Ninja 3006 and the retrieve of the source

Ninja 2369

Violet and Lavender's houses were closer to the school than Sara's. So at one particular point, Sara found herself alone, trudging along the path that led to her house. On her way, she came across a warehouse. She was surprised she hadn't seen it before. She partly wanted to go and investigate, though she knew straying from her path would do no good. She thought of knocking on the door but refrained from doing so, since a) she didn't know what to say or ask, b) there was no door. She looked around for windows, but found none, except- high up, on the roof! 

She knew if she made a sound or attracted attention for any reason, she would probably never see Violet and Lavender again. She was just about to turn around and act like she had nothing to do with that place when 2 men jumped out of the window. She was frightened but bemused since the wall was about the same height as Ninja Academy, i.e., 25 to 30 feet. They were tall, but not as much as Dark-Hunter the Senior. They wore the same brutal expression on their features. It took all of Sara's willpower to keep moving normally and not run. Unfortunately, Sara's attempts to remain conspicuously inconspicuous was futile, since they did spot her. From her peripheral vision, she saw them walking towards her. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face them. She tried reading their expressions; it was hostile indeed, but it seemed like they were unsure about something. The taller of the two stepped forward.

"Hey, Girl!" he called in a severe voice. "You know anyone called Sara Wenz?"

It took some time for the words to sink in. Sara tried thinking hard, "she," she said, inventing wildly, "is my friend."

"Eh?" said the second man. They both turned their backs on her and whispered in hoarse voices. Sara could hear snatches of their conversation-

Man 1- "I was pretty sure it was her."

Man 2- "so was I.....can't risk....remember what happened to others?"

The first man muttered something which Sara couldn't hear, but the second man nodded in agreement. Then they rounded back on her.

"Okay listen then," the second man said, "we'll take your word for it. But if you try to act smart, you will wish you were never born. We will be keeping an eye on you."

"Why do you want to see her anyways?" Sara tried to impart airiness in her speech but failed. The first man looked at her suspiciously. "Just do as you are told, girl." he scowled. Then they turned back to the warehouse. Sara hurried on to her house and didn't stop to look back. At last, she went home, she tried taking the incident off her mind. She tried doing her homework but couldn't concentrate. She gave up miserably and went to play. Before doing so, she scribbled down something on a chit and slipped it into her pocket. Then she rushed out. 

At play, the usual people came to meet at the playground, Lavender and Violet, and many more like Thomas, Julia, Twilight, Sean and Sara's neighbour- Katy. She handed the chit over to all of them, which said- 'Call me Angela, and don't ask me why.' If what the two men said was true, and she was being followed, then she'd rather stay incognito.

Everyone just passed on the note and nodded without a question- except Thomas, who shot a searching glance at her. Sara just shook her head, and he took her word for it. The activities went as normal as they could. Then at 7, they withdrew. Lavender, Violet, Julia and Sean usually headed home together and Thomas, Twilight, Katy and Sara did the same. However, Katy went home early that day. So it was only the three of them. Twilight reached her home first. So Thomas and Sara were alone.

All through the walk, they didn't communicate, but Sara had an awkward feeling Thomas was looking at her like he was expecting something. Finally, he spoke-

"Well," he began, "what's up with that chit?"

The very question Sara did not want to be asked. "What? Uh, nothing."

"Listen," Thomas said like he was trying to comfort her, "if you are a ninja, you needn't hide your real identity. Just don't let anyone know you are one, get it?"

Sara stopped in her tracks. How did he know?

"I am surprised at you." Thomas said, raising an eyebrow, "you should've known."

Then he unzipped his jacket(which he wore at all times) and revealed the badge- NINJA 2369

Sara was thoroughly surprised, not because he turned out to be Ninja 2369 himself, but because she hadn't found out earlier; same sandy brown hair, same blue eyes. This also explained why he always came late to class and why he wore his jacket all the time. But the only barrier was his accent.

"You have a versatile accent indeed," she remarked.

"Yep," he said removing his jacket, "guess I don't need this now. Oh god, I didn't realise how hot I felt. But anyways," he lowered his voice, "what is it?"

"You see," Sara said, "I am being followed."