Aether Lightning

Chapter Two

Florian and Jasper went back to the inn hoping to find Stella and Renee there. They knock on the door and an upset Renee opens. Stella wakes up and sits on the edge of the bed.

"Well," Stella said. "Did you boys learn anything?"

Jasper smiles. "Yes! Yes, we did! We found out that the mayor is a man and he doesn't use public security any more. He uses private security now."

Stella and Renee are surprised and look at each other.

"Well," Stella resumed. "That is good to know. Since you're here, we'll share what we learned, too. Renee and I found out where the mayor's office is and a girl named Charis works. The problem is that we aren't able to go inside. There were security guards out in front."

"What color was their uniform?" Florian asked. "Those guys might be from private security."

Renee shrugs. "I don't know. Didn't pay attention to the color."

"We were told that the white uniform is the public security force. As long as it's not white, it should be private security."

Renee raises her eyebrows and smirks at Florian. "Wow, I guess you can be smart."

Florian smiles at her. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Anyways," Stella said. "With that information, we can assume that the security guards at the mayor's office are private. We still can't get inside."

"Is that why you're here?" Florian asked.

Renee slaps him on his shoulder. "Don't ask dumb questions! We came here to kill time before starting the plan."

"Oh, yeah?" Jasper asked. "What plan is that?"

"I'll explain," Stella said. "We want to follow Charis to get to the mayor. It was around one o'clock when she entered the building. We assumed that she gets off work around four or five, so we came here to take a nap."

Jasper nods. "Ah, that makes sense."

"Since you guys are here, you can come along to check out the security team."

"Sure! Florian and I can do that. We'll go with you guys and then split off once we're there."

Stella and Renee led the way as Florian and Jasper followed behind within walking distance.

The time right now is about close to four in the afternoon. All day long, there was no pattern for the temperature or weather. It was as if there were no such thing as seasons in this city.

Stella and Renee went to the nearest cafe for soft drinks and snacks. Florian and Jasper, on the other hand, went to a separate vendor while eyeing the security guards in front of the mayor's office.

It took about ten minutes of waiting for Charis to come out of the building. Before she could leave the premises of the building, the security guard had to inspect her.

"She's leaving," Stella said. "You go first while I let the boys know we're leaving."

Renee stands up and begins to follow after Charis. Stella looks at Florian and Jasper to try to make eye contact with them. It took a few seconds for Jasper to make eye contact back. Stella nods towards Charis and Renee to let him know she'll be leaving with them. Jasper nods in agreement.

With the girls gone, Florian and Jasper walk up to the security guard who had just let Charis exit the premises. The uniform on this guard was not white. It was a shade of white closer to the color of platinum.

"Hi," Jasper said to the guard. "My friend and I would like to apply for the security job."

The guard looks at Jasper and then at Florian, but doesn't say anything back. His face is still serious and he just returns to his work.

Stella had caught up to Renee who was following Charis. The distance between Stella and Renee wasn't far, but it was enough to make Stella speedwalk.

While following Charis, Stella and Renee made sure to stay out of sight and to not get caught.

Charis goes up the street and doesn't bother to check left or right when she crosses the street. She walks north for about ten minutes before going into a cafe.

Stella and Renee watch as Charis enters the cafe. The cafe has a clear window so the girls are still able to see Charis.

Inside the cafe, Charis can be seen ordering a small sandwich and a drink. She holds the sandwich with her right hand and the drink with her left.

With her order completed, Charis goes back outside and continues to go up north. As with before, Stella and Renee continue to follow her. After walking for about ten more minutes, Charis arrives at an average size house. This house is the same as the other houses. White bricks everywhere. Charis digs into her pocket with her right hand and pulls out a key. With the key in hand, she opens the door and goes inside.

Stella and Renee are across the street from Charis' house.

"Now we know where she lives," Renee said. "What should we do next?"

Stella thinks to herself for a second. "We'll come back tomorrow morning when she goes to work. We'll make friends with her then."

Jasper and Florian had tried talking to the guard but he was unresponsive. Instead of asking now, the boys just walk past the guard.

"Hey!" the guard shouted. "You guys can't be here!"

"If you're not going to let us in," Jasper said. "We'll just go inside ourselves."

Without hesitation, the guard throws a punch at Jasper. Florian sees this and throws a Poison Punch at the guard. Two more guards come running and start to fight against the boys.

Jasper uses Dust Pulse to knock out the two guards near him. Two more guards come running but Florian knocks them out with multiple Sludge Punches.

"These guards are weak!" Florian said out loud.

"That's because they're not me!" an unknown voice can be heard.

Florian and Jasper turn to see the face of that voice. It belongs to a young man in his early twenties, about the same height as Jasper, dark hair and brown eyes. His outfit consists of a green T-shirt, loose black shorts, and white sneakers.