CHAPTER 14

"So you simply press the buttons here on the back to give you the options. Got it."Miranda said handing me back the face mask.

Miranda was showing me how to use that hologram based mask that I would use when meeting with the intel. It was an anxious feeling meeting them. Miranda had been communicating with them for an extremely long time and I could guess that they were crazy strong underground soldiers with huge puffed up chests with a bunch of tattoos. Whenever I thought about her intel my mind always formed the image of a stereotypical bike gang in a bar drinking the most bitter beer out there. Watching too many movies were really ruining my perception of reality.

"Now we can't go there at the same time for obvious reasons so I will leave first, I already gave DC the coordinates to today's meeting spot. Decide on which holographic image you will go with, carry a set of less Cy heavy clothing and meet me in Thirty minutes."She said.

Who would have thought that meeting Miranda's intel was more work than meeting her parents for dinner?

"Don't worry I called Glenn to help you with your clothes and mask. Sometimes you take way too long to decide on the simplest things. Bye "She said going into DL with a list of tasks to complete before I could meet them.

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"What do you mean it's complicated ?" Glenn asked for like the 7th time as we were going through the facemask options.

"Do I really need to explain 'its complicated to you?"

"Yes. How is it complicated?"

"Well Miranda is not Miranda and we have to save a country from civil war by looking for a mysterious hacker XR. How is it not complicated?"

"Well, love can withstand such situations."

"Glenn, I am not going to ask someone who lost their memories to go back to being my girlfriend that's selfish."

"Well, what does she want?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly!"

"No, she probably won't want to be with me at a time like this," I said trying to get him off the topic.

I never knew what to do about my relationship with Miranda, as much as I wanted things to go back to the way they were, I just could not make someone go through that. All I could tell Glenn that things are complicated with me and Miranda. If only he never acted like a complete fanboy shipping us, it would have been easier. Although I did not get all Miranda back completely at least I got my best friend back and that was better than nothing. I would get her back eventually but I now I had not properly met the Miranda that had been in Gendwall for all those years, my only reassurance was the 'I love you'. I prayed that she never switched up on me when she was back and started claiming that she loved me as a brother. Just imagining it, broke my fragile heart.

I snapped myself back from my mind and went back to Glenn

"Why are you acting as if there are three of us in this relationship?"

" We have always been three. There's no relationship without the wonderful third-wheeler,"

"You need major help." I said smiling.

He always seemed to make my day a little more interesting.

"Well I won't push you to go back to your lovey doveyness."

"That's not a word."I said laughing.

"Whatever you call the weird stares you used to give each other.As long as you don't go back to that little ball of depression you were before all this happened it is fine by me."

The flashes of my memory showing me the depressing times in when I used to just sit at my desk and think of what I did to Miranda .Every single waking second of those days felt like a flood of guilt furiously ran through my mind hitting every corner of my head. I never wanted to feel like that ever again. That is why I was putting as much effort as possible to help her out.

"Oh my your already sad."Glenn said sarcatically gasping, "Should have I carried the emergency photo of Miranda with me so you can stare at it for a week."

"Your an idiot."

"Cheer up, it doesn't matter what happened in the past just look to what we have now.You should be the one who is happier than anyone else ."

I looked down and I realized that I had got so easy to piting myself that it had become a natural reaction to anything that happened.Acknowlding that I should look into my future was the first step I should have taken from the very beginning.

"Now you barely have five minutes left we really need to a choose an avatar."Glenn said changing the topic."What do you want , what about you get green hair?I have always wanted to see your hair in something more colorful."

"I am supposed to be incagnito I can't just be walking everywhere with green hair."

"Not green hair ...dark green hair."He said with his childlike smile.

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At the end of about twenty options, I decided to go with a paler white skin look with long black hair or as Glenn insisted was ultra dark green hair, and more defined facial features that made me look like an exaggerated character in shounen anime. It went in contrast to my usual short brunette hair and gentle features. Glenn really wanted a mask too , he was practically begging on his knees for one. He said it would the best way for him to get into character for his 'magical' performances. He was always extra as usual.

"Miranda is the probably already waiting for me ."I said wearing the coat of the suit I decided to pair with the disguise.

"Wait I forgot to mention, there was a lady who was asking hovering around the office. She looked like she was waiting fot someone to step out." he said.

"What?!"

"You don't just say that what if she is dangerous?"

"I thought so too but watching her from a corner a bit longer she seemed like she wanted to follow someone out of the office.I asked Patrick to get her escorted out but he said that you usually went out for coffee with her so I did not bother."

With that explanation I could tell who was out there and she was probably waiting for me to slip up.

"That must be Jay."

"Who's Jay?"

"An executive agent who was tasked with tailing me for years.."

"Yeah what an extremely normal sentence to utter,"He said sarcastically,"It is unlike you to not mention that to us."

"Well ,Jay really hasn't been any trouble for five years now ,I had a good handle of the situation. Normally she would never watch me so closely, she must be more suspicious of me than ever before.This might be a problem."

"Might."

"Okay it is a problem."

We had to devise a plan on how we could get the her off my tracks because if she followed me it would have devastating effects on our mission. Plus Miranda could possibly murder then ressurect us to murder us again if we messed up because we were careless, especially after I practically begged her to let me meet her intel. The best thing we could come up with was using a prototype human transport tube that was in the office. The outcome were either my fluids would change it gel after using it or I get my ass beat by Miranda . My fluids turning to gel never seemed so bad after thinking about it for a while. Glenn offered to stay at X-floor and constantly monitor the movements of Jay.At that moment she knew that we were in the office and we had to keep it that way.

I keyed in the the coordinates for our meeting spot and as I was about to leave my phone rang. I felt a sudden rush down my spine going all the way to my toes that made me shiver a little. I would have liked to call it my super intuition but it was the specific ringtone that I had saved for that contact that gave me that feeling.I picked up the phone praying it was not who I thought it was and I never lied to myself harder than that day before.

"Cyrus why didn't you tell me you had a new scandalous girlfriend, " my mother's voice sounded with a mix of shock ,disappointment , happiness and betrayal.My mother was extremely expressive and easily conveyed all these emotions without fail.

"Mom I told you to stop believing in everything you read on the internet.You remember last time you thought I had died from an unknown illness caused by a unique insect bite?"

"Sweetheart , be serious, you've been spotted almost everywhere with her since the launch of the transport tubes. From my information that I've received,she's a new employee at your company ."

"Mom relax it really is not anything to get worried about."

"I have already booked a flight to see you guys and don't disappoint me at all cost. You know how expensive the plane ticket cost."

"You could have told me to buy it for you mom."

"No you worked hard for your money and I work hard for mine. Plus I need something to hold over your head if I find out she is a random woman who wants to manipulate you."

"Normal people do not tell their sons of their evil plans."

"It is not evil , it is called parenting.Bye now."

She hung up on me. My mother had always been extra-ordinary or just extra whenever she heard about anything that happened in my life in random gossip sites . She would be the first one to call, now a new girl my life she was going berserk. Even before all that it was not as if she accepted Miranda from the beginning in the past. They would always argue about something even if it was the position of a plant in the living room. But they secretly liked each other .

Suddenly the chiiling feeling went through me again but this one was actual intuition. I looked at my phone and there was a message there.

'Cy I heard that mom is going to visit this new girlfriend of yours. I am coming with. '

That was a message from my little sister Kim. I felt as if tonnes of weights were added to my shoulders. Kim was something else, she was super annoying. She was the more accomplished sibling, with her face on the cover of every science and fashion magazine for her brilliance and beauty. Those two usually never mix well but she managed to make it happen. She graduated early and became a cancer researcher who had made major breakthroughs in the field. Together with her great understanding of physics the majority of the recent machines used to treat the illness were from her own ideas. To top that off she was apparently 'beautiful beyond human imagination' or whatever the magazines wanted to frame it as. But to me, she was just the same over competitive little sister who always wanted to one-up me in everything I did.

"From that face, I can tell you that your Mom was calling, and let me guess Kim is also included somewhere," Glenn said laughing.

I nodded slowly.

"Ah, Cy don't worry it is always more fun when they around here."

"That's because they are not your family."

"Wel yeah that's what makes it fun."He said laughing even harder.

"Any way you better head out before you miss your little date with Miranda."