I don't own Loonatics Unleashed
Enjoy!
Leaving HQ had been the best decisions that Tech had made. He couldn't take anymore of drama that Miranda created around herself and Duck and the last thing that he wanted to see was another blow up with the team. He was glad that he had made the decision to meet Amber at the Acmetropolis Plaza Hotel, which he had only been to once for a convention back when he was a student. Almost two years had passed and the hotel had remained the same through all of that. There was the doorman that greeted people whenever they came in and left and there was the lobby, to its golden glory where all visitors felt pampered whenever they walked in.
Back when he was a student and up to this profession, the high end had never intrigued Tech. Why be materialistic when he could use that money to invest? However, he knew that his way of thinking was different from others and it was better to just agree to disagree.
"Can I help you…sir?" a voice asked him that the moment that Tech turned around, he noticed the shocked look on the concierge's face upon seeing a coyote in his hotel. Of course the concierge knew that he shouldn't be as shocked as he was. He had seen the strangest of hotel guests checking in and out that he thought he was already accustomed to it. However, taking into consideration the familiar looking green triangle on the uniform that he wore, his shocked expression changed to a delight when it finally clicked that one of the Loonatics was paying a visit to his hotel.
Tech was quick to catch on the sudden change but he pushed his thoughts away. "Yes," Tech answered him, "I am meeting someone over by the hotel's café."
"Whom may it be?" the concierge asked him, "I can give a quick call to the room to have them come down. Who is it that you are seeing?"
If she is already down Tech thought as he looked at the clock. He was already ten minutes late. Damn Miranda and her drama. "Her name is Amber…Wolf."
Ah yes, now the concierge had seen it all and he was going to add 'wolf' into that list. "Of course," he said to the Tech with a smile upon his lips as he rung her room number. "Yes? Is this Ms. Wolf?...pleasure. I have a gentle…man," he hesitated as he looked at Tech up and down, trying to find the proper noun for him, "that is here to see you. His name?" Why was it so hard to keep the Loonatics' name in order? "Ah yes, I remember now. Mr. Tech E. Coyote….Splendid." He placed the phone back on the receiver and looked over at him. "She will be down shortly. I shall escort you over to the café."
Tech let out a sigh of relief. At least he wasn't late as he expected to be. He followed the concierge over to the café and took his seat over to the one of the empty tables by the window. The café wasn't as busy as he thought it would be, which was nice in his opinion. At least he was able to hear the music that was lightly playing in the speakers. He looked down at his watch and saw the time change from 12:59 to 1:00 PM…and she had not shown up yet. He drummed his fingers onto the table, trying to keep his mind occupied with any topics of conversation that they could have with one another until…
"Tech," Amber's voice approached his table as he flinched away from his thoughts and looked over at her, "I am so sorry for being late. I was caught in a long call with a client that…" she shook her head and held her hands in the air as if she was defeated, "it took forever to finish."
Tech stood on his feet the moment that she approached his table. "No problem," he said to her, "I was worried that I was going to be late. Had some things that I needed to deal with my team before I left."
A small smile stretched on her lips for she was glad that he hadn't been waiting too long as he had indicated. She took her seat on the chair across from him and folded her hands on her lap. "I hope it wasn't anything serious…with your teammates I mean," she commented.
Tech slowly shook his head. "No, it was manageable," he answered her.
"What's it like being a superhero in your own city?" she asked him, "it must be very challenging."
Well, she was correct about that. Not only were there challenges that they had faced, but there were sacrifices that were made from all of them. "It has its ups and downs," Tech answered her, "but we try to get through it as best as we can."
A waiter stopped by their table and asked if they would be having anything. Tech wasn't feeling hungry but he went ahead and ordered a cup of coffee for himself and for Amber. After the waiter took their orders and left, the two went back to their conversation.
Tech didn't want to be questioned about his profession as a superhero. He felt that it was self-explanatory. Defeat the bad guys and sent them to jail. Nothing special. "You said something about a client," he said, "what is it that you do?"
"I'm a management consultant," she said to him, "my specialty is in engineering and design. With my client, we are trying to investigate a flaw on a design before it is sold."
She had him at 'engineering and design.' "You studied that?" he asked her as she gave him a nod of her head. "Wow…that's amazing."
"It has been a field of study that has always interested me," she said to him, "but I wanted to pursue something more and decided to go down the business route with that skill under my belt. I am glad I made the decision that I did."
Maybe if Quinn hadn't changed her major, then she would still be here Tech thought. He couldn't believe that he was bringing her into his mind, especially now that her sister was sitting in front of him. Come on Tech, stay focused he thought to himself as he tried to bring his mind back to reality. "Ever think of going back to school?" he asked her.
"Oh no," Amber answered him with a shake of her head, "those two degrees were enough for me. I am all set." A light chuckle escaped her lips as she looked over at Tech. He had mentioned about being her sister's tutor at Acme Tech University, so he probably had been studying a major there. "What about you?"
"Well," Tech said, "I never got to finish my dissertation so it's still pending." Be that as it may, he still liked to refer to himself as a doctor through all the years that he had gone through at the university. "Will I ever go back to it? Eventually…yeah," he answered her. It would be good to finally finish it but one thing he feared was all the memories that would haunt him if he was to ever go back.
Amber gave him a light nod of her head as their coffee cups were set in front of them. "And what is it that you studied there?"
"The same field," Tech said to her, "I am an inventor actually."
Her eyes brightened when he said that. "And what have you made?" she asked him.
Tech had never seen such intrigue coming from anyone before...especially from his teammates whenever he tried to explain what his inventions did, other than Rev Runner. "If I talked all about them, we'll be here all night," he chuckled as he leaned back on his chair. Even though he wouldn't mind it, he didn't know if Amber would. "But they are inventions that vary from transportation to capturing villains."
"And if you weren't a superhero, would you have considered opening your own line of inventions?" she asked him.
Tech had never thought of opening his own business before. If it meant that he would be the one inventing everything and selling them for the better of the city, then he would. "Didn't really think that far…into the business side I mean," he answered her. "But it seems that you're doing well with it."
Amber let out a light laugh at that. "It sure is something else from what I expected," she said to him. "You have to be as strategic as you are in engineering." She took another sip of her coffee before continuing, "but at least I got the hang of it."
Perseverance. That was something that everyone in life had to go through eventually no matter what the situation was. He had to admit, Amber was different than Quinn was. Other than both being hard workers, Amber was independent and she knew what she wanted in her life. Tech felt those types of people had become rare. With a lot of opportunities offered, one would think that they would know what they wanted, but it seemed it was just as hard as it had been before. He looked over at his coffee cup and noticed that he hadn't even bothered taking a sip of it. He reached over and took a long sip before setting it down on the plate. He was going to feel that headache later.
Amber eyes widened when she noticed a light buzzing noise coming from her cellphone. Looking down at the screen, she rolled her eyes. "It's my client again and this is going to take a while," she said as she looked over at Tech with an apologetic smile.
Tech held his hand in the air and have her a nod of her head. "Please don't let me keep you," he said as he got up from the table and went ahead and paid for the coffees. "I enjoyed our time together."
"As did I," Amber said to him, "I do hope that our paths cross again." With a smile upon her lips, she lightly brushed past him as she held the phone against her ear and talked with her client. Before she disappeared from the café, she turned her head and looked over her shoulder as she sent Tech another one of her smiles.
Tech gave her a nod of his head in return. Even though their meeting had been shorter than he expected, the idea that where they both hoped they would see each other again was something that he was looking forward to. Now that he would be heading back to HQ, he hoped that the drama had died down…because he was getting the slight headache from the caffeine.
