Support_Five
patreon
CHAPTER 6: I have become the Child Emperor
🕑 Added 2023-06-05 21:29:51 +0000 UTCDeep within the Capital, hidden beneath a seemingly ordinary bookstore, lay a secret safehouse of the revolutionary army mostly used by Night Raid members. And within its confines, a man could be found slumped over and extremely drunk, tears streaming down his face as he clutched tightly his liquor bottle. His incoherent mutterings were barely audible to anyone but himself. The room was cluttered with empty bottles, a testament to the man's days-long drinking binge.
The man was none other than Ben, a valuable member of the revolutionary army's intelligence unit based in the Capital. He was also a close friend of Annie and aside from her, the only people who knew his true identity were Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army’s higher-ups.
The recent events had taken a heavy toll on him. After a young and naive member had fallen prey to Budo's ploy, several of their spy networks were exposed, and numerous spies were killed.
FLASHBACK:
"Fool! He's doomed us all! Why didn't he listen? I told them to stay lowkey!" Ben exclaimed, fear evident in his voice. Guards were seen running all around the Capital, storming houses of suspected spies. The piercing screams of multiple individuals occasionally filled the air, some even begged for mercy as they were being dragged to no doubt a gruesome fate.
"Never mind that now, Ben. You need to hide," Annie said, pulling Ben away from the window. She removed a rag from the floor, revealing a hidden compartment.
"Listen to me, Ben. No matter what happens, you must not leave this room," Annie stated with a serious tone. The loss of human spies was one thing, but if Ben was caught or killed, it would completely decimate their intelligence gathering ability. As long as Ben survived, the Revolutionary Army had a chance to recover.
"But what about you? We could hide here together," Ben stammered.
Annie's words were firm and unwavering. "I can't do that, Ben. Sooner or later, someone will reveal my identity and this location to the soldiers. Aside from Night Raid and the Revolutionary higher-ups, no one knows your identity. The members of our spy network only know that someone can control rodent-type danger beasts. It's done that way to prevent your death. You are the centerpiece of this operation. As long as you're alive, we can rebuild our structure inside the Capital. It might take longer, but it's possible. As the only person who knows your identity, it's my responsibility to keep you safe."
"But you will die!" Ben exclaimed, wide-eyed.
Annie gave a weak smile and said, "I took this job knowing that I could die. I have fully accepted that fate." She then quickly pushed Ben towards the hidden compartment and said, "When our allies break, they will point to this place and I will take the blame so that the soldiers will stop searching. You must not leave this place until a member of Night Raid personally comes to pick you up. There are supplies here for you to live off of for a few days. Do you understand me?"
Ben could only nod in response.
"Take care, Ben. Know that we're doing this for the new empire. An empire where the people have power and a chance for a better life. Also, don't get too drunk that you'll die from alcohol poisoning," Annie said sarcastically, with a smile on her face. She knew that Leone had stored multiple bottles of alcohol inside the hideout, and with everything that had happened, Annie knew that Ben would start drinking due to the trauma of it all. Survivor's guilt could be a damaging thing, after all.
Annie closed the compartment and used the rug to hide the passage. She arranged the store properly, making it look like business as usual. She stood behind the reception counter and waited for her eventual capture, fully aware that she had just sacrificed her life to keep the Revolutionary Army's intelligence unit alive.
RETURN TO PRESENT:
Ben’s muttering suddenly stopped when he noticed the compartment door opening. He slowly lifted his head and stared at the individual walking towards him.
“Looks like someone has way too much to drink. I’m gonna have to bill you for that,” Leone stated jokingly as she walked down the compartment and scanned Ben with multiple alcohol bottles near him.
“We need to hurry, Leone. Now that we have found Ben, we need to get out of here,” Mine shouted from the top floor of the bookstore. The bookstore was used by Lubbock as his cover in the Capital, but after a spy was captured there, all documents pointed to Lubbock as the owner which in turn made him a suspected spy, resulting in his wanted poster being plastered everywhere. Now this also had the unfortunate result of reducing the number of Night Raid members that can enter the Capital to 2, which are Leone and Mine.
Najenda had been anticipating this moment ever since Leone reported seeing multiple bodies hanging at the gates of the Capital. As soon as they received word that the Lockdown had been lifted, she knew that the situation was dire. After confirming that Ben had not been among the casualties, she immediately assigned Mine and Leone to form a team and locate him.
“Stand up, Ben, we need to move. Najenda told us to pick you up and get you out of here,” Leone stated, trying to lift Ben up, but he immediately pushed her away.
“I am not leaving! I have a job to finish,” Ben stated with anger in his voice. He tried to stand up but was too drunk to keep himself steady on his feet, causing him to fall back down to the floor.
“Oh, boy,” Leone muttered. She understood what Ben was going through, but now was not the time to have a pity-party. They didn’t want to be discovered in the bookstore, as that might blow their cover with the Empire. Every minute they stayed in the bookstore was dangerous.
“What do you mean you're not leaving?” Leone asked.
“I will gather information for the Revolutionary Army within the Capital. You guys being here just means that the lockdown has been lifted, and I can resume doing my job, and that also means I leave this place,” Ben slurred drunkenly as he tried to pick himself up.
"Listen, Ben," Leone said, her voice calm yet urgent. "We're here to help you, but we need to go now. If we stay here, we're putting ourselves and everyone else in danger. Do you want the sacrifices of all those people who died to be in vain? What about Annie? Do you want her suffering to mean nothing?"
With the mention of Annie's name, Ben's eyes filled with tears, and he stared at the floor. "I warned them," he muttered.
"I know you did, Ben," Leone replied, her tone softening. She put a hand on his shoulder, but then suddenly punched him in the stomach, causing him to lose consciousness.
Time was critical, she didn’t have extra moments to spare just to fully console Ben.
"Well, if it works, that's still good," Mine stated with amusement as she saw Leone carry Ben out of the compartment.
"He's too drunk to move by himself, and staying here for too long is not to my liking," Leone explained as she scanned the surroundings. Seeing that no one was watching them, they immediately left the bookstore and went to the nearest alley. Deciding that carrying Ben outside the gates would be risky in the middle of the day, the duo rented a room and waited until midnight before attempting to escape the Capital.
A few hours later, Najenda asked Leone, "How's Ben?"
"He's still sleeping," Leone replied.
"That's good. I've talked with the higher-ups, and I will personally take Ben to meet them. After a few weeks or half a year at most, they think they can re-establish the intelligence unit, and Ben will be sent out again," Najenda said as she lit a cigarette.
