Chapter Six

IVY

Like clockwork, I reach my apartment building once again, only to be greeted by an unlocked door. Sighing, I open the door and hear the excited footsteps of Chloe and Angela rushing toward me. They tug at my obsidian suede coat and tan suit that I had switched into after Raven got us back to the Arrowspring's office, leaving my emerald evening dress and diamond necklace back at HQ.

"Erica! It's the season finale of Star Trooper! We waited all day to watch with you!" Chloe exclaims, dragging me with her toward the TV in the family room.

"Dad? They shouldn't be up this late, should they?" I distraughtly look over to my parent, who only smiles at the scene before him.

"One late night isn't going to ruin them. Even Luke is out here." I look over to the couch; sure enough, he is sitting there, waiting to watch a show he hates with everyone. Chloe and Angela really know how to charm their way around this household. He keeps to himself without looking my way– moody as always. It's been a week since we made our deal to figure out the whole room situation. I'm not sure if he's dealt with Jake yet, but he's been talking less about him these days.

"Luke got in trouble today." Angela bluntly states.

"Angela!" Luke exclaims, turning toward us and revealing his face. His right eye is swollen, purple bruising forming around the orbital socket.

"Luke, what happened?! Dad?!" I rush over, attempting to examine his face, but he brushes me aside. I give my dad a bewildered look, screaming 'what happened?!' with my eyes.

"I told you last week, right? I was keeping our promise." He pouts.

"Jake did this?" This time I force him to face me to get a better look at his eye.

"Erica! Stop it–" Luke tries to jerk away, but hearing our dad's voice pauses both of our movements.

"Mija, boys fight. I got called over; Jake swung first. He's got a week's suspension, and Luke is suspended the rest of the week for hitting back. They're both fine." He shrugs off the idea. It makes me wonder what he was like when he was younger. He's never told us much about his past before he met mom.

"You hit back?" I let go of the previous thoughts, turning my attention back to my younger brother.

"You told me not to take his crap anymore." He brushes me off for the final time.

"... That's not exactly what I meant…" I'm actually proud of him for standing up for himself, but I wish he waited to do something that wouldn't make a scene.

"You better keep up your end of the deal now." He returns to his sulking, sinking deeper into the couch.

"I–"

"Luke got in trouble! Luke got in trouble!" The two fraternal twins sing, cutting me off and running around the kitchen and living room.

"That's enough, Angela, Chloe." My dad declares. "If you two keep this up, we won't watch the last episode of Star whatever and go straight to bed!" Angela and Chloe instantly stop teasing their older brother Luke, with Chloe bumping into Angela as they come to a halt. They whisk themselves over to the couch and properly sit on the cushions next to Luke. I let out a deep sigh. It's late, and coming home after everything that had just happened, I'm exhausted. I don't want to argue too much more; I'm not even sure if I'll make it through the finale of this kid show. I can't imagine how Shadow is still up in that unconstructed building, keeping an eye to make sure everything goes through for tonight.

I can't pay attention to the show. I keep worrying about the people from tonight who will surely get blamed for everything. Since I interacted with them, I'm sure I'll be questioned based on the security cameras, especially if they do conclude that it was murder and not just his body 'malfunctioning'. I keep twitching my foot, anxiety eating away at me. This happens every time my work carries itself from the original site to a secondary location or someone innocent gets hurt. I don't want to imagine what could happen to that woman who left with him for the evening or the servers. I'd be fine seeing the rude security guard being dealt with, though. I don't know how everyone goes around pretending as if nothing happened– Or maybe they do, and I just don't see it. I'm not as perceptive as Shadow or Fox. Hell, I'm sure even Raven is better at reading a person's actions better than I am. Not to say I'm not good with deducing particular actions; they're just better.

"Erica, can you stop kicking the couch?" Luke gives off an annoyed sigh. The girls aren't even on the sofa anymore, sitting right in front of the TV screen, and dad is passed out in the armchair.

"Yeah, sorry." I seize my foot's twitching, rubbing my tired eyes together, and decide to check my phone for any news. Opening up my phone's screen, the time shows that it's almost eleven, an hour away from the next day. Nothing from any of my co-workers, and no news updates worthy of mention.

"Don't worry, it's almost over." a barely audible whisper. I look over to Luke, who looks miserable. I knew Jake was his closest friend, but I didn't realize it would affect him to this extent. Or maybe it's because he finally realized just how fake Jake was to him. I'm sure deep down, he knew; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone through with the promise in the first place. Either way, I feel bad for making my sibling so sad, but I knew nothing would be resolved if nothing happened.

"Luke…"

"You were right, Erica. Don't feel bad just cause I'm still processing everything. I just need some time. That's what you say when you're going through something, right? Some time will make everything feel better…" He stares at the floor, unable to make eye contact with me. I don't say anything in return; I don't want to ruin his thought process. I anxiously check my phone once more. I need something– anything for confirmation that everything went off all right from Shadow. I need to make sure that I can upkeep my promise with Luke. But there's not a thing– nada. I guess I should take that as nothing has gone wrong either. The poison must not have taken effect yet; it's only been about 5 hours since Garner ingested it. I don't think I'll be able to sleep properly until I'm given the 'all clear' from Shadow, though.

The show ends quickly, just as Luke had reassured me earlier. Dad happens to wake up in time for the show's credits and groggily says goodnight to everyone before heading off to his own room. "Wasn't that so cool!?" Chloe exclaims as I usher everyone off to bed. Luke drags his feet behind everyone else.

"Oh my gosh, and the part where they just swooped in and stole the gems!" Angela replies, mimicking a sweeping motion.

"Guys! You gotta be quiet; we have neighbors, remember?" I remind the two. I know they can't help their excitement, but they always forget about the rest of the quadplex.

"Sorry…" They say in unison, their heads drooping a little; however, they bounce back momentarily, continuing to talk about the next season's premiere in hushed tones. I look behind me at Luke since we usually roll our eyes when the girls are like this, but he doesn't even look up from the floor. I guess it's not every day you realize how terrible your best friend is, but even I'm wondering if there was more to this. He's just so… disheartened.

I'm glad dad made them get ready for bed before watching the show since I'm too tired myself to bring out any more commands. Everyone gets into their respective beds, and I shut the door, sealing away the disjunctive atmosphere inside the room. I don't bother to wash my face or change out of my work clothes; I unlock my bedroom door and close it behind me, rushing to the bed for comfort. Flopping down, I take my phone out once again. A notification! I sit up quickly, reading a message from my colleague, Stephan, aka Shadow. "The sale went through! Good job, Claire." Letting go of all the tension, my body sinks into the comforter, and I peacefully drift off to sleep with a smile on my face.

***

I knock on 1201's door before hearing a muffled voice shout out from behind it, "Come on in!" Pushing forward, I enter a luxurious office space with a beautiful minimalist aesthetic. Secretary sits on a simple black office chair behind her sleek white desk with mountains of paper piled on it. Today, she wears a muted blue pantsuit with turquoise jewelry, which compliments her terracotta skin, and her dark hair is slicked back into a high bun. "Ivy, I heard the 'sale' went through last night. Congratulations. Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" She pauses halfway through, standing up from her seat. "Don't tell me… are you here to ask for a raise?" Her dark eyes widen, illustrating her comedic worry.

"That's not why I'm here… although…" I raise my hands up in a half-shrug, showing my openness to the thought.

"You're so funny, Ivy. I thought the lab and equipment we provide for you are a big chunk of your payment. Someone's gotta pay for it." She reaches her hand out to shake mine, but her grip tightens, causing slight discomfort.

"I know, I know, you can let go now." I quickly retract my hand before she can grab it tighter, rubbing the soreness away best I can.

"So then, what are you here for?" She sits back down in her chair, tidying up the desk a bit as I take my own seat in a matching black armchair across from her.

"I wanted to transfer some money over for a house. I would buy it as Claire Jones, but my dad will want to see all the paperwork for the house, so I'll have to get it as myself." Even when I got the apartment, he wanted to see all the paperwork after I had already signed everything. Luckily I had rented it out under my legal name rather than my alias, so there wasn't too much of a problem. This time I want to openly talk to my family about a house so my dad doesn't freak out too much like last time. But because of that, I definitely can't buy it under my alias.

"We can forge the paperwork if you need it to look like you're the one buying it, but the real name would be under your employment contract." She doesn't look up from the papers in front of her. She's undoubtedly busy but still making time for me. I don't know how she does it; it's very admirable of her in my eyes.

"It might be confusing to the relators if we do that… especially if my dad insists on both of us going." Although, the idea is tempting since I could get the house a lot faster through the company.

"Okay, I'll start transferring $9999 a day for the next few days. Anything over that, and the Lynti government will get suspicious." She finally looks back up to meet my eyes, a warm smile on her face.

"I understand. You'll only need to send five payments then, and I'll start searching for a decent house, thank you." I start to get out of my seat when she questions the number of transfers.

"Only five?" She raises an eyebrow, confused by the low number, I'm sure.

"It's only for the down payment; I mean, I'll need a higher weekly transfer for my normal paycheck than what's usually given to my actual bank account to make the mortgage, but…" I explain the reasoning behind the amount.

"Ivy, listen, you know it's okay to splurge a little, right? You're welcome to get a much nicer house; in fact, I'm surprised you haven't gotten a house sooner." Her face expresses concern but also generosity. She often says she thinks of us as her children, except that she wouldn't sacrifice herself for us if we did something stupid. If anything, for everything she has done for every agent here, I'm sure we would sacrifice ourselves for her. Even if some agents treat her like an annoying manager, we all are grateful for what she has done for us.

"Well, weren't you the one who told me to be cautious about my expenses?" Secretary lets out a laugh, trying her best to hold back. I sit there perplexed as to why Secretary is reacting this way; she is the one who told me to be cautious about my expenses. So why is she laughing?

"That was when you were 15, Ivy." She continues to laugh, and I can feel my face heating up in embarrassment. "Of course, when you're under working age, I would tell you to be cautious. And coming from the homeless community, of course, it would be weird to live somewhere nice so suddenly after losing so much."

"But I–"

"Ivy," Secretary continues, trying to stifle her laughter. "You are so smart but so dumb when it comes to your family." She wipes away a tear from her face.

"I- It's not that funny!" I utter, my face hot from the humiliation.

Secretary calms herself down some more, but a smile is still plastered on her face. "Yes, yes, of course. Family is very important. Those who no longer have them know best what we have lost. Well… maybe not all of us." She gathers herself, smoothing out her pantsuit after her laughing fit. "It's okay to look like a successful 20-something-year-old. There are influencers who are 16 and own mansions. Buy your family a nice place."

"We would've been living in a mansion by now if you didn't make me so paranoid when I was 15 and have me sign a contract that barely gave me enough money to support my family for five years." I refer to the deal she had me sign when I first joined since I wasn't sure what to do with all the money for myself without arousing any doubt.

"You signed it. Although I do stand by my words, it would've made you look suspicious. Looking as if you saved up for years to rent a place after being in the homeless community for an extended period is definitely less skeptical than outright buying a house as soon as possible." She returns to the paperwork on her desk, breaking her gaze from me. "While we are doing work that benefits the territory, we're still going about it illegally. It's better to be overly cautious than not. In fact, the government has been cracking down on businesses with high gross income recently. Just last week, they were targeting the old candy factory."

"Oh, Honey Bears? I guess it has been the most successful one in Lynti for several decades. Unfortunately, it's too far out for me to take my family, but my siblings prefer the paletas down the street." As I recall this information, I imagine all the previous scenarios where I took Angela and Chloe for their birthday treats. God, they're so cute when they jump up and down at the counter, although I'm sure the employees don't really care for the intense energy they bring.

"Good." Secretary signs the end of one of the sheets in her hand, placing it aside and getting to the next one.

"Good?"

"That you know your family so well. Anyway, I'll get started on your request as soon as I can today. Is there anything else?" The dark-haired woman in front of me asks.

"Yeah… maybe… I'll just take up your offer on forging the paperwork…" Even though my dad will no doubt be upset, I'll make sure to apologize properly later. I don't think I want to make my family wait longer than they have to for a better place, and our lease is almost done anyway. I don't want to accidentally be stuck with the location for an extra year. Besides, she's right; I should do something nice for my family, especially if she's laughing at me for it.

As soon as I say so, a big smile rests on Secretary's face. "Excellent, I'll definitely put a priority on that task." She jots down the plan on her to-do list pad. "I'll fax you a few properties to look at in your office."

"Do me a favor… don't tell anyone about this conversation." I sheepishly request.

"Huh?" The woman in front of me gives me a questioning look.

"They already make fun of me for being duped into a 15-year contract, while everyone else in unit 47 only has a 10-year contract. I don't need them teasing me for being overly cautious with my living situation either." Secretary begins to laugh again, and blood rushes to my face once more.

"Of course, I've never told anyone anything, you know. The group knowing about your contract is all because of you asking around. So don't worry, I won't tell them anything." She waves aside my concern.

"Why did you trick me? Into a 15-year contract." I've never asked her before. Mainly because there's never a reason to bring up the topic. "Everyone else, I'm assuming you only offered the 10-year contracts to them."

"Well, yes. But most of them were older than you when they signed on. It mostly has to do with age and ability. I know my own strength, but how could I possibly know someone else's and how long, or how old they'll be, until they start losing their abilities."

"Oh, I see. So you try cutting recruits off at about 30 years old." It makes sense. Our oldest recruits in Unit 47 and Fox and Cherry both honing in their late 20s, and their contracts are almost up if I recall correctly.

"For the most part, yes. Although, I have had some ask for longer contracts." Secretary pauses, shoving a few papers away. "However, there was another person I asked for a 15-year contract, but he said it was too much commitment. It was quite funny."

"Who was that?" Curiosity getting the better of me.

"Ashe."

"Ashe?" Now I feel like an idiot. Out of everyone, Ashe had to be the one who was smart enough to ask for an alternative? He never said anything before, maybe because we try not to talk about it too much. It does sound like him, though. It must've been too much effort to be stuck in one place for an extra five years. Ashe is known to be the hot-headed-doesn't-plan-ahead person in our group, which makes me feel even worse about accepting a contract so quickly when I was younger without asking for alternatives. I couldn't help it; I just wanted to help my family as soon as possible; I wasn't even thinking.

"Yup. He's kind of a wild card with his emotions. It's a good thing he was already good with explosives when he first joined."

"Great, that makes me feel so much better. I'm gonna head up to my lab now. Let me know when my next mission is." I get up, walk to the door, and exit the room with mixed feelings.

"Alright," Sec begins, but her phone starts to ring. I close the door behind me and head up to my lab space to commence working on extracting more venom and keeping tabs on my poison stock.

The elevator ride up is a lonely one, and I reach floor 13, waving to the same guard who is always there. There's one on each floor, but every guard from floors 12 to 15 are specially trained to make sure no unwanted guests are sneaking around. They may look older, but they're highly skilled fighters.

I make it to my lab in room 1330. It's not the amplest space, but it's enough for what I need. There's plenty of ventilation in the room, too, with fume hoods lined along one wall and an emergency switch for the entire room. I have microscopes, centrifuges, test tubes, and anything you can think of in a typical lab setup. I also have a few specimens in their own glass-enclosed environments to extract certain venoms. I definitely would be ostracized by anyone who's an animal activist. It's fascinating, though, to be able to defend oneself with an internal lethal substance. I try to keep those thoughts to myself.

As soon as I settle in, the phone in the lab goes off, and I answer immediately. "Hello?" I call out into the digital void that is the speaker.

"Claire, I'm glad you answered! I've called a few times now." Claire? It's Secretary's voice, but she's audibly annoyed.

"Yes, I just made it up the elevator. What do you need?"

"You have a guest that would like to speak with you. In private. He says it's urgent." Her voice crackles through the phone reception.

"Sure… no problem." I can only think of one thing; they've already sent someone to come question me about last night's events.

"Great, If you'll come down and get him–" She's cut off for a second but remains on the line. Some suppressed exchanges pass back and forth, and after a few seconds, she's back on. "Yes, if you'll come down and get him. We're in my office right now." She hangs up, not waiting for an answer. As quickly as I settled down in my lab, I pick myself up and head back down to the offices on level 12.