Sector 10

Chapter 17

After a dreamless sleep, I woke up at around 8:00pm. My inbox was empty, so I ate some breakfast – a muesli bar and a piece of fruit. I departed to the roof and read a manga on my phone for a few hours. Then Jon called me. As I stood up and gazed upon the city lights, I picked up.

"Hey," Jon's static voice said.

"Hey," I responded.

"You actually picked up this time."

"Don't push it. I don't get calls from anyone other than my employers."

"Well, I was calling to ask if you were free today. I'm assuming you are since you're calling me right now."

As if on cue, the call with Jon was interrupted by one labelled no caller ID. Unless it was a scammer, it would most likely be Sean.

"Um, hold on. My boss is calling, I'll call you back," I babbled to Jon. I ended the call with Jon and accepted the other. "Hello?" I answered.

"Silver." It was definitely Sean.

"Sean."

"About yesterday's assignment..." I scrunched my eyebrows and squeezed my eyes shut at my own stupidity, of course he wouldn't know that I didn't do the mission. He continued, "I don't know what is going on with you and this arguably simple task, but I have not received the favoured reaction from the boy's father. He is not dead, Ai." I winced. My name didn't sound proper in his dirty mouth. "It seems Sabre has seen you with the boy once before. You told her you were going to kill him there as well. Bring him to the top of the Owl Tower in Toshima. I want to see you kill him or I'll do it myself. Don't fail me again." He ended the call.

Sean was a cruel man. He probably knows I have some sort of relation to Jon. He's willing to eliminate to stop anyone else influencing my actions. But if I did nothing, he'd get one of his other underdogs to kill both of us. My quivering hand called Jon.

"Do you want to meet up at the Owl Tower? It's in the Toshima ward," I said, trying to sound as calm as I could.

"Yeah, sure. See you there." And that call ended, too.

I lowered my phone and let out a shaky breath before making my way down the fire escape.

---

I arrived at the Owl Tower carrying a miniature duffle-style bag which carried a pistol. I had taken the monorail the proper way. Inside it, not on the roof. The Owl Tower was a long-abandoned structure built back in the time of Old Tokyo. It was still intact, but no one used it.

Jon wasn't here yet. I peered up at the tall building, high as the sky itself. I heard Jon's footsteps behind me.

"I always seem to catch you while you're gazing up at the sky," he said.

I responded with a shallow smile and informed him that we're going up. We stepped through the doors and found ourselves in a dark reception. Scarcely making out the outlines of the doors, we made our way to an elevator. As soon as we pressed the button to go up, three bulbs inserted into the wall above us lit up, casting elongated shadows around the rest of the room. A few squatters were probably still trying to live here. Maybe people from the ghetto.

When the doors slid open, Jon and trotted into the small compartment and I pressed the highest button on the panel. A crackly audio of jazzy music played from the small speakers in the corners. I leaned against the rail and folded my arms. Jon imitated me.

"What's the bag for?" he asked.

"It's... a surprise," I answered sheepishly. Some surprise. As we felt the elevator rise, I refused to meet his eyes. I did not deserve to.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded; my eyes still trained to the ground. In due time, we heard the ding that signalled our arrival. As the heavy doors opened, wind blasted into the chamber and we overlooked the roof of the Owl Tower. It was cold, but my hands started to sweat. We could see the silhouette of a man watching the city. Watching it live. Watching it breathe. For once, I was the first one to walk. Jon trudged behind me uncertainly.

The man turned half his body towards us. He had blonde hair and wore a black silk shirt with rose patterns growing around his sleeves. A slick smile was smeared across his face.

"Hello, Silver. I've been waiting."