Sector B

1

"Lieutenant Strout, what brings you to my office so early in the morning?" A lean man dressed in a sleek black uniform placed crossed his hands behind him.

Small lines of Gray hair kissed the sides of his head, while the rest of it was black. He was an older man in his early 50s. His shoulders were stiff and straight and the side of his face was stained with a long red scar that ran from the outer tip of his right eyebrow down to the tip of his jaw.

It was a scar he earned in battle. There were 5 pins lined in a row, clipped to the right chest of his uniform. They told stories of his achievements. It was obvious that he may have been a general or held a high battle rank.  

"Are you displeased to see me, Chen?" Lt. Strout, a balding man with blue eyes strolled into the glass-walled office with an angry pout on his lips. He had around 7 pins clipped on his right chest to symbolize that he had slightly higher significance.

"I'm just surprised that you found time to get away from the council to visit my office. Running the sectors is no easy task I'm sure, and it's not easy to rest or travel. Would you like some tea? A cup of coffee?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look like you haven't eaten in days."

"I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries, Theodore. I came to discuss business."

"Business, you say? Give me a moment." Theodore Chen, the man in the black uniform with 5 pins took a seat at his desk and pressed the green call +1 button on his office phone. It rang a few times before a woman answered. "Cheryl, please bring me a cup of green tea and a jar of sugar cubes."

"Yes, sir."

"You were saying, Strout?" Theodore gestures for Strout to continue.

"Right." Strout cleared his throat and sat in the black leather chair in front of Theodore. He folded his fingers together and frowned before taking a deep breath. He wanted to get his thoughts together. "The council has been bombarded with all of the recent mishaps going on in Sector Astell. I suppose you know about the bombings?"

"So I've heard on the News reports. They've been happening all over Sector A."

"The bombings of Sector A started as small robberies. We'd get files about safes being blown up in small shops. But over time they've gotten worse. The council members and I thought it was just idiotic criminals trying to steal some money. But the placements of the explosives have become more strategized. They're placed in more populated areas of the city. And the bombs only go off during the busiest of times. And they've sent everyone residing in Sector A into a panic. My team has been working like dogs trying to catch up with all the latest information on the know-how. And it seems like there is someone influential behind all the chaos, and they're trying to tell the council something. They are sending a message."

"That's a lot to take in. After doing the research, has your team started identifying the criminals who started the minor explosions?"

"Well, you see, that's the reason for my visit. You know I've just been promoted to the Astell Council, so everything is very new. I've been limited in resources. I have to earn my way up. But you're the head of the Agency, and the council members have taken up my suggestion in requesting that you take a deeper look while I focus on the paperwork."

"So you want me to dig up the deets and do all the dirty work so your team doesn't have to work like dogs?"

"When you say it like that it sounds awful. Think of it as me asking an old friend a favor."

"An old friend?" Theodore scoffed. "Since when were we ever friends, Strout?"

"An old colleague." Strout corrected. "Do me this favor, please."