04
Abandoned warehouses,
26 days to Zero Hour
Their plan was simple — don’t kill each other.
And it turned out that simplicity is the best solution.
Despite the first crunches and frictions, a few plates that crashed into the wall during the flight and a few broken ribs, after fourteen days a group of strangers became a group of almost acquaintances. Too little time had passed for a closer relationship to develop between them and to generate true trust, but no one expected it; all they had to do was not screw up the mission and then say bye-bye to each other.
They didn't know why Callean had chosen them from the entire criminal swarm of locusts besieging Ninjago City. It was certainly not consulted with any psychologist, because their characters differed like browning from colt. That is, significantly. And explosively.
The biggest fire turned out to be duo Thifer x Smith. Kai wasn't convinced of the thief, female thief on the team, and Kelly just couldn't stand his face. During one training session, their role-playing got a bit too realistic, prompting Inspector Nakane, overseeing their training and adaptation, to come up with an ingenious solution to their conflict: she handcuffed the two troublemakers together.
Their collaboration blossomed surprisingly fast. Within eight hours, there was a harmless wrist dislocation for Kai and a lost strand of hair for Kelly. The next day, Nakane, wanting to test their newfound bond, paired them up for another task. Everyone expected another skirmish, but it ended with a few insults and hostile glares, yet they executed their task flawlessly. Their reward? Lollipops from the Inspector.
Further adaptation was less painful. The days were spent training and perfecting the plan of the entire mission. They tested different possibilities, checked all possible behaviors. They also strengthened what could be called relationships between business partners.
Everything seemed so surreal and sick that sometimes, waking up, Kelly thought it was just a dream. But when reality came to her she thought they were in a hidden camera. However, she very quickly got used to this strange feeling of confusion, just like the others, because she wanted just as much to have the whole mission out of her head, and have the files empty.
And that was the main motivation of their acquaintance — they got into the same shit and had to cooperate to get out.
Perhaps that shared motivation was the reason they quickly grew close. After just two weeks of being confined to the same building, spending hours together each day, they could sit down with a beer and talk like old friends.
That's how they spent their final night before the official launch of the mission, titled "Let's Save the Shit - Let's Piss Off Callean." The second part of the title wasn't known to the Bureau agents, which explained why the Troublemakers, as Nakane affectionately referred to them, could enjoy a moment of freedom at the back of the warehouse, sipping non-alcoholic beer without surveillance cameras or seasoned agents watching over them.
"Imagine that this time tomorrow, we'll be scolding a fool and meddling with Busterrix's gang," Jay, the Ginger Nerd and the group's primary extrovert, always armed with a dry joke and conversation topics, said.
"Assuming nothing goes wrong by then," Kelly replied optimistically. She had never been one to hide her aversion to people and her pessimistic-realistic worldview. The guys did their best to avoid teasing her, especially Kai, who irritated her just by existing.
"What could possibly go wrong?" Walker asked, sitting on a stack of crates and swinging his legs cheerfully. "We're well-prepared for the mission, we've received professional training, we've known each other for years, and we trust each other with our lives. A perfect team and a perfect plan!"
They all chuckled, a mix of laughter and apprehension. The whole situation felt makeshift, and it was hard to believe that the Bureau, a professional government institution with a stellar reputation, had chosen a bunch of criminals over their own experts. But after a week of receiving no answers to their questions, they had stopped asking altogether. They were like robots programmed for specific tasks, going in and out, dealing with the target, and moving on without questioning why they were chosen.
"But if we think about it this way, do we even stand a chance of success?" Cole asked, taking a long sip from his can. Callean had appointed him as the team's leader to keep them in line. He had a commanding presence and powerful fists.
"No," Kelly replied matter-of-factly, taking a sip from her own can.
"You're unusually talkative today," Bucket teased her, offering a half-hearted smile.
"It's the stress. When I'm nervous, I tend to talk a lot."
"Oh, it's adorable how you're sharing your feelings with us. This mission is bringing us closer," Amstaff quipped and ducked as Kelly tossed her crushed can at him. The others laughed, as they were used to Kelly's habit of throwing things when irritated. Plus, she had a pretty good aim when she wanted to. Jay had a bruised eye as a testament to that.
"But on a serious note, I have a strange motivation to see this mission through. How about you guys?" Bucket admitted, leaning against the stack of crates where Jay was sitting.
"I think we all want a clean slate," Kai replied. "So, let's make sure not to mess it up."
Tabula rasa in the file, they primarily meant.A chance to start over without any strings attached. It sounded enticing, but they couldn't help but wonder why Callean had chosen them—a group of criminals—for such an important mission. They were still in the dark about that.
After the first week, having not received an answer to any of the questions, they finally stopped asking at all. They were like robots programmed to perform the right tasks. To go in, to go out with the shithead, go into world and don’t look back.
After the first week, having received no answers to their questions, they stopped asking. They operated like robots, following instructions and executing their tasks. To Kelly, this new perspective had its appeal. She had never complained about her profession, even though it was one of the least glamorous criminal career paths. It was how she had grown up, perhaps even how she was born—some said she had thieving skills in her blood. But everyone eventually yearns for retirement, and she hadn't expected hers to come at the age of 20, under such strange circumstances.
The plan after the mission was simple—find Estheim. With a clean slate, she wouldn't have to hide like a fugitive, and she'd search the entire island until she found him, even if it meant going to hell and back. And when she did find him, she'd give him a piece of her mind for getting her into this mess.
As she watched the sun slowly dip behind the distant cityscape, she couldn't help but think about her future as "AFTER THE MISSION." The past would become "BEFORE THE MISSION." Before the mission, she had been just another gray thief. But now, her life had taken a different turn. She would have a chance at becoming a model citizen.
Was she ready for it?
No, she wasn't.
She had no experience with an honest life. She had never held a regular job, as she was self-employed, making a living from various heists. She took from those who had too much and kept it for herself. She grew up in a thieving village on the edge of the Seventh District, where the sea met the Dark Island. She had never experienced the life of a typical teenager—no house parties, no gossiping about boys, no college. Instead, her CV was filled with tales of brawls, shoplifting, joyriding in police cars from both the front and back seats, all without ever landing behind bars.
And she wasn't going to.
Despite her reservations about the Bureau and her growing antipathy towards Callean, who had become even more detestable to her than the police, she was determined to excel at her job. She would prepare meticulously for the upcoming mission, aiming for perfection. This time, the mission's objectives and rewards transcended the usual murky boundaries.
Kelly Shira Thifer, a run-of-the-mill thief and criminal, was about to embark on a noble quest to save the mayor of Ninjago City's son.
Of course, if that spoiled brat got on her last nerve, she might consider an alternative solution involving a bullet to the head.
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