Elias breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t even call himself a spectator, as whatever events had transpired took place in mere moments under the guise of the thick smoke without a single hint of imagination.

Elias found himself confused as he tried to make sense of his new security job. There was no handbook or onboarding process. Sebastian had simply handed him the gear and uniform, leaving him to figure out what to do next. The uncertainty was palpable. 

“I suppose… I should still report this?”

Surmising that he still needed to call things in and report the incident, he rushed off.

“Hands where I can see them.”

Halting only mere feet from where he started, a voice called to him from behind. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place exactly where in his memory bank. They warned him again as he snuck a glance to meet the individual’s gaze. 

“I said, hands where I can see them.”

“Ugh, okay, but you’ve got it all wrong. I am security and—“

“You’re under arrest. Under the clause abetting illegal arms smuggling.”

“Excuse me, what?” Elias questioned, bewildered, tilting his head to peer at the man behind him. The individual was dressed in a beige top, deep crimson trousers, and matching beret, with a badge on their chest. The famous colorway for local law enforcement is known as Torch. 

His mind began reeling at the officer’s words. Illegal arms smuggling? Was that what the others were up to? The accusation seemed preposterous. This had to be a mistake, a twisted prank. But as he looked around at the officer’s serious face, he realized they were deadly serious.

His gaze shifted from what he initially thought was a lone officer to his surroundings. One by one, more individuals wearing similar color-schemed outfits came into view. 

Are they really now showing up…unbelievable.

“I wouldn’t try to pull any funny business if I were you,” chimed a voice. 

The radiant voice came not from the officer currently cuffing Elias but instead from an individual strolling towards him. Their very presence parted the sea of red and beige uniforms.

It was a woman in the midst of adjusting her glasses, which sat neatly just under her bangs. Her hair was braided into two pigtails running down just shy of her chest. She wore a beige short-sleeved collared shirt that tucked perfectly in. Her trousers were similar in beige color, running down to her ankles and folding neatly into her boots. Out of all the officers, she had a different air to her.

Elias could tell at first glance that she would undoubtedly give the most trouble.

“Looks like you stirred up quite a bit of disarray here.” Her tone was light and cheery with a bit of cheekiness, but there was an underlying snark. “We’ve found some unconscious individuals on the north side of the docks, and you’re the only security guard on duty tonight. That’s rather odd, don’t you think? Care to answer some questions?”

“…” While he would love to chat about how fortunate he was not to run into more armed individuals, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this all seemed oddly well-timed.

“Am I being set up?” Elias asked.

The officer simply smiled as if taking his words as a joke. 

“Take him away.”

With a gesture, two individuals by her side moved in to detain him. Without further instructions, the remaining officers at the scene dispersed to scan the rest of the area to conduct further investigations. 

The twin pigtail woman who led the force walked around as one of the officers directed her attention to a crate and a raft that sat by the pier. 

Is this it? She thought. 

Her phone began to ring with the caller ID, CHIEF.  Without a moment of hesitation, she quickly answered.

“Y-y-yes, Sir, hello.” Her demeanor shifted from confident to nervous in an instant. She clearly wasn’t prepared for his late-night call. Seeing the caller ID almost caused her to drop her phone before answering.

“I understand. Y-yes, we are at the scene right now. It does seem the tip we got was legit. Yes, understood…oh yes. I will make sure. Yes, we have taken in a suspect… Only one, sir. Y-YES! Will do!”

As the twin pigtail-hair officer was about to end the call, a colleague rushed up, breathing heavily. His face was filled with unease and wariness.

“Lieutenant… I have a report.”

She turned to look at the officer. It must be important if he thinks he can interrupt a call between her and the Chief. 

“What is it?” She asked in a curt tone.

Trying to straighten himself out, he cleared his throat. Unfortunately, the presence of the one before him, their position and reputation, shook him with an uncontrollable nervous sweat. “W-we finished…investigating…the entirety of the pier, but…”

“Get on with it,” she shot again with a sharp glare. Obviously, that wasn’t the main point of his coming to her in such a winded state. 

Taking but only a moment, the woman squinted with a cold gaze, ushering for him to continue.

“Ugh, right. Everyone we found is sporting some rather pricey gear. No doubt they are specially trained. All were unconscious with no life-threatening injuries. That being said, however, some are pretty severe.”

“…” She shifted her gaze from the officer who had given the report to the sky for a moment to think. “Did you get all that, Chief?”

The Chief did. He then gave her the next plan of action.

After confirming the orders, the call concluded before she turned to the nervous rookie. 

“Make sure to get this as well,” she said, pointing towards the crate filled to the brim with unauthorized firearms and more accompanying gear.

“This is all military-grade. You can’t buy this just anywhere. It looks like we are about to have some. This long hours.”