The Zeta Squad had done it again! They came out of the Seear’s Hall amidst a huge cheer. A crowd of Martial Artists and civilians had gathered to celebrate their most recent achievement – capturing of the White Bolt.

  “Well done, Zeta Squad!”

  “All hail the Zeta squad!”

  “Long live the defenders!”

  “Long live The Eye!”

  These were just some of the chants from the crowd.

  Hugo, with a smile and a bowed head, led the squad through, occasionally shaking an extended hand. Camille and Neil followed in kind. The others, led by Marcus and Ella, were not shying away from indulging with the enthusiastic people. They were signing autographs, telling stories of their grand chase, and gladly accepting gifts only to be scolded by the captain later.

  As the cheers slowly faded and the crowd dispersed, the adrenaline of victory gave way to the quiet pull of routine. The squad, still riding the high of success, drifted off toward their own corners of the city. Hugo went to the Martial Artists’ hostels built just outside the Nobels’ Academy. He had been occupying a corner room there for years and acted as the warden whenever he was not away on a mission. The others went back home to their families. A rest was well deserved.

  At 3 in the afternoon, the core members of the squad – Camille, Ella, Gina, Neil, and Marcus, arrived back at the Academy to have lunch together in the cafeteria. They looked for Hugo first. The girls searched through the academy, while the boys went to the hostel, but the captain of the Zeta Squad was nowhere to be found. Giving up half an hour later, they gathered at the cafeteria. As was tradition, they found a table at the north corner and sat together to enjoy their meal.

  This quintet was a well knit group. Neil, Ella, and Marcus were of the same age - 23, Camille was 2 years younger, and Gina was 4 years older apart from whom the squad had even spent a lot of time together at academies in the city. And, in a year and a half with the Zeta Squad, they had completed more than a dozen missions together. Whether it was a miscreant to be brought down, a criminal apprehended, or an artifact of value to be procured, the Zeta Squad was fast becoming the go to choice for the Eye. And these 5 young Martial Artists were the stable core of the team. With Ki reserves greater than many Zaatsus, Marcus and Neil were the main powerhouses. Camille, a formidable combatant, served primarily as the spotter of the group. Ella was the resident Mystic, and Gina was the Magicist and expert planner who served as the captain’s right hand. Under the leadership of the experienced and highly revered Zaatsu, Hugo Baylis, this squad of youngsters was considered amongst the best the Eye boasted at the time.

  Moreover, all of them except Gina, had trained under Hugo at one point or another during their time at the academies.

  They bickered like siblings, covered for each other like lifelong friends, and no matter where they would scatter, they always circled back – many a time, at their usual cafeteria spot.

  The trays hit the table with a clatter – a mix of cafeteria staples and questionable choices. As always, Marcus had gone all in.

  “Come on Neil! Chicken broth?!” he exclaimed looking at Neil’s plate beside his. “We just bagged the White Bolt! Celebrate for once, man!”

  Capable of housing nearly a thousand Martial Artists at a time, this cafeteria consisted of a large kitchen in the centre, with rows of chairs and tables placed all around.

  As the others giggled, Neil replied, “True. But if it didn’t change you, why should it change me?”

  Marcus chuckled, shook his head, and said, “Ha! Toothpick!”

  Everyone laughed and continued eating till Gina brought up the subject of the White Bolt. “Who do you guys think he really is, huh?” she asked. “I mean really, really.”

  “He is a scumbag!” Neil quickly replied. “A bounty hunter and a low life!”

  Ella chimed in too. “Crazy as it sounds,” she said, “I heard that he is a part of a Cult.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that one too, man,” Marcus said as he spun a spoon over his head. “They say he even led one of them once.”

  Camille shook her head. “Seems improbable, don’t you think?” she asked.

  “Why?”

  “He's too young for that plus, we all know how those Cultists are…”

  “Agreeing with Cami on this one,” Neil said with a nod. “People in Cults, especially their senior members, never move without assistance... and he's no senior.”

  “So…” Everyone stared at her as Camille took a pause then said, “Let’s just analyse the situation, you guys…”

  Marcus and Ella laughed, Gina smiled and shook her head, and Neil just looked down and began eating again. It was a running gag. Ever since she had joined the squad, Hugo would always tease her in a discussion. Since it was a spotter’s job to be good at analysing situations, he would always stop right in the middle of a discussion and say, ‘Let’s just let Cami analyse the situation.’

  “Where is Master Baylis when you need him?” Marcus asked laughing.

  “Ok, ok, but seriously,” Camille said as she leaned ahead. “Look, he is said to be a bounty hunter who nobody wants to employ because he is more than likely to just run away with the money and never get the job done, right? But if you look at him, he is so freakishly strong that he can go toe to toe with a Zaatsu, even kill one! Then why would he do something so childish like running away with someone's money? Doesn’t make any sense. And who the hell carries a samurai sword?! I’m telling you… there is something awfully suspicious about that dude.”

  “And then there’s the Dark Arts Scriptures that he stole,” Gina added.

  “Hmm, that too.”

  “No one could have employed him for that job. No one even knows where they are.” The Magicist grabbed a napkin and added, “And bounty hunters these days don’t go around on such lengthy search missions anyway.”

  “Yeah. With us on their tail, why would they?”

  Marcus raised his hand and said, “Yo! What about that sword?”

  “What about it?” Camille asked.

  “Yeah… so… he broke mine. And we are supposed to have the best ones in the world. Nobody, no outfit got swords like ours.”

  Camille tried to respond, but before she could, Ella interrupted. “Mm nope, that wasn’t his sword,” she said flicking her finger in negation. “It was what he did with it…”

  Everyone smiled and Marcus said, “As much as I want to… but please, explain further?”

  After a chuckle, the Mystic explained saying, “He was using a technique which I believe is called Instant Charge.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Instantaneous Charge,” Neil corrected her. “Hugo uses it all the time. Instead of keeping Ki thrust at max all over your body, many Martial Artists with limited Ki or with much of their reserve exhausted tend to use sudden thrusts in parts of the body.”

  “Oh, that,” Marcus said gulping his food down quickly. “Knocks your senses to Jupiter and back! The guy’s Ki feels almost stagnant, like a normal human, and then suddenly he puts a charge on his knuckles and literally sends you to the damned place, man!”

  “Exactly,” Neil replied then looked at Ella across the table and said, “But to use that on a weapon is a whole other deal. He was juggling the sword in the bout he had with Marcus and Hugo. If he had continuous hold on the weapon, I might have believed it. Even Marcus does that with his staff all the time. And like I said, Hugo does it as well. And he does it better than anyone you’d know.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Hmm, I would agree under normal circumstances,” Ella reciprocated, putting her fork down. “I don’t think you recall, but many Persian Mystics of the 15th century almost exclusively used that same technique when going into a hand-to-hand battle or one that involved weapons. Master Ehsan Hashem, in his book ‘Spells for a different time’ talked of it in detail.”

  “Look, while holding a weapon, according to Mystic traditions, one can find a Ki connection. We are all masters here; we have learned that much Ki manipulation. But try doing something like that with even a nunchaku. Just going from one hand to the other makes it difficult. And he was even letting go of his sword!”

  “It is possible, Neil…”

  “May well be, but I’m pretty sure a scum like him wouldn’t be able to pull it off.”

  “It could have been charmed,” Camille commented.

  “Nope,” Gina replied. “We did a full check-up on it. No spells or carvings on that sword whatsoever. Plain samurai blade.”

  “Then what other explanation could we have, Neil?”

  “He must have stolen a technique or two from a wizard somewhere.” Saying that, Neil looked down and began eating again. The others looked at each other and smiled. It was usually at this point that arguing would stop being effective with the young second in command of the Zeta Squad. Past it, only Hugo could argue or discipline. However, after almost a minute of silence, Camille did something which the squad avoided all together. She taunted.

  “Are you jealous, brother?” she asked, smiling with one eyebrow raised beyond the other.

  Half bent towards his plate, Neil stopped. The fast-approaching spoon to the mouth stopped too and he looked up at his sister. In fact, everyone looked at her. She kept staring at him.

  “I beg your pardon,” he said, with a deeper, quieter voice, shaking his head to remove the hair from over his left eye.

  “‘Scum like him’? He bested all of us, bro.” Camille’s smile slowly disappeared. “Why are you so threatened if we think he knows something you don’t?”

  “Seriously?” he commented with eyes wide opened.

  “Yeah…”

  But with a shake of the head, the Zaatsu began eating once again.

  Marcus mimed a sweat removal from the forehead and the rest of the gang looked at one another and smiled.

  Breaking the following silence, after cleaning her plate of fish and chips, Ella said, “He is top shelf though. I mean with his Ki manipulation but also with his fighting skill and tactics.”

  “I agree,” Marcus quickly said. Then, he elbowed Neil and asked, “What do you think?”

  “That’s pretty much true,” Neil replied, leaning back in his chair. He wiped his mouth with a tissue and, with a nod, added, “Our boy has been trained well.”

  “Exactly,” Ella said, pointing at him. “That’s also why the Cult rumour got spread so much. He had to have learned all of it from somewhere.”

  “Nah.” Neil stroked his hair back and continued. “Cults, whether African or East Asian, only teach the basics. One of the worst things the Outsiders ever did was take the pure Martial Arts knowledge out to the Cults. They used to be just charm-casting wizards and witches combating using their weird styles. But nowadays they are full-fledged Martial Artists, albeit their skill level is pretty basic.”

  “It’s like they’re only able to learn about one module,” Gina explained. “So, they basically reach the fighting skill level of a Dominu or a Datimu – a junior or senior at the academy. They’re never very good fighters.”

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” Ella stressed leaning forward. “We are not discussing their fighting abilities. We are talking about his Ki Manipulation, and the Cults have always been good with that.” She glanced at everyone else, before saying, “And yes, their magic is far better than their understanding of Ki, but then it may actually be a magic spell rather than proper Ki manipulation.”

  “Viable theory,” Neil said with his eyes closed. Then opening them he added, “But I sensed a connection with the Order in that man…”

  A gripping silence fell upon the table with the mention of that name. The Order was the yin to the yang known as the Eye. They were once one but split up after the second great war nearly a thousand years ago.

  “Come on, man…” Marcus shook his head. “There’s no way.”

  “Think about it,” the Zaatsu stressed. “He had the same ammo as a Martial Artist. Martial Artists only come from the Eye or the Order.”

  Both outfits followed the same principles and trained their operatives in a similar fashion with similar syllabi. And they both referred to their students as Martial Artists.

  “They may be called Martial Artists but they’re quite different,” Ella said. “We all know that. Those guys act like gods among the public.”

  And she was not wrong. The Eye kept to the shadows and operated from their well-hidden Regal Palace. They moved only when the balance of the world was tipped too far through artificial threats or calamities threatening to tear through humanity’s defences.

  The Order, meanwhile, had no central base. Its agents walked among the people controlling governments, research labs, and big corporations. They guided progress keeping order as they saw fit.

  But the Mystic shook her head. “I have seen their operatives in action,” she added. “They are way too aggressive. That White Bolt is too calculated and careful.”

  She was referring to an old rift. Where the Eye valued human life above all else, the Order denigrated it. They saw a soul as a mere tool, an actor playing its part in the grand goal of order. Hence, they never shied away from drawing blood. This had many a time led to deadly conflicts.

  “True,” Neil said. “But he could be faking it. And he has killed in past. We don’t know his true motivations yet. Just don’t forget, he resembles a proper Martial Artist. That can’t come from anywhere other than the Eye or the Order.”

  “So, rogue then?”

  Every once in a while, an operative went off-script, severed ties, and attempted to become a ghost. When that happened, both the Eye and the Order would circulate lists of these rogues to watch for, hunt, and contain. They did not tolerate freelancers. Not at that level.

  “Highly likely,” Neil said with a nod. “Did you observe his fighting style?”

  “Typical and classic,” Marcus said, nodding. “Petrichor’s classic…”

  “Yes. He had brilliant form and was following many manoeuvres only a master would.”

  “But hold your horses, pal. His Ki bursts, the Instantaneous Charge, it was rivalling Master Hugo’s, ok? Then, he was also using all elements, Ki suppressions and boosts, and standard Magicism techniques and spells. But he was also using some mighty strange techniques. Some of them I could say were probably Cultist, but I can’t say anything for sure. Order never teaches Cultist Magic, man!” When no one responded, the red haired young man added, “He even levitated seamlessly. He had a bout with us mid-air. Hello?! Was I the only one sensing nothing ordinary about his levitation? It did not involve the usual Ki Manipulation!”

  Neil finally turned to look at Marcus. “Have you never seen Hugo fight?” he asked. “He does most of it as well. Trust me, he’s a rogue.”

  “So, all in all, he is a master level Martial Artist, we’re all agreeing on that,” Gina said. “But at the end of the day, that speed…”

  “Yeah,” said everyone in almost perfect unison.

  “Had Master Hugo not warned us,” Ella added, “The guy would have ripped us apart.”

  Neil shook his head. “I think we could have handled it,” he said. “We’re all very well trained. We’re one of the best squads right now. I think we could have handled it.”

  “You know what…” Marcus said with a grin, “I agree.”

  “Trained by the Order, leader of a Cult, rogue bounty hunter, whatever! The Eye has always handled miscreants of all sorts. Don’t sell yourselves short.”

  Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement. The Zeta squad had completed many missions with a nearly perfect track record and was sufficiently equipped to take on any challenge.

  Camille, however, did not agree. “Ego,” she said and leaned back. Everyone stared at her as she shook her head then continued, “Confidence is one thing, but if you can’t see that the man was a better fighter than any of us than you are only fooling yourself.”

  “What the hell do you mean by that?” Neil was clearly agitated now. His eyebrows were scrunched, and he leaned forward and rested his forehands on the table. “You could sense him just as well as any of us,” he said. “Do you think he was more powerful than Marcus or me?”

  “Nope…”

  “…Better at Magicism than Ella or Gina?”

  “Not really…”

  “A Mystic?”

  “Nope…”

  “Then what the hell do you mean?”

  “He took on two Zaatsu, you and Master Baylis, four of us Sokidus, and then 11 helpers who were all Datimus. And he almost got away. Hey Marcus!” She looked at Marcus. “Do you think you could have beaten him one-on-one?”

  Marcus did not reply. “Does anyone here think they can take him on?” she further asked.

  “I could,” Neil replied with a shrug.

  “Of course, you could… but you would come out dead, that I can assure you of!” And before Neil could come up with a reply, she added, “How many times have you sparred with Master Baylis? Any of you? Has anyone here lasted more than a minute against Master Baylis in a proper sparring match? This guy was fighting one on three! You, Hugo, and Gina, for three minutes straight! He did not break one more sweat than you guys!”

  The gang went silent. Neil leaned back in his chair, Marcus scratched his head, and Gina smiled with a bowed head. Ella, looking at Camille, commented, “You’re making it sound like even Hugo couldn’t take him… alone.”

  All eyes were now fixed at Camille who slowly turned to face her Mystic best friend. She took a deep breath and said, “I can’t say for sure…”

  Eyes wide open, Ella slowly asked, “What?”

  “I have never seen anyone counter Hugo that well in battle. And we have all seen him sparring with other senior Zaatsus even. I have even seen him spar with Master Moore, the strongest Zaatsu of the Eye. Even he lost! This White Bolt guy is no joke. He is very, very well trained…”

  “Could he have been a spy of sorts?”

  “Spy?”

  “I mean, he could have been an active member of the Order, posing as having no connections with anyone just to gather info.”

  “Could be. But Master Baylis is very good at picking falsified intentions from Ki patterns. It would not have been a capturing mission then…”

  Marcus added, “Why did we bring him back in the first place? Isn’t he like a top shelf criminal? He has murdered a Zaatsu too, you know…”

  “It’s due process,” said Neil, quickly.

  Camille chuckled looking away. “Knew you’d say that…” she said, looking back. “It hasn’t been the process in recent times, bro.”

  “Come on, Camille!” Marcus intervened leaning forward. “Give it a rest!”

  After a pause, Neil replied, “Sometimes you’re ordered to carry out a hit. The offences are so great that judgement is on the spot. We are taught and trained to follow orders, not question those wiser than us. And I believe the job of a spotter is to gather information and data from enemies, not judging your own superiors!”

  “Aren’t his offenses so great?”

  “If Hugo had let me, I would have killed him too…”

  “You don’t mean that, Neil?”

  Neil decided not to reply, and the conversation thence, came to an abrupt end, and after exchanging pleasantries, the squad quickly went their separate ways.