Heidi held the Prescript in her hands. She knew she couldn’t fulfill this. Emilio sat across the room at his desk, working on the Office’s PDA One day they’ll get a computer, but til then this fragile paper thin PDA was going to do. She put the Prescript back in her pocket, before Emilio would see it, then called to him. “Any new jobs coming in? I’ve been itching for a fight.”

  “Doesn’t look like it.” He shook his head. “Still waiting on that big job from Cacao Workshop that they kept hinting at. Do you think they left us high and dry?”

  “Wouldn’t that get them in trouble? To tell an Office you were gonna give them a specific job and then not doing it, you know? That’d paint them in a bad light to any future job takers.”

  “I guess… That being said, I’ve met a lot of shady people in my time at Dead Flowers so it isn’t unheard of. Where’s Oliver, by the way? I haven’t seen her all day.”

  “I don’t know. Off doing Oliver things?” Heidi said, looking to her right, towards the door, expecting to see Oliver right there with her habit of sneaking up on people. Nope, not this time, leaving her both disappointed and relieved. “Hope she’s okay.”

  “I’ve seen how capable she is. If anything, I feel bad for anyone who she runs across.”

  “Heh, she’s probably taking a bite of someone’s femur as we speak.” Heidi crossed her arms, putting her feet up on the table in front of her. “By the way, do we even know where she lives?”

  “…No, actually…” Emilio thought for a moment. He and Heidi shared an apartment, but now that he thought about it, he had never learned where Oliver went after they departed for the night. She couldn’t have been homeless, given the how the Backstreets handled homelessness. “Think I’ll ask her next time we meet, eh?” He put his PDA aside and leaned back, just as the door opened.

  Heidi and Emilio both looked over only to see… No one…

  “Hello?” Emilio asked. Was it the wind? He looked over to Heidi, who was equally confused.

  Heidi gripped at her sword, immediately assuming the Index was coming for her. Then loosened it when she realized no one came in. So she thought. Looking back to Emilio, she gasped when she noticed Oliver standing next to Emilio’s desk.

  The man immediately jolted in shock. “Shit! I told you to stop that! How did you even do that?” She said, taking a deep breath to calm down. “But, good to see you. We were worried about you… Which, by the way, where were you?”

  “Shopping.” Oliver said, tossing a bag of gray and blue cans on Emilio’s desk.

  Heidi got up to check it out.

  “Sprats.” Oliver said, pointing a sleeve covered hand at the cans. “…And bread. Can be eaten raw or cooked.”

  “Sprats?” Emilio said, picking one up.

  “Sprats?” Heidi asked too.

  “You guys echo a lot.” Oliver said, “Small fish. Farmed locally in this district. Good on a budget.” She then put one more item on the desk. A green and white tin. “Mints. Your breath stinks as is.” She had quite the tongue on her.

  “Hilarious. I’m not a big fan of fish, but thanks.” Emilio smiled. He wasn’t hungry at the moment, so he held off. “But, I have to thank you, Oliver, I just gave you your first pay check not too long ago but you’re spending that money on feeding us.” That still felt weird, that he was the one doing people paychecks.

  “I just like cooking.” Oliver nodded, sounding happy. It was hard to tell her emotions with the mask on all the time, but this time, the joy of cooking could be heard.

  “It’s good cooking too.” Heidi patted Oliver on the back. “When are you going to make pasta again? Never thought I’d have tomato sauce again.”

  “Don’t touch me.” Oliver said, going back to her usual tone. She looked outside, “Fighting outside… One of you want to handle it? Sounds like they’re trying to break into the apartment building next door.”

  “Again?” Emilio said. “Those idiots trying to pull off protection money schemes?”

  “Probably,” Heidi said, walking towards the door. “I can handle it if you want. I’ve been awfully stir crazy lately.” She said, without her usual confidence.

  “Go ahead, need any help?” Emilio volunteered. Zwei wasn’t doing a good job of protecting this place, so it was on them to do their job. This spot of the Backstreets was a shit hole, but it was their shit hole to protect.

  “Nope, I can handle it myself. See you in a few minutes.” She said, as she walked out, the bell on the door jingling.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “There she goes.” Emilio said, boredom clear in his voice as well. “Would love to see her in action… Her swordplay is something to be applauded, not a wasted action… Here I am, relegated to a desk job.” He looked to Oliver. Cutting the pessimism, he asked her. “Hm… Think this is the first time the two of us have been alone together, hasn’t it?”

  But, instead of answering, Oliver instead pulled up a chair in front of Emilio. Then, removing her mask, she said quietly. “She’s got a Prescript.”

  “Wait… What?!” Emilio said, leaning forward.

  “She didn’t tell me what it was. You need to ask her.” Oliver continued, opening one of the sprat cans. “Operator.”

  “I feel it’s her business. Why does she have to follow it? She’s not even part of the Index anymore… She left!”

  “She never officially left.” Oliver shook her head. “You are our boss. Take responsibility for us. Ask her.”

  “I trust Heidi enough that-”

  “Do you?” Oliver asked, munching on her fishy canned meal. “Her not telling you? That’s insubordination.”

  After staring at her for what felt like hours, Emilio bowed his head. Where the fuck did this side of Oliver come from? Yet, he had to agree with her. He was their boss and he had to start acting like it. He let out a long sigh, “You… You’re right. When the fuck did you become so serious? I’ve been treating this like a social club, haven’t I?”

  “You have.” Oliver said. “But that can change now. You don’t have to ask now. But ask soon… Or regret it later.”

  That was when the bell on the door rung again, Heidi walking in once more. “Yeah, I don’t know what you heard, Oliver, but it was pretty peaceful out there. Peaceful as far as the Backstreets go, at least.” She said, going over to her favorite spot on the couch and sat down. “Didn’t even get to threaten someone, much less slice them.”

  “I thought I heard it.” Oliver said, standing up, going back to her corner of the Office, leaving Emilio to his thoughts.

  Emilio had noticed Heidi’s change in personality lately. What was the Prescript she was given that’d prompt such a change? Kill a bunch of innocent people? Come back to the Index? What could be so important? But, rather than bringing it up, he looked between the two. This whole thing did remind him of something he’d been meaning to bring up. “Ah hey, so, there is something I’ve been wanting to show you guys.”

  The girls looked over, watching as Emilio reached under his desk and put a box in front of him, opening it up, he revealed the contents… Cassette tapes and tape recorders.

  “This is where the Office’s budget has been going?” Heidi asked.

  “Hey, these things are super cheap, got this for half of a job’s payment.” Emilio grinned. It was suppose to be a cute smile, but the man couldn’t smile without looking threatening.

  “What are they for.” Oliver asked.

  “Basically, you know our Office’s motto, our whole running away from our past shtick?”

  “Yeah, it’s on our jackets,” Heidi nodded, as she reached her arm behind her back, feeling the Office’s logo.

  “Shtick?” Oliver asked, more confused by the term. She tossed an empty can of sprats aside, having already eaten 3. She put her mask back on.

  “Well, I was thinking.” He grabbed one of the tape recorders. He even went through the trouble of slapping the Office’s logo on the side. “What if we recorded our stories? It’s a bit of a taboo to talk about your past with other Fixers if you’re hiding something. But that’s kind of our whole thing. So I was thinking if you told your story out loud for your ears only, can be a good form of therapy. It’ll keep any more arguments from happening with all those emotions bottled up?”

  Oliver had her eyes on Heidi this whole time, although it was impossible to tell with the mask.

  “So why record it though?” Heidi asked, as she walked over and picked up one of the tape recorders. “Not against the idea though.”

  “So that the others may listen to it whenever they ask and you give them permission. It keeps you from dumping your traumas onto them. They decide when they want to hear your trauma and you decide when you want them to listen to it.” He smiled proudly, “Pretty clever, eh? A mutually agreed on trauma dump.”

  “Clever. Didn’t think you could be so clever.” Heidi teased, smiling, putting the recorder in her pocket, alone with a few tapes. “I won’t be using it right now, but whenever I’m ready, I’ll be putting it to use.” She looked to Oliver. “What about you.”

  “Pass.” Oliver said

  “Just take the damn recorder.” Emilio said. “…Or I’ll change you for insubordination.” He said with a wink; the reason for this wink was lost on Heidi.

  With an immature groan, Oliver stood up, sauntered over and took a tape recorder and a few tapes, before going back to her spot.

  “Then it’s settled then,” Emilio said, getting up from his desk finally. “I’m sure we’ll all come around to the idea eventually.” He said, heading for the door.

  “Where are you going? It’s pretty early in the day to be closing the Office.” Heidi asked.

  “Would either of you two mind if I went to the apartment? I… Feel like putting this thing to use.” He said, staring at his own recorder.

  “Take your time,” Heidi said, going back to the couch, hoping she wouldn’t have to get up from it for a while. “We will hold down the fort.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I finish, shouldn’t be long.” After a moment’s hesitation, he then walkd out the door. It was just a few minute walk, over to the apartment building he holed up in; the worst thing he’d run into one of his many asshole neighbors, but he was certain that whoever it was, he could kick his ass if he ever got in a fight.

  Walking up the stairs, he passed by his bugheaded neighbor, who was on his way out, clad in a hood to poorly hide his visage. Poor guy… If there was any one that he didn’t consider an asshole at this complex, it was him; yet, he didn’t even know his name.

  Things were already catching up with him, so soon.

  He was informed on the situation in W Corp from Heidi and Oliver when they got back. Along with what Ezekiel told him, it was all but confirmed that the Nest of W Corp is going to fall soon. How soon, only time would tell; all that was known was that it was within all their life times, sooner rather than later. But that was the least of his worries right now. There was the name that was mentioned: Fionnlagh. He already knew he was somewhere in the District, with all the trees popping up. But hearing that name from the mouth of one of his friends. It felt so uncanny.

  Unlocking the apartment door and walking in, Emilio went to the couch in front of the coffee table. Beer cans and packs of cigarettes littered the table; he took care of the Office more than he did the place he lived. He had been waiting to do something like this for a long time. Sitting down, he took the tape recorded from his pocket, then hit record.