In an abandoned apartment, Lauren "Sass" Hedley sat on the empty couch. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table, and a backpack filled with gear sat next to her. Despite the fact that she looked relaxed, if not bored, Sass was inwardly terrified. Tonight, after six months of retirement, she was ready to enter the world of the Sprayers once more. A half a year ago, she'd been the leader of one of the city's best crews. Until the night when they'd been caught. Sass frowned. Those were thoughts she didn't like to entertain. 

It was well past curfew, around one in the morning. This same time two nights ago, she had been running around the city with a can of red paint. If Sass saw an artist's work and liked it, she had tagged their painting with a bright red 'X'. It was a symbol that hadn't shown up in the city since her crew had disappeared six months ago. Doubtless, there would be excitement. Confusion. Suspicion. Maybe some people thought that some mischievous young Sprayer was going around impersonating Sass. But no, the X's were her's. Along with them, she had taped a scrap of paper to each piece of graffiti, bearing confusing instructions on where to meet her. The instructions were written cryptically, almost in a code. Even if a law enforcement officer had found them, they wouldn't have understood what they meant. Only a Sprayer could figure them out. 

Now, Sass waited. Any minute, her new potential crew members would be walking through the door of the abandoned apartment, gathering in the lobby. She would go down to meet them, talk with them, determine if they were what she was looking for. No one would ever fill the hole left by her old crew. But maybe, just maybe, teaming up with artists once more could help. She missed Spraying. It was time for her to get back in the game.