DISCLAIMER: all of the characters in this are the property of Tamora Pierce, i own nothing but the original ideas
Anders sighed as he leant against the old café and waited for his little sister to turn up. He never knew whether she would already be there waiting for him with that smirk on her face or if he'd be there from anywhere between five minuted to an hour before she turned up. Usually she would call or send a message of some kind if she was going to be that late, she did possess some manners after all. Anders though that she just lived to her own schedule, one that was impossible to predict or to know if you weren't her, although that rich doctor friend of her certainly managed to keep up with her and put up with her oddness, or was it that she put up with him, that boy definitely was a strange one but the two of them, despite their differences, seemed to just click together. He glanced at his watch for the third time and shook his head, twenty minutes he'd been waiting here for her and he was starting to get cold, the weather really wasn't compatible with standing around for ages.
"Grey, miserable and –" Ander's flinched as a big fat raindrop landed in his eye, and reached up to wipe his face "-raining, absolutely perfect! Where the hell is she?" he grumbled to himself, he'd much prefer to be back at the precinct writing reports than be out here, his leg was starting to ache in the cold the result of a wound he'd gotten in the line of duty that had never truly healed, after all magic didn't exist and modern medicine could only do so much for a wound as bad as his. It had taken him out of active duty but he helped out anyway he could, after all it was his life, he'd never wanted to do anything else, luckily he could help out his younger brother Inness with a lot of his cases, detective work didn't always require two healthy working limbs so he did what he could and this is where Keladry comes in.
His little sister had wanted to be a cop as well and even their parents, while not totally happy with it, had not stopped her. However, something had happened with his first year or so and she'd given up her badge and gun (though only her issued one, he denied he knew anything about the other ones she owned, and her collection of knives) and left. It didn't stop her desire to help others though so he would meet her here, outside the old Burnt Toast café or some of the other places round the city that she decided were fitting and give him some bits of information that would help them, officially she was labelled a CI (confidential informant) but most of the cops knew about her, she had quite a fan base back at the precinct.
The back of his neck prickled and he looked up and glanced around and saw Kel walking towards him dressed as she normally was in a pair of light blue raggedy jeans tucked into a pair of dark, scuffed combat boots with a casual shirt and black jacket with her hair pulled up in a short pony tail with a couple strand left to fall around her face. He straightened up so he was no longing leaning against the wall, his cane in one hand. Kel smiled as she met his eyes and spread out her arms and gave him a quick, warm hug with a kiss on the cheek, which he returned with the same warmth, after all she was his little sister, no matter how long she'd kept him waiting.
"So sorry Anders, I got caught up, didn't mean to be this late " Kel explained with a slight frown on her face that he'd only have seen if he was looking, Kel was famously straight faced.
Anders sighed and shifted into a more comfortable standing position for his leg, "It's alright Kel, would've been nice to have a little warning though, especially in this weather"
Kel's face drooped and she glanced down to his leg and back up to his face "Now I feel even worse, I promise what I've got for you will be worth it" She gave him a small smirk as she handed over an envelope "Open it up back at the office alright? I promised Neal I'd meet him for lunch, he said he had a surprise for me"
Anders looked down at the brown envelope in his hand and hefted it slightly "It's got a bit of weight to it little sister, will I be able to use it?" He was always worried about how much of her information was legal, after all they'd have to throw out anything that was obtained illegally but Kel was reliable, one of the reasons she was so popular, she gave evidence of the legality of everything she handed over, the few times it was illegal she always told them and fabricated a way for it to be acceptable, an anonymous tip or something.
She nodded "All legal, I made sure of that, told my boys and girls if it wasn't id get them in the ring with me ", her smirk from before widened and her eyes twinkled as Anders laughed. Kel was known for her fighting skills and nobody would willingly want to go up against her. Her smirk dimmed "After all, I've been wanting this for quite some time, I won't let some carelessness ruin it for me and for you guys" She nodded "well, gotta be off, promised Neal" She waved as she turned and sauntered off with hands in pockets and soon disappeared down one of the many streets.
Anders shook his head and tucked the envelope under his jacket so it wouldn't get soiled in the rain that was moving from the occasional drop to reasonable heavy and he knew if he didn't get out of it he'd be soaked to the skin soon and he didn't want to risk ruining the papers. Lifting the arm with his cane he hailed a taxi that was thankfully empty and scooted inside.
"Corus precinct please"
The cabbie nodded "Sure thing sir" and pulled off into the traffic.
Anders leant back against the uncomfortable seat, his thoughts on his sister, he hoped she was happy.