(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Unaware Mr. Woods

Casper stood on the other side of the front door this time. His hair was spiked to the high heavens, his uniform was a mess, and he was typing furiously on a digital notepad in his hand, looking down still. Kellen, amused at the sight of the man who he knew was smart and well-spoken so disheveled, rested his arm on the door frame above them, grinning.

"Oh, Lieutenant Casper. Nice to see you." The busy man glanced up at the Guide, before doing a double take as Kellen used his other hand to push his hair out of his face. Kellen watched as a flush crossed his cheeks.

"What have you been doing to get yourself so worked up into a sweat so early in the morning?" Casper asked, his voice cracking before he cleared his throat. Kellen smiled at him.

"I was unpacking. Sorry. Do I smell?" Kellen sniffed himself self-consciously and the man shook his head, eyeing him warily.

"Not at all. You should grab your jacket and keys and follow me. We need to get you into a briefing and also make up." His eyes narrowed as he inspected Kellen's face. "What were you doing yesterday that gave you such large bags under your eyes?" He chastised, and Kellen laughed as he did what the Guide asked.

"Do I need anything else?" He asked.

"Beyond jacket, keycard and identification, no." He confirmed as Kellen pulled on his jacket. He made sure to check twice that he had everything before leaving the apartment, following after the Guide who was walking at a brisk pace. Casper wasn't doing it intentionally, since Kellen observed him going over the files on the electronic notepad rather seriously, even as they waited for the elevators at both floors. Kellen didn't mind, just taking the time to amp himself up for his first press conference. Casper paid just enough attention to their surroundings to select the right floor, the fifth floor, once they were in the second set of elevators. Kellen was adjusting his uniform as they headed down, while Casper finished up whatever he was working on, closed the notepad, and pushed up his glasses.

Once the doors to the elevator opened, the sound of voices filled the air. Casper reached out for Kellen's arm, gripping it in a tighter grasp than Kellen was expecting, and quickly dragged the man away from where the voices were coming from. He swiped his keycard on an innocuous name plate pressed into a random wall. A doorway opened, surprising Kellen but Casper just pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them before continuing down the slightly darkened hallway. Kellen could see another doorway in the distance, but let Casper pull him around, smiling slightly. Casper scanned his keycard again before shoving the door open, dragging the other Guide behind him. Kellen blinked at the sudden bright light.

The area looked like a green room of some kind, with a couple sets of couches pushed against the wall facing the doorway, a sink, counterspace and a microwave next to the couches to the right, with a small, round table directly to the right of him. To the left was a legitimate vanity, with the bright bulbs and everything, along with a comfy looking chair. The rest of the space was free, except for a set of double doors at the far left of the room. Kellen took in all the people shoved into this space with shock. All of the lieutenants as he knew them were in the room, along with the Captain. In fact, he was currently sitting in the comfy looking chair getting his makeup done.

Ms. Hill waved when she spotted the two Guides entering the room and Kellen waved back. Kellen glanced at the others before his eyes landed and stayed on the Captain. He was leaning back, his hair now slicked back officially and with his eyes closed he looked like a statue. The make up artist who had been bent over the Captain turned, then gasped as they caught sight of Kellen.

"Your eyes! What did you do last night?" They demanded and Kellen shrugged sheepishly.

"I'm sorry. I got caught up reading and before I knew it, it was morning." They tsked at his response, and he heard the Captain chuckle.

"Be kind to him, Izzy. He's never done a press conference before." The Captain told the make-up artist and they sighed.

"You wouldn't have had to tell me that. I can tell just by looking at him. Although...who did you say he was related to?"

"Eleanor Woods, that famous A Class Esper. The one you had a poster of on your wall for years." Ms. Hill told Izzy. Izzy's face heated before they cleared their throat.

"Ah, I see. Well then, at least I know I have something good to work with then." Kellen felt a smile touch his lips as he glanced at the others in the room. Besides Gunther, Ms. Hill and Casper, there were two more people in the room. One was a shorter man with vibrantly coloured green hair, thick rimmed black glasses and black eyes. Remembering him from the brief interview he had done publicly when he was recruited into the guild, Kellen knew that this was the famous Earth Esper who rearranged the lobby. He appeared grumpy, his hair messy and his uniform ruffled. The woman sitting next to him had eyes glowing pink, with long blonde hair pulled into braids. She was reading over a script quite raptly and didn't notice Kellen looking at her. She also only wore civilian clothes, so Kellen assumed she was either off the clock or not officially in the guild.

"Mr. Woods, it's your turn." The Captain called and Kellen turned, taking the spot the Captain had vacated. The Captain reached out, touching the bags under the Guide's eyes. "What were you reading that kept you up all night?" Kellen could feel Ms. Hill's burning gaze on him and when he heard her chuckle, he knew he had to answer before she did.

"I was doing some research." He told him, not exactly lying, but not telling the whole truth. Izzy ordered him to close his eyes and Kellen was grateful he didn't need to meet the probing yellow gaze.

"Research? What were you researching that kept your attention all night?" Kellen felt the laughter bubble out of him nervously, while Ms. Hill was chortling from the couches.

"Oh, you know, guiding stuff. It's not very important. After staying up all night I found that most of it wasn't relevant to my current situation." He said, meaning it. The gentle touch of brushes against his face made him want to sneeze, but he held back.

"Guiding stuff? What kind?" Casper asked, genuinely interested and Kellen felt his cheeks heat.

"Uh, just some things my Dad suggested. Older textbooks and articles." He told the other Guide, desperate to drop the subject. Ms. Hill was losing her mind behind him on the couches.

"Oh? If he has anything interesting, or any insights, I would love to hear them." Casper was being so sincere and it took everything in Kellen to not flinch. Izzy was getting frustrated with the man twitching, and said so. Kellen sighed shakily before relaxing his body once more.