Storm Watch Pt. 2

Clouds filled the night sky as heavy rain pelleted the ground. However, it was no deterrent to the vibrant nightlife of New Olympos. Colors of the brightest neon filled the streets, and a large trail of umbrellas followed their path.

Knelt upon the edge of a tower was a woman in a thick white jacket, a hood covering her head. Her teal eyes scanned all around, but given the weather, it was difficult to catch a glimpse of her possible target.

"Zephyr, give me a sitrep," a voice came in through the comms.

"Standby," she replied.

Zephyr threw herself off the tower and landed on a nearby rooftop with a loud thud, but it was flawlessly muffled by the sound of raindrops. A thundering boom echoed across the sky as she planted herself right above a crowded street.

She held a finger to her ear and spoke. "I'm here, Astrid. No HVT just yet. This seems pretty unrealistic, don't you think?"

"No better time than now, if you ask me," Astrid replied. "Dark skies, thick fog, and a whole lot of rain. Makes it easier to move around. Of course, it also makes it harder to find our guy, but would you rather have it one way or the other?"

"Point taken, but still. It's not like I can magically find him in this mess. I'd have better odds winning a duel against the Captain."

"I think you might've gotten a bit dull, Zephyr. There's a reason why he's considered an H. V. T. High-value target, aye?"

"...Dull, you say? Are you challenging me?"

"I'd never. I'm just pointing out the obvious. If he was gonna be easy to find, we would've already had him."

"Well, expect a long night, because I don't think... Hm? Standby, Astrid."

Zephyr inched her head further out and squinted her eyes. Among the crowd was a tall man beneath an umbrella. His attire consisted of a fancy suit jacket and a vest. Crossing a well-dressed individual like that in the Undercity district is as rare as seeing a poorly-dressed individual in the Golden Age district.

Walking just a few steps behind him were two muscular men who seemed to be undercity natives judging by their appearances.

"Visual on a possible HVT," Zephyr informed. "Ten-o-clock from my current position, treading eastwards. Suspect looks to be wearing business casual clothing. Black. Looks like he's got two bodyguards straggling behind. Check him out."

"Give me twelve seconds," Astrid said.

All the while, Zephyr kept her gaze fixed on the man. Before continuing his stride, he stopped and inconspicuously scanned his surroundings.

Twelve seconds later, Astrid responded. "Target confirmed. He matches the description that the Boss gave us. What'd I tell ya? Wasn't so hard, aye?"

"Weren't you the one preaching about how an HVT was supposed to be hard to find?" Zephyr grumbled.

"Hey, be thankful that it turned out this way. Worst case scenario, you would've waited here the whole night and nothing would've turned up."

"Whatever you say... Anyway, what now?"

"We wait. From what I've gathered, he came down here to meet with an informant. Tail him for now, and we might just meet this informant as well."

"Is that really necessary?"

"Depends. I'm just saying, it's nice to have options. However, if you feel that he might get away, don't hesitate to reel in the HVT himself."

"And the bodyguards?"

"Silence them."

"Copy that. Standby."

With that, she sprinted across the rooftops, jumping from one to the other while maintaining stealth. The entire time, she kept her eyes on the target.

Eventually, the men and their bodyguards stopped at the entrance of a dark alleyway. The HVT turned around and spoke a few words. Then, one of the bodyguards continued down the street while the other one followed the HVT into the alley.

"Astrid, you catching this?" Zephyr asked.

"Affirmative," Astrid replied. "There aren't any cameras in there, so you're gonna have to go in blind."

"Understood. Moving in now. Keep watch, and inform me of any suspicious movement outside."

"Will do. Be careful."

Zephyr proceeded through the veil of rooftops before stopping at a small, empty opening. There, the man was waiting beneath his umbrella while the one bodyguard stood to the side.

"Heads up, an unknown is approaching from the other end," Astrid said.

"Copy," Zephyr replied. "I'll wait and see where this goes."

"Think you'll be able to hear them from up there?"

"No, but I'll definitely see whatever it is they're meeting for."

"Gotcha. Stay hidden until we know for sure what's going down."

"Copy."

Just as Astrid had said, a man in a long coat came walking through another alleyway. He was accompanied by the other bodyguard who continued down the street earlier.

The two began conversing, and while Zephyr could hear them shouting at each other to combat the rain, she could not make out any words.

Her eyes trailed over to the two bodyguards. One of them was guarding the previous alley while the other one was leaning against the wall right below her.

When she looked back at the two men, it looked as though they were exchanging something beneath the cover of their coats.

"Looks like the informant is giving something to the HVT," Zephyr spoke.

"Hm... An exchange meeting, huh?" Astrid mumbled. "Alright. You're clear to engage. Take both alive if you can, but our priority is the HVT. I'm sending Minerva your way. ETA ten minutes."

"You don't have to. I can handle this on my own."

"I'm not doing it for you. She's just gonna be there to make sure you don't kill the target."

"I won't."

"Can't be too safe. Now, get going."

Zephyr let out a sigh as she unsheathed her katana. Right as the men caught a glimpse of the gleaming plasma edge, she was already plummeting. Her feet slid upon the wall next to her, slowing her down as she went. Once her fall was severely broken, she let go and bent her knees, touching the wall with her feet.

"Oh?" one of the men said.

At that moment, Zephyr extended her legs, propelling herself off the wall. The only thing the bodyguard could do was turn around, before his head was cut clean off.

Zephyr slid onto the ground, lifting her head just slightly to glare at the target. With her blade in her hand, she began walking towards him, her long white ponytail flailing in the rain.

"It's... It's Zephyr... of Calypso..." the other man mumbled nervously.

"Doctor Simon Barley, surrender silently," Zephyr warned. "I'm not—"

Instinctively, she pulled her katana around just in time to block an incoming attack, but she was knocked away. As she slid off and regained her footing, she studied the other bodyguard, who had his fist raised.

Simon began lightly chuckling as he spoke with an elegant, almost robotic tone. "Dear, me. And here I was thinking that Calypso had vanished without a trace forever. For you to show up in front of me now... It appears I've attracted quite the dangerous crowd."

He stepped into the lamp's glow, revealing a fully augmented body—no visible flesh, just smooth metal with two glowing white holes on his face. Despite this, he was dressed formally: a buttoned shirt, a vest, black dress pants, and a top hat.

"I'm curious, Zephyr," Simon said. "Is your blade as sharp as it was back then?"

"...Shall we put that to the test?" she asked in response.

Zephyr slid her left leg back and pushed her right leg forward. With both hands, she tightened her grip on the handle of her katana and held it right next to her mouth. While the sharp end of the blade was facing the sky, the tip was pointed at the massive bodyguard.

"Here I come!" he bellowed with the most hideous grin.

He lunged forward, taking heavy footsteps that disrupted the flooded ground. Splashes of water flung into the air before falling back down. Even the drops that splashed onto his body were just as discernable beneath Zephyr's watchful gaze.

"Code: Eleventh Hour."

In a flash of white, Zephyr disappeared from sight. The bodyguard paused for a brief moment. His breathing hastened until it ceased altogether. He took a step back while his head tilted towards the sky, then he froze.

"My friend, I didn't pay you to simply stand there in a daze," Simon muttered. "Go find her."

Yet his bodyguard did not answer. Instead, Zephyr appeared in a sudden blur. She stood completely upright with her back facing him, her blade held in front of her as the tip hovered just slightly above the ground.

An enormous trail of disconnected silver strands appeared all around, hovering in perfect symmetry. Each line formed a stroke, and the stroke became the blade.

"Hm... A bit dull..." Zephyr muttered to herself.

A split second later, the blades converged on the bodyguard, maiming him and slashing off his individual limbs in a swift yet deadly onslaught. While the limbs scattered in the air, blood drops conjoined the rain and dyed the ground with a thick mixture.

She then tilted her head at Simon, yet all he saw in the shroud of darkness was the radiant hollowed diamond within her eyes.

"Astrid. HVT secured. Awaiting further instructions."