"You again?" Decha grunted at the red-haired woman that stood at the entrance of the Agency. Abigail was a general, but she was not stationed to work there.
"Hi," Abigail smiled at him and fluttered her eyes. "My father told me what happened yesterday. Are you okay?" Abigail reached out to touch his arm but Decha snatched it away.
"Fine," He answered her in a harsh tone. "I hope you didn't waste your time coming here to check on me."
"It isn't a waste of time, you owe me a date." She winked at him.
"I don't owe you anything. How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not interested?"
"I'll keep bothering you until you change your mind," Abigail slid her hands up his arm. "I'm very persistent, you know."
"Annoyingly Persistent. Are you used to always getting your way?" Decha huffed.
"Only for things I want. But I work for it, nothing is handed to me on a silver platter. And I like it that way."
"I hope you realize that you're taking my time away from work. And that can be considered a crime."
"And you're not stopping me." Abigail teased, and Decha grumbled. "What time do you get off?"
"Late," Decha didn't want to disclose any information about his schedule with her. He knew that she wanted to partner with him, but he had no interest in settling down with anyone. He hadn't given it any thought because he was always busy working. "Don't bother waiting for me."
"I'll do whatever I like," Abigail massaged one of his shoulders. Some of the Generals nearby stood near to watch the interaction between the two and were curious. They were surprised that Decha was even interacting with a woman.
"You're treading on dangerous ground, N926," Decha warned her. He was trying his best to let her down in the nicest way possible. But she was pushing him over his limit.
"Danger can be a little fun," She smirked. "I guess we have that in common, facing the danger instead of running away. We'll talk later. Kick some butt while at work." Abigail pulled away from him and blew him a kiss. Then she walked away.
Decha rolled his eyes and headed straight for Theodore's office. On the way to the top of the building, he received plenty of stares from his colleagues. But Decha ignored every single one.
Some of the other Generals were whispering, and Decha only heard partial bits of it. He understood they were talking about him, but he wasn't sure what about him. When he arrived at Director Chen's office, Jax was at the door, ready to greet him with a bunch of questions.
"N96," He slapped his hand onto Decha's shoulder. "You sly freaking dog,"
"What did you just call me?" Decha snapped, taking offense. He was ready to put Jax in a headlock for disrespecting him.
"I never thought you'd show interest in Chauncey's daughter." Jax hummed.
"She shows interest in me." Decha snorted and sat in the director's chair. He pressed a button and a holographic screen appeared. He began typing away for information about Jamison.
"So nothing is going on between you two? Because she looked like she had you claimed. You looked at her like you were—"
"I'm not interested." Decha shrugged.
"You're Crazy." Jax shook his head. "You're not a bad-looking guy. At the Program, several women were lined up waiting to talk to you. And you say that you have no interest in any of them." Jax remembered that he usually spent his time commanding other Generals or working. "I really do think you might be spending a bit too much time with the guys."
"Shut up!" Decha hissed. "I already told you I'm not that kind of person."
"So what is it about women you don't like? Do you have... a physical problem or...?"
"Nothing is wrong with my body." Decha clenched his jaw.
"Are you just shy?"
"No."
"You seem like you've never experienced anything with a woman before, so I assumed you're shy."
"Keep on assuming, that's not the case at all."
"So you have done something with a woman before? What, did you hold hands?"
"Don't try to belittle me, N9899."
"Have you kissed? Or have you..."
"It doesn't matter." Decha shrugged. "I'm working all the time. Once I wrap up this case, I'll be going back to the Outside. It wouldn't be right of me to settle down with someone only to leave them here when I go back."
"Just take them with you."
"Heck no, it's dangerous outside of the Walls. And you know how women are. If I bring a wife with me, she's gonna start wanting to grow the family. It's not logical, and I'm not interested."
"You think too much. Does that apply to all women or only to Astellian women?"
"It doesn't matter." Decha shrugged.
Jax smiled at him. His theory was correct. Decha probably didn't know that the reason he was against Chauncey's daughter was that he probably had a thing for Rory, the Bracket woman.
While Decha was reviewing the footage from the day, he noticed that the weapons used by Jamison had the same symbol imprinted on them that belonged to Kilos. He enhanced the image and took photos.
The weapons were ones he'd never seen before. Ones that weren't authorized by the Astellian council. It led him to believe that Kilos was involved somehow. How did Jamison get technology that belonged to Astell's number-one tech company? Jamison was a Bracketer. Based on the salary he earned at the Butchershop, he wouldn't be able to afford any weapon.
Unless someone from Kilos was shielding him. Which may have explained how he was able to get around so easily. No doubt, Jamison must've been experienced with dealing with Generals. No General had put up a good fight with Decha and lasted.
Jamison was using a shield to hide under the radar, undetected by Astellians. He may have been carrying a fake ID with him. One that somehow goes through their scanners.
"What are you doing for Bloom Day tomorrow?" Jax approached Decha.
"Huh?"
"Tomorrow is Bloom day, but they canceled the festival after what happened at the Program," Jax explained. "How will you spend it?"
"Working," Decha never took a holiday before. The moment he became a general, relaxation was an unfamiliar term.
"Come on, even the Director isn't going to be working tomorrow. The Agency will be closed for the Holiday."
"I'm not working for the Agency. I still work even when the office closes. I have to locate this guy and—"
"You don't have anything you want to do tomorrow?"
"I want to solve this case. The sooner I finish the quicker I can leave Sector A." The only things Decha wanted were for Rory to have her surgery, for the case to be solved, and for him to leave the Sectors and back to his original position Outside where he was getting paid well.
"You're boring," Jax rolled his eyes. "I have a date tomorrow."
"Good for you." Decha snorted.
"While you're sitting around working yourself to death, I'll be traveling far uptown to the mountains with a lady friend. I have to find a good gift to give her though."
"A gift?"
"Yeah. It's Bloom day tradition. You give gifts to show how much they mean to you."
"How stupid," Decha snickered.
"Yeah, well, it gets the job done. My date tomorrow is not bad. We only talked a bit at the Program, so I don't know much about her. But she seems very educated and refined. She's one of the office administrators at the Council Hall. So I'll probably buy her a golden bracelet or something."
"You don't know anything about her and you're spending all this money."
"Well, I don't want her buying me something more expensive while I give her a piece of scrap." Jax shrugged. "These days, women are demanding. You make one mistake on Bloom day and they think you loathe them."
Although Decha usually didn't care about the Sector's traditions or Holidays, curiosity stirred within him. The other day, Rory asked him for a gift. Was that considered demanding? Was she expecting him to buy her something expensive?
If so, that changed everything. "Jax," Decha called him by his first name. "What kind of gifts do women generally like?"
Jax smirked at him. "Why do you want to know?"
"Do you want me to smack you so hard blood comes out of your ears?" Decha challenged him. "Because I'll do it." He stood up from the Director's chair. Jax flinched and placed his hands up to surrender.
"Calm down, I'm just teasing. That's what friends do."
"We aren't friends. Get that in your head."
"Whatever. Work buddies, if that's what you want to call it—"
"Which I don't." Decha seethed.
"You're impossible. Women usually like expensive sentimental stuff. Like jewelry, things they can show their lady friends."
That didn't sound like something Rory would be interested in. He thought for a moment. What was Rory interested in? She didn't wear jewelry. She was very interested in technology.
"Some women are okay with just affection. A long hug, or maybe a little more. Like a kiss. Or maybe a long passionate night of—"
"That's not my thing." Decha cringed.
"Well if affection isn't the best choice, I say jewelry. Astellian women love when a guy gives them something to wear. Not only does it symbolize their worth, but it shows that we are dedicated to them. They think about it as if we were claiming them."
"How stupid," Decha scoffed.
"Think about it. How many high-ranked generals do you know? There's not that many. When it comes to us, women want to know whether we are being serious or not. We're basically fresh meat."
Decha thought it didn't make any sense. As for Rory, she was a Bracketer. Assuming the poor state of Sector B, the women there didn't have much, to begin with. Maybe it was better to give Rory something more sentimental.
But what was he going to give her? Decha never experienced worrying over a gift. This was a feeling he loathed. Maybe he was overthinking it?
He was definitely overthinking Rory's gift. The day had gone by quickly, and it was already late in the evening. He avoided Abigail while she was distracted when he left the Agency.
When he arrived home, it was snowing heavily outside. But as soon as he stepped foot inside the large house, he was hit with the aroma of fresh and hot stew. The smell was very different. He took off his cap and left his boots by the front door.
"Mom?" He called out to her.
"I'm in here!" A voice from the kitchen responded to him. Decha walked through the living room to get to the kitchen. When he did, he saw Rory and Avon at the table.
Jessica was setting it while placing an unfamiliar pot of stew in the middle. There were also slices of somewhat familiar-looking bread on several plates.
"Why aren't you letting the Butlers handle this?" Decha eyed his mother suspiciously.
"I sent them off early for the Holiday." Jessica smiled while setting a couple of glasses on the table.
"Where's the Director?"
"Your father," Jessica emphasized with a glare, "is in his office. He says he wants to finish working so he'll eat there. But you know why he's in there." Jessica gestured to Rory with her eyes, who was tapping away on her phone.
Decha sat next to Rory and noticed her change in appearance. Her hair was braided into two high buns. "You braided your hair."
"Oh, they're not braids. They're cornrows." Rory smiled at him. "I did it because my hair gets dry in the cold. So doing this keeps it protected and moisturized. When it stops snowing, I'll let it back down."
"It's different. I like it." Decha commented, and Rory looked at her plate, embarrassed and flustered. Even Jessica was surprised.
"Thank you."
"You notice her hair but don't notice when I cut mine?" Jessica scoffed. "You're selectively observant, my boy." She sat across from him.
"Decha! What about my hair?" Avon brushed his messy curls forward.
"I like yours too." Decha chuckled.
"Does it look good?"
"It's very nice, Von." Decha nodded. "Did you have fun at the academy today?"
"Yeah! My teacher let us play. There was a game that me and Shirley..." Avon went on to tell his story to the entire table. Most of it was childish blabber, but Decha enjoyed it nonetheless.
"So..." Decha eyed the pot in front of him strangely. "What's this?"
"Rory was feeling down, so I asked her what she wanted for dinner. So I made her this recipe from Sector B. It's a Bracket dish."
"My father used to make this for me at home."
"Is it some kind of soup?"
"It's bread stew." Rory grabbed a ladle and dished some of the red concoction into his bowl. "It's great during the winter season. It's also one of my mother's favorite dishes. When my father met my mom, he fixed her some warm stew because she was lost and didn't have a place to stay."
"Aw, no." Jessica frowned.
"It's fine. It's not a sad story. When my dad gave her the stew, my mom asked for flaky bread to go with it. He was so disgusted that she dipped the entire thing into the stew and ate it." Rory laughed. "It was a messy and sloppy way of eating. But my dad tried it. And ever since then, it became a family tradition."
"So what? You're supposed to eat it with your hands?" Decha scoffed.
"Don't be rude, Decha." Jessica scolded him.
"I'll show you." Rory grabbed a slice of the flaky bread in front of her. Then she dipped it in her bowl of stew. With a spoon, she prevented the droplets of liquid from falling off the bread and into the table. Then she extended it for Decha to see.
"That looks like a bunch of unnecessary steps." He rolled his eyes, and Rory frowned. But instead of refusing it, he leaned forward and took a bite of her bread.
The action caught Rory and Jessica off guard. Rory was practically feeding him. She wasn't sure how it was viewed in Astell, but in the Brackets, it was a romantic gesture. She didn't dare move.
Decha was impressed by the taste. The stew was similar to a bisque but full of diced vegetables. It was full of flavor, and the bread was soft and crispy. The caramelized onions were a nice touch with the bread.
He took the rest of the bread and shoved it into his mouth, and switched bowls with Rory. "It's good." He nodded and slurped on more of the stew.
"Is it?" Rory smiled shyly, seeking confirmation.
"Mhmm." Decha tucked another slice of bread in his mouth.
"I'm so happy to hear that. When I was in primary school, some of the other kids picked on me because I ate stew with bread. They thought I was strange. It got so bad that my father had to remove me and enrolled me in an online program."
"You'll find a lot of stranger things here in Astell than people eating a stew with bread." Jessica smiled at her. "My son, for example. You know he has dark eyes. They're dark but beautiful."
Decha was too focused on his bowl to rebuke his mother. He chose to stay out of their conversation.
"Decha, do you remember the boys in your class? The ones who commented about your eyes? What was his name? Thomas? Tommy? He said your eyes were strange."
"Thomas." Decha placed his spoon down softly and started swirling the red liquid around.
"Wow, you remembered his name. That was so long ago—"
"Of course." Decha raised a brow at his mother. Did she forget that his memory was photographic? "I beat that kid to a pulp. Gave him two black eyes."
Rory blinked. She wasn't sure how to react, but fear struck her.
"The Dean was going to expel him, but Decha's grades were too good. Then, that boy's mother commented on Decha's weight, so I gave her the boot. Kicked her so hard that she had a black bruise." Jessica smiled sweetly as if she was completely innocent. "Oh, how I wish you were still chubby."
Rory continued eating her stew in silence. The mother and son were crazy. She was starting to understand where Decha got his indifference to violence from.
"I wanna be strong like Decha, mommy." Avon chirped.
"Then eat up." Jessica encouraged, and helped him with his stew bowl.
"If it helps, I don't think your eyes are strange at all, Decha. If anything, I think they're a cool color."
"Rory, are you sweet-talking my boy?"
"No, not at all!" Rory blushed. "I was just trying to say that his eyes weren't any different from the rest of us. They're obsidian-colored, but they serve the same purpose. But that's not to say you're not special, e-either!" Rory finished with a squeak.
"I don't need validation from a Bracketer." Decha snorted.
"Yeah, you're right." Rory frowned. "I should've kept my mouth shut."
"Decha, that wasn't nice." Jessica glared at him. He was acting like his father. Why couldn't he see how Rory was complimenting him?
"It's okay, Mrs. Chen." Rory forced a smile and took another spoonful of stew. "He has a point, I guess."
Decha slurped the rest of his stew before slamming the bowl back on the table. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned to face Rory. "What kind of materials do you like?"
"... Huh?" Rory huffed. His question was so sudden and out of the blue, that it frightened her.
Decha studied her. Jewelry wasn't going to cut it. Rory liked Astellian tech. But what could he give her that she wouldn't build herself? What kind of gifts did Engineers like?
His mind was still frantic about it, and he knew he wasn't going to get any sleep until he figured out what she would want. Was there anything of sentimental value between them?
It's already been a month since he met Rory. He felt more comfortable with her now.
He remembered one of their conversations. Rory liked the lights at the food festival. She wanted to see the plant that provided Astell's power. But they were expensive to keep up with.
Finally, an idea formed in his mind. He knew what he was going to give her. "Do you remember our deal?"
Jessica was all ears.
"What deal?" Jessica looked at Rory and Decha with curiosity shining in her eyes.
"None of your business." Decha spat at her, before standing up. "I'm finished." He gestured at the empty bowl.
"Are you sure you don't want to eat more?" Jessica frowned. She missed when he used to eat multiple bowls.
"I'm full," Decha stated and left the room.
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