A rather professional looking reptile in a doctor’s jacket flipped through some pages on his tablet as both Vinn and Nicole sat looking silent and embarrassed.

“Well it’s certainly…a dietary choice. Little bit unorthodox for a human but I’ve seen stranger things, Way stranger things, very unhealthy things that you would not believe or want to know.” He huffed with a traumatized look, returning to the mason jar of fishy goop, this batch with a hint of pink. “I don’t see a reason it could be dangerous, the scans show no allergy markers, no pathogens, it’s clean, it’s insanely high in salt but otherwise you could technically live off of this and some vitamins long term.

“So why do I crave it?” she asked, looking pale and her eyes sunk in.

“You may have just developed a deficiency. Your salt levels are alarmingly low, your protein is tolerable but it could be better and your blood is slightly anemic. You’re not seriously sick, but you do seem to have some issue we can’t pin down. Try the…shake, for lack of better term.” He suggested, microwaving it like she likes. He handed her the jar, almost gagging from the smell of it. She grabbed it like an addict needing a fix and aggressively chugged it in one breath, gasping at the end like a breath of relief. Her eye color faded to normal golden brown, her skin went from deathly pale to still fairly pale and she seemed to perk up.

“Wild…your vitals just leveled out perfectly. You’re pretty much within healthy human ranges on everything. You seem to have been craving exactly what you needed and found the combination. So I say we do scans every 2 weeks, call me if anything changes and as weird as it seems, keep doing this. Whatever keeps you going. I assume you can tolerate the taste and texture.

“It’s insanely good.” She sighed. I cannot stress how good this is.” She admitted, feeling weird about that.

“Okey dokey, well everyone has their preferences when it comes to food, there’s no way in Delmarian hell I’d even try that myself, but cultures vary and good for you. She seems healthy as a result so maybe chalk it up to a fluke and just make sure and keep it fresh and clean and don’t let it get funky, just like any raw product. I’m giving you a clean bill of health.” He smiled.

“Thanks Doc.” Vinn nodded, and they exited the office.

“So I guess you’re just anemic and weird, we kinda knew that.” He smiled.

“I guess so. Oh can we stock up before we get home. I’m still hungry and it’s game night. I kinda want some already done and bottled.”

The door swung open as Jack and Vicki strolled in, laughing and arms over shoulders.

“We’re back, everyone happy and getting along well?” Vicki hollered.

“Basement!” hollered a Nicole.

“I thought we were getting her out of basements for a while.” Jack sighed, grabbing a beer and pausing, stepping back and grabbing 2 more as they went down stairs. Everyone was sitting in a circle around a coffee table in the middle of the first room. Nicole smiled pleasantly Hugging Vinn as he waved too.

“We’re playing Uno, I’m kicking everyone’s ass look at all these cards I got.” He replied.

“Mel, I see you’re settling in.” Vicki smiled.

“I suggested we play twister because it would be impossibly hilarious but I was outvoted by everyone.” She giggled.

“Not everyone.” Dee muttered, giving silverback a shitty look.

“What? I was being supportive to our guests.” He muttered back. “So date night go well?” he added louder.

“Movie was a bit drawn out, food was good. Company was spectacular.” He said winking at Vicki. “So lets get this party really sta-” The doorbell rang, causing him to scrunch his face in annoyance. “I’m already up.” He groaned, heading back up the stairs to the front door.

“Pizza delivery.” Said a strangely fetching women with white hair and the bluest eyes you ever seen.

“I’ll cover it. What do I owe you.” He asked.

“Everything.” She winked, her eyes glowing as she walked to the car and waited. He opened the top box and in the middle of the pizza was a plastic divider as expected, and a gold coin stuck to it. Large, roughly the size of a silver dollar, with a face of Caesar on the front and what looked like a swath or red nail polish.

“Are you shitting me?” he huffed under his breath. Vicki joined to bring down the food and saw him standing there silently, paler than usual. “I gotta go honey, you guys enjoy game night.”

“What? Where are you going? It’s 10PM on a weekend and we just got.” She stopped, noticing the gold coin. Her face turned from a pleasant smile to a look of disappointment. “What do I tell them?”

“Something work related, someone’s furnace went out or something.”

“You’re coming back, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Yea, probably a quick, 1 hour, 2 hour job.”

“Fixing a furnace.” She said, biting her lip and knowing it would be at least 3 hours.” He went to his toolbox, the ones shaped like an instrument case.

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“Jack, does the construction business ever let you, retire?” she asked sadly.

“Maybe. Not as long as things keep breaking.” He said, heading out and getting in the car. She held her disappointment for a moment and then put on a fake smile, carrying the food downstairs.

“Food’s here.” She hollered. “We brought Pizza!”

Jack sat in the car, case next to him.

“Why the blonde look? You trying to make my girlfriend mad?”

“No, I’m just trying out a new model…why, does it work for you?” she grinned maniacally.

“No it just…reminds me of my mother. But you knew that didn’t you?” he asked Gizzy.

“Mind games, Jack. Everything is a calculated move. I want you to remember where you came from and what you’re capable of.”

“Yea a roman coin and a pale blonde human avatar telling me to get my rifle…real subtle hints. So what is the mission?” he asked as the hovercab began moving.

“Blowing the dust out of the cartridge, clearing the cobwebs. I need to make sure you still have it.” She yawned,

“I still have it. It doesn’t get that rusty that quickly.”

“Your father used to say that shit a lot Jack, and he was the best. WAS the best Jack. He fucked up one time and it got him killed. You fuck up and someone else might get killed. You have that Roman confidence but you also don’t quite have the Roman bloodlust so you’re not your father. Maybe that makes you better, or worse. We’ll find out some day. Tonight, you need to just take it easy, get your instrument warmed up. This is band practice, not the live show.”

“What’s the mark?”

“You’ll know it.”

“That’s specific.” He huffed, unlocking the case and assembling the rifle.

“You’ll know it. She hinted. “You better know it.”

Vicki answered the door, rolling her eyes again.

“Just one after another.” She sighed. She opened the door and the same blonde with blue eyes was standing at the door.

“I’m super sorry to ask, but I need to take my medicine quickly and I don’t have any water.” She said in a completely different ditsy voice. “Can I get a bottle of water or something?”

“Sure, help yourself to the fridge, I’ll just wait here a second.” She replied, sitting on the counter. Gizzy in a human drone strutted herself to the fridge, grabbing a water and pretending to take a pill with it.

“Oh thank you, I was out for a walk and forgot to take my meds before I left. Don’t know if I could have made it back without stopping, thank you so much.”

“What do you want?” she asked bluntly. Gizzy looked surprised.

“I don’t understand.” She jested. Slowly pouring the water down the side of the counter where she couldn’t see it.

Nicole’s ears perked up slightly, hearing the sound of water dripping nearby.

“Does it have to be Jack every single time, or do you have other cards out there fixing things? Are you so pressed for workers that you can’t spare even one, or is he the only one who can fix a furnace?” she asked rather snippy.

“I have other cards in the deck. But sometimes you just need to fix a really important furnace, and not just anyone has the magic touch.” She said producing a playing card from nowhere, a jack of hearts of course.

“I know you saved my life, and I said I owed you anything. I meant myself, not Jack.” Vicki informed boldly.

“That’s sweet but, I don’t think you have the hands I need at the moment.”

“Why are you in my house?”

“I wanna meet the crew. You’d surely let your old friend ‘Samantha’ meet the gang since she’s passing through.” She smirked.

“I’d prefer you didn’t, but you’re not asking when you bring that coin to jack. Okay ‘Samantha’, lets meet my family. They mean everything to me, especially the man in the cab with you.

They strolled downstairs, the group still playing uno, noticing the new face.

“Who’s the new player?” asked Silverback.

“Just a gal I met a while back at a convention. Her name’s Samantha, she was just walking by and wanted to say hi…very briefly…before she leaves.

“A Delmarian, in a house of humans and almost humans. How interesting. Said Gizzymantha.

“We’re playing cards. Turns out I don’t know most of the rules.” Vinn chuckled.

“I see. Is that adorable brunette at your side your girlfriend?

“I’m his wife actually.” She said proudly, flashing her bead.

“Wow, congratulations. That’s very progressive of you two.”

The scene changed to a dark room where Gizzy sat at her chair, both eyes totally red and saying the same lines. She reached to the keyboard and pressed a few keys. Nicole’s heartrate jumped slightly, looking around as of she heard something.

Well, you have a lovely home and I wish you both the best of luck.” She said, heading up the stairs and lightly rubbing her hand on the brick wall near the bottom rung. Nicole heard the echo of a faint click, as if the door just unlocked.

“Lock the door when you leave.” said Vicki aggressively.

“Well I wouldn’t leave it UNLOCKED, would I?” she winked. Nicole’s head echoed with the click and the word ‘unlocked’, and the still faint drip of water on the marble.

Jack peered down the scope, Gizzy’s neck awkwardly close to the rifle as it spanned the back seat of the cab and out the open window.

“I’ll know it when I see it?” he asked. Watching the window of an office building a good 800 years away.

“Half of this game is instinct and timing, Jack. I’m not holding your hand.”

“Yea well most days it feels like you’re holding something else of mine and I’d appreciate you loosening your grip on them a little.” He said watching the hotel room as 3 men talked about something over a bottle of wine.

“Who am I looking for here Gizzy?”

“Your father would know his mark…and the right time to pull the trigger.” She said softly.

“He noticed the door opening, and room service handing over an unopened Champaign bottle. The label: a picture of Julius Caesar.

“Clever, but pointless.” He said. The oldest man of the 3 took the bottle, belly-laughed and began taking off the wire holding the cork.

“Style and intuition is never pointless.” She whispered. The man picked up a large knife and placed it to the bottle. The old sabering the wine bottle trick that always ends in disaster.

Gizzy too a puff from her cigar, counting the seconds in her head.

“Hail Caesar.” She exhaled. The knife struck the tip of the bottle, the rifle went off, the cab wobbled slightly, and the Champaign bottle exploded. The 3 men looked shocked and then collectively laughed and walked into the next room.

Two tenths of a second off, jack, not bad but not perfect. You jumped the gun a little but the shot placement was flawless. I’ll consider that a passing grade.”

Well that dangerous alcohol has been eliminated either way. The world can rest easy knowing it’s safe tonight.” He said sarcastically. “Now can I go home?”

“Sure you can. Good boy, Jack.”

Vicki breathed a slight sign of relief, not knowing why. Nicole stared at the brick wall with stressed eyes that needed to blink, transfixed on the wall where Gizzy touched, still damp. The sound of a click still fresh and hot in her memory like it had been branded there. She could almost hear it breathing, pulling air from the wall. She reached into her pocket and dug out a few pills, taking one, and then taking another just to be sure.

“You okay?” Vinn asked.

“I’m just a little tired.” She said softly.

“I’ll go make the bed.” He yawned.

“You mean you’ll lay on the couch.” She smiled.

“Same thing.”