Ocean of Lies | Five Hargreeves

Grown-Up Work

As dusk approaches, I peak out of the aged motel curtains. The bright fluorescent lights beam through the dusty window. I throw away my leftover Chinese food and grab my leather jacket before entering the empty walkway. When I wrap around the stairwell corner, my attention is focused on the sky to the right of me. I love this time of day. Sure, I love sunsets, but boy do I love twilight. You can watch stars all the while the sky is still beautiful hues of light pink and purple. Unexpectedly, I collide with someone and hear a loud grunt followed by another person's curses.

"Watch where you're walking, little girl," scolds a familiar voice.

I back away from them and almost find myself jumping for joy. "Cha Cha! Hazel!" I exclaim.

Both of their eyes widen before breaking into huge grins. "Mallory!" they say simultaneously.

Hazel and Cha Cha are some of my closest friends back at the Commission. We all look out for each other. Although they can be a bit of a handful, it always keeps things entertaining.

"What are you guys doing here?"

Hazel tilts his head. "We could ask you the same question. Who are you here for?"

"Agent Five Hargreeves. He broke his cont—"

"—Wait, what? Five?" Cha Cha's brows draw together.

"Um, yeah. Five. Why? Do you know him? Sorry, it's nothing personal against him; I was just assigned—"

She cuts me off again, throwing her hand in my face. "Shush, just— stop talking. We were assigned the mission. Hazel and I weren't informed about anyone else targeting our target."

I raise my brows. "That can't be true. I was already given the mission, like, days ago. When did you two get here?"

"Today," says Cha Cha. She shakes her head with a quizzical look as Hazel is in deep thought. Cha Cha turns to him and crosses her arms. "Why would they assign two different teams and not even tell us?"

She's right-- that doesn't make any sense. It would be too confusing for other teams. When I arrived, they did the same thing with those men in Griddy's. Why aren't they communicating with us about anything?

Hazel rubs his chin. "Who assigned you the job, might I ask?"

"The Handler. The Handler assigned it."

He shrugs his shoulders and says, "Well, the same goes for us. So... faster job, I guess."

Cha Cha scoffs in disgust. "Faster job? Please. You know why they did this?" She points her fingers at her partner and me. "They underestimate us. They think we can't get the kill done ourselves, so they send more people."

My face falls into an incredulous stare. "I'm sorry, kill?"

They both nod their head. "What did you think we're here for? A dance battle?"

I squint my eyes, annoyed with everyone. "I was ordered to not kill him. Just investigate and send him back in one piece..."

"Huh. We were told to kill him," says Hazel.

"And that's exactly what we're doing," says Cha Cha.

"Wait, no you aren't. If he's dead..." My eyes widen. "Then well... I can't complete my mission. I'd have done it improperly. I will fail."

Hazel gives me an apologetic smile. "Look, we're sorry. But we literally can't afford to fuck this one up. You can. They haven't threatened to lower your pay grade yet, have they?" I shake my head. "Exactly. So why not continue with your little investigation, while we do grown-up work. Okay?"

My jaw goes slack. Grown-up work? Is he kidding me? They have to be joking. "You're fucking with me, right? You must be in a funny mood today, aren't you. Sooo funny, guys." They side-eye each other and then look back at me. That was enough to know my answer. "You know what? I'll be the one to put my big girl pants on and just contact the Handler. Get this situation all sorted out."

They remain quiet, and we all stand here in awkward silence for another minute before Cha Cha opens her mouth. "Okay, good luck with that, Mallory. But we have to go." She gives Hazel a look and he bites his cheek.  "Call us if you need anything, alright? I'm always here for you." They bid their goodbyes as they exit the building. I watch from the walkway railing as they climb into a blue Volvo and drive away.

Well, that was... something! Jesus Christ. If I hadn't run into them, tomorrow I'd come to find Five dead in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. The irony of this. Literally four hours ago, I fantasized about grotesque ways to murder him. Now, I'm defending his survival.

I continue my stroll up the stairs to a metal door with a large sign painted EMPLOYEES ONLY. As I walk onto the roof, my gaze darts up to the night sky, lit with hundreds of stars. Considering the city's light pollution, it's a lot brighter than I would expect. Still, it is nowhere near compared to the other places I've visited. In La Palma, the view was so amazing you can see the Milky Way. A gentle smile crosses my face from the memory.

I lay down on the cold concrete-- a refreshing contrast from the hot air. I yawn as I review my plans. Tomorrow, I will uncover every detail of Five Hargreeves' agenda. I will interrogate him in a way that he can't resist telling me everything he knows. I'll find a way– I always do. Then, once I finally have sufficient information to present to the Handler... I can contact her. I'll ask about the uncoordinated missions assigned to me, Hazel, and Cha Cha.

My eyes slowly droop.

Then, casually mention how I know everything about Five's plans to stop the apocalypse. She would say how proud she is. Then... then turn him in. Return him to the Handler. Just like I planned.

I bite my cheek. A cool breeze chills my face as my running thoughts pause.

...I can't turn him in. Yet. I need him... to stay put. Because... because maybe the Handler wants him to be killed as Hazel and Cha Cha had said. They would be unable to carry out their mission if I were to turn him in. It would be hypocritical to turn Five in after telling them not to kill him.

Satisfied with my reason, I succumb to the drowsy feeling encapsulating my body and fall asleep.