“Come here often?”

  Sophie looked up at Nathan who was sitting down across from her at a table in the pub they had walked into her, carrying two gsses. It was a small, quaint pub, towards the edge of London. Just where things were starting to get sparce and it was getting close to the outer wilds. It was retively quiet tonight, though they were there pretty early. They had been informed when they arrived that the usual crowd would arrive ter in the evening, but they were used to tourists coming in around this time. The intel that Cole & Kavi had informed them that Bir usually came in for a drink about an hour before then and left just before the crowds started. Nathan sat down at their small, round, dark wood table and pced the two gsses on the table. He passed her a gss, filled with a red liquid. She looked at it quizzically as he pced a different looking gss in front of himself, containing a dark brown liquid. He examined her expression for a few moments.

  “I got you a house red wine. I wasn’t sure what you wanted.” Nathan offered. Sophie took an apprehensive sip. The st time she tried something, it was that cosmopolitan, and she hated it. This time, there was a sweetness, but it definitely wasn’t anywhere near the level of the cosmo.

  “It’s good. I’m not too well versed in drinks so I’m not sure I’d be able to recommend something even if I wanted to.” She expined. Nathan nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

  “What did you get?” Sophie asked. Nathan pulled the gss down, took a look, then moved it towards her, gesturing.

  “Oh, it’s a brown ale… do you want to try some?” He asked.

  “Oh… uh… sure.” Sophie said. Nathan slid it towards her, and she took a sip, then coughed a bit. She definitely didn’t like that. She handed the drink back to Nathan, trying to avoid the gaze of the barkeeper and few patrons in the bar that was now fixated on her. Nathan held back a ugh as he took a sip of his own drink.

  “So obviously you’re not a beer fan.” Nathan said, smirking a bit. Sophie looked at him, scowling.

  “I don’t know how you can drink that.” She muttered, then took a sip of her own drink. Nathan shrugged but said nothing. The two sat in silence for a bit. Sophie began to feel a bit awkward and looked around the pub examining all the pictures and memorabilia on the wall. Suddenly, Nathan straightened up. Sophie turned to look at him.

  “She just entered. Stay calm.” Nathan whispered hurriedly. Sophie raised her eyebrows.

  “Are you sure you should be telling me that or yourself?” she asked. But Nathan didn’t seem to hear her. Sophie turned to look but Nathan stopped her.

  “Don’t be obvious.” He hissed. Sophie sighed.

  “So then how do I know where she’s sitting? Or how to approach her?” Sophie asked. She watched as Nathan’s eyes watched her enter and head towards them. She walked past the two of them and Sophie could see her back. She was shorter than Sophie thought she was going to be. She was definitely taller than 5 feet, but not by much. She was wearing a dark coloured sweater and bck fitted pants, with a bck toque on her head. Bir suddenly stopped at a booth in the back, sitting down quietly with a gss. Sophie gnced up, noticing that her booth was near the bathrooms. Sophie took a swig of her wine, before standing up. Nathan gripped her arm quickly.

  “What are you doing?” He asked. Sophie sighed.

  “Cole and Kavi want us to get to know her, so we have to speak to her to get to know her, right?” She asked. Nathan paused, retracting his hand.

  “I mean… but that should be me, not you. You shouldn’t have to do any of this.” Nathan stated. Sophie shrugged.

  “I feel like if I was alone in a pub, I’d prefer to be approached by a woman, rather than a man I didn’t know.” Sophie retorted. Nathan thought for a moment, then sighed.

  “Yeah, okay. But what’s our story?” He asked, “We should make sure we have a story first.”

  “Maybe we’re married?” She asked, hesitantly. Nathan’s face flushed a bit, but he nodded.

  “That’s good… maybe we’re on our honeymoon?” He asked. Sophie nodded back.

  “Okay, that should be good for now. I’ll be right back” Sophie replied, then headed towards the bathroom. She stopped as she looked over at Bir over the booth. She watched as the two different coloured eyes looked up and met hers. She already looked annoyed. This was going well. Sophie cringed internally as she fake stumbled towards her, pointing at her sweater.

  “Ohhh gosh. That sweater is so cute!” Sophie excimed. Bir raised an eyebrow, attempting to turn away.“Thanks.” She muttered. Sophie leaned towards her, hoping she was doing a good job at pretending she was drunk.

  “Where did you get it? I’m hoping to do some shopping tomorrow. My husband and I just arrived tonight, and we just had to get a drink at this super cute little authentic pub!” Sophie chirped. It was almost scaring her how easily this was coming out of her mouth. Bir looked at her, grinning suddenly. Sophie felt a chill run down her spine, but she maintained her act.

  “I killed a guy.” Bir replied. Sophie’s eyebrows raised.

  “o-oh!” She said, her voice drifting off. Bir stared at her for a moment, then ughed.

  “I’m just kidding. I hope you enjoy London. Congratutions to you and your new… husband.” She said, gncing towards Nathan who was watching them. Sophie looked back, grimacing at him. He looked panicked when they both turned to look at him and he quickly turned away, walking towards the counter and ordering another beer. This was going to be fun. Sophie turned back to Bir, ughing.

  “Ohhhh gosh. He’s just… nervous” she said. Bir raised an eyebrow.

  “About? Married life?” She retorted. Sophie panicked internally, but just shook her head.

  “Oh, no. Well… kind of. I kind of dragged him to the altar. But we had been engaged for so long. You know how men are with their feelings sometimes” Sophie replied. Bir raised her gss towards her.

  “Oh. I definitely hear that. Hope things work out for you, but just remember that men aren’t shit.” Bir grumbled, then took a big swig of her drink. Sophie smiled and nodded, turning away and heading back towards the bathrooms.

  “Hey.”

  Sophie turned to see Bir looking at her.

  “I never told you where I got the sweater.”

  “Ohhhh right.” Sophie said, “That’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. Sometimes we women like to keep our favourite shopping pces secret”

  Bir shrugged.

  “It’s a shop not far from here. About three blocks. It’s called Gromit’s.” Bir said. Sophie smiled, a more genuine smile this time.

  “Oh, thank you” she said. Bir nodded.

  “Anytime… what’s your name?” She asked.

  “Sophie. And yours?” Sophie asked. Bir looked at her for a moment then smiled back at her.

  “Bir. See you around Sophie.” Bir said, then went back to her drink. Sophie headed to the bathrooms and shut the door behind her, breathing a sigh of relief once she was safe inside the bathroom. She sat in there for a bit before heading out and finding Nathan at their table, now having a fresh gss of ale in front of him, along with the 2 other empty gsses. He was now swaying a bit as he drank heavily. Sophie sighed, looking up. It looked as if Bir had already left. At least she didn’t have to worry about that. Nathan looked up at her, smiling. His face was flushed as he looked at her, almost dreamily.

  “God you’re pretty. Have I ever told you you’re pretty?” He asked. Sophie’s face flushed a bit.

  “Uhhh no. But that’s okay.” Sophie replied, sitting down and sipping her wine. Nathan leaned forward, putting his head in his hands as he looked at her.

  “I can’t believe you’re here in London with me… I can’t believe I’m in London at all, but you’re here too.” He said. Sophie nodded.

  “Oh, yeah. I didn’t expect us to end up here either.” Sophie said. Nathan sighed.

  “I feel so bad… I got you into this. I’m a terrible person.” He mumbled, his eyes beginning to water. Sophie looked at him, concern crossing her face.

  “Oh, Nathan, no, I thought we went through this. It’s okay, everything is okay…” Sophie said softly. Nathan began to cry. Sophie gnced around, then got up and pulled Nathan up and led him outside. She waved apologetically as she passed the counter. They headed down the sidewalk as Nathan cried.

  “I’m the worst! I should never have let you do this.” He whined. Sophie shook her head, gncing around. She should’ve called a cab before they left. But maybe a walk would do them some good. Nathan looked at her, smiling softly at her.

  “But… I’m so happy to be here with you… It’s like a dream come true… I’m horrible…” He mumbled, then promptly fell asleep. Sophie stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then sighed as she continued back to the hotel.

  Sophie id Nathan on his bed as he snored peacefully, before turning and ying on her own bed. She looked up at the ceiling. They hadn’t run into Cole and Kavi on their way back, which Sophie considered herself lucky. They hadn’t exactly got too far with Bir today, so she assumed they wouldn’t be too pleased. It seemed like Cole at least wanted to get back to Lucidia as soon as possible. Sophie sat up, gncing over at the window. The lights in the room were low, and outside she could see the lights of the city. The room was silent for the most part, apart from Nathan’s soft snoring next to her, and some sounds of the traffic down below. For a few moments, it was peaceful. That was, until Cole suddenly burst through the door angrily, Kavi hot on his heels. He looked at Nathan, passed out on the bed, then turned to Sophie.

  “What the hell was that?” He snapped. Sophie sat and said nothing. He gritted his teeth, leaning in towards her.

  “Don’t forget, you’re both on the line should this mission fail. This isn’t some vacation.” He hissed. Sophie sighed, standing up.

  “I’m aware. You asked two civilians to do something that trained professionals should be doing. We’re doing it as well as we can.” Sophie stated. Cole stared her down for a few moments. Sophie’s heart raced as she stood there.

  “Why didn’t you at least tail her?” He asked.

  “Why didn’t you? What were you two doing while we were at the pub talking to Bir?” She asked. The words came out before she could stop them. Cole froze, and Kavi suddenly stepped forward.

  “Cole. Enough. Stand down,” She ordered, “We knew this was going to take time. The way you’re behaving right now is highly inappropriate.”

  Cole looked to Kavi, his face twisted in anger for a moment, then he spun around and headed back to their room. Kavi sighed, pushing her hair back then turning to look at Sophie.

  “Sorry about him. This situation is a bit tense for us.” Kavi expined. Sophie nodded but said nothing. Kavi looked over to Nathan and snorted a bit.

  “Someone was nervous.” Kavi stated, then turned back to Sophie.

  “Next time, make sure you watch him. Seemed like he was close to cracking under the pressure. We’ll see you in the morning. Make sure to remove your wires before you both fall asleep… or at least sleep further.” Kavi ordered, then headed back to their room shutting the door behind her. Sophie sighed, looking down at Nathan. She shoved him a bit. He opened his eyes groggily, looking up at her.

  “Nathan, you need to get up and remove your wires.” She said. Nathan looked down at his outfit then back up at her. Sophie sighed. She supposed she’d probably have to help him, but first she wanted to take a shower. She headed over to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and turning on the water. She undressed and stepped in, letting the water wash over her. She sighed. It felt so good to wash up. She probably should’ve before they went out tonight, but She hadn’t wanted to bother Nathan any further. She closed her eyes as she took this quiet moment to release her thoughts over the past while. So much had happened already, and she hadn’t even really had a chance to process anything. Her mind wandered back to the nightmare realm, and she willed her mind to move away from it. Finally, once she felt she had washed herself thoroughly, she stepped out and slipped into an oversized t-shirt and shorts Kavi had provided for her as pjs. Sophie walked out of the bathroom to see Nathan looking out the window. The lights had been turned out, so the only light in the room was that coming in through the window. Nathan had removed his jacket from earlier and had unbuttoned his fnnel. His hair was tousled as he turned to look at her. Sophie gnced down to see a can next to him. Great. He was drinking again. Sophie walked towards him, grabbing the can.

  “Nathan, you need to slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick-“ She started but was interrupted by Nathan suddenly grabbing her and pnting a kiss right on her lips. Sophie gasped and he deepened the kiss, one of his hands reaching into her hair while the other snaked around her waist, holding her firm. Sophie could taste the alcohol in his breath, and suddenly pulled away.

  “Nathan, wait. You need to stop. You’re drunk…” She said but her voice trailed off as she stared into Nathan’s eyes. His brown eyes sparkled in the cities lights as he stared into her eyes.

  “Gods above… you really have the most beautiful eyes…” He said softly. Sophie felt her heart skip a beat as they stared at each other for a moment before Nathan’s eyes widened and his face greened. He suddenly dashed to the bathroom, retching. Sophie sighed, heading over to her bed and climbing in. She id there in the dark before Nathan headed back into the room, ying down on his bed wordlessly and passing out. Sophie’s mind raced as she thought about the kiss… Did she like that? Of course, before Nathan’s sudden exit, but why did she have so many butterflies in her stomach about Nathan kissing her? And why did she find herself wanting more?

  When they awoke the next morning, Nathan seemed to have no memory of what had happened the night before. Sophie hadn’t reminded him. They had spent the morning in awkward silence, only saying a few words to each other when the situation required it. Sophie wondered if Nathan was still mad at her about everything. That night they headed to the pub again, running into Bir. This time, Bir had invited them to sit at her booth. They chatted about things for a bit, but Bir never seemed to reveal too much about herself. This pattern continued for a few weeks, Bir sometimes being at the pub and sometimes not. Sophie had found herself chatting with Kavi a bit more, though Cole also kept to himself a bit more. He’d interject every now and again but for the most part, Sophie was on her own. But on the plus side, they had been making a surprising amount of progress with Bir. Despite not revealing too much to them, she seemed to be friendlier with Sophie and Nathan’s presence. Sophie had been surprised by this as she had expected this to take months, but Bir seemed to welcome them happily and had even mentioned continuing drinks sometime at her pce. Nathan seemed to be continuing his pattern of drinking too much, but he hadn’t tried anything again since the st time… and at least now Sophie knew to call a cab before they left. Today seemed to be no exception, except for one thing.

  “Do you want help bringing him back to your hotel?” Bir asked. Sophie froze, looking from her to the practically unconscious Nathan.

  “Help?” She repeated. Bir shrugged.

  “I don’t really have anything pressing to return to tonight. If you want some help bringing him back to your hotel, I’d be happy to walk you both back.” Bir offered. Sophie thought for a moment. If she refused, it might raise suspicion. Why would she refuse the help to carry Nathan’s unconscious, and quite frankly rude behind? It would definitely look like they had something to hide after this much time. Then again, what if they saw Cole and Kavi while they were there? Or if they tried to grab Bir? She really didn’t want to have to try to defend herself while Nathan was passed out, intoxicated in the bed. Sophie sighed. Cole and Kavi could hear what they were talking about right now… and the enforcers weren’t dumb. They’d know to avoid them. Sophie smiled.

  “Sure! We can chat a bit while we get him into bed.” Sophie chirped. Bir grinned as Sophie went over to call a cab. After an eerily silent and awkward cab ride, they arrived at the hotel. Bir looked at the hotel and whistled.

  “Wow. This is a nice hotel. A little far from that pub though, don’t you think?” She asked. Sophie shrugged as she pulled Nathan out of the cab, hoisting his arm onto her shoulder as Bir did the same. It was a little awkward, as Bir was quite a bit shorter than Sophie, but they made do as they headed into the doors.

  “Well… yes. We just heard good things about that pub, so we wanted to try it. And we liked it, so we kept going.” Sophie expined. Bir said nothing, just nodded slowly. They entered the elevator, riding it up to their floor.

  “You know, this hotel is a popur pce for LDPD enforcers to stay at.” She said. Sophie felt a cold sweat over her body, but her voice remained calm.

  “Is that so… well, good thing I don’t have any dreamers’ abilities” Sophie lied. Bir looked at her, her multi-coloured eyes shimmering in the elevator’s light… almost as if she were a cat, toying with its prey.

  “That is lucky. Some other folks aren’t so lucky… but you should be concerned with other things too. The enforcers can take things you say and twist them around on you, locking you up for no reason other than they don’t like you” Bir expined. Sophie made a face.

  “Oh, I’m sure they don’t-“ She started, but the elevator doors opened. The two women headed down the hall and Sophie opened the door to the room. Luckily, it looked like Cole or Kavi had grabbed anything pertaining to the LDPD and removed it from the room. Bir gnced around the room.

  “Wow, you guys are high up.” Bir stated as they hoisted Nathan onto his bed. She looked around the room, then side eyed a cabinet.

  “Did you check this pce for bugs before you two… did anything?” Bir asked. Sophie stared at her for a moment.

  “Did… anything?” Sophie asked. Bir put a hand on her hip and raised her eyebrow, eyeing Sophie suspiciously.

  “You’re on your honeymoon?” She asked, almost as if reminding her. Sophie thought for a moment, then realized what she meant.

  “OH! Ohh… oh noooo we most certainly did not!” She said suddenly, catching herself before she adherently denied a retionship with Nathan. Bir just smirked and nodded, turning to the cabinet and grabbing a small device, ripping it out and throwing it on the ground before stomping on it. Sophie’s heart thudded as she watched her grab some more bugs from the room and smash them. Bir sighed, looking over at Sophie.

  “Sophie, you have to be careful with these things. I’m sure some… pervert has been listening in on you two.” Bir stated, then gnced over at the clock on the nightstand, “Well, it’s te. I’d better head home. Try to be a bit more vigint, Sophie…” She said, then headed towards the door. She paused before exiting.

  “Oh… you two should come over tomorrow. I’d love to host you both for some tea.” Bir said, grabbing a note pad near the door and scrawling down an address. She smiled, putting it back down and headed back out the door. Sophie felt her legs colpse from underneath her as she sat on the floor, calming herself down. She thought for sure they had been exposed and that they were done for. She pulled herself back up, and suddenly Cole and Kavi burst in through the door. Kavi headed over to grab the address from by the front door as Cole paced back and forth.

  “How dare she call us perverts…” Cole growled. Kavi shot him a gnce.

  “She doesn’t know its us. She just knows the room was bugged. It does look creepy. We should be gd she didn’t think it was anything more than that.” Kavi stated. Nathan snored softly on the bed, unaware of anything that had happened or was happening. Sophie sat down on her bed, looking up between Cole and Kavi.

  “We were invited over for tea tomorrow…” Sophie said. Cole nodded.

  “Yeah, we heard you. We’ll have to enact the pn for tomorrow then. I had expected this to take longer but I suppose it’s good for both of your sakes. The honeymoon story could only hold up for so long before it got suspicious.” Cole grumbled. Kavi nodded.

  “We’ll make up a pn tonight. Most likely you both will go in and try to drug her, and we’ll be on standby nearby in case anything goes wrong. I’ll head back to our room to send an update back to headquarters.” Kavi said, before turning and heading back out. Cole followed her but said nothing. The entire time they had been here, he had seemed so angry about everything. Sophie rexed once the door closed. She looked over at Nathan, sleeping on the bed. He had missed everything. She let out a sigh yet again. She supposed she’d have to fill him in on everything in the morning.

  The next day was a flurry of preparation and nerves, as Sophie and Nathan braced themselves. It was finally the moment they had been working towards. They sat silently in the car, driven by Kavi, as they headed towards the address provided by Bir. Kavi slowed down suddenly, stopping before they had reached the address. It was what they had discussed before. That Sophie and Nathan would go forward on foot, so they didn’t risk Bir seeing Kavi or Cole in the car. Cole tried to argue that he should go with them, but Kavi wasn’t hearing it. After Sophie and Nathan got out of the car, Kavi drove off to find a pce nearby in case anything went wrong. But Sophie knew that there would be little effort to protect them in that case. She looked around at the beautiful countryside, noticing all of the small cottages. Some had been recimed by nature, but some seemed to have inhabitants.

  “Seems like things are a bit different over here than in Ludicia…” Nathan remarked as they walked. After a while, they finally reached the address on the notepad Bir had left behind. Sophie and Nathan exchanged gnces before Sophie reached up and knocked on the door. Bir opened the door hesitantly, but smiled as she realized it was the two of them.

  “Oh, it’s just you two. Come on in!” Bir excimed, opening the door. Sophie and Nathan entered, gncing around. It was a small, quaint home. A fire was already started in the firepce, filling the home with a warmth that Sophie hadn’t even realized she had needed. Bir led them into her living room, gesturing for them to sit.

  “I’ll go ahead and make you both some tea. Reggie, can you keep our guests company?” She asked, calling out. Sophie could see Nathan’s face pale a bit, and she wondered if he also wondered if she had a partner while living here. Another member of Insomnia could mean trouble for them. Suddenly, a mechanical whirring entered their ears and they both looked over, shocked at the emergence of a little robot. Its pixited face dispyed on an old TV screen smiled at them as it came towards them on its wheels. It held out its hand.

  “Good day! My name is Reggie, pleasure to meet you.” It chirped. Nathan hesitated but Sophie held her hand out, and shook the small hand made of metal cws haphazardly welded together.

  “My name is Sophie. Pleased to meet you Reggie” Sophie said, smiling at the robot. It turned to Nathan, holding its hand out towards him now. Nathan gnced between the hand and the robot’s face.

  “I made Reggie, he’s a good friend of mine.” She expined. Nathan looked to her, then back to Reggie before carefully taking his hand. He shook Reggie’s hand cautiously, his eyes never leaving Reggie’s face. Reggie retracted his hand as Bir headed back into the kitchen wordlessly. Reggie looked between the two of them.

  “What brings you to Engnd?” He asked. Sophie and Nathan exchanged gnces.

  “Oh, we’re on our honeymoon.” Sophie stated.

  “A vacation” Nathan blurted out. Sophie and Reggie both looked at him, but Reggie said nothing.

  “I see. Are you enjoying your honeymoon vacation?” Reggie asked. Sophie nodded.

  “Yes, it’s been lovely. Though this is our first time outside of London.” Sophie expined. It was odd, talking to this small robot as if he were another person in the room. He seemed so lifelike, almost as if he had a soul of his own. Reggie turned to Nathan, eyeing him up and down.

  “And you?” He asked. There was an edge of suspicion to Reggie’s tone. Nathan nodded.

  “Yes. Very nice.” Nathan said quickly. Sophie sighed as Bir entered the room, holding a tray of teacups. She turned to Reggie.

  “I didn’t have enough hands for the biscuits. Could you grab those for me, Reg?” She asked. Reggie nodded.

  “Right away, madam!” He called out, wheeling out of the room. Bir sat down with the tray of tea, handing them each a cup and pcing the tray with the cream and sugar on the coffee table in front of them. Bir added a small amount of sugar and cream to her own cup before taking a sip. Sophie and Nathan exchanged gnces. Bir smiled sweetly.

  “Please, help yourselves! I haven’t done anything to the tea… unless… there’s a reason you think I would have?” Bir offered. Sophie and Nathan both shook their heads frantically.

  “Of course not!” Sophie excimed.

  “Absolutely, no reason at all!” Nathan squeaked. Bir smiled, rexing into her chair across from them. Sophie added some sugar and cream to her own teacup, mixing it quickly and taking a sip. If this was how she went out, then so be it. Bir let out a sigh as Reggie came back into the room, a small ptter of assorted biscuits in his hands. He pced it down on the coffee table.

  “Anything else, madam?” Reggie asked. Bir looked over at him, smiling.

  “No, nothing else. You can head to the shed now, Reg. Thanks.” She said, then winked at him. Reggie nodded, heading into the back towards the shed. Bir looked between Sophie and Nathan.

  “So. You found the pce okay?” She asked. Sophie nodded.

  “The car only drove us so far, we had to walk the remainder.” She expined. This wasn’t technically a lie. Bir thought for a moment.

  “It’s interesting you managed to get a car to take you out even this far. Most drivers don’t even head to the outerwilds.” Bir expined. Sophie froze a bit.

  “Oh, yeah. It took a few tries to get someone to take us.” She said. Bir nodded.

  “Ah, yes. That makes more sense. Though I thought it was in the contracts of all driving services not to go to the outerwilds…” Bir said. Sophie could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she and Bir made eye contact for a few uncomfortable moments.

  Bir shrugged, “I suppose some people will do whatever to earn a buck nowadays. Can’t particurly bme them.”

  She paused for a moment, looking over at Nathan.

  “Isn’t that right, Nathan Coello?” She asked. Nathan froze.

  “How do you know my name?” He asked. Bir let out a ugh, though it sounded less friendly than her previous ughs.

  “Well, after our first meeting, I figured you were both after me for a reason. I initially thought maybe you were scammers. So, I used my computer to look into you. It took a bit of time to find you, of course, but eventually an article with your arrest came up. Once I had your name, it was pretty simple from there to dig up all your information.” Bir expined, as Nathan paled.

  “All my information?” He repeated, questioning Bir. Bir nodded slowly.

  “Every. Last. Bit. Now Sophie is a bit more of an enigma. So, I figured you probably dragged her into this, didn’t you?” Bir asked, “I can’t imagine both of you are trying to be pardoned.”

  Sophie and Nathan exchanged looks before turning back to Bir.

  “No, you’re right. But I was the one who struck the deal.” Sophie expined.

  “The deal to apprehend me, correct?” Bir asked. Sophie nodded slowly.

  “Yes.” She said softly. Bir sighed.

  “Well, that’s too bad. Who’re the enforcers assigned to this then?” She asked, then turned suddenly, “Oh. Looks like they’re already making themselves known.”

  She lifted her hand, red fmes erupting from her skin and dancing up her arm as she grinned wickedly. Sophie heard someone yelp outside as a creature made of mud suddenly burst in through the back door, dropping a now very muddy Cole onto the floor. Bir’s face fell when she looked down at Cole.

  “… Cole?” She asked. Cole looked up at her for a moment, before smiling at her.

  “Oh, hey there Bir.” He said, acting as if he wasn’t in her home in a full LDPD enforcer uniform after sneaking around her yard. Her eyes narrowed at him as she motioned to the couch.

  “Sit. You were the only one in the yard, I assume your partner is positioned further away?” She asked. Cole slowly got up, climbing onto the couch between Sophie and Nathan, but said nothing. She frowned, shaking her head.

  “It’s too te. The jig is up. Either you all leave and pretend I escaped, or I can kill you all. I’d prefer not to kill, but if you leave me between a rock and a hard pce…” Bir stated. Cole looked at her, anger fshing in his eyes.

  “Yeah, that’s typical. Run away and kill anyone who gets in your way, right?” Cole snapped. Bir frowned.

  “Cole, what are you-“ She began, but was interrupted by Reggie calling her from outside.

  “Madam, the arrangements are all ready!” He called out. As Bir’s head was turned, Cole suddenly lunged at her, pinning her on the ground. Bir cursed as she struggled under his grip, kicking and trying to bite as if she were some wild animal. Cole sat on top of her, holding her wrists with one hand as he reached into a pouch on his hip. He pulled out one single syringe filled with a clear liquid and swung it around towards Bir’s throat. She grimaced, but her hands suddenly lit up as a comically rge boxing glove on a spring sprouted up from behind her, knocking him off. He flew across the room, nding behind the couch. His syringe dropped down next to Bir, and she looked at it, panic in her eyes for a moment as she looked from the syringe to Cole, before fury repced the panic. She picked up the wrench strapped to her side, the fmes engulfing it before it suddenly grew rge, dwarfing Bir with its size. Cole pulled himself up, staring back at Bir, panic now in his eyes.

  “You tried to drug me… You prick!” She shouted, before lunging towards him. Sophie and Nathan quickly dashed out of the way, trying to avoid their fight. Reggie motioned to them, leading them towards the back yard.

  “You must excuse my madam. She’s mentioned to me her life with the LDPD in passing, but I was unaware she had this many issues with it.” Reggie expined. Sophie and Nathan watched as Cole’s body suddenly flew through one of the windows and he nded on the ground next to them, cursing. He looked over at them, gring.

  “Some back up would be nice!” Cole snapped. Nathan held his hands up.

  “We did our part… this is all you, big guy” Nathan retorted. Cole gritted his teeth, running back inside. They watched through the windows as Cole attempted to shoot at her and Bir dodged almost effortlessly. Their yelling and cursing at each other continued until suddenly it was silent. Cole suddenly emerged from the house; Bir slung over his shoulder.

  “Okay, time to go-“ He started, but stopped as a call came through on his phone. He sighed, adjusting Bir before using his other arm to pick up the call.

  “Hello?” He asked, then paused, “Yes ma’am. Understood.”

  Cole hung up the phone and said nothing for a few moments, then turned to look at Sophie and Nathan.

  “Everything okay, Cole?” Nathan asked. Cole grinned.

  “Oh, sure. For me. Not so good for you.” Cole stated as he pulled his gun out and aimed it straight at Sophie and Nathan.