Scott and Alexia exited the cab that had pulled in front of Java Jolt. Scott glanced down at his watch, and the screen showed 12:53 PM. He glanced up at the sky, and it was unnaturally clear, not a cloud in the sky. Mountains dotted the backdrop, and the bright blue sky with a full sun sitting dead center looked like an unnatural painting that was too pristine to be believable. It gave Scott an uneasy feeling, but he shook it off.

"Go time," Scott said as much for the benefit of people listening to the communication channel as Alexia. Alexia stood in front of him, stretching as if she were limbering up for a race.

"Go time. You know we are here if you need us." Alexia extended her arm with a closed fist to Scott. He softly tapped it, and she turned and entered the coffee house and made her way to a table looking directly out the window towards the town hall.

As his mother taught him many years ago, Scott looked both ways and crossed the street into the town hall entrance. He noticed a caravan of black SUVs parked in front of the entrance. They were similar to the vehicles Ewan and his team traveled in, but they were newer and had that fresh paint shine still on them. They sat a little lower on the ground. He thought it was probably a sign of extra heft that armored cars typically have.

"That roof has a lot of snipers, like a crapload. Try not to piss anyone off, Scott." Bricks voice crackled through the communication channel as he was stationed in his previously made hole in the hill.

"How could anyone ever be pissed at little ole' me," Scott replied softly as he walked up the steps and reached the door.

The door swung open, and three guards met him with assault rifles in their hands. They motioned Scott in the building, and one stepped forward and immediately began patting him down. The guard searched his body and clothing vigorously.

"You better be careful buddy, I have been away from the wife, and it's been some time since I have been touched like that," Scott smirked

The guard only returned a frigid glare and finished his inspection of Scott. He gave a thumbs-up gesture to his counterparts, and they began leading him to the kitchen. Scott looked around the room and noticed guards' had a much more significant presence than on his previous visit. Some standing glaring at him and others patrolling around looking as vigilantly as a dog guarding his last meat bone. None of them wore a look that seemed particularly gleeful or held any emotion for that matter. He thought that must be the universal look for 'Oh crap, the boss is here, be on your best behavior.'.

Stolen novel; please report.

Scott was lead through the kitchen and down the stairs to the control room he was creeping around the day prior. Scott saw that the same two men sat at their consoles, that he had seen the previous day, in the back of the room and looked too focused on their monitors. Scott couldn't help but wonder if the Wolverine Vs. Batman argument had ever been settled. His newly acquired shepherds guided him to the back of the room, facing a wall.

"Open the door, please." The lead guard barked out loudly but without emotion. Some tapping could be heard behind them at the room's central console, and the wall slide away to reveal a dark hallway. Suddenly lights sprung to life from the walls of the newly revealed hallway and showed another door,

"Now that is awesome. How much does one of those set you guys back?" Scott asked the guards. He received no response.

"I have no camera feed where you are going, Scott." Yumi's voice crackled through his ear. The guards led him to the door, which had a scanner on it. The lead guard pressed his hands against the scanner pad, followed by a beep and a green light from the console.

"I can't see you, but at least we still..." Yumi's voice died out abruptly as Scott was led through the door into a small conference room. There was an oval-shaped table that had only one occupied seat, and it was turned so that it was facing away from Scott. The wall the chair was facing had Ewan standing in front of it, and he looked to be engaged in a conversation. All the guards that had escorted Scott turned and exited the room.

"Well, I thought you were smart enough to turn and high tail it out of town, but I see I overestimated you." Ewan smugly spoke as he sauntered towards Scott.

"Great to see you again, Ewan. I see you are just as delightful as ever." Scott quipped. Ewan closed the gap between the two men, and they were left standing face to face.

"I am going to love when you prove that you're useless, and then you and your team are all mines. Good luck without your little communicator. All signals are blocked in this room." Ewan wore a look of disdain interlaced with a smugness. It was like nails on a chalkboard to Scott, but he refused to show it outwardly. It would bring the bald behemoth too much satisfaction.

"That's enough, Ewan. Please leave us." A woman's voice floated out from behind the chair and was soft yet powerful.

"Are you certain? I can stay in case he tries anything?" Ewan asked, his voice taking a much softer tone that Scott had heard him use before.

"Thank you, Ewan, really, but I can take care of myself." The woman's voice replied.

"Very well." With that, Ewan shot one more dirty look at Scott and headed out of the door. His large frame produced loud plodding steps that got softer as they traveled down the hallway until they faded out.