Noel wishes he could strangle his past self. Then he'd be dead, but at least he wouldn't be in this situation.
"I'm not going to ask you again."
Wincing, Noel peeks up at the man looming over him. Any escape is thoroughly cut off by the muscled arms caging him against the wall, and Noel wonders if yelling for help would even do anything at this point. Blazing blue eyes pin him in place more effectively than any physical strength.
"What did you see at the site on Thursday?" The question doesn't even sound like a question out of Jade Ransom's mouth. It sounds like a command. Which makes sense. An S-class esper doesn't ask for things. He just takes them.
Noel tightens his grip on the folder in his hands. "I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir," he manages without sounding too terrified. "I saw a lot of stuff. It was an active Fray site."
"Don't play dumb," Jade shoots back instantly. "You were the only person I saw near me when I came to. You must have noticed if there was anyone else around."
"If you remember that, sir, then you'll also recall that I was unconscious—"
"Who did you see before that."
"No one," Noel says hastily. "I only saw the malform, sir."
Jade stares down at him. Their height difference isn't immense, a few inches maybe, by virtue of Jade's ridiculous size, but it feels enormous in this proximity. Noel can see the subtle color variations in Jade's bright blue irises, the dark beauty marks speckling his olive skin, the flyaways escaping his already unruly black waves—stuff he's only seen in photos. Not that he spends a lot of time staring at photos of Jade Ransom, but it's sort of part of his job. Being this close to Jade at all feels surreal. Until 4 days ago, they'd never even been within twenty feet of each other.
"Someone else was there," Jade insists. "No one in the area saw anyone other than you, so you're the only one who could have seen who it was. Think very hard."
"I really didn't see anyone, sir," Noel asserts, thankful that his tongue doesn't tangle on the words. "When the building collapsed, I took cover. Then I heard a lot of fighting and saw the malform through the dust. I was so shocked, I fainted. Anyone else who was there will tell you that." He tries not to sound too bitter, but it's hard when he can't go anywhere within the agency without people snickering over the D-class guide who fainted at the mere sight of a malform. "When I woke up, I was in the medical bay. I don't remember anyone else being around."
"That's not possible."
Noel shrugs helplessly. "I'm sorry?"
Letting out a disgusted noise, Jade drops his arms and backs up, finally lifting some of the pressure and allowing Noel to breathe deeply.
Though he knows he should just take the opportunity to bolt, Noel is an idiot and can't stop himself from asking: "Who are you looking for, sir?"
Jade barely spares him a glance. "Someone guided me out of a meltdown," he says shortly. "But they were gone by the time I woke up."
Noel nods in what he hopes is a friendly, engaged manner. "Ah, makes sense, then. I hope you find them." He turns to go, but a vice around his arm stops him.
"Why aren't you surprised that I was guided?" Jade asks.
Noel cringes internally. "Well, espers all get guided, right?" he tries. "Isn't that how the world works?"
"Everyone in the agency knows my sync rates are shit."
It takes a not insignificant amount of self-control not to scoff. Talk about egotistical. "Sorry, sir, but I'm a little low on the totem pole for that kind of gossip, actually."
Jade narrows his eyes. "You're D-class, right?"
"That's what it says on my ID card, sir." When Jade doesn't react to the quip, Noel lowers his head, letting his hair swing down to shadow his eyes. "Yes, sir. D-class guide Noel Arden."
"Arden?"
Noel grits his teeth. "Yes, sir. Natalia and Landon Arden are my parents."
Jade huffs in disbelief. "I knew Beckett had an older brother who was a guide, but is that really you?"
"Yes."
"Huh." The grip around Noel's arm finally loosens. "If you remember anything—" Jade fixes him with a stern sapphire stare. "Contact me."
And with that, he turns on his heel and strides down the hall.
Noel waits until he's well around the corner before flipping him off. "Arrogant prick," he mutters to himself, very quietly, in case Jade's stupid esper ears are tuned in his direction. His heart is still thudding in his chest, and he takes a moment to calm it. Everything's fine. Jade still doesn't know. Thank god Jade isn't a telepathic esper. That would be a nightmare.
Three centuries ago, the Paradigm Event altered the fabric of reality and irrevocably shifted the trajectory of history, giving rise to a new era of superhumans and extradimensional threats, all for the sake of eventually spitting out an entitled asshole like Jade Ransom. Noel would laugh if he wasn't so annoyed.
The manila folder he was carrying is creased on the edges now and he does his best to straighten it out as he hurries back to his section of the D-suite.
Literally everyone is staring when he walks through the door. He ignores them and beelines for his cubicle. He barely makes it to his chair before a blonde head pops over the dividing wall.
"So why exactly was an S-class esper charging in here asking for the scrawny guy with the curly brown hair?" Tess demands, wide caramel eyes almost accusatory in their intensity.
Noel sighs, stacking the folder on the pile of stuff he still has to get done. "He just had some questions about the incident the other day."
"The one where you passed out?"
"Yes, that one."
"What kind of questions?" Elijah's voice asks from behind him, and Noel swivels to see him also peering over the wall, looking far sillier than Tess with his broad, dark-skinned face and buzzed hair.
"He just thought I may have seen someone he's looking for," Noel hedges.
"How could you see anyone? You passed out."
"Okay, alright, everyone knows I passed out," Noel snips, gathering his hair into a short ponytail and looping the elastic off his wrist to secure it. "You don't need to keep mentioning it. And I didn't see anyone anyway, so the point is moot."
"Ransom must really want to find that person," Catherine, his section supervisor, chimes in, coming over to lurk in the entrance to Noel's cubicle. She easily props one elbow on the top of the wall, her already substantial height enhanced by her towering heels. "If he's willing to come all the way down to the D-suite."
"He's not royalty," Noel mumbles, waking up his computer. "And it's not like it's dirty down here. We're all coworkers."
Catherine snorts and Tess cackles. Elijah just shakes his head.
"S-class espers basically are royalty," Tess says, resting her chin on her folded arms. "There are only, like, what? Ten of them in the whole country?"
"Twelve," Elijah corrects.
"So basically none. Halo only has the two, and that's two hundred percent more than most agencies."
"They can do whatever they want," Catherine agrees, twirling a strand of bright red hair. "Because everyone wants to keep them happy."
"Plus, it's not like anyone could stop them anyway," Tess adds.
"Trust me, I know all of that," Noel says.
"Right. After all, our other S-class is your brother."
"If you want my opinion," Catherine starts, "even though Beckett is technically in the same class, he still can't measure up to Jade Ransom. No offense, Noel."
"None taken." Noel scowls at his computer screen. His current assignment involves social media wrangling, so he's in for a tedious afternoon of staring at Jade Ransom's stupid face, even though there's nothing he'd like to see less. "Don't you all have work to do?"
Tess groans. "It's so annoying. Why do we have to take care of all this paperwork?"
"Everyone has to do paperwork," Elijah points out.
"Yeah, but the upper classes treat us like the business branch. Makes me want to find a different agency."
"It's like this at every agency," Catherine tells her. "The lower-level guides always help with admin work. Otherwise we don't do enough to be worth our salary."
"Maybe I should retest," Tess pouts. "I'm still young. My aptitude might have shifted."
"Keep telling yourself that, honey."
"The B plus guides have it easy," Tess mopes. "They don't have to do all this paperwork, and they don't have to go fight like the espers—I mean, the Angels." The four of them collectively roll their eyes at Halo's latest branding initiative. "All they have to do is have sex all day."
"That's not all they do," Elijah protests. "And besides, coital guidance isn't as common as it is in movies. Just touching or kissing works fine for most situations."
"Not that it matters for you," Catherine directs at Tess. "Even if you test higher, it'll only be into the C-suite."
"Even that would be better than this," Tess argues. "I hate being a flunkie. Everyone treats us like we're servants, but we're guides too!"
"Can you guys have this conversation somewhere else?" Noel asks curtly. "I'm behind already thanks to his highness's impromptu visit this morning."
With some mumbled apologies, the other three return to their own desks, leaving Noel alone in the marginal privacy of his little cubicle.
Sighing, Noel rests his head in his hands. How did this get so fucked up?