A young man walked through the sidewalks without arousing any suspicion, naturally blending in with the crowd as he absent-mindedly munched on a cheap minute burger he bought from a stall vendor.
He was wearing black jeans with a green leather jacket over a plain gray t-shirt and wore a white baseball cap on his head. He had a dazed expression and exhaustion was written all over his face as evidenced by the dark bags under his eyes , a result of consecutive missions and sleepless nights.
He was trying his best not to drag his feet as he walked but the weight of his combat boots was making it harder for his weary legs not to do so. He looked quite pathetic that people often gave him pitying glances and an occasional pat on the shoulder as they brushed past him. He even heard a few conversations about him.
"Look at him... Poor guy."
"He must have been through a lot."
"What do you think happened to him?"
"Girlfriend broke up with him maybe..."
"Looks like he got fired from his job."
"Maybe even both."
"Looking at him, you can't help but feel sorry for him and wish him a nice day."
They were all wrong but he didn't feel the need nor had the energy to refute them. He still felt a bit embarrassed though.
He continued to walk for quite a while before finally reaching his destination. He looked up at the hanging sign to confirm his location and nodded to himself. Warm Winters Cafe, it read.
He pushed open the door and entered, the door chime rang pleasantly as he did. "Good morning and welcome to Warm Winters! What will you be having today?" the cashier politely greeted him with a warm smile.
"I'd like a double espresso please. It's been a rough couple of days." He ordered and slid over a 10-runea bill for the coffee.
"Yeah, I can see that." the cashier chuckled as he opened the cash register. "That would be-"
"It's fine. Keep the change." He just yawned and walked towards a table by the glass window and took a seat.
"Thank you. Hey sis! One double espresso, quickly!" the cashier called the barista from the backroom.
"Yeah, yeah." the barista replied.
He exhaled in relief as he leaned back in his seat and then took out his phone from his pocket, browsing through the internet to pass the time.
"Here's your double espresso. Enjoy!" the barista served the espresso cup on a small saucer plate. She winked at him as she was setting off to return to the backroom.
He followed her with his eyes for a while before setting his sights on the espresso. He scrutinized it for a while and inhaled its aroma, instinctively searching for any signs of poison.
When he couldn't find any, he let out a sigh of contentment and began blowing on the espresso to cool it down.
Just as he was about to drink, someone suddenly snatched the cup from his hands and drank it in front of him, taking small sips as if the drink was his in the first place. The person in question blew a refreshed sigh and then took the seat in front of him.
His right eyelid twitched in irritation as he stared at the person he wanted to see the least in front of him.
"Good morning Jay! How was your week?" the person asked with a smile as if oblivious to what he just did.
"Fuck you Frank." Jay said through gritted teeth as he glared at him.
"That's no way to talk to your mentor." Frank chuckled and took another sip from his stolen espresso. Jay ignored him and stood up as he went to the counter to order another double espresso.
When Jay returned with another one, he went straight to business as he gave Frank another hostile look.
"What do you want?" he asked as he finally took his first sip of caffeine in days, slightly calming him down and reinvigorating him.
"Don't worry. It's not another mission so you can rest easy for a while." Frank waved off Jay's concerns.
Jay was about to sigh in relief but Frank wasn't done talking yet. "But!" he slammed his hand on the table, causing some of Jay's coffee to spill.
"We have a new assignment for you." Frank continued while rhythmically tapping his index finger on the table.
"Damn." Jay hissed. "Can't you guys give me a break?" he groaned in defeat.
"I don't really know the specifics myself but you should use this period of time to get some rest and prepare. It's supposed to be a long mission or something like that."
Frank continued sipping his stolen coffee before realizing it was already open. He sighed as he set down the cup. "All I know is that this assignment is directly from Central. You're the perfect man for the job, don't waste this rare opportunity."
"Central?! You're kidding right?" Jay raised an eyebrow at the mention of Central.
"Unfortunately not. Division Red officially received the order last night. The Paladin has been looking for someone to take the assignment and I recommended you for the job." Frank explained.
"Last night I was busy running for my life after getting chased by dogs." Jay thought to himself as he recalled all the events that resulted to to him having sleepless nights and mentally shuddered.
"Why would someone from Division Red be the one tasked with this assignment?If it's directly from Central, wouldn't Division Black be the best option?" Jay voiced out his doubts while organizing his thoughts and suppressing his excitement.
"All the other Divisions currently have a shortage of available personnel, especially Division Black. They may have the best Knights, but they don't have the most number of Knights. In fact, they have the least number of personnel even if you include the non-combat and auxiliary ones."
"But why am I the one you recommended for the task though, considering all that you put me through for the past week?" Jay asked though he thought he already knew the answer to his question.
"It's precisely because I put you through hell for the past week that I recommended you. You're already in flames, what's a few more embers gonna do?" Frank bluntly replied.
"Ouch."
"And besides, isn't the Knight Selection Exam right around the corner? You could use all the experience under your belt if you want to make it through that. That's something you won't obtain even if you train hard for it nonstop." Frank paused for a while and looked out the window with a smile as if he was recalling a fond memory.
"So, what's the mission about?" Jay snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Like I said, I don't know the specifics. Commander Myse will tell you the details later. She said she'll meet you at her office at around 6 pm. Don't be late." Frank ended the discussion and took out a book from a pocket of his trench coat then proceeded to read.
Jay sat thoughtfully for a while as he stared at his espresso which had already gone cold. He pulled his thoughts together and downed the remaining coffee in one gulp then stood up from his seat at the table.
"If that's all, I'll be going on ahead. See ya around teach." Jay said to Frank who acknowledged him with a nod of his head.
Jay was walking towards the counter to take some hot cappuccino to go when an idea suddenly popped into head. His lips twisted into an evil looking grin as he thought about enacting a small payback on Frank.
He slid over two 50-runea bills and smiled at the cashier. "I'd like 2 hot cappuccinos to go please. And-" Jay gestured for the cashier to come closer and whispered his plans.
The cashier was confused for a while before a smile finally appeared on his face. "I see. Thank you for your patronage. We hope to see you again." He gave a thumbs up to Jay.
Jay waited a while for his cappuccinos and then quickly made his escape as soon as he received them.
Frank was peacefully reading his book to pass the time when out of the corner of his eye, he saw the barista making her way over to him with a smile while carrying a tray full of large-sized coffee mugs.
She set down the tray in front of him and handed him a slip of paper. "Here are your orders sir, and the bill."
"What? I didn't order anything." he looked at the barista in confusion. "But that young man you were with ordered this for you, he said you'll be the one paying for them." the barista pouted at him.
"Tch. That brat. Sneaky little bastard." Frank gnashed his teeth in anger. This was Jay's small revenge on Frank for all the hell he had to go through because of him. "But I don't have any money on me right now." Frank panicked.
Of course, Jay knew Frank no longer carried around a wallet nor a phone around him when he wanders around off-duty after multiple incidents of him losing either one or even both in some cases.
"Hmm, let's see. It such a waste of time and effort on my time if I made it for nothing. If you drink all of them right now, they'll be on the house. But if you won't drink them all, you'll have to pay. And if you won't pay, I'll be calling the police." the barista set out her terms and conditions.
"Well, what do you think?" she tilted her head while tapping her right shoe on the floor as a show of impatience.
Frank sighed in resignation and embarrassment as he nodded. "Fine, I'll drink them all."
Jay had already paid for those drinks of course, but Frank didn't know that nor needed to know that. The barista giggled as she watched Frank drink the coffee one mug after another. There were 15 large mugs of coffee and Frank was still on his 3rd mug.
"Damn that brat. Damn that brat. Damn that brat!" Frank continuously cursed Jay in his mind as he drank the coffee, his eyes bloodshot from rage and excessive caffeine.
*-*-*
"Central huh? What kind of mission would it be?" Jay muttered as he strolled through the hallways of Division Red Main Headquarters.
He had already changed his clothes into full crimson-colored fatigues with black combat boots. His sidearm was secured in its holster which was strapped to his right thigh, his signature knives hidden and secured under his uniform. All that's left is to find his way to Commander Myse's office.
"Right..." he muttered as he stood still and looked around. "I forgot to ask where her office was..."
The various personnel made his way around him as he awkwardly stood alone in the hallway, nervously glanced the various doors and entrances into different departments.
"I haven't seen her in 2 years, who knows if she got transferred during that time." Jay mentally kicked himself as he regretted not keeping in touch with her. But what's done is done, and he needed to get to her office as soon as he can or else he would be late and affect his chances at the Selection.
(Now, you might be wondering why he hasn't asked anyone the way to her office. Well, what's he supposed to do? Walk up to someone and ask? Don't be silly, like hell he'd do that!)
Jay made up his mind and slinked over to an unassuming young lady who was also looking around wearing what he assumed was a secretary's uniform. Her black hair was tied into a neat bun and she was clutching a stack of folders to her chest. Jay then proceeded to casually rest an arm on her shoulder as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Hey there miss, would you mind it if I asked you where Commander Myse's office happen to be?" Jay cooly asked as he smoothly spoke those words close to her ear.
"Ahh! I'm sure you'd be more interested in someone else. Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry!" She backed away from Jay with her knees shaking and looked at him in fear with tears welling up in her eyes.
Jay was dumbfounded at her reaction and tilted his head as he observed her. "Ah, I'm sorry. I didn't meant it like that! I was just-" Jay was interrupted as he was in the middle of explaining himself.
"Is there a problem here?" A guard asked as he walked over to them to assess the situation. "I was just-"
"No! Nothing! I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding. Everything is just fine sir!" the young lady explained no his behalf, to Jay's surprise.
"I see." The guard nodded at her. "Well, you both look like you're new here, so feel free to ask us Sentinels if you ever need any help. We'd be glad to assist." The guard smiled at them as if they were children and tipped his cap. "I'll be returning to my post then."
"Wait!" Jay didn't let the opportunity go and asked the guard for directions. The guard chuckled at him and agreed to guide him to Myse's office.
"Follow me and stay close. It's payday today, so a lot of people are rushing around to finish their work so they could get off early. The same can't be said for the Sentinels and Knights though." he said with a sigh.
Jay happily followed the Sentinel while looking around the halls and sometimes peeking into departments to see what's up. They had already walked quite a bit when Jay noticed the girl from before quitely following them. "Hmm?"
Jay glanced at her and observed her as she pretended not to notice him and intentionally avoided eye contact. He figured it might be just a coincidence that they're taking the same path or that she must have a reason for doing so. Either way, Jay decided not to press her for answers.
"We're here." The Sentinel said as he stopped in front of a door. Jay proceeded to thank him and watched him as he walked off to return to his post. When the Sentinel was out of sight, Jay blew out a sigh and steeled his nerves as he rapped his knuckles against the wooden door.
The door opened inwards with a bang and a hand immediately shot out towards him and grabbed his uniform. Jay was then lifted up by the collar of his uniform with his legs unable to touch the ground below him. Although he already prepared himself beforehand, he still visibly paled and shook in fear as he stared into the eyes of a fuming Commander Myse and heard the words he dreaded hearing the most from her.
"You. Are. Late."