෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ Dissociation and Ideation. Stratton lay on the floor by the wall between his office and Kellogg. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He lay still, panting as though in the middle of a fast run. He whispered two phrases over and over under his breath. “It’s all over. It’s the only way!” He repeated those phrases again and again as the afternoon shadows lengthened. In the next room, Kellogg stared at his handwritten lists without seeing them. He turned away from the window view and hunched over in his chair. After long moments sitting there quivering in anguish, his expression became serene. He picked up his phone. “Honey, listen, don’t speak, I need you to listen. Something’s happened at work. I—” his voice broke and a frantic voice on the other end was barely audible. “No, no. Listen, I need to tell you something and I don’t have a lot of time. I messed up. I messed up so bad.” he choked back a sob. “It’s all over now. I can’t fix this. I only have one option left. It’s the only way.” He set the phone down, ignoring the cries for answers coming from it’s tiny speaker. Slowly, deliberately, he disconnected the call and placed the phone onto the desk. He took one last look at the office before heading for the roof. ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ United We’ll Stand Just outside the east side of the Atlanta perimeter, in an otherwise unremarkable neighborhood, in the basement of a typical looking split level home, Mark lounged in a recliner with a book in his hand. The screen on the other end of the room was turned to a football game no one was really watching. Cyndi was sitting on the floor next to his leg looking at his stump. Outside, the air was humid and hot, the late summer southern air sweltering in the evening sun. The air surrounding the couple was cool and dry, surprisingly comfortable. “It’s weird. I keep finding myself trying to pretend we can go back to our lives. I think it’s still sinking in that those lives are just gone.” She nodded, “uh huh.” “This feels like some kind of fucked up witness protection.” She glanced at the tv and then back at the slowly growing stump. “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Mark set the book down on the end table beside the recliner. “I think if she’s right and he makes us an offer, we’d be smart to take it.” “That sounds good honey.” she said without looking away from the growing leg. “I’m serious, I think we should do it.” He looked at her distracted expression and frowned, “It’s not like we’ve got so many good options. I wonder if that would make us super villains, or henchmen?” “Sure, ok dear,” she murmured absently, watching his stump grow with a sort of grim fascination. Mark shook his head slightly at the absent minded reply. “Oh well, at least if you’re going to be a henchman, you can finally get that sex change you’ve been wanting.” She glanced up at Mark’s face then back at his stump. “That’s a good point.” He sighed. “And then, we can fly to the moon and bring back a big load of cheese.” “Oh, are you hungry again? I can get you some food.” she started to get up. “Cyndi” She looked at him. “What?” “You’re zoning out looking at it again.” She looked away from his stump with a chastened expression. “Sorry, I can’t stop watching it! I can literally see it regrowing!” she exclaimed. Mark put his hand on her thigh and gave a gentle squeeze. “That makes one of us. I can’t watch it. It itches so bad if I look at it.” He scratched the back of his head where the implant had been. “I’ve got enough itching going on right now, I don’t need to add to it.” She didn't reply, her gaze rapt at the sight of the growing limb. “Cyndi!” his tone a bit sharper than usual. “What? I’m listening!” He smiled, with a chagrined look. “Of course you are. Actually though, I could use some more food.” She tore her gaze away from the growing stump and headed upstairs. A moment later, Jim sat down in the recliner next to Mark. He glanced at the stump. “Damn, that thing is a trainwreck. Such a combination of disgusting and amazing. I can barely look away.” He fanned his face and took a deep breath. “But, sitting over here in your personal AC makes it all worthwhile.” Mark nodded, rolling his eyes. “So I’ve heard.” He looked at the clock. “I thought you were hitting the sack.” Jim yawned. “Soon, captain obvious in there was trying to persuade me to give them some space, so here I am.” Mark looked across the open basement to see the Redding brothers talking. Chris appeared reserved and calm. He lounged on the small couch, idly playing some kind of platforming game on the big screen in the corner. In stark contrast, Bill gesticulated wildly as he paced around that corner of the basement. Neither Mark or Jim could hear them, but the brothers were clearly arguing. Mark shook his head. “I really don’t know what to think about those two.” Jim nodded in agreement. ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ Old Habits. —you, that’s all there is to it!” Bill exclaimed. Chris yawned and restarted the game level. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Bill pointed a finger at Chris. “What do you mean? Of course it’s a good idea! We’ve got no record here, all our warrants were cancelled. It’s the perfect time to make a big score.” Chris shook his head. “It’s a bad idea. I want to see what happens here before we make any calls we can’t reverse.” Bill looked confused. “What are you even talking about? They’re gonna kick us out of here sooner or later! We need to have a good score planned before then.” Chris looked around. “Lower your fucking voice.” Bill sat down on the couch. “Sorry, but we do. We need something planned.” he said in a much quieter tone. Chris powered off the game console. “I need you to chill the hell out. If we need a good score there are more than enough armored trucks around here. But we need to use our heads!” he glanced over at the stairs and then toward Jim and Mark. “These guys aren’t too worried about it. I’m pretty sure we have at least till gimpy over there can get his dance on again.” Bill looked at the men across the basement. “I’m not worried about the gym teacher, but those other two are scary. If something goes down we gotta take them out fast.” Chris narrowed his eyes. “Am I speaking English? You need to chill out. Nothing is going to ‘go down’ here. Just calm your tits and lets wait this out. Besides, you saw what he did. Wouldn't you like to be able to work with any metal? I know I would.” His gaze turned inward. “Did you see how his armor moves? That was some next fucking level shit right there. I could feel it had a lot of iron in it, but that had to be some exotic alloys.” Bill nodded. “Uh, yeah. That was pretty cool. I mean, not better than your armor suits though.” Chris looked at Bill in disbelief. “The fuck are you smoking? My suits are clunky suits of sheet metal I can barely walk in, and he’s like some inside out liquid metal terminator!” Bill mumbled something indistinct. “I can’t hear you.” Chris snapped. “I didn’t want you to feel bad.” Bill mumbled. Chris laughed out loud, attracting the attention of Cindi as she came down the stairs bearing a plate full of food. Chris tossed the controller onto the couch beside him and clapped his brother on the back. “Bill, that was fuckin’ Doktor Midnight. Why would I feel bad? Hell, what I see, is a chance to learn how he does it, and maybe add that to our toolbox. You heard what he said, right?” Bill nodded, doubt clear in his expression. “Yeah. I heard it. People say a lot of things.” Chris nodded. “Yeah, hear you there. But hey, this is me. They’re hooking gimpy up with a whole new leg over there. I think it’s worth finding out what kinds of opportunities we’ll have before we bail.” Bill furrowed his brow. “I guess so.” he didn’t sound confident. Chris sighed “Well, how about this. We should at least wait till the implants are out. I aint going out like that Doolittle wannabe.” Bill nodded. “I liked him. Dave never laughed at me.” Chris rolled his eyes. “No one has laughed at you in years. But yeah, that was pretty fucked up.” He put out his closed fist toward Bill. “So, you good on waiting for now?” he asked. Bill reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, for now.” he put his fist up and bumped it against his brother’s hand. Chris smiled. “Good, and besides, it’s possible they might think we’re dead right now. But if ‘Cold Steel’ and ‘IronMonger’ start pulling jobs in the same area where we were last seen, even the government might be able to figure that one out.” Bill yawned. “Yeah. I didn’t think of that.” Chris leaned in toward BIll, “Besides, this Midnight guy seems like our best chance to get back at that fucker Kellogg. Bastard put bombs in our heads!” he clenched his jaw. “I don’t care what it takes, that asshole needs to die.” Bill nodded solemnly, then got up and looked toward the door to the room they’d been given. “I think I’m gunna go to bed.” Chris returned the yawn. “Good call. I could grab some z’s myself” ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ ෴෴෴ Acceptance and Anger On the main floor above and offset from their guests, two women sat at a kitchen table in discussion. A muted TV was on in the background, showing news footage with breaking news out of Spain. “Look Tiffany, I hate to say it, but I can’t stay for the overnight shift again.” The younger woman said, her tone firm, even if the rest of her looked exhausted. The matronly woman across the table smiled sympathetically. “Of course dear, your family needs you, and you’re only responsible for the afternoon shift.” She glanced at the stairs leading to the basement and then back at the younger woman. “You’ve done all you can for our guests today as it is. You look dead on your feet.” The younger lady nodded thanks. “I appreciate it. I’m just worried that with everything happening,” she glanced at the screen and then back at Tiffany. “Well, with all that, and with headquarters not answering calls, I’m worried that Karen isn’t even planning to come in.” Tiffany shrugged. “Can I level with you Jill?” Jill appeared to think about it, and then shrugged back, “I think so? I guess it depends on what you’re going to say.” Tiffany threw her head back and laughed out loud. “And you mean that! I like that about you. You think deeper than the others.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Karen is about as helpful as tits on a bull most days anyway. Her not showing up just means I have more excuses to get our guests to lend a hand, and they need that more than just idle time. Besides, when she doesn’t show up, I get to keep her cash allowance.” She nodded to herself with a self satisfied smile. Jill smiled faintly, “I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but you really remind me of my Gram when you say things like that.” Tiffany gave her a knowing smile. “Why do you think I do it?” Jill looked startled. “I—I never thought about it.” Tiffany smiled again, this time the grin was almost a predatory smirk. “Honey, you don’t get to run one of the safehouses if you can’t take care of yourself. There isn’t much to do that I can’t handle, and the things I’d need some extra hands with, well I’ve got four sets downstairs, five by the end of the week if you keep that leg healing at this pace.” “Well sure, but what if one of them…” Jill’s half hearted protest trailed off. Tiffany smiled, the lines on her face showed it was a common expression for her. “Deary, let me tell you what I know about our guests at this point. Mark and Cyndi are a team, a great couple that could be real assets to the cause. Mark is deeply grateful to you for the healing work you’re doing, and nervous about the eventual cost, and the future in general. Cyndi isn’t thinking about the future right now. She’s moved from worried about his life, to amazed that he’s clearly going to have a brand new leg within a week. She would crawl through broken glass if you so much as hinted that it would help Mark’s leg recover. I can’t see the future, but they both know their old lives are over. I think that if the boss offers them a place in the organization, they’ll grab it with both hands.” She raised two fingers and then her thumb. “And then there’s Jim, he’s such a straight arrow. He’s an interesting one. Now, Mark and Cyndi,” She let out a short laugh, “and of course those so called “Iron brothers”, have all considered that a life of crime might be their only option.” She shook her head vehemently. “But not Jim. I’m honestly worried that he might be a liability because he seems to consider following the letter of the law part of his personal morality.” She glanced at the floor as though she could see through the floor at the former gym teacher in the basement. “In a way, him deciding he needs to turn himself in again, is the biggest operational threat I can see right now.” She paused, seeing the conflicting emotions on Jill’s face. “I know, you think Chris and Bill are the big threats. You’re not totally wrong, and it’s why I’ve told you to hold off on removing anyone else’s implants. Mark won't leave Cindi, but those two would jump ship and go back to petty crime in a second if they thought they could get away with it. The younger one for sure.” The older woman paused to take a breath, allowing Jill to jump in. “So why are you saying Jim’s the biggest threat? Those other two were criminals before, they said so themselves.” Tiffany made a gentle ‘tsking’ sound. “Well, I don’t know what happened, but everyone downstairs is deathly afraid of those implants. It’s not some vague possible danger to them. They see those implants as imminent death awaiting. So for starters, as long as those implants are in, I’m not worried about those two taking off. Jim on the other hand, he’s clearly a man of convictions, that part of him feels very strong.” She smiled wistfully. “Normally, I love that in man, strong convictions are both wonderful, and terrifying. He has that in common with your husband, and with my Ned, god rest his soul.” She bowed her head for a moment. “Ask yourself this question: ‘What would your husband do to save you or the kids from harm? Or better yet, ‘What wouldn’t he do?’ Then realize that Jim doesn’t have family to lose, but he does have his personal principles and holds them close the way some people keep family close.” Jill paled. “So you’re saying that if he decides that going outside and possibly, probably, dying is the right thing, he’ll do it?” The older lady took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh, suddenly looking tired. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I doubt he’d even hesitate. So far, every time he starts dwelling on that, I’ve managed to casually bring up the idea of the responsibility all citizens bear to oppose a tyrannical government. I might have won him over there, we’ll see tomorrow I suppose.” She paused and her gaze became far away for an instant before focussing back on Jill. “Jim’s the only one awake down there right now, and he’s going to nod off soon. Chris and Bill might be a problem if it was just me and those two, but the other three are genuinely good folks, so for right now, I need you to stop worrying about me, and the job, and go home to your family.” Jill nodded wearily and got to her feet. She staggered to the door with heavy, clumsy steps, yawning widely. Tiffany went to the front door and watched Jill wobble her way to the car. “I’m sure once you’re heading home, you’ll be able to shed some of that tiredness and be able to enjoy your evening with your family. A lot of being tired is just in your head after all. Drive safe dear.” Jill weakly waved and half fell into the seat of her sedan. As she watched Tiffany close the front door to the safehouse Jill felt the heavy weight of weariness fall off her as though she’d shed a heavy overcoat and been splashed with cool water. She blinked a few times as her alertness and energy level surged. She looked at the shadow of Tiffany’s receding form through the front windows. “Oh, you crafty old bitch.” she said with a smile as she started the car.