"So Blaise... you're saying... these spies... do they work under some kind of underground organisation? Like a mafia or something? Terrorising people, that stuff?"
Cecilion questioned with innocent curiosity, raising a brow as his eyes looked towards a man before him, who was seen typing quickly on a keyboard, flexing on his muscle memory.
The young man had striking blue eyes that complemented his purple hair. Both of those traits stood out from his dark skin, giving it a clear contrast. The man, referred to as Blaise, wore a basic and generic red zip up hoodie with a blank black T-shirt underneath. His pants were jeans made from denim that were somehow stretchy, stuffed into a high cut shoe with a red hue, shoelaces neatly tied. To add to that, He has a hanging chain earring with a golden star hanging at the end, along with a few piercings around the right ear. Unlike the right ear, he only has one earring on his left. On his neck is a shiny black choker with a buckle, fit comfortably. Down to his hands, were nails painted with shiny black nail polish.
To Cecilion's impression, Blaise looked like those typical e-boy. Yet he cannot deny Blaise's charms, especially his bright blue eyes that seem to catch Cecilion's attention each time Blaise steps into the room.
Hell, those blue eyes seems to catch anyone's attention.
Blaise faced Cecilion for a bit, nodding his head firmly. His eyes then remained fixated on the computer screen before him. A few holographic screens began to pop out around the two young men, displaying pictures of the spies' corpses killed by both Hannah and Henry, along with reports of small details and clues crucial to the investigation.
"Seems like it... The chief is talking to both Hannah and Henry right now to investigate what the fuck is happening." Blaise uttered, not even taking a glance towards Cecilion. "The suit of the spies has no logo whatsoever from what Villin's drone has taken, and they start their pursuit from when Villin eliminates the drug lord."
"They could be the drug lord's army then. Problem solved."
Blaise let out a chuckle, leaning back to finally face Cecilion. Cecilion stared in confusion, awaiting Blaise's response.
"I wish we can close the case that easily, man. But! The police academy reported to us that there's more deaths and cases of missing people whenever this group of people appears. With that drug lord killed, we cannot find any information. I can hint that they collaborated with mobsters, though."
"A business."
"Exactly. Expanding their army and knowledge. Usually this means... some sort of world domination. Which is a ridiculous possibility, to say the least."
Blaise let out a heavy sigh. He stood up and approached a coffee dispenser, taking an empty mug and pouring himself a warm cup of coffee. It was quiet for a moment, until the door clicked and swung open, casting lights from the hallway down into the dimly lit room. Such action and bright presence of light brought both Blaise's and Cecilion's attention towards the source.
Two shadows of varying heights appeared, revealing it to be both Hannah and Henry, who had just happened to return from their meeting with the chief.
Henry let Hannah enter first like a gentleman he is, before closing the door behind him gently. Hannah went to approach a chair and sat down in relaxation the moment her weight sunk into it, sighing from exhaustion. Henry went to remove his brown coat and tossed it aside to a nearby table before ruffling his hair so that it became messy. Henry then proceeds to cross his arms and lean against a wall, looking aloof.
Both of them did not speak nor greet, staring into space full of their own thoughts.
"What? You two ran a marathon or something?" Blaise questioned in a joking manner, trying to light up the mood.
Henry shrugged his shoulders weakly before leaning forward slightly.
"Squad E2 will be taking care of elimination. We have to investigate what the fuck is happening now." Answered Henry. "Y'know, these spies and stuff. Where they belong... blah blah."
Hannah nodded her head slowly in agreement. She then cleared her throat, bringing herself to lean forward with a groan.
"Any updates while we are away?" Hannah asked.
Cecilion faced Blaise for a moment, then back to Hannah. "Blaise said the spies could be related to some dark business that can maaaybe lead to some world domination."
Blaise spat out his drink, choking as he turned away to pull himself together and calm down. He set his mug on a table, wheezing as he wiped his mouth with the back of his palm, taking a few deep breaths. Cecilion laughed, prompting Blaise to point a middle finger towards the young man.
Blaise slid his hands into his pants pockets and regained his composure, clearing his throat.
"I mean, that's what we think. What Villin fought is an army that belongs to some underground group that could collab with other criminals."
Hannah and Henry exchanged glances, raising a brow towards each other.
Hannah turned curious. "Any logos?"
Blaise and Cecilion shook their heads in synchronisation.
"Being discreet huh..." Henry whispered to himself.
Blaise hummed in agreement and continued, "There's barely any information about them. All we know, there's rising numbers. But as those numbers rise, so are more reports of missing people and... even deaths. We do not know if its just in Lucinus, though. It could be worldwide."
Henry clicked his tongue. His eyebrows creased as if in deep thought, while a hand rose to peel the skin of his lips. It bled and stung, but Henry could care less.
"That's why the chief said that our government is trying to work with other countries..." Henry muttered softly, yet his words were enough for the other three to hear.
"But why is Henry the one being targeted?" Cecilion questioned, a finger pointed towards Henry.
The room fell silent. The four of them glanced towards each other as if having trust issues. No one can give a definite answer as to why, other than knowing Henry's safety being at risk.
Henry shook his head slowly, running his hand through his hair.
"Fuck... We'll think about this tomorrow. It's a long day. Y'all can be dismissed from work. Tyson, request for increased security." Henry spoke firmly.
Blaise nodded his head and moved back to his desk.
It felt sudden for Henry to dismiss his squad. Though this is not the first time. Henry had done it for so many times that his teammates were used to it, yet they did not question his decisions. The last thing everyone wants is Henry getting stressed and aggressive. Despite having a team of concerned and caring friends, the young man chose to not share his problems, bottling it up and shouldering his own burdens.
Ignoring the silent reactions of his teammates, Henry went to grab his coat and left the room. Instead of going ahead to rest back home however, he walked further down the hallways that lead down to a room. Some sort of training room, empty and not yet used, darkened without any light.
Henry brought himself to open the door as it creaked, revealing the room before him.
The training room is a spacious space, meant for fighting and duel practices. An area for fencing, a ring, and even an area for boxing practices, with boxing bags hanging from the ceiling. Everything was pristine and untouched, clean and undisturbed by no one.
Henry rubbed his nose due to the dust that settled in the room, fighting the urge to sneeze. Henry went to remove his boots and place them aside along with his coat. He then proceeded to stretch his body by rotating his shoulders, soon working on a few stretching exercises with his arms and legs for a bit to warm himself up. Lunges, burpees, jumping jacks... all those in 10 sets.
The silence in the room was being unfriendly towards Henry. It prompted the young man to play various songs from his phone to ease the unnerving silence. despite the silence, to him, it felt noisy. He can feel every disturbances in the air, the changes in the tiniest winds, as if his senses are intensified and enhanced. To Henry, it is a curse, something which gave him anxiety, something that gave him restless nights. He is used to it, but this time, he felt as though the noise were getting louder.
Dust flew when Henry landed his first punch on the boxing bag, flying back from the impact. To Henry, the punch felt satisfying, feeling the urge to punch again. He went on to punch the bag rapidly and repeatedly, then to land a kick. The bag moved quickly from the strong impacts given, Henry's bottled up anger being released with each powerful attack. Each build up of anger made him furrowed his brows and grit his teeth, his breaths becoming faster and faster as his moves slowly became aggressive.
He always released his pent up anger this way, until the boxing bag was moved from its spot after a major impactful punch, falling down from the ceiling as it slowly rolled away. Henry breathed heavily, slowly retreating his arms as hair shaded his face. His knuckles were red, bleeding from the friction even, hands shaking.
"Angry much?"
Startled by a new voice that sounded feminine, Henry gasped and jumped. But some sort of blade- a dagger was summoned out of thin air, thrown towards an undetermined direction. The energy coming from the dagger felt similar to the shield that was summoned hours ago. As if something that was summoned from his safety instincts.
Henry turned his head and saw Hannah merely missing the dagger, having it scratch her cheek lightly. Henry's eyes widened in panic, but Hannah remained in her calm composure, unfazed.
The dagger pierced the wall behind.
Hannah exhaled heavily. Henry's now calm breaths became fast and heavy again, this time not out of frustration or anger but stress and panic. He placed both of his hands on his head, close to scratching his own scalp or pulling his hair out.
"Fuck, fuck...I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! I don't know how that dagger even appeared-"
Henry exclaimed in fright but Hannah smiled and shook her head, stopping Henry by cupping his cheeks gently. "It's nothing but a scratch. Not your fault."
Henry took a deep breath, calming down from Hannah's touch. He brought his eyes to face away from Hannah but remained silent, unable to say anything other than the guilt he felt, despite knowing he was not to be blamed.
"Did you summon the shield hours ago? It looked like a dome, protecting you." Hannah broke the silence.
Henry raised a brow, then slowly shook his head. "I... I'm not sure. But it felt like someone's warmth. Or yours. I thought you summoned it."
"I cannot summon shields."
Henry's eyes widened again, but in realisation.
"Fuck, right. You can't. I don't know anymore. My whole body feels weird."
Hannah tilted her head to one side, raising a brow in concern. She understood Henry's feelings, noticing how his powers have been acting out of place lately. First was a shield being summoned, and now a dagger. Hell, Hannah noticed that Henry was being jumpier than usual too.
"Weird as in?" Hannah still asked.
Henry pulled away from Hannah's touch and paced around the room, seemingly worried about himself and his state. He kept ruffling his hair and rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the correct words in his noisy mind to explain himself.
"It's like... something wants to break out."
A wave of epiphany hit Hannah when she realised she does not know much of Henry than she thought. There is definitely something hidden, something that maybe Henry even has forgotten himself. Something is definitely going on other than the cases of deaths and missing people. Hannah wants to find out, but she needs to be patient.
Henry cursed under his breath. He began to hurriedly approach Hannah again, throwing himself into Hannah's embrace tightly. Gripping onto her shirt and resting his head on Hannah's, finding comfort in her warmth.
"Everything feels noisy. Even more noisy than usual. It's painful." Henry whispered shakily, on the verge of crying.
But he felt calm in her embrace. In her arms, everything felt peacefully quiet, like laying down on a serene flower field, bringing him to close his eyes. He could always sleep in Hannah's arms, like a little child cradled in the arms of their mother. To Hannah, Henry felt like a child who needed love and attention, for he has been alone for too long.
Hannah pat Henry's head, ruffling his hair, her warm smile not leaving her lips.
"Henry... Let's head home and talk about it, alright? You had a long day today. You need to rest. This is not the best place to talk about it as well." Hannah whispered.
Henry pulled away slightly. He laid his eyes on Hannah as if contemplating, then to firmly nod his head in agreement with Hannah's words. A bigger smile was formed on Hannah's lips, bringing herself to stand on the tip of her toes, leaving a kiss on Henry's cheek affectionately. Henry blushed a little, letting out a giggle and bringing himself to rub his head against Hannah's.
"And... you need an ice bath." Hannah whispered, slowly stepping back before picking up Henry's items.
Henry blinked in confusion. "Eh? But why?"
"So your bruises can heal properly, silly. You didn't get your injuries checked, didn't you?"
"N-nope."
"Sigh, how typical of you. Come, wear your shoes and let's go."
Henry has always been known to disregard his injuries, which made Hannah nag at him every time. It is a habit, something he used to do before meeting Hannah. Returning to headquarters all injured and covered in blood, and to reappear again the next day as if nothing happened.
Hannah stretched out her hand. Henry went ahead and confidently grabbed it with no hesitations, firmly holding her tender hands that are clearly smaller than his. The two finally exited the training room together, merrily walking down the hallways to head home.
The hand Henry held felt fragile. So fragile, as if he could break it at any moment. He feared hurting Hannah due to his uncontrollability, yet Hannah seemed to enjoy his presence, showing no fear and hesitancy around him. Henry even felt safe around her, enjoying her warmth and presence, as well as having the need to protect. Henry felt... warm. And he feared losing that warmth.
For as long as Hannah stood by Henry's side, anyone that harms his dearest will not be forgiven.