Agent Zero

Chapter 4 - Yellow and Orange

Thalia (April 10, 2021, 10:36 AM)

Elaine sent Mitski and me to the city hall to gather information about U-Green. Mitski, with his rare hazel eyes that shimmered like gold in the sunlight, was lost in thought as we walked.

"Thalia, why are you staring at me?" Mitski suddenly asked, catching me off guard.

"Nothing. What's it to you?" I retorted, feeling my cheeks flush.

"Is it the rare shade of hazel in my eyes?" he teased.

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"I am much flattered, my lady," he replied, bowing theatrically.

"God, Mitski, shut up!" I huffed, rolling my eyes.

We approached the small building with its huge glass doors and windows. If I threw a rock...

"Thalia, let's go!" Mitski called, already by the entrance.

Inside, the building was much larger and more impressive than it seemed from the outside. A long escalator led to the second floor, where we needed to find the Library of Printed Records. As we reached the second floor, Mitski excused himself to the bathroom, leaving me to wait in the lobby. The light filtering in through the windows painted the area in shades of yellow and orange.

"Reggie?" I murmured, spotting a familiar figure.

"What 'Reggie'?" Mitski asked, returning and sitting beside me.

"I think, no, maybe I'm just seeing things," I replied, unsure.

We both headed towards the Library, a massive space filled with books and files piled high on desks, floors, and shelves. It was a paradise of information. Mitski pointed to the 'U' section, and we started searching through the thousands of files: UFO Case 1, UFO Last Case, Underworld Case 5. But there wasn't a single U-Green Case File. Could it be that Reggie, the redhead I thought I saw earlier, had taken it? Did Elaine instruct him to?

"Hey, Mitski..."

"Yeah?"

"I think I saw Reggie here earlier."

"What? You're just telling me now?" Mitski looked alarmed.

We returned to the agency and reported our findings, or lack thereof, to Elaine.

"Okay, that's fine. Did you notice anything else? Maybe someone took anything?" she asked, her tone probing.

"Well, we—" I started, but Mitski cut me off.

"Didn't find much. Sorry, Elaine," he said, pulling me outside the office. "Look, Thalia, we can't just tell her that information."

"She's our senior!" I protested.

"Can you wait? Can you wait until the right time?" Mitski insisted.

"Right time for what?"

"Reggie." As he whispered the name, Reggie walked by, flashing a smile that seemed to hide everything. We quickly assembled the others, except for Reggie, for a meeting. Kieran and Rebecca were the first to arrive.

"So what's this meeting about?" Kieran asked, crossing his arms.

We shared our suspicions about Reggie.

"But I think he's too dumb for that..." Rebecca added, frowning.

"Look, Rebecca, I know he may not look like much—"

"You can just call me Bec if Rebecca's too long for you," she interjected. Silence fell over the room.

"We've been calling you that long, pretentious name and now you're gonna tell us we can just call you Bec?!" Kieran growled, flicking her arm.

"Kai!" Mitski shushed him.

"Who's Kai?" I wondered aloud.

Pointing at Kieran, I burst into laughter. "Your nickname is Kai?!"

"Yeah, I mean, so what? Doesn't really change anything," Kieran shrugged.

"It does change something because Kai sounds so innocent and you're not," a voice chimed in from the door. Bonnie sauntered in, twirling a pen around her fingers.

"Well, what's your nickname?" Kai retorted, flashing a fake smile at her.

"Bonnie. It's my nickname."

"We're the same," Mitski noted with a grin.

"Sorry, but what's your name?" I asked, curious.

"Maximillian Friar Schwartz III," Mitski announced grandly.

"Longer than my patience," Bonnie chuckled.

"I can see that," Kai muttered. "So what's your name, Blondie?"

"You don't want to know," Bonnie teased. The door clicked open, and Lionel walked in, his light blond hair now tipped with orange. He'd dyed it, and the shade matched what I thought I'd seen earlier.

"You dyed your hair?" Mitski giggled, pulling out his phone to take a picture. Just then, Elaine and Noah appeared at the doorway, bringing news.

"The U-Green Case is closed," Elaine announced.

"Wait, that's not fair. We already have evidence," Bec protested, her voice rising in frustration.

"Sorry, team, but the higher-ups confiscated all activity against U-Green," Elaine explained.

"We're done here," Noah added, his expression grim.

Reggie (April 10, 2021, 5:07 PM)

Everything was going well. The U-Green Case was closed, the team suspected Lionel Heptinstall, and Ms. Calliope was relieved. I entered her office, and her smile widened as she saw me.

"You've done good, Gregory. By the way, how did you make it seem like it was one of them?" she asked, leaning back in her chair.

"I had some help from one of my friends," I replied, handing her the files we'd found. She quickly ordered them to be burned. A raise would be nice, I thought, knowing they called me "charming" for a reason. But this was for the best. This was for the best.

Mitski (April 10, 2021, 6:27 PM)

The mission was off, and we were sent back to campus. As we went our separate ways, I couldn't shake the feeling of incompleteness. Was U-Green really innocent? What about Reggie? Where did he go?

"This sucks. I don't get it, how they can close and open cases that aren't even finished yet. And we were almost there," Kai's voice echoed through the phone.

"I hope we get another mission together," I told him, trying to keep my spirits up.

"One in a million chances," Kai replied, but I could hear the grin in his voice.

"You never know," I said, scrolling through Flipbook and finding Reggie's account. It was blank—no photos, videos, or any information. What was he doing at the library? Where was he when Bec was attacked? And how did he know the mission was off when he wasn't there when Elaine and Noah told us?

But this is where it ends.