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[i]23/05/2047
Alberquerque, New Mexico[/i]

Alex sighed as Arbiter produced a body bag from the trunk of the super car that rolled up to the debris pile. Without another word, he began the process of packing agent Reynolds' body into the bag and zipped it up tight. Once that was done, he hefted her body in his arms again and sighed. Once a person, now reduced to just another object. It was a feeling that was familiar and painful to him; images of his parents' deaths all those years ago flashed briefly through his mind as he stood.

[color=lightgreen]"Hey, Tower."[/color]

Shirley tapped him on the shoulder, concern written on her features.

[color=lightgreen]"Are you going with him?"[/color]

He shrugged.

[color=lightblue]"Might as well, yeah. There's nothing left for us here."[/color]

[color=lightgreen]"Then I'm not going with you."[/color]

[color=lightblue]"Shi- wha-"[/color]

His sister grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in close.

[color=lightgreen]"Listen, Alex. If we travel together, we might be stronger but we won't get jack shit done otherwise. Look what happened today. You follow Arbiter and help him with whatever, I'll go back to Cedar Fort and see if I can't use our fame to get me some pull with their police department, maybe get access to other things Addison had on Hex."[/color]

[color=lightblue]"No, I- What are you thinking, Beacon? Denver and Cedar Fort are very far apart. I won't be able to help you if you get in trouble."[/color]

[color=lightgreen]"I'll be fine. We're both armoured, remember?"[/color]

[color=lightblue]"Yeah but you're not strong like me."[/color]

[color=lightgreen]"I'm going back to Cedar Fort by myself and that's final. We'll uncover more info if we split up. I'll meet you wherever afterwards after, say, a week?"[/color]

[color=lightblue]"...fine. But you keep me in the loop at all times. Make sure you call me if you need help."[/color]

Shirley nodded as she turned to head back to their car, while Alex sighed, shrugged and addressed Arbiter.

[color=lightblue]"Arbiter, wait."[/color]

Alex turned to face the American. Their plan was in tatters, their leaders (as far as everything was concerned) was dead and most of their team was gone. The only thing they could do was pick up the scraps. Arbiter was right. They had to be a lot more careful. If a ballistic missile was aimed at them, who knew what other hazards laid ahead? But it just felt like a lot of effort to go to Denver to track down possible leads? Rumours? Whatever worked, he guessed. Whoever wanted them dead had clearly meant it and they weren't safer if they all clustered in one place. Holding the body bag in his arms, he approached Arbiter.

[color=lightblue]"I'm going with you. My sister's going back to Cedar Fort to look into Addison's files, see if she had anything that she wasn't sharing with us. If you need protection, I'm your best bet. Beacon can handle herself."[/color]