"James," came a voice I knew all too well, "Wake up, Jamie."

I groaned and opened my tired brown eyes to meet Axel's grayish blue ones. The car had come to a stop and the sky outside the vehicle's window was completely dark to coordinate with the present time. I quickly glanced at the time at the front just before Chestin pulled out the keys and turned off the car: 3:13am.

Chestin opened the door on my left side where Kora and Helene sat. He glanced up at Axel and I as we all stayed in silence for a moment. I quickly stretched and yawned loudly as I smacked my head back down into a pillow to muffle the noise.

Axel and Chestin shared a chuckle before they went to work. I carefully turned by body slightly towards little Kora, who had her head resting gently against my left shoulder. Wincing a bit at taking away the pressure applied to my deep puncture, I slid her head to my chest and used my non-hurt right arm to slide them under the girl's legs, picking her up bridal style as I quickly backed out of the car.

The weight did aggravate my wound, but two looks from Axel and Chestin, who were checking up on my condition, got me to signal to them that I was okay with a simple nod.

Besides, a small part of me remembered that I had experienced worst. Three years ago.

Helene was carried by slightly buff-man Axel and Chestin did a double check of the inside of the car before closing and locking all doors. The three of us headed silently back into the R.U. Corporation.

-

Every team in the R.U. had a dorm set up for them, and there were training rooms, and the commons area for chit-chat. Also, the R.U. official conference rooms for team leaders.

I imagined our team leader, Jay, just inside, either being lectured or hearing others be lectured. It wasn't fun, or so he had let it slip out to us one time when we were alone as a team. No figure.

All agents basically lived at the corporation. It was too risky to have all 2,000 of us continuously drive to this location every morning for 'work.'

"Welcome back Agent O," came the newbie female teenager at the front desk. Axel glanced at her and smiled, giving her a quick nod.

"and Agent L," to which Chestin walked past and patted the girl on the shoulder as would a senior in the business to a rookie.

The two men walked forward, not before quickly turning back around to look at me with an amused shake of their heads.

The girl before me seemed to go back to attending her nails before I cleared my throat. She looked up at me with a confused expression. "Yes?"

My eyebrows arched. "Where's your manners, student?" She was supposed to greet every senior agent that returned back to the corporation.

"Um, hello, then?" She asked me with an attitude, going back to her nails.

Axel made a 'yikes' expression to Chestin, who had crossed his free arms across his chest to watch the scene unfold.

"Interesting," I commented, glancing at her name tag, "Diana. Diana Greenwood?"

The girl seemed to be started that I knew her last name, for her name tag only listed her first name in engraved gold.

"You're an intern student being assigned to different tasks in the corporation," I began, "Obviously you take classes, Diana. Advanced SS?" I glanced at the binder set on a bottom shelf of the front desk in the back, "That's sniping and spotting. See you in class tomorrow morning, Greenwood."

The look on her face turned less confident every passing millisecond as she processed my words. Her eyes flashed a couple of emotions, from regret to being scared for her life.

I let out a small sigh at her careless mistake. Truthfully, any student could have a bad moment and accidentally spit out words they don't mean. Exactly why I didn't break out the teacher-student lecture I should've given to her. Because I just came back to my daily life, I was being lenient to her. Her behavior was unacceptable, however. Any other teacher, take for example Axel and Chestin, would have fried her with a ten-hour talk.

I joined the boys and we all walked down the hall into the gold-designed elevator (much nicer than the one Chestin and I were stuck in earlier might I add, although that was obvious), but not before we heard the young intern from afar yell out "WELCOME BACK, AGENT W!"

Once inside and settled, Chestin pressed number 11 and we waited to be taken to our floor. The three of us looked at each other and I saw the boys eyeing me with a smirk.

"Unbelievable," Axel remarked, shaking his head slightly, "Causing trouble right when you come back."

"What bad timing too," Chestin chimed in, "If it was us two like usual, she wouldn't have gotten in trouble." He nudged Axel and the man nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. Your lectures are long as f. You'd finish by the time the girl turned 45."

"Whaat?" Axel mocked, "Mee? Never."

I kicked him in the shin and he let out a quiet groan. "Since I'm back there'll be four of us again," I continued, "Axel, Chestin, Helene, and I. We're like a pack. A team. A family. Four owls-"

Chestin cut in with, "Owls?"

"You never realized our code names spelled 'owls?'" I retorted, laughing at him and glad that I could stop sounding so cringy.

Axel mouthed quietly to himself. "O," he points to himself. "W," he points to me. "L," he points to Chestin. "S," his finger slides down to Helene in his arms.

"You're right," he sang out, amused.

The elevator door came to a stop at floor 5 and both Chestin and I snapped our heads up to the ceiling before realizing someone was just getting in. Axel managed to mouth to us, 'what the fuck is wrong with you two?' before we let our gazes relax from the hatch on the ceiling.

Another agent entered into the crammed space and glanced at us in acknowledgement, before seeing my existence and making secret ogling stares my way.

He was handsome too, and it would've stayed a secret if the two men in there with me hadn't completely shuffled somehow where they blocked all view from my line of vision.

The man seemed irritated and dropped his gaze to my legs instead. That's when I started feeling uncomfortable.

"Woan," Chestin greeted the agent with his last name, succeeding in getting his attention.

"Hall," he snaps out of his trance and nods towards Chestin. "Damond," he then addressed Axel. My eyes met with the man I didn't know and he gestured towards me.

"And you are?"

I hesitated. I mean, I might as well. He was a fellow agent. "Len-" I began.

"-How's Sarah doing?" Chestin asked the man, checking the elevator floor number, "She must feel burdened with not knowing what kind of job you do behind her back. But, top secret right?"

Ooo. I see, I seee.

I understood what was going on now. He must've had a girlfriend outside of work. Then again, no agent ever had a relationship within the R.U. It was a strict policy.

The few who did either kept it a secret until they were well respected within the corporation, or suffered the consequences. There was a pretty scandalous case in the past, and the two agents involved were reprimanded heavily. No one spoke of the top agent that resigned from the R.U. It was a taboo to speak her code name, and agents now don't even know who she was or where she is.

The most recent dare devils were from three years ago. Helene and Carlos. They were put on probation for three long years, before Carlos was permanently fired and Helene returned with low status recognition. The only reason why she attended the mission with us tonight was because my previous spotter, I heard, had suffered a lethal bullet wound a year ago and died.

It took both Axel, Chestin, and I to beg Jay to even consider taking her. However, although she was reduced to a lower rank, in reality she had the skills that rivaled top agents from time to time.

His lips shut silently and the man left once we reached floor 8. The moment the doors slid shut, I couldn't hold back a "pfft."

Axel and Chestin shared a glance with one another and then directed their glares at me, so I pursed my lips shut and kept quiet till we reached our floor.

_

We walked into our spaced-out dorm and the air conditioning hit my face like a train moving at high speeds. It felt so refreshing that I went towards the couch and laid Kora down, before slouching lazily down next to her small body with my head tilted back and my eyes closed.

From my right I heard Axel exchange Helene to Chestin, who took responsibility in taking the woman to her room for the night. Axel stood there for a while before spotting my lifeless form and plopping down on the couch as well, arms ready to wrap over me.

My eyes fluttered open and I playfully smacked him for making such movements on the couch that could possibly awaken Kora, but otherwise his arms wrapped around my shoulders and I laid tiredly against his protective arms.

Axel has always been there for me, I loved him like a family. He was more important to me than anyone in this corporation and line of business. To be back to my normal life where I could make sure my family was close and safe, that's all I could ask for.

"What are you thinking?" Axel asks as he studied my dazed expression. I looked up at him and shook my head slowly. "Just, glad you're here. Glad to be back."

The man scoffed silently at me being cheesy before leaning down to kiss the top of my head, brutally ruffling it afterwards so that I looked a little something like the great Albert Einstein.

"Time to slee-" Axel announced.

"Uh, sleep?" cuts in Chestin who had just exited the room and closed Helene's bedroom door.

Both Axel and I sat up and spun around on the couch, leaning against the back upright slat like kids. "What are you suggesting?" I piped suspiciously, "it's like four in the morning."

Chestin smiled cheekily at me, "We drink of course."

As if that was the most reasonable thing to do at this time. As if I should've known they drank at four in the morning. There's something about drinking that always tips me off.

"I'll go get Jamie her glass of water before we begin," Axel sighed teasingly, pushing off the couch and heading for the kitchen.

"No, I want to too," I protested loud enough for both men to hear, "Why not? Why can't I?"

"How old are you Jamie?" My partner raised his eyebrows.

"It is rude to ask a lady her age," I joked, refusing to answer him.

Chestin smirked, "An underage lady."

"By one year," I tried.

Axel walked back into the living room and handed me my glass of water. "Still underage," he winked at me, receiving a glare before he settled down on the couch, getting ready to bring Kora into her bedroom before the big men did big boy things.

I was in the process of sending Chestin death glares, to which he dismissed with scoffs, before a grungy voice from the hallways rang throughout the childish tense air.

"Anne?" sixteen-year-old Sammy, nephew of Jay, grumbled, stretching his gradually forming muscles and rubbing at his crystal green eyes.

I turned to the boy and laughed at his messy bed hair and poor appearance to greet my return. Although I had to admit, he grew up well under Axel and Chestin's care, and had the same handsome features that Jay had.

"Haven't heard that name in a while," Axel chimed with a side grin before going back to preparing his and Chestin's drinks. I couldn't help but let out a melted smile as well.

When Sammy was first introduced to me by Jay, he had been determined to call me Anne, which was short for my middle name that I barely remembered, Antoinette. He commented that 'Jamie' was a guy's name, and that calling me Anne sounded more feminine and sweet. Whatever made the kid sleep better at night, I let him have his own free will. Besides, at this point who even knows who I am.

Jamie?

James?

Lennon?

Antoinette?

Anne?

Wendy?

Agent W?

(Princess?)

(Kitten?)

(Bitch?)

(Nerd?)

(Loser?)

Instructor?

(A/N- kudos to whoever can make references to all of these nicknames/ names/ titles!)

Other than my parents, I was only called my full middle name once in my life.

"Sam-my-man," I greeted the boy before I walked over and gave him a death squeeze. He grew up so much over the last few years that I felt like crying. From his eyes, to his chin, shoulders, and down, everything was now defined and sharp.

Sammy didn't particularly mind me ruffling his hair afterwards since it already looked like a big pile of fur-ball string, but he did push me away when he thought that he smelled bad from napping.

I rolled my eyes and continued to examine his wondrous growth change, imagining any stories that could have been worth experiencing when I wasn't home at the R.U.

"Stop creeping the kid out," Chestin remarked a moment later as he and Axel watched us reunite, popping the beer bottle.

"Please," I countered back sarcastically, "What's creepy is how well you took care of this kid all by yourself. I'm impressed." Sammy stood there half-asleep with his head slightly tilted down, probably not even realizing that I was ruffling his hair at this point.

"What 'you mean, James?" Axel's voice slurred playfully. I could hear the two men over at the counter getting busy with clinking glass cups and pouring the sizzling alcohol that only adults had access too. Which was no fair.

I turned to them and my mood dropped five flights of steps as I remembered the memories of when I was under their care. We were all relatively in the same age group, but I was the youngest, and female, and let me just tell you I did not feel like a princess.

Then again, when was 'Jamie James Wendy Agent W Anne Antoinette Lennon' ever a princess?

The name doesn't even ring well.

-

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(EDIT: I checked the next day, January 13th, 2018, and it's at ... Crazy, I'm mind-blown •o• )