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"Good evening, crew." Esther smiled, passing a carton of drinks towards the group. Some were coffee — she still never understood the appeal of bitter things — the rest, tea and chocolate, generously paid for by the higher-ups, due to their successful mission last night. She'd have to thank them when she gets to see them, whenever the next briefing would be.
Immediately, each member of the table snatched their personal order.
The youngest among them, Ven, proceeded to tear apart the sugar packet, and drop the whole thing into their milk tea. Esther learned by now that Ven could, unironically, eat whatever they put their mind to. Though, someone grabbed the paper packet before they could mix it in their drink.
"Welcome back, Es." A black-haired guy waved, briefly, swiping his cup away before someone (see: Ven) got their hands on it. He didn't glance in her direction, returning to his paperwork in silence. Esther only passed him a grin, and hummed, "it's good to see you out for once."
"Yeah, yeah, don't jab me for liking to stay in."
"Well, you have been pretty much a shut-in, Mori." A blonde-haired girl spoke up from the other side of the rectangular table, looking up from her work-in-progress. Some kind of machine, Esther noted, maybe a future project that was commissioned by the Handler- or Calypso. Or maybe even their other seniors, but that wasn't for her to worry about. Sophie had been rather helpful in a few of their tedious tasks, especially when it came to dealing with arrogant billionaires.
The dark-haired guy, now named Mori, huffed. Ven only managed to stifle their laugh by taking a sip, accidentally bubbling up their drink until it spilled.
"Okay, okay, knock it off." Snob tapped on the table with her hand, while the other held a cookie. Frankly, nobody really knew where she got all these varieties of snacks, but there was no need to complain if you were getting free food. "Why fight when there's perfectly good things on the table? Just enjoy yourself while you still have time."
"Well, yeah, but unlike you, I'm in a different faction. So I'm technically celebrating for your sake while I'm completing my work." Mori said his piece, his tone remained playful. Snob only stuck her tongue out in defense.
With an environment like this, it was hard to comprehend that all the members of the table were, unapologetically, evil. Murderers, thieves, vandalists, hackers, you name it, and one of them would be it.
Esther reached for her specially-made drink, took one look at the carton she brought in earlier, and frowned. She must've ordered an extra drink for…
She pushed the carton away. Anyone could have the drink now, since the owner wasn't here with them anymore.
"Soooo…" Snob spoke up once again, her saviour, and inquired, "what did you guys do that was so great last night?" And much like a bomb being set off, the question made Ven's eyes sparkle - despite their unchanging facial expression, it wasn't so hard to figure out what they felt, with those eyes.
Excitedly, they began in a boastful tone - monotonous, but prideful if you knew them well enough. "Oh, well, we kind of did a bang here and a boom there." The smallest of grins formed on their face, unable to mask the gremlin they hid in their core. "May or may not have destroyed our latest threat around the area, y'know, those losers that call themselves the 'Chambers of Wrath'."
Esther sipped her chocolate calmly as Sophie sprang up to her feet. Mori winced from the loud noise. "WHAT?!"
"You heard me."
"Nuh-uh, no way?! You? And her?"
"Don't forget that we have our own sector and a team," added Esther, "it was not a two-person job- in fact, it would've been impossible if they put a *Canary and a *Cardinal together." As she continued to drink, Ven rolled their eyes. "Well, yeah, but we were part of the effort, so don't take my credit away!"
[* Canary - The one who possessed the role to craft plans and coordinate their teams to do things efficiently. The one who needs to make sure the team has every possible route should a plan go wrong.]
[* Cardinal - The one who's tasked to do major damage in a fight. Competent in fighting, and should be able to handle explosives and dangerous substances, as well as weapons unlike that of a dagger, sword, or gun.]
"Holy smokes! D'you think that's why the boss commissioned me to make that nuke the other day?" Sophie peered over to Esther, only to find her tuning out the conversation with that novel in her hand, and then back to Ven. Ven only shrugged, though; as far as they and the Handler go way back, Ven never really received any information that might be confidential, nor did the Handler ever praise anybody so easily in front of them.
Except that one time where they managed to get themselves to shut up. The praise earned the Handler a kick to the shins, and Ven, a trip to timeout.
"I thought you made machines. Y'know, gears, and levers… Physics." Ven made jazz hands. "My mentor told me that nukes are, like.. camp-mistery."
"Chemistry," Mori corrected, raising his head after writing his final report. "Sophie handles most of our weapons here at Sector G-2, don't forget that." He curled up his fingers, stretched them out, and then shook his hand. Man, he felt cramped. Thank God his tea is still hot. "Also, your mentor sucks at teaching you."
"True," Ven nodded, like the little goblin they are. Maybe Esther would have to pay that certain mentor a visit just to tattle on the kid.
"Oh, yeah, before I forget, the Handler wants to see you later, Es." Snob poked her with a finger, catching her attention immediately after mentioning their boss's name. Well, if the expectant look she wore screamed anything but.
"I'll get to it then." She stood up, closed her book at where she last read, and left the table like lava was at her feet.
…
The group simultaneously snickered.
"She's really down bad, isn't she?"
"Horrendous."
"No, you can't talk, you're just as down bad for.. what's that guy's name- Lovecraft?"
"That was ages ago!! Leave me alone!"
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"You called for me?"
The man, having sat at his seat, tipped his fedora when she turned up at his office. "Arrived quicker than I expected. Have a seat."
She pulled out a little note from her novel, sliding it over the table. "Think it's time for you to praise me for a job well done."
"Don't push your luck, Canary." He unfolded the secrets within that tiny piece of paper, inspecting the results of her investigation with a hum. "..This is all?"
"Unfortunately. You higher-ups really like it when you get to blow buildings up." She huffed, before leaning in to read what he was reading, even though she knew the contents by heart.
"That was Childe's idea and you know it." He earned himself an eye roll.
"So? What do you think, chief?"
Silence passed in the room. Silent, dark, and yet, not suffocating. Or perhaps she was just holding her breath.
"I've got another quick mission for you, Canary. Finish the job before sundown."