Vye sat quietly across Shon on the limousine. The two of them looked at each other, but not much was spoken.

  Ten minutes later, Shon was dropped off at the opera house. Vye was now sitting alone. The backseat partition offered her a semblance of privacy, yet it felt more like a luxurious prison cell.

  “What does Theo Xeta want with me?” Vye shouted across the partition.

  “Miss Vye, you know you can open the window on the partition, right?” said Miles.

  Vye fumbled around, embarrassed. Finally, she found the notch and opened it up. From there, she could see Miles sitting in the driver’s seat, his eyes meeting hers in the rearview mirror.

  “You haven’t answered my question,” Vye pressed.

  “Mr. Xeta’s business is not my business.”

  “And how do you know my business with Theo Xeta?”

  “I help Mr. Xeta with many things.”

  “That’s odd. Theo Xeta got an ex-cop around him, yet he doesn’t bother adding him to his security detail.”

  Miles’s eyes widened a little, but he quickly concealed it. Vye smirked. She had dealt with enough cops to spot one hidden in plain sight.

  “My apologies for underestimating you,” Miles said, though Vye could not tell if he was genuine. “But as your track records have proven, Mr. Xeta isn’t the type to rely on a security detail.”

  True indeed. Theo Xeta had single-handedly taken down Vye alongside three other assassins, including two ex-Stormrunners.

  “I heard he utterly failed his Stormrunner Exam,” Vye said, trying to taunt Miles into spilling more information. “How did he get a man like you to work for him? You must have scored high, high enough to be a cop at least.”

  “High enough to serve as a Stormrunner,” Miles said. Vye could not hide her surprise, and Miles was quick to notice. “You are very observant, Miss Vye, but not observant enough.”

  “Do you always dodge my question to avoid pissing off your boss,” Vye regained her composure.

  “To answer you, I work for Mr. Xeta because he is a good man. Character is not something evaluated by the Exam.”

  Vye huffed. This old man was surely delusional. Nobody with that much wealth could be a good man, not even a Fraxian.

  However, who was truly good? Certainly not herself.

  Vye reflected on her own actions — the shots she fired, the punches she threw. Sure, she did these to provide for her family, but nobody pointed a gun and forced her into the underworld. She could have stopped at any moment and handled the consequences. Perhaps her brother would have to drop out of school. Perhaps, the next time her father found them, they wouldn’t have the recourse to move. However, that was the reality many good people faced every day, and they accepted it without ever considering crime.

  At least she never killed anyone. Unlike Theo Xeta.

  But she had tried to. She took the job to kill Theo Xeta without hesitation, not for poetic justice, but for three months of rent.

  The automobile stopped in front of XetaGen Tower. Miles opened the door, and Vye promptly hopped off. She gave up any thoughts of fighting. It was one thing to steal a few boxes of ethermine. It was another to fight an ex-Stormrunner head-on.

  Miles led her to the building. As much as Vye hated opulence, she could not help but marvel at the beauty of XetaGen Tower.

  XetaGen tower stood fifty stories tall, the tallest structure in the Capital. While the surrounding buildings were made short and stout to withstand the storms, the XetaGen tower stood out like a beacon — a sword that humanity pointed at the sky, a declaration of their defiance against the tyranny of Mother Nature.

  They walked through the gates. Three security officers sat in front, and Vye was sure that more were stationed out of sight. After a few turns, they arrived at a pair of iron doors. Beyond that, a large chamber sat within a glass column that stretched through the ceiling.

  “Please board the elevator with me,” Miles said.

  An elevator. Vye had never been in one, not that many buildings possessed this technology, to begin with. Nevertheless, she was quick to appreciate its elegance.

  Miles stepped in, punching a few buttons and pulling down the lever. Orange fluids filled the tubes along the walls, and steam hissed from an open pipe. The floor lurched, and the entire chamber began climbing upwards.

  “Steam hydraulics elevator,” Miles said, once again noticing the surprise on Vye’s face. “This is the latest XetaGen technology.”

  Vye nodded. She stared at the cityscape through the window, watching the buildings grow smaller as she ascended into the sky. Ten floors. Twenty floors.

  She looked down at Mill Row, the entire neighborhood now only the size of her palm. She reached out, her hand resting against the glass. From here, Mill Row looked just like any other street. The chaos from a few hours ago was imperceptible.

  Was this what Theo Xeta saw? Was this what the Stormrunners saw? At this height, individual tragedies became invisible. Only the city’s serenity remained.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The elevator kept climbing. Thirty floors. Forty floors.

  Without the obstruction of other buildings, Vye noticed something new. On the edge of the Capital, a massive wall of dust loomed over the countryside. It closed in slowly, engulfing the rural terrains inch by inch. Every few seconds, a bright flash of lighting tore open the distant horizon.

  Vye gasped. Shon was right. A storm was coming.

  She turned around. She had to warn her family. Although the Stabilizers and the Stormrunner Corps should be able to stop the storms in time, Vye did not want to leave it up to chance.

  Besides, the worst part was the people. In the shadow of Mother Nature, anything became permissible — looting, rioting, lynching. When the dust blinded those who protect, who else could keep an open eye on injustice? When the shrapnels started flying, who would hear a stray gunshot mixed in between?

  “Don’t worry,” Miles said, as if reading her thoughts. “There will be a presidential announcement in twenty minutes.”

  Vye nodded her head, partially relieved, partially shocked that Xeta’s influence reached into the presidential cabinet.

  The elevator kept rising, never stopping at the sight of the changing landscapes, never pausing for Vye to recollect her thoughts. She looked around. She was never in control of the elevator. All she could do was let it take her wherever it was headed.

  Finally, the elevator stopped. Floor fifty. The top of XetaGen Tower.

  Vye walked out slowly. Theo Xeta stood ahead, his back to her. He gazed out over the city through the sweeping expanse of floor-to-ceiling windows. In this panoramic frame, the Capital lights looked extra dazzling.

  This must be Xeta’s main residence. It looked nothing like the countryside home that she had broken into a few nights ago.

  Vye looked around. This place was a mixture of office and penthouse, a blend of classic luxury and futuristic tech. On the mahogany desks, delicate contraptions moved in unpredictable trajectories. In the corners, thermolamps bathed the carpets and wall rugs in faint hues of orange. At the center of the penthouse, thick marble pillars held up a vaulted dome. Dozens of skinny thermo tubes coiled around each pillar, spiraling upwards until they converged at the base of a gigantic machine.

  At a closer look, the machine was rotating and shifting subtly, as if to the sway of air currents. If that annoying Academy kid was here, he would have been able to tell.

  Driven by a sudden surge of courage, Vye approached the machine. Theo Xeta must have heard her, but he did not turn back.

  The machine was incredibly fine and delicate, more complex than anything she had ever seen. Its gigantic body stretched from the vaulted dome to several floors below the penthouse. She could not even find words to describe its shape. It was undoubtedly artificial, but it pulsed with life. The movements felt so organic, so raw, almost as if they oscillated with her subconscious.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Theo Xeta whispered.

  Vye snapped her head back. Theo Xeta now stood right beside her, sharing her admiration for the machine. When did he move here? How did she miss his footsteps?

  “Relax, Vye,” Xeta said gently. “If I wanted you dead, I would not have bothered bringing you here.”

  True enough. Besides, she could still vividly remember their last fight. If he wanted, he could kill her right here, and she would not even stand a chance.

  “This is called a mass damper,” Xeta continued, pointing at the machine. “It neutralizes vibrations from strong winds. This is how XetaGen Tower stands so tall, even amidst the storms.”

  “How do you know that? The Capital hardly sees any storms to test your theory.”

  “Because of science. Science is about modeling the unknown. Science is why XetaGen Tower will hold against Mother Nature.”

  “What if I shoot it down? Maybe this will bring down the XetaGen tower as well. I don’t have a problem with that.”

  “You can try,” Xeta replied calmly, not at all bothered. “It’s designed to withstand a level 8 storm. Our weapons are inconsequential in comparison.”

  Vye rolled her eyes. She knew her response was childish, but she did not want to lose her edge.

  “That’s quite a setup you’ve got in your second home here,” Vye said, changing the topic. “Seems reckless to stay in the suburbs that night.”

  “I had to take it somewhere remote to minimize casualty,” Xeta sighed. “I was expecting guns, but seriously, a grenade? It was a miracle nobody else was hurt.”

  Vye was taken aback. So he knew about the assassination ahead of time? That should not be surprising, given all the resources in his command. However, was he being genuine about avoiding collateral damage? Could she take his words at face value?

  “For the record, I didn’t know their plan,” Vye found herself saying, unsure why she felt the need to defend her actions. “I didn’t know you were the target either. Not that it would have changed my mind.”

  “I know, I know. It’s never personal,” Xeta said. Then he leaned closer, his intense gaze unsettling her. “I can tell that you are not a killer. So tell me, why did you take that job?”

  Vye was momentarily taken aback. How did he know? It was true. She had never killed anyone. If it wasn’t for the loan sharks threatening her family, she would not have considered this job.

  “The pay was good, so why not?” Vye told a half-truth to mask her vulnerability. “There’s a first time to everything.”

  “Let me guess,” he said. “You tell yourself that as long as you aren’t the one pulling the trigger, you will be clear of the guilt.”

  Vye opened her mouth, but no words came out. Theo Xeta had read her mind. That was exactly what she had planned. Let others pull the trigger, and she can still get paid without becoming a killer.

  “Whatever you say,” Vye said, spending every ounce of effort to look nonchalant.

  Xeta laughed, not saying another word. Vye knew he saw right through her facade. How much more could he know? Had he dealt with similar situations before? Vye winced. That was a terrifying thought.

  “I respect that,” said Xeta. “But I need to ask you something. Under what circumstances would you pull the trigger?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I’ll get straight to the point, Vye. I want you to work for me.”

  Was he serious? Theo Xeta, one of the most powerful people in the Republic of Valeria, wanted Vye to work for him.

  Vye could no longer conceal her shock. Was this why Theo Xeta had left her alive? But why her? It was no secret that Vye disliked him. She had literally said it to his face last time.

  “You want me to be your henchman? Hell no.”

  “Seriously?” said Xeta mockingly. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing the combat scars from Vye’s failed assassination attempt. “Do I look like someone who needs a henchman?”

  Vye huffed. She hated to say it loud, but he was right.

  Theo Xeta led Vye to the windows. There she was, standing at the highest point of the Capital, overlooking the entire city. Vye was right. At this height, all individual lives disappeared, but new details emerged.

  On the distant border, the towering storms continued to advance, relentlessly consuming new territory. Yellow and red streaks moved towards the storm, each of them an automobile transporting Stormrunners and emergency personnel. To the south, rows and rows of factories formed a sea of orange light. At this time of crisis, their gears turned even in the dead of night, their assembly lines churning out supplies. In the center of the city, the opera house glowed like a diamond. Crowds gathered, eager to catch a glimpse of the Stormrunner ceremony, but only Vye could see the bigger perimeter around them, teeming with Stormrunners and police officers poised for action.

  From this height, the caprice of Mother Nature became starkly apparent, the struggle of the human condition painfully visible. Here, time stretched into both past and future, and even a whim thought could carry grave consequences.

  So this was what Theo Xeta saw.

  “This is the bigger picture,” Theo Xeta said. “And I want you to be a part of it.”