Brennan shifted his position. "They really need to redesign these benches," he muttered to himself. He had been waiting in the park for almost an hour, when a shadowy figure slipped into view to his left. Brennan stood up. "Alec?"
The figure stepped into the light, to reveal a tall, blond-haired male, who nodded. "You are...?"
"Brennan. Adam sent me to meet you. The password is Alba."
Alec nodded again, then suddenly flashed out of sight.
Brennan jumped, then grinned as the real Alec stepped out of the trees. Alec grinned back. "Hey, had to make sure you were the real thing." His grin faded. "I've got some bad news."
Brennan braced himself.
"I've decided not to go underground," Alec said, almost sheepishly. "Hiding just ain't my thing."
Brennan gritted his teeth, and nodded. "I understand, but are you sure? The GSA's looking for you pretty hard."
Alec smiled. "I know. Listen, tell Adam thanks anyway, okay? See you around." Alec waved, then suddenly disappeared.
Brennan jumped again, then lifted his hand, to speak into the Comlink Ring he wore.
"Adam? Don't send me out on one of these again."
"He backed out." Adam didn't sound surprised.
"Congratulations, you win the trip to Hawaii."
Adam chuckled, then asked, "Did he say why?"
"He didn't want to hide." Brennan suddenly lat out a yell as someone barreled into him. "Hey, watch where you're - "
Brennan tensed. He could hear shouting from down the path, but his attention was focused on the blonde-haired girl crouched in front of him.
The girl suddenly gasped, her evergreen cat eyes darting to the left, then took off in the opposite direction.
"Um, Adam? I just ran into a feral feline, and she looks like she's being chased."
"GSA?" Adam asked.
"Probably. Should I help her?"
"Yes." Adam paused. "We're on our way."
Brennan ran after the girl. "Hey, wait up!"
The girl stopped. "What do you want?" she growled.
"I wanna help you." The shouts were getting louder. "You're obviously out-numbered, and you can't run forever." Brennan stuck out his hand. "What do you say?"
The girl hesitated, then grasped the hand. "Okay."
