A phone rings inside the train's main dining room, as the seller searches through his pockets. Champagnes of wine clink against each other as the suited men congratulate each other.
"Hello," the seller says, bringing up the device.
"I'm here to alert you that three operatives from Warden Society will infiltrate your train as you approach California," The Emissary alerts, looking over his laptop. "Their main motive is to steal back the meteorite."
"Warden Society?" the seller casts a confused glance. "Thanks for the heads up."
"I also have a question for you. Does Aldehard Romano know who the Covenant is?"
The seller leans forward. "The Covenant is becoming a well-known name, Emissary, especially in the criminal underworld."
"Be careful about him. Who knows what he's capable of?" the Emissary advises, ending the call.
The seller stares at the reflection on his phone, staring back at his guards. "Guard the roofs when we start to reach the state border."
The men stop their glasses mid tap before continuing their usual business as they disperse out of the dining room car.
Back in the car, Zhang carefully takes a detour off the usual path, finally reaching the state border, as they start to reach their destination. His eyes check the clock—on time. That means they have all of early Friday to wait and prepare for the train's arrival.
"When is the train going to arrive?" Kiara inquires, stretching her legs. "Soon? A couple of hours from now?"
"In roughly 18 hours," Zhang answers, not seeing the problem.
"18 hours?!" Kiara stammers.
"Quincy directly said to you, 'You're leaving in a couple of hours." Zhang reminds, almost pessimistically. "Also, 'You have to be there by tomorrow to catch a ride,' we have to follow orders and protocol."
"You did not just say that," Kiara says, already expecting that response.
"We have to stay here and keep watch. After that ambush earlier today, who knows who else is after us?" Zhang answers.
Kiara stares, lips pressed thin, eyes staring deep into his soul—not a great look for Zhang. He is so easy to guess what he is about to say next, down to each individual word.
Zhang's eyes flicker between the mirror and the horizon. The sun dips lower between the mountain tops, sliding a dark shadow over his face.
Kiara's and Adam's voices bicker amongst each other, but Zhang didn't pay much attention to any of them.
"Zhang, are you thinking much of that ambush earlier?" Kiara asks, curious.
"You guys drew too much attention to yourselves," Zhang criticizes, not looking back.
"Hey, that's not fair because you literally rammed the car next to the enemy's vehicle," Adam counterargues. "You deserve extra deductions for that!"
"What I did was different. Adam, you kept jumping on speeding cars, and Kiara, you actively used your powers out in the open," Zhang lectures, growing ever more frustrated. "It's a part of the oath to keep the unknown and everything separate."
"Well, if we didn't do anything, then maybe those guys could have done some real damage to others," Kiara crosses her arms, inquiring. "Or us in general. Do you think we should have done nothing?"
"That's not what I'm saying," Zhang says, fingers tightening around the wheel.
"You were implying it," she shoots back. "I thought about helping those people out there. Ain't that what being a Warden is supposed to be about?"
"You're always talking about the rules like it's the most important thing to you," she leans forward, wanting his answer. "Well, is it?"
Zhang grits his teeth, lips pressed together tightly, before his eyes move towards the rearview mirror, catching her reflection. Young. Energetic. Hopeful.
Nothing that he could be like, anyway.
Adam, noticing Zhang's stern blank face, tries to ease the awkwardness. "Hey, let's try not to talk about this. It was one mistake that we all made. We're all alive, so shouldn't that be counted as a win of sorts?"
Zhang glances at Adam.
"I-I mean that Kiara has a point that if we didn't try to step in, then maybe people could have gotten hurt," Adam stutters, trying not to take any sides. "But you're right as well, Zhang, that we may have shown off a bit."
Kiara casts him a look clearly stating, 'you're not helping.'
"Stay in the car," Zhang orders, slamming the car door, easing the tension. Or more so, making it worse. He walks over to a steel container and then slams his foot on the edge with full force.
"What is wrong with me?" He mutters, disappointed. "Useless son."
He continues to kick the side of the container as Kiara and Adam stare at him in the back of the car.
"I think he's mad at us," Adam figures, sipping on the cup.
"I don't think so," Kiara says, trying being considerate. "Let's give him some time."
Zhang punches a wide dent in the steel container, making it lean on its side. He throws another punch, but he stops mid-way, controlling himself.
He drops down, lying beside the steel container, staring up at the sunset sky.
No one has to be alone again. He remembers, somberly. "Yeah, no one has to be."
Later that evening, Adam lights a fire, the flames flaring up like a witch's cauldron.
"Whoa," he gasps, trying to control the flames themselves.
Zhang appears from a corner, wrapping a blanket around Kiara and Adam while handing out leftover granola bars to them. The fire around them crackles and eats through the wood fuel like a delicacy.
"Look, I'm trying," Zhang says, sitting on a big rock. "I'd rather be early and bored than late and dead. This is your first big mission for you two—Secret division is not an easy role, and it won't always be. This is probably the easiest mission you'll take, but not everyone is going to be like that."
"It's just a train and a rock," he continues, "It's that simple. Sure, you'll beat a few guards, but in the grand scheme, the job may be simple, but the fallout isn't."
Kiara and Adam listened carefully; only the sounds of the fire crackling pierced through the stillness.
"This is a chaotic world, guys," Zhang explains, "Just barely a month and a half ago, you guys were put on a hitlist, and Kiara, you almost got poisoned to death."
Kiara shrugs the idea off like it was a bad dance performance.
Zhang's look grows irritable, shaking his head. "Don't act like this isn't serious, it is. You can do everything right, be the strongest, cleverest, fastest, or even the bravest person in the world…be the best of them all and still end up dying because you apparently didn't even try your best."
The flash of Conroy's trial rings out, remembering that shattering moment. Just a haze of something from the past.
"There is no fairness. And that's okay," he says, almost defeated yet accepting. "I'm not special, and that's okay as well. But I know some do exist out there, somewhere."
He looks up, staring right back at Adam and Kiara.
"I can't do anything right with myself," he channels, "And when everything feels normal again, my mentor went on to assassinate the Arbiter."
"You had the Conroy Callaghan as your mentor?" Adam spouts, taken aback...probably at the wrong time. "I thought Kiara's grandpa mentored you."
"Yes, Adam. Conroy was my real mentor," Zhang answers, "Is that what you wanted to know? People don't remember that because he was barely there in the first place."
The fireplace crackles, illuminating Kiara's and Zhang's faces below.
"You wanted to be special, Zhang?" Kiara asks, wrapped in her blanket.
"I did. Didn't think it mattered," Zhang answers, nodding his head. "I wanted to help. Conroy was special, yet he did something so terrible, and now he's just a missing, rogue Warden."
Kiara leans forward, trying to sound wise, her eyes meeting his. "You know, sorry for giving you a hard time over and over again. You're not perfect, and I'm not perfect as well, so why bother really? I'm glad you're here with us—you tried your best."
"We do?" Adam whispers, confused.
"He's spiraling, let him have his moment," Kiara whispers quietly.
Zhang chuckles, mildly amused. "You don't have to lie to me. I already know how everyone thinks of me."
"Yeah, it freaked everyone out when you tried working in the cafeteria. No one wanted to talk in your presence," Kiara brings up, making Zhang ponder that.
Rows of recruits just chewing—not speaking–chewing, like their life is on the line, while Zhang is trying to show a genuine smile, but it looks more like genuine disgust at who he has to serve, handing out rows of plates one by one.
Like, why are you looking down on us while you're serving our food?
"I don't remember happening like that," Zhang clarifies.
"No, it happened like that," Adam cuts in. Zhang's expression drops, hearing another voice agreeing with Kiara's story. "But can you tell us more about Conroy Callaghan? No one at the temple wants to talk about his story in depth. You must know about all his crazy adventures. Semi-S rank, come on."
"He never was the person to gloat about his achievements or missions," Zhang answers, trying to bring up the important details. "He was quite…how do I say this? Shockingly humble. He really was the strongest Warden of his generation."
"Yeah, the man who slayed a single Monarch class spirit by himself," Adam says, overly enthusiastic. "Even a weak one requires at least a whole battalion to deal with, and he just did it by himself while his whole team was down. Everyone's scared to talk about that because of the whole…"
His voice trails as he notices Zhang's eyes drop. "Sorry."
"No, don't apologize, Adam," Zhang reassures, stretching his arms. "Conroy made his decision, but I want you to make your own."
Getting off the rock, he slowly walks over to the car, the lights turning on for a mere moment. "Remember to put out the fire when you're done," he says to himself as he yawns.
Adam and Kiara tend to themselves; the faint sound of wood crackling fills the air.
"That's the problem with the temple, they keep hiding all the interesting things from us," Adam comments, acting like he just won a trophy.
"Grandpa knew Conroy?" Kiara mutters, feeling something off about the revelation. She remembers where she first heard that name before.
"Better hope we don't get a Conroy record on us," an upperclassman muttered.
"She really could be a Conroy," a recruit whispers to her friend.
"Everyone here is paranoid after what happened 25 years ago."
"So that's why everyone at the temple keeps speaking his name like that," she says. "But, Adam, the Warden Society is ancient. There have to have been many cases before this in history."
"It's not just because he assassinated an Arbiter," Adam explains wearily. "It's because he escaped without a trace. No one knows where he is, as if he just disappeared. He was placed deep underground at the temple with guards at every corner to watch over him due to his rank, and he still escaped."
"I wonder why Grandpa never talked about him," Kiara wonders. Adam shrugs, tilting his head. The fire crackles between them, words left unsaid.
An Elusive-bird perches itself on a tree top, eyeing up Adam and Kiara above. Its vision relays all the information back to Merrick. An annoyed boredom draws over him, seeing Kiara and Adam near the state border.
"Oh, so that's what you're planning," Merrick comments, disconnecting the connection.