Knowledge raised me above the blind—yet in the moment I understood, I fell.
— Aegates
———
*Click!*
"Hello? Aegates?"
A girly voice filtered out from the phone pressed to Aegates's ear as she spied through the curtains.
Outside, cars flowed past pedestrians idling through their day.
By her building, a suited man in a fedora sat on a bench, the rustle of his newspaper just audible. Her eyes then shifted to a dark alleyway across the road, where another man in a black coat stood shrouded in shade.
He seemed to notice her and tipped his hat in silent deference.
Coolly, she turned around to the well-lit room, its four couches surrounding a central table littered with clothes.
"This is Aegy, right...?"
Aegates cleared her throat. "Apologies. Yes, ma'am. This is Aegates," she confirmed, her tone soft but formal.
"Aegyyy!!! My love!"
The voice instantly chirped with delight.
"Ah! Wait! Did you just call me ma'am!? We're the same age! Goddammit!!" she nagged as Aegates idly paced about the room.
"Apologies, ma'am," came Aegates' reflexive reply.
"Nooo! You can't keep doing this to meeee!" the voice cried, pitifully dramatic.
Aegates couldn't help but smile faintly at her friend's theatrics.
She cleared her throat again, and then, the bickering on the other end ceased instantly.
The girl knew playtime was over, so she got down to business.
"You sent me a text. Is it true? Did the gangsters you interrogated say this guy, Rainer, turned into a zombie?"
Aegates nodded, a useless gesture. "Affirmative."
"Gasp! D-do you think—" The girl hesitated, lost, but then collected herself, words tumbling out. "Do you think he could be the one from the prophecy? You know, when we were kids? 'A golden-eyed zombie shall—'"
Aegates let out a heavy sigh, cutting her off.
"We were at a traveling circus, Arianna. That seer was entertaining children."
The girl paused, then cheered. "Yay! You used my name! Next time, call me Ari, like when we were kids!"
Aegates leaned back into the backside of a couch.
"We should take this seriously, Arian— Ari."
"Hehe." A cheeky laugh filtered through, followed by a throat-clearing.
"I am serious, Aegy! Don't call it a coincidence! A part of you must believe, or you wouldn't have texted me!"
Aegates glanced at the clothing on the table, her expression uncertain.
"Well, the Beach Boys also mentioned something about glowing eyes—"
"HAAAAH!!!" Arianna exclaimed. "And you didn't lead with that?!?"
"Their breath stank of cheap liquor, and they weren't in their right minds after the interrogation," Aegates explained quietly, trying to instill reason. "I feared it was delirium."
Unfortunately, Arianna didn't seem to be listening as rapid, excited pants came through the phone.
"Ae-Aegy. He's the one. Oh my god! We've found him!"
Aegates went around and slumped into the couch, exhaling at her friend's fervor.
"Ari. Please listen. He is—or has become something...inhuman. He presents an unknown. A danger, even to the organization. Permit me to eliminate him—"
"Gasp! Don't you dare!" she exclaimed, then groaned in contemplation.
"Aha! I know! Have him solve the current crisis. Alone."
She continued, breathless. "Papa heard what happened, and he's furious! Imagine his face when he hears the news: a single GBG Initiate, a survivor, avenging his fallen family? It's perfect!"
Aegates's brows furrowed. "That's a suicide mission. The Beach Boys are formidable. That's why we sent Mr. Breaker to this place first, and look what happened to him."
An exasperated sigh hissed through the line.
"Aegy! Why do you care? You just wanted him dead! If he fails, problem solved. If he deals enough damage, reputation restored! It's a win-win!"
Aegates massaged her temples, a headache blooming. "...If he fails, Ari, the organization looks more like a bunch of fools."
"Then help him. Give him intel! You're good at that!" Arianna pushed.
Aegates's expression wrinkled, a long, low groan escaping her.
"Fine," she conceded, dropping her hand. "But the Underboss would never allow it."
"Mr. Nile? Hah! He's easy! I'll talk to him! Maybe even place a bet—he loves a gamble. Expect his call in six minutes!"
Arianna delivered the news with glee, then cut the call before Aegates could protest.
"Arian—"
*Click!*
The line went dead.
Aegates slowly placed her smartphone between her thighs, covered her face with her hands, and sighed into her palms.
Parting her fingers, she stared at the clothing on the table. Then she reached out and pulled a white shirt from the pile, holding it up to the light.
Her expression soon wavered at the sight of several clean bullet holes.
No one should have survived this. He didn't even have scars. Was he always a sort of monster, or did something change after the real Rainer died?
Her eyes grew distant, face dropping as she whispered the old telling of an old witch.
"One day, dear little children. A golden-eyed zombie shall save your home."
Before the words, as though straight out of a peculiar children's book, could fade, the clink of a key in the door lock sounded.
Then a hard click! as the door opened.
For a moment, Aegates looked through a bullet hole at the young man in a black coat standing in the doorway.
She calmly brought her hands to her lap and stared.
The man appeared to be in his early thirties, with angular features, a hard jawline, and a heavy, assessing gaze.
He paused, frowning at her, then his gaze shifted from a lockpick on the table back to her neutral expression.
"Mr. Man," she nodded in greeting, then looked around. "You chose a nice apartment."
His eye twitched, and he took off his coat, his gaze never leaving her.
"This could get you killed one day," he warned, hanging it on the coat rack.
"I apologize. I was about to call you about my break-in after a prior call... But it slipped my mind."
Man scoffed, his eyes dripping with doubt. "'Slipped your mind?' As if anything does with you."
He unbuttoned his suit jacket, moving to sit on the opposite couch with practiced leisure.
"So what's the emergency, Messmer? I've got work to do. New territory and all," he sighed, setting his hat aside; the silver 'GBG' pin glinted coldly.
Aegates calmly folded the shirt as she spoke.
"In four minutes, I will receive a call from Mr. Nile. He will likely order us to send Rommel and—Rainer to remind the Beach Boys why we rule Veridian Falls."
Man's brows furrowed slightly, and he looked away, processing.
"Mr. Breaker's boys? They're all that's left... Tragic. I see the logic behind such a choice, though."
His eyes snapped back to her. "I'm guessing this relates to that 'prior call'?"
She took the remaining clothes and shoved them into her suitcase on the floor, while muttering, "Some people are... predictable."
Man raised a curious brow but let the subject drop.
With everything stowed away, she sat upright, her sigh one of finality as her focus locked on Man, and though her expression remained neutral, her eyes were suddenly, unmistakably, deadly.
"We have to plan for Rommel and Rainer's inevitable failure."
—❦—
Rainer smiled, giving the waitress his menu. He then leaned back in his chair with a relaxed sigh.
He sat outside a sidewalk cafe, watching pedestrians drift by.
Beside him, Grayhaven's central canal flowed west toward the industrial district, a murky divide between the business district to the north and the governmental district south-central.
After dressing in the safehouse, he'd been brought here for a meal and told to wait for a briefing on the current situation—and what came next.
Unconsciously, Rainer brought his fingers to the scattered band-aids on his face, the dull itch beneath them a persistent annoyance.
Feeling his new suit constrict him, he loosened the buttons. But as he did, he sensed eyes on him and glanced up to find two young women, dressed for a stroll, whispering as they passed.
Their gazes were judging, curious, but mostly anxious. One woman's eyes shifted to his partly burnt fedora on the table, and her alarm grew.
Unsure what to do, Rainer offered his friendliest smile and waved.
But unfortunately, the women quickened their pace as if the devil himself had smiled at them.
He slowly lowered his hand, smile fading.
At that moment, a shadow fell over him. He glanced up to find a young man, maybe in his late twenties, staring down with undisguised disdain.
The man's eyes drifted from Rainer to the retreating figures of the women.
"I never knew you to chase after skirts," he remarked, his tone hard. His rough visage—a testament to years of taking beatings, twisted with disapproval.
Rainer leaned back with a smirk.
"Brother, I don't know who you are, but if there's an Indian Jones of chasing premium skirts—you're looking at him."
The young man's eye twitched. But without another word, he slumped into the chair opposite him and crossed his legs, gazed focused fully on Rainer.
"So it's true, then. Our Doc said you hit your head hard. Must've jumbled up your memories."
Then with a sigh, he took off his hat and placed it on the table, bronze GBG pin glinting dully.
"We weren't close. But you at least knew my name." He leaned back as a shit-eating grin spread across his face.
"So let me graciously remind you. It's Rommel. Just Rommel."
He scoffed at a private thought, then added, "Don't forget it, or next time, I'll have to beat it into ya, kid."