Chapter 52

Did Crow mean to call her Lyssa and stopped himself at the last second? Or did he really mean to call her Lys? Why was Melyssa even questioning something so idiotic at the moment? Ash was pushy as ever and she suddenly recalled what she told Emma, the reasoning for her moving from Heimdallr to here.

"It's all right, but he asked a question and I'll give him an answer. I moved here because of trouble with my ex-boyfriend. I don't wanna get into the whole mess, since I don't know either one of you from a hole in the ground, so we'll just leave it at that." Translation: She wasn't interested in dating anyone right now. Sure, she'd use her womanly charms when the situation called for it and it didn't at the moment.

Even Ash knew when to back off, his smile slipping into something grim. "Trouble with an ex?" He repeated, clicking his tongue. There were some lines even he wouldn't cross, not now anyway. He had grown up, somewhat. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Me too. If by chance he ever shows up, just remember you have two big neighbors right next door."

"And right across the hall."

Crow was already moving towards the door, knowing they had worn out their welcome with their new neighbor for the moment. "Remember, if you need to borrow a cup of sugar." He laughed, winking at her before stepping out into the hallway. He left the door open, his way of telling Ash it was time to get out of there.

"I'll keep that in mind. It really was nice to meet both of you and thanks again for the help." Melyssa extended her hand to Ash and those pink eyes seared through her once again as he shook hers, the spark clear as day between them. Carbide, you're handsome as ever, my friend. They pulled away at the same time and she watched Ash reluctantly leave her apartment with Crow, closing the door behind them. That was too damn close. Melyssa shut her eyes, letting out a shuddering breath and ignored the bags on the table for the time being since her stomach was in knots. How was she supposed to carry out her mission of being Ouroboros' spy with them living so close to her? I'll figure it out. First, I need to figure out a way to get close to Machias without revealing who I am and take it from there. Maybe there's a spot available at his office or something.

"So, do you think it's her?" Crow demanded, once they were inside Ash's apartment and out of ear shot. "Or do you think we're being paranoid and it's wishful thinking that it's her?"

"I think if we bleached that crap off her face, we'd have a better answer." Ash said solemnly.

Now, normally, he appreciated a woman's effort in making herself look beautiful. He knew that took time, patience and a lot of work and not many men seemed to appreciate it, he was usually one of them. Crow actually felt the same way, but he would never word it like that. To someone's face anyway.

"If it is… why is she hiding and lying?"

"I don't know, maybe she has amnesia." Ash was rifling in his refrigerator. "We obviously have precedence for it." He gave Crow a onceover. "Though, yours was brought on by dying." If she had been in the hands of Ouroboros… that could have happened and he swallowed hard, passing over a beer.

"Or she may be working for them…if it is her." Crow didn't want to say that out loud either, but…it was a possibility they couldn't ignore.

He saw the way Ash looked at him and shrugged; he'd been there before and had been manipulated into becoming C by Duke Cayenne, all because of his hatred and animosity towards Osborne. Ouroboros could have warped her, washed away her memories and maybe she really didn't know who she truly was. The possibilities were terrifying and endless.

The Goddess must have been on her side because Melyssa looked in the paper the next day and spotted a job that would link her directly to Machias. He was looking for a new secretary. Emma still went off to do her own thing, but she supported him from wherever she was and they got together when they could. It was a unique marriage they had. Melyssa thought about it for all of two seconds before getting dressed and going to apply for the job in person.

She had black dress pants on with a crisp white buttoned up, short-sleeved blouse and black pumps on her feet, looking as professional as possible. She even pulled her hair back on either side with clips to keep it out of her face. With clutch in hand, she walked out of her door and turned to lock it up just as the door next door opened, with Crow stepping out.

It would be rude not to greet him, at the very least. Melyssa smiled at him, draping her clutch over her shoulder from the chain it was attached to. "Good morning, Crow." She greeted cheerfully and walked past him, needing to get to City Hall.

"Good morning, Lys." Crow greeted amicably, falling into step alongside her. From head to toe, he was dressed in black and while it couldn't be seen, he was packing his dual pistols. "You're looking sharp this morning." With her hair pulled back and not distracting from her face, it was easier to really study her.

"Yes, she is." Ash appeared on her other side, the trio stopping on the sidewalk. "You look ready to go work." Was she a clerk or something? He smirked, one half of his mouth raising in amusement, she could be a naughty secretary.

"Here's hoping." They both looked down at her questioningly and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'm heading off to apply for a job, actually. Need to pay the bills somehow, right?" That was a horrible joke to make, but these two made Melyssa nervous because she couldn't tell if they knew the truth or not.

"Where are you headed?"

"If you're looking for a job, the mayor is looking for a new secretary." Ash really wanted the naughty secretary fantasy to become reality, his pink eyes twinkling. "You look to fit that build in that getup."

"I know, that's where I'm headed now to apply for the secretarial position. See you guys later." Melyssa headed toward her car, pulling her keys out.

"Poor girl." Crow remarked, watching as she got into her orbal car, closing the door behind her. "She'll be easier to keep an eye on."

"That is true." Ash stroked his chin, turning and walking away alongside his friend. "And it gives a legit excuse for the background check I've already run on her."

"You're jumping the gun?"

"Color me curious. I'm surprised you didn't do it first."

Crow huffed, flipping his silver hair back out of his face. He was long overdue for a haircut. "I thought about it." He admitted, not overly surprised that Ash had beat him to the punch. "Not that you can tell her that you've done it right out the gate, she'll still have to wait the three days or so for everything to be done." Working for the mayor entailed a lot of questions, a background check, some testing… it was insane.

Thanks to a little hacking by Ouroboros, the background check would come back clean as a whistle with her name as Lysa Reynolds. It would even have her previous job listed in the museum in Heimdallr and there was a specific person there who would take the call for reference. Everything would come back as it should, Ouroboros wasn't the most dangerous entity in Erebonia for nothing. They could slink in and out of places without detection and plant spies wherever they wanted. Class VII was smart, but Ouroboros was always one step ahead of them.

"All right, wait here please." The secretary stood up and walked off to the mayor's office, knocking on the door. "You have another applicant interested in the position, sir."

"Wonderful, send them in right away."

Machias needed to get this position filled as soon as possible and so far, none of the other applicants rose to his standards. Imagine his surprise when the woman from the party walked in…the woman who reminded a lot of Class VII of Melyssa Brackett. Crow and Ash had already called him on the ARCUS II, informing him where she was living. They were his spies, essentially.

"Miss Reynolds, correct?"

Melyssa smiled at him with a nod. "Yes, Mr. Mayor."

"Please, just call me Machias." They shook hands and he gestured to the seat in front of his desk, sitting down himself to look over her application. "Ah, you worked for the museum in Heimdallr. Emma told me about that."

I'm sure she did, Melyssa thought, not surprised by that and kept the smile on her face. "I worked there at nights doing paperwork and cleaning. I admit, I don't have a lot of experience with secretarial work, but I'm a fast learner and I'm sure I can handle anything this position is required to do."

"If." He said softly, implying her getting it was an if.

First she had to meet his approval, then she had to pass the background checks, then she had to pass Ash and Crow's questions, and finally, Celine. Anyone the cat did not trust or like was an automatic out, hence why finding people to fill positions was so hard. Celine had taken Jurai as badly as everyone else, the poor feline.

"So, tell me about some situations at the museum that you believe would be relevant to you working here, Ms. Reynolds."

"Nobody's background check is that clean." Crow said after a moment, shaking his head. "She didn't even get in trouble as a kid."

Melyssa went through the standard interview, explaining what she did at the museum, which was basically filing paperwork, cleaning and polishing artifacts and anything else the curator needed help with. Machias listened, trying to find ONE loophole, one flaw in her explanation, and couldn't find any. Maybe Lysa really was Lysa. Maybe she wasn't Melyssa, after all. He informed her she would be going through a series of interviews that day and if she passed them all, he would hire her. She was the best person for the job thus far, unless someone else came along.

"Please, come in here for your next interview."

Melyssa stepped inside the room and was greeted by none other than her new neighbors. "Okay, I'm starting to wonder if you two are stalking me now." She joked with a smile, walking over to sit down in the chair, a long table separating them.

"Nope."

Crow smiled sweetly, shaking his head, wondering if Machias was out of his mind to hire her right out the gate before the official paperwork came back. If he was already handing out free passes to this woman, then that just made her all the more suspicious. They were going to have to have Emma make sure nothing witchy was going on besides her.

"We work here."

Ash drummed his fingers on the tabletop, studying her thoughtfully. "We're security, you have to get through us and your background check before you're allowed to accept any offers of employment."

"Understood, so then why am I in here for an interview when my background check hasn't come back yet?"

"Because we want to see if you're who you say you are." A feminine, familiar voice echoed around the room.

Melyssa jumped when a black cat landed on the table in front of her. Celine! I should have known she'd be here lurking around. "What in Goddess's name is THAT?!" She jumped out of her chair, blinking at the TALKING cat in front of her. "T-That cat is TALKING!" She even pointed for added shock flare, teal eyes wide.

Both Crow and Ash looked at each other and then at Celine, who also looked a little bewildered by Lysa's reaction.

"You know what? I-I'm just gonna go. I-I don't think I'm qualified for a position like this…" Acting scared was the only way to get through this and she stepped back when the cat stepped one paw toward her, still on the table.

She was truly terrified of Celine. What in Gehenna was going on? Was this Melyssa or not? Celine couldn't deduce it and she knew Emma was counting on her. "Suit yourself then. I take it you've never seen a talking cat before?"

"N-No, no I haven't and…I'm a little terrified right now to be completely honest…" Melyssa was terrified, but not for the reasons she was saying out loud. Celine would be able to tell who she really was if she took this position, but at the same time, she had a job to do for Ouroboros.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you, lady. Just…cool your jets and come sit back down. I just have some questions for you." Celine coaxed, not wanting her to leave quite yet and gestured with her paw toward the empty chair. "Come on, show us a little bravery."

Reluctantly, Melyssa moved back toward the chair and scooted it back before sitting down, not wanting to be anywhere near the cat. "This is really weird being questioned by a talking cat…"

What was weird was that this SMELLED like Melyssa, but didn't ACT like Melyssa. Celine's tail flickered back and forth slowly, musing on it. She knew Crow had died and then been reanimated sort of without all his memories, it had taken years and triggers to get them back. Or she had been brainwashed, or… there were a lot of 'or's', actually, and she wasn't about to process them all just right now.

"Not really." She purred, licking one paw idly. "What's weird is your reaction to it." The world was inhabited by monsters, how was a talking cat so out of the ordinary? "I'm offended." She sniffed.

"Celine." Ash's tone held a note of warning.

"If her background clears, hire her." So they could keep a closer eye on her at the very least.

Not EVERY civilian in Erebonia was privy to the knowledge of monsters, only those that were involved with the army, jaegers or Bracers. Regular civilians, like she was pretending to be, did not know about witches or talking cats, for example. "I-I didn't mean to offend you, but…I've just never seen a talking cat before…and it shocked me. I'm sorry…" She was apologizing to a talking cat…to Celine…Melyssa had to fight with everything inside of her not to find this amusing. "So, is that all? I was under the impression this would be an interview, but none of you have asked any questions…" Or maybe they wanted to get her enclosed into a space to study her more thoroughly and carefully, which did make sense.

"Not at the moment, no. And I don't accept your apology."

Celine hadn't changed a bit. "All right then, I won't take up anymore of your time." Melyssa went to stand up again when the door opened and another familiar voice reverberated around them.

"I have a few questions, actually." It was the Ashen Chevalier, Rean Schwarzer.