The Next Morning… 6:30 AM
"..."
Ding-dong—
"..."
Eyes open.
Ding… ding-dong—
"…Mmm… nghhhh…"
Sid Barrett stretched his limbs as the sound of his joints popped and cracked.
That damned doorbell had yanked him out of dreamland. He dragged himself off the bed, sleep-drunk and sluggish, trudging over to the door without even checking the pad.
And as expected, the one summoning him at this ungodly hour...
Was none other than Jody.
No one else around here would dare disturb him. No one but her.
"...What is it..."
His voice was thick with exhaustion. But the American girl's response was the total opposite.
"Sid, let's go hit the gym."
"...Twenty-two... twenty-three... thirty!"
"Syd."
"...Twenty-four—ngh! Twenty-five!"
How did he end up like this?
How the hell did he let Jody drag him to the gym and end up doing push-ups with her entire body weight on his back?
No idea.
Goddammit… I was so sleepy I must've followed her orders without even realizing it…
Every time he refused Jody about anything, anything at all, he ended up falling to her whisper-sorcery every damn time.
"Son of a…"
"Talking about someone?"
"A certain cripple in the vicinity."
"Another five."
"No! That's it! I'm done!"
Now fully awake thanks to that series of push-ups, Syd flipped over and dumped Jody off his back.
"Whoa!"
She flopped onto the mat on her back while Syd sat up grumbling, clearly annoyed.
"This is insanely irritating. I hate this!"
"Well, look who's finally awake."
Still half-asleep, huh…
Jody smirked.
"You're heavy! What's with you sitting on me!?"
"...Am I that heavy?"
She held out a hand. Syd sighed and helped her up.
"Doing push-ups with a whole human on your back isn't exactly beginner-tier. I'm not a damn bodybuilder."
"Not a bodybuilder? Could've fooled me, Mr. Tight Muscles~."
She clamped both hands onto his shoulders, feeling the firm tension beneath.
"Knock it off. I hate that word."
Syd brushed her hands off.
"What word? 'Teenager'?"
"You've gotten bold, haven't you, pale monkey. Keep this up and I'll CQC you and body slam you onto that dumbbell rack."
"Whoa, chill."
"I was sleeping peacefully, dammit. Why drag me into this at crack-of-dawn-o'clock? If you wanted to work out, go by yourself. What, can't lift a weight unless someone's holding your hand?"
"...Well, yeah. You know I love working out."
"And?"
"How could I resist? Look at this place, the gym's amazing. So many toys to play with. Going solo's depressing... and I don't really feel that safe here."
Syd was about to ask "Unsafe from what?"—but then it clicked. Of course she didn't feel secure. She didn't know most of the people in this facility. Every agent here was trained and dangerous. It would be strange if she didn't feel wary.
And she trusted Syd the most.
He had to admit it—he was Jody's safe zone.
"Sigh... lovely. Just lovely, you damn Yankee."
Jody sat down on a sit-up bench and gestured.
"Syd, a little help with the legs?"
He knelt down and held her ankles, letting a faint red buff energy pulse into her.
"Thanks ☺"
Jody began her first set, lifting and lowering steadily while Syd stood over her, arms folded.
After a while, he got ideas.
"...Nggh!?"
Jody let out a surprised yelp as, mid-rep, Syd suddenly pinned her midsection with his knee.
"Syd! What the hell!?"
"What?"
"Get your knee off, dammit! I can't sit up like this!"
"Spy training, lady. No mercy. Now go on—up you go."
Realizing she was being paybacked, Jody smirked.
"Revenge, huh~?"
Syd said nothing and pressed his knee down harder.
"Ow."
"What's the matter? Can't even manage this? Then forget about passing any org initiation. Hee~hee."
Still, he wasn't that cruel—there was enough give in his posture for her to breathe.
"Ugh… nghhh…"
She managed one rep. Barely.
"That's one. Count 'em."
"Ughhh… urgh!"
"Two… three… four… five…"
"Arghh… I'm done."
Jody flopped flat on the bench, panting hard.
Syd looked down with a cocky grin.
"P a t h e t i c."
"Huff... huff... sorry for the disappointment~."
To be fair, five reps under pressure wasn't half bad.
She reached for him again, and he helped her up.
That's when Jody's ears picked up the whispering—agents talking across the gym.
Voice 1: "...That her?"
Voice 2: "Hang on, hang on…"
"..."
Voice 2: "Pretty sure, yeah. That's Jody, right? I saw her in the news…"
Voice 1: "What the hell's she doing here?"
Voice 3: "You sure it's that Jody?"
Voice 2: "Yeah. Look—same face structure. Longer hair now, but definitely her."
Voice 1: "Why would Syd be with her?"
Voice 3: "No clue. Does that guy even know who she is?"
Voice 2: "What if he doesn't?"
Voice 4: "Wait… Jody? That Jody?"
Voice 2: "You don't know? The one from that case?"
And then came the one line that pierced deeper than all the rest:
"Weird… how'd someone like her make it into the organization?"
Jody thought she could outrun it.
But no.
This was the curse of the digital age—an eternal profile that would haunt her for life.
Now someone else recognized her. Soon, it'd be a hundred more.
She hated it.
But she couldn't blame anyone except herself.
The less she tried to hear it, the louder it got.
A question floated in the air:
Why does a bad person like Jody get to have a good life… while the victim's life was ruined?
She heard it every day.
She was the proof that life isn't fair.
And maybe Roxxy had been right.
"People like you die alone."
Syd could feel the shift in her aura. He couldn't hear like Jody, but he saw the agents whispering, then turned and saw her... frozen.
He knew. Immediately.
And he was going to go over there and handle it—his way.
But Jody stopped him.
The moment those agents saw Syd Barrett, the most dangerous thing in the facility, start toward them, they bolted.
Good thing Jody caught his arm—otherwise there'd be MMA on the mats.
"No need…"
She gripped his wrist tightly.
"...You sure?"
"Yeah… They didn't do anything wrong. They were just asking questions."
Even if she said that, Syd knew it still hurt.
Jody was far more sensitive than she let on.
"Why care what they say? They weren't the ones cleaning up your blood and tears. Why do their words matter?"
Because people are different. Syd could ignore the world. Jody couldn't.
She said she didn't care, but she carried it.
"Let's just get back to training."
"..."
"..."
Syd watched her in silence. He didn't believe her—but if that's what she wanted...
Beep... beep...
Jody got on the treadmill, starting off slow.
Syd didn't run. He just stood beSyde her.
"..."
She glanced at him. He still looked moody after what happened.
She hated it.
She didn't want him to feel like crap because of her.
Time for a distraction.
"Hey Syd."
"...Hmm?"
"Do you watch anything other than Power Rangers?"
"…You little sh—"
Syd jabbed the treadmill's speed button.
Beep beep beep beep beep—
"Whoa!!"
Jody was suddenly forced into a sprint.
"Hey! I'm serious! Let's have some real talk here!"
"N O."
Beep beep beep beep beep beep—
"Stop stop stop!"
She smacked his hand and dialed the speed down.
"God, you trying to kill me!?"
"Yeah. Thought maybe you'd slide off and die."
"Sheesh~ It was just a question!"
"Why would I off myself by confessing my hobbies? Not happening."
"You're just afraid I'll make fun of you 😏"
"Hmph…"
He looked away, crossing his arms.
"...Aww~ Teenagers. Come on. You think I'd mock you like you do?"
"Yeah. Wait—what?"
"It's not weird at all. My sister likes it too."
"...Your sister?"
"Yeah. Joel's a huge Japanese anime fan. I've seen her model shelf when she moved out."
"...Really?"
"And have you seen New York Comic-Con? It's not just Marvel stuff. They have anime booths too. I saw adults crowding around magical girl shows. It's really not that strange."
"...😒"
"Those figures? Not cheap either. If they're just 'toys,' why do some go for like 500 bucks?"
"...You went to Comic-Con?"
"Watched it on YouTube."
"Figures."
"...Figures what?"
"I like it, alright? Hmph."
Syd turned away, ears going red.
"Aw~ Your ears are blushing. So cute~ Just Power Rangers?"
"...Not just that…"
"And?"
"..."
He eyed her warily.
"Ultraman."
"Ultraman? The big red dude?"
"Yeah."
"You remind me of my sister. Bet you collect models too, don't you?"
"...Kinda... a little. Back home. I rewatch episodes, mix in some anime, football too."
"Ah~ Liverpool, right? I saw the shirt. Even in the plane."
"...Yup. Been watching since Rodgers. Cut me open and I bleed red birds, swear to god."
"They just won Premier League, right?"
"Hell yeah."
He said it with pride before turning the tables.
"What about you? Got any normal hobbies? You watch football?"
"Ahh... not really."
"Then what do you do for fun?"
"I read books."
"Novels?"
"Sometimes… mostly history. Philosophy. Interesting stuff. I rotate."
"...You're such a nerd."
"Yeah. Sitting quietly, reading books at home on a soft couch? That's my jam. You?"
"I can't. Ten-page limit. I can't sit around all day like you."
"I get it."