~~~

As Regum escalated its operations, brushes against the many powers of the world would become an inevitability. Arthur Cadogan had always been aware of that. He knew there would come a time when it wouldn’t just be greedy businessmen hiring professional assassins from ancient cults he had to worry about. One day, even open warfare would be within the realm of possibility.

Still, he hadn’t expected his two new interns to get in this much trouble so quickly.

Even Gerald’s late-night acquisitions—despite the many times the former mercenary had come into contact with costumed adversaries—hadn’t caused this many complications. Then again, that was to be expected. Gerald was a professional. One of the best. It was why Arthur had hired him.

Gerald knew better than to let trouble follow him home.

“Did we know this was a possibility?” He asked, his face neutral and his hands steepled together over his desk. It was just him and Matilda in his office. There was no need to call the other members of his “Round Table,” as Caleb liked to call it.

Personally, Arthur rather liked the name, but it was a little too on the nose to actually use.

Pity.

Regardless, Matilda was not only the Head of Human Resources. She was also his top intelligence agent. It had been her job to know every aspect of Amanda Collins’ life before she was hired.

“That Ms. Collins would become involved with Exceeds? Absolutely,” Matilda replied. As was usual, even wearing a simple business suit, she did not fail to look absolutely breath-taking. “I dare say it was a strong consideration for the doctor. Though infrequently, Ms. Collins has been exposed to Exceeds from a relatively young age. Even if her compatibility score had not been as high as it was, she would have likely been chosen for that factor alone. The opportunity to observe the interactions between someone undergoing the SP treatment and Exceeds in a casual setting is simply too tempting.”

She frowned.

Most people would not be able to tell Matilda’s expression had changed in the slightest, but Arthur knew Matilda far better than most. That she allowed herself that level of reaction showed how bothered by this she was.

“However, I cannot say I expected Ms. Collins’ encounters with Exceeds to escalate in this manner, especially so soon after Mr. Lewis’ incident.”

“It seems our interns are determined to keep surprising us,” Arthur said, glancing at the files on his desk.

Considering their respective backgrounds, that Timothy somehow managed to get mixed up with a gang of drug dealers was far more outlandish than Ms. Collins’ situation. However, it was Amanda Collins’ predicament that required a more careful touch.

Nathaniel Robards.

That was the name of the man threatening Ms. Collins’ family. While accessing CHEM’s database was far too risky for Regum, the same could not be said of the files stored in Gloria Collins’ computer. They had provided basic but necessary information.

Robards was sixty-three years old. His first known display of powers happened about five years ago, an unusually late age for an Exceeding. It was possible he had been hiding his powers for a long time.

“How easily can we have Robards killed?” Arthur asked, his fingers interlacing with each other.

“The incident which brought Robards before a jury involved him using his powers to send someone down a flight of stairs. The victim claimed Robards took control of his legs, hinting at some form of telekinesis or bio-manipulation. Removal could be troublesome depending on the full range and scope of his abilities, but not to the point where it should present a serious issue.”

Matilda said it all calmly. Casually. She discussed the murder of a person like other people might discuss the weather.

“However, I would like to recommend against his immediate removal,” Matilda added. “Robards’ existence and the threat it represents are now tied to Ms. Collins’ psychological state. I believe that can be leveraged to great effect.”

“Naturally, I do not intend to remove Robards just yet.”

Amanda Collins had come to them because she believed they were the only ones she could turn to. The threat Nathaniel Robards posed to her family put her under Regum’s influence. Eliminating him before the time was right would only remove her dependence on them.

Certainly, she’d be grateful at first, but then she’d start asking questions. Arthur rather doubted it had ever occurred to Ms. Collins that assassination was an option when she went to Gerald for help. Most likely, she hadn’t thought beyond what she saw Regum as. A large company with money and manpower. The many illegal avenues through which they could solve her problem had never been a factor in her decision.

That was fine. They were not going to use those avenues.

Not yet.

Putting aside all the attention the sudden death of an Exceed would draw, Timothy’s late-night outing had almost assuredly raised a few alarms already. If the two events were to happen in quick succession, someone might start making connections.

“However, I want to have the option ready. Study him and the people he works with. Should he overstep his boundaries, I want to be able to kill him at a moment’s notice.”

Matilda nodded. “It shall be done.”

If nothing else, the Squires were bound to appreciate the extra work.

“What shall we do with Ms. Collins in the meantime?” Matilda asked.

Arthur thought about it for a moment.

“Tell her we’ll place her family under surveillance for their protection and that we will assign someone to escort her in secret.”

Like many things about Robards, this one also worked to their advantage. Ms. Collins would now be receptive and even grateful for being under surveillance. It would be a good opportunity to gradually introduce her to the Squires and other aspects of Regum.

“As soon as we have more information on Robards and have decided how to deal with him… I will be the one to talk to her then.”

It was what Alice would want. The slight nod from Matilda told him she approved of the decision as well.

No matter how easier it would be, he could not remain a shadowy figure for much longer.

“Excellent. If that is all on the subject of Ms. Collins, may I ask how Mister Lewis is doing?”

Timothy.

Arthur did not sigh, but it was a close thing.

“His mother was moved here without issues that same night. After he had ascertained the quality of her accommodations, Timothy…” Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. “He emptied an entire kitchen. This included about forty pints of chocolate ice cream. For some reason, he felt the need to microwave about half of them. He then fell asleep and has yet to wake up. The doctor assures me this is all within expected parameters.”

Even Matilda could not keep a straight face after that.

“Ice cream… in a microwave?”

This time Arthur did sigh.

Teenagers.

~~~

After so many revelations the other day, Amanda had not expected for it to be so easy to slot herself back into her daily life. By all accounts, something significant had happened. To keep acting as though everything was fine and dandy... It almost felt like a betrayal of the pain her parents were going through.

Yet, she could.

The coffee she made was not made bitter by her experiences. The printer was not rattled by Amanda’s troubles.

Everything was it ever was.

Admittedly, seeing Tim helped things.

“What do you mean you’re living here?!”

He had a knack for saying things that helped take her mind off things.

“I mean, it is what it sounds like.” Tim shrugged, taking a bite out of his fried chicken. Probably the most normal food she had seen him eat so far. “I live here now. Not really sure how I can explain it better than that.”

“You can definitely explain it way better than that!” Amanda said, not caring about raising her voice. It wasn’t like anyone would hear them over the buzz of the food court. “For starters, how and why?”

“Weeeell,” Tim dragged out the word, “the how is pretty simple. Turns out, there’re lots of apartments here. Like, tons of them. Some floors are nothing but apartments. They’re for when employees visit from other cities or something. Also, for the scientist guys. They have this whole housing package so they can stay here doing science stuff without having to worry about returning home late and other stuff.”

Amanda blinked. “Scientists guys?”

“Pharmaceutical company,” Tim pointed out as though that explained everything.

Which, to be fair, it did.

It hadn’t been at the forefront of Amanda’s mind because she had been interacting with the more bureaucratic side of the company, but Regum was a pharmaceutical company first and foremost. Of course they had scientists working for them.

“Anyway, as for the why…” Here Tim trailed off and chewed on his bottom lip. “Eh, my grandmother… yeah, she was sick.”

“I thought you were the one who was sick. That was what Valerie told me when I asked her about you.”

“Aw, shucks! You asked about me? Thanks!” Tim smiled at her with all the energy of a puppy. “But yeah, no. She must have gotten it wrong. My mom had to go take care of my grandma. She lives out of state, you see. My grandma. Yep.”

Tim nodded to himself several times as he said that.

“So I was going to stay on my own, and it was going to be all cool and stuff, but then I got told I could stay here if I wanted to.”

“By the security guards you always talk to?”

“...yes.”

Figures. Had she just asked those guys the other day, she would have known about it already.

“So yeah, that’s why I wasn’t here the other day. I was moving my stuff. It ended up working for the best, really. I still get to stay by myself, but now I don’t have to commute or anything. Way cheaper. Also, the beds are super comfy.”

“Huh.” Amanda couldn’t help but feel a little envious of him. “Maybe I should see about moving in here as well.”

If she could get her whole family inside the building, that’d go a long way towards ensuring their safety. Certainly safer than staying in their house over at Waynesville. It’d involve letting her parents know she wasn’t able to keep a secret for even twenty-four hours, but she was pretty sure the offer of a safehouse would outweigh that little indiscretion.

“You totally should. It’ll be fun!”

Tim took another bite of his drumstick.

“Also, I have superpowers.”

“What?”

“What?”

“You just said…”

“No, I didn’t.”

Amanda stared at Tim.

Tim stared at his drumstick.

Amanda kept staring.

And staring.

And staring.

And-

“Okay, fine. Fine. I totally said that.” Tim leaned in over the table, putting up a hand to cover the side of his mouth. “You can’t tell anyone, though. It’s supposed to be a big secret.”

“You just told me.”

“I’m bad at keeping secrets!”

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Clearly.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...so, powers? For real?”

Tim nodded. “For real!”

What were the odds? Less than .0001% according to the most recent studies? The number of Exceeds in the United States was supposedly only a little over a thousand. To top it off, Tim didn’t seem to be one of those unfortunate cases where people suffered visible mutations as a result of Exceeding.

Some people had all the luck.

Well, not all the luck. Tim did not look any more handsome than he was the day she met him. That didn’t fit the standard Exceed mold.

Although… Amanda squinted… maybe he looked healthier now? Less twig-like? It was hard to tell since she saw him almost daily.

“What type of powers?”

“Oh! I’m fast. I’m strong. I jump good. Like, I’m seriously coordinated. I think I could do a backflip if I tried, you know? Like in those kung fu movies!” Tim’s concern for silence vanished as he eagerly jumped into a haphazard explanation of his powers, complete with much useless hand-waving. “Also, I think I’m poison-proof.”

All the things Amanda wished she was so she could better deal with her new circumstances.

“How would you even know about the last one?”

“Stuff happened.”

“Stuff?”

For the first time, Tim looked uncomfortable.

“Stuff. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Okay,” Amanda held up her arms. “I am not the type to pry.”

Especially since she had no intention of being as open about things as Tim.

“So, how strong are we talking about?”

“Very?” Tim scratched his head. “I’m not really sure, to be honest. It’s not like I tested it or something.”

Amanda hummed. An idea taking shape in her head.

It wasn’t as if she was going to be in a hurry to return home when the workday was over.

“Want to change that?”

~~~