Tw: mentioning of blood
A few days passed before Miss Maia decided to organize a second group meeting. In the meantime, she had received information from reliable sources that she did not like at all. The leader realised she had to reorganize the internal organization of the team to prevent further data leaks. She felt incredibly disappointed and angry, especially at herself. However, she did her best to maintain an appearance of calmness, not to show weakness or waver in front of her group in the face of such a problem. She was their rock, their beacon in the night. She could not afford to let them down any further.
Meanwhile, the kids were getting used to living in the future. Although they never stopped thinking about their families and missing them, they seemed to be getting more comfortable with the situation. Yutani seriously tried to program Tagbot to find out Jake's feelings, but the plan failed miserably. The robot had begun chasing Jake around the apartment, asking him what love meant to him. Getting no answer from the frightened little boy, it had not stopped running after him until Yutani deactivated it, pretending it was a prank on Jake. All to the mocking laughter of Bruno, who was genuinely amused to have such a funny rival.
On the morning of the meeting, everyone gathered around the boardroom table, but Frank did not show up. Miss Maia did not seem bothered by his absence; she just seemed to be waiting for him as she absentmindedly doodled on a sheet of paper.
The other members of the group chatted with each other, except for Bruno, who politely asked Miss Maia why Frank was absent and if they were all waiting for him.
"He left tonight on a solo mission, saying he didn't want to endanger other people and that it was a mission he could do alone. So yes, we are waiting for him. He should be here any minute." Miss Maia replied distractedly, not taking her eyes off the paper.
"He went alone? Aren't you scared that something might have happened to him?" Jake asked, clearly worried.
"No. Don't worry, little boy. The other day was an exception, normally Frank is very efficient and can take care of himself."
"Sure, like when he was kidnapped by those masked individuals." Fresh replied dismissively, shaking his head. "Very efficient indeed."
"Sometimes he does stupid things, like everyone else. But he's a very good agent, we couldn't do most things without his help. So either you start making yourself useful or shut up and stop being a know-it-all, brat." Maia's voice was calm but firm. "Oh, look. Here he is. Welcome back, nerd."
The door at the end of the room opened to reveal Frank, once again impeccably dressed, except for some large crimson stains on his shirt and a few splashes of blood on his mask. He was holding a white dog between his arms, and the animal seemed perfectly comfortable and calm despite the situation. Its paws dangled with dead weight from Frank's arms, while it made slight snapping noises with its mouth, showing calmness and trust.
"I apologise for being late. Thank you all for waiting. I appreciate your understanding and flexibility." Frank said quietly before sitting back in his seat and petting the dog on his lap. The dog wagged his tail and gave him little kisses on his gloved hands.
"My goodness, Frank! What happened to you?! Don't tell me they..." Rain stared at the bloodstains with a shocked and vaguely frustrated expression, but before they could finish their sentence, Frank raised his hand as if to ask them to stop.
"It's not my blood." he told them simply, ignoring the stunned looks of many of those present.
"Ah, very comforting indeed," Tricky commented, exchanging worried glances with her friends.
"Maybe next time you should clean yourself up a bit before you come to a meeting. That's pretty gross, Frank," Tasha scolded him disgustedly, raising an eyebrow. She pointed to her face, mimicking the spot where Frank had splashed blood on his mask. "You have blood on your face. You've got dog hair on your jacket, too. Do you have to hold that beast on your lap?"
"I apologize. I was late for the meeting and did not stop to observe my reflection in the mirror." Frank took a dark gray handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mask. "I'll be more presentable next time." He ignored the comment about dog hair, not deeming it worthy of a response.
"Wait, but that dog..." Jake couldn't believe his eyes. "... The guard's dog?"
Hearing Jake's voice, the dog took his attention away from Frank's caresses for a moment and turned his head towards the boy. The dog's body suddenly stiffened as he let out a low growl.
"Yes! It's really him! It's that crazy dog from hell that's been trying to mow us down at the subway depot!" Jake exclaimed, his eyes widening and his gaze fixed on the animal. "But where did you find it, Frank?"
"Long story. I've already stolen enough time from Miss Maia's meeting. The important thing is that this dog is safe now." Frank affectionately scratched the back of the dog's ears, which let out a satisfied grunt and finally left Jake alone.
King could not help but notice how sweet and gentle Frank was with the dog. His gaze, his movements, the way he stroked it... Even the dog's reaction exuded trust and happiness as it lay in the man's arms. He'd heard that animals could sense whether a person was evil or not, and that it was possible to see a person's true nature from an animal's reaction. Who knew if this theory was true. It seemed impossible that anyone could not be creeped out by this disturbing, blood-stained man with an equally frightening mask. Frank looked like the personification of cruelty, not to mention that he tried to murder them multiple times. Still, it was an interesting contrast to watch.
"Very good, Frank. Thanks for the input." Miss Maia stood up suddenly, slamming her palms against the table. "Team, something very, very serious has happened," she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, we are certain that there is a spy among us."
A chorus of disbelieving murmurs and whispered comments erupted, stopping only when Maia clapped her hands together.
"Focus, people. We still don't know who the spy is. But I warn you," he narrowed her eyes and gave each member of the group a long, hard look. "I will find out sooner or later. It won't be a pretty sight. I'll give the spy a chance to talk NOW. If they confess, I promise to simply kick them out of the group." For some reason, her gaze remained on Ninja for a few seconds longer than usual. Ignoring his worried expression, she looked at the rest of the team again. "If not, I'll make them pay. I'll make the spy pay so much that they will be begging me to kill them and barely remember their own name."
A heavy silence fell among the group. No one dared say a word; everyone looked at the others with frightened faces. All except Jake, who made a nervous grimace that resembled a suppressed laugh. Maia noticed him immediately and her gaze hardened.
"Do you find this funny?" She moved closer to him, her face just inches from his eyes. "Do you think I'm joking?"
"NO! NO! No way!" The poor boy stammered nervously, breaking into a cold sweat. "I'm sorry! I always laugh when there's a tense moment! I had nothing to do with it, I'm not the spy!" He said almost panicking, barely controlling a nervous giggle that seemed impossible for him to stop. "I swear!"
"It's true." Tricky came to his aid. "That idiot often does that. We were asked to have a moment of silence in class once for a tragedy, and he started laughing out of nowhere."
"At my Aunt Rosalinda's funeral, he smiled. He looked like a serial killer, a lot of people looked at him horribly." Confirmed Fresh, shaking his head. "He's stupid, but he doesn't do it on purpose."
"He got in trouble with a teacher once because he laughed when the teacher yelled at the class. They sent him to the principal." King also tried to help them, which was not too difficult. Jake was the protagonist of many embarrassing and completely true anecdotes.
Only Yutani said nothing. She just watched the scene with a serious expression.
Miss Maia seemed to believe those anecdotes, turning away from Jake and taking her place at the whiteboard. "You may be wondering how I can be so sure. Well, here is the answer." She motioned for Tasha to stand and walk to a door near the corner of the room. Her sister obeyed and opened the door.
In the doorway, they all saw a shy, stocky man who, despite his size, seemed to be trying to make himself smaller as he entered. He held his policeman's hat in his hands, crinkling it nervously, while his eyes were hidden by thick eyebrows.
"HOLY SHIT! The old fart!" The first to react was Jake himself, who nearly jumped out of his chair at the sight of him.
"Jake, don't yell," Tricky scolded him, staring at the guard with a worried expression. He looked much thinner than she remembered and much sadder.
Bruno looked uncomfortable. He kept his eyes away from the door as he shifted restlessly in his chair, as if it had suddenly turned into a spiked stone. "No one told me there would be a new person," he muttered to himself, obviously anxious.
"Hello everyone. My name is Ted-oh!" a smile appeared on his face before he leaned down to hug his furry companion, who had come running up to him wagging his tail and yelping loudly as soon as he noticed him. "Hi, sweetheart! Hi! Oh, I'm so glad you're all right!" He said in baby talk. Tears began to fall from his cheeks, bringing sweetness to a face hardened by fear and suffering. "I never thought I would see you again."
The dog continued to whine, kissing the guard's face and wagging his tail furiously. He seemed filled with joy. The rest of the team watched the scene, some with suspicion and others with tenderness at seeing an animal reunited with its owner.
Soon after, Ted composed himself and stood up, wiping the tears from his face. "My name is Ted Lutz. Nice to meet you all." He tried to avoid the gaze of Frank, who had been staring at him intensely and yet impassively since Ted had entered in the room, without showing any visible reaction. The guard was ashamed of what he had done to him, but at the same time he could not feel completely guilty. He did not really know what to feel around him.
"Don't worry, I have my ways of knowing that we can trust him." Maia nodded, anticipating some of the concerns of those present. "Ted, Frank went on a mission alone to save your dog. At least have the guts to say thank you." She glanced at him, noticing the inspector's discomfort.
It was then that Ted made up his mind. He looked Frank straight in the eye and slowly lowered his head. "I'm sorry for attacking you. I acted like a savage. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my dog. I will be forever grateful. I hope my presence here does not inconvenience you."
"No inconvenience at all. I trust Miss Maia's judgment." Frank replied politely. "It has been a pleasure to help your dog," he concluded simply, calmly and elegantly. For some reason, this calm and polite response only increased Ted's fear of the man. Even though he was physically stronger than him, now that he was not blinded by anger, he could observe him better and notice many details about him that were... quite wrong. First and foremost, that extremely diplomatic manner and the absence of anger that felt a bit unnatural.
"To show that I really believe what I think, the two of you will work together on the next mission." Miss Maia said in a firm tone, crossing her arms. "Thanks to Ted, we know we have a spy among us." she added.
"Yes. I know that someone from this group gave the data to the police and then they also alerted me. Unfortunately, I don't know who the spy is. Andy just told me where Frank was. That's all I know." Ted still looked uncomfortable. He stood in the middle of the room, his dog staring up at him adoringly, sitting on his feet.
"It's okay. Also, sit wherever you want. Don't just stand there."
Ted slowly sat down next to Jake with slow, awkward movements. He tried to look at Jake sideways, noticing that the boy was clearly tense and avoiding his gaze. Ted sighed and tried to move slightly away from Jake so as not to make him uncomfortable. The boy was probably still afraid of him after what he had seen and Ted could not blame him. He just hoped that he would have a chance to clear the air with him in a quieter moment.
"Miss Maia, but are you sure that...?" Rain tried to object, not at all convinced by this bizarre situation.
"Absolutely sure. In the next mission, Frank will have a protective role, putting his sniper skills into practice, and a practical role. Ted will be his bodyguard, so that if someone else catches him at work, he will not be attacked behind his back again. Now listen carefully, Bruno and Yutani," upon hearing their names, both turned their heads in her direction, although Bruno did not look her directly in the face.
"I want you to work with Frank these days to create avatars of the new five children that can move around the city undisturbed. Like holograms, controlled by our computers."
"What do you mean?" Yutani tilted her head slightly. "Why would we do such a thing?"
"Because we are now in the second phase of the plan. Now that Prince K has less power without the codes, we need to spread information. It is much easier to control ignorant and uninformed people. Your voice will be the voice of reason, kids." Miss Maia sounded really hopeful and excited. "You will record dialogues written by Lucy where you will talk about how the world is from you and how this world doesn't have to suck so bad. You will bring a message of hope and freedom to everyone."
"But if the people here are ableist, homophobic, racist, closed-minded, and you name it, don't you think our intervention is pointless?" Tricky asked, obviously discouraged. "It's like talking to walls, isn't it?"
"Intolerance will always exist until education reaches the population. Usually, prejudices and preconceived paradigms are the result of poor education and a pronounced ignorance that prevents a broader view of one's surroundings," Frank said, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his intertwined hands.
"Simply put, we have to at least try." Ninja nodded. "Right now there is incredible censorship and propaganda. Many citizens don't even know that there could be an alternative. Let's at least give them a chance to think with their own head."
"But even if they start thinking for themselves, those in power will always violently suppress those who don't think like them," Tricky commented. "That is the basis of every dictatorship."
"As for Prince K himself, we will deal with that later. For now, let's focus on this mission and see how it goes," Miss Maia concluded.
"Okay, but how are we going to get the message out to everyone if all the media is controlled?" King asked.
"Well, if I still had my boombox, I could use it to broadcast the message," Fresh commented grimly. "Unfortunately, it's still in my house. I miss Boomy."
"We could fix that," Yutani interjected, looking at Bruno. Bruno nodded at Yutani with a slight smile.
"Great, guys. That's the way I like you, bright and active." Miss Maia nodded in satisfaction and stretched her arms upward. "We're also going to send it out to all the TV and radio stations, thanks to Frank, who will do all the necessary to hack them." Suddenly she became serious. "Now. Regarding the spy problem, I have decided to give you individual instructions and to communicate the details of the mission myself. Some of the data has been carefully chosen to be false, so that we can see who it is that has decided to betray their team. Think twice before you try to sabotage this mission."
After a brief pause for general reflection, Miss Maia clapped her hands. "I will call you in here one by one to give you information. Those waiting may take a break in the meantime. Now everybody out!"
