The Wastelands

Headmistress's Office.

Headmistress Weatherly was sitting back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. She was a little frustrated, going through the files that she received from that Leader Representative Meeting fiasco, and they only found one lead. Not much of a lead, but a lead that was worth following. They didn't have much of a window. It needed to be done soon.

Miss. Andres' bird-like features appeared like a silent ghost with a cup of coffee. "It's not healthy to stay up all night." She placed the cup on her desk.

Maria ignored her and took a sip of coffee. She closed her eyes in bliss. Oh, sweet coffee, how I need you.

She watched Miss. Andres for a moment before responding. "Are the others here yet?"

"Mr. Statson and Miss. Lui is waiting outside. Bryson and Druid will be here momentarily."

"Bring them in."

"Yes, Ma'am." Miss. Andres bowed before heading out the door. Maria could hear whispering than Mr. Statson stomped in with his cowboy hat covering his salt and pepper hair and his dust-covered boots holding up his large statue. He glared with his grey eyes stormy. "What the hell do you want."

Maria didn't take offence, with the short time they had known each other she learned quickly that this was just the way he was and there was no changing that. Besides, she knew when to pick her battles was the basics of negotiation tactics.

"Mr. Statson," she acknowledged, while he made himself comfortable. Turning towards the second person who entered a few seconds behind Mr. Statson. The black-haired, hazel-eyed young woman had certainly grown into her own. Her petit frame was diminished by Mr. Statson's overpowering presence, but there was confidence in her steps and softening in her once tensioned filled intelligent eyes. But don't misunderstand, though Miss. Keaton was shaping up quite well, the young woman wasn't ready to have a seat at the big kids' table just yet. Though the promise was still there, and it was Maria's business to invest in the potential of youth.

All in all, they were a good team; Maria's had no regrets in putting them both in charge of security. And in charge of her pet project.

'Let's get to the point, shaw we.'

Gathering the papers stacked on her desk. She handed the one on top to Mr. Statson. "The name underlined," she asked. "Who is he?"

Not even looking at the paper handed to him. "What's the point?"

Headmistress Hilary restrained herself from letting out a frustrated sigh. 'That stubborn fool. Always striving to make things difficult.'

Though Statson is a necessary headache to keep her promise. 'I promised 'him' that I will protect them. Maria takes her promises very seriously.'

Six Years Ago

Maria Weathery esquire was working on her next case, it was supposed to be an easy win, but Ms. Hilary didn't believe in easy anything and liked to cover her basic. Her attention to detail was something that made her a great lawyer but made an enemy of many.

Quite frankly, she was bored, the thrill of winning wasn't doing it for her anymore, her drive to stay at the top was gone, and she could feel the vultures circling.

Plus, there was corruption. Maria was not one who allowed chances to slip her by. If there were information that she could use for blackmail purposes, then she would gladly do so though even Maria had her limits.

Maria glanced out her window, overshadowing the city of Towa. A small town named Trentville, one of the few towns that survived the Wastelands. They did so, by selling humans to the rich and influential, children especially.

Now Maria was no saint, it was tough to make a living nowadays, and she was oh so happy to exploit them, but human trafficking?

Her eyes moved to a faded picture on her desk of a little boy with a smiling, dirt-covered face. Her eyes softened before she forced herself to look away.

The persons involved were pretty much untouchable. If she spoke up, Maria wouldn't be surprised to find herself killed in an 'accident' a couple of days later. Though she couldn't leave it alone either.

She kneaded her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Such a mess. What am I going to do?"

"You know I can help with your little problem." A male voice spoke out of nowhere.

Maria almost jumped out of her chair, but decades of professionalism took over, and she calmly looked up to find a person who wore dark clothing, and the most disturbing part of all: he had no face.

Beside him was a very skinny young boy who stared at her with startling grey eyes. A stark contrast with his dark hair and skin. The strange thing about the boy wasn't his appearance but the air around him. The faceless man was the same. They both had power. That would only mean…

"Lumeye, huh. Why do I have the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of your visit?" Though seeing a Lumeye that young was kind of surreal. Maria thought that Lumeye was sterile.

Maria almost reacted when the faceless man swiftly picked up the picture of her son. "Oh? I thought you might hate us because the war was the cause of your son's death."

"I am not that narrow-minded." She denied, Wary, yes, but hated? No. "Besides, a human was the one who killed Danial." And the man paid for his mistake. She could still feel the trigger as she pressed inward.

"Incense with blackberries." The boy mumbled.

The faceless man chuckled as he placed the picture gently. "I like you." He turned to the boy. "See, I told you she's the right choice." The boy just stared at him, blankly.

"Right choice? For what?" Maria asked. "It must be something big if you are not hiding what you are from me."

He waved his hand in dismissal. "I like to do away with pretenses. Especially with potential business partners."

'Yet you're not going to reveal your face. That is fine with me. Showing your cards too early only leads to disaster. This man knows the rules well.'

"What do you want from me?" Maria sat down in her chair and leaned back.

"I have a compound I have been working on for a while." The faceless man answered. "And I need someone to run it."

"Me?" Maria couldn't help but laugh. "I am a high classed lawyer, why would I be interested."

He was slow to answer. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe just for the challenge." Maria wrinkled her brow. "Or maybe because I know of the Trentville situation, your firm deemed you a liability and already planned to kill you."

Maria sighed. She didn't need to ask for proof. Maria already gathered her own. The firm was a.s.s deep in the Trentville scheme."I'm not surprised. Any excuse to get rid of me."

"I need a place to hide children like him." The faceless man nodded to the boy. "As long as you promise to keep them safe, I will give you full authority. Run it as you will."

"Full authority, huh." Maria wasn't going to lie. The offer was very attractive and being able to keep living even more so. "A school, maybe," she mumbled. Maria turned to the faceless man. "And Trentville?"

"I'm heading there anyway. Need to pick something up." The faceless man smiled, chillingly, and Maria couldn't help but shiver. "There will be nothing left after I'm done."

Maria was all too aware of how dangerous this man was. Though she didn't have much of choice in the matter. "Well, then tell me more."