Agents Of Luminous...

[zarathrustra_ink]

Toilyn and I had been sitting in front of Gillian's office for what felt like an eternity. Every once in a while, a lower ranking agent would stop to wish us luck. 

Facetime with Gillian was reserved for the higher ups and Toilyn and I were practically the lowest level of bottom feeders. If we saw more than the hem of her pants, it was considered noteworthy. "This is ridiculous. I'm just going to walk in there." When I didn't say anything, she smiled: "What?"

"Don't hold back on my account." I retorted. "I want to see you kick that door in." I was only partially joking. I stood up. "I'm going to knock again. There's no way she doesn't know we're out here." 

My fist didn't get the chance to touch the wood. It swung open, revealing Rurick, Gillian's assistant. A quick scan over and around her revealed that she was alone.

"I need to speak to Gillian. It's urgent."

"Come in." Rurick said, watching Toilyn stand to join me. "No, no." She shook her head. "Just her." She stepped back far enough for me to pass. With one last glance at Toilyn, the door closed. 

"Rurick, I-"

"You're Z, correct?" She interrupted as if this was the first time our paths had ever crossed.

"Look-"

"You know Gillian doesn't open her office unless it's an emergency."

"I said it was urgent when you opened the door." Realizing the irritated tone I'd suddenly taken, I quickly threw a "ma'am" on the end. 

"So you did." She turned on her heels to face me: "Am I to assume that your insistence on seeing Gillian has to do with a failed assignment?"

No. Yes. No… With yes undertones? I almost shrugged. "It has to do with my current assignment." I held up Dr. Patil's toggle switch. "It has to do with this." 

She leaned against the corner of the desk behind her. As she folded her arms, a few wisps of hair slipped away from the severe, raven colored bun atop her scalp. "And Gillian is supposed to…?"

I hadn't thought that far ahead. "I lost Jan." Though the voice had fallen from my lips, I still couldn't believe the words were being said. 

"What's that?" She jabbed a finger at my hand. "Does it go with that thing?"

"It…" He. "He's a person. He's my assignment." 

"Well, where is he then?"

Even as she was asking, I could tell she already knew. The inquiry was nothing more than a formality. 

Anger slid to the front of my thoughts: "You already know, don't you?"

She smiled coyly, reminding me that I never really liked her. She was Gillian's right hand but nothing would have made me happier than cutting off the left. 

"You two… You and…" Though she said "that one", I knew she was referring to Toilyn. She said her name as if she'd just stumbled across a new disease. Apparently, the dislike was mutual. "There's always something. You know Luminous' policy on the matter, do you not?"

You've got to be kidding me. "Rurick, if I don't get in contact with Gillian, it could mean the destruction of humanity as we know it." 

"We don't know it." She said matter of factly. "We're Luminous."

Is this a joke? 

"As an agent of Luminous, you are tasked with completing assignments, whatever it takes, are you not?"

"Yes, but-"

"No, no, no. See, that's your problem now. You waltz in here looking high and low for answers, hoping they're plastered on the walls. You want us to hold your hand and lead you instead of garnering your own solutions. If we have to figure things out for you, what do we need you for?" 

It was taking every ounce of strength I had left not to punch her in the face. "Why did you even open the door if you weren't going to help?"

"Your tone, agent." She was enjoying this, I could tell. "I opened the door so that I could be the one to tell you that you're off the assignment. We'll handle it from here."

"Rurick-"

"No. There will be no more questions on the matter as far as you're concerned, are we understood?" She started to walk around the desk. "You are dismissed."

"No." I planted my feet, ready for a fight.

"No?" She repeated it as if it was the first time she'd ever heard such a concept. 

"What about Jan?"

Her back still to me: "Are you hard of hearing, agent?" 

"I'm not leaving him with Noir."

"Were you this passionate when you handed him over to Noir?" She threw herself in Gillian's chair. "Get out."

"I didn't hand him-"

"Your actions caused this! Yours!" 

I was already thinking it, but hearing it aloud cut deep. Tears threatened the brims of my eyes as I backed away. My hand was on the doorknob when I thought better of it. There was no way I was leaving Jan. 

I inhaled deeply. Exhaling, I steeled my spine. "You know what, Rurick?" There was a chair in the corner that I imagined was reserved for higher ups. I took measured, leisure steps over to it. Just slow enough to give Rurick enough time to realize my intent. "I am not leaving until I see Gillian."

She stood up. Even with my entire employment history flashing before me, I wouldn't budge. If I was to be terminated, let it be that… But not with Rurick's shady, beady little eyes thinking she'd made me stand down. Screw that. 

Instead of towards me, she walked to the wall on her left, my right. She pulled the Luminous logo plaque forward. The wall groaned as it rose into the air. 

"Follow me." 

I will not. 

When I didn't move, she made a gesture at the gaping hole in the wall. "Gillian will see you now." 

My eyes swung from Rurick to the wall. Who did she think she was fooling? "If Gillian is in there, you're more than welcome to let her know I'm willing to wait." I crossed my legs. "I'll be right here." 

Rurick's eyes rolled in an entire sphere around their sockets. She grumbled something before stomping through the hole. 

Stairs? I could hear the downward trajectory. Or maybe I couldn't. Curiosity compelled me to inspect further. 

What is this? I'd imagined Rurick humming a catchy little ditty as she tightened the screws on a pair of shackles. This type of assignment seemed right up her alley: Keep Z at Luminous, whatever it takes. Instead of two chains linked from a wall, I was faced with a staircase spiraling towards… To where? Maybe the shackles were at the bottom.

No longer could the click clacking of Rurick's heels be heard. Nope. Not even.

"Z."

I whirled around. I hadn't heard the door open behind me. Even without a name in the air between us, I knew. She walked around the large, Oakwood desk. Not once did her pale, green eyes leave my face. Her hair was weaved into a long, red braid. It swished behind her as she lowered her frame into the chair. She gestured at the chair that I'd left unoccupied.

After we were both seated, her face relaxed into a warm smile. "Why didn't you leave when Rurick told you to?"

I don't like Rurick. "Ma'am…"

"Please… Call me Gillian." The introduction was merely a formality. The regalness projected with her every step made it impossible to imagine any other name crossing her lips. 

I don't know what I was expecting. What I did know was that the inviting warmth to her posture probably wasn't meant to be intimidating, but it couldn't be helped. "Um, Gillian…" I stammered.

"What's that?" She pointed at my right fist, which was still curled around the toggle switch. 

"Noir apprehended my assignment." They already know that, stupid. "That doctor… Uh, Dr. Patil… He… They enlisted him. He gave me this."

She motioned at me. I stood long enough to put it on her desk. "Ah…" She held it up to the light. "It's a homing device." She sat it back down. "You press the button. They show up." She was thinking about something. "Did you kill the doctor?"

"No ma'am." I said quickly. I did not need "Killed doctor who brought Covid-19 to 1999" penned on my record. 

"Good." She nodded. "I'm removing you from the case." 

"Excuse me?" 

What about Jan? 

"Your assignment was the timeline change of Covid-19 to Covid-99 was it not?"

"Yes, but-" 

"The assignment did not list a person." She spoke in long, measured words that reflected "don't let the smile fool you" across my face. 

"Yes, but-"

"What I've gathered is you decided this, this…"

"His name was Jan." I flinched. Is. 

"Jan." She repeated. "You decided he was your assignment without proper research into Altura." 

"Dr. Patil." I said quickly. "He caused the timeline change by choosing to help Noir."

She nodded despite it being obvious that she already knew that. 

"They were after Jan." 

Again, she nodded. " So what I am to understand is that through your meddling -"

"Jan." I couldn't hold it any longer. "They took Jan!"

"He wasn't your assignment. He was someone else's." 

My spine went rigid. "Excuse me?" 

"We've had eyes on him for a while. A man who unlocks time travel in a lab will always be a person of interest." She said, ignoring my jaw scraping the floor in shock. "Because of your interference, two assignments became one assignment." 

"Was Jan Toilyn's assignment?" I had to know.

"Not that it's any of your concern but, no." She folded her hands on the desk. "I was unaware of your involvement until Bateman informed me that he encountered the both of you in the library." 

So he was Bateman's assignment. "This is not my fault." He always was. 

"Fault?" Her smile curved into a smirk. "You're off the case. You'll be receiving a new assignment shortly." 

"I'm not leaving Jan with Noir."

"Am I to understand that you're refusing to stand down?" 

He saved my life. "You don't understand!" Standing down was not an option.

"Oh I do. I understand that you should be terminated and yet, I am choosing reassignment instead. What more is there to be understood?" Gone was the warmth in her posture. "Need I remind you that you took a person unaffiliated with Luminous to Area 51?" In its place, a cold, calculating glare. "Your interference led to Noir apprehending not just anyone but a man who has the ability to time travel unchecked! Do you not understand the gravity of this situation?!"

Better to be terminated than a coward. "You can't just leave him!" I shouted defiantly.

"Stand down, agent!"

"I won't leave him!" 

"Then you leave me no choice."

The hole in the wall that Rurick had disappeared through was once again filled with her annoying form. Only she was flanked by two other agents. 

My eyes darted from the agents to Gillian. "What is this?" 

I had not noticed her hand slide beneath her desk until it was too late.

"Take her." 

"What the hell?!" 

The agents on either side of Rurick rushed towards me. I slapped my hand on my wrist, hoping I turned the correct knob. Blue ricocheted from my hands. The impact sent them flying backwards, one across Gillian's desk, to the left of her. The other sprawled into Rurick. Startled by the sudden onslaught of flailing arms, she attempted to dodge, but lost her footing. They collapsed in a heap on the carpet. Before anyone could gather themselves, I was on my feet and out the door.

Toilyn's head jerked up. "What's going on?!" I didn't need words. She was already on her feet running down the hallway beside me. 

"We've got to save Jan!" I shouted above the rising sounds of boots stomping the floor behind us. The elevator ride to the bottom felt longer than the one up. The second the door opened, I shouted “Scatter!” Please understand. Hopefully she understood. I didn't check to see if she was still behind me. Agents were blurring as I passed, some calling after me, most not. 

 

What mattered was me putting as much distance between them and me as fast as I could.

 

******

The suitcase still laid in the middle of the front yard, abandoned. A few ties and a shirt had blown to the other side of the street. 

With storm clouds now sprinkling rain across the roof, Dr. Patil's house appeared every bit of dreary as it had the night before. 

I sighed. None of this was supposed to be happening. Though the droplets had developed into a full storm, I didn't seek shelter in the house. I had no idea how long I stood at the edge of that abandoned lawn but, what I did know was I had no idea I was holding my breath until Toilyn suddenly appeared beside me. 

I threw my arms around her, relieved. She returned my embrace for a few seconds before holding me at arm's length. "We should go inside. He owes us that much."

I followed Toilyn across the yard, nodding the entire distance. He did owe us.

The front door was wide open. Toilyn paused on the porch long enough to place an arrow in her bow.

With me practically glued to her back, we walked the entire foundation. We checked bathrooms and bathtubs, upstairs and downstairs, kitchen cabinets and closets and we didn't stop opening doors until Toilyn nodded that we were indeed, alone. 

We were on our way out of the kitchen when I thought about it. "What about the garage?" 

The kitchen had three doors. One to the backyard, one we were in front of, and one that was by the refrigerator, still open, leading to the garage. "If anybody's here, they had to of heard us by now." 

When I didn't say anything, she crossed to the open door, arrow tip first. She disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing. "Clear." She passed me. I waited before following. 

She was shrugging the quiver off her shoulder as I was entering the living room. She looked up. "So, are we going to talk about what happened back there?" 

I took my place on the loveseat across from her. "I don't even know where to start." I admitted, sliding my hands down my face. I really, really messed up.

She slid over the edge of the couch and folded her arms across her chest. "Start with what the heck we were running from."

I opened my mouth. The longer I spoke, the deeper the furrow in her eyebrows became. She leaned forward. I could almost make out the thoughts dancing in her eyes. Were it not for the fact that I knew her, one could easily mistake that she was meditating. 

When I finally closed my mouth, she shook her head in disbelief. 

"Wait… Before anything else, do you honestly believe that I would've kept it a secret had Jan been my assignment?"

That's what you got out of that?! "I had to be sure."

"One, you know how I feel about offline assignments." She was right. It was how the term "Offline" drew its first breath in the first place. I did know. "Two, I wouldn't do you like that." She said, obviously offended. "You're my best friend. I jump, you jump, remember?" She stuck her fist out. "I'm just going to chalk this up to temporary insanity. Cool?" We bumped knuckles before her face relaxed. "Now that that's settled, what are we going to do and are you sure Luminous doesn't know we're here?"

"I have no idea."

"Huh?"

"That's your answer to both." I shrugged. "I don't know." 

"Perfect." She smacked her fist into her open palm. "Just perfect."

"We have to go after Jan." That was the only thing I knew for sure. 

"If they had plans to kill Jan, why didn't Bateman do it when he caught up with him before? Think, Z. Why only adjust his remote?"

"I don't know! What if it were me, Toy?!" I shouted, frustrated. "Would you be sitting here trying to make it make sense if this was about me?!" 

"Okay then…" She settled back against the couch cushions. "Let's go get him." She frowned. "How though?"

I held up the homing device, which I'd managed to reclaim during the commotion. "If this summons one of theirs, we can use it to gain some sort of information, right?" Please say "yes".

"Z…" Toilyn tilted her head thoughtfully. "What if Brie answers the call?" It wasn't a "No". 

I shrugged. I hadn't considered that. "We'll cross that bridge if it gets here." We wouldn't exactly have a choice. As far as either of us knew, no Luminous agent who had ever entered Noir had exited in the same condition. With that being said, in the grand scheme of things, neither of us knew where Noir was. The homing device was our only option. "All I know is we can't just abandon Jan." 

"And we won't." She stood up and stretched, yawning loudly. "Ya know, I think I'm going to take a shower. If I'm going to die today, I might as well be fresh when it happens." She hopped over the back of the couch. 

I watched as she disappeared from eyesight. Despite her lack of presence, I could still hear her rummaging around above me. Toilyn wasn't exactly known for her discretion.

I threw my legs over the arm of the loveseat. On the one hand, I knew we needed Luminous to back us on this and then there was the other hand: The one that knew Jan was the primary focus for a reason and needed to be saved. But from what? That was the real question. Were we saving Jan from Noir or were we protecting him from Luminous? 

My eyes weighed heavily with the burden. I didn't realize how exhausted I was. I kept blinking to stop the sleep from pushing down my lids, but to no avail. With one last struggled blink, my eyelashes settled on my cheeks. 

I awoke to Toilyn frantically shaking my leg. "You're kidding me!" I rubbed my eyes sleepily. I hadn't realized I was asleep if we're being honest here. 

"You can sleep when you're dead and with how this day is shaping up, it'll be soon." She held out her hands. I placed mine in hers. Once I was on my feet, she said: "You know what I was thinking about in the shower?"

"Do I really want to hear this?" 

"Pervert." She smirked. "One of the sheets in the envelope we had laid out a paper trail."

"Yeah, so?"

"Altura stands to rake in billions manufacturing a cure for the disease they created."

"Okay…"

"Is that what happened in 2020?"

I gasped. The thought had never crossed my mind. "From my understanding, they stumbled" I did air quotes for "stumbled". "Upon Covid-19 in a lab somewhere in Asia and the testing went south quick. People were blaming the consumption of bat soup for a while." 

"We both know that's not true."

"But what if that's what happened?"

"First we save Jan." She dragged her gear off the floor. "Then we can swap COVID conspiracy theories while we save the world." She gestured at the homing device, which had fallen from my hand while I slept. "I don't think it would be wise to press that button here. There's a good chance this is the only place that isn't being watched. If nobody comes a knocking, we're going to need it for Jan." 

I reached down to pick it up. "Okay, where then?"

She shrugged the arrows over her shoulder. "We could always go back to the nursing home since that's obviously where the good doctor was rubbing elbows with Noir." 

I punched the coordinates into my goggles as Toilyn did the same. "Nursing home it is." 

 

******

"So, upstairs or down?"

Toilyn pointed upward at the hole in the ceiling. "You only have to teach me once. I'm not interested in going through that again." 

"Down it is then." I held up the homing device. "Ready?" 

She turned to press her back against mine. I waited long enough for her to plant her feet before pushing the button. 

I don't know. I guess I thought the hallway would immediately swarm with a Noir agent or ten. I didn't expect to see Dax's mendacious hazel eyes manifesting across from us. 

"Well, well, well… This is unexpected." He said calmly. Almost too calm. "Z… Long time, no see. How's tricks?"

I pushed my hands out in front of me. The blue spiraled, aiming for his head, but he dodged it easily. "Oh, I see someone has an up-" Toilyn released her grip. The arrow connected with his left shoulder. He stumbled backwards, holding the stem. "What the hell?!" I nodded at Toilyn. She returned the gesture, immediately understanding. His gaze narrowed on the both of us as we approached. "Someone has been busy." He strained against the pain. He clenched his teeth. "To what do I owe this honor?"

"Cut the crap, Dax." I wasn't the agent that he thought he knew. I didn't have time for the mind games. 

His hand still wrapped around the stem, he stood strong. "Okay then, what do you want?" 

"We want access to Noir, you prick." Toilyn's aim had not lowered from his face.

Surprisingly, of the emotions his eyes were reflecting, fear wasn't one. "And why…" Pain was. "Why would I do that?" He winced. 

"You know why." I said.

He laughed menacingly. "I'm guessing you're… You two…" He laughed again. "The inventor, am I right?"

"Take us to Noir or I'll put this through your throat." She gritted her teeth. "Your choice." 

"How long…" His fingers tightened around the stem. "How long…" He snapped it off at the end. "How…" Again, he grunted. "... Did you practice that line?" The tip's jagged edges disappeared as he pulled himself free.

I threw my fist in front of myself. The impact slammed into his chest. He slumped down to the hardwood floor. 

"Okay Z, I see your hustle. I really do, but um… Don't we need him to get into Noir?" 

"No." I crouched down to snatch the goggles off his head. "Their goggles are basically a rip off of ours, right?" 

"Uh huh." 

She had to be kidding me. "Ours keeps a hold of our last coordinates for twenty-four hours." I pushed the buttons on the side.

"I hear you." She held up her hand like we were in the back of a classroom somewhere. "Who's to say those coordinates are Noir's?" 

I hadn't thought of that. "We've got to try." 

"Hey, this is your show. I'm just a side character tagging along for the side quest." She punched in the coordinates. "One that we might die on but that's neither here nor there."

"Toy…"