Chapter 19

After I woke up, the job I had to do today went quick. Advent was filming scenes to advertise some new learning programs at a university. Didn't matter to me. Once they had finished shooting the scenes. 11-7 and I loaded up into an Advent Arial Troop Transport and were flown back to my home city. On the trip back, Manny said nothing to either of us until we landed. He told me that the moment my brother attempted to contact me, I should let him know. I had almost forgotten my brother was gonna try to get me to do something. I wonder what he had planned. Not that it mattered much. He'd probably make some stupid mistake and get caught by Advent. Then at least some of my troubles would be taken care of.

It had been a long week, but I was finally happy to be home, and as we left the Advent base we were dropped off at, a familiar sight greeted me.

Ron, the old fuck. Was sitting in the car with the windows down. I could hear what sounded like grunge music coming from the windows. I only knew the name of it because Ron introduced me to it a while back. An occasional puff of smoke flowed out of the open windows. As we got closer, I saw he was facing away from us and seemed to be absorbed in the music. I banged on the roof of the car to get his attention.

He jumped in his seat, dropped his cigarette, and his glasses almost fell off on his face. He adjusted his glasses and turned to look at me. "God damn Luke! You tryin to send an old man to an early grave?"

I chuckled. "Sorry, couldn't help myself. Gotta keep you on your toes."

I heard the familiar click of the doors unlocking. "I'll say." 11-7 and I climbed into the backseat of the car and shut the door. Ron began the short drive back to my house from the Advent Base, and spoke to me while driving. "So, how was yer trip? Betcha had some fun. Not all business, I hope."

11-7 and I exchanged glances. "Uh, - it was mostly business. Didn't get to do much else."

"That's a shame. We should get a drink sometime this week. You can tell me all about it then, if ya want."

"I think I could squeeze that in. - I kinda missed being back in this city."

"Oh yeah, it's a beautiful city. Even after all the changes it's gone through, I still couldn't bear to leave 'er."

We chatted some more until we arrived home. I immediately plopped down on the couch and let out a sigh of relief. 11-7 stripped her armor off and joined me on the couch.

She let out a long sigh that sounded more like a hiss. "It has been an interesting week."

"I concur." I looked over at her and realized she was completely naked. "You gonna... uh, put on a shirt?"

She stared at me with a blank expression and blinked twice. "Why would I? Is my body so hideous that you can't bear to look at it?"

"That's not what I..." She was teasing me. "Oh fine, keep your shirt off if you want. I feel like making some popcorn, want to watch a movie?"

She perked up at the mention of food. "I will look for one on the channels."

I got up and walked over to the kitchen cabinets. It took me only a few moments to find the microwave popcorn bags. As I opened the microwave, I noticed there was something inside of it. At first I thought it was something I had left in there for a week. I prepared myself for seeing something moldy, but as I opened the door, I realized it was an envelope. Weird, I opened it up with a kitchen knife and inside was a letter with instructions. The font looked strange. Some sort of ink was used, but it wasn't printed or handwritten. Each letter was stamped but was also spaced properly, like some kind of machine was used.

I was to meet someone at Slader Park at midnight, alone, no bodyguard. I was to come unarmed and with no electronics, namely my phone. And this meeting would happen on the 18th, a day from now. At first I was confused as to what the hell this was, because there were no identifying marks on it, but I quickly realized this had to be from my brother. How did he get it in...

My heart beat faster and I heard 11-7 say something from the living room. "Do you need help with the popcorn?"

"Uh, no..."

I wasn't able to hide my feelings, and her eyes darted to the paper I was holding. "What is that?" She pointed at it.

My arms hung limply at my side. "It's uh, my brother. It's a place he probably wants me to meet one of his lackeys to discuss what he wants me to do."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Then his terrorist organization successfully navigated Advent security to place it inside of your house." I nodded in response and sat down on a stool at the kitchen's island. Tossing the paper aside as I leaned forward on the counter. All this protection is worth nothing. What do I even get out of working with Advent if they can't keep terrorists from breaking into my house.

As I sat there, realizing I was fucked once again from yet another angle, I felt a hand grab my shoulder and some light poking from a set of claws. "You don't have to be scared, Lucas. I can protect you." I looked over my shoulder and forced a smile. "I cannot say they won't lay a hand on you while I breathe, I already failed that." She looked away for a moment and back at me with a brief burst of energy. "But, I'll do my best."

I touched her hand with mine and rubbed her fingers. "I can't blame you for that; I let them capture me." I looked around my house. Sensing unseen threats within the darkness. "It just... it feels like the walls are closing in around me. Like everyone is out to get me. I don't know what the hell I'm doing anymore. I'm involved in so much shit I shouldn't be." She took her hand off my shoulder and slithered in front of me, so she could look at my face. "I'm supposed to be an actor, 11-7. Ugh. I shouldn't be doing all this shit. I should be going to parties, doing some propaganda work for Advent occasionally, commercials, maybe even a small part in a movie or a TV show. My life shouldn't be this hard; I should be enjoying myself. It was supposed to be easy street once I sold out those rebels..."

She looked away for a moment. "Our lives were different before meeting." She held herself high as she spoke. "Every day I have lived, I have had to fight for it against others. -Some of them I did not wish to fight. But that does not matter. Living is not meant to be a street of easy, it is a street of difficulty. I will fight until the last breath is drawn, but I cannot fight for you unless you fight for yourself."

I sighed. "You know, I've heard all of that before. What do you mean fight for yourself? That's all I've ever done. Only recently have I had something else to fight for."

Her hood flared out. "Keep trying. The battle is not lost until capitulated, the tide can be turned in a single moment. You succeeded in keeping us both alive when there was no hope." She tilted her head down. "A task I would have failed at."

I waved a hand dismissively. "That was a gamble, a big one at that. And because of it, I got us both into some shit so deep we can't crawl out of it. I got lucky, and luck won't save us."

She picked up my hand and held it in between hers and smiled. "You will find a way. I believe in you. It will not be easy, but you can solve the problems."

Now she was making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "I wish I had your confidence."

She smiled. "Someday you will." We embraced for a moment before she spoke again. "- You should tell your manager what you found."

I looked at the paper sitting on the counter. "Right, after that we can get back to the movie."

The conversation I had with Manny tonight was short, but he clarified that we would be talking more in depth about this tomorrow before I met with the terrorists. For the rest of the night, it was movies and popcorn with 11-7, and then off to bed. However, with it being obvious that there were no cameras in my house because Manny did not know the terrorists had snuck in until I told him, so - well, we didn't get to bed right away. We kept each other preoccupied for some time before we finally drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

0-

Tomorrow was busier. I had to meet with Manny in person before I met with the terrorists. He prepared me for any questions they might ask me and told me what information they might tell me is important to Advent. They even rigged up a wire to my chest, so that they could listen in on our conversation. It was not the big bulky setup I was used to seeing in movies. It was a small sticker they put on the inside of my shirt, about as big as the ones you'd see on fruit.

He promised me that this was not a sting operation, and the reason he wanted me to go was to gather information on what the terrorists were planning on doing next. As much as I didn't want to go, Advent was forcing me to, and so were the terrorists. Once again, I had no say in the matter. Whatever, maybe this would lead to my brother's capture and the dismantling of that terrorist organization once and for all.

The day went by too fast. I played some games with 11-7, and before I knew it, it was 11:30 pm. Time to leave. Ron drove me to the park, and said little besides "Good luck" when he dropped me off. I was alone and worried they might find the bug somehow. It was late, and the park was dark, lit only by the occasional lamp that was placed along the concrete paths. The note did not say where in the park I had to go, so I wandered around for a while before finding a secluded metal bench to sit on. No one else was in the entire park, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I sat on that bench for five minutes, worrying I had messed something up before I heard stirring in the bushes across from me.

A person wearing a green kevlar cloak that covered their whole body and face walked out into the light. Judging by the build I could assume it was a man, but the revolver in a holster at his hip is what really caught my eye. He spoke before I could analyze him more. "You came alone. Good. You're being watched. So don't do anything stupid." He was speaking in a gravelly voice, almost like he was pretending to be Batman or something. He immediately followed up his statement with a question. "Did you leave your phone at home?"

"Yes."

"Good." He sounded pleased. Then he pulled out some kind of gun that looked like the one that Crabman - guy used to knock me out.

I stood up. "Woah, hey. This wasn't part of the deal."

"Calm down, this is a tactical-emp device. It will not knock you unconscious." He sounded annoyed.

Before I could protest more, a blast of energy fired from that thing. It made my skin feel tingly and made my arm hair stand on end. "What was that for!"

"To take care of any bugs you might have on you." He had stopped imitating Batman and instantly I recognised his voice.

I felt like such a retard; I haven't heard him speak in so long I had forgotten what he sounded like normally. Faking his voice, that's like something a kid would do. "Randy? Is that really you under that getup?"

He pulled back his hood to reveal his scarred face and black leather eyepatch. "It is."

I sat back down on the metal bench. "Why are you hiding your face?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Lucas... I have distinct features, and Advent knows what I look like."

"You should've sent one of your lackeys. I didn't think you'd personally show up. Isn't that dangerous? This could be a trap for you."

"I know more about the situation than you do..." He frowned and gritted his teeth. "Always with the damn questions." He pointed at me. "You don't need to worry about why I am here. But I know you'll keep asking, so all I'll say is it's my mess and I need to clean it up. I will not say anything else. Now can we move on?"

His mess. Does he feel obligated to do it, or did someone else force him to? "Ok."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Good." He walked closer and sat on the bench next to me. Taking a deep breath before talking again. "Listen man, - before we get down to business I want to talk to you about what happened." He noticed the look of sheer bewilderment on my face. "I know, bad timing. But it's the only time we have. It's just you and me right now. The guys watching us can't hear what we say to one another. I made sure our conversation would be private."

Was he really - apologising to me? I was still pissed at him. "What is there to talk about, fucker? You were going to kill me. Shoot me with the revolver you're still fucking carrying. You're crazy - delusional. You're leading a fucking terrorist organization for pete's sake."

He looked ready to correct me when I said terrorist, but instead he sighed and dropped it. "I know... I know. After these years Luke I... I didn't know if you were still alive. If- uh, you were still you. Ya know. Advent does a lot of fucked up shit, I've seen a lot of it first hand." He looked away from me and towards the bushes. "Shit, I thought they were puppeteering my brother's body around for people to ogle at." He clasped his hands together and leaned forward on his knees. "But while you were knocked out, Rico told me you didn't have any implants besides the GPS tracker, which was unknown to you. And your genome was barely modified when we compared it to mine... I should have realized it then, but I was set in doing what I thought had to be done."

I looked away from him and at the bushes, too. "Like usual."

I heard him chuckle from my right. "Yeah, like usual. When I went in there and talked to you... I don't want to ever lie to you, Luke." I heard him swallow before he continued. "I was going to kill you that day when we were finished. But I thought Advent had already killed you. I thought that when I looked you in the eyes, I would find nothing left. A husk, a robot, something. But I was wrong, I was so wrong." He sounded less solemn now. He actually sounded happy. "When you spoke to me, I saw you, you were still in there. What you said snapped me out of it. I was so hellbent on doing things my way, I couldn't see what was happening to me. Not even my squad mates could shake me out of it, - but you did."

I still felt rage within me. I turned to face him. He was smiling, and his good eye was watering before he wiped it. "What are you doing? You think you can just say some big speech to me and it'll fix everything! How many people have you hurt in your stupid ideological fantasies? I'm just one victim of your shit. Fuck - you."

He actually looked away from me, probably unable to face what he had done, and back at the bushes across from us next to a lone streetlamp. "You don't think I already know that? I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, things I'd never tell Mom and Dad about, but it's always been for the liberation of humanity from those alien bastards. This life, - that goal, isn't easy. People have died for only the hope that we might succeed one day. Some of those people were my friends, some were civilians caught in the crossfire, and others I'll never know of. My fixation with capturing you had nothing to do with that goal. It was an—" His voice got caught in his throat. "-obsession of mine. Such a waste of time. It's amazing my crew put up with me as long as they did."

Did they stop putting up with him? "So you admit you've killed and gotten people killed. Does acknowledging their deaths make what you're doing right?"

I saw his face twitch, and he turned to look at me with a serious expression. "Did acknowledging my death make your decision to side with Advent right?"

Woah. I leaned back. "I... I didn't know. I thought. - It was what was best for us, but you couldn't see it."

He held his serious expression. "But, you did know, didn't you? I know you, like you know me. Somewhere in the back of your mind this outcome came up. And, instead of doing something, you considered my life a risk worth taking. And, you used the lives of the people at the meeting as a bargaining chip so you could live the high life."

"They were terrorists! Criminals. People who would've done more harm than good." The fervor in my voice died out towards the end of my sentence.

He frowned. "Face it, Luke, you're no better than me. You've killed people with your decisions, too. It's just easier for you to justify it to yourself because your masters are the status quo. You've seen Advent fight firsthand. How many civilians have been caught in their crossfire?" I thought back to when I saw that Advent MEC blow up an entire building to kill one sniper at the train station. "How many dissonant civilians do you think they have killed in the name of keeping the peace?"

I stuttered, nothing came to mind that I could say back. In that time I saw in his eye that he knew he had gotten to me. Getting me to stop talking was his victory.

He continued before I could say anything. "But, I don't want to talk politics with you." The momentary glee on his face was replaced with a somber expression. "We should have been reunited under better circumstances. I should have spoken to you first. We treated you like an Advent spy. What I am saying to you is not about forgiveness, I know you won't forgive me for what I did to you. Maybe you shouldn't. And, I can't forgive you for what you did to my organization." He reached out and set his hand on my shoulder. I didn't stop him. "My point is, I think there's still hope for us Luke. We're family after all." He smiled and took his hand away before clearing his throat. "That starts right now with me apologizing for what I did. This isn't easy for me, I don't like admitting when I'm wrong. But - I'm sorry for it, for everything. We lead two different lives, but Advent doesn't completely control you yet. Whatever your thoughts are now; I know you can think for yourself. You will see things, and begin to understand the threat they pose to the future of humanity.

I didn't know what to say to him about all of that. It'd probably be better for me if I didn't think much about what he said, either. "Now to the business at hand. I wish we could talk more, but we only have so much time now. - I won't bother with threats. You know what we're capable of." And just like that, the moment was gone. Back to business, like everything else in my life.

He got a serious look on his face. "There is going to be a party in a few days; hosted by a man by the name of Donald LaRue. He is a wealthy accountant that manages the overhead for several Advent owned factories. However, the host is not important, the location is what we are interested in. The Party is being hosted in the Olde Marriott Hotel's ballroom and attached to that ballroom is a skywalk that leads to an office building across the street. There are servers in that office that we require information from."

I shrugged my shoulders and gestured to the air. "Ok, so what the hell do you want me to do about it?"

He cleared his throat to hint that he didn't want to be interrupted again. "Many different people are going to this party: other men in the industry, scientists, some common people, and actors. You are an actor. Getting invited to a party like that would be easy with your connections. On the night of the party, you will go and plug a device into any one of the computers in that office, so we can gain access to their servers. Once we have the info we need, you will leave the device alone, and exit the office building. The rest of the night would be yours."

He stopped talking, so I figured I could ask questions. "What is this device? Where is it?"

"We will give it to you before the party. It will not be difficult to use, it will have a plug that goes into the computer."

"What about the cameras and will there be guards?"

"Once we get into their systems, we can wipe the security footage, as for the guards. There are some, but they're your problem. Sneak past them, do whatever you need to."

He's crazy. "You want me to sneak past guards? I don't know how to do that. Who to you think I am, fucking - James Bond? Why don't you just do this yourself?"

He furrowed his brow. "This is a delicate matter. Why would we waste time and resources infiltrating a building when you can walk in for us? Plus, it keeps my guys out of danger."

"Ok, but that doesn't explain how I'm gonna get past guards."

"I told you to - figure - it - out. Just be quiet and plug it into the first computer you see. It's not as if we are asking you to infiltrate an Advent Base."

"Fine. So when will you give me the device?"

"You will get it when we give it to you. All you need to worry about right now is getting an invite to that party."

"Is that it? Aren't you gonna tell me not to tell anyone or something?"

"I said I won't bother with threats and I meant it. It's in your best interest that this goes smoothly." He stood up. "It took four years to rebuild the HLA. You owe us those four years of progress we lost. This will not clear your debt to us, but it would be a good start. We will contact you again soon."

He walked away, but stopped partway to the bushes. I saw him pull down his sleeve and look at something in his wrist. He clenched his fist for a second and turned around to face me after sighing. "And before I go, I have to know. Please - tell me that you are not fucking one of those fucking alien - snake - things that Advent uses as enforcers."

I didn't know what the hell to say to that. How could I anticipate that question? It had been so long since someone had asked me about it; I was hoping everyone had forgotten about the Advent Burger incident. Does Randy watch TV? Did he see the news story about me when it gained popularity? Did he watch my interview? I hadn't considered that he might've been watching me through the TV over these last four years.

The look of disgust in his eye told me my silence had answered his question. He sighed again and rubbed his face. "For the love of god. Luke… I know you're better than this." He pointed at me. "You know you're better than this."

I shot up out of the bench. "Better than this? Fuck you! You don't know anything about her. While you've been off playing revolutionary with all your pals - I've been alone. She's been there for me. She's the best damn thing in my life right now."

The disgust in his eye was replaced with disappointment, and he stopped pointing at me. "I don't care about your Advent concubine's personality. She exists to keep you complacent. Advent is…" He stopped talking after realizing I wasn't gonna let this go. "Ok, I'll drop it. You've got a long way to go man. Enjoy the rest of your night." He pulled the hood back up on his cloak and walked into the bushes.

I stood there looking around the area, half expecting a camera crew to come out and tell me I was on TV. This felt like an elaborate prank, or the plot to an episode of a bad TV show I might've starred in. Me infiltrating a party and doing espionage? Who does he think I am? One word popped into my head: expendable. That's about the jist of it. Maybe he wants me to fail. Who knows, I'll just tell Manny all of this and see what my next move is. I walked back to where Ron dropped me off, more confused and angry than I thought I would be.

0-

Much to my bewilderment, Manny was delighted by everything I told him. Instead of figuring out a way to capture these bastards without me, he actually wants me to do what Randy asked me to do. In order to, as he put it: "get the terrorists into a position where a group of them could be conveniently captured." He refused to give me any details about what he was planning. Beyond that, I'd be doing everything my brother asked me to do for now. But, if I had to take a guess, it involved capturing my brother and some of his cohorts after I did the thing he asked. What the hell is Manny thinking? Why would he even chance giving them intel, and if I'm so important, why is he having me risk myself? I have too many questions right now that probably won't get answered. Guess I'll just have to wait until I get another package from my brother.

After all that happened, I was in need of some wisdom and a few laughs. So, I took Ron up on his offer to get a drink this week. I was feeling overwhelmed, to say the least. And, as long winded as he was, Ron did occasionally give some good advice. We met up at the Crab Shack like usual, which was as dark and moody as it always was. With the usual clientele drinking themselves into a stupor at the bar.

...I took another swig from my beer. "And that's what he said to me before walking off into the bushes. It was such a weird conversation. Part business, part apology?"

Ron scratched the top of his head. "Well, ain't that some shit. But considerin what happened between you two I reckon it could've been badder."

I stared at the fake wood grain on the table. "Yeah, I mean, I didn't expect him to be the one to show up. But after what he said, I can see why he did."

"He's your brother. You'd know his thoughts better than me. 'Frade I can't..."

Some guy interrupted Ron by yelling, Yeahhhhhhhhhhhoo. We both turned in the direction of the noise to see a bunch of guys crowded around a tv showing a football game.

He turned back to me and continued. "I can't tell you what he's thinking. But, I can say that in the end, family is all you got. I'm a primo example of that."

I took a sip of my beer. "What do you mean?"

"To avoid some of the emotional theatrics and get right to the point, I'm good at doing that. My wife? Eh, not so much. I don't have any friends left. My buddies from the army are dead or MIA. My old neighbors are all probably dead. But I don't miss all of my neighbors. Some of them thought having a bunker in my backyard wasn't the coolest shit ever." He noticed the impatience on my face. "Basically, all my old friends are dead, and all I got left is my family. My kids don't visit me much, but I got them and they got me. I also got my wife, who occasionally doesn't make me regret my marriage." He let out a hearty laugh and took a drink.

I took a drink at the same time. "So you're saying I should just forgive him? Why? You weren't there, you don't—"

He slammed his drink on the table. "I didn't mean it like that. Family can be difficult sometimes. My sister was always a real pain in the ass." He tilted his head down and sighed. "But despite that, I still miss her terribly once in a blue moon. What I'm sayin is family is what you got when you got nothing else. You can't cast family aside like you could a friend. Whatever you do, he's still your brother, and you're still his. I'm not sayin you got to make up, hold hands, and sing fuckin kumbaya. If he's an asshole he's an asshole, you'd know better than me." He took a slow drink from his glass of beer.

I wasn't getting much from this, so I decided to change the topic. "Yeah, I think I just need to forget him right now. He's been doing a great job of bringing more trouble in my life than it's worth."

Ron nodded and obliged me. "How was your trip? You've hardly said a word to me about it."

"Crazy. A lot of stuff happened. Another rebel attack," I smirked, "and I got to hang out with the mayor of city 4-47."

That caught his attention. He adjusted his glasses. "Eli Collins?"

I nodded once. "Yup."

"Wow, you're moving up in the world. Talkin to a mayor is a big step."

"I don't really know why he was so interested in me right off the bat. Even before the speech."

Ron chuckled. "That's easy. Politics and entertainment often go hand in hand one way or another. Back in my day, there was even more of it than there is now. Politics affecting entertainment, entertainment affecting politics. It was really hard for most to separate the two. Course it's hard to do that, anyway."

"You know much about Mayor Collins?"

"Some, he was the mayor of that city before Advent came. Wasn't the most popular, or the most hated. Republican, I think, not that his party name means much to you. Conservative would be the term. He didn't stand out much, just pushed the same policies as any other Republican. I know much more about the mayor of our city though."

I actually didn't know much about the Mayor here. "Oh yeah, like what?"

He leaned forward and whispered. "Like how she is the daughter of the Mayor before Advent, and she betrayed her father to get his position."

"Really? Who was her father?"

"Marty Park. He was an Independent I think, and a decent guy. No party affiliation. Ran this city when it was more of a town. But from what I gathered before I went into my bunker, he was planning on resisting Advent occupation. When I came up, I found his daughter as the mayor and the city was mostly undamaged. That is suspicious. Too bad that gal has made a terrible mayor."

I took another drink from my beer. "What do you mean?"

Ron looked left to right slowly and leaned forward. "What do you mean? You'd have to be blind not to see it." Ron counted off fingers as he named problems. "The protests, the police cracking down on the protests, the terrorist attacks, not seeking support from the other city centers, and she's not accepting any responsibility either to top it all off. She tries to pretend there isn't a terrorist attack every other week; and when she's called out on it, she agrees and shifts the blame onto someone else." He leaned back in his chair. "She talks a lot of talk, and she's damn good at that. I'll give 'er that much. But she hasn't done jack about these terrorist attacks, or anything else. Seems like she's just got this city on autopilot half the time."

"Jeez, I didn't realize she was so hated. I don't watch the news much."

He chuckled. "Oh, they wouldn't dare say these kinds of things on the news. But me and the other Advent drivers talk a lot. It's just what I've heard from them, and I agree with their sentiments. I've seen her type before. Saw an opportunity to betray her dad and took it first chance she got, I guarantee it. People like that seek power out without having much of a reason for it. Then when they get it, they don't want the responsibilities that come with it, or they just use their position to exploit others to help themselves." He sighed and took another drink.

I raised an eyebrow. "Surely you can't just know that about her if you've never met her."

He shrugged. "I saw plenty of it in the military, got an eye for reading people there. You know that statue in the park? General Slader the trai-tor is a perfect example. Surrendered a large portion of our military to Advent. Threw our ability to fight away before we really knew what we were up against. And for what, a shiny badge and a new job. At least I stayed until the war was lost. I kept my honor."

Nervousness pricked my neck. I didn't know the sentiments of everyone around us. "Maybe you shouldn't talk so loud about that."

He chuckled and took a drink. "You think they care? Hell, I don't care. If Advent really wanted to shut me up, they should have done it a long time ago."

I tried to change the subject. "You sure seem to know a lot about politics."

He laughed loud enough that some people at the bar gave us curious looks.

I was confused. "What?"

The people at the bar looked away when he stifled his laughter. "I'd hope so. Remember when I told ya I went to college?"

"Yes?"

"Well, my degree was in Political Science. If you can believe it."

I blinked my eyes and rubbed them to make sure I wasn't talking to someone else. "Really, you? Ronald Gallagher, the oldest man I know who's going for the record of hitting on the most women in the city. You have a degree in Political Science?"

He smiled widely, showing off some of his chipped teeth. "I know it's hard to realize yer driver is more educated than you. But don'tcha worry, I won't rub it in."

He laughed and I laughed with him. I knew he was joking around, unlike those neo-hipsters at the barbeque. "I gotta ask. Why political science?"

"Now, you know Ol' Ron now, but in my youth I was a little more ambitious than I am now. Some might even say a little on the narcissistic side. Also had very different political views. Saw myself becoming a senator. Had to join the military to pay the loans off, and it changed my perspective... A lot of things changed my perspective. Gettin out there in the real world'll do that to ya."

"I can see that. Didn't work out, I take it?"

"What gave it away?" He punctuated that with a quick chuckle. "Yeah, Advent doesn't really accept people they would designate as war criminals to be their face for humanity. I'd be lucky to be a damn podium polisher, or a goon for a campaign manager. I got the knowhow for that kind of work, but politics has just always been a hobby for me."

"That's too bad. Now that you mention it, I could see you as - like a campaign manager or something. Lose the hat, suit and tie with your hair combed over. Might not be a bad look."

He cackled like a madman. "Fat chance that'll ever happen. Now hurry up and finish your drink. I'm driving."

I finished that beer and a few more before Ron drove me home. I didn't know Ron had political experience. That was interesting. But I had more pressing matters. I was getting embroiled in some kind of plot and I was being used by Manny and my brother. What should I do about that. I spoke to 11-7 about it, but she didn't have much advice to give.

I still had time before the party, but I couldn't help but feel I was getting close to something. A decision I might have to make, but I couldn't figure out what it was yet, but it was stressing me the fuck out. At least 11-7 could comfort me while I laid in bed, in more ways than one. It was hard not to fall asleep with that big snake curled around me.