The Zetta Sonic
Deep Cold's

That's not Emil's voice.

Alex recognized. Just as his brain managed to recognize the sound, his body was stung by a stream of electricity. It was like being pricked by a needle all over the body. The pain forced him to break away, both from Tiger and from Gavin. Alex leapt back in pain before finally rolling on the ground, pleading for the pain to vanish. Fortunately, it didn't last long. As soon as the electric sting subsided, Alex found himself huddled on the ground. The pain remains with fatigue. He was no longer able and dared to move.

“Jayden?” Tiger was not sure of the voice he was also hearing.

[Thanks me?]

“This time. Very! Good work, J.” Tiger hurriedly helped Gavin who was coughing. “You're alive. Relax, relax. It had passed” Tiger obviously did not know how to calm Gavin who just felt strangled Zetta Sonic. Now, he's talking to Alex, but the question is he's pointing at Jayden. “Dia... alive ‘kan?”

[Of course! Check her.]

For a second, Tiger shook his head, hesitating. “I don't know which to ask first. How did you do it or how did you get there?”

[Avoid of information. I'm still in the hospital.]

“What? How—”

[I remain an official member of the Special Force. Someone sent me a laptop and a device — yes, you know — secret.]

Tiger crouched down in front of Alex who was curled up on the ground. The boy no longer moved. This made Tiger quite hesitant to do what. He waited for a moment and heard Alex whimpering in pain. “OK. He's alive,” he said.

[Thank God.]

“What do you really do?”

[Safety protocol. Remember?]

Tiger clucked in annoyance. He still remembers hitting Jayden before Alex's infiltration incident. “Nadira made me hit you because of your heated argument. And, you finally lost? You installed the system in the Zetta Sonic uniform. Right so?”

[More or less. But, Nadira agreed to replace the self-detonating feature with an electric shock. It's safer, isn't it?]

“Depends on the definition of the safe word you mean.”

[Alex, can you hear my voice? Alex?]

No reply from Alex makes Tiger pity. He reached out his hand, touching Alex's shoulder which was slightly trembling occasionally. “Stay calm. Control yourself, boy. Hold it there. Don't force Jayden to electrocute you again.”

[You think I want to do it?]

“Yes, yes, yes. Now what?”

Gavin was getting up while stroking his neck. Strangulation is not a pleasant experience. He saw Tiger near Zetta Sonic. He also saw flames behind them. The scorched aroma mixed with the scent of the sea against each other. Hot Eve made her sweat splash. While recuperating, Gavin gets a bad feeling. There was a roar of cars coming closer. The engine sound is not as smooth as his car or another ICPA car. He turned and found that his premonition was right.

“Tiger. We have guests.” Gavin stood up then hurriedly ran up to Tiger.

At the edge of the vast pier, they arrived four open-roofed jeeps. They passed the other side that was not burned. The four of them stopped forming a siege formation. If you want to leave, Zetta Sonic must choose to fight them or escape from the sea. Unfortunately, Alex is still preoccupied with her pain.

“Kloster?” guess Tiger.

The network was also cut off.

“Jayden? Jayden's? J!” Tiger repeatedly called out, hoping he would hear the operator's voice again at the earpiece.

“Free,” Gavin said. “Kloster has a pretty annoying signal scrambler. The radius is quite wide and the power is able to disrupt ICPA.” signals

“It won't be long. Jayden will fix it.” Tiger stood beside Gavin.

“That's what Kloster was after. Little time. Let's hope Jayden can work fast.”

Gavin glanced back once. Zetta Sonic is still curled up there. Then, he looked back to the front. The people from the jeep jumped down. There are at least four people in each car. They were wearing all-black clothes and carrying a long barrel gun that was quite fat.

“They are like mercenaries,” whispered Tiger.

“They are indeed mercenaries or assassins. Depending on which side you see it from,” reply Gavin. His eyes were watching everyone. He recognized one of them. A tall, well-built man, a feckless hair that was partially painted red. That's Naray, the leader.

“We are outnumbered. What's the plan?”

“Callation.”

Gavin stepped forward, towards the figure he was familiar with, without waiting for a response from Tiger. His attitude alarmed those people. They put their guns on as Gavin moves closer as slowly as possible.

Naray has a body that is ideal for being a member of the military. Even so, in contrast to Tiger who was gripping because of his physique, Naray spread the threat from the look of his eyes. Those small and sharp eyes were like rivers of ice. No one knows the limits of depth. One thing is certain. A wrong stance would break the surface of the ice, pulling anyone on it.

Realizing this did not make Gavin trepidation. He knew who he was dealing with, and vice versa. Naray raised his hand up. His colleagues also lowered their weapons. Next, Naray stepped forward. They met at the edge of the pier, among the blazes and the cold of the sea.

“He won't go anywhere,” Gavin said.

Naray chuckles. His voice was deep and calm as well a little hoarse. Every word comes out like it wants to put pressure on. “A few minutes ago, there was an agent wearing silly clothes. Some kind of optical illusion. It managed to outwit the residents of the house. Not with us. I didn't know you were working with ICPA here.”

“Indeed no.”

“You tried to hide it from us.”

“ICPA Regis tried to stop you and stop him from doing the wrong thing. If you step back, I believe the bad relationship between ICPA Regis and Kloster can start to be repaired. The choice is yours.”

“You think we'll kill him?” Naray patted the long-barreled weapon hanging on his body.

Gavin stared fixedly at his interlocutor. Their gazes met in person because Gavin was no longer wearing his sunglasses. Naray was wrong to think Gavin was unarmed. He still had several hidden knives and one handgun. If you want, Gavin can pull it off right now. “Kloster sends its best team to Sinde just for Zetta Sonic. I can't think of any other motive besides that.”

“We are here to stop monster.”

“He's not a monster.”

“It's just a matter of time. He's more dangerous than you realize. Only we can stop it.”

“Then you have to pass me.”