Agent 3: Execution

The Vigilante

Lishawn County

The sun was just barely beginning to set over Lishawn County. It was a beautiful, peaceful area, with green fields, a few small towns, and many quiet residential neighborhood areas. It was considered by many to be the perfect area to grow up in, and suited many families well.

Today, however, the peaceful air had been broken by a more sinister feel, as large huffs of smoke and sparks rose skyward. The alarms of multiple fire trucks broke the silence as they rolled into one particular neighborhood, followed by a number of police cars and a few ambulances as well. They each surrounded a particular house, which had been lit on fire and was currently burning down; the Murdock residence, home to a family of four. The firemen quickly exited their trucks, shouting at each other as they began combating the fire in vain.

As time went on, the sun set further, and as such the sky grew darker. Despite their efforts, the house had mostly burned down, with very little to be salvaged, as well as two reported casualties inside. The medics had already recovered the corpses, rolling them away on stretchers.

One Inkling, a little girl, sat near the ambulances, but a police officer had her turned away so that she couldn't see the corpses. She wasn't even near 14 yet, and as such wasn't quite at her humanoid form, but she was getting there; her entire body was a nice shade of orange to match her usual color of ink.

Once the corpses were out of sight, the police officer got down to his knee to get down to her level. "Hey... I don't think we've properly met... What's your name?"

The Inkling, who currently had tears flowing down her face, looked at him. "...Jessica."

"Jessica? Well... My name is Flint." He said with a warming smile. He extended his arm to shake her tentacle. "Nice to meet you."

"...I want my parents."

Flint frowned. "...I know. I know. But... you know what?"

Jessica looked down.

"...Everything's gonna be alright. You listening? Everything's gonna be ok. We're here for you. Ok?"

She didn't respond, only shedding more tears. Only after a bit did she speak again. "...What about Daniel?"

Flint looked at another nearby officer, who gravely shook his head. He turned back to Jessica. "I, uh... Daniel's gonna be going away for a little bit."

"To where?"

"He's just... got some stuff to take care of. You know? You know he's a bit older than you, so... think of it as grown-up stuff."

"I want to see Daniel..." She whined.

"I know. I know..." He realized that despite the heat coming from the burning home, Jessica was shivering. He took off his jacket. "Here..." He wrapped it around her shoulders, letting her wear it. "Comfy?"

Jessica didn't respond again, instead looking around the area. From a bit of a distance, he was able to see a blue Inkling, who was just a few years older than her, being questioned by police. She started to step forward. "Daniel..."

"Hey, hey hey hey..." Flint said, grabbing her arm. "That's not a good idea for right now..."

"I want to see him!" She yelled, fighting back a little, but Flint kept a firm grip on her tentacle.

Daniel looked across the area right at her, and for a moment, the two locked eye contact. But Jessica saw something different in those eyes at this point. It was anger, and hatred. Maybe a hint of sadness.

Jessica could only watch as a couple police officers took Daniel and sat him down in the back of a police car, before driving away.

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