Babysitting The Special Agents

32: The One That's Beginning And End

Lizal's face changes expression for like the first time, ever, since I've met her. Her eyebrows and top lip rise slightly before she quickly reverts to her previous blank look.

"Perhaps you need time to recover from today, it's been quite the day."

I shake my head. "I don't think I want this anymore." I don't want to never see my family, to be unable to talk to them. I don't want to work for a company that traumatises people so freely and is so open about it. With agents who need love so much it terrifies them.

"Take a few days, a week if you must." Liza answers, "let your head clear and then tell me again and I'll believe you."

"I can't clear my head." I reply quickly, the anxiety from my earlier meetings all but gone. "I have to talk to my family to do that."

Lizal sighs, "Ms Esterean if you tell your family and then leave that is three more people I have to mind wipe."

I shrug and stand from my chair. Lizal pinches her nose. "Give me five minutes." She disappears. There's no clocks in this room but when she finally returns I'd say it's been more than five minutes.

"Sorry, there's been some issues with your agents." She apologises as she closes the door.

"Of course there has." I reply with a roll of my eyes. A tiny voice in my head is screaming at me for being so rude but I am too tired to care.

"Pardon?"

"You bonded these agents, they've been through a terrible ordeal, again, and you've separated them." I'm beginning to think that every Sal agent has no basic understanding of emotion.

Lizal nods slightly before offering me a bag, "in it is a large scale charm. It will prohibit your family from discussing anything you say to them once they've left the room."

"Thanks." I nod but I know I won't use it. I don't want to magic my family into silence.

I follow Lizal out of the room, she's typing messages into her Mimy as we walk. I look for the agents as we walk past the rooms they were in but there's no one there. It's once we've left the corridor I see them.

They stand around Ryker and watch through the window as I walk away from them. I don't look back to see their faces.

-•-

"Connie, sweets, it's been two days." My Dad stands in the doorway of my bedroom. "I've given you space but we need to talk now."

"I don't know what there is to say." I shrug from my position on the window sill. My bedroom is in the renovated attic. I have the best views. "I lost another job."

"Can you smell that Betha?" Tavish asks, moving past Dad to sit on my bean bag.

"Smell what?" Betha asks, slightly confused.

"Lala's pants on fire, the little liar." He laughs, picking up a teddy bear from the basket and inspecting it.

"Tell us what's going on." Dad repeats, "And don't say it's nothing because there's obviously something. You've been baking 24/7 and if you aren't baking you're sat in your room going through your hobby side of the wardrobe."

"And you've been wearing your thick knit jumpers." Betha adds, "whilst drinking herbal teas and eating bread."

"I can't tell you." I say, "because my job was top secret."

"Lame excuse." Tavish has started pumping his arms with a teddy bear in each hand like weights.

"It was!" I snap, plucking at a bread crumb that's been lodged in my jumper.