A Trip To Boulderview

The morning was sunny and bright and there were no mists. Richard, despite the weather, wore his sweat shirt proudly. He was on his way to Boulderview.

This trip was to specially investigate the matter of the Zeros following the clues he received from the small time intelligence peddler in Misthill. He hadn't really had the time to go over and check for the clues hence; he made sure to go today.

The man had directed him, via the strip of paper he was given, to look for a particular man named Skull and ask him of the corresponding information. He did state clearly as well that he had to be ready to trade with something for the information.

Richard wasn't sure about the trading part. He knew a lot of methods to 'trade' peacefully. The car sped by, heading towards the next city. The view was exotic and pretty impressive. From a long distance away one could clearly make out the outline of the seven large boulders that stood, towering like giants.

These large boulders—however bleak its origin—were arranged in rows and this gave the city a very nice picturesque view. Richard recalled going to the boulders a few times when he was younger. They had tried to spray-paint the boulders back then.

At the thought of his childhood, he shrank back a bit in his car. His parents lived here!

Under normal circumstances he would've loved to drop by and say 'hello' before speeding away but he chose not to. For one thing—despite having promised Lily to go visit—he felt that this wasn't just a casual trip for a vacation.

He was on a mission and he had to stick to the plan and not be distracted. When he was ready he would make another trip solely to visit his parents.

Another thing that kept him away was the fact that if he dropped by, his mother would make a big fuss of it and ask him too many questions and in the end he might have to spend the night there.

He didn't like how his mother acted towards him every time she saw him. He was a grown man for goodness' sake but she still…doted on him so much. It was already enough for her to send Lily to come spy on him until he discovered the plot.

He sighed and shook his head. There was a reason why his parents had come to an unspoken agreement to not visit him in Misthill as well.

He drove silently along the highway of Boulderview. It was only another hour later that he arrived at another road and turned to the left. The road wasn't broken badly like the others due to the war but it was still in bad shape in a few places.

He drove towards the location and as he got near, his paranoia increased exponentially. These guys were from the underworld and he didn't trust them any more than he could throw them. He had to be careful and prepared.

For this, he had brought along his electrocutor fully loaded with five rounds. He brought his hand gun and detachable assault rifle. The assault rifle was kept in the car while his hand gun went directly in his boot.

He straightened his jacket and took bold steps towards the small bar. It was morning so there weren't many people around. Only around three people lounged around. An elderly man by the side was leaning on the table—half asleep—with his hands under his chin for support.

Richard nodded as he glanced around. 'These should be the watch dogs.' He approached one of the men and knocked his table three times. The man lifted his face at him as if he was tired of living already.

With a gruff voice, he asked, "What do you want?"

"Take me to Skull." Richard said, showing him the slip of paper he had.

"Who the hell is Skull?"

Richard gave him a deep look then put the strip of paper away. He put his index finger on the table and said, "Let's rephrase." He said with an unsmiling face. "Take me to Skull, we have business to discuss."

"What sort of business is that and how do you know Skull?"

Richard sighed deeply. "I just showed you the strip of paper. A friend of yours directed me here. He said Skull had information I would need."

The man stood up and so did the others who had seemed too tired to move before. They surrounded Richard from all angle and looked like predators circling their meal. The next one wiped his chin. "We'll have to search you, man."

Richard raised his arms up and they commenced to search him from top to bottom. The patted his clothes and checked his trousers to make sure he wasn't hiding anything lethal. They, however, encountered the electrocutor which was shaped like a small hand gun.

They took it out and raised it up at Richard. "You brought a weapon, huh?"

Richard smiled, snatching the weapon back and stuffing it back into his holster. "You guys have your insurance, I have mine. I can't trust you enough to go in empty handed."

"Very well," the next man nodded. "Follow me."

He led the way towards the inner room that was by the side. They took a turn by the corridor and went down the stairs till they opened an old looking door. Inside was another hall, larger than the bar above.

Richard nodded and stepped in. He first glanced about the room to calculate his moves and surroundings. He had to make a quick escape route in case anything went south.

The moment he went inside, two armed men stepped towards the only exit and blocked the way. They held submachine guns. Richard nodded again, 'they are blocking the way in case things go wrong so they can prevent my escape or kill me easily.'

Richard looked back at the two and they urged him forward with the muzzles of their guns. Richard turned sharply to the face the remaining people in the room. He walked forward and stood before the large table.