At night, the district had been an empty wasteland, but it was now bustling with activity. Cars were lining up the streets and pedestrians occupied nearly every free square metre of space. Along the roads were an abundance of shops ranging from small, privately owned stores to the more prominent brands famous throughout the Order. The sheer volume of people was giving Amon a headache. He signalled to Bel, and with a nod, the two of them headed their respective way.

Amon was in charge of scouting the guard's barrack; after all, it seemed like the most obvious choice. Knowing it would be hard to go against the flow of people, he let himself be taken away by the waves of people. It was the middle of summer, and there were a lot of tourists, crowding the place even more than usual. Though New-Paris was considered something of a remote city in the Order, the prestige that its name carried couldn't be easily erased. In truth, it had little to do with the original Paris as most of it had burnt in the war of 2065 that shook the world and gave birth to the order. In this war, nuclear bombs laid waste to the Americas who were now known as a barren and hostile wasteland. In a few years, the major centres of power were wholly shaken, and it had only taken ten years for the newly established Order to position itself as the only force capable of salvaging what was left of humanity. They had set their capital in Cairo, near the resting place of the pharaohs and ruled the world with an iron fist. Regardless of the way they ruled, it was undeniable that they brought great advancement to science and had shot humanity in a new golden age of science. Their critics weren't few, but their contribution to the world was such that most supported them. Of course, their military strength also helped.

In the current world, there was only a single state that was not under the jurisdiction of the Order and was known as the Free Republic of Australia, FRA for short. They had been mostly spared during the war and were able to keep a coherent government throughout the whole crisis. They currently had a pact of non-aggression with the Order, and the two agreed to stay out of each other's business. As such, the world had attained a state of fragile peace.

As he was swept away by the crowd, Amon couldn't stop thinking about the fact that this peace had been bought with the price of freedom. Never in their life did these people have any say about the way their life would go. Never did they vote, never did they change policies. They were forced to go along to the Order's every whim. That was why the Ravens existed. To give these people their freedom back, even if it meant alienating them; even if it meant some of them would perish in the crossfire.

Lost in reveries, Amon didn't know how long had passed, but he was getting closer to the guard's barrack. It was a very eye-catching building. It looked like a gigantic steel fortress with metal walls several meters high. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the colourful and lively business district and served as a constant reminder of the Order's power. This fortress was built long before the rest of the city was ever constructed during the war and served as a command point for the Order in its early days. After New-Paris was established, it was repurposed into a garrison. It could hold several thousand guards and was the last set of defence for the city.

The area surrounding the barracks was called the Justice Square and was a mostly paved park with benches and some beautiful sculptures and vegetation. It was a popular place for shoppers to take a rest before going about with the rest of their errands. Despite the metal fortress being massive and clashing with the city's aesthetic, it wasn't ugly by any means. The silvery walls were adorned with beautiful engraving, and the main building's spire that was visible from everywhere in the district was iconic.

When he got to the square, Amon quietly sat down on a bench, pretending like he was pausing after a relaxing stroll through the town. He was positioned perfectly to spy on the entrance of the barracks and could observe to see if there was any suspect movement from inside.

He waited for a few hours, and as the sun started to set, he realized that there had been an unusually large amount of activity from inside with a large number of patrols going in and out of the barracks. However, he was unable to tell if it was due to the events of last night or if the Holy Knights were actively searching for the Ravens' safehouse. To gain a more accurate picture of what was going on, he would need to infiltrate the barracks and see for himself.

He hadn't set a time for Bel and him to report to each other so he assumed that if Bel had an emergency, he would contact him on his phone. They didn't use regular phones when communicating with their contacts in the Ravens, but they did have an encrypted phone for their personal use.

To infiltrate the barracks, Amon would need a good disguise. It would be hard for him to fake being a repairman or something of the sort without the support of the operatives in the city so he would need to find another role to imitate. The simplest would be to take a guard's uniform to pass the metal walls. Once inside, he would need to navigate carefully and get as much information as possible before quietly leaving the place.

A guard uniform wouldn't be so hard to get if he just found someone his size on patrol and stole his clothes, but he would need to get back to the garrison before they discovered that a patrol wasn't responding. He also would need a good excuse as to why he wasn't with the rest of his unit. However, those were details that could be worked out later. The most important part was to acquire a guard uniform without making too much noise.

Amon got up from his bench and decided to roam around in the residential district until he found a patrol. It seemed like it wouldn't be too hard as the Order was in a state of heightened security following the killing of their captain. Amon was surprised that there weren't checkpoints set up in the city to control the flow of circulation. They also had taken no action to restrain exits to the town. The magnetic train was still up and running at full capacity while the airport was functioning unimpeded. Amon assumed that such a thing happened because the chain of command had been disrupted and paid it no mind.

He decided to try his luck in the ninth district as it was the closest to his location. He set off, and it took him about forty-five minutes to meet the first patrol in the ninth district. At this time of day, the flow of people in the streets had reduced considerably, and it was mostly people finishing up their errands before shops closed for the day. Amon knew that patrols wouldn't stay on the main roads for long and would eventually delve deep in the alleyways where the real shady parts of the city resided.

Bidding his time, he followed them from a distance making sure not to be sure or to appear too suspicious to the eyes of passers-by. Amon was afraid that the climate in the city would only get tenser with the murder of the guards and the Holy Knights operating in the city. In such an environment, he had to be careful not to exhibit any suspicious behaviour. The twelve man patrol continued roaming the main streets of the area for about another thirty minutes before something seemed to catch their attention in a small and deserted alleyway between two tall apartment complexes. Amon saw this as his chance and followed them. He wasn't armed, but this was hardly a concern as he was deadlier unarmed than most people, even when equipped with a weapon.

Moreover, he needed to kill the guard from whom he wanted the uniform without spilling a drop of blood or damaging the clothing if he wanted to use it, so a weapon might only be a detriment to his mission. He readied himself and spied on the small road where the patrol had gone. They were currently in the middle of restraining a group of thugs. Sensing that this was his chance, Amon readied himself and sneaked behind the men.