Bonito is my expert in politics and
secrecy. She tells me what’s going on behind the scenes and the secrets in
public especially those in the Cuchillos culture, which is extremely secretive.
She’s told me that she’s come across something big that she needs me to be with
her. This has to do with certain people in the upper class of society having
their own plans for the end of the world. I don’t exactly have a soft spot for
the upper class despite what others might say, but they do contribute a lot
when it comes to funds, weapon forging, and the reinforcement of buildings.
What the people I’m going after have is apparently something that I need both
for the end of the world and to keep them focused on helping humanity as a whole
rather than just themselves.
When I meet up with Bonito, she
fills me in on what we need to do. She says that, “I’ve been watching these
people even before we met. These families have a history of surviving the end of the world by themselves or so people seem to think. From what you tell me and what tales
passed on say, few rarely survive on their own especially if they only protect
themselves.”
“That’s right.”
“So, they must either have really
good protection, God needs these families for an unknown purpose, they must be
doing God’s will, or they’re liars. Thanks to everything you’ve given me, I’ve
been able to find one of their end-times shelters. It’s in one of their mega
towers that act as a shopping center. The only thing I don’t know is which part
of the building is the actual shelter because it doesn’t seem to be heavily
fortified. I figure out their secret or at least get it out of them in order to
help us in the future.”
“Alright. I’ll help you in whatever
way you say.”
“Good. Let’s get moving.”
I don’t like the way she said “good”
and the smile she had while saying it. Does she know more than she’s letting
on? It doesn’t seem like it. Maybe she just had a tempting thought when she
said that. She still does express her interest in me every now and then even
though I’ve completely denied her. I could almost swear that part of her
reminds me of Donna except she isn’t as strong. Bonito is also more cunning and
patient. I shouldn’t let this thought bother me.
The shopping center that we arrive at
is moderately packed with people. This place is pretty popular it seems and has
stores of all kinds such as; food, book, weapon, and clothing. It seems like a great
shelter from what I’m seeing. Bonito has given me the names of and faces of who
we should be looking for. She’s also given me an outfit with a mask to wear so I
can go into the mall incognito. We’ll be going in pretending to be a couple.
Even if someone thinks they recognize us, people should know that I wouldn’t
dare be with another woman. Wait, is this part of Bonito’s plan to be closer to
me? She did something similar the first time we met. It is a good plan for both
the mission and her personal mission if I think about it. Whatever. I just hope
she doesn’t try anything even though she kind of is right now by holding onto
my arm.
Nope. I’ve got to think about
something else. The architecture in this place is amazing. All of the turning
wheels and parts to it are something that only the Cuchillos could pull off.
Even the statues are moving and posing in different ways. This place even has
things called escalators and elevators that bring people up and down the tower.
We’re putting some of these contraptions in some buildings from other cultures
now, but it’s very difficult since most buildings weren’t made for these
things. The Cuchillos are the only ones who are going to have these luxuries at
this rate.
“This is an amazing place. Have you
been here before?” I say.
“A couple of times. I thought it
would be better if I went with someone who’s closer to me than just some random
guards.”
“You know I’m never going to marry
you, right?”
“Being one of your mistresses is
fine with me. That’s what I said before, right?”
“That means something completely
different than what you’re thinking.”
“Regardless, you agreed to it.”
“Because I needed your help and not
for any other reason.”
“It doesn’t matter. I always get what
I want eventually.”
“Pay attention. I think I see some
familiar faces.”
We see some people that are on
Bonito’s list and listen in on their conversation while sitting nearby.
I see some other people around us
and ask Bonito, “Do you think those people know who we are?”
“It doesn’t matter if they do
because they know not to say anything.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because they know what I’ll do to
them if they do say something.”
I’m not even sure what to say to Bonito.
Part of me wants to believe that she’s well-meaning, but another part thinks
that she’s just acting to survive the end of the world. Whatever the case is,
we don’t hear anything interesting from the people we listen to. They just talk
about family and business matters that don’t matter to us. I even ask Bonito if
they could’ve been speaking in code, and she tells me that I’m just being silly.
We go through the building to try to
find more people who are on our list. In time we do, but don’t listen in into
anything useful until we hear one conversation in a more secluded area near the
top of the building. The people talk about the building’s defenses in a room further
up. Based on what they say, we go into a secure area where most of the doors
are locked. Bonito uses her lockpicking skills to get us access to the room we
need to get to, and we find what we’re looking for. The plans here tell us that
another layer of the building is activated from within along with a magical
barrier. It’s weird that the plans point to a more fortified structure in the
center of this tower. We haven’t seen it, but from what we’re reading, it looks
like it’s accessed through a hidden staircase in the water fountain and the key
to unlocking it is…
“What do these series of letters
mean?” I ask Bonito.
“These stand for a series of
chemicals that the water in the fountain must react to. Haha, these chemicals
happen to also be found in human semen.”
“I didn’t need to know that. Do you
know how to get those chemicals?”
“Yes.”
“Agh!”
As I turn around to Bonito, she
stabs her fingers into my sides. What’s strange is that there aren’t any blood
or puncture wounds.
“W-what are you doing?”
“I’m making you mine. These claws
are infused with special materials that allow me to stab into your soul. You
won’t be harmed, of course, but this allows me to force my will onto you.”
“Th-that’s not going to happen!”
Bonito tries forcing herself onto
me, but I manage to take the claws out of me and push her away. I then take one
of my daggers and put it to her throat.
“Never do that again.”
“Your love for Donna is stronger
than I thought. I was sure that this was going to work. It’s going to be hard
to come up with something else.”
“Don’t even try because it’s not
going to end well for you. Let’s never talk about this again. Find what we need.”
“Yes, sir.”
I stab my dagger into the wall near
her ear.
“Don’t joke around with me.”
“Yes, Benedetto.”
That’s better. Bonito buys some
things in the nearby stores. We take these items and put them into the
fountain, which makes the water explode everything before revealing a hidden
staircase in the fountain. Guards immediately surround us along with the people
who own this building. We reveal our true identities, which gets them to back
down.
“We know your secret. Tell us why
you were keeping it hidden,” I tell the owners.
One of them steps forward and explains
that, “Our families have been supplying and innovating for humanity’s survival
for generations. We need our own place to survive to keep doing so. That’s why
we need this place to ourselves.”
“You can do that while also providing
shelter for others since you have so much room. We could also use your ‘supplies
and innovations’ in other places as well.”
“I’m not sure we can do that. The
end times last differing amounts of time and who knows what’s exactly going to
happen and who knows the needs of the people who are going to be inside the tower.
How about we make a deal? You keep this a secret and we donate more to the
Sparrows. Just name the amount and we can go from there.”
“Bonito and my other advisors will
name the amount. I want you to shelter more people in this tower of yours and
don’t tell me you can’t. I’ve seen the plans and defenses of your tower. You
can spare to have more people in here. Refuse and we’ll tell everyone that you’ve
been keeping this shelter for yourselves. Don’t you dare try to cheap us or the
other people out of a shelter because you think you’re so important. Selfish
people typically get what they deserve in the end.”
“…O-okay. What should we tell them
instead?”
“Tell them that you were working on
improving it and taking out the kinks as you are right now.”
“Alright then. You have a deal.”
That was easier than I expected. It
must be the tone in my voice because I’m still mad. Bonito schedules a meeting
with the family so they can talk about how many people are going to take shelter
in the tower. I don’t think I’ll be going on another solo mission with Bonito.
Besides social events and work, I don’t want to talk or be around her because
of what she’s attempted today. Even though she’s an extremely helpful advisor
and soldier, her hidden side makes me hesitant to trust her.
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