Quest Commences

CHAPTER 8

The four bodyguards walked into the bright lobby. The emblem of Soleil was proudly hung on the wall at the entrance.

"Thanks man, for the food" said Airyn smiled broadly at Shawn. "No problem," Shawn said nonchalantly. The four of them headed to their office. They're going to clean up before heading back home.

"I'm tired of wearing a suit" Ryan whined as he untied his tie. Suddenly, they saw Dahlia and Nathan walking towards them.

They stopped in their tracks, feeling confused. Dahlia and Nathan worked in the same team but they only joined Evan's team if the mission was difficult and needed more manpower.

"Mr. Altair wants to see you" said Nathan with a crooked smile.

Evan frowned. Couldn't Benjamin Altair send a text rather than send someone to fetch them. Evan took out his phone to check for notifications. There's none.

"Why? Ryan didn't make any mistake this time" Airyn raised his eyebrow. "Oh, you're blaming me now?" Ryan scoffed. He was obviously offended.

"We don't know, but he wants to see us too," said Dahlia.

She's quite good looking. She had doe eyes and styled her hair in braids. It's no surprise she's popular among Soleil's employees. Evan could feel her eyes on him, but he didn't spare a glance at the girl. He headed to Mr. Altair's office, the others followed him from behind.

Even though Mr. Altair was a very compassionate man, they didn't want to take advantage of their boss's kindness by making him wait long.

Arriving at Mr. Altair's office, Shah knocked on the door.

"Come in" said a gruff voice from the other side. They entered the grand space and took a seat across the desk.

Benjamin Altair had kind brown eyes with dark hair. He always wore a charming smile and had a strong sense of charisma.

He used to join in missions with his employees, the scars on his hands were proof of his fights. However, he still had a strong build after years of abandoning missions due to his health issues.

"Thank you for your time, you must be tired. My apologies but I have an important mission for you. I'm dismissing you from your other missions" said Mr. Altair.

The bodyguards started to frown. They've had important missions before, but they've never been dismissed from other missions. It must be a big deal.

"There's a lot of unsolved cases in Aqua City. As we know, that city is a magnet for members of Eclipse. The police asked for our help to settle some of the cases involving the criminals from Eclipse" he continued.

"You will stay in the city until the cases are resolved. You'll start tomorrow morning. Dahlia and Nathan are going to join you this time. I'll also send help if needed" Mr. Altair gave them a hopeful smile.

"Got it, chief" said Ryan casually with a goofy smile. Airyn gave Ryan a warning glance. The others just nodded their heads in response. Mr. Altair chuckled in amusement.

"Dahlia, you're dismissed" Mr. Altair nodded his head towards Dahlia. The girl showed pure confusion but didn't question the man. She got up and left the office silently.

As the door closed, Mr. Altair's facial expression became grim. He folded his hands on the table, eyeing his workers one by one. Nathan squirmed in his seat. He's not a fan of awkward atmospheres.

"Has trouble arise?" Evan asked the weary old man.

"I need your help," said Mr. Altair.

The men immediately became tense. Benjamin Altair rarely asks for help, he's only given commands.

"What is it, sir?" Shawn asked calmly.

"Do you know about Diamond's death?" the older man started. The bodyguards just nodded.

"A few years ago, I found a perfect candidate for Diamond's replacement. Unfortunately, the young man refused to take the alias, Diamond. I've also asked the man to help Soleil's secret mission but he also refuse" said Mr. Altair.

"There's a secret mission that Soleil has been carrying out since Diamond's death. The mission is to find Diamond's lost daughter" he continued.

"Diamond has a daughter?" Ryan yelled in surprise. Airyn slapped his hand on Ryan's mouth to keep him quiet. Shawn and Evan exchanged glances.

"Yes, he had a wife and a daughter. The girl is important to Soleil" said Mr. Altair.

"Why is she important?" Evan asked with a frown on his face.

"Diamond sent me a letter before he was killed. He asked Soleil to take care of his daughter but since the day of his death until now, no one has found the girl. Diamond left something to his daughter, something that could help us defeat Luna and Eclipse" Mr. Altair explained.

"Is there any information on the girl? What are her facial features?" Nathan asked.

"Unfortunately, we only know that she's an adult now. She holds a necklace with a pendant in the shape of the sun and moon" Mr. Altair replied.

"Well, that could be anyone. That's a hard case to crack if that's the only information we got" Evan rubbed his tired eyes.

"It'll be a miracle if we manage to find her" Shawn breathed. Airyn and Ryan nodded in agreement. Mr. Altair gave them a tired smile.

"This mission is confidential. I'm counting on you to find her before Eclipse and Luna does. I hope you put this as your primary concern" said Mr. Altair.

"So, you want us to accomplish this mission as well as the mission to solve Aqua City's crimes?" Nathan asked. Mr. Altair only nodded. The bodyguards went silent. This was too much to process.

"Sir, I have a question" Evan crossed his arms. The men turned their attention to Evan.

"You mentioned Luna. What is Luna?" Evan's question made Mr. Altair froze in shock. Evan raised his eyebrows. Did he misheard the older man or he wasn't supposed to hear that? "I supposed it wouldn't hurt for you to know" Mr. Altair scratched his beard.

"Luna is a league of assassins, led by a woman named Serena. Unlike Eclipse, they didn't live in a spotlight. As far as the whole world knows, Luna is just a lore, a rumor. The assassins will gladly grant their clients' wishes, with a prize of course" the man continued.

"So, Luna exists?" Shawn asked.

"I'm afraid so," Mr. Altair said softly. He shook his head as if to get rid of his thoughts. "I will send some files later. That's all, you can leave" he said.

The four bodyguards left the office and headed to the lower floor to their own office. Their heads filled with opinions and thoughts on the new information.

"Do you really believe that Luna exists? Come on, it's like something from a video game" Ryan scoffed.

"Altair isn't the type to waste his breath on fictions, right? A league of assassins, to be honest that sounds pretty cool" Airyn said.

"That's until your head is detached from your body by Luna's assassins" Ryan mocked him.

"I bet my head is a lot more expensive than your whole body" Airyn smirked. Ryan playfully swung his fist to Airyn's face. Airyn managed to dodge the attack.

Shawn turned to Evan and Nathan. Ignoring the two kids who were bickering in the hallway.

"Do you think we can do this?" Shawn asked, referring to the mission.

"We don't have a choice do we? We don't want to disappoint our beloved boss" Nathan said with a smile. Evan and Shawn couldn't help to smile too. They hope that they'll be optimistic until the end of the mission.

***

LUNA POV

The girls arrived in Aqua City at noon. Tasha was lip syncing to the song played on the radio, acting like it was her own concert just to annoy Laura who sat beside her. Lucy was the one who's driving while Kiara helped her to navigate their temporary house.

"You've arrived at your destination" said the irritating robotic voice from Kiara's phone. Tasha whistled in amazement when she saw a mansion standing majestically in front of their car.

"Luna treats their employees well, I love it" said Amanda with a huge smile.

Izz stayed in another neighbourhood nearby, which was his real home. Kiara got out of the car to open the gate using the key given by Madam Serena. Lucy parked her black Mercedes car in the garage of the mansion.

"Ok, let's go," said Laura. They all brought their bags into the house. Tasha jumped with joy when she saw the interior decoration.

"Glamourous!" said Tasha.

The mansion was decorated in tones of blacks, whites and greys. It was not a surprise since it's according to Madam Serena's taste. The designs were luxuriously modern. The girls hummed in satisfaction.

"To be honest, isn't it too grand? We're only staying here for a while" said Lucy as she locked the front door.

"Perks of being an assassin" Laura said sarcastically. She sighed when she saw Tasha jumping from couch to couch and touching every surface of the dark wood furniture.

"Every necessity is here I guess, except food" Lucy scanned over the last message Madam Serena sent to them.

"This house is provided by Luna. I guess someone who lived here before us has cleared everything" said Kiara.

They all went upstairs to the second floor with their luggage after inspecting the ground floor.

"Dibs on the biggest room!" Tasha shouted as she ran past the other girls. Amanda chased after Tasha, worried that she might do something that'll hurt herself.

They chose their respective bedrooms. Kiara chose the room at the end of the hall. As she stepped into the room, her eyes widened. The room was incredible, at least more comfy than her dorm at Luna's headquarters.

The room was painted black with dark wooden panels on the walls. There's a king size bed beside the window and a walk in wardrobe with mirror sliding doors across the bed. There's also some empty bookshelves.

Kiara walked around the room, observing any objects that can be used for emergencies, escape routes and creaky floorboards. She opened the curtains to calculate the height from her window to the ground. After she was satisfied, she closed the curtain to avoid any light shining into the room.

Suddenly, her wardrobe doors slid open with a loud thud. Kiara was startled and glared in that direction. Tasha was standing in her wardrobe with a cheeky grin.

"Did you just open it from the inside?" Kiara frowned.

"I've just discovered that the wardrobes are connected to each bedroom and lead to a private armoury underground" said Tasha as she walked in Kiara's room. A few seconds later, Lucy showed up at Kiara's bedroom door.

"We're free all day. What do you want to do?" Lucy asked.

"Why don't we go buy some groceries" said Kiara.

"I don't want to" Tasha whined. She sprawled across the huge bed. The other girls rolled their eyes.

"Fine, we will leave Amanda to babysit you" said Lucy as she headed to Laura's room. Tasha gasped in offence.

"Get out" Kiara kicked Tasha out of her room. Tasha pretended to sulk but she followed Kiara like a baby duck and obviously, Kiara didn't care. Kiara walked downstairs and waited for Lucy and Laura in the living room.

Kiara was deep in thoughts, thinking about the first step to accomplish their plan. A few minutes later, Lucy and Laura were ready. Lucy raised her eyebrows.

"You got ideas?" Lucy asked Kiara.

"We'll make a move tonight," said Kiara with a smirk. Hopefully, their plans wouldn't be a disaster like before.