The sound and smells of cooking drew Yasmine out of her slumber. She’d fallen asleep sitting up again from the looks of it. Wiping the drool off her face she took in her immediate surroundings. There were documents and notes scattered all over her bed, some of them pushed aside by Shayde who was curled up near the foot of the mattress. Yasmine rubbed her head, right, the kid had crawled in sometime after midnight. She had put up a brave front but she hadn’t exactly been a fan of so many people staying overnight. It must have been a lot of smells she wasn’t used to. Yasmine slipped off the side of the bed and walked around to pick up her daughter, carrying her over to the clear corner she had just vacated.

“You’re lucky its the weekend,” She murmured, kissing her daughter on the head and pulled the covers aside before placing her daughter down. She ran her fingers through the half-blood kitsune’s hair and was rewarded with a tiny yip from the sleeping girls mouth. She pulled the sheet back up and slipped out into the living room. She frowned at what she saw, putting her hands on her hips. Flipp had fallen asleep on the floor, curled up in a corner. Sylva and Hannah were on the couch, snoring and leaning into one another. Tommy was still awake, plucking something that looked like small balls of chocolate in his mouth. Lyssandra had taken up a chair and slept quietly, looking infuriatingly pristine, not a hair out of place. Erik was nowhere to be seen, not surprising.

She sauntered to the kitchen and leaned on the wall that separated it from the living room. Krasus looked up from the stove and raised an eyebrow at her. “Missed you yesterday.”

She chuckled, “Sorry I didn’t answer your call, business.”

He glanced into the living room, “I can see that,” he turned back to the food he was cooking. Yasmine sniffed the air and let out a sigh that drew a smile from him. “Were they all here?”

“Yes,” Yasmine said, walking past him and giving his rear a good squeeze. He snorted and folded the omelet he was making, his eyes not leaving his work.

“It’s been years,” He murmured, “Must be pretty big, should I be worried?” He asked, sliding the omelet onto a plate and handing it to her. She took it and set it next to the other steaming plates of goodness that were lining the counter in her kitchen. He’d already prepared enough for everyone to eat.

Yasmine shrugged, “Not this time, no,” She said with a wink, “Our target has the ‘authority’ to take care of themselves.”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he set down the skillet and stood up straight, “A corporation with sovereignty?”

She stepped over to the coffee pot that was beginning to steam, she sniffed at it as well, it smelled so damn good. She grunted an affirmative and leaned against the wall, holding his gaze as he walked over to put his hands on her hips. “You aren’t going to try to stop me, officer?”

“Don’t get yourself hurt,” He murmured, “How long will the job be?”

“Might be a while, there’s a lot involved,” She murmured back, putting her hands on his chest. She ran her fingers up and down his shirt before playing with a button. “Can you watch Shayde?”

“Of course,” He said, “She’ll be safe with me.”

She leaned up to kiss him, “I wish we were alone.”

“I do too.”

She cleared her throat when she sensed someone beginning to rouse from the smell in the living room. She gently pushed him away and walked back into the open space, glancing at Tommy who couldn’t perceive anything around him when he was working. Sylva opened one eye and smiled at Yasmine before sitting up. “Sup boss,” She yawned, “Smell’s like Krasus in here.”

“Because he is here,” She said, walking over to Flipp and kicking him once in the side. The tired looking man grunted and gagged before sitting up, glaring at her.

“What the hell was that for?” He demanded, he froze when he saw her state of dress. Yasmine hadn’t exactly made any effort to clothe herself when she woke up, still in her nightgown. “Uh…”

She raised an eyebrow, “Never seen a woman in a nightgown before? Didn’t peg you for a cherry boy,” She scoffed and leaned down, “You’re hanging out with me today.”

“W-what are we doing?” He stammered, sitting up a bit more and looking over at Sylva who was giggling loud enough to wake Hannah.

“We’re going to commit a Class-S felony today, doesn’t that sound like fun?” She teased, grinning ear to ear.

“Yasmine!” Krasus barked.

“Oh come off it, hun! I’m just going to see the Doctor for a sip!” She barked back.

“Oh, alright then,” The Lieutenant Colonel grunted and came out with a pair of plates, “So who wants breakfast?”

Flipp looked up at Krasus with bulging eyes, then at the plates, then at Yasmine. Sylva hopped to her feet. “Fuck yeah! Krasus cooked! You gotta try this, new guy,” She said, grabbing a fork from Krasus’ hand and pointing it at Flipp, “Captain Hero here learned to cook at the military academy, he’s like a somethin-somethin star chef!”

“Imperial Standard Star,” Lyssandra corrected Sylva.

“Yeah, what she said,” Sylva grunted, digging her fork into the food and shoveling a large helping into her mouth. She let out a squeal of delight and glanced up at Krasus. “He cooks, he’s gorgeous, and I bet he fucks like a wildcat. How much you want for him, Yasmine?”

Yasmine leveled Sylva with a look, “He’s not for sale.”

Krasus looked up to the ceiling as if begging a god for patience before heading back into the kitchen to grab another set of plates.

“Mom?” Shayde grumbled, peering out of the door to Yasmine’s room, “Do I smell Krasus?”

“You do,” Yasmine confirmed.

The kid rushed out into the living room in her oversized black t-shirt and practically tackled the soldier. He grunted, stepping back with the force of the impact. She rubbed her face against his leg and squeezed. Krasus forced himself to walk with the little girl attached to his leg, handing Lyssandra and Hannah plates before reaching down to pat the kid on the head. “Hey, squirt. How’s my favorite little fox?”

“Good,” She rumbled, “Smells like eggs in here.”

“I made eggs,” Krasus said.

“Can I have some?” She asked.

“Of course you can,” He laughed, glancing up at Yasmine. “When did you get so polite?”

Shayde glared up at him, “You wanna fight about it?”

“That’s more like it,” Krasus said, patting her head. He continued to hobble around with the girl on his leg, not bothering to shoo her away.

Shayde looked to her mother, “Are you going out?”

“Yep,” Yasmine nodded.

“Can I come?”

“You wanna go visit the Doctor with me?” Yasmine asked, feigning surprise.

Shayde shivered, “Nevermind, I’ll stay here with Krasus.”

Sylva barked out a laugh, “Smart.”

Flipp struggled to swallow a large portion of the delicious meal and coughed, raising his hand a little, “Pardon, what exactly are we going to do and who is this Doctor?”

“You’ll see,” Yasmine said with a wicked grin.

An hour later, Yasmine stepped out onto the sidewalk with Flipp and made her way down the street before turning north. As usual she stuck to her style of tight jeans tucked in high boots but today she wore long sleeves and a hoodie despite the heat. When the first rays of the sun hit them Flipp could feel the gentle flow of mana entering her body before the temperature around her abruptly dropped. He looked up at her and could catch the glow of someone who had just used magic in her eyes.

“You’re very talented,” Flipp said, “Was that Psionics?”

“I didn’t make a circle, did I?” Yasmine said, glancing his way.

“Could have been divine magic or even some natural power, but you’re a Psion so I figured it was a simple conclusion,” Flipp said.

She nodded, “I can use First Circle magic too, Kurda taught me.”

“I’ve heard it’s very difficult for those who practice the Fifth Circle to wrap their minds around First Circle magic,” Flipp said thoughtfully.

“Propaganda,” Yasmine grunted, “Psions can learn it just as well as anyone else.”

Flipp rubbed his chin, “Would you say that its so-called unreliability is also propaganda?”

“Compared to all that math? Nah, some people just can’t get it up,” Yasmine said, “But it isn’t as crazy explosive as people are lead to believe.”

“I see,” Flipp said thoughtfully. He squinted against the rising sun and coughed a few times, bringing a rag to his mouth and squinting.

“Erik said you had an allergy,” Yasmine said, “What’s that about?”

“I have a mild allergy to airborne toxins and pollution,” Flipp grumbled, wiping his eyes.

“And you’re just walking around stank-ass East-Side? You are crazy,” She laughed.

“East-side, west-side, it really doesn’t matter here, does it?” He said, looking up at the sky, “Air’s the same isn’t it?”

Yasmine fell silent and kept walking for a while, her expression thoughtful. She shoved her hands into her pockets and glanced into alleys now and then, keeping her eye out for problems. They past by a pair of Alytar beggars, the two gold-skinned aelves leaning against a building with a sign written in cardboard. Yasmine flipped a business card into the small bucket they were using to hold change and kept walking. Flipp gave her a look and she just shrugged, keeping her eye on the road. When they turned another corner Flipp could see one of the sole notable landmarks of East-City in the distance.

“That’s the hospital,” Flipp said, frowning, “We aren’t going to meet with some underworld doctor?”

Yasmine raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, “Who said we aren’t?”

They walked a few more blocks before Yasmine came to a stop in front of a small shop with a partially boarded up front window. Yasmine scratched her chin for a moment before opening the door which rang with a pleasant chime. Flipp had given up on trying to get the mysterious woman to answer a question in plain common and instead followed her inside. He wrinkled his nose, coughing a few times as he was bombarded by smells. Yasmine on the other hand took a deep breath of the various herbs and minerals that were all set out in neat shelves around the shop. They walked over to the counter where an elderly tan-skinned aelf was sitting, knitting something. She looked up and squinted through tired eyes up at Yasmine and began speaking in Dulin Aelvish.

“”

Yasmine responded in kind, “”

“”

“” Yasmine said, scratching her neck. She glanced over at Flipp who frowned at her. “What?”

“You speak Dulin Aelvish?” He asked, incredulous.

“I speak a lot of languages,” She said and gave Mikela a polite bow before turning to walk toward the door, “Comes with the territory.”

“What territory?”

“I used to work as an Escort for the Box,” She said, opening the door and stepping back out into the blazing sunlight. She was about to explain how that was relevant when a pair of cars skidded to a stop in front of the store. Both of them were black with tinted windows. Yasmine stepped in front of Flipp and put her hand out, watching the doors of the vehicles. Flipp’s hands dropped to his sides, his index fingers already rotating when two doors opened and a pair of well dressed Aelven men stepped out. One of them nodded at Yasmine.

“Miss O’Haire?” He asked brusquely.

“Who’s asking?” She growled.

“Triad, where are you headed?”

“Why?”

“There’s been a capture-on-sight order put out by the Feds for all known combat-trained Psions. Lady Sylva sent us to escort you where you were headed,” He said quickly, nodding to the car.

“Just down the street,” She sighed and started walking to the car, she gestured for Flipp to follow, “What happened?”

“Council hit a Munitions Depot, lots of casualties on both sides, Council made off with a lot of hardware,” he said as she slipped into the back seat. Flipp squeezed in next to her and looked around uneasily.

Yasmine could only stare in disbelief, “You’ve got to be kidding me, they’ve never been that bold before.”

“Probably reacting to this morning’s news,” the Triad footsoldier said, getting into the back with them while the driver pulled back onto the street. “Where are you headed?”

“Hospital,” Yasmine said, “What happened this morning? I forgot to tune in, figures I miss the good stuff.”

“The Warden Governor signed a new anti-psionics ordinance outlawing even basic abilities even during cultural events,” He said as the car picked up speed, zipping past the surrounding city.

Yasmine whipped her head toward him, “She can’t do that! The fire festival is all we have! How the hell are they supposed to police telepathy as well? It’s impossible!”

“Not sure, ma’am,” The man said, shaking his head, “That’s just how it is.”

Yasmine leaned back and chewed on her thumbnail, “Shoulda killed her too when I had the chance.”

Flipp looked at her, “You what?”

Yasmine held up a hand, “Nothing, never mind, we’re here, let’s get this over with and get back to my place. Tommy’s probably losing it.”

“R-right,” He mumbled as they pulled up to the entrance to the hospital. The footsoldiers got out of the car and opened the doors for Yasmine and Flipp, keeping an eye out as the two quickly made their way through the automatic doors and to the desk. Once they were inside, Yasmine visibly relaxed, approaching the nurse sitting at the welcome desk and writing something down on a slip of paper before handing it over to her. The woman nodded and got to her feet, gesturing for them to follow her while she sent a message on her tab. “So who are we going to see?”

“Keep your mouth shut until we get there,” Yasmine said sharply and then paused, slowing down a bit to let the Nurse get ahead of them. She tilted her head to the right a little and chuckled, “Gotta love hospitals.”

Flipp rolled his eyes and followed, they entered an elevator and he eyed the panel. There were seven floors to the hospital. The nurse hit the button for the fourth floor. When they arrived she escorted them to what he estimated was the dead center of the building, both vertically and horizontally. When they arrived at a pair of heavy doors, with a sign over them that said ‘Director’. The woman tapped on them once before they slid open with a loud hiss. The nurse turned to Yasmine and Flipp and bowed before hurrying away to return to her duties. Flipp peered into the room and his eyes widened.

When he imagined what the Director of a hospital’s office looked like, he visualized some manner of display of wealth or power. Maybe a few trophies or awards, and a whole lot of books. Instead, he found himself stepping into a small laboratory. There was only a simple metal desk in the back of the room with a pair of computers sitting on top. The room was entirely framed by hooded experimental counters and simple stools to sit. The entire room smelled beyond sterile and the temperature was at least ten degrees lower than the main hall of the hospital. His heart stopped a little when he saw the person sitting on one of the stools, her eyes on Yasmine and Flipp.

Doctor Talia Elaine Darlton was practically a gods damned supermodel, she had modified herself and overengineered her genetics to the point that she was hardly the person she had been as a youth. Yasmine had no idea how old she actually was but she did know that Talia had at one point been part of Kurda’s core staff. The blonde haired woman was entirely human in appearance, cold blue eyes shone beneath long eyelashes that clashed with her dark skin and matched well with the plain-white labcoat she wore over what was a tight-fitted tracksuit.

“Sup, doc?” Yasmine said, holding out a hand.

“It’s you,” Talia grumbled, taking her hand and shaking it. She glanced over at Flipp and frowned, “Erik mentioned someone with your appearance. You must be the young man with the toxin allergy.”

“I-uh…” Flipp looked at Yasmine. Yasmine shrugged and nodded, “Y-yes, Flipp Moran.”

Talia frowned, “Flipp Moran? Really?”

“What’s wrong with my name?” Flipp said defensively.

Talia squinted at him and then shook her head, she turned and opened a drawer. From inside she pulled out what looked like a simple medical inhaler with a yellow medicine tank inside. She tossed it in Flipp’s direction. “That should help, come back if you want more.”

“You made that in what, six hours?” Yasmine asked.

“Four,” Talia said, frowning at Yasmine, “Now what do you want? I’ve already given you your injection this quarter.”

Yasmine’s face, for the first time Flipp had ever seen it, turned a little red and she cleared her throat. “No I’m not here about that, I need ice.”

Talia sat up straight and fixed Yasmine with a look, “How much?”

“The job is going to take about a month and I’ve got the whole old crew on it,” She said, “A lot.”

Talia tapped her foot as Flipp glanced between the two of them in confusion, “What on earth are you talking about? Ice? Couldn’t we just go to a general store?”

“Ice,” Yasmine said, not breaking her eye contact with Talia, “Is slang, Flipp,” She frowned as she crossed her arms, “For Federation Compound 12, otherwise known as Manaway.”

Flipp gaped, Federation Compound 12 was a medicine that was exclusively produced by the Mages Society and was a monstrously controlled substance. All magic, no matter how it was cast or who cast it, depended on mana. Mana was an infinite resource but living things weren’t designed to use it constantly. After enough use it began to cause harm to the body causing illnesses, burns, brain damage, and other maladies. Mana was the poison that kept the world running. Ultimately, Mana build-up was the greatest enemy of anyone who used magic for anything. No one was immune to it but there were ways to stave it off. Staying healthy and using magic moderately was one way to avoid it entirely but sometimes using large amounts of mana was unavoidable. Enter the wonderdrug colloquially known as manaway, a medicine that purged mana from the body and allowed a caster to keep going even after pushing themselves to the limit.

“You make it here?” Flipp asked, staring bug-eyed at Talia.

“Who is this kid, a newbie?” Talia asked, gesturing dismissively to Flipp.

“He’s my employer, actually. He’s hiring me for a very special job,” Yasmine said, “You know, if I told you what we were doing you might be willing to give me a discount.”

“Not on your life,” Talia said.

“Kovac,” Yasmine said.

Talia froze and narrowed her eyes, a cruel smile spreading across her lips, “Oh really? Does Kurda know?”

“No and I don’t want you telling him either,” Yasmine said.

“Fine, I’ll keep it to myself,” She swiveled the chair and got to her feet, walking to the rear of her lab-office and opening a drawer in the rear corner with a thumbprint scan. She pulled a steel briefcase from it and walked over to Yasmine, handing it to her. “You know what I want in exchange.”

“Four,” Yasmine said.

“Six,” Talia shot back.

“Five,” Yasmine grumbled.

“Five it is,” Talia said, “Once you get back of course. I don’t want you flubbing this on my account. I will collect even if I have to get my orderlies to pick you up,” Talia warned her, “Do not forget about it.”

Yasmine seemed to deflate a little before hefting the suitcase and setting it on one of the counters, she opened it and Flipp moved over to peer inside. There had to be almost a hundred tiny pinky-sized vials of crystal clear liquid. Yasmine plucked one of them out and examined it thoughtfully, “Do you know how many years in prison we’d get for being caught with all of these?” She asked, glancing at Flipp.

He swallowed, “How many?”

“Depends on your lifespan,” Talia chimed in, “But for a human you’d get ten years for each vial.”

Flipp let out a breath, running his fingers through his hair, “Are we going to need all of that?”

“Probably,” Yasmine said, closing it and glancing at Talia, “Good doing business with you, Doc.”

“I will pray to your success,” She said with a smile.

“You’re a bitch, Talia,” Yasmine quipped, “Later.”

They left the hospital after that without incident, getting into the car that was still waiting for them at the entrance before crossing through East City and arriving at Yasmine’s apartment. Outside there were two unmarked vans parked, one of them had Alec sitting in the drivers seat. He got out and waved as Yasmine and Flipp stepped out of the dark vehicles that subsequently sped away.

“The supplies Lyss ordered are here,” He said, jerking his thumb at the van behind him, “We should be ready to meet up with Amon and Tyler soon.”

“Has Hannah figured out if she can get inside?” She asked.

“Yep! She’s going through orientation right now apparently, quick hiring process over at ASTA, maybe I should apply!” He guffawed.

“Good shit,” Yasmine said putting the suitcase in Alec’s hand. He eyed it and looked up at Yasmine, “Ice.”

“Seriously?” He balked, “Fantastic! I’ll bring it inside.”

“So what now?” Flipp asked, looking over his shoulder as civilians walked past on the other side of the street.

“Now? We meet up with the survey team and then hit that glowy bitch where it hurts,” She declared and made her way back inside.