The Orb

I suppose I could’ve tried harder. At this stage of my career, a kill like this should’ve been an easy one. However, I had also reached that stage of my career where killing was becoming… boring.

“Honestly, I don’t know what’s gotten into you,” my boss grumbled as he sorted through the numerous pages that made up the incident report. I leaned back in the chair and put my booted feet up on his desk nonchalantly. “You’ve never had an IR before!”

“There’s a first time for everything, I suppose,” I said. “So, what’s the damage?”

“Well, minimal all things considered,” he answered and shook his head again. “I do have some bad news for you, though.” I stared at him with a slight frown. “They want to see you.”

I blinked. “Wait. But it’s just one IR.”

“For our most senior operative! You never make mistakes, Jynx.”

I clenched my jaw. “Disciplinary?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve just been told to send you as soon as we’re done here.”

“Then we’re done,” I said and stood to my feet.

“Wait-.”

“I’ll be back after this meeting,” I said.

I heard him groan as I stormed out of the room. People scattered from my path to the elevator. I was angry and everyone here knew to avoid me when that was the case. I pressed the down button and waited impatiently for the elevator to call. I tapped my foot and shot a glare at the fish tanks on the walls. Honestly. Of all the places to put fish tanks.

“What’s crawled up your ass and died?” a voice asked.

I rolled my eyes and didn’t bother to turn around. “You if you don’t give me some space.”

Grinning, Harper just stepped closer. “Heard you get to go see the big boys. Heard they weren’t too happy with you. Heard-.”

“Seriously, when’s the last time you bathed?”

He flushed. “Well, not all of us get cushy jobs!”

I snorted. “Sure. You keep telling yourself that.”

The bell finally dinged and I stepped in, swiftly pressing the door close button before he could join me. He flipped me off as the doors shut and I flashed him a grin. I hesitated before pressing the ‘B’. I had never been that low in the office, even though I was their top operative. The only people to see the basement were either ‘invited’ elsewhere, or never heard from again. As the elevator lowered smoothly, I did my best to avoid wondering which fate would be mine.

It’s not like I had cost them a lot of money. I didn’t understand all the hype that was being raised from this. So I left two witnesses. Easily taken care of! Just a little poison in their morning tea and problem solved!

The air was getting colder as this level was as far underground as they could safely build. I pulled at the collar of my work blouse. I was in trouble, that much was obvious. And a lot of it. By the time the elevator finally came to a halt, I was sweating. I stepped out to a surprise.

I had expected some kind of office but this looked like it belonged to a cult or something. Everything was made of stone and torches lined the circular walls. A single door stood opposite of me about ten feet in. I hesitated, my hand hovering over my gun, before walking briskly to it. There was a door knob and a knocker. Part of me wanted to keep up my bravado and just stride right in but something was holding me back. Whether it was fear or caution, I couldn’t quite tell. I settled with knocking three times on the door.

It swung forward silently and I cursed under my breath. I straightened my blouse and skirt then walked in with my head held high. The next room was colder and the same style. It was larger, though, and a hard wood chair waited for me. I took it wordlessly and stared at the shadows in front of me. There were five of them, the leaders of our organization. No one knew their names or what they looked like. Rumor had it that they were otherworldly beings but I figured they just kept their secrets so that they were guaranteed waking up in the morning.

“Operative Jynx Collins,” one said. I tried to find anything in the voice that would reveal an identity but even their voices were warped somehow. “I assume you know why you’re here.”

“Actually, I don’t,” I said. “I mean, while I agree that an IR is a bad thing, this is my first one and-.”

Someone scoffed. “You think a simple incident report has brought you to us?”

I frowned. “Why else would I be down here? I messed up.”

“We don’t bring people down here because of IRs,” the first voice said. “And, despite the rumors you operatives seem to revel in, we do not hide in secret.”

“Yet you’re shrouded even now,” I mumbled.

“Our identities are sacred, something I’m sure you understand.”

It was true. With each job I took, I always had a new identity given to me. It was the best way to keep us from getting discovered and outed. That could lead to our deaths or worse.

“So… why am I here?”

“We have been watching you,” the second person said. “From the very moment you showed up on our doorstep, you have displayed the initiative and guts we look for in our prime members. As you know, once a person leaves this room, their lives change forever. We’ve decided to give you a final test.”

“Wait, what? A test?”

“Yes. What do you know of us?”

“Absolutely nothing,” I said honestly. “Except that you have very… outdated fashion sense,” I added, looking around at the barren room.

“The five of us have run this institution since it’s founding nearly a hundred years ago. Doing so has not been easy and has required everything from advanced science to dark magick. Yes, it exists,” the person said when I scoffed. “You’ll learn more about it in a moment. Together, we have built this into an organization dedicated to keeping everything under control. Did you never wonder why some of your targets were… special?”

I thought to the occasional bright orange folder I would receive aside from the usual red.

“Those were targets that had breached promises and risked exposing things to the world that weren’t ready for it yet. Recently, one such breach has happened, and we need you to track down the culprit and kill them. This person has been warned several times and they have run out of warnings. However, this won’t be your usual job.”

“For this, you have to partake in something more complicated,” a third person said. I heard metal on metal and a door at my feet opened. A table rose from the floor and a bright orange folder sat atop it. I hesitated but opened it. It was very thin and held just one sheet of paper and a picture of a woman with long blond hair and blue eyes. “Your identity will be changed again but not in the same way.”

“You’re not making any sense,” I said.

“Good. Take a look at your target’s information, would you?”

I frowned and read over the brief paragraph. “All it says is her name is Camille, age undetermined, and her location is- No. That’s not possible.”

“Yes, it is.” As one, all five shadows got taller and I understood they had risen to their feet. “As I said, you will learn about magick. And how it plays a part in this world. And others.”

I felt uneasy. The shadows were getting closer and I jumped to my feet, my hands pulling my gun from its holster. Every nerve in my body was on edge and I took a few steps back, ready to fire and run. I nearly dropped it, though, when the five shadows stepped into the light.

“No,” I said quietly. “You- But- One hundred years?”

Each of the five looked to be just my age – 25. Three were men, two women. All were white except for one of the men who stood in the middle. I understood this to be the person who did most of the talking as he started again. This time, his voice wasn’t masked and my jaw dropped.

“You’re the one who makes the coffee,” I said and he smiled a little. I looked closer at the other four. “You work with the mail, you take out the trash, you’re the weird eco kid, and you’re the slacker!”

The others chuckled quietly.

“Is that the title I’ve been given?” the woman on the right asked. “I know I don’t do much in the office, but a slacker?”

“Follow us, Jynx,” the man in the middle said. Then he smirked a little. “Or, as we prefer to call you, Angel.”

I cringed. “Could you not? I haven’t gone by that in ten years.”

A door I didn’t notice to the right opened and I hesitated before following them through and into a new adventure that would definitely throw my world into chaos, excitement, and renewal.