Hair///Trigger

Wolfgang said to be here at 2PM, or 1400, as Janine put it. I should start getting used talking like that if I'm going to be working with her.

A plain, white minivan pulls up to the house. Out pops a tiny woman, probably no more than a few years older than me. Janine told me Staff Sergeant 'Heron' was tiny, but I wasn't expecting this.

I raise my hand in a salute. "Staff Sergeant 'Heron.' It's nice to meet you." She stopped immediately after hearing me.

And now she's laughing!? Seriously! Gunnery Sergeant Wolfgang first, and now her? Captain Athena seriously sold me the wrong impression. I know that Hunters work differently from normal military, but this isn't what I was expecting.

"At ease, CIVILIAN." And she continues laughing. "Sorry; I know you don't get it, but please put your hand down. I appreciate it, but you don't really do that. Plus, you're doing it wrong.. It's not your job to learn our nuances, so let's skip the formalities, alright?"

"Got it. ma'am."

"Staff Sergeant, or just 'Heron,' is fine. Whatever sounds fancier to you. Nice to meet you Felix. Remember, though, you're not military, and neither is this house. I just wanna relax in this home away from home." She gestures me to the van.

"It's nice to meet finally Janine's boyfriend, though. Help me unload, Felix?"

To think this woman is part of the team that pointed several guns at me last night, and now I'm helping her unload more...

Boxes of cereal?

Oh, wait. I see. The other crates are filled with other kinds of gear and ammunition. These containers of cereal are just to hide the real stuff. I casually lift a crate of cereal and begin unloading.

"Nooo! Be gentle with those! Those are my favorite!"

This is the elite force protecting District 1? We're doomed.

"Man. Was your sniper really about to empty a clip of this stuff into my car?"

"Please never say the word 'clip' in that context ever again; it's one of my pet peeves. And no. What we did was SO much cooler." She winked and brought what looked like a few shopping bags out of the passenger seat.

"Come in when you're done. You're gonna love this stuff."

~~~

It took a good chunk of the afternoon, but everything is otherwise unloaded and staged where they need to be installed.

"On record, this place is to remain a civilian facility. Even though this place was acquired by US4-D1, meaning the Hunters, it's otherwise gonna stay a normal house. That's because a civilian contractor was 'relocated' here to perform his work for US4-D1. This man is to work as an intermediary between the state and local Hunters. More importantly, he has no connection to the military activities of US4-D1."

Heron explains Athena's scheme to keep me from becoming homeless. I was wondering how she made this job possible. "I'm starting to see why you all respect your Captain so much. I can't thank you all enough."

"Duh." She smiles.

"Moving on, I want to install 'your equipment' in the kitchen to make 'your work' easier. Mind bringing me that box? PS, off record: I'm the one who actually made this happen." She says, playfully.

"Sure. And there's no one else here, Staff Sergeant. Do we really have to keep talking in code?"

"I just want to make sure you get the point. Besides, you don't want to get used to feeling too secure. You're still technically at risk, after all."

I sigh. She doesn't have to remind me of that.

"Although, you'd be in less trouble if you were more fit. Geez! Let me help you with that thing."

"Come on, I'm not as big as Wolfgang, but I'm not exactly weak, you know?" I say this, but she comes to help me carry it anyway.

"No, Felix. You don't understand." She says, seriously now. Her playful demeanor disappears the instant we lower the unbelievably heavy case.

"Do NOT let my lax behavior disarm you. Janine's officially your girlfriend, right? Reality check. Janine is a Reborn assigned under one of the most revered Hunters in the country. You're an average human civilian. You ARE weak."

"Are you telling me not to be overconfident?"

"Sort of. At least you're not stupid. I half expected you to argue back with some dumb excuse about how you're 'stronger than I think.' Fact is, you're a liability now. This is dangerous work. The less we have to worry about keeping you safe, the more we can focus on getting our own jobs done safely."

"Can I guess you're telling me this so I don't try to be a hero?"

"I'm glad you can listen, but did that actually sink in? Let's say the situation was reversed. That you were the elite military operative with superhuman strength. How would you feel if someone that looked as small as me said 'I want to protect you' and proceeded to pick up a gun?"

Except she's ACTUALLY incredibly dangerous with a gun.

"Okay, I get your point, but I don't want to be useless either, Heron. I don't want to feel like I'm not pulling my own weight. What can I do?"

"You can start by not asking stupid questions like that. Follow my orders and stop trying to be more useful. The more intent you show, the more you'll make Janine worry. The last thing you want is for your superhuman girlfriend to start looking at you as a chore."

She says, digging deep into me. Heron stands no taller than my elbows, but her words tower over me. Nonetheless, she's a veteran hunter that Athena hand picked.

There are other ways for me to be useful aside from physical strength and guns. I have other strengths—I just need to prove that to her.

"When do you expect this place to be attacked?" I ask her, getting straight to the point.

She doesn't answer right away. She just looks at me, changing her expression a few times. After all of that lecturing, she's smiling again.

"Not bad, Felix. Congratulations on figuring it out, but I still think you're better off in school. Sit down. I'm going to tell you your real job."

I join her at the table. She finishes her drink. As she pours herself another glass of this amazing sparkling-whatever-juice, she asks, "What if I tell you that I already told you your real job?"

"Now I'm lost. I understood your point, but what part of that is my actual job?"

"Officially, you're hired to do basic administrative stuff. In short, you're my secretary. Too bad for you, I don't need or want your help. Unofficially, you act normal and avoid becoming a target for as long as you can. You're also wondering why Athena even considered acquiring this place, right? It's because your demon roommates worked alone with no known ties to any other demons."

"I was. But then why was Janine asking if they ever had guests or visitors?" I remember her "interrogation" when she ambushed me.

"We don't WANT there to have been 'guests' or 'visitors.' To tell the truth, Cesar and Alice were being hunted by other demons just as much as the Hunters. They pissed off a lot of people. The three other demons you saw were actually looking to kill Cesar and Alice—they're the reason we were able to track those two down."

"But you also got rid of those three others, right? What about anyone else they might have worked with? What are the odds of them coming back? They might not know Cesar and Alice are dead, but know where they lived."

"Exactly."

Oh. THAT'S why she wanted me to realize how powerless I am. If I stand out, they'll come after me and it will eventually lead back to investigating Janine. Her involvement with US4-D1 is likely a secret they want to keep quiet for as long as they can.

"How much of this are you actually allowed to tell me? Does Janine know about all this?"

Her smile drops slightly. "Now I see why Janine likes you. You're pretty sharp. All of this was classified, and no. She doesn't know about this. But you're not going to tell her. You understand why now, right?"

"I won't give her reason to worry about me. I'll do my best to make sure I don't distract her. I won't try to be a hero, either. I'll find another way to support her while looking as normal as I've been."

"Good answer. Personally, I think this place will be attacked eventually, I just can't guess when. If these guys were able to track down 'Cesar' and 'Alice,' they probably have the resources to discover that this place is now owned by US4-D1."

"And then they follow the chain from me, to my relationship to Janine, leading all the way back to her involvement with the Hunters. Right?"

"That's part of the reason why this is all a mess. You were innocent, but for her sake, you were better off dead last night."

"Then for my survival and her career, I can't screw this up. Hopefully you guys can figure out how everything is connected before a target gets painted on my head."

"Exactly. For now, just settle in. I'll teach you how to manage the motion sensors and security system I brought over later tonight. Don't worry, you'll have your privacy. Just keep living your life normally and be as inconspicuous as possible, and you'll be doing your job perfectly."

"And should the day come," I add, "I'll do my best to survive as long as I can. I'll be good bait."

"Awesome. Now be a good boyfriend."

I hear a car pull up. The sound of the doorknob turning came within seconds of the car door closing. Did she jump straight from the car to the door!? This girl, I swear.

"Felix!!!" She crosses the distance from the doorway to the kitchen table at incredible speed in a a single leap, but gently lands on top of me in an embrace.

"Hey, I'm on-duty right now, you know? Heron might have my head for—" Except they're both sticking their tongues at each other.

"Never mind."

"Felix, I said I wanted to relax around here, right? You should probably be a little more formal around the Captain and the Warrant Officer, but if it's just me or the Sergeant, you can relax a bit."

"Oh, that Wolfgang guy? Yeah, I met him last night."

"I didn't say 'Gunnery Sergeant,' Felix." Heron says with a big smile on her face.

Janine's excitement explodes against me. "She means me! I've been officially transferred to the Captain's squad! AND I got promoted."

"Congratulations! Man, I'm glad they didn't actually yell at you. That's great news, Janine!" I take Heron's invitation and embrace the woman that, in more ways than one, saved my life.

"Well, they actually did 'yell' at me. Chewed me out pretty bad, but it's all okay. But more importantly: Warrant Officer 'Feng' is getting you a new company car!"

"Oh, my god. Really!?" I embrace her tighter. Her c.h.e.s.t pressed against mine doesn't help hide my excitement. "Sorry for all the PDA, Heron."

"You've both earned it. By the way, you can just call me 'Jess.' I look forward to working with you, Felix."