Just to remind you all:
Cora- Kazai (Cypriot micronation)
Temel- Aden (Turkish micronation)
Malika- Malaysia (gonna guess you know what Malaysia is)
…
Damn this took longer than expected… oops. But this is a pretty important chapter.
...
Cora boredly wandered the corridors of the office block, dragging a whining Temel behind her. Ever since her brothers had driven off, she'd had nothing to do until someone found the pair and gave them more work to do, and she wanted to make the most of the peace. Not that she wasn't up for a challenge, it was just she needed a break every now and again, especially with work this exhausting. And they'd not had a break since waking up. This way, she could get to know her new workplace, and where everything was.
If only Temel would shut up.
He was tired. He wanted to rest. He wanted to go home. He wanted Baba. Where was everyone?
Cora snapped out short answers, which would keep him quiet for a few minutes before the babble would bubble up again. She knew it wasn't his fault that their admittedly terrible holiday had been made worse by some 'scary mob lady' making them work for her, but she'd had enough of Temel. She didn't really get along with him anyway, same with Kuzey.
She wanted to go home, to Mama and Cyprus. She missed her home. It was beautiful and the weather was lovely and there was no Baba. Why couldn't Temel and Kuzey have been the only ones to go to Germany? And maybe stayed there. That way she could have carried on with her life and not have to face her least favourite person on the planet. She also wouldn't have been pulled out of school for a few months. Cora liked school. Although Baba had enrolled her in a German school, it was still a shock and she was away from her friends. And she didn't know the language. Well, she knew the basics, but the basics didn't cover the average high school education being fed to her by the teachers.
Still, she was picking it up fast and would probably be almost-fluent by the time she went home. And she'd probably make a few new friends too.
Temel seemed to be enjoying himself, until he had to start work. Now the child was miserable as can be and getting on his sister's nerves.
"But why do we have to walk so much?" he piped up.
"Because I want to explore," she told him, "exploring is fun!"
"It is," Temel agreed, "but we've been walking for hours and hours!"
"Try thirty minutes," his sister snapped, "then try being quiet."
"We're lost, aren't we?"
Cora's eye twitched. "No we're not."
"Then where are we?"
"Near the top floor, I think." Cora looked around before turning a corner and walking down yet another corridor. She spied an ajar door and shushed Temel, pointing to it and creeping forward. What caught her attention about this particular door was the plaque bearing the word 'boss', and she wondered if this was the perfect opportunity to find out more about her new line of work.
It was dodgy as hell, this whole situation. Even Baba said so, and it wasn't often that Cora agreed with Baba. Why all the secrecy? Why all the threats? And who the hell employed children?
The pair crept forward until they were just outside the door, standing deathly still.
"And you're sure you had no moral implications?" A woman's voice spoke, and Cora struggled to decipher the German, spoken in a harsh, foreign accent.
"Ma'am, he was wearing sandals with socks and there were spaghetti stains on his 'Frankie Goes to Hollywood' shirt. I had no qualms about killing him." Another female voice with a thick accent, this time the singsong voice seemed to belong to a girl.
"And the children?"
There was a pause. "I was given a job," the voice seemed to waver, "and I did that job. That's all that mattered."
"It was a sloppy job," the first voice commented, "one of the children could have escaped. I expect my assassins to at least take on children."
"He ran upstairs. He was right next to the front door and he ran upstairs instead. It was easy to corner him. And the other two could barely walk. The adult was taken by surprise too, so there was no struggle."
"You were lucky. You were almost outsmarted by a four year old, my death angel. If he'd run out the door then you'd never have been able to shoot him without giving yourself away."
"I cannot be outsmarted by a mere toddler," the voice didn't sound certain.
"It's good to know you had no objections to your task. Then again, you didn't even object to your partner being assigned to kill your own brother." There was a pause, as if the voice was checking for a reaction; "your loyalty is without question. It's just your ability that I doubt."
"Give me another assignment. I won't screw it up, I swear!"
"Of course," there was the sound of rustling paper, "our mole has passed on information regarding a new target: a Mr Lars Oxenstjärna-Edelstein, Agent Seagull's younger brother and Agent Edelweiss' husband. Kill him, and you may just succeed in bringing down the DSA."
"I'll do it!"
"Hey, what are you two doing here?" a voice growled behind the two teens. Cora and Temel yelped, wheeling round to find a stern young woman wrapped up in a dark uniform glaring down at them. Her uniform was dark grey down to her thick gloves and the balaclava clutched in one hand. Cora tried not to look at the dried blood caking her boots and trousers.
"Malika? Is that you? Who else is there?"
Cora looked up at Malika pleadingly, and the young woman gave the smallest of sighs.
"It's just me, ma'am."
"Well, I'm rather busy at the moment, if you have something to say to me or Angelique, please come back later."
"Yes, ma'am." Her face was blank as she motioned for the two kids to follow her, and Cora and Temel had no choice but to obey. However much trouble they were in now, it was nothing compared to the danger they'd be in if the boss found them.
Malika led them down the corridor towards a lift, pressing the down button and waiting silently, the Adnan children following suit. Cora played with her neckerchief nervously as she stared up at Malika, taking in her smooth black hair and dark, unreadable eyes. A large ornate flower was pinned in her hair and Cora couldn't help but stare at it. She thought Malika was a very interesting person indeed.
The lift doors finally opened and the trio got inside; only then did Malika speak to them directly.
"What were you doing?" she asked.
"We were looking around and got a bit lost," Cora explained.
"I knew we were lost!" Temel cried.
"I see," Malika looked down at them, "are you sure you weren't sneaking around?"
"Positive." Cora give a small smile, which wasn't returned.
"You must be Sadik's children."
"That's us!" Cora frowned, "I'm Cora Karpusi and this is Temel Adnan."
"Malika Ratnasari."
"So do you work here too?"
"Yes."
Cora smiled. "Your hair is pretty."
Malika looked away. "Er, thank you, Cora. As… as is yours."
"Is my hair pretty too?" Temel asked.
"No," said Cora, sticking her tongue out.
"Your hair is nice too," Malika told him.
"So what do you do here?" Cora asked; "do you make deliveries too?"
"Err, no," Malika gave a rare smile, "I'm an assassin!"
Cora's smile fell. She remembered the conversation she'd just overheard and knew Malika wasn't lying. This company really killed people. And because of that, she decided to treat it as a joke and pretend she knew nothing.
"Haha, funny," she smiled nervously, "you're very funny!" Temel remained silent.
Malika didn't respond. The lift doors opened and she walked out, leading the pair to the mess room.
"Stay here until someone else gives you a job," she said.
"Of course."
Cora looked around the mess room. Most of the walls on one half of the bottom floor had been knocked down to create one large storage room. Most of the room was taken up with rows of crates and boxes, but one corner held a battered sofa and chipped table. A dart board was nailed to the wall and there was an arcade game in the corner. An 'out of order' sign was taped to the screen.
Temel bounded over to the sofa, plopping himself down and shaking slightly. When Cora turned back to the doorway, Malika was nowhere to be seen.
She joined her brother on the sofa, not saying a word to him and praying he'd remain silent too. There was no telling who could be listening in on them.
Of course, both wanted to talk about what they'd seen. About the blood on Malika's clothes. About the discussion between the boss and her apparent assassin. About what sort of organisation they'd just joined exactly. But that would all have to wait until they were safe at home.
Not for the first time, Cora found herself wishing she'd never left Cyprus.
"Hey, Temel," she began.
"Yes?"
Cora adjusted her hair-band, "do you think I'd look good with a flower pin?"
…
Peter couldn't help feeling out of place here, but then again, he was under a bridge.
His navy blue suit felt too clean, amongst rubbish and river water and already his shoes were soiled. He tried not to look for them as he waited for Feliks, half-hidden in the gloom and watching as an old man, wrapped in a battered coat and carrying his worldly possessions in a plastic bag, wandered past, paying him no attention. He scratched his scraggly beard as he picked up an empty can, sighing and throwing it in the river. Peter continued to watch him as he ambled past and disappeared from sight.
A few moments later, another man appeared, younger this time and wearing an oversized grey hoodie, battered jeans and a beanie: Feliks Łukasiewicz, or Agent Phoenix. His long hair was flecked with dirt and mud, and his sharp green eyes scanned the scene, spying Peter, but neither acknowledged the other's existence.
Feliks sat down at the water's edge, boredly swinging his legs over the side before speaking loudly.
"The phoenix has risen from the ashes."
That was Peter's cue to come forward, and he took a step towards Feliks, replying with: "and the seagull has stolen the pasty."
Agent Phoenix grinned as Peter sat down next to him, and he tucked a lock of hair behind his ear.
"Did you catch Im Yong Soo?"
"Yes, thank you. He'll be in jail for a long time."
Feliks nodded. "So," he began, "to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"
"We need information, Agent Phoenix," Peter explained.
"Well you've come to the right place."
Feliks was aligned with both divisions of the Berlin DSA, but not employed directly by the government. The government didn't even know he existed, which was perfect for when the DSA needed someone with a looser interpretation of the law and a close connection to some of the lowest members of society.
He was a distant cousin of Tsvetan's, and his job was to go undercover and create a network of informers and contacts by mixing with the most dangerous of gangs. It was lucky his cousin had given him the job, because no one would normally have employed the shy, socially anxious Feliks as a spy, but he turned out to be pretty good at his job. He was the last person a gang member or criminal would suspect of being in contact with government agencies. He knew all about the sordid, dangerous underside of the city and if anyone could give the DSA any clues about Commonwealth, it was Feliks.
For the right price.
What? It was a dangerous job.
Peter pulled out a thick envelope and discretely passed it to Feliks, who stuffed it in his jacket and nodded.
"Alright, who are your lot trying to do in this time?"
"Not 'who'," Peter replied, "'what'."
"Alright," Feliks rolled his eyes, "what are your lot trying to do in this time?"
"An organisation of unparalleled destruction and power, it appears. They go right to the top and back again, apparently, and are involved in everything from the drugs trade to gun-running. Maybe even worse."
"Sounds serious," Feliks rubbed his chin, "they, like, got a name?"
"Commonwealth."
"Sorry, haven't heard of them."
"What?" Peter exclaimed, "oh come on!"
"Keep your voice down, Agent Seagull," Feliks snapped, "you'll blow our cover! Honestly, kids these days…"
"You seriously don't know anything about them?"
Feliks adjusted his beanie. "That's what I just said, didn't I?"
"You've been spending months with homeless people and you don't know a thing? Have any of the gangs said anything?"
"Nothing about Commonwealth, but I'm still one of the lowest members in most of them, so I don't know a lot."
"Well, has anything odd happened lately?" Peter asked, "Commonwealth get involved with gangs, even if they're just a group of bored teenagers mugging people and smashing up bus stops. They'd definitely try and buy out the proper criminal ones at least. You need to be careful."
"Oh strange things have happened alright." Feliks' smile was gone; "some mobsters have been in contact with lawyers, the ones dealing with refugee cases, you know, fighting deportations and the like. I have no idea what it's all about, but it stinks. What the hell to criminals want with refugees?"
"Cheap workers maybe?" suggested Peter, "or human trafficking?"
"That would be my guess," Feliks nodded.
"Do you know which lawyers?"
"Mr Wang, I think. That's the only name I've heard." Feliks hugged his legs, resting his chin on his knees. "That's not even the worst of it."
"What's wrong?"
Feliks' lip quivered. "People are going missing."
"Refugees?"
"What? No. Well, maybe but I don't know. I mean homeless people!"
"How do you know they're going missing? Maybe they've found someplace to live or moved on. There are charities to help them, right?"
"They're definitely going missing," Feliks growled, "just going off and never coming back. Sometimes whole buildings or tunnels would just be cleared out of whoever's sheltering in there and the people are never seen again."
"Haven't the police done anything?"
Feliks gave him a withering look. "These are homeless people, remember? What do the police care?"
"Well they will now;" Peter made a mental note to speak to Officer Hassan on the subject.
"Thank you," Feliks closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his forefinger, "it would mean a lot to me. You see… my friend's cousin… he's gone."
"What happened?"
"Well, a while back I befriended a bloke called Toris. He has nothing, except his little cousin Raivis. The two have been sleeping under benches and bus stops for months now. But last week Toris went to buy some coffee for them- to warm them up- and when he came back, Raivis was gone."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Peter sighed, "we'll find him, okay?"
"Please. Toris doesn't deserve this too, and Raivis is only a kid." Feliks looked down, so nervous and fragile, even.
"Well this is a side of you I haven't seen before," commented Peter.
"I have many sides," Feliks replied, "and chances are you'll never get the opportunity to see them all."
"Of course. So do you think these incidents are related to Commonwealth?"
"Possibly. I'll ask around, okay?" He stood up and began walking away. "Until next time," he called, "Agent Seagull."
"I'll keep in touch, Agent Phoenix."
...
Oh, I should point out that on Kazai's website, it's stated that one of the countries it supports is Malaysia, thus Cora will be rather fond of Malika in this. The site also states it supports the Republic of Cyprus, hence her dislike of Sadik, Kuzey and Temel.