[center][hr][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/260527/ac7c9f7b.png[/img][hr][/center] By the time Bret returned to his apartment, he’d all but lost track of what day it was. The city outside had settled into that strange hour where even Calder seemed tired. Rain drummed softly against the windows. A siren wailed somewhere in the distance. Then silence. For once, nobody was actively trying to shoot him. Bret considered that a victory. The apartment lights flickered on as he stepped inside. Immediately he regretted the movement. His ribs protested. His shoulder wasn’t much happier. The bruises from the casino fight had darkened considerably over the last few hours, and the collection of cuts decorating his arms looked increasingly unpleasant beneath proper lighting. [color=C8E39A]“Right.”[/color] The familiar routine began. Jacket off. Bandages off. Antiseptic. Regret. More antiseptic. More regret. He sat on the edge of his bed, carefully rewrapping his ribs while his mind drifted back toward the maps at Saint Brigid’s. The routes. The distribution network. The television in the corner suddenly turned itself on. Bret frowned. He hadn’t touched the remote. Static filled the screen. Then advertisements. Then static again. His phone buzzed. Stopped. Buzzed again. The lamp beside the bed flickered. The kettle in the kitchenette clicked on. Off. On. Off. On. Bret slowly lowered the roll of bandages. [color=C8E39A]“…that’s not normal.”[/color] The television volume suddenly jumped to maximum. An infomercial screamed across the apartment. Then the image distorted. Pixels twisted. Colours stretched. The screen dissolved into digital noise and a [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/13/7d/e3/137de356a572a4e5b50d5eb516dd3d7f.jpg]familiar face[/url] emerged from the chaos. Young. Dark-haired. Entirely too pleased with itself. [color=E2BDE9]“You.”[/color] The face leaned closer to the camera. [color=E2BDE9]”You look like shit.”[/color] Bret blinked. The television blinked back. [color=C8E39A]“…So-Mi?”[/color] [color=E2BDE9]“Congratulations.”[/color] She pointed finger-guns directly through the screen. [color=E2BDE9]“You remembered my name! Someone buy the boy a biscuit.”[/color] The lamp exploded. Not dramatically. Just enough to send sparks across the room. Bret stared at it. Then back at the television. Then back at the lamp. The microwave began displaying symbols that definitely weren’t part of the original software. [color=C8E39A]“Well this is interesting.”[/color] [color=E2BDE9]“I know, right?”[/color] She grinned. [color=E2BDE9]“Wait until you see what I did to three ATMs and a police database.”[/color] Bret suddenly understood several things all at once. First; So-Mi Park had powers, which she did not tell him upon their first meeting. Second; this meant that his working theory that Tae was using King’s Blood himself and may have the ability to teleport, seemed more likely than before. Third; So-Mi had absolutely no intention of using her powers responsibly. Already, she did not seem the same as the woman who came to his church looking for help. There was a confidence that didn’t seem like it was there before. This begged the question, was she using Blood too? Or were her and Tae natural Gray’s? The television volume increased by itself. [color=E2BDE9]“I’ve been watching you.”[/color] [color=C8E39A]“That’s concerning.”[/color] [color=E2BDE9]“You’ve been investigating King’s Blood and been talking to criminals. You got into a fight at the casino and you’ve been hanging around with Tits McGee.”[/color] The kettle switched itself on again. The apartment lights dimmed. Every screen in the room suddenly displayed So-Mi’s face. Phone. Television. Microwave. Even the smart thermostat. It was deeply unsettling. [color=E2BDE9]“So let me get this straight.”[/color] The faces spoke simultaneously. Creepy. Very creepy. [color=E2BDE9]“My brother disappears, a super-drug starts flooding Calder, some lunatic crime lord is handing out powers and instead of finding Tae, you’re apparently taking J-Lo from Temu to casinos.”[/color] Bret rubbed the bridge of his nose. His headache immediately worsened. [color=C8E39A]“I’m trying to…”[/color] [color=E2BDE9]“I DON’T CARE!”[/color] He watched his Alexa explode. That shut him up before he even considered speaking again. So-Mi leaned closer to the screen. For the first time since appearing, the humour faded. The energy remained. The intelligence remained. But underneath both was something else. Fear. Real fear. [color=E2BDE9]“Tae isn’t dead and you need to find him, Bret, please! He’s all I have!”[/color] This was the first time since she appeared that she sounded like the scared sister that walked into Saint Brigid’s earlier that week. Bret didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. So-Mi looked away first and the screens flickered. Static briefly consumed the room. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter. More dangerous. [color=E2BDE9]“If you can’t do this alone, I’ll find you some fucking help.”[/color] The television switched off. The lights stabilized. The kettle finally surrendered. Silence returned to the apartment. Bret sat alone on the edge of the bed. Bandages half-finished. Mind racing. For several seconds he simply stared at the dark television screen.Then he sighed. Reached for the remaining bandages. And added “cybernetic hacker gremlin” to the growing list of problems currently trying to ruin his life. [hr] Across Calder City, several miles from Saint Brigid’s, a man sat alone in a private booth overlooking a crowded nightclub. The music below shook the glass. Lights flashed. People danced. Drank. Forgot themselves. None of it seemed to interest him. His attention remained fixed on the small vial resting on the table before him. Luminous orange liquid swirled behind the glass. King’s Blood. The crown jewel of a growing empire. A knock sounded at the door. [color=E0A200]“Enter.”[/color] The voice was calm. Almost warm. The door opened. A nervous young man stepped inside. No older than twenty. The sort of man who had spent the last several hours convincing himself everything would be fine. “Jefe.” The masked figure looked up. Black and gold. Elegant. Regal. The lucha mask concealed his face completely. Only his eyes remained visible. Patient. Amused. Dangerous. [color=E0A200]“The shipment arrived?”[/color] The young man swallowed. “Yes.” [color=E0A200]“And?”[/color] A pause. Too long. El Jefe smiled beneath the mask. The expression somehow still reached his eyes. “We lost two couriers.” The room grew silent. Music thumped somewhere far below. The young man visibly tensed. Waiting. Expecting anger. Violence. Punishment. Instead, El Jefe simply sighed. A disappointed father. Nothing more. [color=E0A200]“That’s unfortunate.”[/color] El Jefe nodded then reached for the vial. Turning it carefully between gloved fingers. [color=E0A200]“Make sure their families looked after.”[/color] The young man nodded quickly. “Of course.” [color=E0A200]“Good.”[/color] The kingpin leaned back in his chair. Below, the nightclub roared with life. Above, the city stretched endlessly into the darkness. For a moment neither man spoke. Then, Jefe reached out his arm with the vial, offering it to the boy. [color=E0A200]”When you’re done with the arrangements, you take this and you find whoever is delaying our shipments.”[/color] The young man hesitated. “I’ve never….” He swallowed hard. “I don’t know what it’ll do.” El Jefe considered this but only for a moment. [color=E0A200]”Well then, I guess we’ll find out together, won’t we?”[/color] The masked man stood with the nightclub lights reflected in his eyes. He turned fully to look at the boy and slipped the vial into his jacket breast pocket. The crown embossed on the glass briefly caught the light. Then vanished. Jefe placed his large hands on the cheeks of the young man in an embrace that was almost fatherly. Though the reality was much plainer. He didn’t even know this child’s name. [color=E0A200]“Keep up the good work, mijo.”[/color] Beneath the city, hidden far below the streets of Calder, machinery continued to hum around thousands of gallons of luminous orange liquid. [center][hr][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/260621/e286a1de.png[/img][hr][/center]