We Don't Need The Memories

The secluded house on the outskirts of the North lacked for comfort, but gave Julian and Eve a quiet enough spot to conduct the operation they had been tasked with for the last week - scouting out the area to monitor gang activity. Over the course of the last month, The Foundation had been weeding them out from their favorite locations. Abandoned warehouses, homes, fallen businesses, all were slowly bearing the flag of the undercover Kingston Enterprises, whose influence in the area had grown significantly since they had arrived at the beginning of the cities lockdown.

'This is boring.' Eve said, idly nibbling on an apple.

'It's a job. A lucrative one at that.'

'If I knew in advance we were signing up to be photographers, I would've said no.' she said, which drew a small chuckle out of Julian, the first in many weeks. Of course, there was some irony there; this was what Julian preferred. The work in the shadows, the gathering of intelligence and using said intel to gain an advantage over your enemies, resulting in the eventual striking of a critical blow to their operation. This was what he specialized in. This is what he knew. 

Eve on the other hand was a different monster altogether. He had noticed her growing restless. Incapable of remaining in one spot for too long. Always feeling the urge to do something.

If he were the moon, she were the sun. Shining and bright. Ready to overwhelm you at any given moment. He sighed.

'There'll come a time where Zayne's operation will buckle and he'll need us to provide muscle.'

'What do you mean?' she said. He could see her eyes were alive now in anticipation.

'This is all going too smoothly. The reason for that? No-one really cares about all too much about this district right now. Why do you think Zayne started here in the first place? To get a foothold where there'd be less competition.'

He paused momentarily, glancing out the window toward the empty streets, shrouded in the dark of night. 

'You think when the heads of Jabberwock finally take more of a notice of what's going on here, or Corey Bull decides to descend upon the rest of the districts, Zayne's not going to be panicking?'

'He seems chill.'

'Right. That's until something goes wrong. Just wait.'

'I'm tired of waiting. At least you get to do the fun bit.'

Julian raised a curious eyebrow.

'The fun bit?' he repeated back to her. She nodded enthusiastically.

'The fighting. You don't take it seriously enough. If I was in your position, I'd put them all into the dirt. With class.' she added, smirking at him. 

'That's not what I came here to do. The results of BPW mean nothing for our job. Not unless it somehow gets me an "in" with their higher-ups. But they're more closed-off than you'd expect.' 

She didn't reply for a moment, which Julian knew she was on the verge of saying something he probably wouldn't like. 

'Hey, make me a promise real quick, would you?'

'...what is it?' he said, not knowing if he wanted to hear the answer.

'If they run this for longer than a season and our work isn't done... sub out for me.'

'Sub out for you?' he said the words back to her, though by the end he knew what she meant. 

'Yup. I can tell you don't want to do it. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't take that burden off of you?' she said, although Julian was shaking his head.

'I don't like the sound of that.'

'You worried for me, or for them?'

'Them, but also for our job. You aren't exactly great when it comes to staying low to the ground.'

She giggled, tapping him lightly on the chin with her finger, which caused him to nudge away.

'Maybe that's what this job needs. So you promise, right? If we're here again when this first season is over, I get to have my turn?'

He sighed, weighing his options. He knew saying no would only delay the inevitable.

'Fine.'

She bounded up from her seat in what he assumed was out of sheer excitement.

'Great! I'm gonna go figure out what I want to wear.' she said, as she walked off out of sight into her room. Julian watched her leave, then hung his head and glanced out the window once more.

Ah, Reg. Why did I come here?

---

'You called?' Julian said, as he arrived in the makeshift office Zayne had been using on the top floor of one of the warehouses they had acquired during their first week of operating. The facilities were a far-cry from what Zayne had been used to back at his headquarters in New York, but he was a man who had risen from the ground up. He did not need luxury - not while working. 

'Oh, Jule. Welcome back, bud. Here, here. Take a seat. Austen! You there? Get Jule a drinK! Somethin' refreshing, would you?' 

'I'm fine.'

Zayne ignored him and instead laid his bright eyes over him, as though he were trying to stare a hole through him.

'Anything to update me on?'

'There's been no gatherings. Hardly any supply runs. I think you've got them on the brink. One more push and they'll be gone.'

'Good, good. Now there's just some housekeeping to do.'

'What do you mean?'

'Eve. She's been doing things of her own volition.'

'When? She's been accompanying me on recon.'

'Early hours of the morning, usually. She probably goes as soon as your turn on watch is over. It needs to stop. I don't need her screwing up or leaving a trail back to us. Right?'

'I'll... I'll talk to her.'

Zayne grinned and then clapped him on the shoulder.

'Great. Just let her know there'll be consequences if she doesn't fall into line, okay?' he said, which drew a frown from Julian.

'Is that a threat, Zayne?' Julian said. Zayne chuckled and raised his palms into the air, facing him.

'No, no, not at all. Just a reminder that you two have a job to do, and that you especially should keep your loyalties in check. The Foundation comes first. Right, Reaper?'

'If you're telling me to put your company ahead of Eve's wellbeing, you'd be a fool.' Julian said, voice slightly lowered. This drew another laugh from Zayne, one that had an incredulous note to it. 

'That so? And what about me? You helped me get here, Jule. Without you, Kingston Enterprises doesn't reach the heights it currently sits upon. What about the times we spent together? They mean nothin' to you now? Even when I'm on the verge of making you great?'

'I guess you've forgotten, Zayne.' he said, standing to his feet and turning his back to his employer.

'Forgotten what?'

'I don't care for memories. Only what lies ahead.'