Chapter 13- Lament

"Get ready, we're almost there." said Richard, the nonchalance from moments ago missing from his voice.

Thomas knew exactly why. All three of them had been hearing a consistent racquet of noises for five minutes, and the noises were getting louder. Shouts, crying. The noises of panic.

As they rounded a corner, the source of the sounds became evident. In front of them loomed a run-down Victorian house, surrounded by what seemed to be the entire strength of another guild. Vehicles and people were scattered around the house. On the doorstep sat a crying and disheavelled woman, flanked by two girls comforting her.

"Here we go," muttered Jake under his breath, as Richard brought the car to a halt and killed the engine.

The trio stepped out of the car and moved towards the crowd. The UGARP sticker on the car lead to a few wary looks being shot their way, but they were met with Richard's cold, hard eyes.

As they neared the lady, they were intercepted by a tall, well built man, with eyes -as Thomas noticed right away- as cold as Richard's.

"What do you want?" asked the man, with a certain amount of suppressed anger.

Richard stepped forward. "We're from the Special Division. Guild 289914. I'm the Commanding Officer. We received information about an old woman getting attacked. I'm assuming that's her." He said, pointing to the lady on the doorstep.

"Well, arrived a little too quick haven't you?"

Richard considered the man, sized him up. The tone and the fierce look the man held told Richard that this situation was going to escalate.

"I guess I drove a little too slow. ", offered Richard, trying to avoid conflict. "I think you should get aside so we can see her."

When Richard stepped to the right to get past him, he blocked his path again. "And I think you should get the hell out of here." he said, the anger in him slowly unfolding with each word. "What's done is done, there is nothing you can do now!"

"Look, son. We're shorthanded, this whole situation isn't easy for anyone. Getting hot isn't solving anything. Now, would you mind getting aside so we can get anything done." said, Richard, not breaking eye contact.

"What exactly do you plan to get done?!"

Richard took a deep breadth. Behind him, Thomas was growing impatient. There was a person who needed help, and they were being stalled by a guy who had decided that they were the perfect people to vent to. "This case will be handled by The Green Hounds after we hand it to them, before that we have to help that woman, get her on her feet, file paperwork."

The man looked at him in utter disbelief. "Are you serious?" he said in a furious whisper, not expecting an answer. "WE are THE GODDAMN GREEN HOUNDS ! "

Every head turned in their direction.

"Your shitty Special Division hasn't gotten ANYTHING DONE ! " He stopped to breathe. "That woman's husband was one of our own! AND NOW HE'S DEAD ! The Anarchists left his f****** head in the master bedroom ! And it could have been prevented if YOU GUYS COULD HAVE COME HERE FASTER! "

Richard stood silently. Whatever he had to say was drowned out by guilt.

"For god's sake," the man said incredulously. "We have been doing your jobs for months. And the first time we require assistance, you show up thirty minutes late. And.." He stopped to take in a deep breath. "And when you do get here, your orders are to hand over the case to us? What a joke! What a f****** joke!"

Richard was dumbfounded. The thought that the request might have been from The Green Hounds themselves, had never crossed his mind. Moreover, the woman's husband was dead.

Unexpectedly, Jake stepped forward, and spoke in a voice so calm it seemed magical. "Listen, brother. These are tough times, and I know we haven't been very swift at dealing with the majority of the present issues. But now, that woman behind you, she needs aid. If you truly want to help her, move aside. If you don't, then we'll turn around and leave. The choice is yours."

The man's anger seemed to swell up, and then, when it appeared to Thomas that he might just punch Jake in the face, he breathed out, and with a resigned tone to his voice, said, "Do whatever you want." and moved aside.

'About damn time.' thought Thomas as they made their way to the doorsteps of the house.

The next part of the hour passed with the trio filing reports , asking questions here and there.

It was an Anarchist raid, and the woman's husband - a high ranking member of the Green Hounds, as they later learned- had reported illegal Anarchist activities a few days prior. The attack was a way of ensuring that never happened again.

When they were inside the house to assess the damage, they decided unanimously to not give the Master bedroom a visit.

The rest of the work went swiftly, with an underlying scent of shame, and for Thomas, anger over their own incompetence.

Jake did most of the talking, and finally, after what felt like an eternity, they walked out of there with their heads hung low and returned in silence.

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"Why the long faces?" was the first thing Roddy said as they walked in.

"Just a bad day." replied Thomas, trying to evade the topic in front of him.

"Someone dead, I guess." Roddy said, and it caught Thomas off-guard. But it made sense. Everyone in that room had lost something, why would the kid be an exception.

"Yes," said Jake, when Thomas took too long to speak. "It was the woman's husband. We were too late, poor guy had already been sent to heaven by then."

Roddy sat silent for a moment, and then, making a half-hearted attempt at a joke, said "You're sure it was heaven?"

"He was a priest. " The words came out of Richard's mouth abruptly, like they were waiting there for his teeth to separate just enough for them to flow out.

And then, as abruptly as he had spoken, he turned around and walked out the door with hurried, almost panicked steps.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jess raising an eyebrow towards Jake, who just shrugged in response.

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"Shit would taste better than this." said Jake, exasperated.

"Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you?" replied Vanessa instantly. They were feasting upon some sandwiches that Vanessa had prepared with the limited supplies they had. "If you wanna blame anyone, blame that kid!" She pointed at Roddy.

"Woah, wait a minute. I told you like FIFTEEN times that I can't grow vegetables well with my power. "

"How hard can tomatoes really be?!"

Enrique cleared his throat. "Speaking of hard, I hear we'll be having training sessions after some time."

This seemed to catch everybody's attention. "You mean, they'll teach us how to use our powers and stuff?" asked Vanessa.

"I can't say for sure."

"I wonder how they'll handle my "Heaven Piercing Sting"."

Thomas almost choked on his sandwich.

"What?"

Thomas quickly grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it down, and spoke as soon as he could. " THAT'S your name for it?" And then he chuckled lightly.

"Huh? Isn't it cool? " asked Roddy, with such genuine confusion that it finally make Thomas burst out laughing.

The group talked about various things. About each other's powers and the mission's to come. About Vanessa's terrible cooking. About Robin always shooting Enrique with her Power And when the topic shifted to the events of the day, Enrique stood up and said, "Alright, I am going to get everyone some coffee, its getting late." And then he went out the door.

"Thomas?" said Robin.

"I've been wondering. You really got a jackpot for a Power didn't you."

"Ummm...what?"

"Think about it." she said resting her head on her right hand. "You can probably shoot bullets like me when you get better with your power. You make virtually any weapon with that power. You can cover yourself with it and act like you're Enrique. "

"Can he do this though?" interrupted Jake. He pointed his index finger upwards and generated a tiny spark.

In response, Thomas covered his own hand with Darkness and grabbed Jake's finger. Jake created another spark, stronger this time, but it failed to do anything to Thomas.

Thomas gave a coy smile. "Better keep your head low, Jake. Your sparks have nothing on me."

"Oh?" Jake reached with his leg, and when he felt his foot touch Thomas', he sent a jolt of electricity through him.

The effect was instant and Thomas almost jumped up from his seat.

"Please don't do that again." he said weakly.

A few minutes later, Enrique was back with the coffee, which he swiftly distributed between everyone.

"Where's mine?" Roddy finally asked when he realised there was none left for him.

"You drink coffee? I thought you were too young." Enrique replied with a shrug.

"Here. You can have mine." offered Thomas, pushing his cup towards him.

"No, it's fine."

In reply Thomas just pushed the cup between Roddy's fingers. "Take it, I don't even like coffee." The kid acquiesced.

He did like coffee though, he thought, giving it up to make a kid happy won't hurt.

They all talked a bit more, and when the day was over they were all guided to the dormitories assigned to members of the Special Division by Richard.

"Just head inside that building. You'll find a man named Jorge, tell him you're from the S.D., he'll know what to do." he said as they reached a few isolated buildings.

Richard's face was still pale, but he seemed to have recovered a little. His usual confidence still hadn't returned.

When everyone else had entered the dorms, Thomas spared one last glance at Richard, only to find out that he had disappeared once again.

He sighed weakly, and when he turned Robin stood in front of him.

"Any idea where he went?" Thomas asked before she could speak.

"Not in the slightest."