The plan for today was simple.
With ninety-nine tasks successfully completed, only one remained before Alex would be able to put a pin to the John Smith identity he’d crafted to blend into Sklaviunt.
He looked forward to the prospects of growing stronger on his own terms, considering he no longer wished to have anything to do with Nyx.
He’d already accepted that Nyx was bound to go back on their agreement once he finished the assignment they’d give him.
Which meant he could only trust in his capabilities to return to Earth.
With that in mind, any improvement in his overall strength was welcome.
In any case, it was best to focus on the task ahead which involved a kidnapping.
According to Dolope, one of those Alex had helped in the slums, Theoren, yet another individual that had received his help had gone missing the night before with his granddaughter, Melita, trying to find him.
In truth, Alex wasn’t so surprised that something had happened considering the kind of person Theoren was.
Just then, a steamed bun was shoved in his face, jolting him from his thoughts.
"Want one?" Arwen asked with an innocent smile.
Alex smiled back, realizing belatedly that in his rush to get the day started, he’d forgotten to eat something.
"Thanks." He accepted the steamy bun made out of rice and took out a bite, savoring the taste as it melted in his mouth.
"Who do you think did it?" Arwen asked as she took out another steamed bun from her satchel.
She was seated beside him in the carriage taking them to the upper districts.
Alex shook his head. "No idea. For all we know, it could be anyone. In the first place, since we helped him establish his newspaper, he has been quite the active whistleblower."
"So it might be someone from the upper districts?"
"Which basically narrows it down to around fifty, sixty people. In any case, we definitely have our work cut out for us."
"I guess." Arwen sighed.
"Don’t worry, we’ll find him. Right now, we just have to hope that Melita is safe because that lady can be quite hotheaded."
Soon, they arrived at their destination which was the task force headquarters located in the upper district.
Just as they got down, they came across the sorry sight of Melita being manhandled by task force officers.
They were passersby, but they didn’t even act like they saw anything, instead going about their business without a single care in the world, which was to be expected.
Those of the upper districts saw those of the middle and lower districts in one of two ways; either as pigs that deserved to be put in their place or as trash that should be ignored.
Some saw them as both while very few were completely apathetic about them.
In any case, if Melita was to be saved, they could only rely on themselves to get it done, which forced Alex into a tight spot.
His desire to keep a low profile and stay hidden was because he didn’t wish to draw attention to himself in any way, all to avoid the Beast.
Though he couldn’t explain how the Beast had managed to track him down to Twilight last time, the Month of Astra had long passed yet there had been no further meetings, a circumstance Alex wished to maintain until he could survive a battle with the Branch.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t send Arwen in as well because even though she would be able to handle things, it would definitely not be quiet.
Her Power made sure of that.
"Uhmm, Alex..." Arwen called out, jolting him from his contemplation.
If they didn’t step in now, forget being manhandled, Melita was sure to be beaten to a pulp!
Letting out a sigh, Alex intoned. "Hide, I’ll handle this."
"Alright." Arwen didn’t bother arguing as she turned in the opposite direction and made her way down another street while Alex paid the carriage driver and then moved into an alleyway before snapping and teleporting himself to the roof.
Then, he waited until the officers tried to strike Melita at which point... Pa.
"Here comes Councilwoman Thera!"
That served as Alex’s cue to escape with Melita once the task force officer’s attention was diverted.
He snapped without hesitation and soon, he, along with Melita, were on the roof he’d teleported from to save her.
They watched as the officers searched for them only to curse at the fact that they’d fled already.
Then, Councilwoman Thera arrived, and Alex couldn’t help but feel like she’d seen her somewhere before, which was odd because, try as he might, he didn’t seem to recall having ever interacted with any of the council members for the same reason he avoided the task force officers.
Yet the familiar feeling persisted causing Alex to wonder why that was.
Just as Thera was making her way into the building, she suddenly paused and then turned, prompting both Alex and Melita to duck, avoiding her line of sight.
She stared at the roof they were on, prompting Captain Temenos, a proud member of the task force and relative of a council member, who was accompanying her, to inquire.
"Is everything alright, Councilwoman?"
"Not at all." Thera simply said. "Come, let’s get going."
Temenos obliged as he led her to his superior’s office.
He knocked twice on the door before a response was heard. "Come in."
Then, he opened the door and gestured for Thera to walk in, which she did, after which he closed the door and opted to remain to guard against trespassers.
Meanwhile, inside, Thera found herself face to face with the head of the task force in Sklaviunt.
His name was Zenon and he had served in the force for thirty years, slowly moving through the ranks from a mere sergeant.
He was the first head of the task force that had quite humble beginnings and if not for his dedication to ensuring the safety of those in the upper districts, he might have already been kicked out for a more malleable figurehead.
Currently, he was in uniform and though he was in his early fifties, he managed to look like a man in his early thirties with his black hair interspersed with grays.