Rise of Kings and Queens

Chapter 29

A NEW FORCE AGAINST DEPENDENCY. WHO ARE THEY?

By L.M.Taurus

5/4/0028 UWC

8 hours before headline

Ji-hun and Leonie played chess in the hotel room across the street from their headquarters in Haiti. They were kinda pushed out of the headquarters once Mexico had taken over the repopulation of Haiti. They didn't mind, but stayed on the island on orders of Esme.

"Checkmate," said Ji-hun.

Leonie leaned back as she observed the board. "What's that now, three to zero?"

"Four to zero," corrected Ji-hun.

"Uhh," said Leonie as she stood up. "Let me see if I can find a game where I might be more evenly matched." She walked over to a shelf with some board games and scanned them. "Here's one," she said as she pulled out the game. "Jenga."

There was a knock and they both turned to look at the door.

Leonie looked at her watch. "It's late," she said. "Expecting a booty call?"

"Funny," said Ji-hun as he stood up and grabbed a knife. He went for the door and looked through its peephole. He opened the door.

"Calixte," said Leonie as she looked over Ji-hun's shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

Calixte held a bag in her hands and offered it to Ji-hun. "I made some food and wanted to give you both some. It's to show our gratitude for everything you've done for my people."

"That's very nice of you," said Leonie as she took the bag from Ji-hun. She saw there were two containers in the bag. She wondered if this was meant to be shared between Ji-hun and the girl.

"Thank you," said Ji-hun.

"Calixte, how old are you now?" asked Leonie as she put the food on the table and got some plates.

"I turned 19 last month."

"Wow," said Leonie as she served three plates. "You were 17 when I first met you. Time really does fly. What are you doing Ji-hun? Invite Calixte inside. There's enough food here for the three of us."

Ji-hun moved to the side so Calixte could enter.

"That's not necessary," said Calixte, shaking her head. "That food is for you. I already ate."

"I insist," said Leonie. "I've been wanting to have a conversation with you anyways. This is the perfect opportunity."

"You wanted to talk to me?" said Calixte as she entered.

Ji-hun closed the door and took a seat in front of the food. Ji-hun took a bite of his food. He had no verbal reaction, but he continued to eat.

Leonie offered Calixte a chair. "Here, sit next to me."

Calixte took a seat next to Leonie and they began to eat. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"How do you like your new home? I made sure you and your friends got first pick at the new homes since you helped with the restoration of the country."

"It's great. A lot better than it used to be."

"How has the Mexican government been treating you? They've really made their presence known on the island."

"We've mostly stayed out of each other's way," said Calixte. "I don't think they care for us."

"They definitely don't care for us," said Ji-hun between bites of his food.

Leonie smiled at Calixte. "I think he likes your cooking."

Calixte blushed.

There was an explosion outside that caused Ji-hun and Leonie to jump out of their seats. Ji-hun went to the window and saw the headquarters on fire.

"What was that?" asked Calixte.

"Molotovs," answered Ji-hun.

"I'm going to put on my armor," said Leonie as she rushed out of the hotel room.

"Stay here," Ji-hun said to Calixte. He went to the bathroom to put on his armor. He could hear more explosions outside. Then he heard another type of explosion. An arm-cannon. "Dependency is here," he said to himself.

He opened the bathroom door and found Calixte was no longer there. He paid it no mind as he rushed out. He bumped into Leonie as they made their way outside.

"It's Dependency," said Ji-hun.

"I heard the arm-cannon," said Leonie.

The two rushed across the street where they found Mexican soldiers trying to put the fires out.

"Where are they?" Ji-hun asked one of the Mexican soldiers.

"They retreated into the forest," he answered as he continued to try to put the fire out.

Ji-hun and Leonie went into the forest. They ran straight ahead with no sense if they were going in the right direction. Ji-hun was the first to stop.

Leonie looked back at him. "What's wrong?"

"We don't even know if we're going the right way," he answered. "Seems like they weren't really looking for a fight. Just a sneak attack."

"Seems they declared war on Mexico."

Another cannon blast was heard in the distance.

"That came from the harbor," said Ji-hun as they took off running.

There were multiple cannon blasts causing Ji-hun and Leonie to slow down.

"There's more than one person with an arm-cannon," whispered Leonie.

"Sounded like three people with arm-cannons," said Ji-hun as they approached the harbor slowly.

They were at eye sight of the harbor and couldn't believe what they saw. There were multiple people dead or injured on the ground. One of the people on the ground was an Agent of Dependency. In the middle of all the bodies were three figures wearing blue and red armor they've never seen before. Their armors had arm-cannons.

Ji-hun and Leonie approached them slowly, their weapons in their hands.

"Identify yourself," said Ji-hun.

The three figures turned to face Ji-hun and Leonie. One of them took a step ahead from the others and towards the world military leaders. She took her helmet off and the other two followed suit.

It was Calixte and her two friends, Allegra and Jenniflore. Ji-hun and Leonie couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"We thought it was about time that Haiti's people started protecting themselves," said Calixte.