any indicator, clones donât come out to be exact copies of each other. Brando is more serious than Trick. Iâd say this is a result of their environments. Embassy employees work in a world of grace and poise unknown to us Wild West covert operatives. Thereâs also a certain swagger you get from being biotically enhanced, and Brando is still getting used to his Info Operator Mods. But itâs mostly becauseâunlike TrickâBrando is grieving for his dead brother.
I got an earful about this the day Brando fetched me from the airport. When he told me my late partnerâs true nature, I blew my stack and launched an epic bitchfest. When it became clear I wasnât going to shut up, Brando finally let me have it.
âGodammit Alix,
enough
! I know this is a shock and that youâve lost your partner. But I lost my fucking brother! So cool it.â
I folded my arms across my chest and spent the rest of our drive silently trapped in a bog of resentment, sadness, and guilt. The next day we started working together, and we havenât talked about it again. But I still catch him biting his lower lip if a mission Trick and I pulled comes up in conversation.
When we arenât wigging each other out, Iâm teaching my new partner the in-jokes I had with Trick. Brando âremembersâ some of them but not all. It was surreal to explain Freaking Unstoppable Cranium Krusher to the person who came up with F.U.C.K. in the first place.
The elevator doors open. We step out and walk across the German Sectionâs busy office. Phones ring, computer terminals beep and blink. Itâs a modern beehive of earnest activity. Across the floor, in the Front Deskâs office, Cyrus sits in his chair and glowers at the world outside his window. His brows are jammed tightly together. Heâs pissed. Again.
I breeze past Cyrusâs secretary. Brando follows and shuts the door behind us. We stand at attention. I blurt, âSir, I know weâre supposed to minimize our actions in front of civilians, but quickly eliminating that female competitor last night was the only way to make sure nobody else got hurt. Iâm convinced it was the right thing, and Iâll say so in a review.â
My heart pounds. My nostrils flare. Cyrus silently regards me, then Brando, then me again. He stands up from his chair. âAgreed. Zero civilian casualties, apart from emotional stress, is acceptable given where you are in your Development Cycle.â
I briefly close my eyes and exhale twelve pounds of anxiety.
Cyrus leans forward and plants his fists on his desk. âBut I want to know why the hell youâre following Jakob Fredericks!â
CORE (Catalogue of Records: ExOps) PER-A59â1460
From the desk of Dr. Thomas Herodotus, ExOps Medical Director
Cyrus,
Scarlet has made steady, if painful, progress with her recovery from the trauma endured while assigned to investigate Winterâs Blades of Persia and their Darius Covenant. Her fiercely self-motivated personality, inherited no doubt from her father, has helped her greatly during this process.
She has found solid support from our grief therapy group, although her first partnerâs violent death still haunts her terribly. Scarlet continues to suffer debilitating nightmares and hallucinations, especially when unoccupied with work.
To answer your original question, yes, your star Level will be ready for ANGEL, but please CC: me on Scarletâs reports so I can track her status.
Respectfully yours,
-Tom
04
Same morning, 10:10 A.M. EST
ExOps Headquarters, Hotel Bethesda, Washington, D.C., USA
Cyrus repeats, âScarlet, why are you following Fredericks?â
How does Cyrus always know?
âAhh, I â¦Â uhh.â I grope for words, freshly reminded of how smart my boss is. âSir, may I sit?â
Cyrus sits in his chair and steeples his hands in front of his face. He takes a long time before answering. âYes,