"Here, plug it into this," Medi stifled a yawn and set an old beat up laptop on the table. While it was considered outdated by today's standards, it was slim and sleek. The monitor, just barely thicker than a manilla folder, was cracked in one corner and the keys were worn with years of typing. Medi brought it over from his apartment as soon as Tom mentioned to him that the thumb drive could have malware too dangerous to insert into an order computer. Nothing was on this laptop now, therefore whatever sinister technology that was in it would have nothing to find.

"Sure thing, and thank you for coming by the way. I know it's early." Tom didn't look at Medi, shame still pricked at the back of his neck for all the things he did the night before.

Medi shook his head, "are you kidding? You tell me some anon has a secret message for you and you expect me to not show up?"

Tom didn't respond. Soon after the drive was inserted, he accepted the prompt to open up its contents and together they viewed a singular video file labeled "introduction". They exchanged a glance and reluctantly Tom clicked it open. Immediately it went to fullscreen and there sat a man completely encased in shadows. He looked to be sitting in front of a window, backlit and overexposed; the composition was nearly black and white. The camera was grainy and smudged, simplifying all shapes on screen. The blackness morphed into a combined glob so that they couldn't see what he was sitting on or where he was in the room. His figure was large against his furniture and the frame of the window, so it was assumed he was a rather large guy. Already intimidated, Tom almost wanted to turn it off right away.

"Hello, I hope that this has reached its target audience," he began. Tom noticed two important things outright: he was using a voice changer pitched inhumanly low, and he had an American accent. Medi must have noticed it too, because he leaned in close to the speakers to listen to him closely. He even turned up the volume to focus intently on what he had to say. "Assuming it has, I greet you, Tom. And I extend my greetings to the rest of the Blue Order as well. Excuse my...presentation, I am choosing to remain anonymous for many important reasons. As I'm sure you understand. You can call me Rebel."

"What is with this guy?" Medi paused the video and looked at Tom. "Talk about creepy! I don't even know if this is worth our time, Tom."

"Well hold on," Tom removed Medi's hand from the trackpad, "at least hear him out. You can't blame him for being masked, we do the same." Without letting him argue, he unpaused the video.

"I've heard various things about the order from, let's say- friends. And I'm not afraid to admit I'm pleasantly surprised. You're doing something most people only fantasize about, Tom."

"I know, get on with it," Tom rolled his eyes. Still, he allowed the easy praise to seep into his skin.

"I want to help. I want to ally with you, and offer my services in any way that I can." The man said it in a way that sounded like he was getting something off his chest. He stood up straight and Tom noticed the vague shapes of his fingers flexing anxiously over one knee. Tom exchanged another look with Medi and noticed he was narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "I know that sounds unpleasant, but consider what I'm about to say carefully; I am a soldier in the Red Army. I have been for seven years. I've done my duty and I've done it well and I've advanced past private ranks. But I didn't do so because I wanted to- no. I'm just like you, Tom, I know what they've done and what they're doing. Even more than you or any of you know. I've seen things, and I know people. I...want to help you, in any way that I can. I understand that this sounds risky, and admittedly it is. But I'm willing to send you the information and the resources you need if you are willing to collaborate with me too. I can tell you everything you need to know about me, and we can become great allies- but only if you are willing to. If you're interested, leave a note expressing your acceptance in the alley between Polly's and Donmart in the 9th court. There is a mailbox between the bricks if you look close. Think about it, and I hope to hear from you soon." With that, the video cuts to black and abruptly stops. For what felt like an eternity, neither of them spoke.

Finally Medi scoffed, "well, that was some cheap trick." He shut the laptop and pulled out the drive without care. Putting the drive back into the letter, he folded over the tab and got up to throw it away.

"Whoa wait, what are you doing?" Tom jumped up after him and plucked the letter from his hand.

"Throwing that thing out! Tom you aren't actually taking that seriously are you?" It came out as a laugh, but Tom knew Medi was dead serious.

"Well, yes. You don't know where that video came from-"

"Exactly, so I'm doing us all a favor and getting rid of it." Medi moved to take it back but Tom resisted. "Tom. This is a very obvious ploy to destroy the order! The fucker even admitted he was a soldier! How dumb do they think we are anyway? Couldn't even lie and say he's an ex-soldier? A retiree maybe?"

Over his disgruntled mumbling, Tom argued, "it's one guy. And he's clearly just working with what he has. I think it's dumb to overlook it completely. We should at least look into it."

"No way! Tom, please." Medi put a pleading hand on his forearm, "this is going to get people killed. We don't have the time or the energy to get into another mess. Not so soon after the fight."

Tom looked down at the floor solemnly. He sighed, "I know we don't." But there was a hidden glimmer in his eye, "at the same time though…"

"What," Medi drew out the word sardonically.

"We will never grow as an organization if we don't take risks. I know what happened was tragic and I want to give it time too. And I also know that it was me who said I wanted to stay as exclusive as possible. But, we can't do big things if we aren't willing to take big consequences. Isn't that what we agreed on months ago?"

"Sure," Medi crossed his arms and hardly made sure he was being sensitive, "and I'm certain that believing an obvious lie will be the biggest breakthrough of the order, everyone will rejoice, and this guy will single handedly serve us Red Leader's head on a silver platter for us to display in the city square, is that right?"

Tom pleaded, "the timeline doesn't match up! He was asking for Lacey weeks ago, that was before all this, before the warehouse!"

Medi rolled his eyes, "and how exactly do you know that? You said her daughter, Andrea was it? You said she gave you this letter right? She just said they held onto it for weeks but you have no way of proving that. Lacey has been radio silent for a while now, how do you know the army didn't just plant this in her hand and they promised to send along the message?"

"Because they killed Lacey! That's how I know!" Tom burst out. Medi took a step back in shock. He let his voice settle down, "Andrea told me after she gave it to me." He thumbed the drives imprint outside the letter thoughtfully, "shortly after my last visit with her, enforcers came around and killed her. She held onto the letter in hopes I'd come back."

Medi looked away and rubbed the sides of his arms, as if he was suppressing a shudder. "Well I didn't know that…" he narrowed his eyes, "but that barely changes anything. That just solidifies to me that we can't take any more chances to fuck around." Mournfully he turned away and headed for the door, "listen. I have to go to work soon. You're tired, you should sleep. I think it's best to throw that thing out and forget it exists, it's just safer for everyone that way."

Tom let the words sink in for a moment while Medi walked out. "I'll see you later, or tomorrow?" He called out after him.

"Yep," his distant voice traveled off down the hall. Tom sighed and let out a groan he's been saving all night. While yes, he did see all of Medi's points wholeheartedly, he couldn't deny that the video seemed appetizing. An RA soldier, willing to help us...he nearly smiled at the concept. Could you imagine what kind of shit we'd be able to dig up? It'd be too fuckin' easy. I know Medi's just doing what he thinks is best, he looked over the letter again, but we can't just do what's safest forever. We have to expand at some point.

Man, the days just aren't getting any warmer are they? Edd watched the final bits of frost melt off of his windshield. It seemed like every year it got colder earlier, not that snow in November was unusual. But snowfall just two weeks after Halloween? This is just sad. He only believed that on a surface level, deep down he was secretly rolling in the early Christmas cheer and the snuggly bundling season. And this year, I'll get to spend it with the guys again! The first Christmas in a decade! I wonder if we should bring back the Russian Roulette cookie tradition? He turned to the passenger seat to ask Tom, but he was staring intently out the window. Edd's smile faded, maybe I'll ask later, but I'm thinkin' it's a hard yes.

Tom has been distant ever since the fight in the warehouse and visiting Matt in the hospital afterwards. Even when moving him out of his apartment, he barely said anything to him. So when he invited Edd to meet the doctor commissioned to fix Matt's facial structure, he was bound to say yes. They discussed it thoroughly together beforehand, that Tom needed to repay Matt and his family somehow. He insisted that he 'knew a guy', the same person who designed and attached his eyepiece. While Matt was aware it wouldn't look normal, to Edd's surprise he was actually excited to receive the surgery. Edd wished he could have been there to see it, but he was too busy with work to continue driving to and from the city. Regardless, he was able to see the results just a few days prior after dropping Amy off at his house for the third time now. They're becoming such good friends! Edd's heart soared knowing that his daughter and Matt's daughter were getting on fine together. Despite the constant stresses, in some aspects life was looking up.

Nevertheless, Tom was still struggling, and Edd guessed it was mostly his guilt surrounding his recent losses. Which I get, but Matt's happier now. You don't have to feel indebted to him anymore. Though the weather outside was cold and the clouds hung low in the sky, Edd was in good spirits. He had greeted Tom earlier that day with a smile, but Tom hardly said a word. He was picked up at the subway station since he didn't have a car, he didn't need one in such a big city. Edd secretly was grateful that at least in one way Tom needed him.

Edd decided to try and cheer him up, "Matt called me this morning, he said he's feeling the best he has been!" It was the first time either of them spoke in the twenty minutes they've been on the road.

"Yeah?" Tom broke his stare from the window and looked at him from the side of his visor, the screen flickering as it imitated a blink.

"Maybe it's all the pain killers compounding, heh. But his voice sounded clear, his jaw must be feeling better already." Edd smiled at him, but Tom didn't answer. Instead he looked thoughtfully at the road ahead. Maybe Matt isn't what we should talk about, he thought. "So, this doctor guy, how do you know him?"

"He's the owner of a tech company, he specializes in robotics and other techy computer shit." Tom waved his hand around nonchalantly.

"A computer guy with a medical degree?" Edd raised an eyebrow at the notion.

"He's a jack of all trades type of guy," Tom rested his chin on the palm of his hand and balanced his elbow on the window frame. "You'll see. But yeah, when uh...I needed my eyes done we ended up finding each other and he struck me a deal that he'd fix me up for a set of favors in return."

"Oh?" Edd was teeming with curiosity edged with suspicion around his avoidance to talk about the origins of his ocular injury. "What kind of favors?"

"Oh- just oddball stuff. We consider him an ally of the order, so one of the favors he asked me was to give him some footage of members shooting up some army bots. He likes to figure out how things work. And I don't blame him, the RA's tech is pretty advanced. I often wonder about it myself."

Despite Tom's unbothered tone, Edd was captivated by such a specific symbiotic relationship. "So he already knew about the order? How'd that happen? And if he's an ally how come I haven't heard about it yet? And if he can do things like that how come he hasn't taken Tord out of power himself?" He pointed to his eyepiece. All the questions noticeably annoyed Tom, but instead of answering any of them, he pointed out directions to turn off an intersection.

They drove for a few minutes, and Edd was expecting Tom to comment on at least one of his inquiries. Feeling ignored, Edd opened his mouth to say something but Tom jutted in, "I'm just gonna warn you straight up before we get there- the guy is rich. Like, rich rich. Richer than Matt, richer than any celebrity you've seen."

Edd widened his eyes excitedly, "really? How rich do you think he is?"

"Rich enough to own that," Tom nodded ahead of them, and when Edd looked forward he realized he was approaching a massive building. Its structure looked like grey geometric cubes stacked on one another to appear unbalanced, a modern architectural brag. Outside was a long winding driveway with flat open land, all the way out to the road they turned onto. Lining the driveway were trimmed hedges, making crisp shapes like cubes and prisms morphed into each other. Edd marveled at them, only a hint of his own mediocrity in comparison. "So because of that, try not to...mess anything up."

Edd was too amazed to take offense, let alone pay much attention to anything he said. At the front entrance, the driveway circled around a central fountain and the front doors were encased in an enclosed section designed for drop offs and pickups. Edd imagined he was a rich man in a limousine being dropped off at some sort of event. For a moment he was unsure where he was supposed to park, but Tom was already unbuckling, so he assumed there was good enough.

Just inside the entrance, sleek floors sparkled in the light and Edd could see himself in the reflection of the gloss. There was classical music playing somewhere distant, but it was so quiet that it became part of the ambience. There was a singular woman at a desk facing the doors who was typing away at an obnoxiously clackity keyboard. When the door shut behind them she looked up, only peering at them from the corner of her eye. "The four pm?" she asked, blinking slowly.

"Yes, thank you," Tom dipped his head in greeting.

She nodded her head towards the right, "wait there, he will see you soon."

With that, they made their way over to the waiting room, which was just as high-class as the lobby was. Edd awed at every little thing that he saw. The shape of the chairs, the art on the walls, the hanging lights, all of it looked so...expensive. Tom was shifting impatiently however, and Edd couldn't understand how someone wasn't as excited as he was to be in a place like this. I suppose this is not the first time he's been here. And Matt was operated on here too, how come I'm the last to see this place? He took a seat on the red leather chairs. He wished that with all that money the doctor would spend it on some more plush seating, but he concluded he had no right to complain. It remained obvious that Tom wasn't interested in making small conversation, so Edd allowed his mind to wonder about unanswered questions. He was right, he is richer than rich, but how the hell did a guy like Tom ever meet someone of this status? I guess when you lead a terrorist organization you tend to meet some unlikely faces. More like how come I've never heard of him myself, if he's so great? Edd narrowed his eyes, now that I think about it, did Tom ever say his name?

As if his thoughts had summoned him, a pair of double doors opened dramatically to reveal two men. One looked eerily familiar, while the other sparked curiosity. "Tom! There you are, I almost thought you'd be late!" The former stretched out an arm and wrapped it around Tom's shoulders in a warm welcome. He sounded gravely, like a smoker, and horrendously unkempt. Edd deduced that this must have been the man they were looking for, but that couldn't have been right- he didn't look rich at all! Tom went to say hello back, but the doctor let go of him and then extended his arm to Edd, to which they shook hands rapidly. "And you must be Edd, hello! Welcome to my lab, I know it seems big for first-timers but I promise it's not so intimidating once you explore a bit."

Edd couldn't respond properly, "do I know you?" There was something so familiar about him. It wasn't the color of his hair, but the way he wore it. It was messy and going every which way, which reminded him of evil scientists in movies. He had a coffee stain on his lab coat, which was draped lazily over lounge clothes. He had deep smile lines and wrinkles on his forehead, almost like his face was worn after millions of smiles.

He looked puzzled for a moment, but shook it off, "maybe, maybe not. Dr. Bing, Professor Bing, maybe? Bingbong is another alias…" he was listing things from the depths of his mind.

Edd snapped his fingers as he recognized it, "you're a director! You made movies, a few of them."

Bing clapped his hands joyously and raised them to the ceiling, "ah finally! Someone who remembers my work! Tom, why didn't you say you had such a well-watched man of taste in my presence?"

"I simply had no idea," Tom replied flatly.

"But how can you be a doctor, scientist, professor, computer guy, and a director? That's insane!" Edd gasped in amazement.

He chuckled and began to lead them through the doors he entered from, "by taking advantage of the years I have on this planet, my friend! There's a whole world of discovery, and only one life to live, so why not do it all?" Well, he certainly has done that, Edd thought as they made their way down a long hallway. On the walls were pictures of his accomplishments and early photos of the building's construction. He straggled behind trying to take them all in individually, when suddenly he was reminded of the presence of a fourth person. A much smaller man with dark blond curls stared hard at him with one eye. The other eye was covered by a black patch, which he assumed was masking the appearance of an injury. He was dressed much nicer than Bing, in a full suit. He thought his outfit was a lot more appropriate for the setting than what the doctor had on. He stood trailing behind the group, making sure they stayed well ahead of him. His hands were locked firmly behind his back, and Edd felt easily intimidated by his energy.

At the end of the hallway was another set of doors with little windows. Taking a peek, he saw it must have been some sort of lab. But when they were opened, Edd's jaw dropped as it was even more than that. This is the labiest lab that has ever labbed on planet Earth! The room was filled with curiosities, test tubes and chambers, vials of chemicals, careful calculations on chalkboards- it was something straight out of a movie. But it wasn't a movie, it was all real, and he didn't know whether to be impressed or terrified of whatever experiments were going on within those walls. Was this where Matt had his surgery? I hope he was able to see this. When he was done taking everything in, he became aware of the ongoing discussion between Bing and Tom.

"And his breathing is okay? No hoarseness, soreness, blockages?" Bing must have been talking about Matt.

Tom shook his head gratefully, "not that he said, no. Apparently he said he's felt the best he has been since the incident." He must have told him the truth about what happened, Edd thought.

"Grand!" Bing smiled, "I think I'd call that a success, ey Larry?"

"That does sound like a success, sir." Edd looked over at the doorway to where the response came from. So his name is Larry, he stuck it to memory. Larry stayed by the door, and Edd wondered if he was doing so to make sure no one left. He's kinda like a supervillain butler, it's cool. I wish I was rich enough to have a butler to call me 'sir' and wait by doors and stuff.

Edd decided to join in, "so Tom, what exactly do we need here anyway?" Bing gave a questioning look to Tom, assuming he would have told him before coming.

Tom didn't notice. "I have to give the last portion of the payment plan for the service and do the last bit of paperwork."

"And I believe you requested a manual, yes?" Bing added.

"Manual?" Edd asked Tom.

Tom nodded while Bing left his side and walked towards a pile of papers strewn out over a desk. "The new parts are pretty high-tech. I got used to mine after a while, but I wanted Matt to have a guide of his features."

Edd's eyes sparkled with interest, "is his new eye like your visor thingy?"

"Yes. Not the same exactly, but we can do similar things now."

Wow, Edd thought, does that mean that Matt will be able to shoot a gun with the same precision that Tom can? Then he remembered the stern words of Danny in the hospital, if he ever gets in a fight again. "How much does something like this cost? I want cool laser eyes!"

Tom crossed his arms, "do you really want to know?" Edd hesitated, then nodded. Tom lowered his voice and stretched up to whisper in Edd's ear, "two million pounds."

"What?" Edd reeled back and his outcry bounced off the white walls of the laboratory. He couldn't believe his ears, he's never seen two million pounds in his life! "How the hell can you pay for that? You lived in a shoebox!"

Tom winced at the backhanded comment and irritably answered, "it came out of the order's funds. Don't worry, everyone knows about it. As a member of the order that money is there to help someone in case this happens. It was the least I could do," Tom looked away awkwardly, "but Dan helped a bit too."

Edd marveled at the fact that the order had that much money. He wondered, if the order had the funds the entire time, why didn't Tom use it to pick himself back up when he lost his apartment? Well, I guess they don't have that kind of money anymore do they? He thought of asking, but he figured Tom would have some reason to not answer.

"If you're curious," Bing broke through Edd's thoughts, "here are the blueprints for his face pieces." He waved Edd over to where he was standing. There were a few papers littered around on a desk, a wet ring of coffee still splotched on the corner of one. On the top of the pile was a blue sheet with the white outline of the inner electronic makeup of an eye and a jaw bone.

Admittedly, Edd didn't understand what to make of them, since this was not his field of study. There were too many thin lines of dimension and wiring. He noted how it was similar to drawing references of the human figure, and in that way both he and Bing were artists of different genres. Bing stood by him proudly, and Edd could feel the joy of sharing his work spark off of him. Edd really admired it, he couldn't imagine himself working on such a complicated project, and it reminded him how far technology had come in just his lifetime.

Then, something from inside Edd's pocket scraped against his thigh, oh right, the watch. He kept it inside his coat since he got back from the mission in the Keyhole, wanting to keep it by his side just in case. He hadn't had the chance to mess around with it any more, and he found it too confusing of a device to play with anyway. But maybe this guy would be able to tell me what it does. "Hey, Bing," he approached the topic cautiously, after all, the watch belonged to Red Leader. "Would you be able to tell me what this thing is?" Edd slipped it out from his pocket and held it up to Bing, careful that Tom was distracted as to not see.

Bing widened his eyes as soon as it entered his sight and took it from Edd's hand slowly. He binked, then smiled. Edd thought he was expressing some sort of impression, but the mixture of confusion and curiosity made it hard to tell. Bing held the underside of the watch up to him and smirked, "of course I know what it is, I made it." Edd noticed for the first time a small etching in the metal that must have been Bing maker's mark.

"Woah, seriously?" Then how did Red Leader get his hands on it? Edd thought.

Bing chuckled, "absolutely! And I'm curious to know how you got your hands on it."

What does that mean? Edd wasn't sure how to answer. He couldn't tell the truth, he had to keep his wanderings inside Red Leader's penthouse a total secret. But at the same time, Bing was his only chance to find out what was so odd about the watch. The doctor knew about the Blue Order and their relationship with the Red Army, so would it be that horrible to admit he got it from Red Leader? And also, how would Red Leader get some of Bing's technology, if he pledged his allegiance to the order? The way he said it, it sounded like Bing knew exactly who had the watch, but why? The back of Edd's neck began to burn with fear, thinking he'd made a huge mistake bringing it up at all. I feel like I opened a door that I was not supposed to open! "I- uh…"

"Are you two done? I came here for a reason you know, let's just get this over with." They looked over to Tom who was standing with his arms folded impatiently. Larry stood calmly by his side holding a stack of paperwork and a pen.

Bing handed back the watch with a tip of his head and a departing toothy smile. Edd watched him make his way over to Tom and the three of them sat at a table and began flipping through paperwork and talking amongst themselves. Edd looked over the watch again, eyeing the etching that was just pointed out to him. It was some sort of stamp, but the writing was too small and the lettering too dense to make out. From a few letters he assumed it was just the name of his company, so he thumbed the buttons defeatedly. I'm never gonna find out what this thing is, am I? He sighed and put it back in his pocket for another time.

Looking around the lab, he decided it was best to stay out of Tom's business. For a few minutes he observed the writing on a chalkboard and attempted to figure out what the formulas meant. There were other notes and diagrams that seemed unrelated, like random scribbles and ramblings being jotted down for the sake of it. He found it comforting, an artist's creative process was something so raw and real. Even if Edd couldn't understand it, he was looking at the unfinished work of a genius. This was undeniable, it was like a movie set in there. He was tempted to press a few buttons, so perfectly rounded or had the indentation for a finger to press firmly onto, but he resisted the urge to touch. If there was anything he learned about his interactions with Bing so far, it was that he truly had no idea what he was capable of. One button, Edd fantasized, could release a bomb on the entire city of London for all he knew, and he was not ready to find out either.

Behind him was a peculiarly shaped object safely protected under a layer of white cloth. It stood to about his hips, and at the top were two pointed ends, the sheet dipping between them lazily. Next to it was a tiny rounded table with a key and another blueprint on top. Edd peered over to the paper and saw the familiar face of a Redbot drawn on. Edd squinted, confused, but then remembered what Tom said in the car about how Bing had been researching the robots. Does that mean…? Edd pulled the cloth off the ground just slightly, and saw the shiny red metal of its bottom. While the robots were on, they had the ability to float, but this one was sleeping soundly without power and its clunky body stood unwavering in place. I've never seen one that looks like this before...Edd picked up the blueprint and studied it closely. It could have been that in some parts of the nations there were different models, but this robot had a model number, and notes at the bottom describing its "newer" features. He saw a note Bing wrote to himself on where to move things and suggestions to himself on what to change. He...he made this. Edd began to panic. Not only Tom and himself, but the entire order was in danger.

"Is that it?" Tom's voice broke into his whirling thoughts. Edd's eyes snapped back to where the other men were sitting, and was relieved to find he wasn't talking to him.

"Almost, just this last thing…" Bing replied, pushing another packet towards him. Edd wanted to cry out to stop him right there, but he had to control himself. This was for Matt's sake, he couldn't jeopardize his opportunity for help. But what if he put some super secret spy stuff into Matt's head? There was a whole world of possibilities now, what if Tom had some sort of Red Army fixings inside him too?

He turned back towards the adorably sized death machine, trying desperately to justify the reason Bing had made it. It could just be a research project. No, Edd thought, what would he need to research them for? Why would Bing help out the army's enemy if he was really working for Red Leader? Wouldn't that be disloyal? There had to have been some reason that Bing was willing to fix Matt up, and to keep such close ties with Tom all that time. But then again, was it so far fetched to believe that Bing wouldn't sabotage them?

A smack to Edd's hand made him jump. He twisted his head to see Larry just next to him with a rolled up paper in hand, "do not touch that," he said as he did so.

In his peripherals, he knew no one noticed Larry leave the table, so Edd returned with a harsh whisper. "Why do you have that? What are you doing with it?" Larry didn't answer, instead he stared at him intensely with an unwavering eye that penetrated all the way to Edd's core. He felt cold under it, like he could read his mind. Like every thought was being stolen from him.

Behind them Tom stretched and yawned, his brain weak from all the paperwork. He and Bing shook hands and then he called out, "alright Edd, are you ready to go?"

Edd held Larry's stare firmly and although neither of them spoke, he could almost hear his voice say silently, don't mention this out loud. But Edd wasn't going to let this slip by so easily. Larry's focus on keeping the RedBot a secret only confirmed that there was something deeply wrong going on. Bing was doing work for the Red Army, he was sure of it. To Larry's resentment, Edd dared break away from his one-eyed gaze and called out confidently, "no, I'm not. Not until I find out what this is doing here." On that signal, Edd ripped the cloth from the sleeping RedBot and under the lab lights the metal shined with polish.

Larry grumbled something under his breath and took a single step back, accepting that he could no longer do anything to stop the secret from being revealed. Bing only blinked, as if he was expecting something more. Tom tipped his head, "is that...a RedBot?"

"Yes. And here are the blueprints for it!" Edd slid the paper off the table and held it up accusingly and shifted his attention to Bing. "With notes all over it proving it's yours. So tell me why you have this thing!"

Tom backed away from Bing in disbelief, "is that true?" He flickered his sight back to Edd and went over to his side quickly, "let me see that." Taking the papers, he surveyed them quickly and reached the same conclusion Edd did.

Bing slowly let out a sigh of disappointment, "haven't I told you I wanted to study the RedBots? How is this a surprise?"

It was Tom this time who replied, "this isn't research," he gestured to the horns on top of the model, "this is new. You built this, you designed it!" It was like Tom was figuring it all out for himself in front of them all and finally he called out in rage, "you work for Red Leader!"

"I'm no snake, Tom, honest," Bing frowned at them.

Tom was yelling now, "you work for the Army, don't you? Tell me!"

"If you remember, at the beginning of our friendship I told you that my clientele is kept under oath. I work for no one- and the work I do for others is kept secret between them and me." Edd hated the way Bing sounded so calm when he explained it. He wondered if he had been preparing for the day Tom found out.

"You lied to me the whole time!" Tom took a step closer to him, "you've been telling him everything, haven't you?"

"Lied about what? I never lied to you about anything. My clients are strictly classified, that goes for everyone, even you. Do you not trust me?" Bing tipped his head. How could he be denying it? Edd thought, how is he spinning this on us?

"You asshole, how could you- why did I- gah!" Tom didn't know what to say to properly express his disgust.

Edd lowered his voice to him, "Tom, let's get out of here. He's dangerous and now that we know, he could try to kill us."

"You're right." Tom nodded and forced himself to relax his shoulders. He fixed his posture and declared, "you got your fucking payment, now I'm leaving. Fuck you, and fuck your clientele. And if I find out that you hurt my friend I'll...I'll kill you!"

Larry stiffened and cast a look towards Bing. Bing only shook his head and held up a hand to signal something to him. Bing took a deep breath and let it out before answering, "if you must. Only I wouldn't threaten me in my own lab if I were you." Tom flinched. "Go ahead and leave if that is what you want. But understand this is a permanent action, I won't be accepting you back."

"I wouldn't want you to, liar." Tom growled. Edd had to nudge him to get him to stop making things worse. Hesitantly they made their way over to the doors to the lab and when they went through they realized the doctor and his assistant were not going to follow them out.

Neither of them said a word until they were on the road. Edd leaned his head into his fist with an elbow on the driver's door. It was snowing, with puffy light flakes gathering on his windshield. Edd began, "I can't believe they-"

"Thank you." Tom rushed in.

"What?"

"Thank you. For telling me about the robot back there." Tom was looking down at his lap when Edd turned to him. "You did a good thing, and I'm sorry you had to be the one to discover it."

Edd was surprised by his genuine apology but accepted it lovingly. He smiled, "of course, man. Who knows what could have happened if you kept in touch with that guy." Tom simply nodded. "It's a shame to lose such a cool ally though. But...what now? I mean- now that we know that Bing's an army guy, do you think he's going to send someone after us?"

"I don't know."

"And what about Matt, do you think he put any weird shit in his face?"

"I don't know that either."

"And you too! What if you've been infected with army computer stuff the whole time-!"

"Look," Tom said definitively, "I don't know what's going to happen now. But as far as I'm concerned, all our loose strings are tied. If he does send someone after us..." he trailed off, "then I guess we'll just have to deal with it then. But if I'm honest, I don't see that happening. Bing, if anything, is a man of his word. He's done everything he promised thus far so if he says he didn't squeal then we have no choice but to believe him."

"I don't like putting faith in him like that," Edd replied warily.

"I don't either. But until something bad happens we have to focus on what's in front of us."

Edd nodded in understanding. As they reached the thick of London, the snow began to fall heavier and soon the windshield wipers on Edd's car were operating at a fast speed. After a few minutes of nothing, he asked curiously, "what is in front of us anyway?"

Tom thought about it, as if he was organizing his thoughts himself, "we're back underground. I've realized that while we're capable enough now, we don't have the numbers to lose. So, we have to focus on establishing ourselves a little better." Edd wasn't sure how to take that answer, and one part didn't sit right with him. Numbers to lose, are you suggesting we aren't expendable enough? But he let Tom continue without interruption. "We have to grow and expand," he said finally.

This shocked Edd. Was this the same man who was cautious to let two new members in just over a month ago? Edd knew him better than that, Tom knew something he didn't. "You have someone in mind?"

Tom was annoyed he caught on so easily, "sort of. But it's complicated right now. I'll tell you when I have more information." Edd knew pushing him wouldn't give anything more, so he allowed the conversation to end. For the rest of the ride they discussed other things instead.

"I mean really, Edd? This is ridiculous now." Edd clenched his jaw, fighting back the urge to speak as he stared hard at the wall in front of him. It was dark in his living room, a lone lamp illuminating the space. It was so quiet, the voice from the phone was loud enough to sound like it was on speaker, ripping through the gentle silence of the night. "Two nights. You get two nights, and yet you can't spare one of them?"

"I have to work, Stace-"

"Oh and suddenly I don't?" She was enraged to hear such an excuse. "Who takes her to dance? Who drives her home from school? Me. I work, and guess what- I cook and clean too. What work do you have to do on the weekends, Edd?"

"I'm busy during the week, Saturday's the only time I get to see the guys."

"It's the only time you get to see your daughter, too. What is wrong with you? You would really rather spend time with your friends than your own little girl?"

Edd replied sharply through clenched teeth, "that is not what I said."

"Hm. Yeah, actually that is what you said. And you know what? I'm not surprised. How do you think it feels to hear every Sunday 'what did you and dad do today?' and you know what she says, Edd? She says 'oh he wasn't home until dinnertime'. Every week. It's every week."

"It is not every week."

"My goodness you're right! Because the other weekends it's because you shoved your responsibility of parenting onto poor Matt, who has to now babysit another child on top of getting surgery."

Edd snapped back at her, "oh I'm sorry for dropping her off at a friend's house. My fucking bad for letting her have a social life. What friends does she have over there?"

"Is it her friend's house or your friend's house, huh?"

"Both! And no I don't see the big fucking deal about that!" Edd raised his voice, slicing through the still air. "If she confides in mommy so much, I'm sure you've heard that she actually likes going over there, and asks me to go. So." Stop being such a bitch, is what Edd wanted to say before stopping himself.

Edd could picture her tossing her arms up in the air in disbelief, "it's like in one ear and out the other." Edd rolled his eyes imagining her face as she said it. "It's not just you hanging out with your friends though, is it? Because we both know you and Tom just down the alcohol on Sundays, just like you used to."

"Oh- what the fuck would you know about that?" She's just making shit up at this point.

"What I know, don't fucking interrupt me, is that my daughter mentions seeing different bottles in the fridge all the time. They appear before the weekend and disappear before she comes back. So don't even tell me it's not true."

It's not! Edd wanted to shout it out. Sure, did he drink with Tom sometimes? Yes. But it wasn't nearly like she said. If Edd doesn't bring some with him, Tom will be tempted to go out and get some himself. And things were better when they could stay indoors and plan rather than worrying about where Tom was. But Edd couldn't tell her that, it would reopen a past wound that he would never hear the end of. Like you used to, her words repeated in his head. Tom was always like this, it's just the way he was, and she could never respect that. She always nagged that he was enabling Tom, with no regard for how long they've known each other. Tom is different when he's withdrawn, I'm just taking care of him. You would never understand that. "What has that got to do with Amy anyways?" He refused to believe she would say anything about the bottles. Amy never questioned it to him, surely she would say something if she was really concerned. Edd was convinced Stacy was lying to get a rise out of him.

"She is eleven years old. This should not be a problem she has to deal with. It is disgusting." She spat out the words like venom, fighting to keep her volume at a decent level.

"Oh, please," Edd dismissed her entirely. Why did she always have to use such exaggerated language? What was the big deal anyway? Amy had never expressed that she was upset with him, Stacy must just be mad because he was doing better these days. She was probably just jealous. Besides, she only knew half the story, she didn't know anything about the order, Alison, the shootouts, or Bing. I risk my life all the time to protect Amy, and not just her- the world. And what do you do? Edd thought bitterly to himself. If only she knew how often he sacrificed himself, maybe then she would have more grace. Maybe she would even be grateful for his efforts.

"You need to listen to me, because if I hear this bullshit from her one more time, you're going to get into serious shit with me, do you understand?" Stacy was losing patience with him, but Edd wasn't intimidated by her.

"Oh really? And what exactly are you going to do?"

"I'll be talking to her about it, for one. Maybe we'll have a serious talk about custody changes." The words seared Edd's ears at once. If she said anything else, he wasn't listening. His blood began to freeze and a shocking sensation trickled from his neck down to his toes. How dare she threaten to take custody away from him, especially on the back of such baseless claims.

Even though he could hear her voice still talking, he took the phone from his ear and put the microphone directly against his lips, "go fuck yourself." Was all he needed to say before hanging up in the middle of her sentence. His hands were shaking with anger and he needed to control his breathing. She's talked about custody in the past, and their current plan was created after a long and tiresome battle, but she's never threatened to remove it entirely. Who does she think she is, taking my child away from me? He sat back in his armchair, trying not to give into the urge to cry out in frustration. It was like he could never win, when one thing got fixed something else breaks. He heals his relationship with his best friends, but damages the relationship with his family. What was next?

She's just trying to make me angry, that's all this is, Edd desperately rationalized the situation. She doesn't mean anything she says, she just likes to gossip and complain. Her mother probably put her up to this. And then there was Amy, sweet and innocent Amy, who of course would never want to stay with her mother full time. Right?

Yes. That had to be true. She was strong willed and emotionally intelligent enough to express discomfort. She always said what was on her mind, even when it was inappropriate or rude. So surely she wouldn't hide her feelings from him and tell Stacy she didn't like being with him? I know my daughter. I'm not stupid, he was calmer now, but still sour and the exhuastion from fighting was starting to creep up on him. There was nothing more appealing than to crawl into bed and forget the argument ever happened. Tomorrow was the start of a new week. And with that, more opportunity to help Tom and more time to check up on Matt.

Under the covers Edd stared at the ceiling, tracing shapes in the texture, unable to fall asleep. The singing burn of Stacy's threat rang loud and clear within his mind. He recollected about Bing, and wondered what was going to happen next. In the end, he allowed sleep to take over him with one final thought crawling around, maybe I should visit Amy's dance practice tomorrow.