“How did you know-?”

“I’m a reporter Keagan. I saw those interesting pictures of you and the Astali women.” Amanda said as Keagan’s body temperature continued to rise.

“Is that so? Well, Its not them I’m having trouble with. It Andre Astali who’s caused me and a friend of mine so much grief.” Keagan said with a sorrowful expression.

“Oh?” Amanda sounded.

“Can I be honest with you?” Keagan asked.

“Of course. I’m all ears.” Amanda said with a smile that kinda annoyed Keagan, but he didn’t show it.

“Andre has been blackmailing a friend of mine for some time.” Keagan said.

“Oh my. That’s quite something.” Amanda said as Keagan snacked down on some cookies he found on the tray Amanda had brought in.

“Yep. I’ve been stressing day and night trying to figure out how to help her, but alas. I am powerless.” Keagan said with a sigh.

“Mmm… what is it that you hoped I’d be able to do?” Amanda asked.

“I don’t know exactly. You’re a journalist, so part of me hoped that you’d have some sort dirt on Andre, but then again…” Keagan’s voice trailed off as he realized that he was being a little too honest.

He mentally slapped himself for being an idiot.

“Mmm… I’m afraid I don’t have anything you could use against Andre Astali. Men like him don’t allow themselves to be caught in whatever heinous acts they commit.” Amanda said as she gleefully watched Keagan as he ate.

Keagan stopped eating only for Amanda’s face to twist as though she were in pain.

Keagan checked his phone for the time and saw that it had gotten quite late.

“Anyway, talking to you helped.”

No It didn’t.

“A lot of the stress I had washed away, so thank you.”

Dammit! Keagan cursed as he thought of another way of helping Mercy.

“It is rather late. You could stay the night, if you like.” Amanda offered, but Keagan had no use for her anymore.

Also, she had a weird aura around her. A vibe that Keagan didn’t like.

“No, but thank you for the offer. I have some things to take care of in Acan, so…” Keagan said as he stood up.

Amanda stood up as well with a shocked expression.

“You live all the way in Acan? Then there is absolutely no way I can allow you to travel there this late.”

Crap. Keagan cursed himself for using that excuse.

“Uh-"

“Please, I insist. Surely whatever business you have can wait, no?” Amanda asked.

Keagan wasn’t sure, but he could feel beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Keagan sighed before sitting back down.

“Ok, I’ll stay.” He said.

Amanda’s face almost glowed upon hearing this.

She sat down and quietly stared at him.

Keagan couldn’t help but frown in this strange situation.

Amanda noticed this and so she opened her arms.

“Maybe a hug could help ease some of your sorrows.” She offered, but Keagan shifted away from her in response.

“I’m fine, really. All I need is some rest.” Keagan made sure to emphasize his words as he spoke.

Amanda closed her arms as Keagan whipped out his phone.

He checked in on Roy and Mercy to see if they were ok.

Roy was in Cynosure with Karisa and Mercy was in Ix Chel.

Amanda shifted closer to Keagan as he bid Roy goodnight.

“I think I should hit the hay, I’ve got a long day ahead tomorrow.” Keagan said with a yawn.

“I see. You remember where the guest room was, right?” Amanda asked.

“Yep.” Keagan said before practically running into the guest bedroom.

Keagan plopped onto the bed and closed his eyes but a deep ache in his chest prevented him from sleeping peacefully.

He sighed before forcefully putting himself to sleep.

.

..

Keagan awoke to find that he had gotten a reasonable amount of rest.

He sighed before getting up and leaving the room.

He was about to make his way to the living room when footsteps stopped him.

To his right was a sleepy looking Amanda.

Dan walked up from behind her with a grumpy face.

“Morning, kid." He growled as he made his way to kitchen.

Keagan stared at Amanda for a moment before following Dan.

“You look… downtrodden.” Keagan said as both he and Dan drank some water.

“Yeah? Well, this is the final leg of my little race. Gotta make sure everything is in place before you go up on that stage and introduce the world to the thingy.” Dan said with a sigh.

Keagan noticed that Dan actually looked tired.

“Mmm… then I shall do my best “ Keagan said.

Keagan and Dan then prepared for their trip to the Thunder Dome, but Keagan stopped by his Cynosure apartment for a shower and a change of clothes.

He also wanted to check up on Roy and Karisa.

He entered the apartment to find it relatively unchanged.

Roy and Karisa were watching TV. They both noticed Keagan and smiled simultaneously.

Karisa ran over to Keagan with open arms, but Keagan ignored her as he grabbed a change of clothes.

“So… the big day is almost here.” Keagan said before entering the bathroom.

“Yep. What do you plan on doing afterwards?” Roy asked.

“I’m gonna take a good long break and spend more time with you and Mercy. Sound good?” Keagan asked.

“Yep!” Roy said with a bright smile.

Keagan nodded before taking a shower and it wasn’t much longer before he was on his way to one of the biggest structures in Unity. The Thunder Dome.

To say it was big would be an understatement. It was about four football fields big and that was just the inside. Its exterior space was also big enough to hold serval mini events. Also, the Unity government had designed it an emergency gathering point in case of an emergency since it was built with military grade precision and materials.

Keagan arrived at the Thunder Dome, showed the security guards his Lezzaro employee card and looked for Dan. He found him standing near what would be the stage that he would have to take.

“Its almost time.” Dan said. His face stern and his arms crossed.

“Yep. What do you plan on doing if the reception is luke warm?” Keagan asked.

“I’ll move on and try to find the next big thing.” Dan said straightforwardly.

“I see.” Keagan said.

The two then spent the next few hours preparing for the conference.

Keagan noticed that throughout the day, Dan didn’t crack a single joke or make any mistakes.

He was focused.

Determined.

Scarily so.