"Good morning, Noll," Suzy greeted Nyz as he entered his new job. "How's it going?"

Nyz looked at the nineteen-year-old receptionist, who was dressed in a dark gray polo with the rec center's logo on the left breast. As usual, her dark brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, and she wore no makeup, allowing her natural beauty to shine through.

"Morning, Suzy," he greeted her. "Is the old crone in?"

"No!" Suzy laughed. "She called out sick today, so we don't have her watching everyone like a hawk. Or perving on you."

Nyz felt a wave of relief at that. With his new job and new identity, he had to put up with the elderly manager ogling him nearly every shift he worked, which bothered him greatly.

"Think I can get away with board shorts today?" He asked.

"Kandra might complain," Suzy told him. "She's here."

"Complain to the old crone, yeah," Nyz rolled his eyes. "So she's here, then?"

"Yeah, she's been swimming for about ten minutes now."

"She knows my schedule," he muttered.

"You're here five days a week, same time every day!" Suzy laughed. "Any regular guest of the center's will figure out when you're here with a schedule that regular."

"Think the crone would move me to evenings if I asked?"

"No," Suzy grinned. "She likes looking at you while you're on duty."

"She's a pervert," Nyz shook his head. "How's the morning been so far?"

"Quiet," Suzy answered. "I think most people are worried over the threat."

"The threat?" Nyz asked.

"You didn't hear?" She asked, and he shook his head. "You've heard of Gairal, right?"

"The terrorist group," Nyz spoke low in his throat, nearly a growl.

"Yeah, them," she frowned slightly. "They released a threat a couple of hours ago, claiming that they'll blow the North Nubala Tower if their demands aren't met."

"What are their demands?" He asked. "Or are the feds keeping it a secret?"

"Gairal made a public statement," she shook her head. "They want a Class B quad-leg combat mech, along with two dozen Class B combat suits. They've also threatened to blow the tower if they see any form of air support coming to free the execs inside."

"There are execs inside?" Nyz asked, eyes widening.

"There's apparently a big meeting," she told him. "And the execs were having breakfast. The feds are looking into how to deal with the situation, they've been given twelve hours. That seems kind of long for a delivery, though, so I think there's more to it."

"It's to give them time to make the arrangements and deliver the goods," Nyz explained, remembering what Kal had told him about a similar situation in the past. "They're expecting the items to be delivered from out of Valeros. Specifically, the mech. There aren't any in storage here, not even for the military."

"Oh," she said. "The military doesn't have any mechs here? Even with us being so close to Troak?"

"Combat mechs like what they want are extremely limited in supply," he told her. "And expensive as hell to maintain. Storing one here would mean storing an entire maintenance team, building a hanger for it, as well as ensuring the facility it's stored at can produce the necessary parts to replace and equip it. Then there's the liquid magicarite they run on. Liquefying any magical crystal is difficult enough as it is."

"Oh," she said.

"Anyway," he smiled. "I should go get clocked in, else the old crone will be on me about that come Monday."

"Enjoy your shift," Suzy told him.

Nyz walked to the staff room and pulled his commpiece out of his pocket, setting it back onto his ear as he turned it on.

"You didn't tell me about Gairal's threat," he said.

"Don't worry about that," Kal told him.

"But-"

"Just worry about living life as Noll," Kal told him. "If necessary, I'll have you act after your shift ends. But we aren't terrorist-fighters unless we absolutely have to be."

"How serious is their threat?" Nyz asked.

"Pretty serious," Kal answered. "I'll tell you more once you finish for the day, if it hasn't already become public. Now get changed and get to work."

Nyz pulled his commpiece out of his ear and slipped it back into his pocket, then grabbed the pair of dark gray swim briefs with the rec center's logo on its sides in small out of his locker. He made his way into the male staff's changing rooms and stripped off his clothes before taking a shower, then he pulled on the swim briefs. Gathering up his clothes, he returned to the staff room and put his clothes in his locker, grabbing his whistle from it.

If strangling Kal were an option, he would have done so several times over. His friend knew how much he hated being dressed that little publicly bothered him, and had probably looked for a lifeguarding job which didn't put them in board shorts and a shirt just for his own amusement.

Pulling his whistle on around his neck, Nyz grabbed his walkie-talkie and closed his locker, clocked in, then made his way to the pool area of the rec center. He greeted the other lifeguard, a man two years older than him named Kras, then walked to the other lifeguard stand and climbed onto it, sitting down and beginning his shift, clipping his walkie onto the seat.

Other than needing to rescue a toddler whose parents kept ignoring the little girl and then having to give them the boot when they claimed it was the job of the lifeguards to babysit her, nothing happened during the first half of Nyz's shift.

When he took his lunch, he joined Suzy at the front desk, chatting with her as he ate the ramen she ordered for him before his break began, which he repaid her for once he sat down.

"Do you have an update on the terrorist group?" He asked as he finished his meal.

"The latest official update," she told him. "Is that they're working on figuring out a way to save the lives of the people inside the tower."

"Translation: they're going to give in to the demands," he said.

"You think?" She asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "They'll try to take out the terrorists after the terrorists take the stuff and leave. Chances are decent they're bringing in some Class A mechs and soldiers wearing Class A suits to deal with them."

"I know you've only been here a few weeks," she told him. "But you've always seemed to know how the military might react in situations. And the corporations."

"I lived in Troak when the attack happened," he told her. "Stayed in a military shelter here for a couple of months until they found a home for me. I ended up staying there longer than most kids, so ended up getting some benefits. They'd take me to one of the control rooms a few times and talked to me about the procedure being used for various situations. Ended up retaining a lot of it."

"You lost your parents in the attack?" She asked.

"Nearly lost my own life, too," he told her as a woman and her seven-year-old son entered. Suzy checked them in, and Nyz waited until they had walked off to resume talking. "I was out playing with some friends when it happened. In the panic that followed, I was shuffled around a lot by panicked people. Rather than getting closer to home, I ended up closer to the walls. I was exposed to the fog."

"You were exposed to the fog?" She asked, eyes wide. "And you're still alive? How?"

"It wasn't for long," Nyz shook his head. "A soldier in a suit rescued me. My memories of what happened were hazy, but I do know I was unconscious for awhile. A couple of weeks, I think. I'm not sure how they saved my life. Just that, well, here I am."

"Damn," she said. "I'm sorry to hear that. At least you survived though, right?"

"Yeah," he smiled. "At least I survived."

"The most terrifying thing to ever happen to me," she spun a full circle on her chair. "Was a couple of months ago, when one of our guests started threatening me. He was much larger and beefier than me, and we ended up having to call the police to get him to leave. I had to take a couple of days off to recover from the shock, but… that's nothing compared to surviving through the Troak tragedy."

"Well, don't feel pity for me," he smiled at her. "My parents were abusive, and I feel I'm much better off now… even if I'm not happy with my job's uniform. Am looking for a new one."

"Uniform or job?" She asked.

"Both," he told her. "I'm only willing to deal with negligent parents so much. I only got this job because a friend hooked me up with it after hearing I was looking for a new job. Didn't realize it came with valid reason to call CPS every-other shift. Seriously. The job of a lifeguard is to save someone from drowning, not rescue someone who is drowning every two minutes because they can't swim at all and their parents are letting them into the pool unsupervised, expecting us to just save them over and over."

"Talking about the couple earlier?" She asked.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. "You missed her argument with us. She literally told Kras and me that our job was exactly to save her kid every time she started drowning because we were lifeguards, and that it was our responsibility to watch her. When we told them our job was to enforce the pool rules and watch everyone, not constantly rescue a three-year-old who couldn't swim because her parents weren't watching, they told us that we were wrong and it was our job, not theirs, to watch their kid. We told them that at least one of them needed to be in the pool with her at all times, as per the rules, and they said that we were just lazy kids who didn't want to do our jobs."

"Jeez," Suzy said. "And I'm betting you aren't even telling me everything they said."

"Not even close," he sighed. "So yeah, I'm looking for another job so I don't have to put up with this. It's bringing back some serious PTSD my parents gave me."

"Well, I hope you find something soon," Suzy told him. "I'd suggest transferring here to the desk, but we both know the old crone will come up with a thousand excuses as to why she's unable to move you from lifeguarding."

"Yeah," Nyz stood up. "It's time to get back to that, see you Monday."

"See you Monday," she said.

Nyz clocked back in, then returned to his job by the pool. Kras left an hour before his shift ended, replaced by a twenty-two-year-old lifeguard wearing the same uniform Kras and he wore. As far as Nyz could tell, the old crone who hired everyone preferred to hire young, fit males for lifeguarding just to put them in swim briefs, showing off their bodies so she could admire them herself.

In his opinion, if she wanted to look at hot guys wearing little to hide any bulges that would form, she needed to go online. There, she'd even be able to see them naked. Or that she should hire a stripper or get on a hookup site. Plenty of younger guys were looking for cougars.

At the end of his shift, Nyz was replaced by another young man in swim briefs, and he made his way to the staff locker rooms, where he grabbed his clothes from his locker after clocking out. He went into the changing rooms and quickly changed into the black jeans and red tee with orange hems, then returned his 'uniform' to his locker.

Leaving work, he clipped his earpiece back onto his ear and entered his car.

"I don't think my backstory has enough tears in it."

"Why, did something happen?" Kal asked as Nyz pulled out.

"I told Suzy, and it was clear she had to refrain from crying," Nyz told him. "She was giving me looks of sympathy after. It was disturbing."

"It's the first time I gave you a tragic backstory," Kal told him. "Or at least, one like that. Before, the previous ones which had you in Troak had you evacuated rather fast. I think it works, personally."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I know," Kal told him. "I've sent directions to your nav, go there."

"Why?" Nyz asked as he pulled up the system and began following the directions. "I want an update on the terrorist situation."

"You're getting it," Kal told him. "The location will bring you to the new van we're using, since the old one's known due to your job for Zenitk. It's not much different, but enough to evade notice."

"I'm acting?" Nyz asked. "In the Class S? You want me to intercept the terrorists as they escape, to help the military capture them?"

"No," Kal told him. "The pickup is in a different location, and it's a trap. Not for Gairal, but for the military. Once the stuff is dropped off, the west building will be blown up with Gairal members hidden among its staff and guests."

"They didn't clear it out?" Nyz asked. "It's in the same plaza."

"It was determined far enough away to not be a worry," Kal said. "Since the exterior walls and windows are reinforced. They're morons, in my opinion. Then again, terrorists don't have access to the tech I do.

"After they blow up the west building," Kal continued with his explanation. "They're going to announce it's because the military intended on trapping them, and that they'll blow up the north if they aren't allowed to leave the city and given time to check for trackers. After they've done that, they'll blow up the north."

"So what am I doing?" Nyz asked.

"Once you're in the suit," Kal told him. "I'm going to send you directly into the west building. The bombs themselves are on the twenty-seventh floor on a short-range trigger. The moment I send you in, I'm jamming the frequency they're using. Their bombs are decent, but I'm better at magitech than anyone around."

"Won't they trigger the bombs manually, then?" Nyz asked. "Rather than remotely?"

"They'll try," Kal told him. "Their first order of business will be taking you out. I've leaked information about your suit to Gairal. As far as they know, the suit is an experimental suit for the military which has been tested to withstand missile strikes and up to Type 7 magic attacks. I leaked the information to them after finding out their plan. What they know is that you are part of the attempt at catching the group taking the suits and mech."

"So they'll try to stop me when they find out I'm at the bombs," Nyz said. "Won't they just trigger the bombs in the other tower, then? Out of retaliation?"

"No," Kal said. "The execs are their negotiation tactic. They need more than what they've already demanded. So the group in the west tower will try to take you out. Kill them all. Then, I'm sending you into the north tower."

"And if they start killing hostages?"

"When you approach them," Kal said. "Tell them that you have some questions for them. And that if they refuse to answer, your boss will detonate the bombs directly, destroying their bargaining chip."

"And if they take the latter option?"

"They won't," Kal told him. "Because the mech and combat suits aren't the real goal. The real goal is something even bigger. And without the execs as hostage, they can't ask for it, and getting it will be next-to-impossible without quality hostages. They'll answer the questions."