Something Confided

He had walked out of the hotel, walked down the foreign street a few times, passing by the hundreds of vacationers that prevailed over the fancy Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and all other kinds of supercars that slowly made their way down the streets, but Devon had found himself sitting at the hotel bar yet again, drinking yet again. Luckily, this time, the ignorant asshole that worked with him did not join.

            “Want another one, big boy?” the bartender asked as she waited with an inquisitive smile. She then nodded and got to work as Devon felt Evelyn sit down next to him – her strong perfume unmistakable.

            “Come to tell me that his whole family is part of the Council too?”

            “Can’t a girl just enjoy a drink with her husband?” Stone asked and gulped down her serving of the vodka that Devon ordered the first time.

            “Not of the husband’s wife wants him not do something about something that he loathes.”

            Evelyn shrugged and ordered another drink. “Too bad.”

            “Yeah?”

            “I’m very picky about what I want,” she said and winked at the bartender, who merely smiled back – ready to serve on the rich people and vacationers’ every whim regarding alcohol. “Besides, if it were up to me, we’d not even be sitting here right now.”

JR was still rubbing at his shoulders and arms as he and the girl sat on one of the huge couches that lines the main hall of Prime. They had been entertaining one-another with flirtatious small talk when he walked up to them and leaned against the bookcase at the couch’s side, startling JR slightly as Ed began to talk.

            “You two look cute together,” he joked.

            “Ah come on!” JR began, his face red as a tomato.

            “What’s your name again? Sapling, was it?”

            The girl giggled, then looked at JR. “’names Laura. I know it doesn’t really fit…”

            “It’s a beautiful name,” JR chipped in.

            “It is. Now, come with me, dude.”

            “Where’re we going?”

            “I need to teach you some discipline regarding that feeble technique of yours.”

            JR shot a glance at the Sapling, who prodded him on. JR then got up and reluctantly followed Ed out of the manse, and around the huge building.

Ian had joined Danny in the shower, but left her to her dreams afterwards. Having nothing much to do, he headed to the library, but walked into Jacks instead, who was on his way to the huge kitchen.

            “You should really control your eating habits, you know.”

            “Yeah yeah. It’s just, you and Ed, and that Connor guy is so big! And just look at Safu – he’s a mountain, that one!”

            Ian snorted and patted Jacks on the shoulder. “Just stay focused. Look at JR; might not be as muscular as Safu, but he sure as hell can move. And Ed – he’s no master of melee combat, but give him a throw-able sharp object, and even mountains cower before him. Then there’s Safu, who fails to be good at mastering the art of melee or ranged combat, but instead has a way to see things no ordinary man can, as well as being quick as hell.”

            “What’s that all got to do with me?”

            Ian looked at Jacks and crossed his arms. “Just as I’ve told you millions of times before – we all have our own specialties. Your dual wielding is unparalleled for someone your age. Moreover, give it some time and a bit of action, and your muscles will, in fact see a bit of growth.”

            “Yeah yeah, dad…” Jacks said and started skulking away.

            Ian just looked at him disappear around the corner, and then shook his head slightly. He could not believe how fast Jacks had grown – even for a kid his age. In a way, it reminded Ian of himself. Minus, maybe, the whole being too smart for his own shoes parts. Ian smiled, and carried on toward the library.

Safu had prepared a room for him and the little girl near the far end of the long corridor that was lined with rooms. He wanted as little as possible disturbance between their room and the rest of the others, especially with Others agents still skulking about the building. With De Beer already compromised, Safu knew that it was only time until the rest of his team’s loyalties will be tested, and only then it would be possible to see who really deserves to be part Prime’s future.

            Safu put the girl to rest and locked the door behind him, he then walked down the hallway and bumped into the huge CNet tank-hybrid-robot thing that he had managed to flash into.

            “Excuse me,” CNet said and rolled backwards. “I still have trouble adjusting this platform to the building.”

            “That is fine,” Safi said, and started on his way again. He stopped and turned around to face CNet almost immediately after, though. “Please look out for the girl while I’m not nearby,” he then asked. “That would be much… appreciated.”

            “As you wish.” CNet then turned and went on his way down the hallway, and entered a room about halfway down. He was probably checking whether the unclaimed rooms were still intact since there were no camera surveillance in the rooms. Safu then turned and continued on his way again. He had promised Connor that he would try and teach him a thing or two about melee combat using an axe, on their way back from his bar. Safu had felt some potential from Connor, but potential that had gone to waste for so long, he had no idea if he would be able to reawaken.

Connor was swinging the Others axe around while waiting for Safu in the sparring room. It was a strange axe – balanced extremely strange compared to the axes that he had used in his short time with the fire brigade in his early twenties, and even the number of axes that his father used to collect in his youth.

            “You’re going to put someone’s eye out with that, old man,” Jacks said as he entered the room and walked over to the punching bags in the far end. Connor merely looked at him, and then continued to play around with the axe. “Hey, can I ask you a question?” Jacks then called.

            Connor nodded and stopped with the axe, finally resting it on top of one of the weapon racks.

            “Why do you keep coming back? What drives you?”

            “What do you mean?” Connor asked and made his way toward Jacks, who had already started punching away at the huge heavy bag that hung in front of him.

            “Well, I mean. I’ve heard Ian talk about you a few times now, and I even spoke to Ed about you. You’re the complete outsider, aren’t you? Excluding JR, anyway.”

            “I guess so.”

            “Well, you seem so generic. Like a grunt.”

            “What the hell is that supposed to mean, twerp?”

Jacks smiled and continued punching the bag. “And you have that generic temper!” he then peaked at Connor, and saw that the man was walking away. “Okay, hey! All I meant was that, if you’re not part of the Agency, or the Others, why do you keep coming back? We’ve got nothing for you, do we?”

“Honestly, kid. I have no idea…” And he really didn’t. He had thought about why he was accepting orders from the likes of Ian and Ed (who was both easily ten years younger than he was), and he had dabbled on why he liked to do it. To him, it was always about doing something – whether for someone else, or himself. But never have he thought about why. “I guess I just like being around guys like Ian, Ed and Safu. And I actually feel like I am welcome – which is something that I never actually felt before, even as a kid…no older than you are now.” Then Connor walked away, retrieved his axe again and started flailing it about. He had just confided in a seventeen-year-old…