"Welcome to my office," a harsh feminine voice said behind a large, white-leather office chair the morning after the brutal carnage. "First off, the mere existence of this meeting and what we shall discuss is absolutely classified. You will not say a word about it. That's why your phones have been confiscated for the duration of this meeting and you've been forced to sign an NDA right before entering my office. Do you understand the need for secrecy and the gravity of the situation, ladies?"

"Yes, Mrs Evergreen," Halle Falcon and Hazel Beam replied as they stood before their boss' office desk with a stern expression on their faces.

"Good," Mrs Evergreen replied as she turned around to face them. "Let's go down to business, then. I've summoned you today to ask you some questions and assign you a special mission."

"You may ask away, Mrs Evergreen," Halle replied, bowing like the loyal employee she was.

"I'll do my best to provide all the information you need and help in any way I can," Hazel replied, doing the same.

"That's good to hear, especially now that I'm trying to solve a mystery," Mrs Evergreen replied casually.

"Which mystery?" Halle asked.

Mrs Evergreen stood up and grabbed her metal cane. As she took a couple of steps towards the enormous glass wall behind her desk, giving her back to them once more, she went on, "The mystery of Sky Falcon's stunning performance." Her tone faked being jovial and genuinely interested. "Ever since he claimed to bring down a Sonic Echo Ranger, everything's gone smoothly for him. Wouldn't you agree?"

Since no reply came, she chuckled as she stared at the ample city skyline under the unforgiving morning sun of that unusually hot May.

"First, he gets Naomi Hardy to slot him into the Elite Academy despite failing the admission test," she continued. "She became some sort of amateur detective as she questioned the security team in my Control Tower. She found out that they were tracking the fallen phoenix, which somehow Sky claimed he didn't bring down after the fact... for some reason. The team I sent to retrieve the Sonic Echo Ranger found a small swarm of phoenixes instead and had to fall back. The signal stopped shortly after. What an extraordinary coincidence, isn't it?"

Her playful tone didn't escape Halle and Hazel, who raised an eyebrow as they listened intently.

"I know Sky disappears for hours on end every day," she went on seriously as she turned around to face them once more. "My security cameras and drones have caught him on tape as he takes the glass elevators down to the ground level. After that, he escapes from my technologies' grasp, which are forbidden to leave the premises unguarded. The ID chip in his hand isn't used at all, so it can't be geolocalised. And whatever he does doesn't require traceable technology or he's found a way to block it."

Her annoyance stung her like a thorn pricks a finger. The alluring sweet scent of the rose she coveted, namely the truth, eluded her.

"Halle, do you happen to know where your son goes and what he does?" she asked as she put a hand on the table and leaned a bit on it. Her piercing gaze held an unwavering intensity, like shards of ice that could cut through steel.

"No, I don't." Halle's face betrayed a deep sense of disappointment and frustration, etched in the furrowed lines of her brow.

"Have you ever asked him?"

"No. I assumed he didn't want to spend time at home since we had had an argument. But we talked about it, and..." Despite her efforts to hide it, the disappointment lingered in her gaze, a silent plea for things to have turned out differently.

"Find it out as soon as possible," Mrs Evergreen replied curtly, not letting Halle finish. "I don't think your argument had anything to do with that."

"Why do you want to know?" Halle replied. The subtle narrowing of her eyes revealed a cautious scepticism, a guardedness born from past experiences with that power-hungry woman. "It's probably nothing. He's a teenager. He gets easily frustrated when he doesn't get what he wants."

Mrs Evergreen smirked. "I beg to disagree. Your son is not a regular teenager. He's been up to something."

"Why do you think that?" Halle asked.

"Because ever since that night, his progress has been spectacular. The wild cat's fur. The whistle he tinkered with. Who knows what he could do next?"

She made a brief pause. Lines of suspicion etched themselves upon her brow, a silent challenge to those who dared to withhold information from her. Her lips curled into a subtle sneer.

"I read his examiner's profiling notes," Mrs Evergreen went on. "The man wasn't biased at all. I agree that Sky hasn't got the physical prowess required for the job, and his only talents are his harebrained ideas and his perseverance. Therefore, why did he outshine the rest of the students in the entire academy in a matter of days?"

Silence ensued as she started walking leisurely around the table with her cane. She had an unsteady gait, which had become her trademark way of walking.

"I indulge in plotting and brainstorming every day. It does no harm, quite the contrary." Mrs Evergreen's eyes twinkled with a mischievous gleam as a subtle smirk played upon her lips. Her gaze, like a predator sizing up its prey, held a mix of amusement and a hint of malice.

"What are you suggesting?" Halle asked. The creases around her eyes told a story of weariness and disillusionment.

"I'm merely saying that Sky is hiding something from me, from the Hovering Hive. Something that has given him... an unfair advantage." The lines on her face deepened, emphasising the wickedness that lay beneath her composed facade. "Wouldn't you agree, Miss Beam?"

"I don't know. It could be," the young Elite student replied.

"I hope you were not deluded into believing he's your... friend." The emphasis on that last word held the conviction that she should be dissuaded from believing in that idea.

"Well, I..." Hazel's hesitation made Mrs Evergreen carefully approach her step by step with a seemingly warm smile.

With a flicker of satisfaction, Mrs Evergreen put a hand on Hazel's shoulder. She revelled in the emotional chaos she was orchestrating at that moment, relishing the power it bestowed upon her. Her demeanour, tinged with a twisted delight, revealed a mind that delighted in manipulation and the art of deception.

"You're not children in the school's playground anymore," the older woman said with a tinge of pity. "You're adults now, like the rest of us. We forge relationships not on trust, but on something more solid—like mutual interest."

Mrs Evergreen caressed Hazel's jaw and cheek.

"I wonder whether the MVS could have been you, Miss Beam," she added while the nail of her thumb gently sank into the skin of Hazel's cheek. "Your profiling was excellent. Your examiner on the admission test was beyond amazed at your skills and bravery. Am I wrong in assuming you have at least once thought that Sky Falcon was cheating when he entered the academy?"

Hazel didn't dare to reply, but her eyes did it for her. The lines of her mouth tightened, revealing her unease, as a hint of resentment flickered in her gaze.

"I see." Mrs Evergreen smirked as her hand set Hazel's face free. "I'm not trying to justify your envy, Miss Beam, but Sky suddenly seems to do everything right all the time. Wouldn't you agree with me that he must have something crucial that could change everything in the Hovering Hive?"

Mrs Evergreen walked back to her desk and bent her neck forward to check on her tablet. However, an electric-shock sensation mercilessly surged through her body. She groaned. Those jolts of agony were triggered by simple neck movements, particularly when she dared to bend her neck forward. The affliction, known as the Lhermitte sign, became a cruel companion in multiple sclerosis, inflicting a tormenting dance of shocks upon her with each unsuspecting motion.

She lost her balance and had to lean on her desk. Her cane fell beside her with a loud clang.

"Mrs Evergreen!" Halle cried as she got close to her. Putting her hands on either side of her boss, she asked with worry, "Are you alright?!"

"Yes, yes. It's nothing," she replied, with a hand over her forehead.

"We could finish this meeting later," Hazel suggested as she picked the cane from the floor and offered it to the elder lady.

"I said it's nothing," Mrs Evergreen harshly replied as she took the cane. With a swift motion of her right hand, she signalled Halle to let her go, which she did. "I had a meeting with Sky, but he was hard to read. I want to know what he's hiding, and I'm sure that so do you," she insisted as she turned to face them and leaned her back on the desk. "Did he do anything spectacular last night during the attack, Miss Beam?"

"No," Hazel replied hastily.

"Nothing at all?" Mrs Evergreen raised an eyebrow.

"He hit only one canister at the backs of six Lightsparks, scaring them away to save two of our classmates. He could've hit them all and killed them, but... he didn't."

"Don't you find that strange?" Mrs Evergreen raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." Hazel clenched her fists. Her eyes, once bright and curious, now held a glimmer of doubt. Her lips, once eager to speak and share, were now guarded, betraying a hesitation to reveal her true thoughts and feelings.

"What are we required to do for you exactly, Miss Evergreen?" Halle asked.

"First, I want you to inquire about Sky's whereabouts these last few days." Mrs Evergreen's face bore the unmistakable visage of authority, with a steely determination etched in every line. "Ask, check video tapes or get him on camera, spy on him, push any buttons you might need to push. I want to get to the bottom of this. I want to know where he goes and what he does at every moment of every day. He's obviously been doing something to improve his performance. Or meeting someone. I want to know everything."

Her eyes radiated a hunger for power, glinting with a cold intensity that commanded respect. Her jaw was set firm, showcasing an unwavering resolve that brooked no opposition.

"Second, I want you to bring me any special gadgets he might withhold from me. Is that understood?"

The furrowed brow spoke of a mind accustomed to making tough decisions, devoid of mercy. The set of her jaw revealed an iron will, unrelenting in its pursuit of power.

Both Halle and Hazel seemed to hesitate. Their lack of an immediate positive answer left Mrs Evergreen no choice but to convince them by any means necessary—even by being cruel.

"Do I need to remind you, Halle Falcon," Mrs Evergreen went on, "that your family's honour hangs in the balance?"

Like polished stones, her gaze was cold and unyielding as she proceeded with her verbal assault.

"If Sky has indeed been hiding something from us, something that could've been used to defeat the phoenixes for good by now, he will be responsible for last night's deaths. That's a huge body count to have on anyone's shoulders." Mrs Evergreen's tone was hard and left no room for hope. "The family surname will be tainted. Your husband's memory will die. His deeds, forgotten. His statue, demolished. Your position as Head of the Elite, taken away from you. You might end up kicked out of the Hovering Hive and become unhirable anywhere you go."

Halle gulped.

"There's no need to end up like that, right?" she continued in a brighter tone, "I know this is your son we're talking about, but you have much to lose. But if you are successful, you will get a raise and I'll give Sky a cushy job. Some job in which he doesn't bother anyone and with an insignificant role that won't make anyone jealous or complain."

Halle sighed noiselessly and nodded.

"Do you understand what you need to do and why, Halle?" Mrs Evergreen asked with a deadly glare. She didn't like simple nods as a reply.

"Yes, Mrs Evergreen," Halle replied immediately, standing to attention.

"And you, Miss Beam?" Mrs Evergreen let go a brief sigh. "What about your honour? You could've become MVS instead of him. If he's removed from the competition, then..."

"Becoming MVS isn't the end or the means to proving my worth," Hazel replied formally. "Duly serving the Hovering Hive is."

"What if I make you the only promise no one else can make you?" Mrs Evergreen asked. Her eyes gleamed with a mischievous glint. "Not even God."

"What do you mean?" Hazel raised an eyebrow.

"I can save your life, dear." Her expression, a delicate balance between allure and cunning, held a magnetic quality that drew Hazel closer. Like a cobra extending its hood, she charmed the young woman, a calculated seduction that masked a deeper, more devious purpose.

"What?" Hazel whispered, her mouth hanging open.

"I can make my research and development team focus on curing brain aneurysms, darling." Mrs Evergreen's smile widened, displaying her perfect white teeth.

"You... You know?"

"Yes, of course I do. Nothing escapes from my grasp." Mrs Evergreen walked back to her white office chair. "Halle Falcon won't say a word, right? We can keep this a secret, can we? Besides, in a matter of a couple of months tops, this problem that you have could be... solved."

Hazel's lips trembled.

"I've already talked to my research and development team before this meeting," Mrs Evergreen continued as she sat on it and sighed. "A cure can be arranged – just for you. If... and only if you agree to help me, of course."

"But..."

"Find out what Sky Falcon is hiding, and both salvation and family honour will be yours, young lady," Mrs Evergreen said firmly, as if she was not to be toyed with. "Either that, or you'll be exposed and kicked out of the academy. Choose wisely."

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Have you ever been forced to choose between friendship and something you desperately need?

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar