Mission_4: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
Sounds of sirens fill Whi-Two's ears as she and her Inspector sped through the streets of Nimbasa, occasionally being drowned out by the sound of her superior's radio. Both familiar and unfamiliar voices boomed through his speakers, and she watches as Lack-Two performs the almost routinary dance of picking up his mouthpiece to relay instructions in his calm but urgent voice, and then placing it down but only to be picked up again after a few seconds, another officer voicing either his concerns or his update.
"SRT Officer Butch, Sir, here in Area 12," one officer's voice boomed. "Teams 4, 7 and 9 are already stationed. Ready to fire at command."
Whi-Two's eyes widen in fear and in surprise. She immediately looks up at her inspector, who in turn simply releases a short-lived sigh as he picked up his radio again.
"No firing will happen if you do your jobs right, Officer," he barked, his voice gradually rising. "Each bullet you fire without my consent will be the same number of bullets I will be shooting at you during Combat Training, are we clear?!"
A small yelp came from the other end of the line.
"...Sir. Yes, Sir."
He rolls his eyes as he lifts the mouthpiece to his lips.
"One of you report to me the current situation."
"SRT Commander Yzain of Team 4, Sir," another voice reports. "The surrounding vicinity has been cleared of civilians. All present family members of the hostages are brought to a nearby officer's household and are guarded by Team 2. Constant updates are being sent through radio."
"Good," Lack-Two breathes, lowering the radio to turn a corner.
"And the Negotiations Team?"
"Currently in contact with the subject, Sir. Negotiations are still undergoing."
"Alright, commander. Keep it up. Expect me there in two minutes."
"Sir. Yes, Sir!"
The Inspector places the radio down and returns both hands to the steering wheel, eyes peeled on the road. Thankfully, it was an unholy hour of the night, and the city rush hour has already come and gone.
"You realize that you shouldn't be here, right?" he suddenly speaks, finally addressing the all too quiet detective sitting in his passenger seat.
"This isn't your department's concern, Detective."
The girl takes a deep breath to relieve the shaking of her hands.
"I am well aware of that, Sir," she almost mumbles, eyes still focused on the road as they had been since she's rode his unit.
"But according to the manual, any police officer is allowed-expected-to respond to any situation within close proximity to where they currently are."
Lack-Two taps impatiently on the wheel.
"Being in the station doesn't count," he mutters.
"Just let me help out, Sir," she whispers in a pleading voice. "I promise I won't be a liability."
Lack-Two takes a moment to cast her a sidelong look before immediately returning his gaze to the road. More police cars are coming into view, and soon, the two of them could see the large crowd that the situation has caused.
"Fine," he groans, stepping on the brakes. A police officer greets them with a salute.
"But you're not my responsibility for today, Whi-Two."
-...-
Whi-Two follows feebly as her senior strides through the saluting officers who stumbles around trying to make way for him. He instantly makes his way to four officers standing by the front, nearest to the building where-as Whi-Two has heard from the various reports thrown upon Lack-Two-an allegedly insane security guard is keeping several employees and guests hostage.
"There better be good news," he greets the four. Only two face him and acknowledge his presence with a salute. The other two, Whi-Two finally notices as she came close into proximity, seemed to be in great focus over a laptop screen in front of them.
It was rather blurry and almost unclear, but Whi-Two can definitely make up the image of a group of people sitting on the ground, crying, while a rather tall man was pacing around, a rifle on his hand.
"That's an AR-15 Rifle," she mumbles. She looks up at the building.
"Aren't those only issued to official UPD officers?"
"There's an assumption that Mr. Panama is involved in illegal weapon smuggling," one of the two officers who greeted Lack-Two explains, approaching her with a sheepish smile.
"It's the only explanation we can actually come up with since there are no records of Mr. Panama ever being involved with the UPD nor are there cases of stolen weapons from our armory."
Whi-Two watches the boy as he blushes a little. Then he stretches his hand to her.
"Hostage Negotiations Team Special Officer Leo Lario," he smiles. "We haven't formally met yet, but I believe you're the newest recruit from Aspertia? Detective Whi-Two, yes?"
Then he freezes when he hears Lack-Two clear his throat, a little louder than usual.
"HNT Commander Cheren," he almost barks. "Please do kindly tell your team members to keep their hands to themselves during missions."
The older-looking, taller man standing near the laptop heaves an annoyed sigh as he leaves the shorter woman by his side to turn to the flustered officer.
"Leo, do us all a favor and please don't flirt with people from other units while we're on the field. You're giving us all a bad name."
"S-Sir, I'm not…!"
Lack-Two clears his throat again, making the officer shut his lips as he returns to his post. Whi-Two watches him as he slumps to where an odd-looking machine was sitting, taking a pair of headphones and wearing it on his head.
The SUU Inspector returns to the commander.
"I'm expecting good results considering your members have the luxury time to slack off," he addresses the taller man in a condescending voice, to which the latter returns with only a resigned sigh. Instead of replying, he gestures at the shorter woman who was speaking through the phone. She puts it down shortly to take the moment to triumphantly pump both her fists.
"Hooray!" she softly cheers before returning to her phone.
"You know, Inspector," the older man, Cheren, drawls. "If you still find it against your principles to have some faith in the special sectors of your own team, at least have some faith in our resident expert mediator."
Whi-Two watches as the girl speaks even more enthusiastically to the phone, wondering if she was the well-renowned UPD Mediator everyone spoke of highly back in Aspertia. The shorter girl, whose wild blonde hair was tamed in her quite over-sized police cap, suddenly ends the call and turns to Cheren with a thumbs up.
"Your turn," she points at him. The other only nods. He raises his radio to his mouth and starts barking orders. Immediately, two groups of police officers surrounding a group of medical practitioners start running towards the building. Before Whi-Two could ask what was happening, a group of people suddenly emerge from the building's entrance, mostly crying and all pale with shock. The medical practitioners went to them one by one, assisted by the policemen.
The shorter girl with the wild blonde hair faces a deadpanned Lack-Two with a triumphant smile.
"You should really learn how to respect your seniors, Inspector," she scolds him playfully. "Skills can only get you so far." Then she turns to Whi-Two and flashes a huge grin.
"Pleased to meet you, my name is Bianca, Hostage Negotiation Team's Second Field Commander! And can I just say you are just about the cutest little hairball I've ever seen in my life!" Then she gives Lack-Two a mocking glance.
"Too bad you're not assigned to the cooler kids..."
"Bianca!" Cheren's voice called out. He was already on the other side of the barricades with the other two members of the HNT. Bianca sheepishly waves at him.
"Coming, Cheren!"
Then, with a parting grin addressed to the confused Whi-Two, she hops over the barricade and joins her team. Together, the four of them run towards the building's entrance.
"Where are they…?"
"Off to meet the subject, of course," Lack-Two replies, a little impatiently. "Just because the perpetrator's freed his victims doesn't mean he's safe to be left there alone. And since the only ones he seems to have trusted is Bianca and her team, they're the only ones viable to get in there and abduct him."
He gives Whi-Two a momentary look before looking back at the treated civilians.
"Looks like we weren't needed here, after all." With a sigh, he snappily turns on his heel and starts walking back.
"Why on earth did they call you out here, then," she mutters. Lack-Two turns to her with a slightly annoyed look.
"I also happen to be a member of the Special Response Team, so it is imperative that I am here, even if it's just for support." Then he turns and continues walking.
"Unlike some people…"
Whi-Two huffs her cheeks in hostility, but decides not to respond. She instead turns back to the laptop screen, which now displayed the man all alone in the room, still pacing around, as if in fear. Looking closer, he still seemed to be on the phone with someone, which was peculiar since she swears that Bianca has put down the phone and ended the call.
What on earth…?
To her surprise, the man suddenly stops, and looks straight into the camera. Then, after a slight pause, he nods, and aims his gun at it.
Before Whi-Two could turn to her inspector to report this, the man shoots.
-...-
"Cheren! Bianca!"
The two field commanders turn their heads and find Lack-Two and Whi-Two approaching them in haste. Despite their confusion, the two sets down their arms and greets them.
"What happened?" Lack-Two demands, looking around at the now empty room where the hostages were once held. Bianca's face turns grim as she looks away, and Cheren steps in to explain.
"I believe we're looking into a relapse," he explains, holding Bianca's shoulder as if in comfort. "Although we don't know what could've caused it because we were positive that the man was in a non-hostile condition when he allowed to hostages free…"
"I don't think it's a relapse," Whi-Two chimes in, finally stepping forward. The two field commanders look down on her in surprise.
"T-The man was in a phone call just a few minutes after you went for him. He seemed to be frantic about it, and he looked like he was trying to reason something out…"
"I don't think that's possible," Cheren argues. "All signals were blocked except for Bianca's line. That can't be…"
"I saw what I saw!" Whi-Two cries, looking up frantically at Lack-Two, who was switching his attention back and forth between Cheren and his junior.
"Sir, you have to believe me…" Then she springs up and starts looking for the camera that was capturing footage of everything.
She couldn't find any.
"That's enough, Whi-Two," Lack-Two reprimands her, taking her by the shoulder to gently pull her back. Whi-Two watches him helplessly.
"Regardless of whether what Whi-Two saw was real or not, the fact still remains: the subject is once again considered a threat. Where is he?"
Instead of replying, Cheren simply draws his attention to Leo and the other officer from their team who were reaching out from one of the windows.
"Neither Bianca nor I can come near him anymore," Cheren explains. "Everytime he hears our voices, he tries to run further and further into a place where we can't reach him."
"You have guns, don't you?" Lack-Two barks at them. "This is especially a situation where you people have the right to immobilize him!"
"We can't!" Bianca finally cries back to him. The other three freeze at the sound of urgency in the blonde's voice.
She looks up at Cheren with sad eyes before looking back at the other two officers.
"He's standing near an edge…"
"And?!"
Bianca looks him straight into his eyes.
"He has a kid with him…"
-...-
"No! Get back!"
The man takes a few steps backwards, dragging the child farther with him, his pistol still aimed at the crying child's temple. His legs trembled as he did, though his feet remain perched firmly despite the narrow metal scaffolding he treaded on. Underneath them, slabs of concrete and broken glass spread across wet cement-signs of a construction site obviously abandoned in haste. Should he make the wrongest of steps, he and the child immediately plummet to their death.
He returns his wild gaze to the two officers stretching their hands to him, one of them appearing to plan on climbing out the window.
Immediately, he lets out a warning scream.
"Stay away," he threatened. "One wrong move and I'll jump with this kid!"
The two officers flinch, acknowledging the view fifteen feet below the man and the child. Slowly, they shrink back into the window, retreating to their commanders, though not letting their eye escape the man and his hostage.
"I don't get it," Leo's partner hisses. "What could that guy possibly want?!"
"An escape route, I'm assuming," Lack-Two chimes in, stepping forward to try and see through the window, but only to be stopped by Cheren's hand. The SUU inspector gives the taller man a dangerous look, to which the latter only returns with his usual deadpan stare.
"If it was an escape route that he wanted, we would've given it to him at the start," Cheren explained, eyeing the still distraught Bianca, now being comforted by Whi-Two.
"But this is the kind of perpetrator with a more complicated motivation. It's not really in his best interest to hurt anyone."
"Well, he is," Lack-Two pressed.
"That's because people have driven him to a corner!" Bianca suddenly cries, much to the other four's surprise. Cheren finally leaves Lack-Two and turns to her, but the girl shakes her head in refusal.
"He's been in high debt with this company in order to save his only daughter who was ill. But even then, his daughter perished, and now he has to stay alive and work for the company until his debt is completely paid."
Bianca eyes the other officers one-by-one.
"Then, they started accusing him of stealing."
"Enough, Bianca," Cheren nudges her, reaching for his partner's shoulder.
"But I failed him, Cheren!" Bianca reasons, the trembling of her body finally manifesting in her voice.
"I… He already trusted me and agreed to let me hear him out! Then all of a sudden, he…" Her hand flies to her mouth.
"...I failed him."
Whi-Two and her inspector share a short look.
"Alright," Lack-Two finally sighs, his voice calm again. "Relapses are common, regardless of how good your negotiations skills are. It's useless to work yourself over this, Commander. What's important is that we try and reach him again this time."
"But that's the problem," Cheren replies. "He refuses to listen to anyone from our team anymore. Claims we're minions of this man called 'Mr. Smith', sent to arrest him. It might scare him if we call for backup." He turns back to the direction of the window, where Leo and his partner are once again trying to reason out with the man, albeit to the negative.
"He can see the scope of our team from up there. He'll know if another set of policemen try to come into this building. We won't know for sure what will happen if he does-"
BANG!
"Mr. Panama-!"
Cheren's eyes immediately widen as he moves his head around frantically. Bianca immediately started for the window, joining her two subordinates.
"Who fired that shot?!" Lack-Two was already barking to his watch, following Bianca's footsteps.
"Weren't HNT's orders clear?! I swear to God, whoever did that can kiss his career goodbye!"
"Mr. Panama, stop shooting!"
But Mr. Panama was already firing his pistol aimlessly back at the area where the officers, and some bystanders, were all standing. More gunshots were returned to his direction.
"Cease these gunshots immediately! Where are your field commanders?!"
The old man felt the hollowness of his efforts and returned the gun back to kid.
"I'm sorry, Cindy…" he whispered, positioning his index finger against the trigger. "Daddy has to hide you away from the bad guys…"
The kid's weeping grows louder.
"Don't worry… This won't hurt a bit… And Daddy will soon come get you… Okay? Then we'll go to Disneyland, like Daddy promised…"
"No…" the kid was crying. "No! No! I don't wanna!"
"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Cindy…"
BANG!
Mr. Panama cries in pain as the bullet brushes against his hand, enough to make him let go of his pistol. He watches with distraught eyes as the pistol plummets to the ground, silently counting in his head before he heard the crashing sound.
Then he slowly raises his eyes forward, from where the bullet was fired from.
"Wait, isn't that Inspector Lack-Two's…?"
"Detective…?"
Lack-Two's head suddenly emerges from the window and starts crying at the figure that stood by the edge of the ledge, a few meters from where the man and the small child stood.
"Whi-Two!" he yells, his voice bordering murderous."What in hell do you think you're doing?!"
Said officer only retains her position: body slightly lowered to retain balance, right arm outstretched while the supporting left arm slightly bended, the pistol resting calmly against her fingers. The old man watches her as she moves to cock her gun the second time. Slowly. Deliberately.
Then she regains her initial position, the gun now directly aimed at him.
"What is she doing, Lack-Two?!" Bianca cries from the window, grabbing said inspector's sleeve. "She's aggravating the man… He might…"
"No," Cheren cuts her off.
"She's stopping him…"
Bianca returns her gaze to the man, and true enough, he was slowly-very, very slowly-raising his arms in surrender. As soon as his arms were lifted from the child's shoulder, enough for the latter to crawl away, Whi-Two affixes her gaze to the latter. She gives him a reassuring nod and gestures at her right foot, which she was slowly sliding forward. Then, she nods to him again, as if to invite him.
The boy, though confused and still frightened, slowly lowered himself until he was down on all fours on the scaffolding, and when he was sure that the man was not going to do anything, he began to crawl towards Whi-Two. As soon as he touched the female officer's shoes, Whi-Two wasted no time, and immediately grabbed the back of the boy's shirt with one hand while letting the other still point her gun at the old man, and when she was sure that the man was not going to move, she supported the crying child as he finally reached the ledge where she stood on.
"Wow, you're so brave," she addresses him gently, ruffling his hair as he grabbed desperately to her waist. "You reached me all on your own. I'm so proud of you!"
The boy only bawled.
Whi-Two gently but quickly leads the child to where the other policemen were waiting. Cheren immediately takes the child and does preliminary check-up on his condition while Lack-Two prepares himself to climb up the ledge to aid his mentee.
The old man, who was peaceful the whole time the boy was traversing his way back to Whi-Two, suddenly looked askance as he did.
Whi-Two had to keep him at bay.
"No!" she cries to him, much to the inspector's annoyance. Whi-Two shrinks back as her superior gives her a dangerous look, but she gathers enough courage to regain her firm face.
"Please, Sir… I can handle this…"
Lack-Two's face does not change, but his body does show signs of backing away.
You better do…
Whi-Two returns to the old man. She watches him for a moment, and when it was finally clear that the man had no more way to threaten them, she lowers her gun. Then, with a deep breath, she climbs on the scaffolding, and starts for the man.
"Thank you for setting the child free…" she begins, stepping forward carefully. Then, when she was sure the man was looking out to her, she reaches out her hand. It was noticeably trembling.
"Now it's your turn…"
The old man looks at her with scared eyes.
"Mr. Panama... " she calls out to him tenderly, attempting to take more steps. "Mr. Panama, right…? Mr. Panama of the Smith Agency…?"
The man's eyes were softening with tears. He nods in acknowledgement of his name, now being uttered in such a tender voice. She had the voice of an angel, he thought.
"Yes…" he says. "That's me. I'm Mr. Panama…"
Whi-Two pauses to let what he's said sink in, and when it did, she smiles a kind smile. Just like an angel's.
"I didn't steal anything…" Mr. Panama continues. "I… I never stole anything…"
Whi-Two nods comfortingly. Just like an angel would.
"I know, Sir. We know…"
"I… I was off-duty when the robbery happened…"
"We know, Sir…"
"I… I don't know how they got my gun and my keys!"
"It's alright, Sir…"
"I would never… ever do something so heinous! I'm an upstanding citizen! I'll never steal! Especially not from my own boss… You can ask Mr. Smith!"
Whi-Two was beginning to feel the trembling of the man's legs. It was powerful enough to let the scaffolding tremble as well, and in turn, making it harder for her to balance herself. She lets herself a glance of the window, and realized that she's gone farther than she intended.
It was either she make it or break it from here.
"Mr. Smith took me in even if I was an immigrant… He… He loaned me a house! He paid for wife's burial! And… And my daughter's medication! He healed Cindy!"
There was a forlorn look in the man's eyes, which scared Whi-Two. He looked shaken by a thought.
"But Cindy's dead now…"
"Sir…?" she tries, her outstretched hand beginning to wave around as she tried to balance herself. The trembling was getting worse.
Oh, no...
"Cindy… She… She died!"
The man was screaming now. He started stomping onto the plank. The board that held them together shook violently, almost enough to shake the young detective off.
Whi-Two loses her footing and falls to her knees. The other officers start screaming.
"Inspector, she's gonna fall!" Leo cries. He showed signs of climbing up the ledge, but was stopped by Lack-Two's poisonous stare. Whimpering, the young officer backs away.
Lack-Two returns his watchful eye on Whi-Two.
The girl was still trying to calm the old man down.
"Sir…" she was saying, her voice loud yet tender. "I understand that you're getting desperate but endangering yourself like this is not the answer! Please…" She stretches her arm towards him.
"Take my hand… We'll save you!"
But the man only continued stomping. Whi-Two had to hold on for dear life.
"Mr. Panama, please calm yourself down!"she cries.
"Those wretched doctors… They said they won't help Cindy unless I pay my debt! I told them that I would! In due time! But they didn't believe me…! They said I've never payed them a single penny! I told them that Mr. Smith would pay… But they said that Mr. Smith never said anything! They lied! They just didn't want to save my daughter… They…"
His voice died down as he finally looks at Whi-Two with large eyes. Whi-Two looks back at him with almost the same expression.
Then he finally grabs her outstretched arm, but only to pull her in closer to him.
"You!" He cries. "She should've been as old as you!"
Whi-Two tightens her hold onto her portion of the board, but the man keeps on yanking her.
Back at the window, Lack-Two prepares his pistol. He then starts hoisting himself up the ledge.
"Sir, stop!" Whi-Two was crying, feeling her fingers slip away from the board. She couldn't fight his force.
The man proved to be too strong due to his rage.
"What rights have you to live?! What rights have you to be here when my Cindy couldn't? What right have all of you have?!"
"Sir!"
"You're the one who should be dead! Not Cindy!"
"Sir, please stop!"
"You! Should! Die-"
The sound of a bullet shot to the air astonishes both the old man and the young detective. It was enough for Whi-Two to lose hold of the board for a moment, and enough to scare the man to lose his own footing. He was about to fall back, to the pile of broken glass fifteen feet down, dragging Whi-Two along with him, when Lack-Two reaches forward and grabs Whi-Two by the hip. With a heavy grunt, the inspector pulls Whi-Two towards him. Whi-Two tries to reach for the falling man with her other, free hand, but the man takes his dagger and slices her arm. The girl screams in pain, making her let go.
"Mr. Panama!"
Whi-Two screams as the man falls down into abyss, the same forlorn look in his face.
Not long after, the sound of crashing was heard.
With a heavy grunt, Lack-Two pulls Whi-Two with one hand towards him, listening to her silent whimpers. He uses his other hand as support, holding onto a metal bar that kept him and the shaking detective in place. Soon, Whi-Two was able to regain her footing onto the ledge with Lack-Two's help, and the first thing she does is bury her face to her superior's chest, and continue crying.
Lack-Two could only land his free hand on the back of her head as she did.
"It's okay…" he whispers, almost inaudibly, watching the deep and dark abyss where the man fell into, the same forlorn look he's last seen now reflecting on his face. Then he returns his gaze to his mentee, who still grabbed onto his uniform like it was her life.
"It's okay…" he says again, against his deep and heavy breaths.
"It's okay, Detective. It's okay…"
He then locks eyes with the other officers on standby who were watching the scene with blank eyes. They all shared the same look, and most likely the same thought.
Lack-Two abhorred that thought.
He clears his throat, and returns his stern expression.
"What are you waiting for?! Move out!"
-...-
Whi-Two feels a soft blanket drape around her trembling shoulders, completely covering her blood-stained uniform. She wasn't able to tell who did it or why as her eyes were still as blank as they were when the others led her down the building, her gaze still focused nowhere.
"I-I hope you're feeling a little better now, Detective," a male voice almost stammered near her. "I-If there's anything else I can help you with, I'd be more than happy to help out…"
Whi-Two slightly raises her face to see who it was, but upon doing so, immediately drops her face back to its original position.
The HNT officer simply brushes the back of his head in awkwardness.
"Uhm... " he tries again. "Y-You were pretty brave out there, by the way! The way you were able to save that kid! You really handled the situation pretty well despite being a newbie! I mean, saving Mr. Panama would've been a stretch but…"
A soft but almost inhuman moan escapes Whi-Two lips as she starts crying again. The boy was in shambles.
"Lario!" A deep voice barks. The young officer straightens himself up upon seeing Lack-Two approach. Whi-Two, however, retains ground.
It made Lack-Two even more displeased.
The young officer desperately tries to make up a salute.
"Sir…" he greets.
Lack-Two's face does not change.
"This isn't your post, Officer," he says in a dangerous tone. The other shrinks in fear.
"Y-Yes, Sir, I know that but…" he trails off, landing a concerned gaze at the sniffling girl. Lack-Two, too, lands his gaze on her.
Then he crosses his arms in front of his chest.
"It's not like you can do anything about her."
Leo looks at Lack-Two with an almost unbelieving face. He was about to point something out when the inspector gives him another dangerous look.
"Did I not say this isn't your post?"
The boy loses his response, and merely salutes before walking away.
Lack-Two watches him for a while before landing his gaze on the girl.
"I'm not expecting a report on this coming from you," he begins, averting his gaze elsewhere. "You weren't supposed to be involved in the first place…"
Whi-Two does not reply. Lack-Two lets out a sigh.
"...But any words coming from you right now would be greatly appreciated."
He steals another momentary glance at her, before slowly lifting his eyes away. Another long and heavy sigh escapes his lungs as he slowly move closer to her, and then, after making sure no one was looking, he gently lands his hand on her bowed head.
"It's okay..."
-...-
"Thank you for coming, Detective. Please have a seat."
Superintendent Aldin's voice flowed almost musically, shooting pangs of warmth across Whi-Two's rather frozen spine. It melts away the stiffness that caused her whole body to arch uncomfortably since she first stepped in their station that morning.
Everything felt normal all of a sudden, with the officers still running around and throwing commands and bantering at one another. She still dragged herself along the same tiled floors, towards the same swivelling chair by the same almost-empty desk, in the same, little cubicle, facing the same anticlimactic paperwork.
It all felt...ordinary. As if everything that had transpired from two nights ago was nothing but a nightmare.
A nightmare that kept plaguing her mind the more she tried to consume herself into the world of everyday policeman stress.
Mr. Panama's blank eyes still haunted Whi-Two, regardless whether her eyes were closed or not, and the sound of his body crashing into a lake of broken glass and steel debris muted even her screams whenever she was brutally pulled from her slumber.
Whi-Two stifled a yawn as she watched their Superintendent lower himself to his seat, his hands hovering over his well-kept desk in search of his glasses. The older man fiddles with it for a moment before gently pushing it against the bridge of his nose. Then he looks up to her, just in time to see her slowly leaning to her side.
"Exciting evening last night, I presume?" he asks, a small smile forming underneath his graying moustache. Whi-Two immediately straightens up. Stiff.
"S-Sorry, Superintendent," she mumbles. "I, uh…" She raises her right hand and starts rubbing her eyes with her thumb and index finger.
"I'm sorry…"
The Superintendent lets out a chuckle, and gives her a reassuring nod, telling her that it was fine. Whi-Two could feel the stiffness melt away again.
"I suppose you're wondering why you're here, Detective?" Aldin continues.
"Affirmative, Sir," was Whi-Two's sudden reply, earning yet another chuckle from the old man. She had to shrink a bit in embarrassment.
"I-I mean, yes, Superintendent..." Then she takes a moment to steal the man a glance, and finally gathers up the courage to ask Aldin what was on her mind the whole time that she was there in his office.
"Am I in trouble, Sir?"
The superintendent gives her a kind smile.
"Why would you think so, my dear?"
Whi-Two feels her body stiffen again as she arches her back to try and sit straight.
"Because I refused to follow my superior's orders, Sir…?" She sounded quite unsure, like her response was more of a question than a proper answer.
"My inspector was clear in saying that I shouldn't have tagged along. And when we were there, he was also clear that I remain out of anyone's way and not do anything stupid…" She swallows for a moment."
"But instead, I took charge despite these orders and…" Her shoulders drop as she feels an uncomfortable sensation in her stomach.
"It costed me someone's life…"
Aldin nods gently.
"Is that what Inspector Lack-Two told you this morning?"
Whi-Two shoots the man a confused look.
Now that he's mentioned it, Lack-Two wasn't in her case this morning. In fact, he didn't even show his face to her at all, despite it being a Monday, and Mondays are the days when he gets slightly bitchier, throwing paperwork at her after another. Today, she didn't even hear his voice.
"I-Inspector didn't say anything…?"
Aldin suddenly chuckles to himself.
"Well, if your inspector whose sole purpose in life seems to be to shout at you didn't come at you with everything he's got, what makes you think I called you here to be reprimanded?"
Again, another confused look. But, Whi-Two found the decency to try and summon a smile.
He was kind of right.
"In this line of work, Detective, you can technically do whatever you want, as long as you can justify yourself through the written reports." Aldin takes a stack of papers filled with walls of printed texts and drops them to other side of his desk.
"And so far, according to the ones written by your co-officers who were at the crime scene, your actions have been justified."
Whi-Two blinks. Co-officers? She thought. So including Lack-Two?
"T-Then…?"
Aldin smiles.
"I called to personally give this to you." He takes a piece of paper from on his desk's drawers and hands it to her. Whi-Two reaches for it, still a forlorn look in her face.
"W-What is this, Sir?"
"Go show it to your inspector," Aldin replies, standing up and walking towards the door. He takes the knob and pulls the door open, gesturing for Whi-Two to leave.
"He'll know what to do."
-...-
Whi-Two reads and rereads the piece of paper as she made her way to her inspector's office. Though she knew she could make sense of the words that turn into sentences, she still couldn't decipher what these sentences meant, let alone what they had to do with her. Or with Lack-Two.
Most specially with Lack-Two.
The young detective takes a deep, exasperated breath.
Just when she thought the stress has already reached its peak.
Lack-Two's door was slightly ajar when she reaches it. She could already see him from where she stood, sitting by his table, eyes tired but focused as they remain glued to his screen.
He didn't seem like he was in a sour mood, like how she would've expected. Exhausted, probably, but overall laxed.
It scared Whi-Two.
Slowly, she raises her right hand, and raps on the door.
Lack-Two snappily raises his gaze from his screen to the girl by his door. He pauses from his work from a moment to give her a look.
Whi-Two anticipated a scowl, but all she got was an inward wave of his hand.
Come in.
The girl obeys without a word.
"G-Good morning, Sir," she softly greets, performing a salute.
Lack-Two returns her greeting with a nod, taking a moment to save his work before fully facing her.
"Sit down," he says, gesturing at a chair right next to her.
Again, the girl just does as she was told.
Lack-Two clears his throat.
"I take it you just came from Superintendent's office?"
Whi-Two takes a moment to look somewhere else before nodding.
"Yes, Sir."
The inspector raises a brow. "And…?"
Instead of answering, the girl's eyes fall on the piece of paper on her hand. Then, slowly, she hands it to him.
Lack-Two takes it rather gently and takes a short moment to read through it.
Then his eyebrows raise.
"You're kidding me…"
Whi-Two feels her throat constrict.
"...S-Sir?" she was able to muster.
"Is something the matter?"
Lack-Two eyes her with apprehension.
"Superintendent didn't tell you anything?"
The girl hesitantly nods. "No, Sir…"
"Seriously?!" The sudden rise in Lack-Two's normally dark and fearsome voice shocked Whi-Two, making her feel several emotions at once. She grabs onto both sides of her chair and let her body shrink a bit. She didn't know if it was because of the trauma or the lack of sleep that was making her extra fragile, but all of a sudden, she didn't want to even be in her inspector's line of sight. It only made her feel dread.
Whi-Two anticipated him to berate her (like how she had been for the past two days), but, to her surprise, Lack-Two only releases a sigh of frustration as he rolls his eyes.
"I swear to God, that old man…" He glances at the paper again.
"You've heard of Stress Debriefing, correct?"
Whi-Two takes a moment to decide if that question was directed to her.
"Yes, Sir…" she whispers. "They do that to help police officers recover from traumatizing events, right?
A splash of realization suddenly hits the girl.
"Is this about the previous case?"
Lack-Two ignores her.
"I don't know how you do it back in Aspertia, but here in Nimbasa, SDs are done upon the request of a superior, and how it's going to be done is at the discretion of the concerned officer's direct inspector." He returns his gaze to her.
"In your case, that would be me."
Whi-Two looks at him incredulously.
"Don't worry," Lack-Two addresses her. "I'm just as bothered as you are about this." He sighs as he rereads the document one last time.
"But for the Superintendent himself to ask…"
The inspector's lips were suddenly pressed into a thin line. Whi-Two had to clear her throat to break the silence.
"...Sir?"
Lack-Two suddenly moves, laying down the document on his table. He takes a pen and starts scribbling his signature on it.
"Very well. Go home."
Whi-Two's eyes widen as she watches him.
"Inspector…?"
He gives her a look.
"You're done for the day. Go home."
"But, Sir, I just got here and…"
"I know." He starts folding the piece of paper.
"Go home."
"Sir-"
"Do whatever you want in the next five hours-getting some sleep would be my sincerest suggestion-and then come back."
Whi-Two shakes her head in confusion.
"In the next five hours…? My shift's had ended by then!"
Lack-Two ignores her and starts for the door.
"I know," he replies. "Mine too."
"T-Then, why…"
"Why else do you think?" Lack-Two twists the knob of his door and pulls it open.
Then he gives her a smile.
"Stress debriefing."
-...-
Whi-Two stares at the time flashed on her phone's screen and heaves a sigh. It has been officially four hours and fifty-three minutes since her inspector kicked her out of the station and asked her to come back five hours later.
Seven minutes early, she thinks to herself with self-conditioned relief. She leans upon the railings by the side of the road, watching from across the road as the streetlights around the Nimbasa station turn on one by one, illuminating the rather bland establishment, giving it life.
This was one of the very few things she had learned to love about Nimbasa in the span of three weeks that she had been staying there. She liked the city lights, though not as much as the star lights she had greatly enjoyed back in Aspertia.
In Aspertia, she had the luxury of seeing all the stars she could possibly want to see. All she had to do was look up. Now, even if she glues her eyes to the sky, with all her might, she'd see nothing.
Whi-Two feels another quiver on her lower lip. She had to mentally slap herself.
You promised yourself that you'd stop.
"It takes a lot of getting used to"—that's what Colonel Rikhards told her earlier on when she decided to give him a call. Thank God, Mondays were his days off, otherwise Whi-Two wouldn't know where else would she run.
Living in of the most densely-populated cities in this country, you'd think that it shouldn't be possible to be this lonely, and yet here she was.
The girl proceeds to close her eyes, which was a mistake, as all the memories from her last case came flooding towards, filling her before she could even stop herself from being filled. A hiccup escapes her throat, and soon, she feels tears seeping through her tightly-shut eyes.
Whi-Two had no choice but to succumb to tears in the most conspicuous of places. Yet again.
Slowly, she raised both her hands to cover her face, gently enough so as to not get too much attention. (Although, the girl had doubted it, what with the people of Nimbasa walking to and fro at light speed, refusing to make any form of eye contact with any person they meet.)
Then she feels something touch the top of her head gently. Whi-Two's arms drop in shock.
Her inspector's dark brown eyes were staring her down with an undecipherable expression. The girl could only stare back, her eyes involuntarily blinking the tears away.
"Whi-Two." His voice was calm, gentle, and almost robotic, it was almost like he was identifying her rather than acknowledging her.
"Sir," she whispers back. Then she immediately comes to her senses and frantically tries to perform yet another sloppy salute, shaking away Lack-Two's hand in the process.
"G-Good evening, Inspector!" Then she takes note of how he looked as he stared back at her: normal shoes, normal pants, a normal shirt covered almost completely by his fading blue jacket (which Whi-Two had long deemed normal), and a normal expression painted on his rather shocked face. Whi-Two's arm slowly drops back to her side.
"S-Sorry…"
"No, don't be," he finally replies, returning the hand she shook away back to his pocket.
"You're early, so that's a good thing." Then he gives her a quick look before heaving a soft sigh.
"And you came, which saves me the trouble of having to come and get you." He then turns to his right and starts walking.
"Let's go."
To that, Whi-Two blinks again, this time in confusion.
"E-Er, what…? Wait!"
The boy stops, and turns to her. Whi-Two just watches him with the same expression.
"'Let's go'? That's it? I don't even know what I'm doing here! Why did you make me come back?"
To that, Lack-Two just sighs, as he always does when people ask him just about anything. Whi-Two doesn't feel as annoyed by it as she used to when she was first assigned to him, and perhaps that was progress for her.
But she still didn't get him. At all.
"I needed to borrow something," he replies in his usual, dreary tone. Whi-Two's forehead only creased further.
"What…?"
The expression embedded over Lack-Two's face doesn't change.
"You."
To that, Whi-Two glowed, her reflexes telling her body to initiate a defensive stance. Her hands immediately clutched onto her purse, readying herself to run away the moment he tries to make any sudden movement. The image from their first case together suddenly running through her mind like a broken record.
Lack-Two could only roll his eyes.
"Relax, you malicious airhead," he calls out, this time a bit louder. Whi-Two pouts, but nonetheless does as she was told out of reflex.
"I'm just going to show you around Nimbasa…"
-...-
"Show me around Nimbasa…?" Whi-Two whispers unbelievingly to herself. Then she notices that her inspector was on the move again, his pace notably slower than usual, meaning he was actually expecting her to try and keep up. He wanted her to try and keep up.
The girl considered for a moment, and after realizing that anything was in fact substantially better than her wallowing in her despair back at her apartment, she throws away whatever wariness she had of her inspector and began jogging after him.
It didn't take her that long to catch up, and soon, she was walking side by side with him, her eyes focused momentarily on the ground before finally finding the courage to say something else.
"Sir, why…"
"How long have you been staying here in Nimbasa, Detective?"
The questions throws the girl off for a second, but she complies nonetheless.
"A-About three weeks, sir." Then she thinks for a moment.
"Five, if you consider my stay at that… place where you and I met." She looks up to see if his expression would change at all, but all she got was a slight bob of his head.
"Have you ever tried going around?"
Again, Whi-Two tries to note a change in his expression, but fails.
"No, sir. I never found the time to do so."
"Why?" Lack-Two's stride was getting a bit faster, catching Whi-Two off guard. But still, she was able to keep up.
"Too busy thinking about Aspertia?"
At that, Whi-Two pauses, feeling suddenly offended. Lack-Two doesn't stop for her, but once again, his stride becomes slower. He was still in earshot when Whi-Two answers with a rather indignant, "yes".
"As a matter of fact, I do, sir." Lack-Two again doesn't stop.
But his stride grows even slower.
"I think about Aspertia a lot," Whi-Two continues. "About how spacious it was there. How bright the night sky was despite not having as much street lights as Nimbasa. How peaceful. How friendly…." She then sighs resignedly, finally allowing her legs to follow and keep up with him.
He didn't seem like he was listening, anyway.
"...And respectful. And welcoming. And…" Her voice trails off as she feels another lump on her throat. She lets out a long, dejected sigh, letting her tensed up shoulders gradually drop.
"And far away…"
She looks up at her inspector as soon as she caught up with him, and finds that his eyes were still focused forward, as they had been since they started walking.
You're just wasting your breath, she thought to herself. He doesn't care.
"I'm not really sure how that feels like," Lack-Two suddenly speaks up, much to the girl's surprise.
"But I guess that's a good thing, that kind of longing that you're feeling right now. It means you have some place that you feel most strongly about. You only get to realize that when you start living far away from it."
He then finally lands a gaze on her, and notes the look in her eyes. It makes him smile a little.
"But I suggest you consider trying to explore Nimbasa while you're here. Might as well discover what this city has to offer for you."
Then he suddenly stops, almost making the girl fall over after having to do the same without prior warning. She looks up at him again questioningly, and he gestures at the large space to his right. Whi-Two follows his gaze, and what greets her immediately replaces all the confusion with awe.
Whi-Two was too caught up with trying to keep up with her inspector's inconsistent strides that she did not realize that they had walked as far as the Nimbasa square,which was a good deal of a distance from the station. The girl had only heard of this place before, and maybe passed by it every now and then when she's on patrol, but never in her entire stay here has she seen the park in its prime, and now that she was here, she had never regretted anything more in her life.
The park was arguably small, as compared to the many, many recreational areas back home, but what it lacked in space, it made up with so much more. Whi-Two had already journeyed her eyes around it more than once, but it seems that everytime she'd land her gaze on one spot, there was always something new to see.
Warm-colored lights donned the entire space, giving it an eerie feeling peace. It had more greeneries than the rest of the city combined, and yet Whi-Two could still tell that it belonged to an urban landscape. In the middle was a rather peculiar square-shaped structure-a small yet colorful fountain fenced by marble stones with texts etched in them.
The girl had to look down to for a moment to catch a break.
"Wow," she breathes. From the corner of her eyes, she watches her inspector shuffle a bit-a little uncomfortably, at least from her point of view-before turning to her.
"Beautiful, huh?" he asks, his voice losing its typical stern tone altogether. Whi-Two is slightly taken aback in surprise.
"Y-Yeah…" she breathes, following suit when her commander returns his gaze towards the fountain.
"Of all the things to love about Nimbasa, this is my favorite one. Come."
The two walk nearer to the fountain in silence. As they go near, Whi-Two begins to notice small flags and occasional bouquets of flowers donning the marble fence. Lack-Two leads her to one side, where a set of words were written such that it would be the first thing one would read the moment they go near.
Whi-Two traces the etched text with her finger.
"'Here lies the dearly departed who were victims of the dreaded...'" Her eyes glowed in recognition. She immediately raises her head to look at her mentor.
"This is...?"
Her inspector simply shrugs.
"This fountain was built in memory of those who died during that incident three years ago that happened at this very spot…"
"The Nimbasa Bombing of 2012," the girl mouths softly.
"That's right. One of Unova history's biggest mark. Also the UPD Nimbasa Division's."
"Oh, yeah... UPD Nimbasa was there to respond that time. It actually earned us our high credentials, right?" Then a quick thought occurred to her, making her finally understand the rather melancholic stance the other was making since the moment they stepped in that small space.
"Were you there, Inspector...?"
She watches Lack-Two shift uncomfortably again, this time a little bit more noticeably than before. His shoulders were stiff, though not in the same way they would when he was at work. It was the stiffness one would see in person helplessly trying to open old wounds.
"Yes," he finally replies, his voice still surprisingly stable. "It was the case that earned me my immediate promotion as senior inspector. Could have been one of my most crowning moments if it weren't for the fact that it left quite a lasting memory on me…"
His voice evidently trailed off, making Whi-Two hesitate, but her curiosity bested her, and before she could stop herself, her mouth opens on its own volition.
"What happened?"
Luckily, Lack-Two did not lash out, and instead obediently answers what was asked of him.
He points to a name.
"'Leslie Hemmingway'..." he reads out loud. Quickly.
"Aged 7 or 8. Her parents were one of the hostages, as both were employees working in the tower where the crime was held. Leslie was one of the civilians who wanted to force their way into the tower, in hope that heeding the terrorists' demand of more people to get in the building could stop them. The police were able to to calm them down, and for the longest time, the crowd was under control as the UPD Response team were doing their best to negotiate." Another evident shuffle.
"...But then, the first bomb was activated."
Whi-Two's breath hitches. Her eyes immediately fly back to her inspector.
"Everyone was suddenly panicking," Lack-Two recounts. "They wanted to get through the barricade. I was assigned to the station where Leslie was. They were a rowdy bunch and we had to support the barracks with our own bodies just to stop them. But Leslie, being small... She was able to slip through. The others weren't able to notice her, but I did. And I wanted to run after her and stop her. But if I let go…"
"...More people could've died," Whi-Two finishes for him.
"Right. I had to listen as Leslie made her way to the building, crying for her parents... Then the second bomb was activated."
And there it was: the first time Whi-Two hears her inspector's voice hitch. It was so soft that it was almost incomprehensible, but she's heard it, and it made her feel...different. Like the person beside her was different.
"Thankfully, that was the last explosion," Lack-Two was saying. "The squad led by Superintendent was able to subdue the terrorists, but yeah…" He shrugs.
"We still lost some lives, including an innocent little girl who just wanted to be with her mom and dad." Lack-Two heaves a sigh before biting his lips.
"I can never forget that girl's face... I feel like I see it, everywhere I look, acting as a constant reminder that I... messed up. At the expense of a little girl's life."
Whi-Two involuntary reaches for him without thinking.
"It wasn't your fault, Sir…"
At that, Lack-Two gives her a knowing look. Whi-Two feels her cheeks burn as she tries to look away.
"I…" she begins, but is cut off by Lack-Two's soft chuckle. Whi-Two had to do a double-take.
Lack-Two chuckled.
"You're a policeman, detective," he continues. "You should know as much as I do that, in this line of work, you can't save everyone. You can only save a majority-but even that alone is hard enough. You have to make the right decisions. Choose the right paths. Even if, sometimes, it means sacrificing others."
The amused look from a while ago gradually disappears from Lack-Two's face, and was replaced by something else entirely. Something not even Whi-Two could decipher.
But, whatever it was, she could feel herself melting to it.
"Sir, I…"
She half-expected him to cut her off again, but this time, his eyes were focused on her, as if he was expecting her to talk this time. Although, she didn't know what to say.
So she let out the first thing that popped into her head.
"Thank you."
Lack-Two only blinks, his expression still the same as before, his eyes still fixed on her. Whi-Two tries to find it in herself to smile at him.
"It means a lot to me, Sir, what you said." She starts fiddling with her bag's strap. "I've been… talking to some former colleagues, and they say more or less the same thing, but somehow… your words resonate more to me. Maybe it's because you went through the same thing I did?" She lands a quick gaze on the marble stone.
"With Leslie…"
Lack-Two takes some time before following her gaze. Then he clicks his tongue.
"Maybe," he says. "But I hope you don't end up like me." Whi-Two looks at him. He stares back.
"I sincerely hope you recover from this, Whi-Two."
It was her turn to let a soft chuckle escape her.
"Hopefully. But it might take a while for me. Everything is still so foreign. It's… unbelievably hard to understand everything."
Lack-Two nods.
"Don't worry about understanding," he says. "You don't have to understand everything. It doesn't work that way. You can be in this business for as long as I have been, or even longer than that, and you still won't understand." He shrugs.
"I never did."
Whi-Two looks at him.
"So, why do you keep going?"
Her inspector gives her an amused look.
"Why do you?"
The two share a look, and without any warning, they both find themselves laughing softly to one another. Lack-Two's laughter dies down first, and he falls into a deep, stunned silence as he watches Whi-Two giggling to herself-the first time since they saw each other this morning that she smiled a sincere smile-with her eyes shining as she did. The latter soon notices, and she had to look down embarrassed.
"Sorry," Lack-Two mumbles, shyly looking away. "I didn't mean to stare. This is actually very foreign to me." He shifts again.
"Never had someone to bring around here before. It feels weird."
It was Whi-Two's turn to shift awkwardly, and he suppresses it with a reassuring smile.
"But it's a good kind of weird…"
Whi-Two smiles again.
"Thank you," she whispers, this time with more sincerity. "For bringing me here."
"Thank you," the boy replies, watching her eyes glimmer underneath the fountain lights.
"...For joining me."
-...-
Music started playing suddenly, and the two notices a group of people flocking towards a portion of the plaza. Two men were standing in the middle of the growing crowd, one with a trumpet while the other an acoustic guitar.
"Street performers," Lack-Two mutters. Then he catches Whi-Two's questioning stare, so he adds: "Very common around here."
Whi-Two nods robotically, shifting her gaze to the two men.
"It's my first time seeing them," she mumbles. "We don't get much of these back in Aspertia…"
Lack-Two just blinks at her, still watching the lights dance on her irises, feeling fascinated. Then he clears his throat, and then starts moving forward.
"Let's go near," he invites, taking her by the hand and leading her nearer to them.
"…And so, ladies and gentlemen," the man with the guitar was saying. He had a heavy and playful accent, Whi-Two notices.
"Let us make the most of this wonderful evening together with this next ballad. If the lovely audience would feel the need to sway along with the music, then by all means, feel free. Our aim is to create a wonderful mood here in Nimbasa."
He starts plucking some strings as he gives a nod at the audience.
"This one is from way back home," he says. "One of the very first English songs I've learned to play."
Then his hand slides down and strums a note as his low, husky voice begins singing.
"Look how she lights up the sky"
"Wow…" Whi-Two breathes from beside Lack-Two, whose eyes he kept focused on anywhere else but her.
"His voice is magical."
"Ma Belle Evangeline"
"That's French," Lack-Two notices. "Foreign performers, I see…"
Whi-Two feels her superior tense up for a moment, and then eases back to his calm stance immediately after.
"That's new…"
Lack-Two looks down for a moment, and realizes that he was still holding his subordinate's hand. Whi-Two was too occupied to notice it, seeing that she's trying to peer through the crowd to see the two play their instruments.
"So far above me yet I"
Carefully, he squeezes her hand, and finds it amusing that the girl barely notices.
"Know her heart belongs to only me."
At that, he finds himself smiling again.
"Je t'adore."
"I adore you."
"Je t'aime."
"I love you."
"Evangeline…"
Whi-Two looks up at Lack-Two, wide-eyed.
"Just translating," the boy explains with a shrug, loosening his hold.
"You understand French?" she asks.
"Learning," he shrugs again as he returns his gaze towards the singer.
"Although, those phrases are actually really common, even someone who's never heard the French language before would know what that means."
Whi-Two puffs her cheeks a little.
She didn't.
"You're my queen of the night,
So still,
So bright."
Some of the people from the audience start exchanging gazes, while some were already hand-in-hand, bodies squeezed together, and were swaying gently to the music. The others, including Whi-Two, watched them wistfully. She unconsciously leans a little to Lack-Two's arms as if she was swooning.
Again, Lack-Two just watches her.
"That someone as beautiful as she,
Could love someone like me."
Whi-Two suddenly feels her hand being lifted upwards, and she turns her head to find Lack-Two still holding it, giving her a knowing smile.
"May I?" he invites, already reaching out to her waist with his other hand.
The girl immediately breaks away, and takes a few steps back.
"N-No…" she whispers. The look on Lack-Two's face somehow hurt her.
"Love always finds a way it's true! "
"I-I don't dance…" she explains sadly. Then she sighs, looking at how the rest of the crowd were already lost in their own little worlds.
"I never danced…"
"And I love you, Evangeline."
Lack-Two stares at her for a moment before chuckling to himself. He then reaches for her hand and pulls her close gently.
"If you can easily pin me down while cocking a gun at my head," the boy says firmly as he places his free hand on her hip.
"Then, you can dance."
The man with the trumpet starts joining in, creating an upbeat melody, and by now, almost everyone was swaying to the rhythm, including the man with the guitar. He starts swaying his hips as he closed his eyes, letting his fingers dance along with the strings.
"Relax," Lack-Two was saying to the slightly dumbfounded girl. "I'll take the lead for now. Just listen to the music, and wait until your feet can feel the 'quick, quick, slow' beat." He closes his eyes for a moment, and listens.
"There it is."
And gently but firmly, he leads both their bodies back, and before Whi-Two could protest, they were moving in jive with the music, she letting her superior guide her with his muttering of 'quick, quick, slow'.
"Love is beautiful,"
"See? You're getting it." Lack-Two chuckles again as he takes another step back, and he twirls the girl smoothly, stepping forward in time to catch her before she falls.
Then he steps back again, taking her with him to a gentle waltz.
"Love is wonderful!"
"Hopefully," Whi-Two stammers, grabbing Lack-Two's arm immediately in fear of stumbling forward. She looks helplessly at her feet's movement, trying desperately to follow Lack-Two's smooth steps.
"I said 'relax'," Lack-Two laughs, making his hold on her waist a bit firmer. "And stop looking at your feet—you're making them nervous. Raise your head and look at your partner, instead."
"Love is everything."
Whi-Two looks up as she was told, and catches Lack-Two's face as his laughter dies down, catching the moment where his face was being drained of any residue of amusement, save for his eyes that still had that playful glint.
She feels her stomach sink a little, but it wasn't out of sadness, for once.
It was something different.
"Do you agree?"
Lack-Two notices her staring, and he unconsciously pauses for a moment, looking back at her.
"Mais oui!"
"Uhm…" Whi-Two began, looking away, feeling embarrassed again.
"W-What did he just say?"
Lack-Two blinks for a moment before realizing what she meant.
"It means 'but yes'," he answers softly. He gradually loosens his hold on her hand as he lowers it down. The same goes with the hand he placed on her waist.
Whi-Two nods as response to his gesture, and gives his shoulder one last squeeze before completely letting go.
"Look how she lights up the sky,"
"I told you I can't dance," Whi-Two tells him with a giggle. "Sorry you had to dance with such an awkward partner."
"No, no," Lack-Two assures her, raising his hand slightly to pat her shoulder, but only to drop it again.
He's realized he's been touching her too much this evening.
Lack-Two takes a deep breath.
"Honestly speaking, you're a lot better than Lai was…"
Whi-Two peers at him with her blue eyes.
"Inspector Lailani?"
"She once asked me to teach her back when we were still in the Academy," he says matter-of-factly, followed by a shrug. "That girl has literally two left feet."
Whi-Two smiles ruefully.
"Oh."
The girl looks down and shift awkwardly for a moment, and then gives a sidelong glance.
Lack-Two notices the growing awkwardness, which he tries to ease by clearing his throat.
"Well, I hope you remember what I taught you. Who knows? You might use it in one of your undercover missions in the future."
The girl looks at him with an undecipherable expression, but she nods with a smile anyway.
Lack-Two gives her one last look, and feels a certain pang of bitterness when he notices that the colors from a while ago died down from his subordinate's eyes. Then he had to mentally berate himself, thinking that there was no room for such thoughts.
He's let his guard down for too long. It was time to go back.
"It grows late, Detective. If there's nothing else," he begins. Whi-Two looks up at him.
Lack-Two sighs.
"...Then you're dismissed."
"I love you, Evangeline."
-Mission_4 Status: Accomplished-
"Sectors are sub-units that are only formed whenever the need arises, headed by assigned Field Commanders. They answer directly to their respective Units, and are headed officially by their Unit inspector. However, as Sectors are officiated on a by-need basis, their inspectors often consider them independent of their Units. Not all units have Sectors. A prominent example would be the Hostage Negotiations Team under the Special Response Unit." - Excerpt from the UPD Trooper's Manual, Chapter 1 - Appendix: A Special Note on Sectors
A/N: The song used is called "Ma Belle Evangeline" from Disney's Princess and the Frog. THAT scene was also based on the same movie.