Camille rubbed her eyes. When she eventually looked up, she saw Hugo hovering overhead – subtle static charges were still being produced by his glowing aura.
She whispered, "I couldn't sense him…"
In fact, the Zaatsu had even evaded the spells and sharp senses of the White Bolt and was able to get the drop on him.
Camille soon got to the six-foot-wide crater the blast had created. Vincent lay at the centre of it. Hugo landed at the edge.
"Tie him up carefully," the team leader said. Zaatsu Master Neil Baylis, his deputy in the squad, moved ahead and put the unconscious bounty hunter's hands and legs in cuffs. He then tied a peculiar-looking rope around both of his wrists.
Camille leaned closer to Hugo and asked, "What is that green rope?"
"Enchanted ropes for limiting Ki charge and flow," Hugo said, then looked at her. "By the way, your job is to observe and analyse, spot, not ask questions."
He then leaned in closer and asked in a whisper, "What happened in there?"
Camille shrugged and whispered, "Nothing much. Marcus, Gina, and me, we heard something. So, we split up and went in to check. I went straight in. Those guys were supposed to circle around and meet me or actually grab Vincent on the other end." She shook her head. "But when I found him, he ran in the opposite direction. So, I chased him. Then he jumped out and you shot him."
Hugo looked at her wide-eyed with a half-smile on his face. "You chased him?"
"Yeah," she said with a nod, folded her arms, and looked away.
Hugo smiled. "Cami… I know my little sister well enough to tell you that she cannot chase Vincent and live to tell that tale."
Camille quickly looked over and asked, "Are you calling your little sister a weakling?"
"Oh, I know she's not a weakling."
"So? Are you calling her a liar?"
"Nope. I'm calling her a wonderful storyteller."
"Go to hell!" Camille looked away once more.
Hugo grabbed her by the arm and took her to one side. "Grow up a little, will you?" he said. His expression had changed drastically. With a few lines appearing on his forehead, his jaw slowly tightened. "Everyone thinks that you get the recognition only because you are my little sister."
She stared wide-eyed. She gulped and said, "So, don't listen to them…"
"Problem is, Cami, that I'm starting to doubt myself on this one…"
"What?!"
"At this rate, I'm going to have to drop you from Zeta."
"But…"
"But nothing! You act individually! That's not how squads function. You wanna say something, you have a plan, you tell me or you tell Neil or Gina." He leaned ahead. "And don't ever keep information from me!"
And before Camille could respond, he said, "Get your act together!" and walked away.
All the squad members soon gathered around the crater. "Can't believe we actually caught him!" Marcus said with a grin, running a hand through his hair.
"How'd you get him this time, master?" Gina asked.
"I guess he was tired and didn't see me," Hugo slowly said, then moved closer and leaned down to look at Vincent. Grabbing his wrist, he checked his pulse.
As he stood back up, he saw everyone staring at him. He took a deep breath and said, "His confidence let him down, guys. He had come up against squads from the Eye before and thought he could take us down as well."
Marcus asked, "Is he alive?"
"Of course, he's alive!" Neil said, shaking his head. "Why else would we put the Ki limiting ropes on him?"
"Relax, Neil," Hugo said, addressing his aggressive, competitive younger stepbrother. "I had to check his vitals. A lightning blast is great for immobilizing opponents, but if it isn't done right, it can disrupt the flow of Ki and seriously damage Ki networks within the body. And you can imagine how nice that would be, right? The electric charge can also dry the blood, creating clots all over. But…" he took a deep breath and then pointed at the bounty hunter. "This one's doing just fine."
"But he looks really pale," Camille said. "I thought you killed him."
"That's the burnt outer layer of his skin." The Zaatsu took a deep breath and then addressing everyone, said, "Alright guys! It's been a long week. Let's just call it a day. Gather around, form the circle, and let's just get this guy back to the Palace."
Thereafter, with Hugo in the middle, everyone stood inside a circle made of dust created by Gina. With the rope tying the unconscious bounty hunter in his hand, the Zaatsu charged his Ki, recited the enchantment, "TILEMETAFORA-PORFARA-PETRICHOR!" and smashed his fist on the ground teleporting them back to the Eye's base of operations – The Regal Palace.
***
The Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve, located on the coast of Lake Baikal, was home to the Eye. The Regal Palace stood at the lake's edge, with the City of Ayn extending behind it. A powerful enchantment around the premises had pushed it all to the far edges of the physical realm making it invisible and translucent. Anyone who would walk up would simply phase through it as if it was never there. There was only one way to enter: teleportation to the designated landing platform between the city and the Palace. The spell would, however, only work for those who had already seen the place.
The Regal Palace served as the Eye's strategic hub. It housed the leader of the Eye, Seear's office, hall of the Parliament, the Visionaries' Court of Justice, and many offices for high-ranked officials, dignitaries, and decision makers.
To the Palace's southeast was the Nobles' Academy of Martial Prowess, the chief academy of Martial Arts training where top masters trained and tested students. Next to it, the Mastooda al-Hikmah stood as the largest arcane library. And behind the base of operations for the Eye was the fabled Atramentum, the world's most unbreakable prison.
Meanwhile, the City of Ayn, home to nearly 500,000 people, operated like any other city, except that around 50,000 of its residents were Martial Artists training in the arts of Ki Manipulation, Magicism, and armed and unarmed combat. The city also had its own police force, and its borders were guarded by the City Guard, or as they were once called – the 'Hudhudan'.
***
Half past six in the morning, the successful Zeta squad presented the criminal, the infamous bounty hunter known as the White Bolt, to the Seear, Renekom Mujin. He admired the group's efforts and rewarded them with much praise.
The White Bolt was then taken and locked up in a holding cell inside the Atramentum. He was going to be tried at the court of justice in the presence of the council the next day.
***
The Zeta Squad had done it again! They came out of the Seear's Hall amidst a huge cheer. A crowd of arcanists and citizens had gathered to celebrate their most recent achievement – thecapturing of the White Bolt.
"Well done, Zeta Squad!"
"All hail the Zeta squad!"
"Long live the defenders!"
"Long live The Eye!"
These were just some of the chants from the crowd.
Hugo, with a smile and a bowed head, led the squad through, occasionally shaking an extended hand. Camille and Neil followed in kind. The others, led by Marcus and Ella, were not shying away from indulging with the enthusiastic people. They were signing autographs, telling stories of their grand chase, and gladly accepting gifts only to be scolded by the captain later.
As the cheers slowly faded and the crowd dispersed, the adrenaline of victory gave way to the quiet pull of routine. The squad, still riding the high of success, drifted off toward their own corners of the city. Hugo went to the Martial Artists' hostels built just outside the Nobles' Academy. He had been occupying a corner room there for years and acted as the warden whenever he was not away on missions. The others went back home to their families to a well-deserved period of rest and recuperation – however short it was about to be…