The Scream of A Thousand Libraries Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Mission Report.

Read chapter 17 of The Scream of A Thousand Libraries by Susangja on NovelPedia.

POV: NOAH WILLIAMS. "Girl, stay out of it..." These words stuck in my head for a few moments; they were words I said but didn't think were right. Saying something like that to a person who had just lost someone important was cruelty. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I found myself staring at the wall for a moment, thinking of nothing, as if waiting for something or someone to pull me out of that thought cycle. Which indeed happened… Someone pulled me from those thoughts. Leaning against the wall next to the entrance, arms crossed and with a serious look, stood Miguel Castro, or as he is officially known, Agent Sunflower. His hair was an unusual mix of black and well-distributed gray strands, revealing the signs of age and accumulated experience. His thick beard, equally mixed with white and black, completed the look of a veteran already accustomed to the difficulties of agent work. His posture remained firm, even in the most relaxed moments. He was not only my superior at SFR, he was a constant reminder that this job demanded more than we could give. "You knew you'd have to say that at some point, didn't you, Noah?" he said with that neutral yet accusatory tone only he mastered. "Let's go. I need to report what occurred at the library," I replied, trying to maintain firmness as I headed for the exit. "Noah, always taking things so seriously..." he murmured behind me. As soon as we left the hospital, we found the car already waiting for us at the entrance. Miguel sat in the back passenger seat, while I got in behind the driver's seat. The car, discreet as always, took us towards the hotel where we were staying, a simple but functional building located at the northern entrance of the city. The location was strategic: from there, we had direct access to the main highway, facilitating any emergency movement. This time, I allowed myself to observe the city around me with more attention. It was a quiet place, almost too peaceful. People went about their routines, oblivious to what might be unfolding right before their eyes. A familiar feeling of frustration grew in my chest. How many times had I seen this scenario repeat itself? How many times had collective innocence been crushed by a conflict they didn't even know existed? Since I joined the SFR to help hunt Guarda-Sol, the so-called "civilian casualties" had become a constant shadow in our path. It wasn't just once or twice. It happened several times. And each time left a more bitter taste than the last. I entered this expecting to save lives. I believed it would be possible to stop the insane plans of those fanatics before they reached the innocent. But, in recent encounters... We failed. H, responsible for much of the chaos, always escaped. And now... that girl. I was sure she would never look at a book the same way because of me. How could I blame her? As the car drove on, I noticed the distracted looks of people walking on the street. Workers, students, mothers with grocery bags. Ordinary people. And yet, all of them are vulnerable. Books, already so rare, were becoming even more inaccessible due to incidents like today's. One small mistake of ours, and another window closed for these people. After all, books could greatly change a person's life. Especially these ones. This thought reminded me of the mission the other SFR agent group had been sent on. Miguel activated his smartwatch and began to slide his fingers across the screen, with the same meticulous precision as always. "For now, they've found little direct evidence linking him to Guarda-Sol. But there are strong indications that he's using this alliance as a façade to cover up corruption in his office. We're trying to use that as a pretext to intensify the investigation," he replied. "Great. Do you think we'll be able to reverse the law in time?" I asked, thinking about the absurd legislation that had been approved. If nothing was done, that absurd legislation could become a very problematic snowball in the fut