The Peasant

.6

.06

The peasant

“How are you feeling Shima?

“Better now, thanks”

“You remember what we discussed?”

“Yeah, don’t worry I know the plan; I honestly can’t wait to ditch these guys they are no good.”

She professed, looking at Keyon as he helped her along. The two of them navigating through a alley toward the southside.

“They serve a purpose in the grander scheme of things. Plus, neither you nor I can encrypt the information needed on the passports like Seth can. So, it’s important that we put up with them for the time being.”

He gazed at her momentarily, then to the mouth of the alley ahead of him. Just on the other side was the group's hideout, an abandoned warehouse within spitting distance from the docks in Coastal Garden's southern district. The few windows it had were boarded up and decorated with New Aurora markings to scare away any would-be squatters. Walking out of the alley, still aiding Shima, he looked around for any signs of patrol units making their rounds.

“I should be able to walk on my own now.”

She pulled away from Keyon and started to walk on her own, Her fatigue subsiding. When the coast was clear the two crossed the road and maneuvered around the barricades surrounding the hideout. While Shima kept watch, Keyon removed debris covering the basement entrance. Entering the bulkhead and descending a flight of weathered stairs, toward another door that hung crooked. With the squeaking metal and the grinding of rust, a room appeared before Keyon and Shima. A room warmly illuminated by an old fashion oil powered lamp. This warehouse had become home to the group over the past two weeks. That all changed the moment Keyon stepped foot through the door’s threshold. The sensation of cold steel pressed against Keyon’s temple and the hammer of the gun cocked back. A cold shiver ran down Shima’s spine, but she remained composed. Shifting her eyes to the side, looking at the gun pointed directly at her.

“Keyon, Shima, stand down”

Roland along with Seth too found themselves at gunpoint, patiently waiting for the arrival of the two of them. Unaware of what was going on and not wanting to expose his and Shima’s abilities, Keyon eased up. Fighting his instincts to draw his sword, he showed restraint knowing he wasn’t at their mercy. He took a moment to look over in Shima’s direction to make sure she complied as well.

“You guys can put your guns down now; I think they understand the gravity of the situation. But please do not be alarmed despite the theatrics we come in peace.”

A man a little into his twenties assured the group, flicking ashes from his cigarette onto the floor of the hideout. Finally stepping out of the shadows of the corner, revealing himself for the first time to Roland and the others. He adjusted his tie and slicked back his dark brown hair as he took another puff of his cigarette. Approaching the group, he took a long look at Keyon and Shima before taking a seat facing Roland and Seth. The man’s henchmen followed his orders, lowering their weapons but keeping them ready.

“Why don’t you tell your friends to come on over, I don’t bite.”

He politely asked Roland, who looked at Keyon and Shima as the two calmly walked over toward the table. Taking his seat at the table Keyon stared down the man, who in return did not look back or contest his gaze but simply continued to puff away at his cigarette as it quickly neared its end.
“Bruno, you stay here, the others, y’all go patrol the neighborhood and make sure everything is right as rain.”

The well-kept gentleman casually ordered his henchmen as they fell in line like good soldiers. One by one they cleared the room, all except Bruno who stood tall behind his boss. The man put out his cigarette breaking a long pause of silence and explained the situation.

“My name is Lorenzo Ortega, and for reasons I cannot get in to, I'm here in your hideout, and what a beautiful hideout it is.”
he looked around, chuckling to himself, he observed the dingy state of the group's living quarters.

“What is important is that I’m here because you have something that I want and I? Well, I have something you need. You see your little friend over there has a certain something in his possession that could prove useful to me in gaining favor with a certain friend of mine.”
“Even if we did have a certain something for this friend of yours what makes you think we would just hand it over to you?”

Roland watched Lorenzo closely, occasionally glancing over at the behemoth of a man that was Bruno. Who did this little brat think he was, did he not know who he was trying to pull a fast one on. The more he stared at Lorenzo’s cocky smirk the more he wanted to put a hole in his head.

“Does the name Avalon Hex ring a bell?”

His eyes shifting in Seth’s direction, then over toward the group leader , watching his scrunched-up face ease up into a look of confusion. To Lorenzo it was obvious that Roland had no clue what he was talking about. But Seth on the other hand, Seth had a telling look on his face that was visible for all to see. Roland noticed it too, watching his subordinate go over in his mind how this man knew about Avalon Hex.

“Seth who is he talking about?”

His cold black eyes narrowing in on Seth, waiting for his subordinate to Answer. Lorenzo leaned back in his chair, grazing his fingers across his chin, he watched the scene unfold.

“It's the person that been feeding us intel about New Aurora and even tipped us off about the passports in the first place.”

“My gift to you.”

“Gift!? Seems like you had us do the heavy lifting just so you could pull this stunt.”

“Let’s not be hypocritical now Roland, its no different than what you just pulled off. Just a little less messy if you ask me.”

He casually retorted, finally looking in the direction of Keyon and Shima, aware of the mess they left behind in their pursuit of the passports. A feat that further showcased Lorenzo’s extensive information network.

“I know why you and your group need the passports, I know why you are going to Busaya, should be a good show.”

“How do you know about the gathering in Busaya?”

“That is not important, what is important is the now. I have business to attend to in Busaya. In return for the one passport, I can provide a guide, transport and refuge once inside the city's dome. A small price to pay to have your name written in the history books.”

“What if I refuse?”

“Then you refuse, I find another way into Busaya. You, well if you're lucky enough to get out of the colony, the journey to Busaya is not easy. Especially since a wanted group such as you fine people won't be taking the more heavily patrolled traditional routes. You could find yourself up shit's creek without a guide and could run into all manner of wild beasts. Or heavens forbid run into places contaminated with E.V.”

“What do you mean if we’re lucky to leave the colony? If we don’t give in, what are you going to put a hit out on us? Don’t make me laugh, you have been watching too many of them old world movies if you ask me. Good stuff, but let’s stop playing pretend.”

“I told you before I come in peace, now the New Aurora armed forces heading down to put the colony on lockdown are a different story. But before you ask how I know; just know I have someone with the in on New Aurora activities and the word has been sent down the pipeline. A platoon will be arriving in the morning with another detachment arriving the following evening. So, you are more than welcome to take your chances on your own. Or you can take a chance on me and bet on a sure thing.”

it was becoming clear to everyone present that this man was more than he seemed. For now, the group's hands were tied, and Lorenzo was right. The journey from Coastal Garden to Busaya was not for the faint of heart. Wild beasts stalk behind every corner and set up nests in the dense forests and swamps. While on the main routes, New Aurora armed forces patrolled the areas looking for rebels and organization members alike. But the biggest threat to not only Roland and his group but to all humans was the mysterious Estrella Venenosa. A spaceborne pathogen that caused flora and fauna to evolve rapidly. Some even developing hive mind-like mentalities, pushing the human species to the bottom of the food chain. For humans on the other hand, E.V. exposure corrupted the mind and over time a person exposed to it would become feral.

“So, if we are in agreement I suggest that you guys' pack what you need and encrypt your passports because were leaving now.”

“Keyon, go ahead and give him one of the passports”

Roland commanded his teammate, Keyon silently reached into the inside breast pocket of his jacket. Pulling a stack of seven passport modules out, handing one to Lorenzo and the remainder to Seth for encryption.

“Meet me at the bridge leading to the colony center in one hour, I suggest you use that time wisely because we won’t be able to backtrack if you forget something.”

With the first part of the plan established Lorenzo along with Bruno made their exit. Leaving the group to gather not only what they needed for the journey to Busaya, but also themselves.

“What happened while we were getting the passports?”

Shima, along with Keyon and the others stood up from the table to start prepping.

“They were here waiting for us once we returned from the operation. We walked right into an ambush.”

“One of them had a barrel literally up my nose.”

Seth interjected into the conversation as Roland explained what unfolded in her absence. Keyon remained silent and distant from the others as he wandered off toward his room. He didn’t want to waste any time talking about how things came about. He just wanted to make sure that no more mishaps got in the way of the mission. The explosion earlier was sloppy work and could have been avoided. Now they had a colony full of Soldiers to deal with, thanks to his overly passionate leader.

On the outside it didn’t show, but Roland’s diversion bothered him. Bringing up emotions he thought were buried. While the other talked about things outside of their control. He remained focused on what he could control and started getting the things he needed together.

Outside of the hideout some distance down the road Lorenzo along with his right-hand man Bruno gathered with the other members of his outfit.

“Good work boys, y’all should be proud of yourself the plan went off without a hitch. despite the lockdown going into effect, which I might add may end up helping us with a plan I’ve been working on.”

“But what do you expect from a radical group of Lunatics? Itchy trigger fingers and an undying thirst to blow everything up.”

“Should’ve had a look at what those two did to Serenade’s boys and the shopkeeper.”

“But the beauty of the whole situation is that none of it can lead back to us.”

Another member of the entourage inserted into the conversation. The whole outfit lavished in the victory of a well-executed plan; Lorenzo smiled at the collection of misfits he called his family.

“Settle down y’all we still have a long way to go, we can celebrate once I get back from Busaya. We can talk about the rest of this later, it is best that we get out of the open and head to the safehouse by the bridge.”

The group nodded in unison before splitting up in different directions but all heading to the same destination. Leaving Lorenzo and Bruno standing on the corner, before they started walking their way toward the safehouse.

“The guys are right you know. That was good planning on your part. Preventing serenade from getting hold of the passports was a huge win, but to walk away with a passport with such short notice was simply masterful”

“I couldn’t have done it without the assistance and skills of you and the others.”

There was a long pause between the two friends before Lorenzo spoke again.

“Bruno...it’s important that you look out for the family while I'm away. Anything could happen between here and Busaya and running with these lunatics isn’t good for my health if you know what I mean.”

“That explosion in the colony center killed a father and his child. These guys are bad news Lorenzo.”

Lorenzo didn’t like hearing this, even with all his planning he couldn’t predict Roland stooping into a bombing to distract the armed forces. This event was going to create a ripple effect in the things to come. He knew he was going to have to shift course in his own plan because of Deathwatch’s reckless nature.

“That is why it is important that you stay behind this time and watch out for not only the outfit but the boys and girls at the home, Miss Ivy too the old hag.”

“Don’t let her hear that.”

Bruno said jokingly to his best friend, knowing his role in all of this and trusting Lorenzo fully. Even so the gentle giant couldn’t help worrying about his boss’ well-being.

“Don’t give me that look Bruno, everything will be alright I’ll uphold my end of the bargain and be gone like the wind and back before you know it.”

“You can spare me the big talk; you don’t have to run game on me.”

Bruno threw his arm around Lorenzo bringing his brother in closer, smile on his face.

"You may be the brains of the operation and the boss of the outfit but you're still the little bro to me.”

“Don’t you go getting soft on me now after all these years, we still have a lot riding on our success. If we are to make our dreams of becoming an organization of our own come true.”

“Turning dreams into reality, even now we have come a long way from a bunch of orphans that watched old gangster movies when we should have been sleeping.”

“That old man Roland almost had me laughing with his comment.”

Lorenzo admitted as the two brothers got a good laugh out of the whole situation. The longtime friends continued to enjoy warm conversations in route toward the safehouse. Taking in the small window of opportunity to take a breath and enjoy the moment before they had to put their game faces back on.

“Just promise me you will bring me back an Olivia greenheart cd on the way back, you know as a little souvenir for your big bro.”

“Olivia Greenheart!? You serious?! So, all that stuff Luna was saying about you is true huh?”

“What has Luna been saying about me and why is she saying it to you huh?”

Lorenzo only laughed as Bruno attempted to justify his desire for a pop singers Music disc.