Another day, another pointless mission.

Alice slumped in her chair, thoughts drifting away as Uncle Brown went on with his usual debrief. She hadn't gotten sprayed this time around, the mutant hamster having instead been taken out by her so-called backup. If they could even be called that. It seemed of all the mages she tended to work with, there were only one or two that were semi-competent. And only one she'd bothered to learn the name of.

"Hope I'm not interrupting, sir."

Alice's mood immediately soured. The annoying brunette was back, standing in the doorway. Felissa fixed a smile, which Alice returned with a glare.

"Oh, Felissa," Uncle Brown said. "Come right in, we were expecting you."

Alice sat up. "We were?"

Felissa chuckled. "I figured you wouldn't take too long to return. And it's been so long since the three of us had a chat together."

We've never had a chat together Alice wanted to say, but decided against it.

Felissa was always good at pushing her buttons. She was the kind of girl who thrived on it. Indulging her would make things worse, and Alice knew it. With a huff, she got up to leave, but the major shut the door behind her, blocking the exit.

"I'm afraid I must insist," she said, her expression unchanged despite the undertone in her voice. Even Uncle Brown seemed to notice, though he kept quiet.

Was she trying to pick a fight? Felissa was a lot of things, but she wasn't that stupid. Was she? Alice frowned. Though Felissa always liked to act like she was above everyone else, she knew she could take her if it came down to it. In fact, for the briefest of instances, the thought of shoving her aside lingered in Alice's mind. But with Uncle Brown in full view, not to mention all the rookies that could easily see them through the glass window...

"Tsk."

She sat back down. If she thought she'd be that easy, she must have gone crazy. Felissa came over to sit on Uncle Brown's desk her legs crossing in front of her.

"I promise not to take up too much of your time," she said. "I simply had an inquiry to make."

Alice didn't respond, refusing to even look at her. Not that she seemed to care.

"I wanted to make sure you were taking your new career seriously," the brunette witch said. "While I was out on patrol, I noticed some...inconsistencies you and your team left behind. Now, I realize someone of your status may not be used to cleaning gruel and the like, but we insist that you keep a focused eye out to keep up the safety of our citizens. Am I right, Chief?"

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Uncle Brown gave her a brief look. One that seemed as annoyed as Alice felt.

"Yes," he said. "While you have done well, Ally, leaving any monster trace behind is an indictment waiting to happen. And we really don't need the mayor on our asses."

"Which he won't be so long as protocols are followed." Felissa flicked a finger her way. "You have the manual, Alice. Don't tell me you forget the rules already?"

Alice groaned. That stupid book. She'd had to drill the thing in her head multiple times before they even let her take on a mission. And even then she'd had to go through several boring orientations and pass a licensing exam before they gave her the bronze badge. The one three levels below Felissa's. Four below Uncle Brown's.

"What, are you firing me?" Alice asked.

"There's no need to go that far," the witch said. "But consider this a friendly warning. You're still a fresh recruit as far as I'm concerned, so we won't be too harsh on you."

She gave a wink, which only made Alice more frustrated. Damn this stupid little- Oooh, just give me a reason. I swear if that demon gets loose, I'm letting him kill you. She waited for Felissa or Uncle Brown to say more, but they were both silent. Something she took to mean the meeting was over.

"I'll take it into advisement," she said getting up to leave.

Neither attempted to stop her, though Felissa continued to watch her even after she shut the door. How lucky she was Alice needed the job.

Of the many mages in the Angelas Precinct, she had yet to find a single one who'd help her with killing Luizitine once and for all. Not that she'd asked, anyhow. The part about her being a wizard's reincarnation or even her father being a government official were all things to be kept on a need-to-know basis. And nobody needed to know until she was sure she knew who was useful and who wasn't.

Still, as she made her way back to her desk, it was easy for Alice to write off one less person from the list of potentials. In no world past or future could she ever see herself working with the likes of Felissa. Not without trying to kill her the first chance she got. She slumped in her chair, giving a huff.

"I take it not a great meeting, Morino?"

She gave another huff.

At her desk surrounded by rookies, most had gotten the hint and opted to keep their distance. Of the two who refused to, one happened to be stationed at the computer right next to hers. Maybe that was why she kept getting sent on missions with him.

"Shouldn't you be filing reports, boy scout?" she asked Eric as she actively tried to ignore his presence.

He held up a stack of papers. "Just got done, actually. Checking to see if you've finished yours."

She rolled her eyes. Of course that's what it was. The only time Mr. Rookie spoke to her was for mission-related things. It was why she bothered to learn his name. If he was always going to be on her back, she needed a name to curse when things got annoying. Besides just boy scout. She kicked at her desk.

"They're all right there, killjoy," she said. "Now screw off."

He didn't move. What, was everyone trying to get on her nerves today? Eric grabbed the stack from her table.

"That bad, huh?" he asked.

She groaned, slumping in her chair.

"Friggin' fantastic, rookie. Like always."

He gave a simple nod. How much more of this would she have to deal with? She sighed, staring at the ceiling.

"I really need a drink," she said.

The rookie, much to her surprise, cracked a smile at that.

"That would make two of us, Morino."