NFBE Chapter 157 Railway Station
Chapter 157 Railway Station
Sienna covered the phone's receiver with her hand and took a deep breath. She needed to calm herself. Then, she spoke into the phone again: "What do you mean by saying she's going to take them home?"
After Athena revealed the information, she calmed down a bit and decided to call Aleia Ikta to ask him for an explanation.
Of course, it's very likely... absolutely Teddy's fault, but she's just a teenager, while he's more or less an adult.
“If I said she threatened me, would you believe me?” Aleya Iqta asked.
Sienna thought for a moment, "I will believe it."
“Really?” Aleya sounded a little surprised. “I mean, yes, that’s how it is. Anyway, we’re heading back now. Teddy insists we take them to the train station.”
“The train station?” Sienna asked.
A moment later, she had to lower her head, and a splash of water flew past the top of her head.
Sienna turned around and looked at the girls (of course, Teddy wasn't among them), a look that made them freeze in place.
Trinity is fighting with Maple Leaf and Athena for... something.
She didn't pay attention to what had started their argument. All the girls were holding water guns made from maple leaves, and they were taking turns shooting at each other under the cover of the sofa.
Of course, all of these water guns underwent Sienna's rigorous testing.
According to her observation, these water guns simply hold much more water than normal, and the water evaporates almost immediately after hitting an object, about three seconds later.
She was pretty sure the water had somehow gotten back into the water gun. Maple explained that it was because she had put a sponge in the small tank of the water gun.
Sienna decided to stop pursuing this seemingly impossible solution.
These toys allow girls to happily splash water on each other without actually making a mess, which is great value for Sienna.
She shook her head and refocused. "Which train station?"
“Uh. Do you know where the train depot used to be?” Aleya asked. It seemed they weren't so concerned about keeping a low profile anymore. “It’s on that platform over there. There’s an entrance not far away.”
“Okay,” Sienna said, “but why go there?”
“She said we need to show the new recruits just how powerful their new boss is,” he explained.
Sienna forced herself not to sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was reveal her secret to more people, or make her life behind the mask even more complicated.
Yes, having more helpers can be very useful, but the more helpers there are, the more likely it is that someone will betray them and cause a host of problems.
It was a miracle she could find Sam, and she was sure that Aleya Ikta was only helping him because she had too much dirt on him and he was a little afraid of her.
“Okay. Can you postpone this?” she asked, “or… cancel the whole thing?”
“Uh… I can’t say for sure. Listen, you didn’t see how excited Teddy is about this. She’s already revealed… too much that she shouldn’t have.”
Sienna felt a splitting headache.
“Okay, I’ll go,” Sienna said.
She didn't want to go. She really didn't want to go. She would rather not have a social event suddenly come up to her without any preparation, with no time to be anxious and then calm down, but it was too late.
“Girls,” she said after hanging up the phone, “put on your uniforms. We have a mission.”
A cheer erupted, followed by a flurry of activity as people frantically searched for their costumes.
Sienna went into her room (the only room with a big bed, which she needed because every morning, even if she locked the door, she would always find all her sisters crammed into her bed when she woke up) and took out her clothes.
Sometime before, Sam sent her clothes to a laundromat, which paid them for protection, so the clothes were actually quite clean.
She put on her clothes, tied her hair back, and looked at herself in the mirror.
The Sienna in the mirror—she felt she should call herself the boss—was a confident young woman in a tailor-made black suit, a white shirt with a small black tie, and a wide-brimmed hat that she could hide her tied-up hair in, giving the impression that she had short hair.
Sam had sewn two thin black straps inside the hat, and when she adjusted them, it would make Sienna's hair appear black... or maybe brown?
She suspected that Sam used two different wigs as a disguise.
She then put on a domino mask to further conceal her face, and then, though not very skillfully, she carefully applied some red lipstick. Another layer of disguise.
However, she felt that if someone took a clear photo of her face, she would be unlikely to hide her identity.
There must be a way to recognize someone just by their chin.
Maybe she could invest in a full-face mask?
Armor?
...Power armor.
Remote-controlled powered armor? That way she could do all this from home while wearing her pajamas.
She made a mental note to ask Maple Leaf about it.
Stepping out of the room, she found the girls already waiting, though one of Trinity's clones was still struggling to put on her shirt.
Trinity was dressed like a robber.
He wore a black and white striped shirt with black work pants and black boots, his face was covered in military-style face paint (always getting it everywhere), and he had a bag with a dollar sign on it attached to his belt.
Her comical villainous appearance, ironically, possessed a unique heroic quality.
At least that's what Sam said, and some online forums that believe in the "we are all heroes" narrative also think so.
Athena's outfit was simpler: a leather jacket over what she wanted to wear that day. Today she was wearing a cute sundress.
Maple Leaf's attire is still unclear. The girl is wearing a pair of goggles that are so large they look almost comical, with several lights sticking out from the sides of the goggles and seemingly flashing randomly. She is also wearing a medical mask that covers the lower half of her face.
The rest of her outfit consisted mainly of her lab coat and several bullet belts crossed over her chest, filled with various odds and ends.
Looking at these little villainous sisters, Sienna could honestly say that they... weren't very intimidating.
She picked up her phone and sent two text messages. The first was to Sam, telling him to meet at the old train station if he had time. The second was to Aleja Iqta, telling him to take his time.
Even if they jog through the tunnel, it will still take them ten to fifteen minutes to get there.
After sending the text message, she turned to her sisters and looked them up and down. "Okay. Here's the thing. We need to meet some people."
Teddy and Athena decided we needed more men without consulting me. Then Teddy went out to recruit without discussing it with me either.
I... am not happy about all of this, but I have no choice but to accept it. Therefore, I need the three of you to give your best.
Athena at least seemed to feel some remorse for what she had done, but Sienna wasn't sure if it was an act.
“Should we scare them?” Trinity asked.
“I… I can make something to scare them,” Maple Leaf said.
Sienna was about to advise them against it when an idea suddenly struck her. "Can you make something that can help us determine whether someone is loyal?" she asked.
“Can’t I do it?” Athena asked. “I just need to stare into their eyes long enough and ask them a few questions.”
She hadn't considered that. Athena, on the other hand, was a good check against any potential betrayal.
This made the idea of hiring more helpers (she didn't want to call them subordinates) a little more acceptable.
Sienna nodded slowly, considering the idea. "Alright, Athena, you'll be in charge of checking their loyalty."
Maple Leaf, do you think if they... something goes wrong, you can find a non-lethal way to subdue them? Trinity... you'll be in charge of deterrence.
"Yay!" Trinity cheered. "Teddy's going to be furious!"
"It's my decision whether to accept anyone into our team. We're not trying to scare them away, but we do need to see if they're a good fit. Understand?"
The girls nodded in agreement. Their excitement was beyond Sienna's comprehension, but perhaps it was simply because they hadn't gone out to do... masked things in a while.
She hoped this temporary recruitment drive wouldn't cause more trouble than it was actually worth.
Sienna took a deep breath and began leading her sisters out of the bunker and through the subway network's tunnels. She couldn't help but wonder how complicated her life would become, and whether this choice would ultimately be a blessing or a curse.