Crimson

Fabia meets Pastries..

Vita took the last couple of stairs in two's while thinking of a game plan.

Some guy Nero had been in contact with had shown up to affirm Marcel's claims, there was indeed a shelter.

It was a network of people and places,no one knew who was supplying any of the items.

If Nero's source was trustworthy,then the drop was happening very soon which meant they had to find the shelter fast.

That was their only clue in regards to the thiefs identity.

He realized he had reached the top of the stairs and turned , searching for Nero who had just been behind him.

Hearing voices ahead , he went down one of the hallways.

Nero was at the end of the hallway , discussing with a cloaked man , the mans cloak carried the brigadier insignia , a discreet messenger.

The brigade used them instead of written messages for fear of interception.

It was not Vita's job to directly deal with them , so ,he had never actually met one.

As Vita approached them hoping to catch a peek of the messengers face ,the man turned , walking briskly away.

It was a practiced walk, he could keep that gait for hours without rest.

Nero had on smile sixteen , a grim smile.

" Who sent him? "

He nodded towards the path the man had disappeared through.

Nero turned to him.

"I needed some answers , I sent a message back to Caeso.Flavia sent him to give me those answers".

Flavia was their childhood friend and was ranked third in the brigade.

Vita gave him a look ,Nero grimaced.

" What? "

"I didn't want to tell you when I wasn't sure and I also wanted to show you that I was pulling my own weight regardless".

Vita nodded.

"I didn't ask".

He turned walking out of the hallway,he soon heard Nero's footsteps close behind.

" What did you ask Flavia? "

Nero responded immediately,he had been waiting.

" I was curious about how they exchanged it. They are definitely not giving the people Jewellery or painting, I wanted to know if there was a trace of who bought specific items".

Vita blinked , he had not thought that Nero was also thinking about that or even willing to put an effort into catching the thief.

Nero must have noticed the look on his face , because he was frowning now.

"I am a beauty with brains, you know?"

Vita paused for a second, he still had not gotten used to Nero's random declarations of self love.

He shook his head briefly to clear his vision.

"What did she have to say?"

Nero frowned at the topic change or was it at the reminder of the information he had gotten?

"She thinks it's merchants,outsourced merchants".

It was Vita's turn to frown.This was bad news.

The Utopia would have preferred to use only merchants within the three cities.

But,the outsourced merchants sold anything and performed any task.

They were full packages, ranging from bounty hunters who sold Opium as a side hustle or Opium sellers who hunted bounty as a side hustle ( no one really knew the exact dynamics) to people that sold just about every item the Conclave had banned.

The Conclave would have loved to have nothing to do with them because they were strongly against the segregation by blood hue.

But,their services were unrivaled, so the Conclave kept quiet .

Mostly because the outsourced merchants clientele base consisted of a lot of the Utopias top families.

Outsourced merchants meant no information,they were an almost invincible, tight-lipped bunch.

Nero ran a palm through the mess on his head.

" We will find out exactly what's going on but,let's see Larona first" .

Vita nodded.

Nero Continued, " Let's take it one step after the other ".

There was no time to take it one step after the other, but ,Vita knew better than to argue.

****

Larona was waiting at the office with a familiar man.

He stood to welcome them.

" Larona wanted me to help interpret the mappings ".

Strange.Most people were usually in a hurry to introduce themselves to brigadiers.

Vita nodded.

" Your assistance would be appreciated".

Larona unfolded a long piece of parchment.

They each took one of the edges and straightened them out.A delocalized map of Agrippa.

The familiar man cleared his throat.

" Well,this is the area you suspect ".

He pointed at a spot on the northern outskirts.

"It would seem like the perfect spot, except, they farm".

He lifted his head as if seeking confirmation.

Nero nodded.

"We also have information that they do".

Familiar man shook his head.

" Then it couldn't be here.If you've been North of Agrippa, then you must have realized that it's especially rocky.It would be great shelter because people avoid the rocky terrain" .

"But,they would be unable to farm.It isn't the south either,the walls lead directly to Otho. At the East too,a gate that leads to the outlands.Its been barred for decades.

That leaves the West,it's most likely there".

" It's close enough to the North to be hidden.There is a forest to discourage strangers but the terrain is the best for farming in Agrippa ".

Vita looked up at Familiars face and realized he was done with whatever he had to say.

He turned to Larona,"We'll need someone that knows the grounds well".

Larona nodded.

" I will get someone to you soon ".

Vita turned back to Nero and nodded at the maps.

****

Outside the governor's building,their horses waited.

As they descended,Fabia raised his head as if he had known Vita was coming.

Vita smiled.

He really didn't know what to expect tonight. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Nero was almost in his face when he opened his eyes.Nero smiled, his reassuring smile.

"Larona and I will work with the scout to narrow down the location of the shelter. Go,clear your head and come back as a brigadier".

Vita gave him a look.

Nero clicked his teeth,"...and everyone calls me the airhead".

He nodded at Fabia,".. he's waiting dutifully".

He moved closer to Vita's ear and whispered,"Your horse still gives me the creeps".

Fabia snorted.

Nero gave Vita a shove and turned jogging back towards the building.

Vita approached Fabia nozzling his head,the horse looked at him with watery eyes.

Vita frowned.

" I'm not at ease ".

He put their foreheads together.

"Take me somewhere Fabia".

Fabia neighed .Vita got on in one swift move and grabbed the reins.

If anyone looked close enough,they would see that he was applying no pressure on the reins.

Fabia moved,going towards the market , he was trotting .

Vita observed the people without actually seeing them .The Agrippans were a sight .

They went around interacting regardless of blood hue and markings .

Back in Caeso , the only Vermillions seen were servants . A flash of crimson jolted him.

He chased the flash with his eyes .

He stood at a stall that doubled as a bakery .

He was in red again , the black of his boots standing out .

High quality clothes, the quality of his clothes only reminded Vita of where he had seen the other man the night before.

He was currently laughing at something a bulky guy at the store was saying.

His hair was in a simple yet intricate braid. It didn't seem like something one could do on his own.

A thought of the Albino man he had seen yesterday flashed in Vita's mind.

He briefly wondered if that man had braided his hair.

Vita tapped Fabia lightly and jumped down .

Walking towards the stall , he watched the bulky guys eyes light up as Juno laughed again .

The bulky guy saw Vita approaching and said something to Juno.

He turned slightly , he was still wearing the gold neck band from the previous day .

Vita's heart stilled , was this why he had been restless ?

Juno smiled , his teeth showing slightly .

" If it isn't Vitalis so early in the day.."

Vita frowned .

"It's just Vita " .

Juno smiled .

"I know , does the esteemed brigadier like measly road side treats too? "

Vita blanked.

Oh,the nice smell.He had forgotten it was a bakery.

He nodded and Juno laughed more .

The bulky guy didn't look too happy.

Vita pointed at Juno.

"I want whatever he's having".

Juno turned to look at him and the past him. His smile widened , Vita whirled around to find the source .

Fabia was also looking at them .

Juno sighed ,"He's beautiful".

He began to walk over , Vita was intrigued.

Fabia hated everyone even Nero that he had known all his life . That very same Fabia was resting his big head on Juno's shoulders while Juno stroked his head.

Bulky guy cleared his throat and Vita turned to see the man glaring at him.

He had taken off his shirt revealing black markings all over his chest , a Vermillion.

"You can stop ogling,this is your order ".

His voice was strangely gruff , almost like he had swallowed nails.

Vita narrowed his eyes , one of the bags was significantly larger .

"I asked for the same thing , the exact same thing."

Bulky blinked.

" J over there is a regular ,you sir ,are not".

"What's going on? ",

Vita turned to see Juno ,still smiling and Fabia almost attached to him.

"Your orders are out and hot, J".

Bulky was suddenly smiling and cheering again.

Juno grabbed his bag and stuck his hand in , producing a weirdly shaped pastry.

Juno must have seen something on Vita's face.

He smiled reassuringly ,"It tastes much better than it looks ".

With that , he opened his mouth and put the whole pastry in .

Vita watched Bulky turn red , a moment later ,Juno moaned loudly.

Vita looked around wildly before turning to the source of the moans.

Juno's eyes were closed.

Vita cleared his throat and extended a coin to Bulky , he needed to leave .

Bulky accepted with an evil look . Juno was talking to Fabia in whispers .

He raised his head up , looking at Bulky, he smiled.

Vita watched Juno turn to him ,"See you some other time, brigadier ".

He waved and turned to leave.

Vita made to follow him but was stopped , Bulky was holding onto his arm.

Vita blinked ," What do you want ?"

Bulky showed his teeth ,"You didn't pay enough ".

Vita scoffed ,"I gave you a gold coin ".

Bulky pretended to check it out.

"That seems to be true ,well , now I need to give you complete change ".

Vita groaned.

" Keep the change".

Bulky's grip only tightened.

The flash of red was getting farther. He turned back to Bulky.

" Are you doing this with the knowledge of who I am ?"

Bulky smiled widely.

" Of course ,you are my customer. Customers satisfaction is a priority. I like my customers telling me what they think of my pastries ".

Vita turned again , the flash of red had completely disappeared now .

He turned to Bulky , fixing him a deathly glare .

Bulky released him ," You can tell me what you think next time ".

He turned abruptly and marched into the store.

Vita scoffed and turned to his horse that was also staring wistfully at the way Juno had taken .

He scoffed louder, he got on the horse , pulling the reins tighter than normal.

He turned the horse around with much difficulty , he had to get to work.

He was also strangely In a hurry to taste this pastries.

Nero would have a field day with the origin of these pastries.