Chương 3: Chapter 2

Light peeked through his eyelids, jostling him out of his state. Opening his eyes, he was greeted by the silhouette of a woman framed with a fluorescent brightness. With auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, a flawless complexion, and hazel eyes, she could have been mistaken for an angel—if not for the stern expression etched on her face. That and the fact she was sporting a business suit and tablet rather than the traditional toga and harp. He blinked a bit to deal with the sudden change while sitting up.

"Don't these things have dimmers or something?" He complained, moving his eyes from the obnoxiously bright ceiling lights. As his vision cleared, one of the many debriefing rooms HQ had to offer was displayed before him. It reminded him more of a conference room than anything; there was a large table surrounded by office chairs and a currently inert screen on one end.

The key differences were that the designer had two favorite colors, gray and white, and that the table was made of some particularly durable metal alloy. He briefly wondered how many had to be splintered apart before that specific choice was made.

"Congratulations on another successful mission, Callum." A woman in her mid-twenties, his recently appointed handler, named Olivia, greeted him. At least that was the name told to him. It could be the truth; it could be a lie. Cal didn't find himself too troubled about it.

"Really?" He looked at her questioningly.

"I figured you'd be mad at me." Her fingers tensed around the tablet, and he could have sworn he heard it creak before she collected herself and gave a muted exhale.

"It would have been preferable for you to prevent the summoning from ever occurring," she delivered with that same monotone voice.

"However, the results fall under acceptable outcomes." Disappointment crept into him; he'd expected a bit of an argument and so had hyped himself up for one. For her to fold so easily... it left him deflated.

"That being said." That was definitely a creak he heard.

"Callum, can you please explain what exactly it is you are wearing?"

"Oh, this?" He hopped off his seated position on the table to better show off his new robe.

"You like it? Pretty swanky, right?"

"Pray tell," she inquired while gnashing her teeth.

"Where did you acquire that?" It was rather fortunate the Federation employees had great dental.

"Don't worry," he quickly assured.

"The previous owner doesn't need it anymore."

"That's not-" She massaged her forehead with her free hand.

"Did you take that from a cultist or not?"

"Finders keepers?" he supplied with a lopsided grin. That proved to be the wrong response, because she slammed her palm on the table, producing a metallic ring.

"I'm not familiar with that statute." She forced out.

"Now cite it or Hand. Over. The. Robe. It's evidence." She reached out, not waiting for his rebuttal.

"Kevin said it was fine!" he sprung back, a couple of steps out of reach. She didn't follow, more confused by his words than anything.

"Who?"

"You know, Kevin, about ye high." He extended his arm overhead.

"Bald dude, leader of the clean-up crew you sent out." He could see when her eyes flickered with recognition, resulting in a glower.

"That's not his identification." She stalked back into his personal space, and he found it annoying how he needed to look up at her. He was average height; she was just really tall!

"Well whatever," he dismissed.

"It's not like there's going to be a trial or anything."

"Someone died in that!"

"I know! I was careful to not get blood or shit on it."

"Look, Callum," she paused, gently reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"If you want something, just fill out a request form." Her grip tightened, and she leveled a firm gaze on him.

"What you can NOT do is keep taking things from corpses. It's unsanitary!" A battle of wills played out as both sides waited for the other to break eye contact. The victor left undecided as a third voice broke out.

"My, my, I see you two are getting along well," the voice supplied with some amount of amusement.

"Sir!" Olivia shouted in near panic as she flung herself away from Cal, producing a quick salute. Sometime during their argument, the door had slid open, and an older man in a well-worn brown suit and cane had managed to sneak up on them. A rather surprising feat for anyone unaware of his background.

"No need for that." The man waved off Olivia's salute.

"This old man is retired after all."

"It's good to see you again... Albert." Cal greeted with a pang of guilt. One not missed by someone who knew him so well.

"That look does not suit you, Cal," Albert's voice comforted. It was a voice he'd sorely missed in the past couple of months.

"I needed that extra push. If anything, my wife thanks you." Cal had tried to make a habit of not regretting his past actions; times like these made it difficult.

"I hope you don't mind if I take a seat; it's been quite a day." Albert slowly set himself down in one of the office chairs before addressing Olivia again.

"The boy hasn't been too difficult, has he?" Olivia, who had stayed at attention after finishing her salute, responded.

"No, sir." Her words were betrayed by the frustration lingering in her eyes.

"I see." Albert hummed with a knowing tone.

"Do try to take it easy on her, Cal. I chose only the best for my replacement." Cal's eyes brushed over the now-blushing Olivia, trying to gauge the veracity of Albert's words.

"Sure, whatever you say, old man," he responded skeptically.

"Now then, I came to discuss your next assignment." He nodded toward the living statue.

"Olivia, dear, have you briefed the boy?" Her blush deepened; whether out of embarrassment or something else, Cal didn't know.

"No, sir," she replied almost sheepishly, "We were debriefing from his last mission." A new mission? So quickly? That was out of the ordinary; he'd usually have a couple of weeks between assignments. Of course, that had less to do with the demand for his particular set of skills and more to do with the person they were attached to. Having seen Cal's perplexed expression, Albert added.

"It's not your usual fare, although I believe it best for you to read the brief first." Coupled with his unusual visit, Cal found the words rather ominous.

"As long as it's another demon killing, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, can I see it?" he directed toward Olivia, who had begun acting strangely. Well, stranger than before. Shifting from foot to foot with her arms hidden beside her, she seemed to be in a state of discomfort. A grin spread across Cal's face.

"Just let me read through it so I can ask any questions," he asked while holding out his open palm. Albert sensed the same.

"Hmm, is something the matter?" he contributed with a look of mock befuddlement.

"No-. Sorry sir. It appears I may have misplaced my tablet." Her mouth moved a bit too quickly.

"Please excuse me while I go retrieve it." The attempted deceit was made pointless by the fractured tablet being made visible as she turned and escaped from the room. Said room was quiet for a moment before both remaining occupants burst out in a fit of childish giggles.

"I don't think I've ever managed to get her so flustered," Cal commented after recovering.

"That one does tend to be a bit serious." Albert finished his laughter and cleared his throat.

"Still, I meant what I said. She truly was the best candidate and had quite a promising career in special operations before I plucked her." Her? Special ops? Cal racked his mind as he tried to reconcile someone like Olivia being in such a high-stakes job. He couldn't quite do it but was willing to trust Albert, which raised the question of why someone like that was his handler of all things.

"She's relaxed a little compared to when she first got assigned." Cal could acknowledge that much.

"I'd rather have you back."

"That was always meant to be a temporary arrangement." Albert sighed and closed his eyes.

"Born out of necessity more than anything. Candidate selection was an ongoing process, although it was accelerated due to the circumstances." Cal took a chair opposite Albert.

"Why do I even need one then?" He slumped against the table.

"I've been waiting for when you'd finally ask that." Albert tapped his cane on the ground a few times.

"The program can trace its roots back to one of the Federation's deep-seated traumas. The fear of a single individual enforcing their will on the many." Cal raised a hand, motioning for him to get on with it. He knew this part.

"Children, no respect for their elders." Albert took out a handkerchief, cleared his throat into it, and then continued.

"Have you ever been to a zoo?" He rolled his eyes.

"That's a rhetorical question, isn't it?"

"You did have a habit of sneaking away," he pointed out.

"You see, there is an interesting practice zoos do to keep some of their more dangerous specimens in line. They pair them up with an ordinary dog of all things. Dogs, of course, are accustomed to humans and can take most situations in stride. The same cannot be said of the beast they're paired with. These beasts, who would otherwise lash out at everyone, form bonds with the dog and follow their lead, so to speak. If the dog is calm, then the beast knows all is right." That was certainly a way to put things.

"So handlers are dogs?"

"No." Albert's eyes shot open.

"An imperfect analogy, my apologies." His statement was said with an urgency that caught Cal off guard.

"You understand my point though, don't you?" He kept his curiosity inward and opted to answer plainly.

"I'm the wild animal."

"As I said, the analogy was in poor taste." Albert shook his head.

"And you would do well not to repeat it." Albert glanced around the room anxiously, as if expecting one of the walls to be broken down any moment.

"Put more simply, those with great power can often find themselves swept up in it. Believing they are bigger than they are. Handlers are meant to ground their charges; keep them human." A government-mandated best friend. Oh, joy. You'd think she'd be more friendly if that was the case.

"Then why doesn't everyone else have one?" Cal muttered.

"It's not for lack of trying. You know how difficult your breed can be." He could feel Albert holding something back. There was no time for further discussions as the door opened once more, and Olivia briskly walked in with the newly acquired tablet.

"Apologies for the delay," she said with a straight face, despite her now disheveled appearance.

"Here are the details of your next assignment, although I must warn you. The brief is shorter than standard. Due to the nature of the assignment, the bulk of the details will be communicated verbally." That was an awfully quick return. These things weren't THAT common. He wondered which private had to report to his CO that some madwoman had ripped their tablet from them. Saying a prayer for the imaginary private, he received the tablet and skimmed the brief. Then stopped. Processed what he had read.

Refused to believe it. Read it a second time. Read it a third time. On his fourth read, he was interrupted by Albert tapping the handle of his cane against the desk.

"Something the matter, Cal?" he asked with a small smile. Was something the matter? Yes, many things were the matter. More than he could properly articulate. Then it hit him.

"Okay, okay, you guys got me." He clapped in applause.

"Honestly, Olivia, I didn't think you had it in you! Props to you for playing along. Hope you realize I have to get back at you now though." And then he laughed. Laughed and laughed. Until he realized no one else was.

"This IS a joke, right?" he asked with pleading eyes.

"This is a seriou—""Not this time—" Two voices overlapped with one another. With one speaker looking mortified while the other was amused.

"I forget myself; please go ahead." Albert gave a shallow bow in apology while still seated. Olivia seemed to wait for her skin to return to a normal shade before continuing.

"This mission is of vital importance to the future of the Federation. The Empire has identified a possible grand demon summoning and has reached out to gain our assistance—""Hold it." Olivia's eyebrows knitted together at the interruption.

"First issue, I'm not great at history." A lie; he knew a lot about history.

"But don't we hate those guys? Like fought a bunch of wars and committed human rights violations, hate?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Their northern neighbor tended to be a bit conquer-happy, not satisfied with only owning half of the Western side of the continent.

"Traditionally, yes, that should merely highlight the importance of this mission. A successful outcome," she paused, a thought passing through her mind.

"With limited collateral damage. Will aid in mending relations." He wasn't that bad. Honest.

"And we're not in the least bit concerned that this could be some sort of trap? Cause it smells awfully like a trap from where I'm sitting." Cal made a show of wafting his hand in front of his nose.

"We are soldiers; our duties are to follow orders regardless of the danger," she said sternly.

"That being said, I expressed similar concerns and have been assured that this action has been endorsed at the highest levels. I'm not privy to the exact nature of those discussions, but I do know that members of the Empire's royal family were involved. Such parties would not be willing to sully their honor." Seeing that he was apparently satisfied with her answer, she picked up the explanation where she left off.

"As I was saying, the Empire has reached out to gain our assistance in thwarting the event. Your mission will be to infiltrate the Imperial Academy and discreetly prevent the summoning in a timely manner." She paused her explanation as she noticed Cal's now raised hand.

"I see you're getting into the spirit of things," Albert commented from the side, which earned him an odd look from Cal.

"Yes, Callum." Olivia begrudgingly acknowledged.

"Who is the blithering idiot who decided MY name was a good fit for anything related to this!?" He reeled back his vitriol and continued gentler.

"Just let me know so I can have a quick chat with them, and we can put this all behind us." Olivia puffed out her chest and said almost smugly.

"The Board itself has chosen you for this assignment."

"Alright then." He noticed her starting to nod.

"Tell the Board to go fuck itself." Her head froze mid-motion, not comprehending the words he'd just spoken.

"I— you. Receiving a mission of this caliber, no less from the Board itself, is the highest accolade we soldiers can strive for!" Her fist clenched at her side, and he couldn't help but imagine she wished they were around his neck right now.

"Given our current strained relations, we cannot overtly be seen operating together lest our populations or neighbors take offense. With those restraints, the Board found it best to send a limited number of highly skilled agents who will be able to resolve the situation quickly and quietly."

"Someone drank the kool-aid," Cal mocked while drawing circles around his ear. Olivia didn't respond, stuck between outrage and confusion.

"Moreover, remind me. What's the 29th amendment of our fine Federation?" He got up and started pacing. Not recovered yet, Olivia was nonetheless able to respond on instinct, "The 29th? That's the…." Her voice halted in dawning realization.

"Let me finish for you." He stopped and rested his arms on the back of a chair, using it as a makeshift podium.

"It's the amendment outlawing the use of child soldiers in all sections of the Federation. Now remind me, legally speaking, what is the age of majority?" It was eighteen, the same as most countries. He didn't wait for a response.

"Older than me! Which means, keep me out of the 'we' in soldier." He let her digest that nugget of information while he reflected on his situation. Technically, he was probably already older than that physically. As far as the Federation knew? He was still underage for another few weeks. Since, nominally, he was underage, he couldn't be officially employed by the Federation. He existed as something akin to a contractor / dependent. He'd tried to nail down exactly what it was before but left with his head spinning.

The 'gist' of it was that he could, theoretically, refuse any order. He might also not legally be a person. It was complicated. Olivia composed herself and raised her chin while going on the offensive.

"That may be so, but given the status of your mother as a memb..." Her words died in her throat. Mother? He still couldn't believe anyone could use those words to describe Her. Although he admitted that was partially his fault. His train of thought was derailed as he found himself clutching a black rod. A cane.

"Are you back with us?" Albert inquired and retracted his cane at the nod.

"Good, now, dear. Please don't forget to breathe," he directed at Olivia, whom Cal only now noticed had gone stock-still. That may have been a mistake. Normally, he kept a tight leash on his power; this was the first time he'd lost hold of it in her presence.

"Sorry…" He trailed off, watching her chest slowly rise and fall as her breathing came back under control.

"What I was trying to get at, is that I'm not trained for this type of thing. I'm not trained at all. I blow things up, where they tell me. Not something you want around children." He kept his voice low but some frustration still managed to leak through. She blinked, looking a bit dazed. She glanced in his direction but didn't quite meet his stare, diverting back to Albert. He wasn't sure what she thought of him, but one thing he was not was some super spy. He was a hammer, and this job called for a scalpel.

"Then it's fortunate that before joining you I managed to convince the Board to allocate more resources to this project." Albert intervened, trying to give Olivia more room.

"We haven't ironed out all the details. However, I've been promised another team that will hold the main responsibility of halting the summoning."

"Then why even have me go along? What am I, a mascot?" He raised his eyebrow. Albert rubbed his cane's handle as if remembering something.

"As a student at the Academy, you will have a unique perspective to investigate." Now it was his turn for the world he knew to flip on its axis—or at least, that's how his stomach felt at the revelation.

"You're joking, right? I thought I'd be sent in as a teacher or staff member!" It proved enough to knock Olivia back into sorts, as Albert and she shared a look.

"You're telling me we can't work up a disguise to add a decade or two on me? We have Mask. Actually, why not just send them? They're tailor-made for this." The disbelief in his voice was evident.

"The duration of this mission precludes their involvement; their talents are needed elsewhere. And while we are able to alter your appearance to that extent, I'm afraid teachers are all rather well-known individuals in the empire. We'd not be able to slip you into such a role." Albert shook his head in a fake show of sorrow.

"As for a staff member, I'd be happy to make the suggestion if you can give me your word that you will complete that position's task in a satisfactory manner. Please remember the positions we'd be able to accommodate would be on the lower end of the hierarchy." So a grunt-level job? Only one way that would work.

"Can I tell my boss to piss off?"

"Unfortunately, this operation is on a need-to-know basis, so I imagine not." Based on the glint in his eye, Albert did not find that unfortunate at all. Something about this whole thing seemed contrived.

"Excuse me, sir." Olivia rejoined the conversation, addressing Albert.

"Given his admitted lack of training. I'm beginning to question the wisdom of this assignment myself." That was unexpected. Cal couldn't help but wonder whether that was genuine or if she was still affected by what had just occurred. He must have done a poor job keeping his thoughts off his face because she added solemnly.

"A soldier must be given the right tools to succeed." An awkward silence overcame the group before Albert broke it.

"Forgive an old man; I must ask if it would be possible for a moment alone with my old charge."

"Yes," she agreed with little hesitation.

"I think I should get some air." Her steps were steady and mechanical as she left. Cal waited for the door to shut before addressing Albert.

"Something about this stinks."

"I admit, there is more at play here than what first appears," the older man said tiredly.

"So what's this really about then?" Cal asked while taking the seat across from him.

"I believe you have an inkling of the truth. Your actions have had many ripple effects." Cal didn't bother to hide the foul expression on his face.

"Oh, don't look at me like that; I've already said I'm happy with my lot." He pushed down those feelings.

"Boil it down for me then. Is this about keeping me busy and out of the country?"

"It depends on who you question; the Board is not uniform in their opinion." Albert reached for his breast pocket only to stop with a slight frown.

"There are those who hope for one of your episodes to occur in the Academy." That shook him.

"Are they mad? It'd be war if something like that happened!"

"This no-smoking policy has really run its course," Albert grumbled.

"But yes, it would be. Remember, the diplomatic overtures were conducted by members of the cabinet; they merely passed their will to the Board for execution."

"And what head of the military wants peace?" The pieces started to fit together in Cal's mind.

"Especially those who may be replaced soon. So they're trying to use me for sabotage. And to attack a school no less."

"The phrase remove the future of the Empire was thrown about." Assholes. Why couldn't they go quietly?

"Then they're going to be disappointed; I don't just lash out at everything I see." He wouldn't, if only to spite them.

"In their eyes, you've done little to prove otherwise."

"I had good reason to go scorched earth, you know that." A hardness crept into his voice.

"I do, and as I've stated, I do not begrudge your choices. However, for those unfamiliar, it paints a dire picture. Even so, as I said, the Board is divided. Some believe that this socialization will be able to temper your... extremes." Cal snorted. He'd have to be unhinged to begin with for that to happen.

"So they want me to learn to play nice, just not at a Federation school."

"They're not quite ready to take that level of risk," Albert replied, giving Cal a soft smile.

"Exile then," Cal said somberly. Something about that word made his heart clench. He didn't have the sense of nationalistic pride someone like Olivia had, but the Federation had been his home for the past seven years.

"Don't be so dramatic." Albert scoffed.

"It's a temporary if longer-term assignment. Think of it as a vacation."

"A vacation with a chance of demons?" Cal said with a hint of a smile appearing on his face. Albert responded with his own.

"Why do you act as if that's not preferable to the alternative? And who knows, things may be different around here on your return." They shared a brief moment of respite before Cal's smile slipped.

"Do I have much of a choice?"

"You know better than me about that." Albert stretched, his back crackling.

"For what it's worth, I believe some time away will do you good." It was worth quite a bit.

"Well then, I must be off. Do take care of yourself." Albert rose and made his way to the door. Cane clacking all the way.

"Wait, one last thing." Albert paused in his step, turning back to peer at Cal quizzically. Cal's eyes traced back to the door Olivia had left through.

"How much does she know?"

"Less than she should," he said with a sigh only a man of his age could manage, "You may change that if you wish." He wasn't ready for that kind of conversation. Albert paused just before reaching the door.

"Where has my memory gone these days?" He gently slapped a palm against his forehead.

"I failed to mention the other opinion of the Board. They hope a country with such a storied past may have the means to succeed where they failed." He glanced back a final time, and Cal felt a sudden chill come over him.

"Feel free to disabuse them of that notion." The door shut behind him, leaving Cal alone. So they wanted the Empire to do their dirty work for them? Good fucking luck.