Mission_14: Reinstatement
"...Honey?"
The girl snaps out of her trance. She blinks a few times, performing the ever so familiar ritual of having to shake herself back to her reality.
Whi-Two looks around for a bit, taking in the small details of her actual surroundings–from the smell of confectionery, the soft hums of mixers, the heat coming from the preheated ovens, and the expectant yet with a tinge of concerned looks coming from their audiences. For a moment, she couldn't tell where she was and why she was there.
It has been a cruel cycle she's been going through since she's gone home to Striaton.
Then, as it has before, reality pours over her whole body like cold water–nastily drenching her with shock that quickly thaws into dread. And before she knew what was happening, the feeling of bitterness envelops her entire being, making her melt.
"R-Right…" she mumbles. Then she looks up at her mother, a hint of apology in her eyes, and it was enough for the earlier to understand many things at once, one of which was that her daughter was definitely not listening.
Cecilia just returns the girl's stare with a tender look of patience. She smiles good-naturedly, giving her a small nod of reassurance.
Whi-Two feels her stomach sink.
"Let's repeat that again for everyone," Cecilia's voice bellows, returning her gaze back into the classroom, now addressing the now slightly confused crowd. Almost all at once, the entire class' attention is brought back to her, their focus now on their teacher and not on the oddly silent helper by her side.
"Make sure your mixtures are all smooth and creamy," she was telling them, taking her bowl and lifting up her whisk, showing everyone, for the second time, the type of consistency they were striving for.
"When you're sure that there are no more lumps, that's when you add your sugar."
Cecilia returns her gaze to Whi-Two, still with that tender look of patience, and Whi-Two feels her whole body tingle with something she could only describe as dread, but emptier.
Nevertheless, she does as she was told: reaching forward for the box in front of her and robotically pours its contents to their bowl.
The whole room shuffles uncomfortably a bit but nonetheless did as they were told as well, despite just watching their baking teacher's assistant pour the contents of the box clearly marked as "salt" into her batter.
-...-
"...And that's it for today's class!"
The mother and daughter duo bow, followed by the rest of the class.
"Thank you very much," they all roar in unison.
Cecilia watches as the class slowly pour out of the room before addressing the girl next to her.
"Quite a full house today, huh?" she asks, joining her daughter in clearing the tables.
Whi-Two just smiled impishly, continuing on her chore of collecting baking trays in one hand and mixing bowls with leftover batters with another. Cecilia's perpetual smile slightly fades away as she watches her daughter carefully balance the dishes as she walks to her cart.
"You've been quiet today, honey, is everything alright?"
The girl just sighs quietly as she produces a washcloth from her basket of cleaning items. She starts wiping the table vigorously.
"I'm just under the weather, mom. I'm okay…"
"...And tomorrow, what will your excuse be?"
Whi-Two just continues.
Cecilia purses her lips and exhales dejectedly. Her eyes roam around the room a bit, and finds the remaining confectionery still airing out by the teacher's table–their product for today's class.
"You know, I'd hate for those muffins to go to waste. I'd take them home with us, but God knows we have more than enough baked goods than what two women would know what to do with. And I'm sure the neighbors will probably start needing insulin pumps soon because of us…"
She returns her gaze to Whi-Two.
"Maybe there's someone else you'd like to give them to?"
"Colonel Rikhard's diabetic, mom…" Whi-Two drawls out emotionlessly, moving her cart to another table. She once again starts her routine of collecting trays and bowls, stacking them almost dangerously in her cart. Then she pulls out her washcloth and starts wiping. Vigorously.
"Maybe someone else? Another former boss, perhaps?"
Whi-Two freezes for a moment, but other than that she does not react. Cecilia watches her carefully, checking if there would be any change in her expression.
But the girl's almost blank face remains frozen.
Only after a short pause did Whi-Two continue on her routine, leaving Cecilia's words to fall on deaf ears. Not that Cecilia was offended, or even surprised.
These days, Whi-Two would often just clam up and keep to herself, especially when things like UPD and the people she's met there would come up. Cecilia had tried dozens of times to get her daughter to talk about what happened in Nimbasa, and how she was stationed back in Aspertia, and why, despite all of that, she decided to go home to Striaton.
If she were being honest, Cecilia knew she's always wanted nothing more than for her daughter to take herself out of harm's way and just come home for good. But she knows this is not the state she'd wanted her to be.
Whi-Two acted like an empty shell of who she once was, and it ached for Cecilia to not know what to do about it. She thought getting Whi-Two to go out and do something else to get her mind off of things would be the best thing for her daughter. But somehow, despite costing herself all her sanity just to get Whi-Two out of the house, barely anything changed for the both of them.
Whoever said time can heal all wounds clearly never went through what her daughter had gone through. And continues to go through.
Cecilia is jolted out of her own little trance by the sound of a crash, and sees Whi-Two kneeling on the ground, a pile of broken glass in front of her.
"What happened, dear?" she asks, already walking briskly to where the girl is.
Whi-Two only looks up at her apologetically.
"S-Sorry, I thought I could carry all the bowls in one go. I'll clean it up."
Almost fluidly, Cecilia pulls out a thick hand cloth from one of the tables she passed through, and kneels down as soon as she reaches Whi-Two. Gently, she swats the girl's hands away from picking up the shards.
"That's dangerous, dear," she almost coos, using the thick cloth as armor for her hands as she collects the pile and picks them up at once.
Whi-Two watches the woman wrap the shards with the cloth and tie it securely with a knot.
"T-Thanks, mom…"
Cecilia smiles ruefully as she reaches for her daughter's hand, offering to help her up. Whi-Two takes her hand, and is caught off guard by her mom's sudden strength in pulling her up, and making her fall into the other's arm in embrace.
Whi-Two awkwardly lands her hands on her mother's shoulders.
"I wish you'd tell me what's going on with you, Rosa," Cecilia coos, hugging her tightly. "I worry so much…"
Whi-Two just heaves a soft sigh.
"I'm sorry," was all she could say in reply.
These days, they were the only words she could get herself to say.
Cecilia loosened her hold for a bit, but just so she could look her daughter in the eyes.
"Please don't be," she whispers, raising her hand to touch Whi-Two's cheek in comfort. "God only knows what went on out there that's left you to turn your back on your dream–something you'd spent more than half of your life working for. And I want to understand, I do. But…"
She smiles, raising her other hand to hold Whi-Two's face–something Whi-Two always found comforting.
"You can't take worrying about you out of your mother. And if there is anything I can do to help you in any way…"
"This is more than enough, mother," Whi-Two politely cuts her off. She raises her hands to cup her mother's. Then slowly, gently in hopes that she doesn't offend Cecilia, she frees herself from her hold.
"I'll get over it, I promise."
Cecilia purses her lips, but nods nonetheless. She watches as Whi-Two returns to her original chore, moving to the next rows of tables.
"You really are your father's daughter," she mumbles, almost to herself.
Then her phone's alarm starts beeping. Cecilia quickly reaches for it and frantically tries to turn it off before Whi-Two could notice.
But Whi-Two was already watching her with a knowing look. Cecilia shuffles a bit awkwardly.
"You know, I don't really have to go…"
"Mom, we talked about this…" Whi-Two chides, her voice sounding a bit lighter, mimicking her mother's gentle reprimanding voice.
"You've spent a lot of time and money and effort and waited for months to get your flight approved. Don't postpone it just for me."
"But, honey…"
"Mom," she cuts her off again, this time finally straightening herself up so she can face her properly.
"You've been so excited for this seminar since last year. I want you to go."
She gives her a small smile as she comes back and goes for another hug, this time initiated by her.
"I promise you, I'll be fine."
Cecilia only nods sullenly. Despite all of her wanting to protest, she knew there was no amount of convincing in the world that would overpower her daughter's stubbornness. She was her husband's daughter after all.
"I'd just feel so much more relieved if I knew I wasn't leaving you alone," she whispers.
"And I won't be," Whi-Two reassures her.
"I have all the scones you made last week to keep me company."
A chuckle involuntarily escapes Cecilia's lips.
This was the first time she's heard her daughter joke.
The amount of effort her daughter's probably exerting to not make her worry.
And all it did was make her worry.
"Mom," Whi-Two calls for her again, still with that knowing glint in her eyes.
"Your flight is leaving in ten hours. You still have to go home and pack and make sure all your paperworks are in order. Please go."
She gestures at the only halfway cleaned classroom.
"I'll finish up here and go home in time to take you to the airport, okay?"
Cecilia only looks at her as she heaves a long, exhausted sigh.
She still had so much to say. She had about thirteen more arguments to raise to Whi-Two to convince her not to make her go. She even considered not making any argument at all and just not go.
But then she knew she'd face her daughter's wrath, or even worse: her daughter's guilt.
And the last thing she wanted was to watch her daughter wallow in self-hate by causing someone else to lose their dream.
Both she and her daughter knew a thing or two about losing dreams.
With a small sigh of defeat, Cecilia starts untying her apron as she headed for the teacher's table, where the rest of her belongings were.
"Please don't break anything else dear," she calls behind her, watching as Whi-Two once again attempts her balancing act.
"Those bowls are not cheap, and neither is getting stitches on your hands."
-...-
Whi-Two listens for her mother's car engine turning on, and soon, she hears her driving away. It was only then that she was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Out of concern or not, Whi-Two does not appreciate having to watch her mother thread a thin wire with trembling legs every time they are left alone together. She could barely keep herself at bay having to deal with her own emotions–the last thing she needed was having to deal with her mother's as well.
Not that she can blame her.
It has been three months since she surprised her mother by suddenly appearing at her door, the past two years contained in only two suitcases in each of her hands. And in all those while, Whi-Two has let out not one word to her mother–or to anyone for that matter–of all the things that went down in her last days as a policeman.
She naively thought by not talking about it, she'll one day find herself in a state where she is convinced that none of it has ever happened.
Whi-Two is again shaken from her trance by the sound of her phone ringing. The girl playfully rolls her eyes as she starts journeying to the front of the room where her purse was. It was probably her mother, telling he she might have forgotten something or another–one of the many, many obvious excuses Cecilia would make just to make sure her daughter was still responsive enough to answer her calls.
"Hey, mom…" she greets with a smile, but the smile immediately fades when she hears only static from the other line.
Then her face turns grim.
This has been the third time just this week that she's received the same type of call, and perhaps the 43rd overall, at least since she's gotten home.
The pattern of the call had always been the same: a whole minute's worth of static to be followed by the sound of someone's heavy breathing. Whi-Two noticed that the heavy breathing would occur in different intervals–sometimes it was straight up heavy panting, and other times they were slow, deep exhales–but there was no doubt it came from the very same person.
Whi-Two didn't know who that person was.
And as it has for the last 42 times, the call would drop itself without Whi-Two saying anything. Whi-Two knew she shouldn't say anything. She knew from her years in the force that these were phone calls that were definitely doing rounds in hope of finding a particular number, and although she wasn't necessarily sure, Whi-Two makes it a point never to let them realize she was the particular number they were looking for.
The girl sighs as she lowers her hand.
She wonders if things will ever feel normal again.
Whi-Two puts her phone away and starts for her cart when she suddenly feels movement. She turns and looks around warily, suddenly aware of how vulnerable of a state she was in.
Her mom's little bakeshop with a classroom at the back was situated in one of the quieter parts of downtown Striaton, where barely any foot traffic would come about, especially outside of class hours. Whi-Two never really heeded that fact, because more often than not, she and her mother would stay there together, and her mom's consistent attempts at making conversation had somehow filled up that emptiness.
But now that she's actually had the chance to stand there by herself, she couldn't help but be hyper aware of things that seemed amiss.
The sound of a lone rolling pin catches her attention–it was from the dangerous pile she was attempting to balance in on her cart. She watches as the wooden tool drifts its way towards the underside of one of the tables, listening to the gurgling sound it made, ending abruptly when the pin hit the table's metal leg.
Whi-Two feels uneasiness in the pit of her stomach, making her feel around for her purse, pawing around it to search for her gun. Her fingers envelop the rather rough edges of the weapon's handle, and slowly–carefully–she pulls it out and brings it to her other hand. Then she starts for where the pin was carefully, making it a point to keep tabs on all sides of the room as she does.
Gradually, she reaches the table, and with one last scan, she steadily lowers herself, giving off an image of attempting to reach for the pin. With her body crouched down closer to the floor, she begins to hear footsteps. She listens as it gradually approaches where she was seated.
Whi-Two counts the number of steps the intruder takes, and when she was sure it matched the number of steps one needed to reach her, she immediately straightens herself and points her gun outwards.
"Freeze!" she cries.
Lack-Two stares at the barrel that was but a few inches away from between his eyes before he slowly focuses his gaze on the somewhat horror-stricken girl. His whole body was lax despite the threat of having his brains get blown out by Whi-Two's minute excuse of a pistol, but nonetheless, he does the needful and ploddingly raises both his arms, as if to surrender.
"Madame, I come in peace."
-...-
Lack-Two retains his arms up as he looks down on Whi-Two. The latter does the same, her arms still outstretched, her small gun aimed dangerously close to the center of his eyes. They stay like that for a few more seconds before Lack-Two breaks the silence by clearing his throat.
"Hey, kid, long time no s–"
"Oh my God, Lack-Two!" Whi-Two joyfully cries out, suddenly putting the gun away and throwing herself at him. Lack-Two was dumbfounded as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against his neck. His hands were still raised up, awkwardly hovering over the girl's now trembling back. He looks around uneasily, unaware of how to react.
But Whi-Two does not give him a chance to.
"I can't believe you're here," her voice soared with aching relief. Then she lets go for a bit to get a good look of her former mentor's face.
"What are you doing here?"
Lack-Two only stares at her, the look of uncertainty and confusion–and even slight wariness–still plastered across his face.
Whi-Two almost mimics his expression.
"What's wrong?" she asks, her voice filled with genuine concern.
Lack-Two eventually earns back his composure.
"Nothing," he mutters, looking away to calm himself down.
Somehow, he could feel himself matching the girl's bewildering levels of excitement, and it didn't sit right with him.
"...I guess I was just expecting a little more of a violent reaction considering the last time we saw each other."
Whi-Two looks at him, first confused, and then slowly, the adrenaline and excitement from seeing her old mentor fades away. Her face slightly glows as she gradually lets him go, feeling a tinge of embarrassment for how she acted earlier.
Of course.
Lack-Two watches the light slowly fade away from Whi-Two's eyes as she backs away, and immediately feels regret.
He couldn't have just accepted that his former mentee was happy to see him despite everything. He had to point it out.
Lack-Two couldn't let himself have a break. Not even once.
"I…" he starts again, raising his voice a bit, trying but failing to lighten the mood again. "I went over to Aspertia Station in hopes of finding you there. But Rikhards, he…"
He shuffles uncomfortably in place.
"...He told me I'd more likely find you here instead."
Lack-Two pauses for a bit to look around to take in the small details of that empty room. He notes the smell of sugar and flour still wafting through the air, the faint hum of the refrigerators that lined the back walls, the warmth emanating from the ovens by the stations, the chaotic ensemble of bowls and whisks scattered about the still to be cleaned tables–it was like peering into an alternative universe.
A universe that would have never let their paths meet.
Lack-Two abhors the thought, but resentfully accepts it.
"I thought you always wanted to be an inspector?" he asks finally with a sigh.
A small noise leaves Whi-Two's lips–like a whimper–calling Lack-Two's attention back to her. The jumble of indiscernible emotions in her eyes almost broke Lack-Two, making him regret his last words.
"...And I thought you'd be thrilled," Whi-Two finally spits.
"With me completely out of the force, you don't have to worry about getting tired of bailing me out anymore."
She smiles bitterly.
"I mean isn't that why you threw me away in the first place?"
Lack-Two watches as Whi-Two returns to her cart and starts for the rest of the unkempt baking stations.
He sighs.
"I didn't come here to pick a fight," he calls out to her.
"Good, because you're not getting any," Whi-Two snaps back, her back fully turned from him.
Lack-Two watches her with pain.
"Rosa, please."
They both jolt slightly as the words escape the former inspector's lips. Then both their shoulders drop as the atmosphere grows heavier.
Hearing her real name come out of his lips made it all sound so unnatural. So fake.
Whi-Two does not speak, wordlessly urging Lack-Two to continue with whatever it was he intended to say next.
But Lack-Two couldn't find anything else to say.
He rehearsed for every scenario his mind could think of was possible during his long drive to Striaton, but somehow, none of what he prepared seemed appropriate for what actually ended up happening.
It would have been so much easier if Whi-Two just leaned in and shot him instead. He was actually more prepared for that.
"You should go."
The squeaking of the cart's wheels fills the air as Whi-Two pushes it farther away from where Lack-Two stands.
"Striaton has its own UPD station here, albeit a small one. But it's more than enough because the worst case I've heard of here is bicycle theft."
Whi-Two wearily starts clearing the last of the tables, completely ignoring the pained look in her former inspector's face.
"A high-ranking officer from Main like you should have no business traipsing around something that's already beneath him." Then, in a restrained, bitter tone, she adds:
"Do the same thing you made me do, Inspector Lack-Two, and leave."
Lack-Two feels his throat constrict. Of all the times they've had exchanges, this was the least amount of words Whi-Two had spoken, but this was what hurt him the most.
His detective had always had a sharp tongue, but in all their banters there was always some restraint, he knew, that blunted the blows and gave him the opportunity to retaliate.
Now he knows what it feels like without those restraints, and it left him almost speechless.
"I-It's just 'Nate' now…"
Whi-Two is caught off-guard by the shakiness of his voice, making her look back at him with a look of surprise and confusion. Lack-Two just looks away.
"I'm… not an inspector anymore," he continues on, his voice low and careful, as if he could say or do anything that could drive Whi-Two further.
"I quit."
Whi-Two watches him in shock.
"You…what?"
Then she scoffs nervously, shaking her head in denial–almost pleadingly.
"You wouldn't…"
But the look in Lack-Two's eyes told her everything she didn't know and didn't want to know.
Whi-Two feels her throat constrict.
"Why…?"
Of course Lack-Two didn't need to answer that. Whatever reason he could possibly give, Whi-Two knew it would not be enough to lessen the gravity of the truth as it all sinks in.
Lack-Two just walked away from that one thing that truly mattered to him. And the amount of pain in his eyes told Whi-Two enough: it shattered him to let it all go
The two are once again engulfed in silence.
Lack-Two had given up trying to muster the strength to meet Whi-Two's eyes without breaking into pieces himself, but Whi-Two did. She watched him as he stood there, frozen–a far cry from the image she's always had of her inspector: one that was full of purpose and confidence–perfect to a fault.
There were so many things that were still left to be said, but somehow, no words would come out. Whi-Two knew she still needed to be angry, but to her own surprise, the anger was dissipating, and the only thing remaining was hurt. But hurt not caused by him, as she would expect, but rather hurt for him. For both of them.
Whi-Two takes a step forward, carefully, and Lack-Two watches in slight shock as she makes her way to him. Thanks to the girl's long legs, it didn't take her long to reach him, and when she did, she raised her hand as if to hit him.
Lack-Two winces a bit, but nonetheless prepares himself for the strike–he knew no one else deserves to hit someone more than his old mentee, and no one deserves to be hit more than him.
But Whi-Two does not do so. Instead, her face contorts in pain as she starts to sob. The former inspector just watches her helplessly, trying so hard not to do the same thing.
Then she steps forward again, and slowly presses herself against him and pulls him, though gently this time, into another embrace. This time, Lack-Two does not tense up, and instead, actually allows himself to return the favor—something he's never done in such a long time.
He ceremoniously raises both his arms and wraps them tenderly across the girl's back, suddenly hyper aware of the warmth radiating from her body. Lack-Two chokes a bit as he begins to tighten his hold, mirroring the girl's gesture.
Whi-Two hugged him so tightly, it felt like all his broken pieces were being squeezed back together again, and he could do nothing else but hope he could do the same for her.
"I'm sorry…"
"I know."
A few more seconds, and Lack-Two, against his own wishes, gently breaks away, thought not completely.
He wasn't ready to let her go.
The former inspector looks down at her face, and, without thinking, raises one hand to wipe her tears away with his thumb.
Despite the shock from her former inspector's sudden willingness to retain physical contact, she finds herself giggling at the motion, but nevertheless, she breaks away.
Whi-Two sniffs, proceeding to wipe the rest of her tears away herself.
"...I still don't know why you're here," she whispers.
"You didn't drive all the way here just to apologize, right?"
At that, Lack-Two's expression changes. Subtly, but enough for someone like Whi-Two to notice.
"Oh yeah, that," he mutters under his breath. Then he finally looks her directly in the eyes with an indecipherable expression.
"Your life is in danger."
"...What?"
Then, nonchalantly, he adds.
"And your mom's too."
"What?!"
-...-
Lack-Two watches as Whi-Two paces the floor. It had been about fifteen minutes of her going back and forth that he found the need to take a seat as his former detective did her rounds.
Whi-Two was reciting the details her former inspector had just delivered to her like a madman, as if repeating them again and again would help make things make more sense. But somehow, her trying to wrap her head around it all only made it even harder for her to comprehend. And this is just information Lack-Two told her today.
The syndicate… Joven Dailo… People that are after her and her mother… They all swirled around Whi-Two's consciousness, making her head explode.
"Okay, Rosa, breathe," she finally mutters, pausing in her tracks. Then she starts lightly hitting her cheeks as if to ground herself, and takes another deep breath and closes her eyes, trying to organize her thoughts.
Lack-Two watches this all with a small hint of amusement.
"First thing's first, I need to make sure my mother is safe," Whi-Two was whispering to herself. Then her stance laxed as she went on.
"It's actually a great coincidence that her request to leave the country was approved in time, which means we have until she comes home to resolve all of this…"
Then a thought zooms across her head.
Now that she's said it out loud, it was almost too great of a coincidence…
Almost impossible, even.
With the original lockdown in place, it was already close to impossible for anyone to get clearance to travel, let alone procure a flight to begin with.
And with things currently the way they are…
Whi-Two feels her stomach flip upon realization.
You needed to be either filthy powerful or disgustingly rich to overrule these realities, and she definitely knew someone who fits that description very well.
Slowly, she returns her gaze back to her former inspector, first warily, but soon, an incredulous expression started gradually brewing on her face.
Lack-Two only blinks at her.
"No…" Whi-Two mumbles in disbelief, watching as the boy's expression slowly transformed from nonchalance to something with more meaning.
Something almost remorseful.
The girl was aghast.
"Lack-Two, what did you do…?"
Said ex-officer only shrugs, his arms wrapped across his chest–as if protecting himself somehow. But nonetheless he meets her gaze.
"What I always do, Whi-Two: whatever is necessary."
The girl almost audibly gasps.
"W-Why would you do that?" she stammers in disbelief.
Lack-Two only shrugs.
"I don't think I need to answer that."
Whi-Two could only give him a look that he could describe as dumbfounded, though with a hint of anger–raw, seething anger.
The boy could only sigh.
"It's not like I did anything illegal," he reasons, finally admitting defeat with this unintended staring contest his former mentee has started.
"Your mom had done the needful. She had the proper paperwork done, she had no criminal record, and she had no reason not to come back to Unova once her seminar was done. All she needed was some 'grease' to get things going a little bit more quickly and smoothly, so to speak."
The young inspector shuffled a bit where he sat.
"It may be a pain in the ass, but it sometimes does help to have a rich and powerful dad who has access to people who could provide the needed grease."
He then finally looks at Whi-Two, but immediately retreats the moment their eyes meet again. He once again averts his gaze and tries to find something–anything–other than the girl to focus his eyes on.
Anytime longer that he perched his stare at her, his own eyes would have burned from his socket.
Whi-Two glared at him like she could shoot bullets with her eyes. And if she could, Lack-Two knew his next line would've earned him a killing shot.
"Now, it's just a matter of tackling you."
The girl's eyes narrow with more fury. But still, she says nothing, much to the former inspector's chagrin.
Lack-Two hated being alone in a cramped space with someone who refused to talk to him. Her silence drove him mad.
And he hoped he could somehow calm a raging Whi-Two down before he had to get to the more undesirable part of why he came there.
With a resigned sigh, the boy hesitantly lifts his hand to the hem of his blazer, and with his other hand he reaches in and fishes out a small document.
Even from where she stood, Whi-Two could clearly recognize what it was.
It was a plane ticket.
The girl's eyebrows furrow even more with rage.
"It's actually quite flexible," Lack-Two explains, a small crack becoming evident in his voice.
"You can take the risk of not packing everything, and fly at the same time as your mom's. Or, you can take your sweet time and surprise her after, say, a few hours? Either way, you can still–"
And before he could finish his statement, he felt a force yank the ticket from his hand. He watches as Whi-Two tears the ticket apart in front of him, her eyes not letting his gaze leave hers.
"...You know, do that," he mutters, watching the pieces of paper float down gently to the floor.
"Is this always a thing with you?" Whi-Two hisses, forcing him to look back at her with her dangerously rising tone. Lack-Two obediently follows, almost out of fear.
"Do the deciding for everyone else without even asking them for at least an opinion? Let alone a response?! Then you act on it by simply driving them away! All because you think you know better what's best for them…"
Lack-Two once again does not speak. It made Whi-Two angrier.
"Well, I'm not having any of that nonsense, okay? Not anymore! You've been pushing me away back into the sidelines for way too long, Lack-Two! Even though you know I am not just any officer…"
Whi-Two's voice begins to crack as well, but she determinedly continues, her voice rising at every sentence.
"I became a detective in less than a year. I was assigned to our department's top division. I have survived and thrived having you for a superior. I…"
She nears her face to him, her gaze menacing and firm. Lack-Two actually finds himself shrinking back a bit in fear.
"I am the motherfucking reliable rookie from Aspertia and if you think I will just hide away like some damsel in distress because all the guns are now pointed at me, then…"
There was suddenly a hitch in her voice, and almost too immediately, the anger in her eyes fades as she backs herself away from him. Lack-Two watches as all the adrenaline seeps out of her then trembling shoulders.
Whi-Two just shakes her head as she averts her gaze from him.
"...Then, I don't think you do know me as well as I thought…"
Frustratedly, the young ex-officer raises both her hands and exasperatedly presses them against her forehead as she lets out a groan. Then she slowly slides them down towards her cheeks as she sighs again.
"I appreciate what you did for my mom, Sir, I really do…" she whispers, her voice now devoid of anger and restraint and replaced by dejection.
"But seeing you come here, I just thought… I hoped that… At least now, finally, we…"
She drops her arms to her side in disappointment.
"I really thought that now that everything that stopped us before had been thrown disastrously out the window, you'll finally agree for us to work together like before. But here you are again throwing me aside like…" She scoffs.
"Like my say on the subject doesn't even matter. Like I don't even matter…"
"Whi-Two…"
The girl walks away in huff, not letting the other get a word in edgewise. She heads for the door, but stops before she even reaches the exit.
She suddenly feels bad.
Lack-Two may be a dick–and God knows he deserves more than just a few harsh words from his favorite punching bag of a mentee–but she also knows he always has his reasons. And even though she could never figure out his convoluted intentions completely–even though only he could understand his own motivations, crazy as they may be—she knew it was always for the best.
Whatever that best may mean.
Whether he makes an asshole move or not, she always finds herself getting where he was coming from. She doesn't condone it, but she understands.
And if Whi-Two was being honest, this is one of her most hated things that she's learned to do in her years of working with Lack-Two.
It sucked being the one who always had to understand.
With a sigh, she looks back at him, silently hoping he was going to say something that would alleviate even a tiny bit the hurt he's been causing her. But what met her was disappointment.
Lack-Two remains frozen where he originally perched himself on, his eyes focused nowhere. As if he was trapped in some sort of trance.
Whi-Two considered taking a pastry from one of the nearby tables and throwing it at him to get his attention. And she was about to when he suddenly spoke:
"You're right," his voice suddenly quips in a hushed voice. But it was still loud enough for Whi-Two to hear.
She watches as he slowly turns his head to follow where she stood. His eyes still focused elsewhere, but she could see his face covered with such a solemn expression that it somehow dissipated what's left of her anger.
"I shouldn't be setting you aside just because I think that's what's best for you," Lack-Two continues, slowly lowering his arms to his side, letting a small, broken smile peek through his forlorn expression.
"Frankly, after all that's happened, I realized I may have been acting on what might be best for me. And that's not an excuse."
He finally raises his gaze upwards, and with all the might he could gather, he finally meets her eyes. Whi-Two, though beginning to feel weary from it all, tried her best to retain them.
He looks at her with firm, sad eyes.
"You matter to me, Whi-Two."
Then he smiles bitterly.
"In fact, you matter so much that I tried to do everything that was in my power–or maybe even beyond–to put you out of harm's way."
Then he scoffs.
"But I guess, in the sickest of ironies, I ended up bringing you directly into danger's arms, and that's…"
"Yeah, you're right," Whi-Two, to Lack-Two's surprise, cuts him off.
Then she smiles.
"It's not an excuse."
Lack-Two was slightly taken aback by his former subordinate's smile. But he nonetheless finds himself smiling back.
"You shouldn't have left me in the dark, Lack-Two," Whi-Two chides him, crossing her arms the way her old mentor would do–a power move she's learned from him, whenever he would gently but darkly reprimand her for the stupid things she would do back in UPD. Lack-Two found it oddly charming.
"I know," he smiles. Then, he scoffs.
"Guess, in a way, I've always known. I was just too stubborn to heed that fact."
He once again looked at her with that same solemn expression, but there was something else. Whi-Two couldn't put her finger on what kind of look it was, but she knew she'd seen him look at her that way before.
And just like before, it made her feel like something glowed inside her.
"I mean, you are my best detective, after all…" Lack-Two avows.
"And I need my best detective now more than ever."
The glow grows stronger within her, making her feel a bit warm. Somehow, hearing him call her "Detective" again brought a feeling of familiarity in her.
It felt like coming home.
She smiles back at him again.
"You don't have to ask, Inspector. You know I'm not going anywhere."
Lack-Two snorts at the statement.
"I think you've made that perfectly clear," he concedes, softly kicking the pieces of paper scattered by his feet.
Then he sighs.
"Are you sure I can't convince you otherwise? I happen to be a very convincing person."
Whi-Two shrugs playfully.
"Do your best."
Lack-Two chuckles weakly. Whi-Two finds herself joining him. Then she looks down, considers for a moment, and starts moving her legs.
She gingerly walks towards where he sat, and, silently, she perches herself next to him, though she was careful to keep a few inches of space between them.
The two sit in silence for a few seconds. Then she speaks up again.
"Do me a favor?" she asks, looking up at him. Lack-Two stares back.
"No more lies, please. And no more secrets. From now on, I want you to be completely honest with me. And I promise to do the same thing to you."
She looks at him expectantly.
"Okay?" she pries.
Lack-Two does not respond, but he retains eye contact with her. He takes her in a bit, then all of a sudden, entirely.
And just as before, he's left speechless by the entirety of her.
He looks down, and softly smiles.
"I gotta say, kid: this feels nice."
"What does?"
"You..."
Lack-Two gives her another solemn look before smiling shyly as he drops his gaze for what felt like the hundredth time, by Whi-Two's count.
"...Forgiving me."
Whi-Two smiles back. Ruefully.
"Jury's still out, sir," she murmurs jokingly. Then her body jolts a bit as her phone starts vibrating.
Whi-Two takes a peek at her phone.
"Shoot, it's almost time for my mom to go." She then gestures at her former inspector.
"I want to hear more about what we're up against here, but let's please first make sure my mother does get out of here before anything else. I'd feel more secure if I knew she's out of the fray."
Whi-Two starts for the door in haste, but takes one of the muffins on her way. She takes a bite with one hand while sending a message to her mother with the other. Then she stops dead in her tracks, and starts violently spitting the pastry out.
"Mamma mia, that's a salty cupcake!"
Lack-Two watches her with a hint of endearment as she childishly wipes her mouth and runs to the door. Then his smile drops a bit as he sighs.
"That makes two of you."
-...-
Cecilia scampers down the staircase, dragging her barely zipped up suitcase, looking frantically at her watch.
"Oh, thank God, you're here, Rosa," she was crying. "My flight is in 2 hours, and I can't for the life of me book a cab and the next bus to leave for Mistralton won't leave for another–eh?"
The woman blinks, almost unable to believe her eyes. Both her daughter and her unexpected guest stood up from their seats, almost simultaneously.
Whi-Two was the first to break the silence.
"H-Hey, mom," she begins, sheepishly gesturing at the boy.
"You remember Nate."
Lack-Two gives a shy smile and a small wave.
"He's here to drive you to the airport."
"You take care over there, alright mom?" Whi-Two was saying, hugging her mother once again after just letting her go. Cecilia, of course, welcomes the gesture, even though she could tell something was a bit off.
Barring the fact that her daughter's former inspector appeared in her home out of the blue after weeks of hearing nothing about him–not even his name–Cecilia could also cut the tension during the entire car ride with a knife. Save for the occasional pleasantries that the boy was skillfully navigating, what with his never failing charm, the whole trip was quiet.
Too quiet.
Her daughter had kept mostly to herself the entire time, and not even once did the two share any kind of eye contact. Even until now.
This Nate just stood there, a few polite yards away from the mother and daughter–perhaps giving them space–but that forlorn look in his eyes screamed something more.
Like he was in pain.
Something went down, she was sure. But Cecilia knew better than to pry.
Somehow, despite all the discomfort that floated around them, something about him being near her daughter made her feel at ease.
But from what the feeling of uneasiness was coming from, she doesn't know. She couldn't tell.
And more often than not, she excelled at these things.
Cecilia pulls away gently and holds her daughter's face. Whi-Two's eyes were a bit swollen–like she just came from crying– and her face was a certain shade of red. The last time Cecilia saw her face this color was when she was young and she would throw very angry tantrums at her for one reason or another.
The older woman smiles a bit sadly.
"Only if you do the same for me, dear," she whispers.
"I'm only one phone call away. And I'll be home before you know it. Until then…"
Lack-Two watches as Whi-Two's mother carefully lands her gaze at him. Her lips still moved, meaning, she was still addressing her daughter, but somehow, her eyes were speaking to him.
He wanted to look away but knew better than to do so.
Like Whi-Two's, Cecilia's eyes were expressive, as if their gaze alone could say a thousand words, all ripe with meaning and unspoken weight. And even if he could tell her lips were telling something different to Whi-Two, her eyes were definitely telling him something else. Something he knew he would hear from her the moment they met again.
Don't forget what you promised me.
Slowly, Lack-Two carefully nods his head.
I won't.
Soon, the mother and daughter finally let each other go. Lack-Two casually walks to Whi-Two's side as the latter watches her mother walk away.
"You made sure that she'll be safe, right?" she mutters. Lack-Two looks at her for a short minute, then he looks down and nods.
"Of course."
Whi-Two bites her lips, fighting to hold back her tears. She watches as her mom gives her one last look before finally disappearing through the cabin doors, the chaotic noise coming from several announcements booming all at once not enough to distract her from hearing the very faint thump the door made after being locked.
And just like that, it was her all alone again.
The girl lets out a long, dreadful sigh before she looks up at her former inspector. Lack-Two returns with a solemn look.
Then, wordlessly, they both started for the exit, where Lack-Two's car was waiting.
-...-
"Here."
Whi-Two jolts at the wrapped pastry suddenly being pushed to her face, breaking her off of her trance. She pauses from her seemingly arduous task of fastening her seatbelt to dart a look of shock to Lack-Two's direction. The boy just looks at her innocently. Almost impatiently.
"You haven't eaten anything since this morning, right?" he queries, pushing the pastry even further, gesturing for her to take it.
"I couldn't find any of those fancy parfaits you like at this airport's sorry excuse of a food court, but I figured anything pink and nauseatingly sweet should do the same trick."
Although dubious, the girl carefully takes the pastry from his hand, freeing him to focus on performing his usual starting rituals before driving.
Gingerly, she starts tearing away the delicate wrapper, revealing a still warm puff pastry filled with cream and strawberries very much akin to the treats he would often buy for her whenever she was upset.
The girl finds herself smiling at the gesture.
Some things never change. Thankfully.
"Thank you, Sir," she whispers. Lack-Two nods, clearing his throat a bit awkwardly as he starts backing the car.
"You know, I wouldn't mind at all if you start calling me by my name instead of the honorifics," he mutters, eyes focused on his dashboard, skillfully dodging the pillars and curbs as he frees them from the parking space.
"I'm not your boss anymore, in case you forget…"
Whi-Two gives him a slightly playful look.
"So do you want me to call you 'Nate' now?"
Lack-Two shrugs.
"I mean… That is my name."
"Fine," Whi-Two concedes.
"Thank you, Nate."
"You're welcome, Rosa."
And simultaneously, they both shudder. Then they both chuckle.
"Lack-Two and Whi-Two it is, then," Whi-Two smiles, lifting the pastry to her lips and taking a small bite. The sudden burst of flavor filling her then dry mouth brings her shortly into a trance, making her gently throw her head back in satisfaction. Lack-Two steals her a short look before returning his eyes on the road, smiling to himself.
"Let the record show I do know you as well as you thought," he mutters under his breath, moving his arm to jerk the gear shift back to drive.
The two jerk back gently as he presses his foot on the gas. Whi-Two lets her body sway a bit as she keeps her eyes on Lack-Two, who in turn keeps his eyes on the road.
"Yes, Whi-Two?" he calls out, his voice now loud enough for her to hear. Said girl blushes as she looks away, returning to her pastry.
Then she sighs.
"I'm… ready to hear you out now."
Lack-Two retains his gaze on the road, letting the slight tremors caused by the uneven ground shake his body into a nod.
He clicks his tongue then bites his lips, as if in deep thought.
"I don't even know where to start," he whispers, his voice slightly fading away.
Whi-Two once again playfully hums as she takes another bite of her pastry.
"I once heard from a very smart person that we can start from the beginning—a very good place to start."
Lack-Two once again gives her a sidelong glance before he rolls his eyes and shakes his head in fake annoyance.
But he nonetheless relaxes his shoulders as he lets out a long, heavy breath. Then he clears his throat.
"Then I guess we can start with why Aldin put you under my care almost too immediately…"
Whi-Two returns her gaze to him, visibly shocked. Lack-Two gives her a knowing look before returning his eyes on the road.
"Why? Did you think he paired us up just because he thought we looked cute together?"
The girl blushes, a little too obviously. Lack-Two chuckles.
"Of course, we've always been on the lookout for great potential recruits for Main–that's a given. But Aldin himself has been looking out particularly for a specific type of detective who can keep up with the needs and demands of his little project that he started when he first sat as Superintendent. Kind of like when he found me."
The two stop for a moment as they fall in the rather long queue of cars waiting for the checkpoint before exiting the building. Lack-Two takes this moment to pick the cup of coffee by his side up near his mouth and take a long swig.
"You see, Aldin, despite his gentle nature, is really an impatient man. He hated the lockdown more than anyone you can find in Unova. He hated the heightened security, the unnecessary hurdles, the checkpoints–" Lack-Two makes a point to look at the officer who was about to approach their car to perform their routinary inspections.
"To him, it felt like we were living as prisoners in our own country. And he despised that thought so much."
Lack-Two lets out a sigh, tapping on the wheel impatiently as he waits for the officer to examine his ID. The officer seemed to be taking his sweet time.
"But one thing Aldin hated more was the bureaucracy. He hated how somehow, with UNPol taking over, it made it even ridiculously longer to get to a point where we can just get rid of this god-forsaken lockdown. So he decided to take matters into his own hands."
"W-What did the Superintendent do?"
Lack-Two just raises one shoulder before dropping it again.
"Whatever he thought was necessary…"
The sound of metal creaking catches Whi-Two's attention, making her look forward. They both watch as the boom barrier rises up, letting them finally exit that seemingly endless maze of a parking structure, out into the almost empty main road. Upon the wheel touching highway concrete, Lack-Two almost stomps onto the gas pedal, and before anyone could say anything, they start speeding through the well-lit road. Whi-Two had to hold onto the car handle as the inertia threw her back.
She was about to protest when she noticed the blank look in Lack-Two's eyes. The billions of streetlights zooming across from above them, and the sparkling reflections they made on the front window seem to almost leave him in a trance.
Whi-Two was about to open her mouth to at least fill the unwelcomed silence, but Lack-Two beats her.
"Aldin knew the only way to get UNPol off our backs was to actually help speed up the investigations and clean up whatever it was that needed cleaning up. And the first step was to actually know who we were up against, all while only exposing a handful of what we find to the public. Of course, it was imperative that we keep up this golden image of a policeman to make sure people are comforted and happy–because the happier your constituents are, the easier it is to make the claim that you can run your own country well. So in order to pull it all off, Aldin played one of the most dangerous games a superintendent can do."
Whi-Two's eyes remain glued to the boy, a troubled look slowly forming in her face.
"He… started hiding things from UNPol, and from the public," she recites, almost unwillingly.
Lack-Two, though eyes still kept glued forward, actually releases a soft hoot of approval.
As expected from his best detective.
"But, I still don't understand how my being assigned under you plays with all of this."
"Aldin wanted answers," Lack-Two responds simply.
"He needed people who were good at getting answers."
He gives her another knowing look.
"Do you remember what SUU's core competency was, Whi-Two?"
The girl was taken aback with the sudden question, but she answers promptly, nonetheless.
"Intelligence gathering," she recites. Then her eyes widened a bit with realization.
"D-Does that mean everyone in the SUU knew about what Aldin was doing?"
"To some extent," Lack-Two shrugs. "Everyone more or less knew something or another about Aldin's cause, because he created SUU for this exact purpose. But the privilege and burden of knowing everything from the beginning and the final goal fell onto the two of us. And, hopefully, a third person."
As the cars start getting less and less frequent, Lack-Two takes advantage to relax his shoulders and lean his head back against the headrest, letting themselves cruise along the open highway.
He takes that opportunity to really take Whi-Two in. She looked more and more distressed the more he stared at her.
A part of him wanted to just stop. But he knew Whi-Two will never forgive him if he does.
"You were already in our radar even back when you were still a Trooper in Aspertia. We deal with a lot of talented recruits every year, but you only come across a prodigy maybe once in a blue moon, if at all. And now, looking back, maybe that's why Aldin somehow urged Rikhards to assign you on that stake out mission in Nimbasa. So I myself can gauge you, and see if you have what it takes to take all of this on."
He smiles at the memory.
"Suffice to say, you passed with flying colors. And that's coming from me."
Whi-Two knew she was supposed to laugh, or at least have some sort of reaction from his statement. And she really did intend to. But what came out instead was another small whimper.
"T-Then," she begins, glumly lowering the half-eaten pastry down to her lap.
"Why didn't you tell me anything?"
Her head shoots up suddenly to look him in the eye.
"The way I understand from your explanation, I was supposed to actually be an active participant in all of this. Why…"
She takes one sharp intake of breath.
"Why did you hide everything from me?"
Her voice was not accusatory. It was not even bitter, or resentful–a tone Lack-Two would've welcomed and a tone Whi-Two knew she should've assumed.
This was a question she should've asked him long ago.
But Whi-Two asked in such a curious and innocent way. As if she was genuinely confused why Lack-Two didn't trust her when never had she given him any reason to doubt her.
And she was right to ask this way. Lack-Two knew that.
"...To prevent all of this from happening," he finally mutters under his breath, his eyes once again returning forward. Whi-Two was about to protest, but Lack-Two cuts her off by clearing his throat.
He still had more to say.
"Don't get me wrong," he goes on. "I was supposed to tell you. From the moment Aldin put you under my care. He had so many plans for you, even going as far as assigning you under Lai as well–one of the most important leads for this investigation. You were supposed to be the key in uncovering all of this, but…"
Lack-Two bites his lips before stealing a glance back at her.
"...But then you started telling me about your dream."
Whi-Two raises her head after sensing the weight of her former inspector's gaze, making the latter immediately return his gaze back to the road, leaving the girl's troubled expression without an audience. She watches as what little amount of emotion that embellished his face quickly drains away, reverting himself to his original expressionless eyes.
"As you may have probably noticed," Lack-Two continues. "Getting involved in all of this is detrimental to someone who's trying to build a career in this field."
He takes a quick moment to purse his lips for a bit, as if he was struggling to find the words to say.
"Not only that: you need a certain kind of stomach to even fathom these seedy ways by which you get the information that you need. I've been doing this for almost three years now–and at some point, you may get a little numb to it–but believe me, it doesn't go away. And I would never wish this upon anyone…"
Whi-Two watches as his hand clenches into a fist, gripping the leather that made up the gear shift. But, still, his eyes and the rest of his face retained the same blank expression.
"Least of all you…"
Then, to her surprise, the former inspector snorts.
"A lot of good that did, though, huh?" he softly sneers.
"Suffice to say, Aldin was kind of disappointed with me when he saw how, suddenly, I refused to get with the program. I was still his obedient little soldier, but it came as a surprise to us both that I was willing to draw the line somewhere. Not like there was anything he could do. He had no choice. But I did."
Lack-Two pauses for a bit, letting himself take in a huge amount of breath, and then letting it all out easily, letting the stiffness and jitteriness that enveloped his whole being escape his body. Then, with a hushed voice, he continues:
"And I chose you."
His last few words catch Whi-Two off guard, so much that the shock somehow brought her to spontaneous tears. The spontaneity actually surprises them both.
In a moment of panic, Whi-Two starts digging through her purse for something–anything–she could use to wipe herself with. She could already feel her face getting soaked in the last three seconds since she's started.
"Damn it," she hisses, alternating between digging and sniffling. She snorted back too vigorously, it was almost comical, and whatever mood that was building up and surrounding them went away.
Lack-Two watches her with reluctant amusement.
"Do you want us to stop, or…?"
"No, no, no, I can keep going!" Whi-Two was quick to deny him, finally fishing out a handkerchief. She immediately presses it to her face and blows. In the most unladylike way possible.
Lack-Two wouldn't have expected it any other way.
"It's just that," Whi-Two continues, bringing the piece of cloth back to her face, pressing it, now more gently, against the bottom of her eyes in an attempt to catch her tears.
"I don't really know what to say…"
Whi-Two of course had a lot to say. She wanted to clap back at his feeble attempt at a stupid joke. Or reprimand his self-sacrificing reasoning. Or call him out again for treating her like she didn't know any better.
But none of those desires was stronger than what she really wanted to do: she wanted to be in a position where she could dispute her former inspector's logic and tell him that everything he did was absurd and unreasonable and just plain wrong.
But then she'd be lying to herself.
Whi-Two knew herself enough to acknowledge the fact that, had she been in his shoes, being asked to face the decisions he was made to face, she would have done the same thing.
The girl drops her hands down in frustration.
And if she were to actually try and be more accurate: had she really been put in her former inspector's position, she knew she would have crumbled so easily without so much as making any proper decision that would have benefited anyone.
How Lack-Two managed to still stand up and remain this solid despite everything was beyond her.
Whi-Two sighs as she looks down in pain.
"I'm sorry," she mumbles. "That wasn't very 'I'm ready to hear you out now' of me."
To that, Lack-Two huffs.
"Don't be."
The girl's head shoots up, just in time to catch the young man stealing another look in her direction. He had a small reassuring smile on his face.
"I'm not."
Whi-Two returns it with a rueful version of her smile, through what remained of her tears. Then she looks down and sighs, feeling herself slowly calming down.
"Whatever happened to the Superintendent though?" she asks, attempting to sway the topic to somewhere else–somewhere not them.
"Did he… Did he get the answers he wanted?"
To which, Lack-Two only smiles. Bitterly this time.
"I think you know what happened to the Superintendent…"
Whi-Two looks back at him, suddenly feeling guilty.
"Was he… detained unjustly?" Then, in a hushed voice, she reluctantly adds:
"Because of what I did?"
"You didn't do anything wrong, kid," Lack-Two reassures her. "You did what felt right with the information you had at that time. If anything, it was those who were positioned above you who were at fault for not giving you the full context. So it's only right that we're all paying the price."
There was a small pause as Lack-Two flicked on the turn signal, the rhythmic clicking filling their silence for a few seconds.
"Besides, it's not like what Aldin started was fully legal. He hid a lot of things from the people who had every right to know, and you and I both know that's textbook obstruction of justice."
He sighs, watching the traffic light go from red, to yellow, anticipating when it will come to green.
"Guess he just hoped things would have been solved a little bit further when his sins finally did catch up with him. But that was a gamble he was willing to take."
"And what about you?"
Lack-Two gives her a look. "What about me?"
Whi-Two adjusts herself in her seat before answering. But, Lack-Two, ever impatient, finishes her thought for her.
"Are you wondering how I am able to walk free while Aldin is left detained wherever UNPol decided to take him?"
The girl just looks at him.
"Credit where credit is due, Aldin was a smart man. He never put anyone else's names in the records that he's kept, and whatever information anyone from SUU has contributed, he can make it out as stolen–something he's kept himself. It's actually pretty sweet if you think about it… You know. In a weird, diabolical way."
To that, Whi-Two catches herself giggling.
How familiar.
Lack-Two starts shifting slightly in his seat, perhaps to get comfortable, Whi-Two thinks to herself. It made her suddenly aware of how long they have been on the road. How Lack-Two managed to keep the conversation going without getting themselves into an accident, she wouldn't know, nor would she question.
She just appreciates how open he was to volunteering all of this information so casually to her. And all she had to do was throw a tantrum.
Not really the lesson she wants her former mentor to teach her.
"...Do you have anything else you want to ask?"
Whi-Two purses her lips into a thin line as she moves her eyes around, as if deep in uncomfortable thought.
There was still one topic that gnawed at her.
"Just… One last thing, Sir."
Lack-Two kept his eyes on the road, but somehow, the speed by which he blinked told Whi-Two that he knew what she was about to put on the table.
Not that she could blame him.
"I want to know about Inspector Lai…"
Lack-Two grips his hands tightly on the steering wheel–so hard Whi-Two could hear the leather squeak with the friction.
But he kept mum.
"Lack-Two, you promised…"
"I know." Then the boy sighs.
"What do you want to know?"
"...Everything."
-...-
The two sit in silence for a good few minutes, leaving only the hum of air conditioning and the soft murmur of whatever song was playing on Lack-Two's radio. Whi-Two retains her penetrating gaze at him while he maintains his gaze forward, watching the distant tail lights blink like tiny red stars, stretching into the horizon. Highway signs flash past, their reflective letters catching the car's headlights, subtly informing them how dark it has gotten and how long the day has been. And it wasn't even close to finishing.
"A while ago, you called her an 'important lead' to your and Superintendent's investigations," Whi-Two prods.
"Did you always know Inspector Lai was working with the syndicate? Is that why you kept her close?"
Lack-Two attempts to delay the inevitable by clearing his throat. Then he sighs.
"It was all speculation at some point," he begins, the feeling of restraint creeping across his throat, making his voice seem hoarse–a far cry from the somewhat confident tone he's taken on when they started.
"A lot of things about Lai didn't hit Aldin right—how she insisted on doing inventory, how her paper works were always delayed, how she made it almost a point never to come near Aldin… Of course, there were a lot of logical explanations that Lai could use and have used to assuage his suspicion. But even with all that, Aldin went with his guts."
Lack-Two swallows. Hard.
"And given the nature of my relationship with her, Aldin assigned me to keep a close eye on her."
Whi-Two looks at him in pain.
"But to answer your second question: no." He lets out a soft sigh, his eyes growing a bit sadder.
"I kept close because I love Lai. Though I guess not enough to actually disobey Aldin, but… I do love her."
Lack-Two makes a point to give Whi-Two a soft gaze before once again returning to the road.
"She was good to me."
The boy finds himself smiling at the memory of the blonde girl's smile–of how she looked at him with such pure, unadulterated fondness and trust. They never really had anything beyond that casual friendship they formed when she tried using him to get close to Hugh back then, but for Lack-Two who was surrounded all his life by people that loved him but didn't necessarily like him, she was a welcome break from the normal. And soon, she became part of his normal.
And as immediately as she was taken away from him did his smile go away.
"...Besides," he continues on, shaking himself off his little trance. "Unlike Aldin, there wasn't an ounce in my body that actually believed these allegations against her. It didn't seem very in character, and I could never think of any motivation that would be enough for her to turn on the things we both believed so very hard in."
A truck suddenly passes by them, its loud metallic rumble drowning out their atmosphere, making Lack-Two pause for a bit. But the pause didn't last as long as he had hoped, and as soon as the vehicle took an exit, he was prodded to continue.
"That is," he mumbles, watching the almost faded tail lights fade away.
"Until she admitted to everything the night before she died. When she told me what she did, and why she did it. That's when I understood…"
Lack-Two voice fades away again. Whi-Two forgives him, and tries to finish his thought for him.
"She… Did it all for Yuri, didn't she?"
He smiles ruefully before sighing again.
"She did it all for Yuri," he confirms, eyes drooping ever so slightly.
The girl glumly looks away, almost in anger.
"I don't get it," she almost growls.
"Yuri is an evil person. He killed her! And he didn't even seem to care when he did. He just let her… Why would she…?"
Whi-Two suddenly finds herself struggling to get the words out. Lack-Two could only listen, his eyes still focused forward.
"You'll understand once you have a mentee of your own…"
Whi-Two looks at him with disbelief. Almost like judgement.
Lack-Two finds himself chuckling at how poignant it all sounded.
"Don't get me wrong, kid," he counters. "It's not like I'm defending anything or anyone here. I don't condone what either party did. No one's coming out clean in this situation; that I can definitely say in absolute."
Then he sighs.
"But it would be amiss if I claimed that I didn't understand Lai's intentions. In fact, I understood it so much, I refused to even listen to her as she confessed."
Whi-Two gives him a questioning look.
"You should've seen us that night," he muses. "Lai was practically screaming her confession at me while I covered my ears with my hands. We were like kids–just like old times. A part of me even thought it was all just drunken slurs because Lai was balls to the wall wasted at that time. But Lai really wanted me to know."
"Why was she so adamant on getting you to hear her out?"
Lack-Two shrugs.
"I guess the charade finally caught up to her? The presence of UNPol delegates scared her? Guilt has started eating her alive?"
The sound of thunder rumbling distracts Whi-Two for a moment. Her attention is brought forward, and watches as small droplets of rain start slamming against the windshield. She feels a certain sense of eerie calm, watching the then clear window slowly being blurred as the droplets grow steadily in number and later on merge into bigger puddles.
The windshield wipers swipe once, breaking her off of her trance. She blinks for a moment before returning her attention back to Lack-Two.
He too was in a trance that he couldn't seem to break out of.
"...Or maybe she knew she was going to die the next day," he whispers, almost mindlessly. "So she desperately clung for some sort of salvation."
Lack-Two grunts, gently pressing on the break to slow their car down as another vehicle halts in front of them. They were slowly reaching the end of the highway, as was signalled by the toll gates spawning from across the horizon.
"I never really stopped to ask," he was saying. "I was too busy thinking of a way to save her somehow."
Then he sighs.
"Not that Lai showed signs of wanting to be saved."
The two finally reached a natural stopping point as they waited for the queue. Lack-Two takes that moment to finally let go of the wheel and relax himself a bit. He exhales as he leans back, resting his head against the headrest, letting himself be slightly hypnotized by the wipers' steady, clock-like movement.
"Either way, I ended up having to hear everything. And as much as I wanted to just keep it to myself, your inspector is just too by the book to refuse to report everything he's heard to his superior. But whatever Aldin could have done with that information, we'll never know…"
He takes a moment to land his gaze towards the passenger seat, watching as his car's dashboard's soft glow illuminated his former mentee's face. Somehow, the troubled expression never left her eyes, and neither did that upturned curve on her lips. But the tension that gathered on her shoulders and her fingers have already gone away, leaving her somewhat melted against her seat, hunched over and forlorn.
After some consideration, he slowly raises his hand and gently reaches for her face, poking her cheek. The gesture jolts the girl, making her look back at him.
He gives her a small, reassuring smile.
"She forgives you," he whispers.
"For whatever shortcomings you thought you had that prevented you from saving her. I'm sure she forgives you."
Then his face drops, and slowly–ever so slowly–he returns his gaze forward, focusing on nothing in particular.
"At least that's what I try to tell myself every day. I find that it's a lot easier if I pretend."
Whi-Two watches as the smile that her former inspector may have taken so much just to conjure slowly fades away, returning him to his now almost permanent look of loss.
Lack-Two has said enough. More than enough even.
And the only thing he could do was sit there, in silence, and let everything sink in, all at once.
Living in the truth can just sometimes be like that, she guessed.
She gives him another look. And without thinking, she lifts her arm and reaches out for his then fidgeting hand. She pulls it gently towards her, though not all the way.
Whi-Two just lets their interlocked hands dangle over the small space between them.
"She forgives you," she whispers, but the crack on her voice immediately ruins the melancholic tone she wanted to go for. But even then, even as the hitch on her throat made it almost impossible to get the words out, she willed herself to continue.
"For whatever… shortcomings you thought you had… that you couldn't do anything to save her…"
She pauses to gasp a bit for air as tears once again start rolling down her cheeks. Lack-Two doesn't say anything. He does not even look at her.
But somehow, as she feels him gently return her gesture with a firm but also tender press, she acknowledges that there was nothing else that he needed to say.
"I'm sure she forgives you."
-...-
Whi-Two looks around the almost empty parking lot lit almost barely by the sparse traffic lights. Then she looks back at her former mentor who was nonchalantly performing the final steps of parking his car, proving once and for all that she could never get anything from Lack-Two unless she asks directly and specifically.
She once again scans around their surroundings, clasping her purse closer to her body as if that small leather bag could actually protect her.
"L-Lack-Two?" she whispers, prompting the boy to look up from fiddling with his dashboard. Whi-Two faces him, a fearful grimace ensconced through her paling face.
"W-Where are we? And what are we doing here?"
Lack-Two only gives her a deadpan look as he wordlessly unbuckles his seatbelt.
"You wanted to know what we're up against, right?"
And without so much as an elaboration, he kills the engine and slides out of the door.
"L-Lack-Two!"
She was a few beats off, but she immediately untangled herself and slid after him.
"Lack-Two, wait!"
The two traverse across the rows of buildings, Lack-Two almost sprinting through the empty walkways with Whi-Two scampering a few steps behind him. He did not slow down, even as the girl continued calling after him, pausing every now and then to investigate her surroundings. They passed through a pattern of parking lots and buildings and more parking lots, with Lack-Two not saying a single word.
Whi-Two just tries her best not to lose him.
Soon they reach a specific block–specific only because Lack-Two actually pauses for the first time since they arrived at the area. Whi-Two despite her skills in detecting could not for the life of her pick this stretch over the others they had just passed by.
So much for making a mental note of how to go back should the need arise.
The former inspector makes a point to look around first, and after making sure no one else was there, he quietly crosses the street to the other side adjacent to where they stood–much to Whi-Two's chagrin–with the girl tailing not far from him.
They walked by an unmanned guard house, entered one of the hallways, and made a beeline towards one of the storage slots. It was only then that Lack-Two stops, and finally looks at her.
"Sorry," he whispers, now smiling good-naturedly at her, not at all helping ease the girl's now heightened suspicion.
"I needed the focus to make sure I can accurately find my way around here. This place is not necessarily an easily solvable maze."
Whi-Two finds herself chuckling nervously.
"Yeah, no kidding," she mutters.
Then she starts looking around again, trying but failing to pick out anything that she could use to distinguish this place from the others.
"What is this place?"
Lack-Two joins her in scanning around.
"Remember when I told you that Aldin kept a significant amount of information the SUU has collected over the years away from both UNPol and the rest of UPD? Well, he had to keep it somewhere."
The girl looks at him dubiously.
"And he chose to keep them… in a random storage unit." Then in a hushed tone, she adds:
"In the middle of nowhere."
The former inspector shrugs.
"Aldin is smart but he's not that unpredictable." Then he turns to one of the storage gates.
"Anyway," he begins walking forward again, much slower this time to make sure Whi-Two can keep up with his pace. The girl obediently follows.
"Save for a week ago, it's been months since I last went here. I think around the time UNPol Evals season started. Aldin and I both had to make sure this is kept under wraps from anyone aside from the two of us, so I figured better to just keep everything on the down low until it was all over, lest things start getting uncovered too early and cause a mess of things."
Then he gives her a knowing look.
"Of course, not everyone had that kind of foresight."
The former detective huffs her cheeks as she gives him a scowl of annoyance.
"Low blow," she almost spits at him. Then she brings her gaze back towards the row of storage unit gates, most of which were unlocked and slightly ajar–connoting it may have been years since anyone actually stored anything there.
Or even went there.
Somehow, the whole scene just felt so eerie that she wondered how Lack-Two managed to once frequent this place before.
Her train of thought is softly interrupted by the sound of keys dangling. She stops in her tracks and sees that Lack-Two had already advanced a few good steps away from her somehow, and was already facing one of the gates–one of the very few that was actually closed all the way.
She noticed the somewhat troubled look in the boy's eyes. Immediately, she sprints towards him.
"W-What's wrong?" she hisses, but Lack-Two stops her with a gesture of his hand. His finger flies up to his lips while his other immediately flies to hers, grabbing her wrist as it was already positioned to go inside her purse.
It was only then that Whi-Two realized she was absentmindedly reaching for her gun.
"Whoa there, trigger-happy," he warns, though with a hint of playfulness still laced in his hushed voice. Whi-Two gives him a sharp, indignant look.
Instead of saying anything else, Lack-Two lifts his finger from his lips and slowly points to the locks that are sprinkled all over the gate.
They were all unbolted.
"Someone's in there," he whispers, taking a few steps backwards to join his detective. His hand still perched on her wrist.
"And as far as I'm aware, the only other person who has a key here is under UNPol custody. So whoever is in there might be of interest to us."
He gives her another playful look.
"So maybe blowing their brains out is not really the best next step."
Whi-Two retains her look of indignance, but she nonetheless relaxes her stance, and even goes as far as brusquely pulling away her hand.
Then she looks back at the gate with concern.
"What do we do now, then?"
Lack-Two joins her gaze, and thinks for a moment. Then he steps forward, and lowers himself to grab the gate handle, preparing himself to pull it all the way up. Whi-Two immediately grasps what he was planning, and was about to open her mouth to protest, but was stopped once again by his finger flying back to his lips.
He needed her to be quiet if they wanted a shot at doing a surprise attack.
Whi-Two bites her lips, but nonetheless complies.
Then Lack-Two starts signaling with his free hand, first pointing at the other hand that holds the gate, mimicking the act of pulling it up, then balling his hand into a fist and punching lightly in the air in front of him.
Whi-Two only stares at him, too on edge to comprehend.
"What?!" she mouths soundlessly at him. Lack-Two rolls his eyes.
"I said 'I'll open the gate'," he mouths back at her, repeating what he was miming just now, slowly this time to help his former detective catch up.
"And you punch."
"'Punch'?! You know I can't punch!"
"Just do it…"
"But, sir…!"
"Do it, Whi-Two…"
"But…"
And before Whi-Two could protest even more, Lack-Two starts counting down on his fingers, leaving the poor agitated girl to reluctantly prepare herself for a hit she was barely trained for and had been out of practice for months' time to do.
Begrudgingly, she actually balls her fist and winds her body back, and watches as her former mentor counts down silently.
Three… two…
And as soon as he signals 'one' with his finger, he brusquely pulls the gate upwards, and Whi-Two quickly and forcefully shoots her fist out into a strike.
-Mission_14 Status: Re-Initializing-
And for my next trick… poof! I have written this chapter in less than 4 months (which is a relatively new and better record than my recent one: 5 year hiatus). I have hyperfixation and a newfound and hopefully healthier relationship with fandom and writing to thank for that.
I just want to take this moment to really really REALLY appreciate each and everyone of you who left your wonderful messages either here or on Tumblr. I am forever thankful!
Hopefully, I become more consistent and deliver the next chapters more quickly. But I will warn you: I'm actually near the part of the story which I did not plan AT ALL so please once again be patient with the old magsters!
And now for the question to be answered in this chapter (which I failed to do last chapter, I am sorry):
"Will other characters (both from manga and games) show up in this story?"
Short answer: no, I'm afraid :( While I do like the hopefully healthy mix of OG pokemon characters and OCs, it's really hard to keep introducing new characters, especially this late in the game. What I CAN promise though is that we'll definitely see characters from previous chapters so please stay tuned for that o(*°▽°*)o
Also, a small announcement: I am moving to AO3! No other reason than the fact that has slowly become too restrictive for me and my readers （＞人＜；） Of course, I will still continue posting UIL chapters here for consistency, but any new content from now on (corruptedshipping or otherwise) will be over at my AO3 page (just check for the same username because I don't think I can link stuff here orz)! Will start the migration of my other stories from here to there as well once I find the time!
And if u have Tumblr, please look me up! pokedex-holder-pink – Let's scream about these two losers and anything pokespe and pokemon!
That is all. I hope you're all taking care of yourselves, my dear friends 3
LoveLots~