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The note had given explicit instructions. Well, not really. Nate glanced at the square of paper once more, in the privacy of his own home, taking care that he had gotten the place right. If he hadn't, he'd be hard pressed to explain what he was doing out and about at night, though his prestige with the Northgate officials would possibly get him off with a warning. Once.

When the old crew, Den of Thorns, was captured, no one had seen his face. As far as he knew, he was still free and clear, and trusted by the government in the city, seeing as he had crafted the system now in place, at least partially. He was free and clear. But alone.

A knot formed in his throat as an image of his wife flashed through his mind. The system had worked too well. It had destroyed his happiness, annihilated it. Nate had lost the woman who had made his life a joy. But he'd never shown it, not on the outside. In fact, at times he made contributions to the Northgate system, making it better. The officials gave him respect.

He spent long nights on shadow websites, or around the shadier parts of town, concealed from the cameras by an elaborate helmet, crafted from scratch in the dark of night. The helmet had a cell phone, cell scrambler, and a one-way tint on the eye pieces. The eyepiece and the jawpiece could both swivel out of the way, though it was easier to just take the helmet off when talking face to face. The helmet, and his older age, had earned him the nickname The Architect. Others called him Relic, since he was a bit old to be involved with such anarchy.

It was from these midnight forays that Nate learned of the new Sprayer gang forming. It was through these midnight forays that his name had fallen into the lap of Sass. She had contacted him earlier than that night, leaving a message for him to meet her at the library, wearing two watches. She slipped a note into his palm one day, while he meandered through the hall of books. Thus marked the beginning of a few weeks correspondence. He had demonstrated that he possessed plenty of useful knowledge and scientific artistry, even if he wasn't a painter.

Then, that night, he had been given a final note. A meeting point, to meet Sass. Well, Lauren, rather--he had discovered her name in that library, though his reputation for being trustworthy helped to avoid a confrontation. He was one of the few people, if not the only person, who would know what she really looked like tonight, though only out of necessity. His knowledge of the workings of Northgate made him essential to any Sprayer group hoping to pull off truly audacious jobs. He knew how to beat the system, and that was important.

After slipping through the night for a half hour, and dodging cameras as best he could, Nate finally beheld the place they had been told to meet. He took a deep breath, and stepped into a meeting very much in motion already.

Nate could tell that unless he could prove he meant no harm, he'd have just ruined the meet, and the chances of this working. He had to move fast. "I'm unarmed, and I was called here by Sass. I mean no harm, none at all."

He stopped, glancing around, and then hit the switch for the jawpiece. It swiveled down, leaving him free to speak unhindered. "I'm sorry I'm late. Hello, Sass. And company. I'm the Architect, though..." He smiled, "Relic works just as well."

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