James storms out of the office, slamming the door behind him. He's not voicing his displeasure out loud, but it's easy to tell he's not in the best of moods.
"What did they say?"
That's a stupid question, I know. In the end, it's always the same thing with these guys, and I doubt it's been any different today.
"Nothing smart enough to repeat." Yeah, figured. "It was a waste of time, nothing more."
"No surprise there."
A knowing smile stretches my lips as I get up. For now, let's leave this godforsaken place. There are too many eyes and too many ears around for my taste.
So, I turn around and beckon Ellena and Elois to come over.
They immediately drop the toys they were playing with in the waiting area reserved for children and dash toward me. The next instant, they hang onto my legs like koalas. Damn, they've gotten clingier as of late—not like I can blame them, with their father being bedridden and their mother being held back by her work.
On the bright side, the kids have been behaving themselves, staying still and not running around the building like last time.
"Uncle, are you done with what you had to do?"
Ellena blinks her big, round eyes at James. Elois also stares at him with a curious stare.
"Yes, I'm done. I've got nothing left to do here."
"Is that so?"
The kids tilt their heads, and I nudge them toward the elevator. I'm pretty sure James would rather not linger here any longer than necessary, and so do I.
It feels a little stuffy here.
Also, the vampire is still fuming, even though he tries not to show it in front of the kids. To be fair, I can only tell because his eyes are a glaring red, glinting ominously despite being nothing more than a shadow of his true form.
Needless to say, he's pissed off.
Well, that's understandable.
No need to be a genius to guess what's transpired behind the closed doors. James has most likely been chewed out, chastised for the disturbance happening in his territory, and slapped with a warning.
That's all this branch of the government is good for: being noisy. They bark a lot, but have no bite—well, most of them. Let's not talk about their special agents.
Anyway, more often than not, they can't do shit when a peculiar situation arises because of this or that. Lack of manpower and political games do limit them, I guess.
So, of course, they always ask for the cooperation of hunters, private investigators, or otherworldly beings to maintain order, and when they fail, they're the ones who take the blame for everything, not the incompetent government official overseeing them.
If they're so unhappy about the job, maybe these guys should move their asses and get things done themselves for a change.
But of course they won't.
It's too dangerous for them to get involved, and certainly wouldn't be seen well politically. It's better to use underhanded methods to keep the illusion of peace. That meant calling other people to do the dirty work in their stead whenever possible.
Yet, they have the gall to behave like entitled brats when things don't go down the way they want.
To start with, if their people had done their job right and gathered the intel they should have been gathering, notably about a certain Oliver and his fraternization with the kobold clan, things would have played differently.
Perhaps, there wouldn't have been so many victims.
They supposedly have the best intel-gathering agency in the whole damn country, or so they say. According to their contracts with the hunters or whoever the fuck they've partnered with, they should keep investigating on their side and pass on the information to help deal with the situation at hand and lessen the collateral damage.
Yeah, sure, as if. That's probably asking for too much, just as it would be too much to ask for accountability for their screw-ups.
"—Dad, can we take a walk before going home?"
Elois tugs on my pants to get my attention, and I lower my eyes to him. We have exited the elevator and are on our way toward the glass door. I guess he doesn't want to go home right away.
A stroll wouldn't hurt us, and after eyeing James and receiving a nod from his part, I agree.
"Sure."
But before that, I bend over to replace the crooked beanie on his head. Demons don't get sick easily, from what I've read, but I'd rather not take any chances; the cold temperature has settled in, and even if it's a bright day outside, it's almost below zero.
So, I pull on the beanie until it's well set just above his eyebrows, hiding the shadow of his third eye.
Even the small shadow of his tiny wings isn't visible under the baggy coat. Same for his sister. They look like little balls of fluff, with little fangs poking on their bottom lips.
Cough, cough.
…Maybe I've gone overboard with the winter clothing this morning, considering it's still autumn. Late autumn, but autumn regardless.
Well, whatever. I've never had to handle kids before, and neither seems to mind the layers and layers of clothes I've wrapped them in. As long as they stay warm, that's all that matters.
***
The excited children are quick to drag us toward the park near the government building. It's not equipped with a playground, but it's fancy enough to catch the kids' attention, with its weird-looking dead trees, numerous bronze statues, and large benches.
Not too surprisingly, they're having fun pointing at the various historical figures, that is, when they're not attempting to climb on them.
"Elois! No!"
Feeling the blood rush to my head, I pull the boy down, and he giggles in my arms.
This little… He's doing it on purpose so that I'll take him in my arms, isn't he? Yeah, I bet he is.
A chuckle resounds behind me, and I twist my neck around to glare at James, who's having a bit too much at my expense.
This pest isn't helping at all.
Fine. To be fair, he's still in convalescence and shouldn't exert himself too much, and even if the kids aren't in their demon forms, they're not exactly feather-light. Lifting them up and down is tiring.
"Hey, don't look at me like that!" James shrugs before winking. "It's your turn to babysit."
I narrow my eyes at him, but that irksome smile of his doesn't falter. Alright, sure, wait until it's your turn. I'm gonna sit back and enjoy the show for—
"Dad!"
Oh, what now?!
Accepting my fate, I bring my attention forward, where Ellena is calling for me as she runs toward us.
A second later, she's at my side and excitedly grabs my arm, drawing a discreet wince out of my mouth; that's the wrist I cut one too many times to feed James. It hasn't healed yet, and I can feel the bandage scratching against the wounds.
Still, I refrain from complaining aloud and quickly scramble to shift Elois into my free arm so he doesn't fall. The boy instinctively wraps his arms around my neck to stabilize himself, taking the opportunity to snuggle against me.
I swear, this brat…
"You'll never guess what!"
Well, even if I can't guess, I'll soon find out what has gotten her so excited; she's hellbent on dragging me to who knows where.
"Come on, Dad! Follow me! You too, Uncle!"
"Yes, yes."
Wasn't there an artificial lake in that area or something? At least according to the map at the entrance of the park. Is that what caught her eye?
In any case, I've seen many people head toward that place, their lunches in hand. It seems to be a prized place to eat dinner, and once we reach the not-yet-frozen lake, I can understand why; the scenery is quite pleasant to the eye.
"Look, look!"
A smile blooms on Ellena's face as she points at someone in the distance with her free hand. Is that a man in a wheelchair...?
No fucking way.
I feel my mouth turn dry, but it doesn't prevent Ellena from pulling on my wrist and yanking me closer to the man in question.
In a heartbeat, we're close enough to be in hearing range.
"I found your doppelganger, Dad!"
"My what…?"
The words die in my throat as my eyes finally meet those of the man. I bet our expressions mirror each other pretty well right now.
Damn it. I hate when my bad premonitions become real.
"Sweetie," James says through a stifled laugh, ruffling Ellena's hair. "That's not Scott's doppelganger."
"He's not? How so?"
I can hear the pout in her voice, but my eyes are still locked onto Bryan's, and I don't have the mind to answer her.
Now, what do I do…?
"Hm, well, let's just say these two, as twins, just really look alike."
Dude, every goddamn identical twin looks alike. That's kind of the point of identical twins, if you didn't know. But whatever.
That's not important. The point is: it's kind of impossible to pretend I haven't noticed him and turn around, isn't it?
…Ah, fuck.