„It’s time,” Bruno spoke, standing in the darkness.

The words were enough to jolt Viki from her slumber; gasping, she raised to a sitting position, automatically taking a swing at him. Bruno predicted it, and he was far away enough for her fist to plow through the air.

„What the fuck?!” she growled at him quietly.

„Shh… Don’t make too much fuss. I need you to get the package back to Durian. After that, you will go to the pirates and stay there. Await Raul and Javohir. I’m going to send them your way as soon as they are back,” he explained before turning around and heading for the door. „And please… Just do what I asked you for, don’t try to pull off anything else.”

She didn’t see anything but could hear his movement. „Wait,” she whispered. „Are you… Are you sure they will come back? Raul and Javohir...”

„Yes, V. I’m sure,” he threw over his shoulder before opening the door, letting a bit of light from the corridor illuminate her room to the point that she was able to see his silhouette before he vanished on the other side, enshrouding her in darkness.

She got up quickly. She picked up her clothes from the ground and started putting them on without any issue coming from the lack of light, as she was quite used to it due to her old profession which often required her to move in thick shadows.

Soon she emerged on the corridor, where basking in the light of the few candles, placed across the corridor, stood Bruno.

„This is the list of the ingredients I need you to get me,” he informed without lowering his voice. „If you can't get some of them, go visit our friend in port and request what I need. Here is the gold,” he said, reaching with the other hand to pull out a full pouch of gold from his pocket.

She took it all without a word, only exchanging glances with him, but it was enough to show that she understood what was going on.

„You will be the death of me,” she sighed. „Couldn’t it wait till the morning?”

„I haven’t slept yet,” he informed. „I was working, and I found out that I need ingredients I don’t have. This is slowing things down. We are wasting time we don’t have,” he said before simply leaving her as his performance concluded.

She watched him for a moment, before sighing heavily. Then she followed him outside. As they left, a faint shift coming from one of the rooms could be heard.

While Bruno headed back to his workshop, Viki’s destination was different. It was the wagon awaiting her in the middle of the main road in Zor, with the familiar wagoner. One of the rebels.

The vehicle stood silently among the thick shadows of the night, patiently waiting for her. She sighed again but went there.

 

---

 

The morning had arrived, and the sun shone brightly, with only a few puffy, white clouds slowly drifting across the sky, pushed by a lazy wind. Viki sat on the wagon, next to the driver, waiting in line with other travelers to enter Razun through its only wooden gate. The guards mostly allowed them to pass without inspections, but here and there, they stopped a couple of people, curious about what they had in their bags or were transporting on the wagons.

She patiently waited for her turn, and when it came, the familiar guard’s ugly mug brought her memories from the last encounter she had with the guy.

„Morning,” he threw.

„Morning,” the driver responded.

„We will need to inspect the wagon,” the soldier said, turning to one of his comrades, who hastily moved, while the man himself grabbed the harness.

„Of course,” the driver even smiled at him.

The other guard jumped on the back to inspect what was there. As the whole vehicle was loaded with grain, it took him a moment to move every sack. To Viki, it was obvious he expected to find something—a clear indication that they all were being watched in Zor. Something she already was aware of for a while, but only recently began experiencing as she became the target of the bolder moves from the faction she was working to take down—Katian’s.

When the soldier finished, he shook his head at the man holding the horse and jumped off. The annoying guard for a moment dropped his gaze, clearly thinking. It quickly returned, focusing on Viki.

„I have to ask you to get off your wagon,” the soldier said.

„Why? Is there something wrong?” The driver asked.

„Just get off,” the guard growled.

Viki sighed but jumped off, and the wagoner followed her just a moment later, groaning due to the lack of movement and his old age.

„Grab the horse,” the soldier instructed his comrade who just returned to his side, and himself climbed up the front of the wagon.

He began inspecting the bench both Viki and the driver sat on, and quickly noticed that with only a little bit of force, he was able to remove the first of the two wooden planks. Underneath was a space, making that part of the vehicle work as a hidden chest of sorts.

The girl held her breath, watching every move of the guard while her right hand was preparing to reach her shoe, where the knife was.

For a short moment, the guard rummaged through, but he didn’t find anything. Then his gaze rapidly shifted to the driver. „What is this? What were you moving in here?”

The man shrugged. „I didn’t even know the planks were loose. I will need to fix this.”

„Right,” the guard slowly responded, putting the piece of wood back in the correct spot. „You might go,” he muttered before jumping off.

„Thank you,” said the wagoner, immediately climbing back on the wagon and grabbing the reins.

Viki followed him. Just a moment later, they were moving forward, entering the city through the gate. Both didn’t speak at all, patiently waiting to gain some distance.

„I told Bruno about what happened last time. He instructed me to move the package by different means. It’s waiting for you in a safe place,” he whispered when he deemed it was safe.

Viki only looked at him but didn’t respond.

Their travel continued until they arrived at a plaza where many other wagons were standing. There were plenty of warehouses around, where different goods were stored. Everything belonged to King Katyan.

She jumped off the wagon first, as they arrived behind the open shed hosting a number of vehicles under its roof. She was looking at her driver, expecting further instructions, while the man slowly began getting off as well.

Suddenly, a man approached her, putting the familiar backpack on the ground, right next to her. He left without a word.

She quickly glanced around, but there were only a few people nearby, and nobody paid her much attention, so she grabbed the backpack and started moving.

The moment she left the plaza, she noticed two men pretending to be engaged in conversation, but one of them kept his eye on the exit of that area, and his expression changed the moment he spotted her. His lips moved, which was followed by a discreet look from his companion.

‘Fuck,’ she thought, but pretended she didn’t see a thing.

She kept walking as if nothing happened, letting them follow her. Her eyes were busy looking for a dark alley in front of her, where she could attempt to lose her tail, but as soon as she approached the first of those places, a man came out, blocking briefly her path.

It was a familiar face. She didn’t speak with him much, but the mane of dark hair was a very recognizable characteristic of Ik.

„Uh… Sorry! My fault,” he said as she bumped into him. „You have a tail. Follow me and play along,” he whispered immediately averting his eyes from her and resuming his walk.

For somebody with less experience, it would take a moment to notice, but Viki felt it immediately. He snatched her pouch with coins.

„Hey, asshole!” she snapped, rushing after him. „Hey! Give it back, you thief!” She shouted, earning herself several looks from other passersby.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, then bolted to the alley across. Viki ran right after him. They burst into the narrow street, which was turning to the left at the end, and that was where he led her. They managed to disappear behind the corner before the two men following Viki burst into the alley.

Ik led her to the door of a building on the other side, waving his hand to make her go faster. She did her best, but the heavy backpack was slowing her down. She rushed into the darkness, stopping inside, and he closed the door behind, quickly moving through the corridor heavily enshrouded with shadows. She waited for him to guide her to the passage to the basement. As he passed by, he shoved the coin pouch into her hands, then went to grab a single burning torch which awaited them in otherwise absolute darkness.

They quickly passed through, eventually emerging outside. The process repeated itself for a while, making her feel there were way too many safety measures. Then they finally arrived in a familiar space basking in the dim light provided by several candles placed around on the crates and barrels. In the cleared center, Durian sat on a chair, behind a table. The man immediately pointed at the chair on the other side.

„Now that I’m done with the favor for you, let’s talk about a favor for me,” he said, his voice absolutely calm.

„Weapons?” she asked while taking the backpack off and putting it on the ground.

„Yes.”

„I’ll get you some weapons,” she said, then left without joining him.

Durian’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead as he watched her walk, but he didn’t say a word.

A moment later, Viki emerged outside, in an alley, and from there she headed straight to the market in Razun. She avoided the main street, choosing the more deserted path, but as soon as she reached her destination, a large man blocked her path. It was one of the guys who was following her.

His hand shot forward, grabbing her in a vice-like grip. „Where is the backpack?” He growled.

„What? What backpack? Do you even know who I am?! Guard!” she yelled.

The man grunted, but he let go of her and rushed away. Her yelling earned her quite a number of curious gazes from the bystanders, but nobody came to help, as the situation appeared to resolve itself.