“Third we need to talk!” Sophia immediately shouted as she busted through the doorway of his top floor office. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one to think so, as seated across from him was the CEO, Gary Podavani.

“Well, come on in and sit down then.” Gary motioned with a chuckle. Third didn’t seem as excited but he could do nothing about it.

“Wanna fill us in about this mithril deposit?” Sophia asked once she’d sat beside Gary and returned her glare to Third.

“They agreed?” Third returned with a satisfied nod. “Good, we can have Woodrow and Henry…”

“Wait, Mithril? What the hell is Mithril?” Gary interrupted with a baffled expression. “And what agreement are you talking about? Is this about those dwarves again?”

“They mentioned it while they had me captive. It should be an interesting research project. I mean, how often do you get to discover a new metal?”

“Did that not cross your mind while writing up your debrief?” Gary asked, understanding Sophia’s complaints without her even needing to state them. They could only work on the information they were given and Third was notorious about skipping details. It was such a problem that they still didn’t even know where he was during the two weeks when they first arrived.

“Eh, if it worked out it worked out, if it didn’t I wasn’t going to push it.” Third explained with a shrug. What good would adding pressure to an already sticky situation do? He was lucky enough to be free of captivity he wasn’t looking to push his luck with the temperamental group.

“No, this is bigger than just skipping details.” Gary argued, shaking his head. “It feels like you don’t trust us with anything. I mean, how many times have you glazed over my questions or straight up ignored agreements after we’ve voted?”

“Am I required to answer every question and report every situation? We have to come to grips with the fact that we aren’t on earth anymore, we don’t need to be bound to this unnecessary bureaucracy and paper trails.”

“Don’t hide behind the other-world excuse, we have adapted in every way possible and our rules are set for the sake of transparency. If we don’t know the entire situation, how are we supposed to respond in case of emergencies?”

“Are the contents of my everyday conversations and trips enough to prevent emergencies?” Third asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Hey, you tell us.” Gary shrugged while leaning back in his seat.

The two continued silently bearing down on him, but no hints of guilt or admissions came to his face, he would stubbornly continue his obstinance.

In Third’s mind, the core truth of their situation wouldn’t help them out of it. And worse yet it might instead lead to the rightful anger at those responsible for bringing them here. Better he pulled a few strings in silence so they could steadily build up strength before all hell broke loose.

“Isn’t there more important things to worry about right now? I think the shipyard will be interested in it; it could serve as a great railgun projectile.”

“This is the last warning, Luis.” Gary reiterated, understanding the invitation to leave, and rising from his seat. “Next time I’ll call the board to have you removed, I’m not joking.”

“I still own the shares, you can’t exactly—”

“Yeah, he can.” Sophia nodded while rising beside him.

With a huff, Gary strutted from the room mouthing a few more unsaid complaints as he went. The air went still after he left, leaving little room for Sophia to follow his immediate lead.

“The invitation stands,” She said with a weak smile “This week they have pianist on so it’s not as loud.”

Chuckling, Third shook his head in outright refusal “Thanks though, maybe next time.”

“Right.” Sophia mouthed with a half sigh. “Well, you have my number, so maybe next time send me a text or something if randomly you meet elves while picnicking, or mermaids on your nightly swim.”

“Let’s not pretend this is some kind of trend, come on.” Third argued with a mock insulted expression.

“Mhm,” Sophia nodded while turning to leave the office through the same door Gary had left ajar.

Finally, alone. Third sat restlessly a moment before eventually pulling his newly repaired phone from his pants pocket.

There’d been a variety of new contacts added over the past few months and Sophia’s was indeed amongst them. But aside from hers there was also countless other prominent figures. Shah Viruta’s tablet had a contact, the three tribal elders each had their own communication device, and even many from the Irias’ families carried one now that it’d been given its own tower.

Third’s reach stretched far across the continent, already nearing even Gaurdia in terms of sheer connections. This was by no means an accident, but Third himself wasn’t entirely conscious of it.

Tapping an icon with a few dozen unread messages indicated in the corner, he clicked the topmost message and reread the conversation up-till then.

A slight smile pierced the corner of his lips, as he tapped out a short response. Raising with a hop, he pushed out the doorway and made his way to the access corridor that led to the rooftop.

Awaiting him on the rooftop was a pair of vehicles; One, an experimental multi-rotor personal-mobility device dubbed ‘the tricycle’ that they’d developed for the military, and the other his usual Crown Osprey, outfitted with its lush cream interior and other various frills.

His impatience drew him towards the tricycle, but he knew better than to test boundaries so soon after a warning like that. So, he reluctantly called the other constantly redialed number in his call log, and patiently waited for a flight crew to be assembled.