Resolve

“U-um,” Brass begins, “do you think that maybe you could forget what you just heard?”

I shake my head wordlessly.

“Oh, okay. I didn’t think you’d say yes but I thought it was still worth asking.” Brass practically deflates in his seat and his downtrodden expression almost makes me feel bad for turning down his request. Almost.

“I know we said that the boss is a villain,” Goldie begins, “but she’s actually one of the nicer ones. And honestly, I think the world would actually benefit from having her as it’s—“

“That’s enough,” I say in an authoritative tone that surprises even myself. I let out a sigh. “You know, I feel like I’ve heard more about how Vega is lately then talked to the person herself. I think it’s about time we had a heart to heart.”

Silvia looks up in surprise. “So then the date—“

“I don’t know if it will count as a date, but I do know that I want to know more about who she really is.”

Vega hasn’t been completely honest about who she is, but then again, neither have I. It would compromise everything if I just went out and told her who I am now, though. I might even lose my job. But for some reason, the more I learn about Vega — no, Mary — the more I want to really get to know her. And it wouldn’t be fair to have her open up to me if I didn’t do the same.

Ugh. Maybe I really should have applied to be a chaplain or something instead. Why is this so hard? I’ve never had trouble lying to other targets before. Is it because she was someone I knew from my past?

Silvia suddenly stands up. “Well now, I feel like we may have overstayed our welcome.”

“But what about breakfast?” I ask. As much as I’d love for them to leave and take all this awkwardness with them, there’s way too much food left for me to finish alone.

“It’s fine, we’ve had our share. But thank you once again for your time.”

And just like that they’re all out the door and I’m stuck alone with a large breakfast spread. With nothing better to do, I walk back to the kitchen and take a seat at the now empty breakfast nook. I grab a fork and stab a piece of chorizo when I hear the doorbell ring. I stop mid-chew. Did one of those three lackeys forget something?

I walk up to the door and open it to find Cobalt standing there. Oh, right. He was supposed to come.

“Hm? What’s wrong? You don’t look happy to see me.”

“Oh, uh, you see…”

I fill him in on everything that’s happened since our last phone call as we eat what we can of what's left of my mom’s home cooking. Cobalt listens quietly and intently the whole time. When I’m finally finished, he lets out a low whistle.

“Knowing how loyal those three are, I probably should have seen this coming.” He takes a spoonful of rice before talking again. “So, what are you gonna do?”

“I…don’t know yet.”

Cobalt smiles. “That’s fine, that’s why I’m here. We’ll figure this out together.”

I smile back, grateful to have his full support.

We continue to talk over breakfast for a really long time. This is probably the longest we’ve ever talked together since high school, what with how busy our schedules have been lately. Once we finally agree on a game plan, we put the remaining food away and clean up the kitchen.

“Are you sure about this?” Cobalt asks as he starts loading up the dish washer.

“Yeah, I’m sure. It’s the only way I can get the answers I need.”

“Alright, but I hope you’re aware of the risks. I’ll cover for you as much as I can, but—“

“You don’t need to do that for me, Cobalt. But thanks.”

Cobalt smiles. “Just looking out for you, man. You’re like a little brother to me!”

I roll my eyes. “Ugh, not this again. We are the same age.”

“But I’m older by—“

“That doesn’t count!”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The kitchen is as clean as can be. Cobalt has headed back to his undercover job at Mary’s evil organization. We were talking for so long that it’s now past noon, but I’m too full to bother with the prospect of lunch.

With no more distractions present, I close my eyes and count to ten then take out my phone and make a call. This is it. No turning back now.

“Hello, Vega? Are you free this weekend?”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

I wake up in Aquino’s office. The first time this happened, I thought I had blacked out. I knew she’d find out eventually, but I didn’t think she’d catch on this quickly. At least she had the decency to deposit me on a chair this time instead of just dropping me on the floor like usual.

“Ah, you’re finally awake,” Aquino says as she takes a sip of her tea.

“Unfortunately.”

“I’m not quite sure how I should respond to that, so I will elect to ignore it.” She sets her tea cup down.

“Now, I’m sure you’ve figured out why you’re here by now.”

I say nothing and just stare. There’s no point in lying or arguing, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make this easy for her.

Aquino smiles. “So you finally figured out who Vega is. Took you long enough. So how’s the whirlwind romance going?”

I continue to remain quiet.

“So that’s the game you want to play, huh? That’s fine. Anyway, take a look at this.”

She turns on the large projector screen behind her and video footage of what looks to be a brightly colored office starts playing. There’s a large group of people dressed in matching black uniforms gathered around in a circle and at the center of it all is Mary.

And she’s freaking out.

“What is this?” I ask.

“Ah, he speaks!”

“Aquino, what—“

“It’s live video footage of Vega’s headquarters. White set it up a couple of hours ago.”

A couple of hours? How long have I been out?

“Wait, so then—“

“Shh! You won’t want to miss any of this!”

I look back at the video. Mary is pacing back and forth and talking a mile a minute. “What should I wear? Should I go for a dress this time? Or may be a skirt? Or one of those pants that look like a dress if the wearer stands still? Or—“

“Um, boss,”a male voice interrupts, and a familiar mop of auburn hair comes into view.

“What is it Brass? Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well, not so much a suggestion as an, erm, confession.”

“Confession? What do you mean?”

Brass takes a deep breath, then drops the bomb within a single breath. “Master Altair knows that you’re a villain now.”

I expect Mary to shriek or freak out, but surprisingly, she remains composed. Her expression and body language are the picture of serenity.

“Is that so?” She asks with a smile, then starts nodding her head. “I see, I see.”

And then she faints.