Carlotta, she's up there, stone-faced, but with glistening eyes.
"Today, we respect the memory of a fallen agent. Victoria Gutierrez was a fine and capable woman. She was bold and courageous like all of you, and she knew what was on the line working in her field. She will be missed and remembered."
Hartford, Connecticut: Adams' Office
"I wonder what she looked like. It's crazy that agents from the same district aren't allowed to meet each other," I say.
"You know it's for good reason," Carlotta retorts, "but trust me when I say she would've left a strong impression on you."
Clyde crosses his leg over his other, the bottom of his boot scrapes my pants. "How is her partner holding up? I heard he was the one that killed her."
"He's not doing well. They were a team for seven years, it's hard to let someone like that go. He will be assigned another partner in due time, but he must complete his paid leave and his month-long debriefing."
A file sits on the corner of the desk. It's clean and flat, but my eyes see blood staining the yellow in viscous spatters. A symbol of violence, I suppose. "Is that the report?" I ask.
She centers it and opens the cover. "Yes. Somehow, his duty to fill out his paperwork overcame his tremendous grief. The full extent of the relic curse is right here, no surprise tactics to spring."
Clyde leans forward and pats my knee. "This is an Afterburner matter now, right? I'm ready to make this one regret taking out one of us."
Oh great, not another relic user. Don't peg me wrong, I'm deeply saddened to see a member of the team go down like this, but working these cases has got me feeling traumatized. I wake up from nightmares of me getting mutilated, and now that my brain knows how that feels, it processes it realistically in my sleep.
Carlotta slides the file a little closer. There's even a picture in it this time. He can't hide now. "I wouldn't hand this out to anybody else. I trust that only your unit can handle a power that can force an agent to kill his partner."
New York City, New York: Outdoor Café
It's a bright sun and fair weather. My favorite person sits across from me, his stoic expression forever looking irresistible in my eyes. He sips his coffee as he scrolls through his phone, meanwhile I playfully tap his shin with my foot underneath the table. February 14th is the date. I'm unenthused that we have to be working right now. We could be getting to know each other instead.
My hands cradle my mug and gingerly lift it to my lips. "You know, your fur looks so shiny under the sun. Have you been eating Pedigree?"
A glance from his brown eyes melts my heart, but they go back to his phone screen. "I can't tell if that was flirting or insulting."
"Can't it be both?"
"You've already got my attention. Why still flirt?"
"Just because we're paired up doesn't mean the fun has to stop. Go on, say something nice to me. You'll feel much sexier when you see my reaction."
A coy smirk pulls the corner of his mouth. He scoots his chair closer to me until he's by my side. His muscular arm wraps around my little shoulders, and he leers down at me, showing his white teeth and naughty intent. "When we get a day off, I wanna see that bushy tail poking out from underneath my covers."
Oooh. Shivers. Chills. Butterflies. All of it.
"I knew you could be sexy if you tried."
"Mm-hmm. Are you ready to start looking for—"
I press my finger against his lips and shush him. "Let's finish our drink, and then we can talk about the case." Poor Clyde, he needs help thinking about other things besides work. He's lucky I'm such a cute distraction.
"Very well. Cheers," he says while picking up his steaming mug. I eagerly join him and clank rims, the hot coffee soothingly striding down my throat. It's so flavorful, so bold and creamy, and—wait. I think there's a hair in it. Yes, there's something thin and long in my mouth. So gross, I should complain to the store. Ew, it's dancing around my tongue.
I open my mouth and try to fish it out with my fingers. It's odd that Clyde is doing the same thing. Who do they have working the hot drinks, a long-haired cat?
No good, I think I'm actually making it worse. It feels like it got tangled up around my tongue. No, really, I feel like my tongue has something spiraling around it. I can't get it off. Maybe I should ask Clyde to help out.
I stick my tongue out at him and point. "Agh-wah-wah," I say. He does the same thing. He has a thick and black hair wrapping around his tongue. It's so long, and it's draping out of his mouth by a lot. I look down to follow the strand and notice that it's leading up to my own mouth. What!? How can that be?
One single hair has both of our tongues wrapped, connecting us like a set of cans tied to a string. It's disgusting and confusing, and neither of us knows what to do next.
Then the strand tightens and starts to pull us together.
The immense pressure and pain my tongue feels scares me at first. Clyde seems to be going through the same thing. Harder and harder, the strand tries to pull our tongues together in a sick version of Lady and the Tramp.
My body starts to skid toward Clyde, and I fight back by placing my hands and feet on the table and pulling away. Clyde tries the same method, easily beating me in this tug-of-war.
My head can't lean any further without popping off. My neck feels like it's going to snap in two. Easy, Clyde, you're hurting me! I yell at him in panicked noises, but I can't make words without my tongue. He speaks back in the same language; I have no idea what he's trying to say.
The table I cling to is wretched from its spot as Clyde drags me across it. My knuckles turn white as I hold on, but I can feel my fingers losing their grip. Clyde starts to thrash his head around in true dog fashion, causing me to get whiplash as I'm forced to follow his movements.
I…can't!
I let go, my face is pulled into his. Our lips lock, and our tongues are forced to dance the waltz together in the ballroom that is our mouths. Clearly, we're in danger due to a relic victim, but there are worse things than being forced to kiss my boyfriend in public.
"Mm-mm!" Clyde mumbles.
"Mm—hmm," I say.
We're stuck, really stuck. I can't pull away even a centimeter without taking Clyde's muzzle with me. The people walking on the street pass us thinking nothing more than a pair of affectionate lovers, not even a second glance. However, I notice that we do have a single pair of sunglasses-wearing eyes glued to us.
At a table, with a newspaper blocking his face, is one lonely man dressed in what can only be described as high-class impractical fashion. Purple all over, his shirt has a long cut down the middle to expose his hairy chest. When he puts the paper down, he puts on an equally ridiculous purple sunhat. He gets up from his chair so I can see his platform boots the color of fresh lavender.
"Truly, the New York way is expressing yourself with no limits," he says with a flamboyant inflection. "But you two should get a room or some class."
His face is the same face from the file. Human, male, tan skin, this is him. I know what you're thinking: I should've known he was the relic victim because of his outfit, but this is New York. You see getups like these outside your front porch. It's pretty common.
"Come on. You two can't separate for just a minute to address a stranger?"
Clyde's tongue still wrestles mine, there's not a chance I'm getting it back until this fool lets me. We're completely at his mercy.
"That's fine, you guys just listen and I'll do the talking."
The hair tightens more, cutting up my tongue. A small line of blood and saliva drips from the corner of my mouth.
He tips his hat and strikes a pose. "The name's Love Love. That little string wrapped around your hungry tongues is my power, Crazy4U. I've got a small explanation, so try to stay focused."
Clyde leans down to stare at the man who's shorter than him, but that also forces me to look up. I can feel his fresh spit falling into my cheeks. I think I'm tearing up. I swallow some of it just to keep from choking.
"Now that Crazy4U has you under its spell, the effects are a guarantee, even I can't stop it from taking over your minds. However, I do get to choose who gets infected. The other will be just fine like nothing happened."
He tries to poke Clyde's head with a finger, but he stomps at him to make him back up. I'm dragged along and hit his chest with my fist to get him to stay still. A whimper leaves my throat and enters his, he looks at me with sympathy.
"Easy, boy, you're hurting your little friend. That's called an early start."
Agh! Is it wrong that I'm starting to like this?
"Whoever I choose will fall madly in love with the one they are kissing. So much so, that they can't stand it. You understand what I'm saying?"
One of ours was killed by her partner, I didn't know he did it through mad love.
"As funny as it would be to see short-stack over here trying to take on the big man…ah. I think I'm a fan of the big bad killer. What do you say, tough guy? In the mood for slaughtering that little fox you're cradling so dear?"
I shake my head and murmur loudly, this time I drag Clyde's face around.
He slightly tilts his sunglasses down so he may look me in my crying eyes. "Some advice, honey, run as soon as Crazy4U lets you. I want to see a long chase. Whatever you do, don't let him catch you. That pretty face of yours might not be pretty when he does." He strokes my chin and backs off, leaving us embraced while he exits the outdoor area and enters the bigger crowds on the sidewalk. Even in his colorful attire, we lose sight of him in record time. I hate crowds.
I still try to pull away, but Clyde seems to have stopped trying. His eyes appear vacant, the brown color becoming dull and foggy. Then, they light back up even brighter than before. They're almost a hazel color. My hands push against his shoulders and chest, but his hands are gripping my butt and pulling me closer.
Finally, Crazy4U disappears and allows us to breathe in other things besides each other's spit. I gasp and cough, hunched over and wiping my mouth.
"Clyde, are you okay?"
He seems confused, looking at his arms, and looking at me. "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay. My tongue's a little cut. How's yours?"
"The same. A little cut up. We gotta go find him right now! Do you feel any different?"
"No, not really. I feel the same, I still love you, of course."
"Awesome, I love you too. We should go, he went that way. He won't be that fast in those boots! We can catch him. Maybe before his dumb curse can even affect you."
"Right! Right…we'll catch."
I turn to exit the area the same way he did, but a pair of strong hands wrap around my waist and hold me in place. Clyde keeps me still while he goofily smiles at me.
I try to climb out of his hands, but he's too strong. "Clyde, no! What are you doing? We're losing him!"
"Hehe, caught ya."
"Very funny. Let me go."
"You're so cute."
"Duh."
"I love it when you roll your eyes."
"You hate it when I do that."
"They're like little green emeralds with attitude. So pretty."
His grip is getting tighter, I feel like that woman from King Kong. "Ugh! Where is this kind of attention when I want it? Let. Me. GO!"
"I just wanna lick them. Just once."
"I will fucking hurt you if you lick me!"
He brings me closer to his maw, and I squirm harder. It's no use, no matter how far back I bend my spine, his dumb face keeps getting closer to mine. A flat, wide tongue rolls over both of my eyes, I close them tightly to avoid his thick saliva.
"Blegh! People are watching, you big idiot! Get off of me!"
Suddenly, his grip switches to holding me from the back of my neck. He places his finger and thumb on my left eye and forces it to stay open. I kick him in the shins, I kick him in the balls, I punch him in the stomach. Nothing can get him to let go of me.
"They're so tasty! I just wanna pop one out and eat it like candy," he says in a baby voice. It's the first time he's ever used one, now I know he's truly insane.
With a lick of his lips, he opens his jaw and shows me his terrifyingly sharp teeth. Saliva strands reach from the top to bottom, and his hot breath makes my opened eye twitch. He's really going to bite my eye out of its socket!
"Clyde, no, please don't!"