Licit Vices. - Beginning of the end again.

Chapter 1.

✘Chapter 1✘• §Provoke from the past.§

'We need you to go into the Savagery operation again.'

Roseate's indefinable cobalts surfed up. She was ready to finally allow the cursed water droplets we all know as tears to glissade down her cheeks. The liquid had already sprouted out of her sockets and she had constructed somewhat of a feeble barricade to Stop them from cascading down. She already cried once in front of Micah. Doing it again here would completely tarnish her reputation. She never permitted herself to display any hints of frailty or influence of terror on her usual icy mien. But now, paranoia and anguish were seeping out of the interior of her calloused psyche and making itself evident on the exterior of her sirenic features.

Maybe she should allow herself to derive some tears, and act to enter into a state of hysteria and make it falsely lucid that she was unhinged to venture into this arena of omen. But they knew better and she knew best. She was a bit afraid and traumatized. But she wasn't within a centimeter radius of weak.

'You're asking me to get into my purgatory again.' She finally said.

'I know.' Liam exhaled. 'But you're the only person who ever had the courage to go undercover there and succeeded. And you have impeccable and routine experience for this operation again.'

'A, it's not my fault your people were born pussies. B, if you call losing your parent and both lovers succeeding whilst causing calamity in a whole town, okay. I succeeded.'

Liam gave his hazel optics a spiral. He was one of those people in whom exasperation boomed when they failed to be as facetious as Roseate in handing sarcasm.

'Look, Oriah, you know how it all ticks. And ever since you're "calamity", they were gone. But now they are back and it's going to be a bloodbath. There is going to be kills each show. Not once a three months or such this time.'

'It's not my problem and how do you even know this?'

'You need to join in if you want to know that. It would be a felony to tell you otherwise.'

'Imbecilic try, boss. You already gave me intel. Thus you're a felon already. So spilling a few more confidential information won't do more harm.'

'God, Oriah! You're impossible, you know that?'

'Have the perfect idea.'

With an agonized grunt, Liam finally submitted. 'Their warning was sent in an email. As a recording. It said that they'd kill in every single episode for the harm that was done to them. As far as they know, it was Melini who was the agent in a government's group undercover.'

'You had my people fried and now I'm next to be pushed into the fire. Do I have a say in this?' Her ornate confines flared up into a muted snarl, ache reverberating through her psyche.

'We know your answer will be no. But we have some things to say that might change your mind.'

'The only thing that can change my mind is seeing you develop a brain. Which is impossible. But humor me.'

Unbelievable. Everyone was mad. They were delirious enough to have the prospect in their minds and equip themselves with tenacious manipulation to yank her into this horrendous mess. What could they possibly utter that would cause her to respond to this assignment? The very assignment that clawed away her mother and lovers' lives?

■

The day in the edifice was arid. There wasn't much activity for a part time journalist like Roseate in a town like Cerise Dawn. Even though the Chief editor if the newspaper himself, Liam Wright, claimed Roseate was the most adept writer in this batch of journalists and maybe even in the whole town, the most magnetic and scandalous incidents were presented to the more 'experienced' writers. Pathetic.