2"Robyn. I appreciated your company this morning in the park. Robyn." RIIINNG! I groaned as the dream of my partner faded into the sound of an unanswered phone call. Turning in bed, I grabbed the thing off the receiver and looked at the caller ID. I rolled my eyes as I read the name over it.
"This is also from Amon." I said to no one in particular, pressing the talk button.
"Robyn. You need to come to Harry's right now." To the point, as ever.
"Amon, what…"
"Just do it. Your other boss, Yuji, may be in danger." And with that I heard the ending beep of the call. Ugh! Setting a couple items on fire, I quickly commanded the flames to die, anger returning to emptiness. Sighing, I threw on my usual clothes, my STNJ coat, and road to Harry's as instructed. When I got there, the only thing that seemed out of place was the frown on Yuji's face, and the stress lining his forehead. Yuji was a very content person, even in situations like this…
As I stepped in, I saw their heads turn with surprise, and caught an expression I'd never seen on Amon's face before, only for a second. His face then reverted back to a uniform stoic, like some handsome toy soldier. And yes, I used handsome. Coldblooded men can be cute. Amon probably locked his emotions away so he could do his job right… I thought, envying him a moment as I was reminded of the times my emotions had slowed our…the STNJ's missions.
"Robyn." Amon's voice broke through my thoughts as I sat next to him. "Yuji was asking you what you wanted to drink."
"W-What?" I stuttered, surprised he was taking time to have a drink with me. "I thought this was serious."
"I'm sorry I considered a coffee to calm your nerves and wake your mind before the mission." He huffed. I was taken aback by his comment a moment, wondering what sort of injury I'd done his pride. But this was only a second long thought as I realized what he meant. It was a sarcastic joke, and I smiled at it as I formulated my come back.
"I'm sorry my charms forced the urge to be a gentleman out of you." I teased him, fluttering my eyelashes before tossing my hair out with a silky red ribbon between my fingers. Amon looked slightly surprised, even astounded, at my comment and gesture. It was definitely out of character for me, just like chivalry was for him. Two could play at a game of surprises. Yuji returned with my usual espresso, and an Irish coffee for Amon. (Irish coffee: mostly coffee, one shot of whiskey, whipped cream on top) I was going to pay for both orders, but my barista friend returned my cash, saying it was on the house, which made me a bit doubtful of my previous thoughts on this situation. When my partner and I finished the drinks, a pleasantly tipsy and caffeinated Amon pulled out a recorder for the conversation.
"Describe your surroundings at the time you were attacked." He said, forwardly.
"Well it was very cold. It was like winter ran through my veins instead of across my skin. I remember feeling this unshakeable sense of fear. And then there were these two huge transparent arms, just reaching inside my mind. I saw things… very terrible things."
"What kind of things?" I asked, hoping for clearer information that I could return as resource material for this kind of attack.
"Burning, screaming people… sick, dying children… tortured, mutilated loved ones." He said, voice strained for composure.
"Did you dream about any of these things you saw, or were there any kind of related elements around your house? Today when you woke up, or after this attack, and before you went to bed, did seeing anything send you back to what you saw?" I stifled my giggles as this conversation began to sound like some kind of medical inquiry. I bit my lips hard enough to draw blood as I imagined a Dr. Amon, and a Nurse Robyn. How silly was I in a case as serious as this?
"Do you go in and out of moods, have thoughts that you usually wouldn't have, or find yourself doing things you wouldn't, as if controlled?" Yuji answered with a fretful yes, and my eyes wandered from wall to wall as tension thickened the air. My eyes returned to Amon, from his legs and upwards. I then realized something was very wrong with this situation, but a smile touched my lips. I can't believe he hasn't noticed Amon drawing and loading his Orbo gun for the last minute. I thought, body adrenalizing before the action.
As our patient (couldn't resist it) turned a moment, Amon leapt over the counter top in one swift, silent movement, I created a flame just in front of Yuji's hand, and the man turned to an Orbo filled syringe sinking into his head. Yuji had definitely been housing the mind of a witch, though he had been conscious through some of this, and the witch throughout other parts. I recognized this mission as a success, but I didn't feel victorious.
"That's the third case this week." Amon said suddenly, reading my thoughts.
"Yes… does Michael have a lead yet? And what about the rest of the team?" the stoic, toy soldier faced man shook his head, a non-existent emotion of disapproval saturating his aura. We called a cab to take Yuji home, and on the walk back to the STNJ, a dormant curiosity of mine awakened and voiced itself.
"How do you just… not feel?" I asked.
"How do you not cry over the pain of a scraped knee anymore?" He countered, not even looking at me.
"As you get older, you can tolerate more pain." I replied.
"Congratulations. You just found your answer." I thought about this momentarily.
"So you just don't feel anything about hunting witches anymore, because it became a normality and numbed you." He nodded silently. "You must be so sad." I said thoughtlessly, and earned a sound of surprise from the emotionless man. "To shut off all your emotions like that, you must have gone through something really terrible." He actually smiled slightly.
"You're right. My last partner was a witch like you. You remind me of her, before I killed her." I stopped dead in the sidewalk.
"You… killed her?" it sounded so distant, even from my own ears.
"You'll understand why if you ever become what she did. And I sincerely hope you don't, Robyn." If I ever become what she did… 'I sincerely hope you don't'… he doesn't want to kill me, even if worse came to worse. I thought, catching up to Amon, ten feet ahead of me. He wants to know me, just like I want to know him.
