“Are you ready?” Lyn asked as she drove along an empty street filled with upscale houses.

Visette checked her equipment which consisted of only a silenced pistol and a combat knife. For protection, she was given a lightweight ballistic vest that would stop low caliber impacts, but its strength didn't matter too much since she could create a psionic distortion field. Underneath the ballistic vest was a layer of black fatigues.

“Almost,” Visette replied as she pulled a balaclava over her face before adding a ballistic mask for good measure. Her white hair was all but tucked away into the balaclava to ensure that even if she was discovered, her identity would remain anonymous.

After tightening the pair of hard knuckle gloves covering her hands, Visette spoke, “I am ready.”

“Alright, the target is inside of the mansion with a red rooftop surrounded by a tall gate. There is security patrolling but it’s nothing too serious. Just get in, eliminate the target, and meet up with me at the designated point, got it?”

“Understood.”

As a dark van passed the councilor’s residence, Visette suddenly jumped out and cleared the fence with no issue. She landed on the perfectly cut grass silently and immediately sent out a psionic pulse while keeping her awareness at its peak.

‘Two individuals, approximately one hundred meters.’

Visette lowered her body, filling her legs with psionic power, and quickly dashed through the hedge filled backyard of the mansion. She paid no mind to the expensive sculpture that councilor seemed to indulged in.

As she arrived at the back of the four-story mansion and sent a scan inside discovering several more guards on the lower floors while there were only two individuals at the very top. In addition, there was a security device at the back door that blinked with a red light.

Visette stopped in her tracks before contemplating her next step. A moment later, she crouched down before jumping into the air and grabbing onto the guardrail of a balcony. She dangled in the air for a few seconds before she effortlessly herself up.

The balcony doors were locked shut, but luckily, Visette made a twisting motion and the balcony door clicked audibly.

Suddenly a red light above the door began blinking and Visette realized there was a hidden security device. She approached it and used her knife to pry it open, exposing the wiring, before she removed her glove and pinched a wire with her fingers. As her fingertips began glowing with a blue light, the wiring inside the small box began crackling.

…

Meanwhile, inside a security room, a guard was viewing a terminal which displayed the status of security devices. But truthfully, he was more focused on scrolling through the Social Net which drew laughter from him.

“Hey!” Another guard entered the room causing him to fumble around.

“What? What is it?”

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I was just-”

“Look at that, a device went off. That means someone entered.” The guard angrily pointed to the blinking display that indicated there was a disturbance.

Before he could say anything else, the light stopped blinking and the signal read as all clear.

“Wait...That’s strange.”

“It was only a glitch, you know the system is faulty as always.” The guard sighed with relief as he was cleared of any wrongdoing.

“Still, we have a protocol to follow, so go check,” The superior guard ordered.

“But-”

“Unless you want me to report to Councilor Wilson that you were scrolling through Social Net while on the job.”

“Fine...I’ll go.” The guard grabbed a flashlight and checked his sidearm before leaving the security room.

His superior looked around before sitting down and reopening the Social Net on the terminal. Any feelings of hypocrisy were washed away as he found an entertaining video of a singer from a different city.

…

Visette closed the security box and locked the balcony door which made it seem as if she hadn’t been there at all. She spread out a psionic pulse and found an individual was climbing the staircase and seemed to be approaching her location. She quickly searched for a spot to hide before easily finding one. She jumped toward a corner of the ceiling and stuck to it like a spider.

“Report to Councilor Wilson, yeah right, if he finds me up here I’ll get in trouble either way.” A guard mumbled to himself as he approached the balcony door. He waved his light around and so no signs of entry and since the security device wasn’t activated it meant nothing had transpired.

“Just a glitch.” He let out an annoyed groan before moving to leave.

He walked right under a strange shadow that hovered over him without a second thought.

After he was gone, Visette dropped down and navigated her way through the large hallways of the Councilor’s Mansion. Prolonged peace meant that Councilor’s were able to enjoy a life of extreme luxury if they chose to exploit it. And while some people struggled in the Lower Wards, the councilors who were greedy were able to thrive.

Of course, politics weren’t a factor to Visette as she’d only kill a designated target or someone she deemed to be an enemy. It didn't matter if they abused their power or not.

As she arrived at the doors to a master bedroom, Visette silently turned the knob with her psionics before slipping in and shutting it behind her.

Inside of the bedroom, a middle-aged man with short brown hair was completely naked on a large bed with a young woman asleep next to him.

Visette walked around the room, searching for any security devices and once she was clear, she moved toward the bathroom. She turned the faucets of the bathtub on and covered the drain, letting the water slowly overflow until a puddle was covering the floor.

She stepped out of the bathroom and hid in a corner before using her psionic power to gently wake the councilor up.

“Hm...Ah...” Councilor Wilson mumbled as he stirred awake.

The itching sensation on his face was annoying enough to interrupt his sleep for a moment. As it went away, he almost slipped back into unconsciousness but the sound of dripping water forced him to stay awake.

“Damn it, woman. You left the bath running.” Councilor Wilson nudged the woman beside him but she only mumbled something before turning over.

Councilor Richard reluctantly got up and walked over to the bathroom before flipping the light switch on.

“It’s a damn mess.” He clicked his tongue as a puddle of water touched his feet. And then, his body suddenly jolted as a invisible force wrapped around him. He attempted to shout but his mouth was sealed shut and his limbs went completely rigid.

He could only move his eyes around in a panic thinking he was undergoing a health crisis. He glanced around the room and caught a reflection in the mirror by chance. A figure wearing a black mask as well as black fatigues approached him with steps so light they were barely audible.

“...Hel...p.” Councilor Wilson barely managed to force out part of a word as his heart began racing.

Visette tightened the control of her psionic power as she stopped directly behind Councilor Wilson.

“You are a member of the New Mayhall Governmental Council, correct?” Visette inquired as a formality.

Councilor Wilson eyes darted around out of fear and confusion while his breathing grew more hurried.

“I will assume your heightened state of stress is a sign that I am correct,” Visette said.

Her monotone voice only furthered the terror growing within of Councilor Wilson. But that feeling of fear lasted for only a few seconds as Visette made a twisting motion causing Wilson’s neck to emit a short, crisp, snapping sound. Even as he died, he remained standing on his feet.

Visette loosened the grip of her psionic power and positioned him against the bathtub to make it appear as if he slipped.

After making sure nothing was out of place, Visette approached the bedroom window which was clear of any security devices and climbed out of it before disappearing into the night.

…

The next day, Visette appeared in class as if she hadn’t murdered someone the night before. The Professor entered with a sullen expression before clearing his throat.

“Class, I have an important announcement to make,” The Professor started.

The students went quiet as they waited for him to speak.

“Some of you may have already heard through some way or another, but last night, Councilor Wilson passed away.”

There were a few surprised gasps as people began to suspect the worse but the Professor hurriedly cut off any speculation.

“We have yet to receive any details but it was rule a freak accident by the Governor’s Advisor, Eugene Price. Classes will release early next week as the funeral ceremony will be held but you all aren’t required to go.”

Although he said as much, there weren’t many people who would miss it. As sad as the occasion would be, it was a great opportunity to meet with other figures who might be in need of budding talent. So the funeral was an important event for those that didn’t have as many social connections.

“Now, let our lesson begin...”

As class let out, Charlie approached Visette and the two began walking through the hallway.

“By the way, Visette, when are you going to come to my place? My mom really wants to see you.”

“Today should not be an issue.”

“Okay, wait, that reminds me.”

“What is it?”

“Um, where are you living Visette?”

“My current residence is an apartment in the Middle Wards.”

“You live in the Mid Wards by yourself? That’s cool, maybe I should stop by your place.”

“If you decide to come then please inform me ahead of time. I will need to purchase a greater supply of food.”

“Oh, are you going to cook?”

“Yes, I’ve learned that it is a common practice to cook meals for your guests.”

“When did you have time to learn how to cook?”

“It is not a difficult skill to learn.”

“If you’re that confident I guess I’ll have to find out just how skilled you are myself.”

“As I have said, inform me ahead of time.”

“Hey, Charlie, Visette!” Arthur jogged up to the girls while catching his breath.

“Hey, Arty.”

“Hello.”

Charlie and Visette greeted.

“What are you guys up to?” Arthur asked as he began walking with them.

“I was just seeing if Visette wanted to visit my house but apparently she’s living alone.”

“Seriously? You live by yourself but you don’t have to stay in a dorm?” Arthur asked.

The academy had a strict rule that dictated students with no parent or guardian had to take up residence inside the academy grounds.

“She’s apart of the military you know.”

“Really?!”

“Shh, keep it down.” Charlie glance at the students walking through the hallways before continuing. “But that’s not important, she was saying that she would cook for me if I came.”

“Can I come along?” Arthur blurted out.

“As long as I am informed ahead of time.” Visette nodded as if she didn’t care.

“I’ll pick you up when I go, Arty.” Charlie’s gaze of suspicion landed directly on Arthur who only smiled wryly.

They continued walking until Visette stopped, noticing something odd.

“Visette? What’s up?” Charlie asked as she trace Visette’s line of sight to an emergency door that was stamped with warnings.

“You’re curious about that?” Charlie asked.

“Where does that door lead?”

“To the emergency shelter underground. You know, that reminds me, we haven’t done shelter drills in a while.”

“Why would we? That last time anyone saw Corrupted near New Mayhall was four years ago.” Arthur frowned as he remembered losing his father in the chaos that broke out.

The door to the emergency shelter suddenly creaked open and a man wearing a janitorial uniform climbed out with oil smeared on his face. He seemed slightly surprised to see three students staring at him but regained his calm.

“Keep your grades up kids or you’ll end up cleaning out dusty old rooms like me.” He smiled warmly before heading down the hall.

“That’s a bit weird,” Charlie murmured as they resumed walking.

“What is?” Arthur asked.

“I think they’ve been doing a lot of cleaning down there recently, that’s all.”

“Hmm, you know, I think I remember someone telling me that they could hear machinery from the building at night.”

“Maybe something broke and they want to fix it before an official comes to inspect it.”

“I guess so.”

Visette accepted their explanation as satisfactory and continued on.