The room was made tense by the ensuing silence. Neither party said a word, as both the man behind the desk and 2nine seemed unwilling to speak the first word.
In the end, the man behind the desk sighed helplessly, before slumping into his seat like a person deprived of all his energy. "Well, at least that's what the official order says... I was given another directive from up top."
The man paused slightly as if to focus on 2nine's reaction to his next statement, "It's from the Director himself..."
The mention of the Director caused 2nine to flinch slightly, a reaction which didn't go unnoticed by his superior. "Well... Aren't you going to say anything?"
2nine didn't seem like he was in the mood to speak, which was quite understandable given the present situation. "I do not have anything to say, sir. All I want is to carry out the official punishment directed to me by the Board as I am not worthy enough a Carrier to be delegated any type of secret task."
He paused slightly as if attempting to weigh his words, before his gaze wandered over to the badge adorning his gray overcoat, "I do not deserve this badge."
The man behind the desk gazed at 2nine helplessly, before sighing in defeat, "Right now it feels like I'm looking at the shadow of the officer you were before the leaving for the exchange... how long are you going to let this incident tie you down?"
His voice then softened a bit, as if he was trying to console the man before him,"It wasn't your fault..."
2nine chose not to say anything in retort and just stood there in silence. Eventually, though he decided to speak, mainly due to the worry he could sense coming from his superior. "With all due respect sir I have to disagree. It was indeed my fault, all of it was on me. I failed in my responsibilities as a squad captain and that led to not only the death of several lives under my care, but it also placed a dangerous item into the hands of an unknown party that is clearly hostile."
At this point, 2nine lost the composure he was well known for as a dam of heavy emotions flooded his head. "If only I had noticed a bit earlier...If only I had reacted just a bit quicker... if only I had realized that something was wrong with my train of thought... if only I had given clear and concise orders to my subordinates... maybe if I had even asked them to retreat from the altercation...
BANG!
Ripping the badge which had previously been a symbol of pride and honor for him, he slammed it on his superior's desk as his voice turned hoarse with regret, "Maybe if I had been a better captain, all of this wouldn't have happened and their lives would have been saved."
The entire office descended into silence once again as the sound of a ticking table clock and even, steady breaths reverberated around the walls.
The man behind the desk kept his gaze steadily on 2nine, a trace of pity flashing through his eyes as he watched his once calm and composed student break down into a plethora of emotions.
The man sighed helplessly, before giving 2nine some time to steady his emotions before he spoke again.
"Feeling better?"
2nine didn't give a direct response but withdrew his hands from his superior's table in slow motion, leaving behind his badge in the process. On a normal occasion failure to respond to a superior officer would have been impermissible and would have led to corporal punishment but given the present scenario, the man didn't think about it, as the two of them normally had a much closer relationship than that.
He did however pose his question once again, to which two nine nodded quite reticently.
"Sigh... I wasn't supposed to do this but given your current disposition I feel like if I don't, you truly won't agree to carry out the task and risk missing out on an opportunity I know you yearn for.”
The man then rubbed his forehead as if nursing a headache, before taking out a document underneath his desk.
The document had the word 'CLASSIFIED' written boldly at the top in dark red ink, with the title specifying that the clearance level for viewing its contents was limited to the hierarchy of Jurisdictional Captains and above.
The man tossed it towards the stoic 2nine, clearly not paying heed to the latter part of the cover.
2nine hesitated slightly before reaching for it, clearly showing interest in its contents. His hands clenched in intervals while reading it before his eyes glanced at a seemingly shocking part of the document.
He glanced up at his superior before posing a question in a gloomy voice, "How accurate is this Sir?"
The man behind the desk seemed to grasp the seriousness in 2nine’s voice, causing him to straighten up and radiate the aura of an esteemed Carrier officer.
"It's not totally accurate due to the limited time used to gather up all of the information but pertaining to the part that specifically caught your interest, the Board of Inquisitors is almost 100% certain that it's true and I share the same sentiments, we seem to have a traitor among the higher-ups."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The document detailed the information gathered on the loss of Oddity - 999 - IV and the parties involved in the assault. It had been documented that the investigation team had linked the unknown main assailant to the Err Ascetics, a group of scorned cultists obsessed with the re-emergence of the horrific divinity of death. The abilities shown by the assailant perfectly matched the shadow domain, which was vastly related to death's faith.
Aside from the Err Ascetics, only the nocturnal vampires of Hale had major Apostles in this domain, but the vampires had been ruled out of the occasion, mainly due to their usual seclusive nature and lack of evidence. They rarely got involved in worldly activities, talkless of the theft of an Oddity coveted by the DSS.
The pale badge seen by 2nine before his blackout on the assailant's robe further reinforced this theory, as that was the badge donned by the occultic followers of death and despair.
The background of the other assailant hidden in the dark however remained unknown, with most of the fingers pointing towards the madmen of Synod Betise. They were the only group of heretics who mainly dabbled in the mind domain, but confirmation of their participation was unknown at the moment due to their erratic and lunatic personalities. Their group and the ascetics of death had been involved in numerous altercations over the years, leading some people to believe that it might have been an unknown third party that night instead.
All of this however wasn't what shocked 2nine as he had previously come to the same conclusion. What truly shocked him was what was written on the last page, which stated that the board felt like insider information on the route and team composition was leaked, basically saying that there was a mole in the DSS. This was huge news!
2nine's eyes under his mask narrowed slightly. Now that he thought about it, he started to see the connection as well.
The assailants had picked the perfect time to strike and knew of their route perfectly, which meant that they must have been lying in wait. This shouldn't have been possible since the information related to the exchange was passed on to the Jurisdictional Captain by the Board before being assigned to the delegated team.
Naturally, the Director would be aware of this, meaning that unless one of the squad members talked about the classified mission to someone else, no one should have known about it, which would be very unlikely since the squad is only told about it two hours before departure and kept quarantined in the base.
This naturally meant that aside from the higher-ups, no one should have been able to leak the details. There was a mole among the board!
2nine drew a long breath at the shocking thought. 'A high-ranking officer of the DSS collaborating with heretical cultists? It makes no sense!'
2nine’s gaze darkened as he moved his gaze away from the document and unto the superior before him. It wasn't that he didn't suspect the man as well since it could also have been him, but he had known him for far too long to think of him in that way.
The man had been his mentor when he was a rookie Carrier and had guided him onto the right part as an officer. Naturally, he placed him on a high pedestal and knew a little more well than others how upright and noble he was. He was an esteemed officer who abided by the law at all times, which was why he could rise up to the rank of Jurisdictional Captian of the main branch.
Coupled with the care and concern he could feel radiating from the man, he had unconsciously crossed him out of the list of suspects. Showing him the document was proof enough of his good intentions, as he risked being suspected by his own student. 2nine had pride in his ability to read people, so he felt like this man before him couldn't be involved.
He then stabled his emotions before responding in a soft but barely audible voice, "Why are you showing me this sir?"
The man heaved a sigh of relief as he noticed the soft undertone of 2nine's voice which meant he didn’t suspect him. Naturally, as the student knew the teacher, the teacher also knew the student. "I'm showing you this because it's related to the secret task delegated to you. It is from the Director himself and is unknown to the board. To them, you will be serving your one-year probational punishment away from official duties but unofficially, you will be an undercover agent for us to uncover this plot."
2nine hesitated slightly, before asking carefully, "But aren't you suspicious of the Director as well sir? He could very well be involved."
The man leaned onto his table slowly, before responding with a weak smile, "If the Director of all people is involved, doesn't that mean our organization is about to topple over? Besides he isn't the type of person to involve himself in these types of things. The same way you trust I'm not involved in the same way I trust that he isn't. He is the steadfast pillar that steadies the foundation of the DSS and he is a man of virtuous nature. He is the Carrier I, as well as a vast majority of officers, aspire to be. So I put my trust in him and I hope that means enough to you."
2nine once again took a moment to digest what he had been told, before nodding his head steadily. He indeed shared the same sentiments as his superior when it came to the Director, and was just asking for confirmation. Now that it was clear, he obviously wouldn't hang on to the fleeting suspicion.
He then asked about the so-called 'secret task' from the Director, before being told about the details by his superior. He planned to take it extremely seriously since he had a bone to pick with the people responsible for his subordinate's death.
The image of the shadowy wraith dangling the dislodged bloody spine of his subordinate had been a frequent visitor in his dreams like his subordinates were urging him to seek revenge in their place. He felt like he wouldn't be able to truly rest until he paid the weight back in blood until he saw every party involved sent to the gallows.
After receiving the details of the task, 2nine hesitated slightly before agreeing to it. He then asked for permission to leave in order to immediately start the preparations, to which his superior agreed.
Watching the back of his student disappear behind the office door, the man behind the desk sank into his seat tiredly while looking at the badge on the desk.
‘He is usually so calm and collected but this seems to have taken a massive toll on him. This was his first failed operation and even if I expected him to face some setbacks one of these days to help with his growth, I didn't expect it to be this dire. Sigh... I just pray that this task would help to uncover clues related to this issue as well as help him to once again foster personal connections and heal the scar placed on him by this ordeal.’
The man then turned his desk towards his right wall, where a portrait of a man of a similar build to him was standing close to a young man in an orientation uniform during an academy graduation, causing his voice to soften slightly,
‘After all, there is no better cure to a broken spirit than the vibrant energy of youthful nature.’