BREATH . OF . LIFE . ~ { ReGenisis Chronicles Book I }

Chapter Four [Part 5/5]: The One That Counts

                            -Jake Aylesbury -

         Sitting in my dull office, I was slumped forward, my hand covering my face. I had to write formal letters to the families of the six agents who had died. Nothing true, of course, except the fact they had all died tragically. A lab accident, something they were doing went wrong.

Being a Unit captain had many downsides, including having to deal with the fallout. Takeichi was always better at taking the fallout in her stride. She had an ironic way of looking at life that I'd never accomplished. This inability to just swallow the pill of unforeseen circumstance made me feel so much less competent.

One of the few who ever thought I was qualified for the job was one who, partially because of me, couldn't be given it herself. Her death proved one thing, she was wrong about my being qualified. I'd failed to sense the third party.

This brought me to the last family on the list; Norton's. The others were all pretty dedicated to their job. Most of them lived here, collectively alone, estranged from their families. A quick explanation was easy.

Laid on my desk was a photograph from Amy's room here. Five faces smiled out of it at me. Amy sat at the centre, her parents either side of her, as well as an older brother and sister, who were cuddled into her. They'd been captured in one of those perfectly natural moments, laughter lighting up their expressions. This was from the time she'd been suspended, able to reconnect with her family, the close bond they'd had, knitted tighter together. No one else kept family photos, no one else had the need to unless they were driven by guilt. The expectation that they should care.

Her life amounted to more than a letter full of lies.

I ground my teeth together in my mouth.

I lifted the phone off of its receiver and dialled the number written in Norton's file. Before it could ring through, my hand had clamped so tightly around the handset that the plastic exploded in my grasp. My empty fist came down on my desk just as my office door opened.

Standing there was Swan, her expression was no less than amused by my display. "Really Aylesbury," her right eyebrow lifted at me sceptically after a moment.

"Agent Swan," I stood up, dusting the plastic shards from my clothes.

Her eyes narrowed at me, the lavender sliver around her enlarged pupils glowing in the dimness as the small room filled with her juniper scent. "I have an assignment for you," cupped in both hands in front of her was a plain file that she tapped gently against her chest.

"The day you don't will be an apocalypse," I muttered beneath my breath.

She smirked for a moment, then shook her head. "There's a girl gone missing, I need you to find her."

"I don't exactly specialise in missing persons, unless there's a hit on their head or something to retrieve from them." I turned towards a paper stack on my desk, tidying it and shuffling the sealed envelopes filled with lies next to the stack.

"You specialise in what we tell you," the file in her hand flew towards the desk making a heavy thud in my sensitive ears as it messed up my paper stack.

I lifted my eyes up to her, locking my jaw as my back went completely rigid in her presence.

"Besides, this is important." Her hands were on her hips now that they were free, fingers tapping against her hipbones.

My hand hesitated over the file, not turning my eyes away from Swan. "Why?"

"The girl's name is Kathleen Firethorn." Her right eyebrow arched up again, there was such an ease with her coldness.