Z's POV

The second I took Five's hand, and he took The Hander's we jumped to Commission. Landing on the familiar green lawn, the three of us let go of hands.

"I must admit, Number Zero and Five. In all the time that I've been here, I've never met anyone like you two. Hazel and Cha-Cha for example are certainly talented, but they can't see the big picture. Your spunk and enterprising spirit, it reminds me a great deal of myself if I may be so vainglorious. If things work out for you two here, you could potentially make fine successors," The Handler said, leading us to the main building.

Five placed his hands behind his back, and I did the same, trying to look professional.

"I'd like to discuss the logistics of my family's safety at your earliest convenience. As well as body replacement,"

"So, our jobs? New ones? What do we want to do?" I asked, getting to the point, ignoring Five's question.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down Zero. Everything comes at its own time," The Handler laughed, as the three of us walked up the stairs.

"I just want to know, so I can get started," I replied, annoyed.

I just wanted to get work started so I could figure everything out.

"Well, now that both of you've finally agreed to work with us, we have all the time in the world. You will be part of management," The Handler explained, as we passed the briefcase room.

"So we're case managers?" I asked.

"Yes, but you aren't. Only Five is,"

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, your little incident of the Titanic leads me to believe that you are not permitted to work in management," The Handler replied.

I slowed my pace down and walked behind Five and the Handler. She was talking about management with Five. Since I wasn't going to be working there, I didn't need to listen. Five just nodded his head, but never said anything. She turned a corner and led us to the tube room.

"Now, the case managers take these reports, and tell field agents on the ground what to do, via tubes. Now, Zero, this is where you will be working. Now you stay here and sit. I have to show Five something, and please don't do anything stupid," The Handler joked, leaving me in the tube room.

I sat down in a swivel chair and spun around until I caught sight of a woman. She had her back to me, so I stared at the desk instead of asking her a question. I opened a couple of the drawers and saw nothing. There was nothing in the drawers, so I put my feet on the table. I almost fell asleep, when the Handler knocked on the table, waking up.

"You ready?" she asked, her sweet sour tone filling the room.

"I thought you said I would be working here!" I exclaimed, confused about what the Handler wanted me to do.

"Well, I need you to do something else," she added.

We walked down to the lower parts of the Commission until we entered a file room. We stood at one end and strolled down the rows.

"What are we doing here?"

"When working in the tube room, you have to know all the agents, targets, places, cites, where they are located, and when they are," she explained, putting an arm around my shoulder.

I wanted to gag, but I didn't. She led me through the file rooms, showing me every little detail. Every little detail that I could use. Use it to find the truth.

"So, do we ever get to see each other?" I asked.

"Depends. If you want to have lunch with Five you can, but otherwise I don't believe so," The Handler joked, leading me back upstairs to the tube room.

The Handler led me up to the rooms and had me meet the woman I saw before. I had never met her before when I was working at the Commission.

"Hi! I'm Gloria, nice to meet you..." she exclaimed, sticking her old wrinkly hand out.

"Number Zero," The Handler finished.

I smiled weakly and shook her hand. Her hands were old and wrinkly against my 13-year-old skin.

"What such a name!" Gloria exclaimed.

"So, what do I do?" I asked, getting to the point again.

"You will either be screwing the caps on, or handing the tubes to Gloria so they can be sent off," The Handler answered, pulling a pair of cuffs out, from somewhere in her pockets.

"Whoa. Whoa. Those weren't part of the deal," I shot, pulling my hands back.

"It's mandatory," The Handler responded, grabbing my hand and slapping the handcuffs on.

One to my wrist and one to the cart. I jerked back, but the cart followed me. I glared at The Handler, and she smiled. She walked away, and I gave Gloria a 'wtf' look, but she didn't see me. Of course, she didn't see me. She pulled the cart and I was jerked along with it.

"Will you hand me the one to Berlin?" she asked, holding her hand out.

I grabbed one that was headed to Berlin and handed it to her. We did this for almost an hour and a half before she sat at her desk. I just stood there, waiting, when Five walked in, carrying a canister. I turned to him but he didn't see me. He walked over to one of the tubes, so I kicked him in the shin. He turned and stared at me.

"What was that for?" he asked, bending down and rubbing his leg.

"Get me the hell out of here!" I whisper-yelled, jerking my hand up. "I can't deal with this for the rest of my life!"

Five looked at the cuffs and gave a snorted. I sighed and mouthed 'f-you'. He did it back and turned back to put the canister in, but The Handler grabbed it out of his hands. We both turned to look at her, and Gloria walked up to us.

"I'm afraid that's not procedure," she sighed.

"Then I'll do it," I joked, reaching out with my cuffed hand, but I couldn't.

The Handler grabbed the canister from Five. Five sighed, and I lowered my head for a few seconds but looked back up. Five had crossed his arms and was shaking his leg slightly.

"Gloria, you've heard of Five haven't you?" The Handler asked, opening the canister.

"Oh, these are the Deadly Duo then?" she asked, glancing at Five and then at me, before clapping her hands together.

"Deadly Duo?" Five and I asked at the same time.

"I'm afraid that your reputation precedes you two,"

I rolled my eyes, and Five looked pissed. The Handler unrolled the scroll and read it. She turned to Five and folded her hands.

"Karl Weber. Now tell me, why unfortunate Karl?" she asked, handing the scroll to Gloria.

Gloria placed the scroll in the canister and handed it to me to screw the top on. I sighed and screwed the top on and handed it to Gloria. Her weak wrists couldn't do that job again.

"Karl Weber is the butcher at the shop where Captain Ernst A. Lehmann acquires his weekly roast," Five explained, with a gross look on his face. "So if Karl dies, his butcher shop is passed onto his son Otto, who never washes his hands, which is disgusting."

"So he's the one who gives the captain his roast,"

"And that gives him food poisoning,"

"Which makes him late for work. Which delays the takeoff,"

"And to make up for lost time. The Hindenburg flies through a weather front of high electrical charges and humidity,"

"And the static electricity inside the aircraft makes it a virtual tinderbox. Tiny engine sparks..."

"And just like that, we have," Five added, mimicking an explosion with his hands.

The Handler and Five were having a moment. A moment that Five and I would usually share. Five was showing off his incredible skills of knowledge, and Gloria was impressed. I rolled my eyes and Five stared into them. The Handler grabbed his shoulder, leading him out when he held his hand out low, and slightly closed his fist. I clutched the small piece of paper that he had smacked into my hand as they walked away.

"Dearie, can you find h94 please?" Gloria asked.

I dragged the cart along with me, down to the 'h' section, and began looking. When Gloria wasn't watching and I opened the note Five gave me.

Meet me in the restrooms at noon. Get a file on the Titanic and I'll get one on the apocalypse. Make sure that nobody sees you sneaking the files in or out. They are related somehow. PLEASE TRUST ME.

I snorted at the note and looked up to see Gloria standing over me. I hid the note and made eye contact with her.

"What were you laughing at?" she asked.

"Deadly Duo," I lied. "Such a weird name."

"Oh, you're so right. But it fits you two and your nature,"

She was lying, but I couldn't tell her that. I pointed to h47, and Gloria slid the canister into the tube. It made a whooshing sound and was sent away.

"Darling, do you mind going down to the file room and finding D33GH, I believe," Gloria questioned herself as she unlocked the handcuffs.

"D33GH," I repeated, rubbing my wrist.

I dashed out of the room as fast as I could. I walked down the stairs and into the file room. I headed over to the 'T' section and looked for the Titanic. I found the file and stuffed it in my shirt. I made sure that no one could see the file and headed to get D33GH. I grabbed the file and headed back upstairs to Gloria. I handed the file to her, and a loud bell rang.

"Lunch. You want to get some?" Gloria asked.

"I already have a date," I joked, wanting to throw up.

I hurried to the restroom and ran into Five. We squished ourselves into the middle stall and Five sat on the toilet. He pulled out a file from his shirt. I pulled the two files out of my shirt, and we looked at them. We switched the files out and began reading them.

"Shit," Five muttered.

Someone walked in and went into the stall next to us. I was leaning against the wall when the person spoke.

"Is that you Five?" The Handler asked.

"No. It's me. Z," I corrected, putting a finger to my mouth, and telling Five to shut up.

He stuck his tongue out and held in a snort but smirked. I did it back, and Five smirked. We were mirroring each other's movements.

"Oh, Zero. How is your first day going?" she asked.

"Couldn't be better," I lied.

The Handler began urinating and we both tried not to gag. Five slowly closed the file he was reading over and I did the same. I handed mine to him.

"Glad to hear that," The Handler replied.

She didn't stop urinating, so I and Five gazed at each other a bit confused. The Handler began coughing and I lowered my head in annoyance.

"I burnt my rugae. Even burn your rugae?"

"Don't think I've had the pleasure," I moaned.

Five quietly slid the files into his shirt, and smoothed it out, so it wouldn't look like something was hiding under his shirt. The Handler kept talking about her burned rugae, but neither Five nor I listened. Five crossed his arms, his blazer underneath to make sure the files couldn't be seen.

"You know we value integrity at the office above all else. Trust is essential and that trust is built over time. But in the event of a breach, the Commission will act swiftly and without mercy. An efficiency I'm sure you above all people can appreciate the truth, Zero. Since you know your power and all,"

Five and I made eye contact, and The Handler walked out of her stall. The faucet turned on, and she began washing her hands. Five slowly stood up from the toilet and I covered the sensor so it wouldn't go off. I leaned into his face and whispered into his ear.

"I'll get her out of here, and you blink that file back to wherever it came from. Just don't get caught,"

"Have I ever?" he asked, a smirk on his face appearing after he whispered back.

"I'm feeling peckish. Have you had your lunch?"

"Not yet," I answered.

"Great, How would you like to have lunch with me in my office? And we can grab Five on the way there?"

"Sounds great," I mumbled.

The Handler turned the faucet off and pulled some paper towels out. I let go of the sensor, and the toilet flushed. I coughed as loud as I could, and Five blinked away. I crossed my arms, and I heard The Handler walk over to the stall.

"You ready?" she asked, grabbing onto the top of the door, and peeking her head over.

"Yes indeed," I answered, opening the door.

I washed my hands, and we walked down to the place where Five was working. It was a bit of a walk, but we talked the whole way there. Well, mostly The Handler talked and I just listened. She was talking about how she was going to change The Commission once she was the head. We stopped at a door labeled Management, and The Handler smiled.

"Heya Five. We're going to have lunch in my office. You wanna join?" The Handler asked, sticking her head through the door. "It would be nice to have you there."

I walked into the room and saw Five sitting at a desk. There was a nameplate on his desk that read Mr. Five. I held in a laugh and bit my lip. Five nodded and stood up from his desk. He walked with us to The Handler's office and sat in two chairs facing opposite The Handler.

Five's POV

The toilet flushed and Z coughed really loud. I blinked out of the bathroom, and back into the room I was working in. I pulled the apocalypse file out from under my shirt and put it back in Dot's drawer. I sat down at my desk and removed the other files. I looked through the files until I found what I was looking for. I pulled a piece of paper out and folded it up. I put it in my pocket and hid the other files.

"Heya Five. We're going to have lunch in my office. You wanna join?" The Handler asked, sticking her head through the door. "It would be nice to have you there."

I looked up to see The Handler and Z waiting for me at the door. I stood up from my desk and walked to The Handler's office. She sat down opposite us, and we sat in the two chairs facing her. She ordered some food, and after a while, the food arrived.

"And that's how Phil determined that the archduke had to go," The Handler laughed.

I set my cup of water down, while Z twisted her in her hands. The Handler finished her drink by slurping the straw super strong.

"Want dessert?" she asked.

"No," Z and I sternly answered together.

"I had a bad Twinkie in the apocalypse. It kind of put me off deserts," I explained.

Z almost spit out the water she had just drunk, trying not to laugh. I bet she remembered that day.

"Please, indulge me," The Handler laughed, as she pushed a bowl of wrapped-up candy.

Z grabbed one and tossed it into her mouth. I did the same and chewed for a bit. The Handler pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette. She began smoking it like she always did, and smoke began filling the room, clouding at the top.

"Now, what does it taste like to you?" she asked.

"1960's," Z answered.

"1950's," I answered, also.

"Precisely right. Our clever metaphysics division concocted a way to perfectly distill an entire decade in a single candy. I have a whole bowl full of all the decades,"

"Wow, that's incredible," Z smirked, popping another one in her mouth.

"You'll be happy to know it's the very division that's building your new bodies. That reminds me, I have something for you two," The Handler added, pressing the intercom on her desk, "Carla. Would you bring the box in, please? The one labeled Deadly Duo,"

"That name really sticks around here doesn't it?" Z asked.

"It sure does," The Handler replied, standing up.

A woman in a blue dress walked in and set a box down on The Handler's table. Z and I stood up and looked at the box.

"Go ahead. It's not going to kill you," The Handler laughed.

I opened the box, and in it were two uniforms. One for me and one for Z. It was the blue workday uniform for the Commission.

"The clothes make you who you are. Won't it be nice when you can actually wear it?" The Handler asked as Z picked up her uniform.

"Thank you," was all I could muster out.

Z grabbed another candy and turned around. She pointed at another desk with an array of weapons.

"Is that a Chinese flamethrower?" she asked.

"Good eye,"

She walked over to it, and I followed her. The Handler followed me. We all looked at the array of weapons.

"War. Such a fascinating concept. A temporary salve for a permanent human flaw. Of course, it's a bit easier to see from 30,000 feet. These are just some of the things I've collected in my travels. M26 grenades from the Vietnam War and this is the most noteworthy perhaps. My Walther pistol. The very one Hitler used to kill himself. We're not supposed to take these kinds of things, but he wasn't gonna use it anymore," The Handler mocked, tossing a grenade up in the air before catching it.

She grabbed a gun that was on the table and handed it to me. It was perfectly balanced, and well fitted in my 13-year-old body.

"So that's why historians never found his gun?" Z asked, amazed at the gun.

"Yes. I took it before they could come up and snatch it away," The Handler laughed.

"And... and when did you get all of these?" Z asked, pointing to everything on the desk.

"Well, the grenades are from Vietnam. That map is the one Ptomley made. His original one. That sword is from the fight between conquistadors and the pirates in the late 1800s. Oh, one of my favorites is this," The Handler joked holding up a black pistol that was engraved with gold trim.

"What's it from?" Z asked.

"Oh! You don't know? I thought you were something of a history major," The Handler asked.

"Well, Reggie made me study history, but that gun... I have no idea,"

"It's the gun that the captain's armed guard used to kill the richest man on deck to steal his bolings and get away unharmed. On the Titanic of course," The Handler answered, handing the gun to Z.

I could see Z's ears shrink back, and I wanted to support her, but it would blow our cover.

"Wow, may I hold onto this?" Z asked, feeling the gun.

"I'd prefer if it stayed here," The Handler sighed, grabbing the gun and placing it back on the desk.

"Umm. I had some thoughts I wanted to run by you. Some suggestions to improve Commission protocol," I asked, taking the conversation a different route.

"Shaking things up already. Do tell," The Handler joked, walking back to her desk.

"Gloria. The tube operator. She's a bit old, and Z can handle the tube room if case operators also handle all of their cases. I mean, if Z just stays in control, and we, case handlers can work with ins and outs to the tube room," I suggested.

"I appreciate the thought. I really do, but everyone loves Gloria. I would never hear the end of it," The Handler laughed.

"You said it yourself. The Deadly Duo works here now. And news spreads fast. Gloria can work under me, and I can run the room," Z added, walking up to me, and catching onto what I was doing.

"She's been with the Commission family for way too long, and this would break everyone's hearts,"

"And so have we. We've done the bloody work, now let us run the smoother, easier parts of Commission,"

That's when the Dot walked in. She didn't knock but asked for The Handler. She looked nervous and scared. The Handler sat up from her chair and looked at us.

"Of course. Duty calls. We'll continue this discussion later," she instructed.

"Sure. May I?" Z asked, pointing to the candy bowl.

"Of course, and you to Five. Take as many as you want,"

Z and I reached into the bowl and took a few candies each. We walked out of the office, and down the hallway.

"What was that about?" Z asked.

I grabbed Z's wrist and jerked her into the restroom and into the middle stall. Again. Luckily no one was watching us. I shut the door, and I pushed Z against the door.

"What the hell was that for?" she