I quickly race towards my bed and drop the gun onto its sling, grabbing my boots as I stumble towards the door and yank it open.

"Hey Ames," I say awkwardly, as she gawks at the state of my tangled and messy hair. I shove my feet into my combat boots as I fall back against the doorway and give her a friendly smile.

Amber continues to stare at me, before she shakes her head and points at my hair. "You call that doing your hair? It looks terrible!" she cries as I slam the door shut behind me and give her an annoyed shrug.

"It's a new style that I'm trying out," I lie, as I squint at the tight black dress and nude heels she's wearing. Her hair is also styled up into a braided bun, with two wavy tendrils of scarlet hair framing her face.

"Why do you look so nice, are we seeing Gus or something?"

Amber scowls and rolls her eyes as we walk down the hall and towards the exit doors. "No Harp, just because I dress up doesn't mean I'm trying to impress a guy."

I can't help but glance at her out of the corner of my eye with an evil smirk. "Mhm."

Amber gives me an annoyed glare as we step up to the exit doors of the Raven Sector."Well, since we're on the topic, what's the deal with you and Agent Allard? You two seem to be getting pretty... close-"

"No, no we're not," I growl, the grin on my lips quickly disappearing.

"Uh, I think you are." Amber drawls, shoving the door before us open as the bright orange hue of the setting sun flashes into my eyes. I can't help but scowl and lift a hand to block out the brightness, as Amber laughs at me. Then her humorous expression turns earnest, as she lifts a hand to set it on my shoulder.

"Come on Harper, it's me... you know you can tell me anything. I know we haven't seen each other much these past few days, but that doesn't change anything."

"That's just it," I sigh, gently pushing her hand off my shoulder. "Everything's changed, Ames."

Amber's lips press into a thin line as she stares at me. "Like what?" she asks softly, letting the door go as I step past her. "Are you talking about what happened on Sunday? I haven't been able to get what happened out of my mind, and I really wanted to come and talk to you about it... but I knew you needed time, and that when you were ready, you would come to me."

My heart sinks when she glances away sadly and shakes her head. "But you never came, and just as I figured you would, you tried to carry what you've been going through all by yourself."

"Come on Ames, that's not-"

"I'm just glad that Beau was there to help you, when I wasn't," Amber interrupts, looking back into my eyes to give me a raw smile. "He seems like a good man, that really cares for you."

I roll my eyes and shove a hand through my hair annoyedly. "Beau... doesn't care for me, we just met less than a week ago. He just wants to-"

"Help?" Amber interrupts again, taking a step forward as a strand of ginger hair falls across her face. "Obviously if he didn't care, he wouldn't be helping you."

Her arctic-blue eyes burn into mine, and I can't help but look away under the intensity of her gaze. "Fine, maybe he does care... a little. But don't blow it out of proportion, our relationship is strictly professional, and that's all it ever will be." I assert, my eyes cutting back to her determinedly.

Amber shrugs, taking a step back to ease the tension between us. "Whatever you say, all I want is for you to merely admit that there's some kind of connection there."

"Yeah yeah," I sigh annoyedly, waving my hand as we finally begin to walk forward. "So, are you going to tell me where we're going now or what?"

Amber clasps her hands behind her back as we walk down the sidewalk together, her eyes watching the group of people in front of us crossing the street. "I figured we could stop by the Wanderlust club next to the Eiffel tower... just don't get shot again." her eyes then flick to the ash sleeve covering my shoulder. "How has your wound been?"

I glance down at where the scar presses against the fabric of my turtleneck, and can't help but cock an eyebrow in surprise. It feels like that happened ages ago, yet it happened only a few days ago. "It healed up pretty quickly, the bullet barely grazed my skin."

Amber nods as we walk closer to the crosswalk."Well, that's good, I have to say, when Agent Allard called Gus and me at midnight to tell us that you had been shot and were being held at the Raven Sector, I couldn't believe it."

"Yeah..." I laugh awkwardly, scratching at the back of my neck. "I guess it's a good thing we bumped into each other that night, despite how goddamn annoying he is."

"Annoying hmm? You don't seem to mind him all that much," Amber grins, giving me an evil side-eye.

I growl rattles my throat as I give her a warning look. "Stop pushing this Amber. Being anything but mission partners would be unprofessional-" I pause as smirk forms on my lips. "Though you seem to know a thing or two about that."

Amber looks away to roll her eyes, though I catch the way the corner of her lip twitches slightly. "Point taken, but we're not talking about me... we're talking about you."

"Uh-huh," I mutter as we step up to the crosswalk, looking up to see a small group of familiar faces standing before us. A brunette-haired woman stands in the center of the group, and her light brown eyes light up when she sees me.

"Oh, what a please surprise!" the woman exclaims, stepping forward to kiss my and Amber's cheeks. I step away confused, before realizing that the woman is Rene.

"Oh, bonjour Rene!" I give Rene a welcome smile, and then turn to the people at her side, who I realize are Agents Tauren and Parks. I give them a polite nod, as I notice Agent Parks' clean outfit. She has a mock neck black shirt tucked into her light-washed jeans, and a khaki-colored trench coat draped over he shoulders.

My eyes then dart to Rene, who is wearing a cream-colored V-neck sweater with dark jeans and ankle-high leather boots. Agent Tauren is also wearing a nice sweater, that's light blue in color with black jeans and white sneakers. I frown, glancing down at my ash turtleneck, which has lazily been tucked into tan-colored slacks, the hems rolled up to reveal ratty old combat boots.

Hmm, maybe I should go shopping for some new outfits. I'm way behind the style game here...

"We're just coming back from Cafe de Flores," Rene says cheerfully, completely interrupting my train of thought. "Where are you two off to? I thought you and Agent Allard will still training, Harper?"

"Ah," I pause, caught off guard. I can't tell them that Beau went to see his parents without Harks' permission...

"Beau was feeling a bit unwell, so we decided to cut the day short so he could rest. Then Amber me to hit a club to have a little fun, which club did you say it was Ames?" I ask, trying to draw Rene's attention away from Beau's absence.

Amber gives me a curious glance, but when I tilt my head to the side and widen my eyes in warning, she relents.

"The Wanderlust dance club," she says cheerfully, turning to give Rene a friendly smile.

"Sure doesn't look like Harper's dressed up for that," I hear someone beside me mutter, and I quickly twist to see that it was Agent Parks, who is giving me a threatening glare.

"I'm sorry Agent Parks, did you have something to say?" I ask innocently, cocking my head to the side as I thrust my hands into the pockets of my slacks.

I narrow my eyes when she grits her teeth and looks away as Agent Tauren steps forward. "Ignore Agent Parks," he says, cutting her with a warning glare, "She's had a bit of a... rough time lately."

I snort and press my lips together as I continue to stare Parks down. "Well, just remind her not to take her problems out on other people, especially her soon-to-be mission leader, hmm?"

Parks' head snaps up as I feel Amber, Rene, and Agent Tauren all gawk at me. Agent Parks shoves past Tauren and steps directly in front of me, her nose at my chin as she glares up at me.

"What did you just say?" she growls, her fingers curling into fists as I also take a step forward and cross my arms, leveling her with an equally deadly glare as my forearms press lightly against her shoulders.

"You heard me."

Agents Parks growls and starts forward just as Agent Tauren wraps a hand around her waist. I can't help but smirk as I watch him drag her back and whisper comforting words into her ear.

"I'll see you tomorrow Rene," I grin, stepping around Parks as she tries to cut me with her unruly glare. "And you, Agent Tauren, enjoy the rest of your night." I laugh, giving Parks a wink before I pass them just as the crosswalk lights up.

"Ames, you coming?" I call, not looking back as I feel her rush to my side, glancing back and forth between me and the other agents.

"What the hell was that?" she finally snaps, as we stride across the crosswalk and step up onto the adjacent curb.

"An agent who needs to be taught some respect," I say disinterestedly, as I pretend to pick at an invisible speck of dust on my shoulder.

"I-did you have to be so antagonistic about it though?" Amber cries, as I stop with a sigh and dramatically turn towards her.

"Ames, we both know the only way to fight fire is with fire. Well, that's the fun way at least. Now, I don't know where this club is so you'll have to lead the way."

Amber snores and crosses her arms, "Clubbing can wait, and everyone knows you fight fire with water, you dumbass! This is how you make enemies!"

I sigh and roll my eyes, "It's called not letting people walk all over you, Ames. I mean come on, are you really going to tell me she didn't deserve to be reminded of her place?"

"Well... perhaps-" Amber admits, but I silencer her by placing my hand on her shoulder.

"See? You agree, and that's all that matters. Now, I'm in need of a good drink, so please lead the way."

***

A strain of loud pop music harshly assaults my ears as Amber tugs me through the glass door of Wanderlust with a large grin on her scarlet lips. "This is going to be fun!" she yells over the music, as bodies jump up and down next to us.

"What?" I yell, holding a hand up to my ear to pretend I don't hear her. She rolls her eyes and grabs my hand, jerking me into the crowd. My lungs at the amount of bodies that press against us, making me feel trapped.

Why the hell did Amber think this was a good idea? If someone attacks here, we'll be trapped!

A short man with a mullet stumbles into me, obviously drunk as his eyes lazily trail up my body. He leaps back when he sees the menacing snarl plastered onto my lips, and quickly rushes away.

"Try to be nice!" Ames cries next to me, letting go of my arm to throw her hands up and dance as bright lights flash above us. "And try to loosen up, will you?"

The scowl doesn't fade from my lips as I look around at the crowded room, and the people bouncing up and down beside us.

This is a terrible idea. I think to myself as the crowd surges forward, forcing Amber away from me. Another person slams into my shoulder, this time a young blond who definitely looks like she's too young to be here. When her emerald eyes dart up to mine, she quickly steps away and disappears into the crowd as more people surge forward again.

Yeah, there's no way in hell I'm letting my guard down in this place. I decide, pushing my way back towards Amber and grabbing her arm. "I'll be at the bar if you need me," I shout into her ear, as the music seems to grow even louder. It takes her a second to process my words before she nods and gives me an encouraging smile.

"Okay, have fun!"

I leave her to bounce up and down with the rest of the crowd as I push my way towards the bar, exhaustedly plopping down on the stool as a slight breeze blows through the open door beside me.

I let out a relieved breath, before jerking to attention when a shadow stretches over the table towards me.