#handler artiste

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phoenix just took a deep breath as tried to fight the groan. "I meant the time machine thing to be a joke."

"Well, the fact you know my name is already enough to tip off several alarms. As if we'd buy the time traveler situation that readily, agent." Reginald—Agent Mason, huffed as he loaded the gun. "But you know some of the protocols in the agency. You'd think in this situation, they'd find a way to get things straight. Unbelievable."

"Compartmentalization has always been a fine line between a friend and an enemy to me, Sir... erm, Agent." Phoenix sighed, making sure their knife was sharp enough to cut rope if need be. Their service weapon was, thankfully, given back when they so politely glared at the archivist. "So, why am I also being included in this mess? Don't you have a partner in this already?"

"My partner is distracting the target. What we're going to do is try to mess with this thing called a computer."

"Excuse me but I don't know how vacuum tubes work. I'm more of someone who knows a thing or two about integrated... Sir, I do not know how any of those work."

"I'll take what I can get. Besides, no one would be willing to send us a technician to get things done."

"Wouldn't your job be more gathering the files on folders?" Phoenix frowned, trying to fight the displeasure on their face. "Not... mess with whatever you're doing."

"Don't worry, the handler in charge will handle things. Don't worry about it."

Maybe they really should have worried about it.

Phoenix's gloved fingers were soaked as they tied the bandage around the handler's wounds as they took ragged breaths to put on the headsets. "Come in, Agents Mason and Angel. Do you copy? Handler's down but stable and evac will only arrive in half an hour. Since we're already halfway there, let's just continue on the mission while we wait."

"I copy. Did you handle the cause of that explosion?" Mason answered, twisting the doorknob and closing the door. "I'm in the room. I think I see the safe."

"Took you long enough. I had to leave the party since I was panicking at the sound. You're slow, Mason."

"Well, I'm not that quick as I used to, Angel. It's been a while since the war ended. But can you stay a little longer?"

"I can. So, how's the new agent? You're more quiet but you managed to get to our handler quickly."

"I know how to take a few shortcuts." Phoenix winced, knowing full well they had an unfair advantage using their own telekinesis to clear a path to their destination. "Once you grab the file, I'll see what we can do to sabotage the computer without it being too obvious. Thankfully, Dr. Prism has been kind enough to give us a manual."

"Well, that's great. How did you even manage to get her to give up part of her research? I thought that was her baby."

"... Less talking, more snooping." Phoenix mumbled, feeling annoyed at the fact they aren't getting a visual on what either agent was looking at. Curse old timey technological constraints.

"You have got to tell me how you—ah! The familiar purr of a combination lock. Don't worry, I'll get this quickly."

"Since you two seem to be alright, I'll be heading over back to our target. Don't take too long now." Angel, one of the handlers in the future, muttered, returning back to the crowd after turning off the earpiece.

"Seems like a bit of a grump. Is that usual?" Phoenix muttered, taking a closer ear to hear the distinct click of the combination lock opening.

"Well, he, no, she's probably a bit unwilling to be on a party at the moment. Can't blame her. I'd go mad if I had to go undercover that long. But I got it."

"Congratulations." They looked at their watch and set a transmission to confirm coordinates once more. "We have time. Head over to the next room over. The computer will be taking up most of the room. I want you to follow my instructions exactly for both of our sakes."

"I can't promise that."

"..." Phoenix took a deep breath as they covered their face within their hands to fight the groan. Maybe they deserve this kind of karma.

They are absolutely not handler material.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Agent Angel (Rogelio "Roger" Mariosa) is one of my EOD OCs, a former field agent turned handler similar to Reggie. As a field agent, he used to dress like a woman, sometimes taking on she/her pronouns for longer missions. He's still somewhat active in the field but in terms of passive surveillance and hearing gossips. Most of his current agents are more of long term covers with weekly reports disguised as friendly meetings, a contrast to Reginald Crane's hands on direct in the field style.

I'll be ending the story here since I'm running out of ideas and I just wanted to get this done. :D I hope it's still enjoyable regardless.

Tag List:

@phoenix-and-found-family, @the-one-and-only-043, @agentwraith, @agent--shadow, @silverdragon889, @blueorchid-95

Information about the trio:

Rogelio "Roger" Mariosa He's one of the few people trusted by Ellie to not have any questionable intentions. Has a bit of a blunt personality with a trolling streak to anyone younger. His favorite targets are anyone in the agency who's a bit more tense. Some people say he's Ellie's caretaker but neither wants to confirm it. However, he's good at make up and covering up scars to the point he could be suspected if he picks up the wrong client.

Elira "Ellie" Hopkins Sekie Acedies' 'godmother' and more of a recluse due to what happened to her in the past. She's only partly aware of her 'godson's' inclinations but doesn't want to acknowledge it. Rumor has it she was from a well to do family but was calmly put away from the family due to intrigue and implied past scandal. The only contact she has outside of Zoraxis territory is her brother, who was Sekie's godfather and the one sending an allowance for living expenses. (No, she doesn't want to think about how much Zoraxis might be skimming there.) She prefers to listen but does take action whenever those she cares about get in trouble.

Floriana "Florian" Brantley Ameri Brantley the clerk's wife. She's more talkative and chatty around people she knows and does have a streak of having the most reckless ideas and going through it. Has a habit of uncovering things she shouldn't have which is why she tries to not be seen a lot of the time. Don't read her personal notes if you know Spanish. She writes Tagalog in Spanish orthography (as was the case during the time) and does it on purpose so not many can read her personal notes (even if it was just a grocery list)

These three are more just people who clicked and have a gossip session to talk about whatever. Florian does collect the contaminated water to provide a record but other than that, not much. Anyone who wants to join in the gathering is free to do so.

Support Agent Information: Name: Rogelio “Roger” Mariosa Codename: Support Agent Artiste Pronouns: He/Him (Used She/Her during Field Agent Days) Age: (Around Reginald Crane's Age) Hair Color: Black Eye Color: Grey Agents Handled (Confirmed): Agent Ichor

Roger is more known for being a handler who rarely pops up during missions as he doesn't supervise agents as closely as the likes of Reginald Crane. This is due to the fact most of his agents are more of the long-term assignments that he checks on once a week. He handles more of the paperwork and intelligence gathering parts of the agency's operations.

One of the few male field agents experienced enough to match professional makeup artists, he is often the field instructor for hiding scars, bruises, and other related field-related injuries. He also serves as the secondary instructor for infiltration missions related to entertainment related disguises, with an emphasis on singing and dancing due to his experience during his field days.

While he may use he/him now, he used she/her during his days as a field agent and went by "Angel". He does sport some sass, as seen by this moment.