Maybe boring would be kind of nice.
"Our agents who have been living here will be assisting you all," Davorian says as he looks over at Philomena and Renwick. "They are familiar with the area, with the customs. They know the areas to avoid. Those of you who would like to move out of the compound, meet with them and they can help you."
I'm every bit the field agent that Philomena and Renwick are. Out of the three of us, I'm the one who is the most familiar with living in this area, considering I am the only one who has actually lived outside of this compound.
But this is what happens when you are on the director’s shit list.
"Just to get an idea of what we need, raise your hand if you would like to move out of the compound," Renwick says. He is seated at the head of the table, just to Davorian’s side. Philomena sits across from him, also looking every bit the second in command.
Without hesitation, at least three quarters of the people in this room raise their hands.
This isn't a simple question of, would you like to live somewhere else? No, this means they will have to get jobs. That they will have to be able to pay their own rent, buy their own groceries, pay their own utilities. It's not like the darklings are some kind of moneymaking organization. Hell, us field agents have been supporting the compound for over a century by gambling.
But they've been doing this already. All of these other agents that have been positioned throughout the world have been supporting themselves financially the entire time.
We've all been pulling double duty for a very, very long time.
So really, life just got easier for them.
Now I'm really jealous that they get to go out and live a regular life for a while.
I'd really like to go out and find a nice new apartment. I’ve love to go out and find a place to live with Jaxon. Although I'm having a hard time picturing what that would look like. It's not like we would be a normal couple who went to the grocery store together and then went home to cook dinner together. It's not like we would be the type to invite friends over for game night.
Over the course of our knowing each other, Jaxon and I fought off the sonic glowing angel who wanted to kill me. We ran away together. Covered in blood, we went into a store, went to a seedy looking hotel, and I stitched his face up. His brothers broke into a hotel room we were staying in and shot at me. I shot one of them in the arm.
And that was just the first five days.
No, Jaxon and I are never going to have a nice, quiet suburban life.
But that's not me, and that's definitely not him.
"I see no reason for us to wait, so you all are welcome to begin this process as soon as you like," Davorian says. "Now that the gatekeeper has been found, Philomena and Renwick have no other duties. They are ready to assist you as soon as you are ready."
From the look on Philomena's face, I don't think she likes the idea of being a darkling real estate agent. Philomena was made for this kind of life. She's always been a little cold. A little bit detached. Her one soft spot in life is Renwick, and I would hardly call it a soft spot, when what she really likes to do is simply take his clothes off and lay into him. Thankfully, that seems to work for Renwick.
But still, she's a good little soldier. She'll do what her commander tells her to do.
"If there are no questions, this meeting is dismissed." The look in Davorian’s eyes says he's really not open to questions right now. I imagine he's a little stressed at the moment.
Our darklings are smart. Not a single one of them raises their hands to ask a question. They simply rise from their seats or peel away from the wall and exit the conference room.
I stay behind, as does Renwick. Within a matter of thirty seconds, there's no one left in the conference room, but us.
"Davorian must be truly pissed with you," Renwick says as we look across the table at each other. "You're the one that actually knows what this assignment entails."
"Yeah, well," I say with a sigh, "I guess this is what happens when you pull the wool over his eyes and fall in love with an ultralight."
"Love, huh?" he asks with a smirk. "So, what? You two go off and get married and live some kind of twisted happily ever after?"
I shake my head and scowl at him. Although there might be a little bit of a smirk pulling on the corners of my mouth. "Shut up. I haven't even said the words to him. He hasn't said them to me either, so don't get ahead of yourself here. I don’t…I don’t even know…" But I’m not sure how to finish that sentence.
“Hey, you’re the one who said the L word, not me,” he chuckles.
“Keep it to yourself, ‘k?” I say with the arch of an eyebrow. He chuckles, so I get up out of my seat and leave before he can tease me any further.
When I walk out of the conference room, I walk across the command center, headed for my bedroom. But ahead, I see Ascelin step out of the kitchen with two bagels, one in each hand. He gets this little look in his eyes, and I know what’s coming.
I sigh and walk forward.
“I thought you might be hungry,” Ascelin says as he steps forward. “I made you a little something.”
I can’t look at Jaxon as I walk in front of the vault. I just can’t. So, I walk by without looking over, and we stop in front of each other just out of Jaxon’s view.
“Thanks,” I say. “I’m starving.”
“I figured,” Ascelin says, talking slightly louder than necessary so that Jaxon can hear him. “You barely eat anything anymore. You need to take care of yourself. Or…” he trails off, and I silently laugh as he rolls his eyes at himself. “Let me take care of you.”
I hear something smack the thick glass wall and watch as Ascelin’s eyes shift over my shoulder to it. From the smile on his face, I know that what we’re doing is working.
“You’re burning yourself out watching out for him,” Ascelin continues. “And what are you getting in return, huh? He can’t even talk to you right now, he’s so out of control.”
“Stop, okay?” I say. And I mean it a little more than I should, considering I know this is for show. “You act like you don’t even know me. When have I ever given up on anything easily?”
“And when have I never said something when I’ve watched you run straight toward a solid wall?” he asks. And the expression on his face gives an apology for what he’s saying.
I let out a sigh. Like Ascelin said, this entire plan is making me uncomfortable. And then it gets worse.
“Why don’t you come out to dinner with me tonight?” he says, surprising me. He did say we were going to have to level this up. “You could use a break. Let’s go into the city and just…let things be normal for a second.”
Jaxon roars again.
“I just went into the city yesterday, but thanks,” I say with a sarcastic tone. And then I turn and walk away from him, hoping he knows I still appreciate what he’s doing.
I step into view of the vault and look Jaxon in the eyes.
They aren’t glowing brilliant white anymore. I can see the green of them, and it immediately pulls a smile onto my lips.
“Hi,” I say in a breath. His entire body is still burning, but I still see this as progress.