Chapter 40.2

Raphael walked into his office and sighed as he fell onto his chair, a groan of satisfaction escaping his lips as he closed his eyes. He was exhausted since the past few nights and he hadn't been to sleep properly but his body was used to it as a soldier. The only problem was that he was feeling stressed today after the Reaper's second appearance. As he rubbed his eyes, a knock on his door interrupted him and he raised his head.

"Come in," he said and the door opened to reveal Junco. She had two mugs of coffee with her and Raphael gratefully took the one she handed him. "Thanks."

"What now, major?" Junco asked and Raphael quietly sipped his coffee without answering her. He savored the bitter taste in his mouth as he considered her question.

He knew she was referring to the sole survivor of the attack, Markus Jones. Raphael wanted to put him in protective custody, but the boy was just a teenager; a teenager who had school. What was worse, the higher-ups didn't want to make a scene, so Markus suddenly being escorted by armed men was out of the question.

"If I may, sir?" Junco cleared her throat and Raphael nodded at her, eager to hear her suggestion. "I suggest we have someone guard him while at school and home. Preferably, someone who also goes to his school. Like a certain honorary -"

"Absolutely not," Raphael shook his head and said firmly, knowing exactly who Junco was referring to.

Junco was silent, studying Raphael before carefully choosing her words slowly. ". . . She wants to volunteer for AEM missions."

Raphael looked up at Junco with a surprised gaze before shrugging and returning attention to his desk.

"Nope. With Watson at the helm, she won't be accepted," Raphael said while dismissively with his hand.

"Maybe," Junco replied. "But what if she decides to go on her own? Would that be safer?"

"She wouldn't . . ."

"As I recall, you did," Junco said informally before noticing Raphael's face and hastily adding, "Sir."

Raphael sighed and didn't say anything while Junco sat down on the table next to him, quietly waiting for his response. The two were rather relaxed and informal instead of their usual subordinate relationship.

"You know that you and Watson are her heroes, right?" Junco finally said quietly to him while cradling her mug with both her hands. "She adores you. Both of you."

"I know, I know," Raphael said, looking away from the gentle gaze Junco sent him. "But you've seen what I - we - had to do and it's not like being a police officer. We're not here to serve and protect; we're here to defend at all costs. We're an army. An army that gets its hands dirty if it must."

"She's not that naive, Raph," Junco replied. "She knows the risks, the grays of the job. Trust me."

Raphael sighed once more before finally nodding his head in resignation. "Fine, we'll assign her to bodyguard duty but -"

"Oui!" A small voice full of excitement hissed loudly, and Raphael turned to the half-closed door with a glare.

"Alright, come out. I know you're out there, Cadet" Raphael said and Michelle slowly opened the door with a guiltily expression.

"Sorry, frère," Michelle said while looking down at her feet.

Raphael shook his head exasperatedly before standing up straight, his face serious and stoic.

"Michelle LeBlanc, as an honorary member of AEM, I hereby order you to complete your first assignment as a PPO. Your mission is to escort and protect your target from being harmed, is that understood?" Raphael spoke in an authoritative voice, indicating that he was speaking to Michelle not as her brother, but as her superior officer. [1]

"Chef, Oui Chef!" Michelle saluted and stated while standing up straight. Her grateful eyes moved to Junco who winked back at her without Raphael knowing.

"Chef, who am I to garde?" Michelle asked as Raphael gestured at her to follow him.

"You should know him," Raphael answered. He led her to an isolated room that was heavily guarded and nodded at a guard who opened the door with a two key verification.

"En aucune façon," Michelle muttered. She saw a boy with multiple piercings and blonde hair that was clearly dyed. With a glance, she grimacingly recognized him: Markus Jones, the resident bully of their classroom.

***

Alice crawled out of bed, sneakily tiptoeing past Alina's room to not alert the latter. She was about to enter the hallway when a voice interrupted her, frightening her so much that she jumped a few feet into the air.

"What are you doing?" Ava asked and Alice turned to hush her while using her hands to indicate that they speak in whispers. It was so that Alina would not wake from their disturbance, but Ava tilted her head, bemused; she didn't understand the need to whisper. Was it a game they were playing?

"Hey, hey," Alice looked around like a sneaky thief before scuttling up to Ava. "Do you know how to cook?"

"... My databases do contain several cookbooks and I can access even more through the internet," Ava answered with confusion.

"Great! And you're tall enough to reach the pantry, too!" Alice said excitedly but not forgetting to whisper. "Follow me."

Ava followed Alice to the kitchen where the two began a war that every person must face; the war of cooking.

Alina woke up and stretched before heading to the bathroom. After brushing while half asleep, she realized that they were sounds coming from the kitchen and decided to investigate. Coming to the entrance, she froze and the brush that was hanging half-heartedly from her mouth fell to the ground. The kitchen was a disaster: it was like a hurricane had gone through it. Flour and what she could only guess as sugar or salt coated the counter while cracked eggs were dripping egg whites onto the ground. And a mixture of what seemed to be batter somehow made its way to the roof of the kitchen.

How in the hell …? Alina thought as her eyes stared upwards, wondering just how it was possible to paint a Picasso on the roof with . . . God knows what.