Heiss and the group arrived at Victoria port at 9 in the morning on October 26, 2044.
Each one unpacked their belongings, we took them down, and we stayed in a hotel near the main park, rest would be necessary to be able to take the upriver boat they would take in 4 days.
The journey was long, but necessary. They could very well have taken the same route as Puerto Leguizamo that Caleb and his group took, but that would be very risky.
The district controlled all the locations near the already destroyed traffickers' barracks, this was a measure to watch for possible narcos that managed to escape the attack, eliminating loose ends was necessary, and because of that the same bosses wouldn't expect them to cross through the nearest cities.
That's why Heiss made the decision for Victoria port and instead of Puerto Reyes which was a little closer, because it was the place with the lowest probability of infiltration by the district, plus they wouldn't expect someone to take a boat to go upriver instead of going to Puerto Leguizamo and escape through its runway.
Indirectly, they ended up saving Caleb's team from a district ambush in that location.
Therefore, the only alternative was to have patience, wait for it to be safer and take the least expected route.
Victoria port was a small town, years ago it was merely a port, but it gained population until approaching 6000 inhabitants.
There weren't many luxuries, but it was a tourist area that sometimes received tourists for their trips on the river that connected other ports, which they used to show the beauty of the Amazon through 1 to 3 nights on the boat crossing the river.
Once they arrived at reception, they divided into pairs or 3 to stay in the rooms, this for safety so that if something happened to one, the other would alert.
The distribution was as follows: (Caleb and Jesús), (Ethan, Rudolf and Marcus), (Cloe and Emily) and (Lucius and Heiss)
In this way, each one left their things in the room and took their free time doing different activities; they weren't vacations, but they determined with their leaders that it would be the best option.
Rudolf and his group decided to take rest playing pool and relaxing at the open bar.
Cloe and Emily decided to explore the place to buy clothes and find stores to eat ice cream, along the way they got something for Ethan and Caleb to wear, they had been wearing borrowed clothes from Heiss's group for a while now.
Lucius and Heiss decided to take a walk around the localities to see what they could find to eat that was typical of the place, they reconsidered which places would be suitable for training, in addition to possible exits from the town in case of emergency.
For now, they went unnoticed, thanks to the clothes they brought in one of the suitcases, later each one would have to buy what they needed to feel comfortable; the humidity and heat of the Amazon jungle was something that couldn't be taken lightly.
When they least expected it they were in a place that sold beers and household products, not a tavern, but a place where people go to share was time to gather information
***
Next to me was a man 1.8 meters tall, he has an oval and well-defined face, framed by brown hair with soft waves. His complexion is tanned and shows some subtle lines of expression on the forehead and around his light brown eyes, which suggests a mature aspect of experience.
I don't know much about him apart from the fact that Heiss calls him Rudolf.
I've played pool with some companions, but I don't have that much experience to say, 'what should I do?'
Not knowing how to proceed, he decided to ask how it was played, to try to gain his trust through ignorance.
"Rudolf, could you explain the rules, it's my first time playing, and I don't have experience", without him noticing, he had already made his first mistake in his interaction.
"Ethan, right?"
Somehow he felt irritation in his voice, he swallowed saliva, feeling that he had done something wrong.
"Yeah…"
"First, since it's the first time, my name is not Rudolf, my name is Alexander. Don't pick up the habits of that crazy Heiss, I don't want nicknames from anyone"
Then he raised both hands, trying to stop the misunderstanding.
"I don't understand, so why does Heiss call you that?"
Sparing him a glance, Rudolf looked away, and black lines formed on his forehead, apparently he was furious.
"That guy doesn't fall on this list of decent people, just call me, Alexander"
"I understand"
Looking at the other subject who was watching how he should put ball number 5 in, he decided to clarify with him too.
"And why does he call you number 2?, if your name is Marcus?"
Feeling a chill down his back, he shuddered, remembering the experience of how he ended up involved on Heiss's side.
"It's complicated….."
Not wanting to touch on the subject more, he approached with the cue, inclined his body on the table, positioned himself and then a "Tak" was heard, then a second when the white ball touched the 5 and carried it to the hole on the right half.
"¡Good!", celebrating, he raised his hand and closed it in a fist.
Contemplating the game, his comments about Heiss were not to the group's liking, he decided not to question anymore.
The game continued and the next one to ask was Marcus.
"Hey, can I ask?; who is Kalika?, you mention her a lot, but we have no idea who she is"
It was a doubt that hung in the air, Rudolf would be lying if he didn't feel curious about her.
Ethan's sincere face began to fade, only calm eyes remained, imperturbable in appearance, but finally with a little brightness.
"She is whom we owe everything, our loyalty, life and future path"
"What do you mean by that?", Marcus asked.
Upon seeing him, he realized that his doubt was authentic, not only that, in the time of coming and when they shared time together, he realized that they were good people deep down.
Rudolf was the most serious apart from Lucius, he seemed distant, as if something bad had happened, and he was going through a hard time.
But deep down, no one was discourteous or rude by choice, he didn't understand if it was because of the culture or their native way of speaking, but he felt it very sincere.
As if each one had a burden that he knows is easier to share with solid friendships.
"It's a story that's a bit long, I can't give many details, but seeing that you follow Heiss, I'll take it as people of trust for what he did for us, besides the feedback will help me with something personal, anyway, if I had to start, it would be 11 years ago"
***
July 15, 2033.
England, city of Blackpool.
The salty wind blew coldly on the face of a 9-year-old boy, who watched the waves crash against the coast, near a tourist pier that was currently empty due to the sudden drizzle that fell on the place.
In one of the huts was the child, with a lost gaze, hollow eyes, without emotion, no sign of worry about the sudden rain.
He simply didn't care, the cold, solitude, the sky clouded by dark clouds that seemed to eat the sky.
What was he going to care about?, if in his life he had nothing left, no one would come for him, no one would worry if he didn't come home, no one would know that he was on the pier without the company of an adult to protect him from strangers, no one.
Today was the day everything was lost.
His grandfather gave him wise words and severe warnings when he was even younger, just 2 years ago he had passed away, and it seemed that his absence carried all the meaning of what was happening currently.
It's as if he had foreseen that all of this would happen; but who in their right mind would tell his grandson at the age of 6 that all the effort, love and work would be worthless in this world, because in the end this world in which you build, takes everything away from you.
Tightening his fingers in his shorts that reached his knees, his eyes turned red and for a brief instant everything became blurry.
He quickly passed the sleeve of his coat between his eyes.
"…Stk….mommy…daddy….grandpa"
In one of the poorest neighborhoods of the city, this young boy lived with his mother and father,
The father worked in one of the biscuit production factories in the city, his position was low so his salary was also low.
His mother worked in one of the places in the tourist sector, helping with the cleaning of the places, being hired for part-time she didn't receive the benefits of a contract worker, she didn't have health insurance, life insurance or any benefit.
She only obtained work, asking in different places to give her work in what they needed, and she would do it. Several took advantage of the low costs to manipulate people, and she was one of those unlucky people.
But there was no better way to do something, she would have to endure it in order to help with the expenses of the house and help reach the end of the month.
Her son on the other hand was not very sociable, he had companions who accompanied him, but there were very few. He was enrolled in one of the most prestigious private schools in the area, a joint effort by his parents to guarantee him a future.
He received discrimination from other companions who, if they had an appropriate economic situation, only a few approached him and accompanied him.
This life of work efforts was hard, but the true love that his parents gave him helped not feel the pressure from the harsh situations in which they lived.
That is, until today, his parents had been murdered in the market while buying the day's groceries.
It was an unscrupulous robbery by 5 people, they wanted his parents' money, when they gave them what they had and saw that they didn't have much they decided to beat them to death.
The police arrested them thanks to a security camera from a store, they tried to take me after I left school to a place of protection for minors, but I escaped at the last moment.
Why?, because nothing mattered anymore, there was no one who cared about him or who worried about him.
It was better to die and go with them, there was no way his school efforts would matter to anyone.
Those who mattered to him were gone, like when his grandfather told him that everyone disappeared sooner or later. He wasn't trying to be cruel, or so he tried to believe when he saw it.
For some reason those memories still remained intact in his head, his worn cane, his clothes with no luxury, the scratched glasses that weren't as useful as at the beginning, his rough voice and strong temperament.
The torrential rain began to fall with greater force and the winds caused the rain to hit his face, clothes and bare skin.
The cold made him feel even more sadness, or not, maybe something worse, fear.
Fear of not meeting them on the other side, fear of being a disappointment as a son, fear of being alone again, even fear of trying to continue in this life.
His anger was deep at first, but then only emptiness remained, and when his decision was made was when fear appeared.
Tightening even more the wet clothes, he approached the railing, below there were only strong waves, if he fell he would meet his end.
With iron determination, driven by the fear and desperation he felt, he passed between the railing and held himself with both hands that trembled from the cold, his feet touched the wooden edge, his expressions varied, but in the last moment he could only try to smile in a distressed way while his tears fell down the sides of his cheeks.
And at that point before he let go, a voice came from behind him.
"How amusing"
Turning to see the voice that spoke to him, he observed a girl standing 1 meter away from him, with an umbrella in hand, but for some reason she wasn't using it.
At that point, due to the sudden surprise, due to his weak hands, due to the wetness of his hands that held the cold and wet tube, due to how slippery everything was, at one moment he slipped losing his balance and fell slowly towards what would be his end.
However, despite having everything against him, the girl ran and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from falling towards the dangerous and powerful waves.
The boy looked down, perplexed at what he believed was his final destiny.
Then he turned up and saw a girl with black hair, green eyes, delicate lips and skin almost pale white.
It didn't matter that she was wet from the rain, her face captivated the boy, and for a moment he let himself be enchanted by her gentle gestures.
Seeing the boy's reaction with amusement, her kind eyes looked at him intently, then she smiled at him and told him some words.
"Hello, nice to meet you, I'm Kalika"
The boy was in shock at the girl's attitude, then he heard her melodic voice again.
"You are interesting, what's your name?"
Without realizing it, his lips began to move, it was as if the girl forced him to speak, but it wasn't like that, he said it when she asked, somehow he was able to say some words while hanging held by her hand.
"..My…my name is Ethan…"
Then the girl smiled before helping him up.
This was the beginning of how Ethan met Kalika, afterward he would be recruited to serve under her command.