Background music suggestion: Led Zeppelin: Tangerine
Chapter 2 - The Call
I would stand in line for this
There's always room in life for this
- Moby: Extreme Ways
...
Still alive.
The thought passed through Ian's mind every single morning. Even when he was hungover like that morning. Or perhaps especially on a morning like that. For a brief moment he concentrated on his heartbeat and enjoyed how organic it felt. They had talked of the experience, as they called it, that had led to him having his heart back. For both of them, their last memory had definitely been in the Yaris - for Jo it was the moment before the impact and for Ian the moment he had pulled the trigger. He sometimes had nightmares of that moment. No wonder, he thought. Their shared conclusion had been that they could not explain what had happened, so they just took what they got and ran with it.
They settled in Rock Falls. First they thought about renting a flat in the town but soon they got the idea of buying the trailer. The dealer had seemed extremely pleased to get rid of it.
"Cool, we're going to be trailer trash," Jo had said excitedly.
"That thrash," Ian had continued equally excited.
They made sure the trailer had a proper heating system but the rest they were sure they could fix. The past winter in the trailer had been memorable. Somehow the experience had heightened all their senses. The air felt fresher. The bass sounded louder. The skin felt warmer. They thought it was the best winter of their lives. The trailer was set in a really nice spot, in a small forest opening close to a cliff. Erik took them hunting and they barbecued the small game they caught. Now that it had been turning into spring, it had been even nicer. They had actually been talking of building a cabin much like Erik's, sometime later. Also, they had written songs of their experiences, in the true Agents of Metal style.
Agents of Metal had released some of the songs online which had lead to surprising consequences, one of them being Mitsuko. Soon after the new year had begun her pink seventies Volkswagen had driven out of nowhere to their refuge in the woods. Mitsuko was twenty-something, into J-metal and a hacker. Her parents had been Japanese scientists that SCEPTRE had tried to recruit, and not succeeding in this, they had been killed. Mitsuko had been a teenager and had been then raised by her grandmother in Canada. Now she was a vagabond. She asked if she could stay with them for a while and since she had her own lodging, the van, they allowed this. Of course they discussed whether Mitsuko could be a SCEPTRE spy but after hanging out with her they decided to trust their gut. Her story also seemed to match with what they could see from the SCEPTRE records they had. Also, what happened with Sarge had shown anyone could be compromised - there was a fine line between caution and paranoia.
The other direct consequence of releasing their music was that they suddenly started getting messages from a handful of Agents around the world, These were ones that not even the veteran Agents had known of. They definitely could have used their help in the previous missions.
Their intel suggested that SCEPTRE had been crippled but not entirely wiped out.
Ian could hear the discussion from the other end of the trailer. It was definitely Jo and Mitsuko. They often drank coffee before he woke up. But there was something off about their discussion. It was usually somehow cheery but now the tone was serious. Soon he could hear footsteps and Jo appeared.
"Ian, we need to go look at something."
Jo's tone had made something sink inside of him. Soon they walked across the small clearing to Mitsuko's van. The inside of the van was extremely minimalistic, mostly grey and black. She had three sleek black laptops. The thin futon she slept on that was rolled up in one corner.
"I intercepted some strange messages in the networks SCEPTRE had been using. They had been quiet for months but not long ago...something activated."
"They are involved in MoGaCon2014."
"What?" Jo and Ian asked almost simultaneously.
"MoGaCon2014, it's a Mobile Games Conference."
"A Mobile Games Conference?" Ian repeated in disbelief.
"I think they're planning to mess with people's minds again. I've discussed with a Brazilian agent who had noticed some odd patterns, similar to fnords, in a mobile game that's developed by one of the main organizers of the conference, a company called NV. The game is called Match11."
"Match11? Why am I not surprised?" Jo asked.
"Why can't they just give up?" Ian said furrowing his brow.
"But the odd part...It seems to be SCEPTRE is not working alone. But none of the Agents I've contacted are not exactly sure what the other organization is."
"The conference is our only lead. It's in early June, about a month from now," Mitsuko stated.
"I guess we should go then," Jo said.
Later they were discussing at Erik's cabin.
"Mitsuko, it's time to decide. Do you want be an Agent, for real?" Erik asked.
She nodded.
"You still have time to back away," Ian said.
"I am sure. I have been for some time now."
"So Oslo it is. I'm officially returning to the land of my ancestors," Erik said.
"Really? I didn't know that," Jo asked surprised.
"Yes, my roots are there and we better have time for a black metal gig."
...
Jo and Mitsuko had already left back but Ian intentionally stayed behind.
"Do you remember last night...How we listened to Herbstleyd?"
"Yes," Erik answered plainly. He was sitting by his kitchen table cleaning a gun. Ian assumed that to him this resembled meditation.
"I didn't know you and Blowfish were that close," Ian said.
"We weren't," Erik said not raising his eyes from the gun he was cleaning.
"But you were talking about her, right?"
"Is that important? She's gone," Erik's voice was just stating, not annoyed.
Ian thought for a moment and walked next to Erik. He put his hand on the over-man's shoulder, keeping it there just for a moment.
"I'm not sure. Maybe it is. Jo and I care for you."
Erik finally looked at him and just nodded once, then giving his attention to the gun again.
...
Later that night Ian was laying in the shabby old lawn chair next to the trailer. He couldn't sleep as too many things were racing in his mind.
Fuck. That had been his initial reaction when he had heard of SCEPTRE being reactivated. Now later her had moved on pondering would the life he had somehow expected ever begin and would he and Jo ever fly to that rainbow in the sky?
"Can't sleep? I have a feeling I know what you're thinking," Jo walked next to him. Ian made her space to they could fit in the chair and she curled up against him. Amazingly the shabby chair always seemed to hold their combined weight. They just lay there for a while, listening to the forest.
"Will something always come up? A new mission? A new threat? And why do we have to deal with them?" Ian said with frustration in his voice.
Jo looked at him looking quite serious.
"Because we are Agents of Metal. But why we are that I don't know. I don't know a lot of things. But I too hope this is the last mission."
She interlaced her fingers with his.
"I guess we can never be sure. Which makes me appreciate each moment even more."
Ian thought Jo seemed always so grounded, somehow unwavered by the things happening around her.
"You're right," Ian said giving her a kiss on her forehead.
"What would I do without you?"
"Drink too much and play Cave Story?"
...