Glenn remembered. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he whispered, mostly to himself. He glanced at her for confirmation. At her nod, he asked, “And if you receive conflicting orders…?” 

“I can choose which order to follow,” RIN 19 confirmed. The organization had always been careful not to give her mutually exclusive orders. That was why each order was supposed to be reported, though he knew their handler, Mathew Tandin, didn’t report all the mistakes he made either.

Glenn felt his breath catch as the impossible became reality. And then reality settled in with an entirely new set of stressors. “The Labyrinth knows you’re alive?” A nod. “And they know you wanted to find me?” Another nod. He forced himself to take slow, deep breaths, shoving the panic down with everything else. “How long until they get here?”

“They should be nearing the building already,” she said without taking her eyes off her teacup.

The sinking feeling was back, the panic squirming out from under his defenses. Loud rapping came from the door. RIN just looked at him, then at the door, one eyebrow raised. 

“Butcher, open the door, please!” It wasn’t the organization. Though he hadn’t known it before today, he now recognized Claire Benefeld’s voice. 

Confused, he obeyed, and the brown-haired girl rushed in, shutting his door behind her. She dropped her school-issued messenger bag and turned back to face him. “I just checked out the window and three pairs of people are heading toward us, and they don’t seem like people you want to meet, so I… I needed to… warn you. I guess.” Her speech, which had started rushed, the words tumbling out of her mouth eagerly, slowed as she spoke until, by the end, she was mumbling, eyebrows knit together in puzzlement. It seemed that even she didn’t understand why she was here, leaving Glenn no hope of figuring it out.

RIN sighed. “She’s the Sensor, so I suppose she can’t help it. Not given the strength of the resonance between you two.”

Glenn stared at her. While that was interesting, it hardly explained why Benefeld was here in the first place. He didn’t think her rooms were in this building. He discarded the thought. Three pairs. A full suite. That was the standard procedure for taking in a rogue agent, but two suites would have been more appropriate if they intended to take on both him and RIN. In other words, they were only here for RIN. If he sat back and did nothing, they would take RIN, and he would go on with his life exactly as he had been.

He didn’t have to get involved with the Labyrinthn again. He didn’t have to ever speak with Marissa again. 

There was another knock. Benefeld’s eyes went wide with alarm, but to his surprise, she merely pulled out a seal and, with hardly any flash signaling its activation, disappeared. He didn’t have time to consider it. RIN didn’t seem bothered, so he’d worry about Benefeld later. Not sure how much he trusted her illusions, he cast one of his own over the room. It was probably a good precaution anyway when dealing with the organization. 

With a deep breath, Glenn opened the door again. “Hello, Mathew.” Their former handler and a ranking member of the Science faction. 

The stocky man sighed and held out his hand. “Glenn.” He looked over at the couch. “RIN, always a pleasure.” She gave him a bland smile and continued sipping her tea. 

Another man appeared behind Mathew, who grimaced and introduced them. “This is Visk Stilles, from the Magic faction. He’d like to discuss some matters with RIN.” 

Visk was wiry and high-strung looking in a crisp white coat with a clipboard grasped tightly in one hand. The clip seemed to be struggling with the pile of papers clasped within. His presence explained things somewhat. Mathew would never expect Glenn to be an impartial observer in this situation, so it was likely Visk who’d brought along the suite of agents. Since Mathew hadn’t brought a second suite, Science wasn’t going to try to bring RIN back in. Glenn adjusted his illusion, threading it out of the room and into the halls where the agents waited. Science almost certainly expected this to end with bloodshed, but it would be easier on everyone if it could be accomplished without any agents’ deaths.

Glenn swallowed, trying to ignore the saliva pooling in his mouth at the thought of finally getting a taste of proper violence after nearly a year without.

Preparations complete and heart beating faster, Glenn held out his hand. Visk looked at it, clutched his clipboard tighter, and pushed past him. “Agent RIN,” Visk began, stopping before her and standing rigidly. “You have been found in defiance of your orders.” He sniffed and eyed her critically. “When Alexander Tucker presented you to us, he claimed you would obey the orders given to you by anyone you were keyed to.” 

Visk flipped through the pile of papers and examined one closely. “According to this, that includes Agents Tandin and Butcher.”

RIN remained seated. Her bored stare more than compensated for the elevation difference. “That is correct.”

Visk scowled. “And yet, you have refused the following orders from Agent Tandin: to resume work under the organization, to provide all relevant theory for the immortality seal, and to stay away from your former partner.” His voice was so tight, Glenn wondered that his vocal cords didn’t snap. 

RIN nodded. “That is also correct.” 

Visk visibly twitched, and Glenn caught Mathew hiding his smirk behind a black-gloved hand. Beside him, Benefeld’s presence remained still. He reached for her hand, his magic somehow guiding him to it unerringly. Her skin felt cold, but he could barely pay attention to that, given the way his magic reacted to her, sending sparks of pleasure down the nerves in contact with her. 

It made no sense. He had no experience with comforting someone, and yet it felt natural to squeeze her hand reassuringly. Resonance, RIN had called it. He had only a vague idea of what that entailed. Glenn considered the matter absently while he watched RIN, carefully continuing to update his illusions. Something slid along his fingers, and he almost jumped. It took a second to realize that he’d continued holding Claire’s hand without thinking. The sensation was her fingers sliding out from his. He let go as though burned and moved away, ignoring Mathew’s questioning glance.

Visk continued without noticing a thing. “How do you explain that discrepancy then, Agent RIN?” He sneered her name, making both Glenn and Mathew bristle. 

Glenn stepped forward. “That would be my fault.”  Visk rounded on him, and he shrugged, giving the man an apologetic smile. It probably looked entirely too fake - he hadn’t bothered to keep up his practice on such niceties - but it might be enough to appear to be trying. “Apparently, I told her once not to do anything I wouldn’t do. I didn’t realize until today that it counted as an order or that it gave her a degree of freedom in some situations.”

Visk still looked unconvinced. “I fail to see how that leads to her recent disobedience. Records indicate that you were an exemplary agent before your resignation.” His tone made it clear he thought the records were wrong, but no one would openly speak up against an agent favored by both Marissa and Hektor.

“I resigned, so clearly now I wouldn’t work under the organization. We were partners, so I would seek her out if I knew she was alive… and I can’t see any way that giving anyone the key to immortality would be a good idea. I’d say RIN is following my orders perfectly.”

“Then perhaps you need to be brought up on charges for giving unauthorized -”

Mathew cut in, putting a hand on Glenn’s increasingly tense shoulder. “That’s enough. Stilles, everyone gave RIN accidental orders. I can’t count the number of times I said something only to realize later she’d taken it as an order. It’s regrettable that Agent Butcher’s order led to this, but it’s hardly like he meant it to happen.” He jerked his thumb toward the clipboard. “Finish with RIN, and let’s go.” That settled it. Mathew was a member of Team Less Bloodshed. Pity, Glenn thought, but he liked Mathew well enough, so he’d try not to ruin the man’s day. Whether or not RIN got that memo, though… Well, so long as no one was stupid enough to threaten Glenn, it would probably be fine.

Silence hung in the air for several moments before Visk managed to stiffen even further and returned his attention to RIN. “Fine.” It was the least ‘fine’ sounding expression of the word Glenn had ever heard. “As you can be neither controlled nor killed, you have the following choices. Return with us willingly and remain in the Labyrinth. The triumvirate has decided your immortality seal may remain secret, but you will aid in the creation of any other seals our research departments require.” His lip curled, his disdain for that compromise clear.

Visk flipped through the papers on his clipboard. It looked more like a nervous habit than something he did because he needed to read the information within. “Alternatively, we will take you back by force and devote our resources to killing you until your seal finally fails. I’m told your pain receptors remain fully functional. I’m sure you can be persuaded to design a counter to it in time.”

RIN finally stood. She barely came up to Visk’s shoulders. “You are incorrect. I can be controlled. Just not by you.” She walked past him to Mathew and lifted her chin stubbornly. “I will remain with Agent Butcher, whose orders I must, for the most part, still obey. He is unlikely to give many that he would not do himself after all. You will provide me with the necessary paperwork to live and attend this school with him.”

Glenn fought the urge to sigh. RIN had never learned tact.

Visk spoke up again loudly. His face was flushed red in anger. Clearly, he wasn’t used to being ignored. “Perhaps you would be more obedient if it was Agent Butcher’s life on the line!” 

Mathew slapped a hand to his face ,and Glenn released the sigh he’d been holding back. A moment later, Visk’s eyes widened, his face rapidly turning white as blood pumped out of his throat in pulsing spurts that coated the room. Glenn let one layer of his illusion drop, revealing that RIN stood behind Visk, a knife in her hand. The man grasped uselessly at the wound. Not long after, he collapsed and quickly fell still, the flow of blood gradually slowing to an ooze. 

Glenn worked his tongue over his teeth, sighing in helpless pleasure. It had been difficult adjusting to living as a civilian, and though he’d satisfied the worst of the urges by biting the inside of his cheek, someone else’s blood was infinitely better. Speaking of civilians… He hoped Benefeld didn’t react badly to the coppery smell of blood saturating the air. He may love it, but he remembered enough about being a normal person to know most people would feel nauseous right now. 

Mathew scowled, spitting out bloody saliva. Apparently, he was still a reasonably normal and functional human being. “The Faith’s gonna be all over us for this. They hate infighting,” he commented with the air of someone reading lines in a play. His lips pursed, and he eyed Glenn warily. “How long has that illusion been up anyway?”

Glenn shrugged half-heartedly. “Since before you entered the room.” 

Mathew hummed. “You’re as scarily impressive as always. Glad to see civilian life hasn’t dulled your skills too much.” 

RIN knelt and wiped off her knife on one of the few still-white parts of Visk’s coat, then returned it to its sheath on her thigh. “Do we have a deal? Or shall I kill the six agents he brought with him as well?” 

“How - nevermind.” Mathew shook his head. “I told them it was a stupid idea. You don’t create a weapon and then, when its chains break, try to threaten it into obedience.” He eyed the body on the floor and sighed again. “I’ll send someone from Science over to clean up. If I try to ask Magic, Lord Sieg will drive us crazy with paperwork. He’s already not happy about having you two at the same school as his children.”

Mathew gestured, and the agents waiting outside dispersed. “RIN, Glenn, would you agree to work with us as independent contractors? You’d receive pay for each mission or seal completed, but you’d be free to refuse any request.”

Glenn narrowed his eyes. “That was Science’s offer all along.” 

“Yes,” Mathew said unapologetically.

Politics. “No more manipulations. And RIN gets paid for killing Visk for you.”

“It’s only a manipulation if you find out about it,” Mathew countered. “And I’m sure paying for RIN’s tuition and supplies is more than adequate compensation. After all, we didn’t ask you to kill him, though he’s certainly much less irritating this way, and we appreciate your thoughtfulness in having done so.” 

Glenn considered that and finally nodded. 

Mathew looked at him seriously. “Are you sure about this? You could still send her back. If she stays… You know how Marissa is, and Lord Sieg won’t curb her this time.” 

Glenn knew that. His chest hurt, but he forced himself to nod. RIN was more important than anything. 

They shook hands, and Mathew headed to the door. “We’ll be checking up on you regularly. I’ll try to make sure they don’t send anyone else from Magic, but you know they’ve got their own values. They might be willing to take the risk.” He glanced in the bedroom as he walked past, gaze sliding right over Benefeld. “Bed’s big enough for two, but I can get you a new one if you’d rather not share.” 

Glenn and RIN responded at the same time - “I have a couch.” “We’ll share!” 

“Right.” Mathew opened the door and held up a hand in a casual wave. “Don’t either of you do anything I wouldn’t do.” Group orders didn’t affect RIN.