Chapter Seven

Ian deplaned and found himself in a bustling airport in London. He humored the customs officers and allowed his bag to be searched. When they found no weapons, he was free to find himself a hotel to spend his nights in while he stayed. Eventually, he managed to find a decent enough hotel which didn't require a reservation and walked up to his room. The first thing he did when he got there was toss his bag onto the floor and collapse onto the bed. He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, replaying the address his sister had given him in his mind. He had a week, this much he knew, and certainly the meeting would require his full mental focus for however long it took, and it might require all he had to ensure that he maintained an even tone and still got what he wanted out of it, but he most certainly could pull it off or his name wasn't Ian Howe.

NTNT

Tanya awoke as the sun set, and she could hear Powell, Phil, and Viktor engaged in a loud, raucous poker game. "Men and poker," she muttered to herself as she got out of bed. She made her way downstairs and began the process of preparing herself some tea. At one point, Powell walked into the kitchen to refill his cup of coffee, and then he returned to the living room and, consequently, the poker game.

Once she had herself a warm cup of green tea, she walked into the sun room, settled into a comfortable chair, and took a sip. From the window, she could see the sky's color as the sun set, and at the time, it was a nice salmon color.

She smiled to herself and took another sip of her tea. She let herself believe that perhaps this whole thing would be over when Ian got answers in London, but for once, she felt like she was lying to herself, and she felt terrible about it. Regardless, Ian was on the other side of the world, and there wasn't anything she could do about it right now.

The phone in her pocket buzzed, so she answered it. "Hello?"

"Let me guess, you've taken to keeping your phone with you every hour of the day," Ian said.

"And you've taken to checking on me every chance you get?"

"Not quite. We are in different timezones, on different sides of the world."

"For once I'm going to tell you you're right. I know there are many occasions in which you wanted to hear that, but this is perhaps one of the only times I'll give it to you."

"Then I'll take it."

"Good, and cherish it forever, because I'm not giving you too many opportunities like this."

"I wish I could take a picture of this so I could put it in my scrapbook to keep for the rest of my life."

"Right. Anyway, how's London?"

"I've yet to see it still, but it doesn't seem to have changed much since we left."

"Oh, good. Ian, I'm a little bit worried that something bad is going to happen, so be careful."

"I will, Tanya. You should be able to trust me."

"I do, but you're a boy, and beyond that, you're my brother. That changes things."

"Oh, how?"

"I'm your sister. I'm supposed to give you a hard time, and actually, I'm going easy on you."

"So you're just saying all this."

"And you're overthinking it."

She heard a sigh on the other end of the line, and she rolled her eyes. Ian had a way of being completely impossible. Well, what could she do about it? She was stuck with Ian for a brother, come hell or high water.

"Are you still there?" Ian asked.

"What? Oh, oh, yeah. I'm here," Tanya replied. "I'm here."

"Oh, good. Just making sure you haven't died on me or something."

"What makes you think I've died on you?"

"You weren't saying anything. You're my sister, and I want to make sure you're alright."

"And I understand that, but aren't you overreacting?"

"Perhaps I am, but given that recent events have rendered us the last of the Howe family, I want to make sure we can keep the family together."

"I know you mean well, Ian, but really? I feel like you're overreacting, if only a little bit."

"Perhaps I am, but I assume that's what you should expect from your older and only brother. Anyway, have you spoken with Riley?"

"Yes I have. He was fine earlier today."

"Oh, good. And I assume the boys are being good?"

"Could you expect any less? You hired them, after all."

"If I were forced to expect any less, they'd all be out on the streets looking for jobs within the week."

"No one's getting fired this week, that's for sure. How's your hotel?"

"Quite lovely, actually, and really quite comfortable."

"Well, good. Ready for a fun-filled week in London?"

"The only thing I'm dreading is the meeting, I have to admit. I personally can't wait to get to seeking answers, and it's even better that I get a whole week to work on it."

"It just gets better and better, doesn't it?"

"It does."

Tanya sighed and closed her eyes. Ian could just pick something to pursue and be extremely determined about it, if he so desired. "Ian, just know I wish you the best."

"Thank you. Oh, and don't do anything stupid."

"I won't."

The line went dead, and Tanya shapped her phone shut, setting it on the table. She took another sip of her tea and sighed, leaning back in her chair. The sky, as far as she could see, was turning a nice shade of red-violet, and she smiled to herself. For a moment, she was tempted to call Riley and ask him to come over, but the thought passed as quickly as it came.

Someone tapped on the door frame leading from the sun room to a corridor connecting it to the rest of the house, so with some surprise, she turned to face Viktor. "You, uh, wanna play poker?" he asked. "We're about ready to start another round."

"No, thank you," she replied evenly. "I don't gamble."

"We don't really use money."

"It doesn't matter. I don't gamble, no matter what the basic unit of currency in question happens to be."

"Oh, okay, I get it." With that, Viktor had vanished back down the corridor, leaving Tanya alone to settle back down into her chair and sip her tea.