“Baby...I’m sorry. I know my taking all these risks worries you and I promise I’ll try to do better.” said Clancy. Sitting in his living with his wife at his side.

She leaned forwards giving him a frown that was more of a pout, her eyes clear and unblinking.

“Only try, hon?”

Clancy tugged at his ear, looking a bit sheepish and uncomfortable.

“Anne, you know I don’t like lying to you...That’s why I generally don’t...Which is why I can’t say that I’ll never take any risks because if I think I can get away with it, with a good enough margin of error, or that I have no choice, with non-suicidal odds...I’ll usually give things a shot.

It’s just the nature of the job and too be honest, babe...between you and me...your husband is a bit of an idiot…It’s not me being cocky...or overconfident...I swear on my soul it’s not…

I’m just bad at running the numbers and figuring the percentages. Where others see a job with 68% chance of success. I round up and see it as 75%. I realize now that perhaps that might not be the best way of going about things. And I promise to get better with my math…”

Anne furrowed her brow, trying to make heads or tails out of her boyfriends nonsensical ramble. She sighed, moving a little closer and giving the man a peck on the forehead.

“Yes, Yes.. my boyfriend... is indeed a bit thick...I’m not sure what numbers he thinks he’s running in that head of his, but he should just try to keep in mind that he has someone who waits at home for him worried sick.”

Clancy nodded.

“He does...I mean...I do.”

“Okay, then...well, since you’ve promised to do better. I’ll apologize for going all nagging wife on you before…”

“Well...hon, you weren’t super naggy..,just” said Clancy. Taking the opportunity to try and build up some brownie point.

Anne gave him the eye, raising a single brow till Clancy gave up.

“Super Naggy?”

“Er...anyway as you were saying?” said Clancy. Putting on a face of befuddled innocence.

She sighed, taking a moment to think and follow her thoughts back to where she’d left off.

“As I was saying...I’ll promise not to nag you so much if you do that thing you’d always promised to do once you’d started working bigger jobs and got higher up in Foundation.” said Anne.

Clancy gulped half-sure of what his girl was about to ask of him.

“Okay, shoot. If it’ll make you feel better about my job then I’m game.” said Clancy.

*****

They gave him a $1, 250,000.00 dollar signing bonus. A million dollars plus another quarter of a million dollars, just for signing on the dotted line.

Similar to the kind of signing bonuses given to corporate executives and professional athletes.

This and the fairly generous terms under which they’d allowed him to sign on with them, made Clancy 1000% sure that eventually things between him and the Prospero Foundation in which he was now a committed member would inevitably sour in the most catastrophic of ways.

He tried to be optimistic and tell himself that this was just a sign that things for him and Anne were about to turn up and get easier, but there was no denying his own nature.

Despite her being the more cynical between the two of them, Anne was the one who was better at looking at the brighter side of things…Part of her bid to become the world’s greatest polymath was down to all those hopes and dreams she had.

Clancy could fake positivity and make himself look at only the best case scenarios, but the inside of his head, would be calling odds on ragnarok all the while. Sometimes looking on the bright side meant you could only see the bodies better.

What Clancy had instead of hope was determination, a cockroach-like persistence, and a “fake it till you make it” kind of confidence.

This part of Clancy’s personality was yet another reason that he kept few friends. He could pretend to be friendly but he usually spent most of his interactions with new faces, working on when to how to handle them should they prove hostile, and how they might be a threat.

Keeping emotionally distant just in case he ever needed to put his guesses to the test.

Which was part of why Dennis was pretty much one of the only “real” friends the man had. His pie in the sky, boy scout-ish, borderline-offputting, earnestness meant that even Clancy couldn’t shake the man off.

But that was besides the point. Even without the signing bonus, Clancy and Anne would have still been working on trying to get strong enough to shake the Foundation of their backs anyway. They, or at least he, was just jaded that way.

However once again, that wasn’t point, the point was that, they gave Clancy $250,000 dollars.

The first thought that came Clancy’s mind was to go home to his girl and let her in on the good news.

Anne’s first thought was to call her people and let them know that after she wrapped up up their most current projects, they were to split the majority of the take amongst themselves and go on a break because she’d be taking a little holiday herself.

With Clancy and Her, taking a month off to unwind and mentally prepare for all that they’d have to do in the near future. And recovering from a bit of the stress they’d built from all they’d done in the last few months.

For now they’d rest and indulge in snacks, fast food, so bad it’s good movies, and each other’s bodies.

Anne would get to feed an extra third and fourth time this month because they could now afford more doses of Amrita-9. Which meant Anne could feed more.

Which meant that it’d be almost like Anne was a normal woman. One who could interact with the outside world and lead a life beyond the walls of their townhouse.

For all that she, more or less never, complained about the life she normally lead, Clancy knew, it was something that would mean a lot to her.