Just As Suddenly… part 3

The skies above were a soft blue, with not a cloud in sight. Felix made his way through the terminal, coffee cup in one hand and a suitcase in the other.

Maria stood in front of the jet with arms crossed.

“What a beautiful morning.” He said outloud.

He took his sweet time walking, pausing to sip every three steps, then enjoying the cool morning breeze.

She grumbled and began tapping her foot.

Felix spent nearly two minutes walking, and when he finally made it to the jet’s entrance, he crushed the paper cup, “Oh… what a shame. I ran out.”

Maria placed her hand on her shoulder, “I won’t be there to take care of you, okay? No one’s gonna be there to pick up after your mess, understand?” Her voice dripped with condescension, her dark eyes full of pity.

His eye twitched, but played along, “You don’t have to worry about me, I can take care of myself.”

“Did you bring a jacket? A grappling hook? What about communication devices? We both know how much technology hates you.”

“I actually brought two, in case one explodes again.” She shot back.

“Hope you do a better job body-guarding this girl than you did with me. If you want my advice, just try not to let her get shot.”

A vein pulsed on his forehead, unable to retort, “I’ll... try my best.”

“You grow up so fast.” She teased, placing her hand on Felix’s cheek with a teary, mocking smile on her face.

Overcome by his annoyance, he grabbed her cheeks and stretched them out, “What is wrong with you?!”

“Ah guwayt— menny thi— s-stahp it!” As she tried to whimper out her response, he pinched her cheeks tighter.

He sighed and let go before looking at her with a serious look, “You want me to get you an autograph or something?”

“What, you thinking of taking a photo with idols or something? I hate idols. I’m more of a rock kinda girl.” She answered in an oddly triumphant tone.

Felix raised an eyebrow, “Huh? You hate idols?”

“I dunno. They always seem so upbeat and overly cheerful. Always ecstatic to make fans happy. It all seems so fake to me.” She said in a sharper tone, dripping with petulance as she looked away.

“Harsh... Alright, if that’s it, then I’m going—” Felix replied, taking a step forward.

“Actually,” Maria’s tone shifted again, more serious now. “There’s something I wanted to ask.”

“Mhm, what is it?”

“What is it that’s bothering you?”

“— nothing’s bothering me.” He hesitated.

“Don’t lie to me, you’ve seemed different since this morning.” Her dark eyes narrowed slightly.

“Like I said, it’s nothing.”

“It’s about Jackal, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“I saw you smirk when you heard his name.”

“Hm… right. I’m just… we finally get a trail.” Felix had a twisted smile, “We finally get to find him.”

“Right… Good luck, and leave nothing to chance, as Chief Vivian would put it.”

“Thanks.”

As he was about to walk past her, however, Maria grabbed him by the shoulder again, “You may be the first esper, or the professional masked assassin, or whatever people expect of you… but at the end of the day, you’re still just you. Resident dumdum and... my irreplaceable friend. So, tread lightly. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.” He replied as he placed his hand on her head.

“Go, protect the peace or whatever.”

From inside the jet, Felix saw Maria waving at him. He waved back, and caught a glimpse of the silver-haired woman and the blond young man from earlier, stepping out of a black car at the agency’s entrance.

With his cheek resting against his hand, he continued to gaze at them until they became dots too small to observe.

As the engines hummed, the world began to shrink. Felix leaned against the leather chair and closed his eyes.

*

Alone in the dark, Maria sank down on a leathery chair, staring at the screen full of windows. One with the words, “Project CHIMERA.”

“So that’s what it is… Poor furries.” She mumbled, her fingers tapping on the transparent keyboard, “How about…”

Five profiles dropped down underneath the words “Aetherion Energies Implementation,” — Isabelle. Nero. Grant. Kaitlin. Rico.

She clicked on the one named Isabelle Castella.

Greeted with a wall of text, she slouched back and grabbed the cup on her table, “No pictures, huh? Isabelle or Kaitlin… Still one of you has to be Vermilion.”

Slurping on the soda, her eyes caught notice of the words on the bottom of the name, “Homo Lucerna” on Isabelle’s profile.

“Light of man, artificial human evolution, not purely Homo sapien… Here I thought we lost our humanity, but the furries have it way worse.”

More profiles appeared, including the names that were previously listed.

Felix was listed at the very top, followed by other names such as David, and Anastasia, Jane, Maria. But one in particular caught her eye.

“Oh? What’s the story…” Maria hovered the cursor towards the one called Luna Aster, “Felix’s mentor?”