Peter Lee was very grateful that the Alpha was separated from him by multiple universes. “Thanks, Ril,” he spoke into to his headset.

As it was, Internet porn was like reading the newspaper now. Hopefully, his brain would normalise again if he limited his exposure.

“You can thank Kay and Kel. They put me up to authorising your sister to assist Seph. I would’ve helped myself. Alpha-side Ril could easily manage it, but Kel made a strong case for ‘not fucken stealing honest work from the plebs’, as he put it.”

The reality of the matter was, Sepha had called Lee up after meeting Ril. He couldn’t blame any negotiator for not wanting to sit across the table from that.

The knowledge and connection to Ril was power enough, excessive power in fact. But, what Sepha truly needed was her own data technician.

“An Epsilon Worlder with her very own handler! Oh, what fun!”

There it was. Ril was a hedonist neo-junkie just like all the rest of her kind. Could he blame her? Probably not, and now she was their hedonist neo-junkie—what a fuckup.

“Well, Min is just as excited as you, I think. Her first job out of the academy and I’ll make sure to get her acquainted with the ropes. Say ‘g’day’ Min.” Lee raised his voice to carry across the house.

His sister was setting up her rig in the room next door. It was Lee’s house; the job paid well. Handlers were mostly left alone and could set up their operations wherever convenient.

There were subtle security systems all about the house that ensured privacy; even Lee was unsure of all of them. One thing was certain; pissing off Upperworlders was not a smart career decision. Plus, Divers were a cash cow; it was a fantastic system no one wanted to fuck with.

Min poked her head into his room, her long raven black hair draping like satin curtains, as only Asian hair could.

Lee switched to speakerphone and gave a side nod indicating the open mic while looking her way.

“G’morning Ms van Ster!” said Min. Her peppy voice—at least more peppy than usual—betrayed her excitement.

“Oh, it’s past midnight here, Ms Lee but welcome to the team! I have your file in front of me; you know, you have just the cutest mop hair! I wore a lot of Asian a while back. Still have a few in my wardrobe.”

Min got more comfortable leaning of the door frame, and crossing her legs. “Uh… thanks, I think.” She was being way too professional; this operation had far lower standards. He would get Min on the level afterwards.

Lee took over the call once more, “so yeah, Min will handle Sepha Shalen personally from here on out. I think it’s a good call given the sensitive nature of Epsilon 30-10. Blood is thicker than Kool-aid and all that.”

“You get that phrase from Kel?” asked Ril.

True, there wasn’t a phrase from the English language Kel hadn’t butchered at some point.

“Maybe you can give me the inside scoop, Lee. Does he think them up on the spot or does he construct them prior and then wait for the right opportunity.”

“A… bit of both probably.”

“Yeah I suppose, tempered chaos is kinda part of his m.o. isn’t it.”

Min piped in, “I’d just like to thank you, Ms Van Ster, for the opportunity. I hope I can meet your expectations.”

“Oh, Ms Lee, please don’t!” She gave a seraphic giggle and hung up.

Min pulled in a sharp breath in panic. “Holy shit! Pete, did I just fuck up?”

“Chillax Sis; she just wants you to do your best.”

“Dafaq. Why are Alphas so weird?”

“The real question is why they’re so normal.”

“Bro, you make less sense than she did! Had a nice voice, though.”

“Be thankful that’s all you were exposed to.”

“Huh?” She tilted her head, hair remaining vertical. It could basically be used as a makeshift spirit level. “What is wrong with all you people?”

“You’re officially an Elven politician’s secretary, welcome to the club. Two rules: swear more and think outside the universe. You’re never gonna be normal again, so you might as well embrace the crazy.”

Min gave her signature quirky smile, lifting only one corner of her mouth. That was the mischievous little sister he knew. “I can do that.”

“Good. Show’em what you got, Sis.”