14 DoD

Department of Defense, Asnad.

The developing country's ministry of defense is located in their judicial and executive capital which happens to be present in the second district. An old building whose walls and surrounding statues remind every person of the culture and history of this emerging power in the world. It is busy round the clock, never sleeping so that the people here can sleep in peace.

Inside a small group of high-ranking officials are having a meeting.

"The demon incidents in these districts have clearly risen, as you can see. The smugglers are beginning to understand our blind spots, albeit slowly." Martin said. He was giving a presentation

"The only way we get around that is by installing Kai Identification Mechanisms (K.I.Ms)," said Mason.

"How's the draft of the defense bill coming up?" Jennifer asked.

"I've already handed it over to the budget committee and outlined a necessary requirement of K.I.Ms," Mason said.

"They're not gonna like that, are they?" Jennifer asked.

"The economy is under a strain, so…" said Martin.

"Yes, kid. It was a rhetorical question," said Jennifer

Martin blushed a bit, embarrassed about not realizing it sooner. Jennifer gave a snort of laughter.

Everyone turned around to Andres. He was sitting quietly in his seat, not commenting on anything throughout the meeting.

"Sir?" asked Martin. He was one exuberant person in this room. However, all he received was silence in return.

Jennifer's eyes narrowed as if she realized something.

"Sir, we still haven't met the agenda of today, all of us still have duties to attend to," said Mason.

"I know," Andres muttered finally, "but this incursion of demons and imminent economic crisis is crippling our country, and we are practically hopeless at this point."

It isn't common that you would see a high-ranking officer talking about their nation in such a fashion.

"What is it? You don't ever act like that, the economy isn't doing good but that has been the case for a while."

Andres' unusual behavior was something Jennifer caught upon. He slowly stood up.

"I just received some intelligence. Border Security encountered a demon of the fifth tier in a cargo ship that carried imports. Twenty officers were killed before it went down."

This rattled everyone in the room.

"Following that, the NIA received a tip that a huge package of demons had been smuggled into the country."

"Damn, that's bad," said Jennifer.

"How many are we talking about?" Mason asked firmly.

"Dozens… maybe more."

He took a deep breath and for the first time, his gaze matched with others

"No vacations and no holidays. You have to find this package ASAP..or else we issue a red alert," said Andres.

"Yes," everyone nodded in agreement.

Andres, having received the response he expected, turned around to leave, "sir, what about the stolen flux guns?" Mason asked him.

"The masked bunch, huh? Inform everyone to shoot-on-sight for them," said Andres as he closed the door behind him. The only ones left in the room were the three investigative officers.

"I think we should leave," Mason said.

"Wait a minute." Jennifer stopped him.

"What?"

"How are you going to look for those guys?"

"We have informers," Mason said.

"You gonna let me on this case?"

"Unnecessary."

"Whatever," she grumbled.

Martin moved to leave the room.

"Why are you in such a hurry? Is your girlfriend waiting?"

"No, and you knew that beforehand," he whined.

"Listen, kid," she said throwing her arms around his shoulder and whispering in his ear. Mason had no idea what she was doing.

A moment later, Martin left the room, his face with a hint of red.

"What did you do?" Mason asked.

"I know he's hots for me. I can make him do anything."

It wasn't uncommon for Mason to hear such a phrase, "go easy on him," was all he could say.

"I enjoy his reactions. He isn't used to being around girls."

"What are we doing here?" Mason asked.

"Hold on. Wait a moment," she said casting a sideways glance at the security camera. Her phone chimed.

"Ok. It's done," said Jennifer.

"What?"

"I do not want this to be recorded. I had him switch off the security for a couple of minutes."

While Mason stood stunned wondering possible causes of her behavior, she casually walked to Andres' desk.

"That is locked," he said. "I have the key," Jennifer responded.

"How did you even get that?" "Not for you to care."

She searched through Andres' belongings and a few moments later took out a small packet and threw it at Mason.

"Here."

"Oh god," said Mason, rattled at seeing the medications.

"He's taking sleeping pills, you know. And there are more prescription drugs inside. This is full of them," said Jennifer.

Andres is not in a good condition, the situation will deteriorate even further.

"What do you think?" Jennifer asked.

"We're gonna have a red alert issued soon," Mason replied.

They both knew smugglers weren't stupid enough to keep all demons in one place. It was practically impossible to locate the demons in such a short period of time. A red alert meant curfew in response to make it easy to kill demons. One or more districts or even the entire nation could be put on lockdown.

"What are you planning now?" Jennifer asked.

"I have a lead on the masked bunch."

"Where are you headed to?"

"Iven high, fifth district," Mason said.