“Do you have the report?” MAYLIN’s voice echoes through the hall as her and JINX approach the head office. The moon shines through the large windows, illuminating their silhouettes.
“Just sent it to your device.” JINX responds, a ding following moments later.
“So, most of them took the offer?” MAYLIN hums, scrolling through her watch before sighing. “Are we doing the right thing?”
“Not like you to doubt yourself out loud like this.” JINX replies.
The door to Maylin’s office opens easily, the two women stepping inside. JINX taps a panel on the wall and the privacy curtains are dropped. MAYLIN crosses over to the windows behind her desk. She stands, facing the outside with her hands clasped behind her back. JINX takes a seat in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.
“After losing half the agency to kaiser, learning of the destruction of GHA. I can’t help but wonder if what we are doing is futile.” MAYLIN says. Her back stays to JINX, observing the crumbling outside world. “We failed at the fall of Seaside, we failed again with this last mission. Our numbers drop more every day. Is this humanity strong enough to make it?”
JINX doesn’t respond. Her eyes watch MAYLIN before she taps her wrist and pulls up her holographic desk. A swipe of her hand has agent profiles appearing before her.
“Agent Jaguar, senior, killed defending team from an attack at the border of the agency gronds.” A photo of a smiling girl floats across the screen. JINX flicks her wrist and the profiles are circling wide around her. taking up a lot of the room as she stands in the middle of them.
“Agent Mantis, junior, and Agent Rocket, Senior, both killed during a building collapsing on a scouting mission.” JINX throws two profiles of boys with similar features across the room. Their matching frowns almost seem to deepen as the float around the hologram.
“Agent Spes, senior, killed by brother after turning and killing their sister.” Another profile joins the others. “Agent Mint, baby, Agent Clockwork, baby, Agent Birch, Junior, all three killed by Kaiser’s experiments.”
MAYLIN’s hands tense, white knuckled behind her back.
“Agent Candl--”
“Alright, I get it.”
“Do you?” JINX taps her screen and all the profiles flood the room like a blinding light show. The hover around the two head agents before she closes off her device. “Some of these agents died on missions we gave them, some of them died by other means. Regardless, though they are gone.”
“What point are you trying to make, Jinx?”
“Do we give up and let their deaths be in vain? Each of them fought to help humanity last even just one more day. They all wanted to be here, they all choose to lay their lives down for this.” JINX said, her tone firm. “Do we let their sacrifices be for nothing because you’re feeling a little hopeless? What about all the agents below us who have lost someone? Who are still fighting for a future their loved ones will never see?”
“I never said....” MAYLIN sighs, and finally turns to face JINX. “You’re right. If I lose hope then what will everyone else do?”
“You’re not alone in this either. I’ve followed you this far, I plan to follow you to the end. If that end is the death of us all, then so be it. But I’ll be damned if I don’t go down fighting.”
MAYLIN watches JINX for a moment then she smiles, dropping her head with a breathy laugh. “You’ve always been the more reckless of the two of us.”
“Of course.” JINX smiles, a feral look as she drops back into her chair. “So, boss, what are your orders?”
“Re-order the teams, begin preparation for travel.”
JINX’s grin grows.
“GHA will not have been crushed, but they will need aid. It’s about time we paid our sister agency a visit.” MAYLIN takes a seat at her desk, tapping the glass panel on the top of it and bringing up a map. “If it’s a war that Kaiser wants, then it’s a war we will give him.”
“Sounds like Lerissa will get to use her bazooka after all.” JINX’s laugh echoes around the room.