Upon hearing their previous Heads’ names, her heart almost jumped out of its cage.
‘Regardless of what he’s going to ask about them, you’ll tell nothing against them, Eve!’ she talked inside.
‘But if it benefits your team, go ahead. Just make sure to not give him too much information,’ her mind persuaded her.
She gulped as she couldn’t decide which one to consider.
“What about our former Heads, Sir?” she asked casually and looked away, pretending to be looking outside.
“Eulejius is far more cautious than Eulysis while Epharil is a vulgar one. What do you think Captain Eulysis had in his mind for appointing them as his Heads?”
Without doubting the capability of the two, she smiled as she coughed softly.
“I am sorry,” she excused and composed herself.
“What exactly do you mean by that, Sir?”
The man creases his forehead and gazed from her to the birds freely flapping their tiny wings, circling yards away from the wall.
“Epharil is most likely to be a drunkard—what a headache for your team! And she loves cigarettes! As for Eulejius, that man, I have never had understood him! He is deeper than Eulysis. Why do you think he voted for them as his heads?”
She chuckled but refrained herself to laugh as she doesn’t want to offend Lux.
“He voted? Sir, he had chosen them out of pure trust and believing that they can perform the position of being Heads! Head Epharil may have been seen smoking her favorite sticks or emptying bottles of her taste of wine, but I assure you, she had always got done of the tasks given to the team ahead of us! How she did that is still unknown to everyone of the team.” She smilingly shook her head.
“And Head Eulejius, regarding him, he really was a man of few words but during the mission, he suddenly became talkative. He calmed us down. He assured us. He even handled some of the things that the Captain could no longer tend to handle. But, I am certain, he had worked silently to keep us all safe back then.”
Out of nowhere, she felt tears streaming down on her face.
“I thought I’m already okay. I’m sorry.” She turned around and dried her tears.
“That’s okay. Just cry it all out if you want. I don’t mind hearing sobs today.”
She shook her head and stand up firmly.
“Go ahead, I won’t mind,” he insisted. And that was like a trigger for her tear ducts to continue releasing more pints of sadness. It poured out every single drop it has.
“That is everything I just wanted to know anyway. So, they were really good. I am just wondering why instead of making Eulejius the Captain of your team, he had decided to only settle as your Head. And Epharil—I wasn’t really expecting her to be one.”
“She was so reliable. She had never failed us. Not even once.”
The man is surprisingly considerate enough to let her vent out. For the next couple of minutes, no one of them is talking. It is just a complete silence that was aired.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes, Sir. Sorry for that, thank you,” she apologized, feeling disgraced after realizing that she had just shown him how vulnerable she can be.
He just nodded. Whether irritated or mad, she can’t tell what’s his mood—he remained emotionless.
“About the second favor, not that I am saying I’m against of it. It’s just that we protect the informations here. And I am not saying that I am doubting your team, either. But, do you really want to remember what happened during your last days with your whole team?”
“Are we supposed to forget them?”
“It is up to you. But I am telling you already. The uppers will surely oppose to that one.”
“Can’t you do something about it, Sir?” she queried, both in desperation and insisting manner.
“Told you, if you can give me an important information—even just one, I will disregard any opposition. I will grant your favor right away.”
Judging by his tone, she has confirmed that he is indeed serious. She dug deeper inside her head to think of something that’ll shut him up and just signed their request. She started to feel numbness as she counted the informations she knows.
None of those are highly confidential. She can’t throw away any of it.
“Time is running, Captain Eve. It doesn’t know how to wait.”
She closed her eyes and think even harder. “Not unless time has stopped itself or unless it slowed down. Then, it can wait.”
The aromatic scent of his wine filled her airways, making her opened her eyes.
“Which is only possible if one can travel at light speed or something—nothing. Never mind, that is completely impossible.”
“Do you really think it is impossible, Sir? I disagree. I once had read somewhere that nature won’t let us see a glimpse of possibility if it is really meant to be impossible.”
Lux didn’t reply, but she knows he wasn’t speechless. It is more of he has something in mind that he chose not to say.
She hemmed. “So, what information do you need to know specifically? I am not into meddling in someone else’s personal life. I can’t promise that I can give you informations about them.”
He smirked and tilted the corner of his lips for a smile.
“As expected from the raised kid of those three. Don’t worry. It isn’t something personal.” He slid his hands inside his pockets.
She looked at him and didn’t blink her eyes even once.
‘How can you be so intimidating effortlessly?’ she asked inwardly.
“What do you think of them? Were they really an ally to the organization?”
She stopped herself to get flustered. “They won’t risk their lives for others if they aren’t, Sir. They could have just left us out there if they aren’t an ally to us.”
“What do you think of Epharil?”
“What do you mean, Boss?”
“Among of all the scholars that the organization has ever had, she’s the only one that we had recruited the youngest. She spent most of her life here…” He stopped.
“She’s the most loyal, the ever faithful one. Do you think she had ever betrayed us?”
That’s it! She gulped furtively and moved her fingers to calm down herself. Couldn’t decide whether to use it to lure the man to be a bit vocal about the issues, or defend the old woman.
‘If I chose the first one, he will either trust or doubt my team. But if I’d defend Epharil—’ She took a deep breath before glancing at him.
“She had been a great Head to our team, Sir. Never did she said anything against the organization—”
“Cut it there. That is already enough.” He raised a hand and Program Lux’s voice aired.
‘Yes, Captain?’
“Tell the uppers we will be having a meeting today.”
‘Copy, Captain!’
He smiled and drank another glass of wine. “Thank you, Captain Eve!”
“For what, Sir?” She wondered.
“You have been such a promising Captain, Eve. I only trust so few when it comes to things that for the organization are crucial informations.”
“Those people you have trusted must be really trustworthy, Sir,” she truthfully praised. Being a cautious one, it is actually unbelievable for him to trust someone.
“On the last day of your mission, Head Epharil called us—I and the officers, the uppers.” He took a deep breath, sounding so disgusted.
“She told us that she was a mole. You know what a mole is? Those are people that keeps on opposing the organization’s objectives.”
“Was she?”
“She was—that was what she said. But here you are, you have doubted she wasn’t. And I believe you. Lying is not your forte. You are not good at hiding things.”
Her lips parted. Does he mean he had seen through her?
“I am terrible in keeping things.” She laughed calmly, shooing the nervousness that is starting to feed on her sanity.
Her laughters echoed for a while, and she hoped she had faked it successfully.
“So, your second favor, are you really serious about it?”
“Yes, Sir. What we had here is worth keeping.”
He examined her with a judging eyes, as if he was not persuaded.
“What made you think that conditioning will erase your memories?” he spoke in a tone that is her first time to hear.
It sounded so calm, low and soft, but it didn’t feel that way—it feels the opposite. No, it’s way more than that.
“I just thought of that.”
“Conditioning has nothing to do with your memories.”
She hissed inwardly. It is better safe than sorry, she thought.
“Still, I insist.”
“Where’s the waiver, then?” He took out his fountain pen.
“The uppers will surely get furiously mad about this,” she uttered, enough for him to hear.
“That’s okay. Your team is exceptionally exempted from this one. Any reliable information is far better important. Just always remember to keep everything you know about the organization. Say nothing about it,” he instructed as he curved his signature.
“Understood, Sir!”
“I can’t wait to know your other favors, Captain. What a shame that I don’t have the whole day to talk to you.”
“That is okay. We still have days to stay anyway. What time tomorrow, then?”
“I will not be around during the morning. Come here at 2:00 in the afternoon.”
“It’s settled then.”
“Tell me more tomorrow, Eve. I will be waiting.”
As he turned around to dismiss her, she wonders if he got her, or she got him. She took steps back away before turning her back on him.
‘I will always make sure it is the latter one, Lux,’ she whispered in her mind and victoriously caressed the stamp on the waiver as she leaves, still breathing in the scent of his wine.