PAUSE! ❨ FIVE HARGREEVES ❩

CHAPTER NINE ⎯ THE HANDLER.

"I must admit, Number Five," The Handler said. 

At the moment, we were walking up the stairs to the the office. To be honest, it wasn't bad. I thought it would be looking like a jail cell, since The Handler was all tough and rough. But, in reality, it looked like a boring office, but with golden plates everywhere. 

As we walked up the stairs to The Handler's office, Five seemed very unamused, while I was looking around like a young child. 

"In all the time that I've been here, I've never met anyone quite like you." She complimented Five. 

I wondered if she liked older Five. (Imagine older Five as Freddy Carter. if you don't know how he looks like, check the pinterest link > p.s he's hot.)

"Hazel and Cha-Cha, for example, are talented, certainly, but- they can't see the big picture." She told him. "Right, Y/N?" The Handler asked, snapping me out of my gaze. I nodded in response. 

"Your spunk, your enterprising spirit, well, it reminds me a great deal of myself, if- I may be so vainglorious. If things work out for you here, you could potentially make a fine successor, Five." The Handler said, but judging by Five's concentrated look, he wasn't listening. 

I knew Five well enough to know that he has other things in his mind. Such as my siblings. 

"I'd like to discuss the logistics of my family's safety at your earliest convenience. As well a body replacement for me and my sister." Five said. 

I've never seen myself as a 30 year old woman, but if I did, I think I would be weirded out. To be honest, I've been so used to this life as a 14 year old for so long, that I sometimes even forgot in 30.

"Such chutzpah. It's refreshing, I'll admit."

"Slow down, Five. All in good time." The Handler chuckled, seeing how Five was rushing things. "In fact, now that you've finally agreed to work with us, we've got all the time in the world." She told us. 

"The Commission works in support of a delicate balance between the time line of events and mankind's free will." She told us while showing us around the office. "The briefcase is no longer part of your kit, Five. Free your mind." She told him.

From the side of his mouth, Five whispered to me, "The briefcase is one of the main things we will need to escape, keep an eye out for it." I nodded in response. As she walked away, he left me confused. Why did we want to escape? We willingly came here, right?

"You're management now. One of us." She told him. 

As we walked hallway from hallway, I was left amazed. "All the people  on this floor are case managers, each one responsible for one major event at a time." She told us, making Five turn to me and give me that look, telling me that this was the place. "So many of them." I breathed out while walking around. "Yes, Y/N. We like to keep things organized here too" She told me while holding my hand 

"Impressive, isn't it?" She rhetorically said. "Being part of something- so grand." She gapped. 

Now, we were at the main ward. The place were they do the boring filing and paper work. Five seemed to be amazed, if anything. He was looking at the long hallways too. "Come along." The Handler said, treating both of us like children. 

"Whenever someone chooses the wrong path and the time line is changed, the Commission gets a report from field agents on the ground." She explained to us. "These field reports are sorted and assigned to a case manager. They determine if anyone needs to be removed from the equation to assure that their event happens as it should."