Once the quest was completed, and they had regained some composure, the team began to leave the TV set, carefully packing the machine's parts into each backpack. Mark, ever the gentleman, held the door open for everyone. The girls thanked him with smiles, and their boss, with a more affectionate gesture, pulled his cheeks while affectionately exclaiming: — "That's my Marky! A true gentleman and a sweetheart."
Leila, watching the scene from behind, couldn't help but scowl and think to herself, "Sycophant."
When everyone was outside, Mark closed the door behind them. Azulema, with her usual authority, gave the order: — "Onward. Let's return to the ship."
—"But the ship is far away," Margaret interjected with some concern.
Azulema, undeterred, responded energetically: — "Well, what better time to start our physical training than by walking there? Today I realized that we need to improve our physical condition. I know we balance it with our mental abilities, but to be complete warriors, we must work on both aspects."
As she spoke, her gaze fell on Sheila, implying she was one of those who needed the most improvement in that area. —"Only Margaret and I are fine in both areas," Azulema continued firmly, "so let's walk! We might even trot a bit. And when we get to the base, we'll start proper training. Move it, ladies!"
The group, still somewhat unsettled by the mental game they had faced using the machine, began to walk slowly. — "Come on, girls, pick up the pace. This quest is urgent," urged Azulema, increasing her walking speed.
As they moved forward, the team members couldn't help but wonder what the urgency their boss had mentioned was. — "I think the girls are wondering... or at least their tired faces indicate it. They want to know what's so important that we have to hurry like this," Margaret commented, addressing Azulema.
The leader nodded and, raising her voice, so everyone could hear, explained: —"The boss ordered us to pick someone up."
—"Pick someone up?" Leila repeated incredulously, turning to Rosa, who was walking beside her. "What are we now, an Uber service or something? Have we been downgraded or what?"
—"Relax, it's probably someone important," Rosa responded in an attempt to calm her, though she herself had doubts. "Besides, we can't be that far... Hurry up!"
Ada, who was a bit ahead, turned around to encourage Rosa. —"Come on, we're falling behind!"
Mark, meanwhile, tried to keep pace with Azulema, who walked at a surprising speed. Even Margaret and Rachel struggled to keep up. Azulema, without losing her characteristic teasing tone, made a comment that made the boy visibly agitated: — "What's the matter, Marky? Are you getting tired? If you want, I can carry you on my back."
—"I'm fine," he replied quickly, though his cheeks reddened at the suggestion.
— "You always want to hog him, boss. Let me carry him!" Margaret said, looking at the boy with a serious expression, while Mark, clearly uncomfortable, stepped back a bit, scared by the agent's attitude.
—"Stop talking about the boy as if he were an object," protested Rachel, almost out of breath from trying to keep up. Reaching Mark, she took him by the arm and added firmly, "This time, you're coming with me."
Margaret and Azulema stepped back with visible annoyance, but soon began to argue. The tension increased as both tried to pull the boy in opposite directions.
—"Boss, behave yourself!" exclaimed Martha, who had just arrived in the group. But instead of stopping, she added mischievously, "Well, I want to carry him too, so..." With that, she grabbed one of Mark's legs.
—"Hey!" Sheila intervened, grabbing the boy's other leg.
In a matter of seconds, Teresa, Alicia, and Samantha also joined the tug-of-war, each trying to ensure they were close to the young man. The scene was chaotic: it seemed that everyone had regained their strength simply by competing for Mark.
Just as the commotion reached its peak, Ada arrived with Rosa and Leila. With a determined gesture, Ada used her telekinesis to throw a couple of pebbles she found on the ground, managing to get the group's attention.
—"Girls!" Ada said, clearing her throat to impose silence. "Let's be civilized. How about we play a game to decide who gets to spend time with Mark?"
—"Yes!" Rosa quickly interrupted, pulling a handful of slips of paper from her pocket. "I have everyone's names here. We'll put them in this bag, and the first name drawn gets to be with him for four hours. Then we'll continue with the next one, and so on."
— "What? Are you all in on this nonsense too?" protested Leila, crossing her arms with evident annoyance. "Besides, what's so special about that shorty?"
The others turned to Leila with expressions of indignation. One of them responded defiantly: — "He's your height! Besides, he's growing and very cute."
The comment was backed by the others, who directed furious looks at Leila, making the young woman take a step back, intimidated. Internally, she thought, "It seems everyone loses their minds over boys. It must be some maternal instinct... What can you do?"
Mark, who lay on the ground, disheveled after the dispute, looked at Leila with pleading eyes, as if asking for help. However, in his mind, the boy debated whether this excessive attention was good or bad.
—"I... don't I have a say?" Mark asked timidly, his voice trembling, as tears of frustration welled up in his eyes.
They all looked at him with a mix of disapproval and warning, and the boy, feeling the pressure, immediately closed his mouth.
—"I like the idea of drawing lots," Azulema intervened, taking the floor to calm the tension. "But instead of four hours, how about each of us spending an entire day with him? The first two will be four hours, but then each turn will be a full day. Agreed?"
—"Yes!" they all exclaimed excitedly, although Rachel added in a mocking tone: — "But we forgot to count Brea. Her ears must be burning."
—"Don't drag me into your crazy games," Brea replied, turning her back to ignore the group.
—"Well, we count as one," said Teresa, Alicia, and Samantha in unison, laughing among themselves.
Ada took note of everyone and began to listen: —"All right, so we have: the boss, Margaret, Rachel, Martha, Sheila, Rosa, the three girls as one," she added with a laugh, "Brea, and me."
—"Correct," Azulema confirmed, sealing the deal.
"No mental tricks or telekinesis allowed, girls," Margaret indicated with an ironic smile.
Rosa took out a pen and wrote the names on small pieces of paper while Ada put them in a bag, shaking it energetically to mix them well.
"Leila, since you're the youngest, you get to draw the names," Ada said in a commanding tone.
Leila shook her head, stepping back. "I don't want to. Why me?"
Azulema, with her arms crossed, intervened firmly. "It's an order."
The young woman sighed, reluctantly accepting. "Fine..." she murmured as she cautiously approached the bag. She put her hand in and pulled out a slip of paper. "Rachel," she read aloud.
Rachel stood up immediately, raising her arms enthusiastically. "Yes! I'm the first!"
Leila continued drawing the papers one by one until the list was complete. When she finished, she looked at Ada. "Can I go now?" she asked with a hint of disdain.
"Yes, thank you," Ada replied, and Leila quickly walked away, visibly uncomfortable.
Ada took the list and, in an organized manner, began to read aloud: "First, Rachel. Second, Sheila. Third, the trio of Teresa, Alicia, and Samantha. Fourth, Margaret. Fifth, Rosa. Sixth, Brea, though she's not here... we'll tell her later," Ada added before continuing. "Seventh, myself. Eighth, Martha. And lastly... the boss."
"No, no, no... That can't be!" protested Azulema, crossing her arms in frustration. "I have to wait a long time! Can't we draw lots again?"
The others looked at her seriously and gave a firm "no" in unison.
Azulema pouted while Margaret patted her on the shoulder to console her. "Better luck next time," she said with a mocking smile.
"My Marky! I won't have him by my side for a long time..." Azulema lamented, imagining a dramatic scene of herself on her knees, crying as the young man was taken away.
Mark, on the other hand, pondered his situation. "They only see me as a trophy," he thought sadly. Although a voice in his head countered, "It has its perks..." and he smirked mischievously. "Yes, you're right. Being surrounded by girls will make everyone else envy me."
From outside, his laughter echoed alone, catching Leila's attention. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, puzzled. The others watched him in awe. "Even his laughter is beautiful," they murmured softly.
"And when do we start all this?" Ada asked, changing the subject.
Azulema didn't respond with words. Instead, she lifted Mark off the ground in an unexpected movement and declared with a defiant look, "Starting tomorrow." Without wasting a second, she ran towards the ship with the boy in her arms, while the others chased her, shouting that it was unfair.
Once on the ship, Margaret took the controls and took off. The camouflage activated automatically as she mentally received the destination coordinates.
Elsewhere, in a secret base, the boss was watching a screen filled with images of a recent battle site. "Any sign of activity?" he asked seriously.
"Negative, boss. There's no one," replied a subordinate, pointing to images showing an empty, devastated field.
"How strange..." murmured the boss, crossing his arms. "Marie, where are you?" he wondered aloud.
"Send squad K to clean the area," he finally ordered.
"Yes, sir," responded his assistant, beginning to make calls.
The boss was deep in thought when his private phone rang unexpectedly. He quickly answered, "Who is this? How did you get this number?"
"Long time no hear, boss," a familiar voice replied.
"Adia? I thought you came to find yourself after that incident."
"This is not the time to talk about that," Adia replied firmly. "I'm here with the team and some allies that might interest you... One in particular, she thought to herself, is Reia, the AI made human, who could help you with the Agent B-Twelve issue."
"That sounds interesting. Don't leave me hanging," the boss said, intrigued.
"It's better if you see it in person. We need transport to get back to the base."
The boss sighed. "All right. I'll see who's nearby to pick you up."
They both hung up, and the boss dialed another number. "Azulema, I need you to do me a favor..."