212 Ranks of Pure

Since they made the decision to ask Pure for help, she had been thinking how she could explain her actions, because she knew she had broken the rules of Pure.

Entering her own room this time, Layla was more nervous than ever. It reminded her of when she had first joined the school. All those strange feelings were returning to her, and they were starting to make her feel sick.

"I think by the end of today, I'm going to come out around five pounds lighter," She jokingly said to herself, trying to forget about the situation she was in.

Upon entering her room, there was no one inside. Her roommate consisted of Erin and another female student. Most of the time, their other roommate seemed to be out, which was a good thing for Layla.

Still, just to be safe, she kept an eye on the door as she went about making contact with Pure. She had already been caught once by Logan and had no clue how, which started to make her do some second-guessing.

All those years of training were hammered into her so she wouldn't be caught during an investigation, and in the end, she was caught by another student. This made her very uncertain of her own skills, maybe she just wasn't made, for this type of work.

The black orb from under her bed was now in her hand. And once again, she took a deep breath, readying herself before tapping the top of the sphere. The blue ring on the top started to pulse, fading in and out until eventually, it turned into a solid blue colour, signalling that it had been connected.

"Agent 45 connected with agent 83. Today isn't a report day. Why are you contacting us outside of protocol? Are there any problems?" the voice from the sphere asked.

"I would like to make a special report, would you please connect me to agent number 5?" Layla asked.

"The single digit agents are too busy right now. You can make your report to me, and I will pass on the message to them."

"I'll ask you again," Layla said firmly. ��Please let me speak to agent number 5. This is not a request as an agent, but say that it's from her daughter."

There seemed to be a slight pause, where agent 45 seemed to have a conversation with another agent for a moment before he eventually replied.

"I will contact her, and see what she has to say, wait a moment." Agent 45 said in a slightly annoyed tone.

Layla waited while the other agent went and contacted her mother. In the Pure organization, they had special numbers associated with each agent. The number system could be split up into four different categories.

The first group of people were those in the hundreds.

These agents of Pure were given no specific number ranking. All they were told was that they were above the one hundred special agents. These people would often be new to the Pure organization and would only be used on large scale operations.

Then the second group below them were the ranked agents. These agents were numbered from 20 to 100. These were special operative agents whose numbers were based on their position within the organization. The lower your number was, the more power you had.

The third group were the high rankers, going from 6 to 20. They were quite different compared to the other agents, mainly due to the fact that they were chosen because of their power, and not their achievements for Pure.

And then you had the last group, the final 1 to 5. Some of these members were the original creators of Pure, and they were also the strongest within the organisation.

When Layla was first introduced to the ranking system, she found it weird. For a group who was so hell-bent against there being a hierarchy in society, it was actually strange for their own group to have one.

But they always said that it was different because they all had the same goal in mind and understood. It would only be this way for now until they achieved their goal, and then, they would get rid of the ranking system. By then, equipment, wealth and resources would be distributed equally.

Layla started to remember the demo videos they showed her of what the world could be, and they always seemed so peaceful.

As she was deep in thought, she had lost track of time a bit, and she was startled when she heard a familiar voice.

"This is agent 5 speaking, I hear you have some important news for me, agent 83?" the voice said.

After hearing those words come out of her mouth, Layla was a little upset. She hadn't spoken to her mother in a while, and the first thing she talked about was business. She didn't ask her how she was, or how she was doing, and didn't even say her name. But she had always been like this, and Layla was used to it by now.

Layla started to explain the details of what happened. How she acted on her own without informing Pure to protect her friends, going against Jack and what the situation currently was. Though she did leave out a few details here and there, especially the parts where she had informed all of her friends who she was.

So far, she had only said she told Erin, someone who she wanted to bring over to Pure, about her real position.

"Has your position been compromised by anyone else in the school or personnel?" her mother asked.

"No, I have only informed Erin. Right now, they think she escaped on her own. They are looking for her, and she has no ability, as well as nowhere to go. If you can, please help her."

"Don't worry," she replied. "We will do our best. Anyone who has been affected by Truedream will be accepted. We shall treat her well. However, you have gone against our code. Although you were not caught, you took action without asking for permission, and you even went as far as to use our name."

"Your punishment will be decided when you come back to the base. For now, you shall be demoted from position 83 to position 100. Update me when you have the location Erin will be sent to. We will have someone waiting on standby."

"Oh, and one last thing. Layla, I am waiting for you. Soar through the ranks. Don't be disheartened and try to get into the upper level so we can meet more frequently. May Pure be with you."

"May Pure be with you."

As the call ended, Layla kept her head down. A demotion was quite a big punishment on its own as it was. It had taken Layla a long time to rise through the ranks and just like that, she was at the bottom, barely hanging onto the last numbered position.

When she was at the base, she rarely got to see her mother. Her mother always told her, as long as she was loyal to Pure and the cause. Eventually, she would rise up the ranks and have a seat next to her.

So far she had been as loyal as can be, and followed everything to the letter of the book. But everything changed slightly when she met Quinn and the others. She started having fun and enjoyed her time at school.

Sure, there were bad people in the world, but she found out that not everyone abused their powers. There were those like Erin who didn't even understand there was injustice and discrimination going on. Layla felt like they just needed to educate the world more.

She started questioning if Pure's forceful ways were really the right way to do things, which is why she was hesitant about reporting Quinn and the others.

If there was a chance she could leave the organization without receiving a punishment, she might have even considered it. And now, when thinking about it, she was about to send one of her best friends to such a place.

A place she no longer wanted to be a part of.

****

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