"How did you do it?" Raymond stared at the chessboard in stupefied disbelief.
"Shocked, eh?" Genevieve asked around a laugh. "I was chess club president at fifteen; took my team to many victories."
Raymond dragged his eyes from the chessboard to Genevieve's grinning face. Her eyes were slanted as she smiled, white teeth flashing against her dark lipstick. He blinked, then collapsed into his seat, groaning. "You should have hinted I was going against a pro. I would have taken the game seriously."
"And rob you of the honour of being my personal paparazzi?" She chuckled. "Not a chance, Ray-ray."
Still observing her, Raymond massaged his temple with two fingers. "What's with the nicknames? First, it was what? Demonic? Now Ray-ray?"
"I only do it 'cause it gets a rise out of you." She began arranging the chess pieces in the upturned board. "Don't know if anyone ever told you this, but you look like you have this... this big ball of pent-up energy begging to be popped."
Amused, Raymond laughed. Why had he never noticed the animated way she talked? How her eyebrows moved like they had a mind of their own. And the spark in her eyes that made him feel like she knew a joke he wasn't in on and was entertained by his ignorance.
"You should laugh more." She sounded sober now, attention shifting to her phone as she set the chessboard aside. A soft silence settled over them and just when Raymond was about to speak, she beat him to it.
"So, can we get to it then?" She sat straighter as she offered him her phone, a simper curving her lips.
Raymond looked from the device to her expectant face. Clearing his throat, he began shifting through the papers on the work surface. Accepting her help was a smart move; what he would have completed in six hours they were able to finish in two. "Why are you offering me your phone?"
At her silence, he glanced up and noticed she had an eyebrow arched, an expectant look still on her face. Finally, she sighed. "You lost at the game. Take some shots of me." She made an impatient gesture with the phone. "Come on now. Chop-chop."
Huffing, Raymond collected the device. "You do know the probability of you returning to the company is quite high. Don't you think it's foolish to get on my bad side?"
She waved a hand and shot a megawatt smile at the camera. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Mr. former boss." She fluffed her hair, softened her smile, and eased into another pose. Raymond tried and failed not to drink her in. He took another shot, doing well to keep his expression neutral. In a few weeks, she would return as his employee; it would be foolish to explore whatever he was feeling. Yes, she was gorgeous and carefree and had the body of a woman he would have pursued with a singular focus years ago but that was years ago.
"We'd be coral farming under Jamal's watchful guide." She tsked and shook her head, observing him with real pity. "When he's done with us, I bet you'd be back on this jet and shooting for the homeland at first light tomorrow. Wanna bet?"
His thumb paused over the shutter icon. When he smiled it was full and with cool assurance. "I've never backed out of a challenge, Miss Johnson. When we are done with all this, you will happily return to Dominic and Dimes. Not just that, you'd gift me one of those ridiculous 'Best Boss Ever' coffee mugs and mean it from your heart."
She blinked at him as if shocked. Then shaking her head, she offered him a cross between a sympathetic smile and a wince. "We all have to crawl before we walk. Survive a day under Jamal before boasting."
***
Ada's ride through the drain portal had been somewhat calming but now that she was back on the Division grounds, anxiety was beginning to crawl back in. The domed colosseum-styled seven-storied building sat upon a fluffy white cloud and around it was a garden and a roughened marble walkway that stretched from the insanely tall double doors of the Division to the edge of the cloud.
Ada made it to the gardens at her right and strolled past two gazebos, lines of lush fir trees, and a couple of steampunk-themed amorini statues. Bo had made those. Stopping before an eight feet stretch of graffiti art on the building's wall, Ada gazed at her work. The Helmets had given her the corner to explode artfully as much as she wanted. The same was the case for Bo, who was the only other Rollick in the Division and loved to sculpt unusual versions of Renaissance statues. Rollicks were super rare unlike other cupid houses and, according to Maya, twice harder to manage. Ada thought that was an exaggeration. Other cupids had their issues too; theirs just wasn't as loud or colourful as hers or Bo's. And if Bo, being a Rollick and all, could become a Helmet, that meant there was hope for her as well. Right?
The graffiti she was about to wipe off was quite ordinary. Rollick was painted in dark pink balloon fonts with several emojis bursting around it. The unique things she added were the Helmets and Teddy as emojis. She had worked on the piece for a month. Using all that extra time she hadn't been in the field, she lost herself in the process, human music playing in her headphones as she daydreamed and painted.
As Ada stared at the wall, another graffiti idea came to her, but this time Haruto will be added, and Genevieve too. Raymond? Nah. He was a stick in the mud. Maybe if he changed, she'd add him as she progresses.
From the corner Ada stood, she could only see the top of the tall double doors. No one was about to ruin her focus so she might as well get to it before Teddy showed up. She had just shrugged off her bag to retrieve her spray cans when she sensed it. Someone else and the Helmets were close. She sighted the top of the double doors as they slid open.
"...I still do not see the need to visit in person. You should have made your inquiries about our Grace-Metter through a message." Ada recognised Maya's voice even from the distance.
"Since when is it something terrible to visit another Division? And I had to feed my curiosity."
That voice. There was something familiar about it. From her hiding spot behind a hedge, Ada could only see the fir trees and a spurting fountain that blocked the long walkway. Maybe if they walked further, she would be able to see—
"Feed your curiosity?" It was Bo speaking now. "Look, Luke—"
Luke? Ada craned her neck in an attempt to peep over the hedge without giving away her location. She ducked immediately. What was she doing? What if they could sense her presence? This was bad. Seeing Luke was different from meeting Luke. With the sudden fear of being discovered, Ada began to creep away.
"...no need to pretend," Bo continued, voice tight and impatient. "You came to do a little more investigation on Adarosa, didn't you? Why are you curious about our cupid? Is there something we should know that you aren't telling us?"
Ada froze as she pressed a hand over her mouth. Why did her breathing suddenly sound so loud in her ears? Eyes flying about, she desperately searched for another hiding place. Helmets had ten times more abilities than the average cupid. The possibility of them discovering her presence in the garden was crazy high. And they were talking about her. Triple worse.
"I merely asked about the circumstances of her delivery."
"And we told you," Tasha answered, voice drawn out with exasperation.
Their voices were drawing nearer. Why were they coming closer? Panic ruined Ada's ability to think. If they discovered her in the garden, it would seem as if she was snooping to listen in on their conversation. And Luke was present too; it would sure make him prove his something-is-wrong-with-this-one theory.
"Are you not concerned that one of your cupids is falling short?"
"Since you are more concerned than we are, why not ask for an audience with the One Up High and lay your complaint?" Maya asked in a measured tone. She was the only one who didn't sound aggravated by Luke's presence. "I must confess that I find your fixation on one of our cupids strange. Is there something we should know?"
Every cell in Ada's body throbbed with trepidation. What were the odds of her hearing this conversation? Several weeks ago, she only knew Luke was one of the Helmets of the Northern Division. Now, he seemed to spring up everywhere. When her assignment was given, with Haruto, and now this?
"Well, if you must know..." Luke paused and everything in Ada paused as well.
"Enough with the dramatic pauses. Spit it out already," Bo said.
"One of the Retired brought news to me."
"Which of them?" Maya's tone grew sombre.
"Nathaniel."
"You've got to be kidding me," Bo yelled.
At that precise moment, a hand settled over Ada's shoulder. Yelping, Ada twisted around only to find a confused Teddy staring down at her. Acting on instinct, Ada grabbed his wrist and pulled him down. When he started talking, she held the back of his head and slapped a palm over his mouth. "Shhh."
"Did you hear that?" Luke asked.
Teddy was urgently trying to say something behind her hand, but Ada was too distracted by the fear of being discovered. The Helmets, including Luke, were hurrying around one of the gazebos and heading straight to her location.
As the sound of their voices and footsteps grew louder and louder, Ada mumbled, "Please, don't see me. Please don't find us."
Teddy continued to mumble behind her palm, shaking his head in an attempt to loosen her grip. Whipping around to face him, she raised an eyebrow and mouthed, What?
His eyes were wide as he shook his head. Why did he look so shocked? She let him tug her hand away. "What?" she whisper-yelled.
"Look. Your wings."
It was then Ada noticed. In her panic, her wings had made an appearance and were wrapped around both of them, but that wasn't the odd thing. What made goosebumps race across her skin and turn her head woozy was something else, something super weird. Her wings were transparent. She could see through them—like looking through pink-tinted sunglasses. How?
Just then the Helmets rounded the corner, all four of them glancing about. Ada's jaw unhinged when their eyes swept over where she and Teddy were huddled.
The Helmets couldn't see them
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Hello dear readers.
I hope you are forgiving this writer for being lazy about getting new chapters out. Maybe NaNo will help me out. Maybe. *wipes tears and crosses fingers*
Believe me, WCE is spread out neatly in my head. Finding the time and motivation to get down to writing it eludes me. Maddening, I tell you. They should create a technology where we get to rent motivation. "I'd love to rent motivation for 1 hour. How much would that cost?" Wouldn't that be cool? Think about it for a sec.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading.
Votes and comments will be super-duper highly appreciated. Love y'all.