Four hours passed and already Maria was deep in slumber while Felix tiresomely continued to write his report on the way of their return. As the chief reads his report, she lets a small smirk.
The two agents arrived in the dead of night, and after they had received minor treatment for their wounds, they were ready to go to sleep, until…
"Widespread panic, destruction and public and private property, and a death toll of over forty people… all for this." The chief stood sternly, her orange-tinted glasses reflecting with an opaque white glow as she stared at the flash drive.
The exhausted duo were both summoned to the chief's brightly lit office. Maria, who was still half-asleep, stood restlessly. Felix on the other hand no longer had the strength to care for what the chief had to say.
"Splendid work." Chief crushed the flash drive in her hands.
"Why would you—?!" Felix burst out.
"You destroyed their data center during the fight, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah…"
"Good. This drive contained a program that was meant to destroy all the data in those servers. The world has no business knowing the contents saved in this drive." She explained as she dropped the crushed pieces onto the ground.
Maria's shoulders dropped as she sighed, "Ah, that makes sense."
"Now, as for the both of you. Not only were you able to successfully complete the mission, you also took down the ex-agent, Harbinger. You both did better than I expected. Even the Director was pleased."
"We are humbled by your words, sir." Felix stated.
"Thank you for your praise, madam Chief." Maria replied with a yawn in her tone. "But… ex-agent?" she added after her drowsy response.
"We had reason to believe that he was feeding intel to other organizations outside of the allied agencies. When the higher-ups planned to question him upon his return, he suddenly went MIA." The chief's volume grew lower as she speculated to herself, "Still, he wasn't a computer cracker, so how did he expect to get the intel?"
"I see. I'd like to know more, but… with all due respect, the two of us would like to get some rest."
"Of course, but before that, an announcement; given how well this went, the board has come to the decision to assign the two of you as partners."
"Excuse me?" Felix asked in a startled manner.
"You wot mate?" Maria blurted out.
"Of course, this isn't set in stone yet since I still have paperwork. And just because you're partners, doesn't mean you'll always be on the same mission."
"Y-yeah… great… did you even read my report?" Felix bit his lip, preventing his emotions from spilling out.
"I'll have none of your sass, Felix. That will be all, dismissed." The chief instructed as she returned to sit on her desk.
As the two agents walked toward the door, Felix suddenly stopped and signaled Maria to leave first. She nodded quietly before letting out a yawn and walking away.
"What is it, Felix?" The chief asked while lighting up a cigarette.
"Remember when I said that I didn't care for codenames, and that call me whatever you liked?" Felix placed his hand on his cheek and touched the skin beneath his left eye.
"Indeed, Child of the Stars." The chief answered mockingly.
"It seems that I… may have ignored its purpose. I might change that… as well as request a small modification to my outfit."
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"Give me a white mask, something that looks um… "Cool." And… as for my codename, I think it should be Blue Phantom. Oh and maybe an adjustment… a smaller grappling hook."
"Hooo? What's with the sudden change of heart?" The chief's mocking smirk turned to a proud smile toward Felix.
He placed his hand on his cheek, remembering the warmth of her blood spilling across it as he recounted the events in his mind, and all he could remember was how much she made the mission more difficult than it had to be.
"She may have been a headache, but despite being a terrible agent, as well as all the nonsense and shortcomings she brought along with her, it all felt… fun."
That girl… she was really unprofessional and was difficult to deal with at times, but the silliness she brings with her alleviated some of the weight. And in her own right, she was equally as terrifying as she was scatterbrained. But I guess to put it in a way, being with her was… nice.
"Is that a fact? Truth be told, when I told the both of you to minimize the damage, it wasn't you I was concerned about." The chief grinned slightly.
"You mean…?"
"Indeed, you were just the one who reacted first. Anyhow, your requests sound simple enough. I'll have it done." The chief responded as she blew out smoke from her mouth.
Felix scratched his cheek, "Thank you, chief."
Against the corridor outside the Chief's office, the short-haired young lady eavesdropped on their conversation, clutched her chest as she let out a warm smile.
Before Felix could reach for the knob, however, the chief let out another puff of smoke and spoke, "You know, I think Luna would be proud of your results."
His lips curled ever so slightly, forming a small smile.
"To be honest, I don't think she would've given me passing marks after what happened." He cheerfully said as he looked at his severely wounded arm.
He exited the room, clutching the pendant underneath his shirt, only to be met with the ecstatic smile of his new partner waiting outside the office.
Now feared as the Golden Lion Agency's greatest weapon. Codename, Blue Phantom, now registered.
~