"What...you want me to do?" Six's mind couldn't believe what the woman was asking him. He thought her red face was about to start emitting fumes from both of her ears as her eyes kept looking at her feet. It felt like as he was in some sort of weird dream, but her words kept resounding in his head.
No, he had heard her loud and clear.
"Six...please." She started pleading with him and he truly hated when she did that. "I don't want to attend alone. There's always some kind of a clingy guy who wants to talk to me or start flirting, and I would feel more secure if you were there."
"Aren't scientific meetings strictly for discussing scientific topics and not for mingling?"
"Usually," she said, chewing on her bottom lip. "But there's also some kind of after-meeting party that they tend to organize to exchange contacts and ideas. Normally, White doesn't ask me to attend those, that much, since our investigations tend to be private matters, but there's some gossip going around that there's a new group of scientists developing a new form of technology that is trying to compete with ours. He thinks it's suspicious since it's gaining media attention. Please come with me. I promise to take care of all your paperwork for a week so you can use your time for training or whatever else you want to do." She sounded desperate, something he never thought he would hear from her.
"You know that these mission reports have to be filled out by me and only me, right?" He replied, looking at her. He could almost hear her frantic thoughts as she bit her lower lip, trying to find another way to convince him. It was tempting to skip the paperwork, but it was impossible.
"Then I will do whatever you want, but please come with me."
"You would think that as scientists, these guys would behave better with their supposedly big brains," he said, trying to ignore the fact that she was willing to do whatever he wanted.
"They constantly try to get me to reveal everything I know about Providence, thinking that flirting with me will be enough to get me to spill the beans." This made Six wonder if these idiots had somehow managed to manipulate or influence her. However, he doubted it since Holiday was a strong and determined woman. Still, it made his blood boil with anger.
"I can't believe that White would allow such a thing to happen," replied Six as Holiday averted her eyes. "But I don't know much about your current projects. Wouldn't they wonder why I'm going with you this time?"
"I haven't shared every detail of the mission with White, which is why he doesn't know. But I can always brief you on the situation and pretend that you're assisting me for some other reason."
"Like I'm one of your research subjects?"
"Please, Six."
How to say no to a woman?
Or Holiday...
"The only issue is that there is a dress code," Holiday said as Six raised his eyebrow.
"What? Do I also have to wear a lab coat?"
"Dude, what on earth are you doing?" Rex asked in shock as he knocked on Six's door. He wanted to know why Six and Holiday were skipping dinner. Six answered the door dressed in a black tuxedo with a bowtie instead of his usual tie.
"I am going on a mission with Holiday," he said, returning to his mirror to make sure his hair was in place. Then he remembered that he shouldn't tell him anything. "If you tell White about this, I swear I will punish you in the most horrific way you can imagine."
"Is it about the conference with people like her who talk about numbers and data that are hard to understand?"
"Yes," Six replied, turning to look at the stunned teen who was surprised by his change of clothes. "I am going with her to ensure that nothing happens that could harm her or compromise the integrity of Providence."
"Why would that happen if they are just talking about nerdy things?"
"It doesn't matter. And you should stop asking questions about it." The man walked to the teen at the door and moved his black jacket to reveal his blades. "Don't make me use them on you..."
"Relax, man! Your secret is safe with me. But what should we tell White if he asks where you are?"
"Just tell him I had something to take care of from my past."
"With the other numbers? Got it!"
Leaving his room, Six was aware that he needed to go to Holiday's room to pick her up before heading to the hangar where their airship was waiting. He could have just met her there, but he thought it would be a good opportunity to practice being a proper and polite escort for the evening.
Her door was already open as she absentmindedly looked at her wristwatch, which he didn't realize could match her entire jewelry collection. He wasn't one to pay attention to subtle details, and that was his own fault. Five always told him that.
Almost bumping into the man, Holiday walked without even looking up, as a hand steadied her. Her deep blue dress was unlike anything he had ever seen before, and he wanted to facepalm at himself for such thought. Of course he hadn't seen many dresses before. Five never liked them, and he didn't watch enough TV to know about current fashion trends.
"Oh, Six! I thought you would be at the hangar," she apologized for bumping into him. The man shrugged, trying not to stare too much at her overall appearance.
"If I have to play a role..."
"Oh!" She smiled softly and couldn't help but admire the suit he was wearing. It was certainly unique, but had its own charm. She didn't mind his preference for various shades of green but in fact, the change was quite flattering.
"You look... good" She blushed and thought that she should also compliment him to avoid any awkwardness.
"You do too. Shall we go now?"
As they walked through the hallway to their hangar, Holiday kept repeating the most important facts he needed to remember about her investigation. Six couldn't help but notice that it wasn't real, since they couldn't discuss the true details behind Providence. He wasn't too worried, as he could simply let her talk and be a spectator. Once the airship took off, the woman seemed more confident in her plan, and he simply nodded occasionally.
Confused as to why a conference of scientists wasn't filled with white lab coats, Six thought that perhaps he needed to get out more. He couldn't stop hearing the sarcastic laugh of Five in his head and decided to stop thinking about cliches and go with the vibe.
Everyone was dressed in different types of formal attires, which helped him not feel like a tiny fish in a huge pond.
"Let's find a place to sit and listen to the scientific innovations. There's probably only one chair with my name on it, but maybe there's a spare we can use."
Of course, because if there was no enemy who could match his combat skills and kill him, a boring scientific talk surely would.
If he were Rex, he would definitely be dozing off in the middle of the conference. But that wasn't the case. His mind was so overwhelmed with information that he couldn't even make sense of most of the speeches. Rebecca seemed to notice and tried not to laugh, not wanting to draw more attention to herself as she was already doing just by being there with a companion.
The most excruciating two hours of his entire life, made him think that he would prefer to be back in Providence, listening to Rex and Bobo sing one of their stupid abominations they called music.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to him. He sighed in response, placing the leg he had been resting over his thigh back on the floor and crossing his other leg.
"Isn't bad to learn new things." Was Six's response in a whisper, back at her.
"If you pay enough attention it might be quite interesting."
Interesting was really a stretch. Sincerely, Six only could stand someone talking about science all day and that was Holiday. It wasn't as if he was stupid. He could be spiteful, cynical, bitter, moody, underhanded, psychologically damaged, ruthless, an absolute bastard...
But not stupid.
It was just not his thing.
His torture finally ended when he silently prayed that Holiday wouldn't be the next one to give a speech. He didn't mind listening to her talk, but he couldn't imagine what she could say that would interest these scientists, since their plan seemed insignificant compared to what the others were working on.
It appeared that White was correct and there were a few slides of Providence, likely taken from the TV news report that had once featured the inside of the agency.
"Here comes the most annoying part - the reunion."
"I suppose they know you work for Providence because of the TV news report," he said, suddenly realizing they also knew who he was.
"Yes, something like that," she replied, glancing around as a waitress brought a silver tray filled with various drinks. She decided to take one to appear as though she was having a good time. She felt much safer with Six by her side, as he seemed to intimidate those around him, especially the men who might approach her with questions.
"It's like the whole room is filled with predators," Six said in a low voice, scanning the room. The number of female scientists was greatly outnumbered by the men. Holiday sighed and turned to face him, wanting to appear as though she was enjoying his company rather than him just being her bodyguard. "You would think that these nerds wouldn't have the courage to talk to a woman," he said, and Holiday raised an eyebrow at the man.
"Hey!" She lightly slapped him on the chest, surprising him, so he had to make an exception.
"But you can talk to men. You're talking to me, at least." She obviously couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses, but had a hard time keeping the eye contact, as she fought the urge to blush.
"I'm not a nerd," Holiday declared, holding onto that statement and ignoring the rest in order to regain her composure.
"I didn't say being a nerd was a bad thing. At least... not in your case."
The conversation ended on an awkward note as she realized she would struggle to find the right words if she dignified his comment with a reply. Instead, she turned around and soon enough, one of the scientists approached them.
"I hope that Providence doesn't hold a grudge against us for having better technology to deal with the EVOs." Six didn't say a word, knowing that Holiday could handle the situation on her own. However, he didn't move, as if to reassure the man that whatever he needed to tell the lady, he had to tell him as well.
"That depends on whether it's being used for the right purpose," she answered as Six pushed his glasses up, causing the man to look at him instead.
"I haven't seen you before. At least I know you are not a scientist." Six rolled his eyes behind his glasses and shook his head. He surely knew who he was, or perhaps he couldn't remember since he wasn't wearing his usual green suit. But wearing a black tuxedo wouldn't change his entire face.
"He's my guest of honor. We've been working together on the experiments on Providence, for so long, that he had developed a fascination for science as well. He's a great helper and honestly I don't know what I would do without him."
Six thought that she was exaggerating a bit, but decided that whatever that would make the man go away would suffice.
"Rex Salazar is still in Providence, right?" he inquired, and Holiday knew where he was going with that question.
"He is a member of our team," Six interjected. "While I excel in combat, I can also be skilled in the scientific aspect. I believe I am capable of handling both tasks proficiently." As he spoke, Six subtly revealed the concealed blades hanging from his waist belt as if it was simply a random movement of his arm.
The man gazed down at the gleaming blades under the light and then shifted his attention to Rebecca, who couldn't help but smile briefly before turning to the scientist in front of her.
"Is there any new development in Providence? I assume you are constantly on guard to prevent any EVOs from causing harm to the citizens."
"Nothing noteworthy," Holiday replied simply. "I imagine that if your technology surpasses ours, we may eventually meet on the battlefield as well."
The conversation soon died down and Holiday let out a sigh, trying not to laugh at Six's subtle yet direct warning to the man that he could easily harm him if he attempted anything.
"So... is everyone just here to discuss Providence?"
"Well, it seems that, after seeing us on the news, they're a bit envious of our accomplishments. The scientific community can be quite competitive. Or they may have less than noble intentions. Mostly the latter."
"Oh, I'm familiar with that." Six's mind was flooded with memories of enough greedy scientists he had encountered to fit into that category.
She was grateful to have the opportunity to drink and at least, spend quality time with the man beside her. It appeared that no one else wanted to approach them, possibly because of the tall man, who resembled a soldier, intimidating them.
"I never thought I would enjoy myself at events like this, but I actually am," she said after her third glass of champagne, as the man looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Remember, you owe me a big one," he reminded her as she laughed.
"I haven't forgotten, but you still haven't told me your price."
What could he possibly want from a woman like her? He wasn't a scientist, so it didn't make sense for him to want any type of information. Plus, they worked together anyways.
"There's a place I used to visit frequently when I was too busy to cook for myself because of my job as a mercenary. If we leave this boring meeting, we might still have a chance to find it open and have a good dinner."
Before she could even respond, the man continued.
"Also, I want a week off from babysitting Rex and Bobo. That doesn't mean I won't join them on a mission, but you'll be responsible for making sure they submit their reports on time and don't escape."
"As if I don't do that already," she sighed in defeat, although the first part sounded nice.
"You do, but I don't want to hear you calling me through the communicator if those two break something or get lost, unless they're in real danger."
"So...you don't want me to talk to you at all?" Holiday raised both eyebrows, but Six shook his head.
"You can talk to me anytime, just not about those two for a week."
She took a deep breath and nodded as the man smiled at her and offered his arm. Six gratefully took hers, eager to leave that dull place. While science should be appreciated, he couldn't stand these men who had nothing better to do than pry into others' business.
He would surely make her walk to their destination, even going as far as landing the airship far away just to make her listen to his interests. Compared to hers, they were almost nonexistent. But at least there would be no more talk of science, and he wouldn't have to hear about Rex and Bobo for a week.
"Do you know all those martial arts moves?" she asked as they walked through the city towards the dinner place, wondering what it looked like. "How do you remember all of them?"
"You remember numbers and formulas, I remember combat moves and ways to knock someone out." he replied.
That was definitely the best experience she ever had outside of Providence. She even ordered Six's favorite dish, but was surprised by how spicy it was that she couldn't even finish it, as her eyes soon filled with tears and her face turned red.
The man just smiled, as if her discomfort was amusing to him.
"Order something else," he told her, eating his meal as if it wasn't spicy enough. "I'll pay tonight."
She blushed, grateful that he could tell it was because of the food and not his words.
After dinner, they walked back quietly, still linked arm in arm. She wondered if White was upset that they had left Bobo and Rex alone in Providence.
"Thanks for the dinner," she said, and he nodded.
"Sorry about the spiciness. I didn't realize it would be that hot."
"You're a sadist, you know?" she joked.
"It's the first time I've heard that from a woman, so it might be true," he replied with a smirk, and she laughed. Holiday wondered if it would be too much to lean her head against his arm and pretend to be tired. It wasn't her fault that he had parked their airship so far away.
She did, and the man flinched slightly before relaxing again. He decided not to make a comment about it and let her be. After all, it had been a long and tiring night, and she deserved to rest before the busy week ahead with Rex and Bobo.
"Holiday..." the man said in a soft voice. She could barely hear him as her mind was focused on the feeling of his warm arm against her head.
"Hmm?"
"If there are any other dangerous missions that you do not wish to be involved in, you can always solicit my services again."
"Does it become free after a while, or is there another price to pay for your kind help?"
Stopping at the entrance of their airship, Six smirked once more as she released his arm and gazed at him with longing.
"It could be something new, something that could benefit us even more," he said, his arm sneaking around her waist and drawing her closer to him.
"Oh. Could I also join you on any of your missions as a guest of honor?"
"That might not be a good idea. If I introduce you as my partner, it could be dangerous. Remember, I am an agent, not a scientist. And if I were to mention your existence, it could put your life in danger."
"Well, these scientists can be just as dangerous as any mission you go on."
"I highly doubt that. I can handle them with a few punches." He said, releasing her and walking towards the airship. She smiled and quickly followed him. Rex and Bobo's part of the deal wasn't very exciting, but it didn't matter once he left her at her bedroom door and kissed the back of her hand, assuring her that the job was done and the debt was settled.
She was back and safe, just as he promised.
"Good luck tomorrow."
Those were his final words before she laughed, shook her head, and closed the door.