed. 

"Do it, regardless. That's the only way to cover our tracks within their system. With the root access, we can shut down their system before they can strike back." 

"Sounds like a perfect plan, but there isn't enough time," Seth repeated. 

"Not when I'm here," Jax responded confidently and started to set up a series of code on his screen. "Hop on in, Seth." 

◩

Time Elapsed: 09:48:34 | 8:23:28 PM

Almost ten hours had passed and both of them finally reached the last phase of fixing the programme into the opposing system. I didn't understand what they're doing but while they were both preoccupied by that, I busied myself with all the information that Seth had installed on display. 

Lillian Myerscough. A superior diabolo. 

Jax had explained that diabolos don't hide like cacs. They're nearly the most prominent individuals of the upper-class society because they would require the wealth and power to shelter cacs. In short, they're the monarchs of their colony and they blend into the high social society in order to strengthen their stronghold on the surface. Definitely, Lillian is notoriously famous from the amount of news coverage as her being the 'billionaire widow's daughter'. Humans seemed to be obsessed about her life as much as they're crazy about the Hollywood stars. 

Leaning my back against the chair, I pondered hard, knowing that it would be difficult to stage a murder since she would pulverize into nasty dust upon elimination. Tapping the tip of my index finger idly on my lower lip and I allowed the thoughts to jumble in my head as I tried my hardest to think of ways to cover our tracks. A disappearance, maybe? 

"Successful installation," a robotic female voice congratulated. "Successful keylog scan. Target location obtained, tracking in process." 

"Well done, Seth," Jax mentioned, a proud smile lifted in his expression. 

"Same goes to you, Jaxen," Seth heaved a sigh of relief. 

"Don't be a stranger, call me Jax," he laughed softly and stood up from his seat to stretch. When he raised his arms, I stared towards the lifted hem of his shirt and my eyes fixed themselves on the attractiveness of his abs and the aesthetically-pleasing deep adonis belt that traced down to an uncharted territory. My throat constricted as I worked on a swallow. 

"I can remove my top if you want to have a peek," Jax grinned boyishly, lifting his shirt in a tantalizing manner. 

"Um, I— alright," I almost succumbed and when I realised what I had just uttered I grew terribly flustered and tried to explain, "W-Wait, no. I don't—" 

"Just a reminder, Iva, I'm still here," Seth mentioned. 

"Gods above!" I cursed. 

Jax laughed and moved towards the door. He said, "I'm going to freshen up with a shower, be right back." 

When he closed the door behind him, I was left with Seth alone in the room and I was busy trying to suppress the blush on my face. "You can join him," Seth teased through the sound system and I wished so badly that I could punch him right now. 

"I already showered, charmer," I smiled, though the pulse on my temper twitched in annoyance. "Having fun teasing me, huh?" 

"I plead for mercy," Seth surrendered. 

"Denied," I clicked my tongue in a curt manner. 

◩

Time Elapsed: 12:00:07 | 10:35:01 PM

"Selected your weapons already?" Jax asked. 

"Pistol and dagger done," I replied. "I'm in need of a rifle." 

"Any preference?" 

"No, suggest something for me," I grinned. 

"Use the same as mine then," Jax handed his fitted rifle to me while listing out the features. I fiddled the rifle around and examined it. "TR-1 Ultralight, 14.5" barrel, fitted with BCM pistol grip, vertical foregrip, PRI compensator. It uses 15-round PMAG extension. Lastly, this beaut has a mounted Trijicon accupoint providing 1-6 magnification." 

I was enjoying the comfort and weight of this assault rifle. Just to check, I asked, "Sturdiness and precision?" 

"Guaranteed." 

"Perfect," I smiled, attaching a gun sling onto the rifle and swung it over my shoulder. 

Jax turned towards the cabinet to grab another pair for himself before handing me a set of a magazine. He explained, "This set has imbued apotropaic symbol. We'll need it." Pausing a little, he softened and said, "If anything, know that I'm with you in this, sweetness." 

"Understood," I responded. 

Perhaps, I haven't grasped the seriousness of actually fighting a diabolo because I couldn't understand the worry etched in Jax's expression. He looked at me with a nervous look and I knew that all these was only a start to my life in Lethe. And it's either I make it out alive or I don't. 

"I'm ready, let's go," I said. As I turned, I closed my eyes for a brief moment and braced my heart, hoping that this won't be the last night I would see the light of the world. 

 ◩  

my lovebirds on a badass mission. *wink*