The hustle and bustle of the Hero Association building did not allow Amirah any peace of mind. She trudged through the familiar halls with clammy hands and her head held low. To anyone around her, it was a terrifying sight. Talon was walking around like she had a vendetta or like she had a goal in mind but nobody knew what. However, she knew there were at least two people in her life that could accurately guess what she was truly feeling. The fear she held close to her chest. The noise around her slowly became agonizingly loud. Too loud for her thoughts. Her breathing started picking up, rapidly increasing in pace. She took quicker steps, desperate to find some time alone. She hurried past her coworkers and other staff, entering the corridor which housed all the available meeting rooms. Eventually, when she felt like she was alone enough, she leaned against the nearest wall and took a deep breath. Just go to the meeting and leave. It won't take long. I can discuss what to do next with Dray later. She shut her eyes closed and took another deep breath, clenching she almost broke her skin with her nails. Amirah wanted nothing more than to just lean against the hard and cold wall for the rest of the day but approaching footsteps made her straighten up.

She turned around and saw a less familiar hero to her but one she recognized as a senior in this district. She had almost a full face mask, with only her eyes visible while she wore a full body suit and armor. She lacked any accessories to indicate she used any gadgets but from Amirah's understanding of her power, she didn't need any. She waved at Amirah which Amirah obviously reciprocates.

"Good morning Talon. Are you ready for the meeting?" the woman asked with a soft laugh. Even just her voice sounded experienced and aged, true to her reputation as one of the true oldies in the force that was the HA. "Good morning, Crypt. I uh...I'm a bit nervous," replied Amirah. Crypt tilted her head. "Oh? You're nervous? That's fine. I mean, I admit that I'm a little nervous too," she informed. She walked up to Amirah and lightly taps her shoulder. "Just take deep breaths. I know you've been through a lot the past few days but don't worry, you're safe now. The meeting is just... a little sharing between the few of us. You'll do fine, especially given your record."

Amirah smiled at the compliment, catching a glimpse of the small grey rubber ring on Crypt's finger. It wasn't anything special, simply a 'work' wedding ring that you would normally see industrial workers wearing as well. However, the process of getting said ring was tedious, risky, and most importantly, required the hero's partner to know of their identity beforehand. Thus why Amirah settled for simply keeping her real wedding band in her back pocket for the past year. Despite Amirah thinking she was discreet in her glances, Crypt caught her looking. She smiled behind her mask. "If you have anyone important, maybe give them a call. It helps me sometimes, maybe it would work for you," Crypt suggested. Amirah panicked slightly but relaxed as soon as she saw Crypt's gentle eyes. She nodded which prompted Crypt to give her space. "Just don't be late for the meeting alright? We'll be waiting for you." Crypt exclaimed before heading off to the designated meeting area.

Looks like everyone has high expectations of me again. But I can only give them a big fat nothing in return.

She fished her work phone out of her pocket and started typing in Dray's number before abruptly stopping. I...I can't call him. I'll just end up angry again. Skelter moving house was my fault and as much as I want to blame him...I should've seen it coming. I need to think about this rationally and... She gripped her phone harder. I should at least tell him. She checked her surroundings before hiding in the nearby utility room. She typed in his number and called, expecting an arduous wait. Yet, Dray answered almost immediately, letting out a big yawn on the other side.

"Mirah...what's up? It's still early..." Dray answered groggily. Amirah scoffed. "It's already 9 in the morning, idiot. You should start waking up earlier."

"But I slept late yesterday."

Amirah laughed softly. "What are you, 9 years old?" She took a deep breath again, sighing through the phone. "Hey, Dray. We have an issue."

"Hm?"

"The...the Skelter warehouse. It's empty. I checked it myself and they packed everything up and left. We won't be able to get them and...we might not be able to save your friend. I'm going to have to lie in the meeting and it's really messing with my head."

There was silence on the other end for a while. Amirah felt terrible. She knew Dray must've been hitting himself at that moment. Entering the building was his idea after all and it was what most likely caused Skelter to turn tail and run. Adding that to the fact that they didn't even get anything of substance from their mission anyway, it was a massive failure for both of them. She waited patiently for a response. She could hear some typing on a computer before he responded. "Okay. Just come back home quickly after your meeting."

...Hm?

"Uh...sure," responded Amirah.

"Okay. See you soon. Take care of yourself. Bye." And with that, he ended the call. Amirah's brows furrowed as she simply stared at the black screen of her phone. For a brief moment, the fear and nervousness she had felt were replaced by utter confusion. That's it? I tear my heart out to talk to you and that's all you say? Ugh, the gall of this man. Amirah pushed herself off the wall and stomped into the meeting room. Her mood was considerably soured but she found solace in the fact that wasn't actively having a panic attack instead. She scanned the meeting room to find mostly the district's heavy hitters in the room. All the heroes that stood before her were unofficially considered 'beyond' street level, which meant that they were skilled enough to tackle these bigger-than-usual threats. They all turned to look at her while the HA staff at the head of the table spoke up.

"Good morning Talon. Please take a seat, the meeting will start soon."

Amirah scanned the room and was pleasantly surprised to find Banshee present at the meeting as well. He excitedly waved her over so she took the seat next to him at the end of the table, plopping her backpack down on the ground. "Hey, good morning. How was patrol?" he whispered, loudly. Amirah raised a hand and motioned for him to keep his voice down. He nodded, his cheeks slowly burning red. "Hey. The patrol was...good. Nothing going on on my route. You?" she asked inquisitively. Banshee beamed at her, leaning back in his chair. "I managed to pretty easily take down a street gang on my own today. It went pretty well. No casualties."

"What about property damage?" inquired Amirah

"...Uhm. Not too bad," he replied.

Amirah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Right. Whatever you say," she said, unconvinced. Banshee hid his face in his hands. The HA staff at the head of the table stood up and addressed the people present, going through the usual formalities. Amirah had unintentionally zoned out. What am I going to do? Should I tell them the warehouse is empty? But that would mean I looked through Yuri's laptop without any sort of guidance from the association. Not to mention the encryption on the laptop. Everyone knows I can't deal with something like that. I either risk lying and withholding information from the HA or... giving Dray away to the HA as a possible tech expert.

"Talon."

...I heard it was a good job actually. Good pay, benefits, and the security of the HA. Provided his crimes don't get dug up that is. No..even just him going for the interview would put him under heavy scrutiny. I know Technus is good at running but that good? Against the best that the HA has to offer? The only other alternative is effectively hiding information and lying to the HA...

"Talon?"

"Hm?" sounded Amirah as she sprang her head up. "Talon, could you please share the information you've obtained? Unless you're not feeling well? I could just relay what you told us."

Amirah took a deep breath before waving him off. "No, it's okay. I can talk." She picked her backpack up and moved to the head of the table. While she's frequently been to meetings like these, she's never had such...important information to present. The deal between Technus and Omnipresence, the new weapon, and the entire incident with Yuri. The location of a Skelter warehouse could've also meant the end of the organization as a whole. But of course, that would only be the case if her information was actually accurate. However, she knew she could still shift this to her advantage. Looking back at the expectant faces, young and old yet still damaged from battle.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

She took a deep breath and started. With her usual bluntness and serious tone, the people present paid ample attention to her report. Shs regurgitated everything she told during her interview the first time, going into detail on the machinations of the new weapon Omnipresence had created. Some of the seniors clenched their fists and grit their teeth. Banshee had a rare grim look on his face as he also took in the severity of the situation.

Amirah then moved on to a more recent incident, that being the attack on Yuri's apartment. She described the seemingly indestructible bodyguard with some help from Dray's observations, eventually moving on to the most important subject of her career so far. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out the bloodstained laptop. The violence of the incident perfectly reflected the state the laptop was in. Yet in spite of that, Amirah knew the laptop was cleaner than when she originally got it. Dray must've wiped where he touched...can't be too careful I suppose.

"This laptop. It was originally owned by Yuri. I took it with me and kept it until I could present it today."

"Okay well, pardon me for asking ma'am but...why?"

Amirah turned to face the low and accusing voice that came from one of the 'heavy hitters. A tall and muscular man dressed in a modern suit attire, a common cloth mask, and a simple bucket helmet. had his hand raised. He had quite an awkward costume considering his powers were to construct his own weapons from his body that he would use to bludgeon his enemies. Brash, impulsive yet frighteningly efficient. All things I've learned about the Jackhammer. I'm sure Dray would be laughing at some irony right about now... Amirah steadied her ground.

"I needed to be sure. Keep in mind, if Yuri's own HA bodyguard was infiltrated, who knows how deep Omnipresence's roots go?"

"And? What makes you trust the people here so much?" he retorted.

"Do I have another choice? Don't tell me the Hero Association has been completely run through. Besides, keeping this laptop with me will just cause me more harm than good. I'm passing it to the tech team for them to study."

The HA staff then suddenly cleared his throat. "Let's not fight you two. Don't worry about the bodyguard. I'll start an internal investigation. Did you look through the laptop?"

"No," Amirah answered almost immediately. "I'm...not good with technology. The laptop had a password on it and I was afraid that if I tried too many times the data would...I dunno, get erased or something." Banshee snickered in his seat but immediately went stoic after a look that could possibly kill. A look that nobody really wanted to test at the moment. Jackhammer merely shrugged his shoulders and relaxed back into his seat.

"..What I do know is that before he died, Yuri told me he had the location of a Skelter warehouse in this laptop."

Heavy murmuring then began amongst the heroes as they chattered about the situation at hand. The name Skelter was thrown between them as old and new alike discussed how big of a find Amirah had. The things that they could finally do with the information contained in that laptop. Well, at least that was what Amirah assumed to be happening. They could be talking quite loudly for that matter but Amirah could only hear murmuring. Her eyes seemingly glazed over as a splitting headache plagued her. She pinched her brow. I...Damn...I'm going to waste everyone's time. Getting everyone's hopes up for nothing. The first time in my life I get something this important and I completely muck it up...Dammit!

A hand on her shoulder made her jolt. "Talon? You don't look so good." Crypt was at her side, tilting her head in what looked to be distress. Amirah simply shook her head.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

-------

Amirah went straight home after the meeting. She spent almost the entire morning answering questions that she simply didn't have the answer to. That, and questions she couldn't answer in order to keep her story straight and keep Dray safe and sound. She felt sick. Bile rose from her stomach up to her throat and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking. She walked into her apartment to find Dray rapidly and rigorously typing away at his computer, doing things that she would probably never understand.

"Hey...Dray."

"Hey. Welcome home. Quickly, take a seat, I got some important stuff for you that would help us," he replied, not even looking away.

"...Are you not even going to look at me?" Amirah asked wearily. Dray turned his head and immediately jumped from his seat, rushing over to her. "You look terrible...Quickly, just...sit." Dray took her hands and dragged her over to the couch, taking her backpack off of her and plopping it down on the floor. He stood over her and examined her intently. "Do you need anything? Something to eat? Let me get your medication-"

"No, Dray. I don't need any of that just...explain yourself."

"...Huh?"

"Dray, what was the phone call in the morning? Why did you just...brush me off?"

Dray tilted his head in confusion. "Sorry. That was not my intention. I was just... a bit shocked."

"Oh, you were shocked huh?" she replied. She pouted, gritting her teeth. "Dray...I needed you. I was so...so scared and you didn't even notice. I had to lie to so many trusted people. They all had high expectations for the info from Yuri's laptop and now I just wasted everyone's time and resources. We just lost all our progress in the investigation and on top of that my head still hurts and-" Amirah stopped as she realized her rapid breathing had become sniffles. She felt wetness at the corner of her eyes which she quickly brushed away. She fixed her posture and tried to compose herself as Dray stood frozen.

"Mirah-"

"Just...Just tell me what you have. We'll work from there."

Dray took a deep breath. He went into his room and came back with a bottle of ice-cold water and a handkerchief. "Here...drink." He put the bottle in Amirah's lap as he stood over her again, using the handkerchief to help Amirah clean herself up. She looked in away in with the same frustrated look in her eyes but he continued nonetheless. "I'm sorry Mirah. Truly I am. I won't do that again. I swear."

Amirah wanted to scream. She wanted to push him away to really make him feel what she felt that morning. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to do so. It was too cruel.

"...Please, don't," she whispered pleadingly. Dray cupped her face and planted a brief kiss on her forehead. Amirah noted how his hands were also shaking. After he was done, he sat next to Amirah as she took her breath, emptying the bottle of water she had with her. When it looked like she had relaxed and her breathing steadied, Dray spoke up.

"Mirah...remember when we went in the first time? I planted a bug on that woman's laptop. I know where they are now."

Amirah looked over at Dray. "You...couldn't have told me that earlier?"

"It was just so that I could swipe it when you guys did the raid. I didn't think they would be able to move inventory in one night. But, hey, it worked out didn't it?"

Amirah's eyes widened in realization. "We...we need to tell the others-"

"No! Just...stay," Dray held her shoulders down before she sprang into action. "You can't tell them about this new location. That information would come out of nowhere. Tell them about the bug and that ruins us both. Just, let me handle this on my own."

Amirah vehemently refused, shaking her head before clutching it again in pain. "What? Are you crazy? It's too dangerous for you to go and take them down on your own. If you get caught then...forget getting arrested, Dray you would be dead."

"I'm not going to fight them, I'm just...going to create an opportunity for you guys. Mirah," Dray squeezed her shoulders lightly. "Trust me on this. I know what I'm doing." Amirah sighed. "Dray...please. I can't put you at risk like that."

"You won't be putting me at risk. This is my doing."

"Dray, you know what I mean. I don't want you to hurt yourself," pleaded Amirah as she looked up at Dray. She tried her best puppy dog eyes to really make her point. She saw Dray swallow, looking away for a brief moment before returning his gaze. "Rest, Mirah. It will take a few days on my end but I have an idea. Please don't worry, I can take care of things and be home before dinner. I swear it," he reassured. Amirah frowned deeply staring into Dray's determined eyes.

Why are you always so stubborn...

Amirah looked away. "...Fine. Just go if you want to. I'll stay here," she spoke dejectedly. Dray furrowed his brows before plopping back down next to her. "I'm not going today," he announced. Amirah tilted her head. "I still need to prepare. Besides, I'm not going to just leave you alone after...all this," he said while gesturing to Amirah as a whole. "I'll make something for you to eat. Get some sleep. Don't worry about me." He stood up and made his way to the kitchen. Amirah merely watched, sighing heavily yet again. She peeked behind the couch and stared at Dray as he prepared food like he usually did; with slow, meticulous actions and maybe a bit too much caution.

Haah...I can never guess what he's thinking about...

~~~

It's been a while since I've falsified evidence...I don't really have the same kind of resources as last time but I should be able to try something.