"Mr. Cox."
Kenner sat back, relaxed in an office room with only one other guy. He was currently in front of the desk, called here not too long ago.
They had been talking for some time now. It had basically been an interview, with Kenner telling of his strengths to help out.
The man who sat behind the desk and his computer cleared his throat. "So if we're both in agreement, you can assist our team with some of our projects. With your help, we should be able to increase the efficiency of our work. Also, if there's nothing for you to do, you can work as extra security."
"Got it." Kenner said, sitting up and putting his hands in his pockets. He turned, but before he took a step, he twisted his neck to look at the man. "And I'll be getting paid, right?"
"Yes. Twenty-one thousand vallies per night."
"Sounds good. Thanks, Kean."
Kean Standing huffed but said nothing at the informality.
Kenner walked out of the office, and someone else entered only ten seconds later. It was that old dark woman wearing a little too much jewellery on her wrists and ears. She walked in with a strut in her step in high heels, wearing a dark purple dress.
"Tamesha." Kean said.
"Kean, we're due at section J7 in thirty minutes." She said, placing some papers down on his desk. "Everyone's on standby."
"Good. I'll be there in a moment."
She nodded and began to make her way out of the room, but Kean stopped her.
"Did you look into those two boys?"
Tamesha turned to him quickly. "Ah yes. I didn't find anything about them. They're blank slates."
"You don't just see two powerhouses like that pop up out of nowhere." Kean said. "I wonder what they're up to. If they truly are children, then they're dangerous and can be easily manipulated. If you find anything, keep me posted."
She waved a hand at him while walking away and closing the door.
Kean huffed through his beard before picking himself up to get to business.
"My gut is telling me something's wrong. I can feel it."
"I see here that you own a restaurant, Mr. Ryser."
Willy nodded. "Yes, I do. Spirit's Cave has been in business for years now." He said to the man in front of him.
It was a blond-haired man in a black chef outfit. He was clean-shaven with a look of a critique, his eyes filled with intensity.
"And you wish to expand with the help of myself?" The man asked.
"I do. I dream of owning a restaurant known around the city and the world. With your help, I could get one step closer to achieving that."
"Hm." The man looked at him intently for a moment before saying. "Well, I must say, you did impress me at the fighting tournament. But fighting isn't the same as cooking, is it?"
Willy stared back, anticipating many ways this could turn out.
"I must have a taste of your food right away. So I can assess if you are truly worthy of being under the Tate name."
"O-of course Mr. Tate." Willy said with a shocked but happy expression. "Perhaps you could come to visit my establishment?"
"That would be fine with me. How does tomorrow at noon sound?" The man asked, taking a pen from its holder on the desk and writing something down on a sheet of paper.
"There shouldn't be a problem with that." Willy said. "Would you like a private meal or a normal table?"
"A normal table, please." The man responded without hesitation. "I must see how well your restaurant can perform. The food can be absolutely divine, but it can ruin everything if the place is in terrible conditions."
"Fabulous!" Willy smiled. "Then we'll be ready for you at noon tomorrow."
"I look forward to it."
The man stood up and invited him for a handshake, and Willy accepted.
A minute later, Willy walked out of the office with a dumb grin. He felt young again, being so excited like this.
But he wiped that smile off his face. There was work to be done. They usually had a thorough cleaning done weekly at his restaurant, but he wanted to do another just in case. He wanted to make sure everything was stocked up and ready. Everything must be perfect for Leopold Tate, the Big Boss of the food industry.
"So you need us to help find a cure for your brother?" A man in a medical uniform asked, sitting in front of his desk with both his legs and arms crossed.
"Yes, I will do anything you insist." Wom said, seated politely in front of the man. "I'm sure there is some way for him to be cured. If you can help, you would be in my country's good graces."
"Good graces?" He asked with a scoff. "I don't care for something like that. Well, if you do work for us, I wouldn't mind having some of our doctors do some research on your brother. You could be a lot of help in the police department."
"I am prepared for anything. As long as you keep your end of the deal, Dr. Edward Barker."
The doctor sighed. "I suppose we have a deal then. Welcome to the team, Wom."
Lincoln, Mikey, and Shade arrived at Leopold Tate's building. On the main floor was a restaurant, where many people were lined up to be seated. It was popular indeed.
"I'll be heading to the roof again." Shade said. "You two do your thing."
She left them, and the two stood quietly for some time staring at the line of customers on a red carpet.
"Let's not try to blow our cover." Lincoln snarked with a smile aimed at Mikey.
The other boy huffed and rolled his eyes, walking off.
"Hey, I was only kidding! Wait up!" Lincoln said reluctantly and chased after him.
They circled the building together, marking down any cameras or back doors they could use. There was even a garbage shoot available. Most likely for all the wasted food. It was a quick and straightforward process with no conflict that only took them around five minutes.
Back at the front, Lincoln looked at the restaurant line on the main floor. He thought of an idea of going inside but didn't bother bringing it up when he realized it might look suspicious, especially since they wouldn't be eating.
A couple of minutes later, Shade dropped down at the side of the building and went up to them.
"The building has a large pipe leading inside the restaurant. We could use that most likely to sneak inside."
"Sounds good. On to the next one, then?" Lincoln asked.
Shade nodded. "The next one is Dr. Edward Barker's building. It's east." She said and began to walk off.
As Lincoln and Mikey followed her, the white-haired boy noticed someone familiar exit the restaurant.
Mikey noticed Lincoln's look. "What is it?" He asked.
"Willy just left the building." He told.
"He probably got called for an interview." Shade said. "Makes sense for Leopold to call him up. Willy is a fellow restaurant owner, after all."
"I wonder if we'll run into him again." Lincoln whispered to himself as they continued to the next building.
"Finally, things are about to change." Atlas said, sipping on some orange wine.
He sat in his wheelchair while he gazed out of his office window to the city's streets. He watched as cars littered the streets and pedestrians were about.
"Soon, I will have control of the entire city. And we will have peace. It will be a paradise." He took another sip.
Gasping out after his sip, he said, "If those two succeed, this city might be on its way to a much better future."
"Doctor?" A young voice called out from behind.
Atlas turned his head and saw the boy that Lincoln and the others passed in the hallway earlier today.
"Ah, Ray. Come in." Atlas said with a smile. He put down his drink and rolled to his desk. "Is everything alright? How are you feeling?"
"Good, doctor." Ray said, stepping into the room with a skip, his arms behind his back.
"So the procedures are progressing well, I presume?"
"Yup. And I'm still cooped up in here!" Ray took one of the two seats in front of Atlas's desk. "I'm so bored! When can I go play?" He whined, leaning back in the seat.
"Soon, Ray." Atlas said calmly. "The procedures are not yet complete. In due time you will be able to finally stretch your legs, my boy. In the meantime, you can busy yourself with some more games."
Ray shoved himself up straight. "I don't want to just play games. They aren't fun! Do you know what looks like fun? Those two other kids you let in here. Can I go play with them? Please?"
"You aren't ready to play with them, Ray. They have important work to do. But I promise once your procedures are finished, you will have all the time in the world to have fun. Do you understand?"
The boy sighed reluctantly. "Yes, doctor."
"Good. Now come on then, let's get you ready." Atlas said, moving to leave his office.
Ray followed close behind him, and he shut the door when they left.
Lincoln gawked at the large building. It wasn't only a hospital. It also served as both a police station and a fire department. According to Shade, this was the main base of operations for Dr. Edward Barker. He was the Big Boss of Emergency Services.
This building was the largest one in the center of the city, stationed so that it was equally accessible to everyone. Currently, many people were entering and exiting the multiple automatic double doors at the front.
Shade was on the roof of the building doing her work at the moment. Lincoln and Mikey had just finished circling the building and now sat at the front on a bench.
"Why do we even need to be here?" Mikey said with a bored look. "She seems to be handling things just fine on her own."
"We need to get a little familiar with the buildings too." Lincoln reminded him. "But I get your point. We can't even head inside in case we blow our cover."
Just then, Shade appeared from around the corner of the building. "Alright, we're done here."
"Finally. Then we can be done with this." Mikey grumbled to himself.
"This building is by far the most heavily guarded." Shade said. "Makes sense with the police force here and all."
"They shouldn't be a problem." Lincoln said. "Right?"
"Not at all." Shade replied. "All they have is their weapons. There's nothing they can do to powerful fighters such as yourselves. Well, with the exception of Dr. Barker."
"Is he strong?" Lincoln asked curiously.
"I suppose." Shade shrugged. "He is the Captain of the police force, after all."
"So he's a doctor, Captain, and I'm going to guess a firefighter too?" Mikey said.
"You'd be correct. But if everything goes as planned, you would never have to face him. Enough of all that, though. Let's head on to the last building. It's Evan Medy's, the Big Boss of Entertainment."
It didn't take them long to travel to the last of the Big Boss headquarters. The three of them jumped from building to building, avoiding the crowds of people.
A couple of buildings away, Shade stopped for a moment and pointed to it.
This one was as tall as the rest, and at the bottom was a club. But because it was still daytime, it didn't look busy at the moment.
Like all the others, Shade went ahead and scaled the building, leaving Mikey and Lincoln to circle it.
Minutes later, Mikey yawned, turning around the building and stepping at the front. After circling the building, he was a bit confused as to why he didn't find Lincoln on the other side.
He wondered where he was until he found him back at the front staring at something on the building's wall.
He walked up to the white-haired boy, and as he got closer, he noticed something was off about his expression.
"Uh, you alright?" He asked whilst raising a brow.
Lincoln didn't answer him immediately, so he turned to what he was staring at.
Scratching his head, he looked over and saw a poster on the wall. It looked a bit old, with some tears on the sides and cracks on the paper.
In big and colorful capital letters was the title; The Royal Waves. It also had some people on it. In the front were two girls, both brown-haired. One looked like she was having the time of her life while playing an electric guitar. The other girl was laughing and looked as if she was told the funniest joke ever. Although, the microphone in her hand suggested that she was the one telling the joke.
There were also other members behind them. The two most notable in Mikey's eyes was another girl with a teal streak in her hair and a boy with dark brown curly hair.
At the bottom of the poster read, "Starring: Luna Loud, Luan Loud, Sam Sharp, Benny Stein…" Mikey didn't bother reading the rest.
He looked over to Lincoln, who was still looking up and down the poster with a slightly shocked look. Tapping him on his arm got his attention.
Lincoln whipped his head to him, seemingly unaware of his presence until now. "Oh, hey." He said.
"You okay?" Mikey asked, a little confused.
"Yeah!" Lincoln piped up with a smile. "Just looking over some of these shows."
In reality, Lincoln was curious. Really curious. He wanted to take this poster to Evan Medy and ask some questions. But after thinking about it for some time, he wanted to convince himself that he just didn't care enough for it. They are long gone now, after all.
But for some reason, he couldn't shake his curiosity no matter how hard he tried. And he hated it.
Lincoln looked over to the entrance of the building. Evan wouldn't be here on the night of the mission. He'd be at that party Atlas spoke about. Even if that man was here, he couldn't risk exposing the plan to him. Maybe he could find him after the mission is complete? No, he couldn't be certain of that.
But Evan Medy could be inside right now. Today could be a good chance to find him—only one way to find out.
Looking over to Mikey, he said, "I'm going inside real quick. Tell Shade I'm heading to the washroom."
Mikey gave him a blank look with his hands in his pockets. "What happened to not blowing our cover?"
"I'm not." He said. "I just need to go check something."
Mikey glanced at the poster for a second. "This show was over five months ago, you know."
"Yeah." Lincoln shrugged. "It's about something else, though. Just let Shade know for me, okay?"
"Sure." Mikey shrugged, realizing he didn't care. "Fine."
Lincoln nodded. "Thanks." And he made his way into the building.
He remembered one thing beforehand—his disguise. He would need it off if he wanted to have a chance at speaking with the Big Boss. Luckily for him, he grew a reputation at the fighting tournament. Evan Medy would for sure recognize him.
Pinching the edge of the disguise, he peeled it off and tucked it into his pocket. Then, he took off his sweater and put it inside out, making the outside now red. He would have to thank Olivia later.
After he believed he was ready, he made his way through the front door to the building.
As he stepped inside, his ears were flooded with upbeat music. He noticed past the front counter that there were many games. Some included cards, some dice, and others were just straight up machines. It was after looking around did he realize this wasn't an arcade. It was a casino.
"How may I help you, young man?" A lady in a fancy red tuxedo said to him.
"I'm looking for Evan Medy. I want to talk with him."
The lady kindly smiled. "I'm sorry, but he's a busy man. I'm afraid he won't have time to speak with you."
"He will if he knows it's me." Lincoln said. He didn't want to make it seem like he had an ego, but there wasn't any way around it. "I'm sure of it. Do you know someone who could call for him?"
The lady sighed. "Very well. I'll ask my boss to call him but don't be disappointed if he doesn't bother."
She went to the countertop and reached behind, pulling out a phone. Dialing a quick number, she spoke on the phone with someone for a moment before turning to Lincoln once more. "What's your name, sorry?"
"Uh, it's Lincoln." He said. "Tell them it's the white-haired kid at the fighting tournament."
The lady turned back to the phone and said just that. After receiving a reply, she nodded and hung up. "My boss will be here in a moment, so sit tight."
"Okay, thanks."
The lady walked off, and Lincoln sat on one of the benches placed in front.
He didn't wait long. Around five minutes later, someone entered the front, calling out for his name.
"Is there a 'Lincoln' here?"
She was a dark-skinned adult woman with dark-blue eyeshadow. Wearing a stylish purple crop top and matching shorts, with chandelier earrings hanging from each ear.
"Hi!" Lincoln stood up. "You are…?"
"I'm Melina." The lady smiled. "Evan Medy's first assistant. Come with me, please." She said, making a "Come here" motion.
Lincoln followed her, and she took him past some casino machines and up some stairs. As he ascended the stairs, he looked down at the large casino, seeing so much more from up here.
It was prominent in scale, with many tables filled with chips, dice, cards and players. There were also people at the various machines. Some cried out in frustration while others cheered for their own small victory. Although it wasn't completely packed in here, there were still a good number of people around.
Up the stairs, they entered a plain hallway. After going down that, they took a left turn and approached an elevator.
They went inside, and Melina pressed the third highest floor, number 88. The doors closed, and the elevator started moving up.
"I just want to say I'm a huge fan." Melina said, dropping all formality and replacing it with a goofy smile. "You were amazing!"
And she meant it. As she stood beside Evan Medy for those horrible hours without a break, she was able to ignore the aching in her legs every time Lincoln or Mikey was on stage. She was surprised when she got the call earlier for him, but she was also ecstatic. Although she wished she was the one he wanted to meet.
Lincoln chuckled and scratched his head. "Thanks."
Arriving on the floor, the elevator opened its doors and revealed a large white room with waterfalls along the walls.
"Is he busy?" Lincoln asked.
"Who, Evan?" Melina laughed. "Probably. That man had a weird version of being busy, though. So it shouldn't be a problem to interrupt him."
With that reaction, Lincoln eased up a bit. Looking up to the ceiling, he realized Shade was not too far above them, only about three floors up. He hoped that if she found out about this, she wouldn't be too upset, and he had his own reasons to enter the building. Evan Medy shouldn't be suspicious one bit.
Melina took him to another door, and as Lincoln stepped closer, he started to feel some thumping in a rhythm where he stood.
Melina knocked and immediately opened the door, and instantly Lincoln began to hear some nice party music being played from inside.
Inside, the room was pitch black walls, with disco lights of every color imaginable jumping everywhere to the beat of the music.
There was a single white-tiled platform in the middle, where a large guy was dancing.
The man's hair was big and curly, and he wore a bright red long-sleeved tuxedo, matching pants, and some black high heel boots. Lincoln couldn't lie. He thought the man looked pretty stylish.
"Evan!" Melina shouted out. "We have a guest!"
The man didn't respond. It looked as if he didn't even notice the two were standing there.
Melina rolled her eyes. She walked off to the side of the dance room, where a computer was set up. After she tinkered with it for a bit, the music suddenly cut.
The man, known as Evan Medy, stopped breaking some moves. He looked at the computer in confusion before yelling, "Melina! It was about to get to the good part!"
Melina pointed to Lincoln. "We have a guest."
"What are you-" He cut himself off when he spotted Lincoln.
He stared at the boy up and down. Of course, he recognized him. He and the other young kid were both the spotlights of that boring tournament. It was the first time in a long while he genuinely felt inspired. He had wished to speak with him sooner, but he didn't have the time. And when he finally did, he couldn't find him anywhere.
"You." He ultimately said.
Lincoln sheepishly waved at him. "Hey there."