《The Warrens》


 Prologue

    A man in a tuxedo walked in a table outside a coffee shop. Opposite to him was another man.


    "You brought it?" the man asked.


    The other man handed him a silver case. He opened it and it revealed a collar, and a cord.


    "This is it? This is Astil?" the man in tuxedo asked, eyeing the other man.


    "That''s it. It may not seem that high-tech and stuff but it''s high-tech enough."


    "Really?"


    The man in tuxedo took out another silver case and handed it to the man. "That''s the Codex. We can''t let the CIA, Interpol, nor Scotland Yard get their hands on it. Not even the Astil. This is our only key for world domination. The time of Libero is coming near. Nice doing business with you, Mr. White."


    "To you as well, Mr, Brown."


    Suddenly, several men came to their direction. The two knew who they were, these people were government agents.


    "You two are under arrest."


    The two looked at each other and immediately ran away. From afar, a woman dressed in black with blonde hair and brown eyes, was observing what was happening. She tapped her earpiece.


    "They''re on the run."


    "Get them. We can''t let them reach Libero, or even run a test with it." a masculine voice replied.


    "Yes sir."


    She dropped down the building using a harness, went in a car, and sped off. Back at Mr.''s White and Brown, they sped off the highway, trying to loose the people chasing them.


    "We can''t let them have either one or worse, both."


    "I know. Give me that."


    White took one of the silver cases and took out the Codex. "We have to do this." He opened the window and threw it.


    "Are you nuts?"


    "We have to do it! Now focus on driving! Get us out of here!"


    The Codex soared in the sky and landed on a blonde headed girl. It hit her head and she stumbled on the road.


    "What the-" she looked at what hit her and saw a pure back headphones. "Where did this come from?"


    She studied it but she was cut off when, "Nica! Come on!"


    "Yeah. Yeah." she took it and followed her friend.


    Back at the chase. White and Brown reached a warehouse. They went in, fully knowing a certain blonde headed secret agent was following them.


    "Well. Well. If it isn''t my favorite criminals, White and Brown. You guys got really weird names."


    "Look what we have here. Agent Thirteen."


    "It''s been fifteen years. You''ve thwarted Libero''s plans before, but now, you won''t."Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "You''re nothing but talk."


    She landed a punch on Brown and a kick on White. The two was sprawled on the floor. Thirteen took the silver cases and opened it, only to find the other one missing.


    "Where''s the Codex and what does it look like?" she questioned the two and planted a foot on their backs.


    "We''re never telling you!" White retorted.


    "We don''t know where it is! We just randomly threw it out the window!" Brown laughed like a maniac.


    Thirteen took two tasers and struck the two. They both fell unconscious. "We have a problem. The Codex is not here and the two won''t tell me what it looks like."


    A man appeared from the shadows. "How can they tell you when you electrocuted them until they were unconscious?"


    "Director. Uh, yeah. But the Astil''s here."


    "Don''t worry, we''ll interrogate the two and find the Codex before it''s too late. And probably, find out about Libero''s plans." he paused."But Thirteen, are you sure about your decision?"


    "Yeah. I got a family now, Director Orebil. I have to pay attention to them and make sure they''re safe. This is be my last mission, I''m done. I''m retiring." the Director sighed.


    "CIA will lose a good agent. I mean, you''re the best we have in the agency."


    "Nothing you say will change my mind Director. And, not a word about this to my family. My retirement''s official."


    "Whatever you say."


    Some men in black suit went to the warehouse. "Take the two to headquarters and secure the Astil. Also, find the Codex!" the Director directed.


    *****


    Thirteen reached a house, well a mansion. She drove all the way from Connecticut, where she subdued Brown and White, to Long Island, New York, where she and her family live. The house got blue paint and a veranda, there were also balconies on each floor, as well as a huge lawn. She parked her car in the garage and went in the house. A man in a military uniform with black hair in a buzz cut and piercing blue eyes, greeted her.


    "Hey dear." the man said and kissed her.


    "Hey. Where are the kids?"


    "Upstairs."


    They suddenly heard yells.


    "They''re fighting again." they went upstairs and saw their teenage quadruplets arguing.


    "No, just sometimes!"


    "I found it! It''s mine!"


    "You two shut up!"


    "Stop that!"


    The two just face-palmed. They watched the four who looked exactly alike; blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin. There were two boys and two girls.


    "Ayayay."


    "They''re a troublesome bunch."


    "Hey we didn''t expect it. And besides, no one said: ''Hey! Four kids at once!'' or something like that."


    "Shut it George and stop the four of them!"


    George, stepped in the argument and was able to silence the four. "Carmen, they''re silent."


    "I heard that. Now, what seems to be the problem? Niche? Nis? Nica? Nico?" Thirteen, which was Carmen (her real name), questioned the four.


    "Nica found a pair of black headphones and it looks awesome!" Nico answered and was slightly pouting.


    "We were just asking her if she can lend it to us sometimes, but she''s refusing." Nis added.


    "I tried stopping the three mom, I swear." Niche also said, well, she wasthe eldest of the four.


    "Nobody told you to stop us!" Nis exclaimed.


    "It''s my responsibility! I''m the eldest!"


    "By four seconds!" the three yelled.


    "Hey! I learned a lot in those four seconds!"


    And they began arguing, again. Carmen and George face-palmed once again.


    "Okay! Stop it! Nica, show me the headphones." Nica handed her a pure black headphones. "Where did you find this?"


    "At school."


    "Why didn''t you gave it back to its owner?"


    "Nobody came and looked for it. So, it''s mine." Nica snatched the headphones back.


    "You should give it back." George said, in his best military voice.


    "No way! This headphones'' so cool! Finder''s keepers. Loser''s weepers!" and with that, she stormed out of the room.


    "Nica!" Nis and Nico called.


    "Oh, let her be!" Niche told them and went out of the room too.


    "Mom!/Dad!"


    "Go to your rooms! Dinner''s in twenty minutes."


    The two went out of the room. Carmen just took a deep breath and sighed. George comforted her.


    "Come on. They''ll make up anyway." George assured her.


    "I don''t know George. They never got along! Well except those times when they plan on something, but that''s it!"


    "They''re teenagers, hon. They''re in their crucial stage of life, they''ll get along. Come on. I missed your cookings." he kissed her.


    "Fine."


    They kissed one last time and they went downstairs.

 Chapter I

    Nica


    NICA WAS READY TO FORGIVE THEM, when their house got attacked. She was in her room, still pissed off about what happened. Sure what she did was wrong, but does her mom really had to reprimand her? She was gonna connect the headphones to her phone when it vibrated. She checked her phone and saw a message.


    From: Dr. Collusus


    Nica, I got a mission for you. Meet me at the usual place in three hours.


    ''What is it this time?'' she thought. Her parents and siblings doesn''t know it, but she was actually an assassin. A spanking hot assassin.


    At dinner time, they were silent. Spell awkward, T-H-E-W-A-R-R-E-N-S.


    When dinner finished, they did their chores and went to their own rooms. At quarter to nine, she snuck out of her room and headed to an abandoned warehouse just a few blocks away from their house. She had been balancing her normal life and assassin life for the past five years.


    She was in high school and everything was just fine. She became an assassin when she was ten, when she suddenly stumbled at the very warehouse she was going. There was an organization there and they were having a ''business deal''. The organization was Libero, and she was at their mercy, but Dr. Collusus stopped them and recruited her instead. She was then trained to be a killing machine.


    When she entered the warehouse, she saw her usual client, Dr. Collusus, in his usual attire: black tuxedo and a magician''s hat. He handed her a file and in there was the information of the person she had to kill.


    "You got a week to complete the mission. After doing it, I''ll send the money to your account. The usual amount." he said.


    "Dr. Collusus, I have been working for you for five years now, but uh-"


    "You want a raise?"


    "Well, not really. Three million''s a huge amount. I was just gonna ask when can I meet the boss?" Dr. Collusus raised an eyebrow. "You know, the big boss of the Libero?" she had never met the boss, but she had heard his voice once.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Hmm. I''ll try. The boss is a busy man. But I''ll try hooking you in."


    "Thanks Doctor!" she left and went to carry on her mission. It took her three days to find and kill the target.


    "Well. Well. Mr. Waters." Nica said in a taunting voice.


    "You''re one of Libero''s killing machine!" Mr. Waters said nervously.


    "That''s not nice." she smirked.


    "What do you want? I already gave the Astil Codex to Brown and White!" he exclaimed.


    "Well, we, killing machines, don''t ask the higher ups why we kill. They just order us and we do it! So, bye-bye." she dragged him by the collar and threw him out the open window.


    ***time skip***


    Nica was in her room, reading a book, when Nico went in.


    "What do you want?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the book she had been reading.


    "Are you okay?" he asked sheepishly. The two were the closest among the four.


    "What kind of question is that?" she closed her book and eyed him.


    "Well, it''s been three days since we argued. You''re acting normally, too normal for that matter, but I can sense you''re still mad." he sat next to her.


    "I am fine. I''ve forgiven you. All of you. I suppose I can''t be too selfish. I have to share what''s mine with you guys."


    They were interrupted when Nica suddenly stepped on the remote and the TV flickered.


    "-found on the ground this morning. The police claimed he committed suicide by jumping out his window. His family said he''s been stressed for the past three months and he couldn''t take it anymore, resulting to his suicide.Mr. Victor Waters is, or wasone of the-" Nica turned off the TV.


    "Nica?"


    "Nothing."


    "Uh huh. Well, we should go downstairs and you should apologize. Especially to mom. She has been strange lately." she was not able to decline when Nico started dragging her downstairs.


    They reached the living room and saw everyone. Her dad was on his day off so he had been spending his time on their home.


    "Nica wants to tell you something." Nico announced. He left her standing in front and sat next to Nis and the two started bickering.


    "So, what do you wanna tell us?" her mom asked.


    "I just wanted to apo-" she breathed. "I just wanted to apo-"


    Why can''t I say it? she said in her mind.


    "Look guys, I just wanted to say so-" she sighed. "I just wanted to say so- Ah! Dang it!"


    "Nica, words." her mom reminded her.


    "Tch. Don''t you get it? I want to apo-"


    *BOOM*


    "What was that?" Nis asked.


    "Dad, was that one of your landmines?" Niche questioned her father.


    "We have landmines?" Nico asked too. "If we do, why is it blowing off?"


    The saw their dad''s nervous face. If the landmines are blowing off, there''s only one reason:


    "We got intruders." their dad announced.

 Chapter II

    Nica


    HER FATHER IMMEDIATELY SENT THEM TO THEIR ROOMS when the fourth landmine exploded. Nica reached her room and grabbed a suitcase. She opened it and put a few clothes. She was smart enough to figure out they were being attacked and they may need to escape. As an assassin, she had been trained of ways to escape. But then again, she was an assassin, she won''t go down without a fight. The last thing she put in the suitcase was the headphones she found three days ago. She placed the suitcase under her bed and took her bow and a quiver full of arrows.


    Being an assassin, she found a liking to archery; it''s silent, but deadly. A perfect weapon for someone like her. She slung the quiver at her back and took a peek in the window.


    There were about thirty men with guns. She took one arrow and aimed, then she released it, hitting one person straight in the head. She pushed a button and the arrow detonated. One of the men fired at her direction. She reached for her cabinet and took out an M16. She fired it at the intruders'' direction, she stopped and saw them all laying on the ground. She found another group of men moving their way toward their house. She slung her bow and carried her gun. She also took some bullets in case she ran out. She ran outside her room and went downstairs.


    "Mom! Dad! Nico! Niche! Nis!" she called.


    She reached the living room and saw her dad by the window, firing his service gun.


    "Dad!"


    "Nica? Didn''t I tell you to go to your room?" he saw the M16, "Why do you have a gun?"


    "Explanations later. What''s going on?"


    "I don''t know. Find your mom, she must be scared out of her mind." she nodded and made a dash to the kitchen.


    She saw Mom on the cleaning room. Dad was behind her and yelled, "Carmen! We''re being attacked! This is no time to be cleaning!"


    "Shut it!"


    Mom took out all the brooms, dustpans, and mops. Even the vacuum cleaner. Dad grimaced and fired his gun when he noticed a man by the window. Nica did the same. Mom suddenly tore the wall of the cleaning room, revealing a lot of guns. Big and small.


    "I haven''t been totally honest with you dear." Mom kissed Dad and took one of the guns. She fired at the intruders.


    They heard a crash upstairs and Nica''s eyes widened. Her siblings! She dashed upstairs and found Niche taking down an intruder.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "How did you do that?" Nica heard a voice ask. She turned around and saw Nis.


    "I''m no mere high schooler brother."


    The three heard a gunshot and saw Nico firing at an intruder by the window.


    "What? You think Niche''s the only one in here who has a secret?"


    "I think all four of us are hiding something." Nis stated.


    "Mom too." the three looked at her like she had grown two heads. "She got a secret compartment of guns in the cleaning room and- GET DOWN!!!"


    The three ducked and Nica fired at the window. Just as she finished, she turned around and saw her parents.


    "Well mom, it looks like you''re not the only one with a secret." Nica taunted.


    "Seems like it." her mom grimaced.


    "Everyone alright?" their dad asked them.


    "We''re fine. What''s going on? Why are we being attacked?" Nis asked.


    "Nis, that we don''t know." Mom answered and grimaced.


    "Niche, let''s ask the guy you took down. Assuming you didn''t kill him."


    The six of them went to the unconscious body of an intruder. Nico checked him but-


    "He''s out cold."


    "Don''t move!!!" they all turned around and saw someone.


    Nica was shocked. The man who stood before them was her boss.


    "Dr. Collusus?" she called.


    "Ah, sweet Nica. I was gonna call you to participate in this operation, but it seems like you won''t be able to. I see you''re one of the children of General George Warren and Agent Carmen Cortes-Warren." Dr. Collusus said in a taunting voice.


    "Agent?" Nica and her siblings asked.


    "What? I was with the CIA but I retired three days ago! And Nica, why do you know this guy?" Mom defended.


    "Uh-"


    "Rather yes. Agent Thirteen, your last mission was apprehending two agents of Libero. You were able to confiscate the Astil. The Codex on the other hand, was rather lost. We tracked it and found it here. We assume you took it, so give it to me."


    Astil. Codex. These words were familiar to Nica.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about!"


    "Hmm. I suppose a little torture will make you talk." Dr. Collusus snapped his fingers and a dozen men with guns went in. "Get them." he ordered.


    The men started to attack them. The Warrens defended themselves, but they knew too well they were outnumbered when Collusus called another batch of fighters. Dad whispered something to Niche that Nica can''t make out. After it, Niche was on the brink of crying, but she stopped herself and started dragging Nico and Nis.


    "Nica! Come on!" Niche called.


    "What do you mean? We can''t leave mom and dad!"


    "We have to!"


    "Nica," she faced her mom. "Get out of here. Your dad and I, we''ll be fine! Go!"


    "No!"


    "Go! Once you''re out of here, contact Six or Seven! You can trust them! I love you!"


    Her mom kissed her forehead and she ran towards her room and took her suitcase. Niche and the others also had their luggage with them when she joined them.


    "Niche! We can''t leave them!" Nis protested.


    "We have to! Come on!"


    They dashed downstairs and went to the cleaning room. Niche fumbled with a panel.


    "Your name." a robotic voice asked.


    "Niche Warren." she answered.


    "Your full name please."


    "What? I never use my full name. It''s too long." she complained.


    "Just say it! They might be behind us already!" Nico said.


    "Your full name please." the robotic voice asked again. Niche just sighed.


    "Niche Alexandria Michelle Cortes-Warren." and a door opened. "Cool! My name''s a password." They went inside. As soon as they closed the door, they heard an explosion.

 Chapter III

    Niche


    THE ROOM THEY WERE IN WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME except for the fact that their parents could be dead. Before they left, Dad grabbed her and said: "Get them out of here. There''s a secret door by the cleaning room. The password''s your name. Once you''re there, take some weapons and everything you need. Take the car if you have to and drive to the safe house."


    "Where''s the safe house?"


    "Remember the place we always go every summer. Now go! And look after your siblings!"


    "But dad!"


    "Just go!"


    She nodded reluctantly and dragged her brothers. She called for Nica and she headed to her room. She ordered her brothers to do the same thing: grab everything you need, but make it light. She grabbed some clothes, underwear and weapons. Yes, she had weapons. She was a secret agent, but she didn''t work for the CIA. She worked for the Interpol.


    A few seconds later, they met at top of the stairs and dashed to the cleaning room. She fumbled with the panel and argued with a robotic voice about her full name. But she said it anyway.


    "Niche Alexandria Michelle Cortes-Warren." a door opened. She hated using her full name. She had been wondering why their parents gave each of them at least three names.


    They went inside. As soon as she closed the door, they heard an explosion. The first thing that came to her mind was her parents, but she believed they survived. She led her siblings into the narrow stairs and they emerged at a weapon room. The walls had cases and different kinds of guns were placed in there. She also saw some knives, bows and arrows. At the center of the room were two cars. Both were black and two seater.


    "Okay! I suppose we''re all familiar to weapons?" the three nodded. "Good. Grab an empty bag and stuff everything. Load them to the cars and we''re getting out of here."


    "Where are we supposed to go?"Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "The place where we used to spend our summers."


    "The lake house." Nico dragged out.


    "Yes! Now go pack! We''ll leave in T-minus 6."


    They immediately packed the weapons. Niche saw Nica coming closer. She was still wondering how Nica knew the man who attacked them.


    "Mom said we need to contact Agents Six or Seven once we''re out of here." Nica whispered.


    "Nica, we can''t trust anyone."


    "If mom said to contact them, they might be trusted! I''m just suggesting!"


    "We''ll need to talk later. Assuming none of us die."


    A few minutes passed, Niche could still hear gunshots upstairs. She looked at her siblings and noticed that they were done packing.


    "Let''s go." she looked at Nis. "We''ll be in this car, Nica and Nico will be at the other one. Let''s take different routes and meet up at the lake house."


    "Who made you leader?" Nica asked.


    "Dad trusted me in looking after you guys! And that''s what I''m gonna do! Now get your butt on the car and drive out of here!"


    Niche saw Nica sit in the passenger''s seat while Nico drove. She opened the driveway and Nico sped away. She sat at the driver''s seat and looked at Nis.


    "You ready?"


    "Uh, no?"


    "Well, let''s hope no one would go after us."


    She turned on the ignition and once she made sure everything was ready she drove off. It took her exactly one hour to reach the lake house. No one chased them, no check points and the likes. When she and Nis got there, they saw the car Nico drove. The two unloaded the car''s trunk and went inside the house.


    "Niche." Nico called.


    "Where''s Nica?"


    "At the harbor. She''s taking this calmly."


    "That''s what I''m wondering about." Nis commented.


    "Call her over to the living room. Nis and I will take the weapons to the study."


    "We got a study?" Nico questioned. This guy was way too clueless.


    "Yes, now hurry up!!!"


    Nico took off. Niche and Nis started bringing the bags full of weapons to the study. Once everything was there, they went to the kitchen. While they checked for food...


    "Hey, do you think mom and dad are okay?" Nis asked as he closed one of the cabinets.


    "They will be. Dad''s a three star general while mom''s a CIA agent." she paused. Her mom''s a CIA agent! "And besides, if they want to get what they want, they can''t kill them yet."


    "How can you be so sure?"


    "Look," she faced him. "I''ve been an Interpol operative for the last four years, and unlike you, I''ve been to the field. I also studied criminal minds so I''m sure." she assured him.


    "What do you mean ''unlike you''?"


    "You''re supposed to be smart since you''re the inventor." she sighed. "Do you really think I wouldn''t know that you sell whatever that you make? I got my connections Nis. You sell your inventions and gadgets to the CIA. "


    "And an Interpol operative was supposed to know that?"


    "I don''t know. It''s none of your business." she checked the fridge and saw some food. "Food''s check. Let''s go to the living room and have a chat."

 Chapter IV

    Niche


    THE FOUR OF THEM WERE AT LIVING ROOM. No one dared to talk. So, Niche as the responsible one, decided to break the ice.


    "Okay. Spill." she said.


    "What do you mean?" Nico asked.


    "Spill whatever secrets you got."


    "But it''s a matter of National Security!" Nico protested.


    "I don''t care!" she sneered. "Our parents are back there. I don''t know if they''re dead or alive, but come on! We''re siblings! We can at least trust each other!"


    The room was engulfed in silence again. Awkward much? Nis stood up but Niche grabbed him by the collar and forced him to sit down.


    "No one''s leaving unless somebody talks."


    "Really? Why don''t you talk first?" Nica snarled.


    "Nica, chill." Nico told Nica.


    "Chill? Our parents are in danger Nico! We have to save them!" Nica and Nico glared at each other.


    "Before we plan on saving them, we must at least trust each other! How can we save them if we can''t work together, huh?" Nis exclaimed.


    "Nis is right. I''ll go first then." she took a deep breath. "I''m an Interpol operative."


    Niche told them her story of how she became an operative. Apparently, four years ago, she hacked Interpol''s main database. Their dad gave her a laptop for acing her exam. She was left with it and she developed a few tricks. No one was in the house that day, except her of course. Once she successfully hacked Interpol, a chopper came and apprehended her. She was taken to one of Interpol''s safe houses and got interrogated on how she was able to hack them. She didn''t tell them. They planned on throwing her to jail, but their director had other plans. Instead of throwing her to jail, the director decided to take her in and trained her to be an operative.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Ever since that day, I''ve been an Interpol Covert Operative. I get sent to missions and the stuff. But with my normal life as a cover, I had to balance it out, or else mom and dad would get suspicious. And probably you guys too."


    "My turn." Nico cleared his throat. "Remember that time when a twenty-four karat Egyptian artifact got stolen about three years ago?" the three nodded. "Well, my career as an FBI detective started that time."


    He told them about the time when he tracked down the one who stole it. The FBI thanked him and made him a detective. He would handle cases for them, and he asked if they can keep his identity hidden. The FBI agreed and he had been a detective ever since.


    "So you''re N? That super famous detective?" Nis asked.


    "Yes brother dear."


    "Death Note much?" Niche said.


    "What? It''s my favorite anime!" Nico pouted.


    Niche stifled a laugh. If there was one thing all four of them could agree together? It would be the love for manga and anime. Though, they had different tastes on it.


    "I''m next!" Nis piped up. "You all know I''m good with my hands right? And I''m also a genius-"


    "Go figure. And for your information, all four of us are smart enough to be considered a genius." Nica cut him off.


    "Fine. Anyway, I invent gadgets. One day, mom saw my inventions scattered all over my room. She asked if I would like the gadgets I made to be sold. I said yes, letting me earn a few million bucks. Ever since then, I became one of the gadget suppliers of the CIA." he finished.


    "Uh huh." Niche, Nica and Nico huffed.


    "What?"


    "So you knew mom was a CIA agent?" Nico questioned.


    "Well no. I always thought she was a middleman or a middlewoman, or something. I didn''t know she was actually an agent." he defended.


    "At least they only planned to throw you on jail, tracked down a robber and just do gadgets." Nica retorted.


    "What about you huh?" Nis asked.


    "Very well!" and Nica told them about her secret. After she told them¡­


    "So you work for that guy?" Nico asked.


    "Libero. That organization''s bad news." Nis said.


    "I''m with Nis. I got my fair share of information about them on Interpol. Libero''s a dangerous organization." Niche added.


    "I know that!"


    "Then why did you work for them?"


    "I was ten!" Nica answered with gritted teeth.


    Suddenly, Niche heard Nica''s phone ring. Nica answered it, it turned out to be a video call.


    "Dr. Collusus." Nica said.


    "Yes, Nica!" the Doctor beamed. "Ah, I see all of you are present! Well, let''s get this done with. You guys got the Codex. I need it. Well, Libero needs it. I want you guys to give it to us!" he said, with a smile.


    "Why would we do that?" Nis asked.


    "Well, you''re a stubborn bunch aren''t you? Let''s see. Oh! How ''bout this. You give us the Codex and in exchange," the scene changed. Their mother and father were both chained to the floor, unmoving. "I''ll give you your mom and dad back! Don''t worry, they''re not dead, unless you won''t give the Codex, just a few scratches and bruises. You have until tomorrow midnight. Ta-ta!"


    And the video call was cut off.

 Chapter V

    Nis


    NIS HAD TO STOP NICA FROM PUNCHING THE WALL. When the video call ended, Nis heard his younger twin sister curse-- it''s probably be the best not to repeat it.


    "That little git!" Nica punched the wall.


    "Nica, stop that!" he went to her and took her fist. It was bleeding. "Nico, get the first aid kit in the kitchen."


    "On it." Nico left.


    He tried to calm her down. Nico came back, he brought the kit. He applied some medicine on her bleeding fist and she didn''t even wince.


    "That guy''s probably joking." Nico said nervously.


    "He''s Dr. Collusus! He never jokes! Ugh!" Nica said with gritted teeth.


    "Calm down sis. Now, does any of of you even know what the Codex looks like?" Nis asked. All heads turned to Nica.


    "What?"


    "You work for Libero. You should know what it looks like." Niche said.


    "Yes, I work for Libero. But I don''t know what ''it'' looks like! My only job is to kill for them. I''m an assassin! Not an assistant!" Nica half-yelled.


    "Okay? Well, we have until tomorrow midnight to figure out what the Codex looks like. If we don''t find it out and give it to them, mom and dad might be killed." Niche pointed out.


    Nis just looked at his siblings. They had to figure out what ''it'' looks like. "Okay, let''s try this. Search the things we brought and find a possible Codex. And somebody lend me headphones. I need to check something on my computer and I need it for sound reference."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "I brought the headphones I found." Nica voiced out.


    "Okay. Nica give it to Nis. We need to figure out where they are and find the Codex, whatever that is. Let''s go."


    Nis scrolled down the screen on his laptop. He borrowed Nica''s phone and tracked the call of Dr. Collusus. Nica came in his room, headphones in hand. She gave it to him.


    "Here."


    "Thanks." he took it. He noticed Nica was gloomy. "Don''t worry. We''ll get through this."


    "I hope. You don''t know Dr. Collusus as much as I do. Also, I think I got an idea about Codex. I heard it from one of my victims."


    "Which one?"


    "Victor Waters." Nica signed and sat next to Nis. She opened her own laptop.


    "Wait, you killed him? But didn¡¯t he committed suicide by jumping out a window?" he questioned and looked at her.


    "He didn''t ''jump'' out the window. I ''threw'' him out the window." Nis looked at her, wide-eyed.


    "Okay? Now, you were saying about you have an idea about the Codex ?"


    Nis saw Nica smile. He chuckled too. Well, he was nervous. Unlike her, he had never killed anyone. He was just a mechanic, not an agent. Or worse a maniac, okay maybe a little, but just a little.


    "Before, I, you know, flung him out the window, he mentioned something about the Astil Codex. I never knew, since Libero never really gives assassins like me any information other than, ''This guy''s a liability. Kill him.'' and the likes." Nica explained.


    "Wow. Anyway, go on."


    "I hacked some of Waters'' files and found this." she showed him a document.


    "''Project Astil Codex. Libero world domination.'' The heck?"


    "Yeah. Astil Codex is a mind control plan. I heard it once from Dr. Collusus before, too. I just can''t believe it slipped my mind."


    "So, you think they''re on the move for their world domination?" Nis asked.


    "Yeah. Like most of the evil organization in the movies and books." she sighed. "Clich¨¦ much? It says here that ''Astil is the mind control chip, while the Codex is the manual''?"


    "What?" Nis took her laptop and checked it. "''Manual''?"


    "Yeah. I think the Codex is literally a manuscript?" Nis stated.


    "So it''s a bound book?"


    "That I don''t know."


    "Okay. You try figure that one out, I''ll try and track that Dr. Crazy of yours." she nodded.


    Nis faced his laptop. He was gonna put the headphones but there was one problem. ''Where''s the cord?'' he thought. He was gonna ask Nica when he saw a flash drive tip. He saw a button-like thing and pushed it forward. The flash drive tip went out.


    Curious, Nis put it in his laptop. His laptop read it. And it ''was'' a flash drive. He opened it and saw it.


    "Codex." he muttered.


    At the same time, Nica piped up. "Nis! I think I know what the Codex looks like!"


    "Let me guess. A flash drive in a form of pure black headphones?"

 Chapter VI

    Nis


    NIS STOPPED NICA AND NICHE BEFORE THEY KILL EACH OTHER. After they found out what the Codex is, Nis and Nica showed it to Niche and Nico.


    "All this time, the Codex is the headphones that we''ve been arguing about?" Niche asked, who couldn''t believe it.


    "Yeah. The Codex is the manual on how to use and reproduce the Astil! ''Project Astil Codex'' is mind control!" Nis exclaimed.


    "You two read it?" Nico asked.


    "No, just him." Nica said, and she pointed at Nis.


    "Guys, we can''t let them have this. It''ll endanger the world." Niche stated.


    "No shit, Sherlock! But we can''t let them harm, or worse kill, mom and dad either!" Nica yelled.


    "Mom and dad will understand! They understand sacrifice than most people do!" Niche retorted.


    "Shut up Niche! I can''t believe you''re sacrificing them!" Nica shouted.


    "Their sacrifices won''t be in vain if it means keeping the world safe!" Niche shouted back.


    The two started to call each other names. Nis saw Nico by the corner, just watching the two as they argued. He needed to stop them from arguing, but he knew both sides had a point. He suddenly noticed Nica notch an arrow, Niche on the other hand already pointed her gun at their younger twin sister.


    "You wanna kill me? Do it! You''ve always been jealous of me anyway! You can''t accept the fact that mom and dad likes me more because I''m the eldest and the most responsible! Also, they may not know it before, but least I''m not an assassin working for the bad guys!" Niche taunted. Nis knew the insult wasn''t directed to him, but it stung.


    Nica''s hair shadowed her eyes. "I may have been jealous, because they pay more attention to you. I admit, you''re beautiful and much smarter than me. But don''t involve my part-time job here! You and I both know we''re not innocent. We''ve both killed. You got your hands dirtied by blood and so do I!"Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Okay you two stop it!" Nis almost shouted. He was never good at times like these, he was only a mechanic. "You two both got a point! But do you really think arguing--much less killing each other, would help us in this situation? No!" the arguing sisters stopped and looked at him. Their weapons down.


    "We must stop arguing! Mom and dad would never like it! We must work together! We need to save mom and dad, yes. But also, we need to find a way Libero won''t get hold of the Codex!" he finished. He was breathing hard. Nico just stared at him, eyes wide.


    "You''re right. Sorry Nica. It was irrational of me. I''m supposed to be the eldest and the responsible one, and yet, I acted that way. I''m sorry." Niche said.


    "Yeah. Sorry too, Niche. We all got our own characteristics. I shouldn''t have singled you out." Nica replied.


    "Thank God you two made up already. Do you know how horrible you two sound screeching at each other?" Nico commented and stifled a laugh.


    "Now, we got more pressing matters to attend to." he sighed. "I found where Dr. Crazy is. I traced his video call."


    "Where is he?" the three asked.


    "I traced the call in Brooklyn. I believe he''s holding mom and dad in a warehouse. And I think, he knew we can trace his call, that''s why he never told us where the meeting point is." Nis started to explain.


    "First off, Dr. Crazy, can track us because of the Codex. For all I know that thing''s got a tracker." Nico pointed out.


    "Meaning Dr. Crazy knows where we are." Niche added.


    "Dr. Crazy is probably watching our every move." Nis said.


    "You guys. Stop calling Dr. Collusus, Dr. Crazy." Nica told them.


    "Nica dear, his name is a tongue twister. Dr. Crazy is much easier than Dr. Coll-whatever." Nica face-palmed.


    "Fine. I''ll cook dinner. We need to rest and train. We also need to figure out the Codex. Knowing mom and dad is in danger is already bad. Now, knowing the world is in danger too, that''s worse." Nica said and trailed to the kitchen.


    "Maybe we should contact the government?" Nis suggested. "They might help us."


    "Are you nuts?!" Niche half-yelled. "Libero is a world-scale terrorist organization! They''ve probably snuck men in the government system."


    "We can''t trust anyone." Nico added.


    "What about the people mom mentioned. Agents Six and Seven?"


    "I don''t know Nis. I believe we have to do this on our own. Those two agents, they''ll probably be our last resort." Niche faced him. "You continue studying the Codex. We need to figure it out. We have to find a way to stop Libero, without harming mom and dad. Got it?"


    "Yeah. I''ll, uh, try my best. I''ll go to my room." Nis said and left.


    He scanned the Codex, he''s got an idea to trouble--or better, stop Libero. But he shouldn''t tell his siblings, yet.


    The element of surprise.

 Chapter VII

    Nico


    NICO SAT BY THE HARBOR, and watched the river current. He has wondered what he could possibly contribute to help his siblings save their parents and the world. Somehow, they have taken upon the responsibility of saving the world from being mind controlled. He felt useless, he thought he never did anything to help this mission of theirs. He had so many doubts. Plus he didn''t have promising qualities like his siblings.


    He was not good with his hands like Nis. He was not strong and fast like Niche. And heck,h was not as tenacious and a good cook as Nica. He may have been a detective, but he felt like he was the weakest link of their group.


    "My life sucks." he murmured.


    His continuous moping made him remember the time when he was ordered to investigate about the death of Victor Waters. Now that he knew Nica killed the guy, he felt as helpless as ever.


    There was a sudden creak in the floorboards, he turned and saw Nica. "Hey, dinner''s on the table."


    "I''ll be there." Nica was gonna leave. "Hey Nica?"


    "Hmm?"


    "If this didn''t happen. If we continued living our secret lives, and I continued investigating Victor Waters'' death. Let''s just say it leads me to you. Would you fight me?" the question hung in the air. He noticed Nica got flustered. Though, she regained her composure almost immediately.


    "Depends. The question is, will you fight me, little brother?"


    "I don''t know. I feel like I still lack martial arts training. And I feel very useless right now. Not being able to do stuff to help you guys."


    "Hmm. If it ever comes to that, I won''t hold back. You know me better than anyone. And I know you. You know the extent of my anger. You know when I''m serious and when I''m not. And besides, you''re not useless Nico. You''re the detective here. Your job need wits and body. Don''t underestimate yourself." she went closer. "You''re smarter than me, or Nis, or Niche. Dude, being a detective is harder than being an assassin, a spy or an inventor. Now stop moping around and let''s eat. We''ll depart for Brooklyn tomorrow." Nico couldn''t help but smile. Well, that reassured him.


    *****


    The second Nico''s head hit his pillow, he immediately passed out. What he didn''t count on was his dream. It was just plain terrifying. In his dream, he was in a burning room. He saw blood on the floor and the walls. He scanned his surroundings and saw his parents on the floor, motionless and covered in blood. His eyes darted even further to the room he was in and saw three familiar figures; his siblings.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Niche was consumed by the fire and she was screaming. Nis was dangling in the ceiling, blood trickling from a wound in his chest. And lastly Nica, she was on the ground, unmoving and her body was full of gunshot wounds. The flames went its way to him and that was when he woke up.


    He was back in a familiar room. His room in the lake house. He looked at the digital clock on his bedside table.


    2:30 A.M.


    He only slept for five hours. He didn''t sleep a wink after that. He kept thinking about his dream. Was it a bad omen? Does it mean we''ll die? These questions flooded his mind, keeping him awake. By the morning, he saw his siblings readying their weapons. His eyes caught Nica''s figure. He remembered her image in his dream, it was just so disgusting. He felt his stomach churn and he immediately went to the bathroom, lurching the contents of his stomach, which wasn''t much.


    "You okay Nico?" he heard Nica ask. She tapped his back, to soothe him.


    "I''m fine. Just had a bad night." he answered.


    He stood up and gave her a smile, then he went outside and started preparing his own weapons. A few minutes later, he saw Nica bring sandwiches.


    "Anybody hungry?"


    "Ah. Food!" Niche was the first one to attack Nica''s sandwich.


    Nica had always been a good cook. Nico always wondered where she got that ability. None of them can cook that good. Even their own mother couldn''t prepare a proper food without looking at an instruction. Nica on the other hand, was a natural cook.


    The four of them ate every bit of the sandwiches. It was not good to waste food.


    "We''ll leave in two minutes." Niche announced.


    They nodded. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. They grabbed their weapons; Niche a Gloc 47, Nis his own deadly invention, Nica her bow and arrow, and him a Gloc 47 like Niche''s (his service pistol). Niche moved towards the door while the three of them pointed their weapons on the door. When she opened it, he kept a firm grip on his gun.


    "Warrens?" a muscular voice asked the minute Niche opened the door.


    "Who are you?" she asked, her gun hiding behind the door.


    "I''m the Director of the CIA. I heard about what happened to Carmen." he answered.


    Nico noticed Niche looking at them. They had an eye-to-eye conversation, then they came to a decision.


    "Come in, Director." Niche said and opened the door. Their weapons still drawn.


    "Who are they?" Nica asked, dhe pointed her arrow at the other two figures on the door.


    "These are Agents Six and Seven. They''re your mother''s comrades. You can trust them."


    "Six and Seven?" Nis piped out.


    "It''s not that we trust you either, Director."


    *****


    They kept their weapons as the ''visitors'' talked with them. They decided the ''guests'' had to at least know what was going on, so they told them everything. From the attack, to the video call, the bargain and about the Astil Codex. Though, they didn''t spill about Nica as an assassin of Libero. Nico couldn''t help but notice Nica tense up every time Director Orebil spoke. Does she know him?


    "So you''re going to Brooklyn today?" Agent Six asked. She was a woman in her middle twenties, with red hair, vibrant green eyes and light brown skin.


    "Kids, Libero is dangerous. And you re going to their turf with just the four of you?" Agent Seven said. He was a guy with blonde hair, blue eyes and tan skin. He seemed to be in his late twenties.


    Nico would''ve believed those were their real features. Unfortunately, he had been a detective for three years that he knew when a person was pretending or not. He knew that the agents in front of them were not what they really looked like, and as to why they hid their real looks, there must''ve been a reason.


    "We have to save our parents. We don''t need your help by the way. And uh, we gotta go." Niche stood up.


    Nico, Nica and Nis also stood up and followed Niche, the four left the CIA agents behind.

 Chapter VIII

    Nico


    "THIS IS IT?" Niche asked the moment they arrived at the warehouse where the call was traced.


    The warehouse wasn''t much. It was rundown, had a lot of rust and holes in it. You wouldn''t believe much less notice it was a hideout for the world''s most dangerous terrorist group, a swarm of rats and stray hounds maybe.


    "Come on. We got three hours left." Nica announced.


    He checked his watch and saw it was already nine in the evening.


    The four of them went inside, weapons ready. They checked the warehouse, it was suspiciously quiet. And there was no one standing guard. They went deeper inside the warehouse. When they reached a room, Dr. Crazy was there, but their parents, were nowhere to be found.


    "Where are they?" Nica asked in a dangerously low voice.


    "Well, you came earlier than I thought. As for your parents, they''re........ somewhere." a smirk formed in his lips.


    "If you won''t give us our parents, we won''t give you the Codex!" Niche yelled.


    "Oh, I know. But you see, the big boss, saw you as a liability. We''ll take the Codex and capture you! We can use you as the human trials!" Dr. Crazy snapped his fingers and a few men in black suit emerged from who knows where.


    "Yep. It was a trap." Nis muttered.


    "Too late to regret now, don''t you think?" Nico said.


    "Get ready to fight." Niche told the three of them.


    Nico focused himself. He saw some of the men went to his direction and surrounded him. One attacked him and knocked his gun out of his hand.


    "Oh come on!" he yelled.


    He kicked the man who attacked him and was able to land a blow on the face. The man skidded on the floor, unconscious.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    "Who''s next?" he said in a taunting voice. He noticed his siblings also doing well as him.


    Niche was using her speed and strength and knocked out the bad guys. Nis was using his inventions; pen lasers, pen net, pen tranquilizer-- seriously, he couldn''t get why most of Nis'' inventions involved a pen. Nica seemed to be holding off on her own too. She was using her flexibility, speed and strength. He also saw Dr. Crazy on his seat, his smirk wasn''t fading.


    Nico went to face his enemies again. All of them were attacked him. He dodged and parried his attackers'' attacks. He used everything he learned from the FBI and a few techniques his dad taught the four of them.


    After a few minutes, bodies littered the floor. The Warren siblings stood over them, and they were facing the only enemy left, Dr. Crazy.


    "Dr. Collusus," Nico still couldn''t believe how Nica could say his name without twisting her tongue. "Give us our parents back." she took the black headphones from her backpack. Nis gave it to her earlier, to secure it.


    "Hmm. I suppose Libero trained you too well Nica." Dr. Crazy chuckled. "Well then, I guess world domination can wait. Let''s play a game."


    "Oh shit." Nica cursed.


    "Let''s see. You try and find your parents. Emphasis on ''try''. If you''re able to find them, without any help from the government, we''ll give them back, we won''t take the Codex, we''ll give up on world domination and you''re free to go. You have a week." he said.


    "But what if we don''t find them within the time limit?" Nico asked.


    "Well, we can always track the Codex, which we won''t do within the time limit, we''ll apprehend all four of you and you''ll be our human trials for the Astil Codex without contest. Oh, we''ll be sending toys after you. You know, a bit of a challenge." Dr. Crazy suddenly took out a gun. "Now, before that."


    He fired the gun and hit Nico. Two bullets embedded itself on his left leg and one hit his left arm. He fell to the ground and howled in pain. Nico''s three siblings ran to him and put pressure on his wound.


    "Now don''t go hating me. You guys are smart, strong, cunning and the likes. We need a handicap. Now one final handicap." he opened a silver case and it revealed a bomb, the timer only shown two minutes left. "Ta! Ta!" And Dr. Crazy ran out the door.


    "The.... bomb." Nico managed to wheeze out from the pain.


    Nica went to the bomb. "It''s a mercury based bomb! I can''t stop it! We need to get out of here!" she helped Nico up and they ran out of the warehouse.


    Nico''s head throbbed that he didn''t notice the immediate absence of Nis and Niche. "Where are Niche and Nis?" he managed to ask.


    "What?" he saw Nica looked around but found no one. "Tch! We got separated! I hope they''re alright! We only got thirty seconds tops to get out of here!" she supported his weight. "Ugh, how can you be so heavy when you don''t even have much built!"


    They stumbled upon an alley when they heard the bomb go off. The explosion reached the two of them and Nico felt his body slam on the wall. He felt the pain of his wounds flare up and he blacked out.

 Chapter IX

    Niche


    NICHE BLAMED HERSELF the minute she noticed the four of them got separated. When the bomb exploded, she was able to reach her car, which shielded her from the blast. When it finally receded, the warehouse was no more. Debris scattered the area, fire also engulfed the perimeter, she had a nasty wound on her forehead, but she was okay. She called for the names of her siblings only to receive no answer.


    A minute later, she saw Nis who was limping his way to her. "Nis!" she called. She went to him and helped him walk.


    "What happened to you?" she asked, eyeing Nis'' bleeding leg.


    "The blast caught me. One of the debris embedded itself to my right leg. It''s not that deep though, but it still hurt like hell!" Nis answered and went to the car. "What about Nica and Nico?"


    "I haven''t seen them! We got separated on the way out! I don''t know where they are." she said with gritted teeth. Niche was worried about Nico''s gunshot wounds. That crazy doctor shot him! The next time she sees that guy, he''ll beat him up to a pulp!


    "Let''s get back to the lake house. We''ll wait for them there. Call them if we have to." Nis suggested.


    "Okay. Let''s go." and Niche drove off.


    *****


    Niche paced back and forth the living room. She already patched hers and Nis'' wounds. She was still worried about Nica and Nico. She tried calling them, but it would directly go to voice mail. It was frustrating!


    "Calm down will ya? You''re making me dizzy. Pacing back and forth like a madman or madwoman. Whatever." Nis complained and shifted the icepack on his head.


    "Calm down? We don''t know where Nica and Nico is! I''m worried! Especially to Nico!" she replied and slammed her hand to the nearby table.


    "They''ll be fine sis. Nica''s an assassin while Nico''s a detective. They can take care of themselves. They can come back here in the lake house whenever." he sighed. "Now, we need to figure out where mom and dad is hidden by that crazy doctor." Nis took his laptop and started browsing.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    What''s up with this game anyway? Niche asked herself as she headed to the harbor. There doorbell suddenly rang and she went inside. She prepared her gun and went to the door. When she opened it, standing there were Agents Six ad Seven.


    "You guys. What are you doing here? Leave us alone!" Niche snarled and pointed her gun at them.


    "Niche, we''re just worried about you." Seven defended.


    "How can I know you''re not working for Libero?" she asked, her gun still pointed at them.


    "Niche. We''re loyal to our country. And especially to our family and friends. Your mom is our friend." Six said, her fingers tapped the doorframe. ADHD much?


    "Well your dad too. But he''s not aware we''re secret agents." Seven voiced out.


    "Tch. Come in."


    *****


    The four of them gathered in the living room. Niche couldn''t help but notice that Six couldn''t seem to be still. Six must''ve noticed her staring and she smiled.


    "Sorry, ADHD."


    "I can see that. So? What do you want?" Niche asked.


    "The Codex. We found out you guys have it." Seven answered.


    "How did you know that?" Nis questioned and eyed the two.


    "We got our sources, Nis. Now, we want you to keep it safe. Don''t give it to anyone. Not even us. Not everyone can be trusted." Six warned.


    "Well, we don''t have it at the moment. But we need it as a bargaining chip for mom and dad." Nis piped up.


    "Do you guys have a plan?" the male secret agent asked.


    "Well, we''ll plan something up when Nica and Nico contact us." Niche answered.


    The two agents looked at each other. Hmm...


    "What do you mean?" the female secret agent asked, clearly eyeing the two.


    "We got separated." the two agents got flustered.


    "That''s bad." Six murmured.


    "Listen to me." Seven caught their attention. "Find her. Dr. Collusus is never a fair person."


    "How-"


    "Just, do it." Seven told them.


    "Kuya Sherwin, we gotta go." Six glanced at her watch. Niche raised an eyebrow.


    "Yeah. Take care kids."


    The two hurried outside and went on their car, and drove off.


    "What was that about?" Nis asked. Niche just shrugged, but she had the feeling the two knew something and they did not want to share it.


    "I''ll cook lunch." Niche volunteered and went her way to the kitchen.


    "Wait!!!" Nis called.


    "What?!"


    "Uh, remember what mom, dad, Nica, Nico and I once told you?"


    "Which one?"


    "''Stay away from the kitchen!'', I think." Niche looked at him skeptically.


    "Really Nis? Really?" she rolled her eyes.


    "Yeah. Remember the time you cooked? Nico kept going back to the bathroom for two days!"


    "That was two months ago. I can handle cooking now."


    "Fine. I''ll be in my room doing uh.... stuff."


    Nis ran upstairs while she headed to the kitchen.

 Chapter X

    Niche


    CHOP THE INGREDIENTS. Boil the meat. Wait for it to soften. Add the other ingredients. Add seasoning. Wait five minutes. Go to the phone and contact Nica. After a few rings, and nobody answered go back to the kitchen. Check what you were cooking. If not cooked yet go to the harbor.


    Niche played with the water. She had been wondering how Nica and Nico is. They weren''t able to contact them, and she was getting more worried.


    BOOM!!!!


    What was that? She turned around and saw black smoke coming out from the kitchen.


    "Oh shit!"


    She ran inside. She saw Nis on his way to the kitchen.


    "So this is the part where I tell you, ''I told you so.''" he cleared his throat. "I told you so."


    "Oh shut up and help me out."


    "Oh no. I warned you." Niche rolled her eyes and dragged him to the kitchen by the ear.


    "Ow. Ow. Ow."


    "Come on."


    *****


    Niche picked up the last piece of the stove that got blown apart and threw it in the trash, when the phone rang. She raced with Nis and beat him because of his injured leg.


    "Nica?"


    "Niche! Hey! I just wanna let you know, Nico and I are alive. Though Nico''s pretty injured." she heard Nica on the other line.


    "Where are you?" Nis asked.


    "We''re still in Brooklyn. We''re uh, in a place. We''ll go back there when Nico''s alright."Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Can I talk to Nico?"


    "He''s asleep. I gave him enough pain killers to knock him out." she paused. "You guys, It''ll take time for Nico to be healthy enough to continue searching for mom and dad. I''ll try searching for them here. We''ll see you soon. Let''s meet up three days from now."


    "Okay. We''ll see you."


    And they hung up. Niche sat on the nearest chair.


    "Nico will be alright. Both of them will." Nis assured her.


    "I know. Come on, we need to find mom and dad."


    *****


    A knock in the door stopped Niche and Nis from hacking the military satellites to track their mom and dad.


    Why couldn''t they have trackers like normal agents and soldiers do? Niche thought.


    Wait, trackers?


    An idea struck Niche. "Hey Nis, can you hack a U.S. Navy tracking satellite?"


    "Err, why?"


    "Try and track dad. He''s a three-star General of the Navy, he''s ought to have a tracker."


    "How about you?"


    "I''ll hack into the CIA satellites."


    Silence.


    "WHAT?!" Nis yelled. "Are you nuts? That''s the CIA. It got more than 500 acres of firewall! It got more defence than the Department of Defense! And besides, mom already retired, remember?"


    "So? I''m Niche Alexandria Michelle Cortes-Warren. I can do everything!" she beamed.


    Nis face-palmed. "This is the result when you name a person from an ancient city. Well, good luck! I''ll do my best in my work."


    The two started to work on their tasks. A sudden knock on the door stopped the two. The two tensed up and their hands reached out to their weapons. Niche walked to the door and opened it.


    "Director Orebil?"


    "Ah, Niche! May I come in?"


    "Uh, sure."


    They all sat in the living room.


    "So..." nice conversation starter.


    "Why are you here? Sir." Nis asked, who tried to be polite.


    "Oh. Uhm, I found out you failed on Brooklyn." Niche raised an eyebrow. "Well, about the Codex, do you have it?"


    "No sir." Nis answered.


    "Oh. I suppose it''s with Nica back in Brooklyn." Niche gripped her gun.


    "How did you know that?" she asked.


    "Does it matter my dear?" the director smiled.


    "Nis?"


    "You know, this one week game set by Collusus was never part of my plans. I always want smooth and fast operations. Now, tell me where in Brooklyn Nica is staying? Somehow, she managed to block the Codex''s and her tracking signal."


    The phone suddenly rang. Nis reached it for it. "Hello?... Uh, yeah... Uh huh. We kinda figured it out too..... Yeah..... We will."


    "Was that Nica? What did she say?" Niche asked.


    "Uh huh. She said Director Orebil of the CIA is the big boss of Libero. His last name is just spelled backwards."


    "So you figured it out. I didn t expect the Warren quadruplet''s this smart. Six and Seven was just here weren''t they? Those guys, too loyal to your mom. Well, she was their mentor. Now, where is your sister?" he pointed a gun at them.


    "Like hell we''ll tell you." Niche kicked the gun and kicked his face. She dragged Nis, took one of their duffle bags and ran to their car. Then she drove off.

 Chapter XI

    Nica


    NICA''S HEAD WAS POUNDING. She woke up in an alley and not far from her was her brother Nico, who was bleeding and unmoving.


    "Nico!" she called as she ran to him.


    She checked his wounds, he was soaked with blood. His heart rate was fast enough to worry her. His breathing was also getting shallow. And his pulse was getting weaker by the moment. He needed help. ASAP!


    Nica helped him up and carried him. After a few steps, she fell to the ground. "Dude! What the hell have you been eating?!"


    She carried him again. After a few turns, Nica found themselves in an apartment alley. She checked the windows, cause there was no way they would enter through the door. People might question why they were dirty and bloody. She put down Nico and started climbing the fire exit.


    Nica found an open window and a dark room. She climbed down again and brought Nico to the said room. Once she hauled themselves inside, her breathing was ragged and her head hurts like she had been smashed to a wall, which she probably had been. She touched her forehead and it felt sticky.


    "I need to get those bullets out of Nico." she murmured.


    She stood up and placed Nico comfortably to the floor. She took out her supplies, which was surprisingly still with her. What she didn''t expect was the Codex in her bag. But there was no time to worry about that one now. She took her first aid kit (she''s an assassin, she gotta have one) and started tinkering with Nico''s wound.


    After successfully cleaning up Nico''s wound, she bandaged it up and leaned on the wall. She sighed. She had decided to take the bullets out when her head didn''t hurt aymore and when she had better light source. It was one heck of a day! The lights suddenly flickered and a boy-- probably sixteen, went out from one of the doors and he was half naked. Nica took out her gun and aimed it at the boy.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Who are you?!" Nica asked.


    "Who are you. This is my apartment!" the boy retorted. "What happened to you?"


    Nica''s vision suddenly blurred. The last thing she remembered was the boy running towards her and everything went black.


    *****


    Nica woke up in an unfamiliar room. Then what happened the previous night flooded into her. Explosion in Brooklyn. Nico was shot by Dr. Collosus. Her in an apartment. Nico was shot! She immediately stood up and a wave of nausea hit her. She stumbled down and landed with a bang.


    "What happened?" the boy from last time came rushing in. He was wearing black pants and a red shirt. He was pale, had black hair and had the most beautiful brown eyes, at least to Nica.


    "Nico. Where''s Nico?" she asked and tried to grab her gun, which wasn''t there. "Where''s my gun?"


    "I hid it. I don''t want you pointing it at me. About that guy, he''s on the other room. Resting. I''m Caleb by the way."


    "The name''s Nica. Bring me to him."


    Caleb helped her up and brought her to the next room. Nica saw Nico on the bed, who was peacefully asleep. "Too much sedatives?" she asked him.


    "Not sedatives. Pain killers. I''m not that evil." he chuckled. Nica found it cute. Not that she''ll tell him.


    "You''re not some sort of evil man aren''t you?"


    "Well, I''m a medical student. Does that sound evil to you?" he smiled.


    "Well, no." I said. "Did you-"


    "Took out the bullets that I was wondering where he got but I won''t bother asking you? Yes, I did."


    "Oh? Uh, thanks Caleb." he smiled again. "See, can I borrow your phone? I kinda lost mine in the explosion."


    "What explosion?" Nica just shrugged. "Uh, here." he handed her a phone.


    "Thanks."


    Nica went to the living room and dialled her sister''s number. They talked for awhile and told her about her and Nico''s situation, sort of. After she talked to her, she saw Caleb by the living room, who was scanning a thick book.


    "So, a medical student. You''re what? Nineteen, twenty?"


    "I''m seventeen. I skipped grades."


    "Awesome." she sighed. "Can I borrow your laptop?"


    "Sure."


    She started hacking a few databases and mainframes. She had been suspecting Director Orebil. "They have the same voice." she murmured.


    "Who has the same voice?" she heard Caleb ask.


    "If I tell you, I''d have to kill you." she said.


    "O-kay. Forget I said anything."


    "Good call."


    She looked up some files and after a few minutes, she found what she wanted.


    "Oh no." she gasped. "Caleb, can I borrow your phone again?"


    Caleb nodded and handed her his phone.

 Chapter XII

    Nica


    NICA DIALLED HER BROTHER''S PHONENUMBER and it took only one ring for Nis to answer. Apparently she had got bad news for her siblings.


    "Is Niche with you?" she asked.


    "Uh, yeah."


    "Look. I got bad news." she said urgently.


    "Uh huh." Nica started to wonder why Nis was calm.


    "Director Orebil is the big boss of Libero! His name was just spelled backwards!" she told him, almost yelling.


    "We kinda figured it out too."


    "What?!" she yelled, which made Caleb flinch. "Wait, he''s there isn''t he?"


    "Yeah."


    "You guys have to get out of there, fast!"


    "We will."


    She hung up and went back on her laptop. She noticed Caleb, his attention on his medical book. She sized him up, again. ''Those reading glasses looks really good on him.'' she thought.


    "Take a picture. It''ll last longer." she heard his voice said. "Are you done staring?" he added, his eyes still not taking off his book.


    "I wasn''t staring." she immediately replied, wondering why she was defensive all of a sudden.


    "Yeah you were. I can feel this......... vibe." Caleb looked at her. "You like me don''t you?"


    "What?!" she half-yelled, and hoped not to wake Nico. "What makes you think that? I just met you, I can''t like you that easily."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    "You''re defensive." he smirked. "Yeah. You like me."


    She was gonna say something again when she heard a groan. Her gaze averted to the room where Nico was in, and dashed inside, Caleb followed her.


    "Nico."


    "Good morning." he said. "My head hurts-- no, scratch that, my whole body hurts."


    "You have three gunshot wounds and a concussion." Caleb emerged behind Nica.


    "Nica, who''s the dude? And where are we?"


    "We''re still in Brooklyn. And-"


    "-the dude''s name is Caleb. Caleb Collins. And you''re in my apartment, by the way." Caleb said cutting off Nica.


    "Okay?" Nico raised an eyebrow.


    Nica faced Caleb, "Caleb, could you let me talk to Nico privately? Family matters."


    "Oh sure! And don''t worry, I won''t eavesdrop. My life''s already complicated as it is."


    "Thanks." she gave him a smile. Caleb left the room and she saw Nico staring at her. "What?"


    "You totally like him."


    "No I don''t!"


    "Yeah you do." he said and sat up. "Your eyes sparkle and your attitude changed when you were talking with him. And besides, no need to be defensive."


    Nica saw him smirk. For a guy who had three gunshot wounds, and the fact that he was her brother, she could easily tell he meant business.


    "I swear you think alike." she muttered.


    "What was that?"


    "Never mind." she said. "We got more pressing matters to worry about."


    "Like what? And where are Niche and Nis?"


    "Those two are probably heading where we are right now. Anyway, mom''s former boss is my former boss."


    "What?" Nico''s eyes went wide. "Director Orebil? You''ve got to be kidding me."


    "I don''t ''kid'' around, Nico. You know that."


    "I know." he tried sitting up but winced. "Dang! I hate not being able to do anything."


    "You have to rest. You lost blood. You need to recuperate."


    "I know. But I still feel so useless."


    "Hey. Listen to me." she held his cheeks. "You''re not useless. I thought you''d go terminal but you survived."


    "What''s the connection?"


    "Ssh. My speech is not yet done. If you''re useless, you''d be dead. But you aren''t, so you''re not. Do you understand?"


    "I am confused."


    "Tch. Whatever. I''ll find mom and dad, then we''ll go and get them to safety. You need to rest."


    "But-"


    "You''ll oblige or I''ll knock you out." she threatened.


    "Fine. Go enjoy the company of your Lover Boy."


    "Shut up!" Nica smacked him.


    "Ow! I''m wounded here!" he complained.


    "Sorry."


    She gave him a smile.


    "Hey Nica, Nico! I''m gonna go and buy something! Do any of you like something?" Caleb''s voice rang in the apartment.


    "Can I come? I have to buy something!" Nica answered.


    "Okay! I''ll wait for you here in the living room."


    Nica faced Nico. "I''ll buy some more painkillers and new bandages for your dressing." she gave him a gun. "I was able to take it from Caleb. Just in case. Bye." she kissed his forehead.


    "Be careful. Remember, lay low." Nica nodded.

 Chapter XIII

    Nico


    NICO WAS BORED. SO BORED. REALLY BORED. REALLY REALLY BORED. Ever since Caleb and Nica left to buy something, he was left alone in the apartment. A gun was stashed under his pillow and his wounds were still in pain


    He just stared at the ceiling and remembered the incident. That Dr. Crazy! He just had to shoot him! Right now, he felt useless. He was supposed to be the detective of the group. Ever since their lives went haywire, he had been the only one who hadn''t been able to do anything. Nica could trace Dr. Crazy. Nis could just hack stuff in his computer and invent stuff, too. Niche was a natural leader and a quick thinker. Him?


    "Nothing." he muttered to himself.


    Nico looked around. He noticed a laptop on a table nearby. It was at least three steps away! He thought he had to make himself useful to his siblings, so he was going to track his parents. He tried sitting up, only to wince in pain his wounds were giving him. On his fourth try, he was able to support himself and sat up. When he was on his way to get off the bed he was in, he fell.


    He landed with a thud and probably muttered a few cusses too. Black spots started to dance in his vision and he felt his wounds opening up. He felt something warm oozing from them and his vision turned black.


    When he woke up, he was back on the bed. He was still dizzy, yes, but not in pain. Nico noticed that his bandages were fresh and new. Maybe Nica and Caleb were back? And saw him on a very pitiful situation too. Suddenly, the door opened and revealed his older twin brother, Nis.


    "Nis? How are you here?" he asked.


    "I traced Nica''s call and it led me and Niche here." he answered casually and gave him a bro fist.


    The door opened once again and Niche came in. Well, more like dashed and gave him a tight hug which almost choked him. "My gods! Nico! I was so worried!"This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "Niche.....calm....down....please!"


    "Sis, I think you''re choking him." Nis said. Niche immediately let go and he gasped for air.


    "Sorry Nico. I was just so worried." he gave her a reassuring smile. "Do you know how worried I was when I found you unconscious and bleeding on the floor?"


    "I''m fine Niche. Really. At least now, that is."


    "Where''s Nica by the way? We searched the whole apartment and didn''t find her." Niche asked. Nico noticed Nis already sat on a chair nearby and fidgeted with his laptop.


    "Nica went out to buy some medicine for me. We''re almost out of stock." he answered.


    The door suddenly opened and a familiar guy went in. At least familiar to him. He saw Niche and Nis pointed their guns on the newly arrived guy and Caleb in return stiffened.


    "Nica? There are strangers who look a lot like you in the room." he voiced.


    "What do you- Niche? Nis?"


    Nica dashed to Niche and hugged her, then to Nis. Caleb just leaned on the door frame and watched their reunion.


    "Wow! So there really are four of you. Amazing!" he said with amusement.


    "Who are you?" Niche asked. "Who is he?" and looked at Nico.


    "He''s the owner of this apartment." Nico answered.


    "If you had another person in the house, why did you leave Nico alone here, huh Nica?"


    "Niche, I had to withdraw money from the bank. I can''t just send Caleb to do it for me!" Nica replied.


    There were tension between the two, and started to bicker. The boys just watched them, either amused with the fighting girls or too afraid to stop them.


    When they were about to brawl, that was when Nico got full of it.


    "YOU TWO STOP!!!" he yelled. "Guys, fighting amongst ourselves won''t solve our problem. I thought you guys said cooperation is the key to succeed on this thing."


    He sighed.


    "Niche, don''t shout at Nica." he said. "She''s trying her best to take care of me. She has an injury herself but she still takes care of me. And Nica, don''t argue everything Niche says. For once, you two should try talk ing like civilized citizens does! Don''t immediately lash at each other and try to rip each other''s head off! You get what I mean?"


    "Sorry Nico." his two sisters also said together. Well, if there was something the two had ever agreed upon, it was reading, but most of the time they just scream at each other.


    "Good. Now you two should make up. You guys should also probably get out of here. I wanna rest."


    All four nodded and went out. Nico sighed. He could be useless with the fight and investigations his siblings did, but Nico just realized he was an important part of their group.


    He was the glue that held them together. And he will stick to that role till the end.

 Chapter XIV

    Nico


    IT HAD BEEN THREE DAYS SINCE THE EXPLOSION, and Nico had been recuperating well. With Caleb''s expertise as a medical student and Nico''s desire to get well, he could pretty much resume to his old life. Though...


    "No straining. Don''t fight yet like your siblings does. They''re a pain in the arse." Caleb complained.


    "Yes sir." Nico answered in a mock salute.


    They suddenly heard a crash and the noise of something breaking. The two dashed to the living room where Nico''s siblings had been. When they got there, their eyes widened.


    Three wooden chairs were broken and so were their swear jar (long story).


    "Oh come on! That was the sixth one! And it''s only been two days!" Caleb yelled in complaint.


    Nico couldn''t help but face-palm. They decided to make the living room a sparring area (despite the small space), and managed to break a few chairs, glasses, lamps and tables.


    "You guys should restrain yourselves." he told them.


    "Just the two of them. I''m busy here doing," Nis paused. "stuff."


    "Hey!" Nica and Niche yelled.


    Nico noticed Nis always doing something in his laptop. He wouldn''t tell any of them though. They just didn''t bother him, he might get ticked off. Nis getting ticked off is not good. It involved having a rash for a few days and an explosive pen.


    "Anyway, you found any clue where Dr. Crazy might be hiding mom and dad?" he asked.


    "Hey! Don''t ignore me!" Caleb yelled.


    "I''ll, get you new stuff so shut up, Collins." Nica sneered.


    "Tch. Fine! If you need me, I''ll be at my room. I''m supposed to study for my exams." Caleb left the room.


    The four were left with an awkward silence. The only noise they could hear was Nis'' typing. Nico noticed Nica glancing at Caleb''s door, and he wasn''t the only one who noticed it.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    "You lllllllike him." Niche said out of the blue.


    "Don''t roll your tongue too much like Happy does." Nica complained.


    "I agree with Niche." Nico sat on the couch.


    "Me too. What were we talking about again?" Nis also said, and looked confused.


    "You guys! Don''t say nonsense things! I don''t like him." Nica grumbled.


    "Yeah right. We''ve been noticing how the two of you has gotten closer these past three days. Helping him with Nico was just an excuse for you to spend time with him." Niche added.


    "Totally." Nico seconded.


    "Now that you mention it, you sometimes steal glances at him. And you turn as red as tomatoes when you see him half-naked." Nis commented, his eyes not taking off the laptop.


    "Oh, you''re ganging up on me now. And which girl wouldn''t blush when she sees a guy of that build half-naked?" Nica got a point. Caleb was pretty good shirtless. And Nico isn''t gay okay? "If that''s what you''re at it, then I''m not telling you where mom and dad is." Nica walked away.


    This made the three stop. They immediately followed her. When they were able to catch up to her, Niche immediately said: "We''ll stop teasing you. Just tell us where mom and dad is."


    "Well, we could agree on that one sis."


    They were back on the living room.


    "I traced them in Phoenix, Arizona. Libero has a facility there, that I''m sure of." Nica started. "I tracked mom and dad''s tracking chips by hacking a military satellite. Also, Dr. Collusus called last night, checking up on us. I traced the location of his call and all three were found at Phoenix."


    "We have to leave immediately. We only have four days left to prepare and travel to Arizona." Niche stated.


    "I can''t believe I''m saying this, but Niche''s right." Nica said. "Nico''s already fine, we can now proceed. I don''t think we''ll be safe if we continue staying here. CIA can find us and it''ll put Caleb''s life in danger."


    "She''s got a point." Nico seconded.


    All three looked at Nis who was still working on his laptop. "I was listening. I suggest we leave now."


    *****


    All of their things (which wasn''t much) were prepared. They were ready to depart. Almost that is.


    "Thank you for everything you''ve done, Caleb." Niche said.


    "You''re welcome. If you need a quick student doctor to help you, you can always come to me." Caleb replied with a smile.


    "Uhm, Caleb." Nica called.


    "Time to bail!" Nis yelled and dragged Niche and Nico away from the two, with their things.


    They got to the elevator door. ''I wonder what they were talking about.'' Nico thought.


    "You think she confessed?" Niche asked.


    "Dunno. She''s an emotionless assassin, it''s hard to tell." Nis answered.


    "But she''s still a human being. And a teenage girl too. There will be hormones involved." Nico stated.


    A few minutes later, Nica came. She was blushing and smiling like a madman, or was it a madwoman?


    "You two got together?" Niche asked.


    ''Girls.'' he thought.


    "If we survive this hell of a problem? Let''s see." Nica replied.


    They all nodded. They were back on track. Saving their parents. And trying to stop Libero from their plans.

 Chapter XV

    Nis


    NIS HAD BEEN BUSY FOR THE LAST TWO DAYS, and he knew his siblings were worried about him. They were staying at a hotel in Carson City and they were gonna head to Phoenix later.


    He had been working on something on his laptop and he wasn''t ready to tell his siblings yet, it could ruin his plan. He was alone in his room, his roommate, Nico was at the girls'' shared room to have his wounds treated.


    "Once this is done, I promise to actually go and personally meet my CIA buyers." he muttered to himself.


    He took another laptop and clicked the CCTV camera connections he managed to hack in the hotel, plus the ones he installed in the girls'' room.


    "I''m worried about Nis. Don''t you think he''s been isolating himself these last few days?" he heard Niche said through the audio.


    "I don''t know sis. Nis is smart and old enough to handle himself. He''s just probably working on another invention and he doesn''t want us to know about it yet." he heard Nica reply.


    "I don''t know about you two, but he''s seriously getting creepy. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and saw him doing something in his computer and he was laughing." Nico commented.


    He remembered last night. He was up late at night to finish his supposedly ''plan''. He was near completion so he laughed. What he didn''t know was that Nico was up that night.


    "He should really loosen up." Nica said.


    "Our parents are in danger Nica, we cannot just, ''loosen up''." Niche sneered.


    And there go their arguments. A smile crept on Nis'' face as he watched his two twin sisters argue while his twin brother tried stopping them.


    "Loosen up huh." he muttered.


    He closed his laptops, stuffed them in his bag, together with the Codex and went outside the room. There was only one thing that could make him ''loosen up'', as Nica said it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    *****


    "Hey babe." Nis greeted a red headed girl. She was sexy alright, with her tight black shorts, fitting yellow spaghetti blouse and three inch heels.


    Nis was quite the ladies man. He was supposed to be a geek or nerd but his appearance and features were too hot for that.


    Imagine a tall guy, probably 6''3 in height, with well built muscles, neither stocky nor skinny, with tan skin, neither too light nor too dark. His spiky blonde hair and piercing blue eyes went well with his black rimmed glasses. That''s Nis Alexander Bravo Cortes-Warren.


    "Well hello there handsome." the girl replied in a seductive tone.


    The girl who flirted with him was probably the same age as him or a few years older. "Want to have fun?"


    "As long as it''s not illegal, sure!" Nis gave her a seductive smirk.


    Nis put his arm around the girl''s waist and they ventured toward one of the buildings. His siblings were aware of this habit of his, being a womanizer. Much to their disgust, they got used to it. At least they haven''t heard anything about him bringing a girl to bed yet.


    When he and the girl reached an alleyway, the girl kissed him immediately.


    "Whoa!" he pushed her. "Not too fast. And don''t you think we need to this somewhere nicer?"


    "I can''t believe you''d easily fall for that, Nis Warren." the girl smirked.


    "How-"


    Nis was not able to finish his words because he suddenly felt being hit at the back of his head and everything went black.


    When Nis opened his eyes, bright light greeted him. He had to squint his already blurry eyesight. When his vision cleared, the first thing he noticed was being bound to a chair. His hands were tied to the chair''s armrest and his feet to the chair''s legs. His mouth was taped and in front of him was the girl he was kissing before he lost consciousness.


    "Good! You''re awake." the girl said. She took off the tape.


    "Ouch! That hurts!" he complained.


    "Tch. A geek actually being a womanizer? I didn''t believe it at first, but I suppose the Doctor was right."


    "''Doctor''? Are you talking about Dr. Crazy?"


    "It''s Dr. Collusus. Anyhoo, you''ve been out for at least three hours, your siblings would be looking for you."


    The girl sat on his lap. "I was gonna have fun with you, but unfortunately, it was a trap set up to get you and delay your progress. This is after all a part of Dr. Collusus''s plan, yeah?"


    "And I thought you were beautiful." Nis hissed. He tried to struggle from his bonds, but he was bound good.


    The girl kissed him and he responded. The girl broke away after an entire minute.


    "What''s your name?" he asked.


    "Macy." she paused and stood up. "See you when I see you, Mr. Warren."


    He watched her put another tape on his mouth and the walked away. He was left in the room.


    ''What a good kisser.'' he thought.


    Then a man in a suit came in and injected him with something and he slipped into unconsciousness once again.

 Chapter XVI

    Nis


    WHEN NIS WOKE UP, he was still in the dingy room and was still bound to the chair. But there was something different about the room.


    A table was in front of him and in there were pictures of his parents, both beat up and bloodied. He screamed but it was muffled by the tape. He thrashed around only to weaken from his useless efforts.


    When he was about to lose hope, the door burst open and revealed Director Orebil. So much about hope.


    "Look who do we have here. One of those four little ingrates." he sneered.


    Nis only glared at him. The Big Boss of Libero took off the tape abruptly that Nis had to stifle a scream of pain.


    "You managed to hide your tracks. But I didn''t know you would fall right to this trap." he taunted.


    "Shut up you monster!" Nis spat.


    "Now, tell me where the rest of your siblings are hiding so that we can get this over with. I only need the Codex."


    "Why would I tell you? This is another clich¨¦ scene where you''ll torture me anyway, right? What are you waiting for? Go at it!" Nis yelled.


    "You got fire in your eyes boy. I like it. And the gadgets you invented are quite useful you know, thought I''d just let you know." Orebil laughed.


    "I don''t need that kind of compliment from a monster like you." Nis said.


    "Tch. Stubborn kid."


    The door opened and a man entered. He was carrying a laptop and he showed it to Orebil.


    "Good. You''re excused now."


    Orebil, laptop on hand, went back to Nis and placed the laptop in the table in front of him. It was a live feed of what was happening to where ever they were.


    On the screen were his siblings, who were fighting their way in. The three dodged bullets and took down enemies. The looked impressive. And without a doubt, they were here to save him.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Your siblings are here to fetch you Nis." Orebil said, his smirk not fading off his face.


    "Oh yeah? Then they''ll kill you." Nis retorted.


    "I think it would be the other way around."


    Orebil showed three C4s and planted one on the door, one on the window by the side and the last one at Nis''s lap.


    "You have got to be kidding me!" he yelled.


    Orebil set the timer to thirty minutes. Before he left, he taped his mouth once again and said one last thing: "I''ll get the Codex one way or another. And have fun dying!"


    *****


    Nis was panicking. He didn''t have much time left, to be accurate, he only had ten minutes left. Where were they?


    He was branded a genius but he was so damn helpless at the moment, at least to him.


    Scenes of his life flashed on his mind. But one memory stood out.


    When he was eight years old, he picked a fight with Nica and got defeated miserably. He cried for hours and didn''t talk to her for a week.


    One day, he stumbled upon a shed. There, he found a lot of machines, old and new.


    ''Probably mom''s.'' he thought.


    He started digging through the machines and before he knew it, he had been assembling the machines. That was also the time he decided to invent his own gadgets. His first invention was the Pen Bomb. A personal favorite of his.


    He didn''t know why, but most of his inventions involved a pen. Must''ve been a fetish, he thought.


    As time went by, his inventions increased in number. One night, when he was ten, his mom went into the shed while he was still working there.


    "Nis? What happened here?" his mother asked.


    The once dirty shed got dirtier. Machines scattered everywhere, oils were dripping from the tables. It basically turned into a machine workshop.


    "Uh, hi?" was Nis'' smart response.


    "Don''t ''hi'' me young man! What happened to the shed?"


    "Uhm, I invented stuff?" he replied but came out more like a question.


    He noticed his mom pause. "You invent stuff?"


    "Yeah." he answered sheepishly.


    "Show me."


    He was confused at first but he led his mom to his room. He opened sections of his bed, cabinets, tables and even the walls. Various inventions lined up: Pen Bomb, Pen Laser, Electric Gun, Sleeping Thongs, Tiara Dynamites, Fan Missiles, etc.


    Nis saw the amazement in his mother''s eyes.


    "Sorry I entered the shed without permission. I needed to get away from Niche''s teasing, Nico''s sarcastic comments and Nica''s strength." he said while fidgeting with his fingers.


    "Oh Nis. Don''t be sorry! These are amazing!" his mom retorted. "What else can you do?"


    "I kinda hacked my school''s database system."


    "You did what?!"


    "Sorry mom! But I was bored! I didn''t have ideas for new inventions so I tried something else! I used dad''s present, my laptop and just did stuff!"


    "Nis Alexander Bravo Cortes-Warren. You are an amazing boy! You inherited my love for machines, and probably my talent for hacking." she paused. "I said that out loud didn''t I?" he nodded. "Anyway, with these inventions of yours, would you like to make money from it?"


    That was the time Carmen started to sell his inventions. He got lots and lots of money, but he didn''t forget to share it with his mom who helped him.


    His flashbacks was put to a stop when the door burst open, again. His siblings stood by the door, all three have guns in hand.


    ''The bomb!'' he thought.


    He looked down and saw they only had a minute left.

 Chapter XVII

    Nica


    THE MOMENT NICA FOUND OUT Nis was gone from his room, a weird unsettling sensation came to her. She immediately found out Nis was in danger. Call it an assassin''s intuition but she dare not ignore it, it saved her a bunch of times.


    "Nis is in danger." she muttered.


    Her two siblings looked at her, both confused.


    "What are you talking about? He''s probably on the roof again." Nico replied.


    "Or hanging out with another girl." Niche added.


    "I wouldn''t call it ''hanging out'' though." Nico grimaced.


    Nica sighed. She couldn''t believe it herself but her geek of a twin brother is a womanizer.


    "I got a bad feeling about it."


    Her phone suddenly rang. She checked the caller I.D. and immediately knew who it was. It wasn''t a friend either.


    "Macy."


    "Ah! Arrow! How''s my favourite assassin doing?"


    "Why did you call?" she started. Nica was using her English accent, the one she usually used when she worked as an assassin.


    "Ooh! Aren''t you looking for your older twin brother?" Nica''s forehead creased.


    "Don''t tell me you know where he is?"


    "It gets better. I was the one who took him." she heard her laugh.


    "What did you say?!"


    Nico and Niche''s ears perked up.


    "Anyhoo, you don''t have that much time. Dr. Collusus just wants you to have a bit of a mini game but it seems like the Big Boss has other plans. You better find him, Arrow. Before you lose everything."Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    And with that she hung up. Nica tried calling her but it would just go straight to voicemail. She directed her attention back to her siblings.


    "Libero got Nis." she said.


    "We heard. Let''s get him." Niche replied.


    "How will we find him exactly?" the remaining male Warren asked.


    "He''s always wearing the necklace I gave him on our birthday right?" Nica questioned.


    "We always wear the matching necklaces you gave us on our birthday." Niche retorted.


    "Good."


    Nica dashed to her room and took her laptop out. She started hitting keys and a map of Nevada showed in front of her.


    "What are you doing?" Nico asked.


    "Finding Nis. Our necklaces has trackers in them. Unless Macy is too smart to find out about it and removed the necklace, which is impossible since she''s an airhead, then we can tack him." Nica answered.


    *****


    The three were now facing an abandoned building. They tracked Nis and it led them here.


    "You guys ready?" she asked.


    "You kidding?" said Nico.


    "I''m always ready." Niche answered.


    "That wasn''t my point." Nico mumbled.


    They readied their weapons and entered the building. Once inside, they were immediately greeted by hordes of men with weapons. They just plundered their way in. What did you expect from an assassin, a spy, and a detective?


    "You guys done?" Nico asked.


    "Yeah!" both the girls answered.


    Nica pulled another magazine of bullets and replaced the ones she just used. They continued trudging the enemy infested path and went towards where they think Nis is. They dared not separate, either.


    After hours of looking and raiding the building, they reached one particular door on the third floor. When they entered, they saw Nis tied to a chair, had a tape on his mouth and had a C4 slung in his body.


    "Nis!" Niche called.


    Nica saw the timer and muttered a curse.


    "We need to be quick! The C4 will explode soon!" she dashed to Nis'' side and immediately got the ropes off.


    "There are two more C4s on the room! We need to get out of here! Fast!" Nis yelled.


    They left the C4 and immediately dashed outside. Unfortunately, they haven''t even reached the second floor when the bombs exploded.


    Nica was able to pull Nis to the sides but Nis just had to hit his head in the wall. He fell unconscious.


    "Oh come on!" she groaned.


    She lifted him up but stumbled forward because of his weight.


    "What have you been eating!" wait. "It feels like deja vu." she muttered.


    She managed to reach outside and met up with Niche and Nico. She was limping her way towards them. It was because she had a bad fall and that she was carrying someone heavier than Nico.


    "What happened to him?" Niche screamed.


    "The explosion caught us and this guy hit the wall." Nica complained. "Help me with him already!"


    "I got it." Nico said.


    "We can''t go back to the hotel. Orebil will be there waiting for us. We brought all our stuff and it''s in the car. We need to get out of Nevada and head to Arizona immediately." Niche ordered.


    "Niche''s right. We''ll head to Arizona right away. I know a place by the way." Nica said.


    They loaded Nis''s unconscious body to the van they ''rented'' and headed to Arizona, treating Nis on the way.


    ''They''re making their move. We have to move fast.'' Nica thought.

 Chapter XVIII

    Nica


    THE MOMENT THEY REACHED PHOENIX, Nis woke up at the same time. He was a little dazed, but he was fine nonetheless. Nothing major was wrong with him. ''Maybe except his womanizing habits.'' Nica thought.


    Nica knows a lot about Phoenix.


    "What are we gonna do now?" she heard her elder twin, Niche, ask.


    "We''re running low on food, money and ammo." Nico piped up at the back of their van.


    "I think we need to replenish our resources. We have to meet Dr. Crazy tomorrow, right?" Nis asked too.


    "First off, yes, we need to replenish our resources. And I know just the place." she gave them a smirk.


    "Your smirks really give me chills." Nico muttered.


    "No wonder you didn''t get boyfriends." Niche seconded.


    "Though, I think Caleb likes your smirks." Nis said too.


    "You guys! Stop it already! The scene was getting good!" she complained.


    ***


    The Warrens were standing in front of a boulder. Like seriously. The boulder was easily three times their size and height and if it was to roll on them, they would immediately be flattened.


    "What are we doing here?" Nico asked.


    "And where is ''here'' exactly?" Nis asked too.


    "You guys could just shut up. You know that?" she glared at them.


    "Yeah. Yeah."


    Nica walked towards the boulder and made a series of knocks, it got a pattern of course -- once, twice, once, thrice, twice, thrice. A few seconds later, a hole appeared at the center.


    "State your name, affiliation, and rank." a guy''s voice asked.


    "Tch. Don''t you remember me already, Del? Or are you Jel this time? Whatever." Nica sighed. "Arrow. Libero. Assassin."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "What''s the password?"


    "Seriously? Open up or I''ll kill you!"


    "Password accepted! You¡¯re Arrow alright."


    A door appeared at the center of the boulder and it opened up. It revealed a guy, probably just their age, with a katana on his back. He was wearing a full-face black mask, but the quadruplets could see dark brown eyes from the eye-holes.


    "Arrow babe! It''s been so long!" he hugged her.


    "Del, get off me you jerk!" Nica yelled.


    Del confessed to Nica once. He was even prepared to remove his mask and reveal his true face, but he got socked in the face. Still, he has lingering affections for her, but he knew his kimits?


    "Who are they?" Del asked as he leg go.


    "They''re people I know Del. I need stuff so can we just please proceed? We don''t have all the time of the world you know?"


    "Of course, babe. Follow me."


    They entered one by one. They piled inside the cramped space.


    "You''re Arrow?" Nico whispered to Nica, who''s currently pushing Del off her.


    "Yes. Now shut up. Where we''re going is Hell on Earth."


    Nica felt the familiar sensation of descent. After a minute they stopped and the elevator door opened.


    "Welcome to Ground Zero. America''s leading Black Market!" Nica said. "Thanks Del!"


    "You are so welcome!" he gave her a flying kiss but brushed it off anyway.


    They walked towards the underground city. Nica''s siblings were wide-eyed. Them, government workers, just stepped into Underworld Haven!


    "This place is actually real?" Niche asked.


    "You''re here right?" Nica answered with sarcasm.


    "I can''t believe it! I thought this place was just a myth!" Nico beamed.


    "Right on bro!" Nis said.


    "Now, don''t go telling where this place is. I know you guys work for the government, but this is the only place where most affiliates could be themselves. Even me! I can show off here, without being told off. Do you guys understand?" Nica told them with a dangerous tone, but her eyes betrayed her.


    She saw them look at each other. "Fine." the three said.


    "So, where are we going? Ground Zero is a maze." Nis asked.


    "We''re going to a friend of mine. She''s currently the top leader of Ground Zero."


    ***


    The four reached a penthouse, located at the highest peak of Ground Zero. When they entered, they saw a girl with raven black hair and violet eyes. Her red flowing dress touched the floor since she was lying on her side. Nica was familiar with her. They worked together once, and she was her best friend too. Though they never told each other of their real identities.


    "Sora." Nica called.


    "Araa! Arrow-chan! Hisashiburi!" she replied.


    "Yeah. Nice to see you."


    She walked towards Nica and suddenly kicked her. Nica blocked it with her right leg and kicked her with the left. Nica landed a punch on her abdomen. Nica ran towards her but,


    "Okay yamero! I can never beat you." Sora pouted.


    "I miss you too, Sora."


    The two hugged each other.


    "O-kay. Introductions, Arrow?" Nica heard Nico ask.


    "She''s hot." Nis said. "I said that out loud didn''t I?"


    "Ooh! This guy''s hot too!" Sora screeched.


    "Okay, guys, this is Sora, my best friend." Sora winked. "Sora, these are my siblings, uhm, Aka, Tantei, and Megane."


    "Ooh, you just thought of those names just now, Arrow-chan. Anyway, what brought you here?"


    "Actually, I need something."


    "Like what?"


    "Food. Water. Shelter. Ammo. And Intel."


    "Well, I need good recompense for that. Ground Zero is all about money, deals and fights. You know that."


    "I do. I really do. So, who are we going to fight?"

 Chapter XIX

    Niche


    THE FOUR OF THEM FOLLOWED SORA to wherever she was heading. They heard distant shouting, like there was a crowd. Niche looked around and got amazed. Ground Zero looked just like any other city, except it was underground. No wonder it could not be found despite all the efforts. Not even Interpol found it.


    Niche suddenly noticed the abrupt stop and halted too. In front of them was a spacious concrete area, and in the center were people that were fighting.


    "Where are we?" she asked Nica.


    "The Arena."


    "The what?"


    "Everyone! Yukoso, to the Ground Zero Arena!" Sora announced upon their arrival.


    People were shouting. Niche guessed all of those people were either gangsters, part of the mafia, criminals or just people who got nothing to do.


    Sora led them to a balcony, and sat in a throne-looking seat. Niche noticed a man with a clown''s mask that went to Sora. Niche took this oppurtunity to talk to her younger twin sister.


    "How did you know this place? And how did you get yourself affiliated with the mafia? Libero is a terrorist organization, right?" Niche asked Nica who was watching the fight that was happeningon in the arena.


    "Hmm, not all intel in Libero are actually right on. Sometimes you need other sources of intel as well." Nica leaned on one of the post. "I stumbled on this place because of Sora last year. I''ve been getting intel here ever since too. Sometimes, intel given by the dark side has more information than the government."


    "I suppose you''re right." Niche sighed.


    Nico suddenly put his hand on their shoulders. "Uhm, what are we doing here, exactly?"


    Suddenly, Sora came with a Cheshire grin on her mouth. Niche got a bad feeling about this.


    "Okay! So I''ve already arranged a fight for you guys. If you win, you get to have everything you''re asking for!" she said.


    "And if we don''t?" Nis asked.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Well, one of you must be left behind here and work for me. And I''d choose Megane-kun here." she smiled again.


    "What?!" was the response of the three. They were newcomers to Ground Zero after all.


    "Game!" Niche heard Nica piped up!


    "You serious?" Nis questioned with wide eyes. Sora was playing with his hair.


    "Don''t worry. We won''t lose."


    ***


    Niche and her siblings were on the center of the arena. Niche, Nis and Nico had a handkerchief that was covering half of their faces. Nica wore nothing to cover herself.


    "So, how did you have time to play here?" asked Niche to Nica who was smirking. She seemed really giddy and excited.


    "Hmm, when I''m on day offs. Don''t you think it''s odd that I''m always gone from my room every Friday night?" Nica replied in a ''duh'' tone.


    "You sneaks out every Friday night?" Nis piped out behind Niche.


    "Yeah. No one bothers waking me up early every Saturday anyway, so I got plenty of time."


    "Seriously?" Nico grimaced.


    The crowd suddenly got rowdy. This made Niche look at the balcony where Sora was and saw her with a microphone in hand.


    "Everyone! We shall have a great show today! Our number one fighter, Arrow, will give us a show! Together with her are her siblings!" the crowd became more rowdy. "Fighting against the quadruplets is our very own, Rainstorm!"


    From the side of the arena, four individuals came out. Two girls and two boys, all were wearing gray hoodies.


    "Yo! Long time no see, Arrow." said the person whom Niche thought was the leader.


    "Oh? It was just last week Storm. Although I did do a great number on you." Nica said in a taunting voice.


    "It won''t happen again." said another one.


    "Yeah."


    "Uh huh. I''m still unbeatable you know?" Nica''s words were playful and full of sarcasm.


    "Just watch."


    The Rainstorm distanced themselves. "So, what''s the plan?" Niche asked.


    "Nothing. Just fight to your heart''s content." Nica smirked.


    "Oh yeah? Then I don''t have to hold back, yes?" Nico commented. Niche guessed there was an unusual smirk on his face.


    "I can use my inventions, right?" Nis asked.


    "Of course! There''s only one rule in this arena; that is not to kill."


    "Now! Let the fight, begin!!!!!" Sora announced.


    Rainstorm attacked first. Nico and Nis intercepted it and fought the four by themselves. Niche noticed Nica by her side, her smirk was getting wider as she watched her two twin brothers fight.


    "They''re enjoying themselves." she heard her say.


    "This is the first time I''m seeing this."


    "How come you''re not as excited as them?" Nica asked again.


    "I''m not as unmoved as you."


    Suddenly, a fist came thrusting forward and hit Niche in the face which threw her out of balance.


    "Don''t lose focus on the fight. Remember that." Niche heard Nica comment.


    "Tch. Shut up!"


    Niche got up. "That hurt, you asshole!"


    "Ooh, bad words for a fifteen year old. That''s bad." Nica taunted.


    "Shut up!"


    She kicked her opponent, which was another girl, and that girl got thrown. The girl, threw a kick too but she blocked it. Suddenly, a roundhouse kick greeted Niche and she skidded a few meters.


    "Not bad. No one has ever defeated me, other than Nica." she muttered.


    "Well, this is your lucky day. I will defeat you."


    "Nope. You won''t."


    With five swift moves Niche''s opponent was down. When she looked up, her siblings were already done. Nica was sitting on top of Rainstorm''s leader. "Did you enjoy it?"

 Chapter XX

    Niche


    WHEN NICHE AND HER SIBLINGS entered the penthouse, Sora offered each of them a glass of milk.


    Seriously? Milk?


    "You guys can stay here until your departure tomorrow. You can eat as much as you want. I also got extra clothes, you can choose from them." Sora said as she laid down her couch.


    "How about weapons?" Niche asked and sat to the chair next to the couch.


    "You''ll get them later. You need to rest first." she paused. "Although I''d love to talk to Arrow."


    Nica and her two twin brothers just nodded, the latter entered the room Sora pointed. All four of them were sharing a room, no contest. At least that was what Sora said. And besides, Niche thought it was a good idea if they were all together.


    "What do you think the two were talking about?" Nis asked as he laid down on one of the beds.


    "Dunno. It''s probably about the weapons. I do hope Nica gets good choices of weapons." Nico answered.


    "Did you guys enjoy the fight a while ago?" Niche asked again her siblings who were on the verge of sleeping.


    "Yeah." the two answered in unison and eventually slept.


    ''They must be really tired.'' Niche thought. Later on, she fell asleep herself.


    ***


    Niche woke up because of a thud. She immediately took her gun out from under her pillow and scanned the surroundings. Nothing was wrong. It was all normal, if you considered sleeping in a gangster lair normal. Nico was asleep, half his body was already off the bed. Nis was hugging the pillow tight. While Nica was drooling on her pillow.


    She couldn''t help but chuckle. It had been a long time since they slept together in one room. And it had been longer since they worked together. She then wondered how their parents were doing.


    Two o''clock in the morning. That was what the digital clock on her bedside table said. Niche stood up, she was thirsty.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    On the way to the kitchen, she clutched her gun. It was never wrong to be prepared. Once she reached it, she immediately opened the fridge and got a carton of fresh milk.


    "I see you''re a light sleeper, Aka-chan." a voice said on the kitchen counter. Niche pointed her gun in that direction. "Chill, Aka-chan. It''s just me, Sora."


    Niche sighed. "Don''t just go sneaking on people then, Sora." Sora laughed.


    "I was here first you know?"


    Niche took a glass and sat beside Sora on the counter. She poured the milk and took a sip. It was silent. Awkwardly silent. Niche wasn''t used to it. She was not the silent one, Nica was.


    Suddenly, the kitchen door opened and a blonde girl appeared. Niche noticed she had the aura of a Casanova.


    "Sora, do you have juice?" the girl asked.


    "Take a look on the fridge, Natsu." Sora replied. Note the sarcasm.


    Natsu? Fairy Tail protagonist, Natsu Dragneel? Niche tossed aside the thought.


    "You still got jet lag?"


    "Obviously. Who''s that?"


    "Aka-chan. One of Arrow''s siblings. Aka-chan, that''s Natsu. She''s my cousin." Sora said. The two shook hands.


    "Aka. Red huh." Niche heard Natsu mutter. "Nice to meet you."


    Natsu gave one last smile and left the kitchen. Okay?


    "Daijubo. She''s just cranky when she''s jet lagged." Sora said.


    "Why is she jet lagged? Isn''t she staying here?" Niche asked and continued drinking her milk.


    "No. She''s based on the Philippines. She''s a part of a gang there. Oops, I might''ve said too much." she smirked.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not a tattle-tale." Niche assured her.


    There was the deafening silence again. But it was broken by Sora.


    "Arrow told me your parents got kidnapped and you''re out here to save them. I must say New York is quite far from Arizona." she started and looked at her. "You know Aka-chan, your name is quite familiar. The English term that is."


    Niche gulped the non-existing lump on her throat. She was hoping Sora wouldn''t figure it out.


    "How could you say that?" she asked and kept her cool.


    "Well, Red is a famous Gang Leader back in the Philippines. As for America, there''s a certain Interpol elite agent with the name of Red. Tell me, is that you?"


    "Do I look like Interpol material to you, Sora?" Niche asked in a cold tone. A tone that would surely send shivers down someone''s spine.


    But Sora looked unaffected. "Well you don''t look like much, but I''ve seen you fight. It could be possible, Aka-chan."


    "Those moves were taught by my dad. He''s a general in the Navy Seals." Niche covered her mouth immediately. She was saying too much.


    "Ooh? Hontou desu ka?" Sora laughed. "If that''s really the case, why did your moves came straight from the Interpol combat manual? And Tantei-kun, his moves were somehow associated with the FBI. Now tell me, Aka-chan. Are you and Tantei-kun, government agents?"


    There was the nonexistent lump again. Her thoughts, and fears, were suddenly cut when she heard Sora laugh.


    "You should''ve seen your face!" she laughed even harder.


    "Tch. You got me there." Niche laughed too.


    "But seriously. Anyway, go wake up your siblings. It''s time for you guys to leave, Libero has infiltrated Ground Zero."


    "You said what now?"

 Chapter XXI

    Nico


    NICO LANDED WITH A THUD. He was not the type of guy who sleeps in one position, he actually moves around a lot. Sometimes he even finds himself at the foot of the bed whenever he wakes up.


    "Ouch!"


    He tried to sit up, but fell to the floor. No surprises there.


    He looked at the digital clock, 2:10 A.M. He scanned the surroundings and noticed Niche was not on her bed, and when he turned to Nica''s bed..


    "She''s drooling." he muttered.


    "Nico! Wake them up! We gotta go! Libero''s here!" he heard Niche yell from the door.


    Nic got alerted and woke Nica and Nis up. Nica immediately woke up, Nis on the other hand...


    "Back off! A beautiful lady is kissing me." Nis said.


    A tick mark appeared on Nico''s forehead and kicked Nis. Said mechanic jolted awake.


    "I''m up! I''m up! Geez! You didn''t have to do that." Nis complained.


    "Shut up and gather your things. We gotta go."


    The Warren siblings headed to Sora''s room, and she was already waiting for them.


    "Sora, what do you mean Libero''s here?" Nica asked Sora who was scampering in the room.


    "An idiot betrayed Ground Zero rules and led them here. They''re trying to find you guys." Sora answered.


    "What are you doing then? And this is Ground Zero, people here are supposed to you know, betray you." Nico voiced out.


    "First off, just because most people here are criminals doesn''t mean they''re traitors. Especially not to me." a chill went down Nico''s spine. He shouldn''t have asked.


    "Don''t mind him Sora." Nica said. "What do we have to do?"


    "Get away from here. Natsu is here in Ground Zero, I''m sure we can handle it." Sora pushed a button behind a picture, and a portion of her room''s wall moved.


    "A secret passage. Cool." Nis muttered.


    "Follow me."


    Sora led them to an underground weapon storage room. It looked a lot like they had back at Long Island, only bigger and had more weapons. More dangerous weapons.


    "Take what you need, weapons, ammunitions, etc." Sora said.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    "But what about you Sora?" Nica questioned.


    "I told you already. I''ll be fine. Natsu will be with me. That girl is training with an oni you know." she tried to suppress a laugh.


    "Thank you for everything, Sora." Nico heard Niche say.


    "Yeah." Nis even bowed, a Japanese gesture and tradition when thanking someone. "Hounto ni Arigato."


    "My. My. You really are a charming man, Megane-kun." Sora smiled.


    Nico faced Sora and bowed too. "Thank you very much for everything!"


    "Mou, don''t be like that you guys. We''ll still see each other in the future."


    The five of them headed to a sealed door. Sora put her hand on a panel and it suddenly opened. "This tunnel here will lead you out of Ground Zero. Its exit should be somewhere near your destination."


    Niche went in first, followed by Nico. Before Nis could get in, Sora pulled him close and kissed him fully on the lips.


    The three of them gasped. They even blushed when they noticed Nis responding to her kisses.


    "You guys!" Niche groaned.


    "You do realize we''re being chased by an international terrorist organization who wants our heads right? Literally!" Nico complained.


    Nis only replied by raising his index finger, signalling them to stop talking. When the two stopped, they were both out of breath.


    "Call me if you do survive. I''ll immediately free myself from any commitment."


    "I''ll keep that in mind, fair maiden."


    "You two stop being poetic and let''s get a move on." Niche said.


    "Coming sis." and Nis went inside the tunnel.


    Nico eyed Nica, who was eyeing Sora.


    "Pedophile." Nica said, disappointment on her voice.


    "What? That''s mean Arrow-chan! I''m only eighteen!"


    Nico saw Nica shrug. But she hugged her. Nica entered the door and stood next to him.


    "Kick their asses, alright?" Sora told them. Nico couldn''t help but smile.


    "You bet we will." Nico said.


    Sora closed the door. They heard shouting, gunshots and explosions.


    "We have to go, now." Nica told them.


    The four of them ran from the door, through the tunnel, leading them wherever they were going. After about five minutes of running.


    "You... guys. Wait... up!" Nico''s head turned to Nis who was falling a bit behind.


    "Pick up your pace, Nis!" Niche called.


    "I''m not...like you guys. I''m not that athletic!" he gasped.


    Nico couldn''t help but shake his head. The four of them received the same training from their father, but he guessed since the three of them had secret jobs that includes physical wellness, they had better stamina than Nis who was more of a mechanic/inventor.


    After ten minutes, with a few complaints here and there, they reached the end of the tunnel.


    They were greeted by the bright morning sun, so Nico couldn''t help but squint his eyes.


    "Our destination should be somewhere around here." Nica said and stepped out of the cave they were in. "But seriously, I never thought this place was an escape route from Ground Zero. I''ve been hanging out in this cave for a long time you know."


    "Enough about that. We can''t just storm in the Headquarters." Niche voiced in.


    "I agree with Niche. We have to come up with a plan." Nis seconded.


    "But first, we have to choose which one of us will lead this operation." Nico said.


    All eyes went to Nica. "Who? Me? No way."


    "Why not?" the three said together.


    "First off, Dr. Collusus knows me too much. He''ll know how my mind works. I''ve been working for him for five years. And he''s personally overseen my trainings all those years ago."


    "So, what do we do?" Niche questioned.


    "We need someone whom they won''t suspect to lead us." Nica paused. "I obviously can''t. Nis can''t either. They would already know he''s smart. Niche can''t too."


    "Why not?"


    "They probably know already that you''re the eldest. They know you''ll most likely lead us."


    And now, all eyes were on Nico. "What?"


    "You would be perfect for the job."


    "Eh? Why me?"


    "You''re a detective. You''re good at deducting stuff. And you''re the youngest one among the four of us. They won''t be expecting that."


    "Seriously?" was all Nico could say.

 Chapter XXII

    Nico


    "OKAY, NIS WILL BE OUR ANALYST, so he''ll stay here." Nico started to say.


    "Whoa there little bro! I am not staying here, thank you very much!" Nis exclaimed.


    "Nis is right, Nico. We have to go together." Niche also said.


    "I''ll agree with Niche on this one. We have to stay together." Nica piped up.


    "No, guys listen." he sighed. "We need Nis'' expertise. He needs to hack a military satellite so that we can have eyes on the warehouse."


    "I need to what now?"


    "It''s not like you''ve never done it before, jackass."


    "Fine! But if something happens I''m going in, got it?" Nico agreed.


    "Just make sure you''ll bounce off the servers so that they won''t track you." Nica reminded Nis.


    "Are you underestimating me, little brother?" Nis raised an eyebrow, while Nico just shrugged.


    He started to ramble out the plans. Twenty minutes later, they were all set. They each had their earpieces, and weapons. The three headed to the entrance. Of course they didn''t have to sneak in, they were expected, weren''t they?


    Once they reached the warehouse, the door automatically opened and the three clutched their weapons. Niche, a Mossberg 500 shotgun, and a few hidden knives. Nica, a bow and a quiver full of arrows, plus kunais and ninja stars. Nico on the other hand only had his Magnum 357 on his left hand, and on his right was his personal favorite, Magnum 454, with piercer bullets. Well, they have to thank Sora for the weapons.


    "Warren siblings! Welcome! You found us!" the voice of Dr. Crazy rang throughout the warehouse.


    "Collusus!" Nica called. "Face us damn it!"


    "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You shouldn''t curse dear, Nica. Your Mom and Dad would hear you." his voice resonated.


    "The deal''s done! We found you just on the day of the deadline!" Nica shouted.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Yeah! Now where''s our mother and father!" Nico yelled too.


    "Well, they''re here." their parents'' agonizing voice sounded on the speaker. "Where''s the Codex?"


    "You said if we find you within the time limit, you''ll give us our parents and we get to keep the Codex." Nico reasoned.


    "Well dear, change of plans. The Big Boss kinda modified the plans and orders. And you know, he''s the boss! You should really avoid trusting adults so much."


    Dr. Crazy laughed.


    "Guys, there are a lot of men in there." Nis said. "And I mean a lot."


    Armored men in black clothing surrounded them. ''Clich¨¨ much?'' Nico thought.


    "Bring them to me, alive." and with that, Dr. Crazy disconnected the broadcast.


    The three started to fend for themselves, they mostly used martial arts, and the knives and daggers they kept.


    Nico did a roundhouse kick and the enemy got thrown, even before he can fire his gun.


    "Nico! Behind you!" Nis'' voice rang on the earpiece. Nico was quick to turn and dodged a bullet, he then kicked the man and sent him flying.


    Once the men started to decrease in number, another batch came. This time, there were burly guys.


    "Oh come on!" Nica groaned.


    "Let''s get to Plan B." Nico ordered.


    They dashed towards a door and Nica kicked it with full force, ripping the door off its hinges. Nico can''t help but be amazed, and scared too. She''s really dangerous so better not piss her off. Ever.


    Nica led them to the tunnel until they come across three paths. Well they did discuss about that one already, the info was from Nica.


    "Okay, so paths 1, 2, 3. We already decided who''s going in we just have to watch out." Nica said. "Nis, can you see what''s ahead? Can you see Mom and Dad?"


    "I''m not sure." Nis answered. "They managed to cover their trackers so I can''t tell. I suppose each of you have to check it out."


    "Okay." they said in unison.


    Nico entered Path #2, the one Nica said to be the laboratory. The plan was to mess up their trials on anything that can be used for world domination.


    Niche was on Path #1, the holding cells. She had to free every prisoner and get out of the building.


    Nica went to the last one, Path #3, the quarters and offices. She was gonna confront Dr. Crazy and if they had time to regroup, face the Big Boss too, CIA''s Director Orebil.


    "Nico, there''s a man just ahead the path. You will be colliding in 3, 2, 1." Nico kicked the man in front of him.


    After a few seconds of running, he reached the laboratory. It''s a laboratory alright.


    "Use the flash drive I gave you and upload the virus on their computer." Nis said on the communicator.


    "I know that, smarty-pants. I was the one who utilized the plan, remember?" he reminded him.


    When he was on his way to insert the flash drive on the main laboratory computer, "Nico! Watch out!"


    He was lucky to dodge it in a split second, the flash drive though, wasn''t that lucky. It skidded a few meters from where he was standing.


    "You won''t be sabotaging our plans, dear." a voice with a heavy Russian accent said. Nico turned around and saw a woman with a bulky figure.


    "Crap." Nico cursed. ''She''s strong.'' he thought.


    "Better give up now, brat." she sneered.


    "No freaking way." he hissed.


    And so, the two began to fight.

 Chapter XXIII

    Nica


    NICA STRODE IN THE TUNNEL without fear. She was an assassin after all, she got to have no fear. She moved with elegance and poise, shooting anyone who would dare to get close to her with her arrows.


    She knew that at the end of this tunnel was the Big Boss'' office. This was Libero''s main headquarters for heaven''s sake.


    "Three men on your left Nica." Nis said on the earpiece. She shot the three coming at her. "Niche''s going smoothly. Libero got a lot of prisoners."


    "They''re probably human trials for the Astil Codex project." she replied.


    "Uhm, Nica?" Nico''s voice rang. "Any information about the big Russian lady?"


    "Crap! You''re facing her? That''s Mikaela! She''s a brutal woman!" Nica yelled and shot a man not that far.


    "I can see that, sis." Nico said with sarcasm. Breaking glass was evident on the background, and probably Nico''s shrill voice too.


    "Just don''t let her get your neck or you''re good as dead. You have to be fast, and agile when facing her. Speed is her weakness." she informed him.


    Nica continued trudging her path. She reached the bunkers and was greeted by at least a dozen trainees of Libero.


    "Better stop at your position." one said. Nica observed the guy who spoke and calculated him to be a head trainee.


    "Ooh, and who''s going to stop me, you?" she said sarcastically and smirked.


    "Tch, don''t be too cocky." one voiced out.


    "What level are you?" she asked.


    "Why do you care?" the head trainee retorted.


    "Just answer the f*cking question." she sneered. Oh she''s getting pissed off alright.


    "Level 10." the head trainee proudly said.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    "Age?"


    "Twenty-three."


    "Hmm."


    Nica lunged for the head trainee and kneed him in the face. Then she judo flipped him and stepped on his chest.


    "Well guess what, trainee. I was a level 10 trainee when I was thirteen. Don''t you recognize me? You excuse of a Libero Trainee." she said with a cold voice and the usual British accent she uses whenever she was in the headquarters and on a mission.


    The others just watched, some with fear and some with excitement. Nica delivered the final blow and the trainee became unconscious. The rest of the trainees attacked, using their weapons, while the others with just their knuckles.


    Dodge. Punch. Kick. Roll. Throw a kunai. Throw a ninja star. Kick. And so on. The trainees were nothing to her, after all she was a professional assassin. A killing machine trained brutally, harshly and effectively by Libero.


    "She''s Arrow!" one yelled in recognition.


    "That legendary assassin that became an operative at a very young age?"


    "Yeah!"


    "Stop! She''s mine!"


    Suddenly, the crowd parted and made way to a teenage guy. He has jet black hair and coal black eyes. In his hands were daggers. Silence reigned in the trainees, either with fear or with respect.


    "So you finally showed up?" Nica sneered at the guy.


    "I can''t believe you''ve become a traitor Arrow." the guy hissed at her.


    "Aww! Don''t be such a meanie Jason."


    "Who''s the crazy-looking dude Nica?"


    Libero top 3 Assassin, codename: Jason. He''s skilled in daggers. Unlike Nica who kills her target immediately, no questions asked, Jason likes to play with his victim. He tortures them. Their screams were music to his ears.


    Sadistic much?


    "I think it''s time to settle our score, Arrow." Jason said and smiled at her.


    "I don''t remember having a contest much less a feud with you, Jason." she replied nonchalantly.


    "Trainees, leave us! Find her accomplices!" he ordered.


    "Yes sir!" and with that they left.


    Nica watched the trainees disperse in the room. All piled out of the corridors and they just went, gone. Libero HQ and their secret passageways.


    "Nis, warn Niche and Nico. Tell them to get out of here without me after they''ve done their tasks." Nica said.


    "But what about you?"


    "I''ll have to face Jason and destroy him. And I''ll also put an end to Libero while I''m at it."


    "Be safe. Got that?"


    "Yes big brother."


    Nica knew Nis smiled at that. Nis liked being called big brother.


    "Done with your little chat?" Jason interrupted.


    "Well, yeah. Let''s fight already." she gave him a cheeky grin. "Do you remember, Jason?"


    "Remember what, exactly?"


    "In our previous few sparring sessions and fights, you''ve never won one against me. Even in chess, or answering a simple quantum equation!" she laughed at that. Oh those memories.


    "It will change today Arrow. I''ve done what I could." he answered.


    "Oh yeah? Prove it!" she mocked.


    Jason lunged at her and she evaded. He threw a dagger at her but managed to intercept it with a ninja star. She threw three more ninja stars at him and it embedded in him. One at the leg, one was embedded at his shoulder and the last one at the abdomen.


    "What do you know. Arrow- 3. Jason- Nil."

 Chapter XXIV

    Nica


    NICA ADMITTED JASON WAS GOOD, fortunately she was better. Daggers vs. Kunais.


    "Give up Jason."


    "No! Libero will prevail! Our plans will succeed!" he yelled and attacked.


    "Tch. Idiot!"


    Jason threw a few poisoned daggers and Nica evaded them all. Nica knew Jason liked poison as much as he liked daggers.


    "One hit of this and you''ll die. The doctor and the Big Boss already ordered me to kill you. Your siblings on the other hand will be used for human trials." he smirked. "Hear that? They won''t be as useless as you, Arrow."


    "Yeah right." she scoffed. "Like you''ll ever capture them."


    "But we do have your parents dear. My, your mother''s scream was the most beautiful melody I''ve ever heard."


    Nica''s patience went low bat. Shut down. She attacked him with incredible speed. She threw ninja stars at his direction, and dashed with a kunai on her hand. She stabbed it on his leg, and Jason just laughed at it.


    "You sadistic son of a bitch!" she screamed at him.


    "One of the rules of an assassin," he said. "Never let your emotions hinder your work."


    "Well, let me tell you something too." she whispered. "Use your anger and rage when on a fight to the death. Use it wisely."


    She stabbed another kunai on his other leg. She kneed his face and knocked him unconscious.


    "Tch. Son of a bitch." she murmured. Her hand went to her earpiece. "Nis, is everyone fine?"


    "Yes sis. All prisoners are outside, at my position. Nico also succeeded implanting the virus on the laboratory''s computer." Nica heard a few shuffles on the background.


    "Where''s Niche and Nico?" she asked.


    "They''re on their way back to the facility. Actually we''re on our way."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "What? No! You guys stay there! I''m ending this alone!"


    "Are you an idiot?" Niche''s voice rang. "You can''t take them on alone. We''re siblings, no, quadruplets for heaven''s sake! Let us help you!"


    "She''s got a point!" Nico said through the earpiece.


    "But-"


    "We''re on our way. Stay where you are." Nis said, well ordered.


    Suddenly, gunshots were heard on the background. Niche was barking orders, Nico was fighting, and so was Nis.


    "Nis!" both Niche and Nico yelled.


    "Can somebody please tell me, what''s going on?!"


    "Libero agents! They took Nis- Nico watch out!"


    Nica heard the worry on Niche''s voice. There was a sudden ''thump'' and the communication line went static.


    "Guys? Niche! Nis! Nico! Answer me damn it!"


    Another ''thump'' and Nica felt something embedded on her neck. She traced it and found out it was a tranquilizer. Before she lost consciousness, she was so sure she saw Collusus with a triumphant grin on his face.


    Nica woke up, still dazed. Her vision was still cloudy, but she knew she was bound no less. When her vision cleared, she saw herself strapped to a metal table. She was put up in a way that she''s standing. She looked around the room and saw her siblings on the same position as her, and their parents chained to the floor.


    "Mom! Dad!" she called. "You guys! Wake up!"


    Nico woke up first, followed by Niche, then Nis. Who was muttering something about a girl. No surprises there.


    "Are you guys alright?" she asked.


    "We''re bound to a table that was put up vertically! Of course we''re not fine!" Nis yelled.


    "Don''t forget mom and dad''s state." Nico said.


    "And that too!"


    Nica noticed their parents stir. "Mom. Dad."


    "Kids? What are you doing here?" their mom asked.


    "We tried to save you guys." Niche told them and struggled against the straps.


    "Emphasize on the word ''tried''." Nis said nonchalantly.


    "It''s no use. I can''t free myself." Niche said, she even muttered a curse that earned her a glare from their mom. "Sorry mom."


    "You shouldn''t have gone and saved us! You''re kids for fuck''s sake!" yelled their dad and thrashed around, only to stop and howl in pain.


    "Dear, language." Mom said.


    "Sorry dear." Dad also said. They started to kiss.


    "PDA!" the quadruplets shouted at the same time.


    Nica eyed her siblings. It was time to confess.


    "Mom, Dad. We''re not just kids." Nica started.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Uhm, we''re kinda not just regular teenagers." Nico also said.


    "We have part time jobs that are pretty dangerous." Niche said too and looked at Nis.


    "Just them. I''m just your lowly mechanic." Nis earned a yell from his siblings. "Fine, mom already knows. Dad, besides being extremely handsome, I am an inventor that sells my invented gadgets to the CIA. Mom''s my middleman or middlewoman. Whatever. I still haven¡¯t settled which one you are Mom."


    "I''m a detective of the FBI."


    "I work for the Interpol."


    Their parents just stared at them, agape.


    "Nica?" her mom called.


    "Mom, Dad." she sighed. "I''m an assassin that works directly for Libero. It was my fault why we''re all in this. I was the one who brought the Codex to our house."


    Speaking of the Codex. "Nis, where''s the Codex? You hid it in a safe place, right?"


    "Uhm, about that."

 Chapter XXV

    Niche


    NICHE WAS AMAZED WITH HOW COLORFUL her mother''s words were. After they told their parents that Director Orebil of the CIA was the Big Boss of Libero, their Mom who was composed most of the times, were well, let''s just say she unleashed her sharp tongue.


    "Those motherf*ckers! Jackass! Shitheads! Cunning bastards! Son of a bitch!!!!!" after yelling, Mom looked at them. "Sorry about the words."


    "That was... colorful." Niche sighed.


    "Yeah." her three siblings agreed.


    "Anyway, Nis. You were saying about the Codex?"


    "Oh, that. Uhm, they have my backpack. They probably have it right now."


    "What?!"


    "Yeah. Sorry." Nis hung his head in shame.


    "It''s alright Nis. Don''t be ashamed about it." Niche assured him.


    The door to their, well, cell, suddenly opened. A certain doctor who wore a magician''s hat, the director who always wore a suit, and a very familiar person, entered.


    "Caleb." Niche heard Nica gasp.


    "Hello kids." Orebil greeted. "Hello to you too Carmen and George."


    "Director." her mom said the name with so much malice.


    Niche noticed that Caleb''s eyes were dazed, and that there was a black collar with blinking green light on his neck.


    "Now, this young man should be familiar to you. Caleb Collins, wasn''t it?" Dr. Crazy said to them. "My. How surprised I was to find him when we were tracking you, you know. We had a bit of a struggle capturing him and bringing him here in the main research facility!"


    "Quite a strong boy too." Orebil chuckled.


    "You shitheads!" Nica yelled and started to struggle from her binds. "What have you done to Caleb!"


    "As you can see. He''s the first succesful test subject for the Astil Codex Project!" Dr. Crazy laughed.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "I have the whole Warren Family in my hands to play with. And your boyfriend too, you traitor." Orebil laughed. "Be honored. You shall witness a changed and a unified world!"


    "You''re crazy!" the quadruplet''s mom yelled to her former superior.


    "Shut up b*tch!" Orebil slapped her. Hard.


    "Carmen!"


    "Mom!"


    "You have been hindering Libero for quite some time, but now, all my plans and ideals will come into fruition!" Orebil faced Collusus. "Prep them and then start mass producing the Astil!"


    "As you wish, boss."


    Orebil left the room. Dr. Crazy''s smile got wider and more ominous. "Let''s start with you, Nica the Traitor. Bring her to the laboratory, Caleb."


    "Yes sir." Caleb said in a dazed voice.


    Dr. Crazy went out of the room too. Caleb went closer to Nica.


    "Caleb, snap out of it! Please wake up!" Nica said in a desprate voice.


    Niche understood why Nica was desprate. Caleb was her first love after all.


    "Please Caleb. Please!"


    But Caleb didn''t wake up, nor stopped. He pulled out a syringe with a blue liquid and injected it to Nica. Nica''s struggle became weaker, her shoulders slumped and she just stopped.


    "Nica!" all of them shouted.


    "Somebody, do something!" Nico yelled.


    "Nica!" Niche called and struggled from her binds too.


    Their parents tried to get to them, but they were chained to the wall.


    Niche noticed Nis was being silent. Then, "Might as well try it."


    "Nis?"


    "The element of surprise." he sighed. "Astil Codex System Override. Code 564738, voice recognition pattern, Nis Alexander Bravo Cortes-Warren! Emperor Code initiate!"


    Caleb suddenly stopped walking, with an unconscious Nica slung on his shoulder, and faced Nis.


    "System Override starting. Code and Voice Recognition pattern accepted. Emperor Code initiated." Caleb suddenly fell to one knee and put a fist on his chest. "Yes, Your Majesty!"


    "Uh, Nis?"


    "Put down Nica and untie us, now!"


    After a minute, all of them were free from their binds. Niche was still shocked by the sudden turn of events.


    "Astil, deactivate."


    The green blinking light was changed to a blue one and finally it stopped. Caleb slowly fell to the floor, unconscious. They put him beside Nica, who was still out of commission.


    "You better explain, now!" Niche and Nico said in unison.


    "What was that Nis?" their mom asked.


    "I''ll give you the quickest version." he answered. "I added a few codes and algorithms in the Codex. Which means, I''m the only one who can override it. And even Orebil and Dr. Crazy can''t surpass my authority."


    "You did what?!"


    "Is that why you have been busy these last few days?" Nis nodded.


    "And what if they realized it and tried restoring it?"


    "Don''t worry about it dad. I wrote an algorithm which would wipe out the entire content of the Codex and would render the Astil useless, if that ever happens." he answered. "Anyway, take off the Astil from Caleb. We still have a use for it. And we better get out of here. Dr. Crazy would wonder why Caleb hasn''t brought Nica in his laboratory yet."


    "We don''t know the structure of the place. Instead of escaping, we might fall right into their hands!" Niche said.


    "Well, it''s a good thing I''m awake now then." they heard a familiar voice. "Because I know the place like the back of my hand."


    "Nica!"


    "How?"


    "Because I helped creating it. I was the one who made the blueprints for this place."

 Chapter XXVI

    Niche


    NICHE WAS SHOCKED. So, Nica''s an architect now?


    "You bounced back fast after being drugged." Niche said to her younger twin sister.


    "I''m immune to most medicines, drugs and poisons. Dr. Collusus made sure of that. After all, I was his greatest creation. That thing Caleb injected me with might actually be something new he invented to subdue me. The same with the dart from before." she tried to stand up, only to fall again. "Damn, my legs aren''t working!"


    "What?" their parents was the first to react and immediately went to her side.


    "It looks like that drug had a different side effect." Niche heard her mutter.


    "Are you okay?" Mom asked Nica.


    "I''m fine Mom. Dad. How about Caleb?"


    "Still down." Nico answered her.


    "How did you guys-"


    Nis told her the short version of what happened, from after she got drugged.


    "Wow. You really are awesome!"


    "So, Nica. Where are we?" Niche asked.


    "We''re somewhere in Maine right now. It''s the newest and biggest research facility Libero has. It just got completed last year."


    "We should find our things." Nico said.


    "We should find weapons!" their father voiced out.


    "We''ll do both. I know where to find both."


    ***


    The Warrens, and an unconscious Caleb snuck into the hallways. Nica, who was being carried by Nico, were directing them where to go undetected towards the armory. Caleb was given a piggyback ride by George Warren.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    After a few minutes, they found the entrance to the armory, which was of course, guarded.


    "I think I can take it from here." Nica said and jumped off from Nico''s arms. "Dang that Dr. Collusus. That drug left a nasty feeling on my body and I feel like I need to vent my anger out!"


    "Well then, you can take care of those guards, Nica." their mom said and patted Nica on the shoulders.


    Niche watched as Nica lunged towards the guards. Her movements were as nimble and as quiet as a cat''s. Her moves were aimed to kill. In a matter of seconds, all the guards were all down.


    She suddenly realized, no, she has always realized, how dangerous Nica can be. She just didn''t accept it, but seeing her now, it made her work as an Interpol agent like grade school.


    "Amazing Nica! Not a speck of blood too." Nis said and swiped a card from one of the bodies.


    The door to the armory opened and they went in. Dad, put the still unconscious Caleb on an empty table, while they scoured for their things and weapons.


    "Niche, come here." Nica suddenly dragged her away from their family. "I have to tell you something. And I know you''re the only one who can understand it. So please listen to me."


    "What is it?"


    "I''m planning to blow this place up."


    "And?"


    "I''m gonna blow myself with it."


    Niche was wide-eyed and dumbfounded. Her sister just said what?!


    "Don''t joke around!" she yelled.


    "I''m not!"


    "I''m gonna tell them! I''m gonna tell Mom and Dad!"


    "Don''t! Please don''t!" Nica stopped her. "This place has a self-destruct system. It can only be activated by an executive code and it''s located in the main computer room."


    "But-"


    "I didn''t know why I did it back then, but I programmed a code that only I know that can override the system."


    "You''re starting to think like Nis!"


    "Once I activate it, the place will blow up after five minutes."


    "Then, you have enough time to escape!" Niche exclaimed, trying to knock some sense into her sister.


    "No. Someone must put their hand on the activation button within that time. If there''s no hand, the whole system will be fried and everything will blow up at once!" Nica insisted. "So Niche, please. Help me on this one. Stall them for me. Drag them out of this place if you have to. I''m ending Libero."


    "I''m not gonna help you commit suicide!"


    "Please. Big sister. It''s also gonna be my way of making up for my sins. For all those people I''ve killed."


    Niche''s eyes started to get hot, and tears were forming in her eyes. But she knew she couldn''t talk Nica out of it. Once she had decided on something, she will never stop. That''s just how her sister wss.


    "Fine. I hate you."


    "I know."


    The two went back to the group. They didn''t even notice they were gone.


    The Warren family suddenly heard a groan and all heads turned to Caleb, who just woke up.


    "Where-" he said sleepily. Then his eyes widened. "Nica!"

 Chapter XXVII

    Nis


    "NICA!" Caleb called and hugged Nica. "I''m so sorry for what I did! I couldn''t control it. My body, it just moved on its own!"


    "It''s fine, Caleb. You can let go now. I''m fine." she said. "And besides, my father is totally glaring at us."


    Nis saw realization on Caleb''s face and faced George Warren.


    "Hello, sir."


    "Hmm." he looked at Nica. "We''ll talk about having a boyfriend after all of this Nica."


    "Yes dad."


    Was it Nis'' imagination? Or was Nica''s smile forced? It was a smile that hid something behind it...


    "Let''s get started already!" Niche said to them. "Nica, what''s the game plan?"


    "Well, we have to get everyone out of this place. I''ll initiate the self-destruct system of the facility." Nica started. "We have five minutes to clear out the building."


    "That''s it?" all heads turned to their father''s voice.


    "That''s the only thing I can come up with. And oh yeah, Nis, you think you can hack the mainframe? We have to get this place under our control."


    "I can do that, but I''ll need someone to put a transmitter in the main computer so I can hack it undetected."


    "Leave that to me." Nica assured them. "So, Niche and I will go to the main control room, while you guys head to where they are holding the prisoners."


    "That''s a crappy plan." Nis muttered.


    "Well I''m sorry, I''m not used to working with a team. I''m a lone wolf you know." Nica retorted.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Oh come on, guys! Now''s not the time to argue!" Nico complained.


    "Shut up!" both Nica and Nis yelled.


    "Calm down you two." their mom said. "Nica, we don''t know where they''re keeping the prisoners."


    Nis saw Nica think. Hmm...


    "I remember I put the facility''s map here." she started rummaging through the rows of cabinets until she found what she was looking for. "Found it!"


    Nica laid the map to the table. "The control room is here, on the north wing. The laboratory''s in the east, while the barracks are on the south. The prisoners would he here, on the west wing, three floors down."


    "How many levels are there in this place anyway?" Dad asked.


    "Three floors up and about ten sub-level floors."


    "Seriously?" this time, Caleb was the one who said it.


    "Yeah. Let''s move out."


    Nica and Niche headed to the north wing while the rest of them was heading to the south. Their father was leading them. Suddenly, Nico went to him.


    "Why do you think Nica''s insistent on going to the control room?" he asked.


    "She''s the only one who knows the code, right?" Caleb interjected. Nis didn''t even notice him.


    "Well, she could''ve just told me. When I hack the system, everything will be under my control." Nis said.


    "You guys there yet?" Nica''s voice rang in the communicator.


    "No, you might''ve noticed it, which I think you did, this place is huge!" Nico retorted.


    "No need to be sassy, brother dear." Nica was giggling on the other line.


    "What about you? Are you okay? Are you there yet?" Mom asked this time, worried of her two girls.


    "We''re fine Mom." Niche said. "A few strays here and there, but Nica with shurikens and kunais is unstoppable."


    "Good to hear." their dad commented.


    The group reached the stairs and started going down. "Nis, I got the transmitter hooked in place."


    "Got it."


    After they descended many flights of stairs, they reached the place where prisoners who will be used for the human trials were kept. Unfortunately, somebody already got there.


    "Guess my surprise when I found out you managed to deactivate the prototype I placed on Caleb." Dr. Crazy said. He was standing in the middle of the hall.


    Nis just noticed it, but it was silent, too silent for that matter. It made him wonder if there really were prisoners here.


    "You see, we were able to mass produce the Astil. And we had enough time and number to put it on the human trials." he snapped his fingers and the doors to the cells opened. People filed out from them one by one, all looked dazed and possibly crazy.


    "Uh Nis, I think it''s time you try that thing you did to me back there." Caleb voiced out.


    "One problem, it won''t work on too many people at once! And you might''ve noticed it, there are a lot of them!"


    Oh, they''re dead.

 Chapter XXVIII

    Nis


    NIS COULD FEEL THE STARES of his family and Caleb. And it didn''t feel good.


    "You said what now?" they all said in unison.


    "I''m sorry okay!" he replied.


    "It''s fine, Nis." Mom assured him. "I suppose we could fight them and you find a way to get them all under control."


    "Yeah, that could work." Nico seconded.


    "Now! Get them!" Dr. Crazy shouted, and the zombie-like mind-controlled people came after them.


    Everyone went to intercept, except Nis who was fidgeting with his laptop and Caleb who stayed to defend him. He managed to shut the doors to the cells, stopping other people from going out of there. Less people to deal with.


    "Hey Nis? You still have that collar I wore right?" Caleb asked, his gun aimed, ready to fire.


    Nis doubted the guy has fired a gun before. "Yeah."


    "Well, I don''t understand machineries that much since I''m a medical student but you think we can use that to get all these people under control?"


    He didn''t get it, so Caleb elaborated. "Well, that collar still has the code you used to stop me, right? If we could hook that at Dr. Crazy over there, we can put him under your control and order him to stop everyone."


    "I like the way you''re thinking. And how did you know we call him Dr. Crazy?"


    "I didn''t." Caleb answered. "I just thought he was crazy ''tis all."


    "Hmm." Nis took out the collar he was keeping on his belt. "I''ll put it on him. You have to defend me in doing so."


    "How exactly?"


    "Plan T. Take them head on."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Nis and Caleb charged at the swarm of people. Everything was doing well. Caleb would shoot the mind controlled individuals at the leg, Nis would kick them. Until Nis got cornered by five of the prisoners.


    He was held down by the prisoners, and he noticed his family on the same position.


    "Mom! Dad! Nico!" he yelled. Caleb was nowhere to be seen and it seemed like he lost the Astil during the fight.


    "Don''t fight it. It''s impossible." Dr. Crazy''s voice echoed in the halls. "You''re really a bright young man, Nis Warren. Rewriting the Codex as you please. You''ll be a great addition to my staff."


    "I ain''t working for you, you crazy old bat!"


    Nis'' face felt the sting of Dr. Crazy''s slap. "Youngsters these days. You never respect your elders."


    He showed a collar which he pulled out from his belt. "Once you have this, you''ll be a loyal pet to me."


    Nis started to struggle, but the people that held him down had iron grip. His family started to call out to him, because they too were being held down. There was only one person missing from Nis'' count.


    "Not on my watch." Caleb suddenly emerged from behind Dr. Crazy and put the collar he had in hand on his neck. "Now Nis!"


    "Astil, Activate! Emperor code initiate!"


    "NO!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    Dr. Crazy''s voice died down and his face slackened. His eyes became glassy and he just stopped altogether.


    "Have us released." Nis ordered.


    "Release them." Dr. Crazy said in a dazed voice, much like Caleb was when he was still under the influence of the Astil.


    They were all released. Mom hugged Nis. "Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine Mom."


    "You did a good job, young man." Nis saw his father pat Caleb on the shoulder.


    "Thank you, sir."


    "Now we have to get out of here." Nico said. "Have Dr. Crazy get everyone out of here."


    "Uh yeah. But somebody has to go with him." Nis looked at his father. "Dad, you take Nico and Mom and get out of here. Caleb and I will get to the girls."


    "No, I''m coming with you." Mom voiced out. "George and Nis should be the ones to get out of here first. Nis is the only person Dr. Collusus would listen to. Nico, Caleb and I will go get the girls. Understood?"


    Nis couldn''t help but just sigh. His mother''s orders were absolute. "Yes Mom."


    They all went their separate ways. Nis ordered Dr. Crazy to get them out of here. He led them to a series of halls and stairs and stuff. They met some enemies on the way but Dad would blow them away. As expected from a three star general of the Navy Seals.


    "Nis, I''m glad you''re all safe." Dad suddenly said. "I wouldn''t know what to do if I find out you got hurt or something."


    "We''re the Warrens dad, we''ll be fine." he assured him.


    "I never wanted you to be in this side of the world. It''s too dangerous."


    "Maybe it''s fate Dad. Maybe it''s fate that the Warren family will fight for the country."


    "I''m just glad you''re safe." Dad hugged him.


    "Me too. I''m glad you''re okay."


    Everything was going well. They were all outside the facility, and they were only waiting for the others to come out. But somehow, a feeling of dread was building up inside him. And he did not like it one bit.

 Chapter XXIX

    Nico


    NICO, HIS MOM AND CALEB went through a series of halls and stairs. They could hear the fight that was happening on Nica and Niche''s side, through the communicator.


    After a few turns, they reached the control room, where Nica was fighting a guy that was weilding a dagger and Niche was slumped on the wall, unconscious.


    Nico ran to where Niche was and checked her vitals.


    ''Breathing and pulse, just fine.'' he thought.


    "Guys, we''re out!" Nico heard Nis'' voice on his earpiece.


    "We''ll be there." he responded.


    He noticed Caleb was already on the other side of Niche. "A stab in the leg and a bump on the head. Other than that, she¡¯s fine."


    Nico saw their mother join the fight. He also noticed the red liquid oozing from Nica''s side and arm. She was stabbed by the guy.


    "Give up Jason, you will never win against me! Against us!" Nica yelled.


    "Shut up bitch!" he rerorted.


    Suddenly, Mom lunged and kneed him on the stomach. She then flung him to the wall and brought him down to the floor. She placed her foot on his chest. "Nobody, and I mean nobody, calls my daughter a bitch. You son of a bitch!"


    She punched him on the face and knocked him out.


    "Mom!" Nica hugged her. "Thank you."


    "You''re welcome, baby girl."


    ¡°Although, you¡¯re pretty scary.¡±


    ¡°Not a word Nica.¡± Nico saw Nica nod.


    "So I''m not your baby girl too, mommy?" Niche stood up from where she was. Nico helped her up and together, they went their way towards them.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "I''m glad you''re fine too, Niche. And you''re both my baby girls, okay?"


    There was suddenly a gunshot and Nico heard Caleb yell in pain. He saw him on the floor, clutching his right shoulder. Blood was oozing from it. Not that far from him was Oribel, the big boss.


    "Caleb!" Nica yelled. "Orebil!"


    "Why? Why are you such a pain in the ass, huh? You Warren Family and your little boyfriend, Nica." he started. "If you didn''t meddle, I would''ve left you alone! Carmen, you would''ve been a queen! Nica, you and your siblings would''ve been rulers!"


    Nico stopped for a moment, analyzing what Orebil just said. Then it came to him.


    "You''re in love with my mother!" he blurted.


    "The first time I laid my eyes on her. But she chose that George, a mere soldier at that time!"


    "You will never stop us, Orebil. I''ve already put the code. I only have to push the button and this place will blow up all the way to Hades!" Nica yelled.


    "You and your antics." he scoffed. "Oh well. I suppose you can blow this place up. I''ll just rebuild Libero and this time, we''ll succeed. I will bring down this world to its knees. I''ll be its king, I will change it. I will change it to my image and ideals."


    "You''re crazier than Dr. Crazy!" Nico said.


    "Shut up!"


    Orebi went closer. Nico noticed Nica ready to charge, but their Mom went ahead of her.


    "Take Caleb and get out of here. All of you! And maybe that Jason kid too." Mom said and kneed Orebil in the face.


    "No! It''s my duty! I should be the one who''ll finish Orebil! I will end Libero!" Nica yelled and started to struggle against Nico''s grip.


    "Niche! Do your duty as a big sister and get your siblings out of here! Listen to me, now!" Mom said, still fighting with Orebil.


    "But mom!"


    "I''m fully aware I''m the reason Jackson turned out like this!"


    Jackson?


    "That''s why I''m taking responsibility!"


    "No! Mom!" Nica shouted.


    Niche put Nica in a triangle head lock, with her right arm pinned at the side of her head. And Caleb hugged her waist, locking her left arm with it.


    "Nica, calm down! Let''s just do what Mom said." Niche said.


    "Please Nica." Caleb seconded.


    "No! It''s my burden to carry! Not Mom''s! Mom!"


    "Kids! Go! Get out of here! All of you!"


    Nico felt his pocket and took out a syringe with bright green liquid in it. He didn''t know what it was, but he took it from Dr. Crazy''s pocket on the way out of the prison downstairs at the south wing.


    He injected it to Nica.


    "No! Mom! Mommy." Nica''s voice quieted down and she fell into unconsciousness


    "Now go! I''ll bring this place down! And I''ll bring Libero and Jackson with me."


    With tearful eyes, Nico helped Niche with Jason while Caleb carried Nica by himself. He forgot the fact that he was shot in the shoulder and was generally hurt himself.


    The three of them ran out of the facility. Sirens started to blare, and a voice was warning everyone to evacuate the facility.


    "Meltdown in T-minus 3minutes." the robotic feminine voice said.


    After a series of halls the three of them got out of the facility. And just as they reached where Nis and everybody else was, the research facility exploded, together with Carmen Cortes-Warren and Jackson Orebil.

 Chapter XXX

    Nico


    AS HE WATCHED THE WHOLE PLACE BEING engulfed by fire, Nico couldn''t help but cry. His mother, his mother he loved so much, sacrificed her life for them. For the country. For the world.


    He heard his siblings sob. He glanced at them and saw them crying too, just like he was. He looked at Nica''s direction and saw tears falling from her eyes despite being unconscious. And Caleb looked like he was about to cry.


    "Carmen!" he heard Dad shout. The woman he loved, his wife, just died.


    Nico, Nis and Niche went to their dad and hugged him. They were all crying in grief.


    But suddenly,


    "NOOO!!!!!!" all heads turned to Dr. Crazy who was watching the fire in disbelief. "My facility! My researches and pride!"


    They all wiped their tears and calmed down. Nico wondered how Dr. Crazy was back to normal, but Nis answered his unasked question.


    "The explosion of the facility destroyed the transmitter that transmits codes and messages to the satellite orbiting on earth. And that satellite conveys the orders to the Astil anywhere in the planet. It got destroyed so all Astils are now useless." he explained.


    "It''s all over Dr. Crazy." Niche said.


    "Your evilness stops now." Nis seconded.


    "You are under arrest Dr. Collusus." Nico said lastly.


    "Under the laws and jurisdiction of the United States of America-" but their dad was cut off.


    "Shut up! Shut the f*ck up!" he yelled. "This is all your fault! All of you! I swear, I will kill all of you, Warrens!"


    He suddenly pulled a gun from Jason''s unconscious body and shot Nico and Dad on the arm and, Nis and Niche on the leg. He pointed the gun at Caleb, who was still carrying the unconscious Nica. He shot him on the leg too which made him kneel and drop Nica to the ground.


    "I will rebuild Libero! I will succeed!" he exclaimed. "And I''ll make sure to get rid of anyone in the way. And I''ll start with this little traitor."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    He pointed the gun at Nica.


    Everything seemed to slow down in Nico''s eyes. Dr. Crazy pulled the trigger, there was no way of stopping it. Suddenly, Dad was in front of Nica and he was the one hit in the chest. Right at where the heart should be.


    "Dad!" they all yelled in unison.


    Their father, with his last strength, shot Dr. Crazy in the head. The Warren siblings went to their dad.


    "I can''t believe I''m following Carmen so soon." he said.


    "No, dad, you can''t leave us too." Niche also said, tears streaming down her face.


    "Caleb! Please save our dad!" Nis yelled. He dragged Caleb to where they were.


    Caleb inspected the wound. Nico saw his uncertainty.


    "I''m sorry, but there''s nothing I can do."


    "No!" Nico cried harder. "No, Dad!"


    "Kids, live your life to the fullest. And I''m so sorry your mother and I have to leave so soon. Say I''m sorry to Nica for me, would you?"


    And dad took his last breath.


    The Warren siblings lost both mother and father at the same day. They were now orphans, and they had nowhere to go.


    A few minutes later, sirens can be heard. Police cruisers, black vans, fire trucks and ambulances came. Firemen doused the flames, police officers secured the area and the paramedics attended the wounded. Government agents were also on the site, even Six and Seven.


    The last thing Nico remembered before going unconscious, was an oxygen mask on his face, somebody saying he got a broken rib and being loaded to an ambulance. Then everything went black.


    When he woke up, he was in a white room. The scent of medicine and chemicals filled his nose. He was in a hospital. The oxygen mask was still on his face, and an IV drip was attached to his hand. He took the oxygen mask from his face and looked around.


    He was on a private room. A big one, because four other beds were on it. He saw his siblings and Caleb on the beds, still asleep. One by one, they woke up. The last one was Nica, who woke up screaming.


    They tried to go to her, but only Nico was able to reach her, being the only one with no injured leg.


    "Nica. We''re fine. Calm down." he said.


    "What about mom and dad?"


    He didn''t answer.


    "No. No!" she cried and cried. The Warren siblings started to cry again. "Nico, I can''t feel my legs."


    "What?"


    "I can''t feel my legs."


    It had been three days since the incident and a day since they woke up. They all had wounds that would take time to heal. And of course, the hospital bills would be taken care of by the government.


    Also, Nica still couldn''t walk and wouldn''t talk.


    The door suddenly opened and revealed Six and Seven.


    "Nica''s legs will work again after a week. It''s only a side effect of the drug Dr. Collusus made which was injected on you. It seemed to be a very potent drug to subdue you, Nica. Or should I call you Arrow?" Six announced.


    Everone was silent.


    "I knew it would come to this. Are you here to take me away? To lock me up in a maximum security facility, never to see the sun again?" Nica smiled bitterly. "I guess that''s what will happen considering I''ve killed a lot of people. Even I myself lost count of them."


    "We''re not here for that. Today is the day your parents will be honored and buried."

 Epilogue

    Goodbyes are the worst of all. Some goodbyes you can be prepared, but some just happens all too sudden.


    My siblings and I are in front of the caskets of our mother and father. They are currently being honored by a twenty-one gunshot salute or something. Then, the American flags that were draped on their caskets are folded and given to us.


    After the burial, it was only I, my siblings and Caleb left in the cemetery. I tried my best to stop my tears from falling and I hugged the flags that were entrusted to me by Nis and Niche.


    "I''m sure they''ll be happy to wherever they''re going. I mean, they''re together you know." Nis said out of nowhere.


    "Maybe." Niche seconded.


    "They''re probably watching over us already, laughing at the faces we''re making." Nico managed to crack a smile.


    "We''ll live, just like they wanted us to." I also said, trying to crack a smile like Nico did.


    On the way to our car, Nis suddenly stopped, which made all of us stop too.


    "Actually, Mom has a message for us. I recorded it, when she was stopping Orebil."


    We all went to our home, the one in Long Island. The house was renovated (thanks to the effort of the CIA), and it looked brand new, like it was never assaulted a few weeks ago. We all sat in the living room. I noticed Caleb was gone, he was probably trying to give us some privacy.


    Nis was hitting keys in his laptop, and then:


    "Kids. I love you so much. I have a feeling your father and I wouldn''t make through this." this made me gasp. "If we won''t get killed by the crossfire, the poison Dr. Collusus injected the both of us with, will." they gasped. "Niche, continue being the responsible older sister you are. Please be there for your siblings when they need you."


    Niche started crying.


    "Nis, my boy, you are the one who inherited my love and passion for machines. Please continue being the smart kid you are. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be a great mechanic/technician/ inventor in the future. Even greater than you are now. And dial down the flirting, okay?"Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Nis managed to smile despite the tears running down his cheeks. I could hear mom''s struggle on the background duringnher fight with Orebil.


    "Nico, don''t underestimate yourself. Be confident of your skills and talents. There¡¯s so much more in your talents I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll discover and polish. Continue being the bright ball you are to your siblings and everyone you care about, okay??"


    "Yes mom." Nico said.


    "And lastly, Nica. Please don''t blame yourself after all this. It''s not your fault. You were just in the wrong place and the wrong time five years ago. You were a just kid, you can''t do a thing about it, but please cheer up. Live your life to the fullest. Be free to choose your own path."


    The tears I had been holding back streamed on my face. My mother. My father. They were both gone, and mom''s message was just way too sad.


    "Remember when you guys asked me which one I loved the most? And I answered no one? Nico even cried after I said that. That was because I love the four of you equally. After all, you''re a set. The quadruplets that was given to me and George. The gift we will cherish even in the afterlife. I love you guys."


    We heard Orebil shout in the background, then there was an explosion, and everything went static.


    We cried our eyes out. Even more so than my siblings did during the burial. The four of us hugged each other.


    The four of us never really go along in the beginning, but with the sudden turn of events, we the Warrens, were unified.


    After everything, we tried settling back to our old lives. Even without our parents, we had Six and Seven watching over us as our guardians and godparents.


    Niche continued being a secret agent fo the Interpol. Tracking and destroying remnants of Libero overseas. But she still comes home.


    Nis became an official mechanic and inventor for the CIA. He was always praised for his works and all that. And I think he took mom''s advice about dialling down the flirting. He had not brought a single girl to our house. But I doubt he can easily stop that habit.


    Nico started handling big and international cases in the FBI. Sometimes, even partnering up with the CIA and Interpol. N became more famous than ever.


    And as for me, Six recruited me to the CIA. Instead of going to prison for all the lives I''ve taken, I have to work for the government to make up for it. She said she did what she could as the new Director of the CIA, but it all comes down to the chain of command in the government.


    Sometimes, the four of us would be sent to a mission together. A joint force of CIA, Interpol and FBI. But of course, with our relationship, chaos will be on our wake.


    Also, did I mention Caleb and I started dating? He was a great guy. And Six offered him a deal. After he graduates, he will officially be a part of the CIA''s medical team.


    So all''s well, ends well. I''m sure mom and dad are watching us with satisfaction somewhere up there in heaven. Or down there in the Elysium. Who knows?


    But then again, we''re The Warrens. Our normal day is always dangerous. And that''s something we get to live every day.