Never As It Seems

The Agency

They approached the agency with caution. They directed their eyes away from the guards standing in front of the entrance, and held their breath as they walked past; thankfully, one of the guards pushed the button to open the door and they walked inside without an ounce of trouble.  

The place was packed. There were people urgently walking around every which way from room to room, or standing around waiting for one of the elevators to come back to their level. Some of them were in groups, and were chatting amongst themselves as they hurried to wherever it was that they were going to, but most were by themselves, and kept a straight face as they walked past. The four felt a certain nervous feeling arise; how were they going to stay incognito when there were so many people who could so easily unmask their disguises? 

This fear was demonstrated when, as they walked towards Ms. Hillman's office, Flames bumped into a girl walking past. She tripped and they both fell to the ground. Flames' eyes widened and he quickly checked over himself and stood up. 

"Watch where you're going!" said the girl angrily. "Some people need to get to places, you know?" 

"I'm sorry, miss," said Flames. 

She sniffed, got up again, and walked past him without any further words. 

"That was close, Flames," said Adam quietly. 

"I know," he said with irritation. "There's so many people here I'm surprised it didn't happen the moment we walked in." 

"Just be careful."  

With even more caution than before (if that were possible), they ventured forth to Ms. Hillman's office, which now seemed about twenty miles away. Eventually they successfully got past the hoard of people and reached her door. 

"Here goes nothing," said Flames, and he held his hand out and knocked twice on the door.  

"Come in," said a faint voice from inside, and he opened the door. She glanced up as they filed inside. 

"Can I help you?" 

Flames looked uneasily at Adam, and he stepped forward. 

"Yes. We're here on a very important business note requiring some recent information that you have put forth - or rather, have not put forth. Our company has been very worried about this agency, and they have set us as representatives to contact you, the head of this whole operation." 

She raised an eyebrow. "They sent you looking like that?" 

"Budget cuts, ma'am," said Adam without a pause. "We, of course, will be receiving three piece suits this upcoming weekend. A Thanksgiving present, if you will. At our company we take much pride in our blessings." 

She nodded, although she didn't look any more convinced than before. "Go on." 

"As you may know, tax season is not too far from now. Only a couple more months, really. It may be hard to believe. But our company knows you, Ms. Hillman, and we are glad to offer our services to you. From this period of late November to early January, we would like to send representatives, not us -" He indicated himself and the other three. "- but other experienced and qualified individuals, to help out with your taxes before the actual tax season begins. That way, you can be ahead of the game and not have to file an extension or whatnot. Get rid of a few pains off your back! Now, I know an agency like this has many expenses attached to it." 

"Tell me about it," said Ms. Hillman dryly. 

"And I know how hard it must be to keep track of everything. You have both the Youth Agent organization and the regular agent organization, am I correct? All those people you have to take account of. A disaster, I think. Furthermore, I imagine tax season, once it rolls around, is hellish to complete. You, my dear lady, need help."