Lance and his sister stepped to the far end of the counter and he crossed his arms.
“What are you doing in New Atlantis?”
“Come again?” Liz said, a look of feigned innocence plastered on her face.
“I know what you really do for work,” Lance said with a slight tilt of his head.
“So I will ask again: what are you doing in New Atlantis?”
Liz put her hands up in defense.
“Ok, ok… So there is this guy we were sent after… not really the biggest fish in the ocean, but a sizeable enough one to merit our attention…”
She paused as she saw the accusing look in her brother’s eyes.
“Don’t act like you’re all innocent either, big brother…I know what you do here too.”
Lance stood up taller and raised an eyebrow.
“Is that so?”
Liz grinned mischievously.
“We have our sources… plus with everything that has happened recently, the local media hasn’t made it difficult to sort out either.”
“Some people like to exaggerate stories… but the media didn’t exactly make it easy to keep certain happenings on the down-low…” Lance responded.
“I had to do something.”
“Just keep your hero complex to yourself…” Liz said with a dismissive wave.
Lance shook his head.
“It isn’t like that.”
He let out a sigh.
“Either way, while you are here with your… friends… just remember that this is my neighborhood… Keep it contained, and no messes or stealing…”
Liz put her hand to her head in a mock salute.
“Scout’s honor, it was just a quick grab anyway.”
“Good,” said Lance with a nod.
“If you send a profile to me via this network pass when you get a chance so that I can run it in my system.”
He pulled out a business card-sized module that he keyed with a thumbprint to unlock.
Liz accepted the module from Lance and pocketed it.
“You know, we aren’t exactly too different in what we do… I just work in a larger field with a more specific scale… AND I get paid handsomely to do it too.”
Lance shook his head with a small laugh.
“Have you heard anything from back home lately?” he asked.
Liz’s expression darkened slightly.
“No… you know I don’t talk much with them…”
“Right… sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…”
Liz shrugged and sighed.
“It’s fine…”
She glanced around his shoulder.
“You should probably get back with your friends, Mr. Hero.”
Lance glanced back to see the two groups trying to make small talk, Noel being the loudest of the group. He turned back to his sister.
“Hey, don’t be a stranger. Let me know when you’re coming back to town.”
His sister’s eyes lit up with mischief once more.
“Don’t worry, I won’t!”
The groups spent a couple of hours chatting and enjoying their favorite things from the Cafe. As Liz and her group left, Lance and Adam decided they also needed to return to their own tasks, despite protests from Noel wanting to hang out longer.
They all said their goodbyes and the duo stepped back onto the chilly city streets. They walked back towards Lance’s apartment in silence for a few moments, then Adam spoke up.
“Sooooooooo…. Your sister seems like an interesting character.”
Lance nodded.
“Understatement of the Year. Liz is arguably the craziest one of the group too, though Matt is a close tie.”
“There are like… seven of them, right? Four sisters, three brothers, not including you?”
“Correct.”
“Why don’t you talk much about them?”
“Mostly because we are always busy with other things. What do you want to know?”
“For starters… How does she know about what we do?”
Lance stopped on the sidewalk and turned to Adam and saw the serious look on his friend’s face.
“How does she know? And who else knows?”
“So you heard us talking? What else did you overhear?”
“Enough to get an idea as to what she does too…”
Lance looked around on the street and then turned back in the direction they were walking.
“Not here. Too many potential eyes and ears.”
They reached Lance’s apartment and unceremoniously sat back at the workstation. Lance checked the status of the diagnostics and then turned to Adam.
“Do you want the short version or the long one?” he asked.
“Whatever version you’re in the mood to, as long as it is the truth.”
Lance let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair.
“Well, you should know well enough at this point that there are things I’ve been involved with that I cannot tell you about.”
“Then what can you tell me? And how much does your family know? Are you part of some mafia or league of assassins or something?”
“Honestly I am unable to tell you… what I am… in great detail, but what I can tell you is that I was given special training to protect people. This is why I am incapable of standing idly by in this city when things have become dire. Part of my family is similarly involved where they are to a degree, but not in the same capacity.”
“And that explains the stunt you were going to pull at the expo…” commented Adam.
“The Ouroboros are a dangerous group, but they are blinded by their own pseudo-religious systems,” clarified Lance.
“Attacking an event at an educational facility was a big step over an already short line. I had suspicions of something even bigger happening but didn’t have the time or resources to put the pieces together until more recently now that we have collected more information.”
He pointed to the computer screen.
“This data is proof that the corruption goes beyond some thugs or fanatical cults who saw New Atlantis as a new playground to bully. We just need to keep following the breadcrumbs until we find who is dropping them.”
Adam sat quietly and pondered his friend’s words.
“Are your sister and her hit squad going to be another problem we have to deal with?” Adam asked.
“We shouldn’t need to worry about them,” Lance said.
“If anything, they’re doing us a favor by removing one more small problem we don’t have time to deal with.”
Adam gave a solemn, but understanding nod.
“Just as long as we don't start using their methods ourselves…”
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