Chapter 1 part 2

Mismatched Eyes

After the briefing, the two operatives, Felix and Maria, prepared their gear. With briefcase in hand, they were both greeted by a gust of wind from the black jet that had sat in wait for their arrival. They sat, facing one another, without saying a word. It was still long before they would land at their destination. Felix opened his briefcase and began to polish his gun.

“Soooo, anything on your mind?” Maria suddenly spoke, her legs crossed above the seat.

“I’m thinking of how to infiltrate the building. According to this, there’s only one entrance, so getting in is going to be tricky—” Felix placed the cobalt-colored gun atop a black case as he pointed to the holographic projection.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Ah, then what?” Felix awkwardly smiled.

“I was thinking more like... talking about things other than the mission.”

“Oh, why?”

“Like the chief said, we should get to know each other. Build trust, y’know?”

“Um…” Clueless and put on the spot, Felix pressed his thumb against his chin.

“Oh god, what have they done to you?” She blurted out.

“I’ve never really done this before, so this is all rather new to me.”

“That’s not inspiring confidence in me.”

“Don’t worry. Rest assured; I’ll protect you.” Felix answered.

A sudden ding sounded, grabbing both of their attention. A flight attendant walked up to them, with a pen and paper in hand.

“Mister Aster, Miss Readman, what would you like today?”

“Mimosa!” Maria spoke with excitement.

“Coffee, two creams, three sugar.” He said.

“Understood, your orders will arrive momentarily.” The attendant responded with a polite smile before leaving.

“Being intoxicated wouldn’t be good for the mission.” Felix stated scoldingly.

She waved her hand, “We have a few hours, I’ll be fine.” Maria returned her attention toward Felix with a blank stare, “As for you… that’s your third cup of coffee in the past hour…”

“Fourth, actually.” Felix clarified as he took the last sip from his cup.

“I know you’re ‘superhuman’, but isn’t that a taaad bit too much?”

“Maybe, but since we’re not exactly normal people anymore…” He remarked indifferently.

“…I don’t know how to respond to that.” She twiddled her fingers. “Curious though, how does it feel having powers?”

He raised his eyebrows and asked, “You can’t use it?”

“I was told that the powers and the glowing eyes come at stage two, and well after undergoing the first stage… I’m not sure I’m willing to risk it.” She snickered with dull, dead eyes.

“Ah, yeah. I understand. For me it was... it was like…” Felix looked down and recollected his own hazy experience.

His brow furrowed, and he pinched at his forehead. Nothing was coming back to him, nothing specific.

There was only darkness, someone had been talking... no, shouting. Panicked, fearful. Afraid of something. But he was unable to find the right words to describe it.

Only Professor Tetsuya’s the expression of desperation, followed by a terrible, golden light. Like a star that engulfed his memories into the fire.

“Are… you okay?” Maria’s voice snapped him out of it.

Felix looked up with a drop of sweat rolling down his cheek, and saw Maria’s worried expression. Her palm was on his shoulder.

“Ah, yeah... It’s just. I would tell you, but…” Felix gazed at his hand, hoping for something to happen. But looking at his empty palm was all she needed, and understood immediately.

“Ah… I see.” She said in a way that sounded like an apology.

“Yeah… unfortunately, we’re in the same boat at the moment.” He lamented.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually.” She beamed, “Another topic then, since you like coffee so much, let’s start there... any reason for the two creams and three sugars? Is it just the taste?” Her lips stretched slightly while her eyebrows curled.

Felix tilted his head for a moment and answered, “Mhm, it’s how my mentor used to make it. Guess it just stuck.”

“Hoh? Must’ve been something you picked up from him.”

“Her, actually. It’s probably the first thing she taught me… five years ago, I think.”

“I see, so are you two close?”

“Yeah, we— were...” For a brief moment, his eyes light up before solemnly lowering his head.

“Were? Oh…oh, sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” She replied, twiddling with her fingers.

“It’s fine… it’s been a few years so I’ve moved past it.”

“I see…let’s change the topic, what else can we talk about?” Her head tilted downward as she spoke in an apologetic tone.

Felix looks down to his hand, “Um…Do you like coffee?”

“I don’t dislike it… what about you, anything you like?”

“Coff—”

“Other than coffee, I mean?” She quickly cut him off.

Felix stayed silent and pressed his thumb against his chin as he thought deeply.

Maria’s expression turned to stale annoyance, “Alright, we’re not making any progress… When I heard that I was going to work with the ‘Child of Stars’. I felt a little excited, but now…”

“Well excuse me for disappointing you. I’m trying, okay? Also don’t call me that.”

“Sorry, it’s just… I wanted to see someone who was irreplaceable.” She looked to the side, staring distantly.

Uncomfortable, Felix asked, “…Define irreplaceable?”

“You and I… err, well, how do I put this…Someone at the top, I guess.”

“At the top, huh? I’m not even in the top ten yet.”

“Speaking of, chief mentioned that you wanted to be the rank one. Why’s that?”

With a blank stare, Felix responded with silence.

“Come on, tell me…”

Felix scratched his cheek and answered, “I don’t think it’s just something I can tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Tell you what, if we make it out of this alive, I’ll give you the answer…”

“I guess I could wait a couple hours… but thinking that the Black Cat of Ruin becoming ranked anything other than thirteenth would feel out of place.” Maria tilted her head with a playful smirk.

“Again, that’s not my official codename.”

“Thirteenth ranked in the leaderboard of the alliance of the twelve organizations…” She spoke slowly, as if she was confirming it to herself.

“I don’t think me being the thirteenth strongest person in the world is so far-fetched.” Felix sarcastically said.

“Maybe if you’ve only lived in the alliance’s small world. The world is a big place, full of monsters with machines in their veins, and exoskeletons on their bodies, and other tools made to kill.”

“You mean like the Jackal?”

Maria lowered her head and spoke with a frigid chuckle, “Mhm, I guess but… what makes you think that he’s the most dangerous one out there?”

Felix felt a chill crawl from his back as she uttered those words.

Nervously, he muttered out word by word “He’s… probably… not, but he should definitely be taken care of soon.”

“Mhm, he really should.” She showed a poppy smile before glancing to the side with a satisfied expression.

I only notice this now, but this girl’s irises unnaturally dark and glassy, and reflected very little light.

There was suddenly a suffocating tension in the air.

The attendant returned with both drinks in a tray, “Mister Aster, Miss Readman, your drinks.”

“Thanks!”

“Th-thank you…”

After placing the drinks on their table, the flight attendant left as soon as she came, and a feeling of discomfort lingered in the air.

“Sorry, I just let my thoughts slip out, forget I said that!” She recklessly tried to make the unpleasant atmosphere fade with an awkward smile. “Too much spaghetti spilled.”

A persistent silence lingered between the two for the rest of the trip. Maria returned to staring out the window, Felix, no longer knowing how to pursue the conversation, rests and drinks his coffee.

Irreplaceable, huh?

After looking through the notes one last time, Felix mumbled out, “Maybe we should get some rest.”

He closed his eyes and rested, waiting to arrive at their destination.

With a loud roar from the jet, the two finally landed, Felix stretched out his arms and prepared, placing his ornate gun under his vest.

The whereabouts of their targets were supposedly unknown. The air was thick and hazy. However, it did not take long for the two agents to spot it. Maria pulled out a grappling hook and swung around to the top of one of the buildings. Felix then followed, climbing through the windows and crevices.

The sky was clearer as they stood atop the building. As he looked up, Felix noticed a Chinese dragon kite pulled by a drone. The dusk sky was filled with excitement and color, as the loud sound of bangs, clangs and crackles could clearly be caught in every direction.

“Is this why you were staring out the window, enjoying the festival’s fireworks?” He asked as the flurry of lights reflected in his eyes.

“Well… that…” She responded vaguely as she stared at the festival from an unknown rooftop as the wind blew against her hair.

In the center of the excitement stood a wide, twenty-story office building. At its front was a tall metal gate with only one entrance.

“Now why would a skyscraper need a guarded gate?” She asked.

He glanced over to her and replied, “Unless they have something to hide.”

The two smirked at each other before jumping off and moving on ahead.

On the streets, Maria gazed with cold, narrow eyes as the surrounding streets had logos and symbols of the Golden Lion Agency and other organizations from the association. All of them vandalized and covered with rubbish.

Rows of food stalls lined the streets as the two walked through the crowds, only to stop at a particularly small stall with a red bird crossed out with an ‘x’.

Felix knocked on the counter, “Excuse me.”

The man in the stall glanced at the two agents and spoke, “Anything you like, anything you see, all only a hundred.”

“You’re a robin, right? We’re from the agency.” Felix explained

“We need the word, word bird.” Maria added

The man turned around and with a grumpy tone replied, “There’re a lot of agencies.”

Felix pulled out from his pocket a small golden pin with a lion and symbols engraved. “Felix Aster, and this is Venom Vanguard.”

“I told you to use V.V.”

“Right… V.V.”

“Golden Lion, huh? I take it you two wanna get in that big building over there?” The man responded.

“How’d you know?” Maria asked.

“Another Elite Agent came by earlier, lookin’ for a way in, same as you. Had me scout the area. Left a while ago after I told ‘em there was no other way in.”

“From which organization?”

“Confidential, but not from the Golden Lion. From the looks’a things, I assume you’re on the same mission. Tough luck, the place is teeming with guards.”

“Is that so?”

“You’d think the mafia would be more reclusive.” Maria expressed her disbelief as she looked at the building.

“It got renovated just a month ago. According to sources, it was funded by some corrupt politician who wanted to line his pockets, so it got larger at terrifying speeds with cheaper material.”

“Thanks for the info.”

Felix walked away, and Maria followed suit after waving goodbye at the old shopkeeper. As the two walked further away from the main road, the weaker festival’s excitement became, yet the fireworks still blaringly echoed.

The two scanned the area, circling it, but as they did, they found that every nook and cranny was littered with guards. With every step they took behind the wall, a guard would be able to see them from within. Back and forth they searched for a way in before meeting back at the front gate.

“The security in this place is ridiculous…so, how are we supposed to do this?” Felix muttered.

“We go in, you protect me, I get what we need, we get out. Easy peasy.” Maria nonchalantly explained as she brushed her hair to the side.

“Mhm.”

From the looks of things, I wish it would be that ‘easy peasy’. Sorry, chief, but I don’t think we’ll be able to keep a low profile.

Maria raised her finger with a bright smile.

“I have an idea. Saw this in a movie once.” She said before picking up a stone and throwing it at the edge of the outer gate.

A movie? Why do you think that would work?

“What’s wrong with you?” Felix couldn’t prevent himself from shouting under his breath.

“A great, many things.” She smugly whispered.

“Did you hear that?”

“Let’s go check it out.”

The voices of the guards could be heard from outside of the wall.

WHY DID THAT WORK?!

“Wait here.” Maria said.

“V.V., wait, what are you—?!” He reached out to grab her,

But when the gates opened, he begrudgingly resigned.

Both of the agents continued to stay hidden in wait for the two guards to leave the camera’s field of vision, Maria walked out and revealed herself while Felix kept to the shadows.

“Hey, you. What are you doing here?” One of the guards called out, pointing his rifle at Maria.

“I was just curious why there was such a large building in such a small town.” She replied, feigning an innocent smile.

“That’s none of your business.”

Another guard walked by to them, tipping his hat, “Now, now. Don’t be so hard on the girl, there’s no harm in sparing a minute to explain to her about the greatness of our leader. You see, it’s because—”

As the guard spoke to Maria, Felix’s fingers twitched for a moment, as the corner of his eyes followed a colorful blaze soaring upwards into the sky. It rose higher and higher, then finally bang. The sky was painted with a flowery red firework as both of the guards fell to concrete.

“But… why?” The guard frailly asked with his last breath as Maria’s smile was the last thing he saw.

The two men fell to the ground as Felix approached Maria.

“Why were they speaking English?” He asked with his palm covering his mouth.

“Why did the robin?” She retorted

“He’s an informant.”

“This guy’s a sentry.”

“That’s not how this works.”

“And yet that’s how it was.” She shot back with lowered eyebrows.

“I… point taken. So, what now?” I wish I could reply, but I couldn’t find myself an answer, so my only option was to concede.

“Calm your nerves. We’re going through the main entrance.”

Maria giggled while Felix gulped. As she uttered those words, Felix’s heart began to race. The thought of getting killed started to cloud his vision, but it wouldn’t take long for the rest of the guards to notice them being gone for too long.

The gate reopened to let the guards back in, but it was the two agents who had entered.

A cold-sweat dripped down his face as he looked at every guard through the corner of his eyes, his ears filled with the cracking of the fireworks, forcing him to imagine the gunfire.

He glanced towards Maria, but he saw from the corner of his eye that her expression remained calm, no, she wore an undaunted smirk as she continued forward.

The unpleasant thought intruded further Felix’s into his head as they walked.

I couldn’t stop myself from blinking so much, as the bright lights became blinding. Or was that just the nervousness of being surrounded by a hundred guards suspicious of us? The closer we got to the glass door entrance, the harder it became to breathe. Was it the thick, tight uniform over our gear, or was it the thick and humid air? It could’ve easily been both, but we were less than ten meters into the building.

“You there.” A guard suddenly walked towards the two agents, snapping Felix out from his own cluttered thoughts. He leaned down to look at Maria.

“Y-yes?” She replied.

“You both… who are—?” Before he could finish speaking, his throat had been slit. His blood sprayed and splattered on the two agents.

From under the uniform, Maria pulled out several knives between her fingers and threw them in a dozen different directions.

The alarms rang. The glass door locked, and the industrial shutter of the rolling grille lowered. The entrance had been sealed off.

Over twenty sentries cornered them on the ground, and all their weapons were aimed at their heads. A volley of bullets fired from every direction. The two agents pushed through, avoiding the bullets as they fought through the men who stood in front of them.

Sparks flew from Felix’s cobalt gun as he deflected the bullets that came toward Maria’s direction while fighting all those who got close.

“Back up, we need back up at the front gate!” One of the sentries spoke through the radio.

Maria looked up and yelled, “Get inside before the other guards get here!”

“You have to get in there, first!” He replied as he narrowly avoided a bullet that tore through his hair.

“Not the time to argue!”

“Exactly, get in there! I’ll hold them—”

“Get your ass in there!” She yelled as she grabbed him by the arm and threw him toward the entrance.

As soon as he got his balance midair, Felix hopped on the heads of the guards who stood before him.

As he got close, he fired repeatedly at the glass-door before crashing through it, just in time before the rolling grille and industrial shutter could shut. Another wave of blades soared, forcing their pursuers to duck and providing an opening, but as Maria ran, her leg was caught by the hand of one of the half-dead guards on the ground.

“V.V.!” He cried out as he quickly stood up and reached out for her, “Maria!” He yelled out her name.

While Maria struggled, her irritated expression softened with a smile as she saw Felix’s arm reaching out for her through the iron bars.

The inner gates shut. Felix clutched his arm and briskly walked to a nearby column. He pressed his back against it, and slowly slipped down.

In the silence, he sat behind bars as the light faded away from the closing outer gate.

A deep, heavy gasp escapes his lips. But as he tried to catch his breath, a powerful tremor that shook the building.

“Damn it…” He whispered ragged breaths, “I knew I shouldn’t have gone in yet.”

Felix stood back up and dragged himself towards the gates, “I can’t exactly do this without you. But…”

He clenched his fist and turned around. He steeled his resolve to continue the mission and began to walk onwards.

But as he started to walk away, a loud bang soon knocked against the gate. Followed by another, then another. Suddenly, a thin strip of light peered through the darkness as the gate steadily rose.

Felix took a step back, and a drop of sweat dripped through his face, “V.V?”

A soft, muffled voice called out for him, “A little help, please?”

“Ah, right…” From both sides, the two lifted the metal gate, and when there was enough space, Maria quickly crawled through before the rails could close again.

“Ugh… you know what? I think I prefer you just call me by my name.” She huffed.

“R-right… I’m glad you’re alright, but… how did you survive?”

“Let’s just say a rogue firework came to my rescue. Besides, you’re not the only human experiment, here.”

“Right.” Felix nodded as he wiped the sweat off his face, “I guess it’s time to go.”

The two made it inside alive, but unbeknownst to the two of them, a game of cat and mouse began as they made their way into the building.