Split up

Creak—

"Man, that old hag was hilarious."

Syd Barrett stepped back into the house mid-conversation with Toshi—but both of them froze as soon as they saw what was happening in the living room.

Sera and Roxxy were sitting side by side, chatting comfortably, with Sera gently holding Roxxy's arm like two close friends.

"…?"

Thud!

Syd shut the door behind him.

Both girls noticed the new arrivals. Roxxy quickly broke off the conversation.

"…They've already come to pick up Betty, haven't they?"

She asked calmly.

"..."

"Yeah. All cleaned up and every trace destroyed too…"

Syd answered before heading off into the kitchen.

"When did you two get all chummy?"

Toshi tried to join in, walking over to sit next to Roxxy, but she blocked the chair with her foot and gestured silently to one further away.

"..."

The Japanese guy obediently took the distant seat with a sulky face.

"What kinda big bros are you guys? Letting Roxxy wear the wrong shade of foundation all this time?"

Sera threw a disapproving glance at Toshi.

"What? Do we look like people who use cosmetics?"

"..."

Fair enough…

It wasn't surprising that Roxxy didn't know as much as Sera—she was surrounded by a bunch of men, after all.

"But you can shapeshift, right? Surely you've had at least one mission where you had to pretend to be a woman."

"Doesn't mean I'm an expert like you. No one here is, probably. Well… maybe Jody might know something… but she's still out cleaning the garage with Mickey."

The Garage.

Hissss…

Jody hosed down bloodstains while Mickey packed up chairs and equipment used on Betty, returning everything to its proper place.

"Mickey…"

"?"

"All of you… are you the same age?"

"More or less. I think you're probably the oldest out of all of us, actually."

"How long have you guys known each other?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"I've known Syd since I was twelve. Just met Toshi about four years ago."

"How'd you guys even meet? Did your agency do the matchmaking?"

"Different stories for each of us. Can't say."

"So how did you end up in this organization?"

"..."

Jody noticed Mickey pause for a second.

"If it's not something you wanna talk about, that's okay—"

"I know…"

He said quietly.

"But… it's not like that."

"So how did it happen?"

"Syd brought me in."

"Him? Don't tell me—since you were twelve?"

Mickey didn't answer. But Jody could guess.

"Your agency doesn't have an age limit?"

"Intelligence doesn't depend on age."

"…True."

Jody turned off the hose and started winding it up.

"What about those 'Masters' of yours? Who are they?"

"..."

"They're the bosses."

"…And how do they decide who gets assigned to what job?"

"We've got a compatibility index. If two agents have a high compatibility score, their success rate increases. So they get paired together more often."

Mickey was carefully choosing what he could and couldn't say.

"It's like a game."

"Kinda."

He continued,

"We also look at 'power types.' Everyone here's stealth-based."

"Power types? You guys have categories?"

"Yeah."

Mickey finished cleaning up and waited for Jody to finish winding the hose.

"What types are there?"

"Can't say. Not sure what I'm allowed to disclose… sorry."

"That's okay…"

"But I can tell you this—your power's pretty badass."

"Oh, come on… it's not that great."

Jody finished putting away the hose.

"So, your compatibility score with Syd must be really high, huh?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Well, you two get along like a married couple already."

"Heh…"

Mickey crossed his arms, chuckling.

"But if it's that high, and you said high compatibility means higher mission success rates… then what we're doing right now must be pretty damn important, huh? Otherwise, the Masters wouldn't have sent you."

"..."

This woman… really can't be underestimated.

Her mannerisms reminded Mickey of someone else…

"It's just speculation… At first, we were told to look for the Disk. Now, this power-enhancing drug's been added to the mix. See?"

"Yeah, good point…"

Jody folded her arms.

"And this compatibility score—what's it measured in? Like success ratio of missions together?"

"Not exactly. But it's a percentage. Tells us how well we mesh with another agent."

"What's Syd's number?"

"..."

Mickey paused for a moment.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"I just wanna see if it matches what I've guessed."

"What's your guess?"

"…Eight percent."

Mickey's eyebrows shot up.

"…That's close."

"How close?"

"Five percent."

"Not surprised…"

Jody gave a small smile.

"Is he that difficult to work with? Toshi made it sound like he was the worst."

"Toshi said that?"

"Yeah."

Mickey thought for a moment…

If the Yakuza clown spilled that, it must not be a big secret.

"Yeah, he's not wrong. Syd's always been like that. You've seen it yourself."

"True…"

"I think he's mellowed out, honestly."

"He used to be worse?"

"Worse. Way worse."

"..."

"Everyone in the organization knows—Syd Barrett would only step aside for one thing: a dog turd in his path."

"Seriously?"

"Everyone agrees. He's a certified asshole. No one wants to work with him unless they have to. But because his skills are as sharp as his mouth, people are willing to overlook the rest."

"So he's really that good?"

"He's got one of the highest mission success rates in the whole org."

"Oh… so when people say he's a top agent, they're not kidding."

"Exactly. That's why I said—you should be glad he picked you to join this team."

"Same goes for you, right? You're probably always by his side."

"…Not really."

"Oh, quit being modest."

Jody flicked his shoulder.

"Syd doesn't even have powers—and he's still this crafty. Imagine what he'd be like if he did…"

"..."

"..."

"...."

"…Yeah. You're right."

Mickey finally admitted.

"And you? What's your compatibility score?"

"…20%..."

"Is that considered bad?"

"…Well…"

Mickey turned his head away, clearly not wanting to talk about it—and Jody didn't press.

"What about the others?"

"Toshi's is 75%."

"Whoa, that's really high."

"It started at 85, but the more he got to know me, the more it dropped…"

"Ouch. And Roxxy?"

"Roxxy's at 8%."

"Figures. Real siblings through and through…"

—

When the two of them walked back into the house, they found everyone gathered around the center table.

"All right, we're done for today. Meet back here tomorrow at 11 AM. Sound good?"

Syd took a swig of strawberry milk.

"Cool. I'm out."

Sera grabbed her bag and things, immediately jumping up as soon as she saw Mickey standing within a 3-meter radius of her.

As she briskly passed Jody and Mickey, she threw a quick glance at Jody.

"See you, Jody."

"Yeah."

Then she flicked a sharp glare at Mickey—daggers from the side-eye—before continuing toward the door.

But she came to an abrupt stop when Mickey casually snagged her bag, halting her in her tracks.

"Hey—! What the hell? Let go!"

She snapped.

"You going alone, Sera?"

Mickey asked, not looking at her, but at the others.

He kept hold of her bag while she looked seconds away from launching a flying knee at his head.

"Yeah."

"And who's your assigned escort? Someone should be shadowing her."

"I'm not getting myself tangled up with that," Syd replied.

"What did you say, jackass?!"

"You're already breaking protocol on day one, Syd."

"Whatever. Worst case, I get a slap on the wrist. Besides, Emo Girl's still alive and kicking, isn't she?"

Mickey and Syd volleyed their back-and-forth banter like a well-practiced routine.

"I don't need any of you! Bunch of thugs! The only ones allowed in my room are Roxxy and Jody!"

"Roxxy's staying here to work. And I don't trust you, Emo. What if you turn my sister into a depressed weirdo like you?"

"You son of a—!"

Sera barked furiously while trying to yank her bag free. She even used her nails, but Mickey's grip didn't budge.

The guys exchanged glances—and with a single nod, they instantly understood who they were sending to escort her home.

Jody could already see the wicked grin forming between their gazes.

Poor Sera…

She's gonna need a sedative tonight.

"This is gonna be the most extreme trust-building experience any human being has ever had," Toshi commented.

Eventually, Mickey released her bag.

"Ew! Get your grubby hands off my stuff!"

Sera immediately pulled out tissues to wipe down her bag in disgust.

"Let's go home."

Mickey said.

"….."

She froze.

"What?"

"Let's go home, Sera."

"Home? What home?"

"Your home."

"No! Absolutely not."

"I've been assigned to escort you."

"Screw your rules! You are not welcome in my room!"

"And if you get attacked, then what?"

"..."

"Who's gonna save you if you get ambushed?"

"..."

Sera paused. Her emotions were still high, but now her logic was catching up.

"To be fair," Toshi chimed in, "Syd was supposed to be in charge of escorting both you and Jody. But I think he's… turning a blind eye to you, lol."

Sera didn't answer, clearly trying to come up with a rebuttal.

"So?" Mickey crossed his arms, waiting.

"…I'd fight."

Her voice was small and sulky, like a kid who just broke a vase and got caught.

"Then what—get drowned in a toilet?"

"…."

Jody thought to herself, That shut her up pretty fast.

"I'd just bluff some fake info, duh. Dumb question, Mannix."

"And get executed on the spot like a stray dog?"

"...…"

No matter how she tried to spin it, Mickey had an answer for everything.

Especially after that test he put her through—it was solid proof.

She hated to admit it, but she knew… If that test hadn't been Mickey's doing, she might've been killed on the spot no matter what answer she gave.

"…And what about back at the school? What if the enemy had done their homework and caught you slipping? You think—"

"UGH! I get it, OKAY?! Let's go already, Mannix!"

Sera stormed off like an angry cat, slamming Syd's door behind her.

BAM!

"…."

"….."

PFFT—

Toshi burst out laughing on the spot, clutching his stomach.

Mickey grinned, turned back to the guys, and they all traded high-fives like a bunch of victorious trolls.

Jody just shook her head with a resigned sigh.

"Should've seen this coming."