[REND] 8 - The Fairy King Sees All Sometimes

Reo Hinode (Oberon)

Reo Hinode had been in complete darkness for more than two hours now, the longest time he had had his eyes closed while awake.

Well… not counting the times he couldn’t sleep at night, lying in bed with eyes shut tight, alone with his thoughts. He’d berate himself for the idiotic decision of joining the group. He’d be afraid of dying, just like any sane person would be—the difference was he had been close to death a few times. Worse, he had experienced death through his fairies several times before. He remembered the pain each time one of them was defeated.

But Day-Reo was not that spineless piece of shit Night-Reo right now, for he was Oberon, the king of the fairies!

He conceded that royalty across history wouldn’t consider the backseat of a 2007 Mayfair Galleon as a throne fit for a king. With only four fairies under his command, perhaps this was as royal as he could get.

He wasn’t complaining about his spot in their spy car, though. It was as comfortable as possible, given the circumstances.

Johann, ever-reliable when it comes to vehicles, befitting of his codename, Ride, removed the backseats so Reo had space to kneel and stretch his arms. Johann also secured firm cushions on the floor, arranged to hold Reo’s legs and butt in place so he could kneel for long periods with ease, even if the car were moving—it was more like sitting than kneeling with all the support cushions.

Slings hung from the car’s ceiling that attached to Reo’s wrists, holding up his hands as required to maintain his summon. Just because he had a superhuman body didn’t mean he could hold the summoning position while his mind was focused on controlling his spy fairy. Johann also had the windows heavily tinted—Dario paid for the works—so no one could see the weird shit inside. Without context, someone seeing Reo in his summoning pose would think that it was some kinky sex thing.

And someone who knew the context would report them to the BID. 

Using their van would’ve been more convenient since it was pretty roomy, and they could’ve easily decked it out for his use. But they realized they couldn’t easily park a large van anywhere without inviting suspicion. Not to mention that they couldn’t agree on how to disguise the van: a laundry van, pest control, or a move-in van. They settled on using the van as their service vehicle. Myra was using it now to drive Amber and Erind to their hideout.

“You okay there, Obe?” Everett asked from the driver’s seat.

If Reo needed a ride during espionage missions, either Everett or Johann would get paired with him. Reo hoped it wouldn’t always be a sausage fest, but choices were limited… limited to one. Myra. And she thought he was a creep. That was a valid assessment, one that Reo wouldn’t dare contest. He’d phrase it as ‘a couple of levels below a gentleman.’ But with their prospective members, Amber and Erind, things might change for the better.

“What do you think?” Reo snapped.

“I don’t know. Maybe you’re having fun back there?” Everett said, snorting as he held back laughter.

“Oh, yeah. Most definitely,” Reo replied sarcastically. “Five-star accommodations, lobster buffet, coffee rub spa. It’s awesome back here!”

“Coffee rub spa? Is that a thing?”

“Dunno. Just something I saw on Snippet. The internet and its vastness. Anything goes there.”

“Sounds like one of those trends that are actually scams,” Everett said. “A waste of coffee, if you ask me.”

“No one’s asking you that.” Reo cleared his throat. “There’s something I want to ask you, though.”

“Really? Popping the question?” Everett chuckled. “No, no. I may be single, but I’m straight as a—”

“I’m also straight, you idiot.” Reo coughed. “Could you get me a drink and maybe some gum?” He heard Everett rummage through some stuff. Then he felt a straw pressed to his mouth. He sipped the water, hoping Everett didn’t pour hot sauce in it like last time.

“Open your mouth,” Everett said. “Here comes the gum. Choo, choo.” He made steam train noises before plopping the gum into Reo’s mouth, then he laughed out loud, banging the headrest of his seat.

“Thanks for that.” Reo was just thankful for the gum. He badly needed to stave off the cravings.

“No prob, man. I know you must be dying for a smoke right now.” There were squeaking and creaking as Everett probably stretched in his seat. “How long are we supposed to stay here? I’m getting bored with just sitting.”

“You’re complaining? Want to trade places?”

“Nah, I’m good. Are you sure that you really can’t move while Sneak is out?” Everett asked, referring to Reo’s spy fairy. “Why can you move when summoning other fairies?”

“How would I know? Why do you need to eat a lot of food to fuel your powers? There’s fucking no point asking about that. On some level, there might be some mind-bending explanation for how our powers work. But I’m not on that level. I don’t care about that shitty, emotional level. I care about the real world.” Reo groaned, remembering his real job as a line cook at Phoenix Wings. “I missed a shift for this. Do you think I can get Blank to pay me for my lost hours?”

“Why don’t you unsummon Sneak, for now?” It sounded like Everett shifted in his seat again. Judging by the sound of his voice, Everett was looking at Reo, peering in between the front seats. “You don’t need your fairies to enter your mouth again, right?”

“Theatrics and rituals are important in my court,” Reo haughtily replied. He then grinned. “Yeah, there’s no need. But if I unsummon Sneak, I don’t think I can get him on the package again. We need to stick to the package to make sure they don’t switch trucks on us. Sneak has to be inside the right truck to be safe from scanners and the bunch of techie crap protecting the 2Ms bases.”

Everett forcefully sighed. “I get it, I get it. If Merge’s here, she’d say something like, ‘It’s so bizarre hearing you sound responsible.’ Know what? I’m going to say that too. It’s so bizarre hearing you sound responsible.”

“I’m not gonna mess this up because Blank’s firm on hitting the docks come next week. This stupid truck makes rounds only once a week. We should be with the next delivery, or else we’d wait another week. The 2Ms would’ve done something nasty by then.”

“You’re worried about them, too, huh? The girls,” Everett said. “I can’t help but feel bad about the situation. They don’t have… uh, a deeply personal vendetta against the Adumbrae like we do. I get that Blank wants to test any possible candidate for the artificial Core, but I don’t agree with it. Those girls are trapped now.”

Reo tilted his head, still seeing darkness in front of him. “You think they’ll be compatible?”

“I felt it. You did too, didn’t you?”

“Eh… yeah.” The artificial Cores began to ‘beat’ after melding with Amber and Erind. More than likely that it’d stick to those girls. There was no backing out now, and they should know it.

Reo felt slightly guilty about what happened. He willingly joined here, and there were times he wanted out. Going to be hard to say that Amber and Erind ‘willingly’ joined. They had no choice. Part of it was because they already had contact with the 2Ms. Another part was Dario taking them in.

Reo didn’t say anything because… he was scared of arguing with Dario. That guy wasn’t normal. Reo would bet that Dario had undergone some child indoctrination program in a secret government facility—if the government was making artificial Cores, it wouldn’t be too crazy to assume they trained kids to be agents. Top secret business. Dario most certainly knew who they were working for.

“This is for the best, that’s what I think,” said Everett. “The girls would’ve been in danger if—”  

“Hang on,” Reo interjected. “Light. The back of the truck’s opening.” Sneak could finally see. If Reo pumped Sneak with power, he could see in the dark, like some night vision ability. But it took a lot of energy, multiplied by the range of their connection. He didn’t want to exhaust himself looking at nothing. Right now, he had to provide wi-fi energy to push Sneak’s stealth to full.

“What’s going on?” Everett asked

“Two guys. No, three.”

“Are you sure they can’t see Sneak?”

“They couldn’t find Sneak even if they wanted to,” Reo replied, a bit insulted at the question. “You’ve tested for yourself Sneak’s stealth abilities.”

Sneak could become completely invisible if he stuck on something and stopped moving—this time, he was perched on one of the packages inside the truck. Not simply invisible. Sneak wouldn’t even register in people’s minds if they accidentally bumped or touched him while in this unmoving state. Some scanners could detect Sneak, but that didn’t mean that the person using the machine could comprehend Sneak being there.

“They’re moving the packages,” Reo continued, reporting what Sneak could see. Contrasting with Sneak, the other fairies didn’t share their senses with Reo. Fortunately, he could provide them with instructions, and they were smart enough to follow them.

Reo continued to narrate what was happening. They were inside a garage large enough to fit three mid-sized trucks. The men took the boxes out of the truck and piled them next to another truck disguised as an UPN delivery truck—those wouldn’t look out of place at the docks. These guys were going to great lengths to hide the packages that came from Eve, an ultra-exclusive club owned by the 2Ms.

“I bet my left testicle those are mutant brains they’ll ship for processing,” said Everett.

“I bet my right testicle that you’re right,” Reo replied. What other important item would the 2Ms send to their mysterious main base on some fucking secret island? “Oh, wait. Trouble. They’re stacking the packages inside a large container.”

“How’s Sneak?”

“He might get squished.” Even if Sneak was in invisible mode, it still had a physical body. A couple of times before that, Sneak had accidentally died without the enemy noticing. “Damn it. Let’s see…”

Reo had to gamble. He willed Sneak to look over his tiny shoulder and instantly stop moving. Luckily, the men arranging the boxes didn’t notice. Even if they did, Sneak would’ve been seen for only a split second. With a view of the men, Reo waited for them to bend down to get the next box to shove into the larger container inside the fake UPN truck.

There! Sneak spread its tiny wings and buzzed off the package and into the truck.

The men turned to the sound. Sneak landed on top of the large container and stopped moving. The truck was a few feet away.

“Is everything okay?” Everett asked.

“No problemo, my friend-o. This is just like playing Statues.”

“Statues?”

“I think the game has other names. Red Light, Green Light? You know, the one where you can’t move if the ‘it’ is looking at you? Ah, anyway, Sneak is inside the truck.”

Sneak still had a view of what was happening since the back of the truck was open as the men loaded the containers. Reo caught a glimpse of the driver and two guys with him. It was them again for this truck then? Possible that one or all of them were either augmented humans or Adumbrae.

Ten minutes later, the truck left the place that was disguised as a once-busy repair shop, which had seen better days, and headed in the direction of the circumferential road. If it kept its course, it should be heading to the docks. Reo pictured the ship to pick up the goods inside the truck must be arriving soon. Once there, they’d pick these up and immediately leave.

“Is the traffic heavy?” Reo asked.

“Not at all. An hour or so before afternoon rush hour. Trust me, I can stick to that truck like a tick on a dog.”

“No need to be that close. Did you forget I can maintain Sneak up to a couple hundred feet away? Don’t make it too obvious we’re following them. Stay a hundred feet back.”

“I can’t eyeball how long a hundred feet is! About seventeen, eighteen of me, lying down in a line? Do you think it’s easy looking for a spot to hit this truck while estimating a hundred feet? Just leave this to me. We’re turning right onto Magnolia Street. They’re probably avoiding the PCM protests. Those guys have so much free time to protest everything.”

“They do have a point, though, that Adumbrae have infiltrated the government.”

They continued to drive with no issue. The UPN truck was truly heading to the docks.

“Another police car,” Everett said after around fifteen minutes of driving. “One was back there too.”

“Corrupt cops providing some shadow escort to the UPN truck?”

“I think so.”

As the traffic shed westward, and the vehicles alongside them became mostly trucks, Everett had no choice but to make some distance to not looking suspicious.

“Man, my palms are sweating,” Everett complained. “I don’t know how long two hundred feet is!”

“You’re doing well,” said Reo. “I haven’t lost connection with Sneak. Are we nearing the 2Ms’ base?” To be accurate, it was an area of the docks they suspected to be controlled by the 2Ms. No actual paper trail to prove that. But this suspicious part just had way too many guards and way too tall fences.

“We are. I’m hanging back some more. There are no more vehicles between us and the truck.”

“Okay. I’ll do one last look.” Reo felt his body start to sag as strength left him. In his mind’s eye, the inside of the truck became a brightly lit room. He committed to memory every detail Sneak noticed while struggling to maintain the summoning position.

“We're almost at the gate,” said Everett. “The truck’s slowing down. It’s preparing to turn and enter.”

Reo felt the car speed up a bit. It’d be more suspicious if they also slowed down. And Reo needed the car to be close to the truck when it passed through the scanners and other machines by the gate.

“The truck’s getting scanned,” Everett said. “The guards are opening it. They’re not opening large containers. And I can’t see anymore.”

“I still have control of Sneak.”

“The truck’s through. It was just a cursory check inside. No problems.”

“Sneak is still inside… Still inside… Okay, I lost connection.” The car and the truck had parted far enough and the summon was canceled. “That’s our way in. Inside the truck. Inside the containers.”