The Handler's Test

The cruiser pulled up to Shibuya Station, and the girls and I quickly rushed inside. Almost an hour had passed since I’d met the handler. It was still dark out, snowing heavily. What she had to say was the reason we had all hurried back to work, despite being off the clock.

“Alright, grab the essentials. Scanners, cuffs, and any other tool you might need.” I issued orders to the girls while I waited by the front door. I couldn’t stop thinking about what the handler had said. I hadn’t told the girls everything. At least, not yet. I didn’t know how.

***

“Every M-SERT squad in the field has a supervising handler watching over them,” the woman had said as we stood facing each other in the pouring snow. “Handlers can reveal themselves whenever they want. Or we could choose not to. It doesn’t change the nature of our jobs.”

The chilly air picked up all around us, causing the woman’s hair and coat to flutter. However, she never once flinched from the cold. She remained frozen in place like a living statue, her stern gaze fixed on me. She was of average height, thin, with a pale complexion.

“And what is that, exactly?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. “This job of yours. What is it?”

From what I understood, this woman had come out of nowhere and claimed she had the power to get my squad disbanded. She wanted to break us up—and not just distribute us among other teams. She wanted to end us. For good.

“Watch. Report. Decide,” she said. “And for the past four weeks, I have done that with your squad, Captain. I have observed both your successes and failures as a unit, and I have come to an unfortunate but factual conclusion.”

The woman took a few steps closer, walking right up to my face. She continued to stare directly into my eyes as she resumed talking.

“Your team, Captain, is a monumental disaster.”

I stumbled back a step to put some distance between us. This woman clearly had no concept of boundaries. And what the heck was she talking about?

“The bakery at Sakura-Sweets. The destruction of Sugar-Saboteurs, and an unidentified criminal still at large. The complete annihilation of the first, second, and sixth floors of the Shinomia Downtown West office building. Captain, every mission assigned to your team has ended with astronomical levels of collateral damage. To both private and public property alike.”

“But we saved lives,” I argued, stepping forward. “There were situations in the field where collateral was unavoidable. We prioritized civilian safety above all else in those times…”

The woman lifted a finger to stop me.

“As I said, Captain, I have been watching. So I am aware of those times you mention. However…” She reached into her coat pocket and pulled out her phone. She showed me a picture of both Miko and Aki.

The photo looked to have been taken on Selection Day, when all the field agents were waiting in a hall to be chosen by the captain candidates. They were both smiling. Aki with her usual radiant smile, while Miko had a goofy grin.

“Why are you showing me this?” I asked in a resigned tone, quietly dreading what came next.

“These two girls were very happy to be there that day,” the handler began, still holding up her phone and scrolling through more pictures. “They waited, and waited, and waited, and until the ceremony was over, none of your colleagues among the captain candidates came forth to choose them as part of their teams.”

The picture on the screen was still of Aki and Miko smiling, but it was clear from their eyes that they were no longer excited. They had both been seated for so long, watching others being chosen while nobody came for them. A small part of my heart tightened at the sight of them all alone. Even though this was no longer the case, I could almost feel what they must have been feeling.

“I was also there that day,” the handler continued. “So naturally, I became curious. Despite being young, attractive women with impeccable records, why were none of the captain candidates willing to take a chance on them? I was so interested that I turned down every other squad I was assigned to supervise, just so I could be the handler assigned to these two girls. Then you came along, and after your first mission together, I understood everything.”

I involuntarily took a step back, not really sure where she was going with this.

“Miko Tsukishima, the short one, is an impulsive shooter who has single-handedly racked up thirty-million yen in damages since her deployment four weeks ago,” the handler said, gladly pointing out my squadmates’ flaws to justify the decision she was no doubt about to make. “And as for Aki Sakai-Schmidt…” She briefly stopped talking, allowing the weight of the moment to sink in. “She has a demon inside her.”

My eyes widened in shock, and honestly, I didn’t even know why. She said she had been watching us this whole time. If that was the case, she obviously knew about Aki’s secret.

“Look, miss,” I said. “I know things might look bad right now, but I promise you, I will get things under control. There’s no need to give us the sack, ma’am. We know our flaws, both individually and as a unit, and we’re working to overcome them. That should at least count for something, right?”

The cold wind picked up, and the snow continued to fall heavily. The handler briefly tore her gaze from mine to stare into the distance.

“I’m aware you initially tried getting rid of the girls yourself.”

My breath suddenly caught in my throat. How did she…? How did she even find out about that?

“I know the day you came over to HQ to make an official report, a field commander asked you to fill out and submit a transfer application. However, I also eventually learned you never moved forward with it.” The woman refocused her gaze on me. “Why is this, Captain? Why didn’t you get rid of them when you had the chance?”

She suddenly went quiet, waiting for my reply. It was my turn to look into the distance while I allowed my mind to wander. Why didn’t I get rid of them? Was it because I truly believed in them? Or was it because I felt guilty for betraying them, so I later took pity and accepted them as part of my squad, all to win back their trust?

“I don’t know,” I responded, staring down at the soles of my boots. “Maybe I’m selfish, and I don’t want them to leave me, or for any other team to potentially discover their value and keep them for themselves. Like I said, I’m not sure.” I balled my fists, refusing to accept defeat despite the circumstances. “But what I do know is this.”

I spun around, reaching out to grab the woman by her shoulders. For the first time that night, I saw her flinch from my touch, her cheeks flushed, and her usual cold gaze showing just a hint of shock and embarrassment. I realized I had just broken multiple regulations by grabbing my superior like this, but I needed her to understand.

“Please, ma’am, please don’t break us up, or disband the team, or whatever you might be planning,” I shouted to her face. “Please, just give us a chance to prove ourselves. I know we can do it. I will personally work day and night to better understand my team and how we can become a stronger unit. Just please, don’t ask us to hand in our badges. Please…”

“Hmmm… Get your hands off of me, you creep! You pervert! Wind Blast!”

“Huh…? No, wait, I’m sor—”

I quickly let go of her shoulders, but by then it was already too late. A ball of wind rapidly formed between us and exploded in an instant, sending me flying back and crashing into the snow. Hard. I instantly had the wind knocked out of me.

“Aww.”

Although the attack itself wasn’t painful, the subsequent fall definitely was. I might have bruised my back in three places. Not to mention, the ground was so cold. It was freezing my butt off.

“Seriously. You animal. Try that next time, and I will drain all the oxygen from your body. Understand?”

“I’m… sorry,” I croaked. Those were the only intelligible sounds I could make. I was still trying to force air into my lungs. It was so hard to breathe.

After allowing her anger to simmer and fade, the handler walked into my field of vision.

“Listen. I’ve heard all you have to say about your team. And despite my better judgment, I’m willing to give you one more chance.”

“Thank… you,” I whispered, my body still in so much pain. A single tear had formed and rolled down my left eye. I wanted to imagine it was a sign of my sincere gratitude, rather than the physiological response of my body being in a world of hurt.

“Shut up,” she barked. “Complete this next mission with as little collateral as possible, or your team will be dissolved. Do we understand each other, Captain?”

***

As soon as we grabbed everything we needed from the station, Aki, Miko, and I loaded into the police cruiser and began driving off to what might very well be our last mission together.

According to the handler, a group of bandits had broken into the sky museum hovering over the east side of Tokyo and had taken the workers and civilians hostage. This happened earlier in the night, roughly thirty minutes prior to her arrival at my mother’s restaurant, and the M-SERT team deployed on scene had suddenly gone radio silent. Our job was to serve as backup for the squad already on site, or at the very least find out what might have happened to them.

“Boss, you mind filling us in on what the hell is going on?!” Miko shouted from the backseat, clutching one of her machine guns close to her chest.

“Ja! Captain. Vi vont to know. Vie vere you lying down in ze snow ven vi came outside? And who vos zhat vuman in ze trench coat valking away?”

With everything that was happening, I didn’t even know where to begin. But if there was anything I should do first, I needed to bring the girls up to speed.