"Why was the lock on the ground?" Willow asked, bending down to pick up the lock from the ground. Shoot! What are they doing here?
"I guess it finally broke. You'll have to tell Victor to replace it," Gage replied, not sounding like he really cared.
"Why do I have to tell him? Do it yourself, lazy ass."
I watched the two of them tramp inside, peeking through a small gap between the bags of soil. Both were decked out in protective wear from head to toe. Almost to the point of overkill: long sleeves, gloves, mudboots, and face masks.
"Because that's your job. I've got things to do."
Willow huffed angrily and stomped through the rows of plants, getting closer to me. "Since when is it my job? Last I checked, we were both a part of this operation. I won't let you just dump all the responsibility on me, Gage!"
Why were they making this such a big deal? It would take less than a minute to do. I bet it was just another excuse for them to fight.
Willow was a lot closer now. Too close, in fact, as she was standing right in front of my hiding spot. I held my breath as she bent down, grabbing a pair of clippers. I relaxed when she didn't linger, only stopping to pick up the tool before heading back to Gage.
Phew.
"Let's just get this over with. How much did Victor say we needed?"
Gage stilled at the question and tilted his head in thought. "Uh…"
"Of course you forgot. We're supposed to harvest planters three and ten," Willow said, smugly.
"If you already knew the answer, then why'd you ask?" Gage grumbled.
"Because I love seeing you look stupid."
They worked in silence after that, likely knowing they'd only end up bickering again if they tried to talk. I wasn't quite sure what they were doing with my limited scope of view, but it looked like Willow was sniping the leaves off the plants while Gage bagged them. They were quite fast at their job, moving along quickly while still treating the plants delicately.
Willow was the one to break the silence. "Poor Milo's going to be busy with all this."
Angel Boy's involved with this too? What exactly are they doing with all these plants anyways?
"Feeling sorry for your little boyfriend?" Gage mocked, deliberately provoking her.
"You shut your mouth! We aren't like that." Willow's fist clenched at her side, the sleeve of her jacket straining from tensed muscles.
"Yeah, cause he thinks of you like a sister. If only he knew-"
Willow could no longer hold back and whipped a fist into the side of Gage's head. My mouth fell open as I heard a loud crunch from the impact. Then Willow was cradling a limp hand and cursing while Gage smirked down at her, completely unaffected by the hit.
Did… did Willow just break her hand on Gage's face? Is that what just happened?
There was no stopping them now. The two S rankers were going to destroy everything around them, including me, because they couldn't be civil with each other for five minutes. Why, why, why, did I have such bad luck?
And then, in the most serendipitous fashion, a commanding voice took over, cutting through the tension. "What the hell is going on here?"
Oh, god. Ash. I've never been so happy to see him.
Willow and Gage both froze instantly, turning to face Ash with a fear I never expected to see on their faces. Ash looked dangerous, walking in with an almost visible dark aura. His usually black eyes glowed golden, a beacon in the slight haziness of the greenhouse's humidity.
"Tell me why I sent you out here to do the simplest task, harvest the tyrian peperomia, and this is how I found you?"
Willow broke immediately under his glare. "I didn't mean to, but Gage was being a jerk, and he just made me so mad, so I kind of punched him and…" she trailed off in distress, biting her lip nervously as she watched Ash for a reaction.
Gage didn't say anything in his defense, instead looking away guiltily. His shoulders were hunched over, as if he was attempting to shrink in on himself; a difficult task for such a big man as Gage.
"All this time, I've turned a blind eye to your fighting, but it's gone too far this time," Ash said softly, disappointment and something else that made me shiver laced in his voice. "Are you aware of what you could have cost us with this stunt?"
He wasn't asking for a response this time. Ash moved to stand beside Willow, putting a hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly and hung her head in submission.
"Go inside and wait in my office for me. I'll decide your punishment after I deal with our little spy."
Ash smiled gently as he turned his gaze over to where I was hiding. I stiffened as his words hit me. I heard a distinct chirp then, and I glanced up to see a blue and white bird sitting on top of the soil bags.
The freaking bird ratted me out!
"Come on out, Grey," Ash called. He turned to dismiss Willow and Gage, the two of them bolting out as soon as he gave them permission. I caught Gage's eye as he left and the pity I saw there made my gut clench.
I made my way over to stand in front of Ash, shifting my weight from foot to foot as I waited for him to speak. The bird swooped over to land on his shoulder, settling in comfortably to watch the show.
"What are you doing here Grey?" Ash finally asked, his eyes still that brilliant gold.
"I was, um, exploring and I got curious. I didn't mean to see all this, I swear." I didn't mention how I broke the lock to get in here.
Ash hummed in acknowledgement. "And what, exactly, did you see?"
Oh, gosh, this is it, isn't it? The question that decides my fate. I have to answer perfectly, play dumb and appear as innocent as possible. I didn't see a thing.
"Nothing, really. Just some plants." Please, Ash.
He stared at me, searching for something in me. "That's right, just some plants. Nothing of interest. Right, Grey?"
I nodded desperately, repeating his words. "Yep. Nothing interesting."
Is he going to let me go? No way, right? I mean, though, I don't even really know what's going on. They were definitely up to something with these plants, but that's all I'd gotten from it. Surely that's not enough to condemn me.
Ash smiled and I shivered at the sight of his teeth. "Good. That's what I like to hear. Can you do something for me Grey?"
"Sure, what is it?" Oh, gosh. What now?
He stepped closer to me and lifted my chin, his grip bruising in its intensity. I was sucked in by his gaze and couldn't look away from him, even without him holding me still.
"I'd like you to forget everything that happened today. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes."
Consider it done. What greenhouse? Never heard of it.
He released me then, allowing my freedom again. "We won't speak of this again, so long as you don't make me. You may leave now."
I heard the threat in his words, but I was too relieved to register them. "Thank you," I breathed before I made a break for it, practically speeding walking out.
Yeah, I'm never coming back here again, that's for sure. Whatever secret he's hiding, he can keep it, I don't want to know.