The tragedy of 9/11 was one of the biggest international incidents in modern civilization. Two airplanes crashed into the USA's Twin Towers. A terrorist act that took many lives.
To prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself, the US signed The Patriot Act and Homeland Security created the TSA soon after. This gave the government power to use almost unconstitutional methods to prevent terrorism. And of course, when Fantasia appeared, the TSA adapted.
The change was almost immediate. As soon as they learned how to cast magic, the TSA developed a [Spacial Isolation] spell that quarantined any suspicious items or persons of interest into a parallel identical space. In this isolated space, they can conduct their investigation without generating fear or shutting down the airport. But powerful as it may be, it was an expensive and time-consuming spell to cast. Which begged the question: why the fuck was I in one?
*Ping* *Pong* *Ping*
The broadcast system generated its usual tune before a voice came through them.
"Hello, hello."
It was a man's voice. Monotone. Tired. It was as if his very act of speaking through the mic was a blatant protest against his working conditions.
"Traitor, Andrew Roberts, surrender yourself quietly. Andrew Roberts, please do not resist. Thank you."
*Ping* *Pong* *Ping*
Traitor? Damn TSA just saying whatever they want. I explained everything to the higher-ups! We should be getting safe passage by now.
As I ruminated my new situation, a dozen footsteps approached from both sides, blocking my exit. They were SPD officers. No doubt sent as reinforcement to capture their own. They wore their work-issued suits and ties. Some embellished theirs with unnecessary pins and badges.
One man in particular, a familiar man, stepped forward with his obviously expensive uniform and slicked back hair. He wore his usual condescending smile and his sharp eyes scanned me from head to toe.
"Hello Andrew," he said with a slight purr. "It's been a while."
I chuckled. "Hey there Winston," I replied. "Mind telling me what's going on?"
Michael Winston. One of the top officers of SPD. He was of beastman descent -- panther in particular -- and as such, he gained recognition in the Anti-Terrorism Department. He was also one of the few people I respected and I considered him as one of my best friends.
"The announcement was clear no? We're here to capture a traitor," he said. He then stepped closer, chuckling along the way. "Who would've thought that the great Andrew Roberts would do something as dumb as marrying the enemy?"
"What do you mean? I sent the details of the mission to headquarters and got the go for it!" I exclaimed.
"A TEMPORARY go ahead," he replied. "Headquarters just deliberated that what you're proposing was dumb and issued a warrant for your arrest. But don't worry. Once you divorce your sweetheart and get reeducated, I'm sure there's a place for you in the Janitorial Department of SPD."
He laughed. Howled even. That is, until something got caught in his throat and immediately threw a coughing fit. In his struggle to regain his pipes, something fell from his pocket with a loud flop.
"What's that?" I asked as I reached out my hands to use the wind to carry it towards me.
"W-wait!" Michael exclaimed as he tried to reach for it. However, his coughing fit prevented him from reacting in time and in an instant, the object was in my hands.
It was a book. A magazine in particular. I flipped through it and as I did, images of beautiful women flashed before me. Then, my eyes narrowed at a specific page on it.
[Top 10 Criminal Heiresses Who'd Be Totally Hot to Date]
Eyes still narrowed, I glanced at Michael.
"What the fuck is this...?" I asked.
Michael shifted nervously and hesitated to answer.
I flipped again and after glancing at multiple powerful-looking women, my eyes fell on a familiar face.
[Number 1: Maria Rodriguez]
On the page was a highly edited picture of Maria in her usual jersey, and there were doodles of hearts and compliments plastered all over the page.
I then turned my eyes to the article below.
"Shy and pure, Maria Rodriguez is the most popular pick among young males," I read. "In addition, her fair features that contrast her orc heritage make her the object of mystery. A total all-rounder."
My eyes narrowed further and my nose scrunched up in disgust as I look at Michael again. This time, the people with him were equally sheepish and fidgety.
"Did the SPD really send you guys?" I asked.
"Of course they did!" Michael responded almost immediately, his cheeks flushed and his pupils narrowed. "But..."
"But?"
"I can't say that I didn't have a TINY bit of personal grudge when I accepted the assignment!" he exclaimed with teary eyes. "All of us!"
The crowd around him nodded and murmured in agreement.
My feet instinctively stepped back at the sudden revelation.
"So... you're..." I trailed, not really knowing what to say.
"Jealous? Hell yeah we are!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, the force of his desire poured out of him like a formless black jello. "You're nothing but an antisocial killjoy who never go out with us for drinks. You had a really hot girlfriend but you broke up with her because it got in the way of your work. And when you finally took a break, you came back married! And to Maria Rodriguez too! An angel within the hellish underworld. An object of many men's affection. Our idol! Our light! This world's unfair! Too unfair!"
"That's right!" one of the guys in the crowd yelled.
"Go to hell normie!" another chimed in.
Before long, the once dignified group of SPD officers had been reduced to a bunch of grumblers. They hurled insults that unpopular high-school kids used in a riot.
My coworkers...
My pride and joy... have become nothing but idiots.
At that moment, something snapped inside of me.
The wind gathered around me. The veins on my temples bulged and I faced my coworkers with the widest smile I could muster.
They went silent. The last insult being something about my face.
"So let me get this straight, Michael," I started on a grim note. "The SPD approved the mission temporarily and now that they've decided that it was a bad idea, they want me to divorce Maria, enter a reeducation program, and get demoted?"
"Th-that's right!" he replied.
"And when you saw the mission to capture me, you jumped at the opportunity because you were jealous that I got to marry her?" I asked.
"Y-yeah! Wh-what about it?"
I shrugged and sighed. "Gotcha," I said.
I cracked my knuckles and as I did, the wind vibrated, folded, and twisted, until they turned into tiny tornadoes. Anything that weren't bolted to the floor were immediately consumed as these twisters danced around me.
"So I'm getting harassed for such a stupid reason..." I chuckled softly, my mind shattering slowly like glass. "I haven't slept, Michael. I haven't eaten a single thing, we were grounded for hours, and now I'm being chased by a bunch of morons because some stupid people at the top can't see the value of the mission and just dismissed it as stupid."
The tornadoes raged even more. The speed of their rotations increased as time went by. The chairs, once bolted to the floor started to give out and join other objects in the twisters. Meanwhile, the officers who surrounded me buckled down with their anchoring gadgets and spells to prevent themselves from flying.
"Y-yo, Andrew, my pal," Michael said nervously. "No need to get this serious. I was just messing with you. You just need to get divorced and the higher-ups will pretend like nothing happened. Really, I swear."
I flicked a finger and immediately, one of the twisters hurled a chair towards Michael.
"Argh!" Michael yelped as it hit him square in the face.
"I'm not gonna do something like that," I growled as I knelt in front of him. "Here's what I'm gonna do though, my dear friend. First, I'm gonna beat the shit out of you and every single one who came here because of petty jealousy instead of duty. Then, I'm gonna destroy this entire parallel space so that the TSA can spend some of their hoarded money for repairs. And after that, I'm gonna have you write a report about what happened and shove it up the higher-ups' asses for screwing me over like this!"
I raised my hand to unleash the first tornado. But before I could execute it, a firm hand grabbed my wrist. I turned around in surprise and found the mischievous smile of a bespectacled man.
"It seems that the Rodriguez' aggressive behavior rubbed off on you too quickly, Roberts," he said with a light-hearted chuckle.
"Supervisor Han..." I gasped and immediately dropped my magic.
As I did, he immediately let go of me.
"Glad to see that you're still energetic Roberts," he replied. "Let's have a little chat, shall we?"