Susan sat down across the woman, not daring to take her eyes off her. They were sitting at some bar in Splatsville. Susan had walked past it a couple of times but had never gone in. She didn't drink, never saw the point of it.
The barman came over to them. "The usual?" he asked the strange woman. Apparently, she was a regular.
"Yes," the woman replied. The man wrote something down and glanced at Susan. "And you?"
"Just water, please," she said abruptly. The man nodded and scribbled something down. "Coming right up," he said and turned away.
Now that they were alone, the two women sat there in silence. It was like they were waiting for the other to say something.
Susan had followed the woman here. After the incident in the desert, they'd driven all the way to Splatsville. When they'd arrived, Susan had followed her here.
Susan's stomach was still in a knot, and questions burned at her tongue. She wanted to ask so much, but couldn't muster up the courage to do so. Finally, the woman spoke.
"You're quite the fighter. Jumping out of cover like that, drawing their fire. Not many people are brave enough to do so. Nor are they that stupid."
Her voice was kind of muffled under the helmet. It was very difficult to get a read on her. She leaned over the table as she spoke.
"One of those shots could've hit you. Or, I could've just waited for them to kill you and then thrown that bomb."
The knot in Susan's stomach tightened. The way this woman talked made her uneasy. But Susan tried to keep her cool and answered in the most confident voice she could muster.
"Well you didn't," she said, her eyes staring where she thought the woman's eyes were. "Why didn't you?"
The woman chuckled and leaned back in her seat, but didn't answer. The barman came over to them and handed them their drinks. Susan only now realized how thirsty she was. She put the glass up to her lips and swallowed a big gulp of water. The ice-cold drink was so refreshing.
The woman took a sip of her own drink. Susan put down the glass and took a deep breath. "So, what do you want from me?" she asked.
The woman tilted her head, like she was evaluating Susan.
"I want to discuss something with you," she said. "About a job."
Susan's heart froze. A job?
"What kind of job?" she answered as calmly as she could. The woman chuckled and leaned over the table.
"I've been keeping an eye on you for a while now. You and your friend, Anna. You both have qualities that I am looking for."
Susan's mind was racing. "What is this?" she thought. "Is this some shady business? I'll have to be careful."
Susan cleared her throat and asked again. "What kind of job?"
The woman said nothing, but began removing her helmet. Startled, Susan didn't know what to do. The woman placed the black helmet on the table so that Susan could finally see her face.
In front of her was a woman older than Susan, with white hair and battle-hardened eyes. Her skin was smooth, apart from a large scar on her chin. There was something familiar about that face. A far-off memory began stirring at the back of Susan's mind. A memory from before the flood. Hold on…
"Wait a minute," Susan murmured. Then, her eyes widened as she remembered who this woman was. But before Susan could say anything, the woman placed a finger on her lips.
"Calm down," Marie said calmly. "There's no need to make a big fuss over it."
Stunned, Susan tried to form words, but couldn't find any that matched what she wanted to convey. Marie smirked and took another sip of her drink. After a few moments, Susan could utter one single word.
"Marie?!" she whispered. "Wha— how—"
Marie smiled and put down her glass. "Yes, it's me. Glad to see at least someone remembers me."
Susan needed a few moments to keep herself together. When she'd finally calmed down, she continued in a hushed voice.
"What are you doing here? What happened? You just disappeared after the flood."
Sorrow spread across Marie's face, and she looked out the window. "My life became difficult after the flood, like with a lot of people. I just sort of moved on. Besides, being an idol in a world like this is hard."
Based on Marie's tone, this subject was pretty hard for her, so Susan decided not to ask more. Marie looked back at Susan, her expression more serious.
"As for why I'm here, I want to talk to you about a job."
Susan moved closer to the table, her interest piqued.
"I know this might be a lot to take in, so just ask me if you want me to clarify some things."
Susan nodded. This was kind of exciting. Marie took a deep breath before she continued.
"During the last couple of years, I alongside many others, have been a part of a secret organization. I won't go into much detail here, but before the flood, we specialized in protecting Inkopolis, either from the Octarians, or any other threat."
Susan raised an eyebrow. Was she serious? This wasn't some prank, was it?
Noticing Susan's doubtful expression, Marie smiled. "I know it's very hard to believe, but just hear me out for a second," she said and lifted her hand. "Do you remember the statue that emerged from the ocean near Inkopolis seven years ago?"
Susan scratched her head. Actually, now that she thought about it, it did seem familiar.
"Yeah, I remember," Susan said after a while. "It just popped out of the ocean one day, it was all over the news. I remember a lot of theories about what really happened."
Marie nodded. "The government didn't want to make much of a scene about it, so they made us keep our mouths shut. We were related to that incident."
Susan's eyes widened, but she decided not to interrupt. Marie sighed as she spoke. "The day Inkopolis sank, we helped defend the city. Each member of our team commanded a squad defending some of the most important locations in Inkopolis. We did what we could, but as you know, we failed to defend our home."
Susan looked down as the memories of that day came flooding back. Looking back, she did remember a group of masked people taking charge of some squads. But the memory was hazy, so she couldn't recall any details.
"After the flood, the world turned upside-down for all of us. We had to stay alive while also sorting out all the chaos that broke out. Once things calmed down and people started moving to Splatsville, we could organize ourselves again. Nowadays, we just keep the peace within, and sometimes outside the borders. The government knows about us and advert their eyes. As long as we don't cause any major problems, we're free to do whatever we want. The police can't deal with all the stuff that's going on, so that's why we're here."
Susan couldn't believe what she was hearing. It couldn't be. Could it? She gulped and spoke up.
"And what do you want with me?"
Marie smiled. "We've been looking to expand our team. I've been scouting for candidates, and after watching you and Anna for a while, I think the two of you could make pretty good agents."
Susan opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't find any words.
"I know this is a lot to take in," Marie said. "Just ask me anything."
After a few moments, Susan found the words she was looking for. "What would I need to do for this job?"
Marie stared at the ceiling and began counting on her fingers.
"Well, you'd have to go through some basic training, although I think you're more than capable. You'd have to go on various missions, either scouting, combat, or espionage. There is some paperwork included, but I don't think you'd have to do much of that. By accepting this job, you'd be agreeing to all of the above: Risking your own life, possibility of injuries, potential of being kidnapped, having to fight for your life, and much more."
Marie looked up and was met with Susan's terrified expression. She laughed and placed a hand on Susan's shoulder. "Relax, I know it sounds dangerous, but you're more than capable to do this! Besides, life-threatening missions are very rare. Not much has been going on lately. We mostly hang out at our headquarters, waiting for orders. That, or we patrol around the city. That's all."
Susan nodded hesitantly and began evaluating it in her head. "It doesn't sound that bad. It might be risky at times, but I risk my life daily."
"How much does it pay?" she asked and looked at Marie, who smiled at the question.
"Well, each agent gets one to two million a month, depending on their position. Plus, we get bonuses for every risky mission we do."
Susan's eyes widened, her jaw touching the floor. A million?! Monthly?! And if Anna was there as well, that meant they'd get at least two million monthly!
While Susan was processing what she'd just heard, Marie finished her drink and leaned back. "So, you in?"
Susan wanted nothing more than to say yes, but tried to calm herself. She shouldn't rush into this.
"I'd love to, but I'll have to talk to Anna about it first," she said. "I think she wants to have an opinion on this."
Marie nodded. "Understandable."
Then, she reached for her phone and frowned when she looked at the screen.
"You'll have to excuse me, but I have to answer this," she said and stood up. Susan nodded and watched Marie walk down a corridor. She exhaled and closed her eyes. Keeping her composure was really difficult.
She looked at the TV hanging on the wall. Maybe watching something might calm her down.
A fancy logo was flashing on the screen. It took her a few moments to recognize the logo. It was the new idol group, Musical Ocean.
In the aftermath of the flood, the entire idol industry went down, like most other businesses at the time. So, once things finally began calming down, this new idol group emerged. Musical Ocean.
What differentiated them from past idol groups was the number of members. While other groups usually had two members, Musical Ocean had six. Each member represented a different music genre.
The logo disappeared and a man appeared on-screen. "Hey, wassup Splatsville!" he shouted and waved at the camera. "How yall doing tonight?!"
The camera panned out and revealed a woman in a black dress. She smiled and began addressing the audience. "Hello everyone, and welcome back to A Night in Splatsville! This is Johanna here and I'll be the host tonight!"
Johanna was taller than the other members of the group. She represented jazz, and her voice was straight fire. Out of all the members, Susan had always liked her the most.
The man next to her was Kyle. He represented rap, and was usually dressed in jeans and T-shirts. He was always pretty energetic and was usually the face of the group.
The camera moved back to show the other members, who sat comfortably on a bunch of couches. They smiled and waved at the camera, all greeting the audience.
On the couch next to Johanna, sat Jennifer, or Jenny. She was dressed in long, yellow joggers and a black hoodie. She represented hip-hop.
She and Johanna began talking to each other, but Susan didn't really listen. She was just trying to keep herself distracted.
The camera zoomed in on the man at the end of the room, who was laughing at something Jenny had said. That was Walter, who represented rock. He didn't sing, but was a master with the guitar.
The other members were Akari and Camille. Akari represents J-pop, and was dressed in a cute, blue dress. She was the smallest of the bunch, and really cheerful.
Camille on the other hand represented opera. She had the voice of an angel and often dressed in a white dress. She was the only one who matched Johanna's height.
Susan didn't watch them actively but had seen some short bits from their podcasts. They were fine, but nowhere near as good as Squid Sisters or Off the Hook. But their music was pretty fire, that much was obvious.
"You a fan?" a voice said behind her and Susan was ripped out of her thoughts. Marie stood behind her, a grin on her face.
"Well, not particularly," Susan answered and looked back at the screen. "I mean, I like them, and their music is great, but I just don't get the same feeling from them I got from past idol groups. I don't know, maybe I'm just too old for this stuff."
"You're never too old to enjoy an idol group," Marie said and sat back down. Susan shrugged and finished her glass of water.
"So, you accept?" Marie continued and Susan nodded."
"I'll have to talk to Anna about it, but I'm interested," she said. Marie smiled and reached into her pocket.
"Call me once you're ready," she said and handed Susan a card. A phone number was scribbled on it. "We'll agree on a location to meet and then I'll take you to tryouts and evaluation. You don't have to stress it, we aren't necessarily looking for the best of the best, just for those who can get the job done."
Susan nodded and the two of them shook hands. After that, they paid the barman and strode out. Just as they were about to say goodbye, Susan remembered something.
"Hey, what's this group called?" Susan asked. "I'd like to know what group I'm going to work for."
Marie smiled. "We're called The New Squidbeak Splatoon," she answered. The name stirred something at the back of Susan's mind, but she couldn't place her finger on it. She nodded and they shook hands again.
"I'll call once I talk to Anna about this," she said. Marie nodded and turned around. "Then I'll see you soon. Stay fresh kiddo."
Then, she walked down the street, disappearing into the crowd. Susan put on her backpack and walked through the city in a daze. She couldn't believe what had just happened. It felt so unreal.
Susan tried to clear her head. "I still have to sell today's load."
She shook her head to bring herself back to reality and walked on into the night.