A second video feed popped up in front of Z-29, joining the one she had been watching. Sitting down at a wooden table, in a park not far from Royal Woods elementary, was Leia Loud, flanked by a pair of older girls that Z-29 had seen with Leia before, the ones Aunt Lynn kept calling her 'lackeys', or her 'Lefty and Righty'. Another girl was with them…or, near them, at least, as she seemed to be doing stretches of some kind. This girl Z-29 hadn't seen before, though she seemed to be with Leia too.

In any case, she now had the other side of the phone call. It would probably help to listen in to this side, she thought, so she tapped the console a few times and brought the volume up on the new feed.

...

"Really, now?" Leia placed the teacup she had been drinking out of down on the table next to the teapot, using the now free hand to snap her fingers and grab the attention of Gwen and Marsha, who had been talking amongst themselves, but quickly quieted down at the boss's direction. "I was wondering how long you were going to hold onto that. So, what can I help you with, Lina?"

"It's Lemy," came the slightly frantic voice on the other end of the call. "He's in a jam, and way bigger than the jams he normally finds himself in. You need to help me bail him out."

"…Lemy?" The disdain was evident in Leia's voice as she uttered her brother's name, drawing a chuckle out of Gwen and an eyeroll out of Marsha. "You want to use your favor to help…Lemy. Am I getting this right?"

"Yeah, and I'm gonna need you to move fast on it." Lina quickly replied. "We gotta find him quickly, before that big Ruskie gets her mitts…"

"Lina, you know this favor you've got is a one-time deal, right?" Leia sighed. "Now, I'm not one to tell you how and when to use it, but don't you feel it would make more sense to save it for something more…important? After all, once it's gone, it's gone, and you don't want to feel like you've wasted…"

"Leia, this is serious!" Lina cut off Leia before she could finish her sentence. "Lemy is actually in trouble here! I don't have time to deal with this crap right now!"

"Riiight. So…" Leia paused for a second before she continued, "…you're really certain that you want to…"

"Goddammit, YES I'm certain! This is what I want to use my favor on!" The voice on the other side replied so loudly that Leia had to pull the phone away from her ear. "Now are you going to fucking help me or what?"

"Well, not with that kind of language, I won't." Leia calmly replied, putting on a faux-Lyra voice as she playfully admonished her half-sister, drawing another laugh from Gwen. "Kidding, of course. Go ahead then, give me the details."

Leia motioned to Marsha, who pulled a notepad and pencil out of the bag on the table and passed it to the younger girl. Leia started scribbling quickly as she listened to Lina's explanation of the situation, muttering, "Mmhmm…uh huh. Go on," as she continued to jot down notes.

"…and I think that's everything." Lina finished her explanation on the other end. "So, what do you think?"

"What I think is that I like this girl already." Leia smirked as she finished her notes. "Anyway, yes, I think I can do something. I'll try and track Lemy down, then give you a call with the next steps from there, okay? Bye for now, Lina."

She hung up the phone, then sighed as she looked over her notepad. Gwen leaned in and asked, "So, what'd that idiot get into this time, Leia?"

"Well, if I'm to believe Lina…" The younger girl didn't bother looking up from her notes as she answered Gwen, "He's currently being chased through town by a giant Russian girl who hoisted him up by the scruff of his neck and asked to know where Daddy is. Apparently."

Gwen and Marsha exchanged confused looks for a moment before glancing back to Leia, as Marsha replied, "You're pulling our leg, right?"

"Who knows? But I imagine there's at least some truth to it, because Lina wouldn't have wasted her favor on a hoax." Leia looked over to the girl nearby the table and, putting her hand to her lips, whistled for her, calling, "Kimberly!"

"Ah? Coming, Leia!" The fourth girl stopped mid-stretch, turning and joining the others at the table. "What's up?"

"There's something I could use your help with, Kimberly." Leia put on one of her better smiles as she addressed the newcomer. "Are you free to help out?"

"Oh yeah, of course!" Kimberly nodded cheerily. "I'm not doing anything. Was just gonna do some light jogging across town, but that can wait. Whatcha need?"

"I need you to find my cousin Lemy. You remember him, right? Dopey, surly, insufferable, wears a dumb headband at all times?" Gwen had to fight her instinct to start laughing as she listened to Leia's description.

"Uh, I think so…" On the other hand, most of that description seemed to fly over Kimberly's head, as she thought it over for a moment before answering, "The boy in middle school you yell at a lot, right?"

"Close enough. Just remember that and the stupid, stupid headband, ok?" Leia nodded back to Kimberly. "One other thing, though. It's possible that Lemy's in a bit of trouble, even that he's being chased by someone. So I don't want you to go up to him when you find him. Keep a good distance, watch him for a couple minutes, see if you can figure out his situation. Once you feel like you've got an idea of what's going on, give me a call and I'll let you know what to do from there. Sound good?"

"Mmhmm, I got it." Kimberly nodded, getting one last stretch in before leaving. "Where should I look for him?"

"Well, he was last seen…ducking in an alley near the middle school." Leia consulted her notes. "Given his direction, he'll probably head towards Main St. and Michigan Ave. Look around that area…if he's there, trust me, you'll be able to hear him."

"Aye aye, sir!" Kimberly gave a salute, before she turned and started dashing off, yelling back, "I'll track him down for you!"

"Stay safe, Kimmy!" Leia waved after Kimberly until she turned the corner and disappeared from view. Once she was gone, she turned to Gwen and Marsha and said, "Useful, happy to help, and doesn't ask questions…it's official. I love that girl. Great job finding her, ladies."

"That's all Marsh, there. Another score for her intelligence network." Gwen pointed at her compatriot. "There's some kind of story behind it, like she was bored because she couldn't do track, right?"

"Something like that. You know how our school has the sixth graders in a sorta-JV team, while the seventh and eighth graders do the actual meets and such?" Marsha started explaining, as Gwen nodded. "Well, apparently, she's so much better than all the other sixth graders that they asked her to stop coming because she's demoralizing to the rest of them. But the idiot coach of the seventh and eight grade team said he won't allow any sixth graders on the team, full stop. So even though Kim's probably already faster than everyone but Marla and Lacy, she's got no team she can compete with and nothing to do after school until next year. All I had to do was offer her something to do, where she could run around as much as she wanted and help us out at the same time."

"Well, she certainly has been a great help to us, so we should probably send that idiot coach our gratitude. And also make plans so that she'll stick around after she gets to seventh grade." Leia nodded, pulling out her cell phone and making a note for herself. "Now then, back to what we were discussing before the interruption. What's going on with the Bluebells, Marsha?"

"See, that's the thing. I suddenly can't find that out." Marsha reached down to her backpack and pulled out a manila folder, which she slid to Leia. "Used to be easy to find out what they were up to. They always had a couple of girls who would leak their activities and cookie sales, posting it on social media and such, which allowed us to beat them there. But that's dried up. Some accounts have been deactivated, others have clammed up, and a couple girls were kicked out of the Bluebells altogether. Take a look."

"Hmmm…" Leia opened the folder, which had evidence of what Marsha was talking about. Bluebell accounts that had been shut down or scrubbed, and a pair of teary posts about the Bluebells telling them they weren't welcome anymore. "That's not good. You suspect something is going on behind the scenes?"

"That was my hunch, so I asked Gwen to see if she could get something out of our Bluebell contacts." Marsha pointed across the table. "And she certainly found something interesting."

"Oh yeah. Apparently, the Bluebells have found themselves a new boss." Gwen continued the conversation. "What I heard is this new girl came in and started gaining power quick, and before anyone knew it, she had control of the whole Bluebell operation in Royal Woods. First thing she did was order the group to go quiet, and anyone who doesn't gets pushed out. Dunno what she's up to now, cause the only source we had inside the Bluebells was one of the first to get purged."

"Ah man, that ain't cool."

"Right? So we're gonna have to be careful from here on out." Gwen nodded. "Finding another source probably won't be possible, so we'll have to hang back and monitor their movements…"

"…Hmmm?" Leia looked up from the manila folder to stare at Gwen. "Who are you talking to?"

"Uh…to you, right?" Gwen gave Leia a confused look. "You just said something, didn't you?"

Leia shook her head. "No, I haven't said anything…"

"Yo. Over here, dude."

All three girls turned in the direction of the new voice, coming from just behind them. A girl was standing there, one who, from an outside observer's perspective, could not be any different from the trio siting at the table. While Leia's group was wearing the chic, tidy, Catholic-school-esque uniforms of their crew, this newcomer was in some of the trashiest clothes you could find: sweatpants that were slightly ripped at the bottom of the legs, a sleeveless t-shirt so short that half her stomach was exposed, and a bandanna that wrapped around her head. Her almost platinum blonde hair hung down from the bandanna like curtains, covering everything but one half-open eye and the mellow grin on her face.

Leia glanced at her two compatriots, both of whom shrugged in response. She finally turned back to the newcomer and asked, "Can we help you, or…?"

"Hell yeah you can. Y'know, they weren't kidding when they said that kids in the burbs are way more chill than city kids." Either the new girl ignored the clear 'go away now' tone of Leia's voice, or it flew over her head entirely, as she took the invitation at face value and sat down next to Gwen, on the corner of the bench, which put her between Gwen and Leia, seated at the head of the table. "I heard you homies were helping find a kid, and I was kinda hoping you'd help me out a bit too. Got a similar situation on my hands, you dig?"

"Really now." The irritation in Leia's voice was growing. "Well, I don't know what you might have heard, but this isn't a charity outfit or a lost-and-found we're running here. We're in the middle of business at the moment, and unfortunately that leaves little time for us to help with whatever your situation is. Now, if you wouldn't mind…"

"Ah, I getcha. You're after that paper, right?" The mellow grin didn't fade as the new girl cut Leia off again. "Well hey, don't worry about me, girl. I can hook you up."

Leia started listening a bit more intently at the mention of 'paper', naturally. Still, she remained skeptical, as another glance at the girl's wardrobe did not instill confidence that she had money to burn. She gave Marsha a quick glance before looking back to the girl and asking, "I see…if that's the case, perhaps there's some arrangement we could come to, Miss…"

"Call me Vikki." The newcomer flashed a peace sign. "Two 'i's, two 'k's, and one big V."

"Mmhmm." Leia's reply was a bit annoyed, as she was hoping for a bit more than just a first name. Her glance over to Marsha was of the 'find me what you can on this girl' kind, and Marsha had acknowledged it by discreetly pulling her cell phone out and preparing to hunt down some info on the girl. Of course, both she and Leia knew that a quick search for 'Vikki' wouldn't narrow things down all that much. "Okay then…you said you were looking for two…kids? Could you tell me more about that? Their names, what they look like…?"

"Sure, alright. The kids are Reina and BJ Santiago. They're twins, about…" Vikki put her hand up. "…this tall. Reina wears glasses, BJ looks scared all the time. And, uh…that good?"

"It's a start." Leia sighed, glancing at Marsha again, who was still discreetly tapping away at her phone under the table. "I suppose we can work on it…that is, if you've still got that 'paper' you mentioned?"

"Oh, no doubt, homie. Let's see here…" Vikki reached into the pocket of her raggedy sweatpants, pulling out a handful of cash. In that the was some cash in her hand, mind. It was not particularly full. "So that's five, six, seven…fifty, sixty, sixty-five, six, sev…$7.69."

The conversation came to a screeching halt. All three uniformed girls looked at Vikki, with a solid beat passing before Leia uttered an indignant, "What?"

"I know, right? Fuckin' niiiice." The renewed hostility of the others again made no impact on Vikki. "So, how about it?"

Marsha managed to keep a dispassionate expression on her face as she slid her phone into her pocket, figuring she didn't need to bother finishing the search. Gwen on the other hand wore a look of astonishment, as if she was unsure whether or not to cuss the idiot out or start laughing out loud. And Leia just fixed a glare on Vikki with a newfound level of indignation, all forms of politesse thrown out the window.

Finally, Leia picked up the teapot on the table and refilled her cup as she said, as businesslike as possible, "Thank you for your…interest, Miss Vikki, but I'm afraid this arrangement won't be working out. Gwen? If you wouldn't mind."

"On it." Gwen stood up when called, walking next to Vikki and putting her hand on her shoulder, saying, "Sorry, dude, but we're done with ya. So why don't we…?"

Rather, Gwen tried to put a hand on Vikki's shoulder. But before she could grab her, the blonde girl just kinda…slipped out of the way? No, it was slicker than that, like she could feel Gwen coming to grab her and moved right before she could make contact, leaving Gwen grasping at nothing but air, muttering a confused, "Wha-?"

"Whoa…some major negative energy coming there, man. Careful with that." Vikki flashed Gwen that same, mellow grin that she always wore, before turning back to Leia and continuing, "And anyway, no need to be so harsh, dude. What I got now'll just be a down payment, I'm good for the rest of it. Come on, help a sister out here."

Leia continued to not look at Vikki, instead sipping her tea as she replied rather matter-of-factly, "I very much doubt you'll be 'good for the rest of it', and frankly I'm done with this discussion. Good-bye, Miss Vikki."

Picking up after her boss, a significantly less-amused Gwen spoke up as she reached for her arm, saying, "Yo, you heard her, right? Like I said, we're done here. Now just come with…"

But again, Gwen's grasping hand caught nothing but air, as Vikki leaned forward just the right way to dodge Gwen's grip yet again. Vikki again tried to reason with Leia, "Aw c'mon, no need for that. We can be cool here, right? Look, alright, I get it. But hey, if you can't help me out with the search, maybe you can do me a solid and point me towards the other guy I'm looking for? The kids are smart, they're probably already heading his way, so if you tell me where he is, I can track them down. How's that sound?"

If Leia had intended to reply, she would have been cut off by Gwen, who got up out of her seat in a rage as she yelled, "Yo, WHAT is your malfunction, dude? She told you to beat it, so BEAT IT, before I…"

Gwen wasn't holding back this time, using the judo and karate techniques she had learned in training in an attempt to grab onto Vikki. But even with that, and with the blonde still sitting in her seat, Gwen simply couldn't grab her, as Vikki twisted her body to avoid her again, including bending her body back at a ridiculous angle, causing Gwen to miss her entirely and lose balance, falling to the ground. Gwen slammed her fist into the ground as she turned to Vikki and bellowed, "How are you DOING that?"

"Huh? Oh…I dunno, I just kinda bend, y'know?" Vikki shrugged back. "Might be all the yoga, I guess. Been doing that for a while. Great for keeping your positive energy up, man. And it keeps a girl nice and flexible…eh? Know what I'm talking about, homie? Yeah, I bet you kno-"

The slam on the table cut Vikki off. Considering her size, Leia's fist making contact with the wooden table probably shouldn't have made such an impactful sound, but it somehow worked.

Her hostility again radiating off her, Leia fixed her gaze on Vikki and said, "You wanted to ask one question…right?"

"Uh…yeah, dog." Even Vikki was thrown off by Leia's rage. "That's all I'm asking for."

"Then ask," said Leia, menacingly. "I'll answer as best I can, and then you will get out of here. Are we clear?"

"Oh yeah. Crystal, homie. Crystal." Vikki nodded. "I'll make tracks once we're done."

Gwen shot Vikki a half-hearted glare as she got up, before shaking her head and standing next to Leia. Flanked again on both sides by her lackeys, Leia raised her teacup to her mouth again as she stated, "One question, then. Shoot."

"Right, so…" Vikki leaned forward, resting her arm on the table, and simply asked, "You guys heard of a dude called Lincoln Loud? Can you point me his way?"

"Ghhk! Koff koff…gak!" As the name crossed Vikki's lips, Leia practically choked on her tea, coughing loudly as Gwen patted her on the back to try and help her.

In the midst of all this, Marsha somehow managed to keep up her poker face, glancing to Leia for a moment to make sure she was okay, before turning to Vikki and asking, "…were you created in a lab to piss Leia off, or something?"

Vikki tilted her head, confused. "Why? What's the problem, homie?"

"YOU!" All trace of the elegance Leia usually tried to cloak herself in was gone, as she slammed her hands on the table and yelled, "HOW do you know that name?! What purpose could you POSSIBLY have…!"

"Whoa, whoa…relax, dog. Ain't no need to go nuclear." Vikki tried to calm the raging girl. "But I guess that means you know my pops then, right dude?"

That single sentence managed to completely wipe out Leia's rage, like a sudden gale smothering a flame.

All the yelling she had been ready to do died in that moment, and she simply stared at Vikki. Finally, after a long pause, she barely managed to mutter, "Your…pops…?"

"Yeah, that's right, man. This dude I'm looking for's my old man," explained Vikki. "Course, I haven't seen much of him myself in a long time, but my mom told me he's around here. Hang on…even got a picture for ya…"

Vikki ruffled through her other pocket for her phone, pulling it out and tapping a bit until she found what she was looking for. "See, here it is…there's mom, and pops, and little me, and that's my Aunt Ronnie in the corner."

The trio looked at Vikki's phone. Sure enough, there was Lincoln, and on his shoulders was a young girl, probably no older than four, with hair that matched Vikki's platinum blonde. Next to Lincoln was a woman who looked very much like an older version of Vikki, while on the other side was another woman, with light brown skin and dark hair.

"That's…him, alright…" Leia's mind was just barely trying to process what she was being presented with. "That…must be your mom…but who's…?"

"Oh, Aunt Ronnie-Anne? She's one of mom's best friends. We live close by in Chicago." Vikki explained as she pointed to the woman in the picture. "Oh, and also, those two little dudes I'm trying to find? She's their mom. Reina's her splitting image, if you add glasses, and…"

"Wait!" Leia barked, cutting Vikki off. "Th-these kids…don't tell me, their dad is…?"

"Ah…yeah, apparently pops had a bit of a, uh, baby-momma sitch with both of them. Weird, I guess, but it is what it is." Vikki shrugged as she put the phone away. "So anyway, how do you know pops?"

Leia was silent for a moment longer, before uttering a weak "Hau~!" and falling backwards into Gwen's arms, fainted.

"Whoa! Leia! Hey! You okay?" Gwen yelled as she tried to steady the girl.

"Damn! Hey, what happened, homie?" Vikki also expressed her concern as Leia went out in front of her.

Marsha was the only one managing not to freak out at the moment, instead pulling her phone out of her pocket as she called out, "Gwen, you have Leia, right? I'm going to get back to searching for info on those two. I have a feeling we're stuck dealing with this stuff now."