Chapter Three
A cool breeze blew past, sending a slight shiver up Raven's spine. She groaned and pulled her black button-up jacket closer to her skin, trying desperately to fight off the cold. She stood outside of the now-familiar Clearer Base in Atlanta, waiting impatiently for her partner to join her. She had been working there for almost two years, and hated the work just as much as she had thought she would when she first got the job. The job was rotten year round, but it was at its worst during the cold months of Winter; especially since her partner had made a habit of being late.
"I swear if he does not get his ass out here I'm going back to the apartment." she mumbled, tightening the purple scarf wrapped snugly around her throat.
A few minutes passed in contemplative silence, Raven staring up at the massive Clearer Base building. It was several stories high, with large archways and high windows. It sat comfortably close to some of the other buildings in downtown Atlanta, and was painted such a dull gray that no one really took much of a notice of it. It was just as inconspicuous as the under appreciated workers within. In news reports, the battles were always reported in sickeningly graphic detail, and people ate it up. Raven was sure that her mother watched every night, hoping to catch a glance of her. However, she never did, and probably never would. No one wanted to hear about the before and after of the battle, the disgusting work that the Battlefield Clearers had to do. They only cared about the middle, so the media only pointed out the middle. Battlefield Clearers went by almost unnoticed, mere shadows feeding off of the blood and gore left after the skirmish.
Raven sighed when the sliding glass entrance to the building finally slid open and her partner finally joined her on the sidewalk. He was a tall, muscular man, with sun-tanned skin and a rough yet uniform appearance. His light brown hair was nearly buzz-cut, and his chocolate brown eyes reminded Raven of the chocolates that she often bought from her mother's bakery. He grinned down at her, dwarfing her with his height, and rolled his wide shoulders with a grunt. A large metal object rested against his shoulder, its handle clutched firmly in one of his massive hands.
"Sorry for the wait, Rave. Had to grab a new flamethrower, since you broke the last one." the man smirked deviously at her.
"I told you I was sorry, okay? I didn't mean to drop it. They should make them more durable anyway." Raven replied with a scowl, making the man chuckle.
"Yeah, that's true. Come on then, to the truck. We need to get to the airport. We'll be late."
"We wouldn't have to be late if someone didn't take an hour to get a flamethrower, eh, Granger?" Raven nudged his side with a grin.
"Not my fault it takes forever to get a new one approved. When are you going to start calling me by my first name? My name's Garret, you don't have to call me Granger anymore." Granger said, starting down the sidewalk.
"When you call me Raven instead of Rave, I'll use your first name instead of your last." Raven replied, jogging to catch up to him.
"I guess I'll always be Granger, then."
Raven chuckled at him and smiled. She had to admit, she liked him. It wasn't a romantic feeling, more of a sisterly affection. Granger kept her relatively happy, and liked to tell jokes to alleviate her often bitter mood. He knew she didn't like the job, and he wasn't exactly a fan either, but he wanted to at least attempt to make the first half of the job enjoyable. He often made games and challenges out of it, seeing who could clear the largest area in a certain amount of time or add the most leaves to the burn pile. There was nothing he could do to make the after-battle clean up fun, so he didn't even try. They did that part in reserved, mournful quiet, only speaking when it was necessary.
The two joked with each other in a way that the other Clearers in the base often confused for flirting as they walked toward the parking lot in the rear of the building. When they entered the lot they were met by several vehicles parked in the available spaces, most of them being trucks of some sort. Granger smirked and led Raven to his truck, a beat-up blue monster that still drove on the road. Some people preferred hover cars, but Granger liked his feet and wheels planted firmly on the ground; he was terrified of heights, though he would never admit it.
"Alright, get in. We need to get to the airport, and fast." Granger said calmly, putting the flamethrower in the back of the truck.
"Just don't get us pulled over again." Raven shot back at him as she climbed into her usual place in the passenger's seat.
"Hey, that only happened once." Granger cast her a playful glare as he jumped into the driver's seat and started the truck.
The old beast roared to life, its engine giving a sputtering purr as it rumbled. Raven sighed and looked out the window as they pulled out of the parking lot and started toward the airport. They had tossed their bags and equipment into the back, tying it down with orange rope so it wouldn't go flying out of the back when Granger sped over a bump. Granger drove as fast as he could without going over the speed limit, darting into traffic in a way that still made Raven's heart race, even after working with him for two years. They arrived at the airport about twenty minutes later, screeching into the parking lot and almost hitting another person's car as they looked for a parking space.
"Be careful! You almost took out that car!" Raven hissed, breathing heavily.
"Sorry, just trying to get here as soon as possible. We have to unload all of this stuff." Granger replied with an apologetic smile.
"I know, I know. Come on." Raven shoved the car door open and hopped out.
Granger followed her and let the gate of the back of the truck down. Raven reached up and took their bags, slinging them over her shoulders. She moved aside and waited for Granger as he unloaded their two flamethrowers, making sure each one was completely empty of fuel. Once he was satisfied with the condition of the tools he nodded at Raven, and they started toward the airport. They walked in through the front door and were immediately met by a group of assistants, all of them looking at the flamethrowers with concern. Raven smiled and pulled her Battlefield Clearer ID card out of her pocket and handing it to one of the assistants.
"We're here to board the sixth flight to Europe, for the Spanish-French battle in a few days." she said in a monotone, completely accustomed to the anxious stares of airline assistants.
"Hmm...alright. Follow us, we need to put your things in the cargo hold." the assistant with Raven's card said slowly, handing her card back to her.
The two Clearers nodded and followed the assistants through the crowded airport. People bustled about, lugging heavy bags behind them and trying to control rowdy children. They gave the Battlefield Clearers and their posse a wide berth, not wanting to come in contact with those given the responsibility of cleaning up places where death had occurred. Children pointed and whispered to their parents and siblings as Granger passed by with the flamethrowers over his shoulders, making a wide grin spread over his face.
"Stop smirking. They're pointing at the flamethrowers, not you." Raven whispered to him with a sly smile.
Granger wrinkled his nose at her, but said nothing; he would surely get her back for her comment later. They followed the assistants through a set of double doors into a long, empty hallway. They walked the hallway in silence, going through a set of doors on the other end and out into the sun. Several yards ahead of them sat a large airplane, a stairwell leading up into the cargo hold. Raven and Granger handed their weapons to the assistants, and they began loading them into the large white plane. The assistant who had taken Raven's card earlier stayed wit them, watching the others work.
"I'm going to need your tickets, if you please." he said amiably, holding his hand out toward them.
Granger began digging around in his pockets, pushing the contents around with a look of concentration spread across his face. His eyes widened in panic as he continued searching, apparently not finding anything. He cast Raven a startled look as she began to laugh at him.
"What are you laughing at? You're gonna have to do this job alone if I don't find that damned ticket. Where the hell is it?" he growled, digging deeper in his pockets.
Raven's grin widened even more at the sight of her panicked partner, and she pulled two tickets out of her pocket calmly.
"You asked me to hold on to your ticket so you wouldn't lose it." she explained, handing the tickets to the assistant.
The assistant smiled and tore the tickets in half, handing one end of each ticket to Raven.
"It looks like you might want to hold on to these. You'll need them to get on the return flight." he said with an amused smile before sweeping back into the building.
"Alright, come on. Let's go get on the plane." Granger said quickly, brushing past her; he was obviously embarrassed by his mistake.
Raven watched him for a moment before following him, climbing up another set of stairs into the interior of the plane. Granger had already found their row and was waiting for her to take the window seat so he could take his usual place by the aisle. Raven enjoyed looking out the window while they flew; Granger preferred to lean his head back and fall asleep. Raven took her place and pulled her PDA out of her pocket, pulling a large set of black headphones over her head. She started letting her music play in random order as Granger sat down next to her, immediately trying to nod off to sleep.
The plane remained otherwise empty until thirty minutes before the flight was scheduled to take off. Passengers began quickly boarding the plane, shooting quick glances at the Clearers before sitting down in their own places. Granger had fallen asleep by the time everyone was on the plane, and was snoring softly in his seat. Raven sighed and turned her music up, trying to drown out the sounds of the other people around her. She watched the clouds roll above them as the planes engines whirred to life. She could faintly hear the voice over the speakers instructing the passengers on proper flight conduct, but she ignored them; she had taken dozens of similar flights before.
Soon enough the plane shook and began to travel down the runway. The motion startled Granger awake, and one glance out of the window was enough to drain the color from his face. He quickly looked away as the plane lifted off of the ground and rose up into the sky. Raven chuckled softly to herself and let her attention return to the sky outside. An hour passed before watching the clouds and ground pass by started to bore her. She sighed and leaned back, falling asleep herself within a few minutes, the music still blaring in her ears.
The feeling of someone shaking her roughly startled Raven from her sleep. She groaned and rubbed her eyes, sitting up and turning to look at who had woken her. Granger grinned back at her, nodding toward the window. She looked outside to see that they had landed; she had slept through the entire flight.
"We're here, come on. They want us to go unload our stuff first." Granger whispered, pulling her headphones away so she could hear him.
"Hmm, fine." Raven mumbled grumpily, standing and stretching.
She and Granger walked carefully down the aisle and down the stairs, Granger's legs wobbling a bit when his feet finally touched the ground again. An assistant took them into the Spanish-European Airport, where they stood in exhausted silence and waited for their things to be brought to them. Several minutes passed before their things were finally brought to them, and they thanked the assistants and started toward the exit.
"Do you have the keys to our rental van?" Raven asked, stuffing her headphones into her jacket pocket.
"Yeah, those I remembered." Granger replied, jingling the keys in her face.
"Good. Let's hurry up and get to the hotel so we can get some sleep. I'm exhausted."
"How can you be tired? You slept the whole flight."
"Jet lag, I guess. Did you not sleep the whole time?"
"I was awake for an hour before we landed."
Raven smiled and patted him on the shoulder. Granger snorted and shook her hand away, walking briskly through the exit doors as they slid open. They walked out into the parking lot and looked around for the familiar blue van that was always rented to Battlefield Clearers. It was full of all of the equipment they would need for their jobs, except for the flamethrowers. The flamethrowers were assigned to them specifically, so they had to bring their own.
Granger smiled and nudged Raven's side as he spotted the van, parked in the far corner of the parking lot. They set off at a light jog toward the van, both eager to check into their hotel and get some sleep. When they got to the professional looking van Granger immediately unlocked it and opened the side doors. Raven shoved their bags into the back seats as Granger sauntered to the back of the van and opened the back doors. All of their rented equipment hung on the walls of the interior of the van in neat rows, looking as if it had all been cleaned recently.
"Good, these are in good condition. Remember that crap set we got in China?" Raven asked, looking back at the inside of the van from one of the back seats.
"Yeah, how could I forget? Worst set of tools I've ever seen, and I've been doing this for almost five years now." Granger replied with a chuckle, hanging the flamethrowers up in their places.
"I know. I'm glad we got good ones this time."
"You usually get pretty good equipment from European Clearers Bases. They're known for their hospitality."
"If the Europeans are known for hospitality, why do they fight with each other so much? I think we've been here at least fourteen times."
"If little fights prevent all-out war, then I'll accept the little fights for what they are."
Raven sighed and nodded, climbing up into the driver's seat. Granger walked around and opened the driver's side door, raising an eyebrow at her. She smiled innocently, holding her hand out for the keys.
"What do you think you're doing?" Granger asked with a suspicious look.
"I'm going to drive us to the hotel." Raven said with a cheesy smile.
"No, I'm driving. I always drive. Move over."
Raven grumbled lowly to herself and moved over into the passenger's seat, letting Granger hop into the place where she had been. Granger started the van up and pulled out of the parking lot, driving to the hotel within a few minutes. Raven checked them in to the hotel they usually stayed at while Granger checked on the equipment and locked up the van. Granger joined her after a few minutes, looking tired and a little grumpy.
"Did you get everything?" he asked.
"Yeah, I got it. Come on, we're on the second floor." Raven replied with a small smile, shoving Granger's bag into his arms.
Granger grunted and followed her to an elevator, which carried them slowly up to the second floor. They meandered down a long hallway, finally finding their room at the very end of the corridor. Raven shoved the card key into the slot in the door, then pulled it out violently. With a sharp click, the door unlocked and swung open, revealing the room inside. It was a decently sized hotel room, with two twin-sized beds, a mini-fridge, coffee machine, and a large flat-screen TV inside. A door in the wall led to a small bathroom, and the window on the opposite wall overlooked the dark parking lot.
"Nice place. Say what you want about the government, Rave, but you've gotta admit they get us nice rooms when we're on assignment." Granger said happily, dropping his bag onto one of the beds.
"Meh." Raven gave a noncommittal shrug and dropped her bag next to the other bed, letting herself fall onto it sleepily.
"I'm gonna go take a shower. Need to use the restroom first?" Granger asked.
"Nah, I can wait. Go ahead." Raven mumbled, closing her eyes.
Granger smiled softly to himself and walked into the restroom, carrying clean clothes with him and shutting the door quietly behind him. Raven sighed and relaxed, trying not to think about the reason that she was at the hotel. She just wanted to relax and sleep for now. After a few minutes she got her wish, sinking into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Alright, Rave, I'm done." Granger opened the door, pausing when he saw that she had fallen asleep.
A small smile crossed his face at the sight of his partner, curled up around a pillow and snoring ever so softly. He chuckled to himself and eased onto the other bed, looking out the window. It was almost pitch black outside, the head and tail lights of cars just pinpricks in the darkness. He sighed and turned his back on the window, allowing sleep to drag him into its cold embrace as well.
