It was a three-hour drive to Dublin. We’d been on the move for about an hour already.

If I had to put a number to it, I'd say I’d opened my mouth nine times by the time we got to a town called Limerick.

Six times in response to something Adonis or TGFMAC had said. Three times because I had to say something.

Me and Feoli were sitting in the back, and she had been talking, just not to me. I can understand that, but I felt like Sam should at least make an attempt to socialise with her, you know? It’s what Saoirse expected of me. I wasn’t looking to be her friend or anything, if another person who knows Shamrock meets me in this life... That’s way too much to juggle. I need to keep things separate.

Saoirse/Clover is an exception.

“S-so, Feoli, you said dingle was your home away from home, right? Are you from Tralee?”

“No. I’m from overseas.”

She was looking over at me.

“Oh. Well, your accent sounds Irish. You from... Scotland? Boston?”

“A third world country. You haven’t heard of it.”

It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. “Oh, okay.”

I quieted down, thinking to myself that neither of us was suited to this situation. She had backup.

TGFMAC piped in, “Feoli, didn’t you say you’d been in Limerick? Where about’s were you staying?”

“Near the sea.”

I thought she was done, but she eventually unfolded her arms, “Or the river’s mouth I should say. There is a store there that sells breads and cakes, we stayed close by, me and my-”

TGFMAC chimed in, “Your crew? There must be a lot of work that goes into a production of that quality, you’d need a lot of people working on it. Costume, makeup, effects-”

“No,” Feoli’s face didn’t change, “it was only the two of us. Me and that man.”

Adonis looked at the rear-view mirror, “Have you heard about it Sam? If you’ve been to Inch beach you’ve probably seen the show that Feoli used to work in.”

Adonis knew it wasn’t a show. And he knew that the only thing Feoli had been working towards all that time ago- was my destruction.

Emphasis on was. I’m stupid enough to forgive somebody for murder. Typing that out, I can’t really believe that I mean it, but I think I do. Feoli killed people. If I was living lawfully, with justice in mind, I'd have probably gotten in contact with the Internationals so they can work something out, imprison her.

Put her in a cage.

I guess it’s just the type of person I am. That I can’t stand that feeling, so why would I ever wish it upon someone else? Even a criminal. Maybe there was a time where I couldn’t forgive Feoli for what she’d done, but it’s long since passed. If I get to know her any better, I’d say there’s a chance of me legitimately saving her. Just like I’ll save Clover.

From herself, from her kingdom, hell, while I'm at it I might as well pick a fight with their gods, wouldn’t be the first time.

Maybe that’s something that should hold my attention more. The circuit board seven were goofy in comparison to what I've faced recently, but they were headed by a being that held the title of god. Schism had called himself all powerful, but he never claimed that title.

He said he was the devil, so did Clover. From Schism’s perspective he’s the good guy, trying to protect the world.

From itself, sure, but with the mention of god and the devil- it gets me thinking that those things out there are far more inhumane than even the world's worst man.

Looks like I've got my work cut out for me.

“Is that what you do,” I asked rather dumbly, “You're a street performer?”

She didn’t seem fond of the title, “I was a performer. Now I work at home, at the hotel I live in. The... traveling performer job, it was all that man’s idea. Rather, he’ the one who made a show out of it all.”

TGFMAC opened a packet of crisps, she didn’t seem to invested in the whole thing, “He skipped town without you, right? He took your van and drove off.”

“The...” Feoli was thinking about how to word it, “the van was his. I was merely living in it.”

‘Merely’, I thought. Maybe I'd put on too many movies set in ye olde times.

“It was his business. He is well within his right to abandon it.” That made my heart sink a little.

I kind of... up and left her. That was the deal, but-

“Still a pretty crappy thing to do right? After all the time you spent together. It shouldn’t matter that he was your friend, you should kick his ass the next time you see him, flip the hero-villain script on its head, right?”

Feoli smiled. It was uneasy. “He wasn’t my friend. I knew as much since I first met him.”

‘Yeah’, I thought. We aren’t friends. But I'm glad that despite everything she’d been through, there was a hope for her. In a crazy sort of way, maybe she had more hope than me.

That’s how it looked to me, while the two of them were talking about me behind my back to my face.

“He’s a good guy.”

I looked away from my ten-yard stare, focusing on the driver.

Feoli nodded, “That’s right, you met him.” Adonis responded, “yep, I spoke with him a couple times about-”

He looked in the rear mirror, “About how you did your tricks. It was pretty interesting stuff.”

Adonis was trying to hold back on mentioning Units, like I'd told him to. He was right to, the last thing he’d need is Sam, the person he’d just met, finding out that the driver of the car believed in robots and gods and witches.

Adonis kept it tame, “I was at a pretty low point that night, things were going pretty terribly at work, and I'd said something stupid to TGFMAC. Then, he walked over to the corner of the café I was at and actually asked me how I was.”

Adonis laughed, “Can you imagine! He was about five seven, so I’ve got nearly a foot on him, and he asks if I'm alright with that smile on his face. Like he could so easily burst out laughing to himself. It was... bizarre. I’ve never experienced anything- anything similar to that in my life. At first, I'm startled, then we get down to talking, and I just unload on him. Not every little problem, not the stuff about work, but it was like I lost my weight in word vomit.”

TGFMAC looked away, “Gross,” Adonis simply took it in his stride, “It was when we started dating, you know. He actually ended up giving me advice on... how to handle things at the time.”

Did I?

She looked at him for a while, until he glanced over to her, communicating something only they could know.”

“Was that after the satellite fell? You never told me it was that guy who pulled you out of that slump.”

She gave it some more thought, “Ha. He gave you life advice?”

There was a tap on the side of the steering wheel, “What can I say, he’s my personal hero.”

It was a joke, but my own gratitude was nearly visible. It was something I hadn’t gotten from most of the people I'd saved the lives of. A thanks.

“He’s playing a hero, though. It’s an act. Feoli, you knew the man under the mask, what was he really like?”

Feoli’s mind was elsewhere, “He was... I never really knew anybody else, except for the man wearing the costume.”

Adonis laughed, “Cryptic!” TGFMAC sighed, “You’re both infatuated.”

She shrugged with a smile, “Well... I guess it is a good show.”

Feoli cracked a smile, and that goaded Adonis on.

I was on the verge of showing my pride. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to tell the truth as much as I did in that moment.

“It’s too bad I missed your show,” I laughed

Adonis laughed a little.

“I could perform a trick now.” When Feoli said that, Adonis stopped laughing.

I tilted my head, “What do you mean? D’you have something prepared?”

TGFMAC giggled, turning around, “That thing with the water?”

Feoli hushed her, “Don’t spoil it.”

Adonis became more serious, “I’m not so sure you should be pulling tricks like that out of nowhere. Honestly, Sam, it’s... it might be a bit much.”

“It’s quite harmless. Just... don’t give it much thought,” Feoli had a comforting expression, which if you knew her, it’d only bring discomfort.

“Right,” I answered weakly.

I didn’t know exactly what she was going to do, but whatever it was it wasn’t something Sam would understand.

As she took up a bottle of water, I realised that I’d have to pretend to be surprised by whatever it was she was planning on doing.

It honestly wouldn’t be doing much faking.

She drank it. She chugged the entire bottle of water in a couple seconds. I hadn’t expected that. She cleared her throat. Then she straightened her neck, breathing out a gasp of air.

She opened her mouth, holding a finger parallel to her lips.

Then there was a gurgle, a wet squeaking, the compression of gas.

Three wire-thin tenacles whipped out grabbing onto her teeth and finger.

I’d half seen it coming, it would either be a crab or an octopus, but there was something about it being in her throat.

I clasped my mouth, gagging, as only more tentacles emerged. TGFMAC was sitting forward in her seat, and though she also said it was gross, it seemed like she was at least half enjoying it.

Adonis seemed angry now, “Alright, you didn’t have to make it so- big.”

Eventually she had pulled the full thing out, it was like a writhing ball of hair, oily and black. She brought it over to the bottle and the creature crawled inside.

She tightened the lid, screwing it shut.

And with a forceful shake, the creature was water again.

I was balled up on the opposite side of the car, that part was an act, I knew it was harmless, both because she wouldn’t program it to do harm, and because I'm still Shamrock.

She pushed the bottle to my face, “See? Water. It was a trick.”

My face was snarled, “Yeah, a bloody good one,” I was going to ask how she could put on a show with something like that in it.

My revulsion fell away however, when I saw the smile on her face. It looked natural.

“Haha,” I put on the laugh, trying to keep a good mood, “don’t show that to Saoirse, but if Mullet ever gives you trouble, just- just do that.”

She sat back in her seat, leaving the bottle in the middle, “If he calls me freakishly tall again, I think I will.”

TGFMAC chimed in, “I don’t think he’s talking about Mullet insulting you.”

Feoli snorted, “Well it’d be unwise of him to pick a fight with me.”

It seemed like she still didn’t understand. I never can get a read on her.

Adonis shook his head, “Better not have spilt anything.”

Feoli felling back into her seat submissivly. “I didn’t.”

They made good company till we finally arrived to our first destination.

I didn’t immediately recognise the area as Dublin, I hadn’t exactly been keeping to the roads the last time I went through here. The traffic was immense, but not slow. A poor driver could very easily have gotten into an accident, so I was worried about those near Mullet’s car. It was later in the day, around the time that people would be going home from work I assume. Or maybe it’s always like that in a real city.

If I ever did decide to go live in the city, the amount of people about is something I'll have to be on guard for. What would I even do to make a living in the city anyway? I haven’t the faintest clue what types of jobs are on offer for someone coming straight out of high school. It’s not like my subjects suit each other, so I'm not going to be able to set up a firm career or anything.

At least I think that’s how it works? I can’t even remember where I was heading before I got powers. I just indulged in fantasies, my own and the ones I found in comics. Was I really not looking for a way to get out of my crappy life? Out of that house?

What I was thinking about doesn’t matter anymore. My situation has completely changed, that was made abundantly clear by the hotel we drove up to. It was deep in the centre of the city, near a public garden.

“Crap,” Adonis half swore, “where am I supposed to park? Alright, you three go in, and wait for Saoirse to show up. They can’t be too long behind us.”

Adonis was stuck outside for a while; we took the bags in making our way to the main desk. On the outside, it looked like a fairly simple building, I thought it was attached to a restaurant next door, but it turns out that was a part of the hotel! Me and Feoli only made it half way to the desk, on our right was a fire place, above which hung two massive paintings.

They were portraits of a woman, the colours used were dirty, in keeping with the shapes used in the pieces, and the reception. My interest in the art broke, and I took a long look around me, spinning on my heels. It was a minimalist design; the architecture and furniture were all flat shapes and colours. When I finally came back around to look at the paintings, I could see that they contrasted the rest of the room just enough to stand out, avoiding the pit fall.

I noticed that Feoli’s attention hadn’t broken, she was still staring at the first of the two paintings, the one where the woman was missing her arm.

I wanted to ask how they made paintings were made where she came from, under water, it’s too bad I didn’t have the chance.

I caught up with TGFMAC, carting somebody’s suitcase in toe. “Did you find out where he can park?”

She shrugged, “Doesn’t matter really. He can’t get by without a room key. And we’re not getting a room key until the others-”

It was like clockwork, that sadistic smile circled around me in an instant, “Well?? What do you think.”

I looked off to the side, “It’s nice,” my answer to Saoirse’s question was weak, in tone and quality.

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew how much it cost,” I’d thought she was deriving pleasure from my suffering before, but now, I think she actually was happy to see the life drain from my face.

“W-” I stuttered, before I could get the rest of my sentence out Izzy came in carrying everything from Mullet’s car. She had about three bags slung over her back, and more gripped in her hands.

She was making a face I’d seen a hundred times, right before somebody smashed me over the head with whatever was in their hands.

As she got closer, her muttering slowly became coherent, “-goan’fuckenskideawayonyasow...” Intelligible, if you spoke the same dialect as her.

“Uhm- Izzy, I can take some of those if you want-” I felt bad for her, Saoirse had literally abandoned the girl to carry everything on her own.

She turned to face me, and her expression shifted entirely, “Would’ya?”

She kept two of the seven or so bags, stretching a little as she turned back to Clover.

“You think you can just fuckin leave like that? Hop out the car and leave me with that shite.” The skull fracturing face came back with a bulging vein.

Saoirse looked genuinely confused, “What do you mean? Most of its yours. And I have to go back out to give your piece of shit boyfriend the card,” she fluttered her eyes innocently, “I mean, unless you really think I should cancel this trip because of what he said to me.”

Izzy found a middle ground between the two expressions, which was really her usual face. It seems like she was just about able to contain her anger and remember who’s paying for all this.

Saoirse looked me up and down, “Look after my bags, Stinky?” I assumed that was me. I looked away before saying, “Yep...”

When she skipped up to the desk with TGFMAC, I was left standing there with Izzy. Curiosity got the better of me, or maybe it was just my fear of standing in silence.

“So, what did he say this time, huh?”

Izzy looked over at me already forgetting her gratitude, “What makes ya think he said somethin’ stupid? For all you know it was-” She stopped herself off, cussing to herself, “It’s not your business, ye smelly bastard.”

She hit me with it like a sack of bricks, it was so unexpected I nearly laughed. That seemed to make her angry. Maybe that brutal honesty is something they’ve got in common? Don’t see how that trumps Mullet’s proclivities.

Even if she was angry, it seemed like a better alternative to silence.

“Will you at least tell me what song he put on?” She looked back at me, “You knew ‘bout that? He play one fer yah?”

I winced, “He doesn’t have one for me. He didn’t know I was coming.”

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

She lowered her heavy brow, “Yeah he did.”

I smiled respectfully, “Well, it seems a little weird that Saoirse would tell you guys I was coming and not, well, and not me. I only found out this morning that-”

She shook her head, practically shouting, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out she’d bring ya.”

Why would he lie about a mixtape?

“Then again... He’s a wee bit less then genius.” There was a kind of anxiety on her face that I shared.

We were making some progress in our little trip; Clover’d reached the first checkpoint and I'm sure the same could be said for a couple of her troops. I had to start looking for an opportunity to run back home, and take care of those hideouts.

Well, whatever. It’s not my first rodeo. I was way more worried about everybody else. So far they seemed to have some problems getting along. Half of them weren’t even friends, and I couldn’t see Feoli and Saoirse getting along. Not to mention this whole ‘mixtape profiling’ that Mullet was doing.

“It’s not about the money.” I looked back to Izzy, “that’s the song he fuckin’ put on for Saoirse. Said it was fittin’ to ‘er situation.”

Saoirse called over from the counter, “We got the cards!” She stomped up to Izzy, flicking one her way, “try not to lose it, we’ve only got six.” There clearly wasn’t bad blood between them.

Izzy turned with a defiant sulk, away to open the car park for the cars.

Saoirse filed the rest of us into the elevator, nudging Feoli into the right direction, “What, is this your first time being in a place like this.”

Feoli turned with a cool expression, “No.”

Clover was slipping out, “Hahaha, well you sure act like it.”

I asked “Do I act like it?”

TGFMAC nodded.

As both Saoirse and Feoli were getting into the elevator, there was a moment were the sea-witch stopped and gave us all a confused look.

“Hurry up and get in, we don’t have all day,” Yeah, they definitely weren’t going to get along.

Feoli stood obtusely in front of the floor numbers, Clover was losing her temper as she politely asked her guest to move.

As we stood in the mirrored metal box, I waited patiently for Saoirse to realise she was putting the card in the slot upside-down. Feoli was inspecting her face in one of the surfaces. I’d do the same if I had a living organism stuck to my face.

In her frustration Saoirse made a snide remark at Feoli, putting on an accent, “Your beautiful baby, even if your nose, make-up, and teeth are crooked.”

Feoli looked over for a second, “I appreciate your complement, but- I'm sorry, I’m not attracted to women. Well, definitly not you.”

That got a good laugh out of TGFMAC, I knew Clover, sI knew she wasn’t going to find it very funny.

I took the floor key from her, putting it in the right way and pushing the button.

Saoirse turned, “Thanks Sam, I can’t say how much help your being, unlike a certain tag along, who is staying in my room for free.”

I tried to cool the situation the best I could, “Well, it’s not that big a deal,” as it turns out, me turning to properly face Clover only increased the tension, as I bumped into everybody at least a little with the bags slung over me.

Feoli looked down on her, “Oh. Well, if it’s that much trouble Saoirse, I could just buy a room. How much would a night cost, eighty euro?”

Clover laughed out loud, it was mostly put on, “You think a room in a five-star hotel costs eighty euro? Where have you been staying?”

I stammered, “You got a five-star hotel?”

She ignored me as the elevator started up and Feoli’s cool expression broke, she reacted like a spider just crawled over her shoulder.

Of course, Clover only laughed more, “What, you afraid of elevators? Well, we are being raised twenty metres into the air, attached to nothing but a thin wire.”

She was trying to spook Feoli, but actually having an explanation for what was happening helped her return to her usual expression, “Hm. It’s a little bumpy. That’s all.”

Saoirse turned her head away, trying to forget about the woman for the moment.

I leaned forward catching her attention, “Saoirse, how much did this cost.”

She caught onto why I was asking, “Oh, seriously, don’t worry about it,” yet she didn’t really consider my feelings. “It’s just money,” she said flippantly.

I just stared until the elevator came to a stop, she got out first, shouting back at me, “Dinner’s included! At least come see the room before you start shouting at me.”

I followed after her, not to indulge her, but because I couldn’t tell her off from the elevator. The other’s followed, I guess they wanted to watch the show in quiet.

“Saoirse, seriously, just tell me how much it cost. What, a hundred?”

TGFMAC stifled a laugh.

Saoirse was scrambling to get the door open, “Look, it’s a holiday, why not spend a little where we can, right?” My glare to the back of her head said, ‘where you can’.

My evil eye was broken by the crack of light from behind the door.

It was green and natural. A part of me was expecting the block that Feoli had been living in, but it was so much more. More alive. I mean, it was the same sort of fabric on the bed, the throws that can be easily washed, but it complemented the room and the lighting so well.

The carpeting and the curtains were complementary, following the flat motif of the reception. The wall opposite the entrance was a window, half of it opening to a balcony with dark metal chairs and a glass table. I walked into the middle of the room, seeing on my right a large king-sized bed. I’d walked four steps forward and I hadn’t even reached the centre of the room.

To the left were two more rooms, I assumed one of them had another bed in it, the other a bathroom. Beyond this huge room, there was still more.

“Well? Do you like it?” She could see that I’d been impressed.

I let the bags fall off of me, “Yeah...”

She took it as an admittance of defeat, “Great! Get yourself settled in, this’ll be the boys’ room.”

I nodded. So that’s how things were being set up. I guess one of us could sleep on the sofa, it was about as big as my bed.

I pulled out my phone, trying to remember the name of the hotel.

Saoirse turned to the other two, “Well, things seem to be going alright. Two of us will have to share a bed because we’ve got one extra. Best not to tell the hotel.”

Feoli raised a hand defensively, “I’ve already told you; I don’t like women.”

Saoirse put on a laugh, “You better cut back on the jokes when I get home, I've got friends who won’t find that funny.”

Feoli made a face, “Who’s joking? I’m just trying not to lead you on.” I couldn’t decide whether that was a joke or if she was being herself.

I honestly wasn’t paying attention. The google search had come up. I found the hotel’s

“Four hundred and twenty euros? Saoirse! What the fuck!” TGFMAC had a smirk on her face, as the glamour came tumbling down around me.

Saoirse turned around, exasperated, “Sam,” was all she said.

“I know, I know,” the words tumbled out of my mouth, “That might not be a lot to you, but whatever. That’s- that’s less than the phone you got me, right?”

I covered my mouth, as she agreed, “So, let me put this in perspective- something I use every day, is worth a third of one night's stay, if the other rooms the same price. Do you realise that-”

I covered my mouth back up, bending over. I didn’t realise what was happening at first.

“That’s such a- such a wa- waste-” I heaved.

My mind jumped back to Feoli’s little trick in the car, both of those thoughts combined, led to my stomach rising. Even as Sam I was able to rocket into one of the rooms, which was luckily enough, the bathroom.

“Oh, fuck sake,” cried Saoirse, TGFMAC was silent, Feoli admitted, “that’s partially my fault.”

I pulled myself away from the toilet, “No... no, I guess I was a little travel sick.”

Feoli had a smile in her voice, “No, that trick I pulled was disgusting, it’s not exactly for the faint of heart...”

I could see where she was going to take the off handed comment.

“Well, that’s what I'll blame it on, you and the poor roads down here.” Saoirse had her arms folded sitting on the corner of the bed.

Feoli strode after her, “I could demonstrate. If you’d like”.

Clover was antagonistically curious; she was about to challenge her enemy, I knew her enough to tell.

“Don’t,” I called over, “she pulls an octopus out of her throat.”

As much as I'd like to see her honest reaction to the ‘trick’ I'm sure she’d realise how it’s done. I’d told Clover about my fights with the Fomorian, she could put two and two together. Knowing Clover’s disposition towards ‘mutants’, I assumed she’d be presumptuous, that she’d pin Feoli as a spy for Belfast.

It was for the best that we avoid that level of hostility. I believe that Feoli will help us. If only as a favour.

Clover looked at me, just confused at first. Then she laughed, “Oh, you’re right! That is disgusting.”

Feoli seemed disappointed, turning to the door while giving me a dirty eye, “We should get to our room, yes?”

Clover smiled, “Sure, here’s the card, run on ahead!”

Feoli took it with a reluctance, as her and TGFMAC left.

Saoirse stayed. Saoirse, my only friend, who I honestly should never have been friends with.

I washed my mouth out and approached her.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but I got a word out first, “listen I- I know we don’t really mesh well, you being a big spender and me being me...”

I took a look around the room, “But it is nice. I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun.”

The cheer on her face gradually came back, mixed with embarrassment. “You're an asshole. It’s my money and I can spend it however I won’t. If I want to spend it on you, I’m not going to consider how you feel about it.”

I scratched my head, “you always have to win, don’t you? Promise you won’t rip out that girl's throat?”

She stood up with a stretch, “No promises.”

I guess she wasn’t the only one who wanted this. I suddenly got the feeling that my hero complex wasn’t the only thing that I'd be feeding on this trip. There was something about that face, that made it Saoirse’s. Clover couldn’t possibly make it.

I guess we have more in common than I thought.

Saoirse got to the door, turning for a moment, “You should probably take a shower before dinner. I was only half joking when I said you were stinky.”

I gave a salute.

With nobody watching me, I could finally let out a sigh. It was like being in the eye of a storm all this time air. Now I was out in the tornado, a rush of emotions was hitting me.

I can’t possibly say how I felt exactly, it was a mix of everything. I felt sick, embarrassed, self-conscious, angry, glad, envious, betrayed, elated, high, there was so much happening all around me, and I thought to myself-

-maybe this is what being alive is. Maybe this is normal. I’m not afraid, or in pain, or tired. I felt that I was alive in that moment.

It must have stretched for longer than I thought, because Mullet and Adonis eventually showed up.

“Aye, Everton beat Man-united two-nil," said Adonis, “Bullshit, I'm looking this up!” replied Mullet.

That’s about all I heard out of them, rather, that’s all I could understand. I don’t know anything about soccer, so it was in one ear and out the other.

Adonis asked innocently, “What about you Sam, what d’you think?”

I got flustered, “Who, me? Haha, I guess I'd- I'd say it was pretty stupid yeah, or at least- you know-”

Mullet cut me off, “He doesn’t watch football.”

I felt like shutting him up somehow, but obviously that would have been stranger.

“Oh,” Adonis nodded, “do you play any sports? You seem pretty fit.”

“Nope,” I looked around the room for an exit, backing up to the balcony, “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Adonis nodded, “fair enough. What sort of gym do you go to then? From the look of you, you’ve gotta have a pretty hard-set routine.”

Mullet raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to say something.

“Y-yeah, I don’t go to the gym.”

“No way,” interrupted Adonis.

I nodded.

“No way! So you have a home set up?”

I felt uneasy, it’s not like I could just tell him that I just go to the mountains every night and lift a couple dozen tons of granite. Even if he asked how much in total I was lifting, I don’t exactly know myself.

He pressed a little harder, “You can’t get muscles like those from- push ups and pull ups. How many reps do you do on the bar bell, for curls I mean.”

My head was spinning at this point, I could only stammer. I tried to stop, but I couldn’t.

“That’s enough, Adonis. He doesn’t have room at his place for equipment. He only does weightless training. That’s all he can do.”

Adonis paused, “Right, sorry for prodding. Yeah, we should focus on getting ready.”

I nodded, latching onto the opening Mullet provided me, “Let’s... I guess we don’t really need to unpack, do we? If it’s only for the one night.”

Adonis reassured me, “Yeah, we’re probably not going to be using the room much really, it’s near dinner time. Well, we have enough time to get showered if either of you wants to go.”

Mullet looked confused, “Why would I get showered half way through the day? Besides, I had a bath a couple days ago.” I just nodded along, “I was planning on getting a shower, yeah.”

Adonis clasped his hands, “Right, and we’ll all get dressed for dinner.”

Mullet sighed, “Well, get dressed in the bathroom after you get out of the shower. I don’t want to see your guys’ asses.”

Adonis’ laughed like his annoyed tone was supposed to be taken jokingly, “Well Mullet you can go ahead and get changed in the other bedroom, Mullet.”

We were both confused.

Mullet looked down and back up, “why would I need to get changed?”

“For dinner,” Adonis said plainly, slowly realising what was going to happen, “they have a dress code. You do know that, right?”

There was a silence.

…

“You stupid fucking idiot!”

We’d looped around to the other room to tell the others, and Saoirse wasn’t taking it well, “I told you to tell Sam everything!”

Mullet shouted back, “aha! You didn’t! You said this trip was going to be a surprise, remember? You shouted ‘surprise’ when we got to his house!”

Saoirse squinted, “did all that weed rot your brain? I thought that was a myth, but it must be true, because I don’t see how someone can be born brain dead and live as long as you have.”

Izzy spoke up, a little spite in her voice, “You were there as well, weren’t you? Why didn’t you tell him everything yourself?”

Clover was thinking of another insult, when she realised that was fair.

“Right, well, neither of them have clothes for dinner. What’s your excuse for not having any clothes, Mullet?”

He wasn’t bothered about it at all, “Even if I cared about eating outta this place, what’s wrong with what I’ve got with me?”

Mullet had a Gaelic football top on.

Nobody acknowledged him after that.

I was trying to be rational, “Look, we’ve paid for the dinner, I’m sure they aren’t just going to turn us away, just because I'm wearing a plain t shirt, right?”

…

“I’m sorry, but we have a very strict dress code, when guests pay for the (hotel name) experience, they look for a certain air. The atmosphere is very important.”

Saoirse was playing good cop, “well, we’re customers, and I think I have a little something-”

She pulled out a twenty euro note. The man guarding the entrance to the dining area, looked at it from a skewed angle, “That’s very kind mam, but tips are excepted for service, not in order to gain favour or for special treatment.”

“So that’s it,” she flapped her arms down to her side in disbelief.

Adonis backed her up, “look, we’re only here for the one night, surely you can make an exception-”

This wasn’t the first time this hotel worker had dealt with a situation like this, they were completely unphased, “No exceptions sir. I’m terribly sorry, but your money won’t be going to waste. We offer room service for a slight few.

Saoirse was about to have another try at it, but she stopped herself. Turning back to look at me for some reason.

“Fine. I’m sure you’ll understand if held on to this,” she waved that twenty dollar note like it had any sway over the situation.

Then she turned back. Everyone followed with a murmuring, Izzy was audibly cursing as we left, though I'm sure she didn’t intend for it to be so loud.

I was standing there, watching them go. Adonis was in a suit, nothing special really, but he’d made an effort. The same could be said for the girls- except Saoirse.

She was in the dress she’d worn when I met her. The green cocktail dress that fell just below her knees. Her hair was tied back. It reminded me of when she’d given me a phone. She didn’t have to do that. She didn’t have to do any of this. But she did.

And she did it for me. For us. I stood for a moment, thinking back to what I'd seen on the travel website that I used to find out the room price.

I walked after them, and though she was in the front, I made the effort to grab her arm. I’d have just called her back, but my throat had closed from the anxiety.

I’d feel like a jackass if I did what I was about to do on my own. I needed somebody to be there.

It was probably the wrong move, pulling her back while she was in heels, but I led her by the arm back to the man.

The anxiety that had shut me up was still there, but I was able to force the words past it.

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but the way we’ve been treated here has been atrocious, from the moment we got here. Firstly, we encountered trouble with that girl at the front desk, then when I called room service and asked them to have our suits steam pressed, they only return one! And when I phone down, the rather unpleasant fellow on the other end says they haven’t had any suits down there this afternoon!”

I had picked up an accent at the start of the speech, but that was alright, I just had to maintain it for as long as it took for him to break his composure even a crack. I just had to fake him out. And if building a persona helped then I'd do it. I’d make it work.

“I’m sorry to hear about that sir, but if there's been an issue in that department, I don’t have any jurisdiction over your loss, nor am I inclined to-”

I took a step forward, he was taller than me, obviously, but still I squared up, in no way backing down. I interrupted him, saying, “Are you implying that it’s irrelevant? Because I was sure we were still in that same hotel. Isn’t it strange, concierge, that an establishment that requires its customers to wear a suit just so happens to be one that can’t hold onto the suits that customers trust them with? It’s almost as if you want us to pay that extra fifty euro for room service.”

There was still nothing out of him, but I introduced some new ideas, “well, I wasn’t going to have it looked into, I'm a reasonable person after all. But this-” I gestured around the lobby, “-this isn’t an experience I paid for, this is an experience that my,” I paused, “very close friend, has put a lot of money towards. It’s a trip she’s been planning for a while, and I'll be damned if I don’t see that she’s properly reimbursed for her trouble.”

Maybe there was something there. He tried to speak up, but I cut him off again, running the risk of frustrating him in an undesirable way.

“Infact, no holds barred. Saoirse, what do you mother and father do again?”

She looked at me with wide eyes, it was as if that anxiety had taken her over now, “P-property development-”

“-and preservation,” I added.

I tilted forward, looking into the room, it was so close now, “I might not seem like it in these gym clothes, but I study architectural development and restoration at Trinity college, and you might not know it, but that section over there, that I'll assume leads into the kitchen, is of an older building. You can tell from the plastering at the corner,” It was best that I left things ambiguous, the more it looked like I was talking about something obvious that he couldn’t see, the more intelligent I looked. Or rather, snobby.

“While studying architecture, I've found out a couple things concerning property safety regulations, like how there are certain substances in cooking equipment that, if used in a building over twenty years old, might cause irreparable damage. Your father has quite a few contacts with in the health administration, Saoirse, how do you think they’d feel if they got a tip that a historical site has been in improper use for quite some time?”

“I’m sure they’d have a field day,” she had finally caught on, I was worried about introducing her to the conversation, but I had to use her somehow, “think of the legal red tape. If court appeals go poorly, which, if you are planning on suing for the property loss, I’m sure the legal department will be stretched pretty thin.”

I nodded, “Sure, best-case scenario, you have to refurnish all their equipment back there, and if that happens, well, forget about one night with the five-star experience tarnished for the guests, you’d end up without a restaurant for two months. Of course, in the coming holiday season, your busiest time of the year, there will be significant loses.”

He was dazed, I’d overloaded him with information, maybe I'd hit a little too hard, that always had been a problem I’d had.

I shook my head, leaning into him now, “Listen, I’m asking that you talk it over with someone a little higher up. I don’t expect you to go against your superiors, endanger your job, but, if you go against me-”

I whispered into his ear, trying to make it look like I didn’t want Saoirse to hear, “I could very easily involve you directly in both legal scandals. I say the lost property was a scheme you came up with for a little side profit, and I can tell the court that I had tried to tell somebody about the wrongful activity and that nothing was done. I could play the long game here; money is no object to someone like me. How long can you keep fighting two legal battles? All I need to do is call my father, her father, their fathers.”

I took a step back to get a gauge on him, to tell him I was ‘serious’.

“How long could you fight for? Because I never get tired.”

There was an animosity in my voice that could have backfired horribly, the worst thing that could have happened would have been me getting a warning for being disruptive, or kicked out of the hotel.

But this guy deals with entitled people all the time. I don’t know much, but I’m guessing there’s a lot of cut throat rich kids out there who could be taken seriously when making claims like that.

All I needed to do was trick him into thinking that I was one of those people. Saoirse helped me with that.

I suddenly remembered that I was holding onto her arm. I quivered with excitement.

“Listen,” his tone had changed, “there’s no point in blowing this out of proportion, I’ll get someone to look for your suits-”

We were on the right track, “And how many hours will that take? We're on holiday, we have sightseeing to do after this, do you think we’ve got time to twiddle our thumbs at reception.”

He hid a sigh.

“Talk it over with your boss. I can wait five minutes,” I turned my back to him, “like I said, I’m reasonable. Patient.”

Me and Saoirse made it back to the group.

“He’ll do his best.”

There wasn’t a word from any of them, Mullet was glaring, Izzy and Adonis were at a loss for words. TGFMAC tilted her head, like she was trying to recognise me.

“Good. I haven’t eaten since lunch,” Feoli didn’t seem to have much of a clue what all of this meant. For me, or for all of us.

Saoirse turned away from me, watching the worker go looking for his boss.

Then she turned back, slipping her arm out of my grip. I suddenly felt that anxiousness return. I guess it left her completely.

The closest thing experience I have to compare with what came next... I’d say it was that technique that Noah thatcher used on me, where he snapped that coat of flesh over me.

That’s a horrible thing to think, but it was an instant binding, and I just can’t think of anything else to compare it to. There was the initially surprise, where I wondered what was happening and then I felt the warmth seep into me, slowly.

But the conflict left me. I was no longer afraid, or concerned. It would have been so easy to just stand there and except that warmth, that would have probably been the right thing to do.

But I hugged her back. And it made me feel...

I guess I just made me feel.

She let out a growl and backed off me, “Where the hell did that come from??”

It took me awhile to answer, to come back to reality, I felt my face flush red, “Oh, uh, I- I- when I was on the internet looking at the room prices, I saw a review from a customer, the hotel’d lost a bag with some clothes in it. That gave me the idea, I guess, and things just sort of-”

I turned my head away, this was exactly the type of thing I shouldn’t be doing with Saoirse- I shouldn’t let her know that I'm just some liar, that I scam people.

“What about that stuff about architecture?”

I backed up, out of her arms, “bullshit,” I whispered, a wiry smile on my face.

Adonis laughed out loud behind me, smacking my shoulder, “goddamn! You'd make a killing on wall street like that.”

TGFMAC snorted, “because he can lie?”

Adonis brushed it off, “You’re brutal. That was ruthless.”

My eyes wandered, “yeah, I guess it was.”

Mullet’s glare caught my eye for a fraction of a second.

Izzy’s upward nod took my attention away from it, “The cunt’s back.”

I thought that was a bit harsh- though, I guess that was the sort of image we had to give off to get what we wanted.

My smile faded when that thinking came to mind. I suddenly felt the weight of my last few nights in Tralee, the fact I'd left more than a few people bloody on the street, how I'd almost hit Sea-threw Gurl hard, too hard for a person to handle.

When did I become so ruthless? Was this really the person I wanted to become?

No.

But... Something’s better than nothing, right Mullet?

We walked back over to the man, I stayed silent, letting him say his piece.

“I... discussed it with the manager, and We’ll be able to get you a table at the back.”

Saoirse nearly squealed with excitement. I sighed, “Thank you. I’m sorry. You don’t make the rules, do you? I’m glad everybody got what they wanted in the end.”

Clover fiddled for the card in her purse, Adonis handed up his as well. One for the girls’ room, one for the boys.

He put one into the card reader, and we started to file in.

Then he stopped us.

“Excuse me! Sorry, sir, but these rooms are for three people, six total. We can’t cater you all in good faith.”

He raised an eyebrow, the slight pleasure of a win on his face, “one of you hasn’t paid.”

We all stood still for a moment.

“Mullet should stay out,” I turned to Saoirse as she said it nonchalantly, “He’s the reason- he's the one that’s caused us the most trouble, right.”

Izzy stepped forward, “hang on, we already said it was your fault for- the bit with Sam.

She nodded to the side, “Adonis’s plus one should go.”

Feoli put a finger to her lip, “If I've over stayed my welcome-”

Adonis spoke up, “now, that’s not very fair, I’ll go-”

It seemed like there arguing only intensified the longer it was allowed to go on. I looked back to the exit.

As I passed the man whose career I’d threatened, Saoirse cried out, a hint of refrain in her voice, “Sam!”

I turned back, shrugging, “We’ve got all night. All week. Just have fun.”

Of course. I don’t get what I want.

Neither does Saoirse. Once again, I was walking away as she struggled to find the words to get me to stay.

I guess I’m not ready to be there yet. Walking away was so easy. I hadn’t eaten a bite, but I'd already had my fill. I was running on an empty stomach, but my mind was filled with the faces they’d made.

And my heart... I could feel it. This was real emotion. There was such a thrill, to know that I had given them what they needed.

I turned the corner, getting out of sight.

Then I got out my phone. I started clicking away on the keypad. It had started to seem like a tedious inconvenience, guess I appreciate modern cell phones now.

Then I sent my message to Clover.

I told her to get guys ready. That I was ten minutes away from the first enemy facility, way back in Tralee.

I wasn’t lying. I got there in eight.