Chapter 3 Agent Laurel

Agent Laurel landed in front of the impressive entranceway of the Terran Greenhouse headquarters with an audible 'umpf.' She stepped off her broom and proceeded to take off her leather riding gloves and place them back in her pocket.

A few of her fellow gleamers were hurrying up and down the stairs. They were all dressed in the uniform of a blood-red ankle-length jacket, pants, and copper gas masks. Some stopped to wave as others took a moment to greet her.

"Good to see you, Agent Laurel,"

"Welcome back, Agent Laurel."

The masked gleamers rasped through their filter mouthpieces. The old woman gave each a respectful nod. There were to be no smiles or open affection, but inwardly she was elated. She was always happy to be greeted by everyone. They were like a family to her. But she would never say that out loud.

Another gleamer, around the same age as Laurel, opened the glass door for her.

"Welcome back, Laurel." He greeted her informally. He was mask-less. Laurel frowned and looked away. She made it apparent that he revolted her. In secret, though, she was happy to see him as well. But she didn't want to let on that she still had feelings for him after all these years.

Hector doesn't need to know. Agent Laurel thought.

Laurel did not reply to him. Instead, she carried her broom up in one hand and moved to walk. While she strolled past, Hector took the chance to take in her ragged clothes. He smiled with crooked teeth.

"I assume you were just undercover by the disguise. Do they still have an old thing like you working in the field? Don't think you think it is a bit of a waste? I mean, you're no spring chicken now. Why not give the younger a try? Or were you too concerned with maintaining your title of being the best, Agent Laurel." Hector mocked, and Laurel stopped in the doorway.

She gave him a long glare. Her mouth formed a disgusted sneer.

"It was an assignment from the country of Vali. Believe me when I say I'd rather not have if I could. But I had no choice in the matter. "

She was in no mood to talk about the mission. On the contrary, it had left her bitter and annoyed just thinking about it. But unfortunately, Laurel was also preoccupied with other more distressing matters.

There was something else she needed to do as soon as she returned to her office. It was something dreadful but had to be done. And to complete it, she needed to reserve her energy.

But, unfortunately, talking to Hector was proving to be the opposite of this.

The two regarded each other. Hector then broke eye contact first to close the door. They then moved into the gas lite lobby. Laurel looked about the room.

The lobby was decorated in deep reds and gold, with every wall lined with multiple paintings. Each painting was a portrait of a past famous Gleamer. They each held their copper gas masks and showed somber faces.

Laurel moved her eyes to an empty spot on the wall. This spot was reserved for her. A name was carved into the mock gold plaque and had a small sign that read 'Painting in Progress.' In truth, her painting was finished and ready to set up. However, it could only be hung after her demise or retirement.

But who knew when that would be? Agent Laurel had no plans of doing the latter.

No, she thought, what would be the fun in that? And what would

I do with myself? If not here?

So that left the other option. But this only conjured a new set of obstacles. The old gleamer never seemed to die. Or, better put, be killed. She had outlived everyone from her graduate class.

Except for Hector.

But Hector was just an office worker, the old woman thought with an excuse. His role was less dangerous. He would never count.

Hector will live a long and happy life with an abrupt retirement. Agent Laurel thought. No portrait of his likeness would grace this wall.

Laurel was glad about that.

"Will you cry on the day they hang up mine?" Laurel spoke absentmindedly. Hector was surprised by her sudden question and turned to look at her.

"What? Did you say something? I didn't hear you." Hector responded, and Laurel frowned at him. Then, she looked away and in front of her.

"Nothing. Go get your ears cleaned, old man," Laurel grumbled and quickened her pace. Hector followed after her. Both soon made their way to the elevator.

Above the door was the Greenhouse motto written in Old Church. It translated roughly in English to ' May We Prune Away That Which Grows As Weeds In Our Eden.' The pruning, of course, referred to riding mankind of the unwanted. The unwanted being all magical.

Whenever Laurel came across it, she had the habit of re-reading it in her head. And she was doing just that as Hector turned to look at her again and noted the broom. He smiled and spoke with amusement.

"That's quite a nice broom you got there,"

Hector moved to touch the handle. Laurel snapped out of her trance at his voice and quickly slapped his hand away.

"Thanks, it was a gift…." Agent Laurel trailed off as the doors creaked open. Laurel cringed at the loud squeal. She knew the doors desperately needed a good oil but couldn't do anything about it. For if she did, the gremlins would just come back and do something much worse.

It had been this way for anything technological in Greenhouse. Gremlins were the only magical creatures Greenhouse could not control. Every weapon they could use to kill or capture them would just break.

With the Gremlins in mind, Laurel took the chance to test the elevator before stepping in. Unfortunately, it was not uncommon for an elevator to just break cable and crash downwards. Both had seen it happen before.

"It's safe," Laurel announced, and both stepped inside.

Each moved to press for their floor and watch with some anxiety as the doors gave a creaky close. Once closed, Laurel took the opportunity to look Hector up and down secretly. She was concerned by what she saw.

The old man was looking a tad more tired than yesterday. His large round grey eyes appeared to have a glassy finish as his complexion gave off an ashier hue. She saw him then sniffle and give a body-shaking cough.

"Are you sick?" Agent Laurel asked in worry. Hector looked over her way and gave a sly smile.

"Why, are you going to nurse me back to health?" Hector quipped, and Laurel responded with a sour look. Just then, the elevator doors creaked open. It was Hector's floor. He swayed over to get out.

"No, I'm fine, Laurel. Just a chill. You don't need to worry." Hector spoke and reached up to push a loose hair out of Laurel's face. He smiled tenderly at her. Laurel became embarrassed and pushed his hand away.

"Get off, old man. You smell." Laurel retorted with a blush. She turned her head to hide it and did not watch him leave. She remained this way until the doors creaked closed again.

The elevator continued to pull up until it hit the top floor. It stopped here, and Laurel took a step out. She was then greeted by a young blond coming down the hall. The girl gave a bright smile upon seeing the old gleamer.

"Agent Laurel! Welcome back. How was your mission?" She walked over so that Laurel could hand her the broom.

"Oo~ This is the new Skyliner Model." The girl spoke in awe. Laurel moved past her and up towards her office.

"You can keep that, Ami. I heard you already broke your last broom. The third one this year, right?" Agent Laurel gruffed but smiled as she heard an excited squeal come from behind her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Ami spoke rapidly and ran over to grab the old woman into a hug. She squeezed her tight and then let go. Agent Laurel forced away a smile and spoke.

"Fix me a cup of tea and fetch my uniform. I'll be in my office." Agent Laurel spoke and walked off. Agent Ami nodded behind her with vigor.

"Right away, Boss!" The young gleamer bubbled and spun around in another direction down the hall.

Laurel paused to look over her shoulder. She watched the teenager leave and smiled fully after her. The old woman always regarded Ami to be like a granddaughter. She was so proud of the young girl. She had come a long way from when Laurel had first met her.

But she would never tell Ami that.

Laurel lingered there long after Ami disappeared out of sight. It was quiet. She was the only gleamer to have an office up here. It was a perk to being the best. The only problem was that she was alone now.

Except for Ami, who was her assistant, there was no one else. Laurel sometimes regretted living so long. This was one of those times.

A loud sigh came from Laurel's lips as she knew she could not keep stalling. It didn't matter if she spent an hour or a day putting it off. There was still something else that she needed to do to complete the mission. It was unpleasant, but she had no way around it.

She needed to report back to the vampire.

Laurel gave an involuntary shudder at the thought. It made her skin crawl. She never liked working with vampires. They were just too predatory and cold for her.

But it wasn't like she could refuse them. Laurel had been personally selected for the mission, and no gleamer could refuse a request from Vali. Greenhouse was in too deep a debt to them to say no. So, she was doomed.

Laurel let out another sigh at the certainty. She propelled her body forward until she reached her office at the end of the hall. Her hand moved to open the door and then make way to her plain wood desk and chair. Her eyes automatically turned around the room when she was seated.

She looked over all paintings that decorated her office from ceiling to floor. Each one depicted a different type of scenario involving gleamers. Laurel roamed her eyes over each one until they rested on her favorite. It was a small oval-shaped canvas. It showed a wild red-haired witch being tied to the stake. The title was "The Great Burning," referring to the old days when Greenhouse would simply burn anyone, none human.

Laurel suddenly wished that she could have been born back then. That way, she wouldn't have to make any calls or finish any missions. Instead, she could kill that batbane and the vampire and call it a day.

It all just seemed so simple back then, Laurel thought.

"Agent Laurel? I have your tea-" Ami spoke from the doorway. Laurel quickly looked to see the young girl holding a tray and her uniform. Laurel tried to hide a smile and motioned for her to come in with a hand.

"Just in time, Ami. Here, set them down and get me connected with that line from Vali again."

Ami nodded and moved in to rest the tray on the desk. Laurel quickly took off her costume. She then moved to dress in her red coat and pants. She tied the gas mask to her belt and pulled a pair of grey gloves from her pockets.

When she was finished, she held out her costume. Ami took it into her hands and gave another nod. She began to speak.

"Same extension number?" Ami asked, and Laurel shook her head. She moved to grab a piece of paper from the drawer and hand it over. Ami took it with great care.

"No, I need to call her private number. It should be on there. Got it?" Laurel asked and saw the young gleamer study the paper for a moment. Ami then gave another nod when she did find it amongst the information.

"Yup, got it," Ami answered with another smile.

Laurel acknowledged this and sat back down. Then, she moved to grab her tea. It was hot and sweetened with honey. She almost smiled at that. Somehow, Ami had figured out that Laurel had a weakness for sweets.

"Then go. Let me know when you're connected." Laurel said as she set down the tea. Ami gave another nod and quickly left. Laurel was now alone again.

Her eyes moved over to that painting, and she felt a longing. If only things were simpler, she thought.

"You're connected, Boss." Ami suddenly shouted from down the hall and from another room.

"Thank you, Ami," Laurel shouted back. She moved up and over to stand where the new contraption called a 'telephone' was.

Before picking up the mouthpiece, she quickly looked over to see if any gremlins had tampered with it. They had. At the base of the black cord that led to the wall, there were a series of tiny little bite marks.

Laurel shook her head. Why were they so persistent here, she had to ask herself. This was the third phone they had attacked. She knew it wouldn't be long before it would be broken too, and she would need to install another.

Aside from the cord, the phone was still efficient, and Laurel picked up the mouth and earpiece. She pressed the earpiece close to her head before speaking uncomfortably into the other.

"H- hello? Lady Foxpure? Are you there?" Laurel began and waited in silence before another responded.

"Good day, Agent Laurel." A sweet girl's voice replied. The voice made Laurel shudder again. She couldn't help but imagine the vampire to be as beguiling and dangerous as those of sirens to sailors.

Laurel clamped her eyes closed as she tried to push away the image.

"...Agent Laurel? Are you still there?" Foxpure asked, and Laurel ripped open her eyes. She needed to keep on top of this.

"Yes, my apologies. I...I am calling to report on my mission with the possible identification of the said batbane." She wanted to be as direct as possible.

"Oh, yes, how did it go? Did she fang?"

"Yes. I saw the elongated canines. The subject fell for it and bared her fangs." Laurel responded, thinking back to the day's earlier events. The dark-haired girl had fallen for provocation, lost her temper, and fanged.

What was funny, though, Laurel thought, was how she had managed to get a free broom out of it. She couldn't but smile at that. When she had more time, she'd make sure to come back and thank the crow. She would then arrest and throw him and the gnome into Greenhouse for illegally living in Terra.

"Oh good…" Foxpure replied but then fell into silence.

"But...how do you know this is my batbane? It could have been just some other unlucky batbane you came across."

Agent Laurel could not believe what she had just heard for a moment. Her jaw unhinged slightly. Another batbane? Was the child joking?

"Lady Foxpure...how many other batbanes do you know of that could even cross over the sea, let alone be in Terra of all places?" Agent Laurel could not help but be sarcastic.

The very idea was stupid. And to even ask it was even more laughable, Agent Laurel couldn't help but think.

Great. Nothing was worse than working with a vampiress. Unless it was a stupid little vampiress, the gleamer thought and rolled her eyes over the phone.

She sounds like a child- what the hell was she doing on the phone, to begin with? To Greenhouse no less?

Agent Laurel wished, then, that she could meet the vampire- and punch her in the face. The gleamer took in a breath to try and calm herself.

"Yes, I am sure this is YOUR batbane. She matches the photographs and descriptions you supplied. Be it; she is somewhat older now." Agent Laurel managed to say before rolling her eyes again.

Duh!

"I would expect that much. They age so rapidly. Half the lifespan of even a human. But you already know that much, right, Agent Laurel." Foxpure said, then giggled at her joke. It was harsh sounding, and Laurel covered the earpiece. She could imagine the vampire to be laughing with her long white fangs.

"Ah~, anyway. Good work then, Agent Laurel. You've proven yourself to be as I have heard about. You are the best." Foxpure complimented, but Laurel frowned. She did not want any compliments from a vampire. It made her skin turn green.

"What is my role from here, Lady Foxpure," Laurel responded. She was hoping that the vampire would say that it was done and there was nothing else.

She hoped in vain.

"Detain her and have her set up in Greenhouse. I will then send my gargoyle to bring her back to Vali. And I don't mind if you use force on her but don't harm her face. Jullian would not be happy if it were."

"Is this understood, Agent Laurel? I want her in under a week."

Laurel inwardly groaned. This meant more work with vampires.

FAn-tAs-tiC, Agent Laurel groaned inwardly. She now REALLY wanted to punch the girl on the other line.

And kick her down a well.

The old woman smiled to herself at the idea.

"Yes, Lady Foxpure. Good day." Laurel spoke through her teeth and hung up first. She couldn't handle another syllable from the little vampire.

A moment later, Ami was back in the room. Laurel moved to her chair and leaned back. She felt tired.

"How was it? Did you get to report back?" Ami asked, and Laurel closed her eyes. She was mentally making a list of all the things she'd rather be doing now. Laurel then sat up and looked at Ami. The young gleamer smiled back.

It was a pity she wasn't her granddaughter. Laurel would have loved to have doted on her and spoiled her with delicate things. But that was something that would never happen.

Instead, Agent Laurel looked off to her favorite painting and spoke.

"I'll need you to set up equipment for a hunt. I'll be leaving shortly." Laurel said, and Ami gave her a concerned look. This was rare for her.

"Oh...you're going on a hunt, now? Um, what about backup? Shall I-

"No. It's only one twerp. I can handle that myself." Laurel said but felt Ami stare at her. She looked over to see how Ami just stood there. Laurel frowned.

"Didn't you hear me? I said go."

"...Yes, boss," Ami slowly moved out of the room.

Laurel watched her leave and got out of the chair. She moved over to a nearby-looking glass and took a look to see herself. She saw a tired old woman staring back with eyes that seemed to hold darkness. A darkness that she could not speak of. Would not to anyone.

Not to Ami or Hector. Agent Laurel then laughed and made a smirk at her reflection.

"Look at this old fool," Laurel spoke and turned away.