(During Issue 10: Irma and Cornelia in Irma's room)
"Have the goods arrived, Jehan?" Eric, who sits on the fallen log tree that sees the whole pasture night horizon, asks during break time as he asks to one of his trainees if the food and the needed clothing arrived from Meridian.
"Sadly, Atlas, less than before." Jehan, a blue skinned and skinny galhot with the noticeable fan-like ears, says disappointingly. "I heard the goods from the 'Sanctuary' were running out I'm afraid."
Eric sighs as he rubs his forehead reluctantly. "Here take this." He says as he gives out a large container of food beside him. "I hope you could enjoy our food from Earth."
"But isn't this your dinner? We could manage—" Jehan exclaims as he sees the inside of the container.
"Don't worry, you guys needed more than I do." Eric says. "And tell everyone to be ready when break time's over."
"Thank you sir!" Jehan bows with gratitude as he runs back to the barn. As he runs back along the way, he greets Ray and continues his way.
"You gave your dinner away again?" Ray teases rhetorically as he removes his hood down and walks to his side and sits beside him. "I adore you for your kindness, but don't allow yourself to abuse your hungry stomach."
"Why do you think my food is always in containers since?" Eric sarcastically replies, as he too removes his hood. "And besides I'm not hungry. I'm still thinking on our situation. It's getting a lot worse I'm afraid."
"You've been so anxious since yesterday when Nigel called you." Ray says as he takes out a sandwich from his pocket.
"A hundred percent anxious in fact" Eric hesitantly says. "I mean, can you imagine? INTERPOL, the 'International' Police, are on the Guardian's and on our tail? It's like we're up against the FBI and the SISMI combined!"
"Did Martin confirm that it was really INTERPOL who were investigating on the case and not just some amateur conspiracy theorists who were interested?"
"No, it was Officer Lair who confirmed it to me." Eric replies. "He gave me a call a while ago about the case and were fairly the same just as Martin reported. According to Lair, it all began when Brown's car is mysteriously found at Aubry Town, a fifty kilometer distance away from Heatherfield. INTERPOL agents of the Missing Persons Division, then took interest and investigated the case. They soon found out the other day that the recent friends Elyon had before she disappeared was with the Guardians."
"So they're the suspects now?" Ray asks in disbelief. "They're accusing five girls for the disappearances of three people?"
"They were actually interviewed and 'interrogated' yesterday, but as Lair said, they did fine." Eric explains. "I'm assuming right now that the Guardians are heavily guarded by those two agents. That's the reason Officer Lair called in the first places, he's asking for our help if we could actually do something about it."
"Any ideas on how that car ends up at Aubry? Because we do know that they were captured by Cedric and Vathek in their own home." Ray asks as he chews on his sandwich. "I suppose you have theories in mind?"
"It's a vague and I still lack the evidence, but I could suggest they left the car on purpose because they were hiding something or another theory is they teleported from Aubry to their house when they sensed the presence of Cedric and Vathek, I guess." Eric theorizes. "But still, I don't have any proofs to prove that those happen."
"And how about helping Officer Lair? You do know we owe a lot of debt to him. Twice, I believe." Ray reminds as he recalls Officer Lair's assistance to them.
"I know that." Eric groans in despair. "I would always want to repay him, that's why I decided and told Nigel and Martin handle the agents."
"You do know that Nigel's hands are full in training the rebels." Ray argues. "Besides, the upcoming raid might be announced anytime now. Or should we tell Grantaire that we need to back out? Anyway, he says his fine if we don't have to join him."
"No, you and the chosen men from the 'Heights' will take on raid on ourown." Eric says.
"Excuse me—what?" Ray picks on his ear with his finger dramatically. "I don't think I heard it right, but are you saying that we should rely on our men here than Nigel's? Aren't the most qualified rebels are there? We even conversed about taking more of Nigel's than ours."
"Because more bad news, this time from Nigel again before Officer Lair called." Eric tells him. "The portal at Clearview Crossing, which was used to transport rebels to the 'Calluna' was closed."
"You serious?"
"I don't know what happened but maybe it's the Guardians doing perhaps." Eric explains. "That portal was so convenient and important to Caleb's rebels because of its near distance, I couldn't imagine how Nigel can transport loads of goods to the underground if it would now be two times farther. We can't even blame the Guardians, can't we?"
Ray then keeps his sandwich as he shoves it back to his bag as he feels an anxious worried appetite.
"You troubled now, Ray?" Eric chuckles slightly at Ray's worried gesture. Eric then places his hand on his shoulder to relieve him a bit.
"Sympathy exists, I feel what you feel, remember that Eric." Ray says as he too replies on a joke. "But do you think we could pull the raid off with our men?"
"How's their archery training?" Eric asks.
"Still better than them I believe. They lately showed daily improvement from shooting the white rings of the target to a score of three to five average, the exceptional ones can shoot a score of six to eight. One of the best archers so far are Jehan, Uilly and Rius." Ray explains. "And since the announcement of the raid, I also trained the rebels in a hypotenuse distance."
"So that's the reason there were arrows on the roof?" Eric asks. "You were training them on how to shoot on walls and to climb over on it?"
"Well I think you're no different, you also trained the rebels to use long spears and shields." Ray says. "Heck! You even instruct them to build their own shields and to create their own preferred weapons. What's up with that?"
"Their sword fighting skills is not as good as I expected, quite frankly. The trainees can do the fundamentals with a lot of flaws and can't do the advanced skills. The only best in sword fighting among my trainees is Ferroris, I'm afraid." Eric replies. "That's why I adapt their tools to their advantage, and adding a shield, in which I called 'scutums'"
"Heck! So you have to tutor each one of them depending on their preferred weapon?" Ray exclaims.
Eric heaves sighs and exhales noisily from the stress his taking on and stands up. "We should better get going, break time's almost—What's going on there?" he gazes a commotion within the camp as they hear echoes of yells. "What are you seeing, Ray?"
"I'm on it." Ray says as he uses his Farsight and gazes the camp. "They're gathering around the barn for some reason, like a victorious angry mob holding out pitch forks and torches."
"Invaders?" Eric asks as he puts his hood back on.
"Hope not." Ray replies as he too puts wears his hood. The boys run across the muddy field to the as angry yells and shouts even get louder and louder as they nearly approach the barn.
"What's going on Rius?" Eric asks Rius, a blue galhot with the blond hair and at an average body type, as he turns around form the rear of the mob of rebels before the entry of the barn.
"Atlas, Raymondus, sir, an intruder has entered the portal!" Rius explains. "It's Vathek! Cedric's right hand man!" he says angrily.
(During Issue 10: After Guardians and agents left Lair's home)
"Sorry for taking your time, Nigel."
Officer Lair apologizes late that night, an hour before midnight, after the Guardians left from Lair's home to be interviewed and as well as the agents who also left. Officer Lair and Nigel met at the porch of the Lair's Residence as they lean on the railings.
"Is your daughter asleep? You sure no one's listening?" Nigel asks as he secures his hood to hide his face with the shadows.
"I'm sure of it." Officer Lair crosses his arms. "You sure Atlas agrees to help me and the Guardians?" the officer asks.
"Atlas instructed me to be in charge of the case. He and his colleague are occupied as of the moment." Nigel replies. "Do you know how to get rid of them?"
"They're international agents. We couldn't just simply get 'rid' of them." Officer Lair replies. "What I worry about are those agents who might discover something 'unnatural' in Elyon's place, like magic of all things."
"We once investigated the whereabouts of the Brown's in their home. As we suspected and concluded in our search, they were captured by Phobos' men." Nigel explains as recalls as he and Ray inspected the house. "We didn't find anything unearthly inside the house, except the basement. Did those agents find anything?"
"As far as I am concerned, they didn't tell anything about a basement." Officer Lair thinks and recalls. "The electricity was out then when they investigated the house, so I guess they missed it if the door to the basement was hidden. What's in it anyway?"
"The basement houses another portal to Meridian and it's still present and active, I'm afraid." Nigel explains. "If I could just go in and use a spell on it if the agents weren't there."
"You can actually, as of now they're following the Guardians, especially Cornelia."
"Why her?"
"She reacted the most when they interviewed her, isn't she Elyon's best friend?" Officer Lair asks.
'Flames! Why couldn't the Guardians just keep their emotions to their self!' Nigel heaves a sigh and rubs his head. "I think it would be a good idea if I could seal off the portal right now. But do you have any ideas on how to stop them from tailing on the girls?"
"The girls are capable of thinking a way out of it." Officer Lair says. "What we should do now is to keep them at bay and slow them down for the meantime. I guess you boys can terminate the files they had now, while I can recreate the fake documents to prove their existence."
"You could do that?" Nigel asks
"Don't underestimate an old man, Nigel." Officer lair says as he grins. "Remember, I am an informant of the legion back in my day."
