Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
-Seneca
T.R.O.S.S. Headquarters, Belle City, Two Months Later, 9:31a.m
Raphael walked through the elevators of his new headquarters with two cups of coffee in his hands. It felt good to have a boss again.
"Good morning, beautiful." He said to Denella as he handed her the coffee.
"Thank you." she said as he kissed her.
"Henry," Raphael called, "You watching the game on Saturday?"
"This Saturday?" Henry asked. "Can't. I'm taking Cynthia out to that new restaurant that opened near The Coffee Shop."
"That new sushi place?" Denella questioned. "Don't. She hates sushi."
"What? Then where am I supposed to take her?" Henry asked desperately.
Raphael and Denella looked at each other, smiled and at the same time said, "La Belle Nuit."
"No! Are you two crazy?" Henry exclaimed. "The last time you two went there, somebody died. I'm not going there."
"Fine," started Denella, "Suit yourself." She said as she took a sip of her coffee.
John walked up to the three of them with Cynthia and enough pages in his hand to write a book. "Because our headquarters are now called T.R.O.S.S., it's a requirement for me to resign all of the papers for the ownership. Raphael, Denella, you two are T.R.O.S.S.'s best agents, and I want you two to help train all of our new agents. Henry, you are no longer Raphael's partner," John took a breath and continued, "I'm assigning agent Cathburn with you. She will be trained as a field agent and will be your new partner."
"Wait, so Cynthia's my new partner?" Henry inquired.
"Yes, Henry. We'll be working together." Cynthia answered.
"You four will be my new team." John explained. "I needed trained agents who can work together. Your four have these qualities that will make you a good team. I just need you all to sign these papers."
This was going to be a new thing for Denella since she didn't like working with other people, but she knew she could get used to it. One by one they signed their names: Cynthia Cathburn, Henry Gargani, Raphael Heath, Denella . . . She paused and hesitated. She was about to write Denella Larkwood, but she didn't want to. After all, she was raised as an Oakley. Everyone watched as her hand shook. Her birth parents were named Brent and Carrie Larkwood. Her name was supposed to be Denella Larkwood, but she didn't really like how it sounded. Denella Oakley had more of a ring to it. Even though her parents that grew her up, Natasha and Greg Oakley, weren't her birth parents, they were still her parents. And, she knew in her heart that she was still an Oakley.