Rebel Born [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 13: Truth or Deception?

The hoverboard slowed down automatically as we neared Sector 12. I took my foot off the pedal and let the hoverboard come to a rest on top of a building within Sector 12 by itself.

Woah.

Sector 12 was completely different from the other Sectors. I knew that living conditions got worse from Sector 1 to Sector 12 but I didn't expect the difference to be this big. All the buildings were old and dusty brick buildings, compared to the clean concrete buildings and shiny glass buildings closer to Sector 1. On a few of the buildings, there were cracks along the walls and green moss that had started to grow.

I got off the hoverboard and set it to camouflage on top of the building. I crouched down at the edge of the building and looked over at the people below. The roads were dusty and cracked and almost deserted. There were some kids who were playing along the road but that was it. The recent attacks must have set them all on the edge.

I felt out of place in my monochrome outfit. Everyone's clothes in this sector was washed out, baggy, and completely ragged. I pulled out the tablet and turned it on. Selecting the GPS option, I inputted the address of the suspects and followed it, jumping from building to building. Trying to catch as little attention as possible. There aren't that many people on the streets anyways.

A small beep sounded from the tablet as I reached the destination. I turned the tablet off and slid it into my pants' pocket. They live on the top floor. Let's see, how should I do this. I didn't bring any other equipment with me.

Just as I was about to try sliding down the pipe, I heard a loud, strong female voice shout out, "Stop picking on them and go be stupid somewhere else."

Whoever said it caught my attention and my eyes zeroed in on a group of people in the center of the road. Curious, I jumped to another building that was slightly lower and jumped onto the ground from there. It was a group of boys and they were surrounding something, or someone.

I stood near the back and peered over their shoulders the best I could. They were beating up two girls in the center of the circle. Anger rose inside of me and I tapped on the shoulder of one of the boys. He turned around with an annoyed expression, as if he was annoyed at me for disturbing his 'fun'. I scowled and punched him in the face. My fist made contact with his nose and I heard a satisfying crunch. He shrieked, cradling his nose.

"What was that for?!" He screamed. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small card. Tapping on it once, my Syndicate ID buzzed into existence. At the sight of it, the boy's face paled and immediately ran the other way. The other boys followed behind him blindly. I only watched after them in amusement. I was not expecting that reaction.

"Mia are you okay?" The older girl asked. I turned to look at the two of them as I heard the little girl sniffle.

"Don't you worry, big sis here won't let those meanies hurt you. Okay?" Another sniffle.

"Okay then, go on home." The older girl released Mia from her hold and pushed her towards the building I was on top of earlier.

They stood up and the older girl watched the little girl run towards the building before disappearing indoors. She then turned to me with a bright smile. "Thanks so much for the help there! The name's Cossette. You?"

Cossette. I remembered the images that I saw in the meeting room. This girl is the eldest daughter of the family of suspects. She doesn't seem like a bad person. She's even a victim of bullying. And she's a lot shorter than I thought she would be. Cossette's height reached right under my chin.

My concentration was broken by Cossette who had come extremely close to my face, looking straight into my eyes. I raised my eyebrows slightly in response. She grinned and leaned back onto her heels. "Just making sure your mind is still with us."