Chapter 7: Team Hardbeak
"World about to blow. Team Hardbeak, let's go!"
The group traversed through the cold alleys of Inkopolis, with Pacifica leading the way. None of them uttered a single word.
The silence hung heavy, but it wasn't even half as detrimental as the inner turmoil raging on within Sal. He gripped the file Mr. Wale so generously allowed them to take, staring at the name Maria.
He should've known Oct. Co Facilities was behind this. How could they not be? Even so, what did it all mean? The sacrifices, the layoffs, the cryptic warning from Mr. Wale... What could this be building up to? And what did it have to do with Maria...
Sal snapped out of it when he noticed the group stopped moving. Pacifica stood over a sewer grate, but she didn't enter. Instead, she stared back at the group with crossed arms, specifically looking at Sal. Ah, jeez. Here we go...
For a moment, all Pacifica did was stare. When the staring grew too awkward for Sal's liking, he spoke. "I—"
"Don't care." She cut him off, narrowing her gaze at him. "Whatever that was all about, I don't care. But what you did was completely uncalled for. Do yourself a favor and refrain from making a scene like that again. Otherwise, I'll splat you myself next time! Are we clear?"
Pacifica's attitude was starting to get on Sal's nerves, but he did a half-decent job of hiding it.
Whatever anger he felt earlier had, strangely enough, completely gone away. Still, that didn't mean he wanted to respond to Pacifica right away, so he simply furrowed his brows at her.
Pacifica, after not receiving a response, uncrossed her arms. "I said..." She strolled up to Sal, getting right in his face. "Are we clear?" The hostility in her voice was almost palpable.
All Sal offered back was a neutral expression. "Crystal." He replied, returning her aggressive gaze with a nonchalant one.
Pacifica blinked before turning back, seemingly satisfied with his response. "Let's go." She barked, shifting into her swim form and slipping through the grates.
Cal and the Sam twins all turned to Sal, waiting to see how he'd react now that she was gone. All he did was give them an exhausted sigh. "In case any of you were wondering, she's got seaweed breath."
Cal barely managed to hold in a chuckle, though the Sam twins made no such attempt and let loose with laughter.
"You're back!" Callie cheered at the approaching group, having just finished a conversation with Marina, who gave them a small smile and wave.
DJ Octavio was nowhere to be seen, but Sal wouldn't comment on it. Nor would he comment on how poorly Samuel and Samantha were holding it together at the sight of Marina.
"Everything go okay?" Callie asked with a tilt of her head, addressing Pacifica. Perhaps she noticed the sour expression on the lieutenant's face, but honestly, Sal figured that would've been a norm by now.
The lieutenant turned back to look at Sal. She stared at him for a long moment before looking away and crossing her arms. "Yes." Pacifica huffed, surprisingly choosing not to snitch on him.
While Sal was thankful, that wouldn't stop him from seeing her as a hardass, especially if her attitude didn't change.
"Excellent!" Callie bounced up to Samuel and Samantha, shaking their hands eagerly. "Welcome to Team Hardbeak!"
Sal tilted his head. "Team Hardbeak? I thought this was the New Squidbeak Splatoon?"
Callie's face contorted in shock, only for her to facepalm herself. "Shoot! That was supposed to be a surprise... Welp, no use hiding it now."
She shrugged, turning to Sal and Cal. "While you were gone, I've been thinking... this secret team is nice and all, but there's only so much we can do on the hush-hush. If we want to maximize the efficiency of our agent work, then we need a team that doesn't have to worry about being covert all the time. A face for the Splatoon! So, Agent 7, Agent 6, as of this moment, you, as well as Agent 10 and Agent 5, will form a new branch of the New Squidbeak Splatoon." Callie declared, gesturing to Samuel and Samantha, who were now agents 5 and 10, respectively. "We're calling your squadron Team Hardbeak!"
Sal remained quiet, unsure how to feel about the sudden announcement.
"You hear that, Sal? We just got promoted!" Cal wrapped an arm around his brother, smiling widely. "No wonder you seem happier than usual." He said, addressing Callie now.
"Me? Oh, that's for a different reason." Sal and Cal eyed her with confusion. "It's about your next assignment. I'll explain later! For now, you two go freshen up. I've got some new agents to catch up to speed!"
With that, she turned back towards the Sam twins. They gave her their utmost attention as she talked, and Callie seemed equally as invested with them, so even if the Octo Bros wanted to say something, they'd likely be ignored.
Sal sighed, brushing Cal's arm off him before walking away.
Cal followed behind but stopped when he noticed Sal was walking back to the grate. "Where ya goin'?"
"We're leaving," Sal stated bluntly.
"Leaving?" Cal rushed to his side. "Right now?"
"Yes, right now."
"Why?"
Sal spun around to face Cal. "You can't seriously be asking that. Do you not remember what happened?" He pulled out the file from earlier and waved it in front of Cal, frustrated. "You see this? We've been in Inkopolis for over a year, and this is the only clue we've gotten!" Sal lowered his hand. "Or did you forget why we came here in the first place?"
Cal frowned. "Of course I didn't forget, Sal."
"Then you know we don't have the time to be playing agents. Now, come on, stop asking dumb questions."
Sal turned, only for Cal to grab his arm and pull him back around. "Sal, wait, man. C'mon. These people need us."
"Who cares?"
"What about Big Sam and Lil' Sam? We just patched things up with them."
"I'm cool with them, for sure. But if they want to be secret agents and put their lives on the line, they can do it without us."
Before Sal could stomp off, Cal raised his hands. "Alright, look at it this way, then. We've been in this city for how long?"
"Too long."
"Right. And yet, it's only now, after we joined the Splatoon, that we even have the clue that's in your hand right now."
Sal paused, looking down at the file. As much as he hated to say it, Cal was right. If they had never become agents, they would've never discovered this piece of crucial information.
"I know you want to find her, Sal. I do, too. And guess what? We know exactly who to go to for answers."
Sal's brows furrowed in anger as he clenched the file in his hands, slightly crumbling it up. "Urus..."
Cal nodded. "Exactly. But we can't get to the guy alone. If we want to reach him, this Splatoon may be the best shot we have. Shell, it may be our only shot. So just stick it out for a little longer, okay?" Sal frowned, not wanting to spend another second as an agent, but what other choice did he have?
After a second of deliberation, Sal hesitantly nodded. "Mhm..." He mumbled, reluctantly agreeing to Cal's plan.
Cal patted his shoulder. "That's the bro I know! Now come on, we still got some time to kill."