Hydra Heart

Chapter Two

Chapter 2: My Mom Could Beat Up Your Mom

Through Vesta's window, the streets of Nidus lay barely visible. In the towering metropolis, the city's eyes were attracted to the glowing, colorful advertisements on the sides of mighty skyscrapers, not the dimly lit streets of residential areas, where kids played in the shadows of their parents' apartments.

The people who lived in these apartment buildings did not own their floors, walls, or ceilings. It showed in the maintenance, or lack thereof. There is no reason to add a new coat of paint, decorate, clean up trash, or grow plants if your lease contract doesn't say you have to.

Vesta laughed to herself, thinking of her encounter the night before. The dumbass did not think I would put a tracking device on her. She went to her LightTable. From her station at home, she could see that Molly was headed southeast when her tracker stopped transmitting. She was on foot, Vesta reasoned, she couldn't have gone far. After leaving her apartment, though, she would have to know where to go.

From her apartment complex's garage, she retrieved her motorcycle. It's practical use for avoiding police in heavy traffic had only come up once in Vesta's career, and she wished she had someone to whom she could tell the story.

--

I am beginning to understand how no one has found this place before, Vesta observed, as she squeezed through foliage in the dense forest surrounding the organization's secret base. Randomly, she felt something underneath her foot. She stopped her march and stomped the ground a few times. It's firmer here... She bent over and dusted with her hand, revealing a hatch underneath a very thin layer of dirt, hastily used to cover the entrance.

Wow, was it that easy? No way, I should be careful and look for a different way in. A dozen or so meters ahead, she saw a suspiciously dense cluster of foliage. She tiptoed towards it. Through the dense greenery, a thin, descending wooden staircase was barely visible. She slid through by brushing aside some branches.

Her Oculo activated when she tapped her temple twice. With her purple eye, Vesta successfully avoided 3 invisible wires, 4 pressure plates, and the final trap on the last step, which was just a clear tack set down on the ground, pointy end up. I have a feeling I know who put that there, Vesta figured.

With a close examination, Vesta determined the door was safe, much to her surprise. Despite the circumstances, her manners came first.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Home already, Molly?" a deep voice came from inside. "What are you doing taking the entrance with all the traps? The hole in the ceiling isn't for lighting purposes."

"I..." Vesta looked for the words. "I am not Molly. Just here to talk." The pistol she held gave a different impression.

There were five seconds of silence. Then, the door opened and a man came into view. Upon seeing the visitor, he gave no indication of his surprise besides raised eyebrows. Vesta suspected instantly that he was the type who had seen action. He was also assured because of the gun he was pointing at Vesta in return. There was a moment of thick tension.

"Huh. Maybe I should start checking our cameras when our intruder alert goes off. I just thought it was Molly trying to haul in bean bags again." He gave her an analytical look. "Why don't you come in and have a seat, stranger. Tell me what brings you here." The man who had come to answer the door stood a good six feet tall, and had a noticeably unbothered look on his face. Just like how Molly was unaffected by the gun pointed at her, this man also seemed unphased, despite being one gunshot away from death. No sweat, no quivering lips, only diligent attention.