An Agent Named Nicolas Flint

Case Three part 1

Nick released his grip. Without any hesitation he went over to the fallen scientist to investigate the now dead bulb. He grabbed a hold to pull the dead plant from the man's chest. Slowly the bulb started to fade away inside his hand.

"This bulb was created by supernatural means. I can absorb it to use it for energy like other magic based things, but it must be dead to do so. I took care of a person inside the room so we're down to dealing with..."

He paused speaking when his eyes landed on my trembling hand. I simply could not take my eyes off the dead man in front of me. Nick was speaking so coldly and yet a man was dead. No, at least six people were dead. The logical part of my brain knew these people could not be saved and it was a good thing they had been taken down and yet...

My vision started to blur and I couldn't stop myself from breathing heavily. In my mind I'd killed someone. I was the one who brought a gun and now a man was dead.

When I dreamed of being a cop, I knew I would need to shoot at someone if my life was in danger. I didn't ever want to do something like that, but assumed I would be ready if the time came. That I would be working the streets and toughened up by the time I would need to draw a gun on someone. But when the time really came, I froze. Then I had a panic attack after seeing the results. My mind was reeling in that moment. Any kind of logic and sensible thinking was tossed out the window. My breathing started to come in short hitched breaths as I was unable to take my mind off the body at my feet. All the insecurities I desperately tried to push down came flooding in. That I was worthless, that I brought my sister down by going after an impossible to reach goal. That I would never become a real-

"Do you want to turn back?" Nick asked in a soft tone cutting off my thoughts.

"No! I can't I..." I protested. "I was the one who asked you to bring me along on cases and yet I act like this. I'm supposed to be your partner and yet I haven't done a damn thing. My job is to support you and yet I'm..."

I needed to stop speaking or else I would really lose it. Shutting my eyes tight I kept the flood of emotions back the best I could. While in the dark, I felt Nick wrap his hands around my own that still tightly gripped the handgun. I opened my eyes again to look up at him, a real expression on his face instead of his regular blank look.

"Is this heavy?" He asked referring to my handgun. I nodded so he kept speaking. "Weapons should be heavy. They carry the weight of all the lives you can destroy with them. It's been a long time since my swords became light and... I hate that. I need a partner who can still feel this weight. Until you're able to lift this on your own, I'll help carry it. We are partners after all. It goes both ways. I'm here to help you. You're not here to take on all the burdens on your own."

I looked down feeling a wave of embarrassment from his words. I'd gotten so freaked out seeing someone die for the first time I didn't let myself think properly. Nick knew about my lack of experience when he asked me to come along. He's always known and yet he still wanted for us to work together. I needed to keep reminding myself I couldn't do much, but the things I could do helped out more than I could ever realize. I nodded, unable to think of a way to respond. Mentally I swore I would work harder in order to support Nick better during our cases.

He pulled away when more groaning came from down the hallway. Any softness in his posture disappeared as he snapped back into action, ready to fight. A clicking sound from his hand made me look down. His new sword was a thin jet-black blade. It collapsed out of a small handle the size of a lipstick tube. It looked more like a baton than a sword.

"What happened to The Orchestra?" I asked wondering about the change in weapons.

"I... I got in trouble from cutting the van in half. This blade is named Eel. Despite its size it can cut through anything. Eel is a good temporary blade but... It makes me nervous because its too eager to cut through living things."

The groaning died down, so Nick felt it safe enough to further tell me about his weapon. The smaller blade was a better choice for this job. I've only seen The Orchestra send out waves of destruction. I wasn't sure if it could tone it down. Here, we needed to take down people infected by some sort of parasitic plant, not destroy the entire building.

"Skyler, I still do not know how this infection spreads. Please stay back and cover me. I'll protect you. Only fire your weapon if you're able. Do not force it and put yourself in a bad situation."

I was going to reply in some sort of negative way. I still felt as if I was useless. Not only did he have to worry about plant zombies, but he also needed to keep an eye on me. When he looked over his shoulder, he had the closest thing to a smile I've ever seen, and all those feelings faded. I kept a good grip on the handgun at my side. The cold metal feeling slightly lighter than before, now that I knew I was going to use it to protect my partner. When we knew we both were ready, we started back down the hallway towards whatever was waiting.