Pathline (7 page)

Malik took his folder without issue, opening it up to peruse, but Serk clutched his
in one hand while staring at Donovan.
  "So not only do I get the new recruit, but for the next two days I'll be working two team members short?!" 

He took a step towards the senior agent, brandishing his folder like a weapon.  Donovan stared back at him unperturbed.  Ash stepped forward to put a hand on Serk's arm, then Malik closed his own folder and stepped between Serk and the agent. 

"Serk is right, the teams are unbalanced.  I can take Rook, and move my second
R
unner to his team, so that we'll both be working with five team
members until your return." 

Donovan turned her attention to him
.
"
I appreciate your willingness to appease a colleague Malik, but team assignments are
my
prerogative.  While your little arrangement might work out for the short term, the fact is that Rune and I are the only ones amongst you who have ever worked with Rook before.  Since I won't be part of the tactical assault, that means that Rune will be the only one amongst you all that Rook will trust. 
Something that even Serk might realize is imperative in the field.  I'm sure you'd be willing to take the short team Malik, but as I said before potential conflicts of interest dictate that you and Rune not work on t
he same team for the time being
.
" 

This triggered pandemonium.  Catha stepped for
ward, next to Malik, and said
,
"S
o to accommodate a super that
none of us
knows or trusts
you're leaving Serk with the short straw?  That's bullshit". 

Felix was the next to
sp
eak.
"
Why include this
C
harger in the first place?  And if
Rune's
presence is a conflict of interest then just replace her with another
W
anderer
.
" 

Both Malik and Blythe turned at this, bu
t it was Blythe who spoke first.
"Rune is
the best
W
anderer this agency
has;
replacing her on an assignment th
is important would be stupid
.
" 

Nave came up from behind.
"
S
o don't replace her then, just leave her off the teams, why can't we just be two teams of five?  Why do we need two
W
anderers in the first place?"
 

Rune couldn't be sure, but she thought she caught a hint of a smile on
Agent Donovan's
face for a moment. 

Serk shook off Ash's arm and said
,
"Nave's got a point, I don't need either of them, I'm perfectly capable of planning this assault without a
W
anderer or
C
harger". 

Suri turned towards him.
"Serk, be reasonable, you're going to need a
W
anderer, and having a
C
harger on your team will undoubtedly come in handy
.
" 

Ash stepped forwa
rd, standing next to Serk again.
"
W
e can manage with two short for a couple of days, it wi
ll give us time to learn about C
harger abilities, something that Rune and Rook obviously already know
.
" 

Serk snorted but didn't respond to that, turning instead towards the training equipment.  Catha turned to Rune for a moment, a look of utter contempt on her face, before stepping closer to Malik. 

Rune had had enough, but before she could speak the door to the training room opened and a couple of API techs stepped in followed closely by the
H
ead of
G
overnment. 
Time to st
art the equipment tutorials
. 
Rune crossed her arms and stood at the back of the room while the techs went over the procedures to operate the machinery. 
Agent Donovan went to stand by the door with her assistant at her heels, checking her watch. 

The tech ended the talk by saying, "
O
f course, soon you'll have an actual
C
harger here to practice with so that should fully prepare you for a battle with the hostile
C
harger". 

Catha gave a dry laugh.
"
Y
es, a
C
harger who apparently can't work without having
Rune
by his side
.
" 

Malik turned and frowned at her, but didn't say
anything;
Rune on the other hand was on her final straw. 

"I am so done with this crap
” she
murmured.  The others turned to look at her, but Rune turned towards the
H
ead of
G
overnment.
 
"C
onsider this my official notice.
I'll see this assignment to
its
end, but as soon as this job is finished I'm done with the agency.  The
D
irector will have my official letter of resignation on his desk as soon as I return."  The
Head of G
overnment frowned moving towards her, but before he could speak Rune said, "I'd better get going"
,
then
turned and walked out of the room wandering away as soon as she was back in the corridor. 

T
he neighborhood that Rune had wa
ndered to was an old haunt of hers, from her youth, that she hadn't been
to
in
years.  Not that it mattered much, little seemed to have changed in the interval. 
Very
few
people were on the streets, and
none
of them seemed to notice her sudden presence.  She smiled to herself, anyone who recognized her here wouldn't be a pr
oblem a
nd most of them certainly wouldn
't care that she was a
Wa
nderer;
this was an outsider neighborhood after all. 
There was a dive bar at the end of
a
nearby alley
where so called
anomalous
supers liked to pass
through
.  It was a favorite of
Rook’s;
he liked to sit in on the card games that took place in the back room.  Rune
didn't think
he'd be there
at this time of day
, but she
was sure
someone
present
would know how to find him. 

The daylight made the entrance to the bar seem even shabbier than she remembered
it;
the s
ign with the bar's name was hang
ing on its side a good breeze away from falling. 
She reached for the door and took a
calming
breath before opening it. 
The light inside the bar was dim, no match for the daylight streaming in
through
the open door. 
There were two people sitting at tables, and another sitting at the bar.  The bartender looked over as she entered, but didn't seem to recognize her. 
He
appeared
a lot older than she remembered, with grays dominating his hairline, but his welcoming smile was just as warm as ever. 

Bran was a
D
efender who had worked with the military back in the early days of the super programs, but when the agency was founded
he realized that he didn't like the direction it was ta
king and didn't agree with many
of its policies, so he'd returned to a humble civilian life.  Most people wouldn't even know that he was a
D
efender, for he only used his abilities under necessary circumstances.  
He was a big imposing man under normal conditions, so some show of brute strength coming from him
didn't call any extra attention, and a
bartender in this type of neighborhood would be expected to be capable of handling himself in a fight. 

He'd opened the bar upon his return to town and found that it quickly became a haven for disgruntled military and government supers as well as independent mercenary work supers, most of whom had never been registered with the government. 
If the government knew how many high-level supers passed
through
here
, supers that they'd never even heard of, it would put their own programs to shame. 
Because of the type of work that most of the mercenary supers took, and the fact that many of the supers who frequented the bar kept normal civilian jobs, it was common for there to be supers of every kind passing
through
here, mainstream
and
anomalous classes equally. 

Rune smiled back at Bran as she took a seat at the end of the bar. 

"We don't get much foot traffic during daylight hours, what can I get for your?" Bran asked
,
as he set a coaster in front of her. 

"Just a few regulars I would suppose" Rune replied, "
B
ut I'm not actually here for a drink Bran, although I'll take an order of fries if your cook
'
s already in". 

He raised
his eyebrows at her familiarity.
"
Y
eah, he just got in a few minutes ago, soda with that?" 

Rune chuckled
.
"
S
oda would be great.  You're trying to
remember
me now aren't you?" 

Bran leaned i
n for a closer look at her face.
"
T
here's a familiarity to your features that I just can't place, I'm guessing it's been a while since you've set foot in here" he answered. 

Rune smiled at him
again;
there was a warmth to his eyes that she'd missed.  "Yes, it's been quite a while, and the years probably haven't been too kind to me.  Perhaps this will help" she said
,
pulling an old necklace out of her shirt. 

Bran took a close look at the neck
lace, then leaned back laughing.
"Rune!" he exclaimed
,
slapping the counter.
 
"Yeah it's been too many years at that since you last set foot in here, but taking one look at you I'd say the years have been kind indeed." 

Rune laughed at that.
"
A
nd to you as well Bran, those grays suit your features very well
.
" 
             

He let
out a roaring laugh in response.
"Oh yeah, the ladies just can't get enough of me these days.  Last I'd heard of you, you'd gone off and joined the government ranks, even got yourself a bit of media attention recently didn't you?" he said
,
with raised eyebrows. 

Rune rolled her eyes.
"
N
ot you too Bran, I was hoping to escape all
the
drama while I was here." 

Bran ch
uckled and put a hand over hers.
"
N
ot to wor
ry, I'd be the last one
to comment on the love lives of others, given my track
record" he said
,
with a wink. 
"I'll go get the cook started on your fries,
and
when I
return
you can tell me what brings yo
u back to the neighborhood."  He walked to the end of the bar and went
through
the doors leading to the kitchen behind. 

Rune took the chance to look around the old bar, taking in the photographs on the walls and glancing at the three other patrons. 
One was an old
R
unner who'd been a regular even back when she had
last
frequented the bar, the two others she didn't recognize; there was a middle aged woman
eating a
cold
sandwich
at one of the tables, and a young man reading a newspaper at the bar. 
The man at the bar smiled at her when he caught her looking in his direction. 

She glanced up as Bran walked back towards her, coming out from behind the bar and sitting at a stool beside her.