When we were called into Dahlia’s office on the day of our evaluation, I wasn’t feeling very confident. Our teamwork was subpar at best. Teamwork is insanely important when you're working at the Agency. Every mission involves a group. Apparently, there was a mishap a couple years ago that caused many casualties. Ever since then no one has worked alone.
She didn’t look very impressed with us, either that or it was just her face. I swear she hasn’t smiled a minute of her life. Any form of happiness seemed to have been sucked out of her a long time ago. Rumor has it it was because her first husband left, my theory is that she looked that miserable at birth.
“Ok maggots, here’s your evaluation. Carter, you’re sneaking attacks would be so much better if you stopped monologuing to yourself.”
“What do you mean? It’s the best way to keep me focused,” Carter crossed his arms.
Dahlia rolled her eyes, “Clarisse you have to be a little louder. When you're on your a-game you can affect up to twenty people. The way you’ve been performing only allows for half that.”
“Yes ma’am,” Clarisse said excitedly.
“Lydia, is it so hard to listen to instructions? We’re all aware of how powerful you are but it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t listen to your captain and second in command,” Dahlia pushed her glasses up.
“I always listen to Lucas,” I argued.
“Yes, but you never listen to Keira. They’re a duo, listen to them both.”
Keira stuck her tongue out at me. I glared at her in return. Of course, she has to be that insufferable.
“Lucas and Keira. You two don’t always agree with each other on a plan, which is fine but, your team needs concrete orders. Get that under control.” I stuck my tongue out at Keira.
She smirked, “We’ll get that all under control.”
“When we go on the first mission, it will be a piece of cake,” Lucas stated.
Dahlia sighed, “That’s good to know. Now let’s get to the job at hand. Miraculously we found a mission that works for you idiots.”
“Hey, who’re you calling idiots?” Carter exclaimed.
“Shut up,” Lucas whispered to him.
“I don’t get paid enough for this. Your mission is to infiltrate a business party. It’s no ordinary business party. There’s been a rise in the kidnapping of mutant individuals. I’m sure you’ve heard about this on the news the past ten years or so.”
It was hard to escape what was going on. There were people recently who had been born differently than everyone else. Usually, abilities manifest when you reach the age of five. These people though, their abilities manifest at birth and change their appearance. They were also way more powerful than people’s powers who didn’t manifest in that way. Some of them look almost not human depending on their abilities. It’s either they were worshiped or hated. It was all quite upsetting.
“Your mission is to rescue these individuals and bring them back here for safety. You’ll find the rest of the information right here,” she slid a manilla folder over to Lucas. “You have one week to prepare everything. Annabelle will also be assisting you with this mission to make sure everything goes smoothly.
“We have this all under control,” Lucas smiled.
“I’m sure you do. Before I kick you out of my office, don’t forget that you mustn’t tell any outsiders about this mission. The last thing we need is getting compromised,” she looked directly at Carter.
He looked offended, “I would never.”
Dahlia groaned, “Get out of my office, I need time away from you hooligans.” We gladly left her office. That room was great at sucking the life out of me.
We headed for Lucas’ apartment. It was going to be the best place for our base of operations. His apartment was set up in a way that was great for brainstorming. The dining table was huge and there were no distractions. Unfortunately, I would be spending the majority of my time here for the next week.
Lucas sat at the head of the table and spread out the papers onto the table. Keira grabbed one of them. She would occasionally tap her fingers on the table as she was reading, getting on my nerves.
“Ok, so this is what we have to work with. Robert Truly has been suspected of kidnapping mutant children. He’ll be attending Petal’s, Business Gala. Petal’s is a corporation that deals with the distribution of flowers. They decided to have a gala to celebrate their new business partner,” Lucas said.
“That’s all fine and dandy, but what does he want with the mutant children?” Carter asked.
“It looks like he mostly goes after the ones that can make plants grow faster or rare,” Lucas explained.
Keira twirled her hair, seemingly annoyed, “I vote we kill him.”
Lucas laughed, “Don’t let your own personal bias get in the way of the mission.”
“I’m just sayin’, it would make our lives ten times easier,” Keira tried to reason.
“Yeah, how about not,” Lucas said.
Keira scrunched her nose, “I guess we’ll see.”
I picked up one of the papers. It was going to be a formal gathering with many different companies attending. AKA it was going to be boring. Boring businessmen in one room, what could be more enjoyable? Literally everything.
“I know,” Clarisse started, “why don’t we stop him before he gets to the gala.”
Lucas smiled at her, “That’s a great idea,” she smiled back at him.
“Not really. We don’t have any information of his whereabouts, except for the gala,” I said.
“She’s got a point,” Keira agreed.
I don’t need your help. I mouthed to her.
She shrugged her shoulders.
The back and forth trying to come up with ideas lasted for hours. A couple people thought it was a great idea, while a couple more thought it was a terrible idea. We just couldn’t seem to come up with an idea that worked. We needed a subtle idea, but a very subtle idea was turned down.
“Maybe we should take a break,” Lucas requested.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Clarisse stood up from the table and stretched.
I stood up from the table as well and headed into the kitchen. I was starving, Clarisse’s snacks were demolished hours ago. I started making a sandwich when I noticed my phone light up. It was Johnny.
I had fun hanging out with you the other day. I realllllly want to see you. Let’s meet up in a couple minutes.
I grinned at the phone. He was the only one who could make an otherwise terrible day better. I texted him back.
I can sneak out in ten minutes. Same place?
He texted back immediately. Yup see you soon, xoxo.
I walked back to the dining table. The papers were all back in the manilla folder. Clarisse was sitting next to Lucas. They were whispering and laughing to themselves. Carter was on the couch aggressively playing video games.
“Hey, guys. It’s getting pretty late. I think I should head back to my place, I’m pretty tired,” I announced.
Lucas sighed, “That’s not a bad idea. We’re probably not going to figure out anything tonight anyways.”
“Meeting over?” Carter asked.
“Yup,” Clarisse responded.
“Cool. I’m just gonna stay a little longer. This boss fight is killing me, I have to win,” Carter looked determined.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I waved to everyone as I was leaving the room.
In the background, I could hear Carter saying something to Lucas. I couldn’t quite hear what he was saying, nor did I care. This was a job after all. Why should I have to exert any extra effort outside of work time?
“Let me guess-” there was a voice behind me. “-you plan on sneaking out again.” It was Keira.
I turned around to face her, “For your information, I’m tired and going to bed.”
“Yeah. Sure you are,” she rolled her eyes with a smirk on her face.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I crossed my arms.
“Oh, nothing. Except that you should probably be more careful.”
I scoffed at her, “I can do whatever I want without you telling me what to do.”
She tied her hair back, “I’m just saying.”
“Well, you can you no-”
Clarisse came through the door and shut it behind her. “You two need to be a little quieter. Lucas can hear you. Plus fighting isn’t going to help the team.”
I laughed, “I’ll stop the fighting if Keira keeps her mouth shut.”
“Ha, fine. I’ll never talk to you again,” she glared at me one more time before leaving my sight.
Clarisse facepalmed, “You know she’s the second in command. You kinda have to listen to her.”
Technically I didn’t have to listen to her. Lucas was the leader, she was just his lackey. How she even got the position is beyond me. She sucks at her job.
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