.wonderful error.

Chapter 1

    

Sighing, Nero tapped the little earpiece he wore; a semi-transparent glass appeared over his eyes, like a small computer screen. Numbers and words flashed across, and Nero could hear the regular beeping that sounded like a heart monitor. The screen zoomed in on the scene spread out before him, scanning the city from atop the building's ledge where he was perched. The glass could zero in on the numerous people that milled about on the streets below. With it, Nero had no trouble telling the Infected apart from normal humans. It definitely made finding his targets easie

“Luke, I am your father.” A voice came floating through the earpiece. It was male, young, and leaned a little higher pitched than his own.

“Shut up, Grey,” Nero said, pressing a finger to the piece. “And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?”    

                “Have they started moving yet?” Grey sounded impatient as ever.

“I think so, though they're still far away. Get comfortable.”

“Right, let me kick up my feet and do some star-gazing.” Grey's voice was dripping with sarcasm. “You know, that line was never in the actual movie.”    

“Who cares? Wasn't that movie from over a hundred years ago? Not relevant to the situation.” Nero sighed.    

“Star Wars is always relevant.”    

The little yellow arrow on his visor told him their target still wasn't close enough to engage. It beeped and beeped, pointing to his left, toward the Downtown Manhattan area. It shouldn't be much longer, Nero thought. Having already reached midnight, he really wanted to get back and rest—and he knew Grey definitely wanted to eat, considering he kept talking about stopping for some fast food before starting on their mission.    

“Make sure you both actually pay attention this time,” another voice spoke into Nero’s earpiece. It was female, sweet and soothing, with a Puerto Rican accent.      

“That wasn't my fault, Garnet,” Nero said.    

“Yeah, that guy happened to slip past you,” Grey said, “not your fault at all. Anyway, the faster we get done with this, the sooner I can get some pizza.”    

“Just focus, this one is really important,” Garnet said, adding in some Spanish at the end that Nero didn't understand; being part Spanish himself, he wondered why he never learned to speak the language.

    Ignoring Grey and Garnet as they continued talking to each other, Nero sat on the edge of the building and let his feet dangle as he gazed out over Manhattan. 

Zero Day was eight years ago, and Manhattan was still one of the liveliest places in the world. The city was all lit up at night, bright lights shining over the skyline—though some of those lights were probably fires. For Nero, Manhattan’s lit-up skyline was more beautiful during the evening, when the city’s scars weren’t as visible.