The Zero Countdown

Chapter 30: Scheme

"I'm a hundred percent confident the Unknown Entity's judgment upon Elyon is more of an advantage than retribution."

The rest of the group counts on the maiden who can see the future. Although, Elora who can discern truth senses an oddity from Brina's inference.

However, no matter how she overthinks what's gonna happen next, Elora is aware her adversary is one step ahead and exercising precaution was her initial response.

"How so?" Elora packs their suitcases and returned them below the storage compartment under the desk. She armed herself with a handgun and a bag containing the disassembled sniper rifle at her disposal.

"Wait a minute... The Unknown Entity stated that Favio's Fantasm Ability is disabled for a day as a punishment. Shouldn't we eliminate him first than tracking down the psychic girl?"

Ruther merely suggested the pragmatic approach in their situation, after all, the very reason they teamed up together was so they can eliminate Favio without casualty as they all agreed his Fantasm Ability is a cheat; an impregnable wall that they cannot overcome.

But instead of taking a much more rational approach, Brina shook her head, disagreeing with Ruther's suggestion.

"Favio indeed had his power disabled, but did you really think a multi-billionaire CEO of the largest electronic company here in the city would leave himself unarmed? Think again. Perhaps you'd want the future I saw when we're all killed by the police?"

The flawed realistic scheme Ruther proposed was proven deficient, for they realize it wasn't just the Fantasms that they should consider a problem, but the people around them as well.

As for Favio's case, he can hide in a well-secured place and not get caught alive. He also can easily get access to the police department and have the justice authority become his personal barrier, such as the privilege of those who stand atop the wicked society.

"No..." Ruther acknowledges what's wrong with his idea. He silenced himself and let them decide the course of action they should take.

"Remember, the purpose of Elyon's penalty is for him to easily get hunted by the remaining Fantasm, which is us, the wall guy, Favio, and the psychic girl. Going for Favio means we should leave Elyon behind as our target could detect his arrival, but leaving him could also mean he'd get targetted by the wall guy and psychic girl..."

Brina waves in the air and went on expounding their coherent progression at interchangeable angles, showing that following a certain path could lead them to doom since Elyon's punishment viewed as a disadvantage could result in them getting caught either between Favio and his forces, or the wall guy and the psychic girl.

Determining their actions as if they are pieces laid on a chessboard was what she critically thought, preventing them from getting a stalemate from losing a team member or getting a checkmate for totally messing up.

"With that said, that just exhibits if we consider Elyon's punishment as a drawback. But if we look at a greater light, we can already tell it's a great tool of communication for eliminating the Bearer of Psychic Insight."

Brina expect they already know the gist of their strategy, but Elora was the only one who had lit the light bulb of enlightenment above her head.

"Now that you mention it... That's brilliant!" Elora latched her arms around Brina's shoulders, clinging to her for figuring out a scheme right away.

Both Elyon and Ruther glanced at each other as they had no idea what they are up to, followed by a skeptical nod to indicate they understood but they actually did not.

"Really? Then how are we gonna execute this out?" Elyon simply know that their next target is the Bearer of Psychic Insight, the rest faded into the clouds of thoughts inside his head.

"It's simple. You will act as bait as if you don't know our target. Do anything to distract her but never show any hostility. Just play along with that part and we got the rest covered." Brina said.

She wasted no second and went out, the rest followed, and once they were out of the Silverfolsage's premises, out in the road in the red light district, an intangible display popped out from their line of sight.

"Whoa! What the heck is this thing in my eyes?! Is this... A map of our location?" Ruther freaked out. He constantly blinks but the real-time diagram-like map showing on his perception won't go away.

"So I guess I'm the only one who can't see it since I don't need to know my location." Elyon guessed as he observed them gazing into the nothingness.

"Whoa. The opacity of the map decreases once I stay away from your direction, Elyon. And I can let the map disappear if I imagine it wasn't there at all. This is so trippy and weird." Elora shakes her head in wonder, perplexed whether they are even in a reality or not.

"We don't have time to be awed by this enigmatic extension. We're dealing with things on a weekday, that Samantha should be working right now so bring us to the fast-food restaurant where she's at." Brina said to Ruther and Elora while she's absorbed tinkering her notes in her smartphone.

"Alright. We should get there by walking. But we should be careful of the wall guy's appearance at any moment. He might go for Elyon behind our back." Elora told and they readied their guard for what comes next.

Splitting into two teams as they did in their first reconnaissance, Brina and Elyon walk on the opposite sidewalk amidst the bustling civilians going back and forth attending to their businesses on their own.

The slight sun rays were what warm them when they pass through the edge of each towering buildings. The day is commencing but the busy road filled with traffic was like a midday rush hour.

Until Elora and Ruther stopped at a public bench and gave them a hand sign as if talking on the phone, telling them the location should be clear and that's far as they can move. They can communicate through Brina's phone afterward once something unpredictable occurs.

Meanwhile, Elyon and Brina nodded as a response that they received their sign. They were about to cross the pedestrian lane but Brina halted their steps midway.

"Remember, we have no means of communicating with you once you cross the road. The future of the result we all look for is within your grasp. Act like you don't know her, act normal, just go with the flow and raise your hands up high if you ever need a backup."

That was the last piece of advice Brina said, along with an object she snuck in his pocket before she parts way with him. No one told Elyon's going alone but since they are in the part of no return, he committed to his act and did what he should.

In between the two commercial buildings by the road, he crossed on the left sidewalk, stands the famous fast-food restaurant that sells mostly burgers and fries.

But first, before going in, he checks the thing that Brina brought in his pocket and he discovered an expensive-looking leather wallet, he opened it and to his surprise, the wallet contains an absurd amount of cash; the type of amount he'd never let sit out of his bank.

"Now that I think about it, I was thinking of going into a restaurant acting as a regular patron when I myself is empty-handed? I never felt so attacked a high-school girl's giving an adult this ludicrous amount."

Elyon mumbled and he went into the fast-food restaurant's premises as any civilian would, looking for the lady who holds the Fantasm Ability of psychic aptitude, the same identity as the one Ruther had shown that came from the pictures he uncovered from the establishment's database.