Chapter Two
Commissar Alexei decreed that Captain Schwann and Lt. Sodia accompany Flynn on his journey to provide support and guidance.
Shortly after Flynn recovered from his fiasco of a battle with the mysterious assassin, the trio set out on a mission to learn the identity of the culprit and arrest him. It was dusk now and the three were now in Halure, an agricultural city known for its famous trees, just north of the capital of Zaphias. During the blossoming season, its greatest tree, the one overlooking the whole city atop a hill in its center, would have leaves fully grown and pink in color. They would fall down like snow and cover the city and whenever that happened, the inhabitants of Halure gathered in joyous celebration of excellent harvests. Halure was responsible for raising crops to feed many people across the People's Republic, and it was a job its denizens were happily proud of and took seriously.
The captain, lieutenant, and Flynn were walking down the road leading to Halure which was just a short distance away. The three saw how farmers were hard at work gathering crops and making sure their fields weren't overlooked where Flynn even saw children, content with themselves, helping their parents to harvest. He admired their young sense of service to their community. The farmers also waved hello to them as they walked because the Red Guard was fondly known for always coming to the aid of the people and never abandoning their duty.
The first thing they did once arriving in town was checking into the inn named Denebola. Like some of the buildings in Halure, the inn was made out of a large, well-shaped tree that served fine as an inn as all the space and room was simply carved in. It was also pretty cool that all Capt. Schwann had to do was show identification to the clerk and they got to stay free of charge.
They soon went to their room.
"Ok, you two. What we're gonna do now is scout around town for clues about our little fugitive. I have a hunch he at least passed by here while running away since, after all, this is a major city. If he's still here, it might be a good place to get lost" Captain Schwann said to his two subordinate comrades. He was now dressed in a loose, purple and magenta robe and from the look of it, allowed for easy, unrestrained movement. Flynn immediately guessed the captain's specialty: reconnaissance.
"Sodia and Flynn, you stay together and walk around town and see if there's anyone suspicious. Remember as Red Guards, you have authority to act on the people's behalf. Think clearly and do what you must."
"Yes, captain!" said Sodia and Flynn at the same time.
…On the people's behalf…
…Think clearly and do what you must…
The words stuck in Flynn's mind.
_
The park.
There had to be something about the park, Sodia said.
She and Flynn walked together along the trees and bushes trying to stay hidden and to see if there was anyone walking around at dark. Luckily, they were wearing soft, leather boots so they could silently without any potential suspects or bystanders hearing them.
Flynn, every moment or two, decided to take note of the way Lt. Sodia acted. It was as he expected, totally focused on the objective and alert for anything that might happen. He did his best to stay focused and listened closely for anything.
Then after a few minutes, Flynn saw a shady man dressed in black appear next to the bench. And then a moment later, a similarly dressed guy came.
Flynn alerted Sodia and two observed their prospective suspects whispering to each other.
"The boss said it was a failure, Alexei's still alive. Mission abort" said one.
"Damnit! Just when we put so much into preparation!…"
The mention of Alexei's name made Flynn's blood boil, but seeing Sodia wait a bit more caused to follow.
"We gotta pull out and head back for base, along with our equipment" the shady guy first to appear said.
Sodia tapped his shoulder and gave him the look.
Now was the time.
"Hold it right there!" Sodia said to the suspects, now showing herself along with Flynn. Both their swords were unsheathed and ready to strike.
"You are hereby under arrest for making an attempt on the life of Commissar Alexei and taking action against the state" Flynn added.
And of course, the first thing they did was try to run.
"Flynn, after him!" Sodia said as she chased one of them.
Flynn ran as fast as he could. The shady guy was really fast. He had to do something quick because he knew he wouldn't be able to outrun him. Flynn took his sword hilt and flung it to the fleeing suspect. It hit him in the back and caused him to fall over. And Flynn jumped on him to restrain him. But the shady guy was athletic and physically fit and had no problem kicking Flynn away. There was a ripping sound made as Flynn held on to the guy's scarf.
Before he knew it, the shady guy just disappeared off into the night.
Before long, Sodia and Schwann, who just appeared, came over to see if he was alright.
"Flynn, are you ok?" the captain asked.
"I'm fine. Did you get the other guy?"
The lieutenant almost hesitated to answer.
"No, the captain and I both failed to stop him" Sodia said.
"…Arghh… I failed…again…" was all he could say, again feeling guilty for what happened, though he felt it in his heart to feel sorry for Lt. Sodia and Capt. Schwann.
But the piece of the torn scarf caught the captain's attention.
"Let me see this" Capt. Schwann said. His eyes observed it and he seemed to get a feeling for something, though neither Sodia nor Flynn understood what details caught his eyes.
"This scarf…" Schwann began. "This scarf is made from expensive cloth… that can mean only one thing… Dahngrest."
_
The next morning, the townsfolk offered to treat the three Red Guards to their freshly made local dishes as a sign of thankfully goodwill appreciation of their service. They agreed and were eating outside on a table in the delightfully bight, warm morning. It was nice to see the pink leaves falling down to add to the peacefulness of their stay. And Flynn was loving the sweet, cream-whipped lemon raspberry cake, nectarous fruit punch juice, and the spicy cheese and beef sub packed with onions and tomatoes. But still, he couldn't help but think about last night and how he wasn't able to arrest the shady guy he was after.
"Mmmm-mmm! This stuff sure is good!" Capt. Schwann said eating. He took his time to try out everything on the table and carefully eat it all, making sure to be considerate of Halure's townsfolk's hospitality. But eventually, he did notice Flynn's passive behavior.
"C'mon, cheer up, man! What're you so quiet for?" he said.
"Oh, sorry about that Captain. I'm just…tired, that's all" he answered scratching his hair and smiling.
"Listen, kid. Don't worry about last night. You succeeded in doing something and that was finding the clue to our destination. Dahngrest, remember?"
"Oh" Flynn said only just realizing the value of his actions last night.
"Flynn, explain to the captain what you learned about Dahngrest from your assigned readings" Lt. Sodia ordered as she began eating her slice of sprinkled strawberry and vanilla cream cake as well as taking a glass of tangerine blast.
"Yes, Lieutenant" Flynn said dutifully.
"Dahngrest is a city of capitalist guilds whose priorities emphasize competition among themselves, taking up and successfully completing assignments from contractors. Each of the guilds' ultimate goal is becoming the largest and wealthiest force. Obtaining power and money are their only concerns and as such, a guild will probably not gather in communal solidarity and work together with others unless it leads to elevation and privilege for that guild. Meanwhile, the concerns of the poor on the streets of Dahngrest are unfortunately left untaken care of. On purpose" explained Flynn confidently like a textbook after thinking for a few moments about what he had learned in class.
"Very good, well said, Comrade Flynn" the captain said approvingly.
The three finished their sufficiently satisfying meal and thanked the townspeople for their thoughtfulness and effort. Now refreshed and energized, Flynn, Schwann, and Sodia left Halure to reach Dahngrest to find answers to their questions regarding the suspects and Commissar Alexei's assassination attempt.
To be continued...