"Berlion said that there are two clubs, which are the probable targets for today. One of them belongs to a recently awakened demon. The other one is a similarly strange scenario. A human offered his soul in exchange for money for his dream business idea. It was supposed to be a wood workshop, but the records changed a few weeks ago, and the name 'Apocalypse' night club appeared. They didn't pay them any mind at first, but when I explained the ritual and what had happened to the people, they went through the records and found those two inconsistencies," Sandy explained. Rose still had no idea who Berlion was, but after days of being in a stalemate, this data felt like getting a glass of water in the middle of the desert.
"So the demon opened a night club just after being awakened? Aren't they supposed to be astray for a few years before being able to integrate into the real world?" Rose asked. The association was in charge of managing the demons, so for them to have set a demon free in the world meant that either they were working against the world or they were being neglectful of their duties.
"That's why they gave us the information, I guess. A demon who is more of a wild beast than a creature capable of working with humans. A human who just sold his soul for his dream job to end up opening a night club. Those were two major mistakes on their part. The heartless bastard only cares about money and contracts, so I can totally understand why he must have skipped it. Though Vanny, who loves his system so much and thinks it's infallible, must be going nuts for failing to notice. And he had to find out because of us. God! I wish I could be a fly right now," she said and chuckled. Rose failed to understand most of the things Sandy said that didn't involve the mission, so instead focused on the plans for the mission they had coming.
"So what's the plan?" she asked, and the room went silent. She turned around, and Locious's face turned to stone. She knew what he was thinking even before he opened his mouth. So before he could say a word, she warned: "I don't know what's going on, but if you are planning on leaving me behind, I swear I won't be here when you come back. Either you treat me like another emissary that's here to learn, or I go look for another team to teach me. The choice is yours," she said and stared at him.
Even though she was shorter than him and was at a disadvantage, she stood her ground. He decided to separate their friendship from their work on his own. He put a wall between them. Although she liked him as a friend and still felt a lot of things she couldn't yet put a name to, her job was important to her. If she couldn't make her heart a better place, she could at least do it for the world.
The tension in the room was palpable, almost as if any spark could set a fire, but she didn't move. Neither did she turn around to see the others. It was a battle of will between Locious and her. She didn't know how much time they spent looking at each other, but suddenly Locious sighed and closed his eyes. He touched the point between his eyebrows and looked at Mike and Sandy.
"Ok, we'll do it like this. I'll go with Rose to the Apocalypse and you go to the Hour Glass. If you see anything weird, you call me. Do not engage. I can be there in five minutes. And remember, the idea is to save the humans and identify the perpetrators. We can show a sign of good faith to the Demon Association and hand the information back to them. After all, it's their mess to clean," Locious ordered, but before he could start preparing for the mission, Sandy approached him.
"Why don't YOU go to the Apocalypse alone and I go with Rose? I don't want to go alone and we could also practice the disguise magic. I need a partner. What if I miss something?" She asked with begging eyes. Something that Rose was sure wasn't real at all. He seemed to agree with her, and that surprised them all. However, Locious gave her an evil smile and landed the biggest verbal slap in her face.
"That's such a good idea! Rose should definitely wear a disguise. As for you being alone, you are right, you should have a partner. Mike, prepare your gear, you'll join Sandy today," he said and went out, leaving the three of them looking like fish out of water.
***
After picking up their weapons, Locious and Mike waited for Sandy and Rose outside the office. He knew Mike was pissed because he made him partner with Sandy, but he couldn't give him any sensible explanation—which only made him feel more guilty. When Rose stood in front of him with that defiant pose, he didn't just lose his temper; he lost all control of his mind. Again, it was filled with entangled bodies, making him wish he could just go back to his house in heaven and lock himself up for the next 500 years. He was also feeling extremely fearful. She always snapped at him after some teasing, but she never meant it. She never threatened him or gave him an ultimatum like the one she just gave. What did she mean by that? Did she really want to leave him?
"For God's sake!" he grunted, startling Mike next to him. Everything was going wrong. He thought that after he dodged the drunk confession ball, accepted her apology, and sent her home, everything would simply go back to normal. She would call him names again and make fun of him, as the good friends they were. But instead of resting, she began digging a whole deep, dark pit between them.
"Is something wrong, boss?" Mike asked, looking at him as if he was about to call the paramedics on him. Locious looked at Mike's pristine suit and doubted his sudden decision. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to send Mike and Sandy together for this mission. They were like water and oil. Not only were they completely different, but there was no way they could get on well, ever.
However, Mike was a rules follower, so he would never complain about an order, and Sandy, she would definitely complain when they were alone, but she wouldn't disobey him, either. He let his necessity to fix things with Rose get the best of him, and ended up pairing a wild beast with a dangerous prey. What if they end up attacking each other? Mike won't stand a chance, and I will lose my right hand.
"No, I'm just not feeling like my... self," he stumbled when Rose and Sandy went out the door. Rose had left her soft, shiny hair behind and appeared with a cascade of blonde hair. It ended up at her waist, and following the trail, he noticed that some parts of her body were more… prominent. He scolded himself for even looking there, but his eyes had a life of their own. She was wearing a revealing short red dress and high heels. Her disguise was perfect for the mission. She looked like a young girl going clubbing, but he—he had a stone in his stomach. He suddenly wasn't feeling very well. Maybe he should tell Mike that he did need a doctor.
"Unbelievable!" Mike said with a groan next to him, which made him snap back to reality. "It's high time we left," he added and followed Sandy, but when he realized she was also driving a motorbike, he refused strongly. "NO! Look for a better means of transport. I'm not going to ride on that thing with you in charge."
Sandy was almost the same. She only had changed her hair to black and made herself shorter. But her punk rock style was present in every piece of clothing she was wearing, which contrasted highly with Mike's office style.
"Listen stiffy, first you have to change into more comfortable clothes. We are going to a club, not to join an economic conference. Secondly, a motorbike is the fastest way to come and go. So, follow me or don't. But remember that these were the Boss' orders, so YOU will have to tell him you are disobeying them and why," Sandy said, put on her helmet, handed one to Mike, and got on her bike. Mike pressed his lips together until they were white, and with one last look to Locious, got on behind her. They left disappearing in the distance.
Rose and Locious looked at each other, suddenly uncomfortable. When he was about to say something, she put on her helmet and said:
"Let's go. We can't lose them." She was the vivid image of professionalism. There wasn't even a hint of them being anything more than two coworkers. And he was being generous.
He turned on his motorbike and headed to the club, but his mind was just too chaotic to pay attention to anything around him. Was their relationship going to be like that from now on? He wanted her back. He wanted to hear her laugh, listen to her funny insights, the way she always had the exact words to make him feel, not like an Angel doomed to failure, not as a boss, but as a person. He felt normal when he was with her. Now his only safe place had become a refrigerator. There's got to be a way to set things right between us. He thought, deciding that he was going to talk to her when they came back. They had an urgent mission now, but once they were finished, he was going to find a way to get his friend back.
Things got even worse for him when she got off the bike and the men waiting to enter the club stared at her. Their eyes seemed to X-ray her and see her whole body under her clothes. He knew it was a disguise, but still, it was her own body. And a possessive instinct flared inside of him. She ignored them, her professional look intact, but despite that, he still... wanted to tear those people apart.
**
"I shouldn't have let her join," he said aloud twenty minutes later, resting on his bike. What was happening to him? He knew what he could and couldn't do. He learned firsthand how much it cost to go against their nature. Why was he suddenly wanting more from her? He treated her coldly because he was ashamed of himself. But when she paid him with the same coin, he felt frantic. As if he had made the biggest mistake of his life, which was bad. And wrong on so many levels. The worst mistake of his life would be submitting to those impulses and then finding himself... Never finding myself again.
Suddenly, the ringing of his phone brought him back from the ocean of self-loathe, and Sandy's name appeared on the screen.
"Locious! They knew we were coming! It was a fucking trap! Leave! NOW!"