In the Name of Chaos

Chapter 4: Save a soul

"You've probably heard me say this, but Aris owes me. Well, Aris doesn't owe me. He's just related to the owner of the black market, and it's the owner who owes me...sorry, I'm babbling. None of that matters."

"What do I need to do for Aris to help me bring Mathea back home? He said the extent of his help depends on mine. How do I get more than information out of him?"

"Actually, it depends on you and your sister."

"If you haven't noticed, Mathea isn't here to help get herself home," I say with a voice laced with sarcasm.

"It's called Project G. I got in contact with Aris before we got here—while we were at the first hideout—and briefly explained the situation. He only replied to confirm our transportation to this office and sent a message with only the letter 'G'," Saint explains.

"What Aris wants from you is something the black market has had in mind for a long time now but never had the right resources to do so. All we were missing was a Snap we can trust and who is willing to do the job."

"Everybody needs Thea," I sigh.

"And they need you to convince Mathea to go along with their plan."

"What do I need to do?"

"The black market will find Compound X; the place Mathea and Kane are supposed to be in. I've told Aris about Eve, and he plans to find her and blackmail her into helping us."

"Do you think Eve will help us if we threaten to reveal that she's a Filter? We're not entirely sure that theory of yours is true."

"I'm sure she's a Filter, and there must be a pretty good reason she hasn't cured herself or asked her Purus co-workers to cure her. We'll drag it out of her."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"Aris has been watching her. He thinks he found some of her relatives."

"How easy is it to find those people? Surely my program or the Foster government can find the Purus members and make up some plan to crumble the group."

"The market happens to be extremely motivated. Anyway, it doesn't help knowing where to find the Purus members without a good enough plan to get rid of the group. They've tried and failed with infiltrations in the past. We're kind of trying a similar thing, but we think we can pull it off better. That's why we need your sister."

"I suppose you plan on threatening her relatives if our theory of her being a Filter is wrong or doesn't have enough weight to serve as blackmail?"

"Do you care?"

"No—"

"Then I think you've asked enough questions. Anyway, we'll threaten Eve and get her to secretly put Mathea and you in contact. Eve will also help Mathea leave the compound. I'm not sure of the specifics of how that will happen. Aris is working on everything."

"What do T and I have to do?"

"Stop talking and listen to me for a second," Saint sighs. "Mathea will memorise anything needed to help her, Kane, and as many other Gifted people escape. Mathea will help take that Purus compound down. Of course, Eve won't know we plan to take more than two people out of there."

I stay silent for some time, and it doesn't take long for me to realize Aris' motives. However, this is what needs to be done in order to bring Mathea home. I'll have to help the black market hand over the lives of many others to ensure my sister and friend's safety. This isn't too bad of a request from Aris, because no lives will actually be lost; more families will simply be separated as Aris fills his pockets.