Adam stiffened and grabbed all three girls. "Quiet."

"Why?" Cindy wondered.

"Splicers. Stay down." He pushed them all under the counter.

"I'm tellin' ya, Kevin! Little Sisters!" Chuck giggled and snorted.

BONK!

"Ow! Now what was that for?"

"Quit foolin' around!"

"B-but—"

"Wait. What was that?"

Adam huffed. "Crap. Okay, stay here." He grabbed a nearby shotgun and loaded it.

Suddenly, a loud BANG! came sounding through the area. Adam headed out of the bar and disappeared.

The next few minutes were hazy, and the next thing the girls knew a new pair of voices came drifting through the air. These seemed much closer, as if the people talking were right on the other side of the counter.

"Mr. DeWitt—" A woman spoke.

"Booker." A man said, exasperated.

"Booker," the woman repeated. "Booker, how do you know—"

"Because I know," the man insisted, pounding his fist on the table. All three girls jumped in surprise.

"But how?" the woman inquired. "How do you know that Little Sister was your daughter?"

"She had the pin!"

The woman sighed. "Look, we're here to find Sally. Right?"

"But my daughter is out there, Elizabeth! She doesn't even remember who I am!"

The woman, supposedly this Elizabeth he was talking to, retorted, "Well then why don't you go and find her, if she's really that important to you!"

The man, Booker, shouted, "Fine!" and stormed off.

Elizabeth sighed and leaned against the bar. "Damnit," she muttered.

Anna popped her head out from behind. "Hi."

Elizabeth jumped and reached for her weapon, but seeing who had startled her, she put on a fake smile and lowered her hand. "Hi," she breathed.

Anna held her chin in her hands. "What are you doing?" she inquired.

Elizabeth dusted off her dress. "Oh, y'know…stuff."

Anna raised her eyebrows dubiously. "Stuff."

Elizabeth nodded her confirmation. "Stuff."

"Ah. Well, then. I think you should know that that man who was with you attacked me."

Elizabeth swung around and grabbed Anna's shoulders. "What did you say?"

Anna must have looked threatened, because Elizabeth loosened her grip on her shoulders. "He—he attacked me. He said I was his daughter."

Elizabeth's stare hardened into a hateful glare. It was a moment before Anna realized that the woman wasn't directing it at her. "Figures. I can't believe he would actually do that. What a jerk…." She mumbled incoherently, fingering her pinky. Anna realized with a start that her pinky wasn't even there.

"What happened?" Cindy asked.

"Hm?"

"You have a cut on your ankle." She pointed.

Elizabeth lazily looked down at her skirt and lifted it up, revealing many nasty cuts and bruises along her legs. She dropped her skirt and sighed heavily. "Yeah. Splicers. Oh. I'm sorry, you probably—"

"We know what Splicers are," Sara interrupted. "Adam told us."

"Adam? Who's that?"

"A Little Brother," Anna spoke up.

Elizabeth took on an expression of countenance that worried Anna greatly. "Um…I don't suppose I could come along with you girls and meet him?"

"Well, now who's this?" a voice said.

Everyone turned, and Elizabeth raised her hand threateningly. "Stay back!" she ordered. "I'm armed."

The speaker was a lean boy of about nineteen, with a yellow sweater and brown hair that almost fell into his face. (Speaking of which…I did some research, and as it turns out, Jack's actual age is four years old. Can you believe it?!) He held a wrench in his hands, and he raised his hands in defense. "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you. Relax."

Elizabeth lowered her hands slightly. "And who might you be? Adam?"

The boy looked confused. "Adam? No, no. I'm Jack Ryan." He stuck out his hand, which Elizabeth took, rather coldly.

She let go, and at once she brought her hand up and aimed a blast of ice at his head.

He dodged it (barely), and his eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Watch it!"

"Are you Ryan's son?"

"Illegitimately, yes. But—"he added quickly, sensing that she was about to attack him again, "But…..I can assure you that I am not like my father. I swear." He eyed the Plasmid in Elizabeth's palm, and asked, "Say, which Plasmid is that?"

"Old Man Winter." She shrugged. "But back to the point. Can we trust you?"

"We?"

Anna poked her head out from behind the bar. "Hi." She waved.

Jack pursed his lips. "And where have you two been?"

"Three."

Cindy came up, also. "Hiya."

Jack stepped back, surprised. "Wait. You saved a Little Sister?"

"And we met a Little Brother! His name's Adam, but he ran away. So now—"Cindy would have gone on and on, but at that exact moment, Adam reappeared.
"Okay, they're gone now. But—"He stopped when he saw the two grown-ups. "Um…" He shifted uncomfortably.

Jack raised a hand in greeting, and Elizabeth tried to say hello, but the words were stuck in her throat.

"Um…Is this Adam?"

Adam grinned. "Finally!" he managed. "Non-splicers! Oh, this is brilliant. Simply great!" He looked extremely happy, and Anna wondered how long he'd been alone.

Elizabeth turned to face Jack once more. "We should get going. We can't stay here forever." She made to move past Jack, but he stopped her. "Wait a second, wait a second. Who's we?"

Elizabeth stared at him for a long time before responding. "Us?"

"You're coming?"

"Yes."

"Why? I don't even know you!"

"Elizabeth Comstock." She offered out her hand, which Jack begrudgingly took.

"Can I call you Liz?"

"No."

"All right then, Liz. Let's get going."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh, okay then. Sure," she replied sarcastically.

Jack nudged her playfully. "There, see?"

The look he received from Liz was enough to make him shut up for then next 5 minutes.