"Please Carlotta," I say, "I can't lose this job! It's all I know!"
She shoos me away from her desk. "Troy, you and Clyde royally screwed up on a massive level. You do realize the amount of danger you put us in when you lost our technology, right?"
"Of course I realize that, and we're so sorry. But everyone makes mistakes, right?"
"I'm sorry, Troy. This mistake was too big of a blunder. First, there's the double agent problem, and then you hand over traceable gadgets to a maniacal cult. They could be on their way over here as we speak!"
Clyde finally says something, "That's why we should stay longer. We can fix this, Adams!"
She didn't look very convinced. I try to use the 'childhood friends' card, "Carlotta, we're friends remember? You were the one who helped me into my first corset back in high school."
"Troy, I will always treasure our friendship, but I separate my personal life from my business life. You should really do the same."
"But-but I..." I can feel tears welling up in the corner of my eyes. That's when she had security escort us out of the building. She never could handle the waterworks.
As we stood in the parking lot of Ispio, I feel a sense of cluelessness. This line of work is the only life I know. How could I possibly survive in the real world at this point? I can't even think of potential jobs I'd like to try out.
"So this is it?" Clyde says, "Unemployed and lost? Toiling in average day life with no means of financial support, or even a purpose?"
"Wow, Clyde. That was really poetic."
"Shut up."
"I don't suppose you have a plan, do you?"
He sighs. "No. Just go home I guess."
"Go home!? Are you serious!?"
"Look, I don't know-"
"We can't just go home and sit in a puddle of our own tears, Clyde! We have to do something to get our jobs back!"
"Like what?" he asks, his face contorting into a serious frown.
I frown too. It's the only appropriate response I could think of. For the first time, I feel that there is no way out of this situation, and that's coming from a master escape artist. Maybe this was too big of a hole to climb out of.
"We can start a band!" I suggest.
"For the last time, Troy; you can't play guitar, and I can't sing."
"Okay, no band."
I hear the sound of designer heels clanking against the concrete, and spin around to see our dear friend, Amy Quine, walking out of the front doors of Ispio. She spots us, and frantically waves her arm, and trots our way.
"Hello, Amy," I greet.
"You guys are still here!?" she asks.
"We're just trying to figure out our next step," says Clyde.
"Oh you guys," she begins, "I'm gonna miss you two so bad!"
"Well, maybe you won't have to," I say. She gives a quizzical look, so I continue. "Maybe you can change Adams' mind."
"Oh come on, Troy. You two were childhood friends! If you couldn't convince her, then what shot do I have?"
"Point made. Look, we're desperate here! We'll take whatever suggestions you've got!"
"Well," she ponders, "you could offer to demote yourself. You won't be the agents you once were, but at least you'll still be working with Ispio."
Clyde flinches a little, "You mean, like a pencil pusher?"
"Oh goodness no! More like janitors."
Now I flinch, "Ew, no thank you!"
"Sorry guys, it's all that I've got. I have to go, but good luck boys!"
"Wait!" I whine, "How would you like to be part of a band?" Clyde proceeds to slap the back of my head.
*** *** ***
Troy's House
Clyde returned to his apartment, and I went home. The last gift given to me by Ispio was the quick and tidy repair of my house after the bombing incident. I slump towards my bedroom and throw myself lazily onto the comfortable blankets expertly fixed on my full-sized bed. My cellphone rests in my hand, and I debate calling Adams for another round of negotiation.
Maybe I should call Clyde first. No, I think I know him well enough to speak for both of us. My finger slides the contact list to Carlotta Adams, and I think about what I'm going to say. After I mentally write a script, I psyche myself up for the phone call. However, a knock on my door throws my whole mojo off. I angrily stomp to my front door and put on a smile. The door swings open, but there was nobody there. My smile fades, to say the least.
"Kids..." I shut the door and spin around to pout some more in my bedroom. When I pass the kitchen, I had to double-take to realize that someone was raiding my fridge. I try reaching for my gun but forgot that I no longer had one. I rush the fridge door to try for a surprise attack. I make contact, but the room becomes encased with smoke. The culprit had already vanished, leaving me coughing by myself.
The feeling of rope wrapping around me caught me off guard, and I lose my balance. Falling with a thud, the rope finished its job and made me completely incapacitated. I feel masculine hands hoisting me up, and they proceed to toss me on my couch in the living room.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Buy a guy dinner first!" I cry. The man dressed in a completely black stealth suit removes his mask and flashes me a smile.
"When did you become an expensive date?" he asks. Black hair, green eyes, light skin, and nice teeth. My God, I know this man.
"Archer?" I sheepishly ask, squirming around for a more comfortable position.
"In the flesh!"
Who is Archer? Well, Archer Fury was actually part of Ispio a little way in the past. Before it was just Clyde and me, it was Clyde, Archer, and I. A perfect trio of agents that the world has ever seen! Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. The point is that we were pretty good.
After a year of good work, Archer decided that he was ready to pick his own missions and bring us along with him. One heated argument with Adams later, he ended up quitting Ispio and shouted something about making his own company and taking Clyde and I with him. I had a heavy heart when I turned down his offer, but he wasn't sour about it in the slightest. He wished us good luck and took off without another word.
"I heard you and good ol' Clyde lost your jobs," he says.
"Word travels fast huh?"
"Not really, I'm just really good at getting information."
I clear my throat. "And the ropes?"
"Sorry about that, didn't want you to kill me by mistake."
"Understandable."
He releases me and begins talking about an interesting proposal. Before he could get any deeper on the subject, the presence of Clyde Barker was called for. One phone call filled with ambiguous dialog later, Clyde hesitantly steps through my front door and into my living room.
"Clyde," Archer chimes innocently, "still as sexy as I left you."
Clyde looks up and down at Archer's figure. "Archer?"
"Here's the deal guys. Ever since I left Ispio, I created my own company that deals with the same stuff. I've wanted to recruit you two since the beginning, but you've both made your choices, and I held no grudge against them. But now that you're available, I thought it'd be a perfect time to snatch a couple of good agents. So what do you say guys, wanna work together again?"
I look at Clyde, who has the same expression of internal debating as me. We just got fired, but we haven't been given much time to try and get our jobs back. If we got back with Ispio, our workflow and pay are as solid as a concrete wall, but we'd have to rebuild our position placement on the corporate ladder. That could take months.
Going with Archer? I don't know anything about his company. The name, the work, the pay, the benefits, nothing. It's best to ask a few questions first, but I'd better consult with Clyde for a final decision.
"Uh, can we talk it over in private?" I ask.
Archer looks disappointed, "Oh, sure. Take all the time you need."
*** *** ***
I close my bedroom door behind me and turn around to see Clyde sitting on my bed.
"Well?" I start.
"Well, I really don't know."
"C'mon Clyde! Do you want to go back to Ispio as a pencil pusher? Even worse, a janitor?"
"We wouldn't be stuck there forever, we'd work back up to our old jobs."
"But how long will that take? I'm not the type to wait around for things to get better."
"Okay, okay. If we tag along with Archer, it'll be taking a huge chance. If Adams finds out, and if Archer is a bust, she'll never take us back! We'll be even worse off."
"Then I guess we'll be taking a huge chance today."
Archer pops out of my closet. "Awesome, you won't regret it!"
Having a private conversation seems to have a different meaning for him.
*** *** ***
"Welcome to HQ!" Archer says while waving his hands over an RV parked in the alleyway. I could actually feel the anger building up in Clyde. I don't blame him.
I let out an awkward laugh, "Haha, that's awesome man! So, is this going to take us to HQ or..." my voice trails off, waiting for the punchline to this very misplaced joke.
"No, no, no guys! I know what you're thinking, but I promise you that it's a lot better than what you see right now."
"Is it like some sort of Doctor Who 'bigger on the inside' type of thing?" I ask, shamefully more than half-serious.
"How about we take a tour right now?"
He swings open the door and gestures us to go in first. The inside wasn't really much bigger, and the layout of the whole thing just screamed the word, "Normal."
"Uh, you seem to be lacking equipment," Clyde says.
"Nope, it's all here!"
"Archer, did your business ever take off?" I ask.
"Oh yes! Looks are deceiving, Mr. Hearth. Which is why I'm the best at what I do. Of course, this RV looks normal, that's how you stay incognito."
"I guess that makes sense."
"How do you get any work done without any equipment?" asks Clyde.
"Let me show you two your personal space," Archer says.
He leads us deeper into the interior, behind the purple curtain that closed off two beds, two closets, and a bathroom.
"Um, our office I presume?" I ask, receiving a nod from Archer.
"Open your wardrobe, it's the one on the right."
The closet was already packed with stylish dresses and skirts. It was a very familiar-looking wardrobe, very familiar.
"Are these mine?" I ask completely shocked. How the hell did he move all my clothes already?
"Uh-huh. There's a button behind all the clothes, the same thing goes for yours, Clyde. Press it."
I do. The beds went under the floor and were replaced with a rack of gadgets and powerful computers. The walls phase into a different display, showing monitors that read the RV's conditions and a screen dedicated to to-do's and mission notes. Archer lays back against the wall with a smug face. That bastard knew we were impressed.
"Wow, I take back any badmouthing I might have said," I admit.
"Just one more question," Clyde starts, "Who else is part of this crew?"
"Well, if you two say yes, then the total number of employees would be three."
"You've been doing this all by yourself?" Clyde asks. Yet another nod from Archer.
If what Archer says was true, then that means this one agent has managed to travel the world and unravel conspiracies all by himself. No recon units, no tech support, no strategic planners or coordinators, no help at all. I don't understand. He was good when he worked with us, but not this good! How did he manage to run all this?
"We're in," Clyde says. I was a little shocked to hear him speak for both of us, but I did not protest. My eyes narrow down, and with the most serious face I could muster, I nod with unmoving confidence. Archer only smiles.