Mable: Here we are with chapter two! Feel free to leave a comment if you feel like it!

Within Reach

Chapter 2: A Close Call

Abe wasn't used to sitting still like this. It wasn't that he didn't want to, any moment to catch his breath was appreciated, but he couldn't feel comfortable with it. Not when he knew there was danger waiting right outside. Not that he could hear it, the office was quiet save the soft sound of shuffling cards. Vesper hadn't begun his explanation yet, so even he wasn't filling the void.

Eventually- which was only really about thirty seconds of waiting- Abe got antsy enough to try and restart to conversation. He scooted a little closer and kept his voice soft just in case.

"So, uh… What are you? I've never seen anyone like you before," Abe asked. Vesper looked up without much surprise and saw him looking more curious than wary. He smiled a little in amusement.

"You wouldn't. My kind isn't from around here," he answered. He got a more confident smile and placed a hand to his chest. "I'm a Chiromor. We come from Horromog."

"Never heard of it. Is that a city too?"

"It's a continent, but we do have cities. They don't look anything like this one though. They're much nicer," Vesper clarified. Once he saw that Abe was interested, he began to lapse into a full explanation. "My kind live in colonies, which is basically a fancy way of saying a big group of people cohabitating and sharing business relations. Everything is to strengthen the colony and its investment ties to the outside Oddworld."

"But… They're not like the Glukkons?" Abe asked in confusion.

"I'm not going to pretend that my kind isn't a bunch of self-righteous snobs looking to fuel their cushy lifestyle, but they don't crave moolah for moolah's sake, or power. It's just a means to get their fix of the high life." Abe noticed the distaste in his voice right away and was surprised at how quickly his tone shifted.

"But not you."

"Eh… No. No, I'm not like them. My kind just don't question things like they should. Don't think about much outside of the colony. They don't care about where the moolah comes from as long as they have their aged shampagne, their high-quality gabbiar, and their cuddle parties."

"…Cuddle parties?"

"Oh yeah, they're compulsive groomers too," Vesper remarked. Abe quirked a brow. "It's just better if you don't ask."

There was a semi-awkward pause that lasted a few seconds. During which Vesper started shuffling the cards again, which were plenty shuffled by now, and Abe absentmindedly adjusted his bandage.

"Is that why you left your colony?" Abe finally asked.

"Sort of… Here's the deal with colony life: If you're lucky enough to be born into a family with a healthy investment trade or become an heir, then you're set. You get right into investing that moolah and don't work a day in your life. If you don't have that cushion, then you get stuck working until you have enough moolah to enter into the stock exchange. Basically serving the financially comfortable until you can join them, but they're treated better than any workers around here. The colony's union comes into play to make sure every employee is being treated fairly. Keeping up those minimum standards."

"That… Doesn't sound too bad," Abe said. The other quirked a brow and he shrugged. "At least they're looking out for each other. It could be worse… Is it?"

"No, I'll give you that. It could be worse. Even the lowest members in our colony don't put up with the disgusting practices of these folks in Mudos. But there's the problem: they ONLY do it for the members of our colony, and it's only because they know that eventually the moolah's going to come in and they want that sweet residual. That's part of the reason I left."

"And the other part?"

"…Too much competition. There were already seven representatives for the same union. How am I supposed to get in on that?" Vesper asked. Abe shrugged again. "But I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to make lives better for those who didn't have the luxury of the colony. You can see how well that worked out…" His eyes lowered somberly before suddenly looking back up. "Did you hear that?"

"What?"

Vesper's eyes shot to the ceiling and his ears tilted up. He seemed to be listening, so Abe stayed silent, watching his face closely. Eventually the alerted expression was exchanged for an unenthused one.

"It's nothing. Just those Sligs getting rowdy up there," he said nonchalantly. The Mudokon's eyes popped open.

"Wait, they're still up there?!" he whispered. The other sent him an incredulous look before that amused smile returned.

"Of course they are. It's not like there's a heeliopad up on the roof. Or whatever the Slig propeller equivalent would be," he said. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it too much yet. I'll hear if they get closer."

Abe noticed that 'yet' he subtly slipped in, but silently stared at the roof a moment longer without saying anything on it.

"Anyway, hasn't worked out like I expected. Nobody prepared me for what life outside the colony was like. Turns out it's a lot more cutthroat, and nobody needs someone in my line of work."

"We needed it; we just couldn't get to it… They made sure of that." This didn't seem to ease his mind any, which was a shame since Abe himself was becoming increasingly on edge from the threat above. He could use a distraction. "…Are you gonna teach me how to play?" he asked, pointing towards the cards. Vesper dropped the subject and dealt the cards immediately.

Considering his life up to this point, Abe hadn't gotten much time for leisure, including card games or really games period. Thankfully, Ace in the Heart was a relatively easy game to learn. It was just a matter of playing cards against each other to try and get a full hand of aces. It was relatively fun; save the moments he was yanked from the game by the sputtering of Slig wings passing the window.

But it wasn't that bad. Though Abe didn't want to waste any time- he had that familiar voice in the back of his head reminding him that there were people waiting for him, relying on him- he felt like maybe he could get through this without too much issue.

Until he started to hear the noises upstairs too.

He noticed when Vesper's ears twitched or when he stared ahead or upwards listening and knew it was for the Sligs, so he knew they were still making noise. Then he started to hear it too as they got closer, but he couldn't make out any details on what they were doing. Except for one telltale word that came from a chorus of muffled voices.

"Clear!"

A sick feeling of realization sunk in as his cards folded in his tightening grip.

"Are they…" Abe slowly to the other. "…Are they searching the rooms?"

"…That's what it sounds like," Vesper admitted. Abe dropped his cards and jumped up from his chair like he was about to make a run for it. Vesper followed suit. "Hold on, hold on. Don't panic. The second we start panicking, we blow our cover."

"Our cover's going to be blown anyway! Those Sligs are going to remember they lost me down here and remember talking to you and they're going to know something's up!" Abe rambled in a panicked whisper as he backed away from the desk. He then looked to Vesper with dread. "I have to make a run for it."

"And run right out into whatever blockade they set up in front of the building? We'll figure something out, just don't go making any rash decisions. We still have a chance." Vesper began to pace behind his desk as he tried to think. "Our best bet is that I can smooth talk them out of coming in. If I can't, I can always bribe them, but that's going to look suspicious. Maybe I can get them to only send one in and you can hide."

"Mister- Ryce- Vesper, if they find me in here, they're going to kill both of us," Abe warned. That stopped the man in his tracks and sobered up his ideas instantly.

"…Odd, you're right," Vesper said. He ran his claws through his slicked-back fur. "…That- That doesn't change anything. They're not going to find you. We just have to figure out a plan."

So, they did. Or Vesper did, as he ran through various scenarios and excuses for how he could keep the Sligs at bay. He still seemed to be under the impression that he would be able to talk the Sligs out of not coming in and while Abe knew they were lazy and inattentive, he had a gut feeling that these Sligs wouldn't be so easy to mislead. He silently came up with his own plans for the worst-case scenarios.

Eventually security made it to the fourth floor again and now they could hear the full extent of what was happening. The Sligs broke into smaller groups to check the first two doors, banging loudly and waiting for a response. One door was answered by an angry voice, the other broken in, but both rooms were searched nonetheless.

Now Vesper was starting to get nervous. The pud down the hall hadn't put up much of a fight, so it was possible that he could still talk his way out of this, but he was becoming increasingly aware that he couldn't. Abe was already nervous, having just sacrificed his last chance to make a run for it and feeling the walls beginning to close in.

Then came the firm knock on the door.

Vesper pointed frantically at the bathroom door as he hurriedly headed to answer the office one. Abe edged towards the door but seemed reluctant to go inside. He looked at the door, then around the office, thinking of something that he couldn't voice when danger was listening outside the door. Vesper wildly waved him back before unlocking the door and opening it a few inches.

Only to come face to face with a handheld battering ram.

Vesper was surprised for a second, then threw open the door and himself into the doorway, leering at the Sliggies slit-eyed.

"Were you just about to break down my door?!" he snarled. There were four of them standing outside with an additional three waiting at the door on the opposite side. The ram was passed off to them as one of the Sligs stepped forward to address Vesper. Of course, it would be the one he had disputer with earlier.

"So sorry to disturb you again, Sir," the Slig began in a very insincere way. "But we're still having trouble locating that Mud we're looking for. Ya know which one. The one you said went up? Funny thing is, we just went through the whole building and he ain't up there. Ain't that funny?"

"No. He probably went out the fire exit," Vesper said flatly. The Slig paused momentarily as though he was considering it, then snapped his fingers.

"Nice try. Fire exit's locked," he remembered. Vesper decided to ignore the newfound horror from that tidbit of information. "Ya sure got a lot of answers for where this Mud went, don't ya?"

"I made an educated guess. You should try it sometime," Vesper hissed. He started to shut the door only to be cut off by a derogative noise. Something warbly through the Slig's mask that made his ears vibrate.

"Hold up, we ain't done here. We're doing a clean sweep of this whole building, so move aside or we're busting down the door."

"Is that some kind of a joke? I've been here this whole time, how would a Mudokon get past me? Threatening to break down my door, grilling me like I'm a criminal- you can forget it."

"Alright, I hear ya loud and clear… So, you wanna head down to the detention center now, or would ya rather stick around while we search the place? 'Cause we're under martial law orders."

Vesper barely suppressed a hiss low in his throat, turning into a rumbling and then a reluctant, "Fine. One of you can come in and search, but just one of you. I'm not having the lot of you ransack my office."

"Sorry, Pal. No dice."

Vesper didn't know what shocked him more, the fact that they said 'no' or the fact that the proceeded to force their way in without another word. Even though taller, Vesper was easily shoved back as the four armed and deadly Sligs filed into his office. He stared in shock before turning his glare at the leading Slig.

"Where do you get the nerve-?!"

"Yeah, yeah, if you got complaint, you know where to file them."

Vesper couldn't even muster up anger, he was too busy watching in horror as the task force searched for a Mudokon who was hidden just behind a flimsy door. His heart began to pound so loud that he could hear it in his ears as he watched two Sligs poke around his boxes and into the coat closet. There wasn't much to see.

The only thing worth seeing just happened to be the one thing Vesper didn't want them to: the bathroom door. It was only a matter of seconds before they noticed it. Vesper could feel his heart leap into his throat as the remaining two- one of them doubled up in armor, the other the leader, and both carrying guns- closed in on it. He swallowed lightly and tried to keep his cool as he strode over.

"That's just my bathroom. You don't really need to check that too, do you?" he asked nonchalantly. They couldn't tell that he was sweating under his collar.

"You got somethin' to hide?" the armored Slig asked. Its voice was almost indiscernible from the assumed leader.

"Yes, the Vydka I've been brewing in my sink. I know how you Sligs have a taste for a stiff drink," Vesper said, trying to keep the illusion of composure as he briskly walked around them and not so subtly blocked the door. "Give me something here. Tearing through my office because you believe there's a Mudokon in here? Was there even a Mudokon at all, or is this just an excuse to pillage apartments?"

"Both," the lead Slig said with no shame. He waved his hand with increasing irritation. "Now get the hell out of the way! Unless you got something to hide, you don't got a reason to be this sketchy."

"I'm not… Fine, you want to see into my bathroom? I'll let you see," Vesper agreed. "In fact..." He laid his hand on the doorknob. "I'll open the door myself, so you can stop with all that about me being sketchy."

There was a very, very slim chance that Abe could hide behind the door. The Mudokon was nearly as thin a coatrack; if Vesper was careful, he might be able to conceal him. His hand started to slowly turn the knob as he listened for Abe to get behind the door, hoping he would get the hint. He couldn't hear any movement from inside though. Maybe he was already behind the door?

"Hurry it up, Fuzzface," one of the Sligs snapped. Though on second thought, he might've misheard the 'fuzz' part. "We ain't got all day. We still got three more floors to clear."

"And you will be clearing them, because take a look…" Vesper slowly opened the bathroom door to reveal the empty, off-white room on the other side. "What do you know? Nothing here. Just like I said."

Not entirely satisfied with the partial vision of the room, the armored Slig pushed his way through, flanked by the other. It forced Vesper back against the door which swung open the rest of the way and hit the wall with a thump. The wall, not Abe. Abe wasn't behind the door and a quick once-over of the room showed no sign of him. He was completely gone.

The Sligs scanned over the room. Red dots trailing the walls where their guns were aimed as they looked for someone who wasn't there. The leading Slig gave a staticky swear and turned back to Vesper.

"There's nothin' in here!" he yelled. The way he said it almost made it sound like he felt betrayed. Vesper leered at him.

"I told you there wasn't."

"Then why the hell were ya tryin' to keep us outta here?!"

"Because I don't want you raiding my things. Speaking of which- Hey, you! Out of my desk!" Vesper caught sight of a Slig standing behind his desk and leaned over fiddling around. Probably going through his drawers. It quickly stood at attention and stared blankly back at him, which did nothing to cool his temper. "Yeah, that's right, you! I better not find anything missing!"

Said Slig wobbled back from the desk with its arm bent like there was something smuggled underneath it. Vesper could only stare in disbelief as the Slig called back, "It's clean."

"More like 'cleaned out'," Vesper complained. A loud banging caused him to wince and look over in time to see his stack of cardboard boxes knocked on their side, spilling their contents across the floor.

"Nothin' over here either," the final Slig agreed, nudging the end of his gun against a fallen box. "Man, this is bshzzzt! That Abe guy's prob'ly halfway to the tram station by now!"

"Shut it!" the leading Slig corrected with a snap. "Don't go yelling that name around! We'll all get canned for disturbing the peace 'cause of you!" He then straightened up and turned his attention back to Vesper. "Looks like you're in the clear. Just in case, we're gonna have to check ya and make sure you ain't carrying something around in you." He turned to an armored Slig and gestured to Vesper with his gun. "Light 'em up."

"…Check me for what?" There was something disturbing about that cryptic wording. Vesper never felt in direct danger around the Sligs- unless they had found Abe- but this set him on high alert. Especially when the armored Slig walked up to him, the others watching him very closely as it did. "Hey, no, what's going on here? Check me for what?"

"Relax. Take off your glove and give me your hand. This'll take two seconds tops," the armored Slig muttered.

Vesper reluctantly did as told and offered his hand over, watching as the Slig unhooked something that off the back of its pants. It didn't look like much, just a little wand that snapped out a few inches after a button was pressed on the rubber handle. The dull glow coming from the tip almost made it look like a long, narrow torch light.

The Slig shined the light at the end over Vesper's palm, then suddenly shoved it in the center. Vesper choked as a jolt of electricity suddenly shot up his arm. It lasted for only a few seconds before he was able to wrench his arm back. He turned away with a hiss of pain, his whole arm burning and tingling. He had to check his palm to make sure he wasn't burned.

This was what finally caused him to snap. He suddenly swiveled on his heels and faced the Slig head on. "Get out," his growled through his teeth.

But instead of being threatened, the Slig instead seemed contented with the reaction. "A'right, he's clean," he announced.

"You sure about that?" another asked.

"Positive. No fainting, no forgetfulness, knows who I am, knows where he is, no flashing lights, no weird glow, no birds, and his head didn't explode."

"This is a bunch of Slurg Slick if I've ever seen it," the leading Slig muttered. He clasped a hand over his mask and shook his head with disappointment. "A'right, let's get movin', Boyos."

The Sligs began to file out of the room without any further interest in Vesper. Not even the leading Slig sent him a second glance, which felt like nothing less than an insult. If it were any other situation, he would've proceeded to start raising Cain to whoever he could reach by phone. Throwing what moolah he had around until someone did something about this mistreatment.

Except he had to keep a cool head. Abe was in here somewhere and he needed them out quickly without asking anymore questions. This was the only reason he didn't outright stop the Slig who he suspected had grabbed something out of his desk, something that it was hiding under its arm. Whatever it was probably wasn't that valuable, but he still glared daggers at him as he passed by.

The Slig glanced at him momentarily before quickly looking away and heading out the door. It almost looked nervous; though he supposed it ought to. He slammed the door so fast that he nearly smacked it on the back and proceeded to lock the door and fall against it.

Vesper took a deep breath through clenched teeth as he ran his claws through the stiff fur on his head and listened for the Sligs. It wasn't until they were finished searching the rooms and headed down to the next floor that he dared to trust that they wouldn't hear him.

"Abe?" Vesper asked quietly. He started to look around the room for himself, checking in the coat closet and bathroom to make sure he hadn't been overlooked. "Abe, buddy, where are you?"

He expected that the Abe would probably reveal himself as soon as the Sligs were gone and he was going to see an amazing hiding spot that he could've never imagined before, but he didn't. It didn't take long before Vesper realized that he was nowhere to be seen. He must've found a way to escape that wasn't out the window.

Vesper remembered Abe saying something in passing about freeing Mudokon workers with "bird portals". He had said it so fast that it didn't stick with Vesper beyond being another insane supernatural power that by all accounts should not have existed. In hindsight, Abe moving around the room behind him couldn't been him opening and hopping through one of these portals.

And that would be a massive letdown. His first client, the only person to seek help, a once in a lifetime experience, walked in his door and literally disappeared while he had his back turned. With all this heat, he was sure he wouldn't be returning anytime soon either.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he headed towards his desk only to stop in his tracks at a new sound reaching his ears. He tweaked them and listened closer and only then did he make out a faint voice, so quiet that it was even hard for him to hear it. It took him only a few seconds to realize that it was coming from underneath his desk, and it sounded distinctly like Abe.

Vesper circled the desk and looked under only to see a familiar bag barely poking out. There was Abe, crouched underneath the desk with his back turned towards him. Vesper felt a wash of relief, unsure how the Slig couldn't missed him but thanking the Odds that it did.

"There you are. Scared me for a second there, I thought you might've slipped out the back," Vesper said. He crouched behind him. "It sounds like they moved on, but if you want to stick around down here until we're sure then be my guest."

A long moment passed as he waited for Abe to turn around, but he didn't. He just kept muttering to himself.

"…Abe?" Vesper reached out and gently tapped him on the shoulder to no response. "Abe."

Still nothing. It was clear he hadn't passed out as he was upright and whispering, but he seemed lost in his own world, and for the life of him Vesper couldn't make out any of the words he was saying. It sounded more like chanting than actual speaking. He leaned in as much as he could and tried to make sense of this weird scene.

In fact, there was a lot weird about this scene. That Slig that had been standing back here should've seen Abe with how he had been going in the desk- or under the desk, as he stared to realize. That would explain why he was acting strange, but not why he didn't say anything about it. He had looked nervous when he snuck out, so he could've been preparing to leave and then tell the others, setting up some sort of trap- if that made sense, which it didn't. None of it did.

Unless this had something to do with one of the powers Abe had mentioned to him, the one that he had described in the most detail, the one that even the newspapers had mentioned in mocking… Had Abe been possessing that Slig?

And the answer was yes, and he still was.

Abe had a plan. One that involved holding the possession a lot longer than he was typical used to. This meant staying in character and not acting too suspicious as he followed along with the Sligs' searches of the other rooms. As intimidating as a sizable group of Sligs were in a tight building, it was clear that this group wasn't much more advanced or any more intelligent than what he had seen before.

By time they had gotten outside, he was beginning to feel fatigued, especially with the distance from his body. He managed to bear with it a little longer to put his plan into action, separating himself far enough from the group that he wouldn't be noticed while remaining close enough that he could catch their attention quickly.

It was absolutely vital that he moved security out of the area without instigating any further aggression. The easiest way of doing this would be to create a diversion, though with limited planning and resources this would rely firmly on how distracted and absent-minded they really were. From how stumped they were that he wasn't in the building, he had moderate confidence that this might work.

He chose a spot on the 'street' that overlooked a lower walkway, only a short distance away from a lift- one that was blocked by a gate that the Sligs may or may not have locked up. He didn't need it anyways.

None of them paying enough attention to notice him pulling a half-empty bottle of brew, plugged up with a makeshift cork of leather, and a small pouch of detergent. He would have to work quickly because he had only one shot to do this, aim right, making it look and sound believable, and hope to everything that they would believe it.

Normally he would do a much cleaner job, but he was working with unfamiliar hands in a desperate situation, so he poured the powder into the bottle and plugged it back up. By time he shook it, it was beginning to hiss and threatening to pop the cork, so he had only a second to discretely toss the bottle down towards the walkway and yank up his gun in aim.

CRASH!

"THERE HE IS! THERE'S THAT ABE GUY!" Abe called through the Slig and began firing down at the walkway. The moment the brew bottle had busted it sent up a cloud of this smoke from the mixture now pouring through the grating. Just enough to make a scene, just long enough for the other Sligs to lock in.

"I SEE HIM! I GOT VISUAL- HE'S IN THE SMOKE!" one of the flying Sligs yelled into his headset before swooping down to the walkway. Except all he had visual on was the diversion, which was slowly fading away.

Everything relied on the connection he made next, and Abe watched with bated breath as the flying Slig fired off rapid rounds into the smoke until it faded enough that he could see that nothing was there. Then came the connection.

"LOST VISUAL! SUSPECT'S ON THE MOVE!" the flying Slig reported back. "He's heading down into the subs!"

Then came the uproar that followed. The Sligs were sent into a frenzy as they all drew their weapons and began to look over the edge frantically for their target. A crowd formed around the closed lift, nearly crushing the one trying to unlock the gate, then proceeded to almost trample him to get inside. A few remained up on these pathways and aimed their laser points down into the depths, willing to snipe at anything that moved the wrong way or looked a little off.

Abe didn't think it was going to work this well. He might've been a little proud of himself if not for him slowly realizing the true scope of the security force as he watched more Sligs descend into the abyss.

Compared to the group chasing him earlier, this security force was much more massive and prepared. It made him realize how lucky he was that he disappeared when he did. He wasn't going to be able to use the same run, hide, and take out one-by-one tactics he used in self-contained facilities here; duly noted.

For now, it seemed like he had thrown them off for a while. Though this didn't bode well for when he would have to head down there too. He would need to go ahead with the 'laying low' plan until things calmed down. It made him feel guilty how good the idea of laying low sounded right now. He couldn't imagine trying to run from this amount of security when he was already running out of energy.

Abe hadn't realized how much of his stamina relied on the brew, but ever since he had stopped drinking it, he had been feeling much more weighed down. He hoped that eventually his body would adjust, but there hadn't been enough time before he arrived at Nolybab, and he doubted it would get better before he started heading in deeper. There just wasn't enough time.

A throb in his head signaled that he was losing hold of the Slig. He managed to hold on long enough to call the lift up once it had finished carrying the others down. Once he pressed the button to send it down, he headed into the back corner and let go, knocking the Slig out and causing it to slump to the ground. It wouldn't remember; the others wouldn't notice.

Normally there wasn't such a dramatic relief from releasing possession, so Abe knew he had pushed his limits. Moving a Slig that far away for that long was definitely a new for him, but with the lack of chant suppressors in the area he had free reign to push himself, and now it was pushing back. His head ached as he slowly opened his eyes to find himself back underneath the desk.

It was thankfully quiet, and Abe released a deep breath as he turned around.

Only to come face to face with Vesper's wide eyes and sharp toothed grin. Abe yipped and jumped, succeeding in hitting his head on the underside of the desk.

"Well, welcome back! Watch your head there. I swear I've done the same thing looking for lost pens," Vesper said a little too eagerly. He stood up and stepped back to give him room.

Abe was startled by this weird change in demeanor. He couldn't tell if this was genuine excitement or nervousness, but Vesper offered him his hand, so he must've not been too frightened of him.

"Thanks," Abe said awkwardly and stood. He felt his vision sway but kept his footing. "So… They're not going to be a problem for a while."

"I guess not," Vesper agreed. He leaned against the wall beside the window with his arms crossed, briefly peering through the edge of the blinds. "I heard something going on out there. Mind sharing?"

"Oh, uh- it just- it was just a distraction. When you mix Tidy and Soulstorm Brew in a bottle it makes this big cloud of-…" Abe trailed off as he noticed how closely the other was staring. He had to know, there wasn't any use playing dumb. "…You don't mean that. Okay, umm… So… That Slig who was messing around your desk? That was me."

"No kidding," Vesper said without any inflection.

"I was going to just hide, but then he got too close. It was either that or getting caught… So, I just rolled with it and made a distraction outside," Abe explained, grabbing his bag straps nervously. After a moment he raised his hands defensively and added, "That's all. Nobody got hurt, not even the Slig."

"Got it, got it. Yeah, that explains a bit," Vesper said. He pulled away from the window and tapped his fingers together. "How do I put this delicately…?"

Abe tensed a little, not sure what to expect following that prefix. There was a thoughtful pause before Vesper pointed at him and finished.

"That was incredible."

Abe's mouth almost dropped open. "What?"

"I've never seen anything like that! How do you do it? This was one of the powers you got from the scars, right? No, hold on, you said you were possessing Sligs to get out of the RuptureFarms. You must've been born with that! How early did this start showing up? I'm guessing not when you were a pup. Then again, you aren't much older than a pup now. How long was it after your voice changed?"

"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Abe interjected with his hands raised, halting Vesper's string of questions. "You're not… Freaked out? Aren't you afraid I'm going to possess you too?"

Vesper's smile tilted and his eyes narrowed in amusement. "I think you would've done that by now," he said almost teasingly. Abe couldn't argue with that. "But I'm not going to pretend that it's not a little intimidating. You took control of that guy in seconds, without a fight, just grabbed ahold and led him right out the door! You never said you could do that. That's amazing! Do you realize what you could do with power like that?!... Heh, I guess you do. Look who I'm talking to."

Something about that comment in particular brought heat to Abe's face, along with a lopsided smile. "Err… Well… Thanks?"

It wasn't that Abe wasn't used to blind praise. Every now and then there would be Mudokons who would gush over him, typically right after he helped them out. It was a nice enough gesture, but he couldn't say he felt like he deserved it. It was so strange hearing it from someone who wasn't another Mudokon.

Vesper misread the reaction as discomfort and reigned himself in. His smile turned apologetic. "Sorry I got a little carried away there. I've just never seen anything like that. Scratch that, I've never even heard of anything like that ever existing. Except for in here-." He tapped on a newspaper. "-and we've already established how reliable those words are."

"No, I get it. I'm just a little surprised is all. Thanks." This time Abe said it much more sincerely, both with his words and his smile. Though it didn't last long before slightly faltering. "But we've got a problem out there," he continued, pointing a thumb towards the window. "I was so focused on getting rid of them that I ended up sending them down into the city, right where you said the Vykkers are… Sooo, I could really use a place to hide out for a little longer. If the offer's still there."

"Of course it is! Anything for my favorite client," Vesper said. He chose to leave of the obvious 'only' off of that. "In fact, I have an idea. How about you come up to my apartment?"

"Your what?"

"My apartment, the place I live. It's a dozen floors up, but that's a dozen floors move above the security staff… Don't give me that look. I'll admit, I lost a lot of credibility with that whole "no Sligs are coming in here" before they almost broke down my door, but I can assure you wholeheartedly that this is different. They've already searched upstairs, they don't know which apartment is mine, and I would have a much easier time hiding you in there than in here. So, what do you say?"

"I don't know…" Abe said hesitantly. It wasn't that he didn't trust Vesper. He didn't even hold that misjudgment earlier against him, but he had only just scraped by. It seemed risky to leave an office that he had just gotten familiar with to go to another room that he would have to learn the layout of. "Are you sure it's safe?"

Vesper's face softened considerably at the other's tone. "It's leagues safer than staying in here, and I say that with the full belief that they are probably not coming back after the show you put on outside."

"O-kay. I'll follow you then," Abe agreed. His voice oozed reluctance but he wasn't willing to put up a fight. Vesper could've turned him in, he reminded himself. He wasn't his enemy; he was one of the good guys. He should trust him.

Vesper started to move before he could change his mind, heading over to the coat closet and snatching out a long trench coat out of the strewn clothes. He offered it to him. "Here. Put this on and try to pull it up over your head."

While this made him even less confident in this plan, Abe silently agreed and slipped the trench coat on. It fit snugly over the backpack and he had to awkwardly pull it up behind his head, and even then, it didn't cover his feathers. It was almost something. Vesper looked out into the hallway before beckoning Abe out, locking the door behind them and leading him back into the lift.

Just a little longer.