Chapter 6

Just As Suddenly…

Steps echoed through the pale, metallic halls as Felix headed once again to the chief’s office alone. As he walked along every other person moved to the side to greet him, yet he continued ahead without pause or a thought. But though he was clearly distracted, his ears picked up on the sound of strings being strum.

He was met with one pair that were walking from the opposite direction.

A young woman humming to herself as she played the guitar, and the young man behind her, pulling on her hair as he pleaded for her to stop.

“Come on, you’re disturbing everyone.” The young man said. But the young, orange haired woman continued to play nonetheless, her head bobbing back and forth as he tugged on her frizzy orange hair. Her eyes completely closed.

Felix raised his eyebrow and put his hand on his hip, waiting for the two to pass by.

As they crossed paths, the young man, who was taller than Felix, gave a short bow, and apologized in a passive manner, “I’m so sorry for her sir.” To which the blue-eyed agent simply nodded, understanding what it’s like because of his own partner.

But as he was about to take a step forward, the girl screamed, “AHH!”

Curious, and somewhat annoyed, Felix turned around as the girl rushed towards him, “You!” She pointed her finger at his face.

“Hm?”

“You’re Felix Aster! Black Cat! I didn’t expect you to be here! I thought you’d be out on missions!” She excitedly yelled.

Felix looked annoyed for a moment, but his expression softened as he noticed that on her freckled face, were mismatched eyes. One a simple dark brown, and the other, a glowing bright crimson.

“Actually, it’s Blue Phantom, now.” He responded.

“Right! I heard about that, I’m sorry sir Blue Phantom, sir!” Her smile revealed the small gap between her two front teeth.

“You said sir, twice.” The man beside her whispered.

“New recruits, I take it?”

“My name is Kaitlin McCay, sir! Code name, Agent Carrot! This here beside me is Rico Bryce! The two of us are Enhanced humans from Batch Delta! And also we’re big fans!”

“I see. Thanks.” He flashed the two a gentle smile as he scratched his cheek.

“Can I have your autograph?!” She screamed.

His gentle smile turned into an awkward one as he answered, “Uh, I guess…”

With a bright red face, the girl slapped the Rico’s chest repeatedly as she squealed, “Rico, a pen, give me a pen. Now. Right now!”

“I don’t have a pen.”

“Mhmmm!” She squealed in a disappointed manner, “I… can’t get your autograph.”

Felix snapped his finger and replied, “Next time we meet, bring a pen instead of a guitar. Then I might be able to sign something for you.”

“Yes!” She nodded her head rapidly, “Hope that we meet again soon! Please, take my guitar as a gift!”

“I’d… rather not.”

She leaned in too close for Felix’s comfort, “Why not?! Do you hate the guitar?!”

“No, it’s just… There’s only one instrument I play, and it’s not the guitar. But, I’d rather listen to you play it someday… just not today.”

“I will practice hard and make you proud!” She saluted him. “Come along, Rico! We mustn’t keep the professor waiting!” She excitedly strolled on.

“You’re the one who stopped…” Rico mumbled to himself as he started walking behind her.

Felix raised his eyebrow, “What was that about?”

The young man then stopped in his tracks and faced the blue-eyed agent, “Considering that you saved our lives, it’s a little understandable that she’d be excited.” He smiled.

“When did I do that?”

“Not you, to be exact. But the research on you. It’s thanks to you that we were able to make full recoveries from things that... well, you get the picture.”

An old memory flashed in Felix’s head, one where Luna smiled. Her voice still echoing in his soul. “…There was a breakthrough in their research, and thanks to your DNA, I’m a lot like you now. You’re not alone anymore.”

“Yeah… I do…”

“I’m glad I got to see you as well, mister Felix. I hope that one day, the two of us will be able to join your team.” Rico looked at him, his own eyes were a simple copper, and did not glow with the same flowery iris both Felix and Kaitlin possessed.

“Is that so? You better do your best, then.”

“Of course, sir. I hope to see you soon.” He bowed, then chased after the orange-haired woman.

When Felix made it to the chief’s office, he knocked, “Permission to enter.”

“Granted.” The chief responded.

As he went inside, he found the chief sat in front of her desk with a somber look on her face.

“Chief, I saw two new faces earlier.” He said as he closed the door behind him and stroke the skin beneath his blue eye, “One of them… had different colored eyes.”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Ah yes. Rico and Kaitlin. The two of them recently underwent the implementation, so they’re currently under observation while the professors run routine tests.”

“Sounds familiar. So why was I summoned here? Do I have my next mission?” He asked.

“You’re rather eager. Before that…” The chief walked up to Felix, 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 walked back to her desk.

“You tell me… You’re the one with the information.” Felix shrugged.

“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—”

“Chief, you’ve told me this story enough times.”

“And I’ll keep telling you about it until I’m satisfied.” The chief responded 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 most of the damage, but she’ll probably still be hospitalized for another week. 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.” He answered with a blank stare.

The chief stare was fixed at Felix empty expression a moment before she lit her cigarette.

“It was sudden. You got there late, so I can’t blame you, and Cygnus’ CEO wasn’t exactly being cooperative with their information. But from what I can piece together, Miss Carol was on a stake out, expecting a drug trade. But it was a trap to lure her out to take 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?”

“A couple of robins were discovered dead two days after your encounter.” The chief answered.

“… Oh…”

“And the weapon I brought you?”

“I haven’t received intel yet, but from what you’ve described in your report, it appears to be an energy gun, similar to yours, but for now, we’ll have to wait.”

“Then, what about the Matrix Key?”

“It’s a complex structure of codes that changes every time anyone tries to solve it, as for what it opens, we’ll just have to wait for Maria.”

“No need to wait.” The door opened as Maria nonchalantly waltzed in unannounced, in a pale-yellow top with a bright pizza print in the middle. There were visible dark bags under her eyes.

“Marie.” Felix greeted; his head leaned against the sofa as he looked at her.

“Care to explain why I’m not involved in this briefing?”

“Maria, this is a solo mission.”

“What happened to ‘the two of you will be partners from now on?’” She asked with a pout on her face.

Marie’s expression was sad… in more ways than one.

Felix patted the seat beside him, and Maria sat down grumpily with her arms crossed.

“It’s because you’re supposed to be analyzing the key. Are you done?”

“Not yet… it had a multi-layered encryption lock on it. Why would a key be locked?” Maria spoke in a low, curious voice.

“That’s for you to find out. Besides, I did specify that there would be instances where you would work separately, did I not? As for Felix, you were requested to bodyguard this girl.” She said as she swiped the holographic screen towards him.

The photo showed a young blonde girl. As Felix read through it, a particular detail caught his eye, “A pop idol?”

“The daughter of Takeuchi Sakurai.”

“If it’s Obsidian Industries heiress, why don’t they just use their own operatives?” Felix asked.

“If it was 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 dead. Along with four robins. All of them were riddled with bullets.” Chief listed down the names of the Elite Agents that have died.

Caught off guard, Felix didn’t know how to respond. Noticing this, Maria let out a bitter joke, “Poor word birds, but I guess that means they finally recognize Felix’s ability.”

“Actually, Felix was their third choice. Sir Takeuchi wanted the highest-ranked ‘esper’ available.”

“Esper?” He asked.

“It’s what everyone from Project ASTRAEA will officially be referred to from here on out, to differentiate you from the Enhanced Humans of Project CHIMERA.”

“Project Chimera?” Maria muttered as gears started to turn in her head.

“I guess it’s better than Homo Lucerna or whatever…” He shrugged.

“The Director was annoyed at how you were assisted by during Lewis’ capture and thought that you may have gotten promoted too quickly. Besides, I think this might interest you. The suspect is rumored to have a connection with the Jackal.”

Felix’s lips widen ever so slightly upon hearing the words chief uttered, “Jackal… huh?”

“Weren’t all of his accomplices in Cocytus penitentiary?” Maria interjected.

“It’s all speculation from the intel the Robin System’s collected, but it’s possible that he might be forming a new little band of terrorists, a new set of “Fangs”, if you will. It would be preferable if you could detain him.”

“But, why target her instead of the CEO himself?”

“Taking out the higher ups is probably a task too difficult, even 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.”

“But if that’s the case, then why would they pick me?” Felix mumbled out.

“Didn’t you say you were the best agent here?”

“I’m not saying I can’t do it.”

“Initially they requested David or Anastasia. But since they’re occupied, that leaves you. It may also be because they wanted to know why you suddenly jumped two ranks in a single night. They wanted to know if their funding was being put to good use, so they intend to borrow you for twenty-four hours.”

“So, an exhibition… the info on this assassin, then?”

The chief slid another projected screen Felix’s way. But there wasn’t a lot of info written on it.

“His name is Jeffrey Carleton, but after we looked up his background, it was clearly a fake alias, and there were 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.”

“That’s helpful.”

“The robin who collected this info was killed before they could deliver the full details. His phone was found destroyed, and his body was found inside of a dumpster and covered in ashes. We have reason to believe that the ashes were the back-up data.”

“Oh…”

“You will leave tomorrow morning. Preparations are being made as we speak. For now, you just get some rest. Or you could start right now, if you so prefer.” The chief snickered.

“So then, can I join?”

“Marie…” Felix spoke.

“Fine, fine. You suck as a bodyguard. You know that, right?” Maria sulked.

“Besides, this is what you wanted, no? Or did your heart change too much after one mission with her?” The Chief mockingly remarked.

Felix scratched his cheek, feeling flushed at the chief’s throwaway comment.

“Then I guess it’s time to prepare.” 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 and congratulated him, “Congratulations on being promoted to rank eleven.”

Both Felix and Maria walked up to her table to take a slice of the simple black chocolate cake. Maria quickly 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?”

“She was my mentor.” Felix immediately cut the chief off. “The one I told you about before.”

Maria’s eyes lowered with curiosity down to a cold expression, “So that’s her name…” She coldly mumbled.

The short-lived party of three people ended as the daytime fell, and the night time passed. And the new day dawned.

~