XII ‖ new beginnings

LONDON
January
Location: Elysium, Lethe

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"Iva Laurent (Vivienne Yuan)," we reported our names accordingly to the administrator and her fingers moved intensely across the keyboard, punching in our details accordingly. In a moment, she smacked the enter button before standing up from her seat and walked over her desk to face us.

"Please follow me," she gestured in a toneless manner.

The administrator didn't bother introducing herself and she hadn't bothered turning her head around to speak to us as she guided us through numerous hallways. But well, at least I learnt that her name is Gia Sanchez when she did an identity scan a through the doors. As we move nearer towards the Guardian's office, I couldn't help but wonder about what Seth said this morning. Side-eyeing Vivienne, I mentally sighed — crossed my heart and hope to die, probably literally. 

At last, Gia guided us into a dark room, and floor panels lit up in soft white beneath our feet. When we reached the middle of the room, a trigger was activated and the whole room lit up to reveal a lady who sat behind her desk in a laid back manner. She was clad in full black and her face was covered by the brim of her large hat, giving off an air of mystery that is apparent in all the Guardians. I looked towards Vivienne and she nodded at me, knowing that both of us now stood in front of our new adopter, the Guardian of Lethe.

"It's nice to have the both of you here at Lethe," the Guardian laughed, in her deep and sonorous voice that sounded unworldly. "Please don't blame it on Harod, I was the one who insisted on the transfer."

"Why?" Vivienne probed, careful.

"Before I forget, oh dear, please pardon my manners," she mentioned, ignoring Vivienne's question as a whole and her thoughts seemed to be everywhere else other than trying to answer our doubts. "My name is Morgiana."

"Sure," I responded. I already know it, but if it pleases her to repeat herself.

"Going back to your question on the transfer—" She straightened her back and pushed herself off the roller seat. Her heels clicked resoundingly in clean, paced staccatos that echoed through the vast emptiness of her office. Facing us, she asked, "Well, I had assumed that Seth Raynard would tell both of you about it."

I flinched slightly and felt Vivienne tense beside me. The both of us didn't dare to utter a single word as we threaded carefully across her landmine of words, never knowing when it would be a wrong step that would result in misfortune befalling on us.

"I could guess what the both of you are thinking in your own head," she said while facing us and my senses jolted when I felt a chill along my spine at the thought that she could perhaps really read our minds.

"First, no one could break into the Elysium's system undiscovered, but I'll give credits to Raynard because it only took him 5 hours, 34 minutes and 27 seconds to get past all the technical traps that we had set up. He comes in second, after Jaxen," she gave her praise and clapped lightly. "Second, he only managed to break access into the archival library, in which I won't hold against him because that saved me many troubles to explain the whole story."

Then, Morgiana walked back and settled in her swivel chair once again. At this point, my heart was already pounding faster than usual and I was experiencing a nerve-wracking skittishness that I haven't felt since the day I stood before the Council for trial concerning Sebastian. Even though we had only exchanged a few words, it was obvious that Morgiana was less straightforward than Harod and harder to read. Resting her elbows on her desk and interlocking her fingers, she continued, "We definitely need your help here and Lethe would provide you the best support for all the missions."

"So we're part of the Elites now?" Vivienne asked.

"Yes. At Lethe, missions would have higher payouts but it would be more advanced than what you have been accomplishing at Styx. Also, they are not limited to any geographical boundaries."

"We get to travel?"

"On a mission basis, yes." Morgiana's fingers tapped against her knuckles mindlessly. "And I always hate to break it on anyone, don't get too excited because it's not as thrilling."

"Of course," I scoffed while forcing myself not to roll my eyes.

"Alright, enough of the welcome wagon," Morgiana exhaled a light laugh. "For a start, this would be your first mission here."

She tapped on the holographic screen above her desk and the message immediately displayed on the brace.

"A watch?" I asked, confused.

Morgiana pointed her finger towards me and chuckled, "Iva, the things that people keep the closest to them, are the things that are of most value."

Following the direction of her index finger, I realised that she was pointing towards my locket necklace. My hand shot up reflexively to hold onto the pendant, protecting it in useless attempts to cover my vulnerability to this Guardian who seemed to know too much about everything. Other than Vivienne and Seth, no one knew about this memento. Even Harod doesn't know and I wondered how did she even learn about this.

"Get going, ladies. This should be an easy target and I have high expectations on the both of you." That was the last thing Morgiana said before all the lights in the office went out in a click and everywhere was pitch black once again. The unease gnawed at me, making me feel all jittery and nervy. I absolutely hate the feeling that people had saw right through me and knew everything about me, it renders me defenceless against these people and it never sat well with me. Then, Vivienne held onto my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Don't let it bother you, Iva. Come on, we have a mission," she reminded.

Taking in a sharp inhale, I nodded and we followed the administrator out of the office. Gia provided us with an indicator towards the weapons room and left us to return to her post. On the way there, we plugged our earpiece in and Seth was already on the other side of the line explaining the mission and disseminating all the information we would require for the mission.

Vivienne and I placed our palms on the reader before the reinforced door slid open, granting us access. At first glance, I swore my heart skipped a beat at the marvellous sight of this room. Firearms and knives were perfectly sorted by their derivatives, type and rounds used. Additional attachments and optics were placed in display glass drawers. I exhaled a breath. They sure have everything in variety.

Beside the weapon shelves was a walk-in closet that had all sorts of clothes for any kind of disguise you could think of. My hand swept across a basic looking shirt and the price tag revealed numbers no less than a thousand. Good heavens. Accessories were neatly lined on the velvet display boards and there was all sort of secret weapons that you would only get to witness in movies like Kingsman. My eyes stared longingly at the black umbrella but knowing that it wouldn't be applicable for the mission today.

Removing my clothes, I strapped a Glock 26 on my thigh and KM4000 on the other before slipping into an open-back black dress. I swept my long hair to the side and patted makeup on my face. My fingers brushed through the rows of lipsticks and decided on my favourite shade of Charlotte Tilbury. I had opted for a heavier makeup today, considering the place that we would be going to. These are one of the few rare times when Vivienne was done dressing first and she stood by the shelves packing in additional ammunition into a small weapon case. Swinging the gun case off the glass cabinet, she threw a set of car key towards me.

"C-X75, you're driving this time," she smirked.

I caught it swiftly by the ring and swung it around playfully with my finger. "Let's go, girlfriend." 

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(and I get a little scared. all the people inside my head.)