"Do you ever think of where you'd be if you hadn't awakened?" Lauren asked, passing James a warm mug of tea as she sat on the sofa beside him.

They were having a small break from their strategizing, enjoying the night chill as they watched Miami buzz with activity despite the late hour.

The hotel rooms they had been given both had a balcony, but out of an unspoken agreement, they had settled in James'.

"Probably dead, to be honest. If I hadn't awakened when I did, the rats would have killed me," James replied honestly, earning a huff of laughter from Lauren.

"No, idiot. I mean in general. If you hadn't been in the position to awaken then, what would your life be like now." She replied.

"Eeeeh. That's a hard one." James murmured, "I wouldn't have kept working at Home Depot for much longer. Grandpa wanted me to go to college, so I might have eventually caved."

A moment of silence followed. James didn't often think of the life he had left behind, but compared to two years ago, he had become a completely different person. Back then, his most pressing thought had been asking Sally out without getting beat up by her ex. Now, he was in the middle of a covert, clandestine operation to enact revenge on two C-rank Awakeners.

Life had changed so much that it was almost unrecognizable.

"College, huh? I did get my undergraduate degree, so I might have continued to get a master's degree," Lauren replied.

James choked, sputtering tea as he tried to free his windpipe. "You have a degree?!"

"What? Is that so hard to believe? I'll have you know I'm a business major." Lauren replied waspishly.

"No, no, sorry. It's just that I know you awakened pretty soon, so I believed you left school before college." He said.

"Hmph. I might have awakened soon, but I didn't just throw away my studies. I kept studying for years while slowly training against the occasional G-rank monster one can find outside the city limits. Admittedly, it wasn't very efficient, but it still gave me a few levels, making me much stronger than the average person." Lauren muttered.

James used telekinesis to draw the tea away from his blanket, leaving it spotless before sighing, "That's smart. I don't think I miss studying, to be honest, but I wouldn't mind going back to get a degree once things settle down a bit."

Lauren gave him a look, "You think things will ever settle down? It seems to me that every month, there is something crazier going on. Just to remind you, we are on a training trip with one of the most powerful people in the world while our teacher is still missing, and her own mentor is stabilizing control of the New York AA after a coup."

"When you put it like that, things have been getting more hectic. Well, at least the predicted wave of terror attacks hasn't actually materialized. They said we could be looking at daily bombings, but whatever the AA and the Army did is working because after Chicago, nothing happened." James admitted.

"That we know of," Lauren added. "I don't think there were cover-ups, but how likely it is that they caught terrorists and simply didn't say anything to calm the population? I think it's more possible than them simply giving up."

James nodded, contemplating her words as he took another sip of his tea. The warm liquid felt comforting against the chill of the night air. His stats were such that he didn’t suffer from the cold, but the contrast in temperature still felt nice.

"I wonder if Miss Walker will come back soon," James mused, staring into the dark expanse beyond the balcony. "The whole mystery behind her disappearance would be enough by itself, but whenever I think that my mother might be involved, my heart hurts." It was an uncharacteristic show of weakness, but James felt he could trust Lauren.

Her expression softened, her gaze following his into the night. "I hope so. She has a way of making things seem manageable, and having answers would be nice. But with Mr. Bethany taking over, I think we're in good hands for now."

Their legs were tangled together under the blanket, a comfortable closeness that had become more familiar over time. James drew strength from the connection, feeling himself relax. The problems were still there, but for a moment, they didn't feel as pressing. The hustle of the city below felt distant, their balcony a small haven in the midst of chaos.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"And New York," James eventually continued, shifting to lean back against the cushions. "I wonder how much it'll change with the new administration. Seems like they're pushing to regain lost ground to the guilds."

Lauren chuckled, "It's about time. The guilds were getting too bold, thinking they could operate without oversight. But with Mr. Bethany's people at the helm, we should see some change."

"That old man is terrifying in his own way. He might not be as magically powerful as Mr. Julian, but he managed to out Director Meyer without him being able to make a peep."

She hummed in amusement, "I bet he returned to the Washington HQ with his tail between his legs. I can't imagine him taking his removal lightly, though."

James's expression turned thoughtful, his gaze sharpening. "I don't think we've seen the last of him. Men like that… they don't just fade into the background. He's probably plotting something, biding his time until he can make a move."

The conversation drifted, their musings mingling with the night air. Despite the uncertainty that lay ahead, there was a sense of peace between them. Under the stars and the city lights, the future didn't seem so dim.

----------------------------------------

Having assumed Thomas Green's identity again, James returned to the Clearsky Guild with a renewed sense of purpose. The Miami sun glinted off the glass facade of the guild building, a beacon of power and influence in the bustling city. The cool, air-conditioned lobby offered respite from the heat outside as he entered.

The receptionist, a familiar face from his last visit, greeted him with a professional smile. "Welcome back, Mr. Green. Please head up to the third floor. You're expected in the meeting room for your consultation."

James nodded, maintaining the demeanor of a low-ranked, somewhat nervous Awakener. He took the elevator up, his mind racing through the details of his plan and reviewing the information Bianca had provided. The elevator dinged softly as it reached its destination, and the doors slid open to reveal a sleek, modern hallway that led to a series of offices and meeting rooms.

A secretary, positioned at a desk just before the elevator, looked up as he approached. "Mr. Green, right this way, please," she said, her tone friendly as she directed him towards a room. Her thoughts were calculative as she assessed his worth like a piece of meat.

Inside, James found a spacious, well-lit space with a large table surrounded by comfortable chairs. The room was equipped with a projection screen on one wall and a side table laid out with water, snacks, and an array of branded merchandise from the Clearsky Guild.

"Everyone gets some goodies," the secretary explained, gesturing towards the table with a smile. "It's just the start of the benefits of being part of the Clearsky family."

James thanked her, taking a seat and glancing over the items with feigned interest. As the secretary excused herself, mentioning that the consultants would join him shortly, James took the opportunity to extend his psychic senses throughout the building.

He quickly located Hopkins and Knowles, their presences unmistakable now that he knew what to look for. Contrary to the secretary's implication that they were wrapping up important work, James's exploration revealed a more unsavory scene. The two men were not busy with guild duties but were instead engaged in a leisurely encounter with a woman who was clearly not there for professional reasons.

Jesus H. Christ. Really, in the middle of the office, so early in the morning? I guess that when Bianca said they were perverts, she meant it.

The revelation didn't surprise James but confirmed the character flaws Bianca had outlined. It did, however, add a layer of disgust to his already low opinion of the men he was about to face.

Forcing himself to focus on the task at hand, James mentally rehearsed his plan. The first part involved engaging Hopkins and Knowles in conversation, subtly mentioning his fabricated backstory where an AA team had supposedly retreated from a monster attack, leaving his parents to die. Given their dubious moral compasses, he held little hope that this tale would elicit genuine guilt from the two men. Still, it was a necessary step in his strategy to gauge their reactions and establish a connection, however tenuous.

The crux of his plan hinged on the prospect of a newly discovered dungeon. He'd claim he had found one near his old home. Having been abandoned by the AA, it wouldn’t be too weird for him not to have reported it.

A dungeon left to populate like that was dangerous, as it could break and release its denizens into the world. This meant that it was worth a lot of money, as the government didn't hold back when it came to rewarding this kind of find.

James knew that the allure of being the first to claim a dungeon was irresistible to many Awakeners, especially to those like Hopkins and Knowles. Anyone who reported it stood to gain prestige and a substantial finder's fee. He hoped this would be the perfect bait to draw them away from the relative safety of their guild headquarters and into a situation where he could confront them with less risk of intervention.

As he waited, James's impatience grew. Every minute spent in the meeting room felt like an hour, the ticking of the clock on the wall a constant reminder of the time slipping away. Yet, he maintained his outward calm, periodically sipping water, perusing the branded merchandise, putting on a hat, and opening the backpack to stuff the remaining objects in.

Finally, he felt the two men finish their business with the hooker. It took them five more minutes to get dressed and smoke a cigarette, but they eventually started walking in his direction.

"Who's the kid?" He heard Hopkins ask the secretary. They hadn't even bothered reading the files that should have been sent to them.

"A new G-rank. Clara said he has some potential, so you should encourage him to keep working until D-rank. We should be able to slot him as vanguard then." The woman answered, showing a depth of understanding that surprised James. Delving into her mind revealed that while she wasn't an Awakener, Glenda Britches was a very ambitious young woman who had attached herself to Hopkins and Knowles with the intention of scaling up the ranks within the guild. She'd never be an executive, but her competence meant she could be given real power one day.

"Ugh, newbies. Well, I suppose we've done this often enough, eh Theo?"

"Just smile while you tell him he has the making of a hero, and he's gonna keep working for years. They are all like that." Hopkins sighed.

In a way, he was correct. If James had really been Thomas Green, having two experienced Awakeners tell him they saw something in him would have been enough to push him to give it his all. He would have also probably died in a dungeon somewhere in the Florida wetlands. Unluckily for the two, he was very much not a newbie.

James settled in the chair, though he made sure to move his left leg up and down as if he were nervous.

When the two men finally entered, he stood up abruptly, affecting an embarrassed air. "Good morning!" He almost yelled.

The two consultants gave each other a look and subtly sighed at the display, apparently having seen it many times.

He was in.