Two reclined in his new chair. This was a new office too. Empty save the sparse furniture: a desk and a chair. Actually, all of this was new, down to the carpet. Except…
It wasn't the objects that were new. It was him, Agent Two of Hearts, officially on the job for one day. And in that one day, he had managed to disturb the most feared man in all of Deck, Kyntak. That blonde could be seriously scary if it occurred to him. That was concurred by all when he beat Six, the best agent known to mankind, in mock combat.
Mostly, he was a nice bloke who didn't want to do anything more than take apart and then put together a machine gun or lounge around in his office. Barring: he wasn't annoying Six of Hearts, the above mentioned and most terrifying Card in the Deck.
How was he to have known they were doing not so G-rated acts in the broom closet? He was just looking for disinfectant because there was a strange stain on the top of his desk. Two had been just in luck to see Kyntak pulling a pin on Six that should only be done on judo mats, definitely not in cleaning closets against walls. Two slammed the door and ran.
He had no voyeuristic tendencies.
Period.
It was awkward at the briefing afterward.
A bright light flashed from behind as the door opened. A muscular man walked in. His stride was heavy and purposeful, but almost seemed to float above the ground.
"Hello." The man took a seat on the edge on his desk.
Two assumed he was a Heart. The bulkiest ones were Five and Nine; Two couldn't be sure if the man was either.
"I heard you and Six weren't getting off on the right foot." The man gave him a sympathetic grin.
"You go that right." Two reclined in his chair.
The man chuckled. "Any big problems?"
Two thought for a second. "He's scary as hell." The man chuckled again.
"He isn't bad once you get to know him." Two found that hard to imagine. Very hard to imagine. All he had gotten so far was a death glare.
"I caught him in a closet with another bloke." Two didn't know what brought it on, but the man looked so familiar. He felt he could tell the man anything.
"Kyntak, eh?" Two nodded. "Well, I guess that means we can close the betting pool. Somebody owes me fifty credits."
Two was shell-shocked. "Betting pool?"
The man looked chipper at the thought of his money. "Yep." Then, he looked thoughtful. It was a sorrowful sort of thoughtful. The kind you got when your day went pear shaped, and then it started raining.
After a few moments, he perked up again. "That's right! I was supposed to tell you how to deal with Six." Two leaned in. Typically someone offered to help the new guy.
"Talk to him."
Two waited for more. When it didn't come, he went slack jawed. The man held up his hands.
"I mean it. Talk to him. I started talking to him in an elevator. Then, Kyntak hopped on and we just joked around. Sure we didn't know all the other Deck agents were kidnapped at the time, but how were we to know that?" The man shrugged as Two choked back a gasp.
"Anyway, we became good friends." A gasp and a million questions.
The first being: who are you and how can you refer to Six as a friend?
Seeing the expression on his face, the man laughed. It was a deep rumbling sound. He glanced at the clock. "Take my advice." He swept out of the room a faint smell of aftershave trailing in his wake.
Two sighed. He might as well try.
He remembered with a jolt why the face looked familiar.
The man was Agent Two of Hearts.
The former and deceased.
A good friend of Six's.
Number Two is of course about Two. The new and former.