The ring was loud and clear, and the hand that pushed papers out of the way
seemed hardly anxious to find the source. Put the hand met its target and pulled
the phone swiftly out of its cradle.
“Hello?” a voice asked into the
receiver, boredom cloaked with a thin veil of cheer. The conversation was short
– hardly even worth being called a conversation. On one end, only a “Yes, Ma’am”
and a “Right away, Ma’am” were spoken before the phone was returned to its
resting-place with a sigh. She put her hands on her desk and pushed her chair
back as she stood, glancing at the digital clock that sat on the corner of the
cluttered desk that sat in the otherwise tidy room. Three o’clock in the
afternoon. She’d missed lunch again. Standing up, she grabbed her jacket off the
back of the chair and swung it on. She flicked off the light and opened the
door, locking it as she stepped out into the deserted corridor. Wondering what
Lady Une wanted, Noin continued down the hallway to find out exactly why her
superior had ordered her presence.
“Noin?” Lady Une inclined her head as
her office door opened, then shut almost soundlessly.
“Yes, Lady?” Noin
answered as she glanced around the office, which was small, but not nearly as
small as the room that housed Noin’s desk, bed, and few belongings. “You called
me?”
“Yes.” Une dropped the pencil she had been using to check off
reports. “Noin, I understand that you perform very well in all of the areas that
you cover. I have an assignment for you, and I’d like for you to have a partner
in this assignment. From what I’ve seen, I think that you and this young man
will work very well together. And as a matter of fact…” Une glanced at her
watch. “He should be here any moment.”
As if on cue, a knock sounded on
the door. Seconds later, the door opened gently, and in walked a quite handsome
young man – wearing a mask. He nodded at Noin, then looked to
Une.
“Hello, Cadet Marquise.” Une greeted. “I would like you to meet
Cadet Lucrezia Noin. Noin, this is Zechs Merquise. I was just telling Noin about
how you two will be paired up together for an assignment that’s just come up.”
Noin searched the boy’s face for any sign of what he thought of this
arrangement, but she could see nothing under the mask that hid most of his
face.
Une shuffled some of the papers around on her desk, and finally
pulled out a folder. She opened it, and pulled out even more papers to litter
her desk.
“Let’s see…” She said, sifting through the pile. “Your mission
is to research an opposition base we’ve found recently. To say the least, it’s
in the middle of nowhere. That’s probably why we’ve never spotted it before.
Anyway, you will infiltrate the base, and find out as much as you can about the
enemies plans. You will return back here, and tell us all you
learn.”
“So, basically, we’re spies.” Noin commented.
“You can
call it that, if you prefer. It doesn’t matter. Just finish the job. A small
plane will take off tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. I expect you both to be
ready.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” The two said, then turned and retreated to the
empty corridor.
Leaving. Tomorrow. It took a while for this to register
in Noin’s brain. She’d always wanted an assignment away from the base where
she’d felt trapped for the last few years, but this wasn’t quite what she’d had
in mind.
Footsteps down the hallway made her wake up. She turned to look
at the back of her retreating partner as he walked away down the
hallway.
