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Arthur

"It's official, you've lost your mind," Zoey stated, pacing around the room. She looked the most stressed I had ever seen her, and it didn't look like she was going to calm down any time soon.

General Ghost sighed and shook his head. "I haven't lost my mind, Zoey. With his attitude and power, we can change the tide of our war and strength our numbers. I just told you he can influence the mind of the people just with a book, who's to say that he won't do it for us?"

"Maybe because he's with the enemy?" she retorted sarcastically.

I sighed and stopped her. "Zoey, please. Let's at least hear him out first."

"Who? The general or the hare?"

I gave her my own stare. "Both."

She looked at me and furrowed her brow. I knew that she didn't want to believe the general's words either, but he did know best when it came to situations like this, so I wanted to hear him out before call bull on that, again. The look in her eyes told me that she didn't want anything to do with a Task Master, but I needed to listen to the general to see what exactly he had in store for us.

"What do you mean by a truce?" I asked, waving my hand to move on.

He sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "I told about what he does for a living, but I said nothing of his personality. He actually doesn't own one slave as a matter of fact even though he could."

"Wow! Let's give him the Thanks For Not Being So Much of A Dick Award!" Zoey shot back sarcastically, rolling her eyes in the process.

We both glared at her but ignored her statement as the general went on. "This is your mission as of right now: I want you two to gather intelligence on where Mr. Hare is living, meet him, gain an audience, and somehow convince him to join our cause. If things get dicey then you have full permission to terminate the target. One less Task Master to worry about. That is an order."

We both looked at one another again. She still looked at me with a frown and shook her head, telling me that she was not fully on board with this plan. Sadly, I had to agree with her on that. The thought of working with a Task Master was just mind-boggling to me, but disobeying an order from the general himself was an act of treason even if you could justify it. I didn't like it any better than she did, but we still had to do it for the cause of the army. If we could actually get this guy to work with us instead of against us then we could turn the tide of the war in our favor, possibly. That was to say if we got him to join us.

I turned to look at Damien. "We understand, sir."

He let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, I knew I could trust you, Arthur." He then looked at the both of us. "You two will be embarking on the mission in the next two days, so prepare your gear, get some rest, and be ready."

Falk butted in at the last moment. "Wait, what about me, sir?" He motioned to Zoey and I. "You usually pair us together, so what does that mean for me?"

Damien nodded. "I understand, Summers. I have my own assignment for you as well, but I will discuss that once this meeting is adjourned. Stay here for further instruction and I will debrief you."

This time Falk looked at the two of us. He looked both confused and sad to not be partnered alongside us, but he also knew that it was for the best. We needed to get used to being split up into different missions so we wouldn't have to rely on one another for support constantly. I knew he wasn't too keen on working like a lone wolf for right now, literally, yet he couldn't disobey the general. We both shrugged his way in which he sighed and nodded to the general without saying a word, his silence telling us he wasn't happy about this.

General Ghost looked at the three of us. "You all have your orders. I wish you two the best of luck in hopes we bring this man to join our cause."

I could tell all three of us weren't feeling very well about this. Zoey returned to her pacing about the room, Falk had his arms folded across his chest and looked down, and I looked right at the picture of Lucian. We were a team, and now the general was splitting us up to get two birds with one stone. He knew we were the best soldiers that he had to command, but he also knew that we needed help if we were going to win this war, even if that meant going to the enemy for it.

Falk and Zoey didn't seem to like this plan of his either. Zoey went back to her pacing of the room while Falk folded his arms across his chest and closed his eyes, apparently in deep thought. I stared at the hologram of Lucian's face, looking for anything that would tip him off to be a bad guy. He didn't look bad to me, but he still held the title of Task Master, and I could vouch for my friends by saying that none of us liked any of the Task Masters, especially the Overlord. Falk had experience regarding a Task Master, a situation he never really explained to me, and I had a very bad experience with Jupiter as well. Zoey also had some bad memories regarding the Task Masters/ Overlord, but she never really explained it to me either so I just never talked to her about it.

After about a few minutes in thought, we all seemed to come to a consensus without even mouthing a word to one another. We usually did this when we were faced with a tough decision, but I was always the one who ended up making the final call but it would usually be in agreement of both Falk and Zoey. They both looked at me with uneasy faces but ended up nodding my way, giving me all I needed to know in order to tell the general.

"We're all on board, sir," I stated, hoping that this mission didn't end up killing both Zoey and I.

Falk stepped forward as well. "I'll also accept the mission you have for me as well, just let me know what I need to do."

Damien let out a sigh of relief. "Good, all of you. Arthur, Zoey, you both are dismissed. Falkread, I'll need you to stay so I can debrief you on your next assignment."

Zoey and I saluted him before leaving the room.

???

The two days where we were forced to wait seemed to be the two longest days of our lives. Zoey had the bright idea to get some extra training in those two days, working on our upper body strength and our speed.

In those two days, I learned never to take Zoey on in a boxing duel. Wanna know why? Go ahead and ask my sore jaw and her left fist. That's all I'm going to say on that.

Should I have known better than to take on a girl in a boxing duel? Yes, I know I should've. That was when I made the mistake of underestimating her because she was a girl. She had some muscle on those bones and it showed because she made me look like a fool in front of the others who were also training in there. Now, I didn't take that beating lying down though, I did put up a fight against her, giving her a couple of good bruises for the memories, but in the end she made me look like the fool of course.

We were already up an hour before we had to set out for our mission, prepping our gear for another stealth mission. I stayed in my room readying my gear while she stayed in the female quarters. We both knew we were going to need our active-camo suits, so we already put them on. Aside from those, we also packed a dual set of pistols, fitted with suppressors for maximum silence, and an assault rifle also fitted with a suppressor. With that inside our bag, we grabbed a set of night vision glasses and our communicators, as well as the disc needed to get the general in on things if everything went our way, then set out for the chopper.

I met up with her on the flight deck, watching as she was already halfway towards the aircraft. There was no denying that she was beautiful, especially in the light of the midday sun, yet I knew better than to marvel at that for too long. Many guys made that mistake and they ended up paying for it with a good kick to the crotch.

She helped me onto the plane just as the door closed, sealing us inside. Before we left the ship, the general told us it was going to be a seven hour trip all the way to the city of Florza--one of the newest and wealthy cities in America located in Tennessee. Comparing this one to Nashville was like trying to compare a lion cub to a full grown lion. Florza helped provide resources like timber, corn, grain, and different types of vegetables across the country and maybe some ways across the globe. The people in the city were filled with the rich who hired personal slaves to do their bidding.

If only they knew the truth, I thought. When the Overlord came into power, he may have taken away the freedom of an individual but he made it look like they gave it up voluntarily so people could buy and sell a person while thinking that it was perfectly fine. People nowadays were greedy as greedy could be, and it helped the country prosper surprisingly. All it took was the enslavement of another just to get stronger, but it was wrong in so many ways. I hated the state the world was in today and it made me sick to my stomach just thinking about how bad things have gotten in just a couple decades.

At least there were still good people on the planet who didn't believe in the enslavement of another and fought against it, but not with us like the way we do it up close and personal with guns and an army and such. Ghost had the right idea of using those who weren't working directly with us to cause chaos against the enemy without much of our involvement, minimalizing our presence around the globe to make it seem our numbers were few in number while we were in the millions. Those people would also end up sending others to our cause if they wanted to, strengthening our fold even more by the day, week, and month.

But what was this plan of Damien's I wondered. He said that he needed to talk to the other generals from around the globe in order to put it in action and have it backed up as well. We had always known Damien was a secretive one when it came to business like his plans, so we weren't too scared of what he was thinking of this time yet it still had me curious. I hated that I wanted to know what he was planning and how he was going to make it work because I wanted to trust him without having to poke at his mind just to figure it out. Did it involve the election before the finals? A feeling inside me told me that it might be half of the plan. Did it involve the final election? Something told me that it might be the other half, bringing the two together in a very strange way. There was still no way I could be entirely certain about my hunches though, so I was going to have to wait until the moment came when he told us of his scheme.

The jet flew quickly over the water, soon reaching the mainland in under an hour. Zoey had the right idea to get some shut eye so we would be well rested when our mission was to begin, however I always had trouble sleeping when I was feeling uneasy about myself. The dream from two nights ago was still bugging me and Shock hadn't informed me about any word from Carlos or his mission, making me nervous to the fullest. I wanted to know who that fox was, if it was my dad or not. If it was, I wanted to know why the hell he was in the military while I was in the picture, so to speak. What about mom? Did she know that my father worked with the Revolution while I was too young and foolish to understand? If that was the case then why didn't they tell me about it? Was it because they didn't want me to follow the same path he did or was it because they wanted it to be water under the bridge so it could be forgotten forever without me ever knowing? I honestly had no clue, so I wanted to find out quick.

Why would they keep a secret like that from me? I was their son for crying out loud! They had never lied to me before but knowing that they kept something like this from me for all these years slowly boiled my anger. I wanted to forgive them and think that it was probably for the best that I didn't know about the truth behind them, but I was still their son and I had the right to know. Never had I lied to them but they lied to me by not telling me.

Just...why? I just wanted to know so bad it hurt! Even though they couldn't tell me their reasoning now, there were still people probably alive that could explain it all to me and shed some light on my mystery. Shock had been my first lead, now I needed to get the truth from Carlos. From what he had told me, he had known my father for many years, maybe during his secretive time fighting for the Revolution, so he was all I had to go on now. If he thought of lying to me right in my face then he was going to get a wake-up call from me personally. I was tired of the secrets already, not by Damien, but from my family. One way or another, I was going to figure out who that fox was and, if he was my father, then why would they keep it from me for so long.

During the entire ride to Florza this was all I thought. Constantly, I kept going over the same thoughts in my brain, sometimes running my stubby claws through my head fur just to think harder and somewhat calm myself down. Zoey stayed asleep the entire time, moving only to shift her head from side to side as the jet hit turbulence a few times along the way. How she slept like this, I'll probably never know, but that was one secret I was okay not knowing about.

Hours seemed to go by quickly but eventually we reached the city and all its bright, shining glory. The sun was already starting to set, basking the city in its dark orange and red light as the city's lights painted a beautiful picture with the sun. The pilot of the jet set us down miles away from the massive city, making sure we weren't spotted by any soldiers or anyone. It was better to remain invisible and unseen than to stand out in the crowd and make a target of ourselves.

Once we exited the jet, we both received a comm link to the general. I picked the message up first. "This is Arthur, go ahead sir."

"Arthur, since you're ahead of schedule, it'll be a while before we find Lucian through our satellites. You'll need to wait until we ID him so you can track him and follow."

_ _ Zoey picked up on the conversation. "Well, what do we do in the mean time?"

"Blend in with the city's people. I took the liberty of packing you some normal clothes to put over your optical-camo suits. They should make you look like a regular person so you won't be spotted. While you do that, gather information on the state of the people within the city if you can. We need to see what we're working with when it comes to the people."

_ _ I nodded. "We'll try our best, sir."

"Good luck to the both of you. I'll radio you once we find him. Damien out."

_ _ As the link between comms shut off, the jet that had carried us here slowly began to lift off once more then shot away and left us on the top of a forested hill looking over the city. Zoey opened up her bag to reveal her clothes while I went through my own and found mine. A neon red hoodie, white skinny jeans, and a white T-shirt. Compared what we--by we, I mean soldiers like Zoey and I--wear on a day to day basis, this was definitely normal when it came to the people.

I turned around and let Zoey change into her clothes while I changed into mine. At least our suits were skin tight and cool, like they provided cool air to our bodies, or else I'm sure we would burn up, especially with the pants he packed us. We both quickly changed as fast as we could, noticing the sun halfway down the horizon. Just as I finished changing, I turned to Zoey only to find that she had been packed regular skinny jeans, a white frilly halter top, and a set of fake pearl necklaces. Of course Damien had to make her look gorgeous while he made me look like a street skater in the ghetto.

"That's a nice look for you," I complimented her.

She smiled. "Thanks, skater-boy."

I rolled my eyes and put my hands in my hoodie pockets. "If Damien had packed a skateboard too, it would've made the look more convincing."

"Agreed," she giggled. "He could've at least thrown in purse as well." I knew she was joking so I couldn't help but laugh a little.

While we walked down the hill towards the city, I looked her up and down. "I thought you were wearing your suit...why are you exposing your arms?"

She smiled and tapped the communicator/watch on her wrist. "I activated the camo so I could make it look more convincing. If someone tries to make a move then they'll be very disappointed."

"Nice," I complimented once more, this time on her wits.

It barely took under half an hour to reach the city's outer limits. For the first time in our lives, we didn't have to sneak past any guards or any police to get into the city. The houses outside the city were peaceful for the most part, few still active with people still up. Cars constantly drove by us, paying no mind to two undercover soldiers that looked like they were boyfriend and girlfriend.

Actually, that wasn't a bad act. The thought made me chuckle a little as I told it to Zoey. She didn't giggle, she burst out laughing. Once she was done, she said that it was a good act to have but she and I wouldn't make a good couple. I believed her too. We were close friends, not extremely close like BF and GF. The both of us decided to stick with the act though, but if things got too close then we would have to "break-up", so to speak.

Not only did cars pass by us without a second thought, but people as well. They didn't even seem to bat an eye at us, or maybe they did and didn't care either way. Even teens passed by us, waving to us like they knew us somehow. I wondered if maybe this was what teens did on a regular basis, just wave to strangers walking through a city. If that was the case then I was really glad that I wasn't one of them anymore.

Zoey seemed to marvel at the sights of the city which, even I thought, was impressive. Skyscrapers towered over the streets, rising high into the sky while illuminating the entire area in florescent lights like it was Christmas or something. It was pretty different from New York which was much large than this city but was still very impressive and nice. Dozens of cars continued to drive down the streets quickly, some actually stopping at nearby restaurants and shops alongside the sidewalk. I could see people crowding around certain areas, chatting things up with one another like normal people on a day to day basis I guessed.

We both walked right past the groups, only to turn left and find a huge crowd of people walking around the streets. Teenagers ran past us with sticks that seemed to spark and pop while others were dancing wildly as if they were drunk out of their minds, which I guessed they were. Even I could see parents and children walking around as if nothing was happening. They were all smiling and laughing, looking as though they were having a good time.

I finally noticed all the small stands that were laid out on the sidewalks, alleyways, and streets. Street performers were surrounded in a semicircle by people ranging from teens, to parents, to children while they did their thing. Some danced, some were shooting fire from their mouths--I had personally never seen that so it was pretty amazing--and others were shooting fireworks into the sky. The stands themselves were small in size but made up for it with the food they served which ranged from cotton candy, to hotdogs/hamburgers, to accessories like flashing necklaces and toy swords. It boggled my mind seeing teens playing with flashing swords while wearing glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets, guys and girls alike, which were meant for the younger kids, right?

"Are we in some sort of alternate reality?" I leaned in and whispered to Zoey.

She leaned back to me and whispered back "I have no clue."

Neither of us had ever seen something like this before. I had been raised as a farmer, Zoey had grown up in a compound, and Falk--who wasn't with us unfortunately--had been raised in a Task Master's mansion as a servant. The one thing the three of us had in common was the fact that we never really had any interaction with the outside world to be normal people. For the past six years, we had all been trained in the military to be strict yet still fun but we never saw anything like this in all our missions.

A dragon wearing a dozen glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces ran to us. I quickly stopped him. "Hey, what's with all of..." I trailed off, pointing at the large crowd of people behind him.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What? This?" He sounded Italian by his accent, and motioned to the massive street party that seemed to spread to even more streets. "You must be new! It's this state's version, Tennessee's version, of Carnavale!"

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Carna-what?"

Zoey butted in and spoke to the dragon in his native Italian tongue. She talked to the scalie for a few moments before the guy left, but not before grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing both of her cheeks. He then left waving goodbye to the both of us, looking very gay I might add skipping from person to person.

"Remind me to add this to my list of things that I will never understand," I stated, watching as he disappeared around the corner.

She giggled and patted my shoulder. "Carnavale is a festival around the world where three things happen: people get drunk, people have fun, and people party their asses off until the morning comes. It usually happens sometime in February though."

I checked the date on my watch. "It's July though. Either they're seven months ahead or they're five months late."

She giggled again, patting my shoulder playfully. "He did say that this is Tennessee's version of it. If these people want to celebrate something that happened a couple of months ago or be early to the party then let them. Who are we to judge? Besides, this could be fun!"

Before I could even protest against her, she grabbed my wrist and brought us both into the festivities. As we got deeper and deeper into the festival, I saw streamers and banners pinned along buildings with dozens of fireworks going off in the sky, lighting things up with thunderous sound that made the people around us cheer and dance even harder. I saw people dressed as if this was the early fourteenth century as jesters and Italians during the Renaissance. They danced as if this was the Italian Renaissance, very old school while instrumental players played a traditional tune to get the dancing to go along.

That wasn't the only thing going on however. People as mobile vendors walked through the streets, giving away glow in the dark, plastic necklaces and bracelets. Zoey smiled and ran over to him soon coming back with four of the bands, tying one around my wrist while tying the longer one around my neck like a loose collar. She called it blending in with the crowd which was a smart move on her part, even if it was a weird way to blend in.

Crowds of people continued to pass by us, some of them street performers who waved our way and greeted us in a different language. Thankfully I had Zoey--the universal translator of a dozen different countries. She replied back to them in their native language then waved goodbye, giving a low bow as well when the time called for it, then helped us both push through. Along the way we both got swarmed with offers of food and foreign items which we both gracefully turned down, to the disappointment of the hardworking vendors. They looked like sincere people who were just trying to have a good time, but we were a duo that had things to do, people to save, and a war to win.

At least they didn't know that.

I didn't even realize how much time we had lost. The sky was pitch black when the fireworks weren't shooting into the air and the city looked alive with people and cars. I could hear cheering all around me while the people danced and sang with the music that currently played, keeping their feet to the beat while making Zoey's life and mine a living hell. We both had to move to the sidewalks as opposed to the street where things only seemed to get more and more crowded. The police themselves were patrolling the corners, looking for anything they saw as a threat like guns or weapons. Honestly, I thought this whole place was so dangerous that it needed dozens more policemen to look over things.

I just looked around the place, losing track of Zoey for a few seconds until she came back with a two cones of cotton candy. I gratefully took one from her and walked along the sidewalk, passing a few more small vendors trying to sell us food or drinks or items like the ones we had on. We passed more performers along the way, actually stopping to watch them for a few moments before moving on through the festivities. The people seemed very nice to us, some of them being too nice to the point where I felt as though I couldn't trust them.

"This is really weird," I whispered to Zoey as she bit into her candy.

She smiled and turned to look at me. "Oh, come on. It's at least different than what we do for a living, am I right?"

I shrugged. "I think I prefer what we do over this."

"Killjoy."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious," I smiled as she playfully punched my shoulder.

Just as we went a few feet after our conversation, a cheetah guy came up to us. He looked as though he had either been smoking a little too much or he was heavily drunk out of his mind or something. All I knew, I didn't like him for some reason. "Hey! You two look like you enjoy a good show! Come and see the show we have on display for people who enjoy a good SVS!"

We both exchanged uneasy looks. "SVS?" We both asked in unison.

The cheetah took a few steps back and beckoned for us to follow, smiling cheekily from side to side. "Come on! Come on! You come and I will show!"

The cheetah soon ran for an alleyway far down through two skyscrapers. We both knew that following someone like him wasn't a good idea, but Damien hadn't contacted us ever since the jet left. Maybe this would be a good chance to blend in with the people, even though I still thought this place was weird. In the end, we both ended up shrugging before following the guy down the alley, keeping our wits up and our senses sharp while he led us a little ways down the alley.

At least when Zoey had turned her active camo on, her suit also camouflaged her gun as well, keeping it close and safe by her side. Good thing during our training years in the military the top trainers taught us enough combat to keep us safe during a fight in the event that we ever got in one. Lucky me that Zoey was with me as well and I knew that she could hold her own when it came to fighting. She proved that much to me by handing my butt to me back at the sparring arena on the ship. At least my jaw wasn't sore anymore.

We went a long way before following the guy around the corner, finding even more people crowded around a circle with flashing lights. The crowd seemed to be cheering someone on but I could only hear two names that seemed to blur together. The crowd had to be in the dozens it looked like and they all looked like they were from the streets, only making me feel more and more on edge. I didn't rub the back of my neck but I was still apprehensive about going closer towards the crowd. Whatever this SVS was, it didn't feel right to me for some reason. When I came to places like this, especially in alleyways, I always knew never to trust anyone around here. That being said, I didn't trust the guy that led us here either but both Zoey and I were curious to see what he meant by SVS.

The cheetah guy beckoned us to come closer towards the cheering crowd, only making the both of us feel more on edge. Zoey looked at me nervously, whispering into my ear that she had a bad feeling about this. I whispered back to her, telling her that I didn't like the looks of this place either. Nonetheless, we still stayed and walked onward towards the crowd. The people making up the crowd looked like they were from the lower class of the city. They wore baggy pants with holes along the thigh, old shirts, toboggans, and adorned piercings along their faces. They all looked pretty sketchy to me. Zoey seemed to agree with me, keeping her hand close to the thigh where her gun was camouflaged.

When they saw us, many of the guys looked at Zoey and whistled, cursing as if they were complimenting her. Some of them shot a lusty eye her way, only to be meeting with a harsh flip of her head in the other direction. A few of the other girls who seemed to look exactly like the guys here looked at me as well, smiling while giving me small waves. We both stood out in this crowd now. Our clothes didn't fit in with them and maybe they saw that we were wealthy or something. If that was the case, I was ready for a fight then.

Eventually we reached the front of the crowd, only to find the people forming a large circle big enough for two people their size. Two people stood on opposite ends of the circle as well. One was a lightly built horse that looked pretty beat up while the other across from him was a lion with his mane cut into a fro-hawk, also lightly built. They both only wore tight jeans while their flat bare chests were exposed to everyone to see. They both looked like they were beat up, their fur torn off in some places while I could see small bruises along their faces.

I looked at Zoey only to find her hand cupped over her mouth. She looked just as shocked as I was, maybe even more than I was. I could see the look of absolute horror in her eyes, and the way that she looked back of me told me that she did not want to be here anymore.

Before I could utter a single word, a loud announcer boomed over everyone else. "Ladies and gentlemen! Furs and aquatics alike! I'd like for you to please get ready because we're about to start another round of Slave Versus Slave!"

Zoey

I had no clue what to think anymore.

What did he just say? Slave Versus Slave? What kind of sick game was this anyway? Arthur stood there with his mouth agape, turning to look at the two slaves then at the announcer who we realized was the cheetah who led us here. He stood on a makeshift platform built from trashcans and plywood, towering above everyone else while holding a microphone in his hand, looking almost as smug and devilish as Jupiter.

I turned back to look at the circle with the slaves. As I took a closer look, I finally noticed that they both wore one of those bracelets that those Task Masters give to their slaves to track their every move and keep them under their own watchful eye. The fro-hawked lion panted like a dog while he stood hunched over, a few cuts and bruises along his face and body. I looked at the skinny horse only to find that he was missing bits and parts of his fur while his entire body was covered in scratches and a fairly large wound on his shoulder. This guy needed to see a doctor, not get himself into another fight, goddammit! I'll bet anything that if he took another blow from this lion, who I guessed didn't have a choice whether or not to fight, he would be in the morgue before we could even breathe.

That was when I finally figured out what SVS meant. Slave Versus Slave. Never had I heard that term before, but now it was at the top of my list of things that I was forever going to hate for the remainder of my life. I looked back over to the cheetah announcer, finding him wearing a white band around his wrist, labeling him as a lower class Task Master that I guessed worked on the streets and bought people on the fly.

He then spoke into the mic again. "On the red side we have our reigning three time champ! He's one-hundred and thirty pounds of pure muscle with some of the sharpest claws you'll ever see! Please give it up for....Derek!"

Arthur and I didn't cheer but the crowd of people around us did. Many of them threw their fists in the air and chanted the feline's name over and over...and over again, growing in intensity with each chant. They seemed to really like this lion from what I could tell, and I guessed the way the announcer introduced him only made him look like he was on top of the world. I knew better. This lion, Derek, didn't want to be here. He wanted to leave this rat hole and run for his life and be a truly free person.

The cheetah wasn't done yet unfortunately. "In the blue corner, we have the rookie I've been training for the past two weeks! He's taken on some of the biggest and baddest slaves on the market with the scars to tell his entire story! Please, let's give a loud cheer to...Emile!"

I didn't say a word but kept my mouth clasped over my mouth in shock. The people around me cheered for the horse just like they did for the lion, chanting his name many times without dying down. I looked at the horse as well only to have him look at me from afar with tears streaming down his face as if he was crying a waterfall. He didn't want to be here either, that was a fact. The guy was as scared as ever and had every right to be because this lion could end up costing him his life during the fight if he wasn't careful. He looked like he was in a world of pain, clutching his arm as if to tell me that he was just about ready to keel over and pass out already before things even got started.

I leaned into Arthur's ear. "The guy on the platform is a low-class Task Master."

He nodded. "I figured as much. He must buy the leftover slaves that no one else wants at an auction and gets them at a much lower price because the people who kidnap them don't want them anymore."

"Exactly," I replied.

The cheetah wasn't at all finished with his performance though. He quickly hopped down from his platform and walked up to the crowd. Just to be precise, he was walking right towards us actually. Since he had been running to the show, I never got to take any note of him. He wore baggy pants, a wife beater, and a ball cap turned backwards. Not only did he look like he could hold his own in a fight, but I had the sneaking suspicion that he was quick with his moves as well. I only hope that he didn't see through our disguises and tell everyone that we were undercover soldiers. If that happened, I kept my hand close to my thigh and kept it close to my pistol.

He broke through the crowd holding a bucket. What was inside, I had no clue, but I had a bad feeling about it. The crowd quickly made way for the guy, breaking away until we found ourselves face to face with him and his bucket. Up close, he looked pretty crazy and gross. I really just wanted to slap him already but held myself back.

Before he made eye contact with Arthur, he turned and looked at me. The look in his eyes told me all that I needed to know: that he was either feeling lusty or he was going to size me up. I took the safe road and went with the first thought.

"Ladies and gents!" he said into the mic. "I'd like to introduce two more people I rounded up on the streets to come and watch our show!" He took the mic away from his mouth and leaned close. "And what might your name be, my beautiful lady?"

If there was one thing the army taught me, it was to never use your name during an undercover op that required you to get close to the people. Arthur looked over at me and looked just as uneasy as I was feeling. I shifted from foot to foot and looked over at the people around me, finding that all eyes were on me from every angle. They guys looked especially eager to find out.

"My name is...Sasha," I said, thinking of the name just from the top of my mind. I liked the name Sasha though. It was a good cover to have whenever we needed to get involved with people.

The cheetah smiled and took my hand, kissing the top. "Well, my dear Sasha, you can call me Jack--Jack Breaks."

I took my hand away from him and looked away, making him raise his eye. He must've thought that I was some sort of prize to be won and if that was the case then he was going to lose those nuts of his.

"Well, dear Sasha, who is your friend over here? Is he your boyfriend? Do we have some puppy love going on here?" He bellowed out with laughter, making the crowd around us do the same as well.

Arthur tapped my shoulder and told me his fake name. I thought it was good personally. No one would know it was him with it either. "That would indeed be my boyfriend Gabriel."

Breaks turned his head and batted his eyes right at Arthur. Yep, he was definitely jealous that Arthur was closer to me than he could ever wish to hope for and I frankly found it pretty funny. Considering that he was also a Task Master, a pretty low-class one at that, didn't make his chances any better with me. If there was one thing that I could possibly hate besides the state of this world because of WWIV, it was the Task Masters from any class and the Overlord.

Jack let out a sigh which I soon figured out was an acted sigh. "What a shame but no matter! Since you both seem to know where the entertainment is was, especially because it's Carnival, you now have the right place to come when you wanna see slaves duke it out until one goes out like a light!" He put the bucket right in front of our faces and I finally noticed it was filled with hundred dollar bills, twenties, and even a couple dozen fifties.

That was when I finally pieced it together. Not only was he buying the leftover slaves from an auction, but he was also pitting them against each other to see who was the strongest and sell them afterwards to the highest bidder. The people must've placed bets on who they thought was going to win and he would end up taking in the entire profit then use it all to buy another and pit the new slave against the veteran to see which was better once more. If the veteran did better than the newbie then he would sell the vet to the highest bidder and train the newbie to be just as good as he was and repeat the cycle constantly.

I knew these two weren't the only two slaves that he had owned. There had to have been more in the past that helped him buy these guys and only God knew what they were going through and where they were. Yeah, Breaks had officially pissed me off to the maximum now.

He leaned in close and got right into my face. "Would the lovely lady like to make a generous donation to Sir Breaks for his hard work perhaps? Training these boys isn't easy, you know. They constantly take beatings from one another so that only adds to the medical cost...You see, they need food, water, and shelter...and someone like me to tell them that someone was generous to keep them safe." He gave me the fake act that he actually cared about the horse and the lion but I didn't buy it one bit. He was lying right through his teeth and I bet he didn't know that I knew.

I didn't even look at Arthur but decided to make my own act. "Oh, those poor things! I can't imagine how hard it could be to keep those two so safe and cared for!" I made sure to sound dramatic but not too overdramatic and risk blowing my cover. He and the crowd seemed to buy it though. "How much would it cost to keep them sheltered from the terrible people of the world?"

Just after I finished, I cupped my hand under his chin and sadly frowned. He bought into it and turned away, faking his sobs and tears as well. "My dear Sasha, you are too kind! A generous donation of...five hundred dollars would be most appreciated..."

I smiled and nodded meekly. "Very well, dear Breaks. Five-hundred it shall be, and I hope this will keep this well fed and sheltered."

"Why of course! I would not settle for anything less! You are such a saint!"

I smiled again. "Come closer so I can give you my donation."

Breaks smiled back and took a large step forward, getting right into my face again. "My lady, you are too kind of a soul! Bless you and your soul!"

That was when I frowned. "Bless this, you bastard!" Before he could even react, I slammed him right in the face with my fist.