Chapter 5
Just As Suddenly…
Felix's footsteps echoed through the pale, metallic halls as he headed toward the chief's office. People shifted aside to greet him as he passed. Some with prosthetics, another with full black armor with an opaque, fishbowl-like helmet. He watched from the corner of his eye as they stepped aside until he finally made it to the chief's office, he knocked, "Permission to enter."
"Granted." The chief responded.
As he went inside, he found the chief sitting in front of her desk, reading paperwork.
"Shouldn't we bring in my partner for our next mission?"
"Aren't you eager? Before that…" The chief gestured for him to walk closer. As he did, she placed the documents to the desk and stood up, closing onto him at an uncomfortable distance, "Did your eyes really turn blue?"
"Yes, I believe that was in my report during the reconnaissance."
"I may have glossed over that part."
"You just… glossed over my report?"
"I just didn't get to read it properly back then. Just what the hell did they put in you to make your eyes glow in the dark anyway?" The chief sighed as she sat back down, picking up a metal case on her table and pulling out a cigarette.
"You tell me… You're the one with the information."
"Back in my day, we didn't have that kind of body altering drugs or cybernetic enhancements. We relied solely on our own wit and our weapons—"
"You've told me this story a thousand times."
"And I'll keep telling you about it until I'm satisfied." She grumbled as she lit up her cigarette.
"About the last mission, the girl in the armor, um… Agent CT-2…"
"Carol Thomas wasn't as "critically wounded" as you said she was. Her armor took the brunt of the damage. Thanks to you, Cygnus now owes us a favor for securing their tech and keeping one of their agents alive."
"So her name was Carol? I'm glad she's alright. And any survivors?" Felix sighed with relief.
"None. Everyone in the factory was found dead, save for the one you caught."
"... I see."
The chief's gaze lingered on Felix's cold expression, before lighting up her cigarette, "You got there late, and Cygnus' CEO wasn't exactly being cooperative with their information. But from what I can piece together, Miss Carol was lured out to steal her armor."
"Right… the man said he wanted to sell it and get his family out of debt." Felix's eyebrows curled, "But how could they possibly have known she would show up?"
"They didn't. A couple of robins were discovered dead two days after your encounter. So they sent in one of HERCULES Bulwarks, just to be sure."
"I see." He nodded, "And the weapon I brought you?"
"Our scientists are doing what they can, they've detected traces of radiation from the weapon. Advanced piece of tech. We'll get more info on it later, but for now, the eggheads are too scared to crack it open."
"Care to explain why I'm not involved in this briefing?" The door opened as Maria nonchalantly waltzed in unannounced with dark bags under her eyes, dressed in a pale-yellow shirt with a white pizza printed in the middle.
"Marie." Felix patted the seat beside him, gesturing for her to sit.
The chief raised an eyebrow, "You're supposed to be analyzing the Matrix key. Are you done?"
"No…" Maria sighed, her voice going low with curiosity, "It has a multi-layered encryption lock on it. Why would a key be locked?"
"Matrix Key?" Felix echoed.
"The chip we got the other day…" Maria slumped next to him on the couch.
"... Is a valuable piece of stolen technology developed by our sister agency." The chief cut in, "And it was likely left on Agent Harbinger's person."
The two of them silently groaned, both heads leaning against the chair.
"Ignoring the fact that you left his corpse and gear in the Dragon of the Little Sun. He somehow managed to get possession of an experimental technology our sister company has been developing, and Brilliant Light left us in the dark for nearly two months."
"What is it, anyway?" Felix asked.
"From what I can surmise, it grants unrestricted access to any and all data from the twelve agencies."
"Can't we just… change all of our servers or something?"
"Yeah, let's just rebuild the entire digital infrastructure of twelve global agencies overnight." Maria answered, "Back-up chains, layered redundancies, legacy systems barely held together by duct-tape. Sure, let's update everything all at once. Nothing will explode."
"Although reclaiming proprietary assets we lost should be our top priority, other agents are already collecting it as we speak. In the meantime, Felix will be headed to Japan."
"You sure you want your multi-billion dollar weapon walking unsupervised?" Maria folded her arms.
"It would be good for Felix not to rely on you so much."
His eye twitched, "I don't rely on—"
The chief swiped the holographic screen his way before he could finish. On it was a photo of a young blonde girl. As Felix skimmed through it, a particular detail caught his eye.
"Hm?" His hand hovered over the screen, "A pop idol?"
"This is the daughter of Takeuchi Sakurai."
"Obsidian Industries heiress," Felix uttered, "Why don't they just use their own operatives?"
"Yeah, if it's professional help they were looking for, why did they pick Felix?" Maria scoffed.
"Rank eighty-four, Ernesto Hansen, fifty-two, Andrea Vergara, twenty-seven, Warren Antonovich, all riddled with bullets alongside four Robins." Chief removed her glasses and wiped them.
Caught off guard, Felix didn't know how to respond. Noticing this, Maria let out a bitter joke, "Poor word birds. Guess that means they finally recognize Felix's ability."
"Sir Takeuchi wanted the highest-ranked 'esper' available. But since they're occupied, that leaves you." She said, putting her glasses back on.
"Esper?" He echoed.
"It's what everyone from Project ASTRAEA will officially be referred to from here on out, to differentiate you from the augmented, like Bulwarks, or chimeras."
"Chimeras, huh?" Maria echoed as gears started to turn in her head.
"I guess it's better than Homo Lucerna or whatever…" He shrugged.
Repulsed, she replied, "Oh god, is that what we're called? Esper sounds so much better."
"Wait, you wouldn't happen to know of a blond guy and a white-haired girl, would you? Both had red eyes. We ran into them a couple of days ago."
"Blondie broke my door. Need that repaired soon." Maria cut to the point.
"So that's what that bill is for… I don't know the details, but if they have red-eyes, then they're were part of the Provisional Batch Delta. Which ties in with your current mission." Chief rubbed her temples.
"Many of their agents died, and now they Sir Takeuchi wants the best, huh?" He smirked.
"You were their third choice."
"Excuse me?" He raised his eyebrow, clearly offended.
"After saving a Cygnus operative and dealing with an unknown weapon, the execs raised an eyebrow when you suddenly bumped a rank after being stagnant for so long. So Obsidian decided to borrow you for twenty-four hours. I believe the Director wants to… show you off."
"Who were the first two?" Maria asked.
"David and Anastasia." Chief answered without delay.
Felix clicked his tongue, stirring the conversation along, "Anyways, an exhibition? Seems like a hassle to travel all the way there if he's just staying for one day."
The chief took a drag from her cigarette, "Didn't you say you were the best agent here?"
"I'm not saying I can't do it."
"I think this might interest you." She slid another screen his way, barely contained any information.
"Golden Survivor?" He read outloud, turning towards the chief, "Is this the target?"
"His name as a hired gun. No background, no images of him either. All we know is that he's male, and that he's close to one of the heiress's friends."
"Which one?"
"We don't know."
He sighed.
"That's helpful." Maria scoffed.
"The robin who collecting this info was killed before they could deliver the details. Phone shattered, body in a dumpster, covered in ashes that we believe were handwritten notes." The chief clarified.
"Yikes."
Felix covered his face with his palm, "I see…"
"There's one thing we were able to salvage… a torn-up piece of paper in his pocket that said Jackal."
His lips widened ever so slightly upon hearing the words she uttered, "Jackal… huh?"
"Weren't all of his accomplices in Cocytus penitentiary?" Maria interjected.
"We doubt it's actually him… but using speculation from the intel the Robin System's collected, he might be forming a new little band of terrorists, a new set of "Fangs", if you will."
"But, why target her instead of the CEO himself?" He muttered outloud.
"Taking out the higher-ups might be a task too difficult for them. But in targeting an official's family members during the concert, it's basically a declaration that he's not afraid of us."
"And if it's a distraction?" Maria asked.
"Doesn't matter. We still can't let her die." Felix cut in.
"That's right. You hit the most vulnerable point, and suddenly, everything shifts. If her true identity will be exposed to the public, it'll become a widespread scandal. Protecting the CEO is one thing, but we're supposed to protect his family too. And if she dies in front of a crowd— that's something we can't afford. If possible, we would like you to detain him."
"Understood." Felix nodded.
"If that's everything, then…"
"Before I forget, what about Julius? Do you have anything on him?"
"The name Harbinger mentioned in your report? A single name isn't much to go by. We could've had a better lead if only a certain someone hadn't killed him." The chief turned her gaze toward the other agent in the room.
Maria sank into the chair, looking at her with a clueless smirk, "Hm?"
She sighed, looking back to Felix, "Is that all?"
"Yeah… I think so."
"Good. You will leave tomorrow morning. Preparations are being made as we speak."
"So then, can I join? If only for sight-seeing." Maria chimed in.
"Marie…" Felix spoke.
"Fine, fine. You suck as a bodyguard. You know that, right?" She sulked.
"I should start preparing." He stood up and stretched his arms out.
"Before that…" The chief answered as she reached for something under her desk.
"Cake?" Maria mumbled.
With a curious look, Felix asked, as he walked forward, "What's the occasion?"
She pushed up the bridge of her orange-tinted glasses, "Congratulations on being promoted to rank twelve."
Both Felix and Maria walked up and took a slice of the chocolate cake on her table. Maria sat back after taking her portion, her feet up on the chair as she enjoyed the cake with a smile on her face, while Felix continued to stand as he took a bite.
The chief asked with an approving smirk; "So, how does it feel to no longer be the Black Cat of Ruin?"
"Has anything changed really?"
"I see, then let me rephrase my question, how does it feel achieving Luna's goal for her?"
"Reaching the first rank is a means… not an end." Felix grumbled after taking a bite from his cake.
"Luna?" Maria mumbled out.
"Has Felix not told you?"
"My mentor." He cut the chief off, "The one I told you about before."
"So that's her name…" Maria muttered to herself, her tone and expression grew cold.
The short-lived party ended as the day faded into night, and a new day dawned.
~