.The Eraser.

deux

                                                                    -2-

''It's so cold outside'', Louisse said while wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck. The temperature outside was below 10 degrees celcius. She looked side ways at her daughter and smiled; ''Mandossa must have been Hot", she said while emphasing the H in hot and at the same moment the elevator going down had arrived.

''Yeah. It was."Atara replied with a little smile. Louisse had picked up Atara from the airport and they had just arrived at the base. Everyone at the base felt that calling the place 'headquaters' seemed too serious and spy-like. They were just the Erasers, a bunch of people who risked their lives for the greater good. 

They entered the elevator and she watched as her mother pressed the button to the most bottom floor, where the lobby was. As the elavator went down, mother and daughter stood in complete silence-the comfortable kind. Her mother hadn't yet commented on the topic of the Mandossa Prime minister and Atara liked it that way. She was exhausted and all she wanted to do was rest.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her mother. Louisse was in her late forties, but she did not look it. Her blonde (obviously dyed) hair was let loose and was past her shoulders. Atara studied her mother, they were very similar in height and face structure and that was all. She inherited most of her features from her father.

Both of her Algerian parents had joined the Erasers in their early twenties. They had wanted a change in the way things had taken a turn in the world. Many cruel people controlled the systems now and most people got away with their crimes because they had become smarter than the Law enforcers of the world.

Atara admired her mother for the braveness she had. Louisse had stopped going on missions just two years ago, but was even more involved now than ever. She was on the side lines now, doing all the commanding and researching. Sometimes Louisse really irritated her daughter, because she could get too bossy and insensitive to her espeacially.

Louisse felt her daughter staring. She looked at her and smiled. 

''What?" 

"Nothing. Is it illegal to look now?" 

"Ha-ha no it's not." 

Atara just smiled warily; she did not reply. Her mother semed to be in a really good mood, which was not a common thing. She was a very busy and serious woman. It unsettled Atara just a bit. 

Finally the elavator had reached the bottom and Atara braced herself for the stares,waves and questions. She and her mother stepped out of the elevator. The lobby was just as she had left it a week ago. It was a big room with dark grey walls. They were some black desks with monitoring screens and other equipments at the far end of the room and a huge black conference room table in the middle. No one was on the table though, but a few people were on the monitoring screens. 

Atara was confused. She asked Louisse,"where's everyone?". 

"Dinner. It's six thirty.",Louisse replied casually. 

"Ohh. Is dad still working on his project?" 

"Yap. You know him. He likes to be alone when his working on these things."

Atara understood. Instead of going down the little steps that led down to the actual lobby floor, the two of them proceeded to the left of the corridor. The base was a big underground structure situated below an abadoned warehouse. They were so many rooms and the place had five floors, excluding the warehouse above. They were heading towards the east wing, which had the sleeping rooms. The trainees and everyone else was provided with a bedroom.

They were now in Atara's room. It was a small grey coloured space. Nothing fancy. She sat down on her bed with dark blue beddings and looked at her mother. All she wanted to do was sleep and Louisse just stood by the door,observing every corner of her room. It had been awhile since she entered her daughter's room.  

Atara and Louisse had argued on their way here. Louisse wanted her daughter to eat something before she slept, but Atara had refused. She did not have an appetite.

"Okay. I'll leave you to rest. Tomorrow's the big day", Louisse said with obvious excitement. She was proud of her daughter. 

"Yaay..."Atara replied with fake entusiasim. 

Louisse noted it, but chose to ignore that. She said, "Am proud of you Atara.". That was a statement that rarely came out of her mother's mouth, but Atara wasn't sure how to take it. 

''Thanks. I guess". Atara whispered. 

Louisse's back was now facing her daughter and as she was about to step out of the room; when she said, "It's hard I know, we've all been through it." 

When her daughter didn't reply Louisse sighed softly and closed the door. Atara stared at the metallic looking door in front of her. She wasn't sure on how to respond to what her mother had said. She sighed loudly with exhaustion and pushed her head down against the bed. All she wanted to do was rest.

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