If there had to be a choice, I would've chosen death.

                               The pressure of the world was certainly more crushing. What would they think if they figured out that I wasn't the one?

»»-------¤-------««

She looked up from the counter, staring wide-eyed from the knock.

"Sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

The young lady in a simple, frilly servant dress didn't move nor did she take her eyes off of him. Her eyes narrowed as she slightly turned her head. "Do you need anything?"

The man scratched his head, forgetting what he had already rehearsed. "To talk. I wanted to talk. To you."

Kirin Yao-Fei sighed and rubbed both of her eyes with her index finger and thumb. "I'm working, can't you tell?"

"Can I get a cup of coffee then?"

Kirin sighed once more as she brought out the coffee grinder and the coffee beans. As soon as she poured the correct amount into the grinder her shoulders lost they're defensive angles. Very enthusiastic today, I see. He thought sarcastically.

"I was hoping we could talk about your paper," he pursued. "The article you wrote for the E.C.N."

She turned to pick up the steel kettle behind her that kept its boiling temperature throughout the day. "I swear, all of your co-workers have tried and . . ." she stopped herself as she looked up from the kettle. Her sudden pause let him know that he wasn't getting through to her. "What's been written is all I have. Now pass that along to your friends."

Gale didn't budge an inch while she turned to pour the hot water into the filter which strained into a white china cup that was soon to be his. If Gale could gain another scoop on this case, he would make the headlines and not live in the office.

When she reached out to him, placing the saucer and cup of coffee within his hand's reach, he said, "I believe that you didn't tell everything, that there's more to it."

"I don't care what you believe."

Kirin took a short step towards the sink beside her to wash the grinder and some dirty cups that she neglected from previous customers. The towel on her waist was put to use by drying the grinder to the best of her abilities. Her eyes glared up as he took an obvious sip out of his cup, noticing that he's disturbing the peace.

"Did you stalk me until you found the right time to talk to me?" She asked.

The man considered telling nothing but lies, but he was already pinned when she leaned over the counter in front of him.

"If you got the sources, it doesn't take long," he replied. Kirin raised an eyebrow. "Co-workers." He finally spat out. Half lie half truth.

The door behind her opened and a man with a melancholic expression walked out. The buttoned down shirt and vest hid his rather skinny or fit physique. He barely looked thirty. Because of the brownish glow of the shop, his long hair seemed like a darker blonde than usual, parted down the middle. His servant's clothing matched the interior oddly well now that Gale looked around.

The building was mostly made up of wood - at least from what he could see - the almost dull-yellowish lights set a quiet atmosphere along with its almost lavish floral arrangements. Every table was arranged with the customer's privacy in mind.

He looked at Gale and then at Kirin and finally asked, "another reporter?"

"Would you have any input on the article she published?"

The man closed the door so silently that it never clicked but locked into place, before he decided to move to the counter and put on an apron that wrapped around his waist. Seemingly, his eyes were closed as he completed his task of tying his apron behind his back.

"I'm the owner of this coffee shop," he put it simply and quickly, "I critique her coffee, not her papers."

"You feel what everyone else is feeling right, Mr . . ." he squinted at the nametag he wore just over his left breast, "Merlin."

Merlin frowned as he didn't like the way he said his name, but his posture didn't budge as he readied coffee beans for the next wave of customers.

"I didn't get your name," his tone demanded that he hand over what he asked for.

"Gale. Gale Fearth." He squirmed in his chair a little bit, just enough not to show.

Merlin watched as Kirin took two cups of coffee on a tray and left the counter to give the customers before him their coffee.

"Well, Gale," he continued, "why are you so curious about this case?"

He chuckled with his palms open, angled at the ceiling and at each other, gesturing that Merlin was messing with him but it wasn't a joke question, he soon caught on.

"Are you kidding? Both of the warring factions, the special unit that was formed after the war, soldiers going mad and killing people . . ." Gale leaned in closer to him. "Supernatural . . ." he quoted with his fingers, "instances. You can't tell me you haven't at least delved into the research."

From his seemingly shut eyes, they finally opened. Even in the yellowish lighting, you could tell they were gray. He set the final filter with the appropriate amount of coffee beans down and stared at him.

"The truth can get people killed." He said, in a stern and an unwavering voice. "It can put your friends and loved ones in serious danger in times like these."

Noticing that he's only told the truth thus far, he might as well go all the way. Nothing ventured, nothing gained was quite the motto to him. There's friction he's sensing, so Gale took another shot.

"No reporter has been blacklisted. We seek the truth because people deserve to know what's happening in their country. Isn't that the right thing to do?"

No reply from Merlin. His gaze went back to the blackness of the coffee. Gale had hit a wall, or so he thought.

"As long as you don't sell false propaganda that might cause a civil war, you're not gonna get blacklisted." Kirin butted in while walking back behind the counter.

She poured coffee for herself and added sugar. A sip of the brown drink relaxed her face and her stressed body. She sighed as she believed it was the stress leaving her. Some may say that happiness leaves when you sigh.

"The woman at the top," she said, pointing a finger up towards the ceiling though she meant further than that, "wouldn't want another war. Not with how much she's already done."

"You can go ahead and get off the clock," said Merlin. "Faith and Ken should be here soon."

She put the cup close to her lips and took a long, satisfying drink. Without hesitation, she walked through the door Merlin had entered.

Merlin reached for her cup and rinsed the coffee out and began to dry it. His eyes never leaving the cup he asks, "which of the news outlets do you work for?"

This was a hook with bait on it, Gale realized and tugged at it anyways.

"I'm just some P.I. who's investigating the scene for a family . . ." Gale let the sentence hang out in the air but Merlin didn't even flinch. "Estel. Ever heard of them?"

Placing the cup rim down on a cloth, he moved on to the saucer. "The only concern I have is my shop and its employees."

"That's very noble of you," Gale replied while nodding his head. Talking with Merlin was a dead end. There's only one source that he needs. "Well, I better get back. I'll stop by every now and then. The coffee is quite delicious here."

There was a short, noticeable pause as Merlin put the saucer in a dish rack.

"Thanks for coming. We'll see you next time."

Gale reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his wallet. He brought out a crumpled bill and placed it on the table with some change. A coin escaped his grasp and wobbled to a halt.

Kirin walked out of the door from behind the counter. She had a black bag hung over one shoulder and a black jacket hung on that strap. Her shirt was white with a black neck and half sleeves. The cut off of the shirt was just below her belly button. Her hair was tied back in a simple ponytail, letting those who noticed know that she was in a hurry or just didn't care.

"Smooth," she said as she walked past the counter and headed for the door.

She noticed Gale picking up his pace behind as she began to exit the shop. He grabbed the handle and opened it, signaling the bell that hung from the top. A wave of city air poured into the shop and the noise of the busy street reached the back. Kirin walked out and Gale followed. She got another good look at him this time. His hair was still short and black, almost like he's trying to grow it out. His facial hair reduced to a stubble. He wore a dark brown leather jacket with patches, all varying in size, and slightly darker brown pants.

The city was still young in the afternoon but the sky burned a deep orange, as if the time for sunset was coming. The Fissure must really be acting up today. She noted. Something's going to emerge again. Kirin turned to the sky for a brief moment and looked beyond the titan-like steel buildings and observed the oppressive smoke and fumes coming from the east. Like a dark cloud plotting to consume the sun.

"It looks antique, doesn't it?" Gale quickly turned to look at Kirin in a much better light. Her skin was fairly pale and her hair was black. "You look like you've been eating well," he jabbed.

"If eating noodles is considered eating well then I guess I'm lucky."

She turned, hair flipping, and began to walk down the street with her bag still hung over one shoulder.

Gale hurried to walk beside her rather than behind. "You must have at least scrapped some stuff that you thought wasn't necessary to put in." Gale said, hurrying to walk beside her rather than behind.

Without stopping she replied, "this story is a month old. Whatever I had on it has either been given to the officials or someone who could handle it better."

"But us reporters aren't amateurs," he pointed at him and her, "we're not amateurs. We. Make. Backups!"

Kirin sighed deeply as she walked into a trashed alleyway. "I guess there's only one way to shut you up."

Gale's eyebrows rose as she moved a dumpster out of the way the best she could and picked up an oddly bent hammer of sorts with a thick rope tied through a loop of it, just below the handle. Kirin galloped back a few steps and looked up at the railing. She grabbed the tool by the handle and tossed it. It hooked onto the ladder on the side of the balcony. She pulled it and the ladder fell just short of the ground, screeching every now and then and clanging before it met its destination.

Kirin exhaled deeply as if she did the greatest amount of work. She then looked at Gale with her arms showing him the way and said, "this is to my . . . office."

He walked to the ladder and set one foot on the bottom step, pressing down as hard as he could to make sure it was stable. "This isn't gonna fall on me, right?"

Kirin fixed her sleeves and any loose clothing that could get caught on to something. "It's best not to think about it sometimes."

Gale gripped the ladder and looked up. Kirin saw the unnecessary determination he was building up. Some lousy reporter he is. He took one foot and set it above the other. Hearing the metal grind and scrape against each other and felt the thin metal slightly sway. The faster he climbed, the better he'd be in the end. Following him, Kirin climbed the ladder casually.

After reaching the top, she waved at him to follow as she climbed up two more sets of stairs. She pulled a pin from the corner of the window - that only she would know of - and slid the window up. She hopped down from the window sill and told him to follow.

"Sorry, I didn't expect any guests." She said, noticing his raised eyebrows.

He clapped his hands together and threw out his legs with every step and replied, "It's fine. My room's like this too," he hoped to relate but it only brought out a sigh from her.

Kirin pulled out a stool for him at the island table that sat in the middle of her kitchen and asked him to sit if he wanted to. He took the offer and watched as she threw her bag and jacket on the sofa. He took some time to look around in the dim room. Luckily there was sunlight to aid his sight.

Only one wall was made of bricks and on that wall was a fireplace placed at the center with a TV just over it. Dark wooden bookshelves leaned tall on the wall, one full while the other still had a ways to go. On the opposite side of the brick wall was a coffee table and on the other side of that was a long couch with small, square pillows at both ends. A carpet lay underneath the furniture, making sure the wooden floors don't get scratched from the sudden movement. There was a computer on the right side wall, displaying her most recent article that she is working on.

"Are you done, detective?" She said, snapping him out of observation mode.

He coughed. "Sorry, you just have some," he adjusted himself on his stool, "interesting stuff here."

Kirin set a glass of water in front of him and said, "So what is it that you want exactly?"

Gale wrapped his fingers around the cup but he didn't lift it. "Sprigcrahdas, as they would call that season now, a certain case was revealed. But during my investigations, it revealed it happened during Suumahcrahdas."

Things have changed since the old world, since before the Fissure. If people ventured further enough in the outskirts they'd find the relics and forgotten text of the old world.

"So . . ." she frowned. " You think that the government is hiding something? And you also think that they tried shutting me up."

He took out his notebook from his coat and opened it. "I don't think they tried shutting you up but rather . . . delay." He watched as her eyes narrowed as she slowly turned and walked towards her couch. "You're not denying it," he pursued. "There's just not enough evidence, y'know what I mean?"

She grabbed a bulky folder from underneath the coffee table and slapped it on the table in front of him. Some papers slipped from the folder's grasp and slightly protruded. The folder's tab read: The scene of Calarow's mansion, Suuma Cardas 3198. Kirin tapped the smooth, transparent spherical device that sat at the center of her coffee table.

"Epsilon, pull up case number H-51S2," she said.

With that command, the sphere came to life and holograms of documents and pictures on a corkboard with lines drawn from picture to picture, numbered from the first event to the last. Gale got up from his stool and looked at the floating images. He reached out and tried touching them but his hands fell through and nothing happened.

"This is the first I've seen this kind of interface,"

Kirin handed him a ring and put one on herself. "Twist it as soon as you put it on."

Following her example, Gale twisted the ring and it emitted a slow, blinking green light. He watched as she navigated through the documents with the board at her back with ease. Pinching and stretching her hand to zoom-in or zoom-out, a keyboard followed her at her waist where she typed every now and then. He lifted his index finger at a document and it asked him if he wanted to open the document. Hitting accept, papers were lined up in order right in front of him. Touching the first page, it enhanced and he began reading it.

"This is the stuff that didn't make it in the article," he said in awe. "So the Star people are true..." he said under his breath.

"This stuff I didn't show them," she said, launching a picture to his view.

He narrowed his eyes at the picture, piecing the image together.

"How did you even get this?" He pinched the image and it zoomed in.

"Infiltration," she said with a smirk.

He looked at her as if what she said could kill them both.

"To what?" He asked.

"Korg-Alfrez, one of the two warring factions in Eastern City."