Chapter 242: The Man Behind the Curtain (2/2)
”Hell, join the resistance if you want. We don't care. Once Percy is released, we've basically won anyway. He will be our eyes and ears across all of Victoria and will press down unrelenting judgment on all who oppose us. But that's all we need from you, Diego Jolts.”
”Your motive is complete wack, but I'll play along. Thank you.”
”What?”
”You know for giving me a purpose. Thinking of me over others. V.I.R.A.L has been a huge help for me, so thanks for looking out for us.”
Kurt scoffed, turning away, letting smoke fizzle from his hands. ”Don't go thanking us, kid… We're the cause of this, after all.”
Vitae glanced at Kurt with a judgemental look. ”That is all. We shall take our leave and meet up with Emil in sector five. Good luck, Diego.”
****
Alice and Alton had been making their escape for quite a while, taking serval breaks in the meantime. They had escaped Scarlett; for now, it seemed that they were unaware of the others' fates. Slouching down against a tree, Alice pulled out her tablet, plopping it down as a hologram appeared. Florence appeared on the other side, looking ecstatic to see Alice. ”Holy shit, someone's alive! I couldn't get hold of anyone, which made me worried sick!”
Alton leaned into view, whispering. ”Who's this?”
”Well, well. We meet at last Alton Brantley. It seems fate hasn't wanted us to meet until now. My name is Florence Truman. I run what's left of the Montague family from here. You'd probably be more acquainted with my brother.”
”Eyes over Reality… Yeah, I've heard of you, Florence; you were the one who tried taking down the Montague family. Shame that didn't happen.”
”Well, all things happen for a reason. It's good to see the mission wasn't a total disaster. What's the report?”
Alice took the lead feeding Florence information. ”While ambushing the base, we were attacked by a copy of Percy Misharp. It appears the CEOs have created their very own stage of grief. We managed to hold him off but was stopped by our former ally Scarlett Syndicate. She blew the entire prison up. We're unsure if Jinx and the others made it out alive.”
Florence remained silent for a while, taking in the information before giving a small response. ”Understood. I guess you two will have to do.”
”You sound anxious. What's happened? Are you safe?”
”Everything is fine here even if we are stretched quite thin here. The problem is we received a distress call from just outside Rhinefield…”
”A distress call? We get plenty of those these days. What's so special about it.”
”I believe you want to answer this one, leader. It's from an old friend, Diego Jolts.”
”Diego… We haven't heard anything from the bastard in two years. Is he in trouble?”
”He doesn't sound like it. But it's the reasoning he sent out the SOS. Alice… He's found your sister.”
Alice stopped frozen, whispering. ”Iris… She's alive?”
”He claimed to be rescuing her but has found something serious. The Garden levels in that area are off the chain.”
Alton nodded. ”This could be Percy.”
”You think so?”
”Well, it's either that or another titan. Let's hope for the lesser possibility. Is there anyone else to back us up?”
”Unfortunately, no. We sent the mass force to the prison to save you. The others are spread out rescuing streamers.”
Alice stomped her foot down. ”We can't wait around for backup. My sister is in there! We need to save her!”
”Wait for a second, Alice…”
”No, she's in trouble. I can't sit around and wait!”
”I understand, Alice… You risked everything to save me; who would I be to abandon Iris at a time like this? We'll take the call Florence.”
”Thank God. I'm sending you the coordinates now. Good luck, you two; come home safe.”
Alice hung up, putting the tablet away as she clenched her fist, staring on. ”I'm coming to bring you home, Iris!”