I'm not sure what I expected when Fio said she needed to talk to me, but whatever it was didn't include being dragged into the ladies' room at the Dragon, door locked behind us. She asked me if any of the Bloods had contacted me, and then she started taking of he clothes, which put me more ill at ease than the thought of why they would be looking for me. The bikini underneath didn't do much to allay my fear that she might have been spending too much time with Tara.

Luckily, it was an act. She told me that the Dragon might be bugged, and went on to inform me of a man in a black suit and sunglasses had been looking for me, and left a note on my door upstairs. A note that had been taken by the Bloods, apparently, for some reason, but which had been relatively short. One of the agents who had taken Freddie some months before wanted to talk to me. His name was Roberts, and he wanted to meet with me at midnight, at their old headquarters.

Fio told me to kiss her, to complete her act, and when I refused she left a lipstick stain on my collar instead. I was trying to wash it out when she left the bathroom, so I'm not sure if she heard me thank her for the intel. When I finally followed her out, my shirt was soaked and still stained with a pink mark.

I stewed over what Fio had told me, even as I let Kazzy drag me to the ridiculous jello wrestling going on at the Hall. That lasted only long enough for me to see that things were progressing worse than I'd expected they would, before we went back to the Dragon. Midnight approached, and I explained a little of what I needed to do before I promised to stop by Kesey once it was done and went to my room to change.

I didn't want to go in costume, despite the lightning bolt on the note implying that they expected me to, but I thought the protection would come in handy, so I dug out one of my prototypes. Dark red spectra, with no adornments. I tugged it on, and pulled jeans on over it. I didn't bother with a shirt over the spectra - if I needed to run, it would just be shredded anyway.

There wasn't much time before midnight, so after parting ways with Kazzy, I climbed to the roof of a nearby building. I took a running start and jumped to the next building, dashing across rooftops until I got close enough to take a look at the place. It was still empty, plywood nailed up over the doorway and the windows that had been destroyed in the fire.

The man in black was standing there, in front of the plywood at the door, with his hands clasped behind his back. I doubled back, moving to a building across the street, then shot across the gap, hitting his former headquarters about halfway up the wall to run down it. I stopped next to him, crossing my arms over my chest.

He jerked a little straighter as I came to a rest, then turned to look at me before he spoke. "I'm not here for a fight."

"Good." I frowned at him. "What are you here for?"

He didn't say anything for a moment. "We thought you should know what we're back in town. That is, our organization. We won't be causing you any trouble, this time."

I glared at him. "I've heard that before. What are you here for?"

"Observe and report." He was still wearing his sunglasses, despite the dark. It made it hard to get a read on how honest he was being, his eyes hidden like that. "I helped to convince my superiors that it would be best to tell you, before you came across us by chance."

"You 'observe and report' about Freddie since you came back?" I put a little growl in my words. I wasn't sure if he knew how little I liked his people. For all I knew, breaking the door down and chasing them away before the building burned wasn't a clear enough message.

His lips twisted, just barely, in something that wasn't a smile, before he nodded. "We've already spoken to him. You and he are the only people here who know we have come back." He paused for a moment. "That know who we are, that is."

"What did he have to say about it when you talked to him?"

"He swore a great deal more than you have. We told him we wouldn't be coming after him again, but he understandably did not find that to be very reassuring. He also refused assistance with his legs."

"Why would he take help from you? You're the people that crippled him."

He just looked at me for a moment, then nodded again. "We did, regrettable as it may be. I'm being honest with you, much as you may not believe that. Our orders have changed, and we are not to engage in the sort of operation we were performing before."

"Yeah, and your orders might change again some time down the road."

He shrugged, and I got the impression that he wasn't comfortable. "That is always possible."

I thought of something and tossed him another scowl. "Your orders wouldn't involve sendin' assassins after me any time since you got back, would they?"

He regarded me for a few moments before speaking again. Maybe he was surprised. "I don't know anything about that. I highly doubt it, but I will be sure to ask my superiors."

"Yeah, and I'm sure you'll let me know if they're tryin' to off me." I think he picked up on the sarcasm in my tone.

"I will. Mr. McTirin, I admit that the agency hasn't always... acted honorably. Sometimes, the ends justifies the means, but I assure you that, personally, I don't agree with some of the tactics that have been employed here, and will find a way to inform you if your suspicions are correct."

"Right. Well, thanks for tellin' me you're here so I can keep an eye on you."

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you can. Good evening." When he finished talking, blue lights played over his suit before flickering over him completely and fading away, leaving nothing but his scent behind. I scowled, shook my head, and made my way to the rooftops, then Kesey.