Sector B

42

"Decha," Amir croaked the moment he saw Decha walk into the room. Amir was taken out of the capsule and placed in private quarters in the Agency's infirmary.

"Fatso," Decha retorted playfully, and a grin formed on Amir's lips. Decha walked up to the bed and leaned against the frame. "How do you feel?"

"Like I just told death to screw itself." Amir chuckled slightly. He held his hand to his side and groaned. His body was still painfully sore from the lack of movement.

Decha was worried but refused to show it. However, the awkward silence was more than enough to let Amir know Decha's thoughts. "Don't just stand there, come closer. Take a look at my battle scars. Tell me what I missed." Amir joked. "I promise, I'm not a ghost."

"You haven't changed a bit." Decha rolled his eyes, hiding his joy. Then he slapped a hand on Amir's shoulder, causing him to jerk forward.

"You look like you've lost weight." Amir's eyes glossed over Decha's appearance. He looked a bit pale and thinner around the face. "Holy Crap, you've got a scar now! You look just like the Director. Who messed up your face?"

"It's a long story." Decha huffed. "I can't say that this case hasn't been stressful."

"Have you been eating well?"

"Trying my best to," Decha smirked.

"You can't let yourself go that easily Decha. Shite. What happened while I was out? I heard it's almost been 2 months."

"I wanted to catch up before giving you any details about work. It's too soon. I don't think you'll handle it well, so much information at once." Decha crossed his arms and placed his back against the wall. "You need to rest up."

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Tell me what's gotten YOU, of all people, so on edge?"

"Well, for Starters, the Walls collapsed."

"That I know." Amir snorted. "Director Chen helped remind me."

"Everything sort of spiraled out of control after that. We had to take Bracket refugees temporarily."

"Are they going to rebuild the wall?"

"The Council is still drafting a construction plan, so I'm not sure." Decha shrugged, but the response agitated Amir. He wanted nothing more than the walls to be rebuilt to keep the Bracketers out.

"A strict curfew was enforced right after, but the bombs continued. The Matching Program was interrupted when one went off. The whole venue in midtown collapsed." Decha clenched his fists. "We lost a Council Member."

"You're kidding." The color on Amir's face left. Hearing that a Council Member was killed at one of Astell's prized events was so unheard of. The last time it happened was over 80 years ago.

"Strout originally assigned the case to me. But I'm infuriated that he never got to see it come to an end."

"I don't blame you," Amir balled his hands. "How did the Council retaliate? Are we at war with the Brackets?"

"No."

"What?! Why not?" Amir spat.

"Astell can't afford another war. And it wouldn't be right to punish an entire nation because of one death. Sector B is already on the brink of the end. There are innocent people who live there that don't need to be involved."

"What the heck are you saying, Decha? The Brackets are obviously responsible for this! We have to fight back!"

"We need to find the culprit and put an end to this." Decha corrected him. "Bracketers do seem like the primary suspects, but it's still our job to investigate carefully."