"I swear… Never again!" Julian groaned as he plucked himself from the sticky leather sofa. His back protested against every move he made. His muscles ached as they rolled back into their natural place after a night of being forced into the most agonizing positions. The young man scrambled back onto his feet and looked around. When they came back home the night before, Carmilla retreated to her bedroom after giving Julian a water bottle to keep him hydrated.
"Who's so loud that early in the morning…?" Julian turned towards the voice. Carmilla stumbled out of her bedroom, dressed in nothing more than her creamy purple nightdress. She stretched herself as she looked around with sleepy eyes. As her gaze met Julian's, a soft blush crept up alongside her smooth cheeks. The young man nodded at her, casually sipping from the plastic bottle.
"Good morning. Slept well?" Julian forced himself to react naturally. Freaking out right now will only worsen matters. Carmilla took a deep breath, her cheeks turning a healthy scarlet before she briskly turned around and slammed the door shut behind her.
"…Crisis averted." Julian nervously sipped from his plastic bottle as he heard several things crashing to the floor in the room next doors, followed by an avalanche of mumbling. Curious, Julian inched closer to the door. He placed his right ear against the door, trying to pick up anything resembling a word.
"I'm going to kill that guy one day…" Julian shook his head. Did he hear that right? The young man forced his ear against the hollow steel door, trying to squeeze out any more noise. Until the door pushed back.
The door slammed into Julian's cheek as he stumbled backwards. Carmilla appeared from behind the door, her hair in her usual free-flowing form. Her bangs barely reached to her green eyes as she adjusted the classic watch around her right wrist. She eyed Julian suspiciously as she passed him. In one hand, she held her phone and checked her messages while she absentmindedly grabbed a kiwi from the refrigerator hiding in the corner.
Julian didn't say anything. The fact she was still glaring at him was enough to keep him quiet. Once his plastic bottle was empty, he moved at the washbasin and filled it back up, just in time to hear Carmilla curse under her breath.
"What's the matter?" The purple-haired woman swivelled around on the back of her three-inch heels and put a finger to her lips. She tapped on her smartphone and talked to the speaker.
"What's the matter, boss?" Carmilla walked over to the dining table and spooned her fruit into her mouth. Julian smirked and sunk into a comfortable wooden chair. He closed his eyes and focused on the conversation. If he wanted to make use of his new connections, he'd better gather some intel first. The person who acted as Carmilla's boss was as good a place as any to start.
"…You want us to what? Boss, we aren't even the primary group stationed—Yes, yes, I know. No, I don't want my allowance to be withheld. Yes, yes, I'll update you later." Carmilla sighed as she closed the call. She ruffled through her hair, leaving some peaking in various directions as she glanced over her left shoulder.
"We've got a new assignment. To look for and eliminate the bomber of tonight." Carmilla bit her lip. Julian arched an eyebrow.
"Why would we have to do that?"The purple-haired woman swivelled on her heels. "They've found traces of explosives inside your house, as you expected. However, they also found trace amounts of a strange multi-coloured powder. Since the forensics couldn't find out what it was, the boss asked us to investigate it. She apparently thinks it's a good test for you." Julian clicked his tongue; He hated it when people tried to test him. It sent his mind down spirals he'd rather have no part of.
"What's our next move going to be?" Julian asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes while Carmilla inspected the fridge's interior. She sighed and slammed the door shut with a backwards kick of her heels. While she rubbed her temples, Carmilla tapped something into her phone.
"So… Classic breakfast or something experimental?" Julian didn't like the fake smile that crept up her lips.
"Huh?"
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"Tell me again," Julian swallowed a substantial piece of egg and washed it down with a glass of sparkling water. "Why are we having breakfast in a restaurant instead of headquarters?" Julian's eyes went wide when Carmilla grabbed a large piece of bread and slathered it with butter. Followed by her swallowing it whole.
"Well, normally we would eat at the mess hall of headquarters itself, but there is a rule that states we can't do that while we are engaged with a mission. Something about keeping the integrity of the investigation intact and not able to be swayed by others." Carmilla rolled her eyes as she emptied her glass of fruit juice and immediately ordered a new one.
"Hang on…" Julian remembered seeing a cooking isle back at Carmilla's room. He leaned back and idly plucked at a piece of bread.
"There was a kitchen back in the room, right? Why didn't you use that?" Julian grabbed a piece of bacon and devoured it, accompanied by a piece of toast and tomato. Carmilla coughed loudly, reaching for her fruit juice to calm herself down. She looked at the cars passing by, her light-purple bangs falling over her face.
"I-Uhhh… didn't have the right ingredients." Carmilla's response came short and fast. She refused to look at her table companion, being far more interested in the cars zooming past. Julian tapped his knife on the classy table, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"Was it because you couldn't… or because you can't?" Carmilla coughed loudly, spitting most of her fruit juice back into her glass as she shot Julian a shocked glance. An unstoppable scarlet blush crept up her cheeks, like a red avalanche.
"N-No!"Carmilla's tone scattered to all lows and highs with just those two words. "I-I can cook just fine, thank you very much!" Yeah, Julian was so not buying it. The purple-haired woman clicked her tongue and huffed, crossing her arms over her ample chest. Her cold gaze froze Julian's smirk until it slid from his face.
"As punishment, you'll pay." Julian groaned. Why did she have to be his boss? He waved at the nearest waiter and flashed him his credit card. The young man, dressed in an impeccable black-and-white butler's uniform curtly nodded before he walked away. He quickly returned with the bill and the credit card terminal. The colour washed from his face when he saw the numbers on the small piece of paper. He glared at Carmilla, who simply let out an excited giggle.
"Oh, I think I'll love having you as my subordinate."
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"It'll be your treat next time we go out eating." Julian grumbled as he frumpled the bill and threw it over his shoulder. Carmilla smirked and brushed some strands of hair behind her small ears. Her earrings jingled against her long, painted nails.
"Sure, I promise. Now, let's go back to the explosion, okay?" She rounded a corner and pointed in the distance. The police had cordoned off the zone, yet there were no officers in sight. The fire engines had long since retreated. Julian wondered why there was no police…?
"Looks like the boss kept her promise. No authorities to be seen." Julian frowned. The boss of the Artifactors must've a lot of influence if they could stop an investigation dead in its tracks. Carmilla mumbled as she ducked underneath the black-and-yellow striped plastic line. Debris cracked underneath her heels as she scanned the ground in front of her. Julian followed her and threw a glance at the remains of what was once his house. Now, only a lukewarm pile of rubbish remained. He let out a soft sigh; He always knew they would lash out one day. It would be foolish to think otherwise. The young man knew that killing them would come back to bite him in the ass in one way or another.
"…Well, well, what do we have here?" Carmilla fished a handkerchief from her pockets and brushed it against a particular piece of concrete. Julian remembered it as being part of his living room table. The purple-haired woman turned around on the back of her heels and showed the contents.
"The same colours as those pills from last night." Julian pinched the powder from the handkerchief and let a bit of wind carry it away. To anyone else, it looked like multi-coloured sand. But Julian knew better. He had seen the effects of the drug firsthand. How people lost themselves beyond their most primal desires of seeking pleasure.
They continued their search, but aside from some brunt pieces of metal that smelled like gunpowder and some couple more streaks of the powder, nothing of importance turned up. After a couple of hours of fruitless searching, Julian noticed people staring and pointing at him. He clicked his tongue and walked away. Anyone who knew he was still alive was one too many; He didn't know what his enemies would do when they found out.
"What now?" Julian leaned against a streetlight as he sipped from a cool fizzy drink. Carmilla preferred a refreshing bottle of mineral water herself. The two had walked two streets away from Julian's former home and discussed their next plan of attack. The only thing they knew for sure was that the attack had something to do with the mysterious drug that had become more and more popular in the past few months.
As they debated their next steps, a flaming plume of smoke stretched out to the sky, followed by a crushing gale of wind. The roar of an explosion echoed throughout the streets, throwing the citizens' usually organized lives in chaos. Carmilla glanced at Julian, who just frowned and clicked his tongue.
Julian ignored the distressed cries of the people around him as he set off with Carmilla hot on his trail. It wasn't hard to find the spot of the explosion. They just followed the direction the shocked, crying and terrified people were flooding from.
"This place is…" Julian jumped over a spouting fire hydrant. He barely managed to keep his balance as his feet struggled to find any grip on the glass-covered concrete. At his feet, the remains of a familiar figure were dousing the surroundings embers with a thick scarlet fluid.
The butler from earlier.
Everywhere he looked, Julian saw corpses. Flames licked at the bodies, like curious pups eager for a treat. Debris continued to rain down from the restaurant's cracked façade. Julian stepped over the corpse and looked around. The fire engine's sirens echoed in the distance as Julian gazed into the pool created by the broken fire hydrant. Water continued to spout from the red metal, drawing from a seemingly endless reservoir. The young man's gaze followed the rippling of the water as it rolled into the numerous manholes spread across the street.
Until the reflection showed an unfamiliar figure standing on a nearby roof.
"Carmilla, look into the pool, at around 11 o'clock." Julian didn't want to alarm whoever the shadow was, so he didn't point at anything. Instead, he acted like he was daydreaming, his eyes fixated on one point while his purple-haired companion casually passed him. Her gaze passed right above the rim of her glasses as she scanned her surroundings—the entire street. The sound of dry metal brushing against a bullet filled the air. Just when he flapped his lips to ask what the sound was, Carmilla swivelled around and shot.
"Tsk. Missed." She quickly reloaded and shot once more. She missed again as the figure hid behind a brick chimney. The figure's coat flapped after him as he jumped from to roof, glancing over his shoulder whenever he felt safe.
"Julian, with me!" Carmilla dashed off with her long purple hair dancing after her. Julian grunted; He hated sportive activities like this. His hands dug through his junk-filled pockets and fished up a small canister. The young man pressed it once, inhaling the white smoke that spurted from the nozzle. As he felt his inhaler doing its job, Julian set off after his boss.
He found her racing down the next street, pushing several people aside as they calmed down from their initial shock. Her eyes bounced from her target, which still ran across the roofs, to the people in front of her. Julian never knew Carmilla could move this fast. His boss always seemed such a calm person back at the office. The purple-haired woman reached into her jacket and swapped out a new cartridge before she started shooting again. This time, she was aiming for something else entirely.
About five houses ahead of the criminal stood a steel pole. Leading to and from that pole were several rubber-lined wires. Julian smirked as he finally caught up to her. Interesting tactic, and Julian approved. It would be much easier to scare the figure into a mistake than to shoot them directly. They raced past countless shocked people, who parted like a particular sea when they heard gunfire.
"Julian, cut him off at the next corner." With those words, Carmilla unleashed another barrage at the steel pole in the distance. Sparks danced in all directions as the bullets ricocheted off the steel. The purple-haired woman continued to fire, ignoring the cries of protest around her. Julian dashed off and glanced at his target, just in time to see a fountain of sparks race towards the mysterious figure.
The figure screamed as the sparks caught on to his cape, burning small holes in the soft material before turning into full-fledged flames. The man screamed as he circled round and round, desperate to put the fire out. However, he forgot the fact he was balancing on a roof's spine. The figure stumbled backwards, a terrifying scream followed him on his descent which got cut short by a sickening crushing sound. Julian rounded the corner and dashed into the empty alley where the figure had fallen.
Or rather, where he should have fallen.
"Where… is he?" Julian rubbed his sides as a dull ache spread across his tummy. The sound of clicking heels quickly approached as Carmilla stormed into the alley. Her eyes swiftly inspected her surroundings, from the loose cracks in the concrete to the leaking water pipe right above her head. In particular, she was interested in anything that might be on the floor. After a few minutes, her 3-inch heels brushed upon the figure's cape. It still smouldered. The figure itself had vanished into thin air.
"Is there someone looking at us?" She asked without turning around. Julian glanced over his shoulder and only saw an empty street. Julian turned to face his boss as he tapped on her phone.
"What are you--?" Julian's question died on his lips as he saw a scarlet glow ripple through the air around the purple-haired woman. Her eyes were cold and clear. She knew what she had to do; A stark contrast between her usual demeanour. Julian gulped as he realized his boss was a fearsome individual when the time asked for it.
Without saying anything, the air rippled around Carmilla rippled even more. She grunted and filled her gun with another set of bullets before the scarlet glow engulfed her completely. A second later, Julian stood alone in the alley. He clicked his tongue and reached for his own Artifact—the game controller. He tapped a couple of times on the buttons until it had fully activated. The same scarlet glow appeared around him as he took a step forwards towards the nearest object—a crate filled with rubble. The young man judged it to be a crate used to dump renovation debris, judging by the bricks and splintered wood.
"An excellent weapon." Julian mumbled as he placed one hand on the box with the other glued to his controller. As he closed his eyes, he felt a tug on his consciousness. When he opened his ice-blue eyes once more, he gazed at the scarlet sky.
"Took you long enough."