Emily stepped into the office and immediately saw that Team Leader Arlen and Director Vale were already in the middle of a discussion.
Both men stopped when they noticed her.
The office itself was spacious but severe, all dark wood, glass, and neatly arranged files. A large window stood behind the Director's desk, showing the pale winter city beyond. The room looked exactly like the Bureau wanted its authority to look—measured, expensive, and impossible to question.
Emily straightened automatically and gave a formal salute.
"Director," she said. "Did you need me for something?"
Director Vale gestured for her to lower her hand.
"Yes," he said. "But before that, tell me—did everything go well in court?"
Emily kept her expression steady.
"Yes."
"I see." Director Vale leaned back slightly in his chair. "Good to know. I called you here to inform you of two things."
Emily's posture remained still, but something in his tone put her on alert.
"First," he said, "you should know that your ex-husband betrayed the Bureau. And you know very well that we do not let those who betray us go unpunished."
Emily's heart skipped.
She had expected this, in a way. The Bureau was not forgiving toward defectors, especially awakened ones. Luke leaving for a corporation had already been an insult. The divorce, the transfer, the circumstances around it—none of it would have softened how the Bureau viewed his departure.
Still, hearing it spoken so directly made her chest tighten.
Director Vale continued.
"But it seems Silver Moon Corporation paid quite a price to have Luke released cleanly. Headquarters wants us to let it go for now." His mouth flattened slightly with irritation. "I don't know what those greedy bastards in the corporation are planning. I also don't know why they've suddenly become so generous. Whatever their goal is, whatever plan they have for Luke—that is no longer our business."
Emily felt two things at once.
Surprise.
And worry.
It was good, in one sense, that Luke had enough value for the corporation to protect him from immediate retaliation.
But being highly valued by a predator was not the same as being safe.
Sometimes it was worse.
Director Vale folded his hands on the desk.
"Even so, if we simply do nothing, it will damage our image in the eyes of other agents and other branches of the Bureau."
Emily had a bad feeling about what was coming next.
"So," the Director said calmly, "we're going to delay his authorisation permit as an awakener."
For a moment, Emily said nothing.
She knew exactly what that meant.
Not having a permit and having a permit delayed were two different things on paper—but in practice, the difference was often just a legal excuse for harassment.
Without proper authorisation, an awakener could not legally practice their power in public, purchase or sell restricted awakened resources, accept official contracts, or participate in regulated operations. If they used their power carelessly, dealt in restricted materials, or stepped outside the permitted limits, the Bureau could arrest them. The punishment for permit violations was not minor.
And delaying a permit was one of the Bureau's favourite tactics when it wanted to pressure or inconvenience someone without making the conflict too public.
It created openings.
An awakener could be stopped at any time for inspection.
Held for short investigations.
Dragged through repeated procedural checks.
Forced to waste time, money, and energy proving compliance over and over again.
Nothing fatal.
Nothing openly cruel.
Just enough to remind them who still controlled the gate.
Emily forced a careful expression onto her face, but inside,e she already felt a reluctant sympathy for Luke.
Director Vale noticed none of it—or chose not to.
Beside him, Team Leader Arlen kept his head slightly lowered, clearly unwilling to involve himself in the Director's petty satisfaction.
The Director continued as if discussing a routine administrative detail.
"The second matter is about you."
Emily looked up fully.
"You are being transferred to a special team."
This time, her shock was harder to hide.
"Transferred?" she repeated. "Now?"
"Yes."
Her brows drew together. "Why? To what team?"
Director Vale spread one hand slightly.
"I don't know why you were selected," he said with blunt honesty. "Not exactly. The team is being assembled from multiple branches and multiple departments. Seven agents have been chosen. You are one of them."
He paused.
"Your team leader was also selected."
Emily glanced toward Arlen in surprise, and he gave the smallest nod to confirm it.
Director Vale continued.
"The world is producing more awakeners than ever before. At the same time, villain activity is increasing across several sectors. The Bureau wants a tighter grip on the situation."
His tone remained formal, but the weight of the statement was real.
A rise in awakeners was never a simple blessing. More power appearing in society meant more instability, more recruitment attempts, and more hidden interests moving under the surface. If villain activity was rising at the same time, then the balance was shifting faster than usual.
"This special team," the Director said, "will have greater freedom of action than ordinary Bureau units. It has members drawn from different branches and specialities for that reason."
Emily listened without interrupting, though her mind was already moving ahead.
A cross-branch unit.
Greater operational freedom.
Seven selected members.
That was not a normal transfer.
That was the kind of team formed when the Bureau expected a coming storm.
Director Vale looked directly at her.
"The team name is Phoenix Order."
Something in the name made Emily pause.
Phoenix.
The word lingered strangely in her thoughts, though she couldn't say why.
"You will all assemble in one week," the Director said. "Until then, complete your current assignments and finish your local responsibilities here."
One week.
That was fast.
Too fast for a routine reassignment.
Emily straightened again.
"I understand."
Director Vale gave a curt nod, signalling that the essential part of the meeting was over.
Emily saluted once more, received the order formally, and stepped back.
Emily left the office without another word.
The door closed softly behind her.
For a moment, she stood still in the quiet corridor.
Luke's permit is delayed.
Silver Moon Corporation is protecting him for reasons no one trusts.
A special transfer.
A new team.
Phoenix Order.
Too much had changed in a single day.
Emily began walking again, her footsteps soft against the polished floor.
One week.
That was all the time she had before everything shifted.
And somehow, deep down, she felt that this transfer was not the beginning of a new assignment.
It was the beginning of something much bigger.