Chapter 162: An Evening at the Diner (Part 3)
“And I’ll have the flame-grilled classic burger with everything on it,” says Ryker, closing the menu.
Damon writes on a notepad, “The burger comes with a free side. Would you like one?”
“Oh,” voices Ryker, opening the menu back up. “Yeah… let’s just go with fries.”
“Alright,” says Damon, clicking his pen. “Just to make sure I got everything right. I have one oogy special with no onions, one ceaser salad with shrimp, one veggie spaghetti with everything, and one flame-grilled classic burger with a side of fries. Sound good?”
“Yeah, you got everything,” says General Lacina, the others giving Damon nods.
Pocketing the notepad and collecting the menus, Damon notices General Tailor’s glass is nearly empty, “And sir, would you like another?”
“Absolutely!” guffaws General Tailor, pushing the glass Damon’s way.
Just as Damon grabs the glass and turns away, Ryker says, “Damon, hold on.”
Swiveling back around, Damon says, “Would you like something else, sir?”
“You have a bit of an accent. Are you from around here?”
Damon’s chest starts to pound a little faster.
Is that a question just out of curiosity? Or is there a double meaning? I can’t risk using orasi now, and I have no idea who these people are… could they be from the mafia? Shit. I need to think of something quick.
“No, I’m not. I grew up in Taliarusa but escaped as a refugee about a year ago,” Damon lies, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a scar on his wrist. “I tore my chip out before leaving so they couldn’t track me down.”
Ryker glances at General Fields as he says, “Taliarusa, that makes sense. Refugees like yourself have been finding their way to Iasa for many years. How you like it here?”
“It’s nice, quiet. Been difficult to hold a job, though.”
“You just started working here?”
“Yeah, got hired a few days ago. My boss told me the evenings would be busy, but this is…” Damon looks around, chuckling. “This is overkill.”
Ryker spots Key returning from the hallway where she disappeared a few minutes ago and says, “Is she your boss?”
Looking back, Damon answers, “Yeah.”
“Could you call her over for a second?”
“Sure,” Damon speculatively replies, shifting his focus to Key. “Key!”
Hearing Damon’s shouting voice, Key glances toward him to see Damon waving her over. Shifting her course to do so, she arrives at Damon’s side a few seconds later.
“Is there a problem here?” asks Key, seeming confused.
“No, not at all,” says Ryker, gently smiling. “I just wanted to give Damon some praise here. He’s expressed that this is his first evening shift, and he’s doing a great job.”
Key smiles in response, quickly thinking to herself.
Where’s he going with this?
Opening her mouth, Key says aloud, “Why thank you. It’s certainly been a pleasant surprise on my end to watch Damon pick things up so quickly. He’s a natural.”
“I agree. You know, fitting into a new realm of work is never easy. But when you have an experienced boss who seems particularly advanced compared to your average owner of a diner… all I’m saying is part of the credit goes to you,” says Ryker, gently nudging his elbow into Damon. “And hey, doesn’t hurt that she has a good body, does it, Damon? Bet you don’t mind learning from that all day when you seem pretty in shape yourself.”
While everybody awkwardly hesitates to say anything as Ryker lifts his drink to his lips, a speech bubble conforms above Pola’s head, who is still watching from the surveillance room.
‘Shit.’
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
After a long sip, Ryker and Key make eye contact as Ryker sets his drink back on the table.
Key voices, “Sir.”
Ryker raises a hand, “Please, Ryker is fine.”
“Okay… Ryker. If you don’t want to be kicked out, I advise you to stop talking. There are other customers here, and Damon is in charge of more tables than yours. So if you have nothing else to order, we’ll leave you.”
“Of course, I understand. Damon, go ahead. I just have one last question for Key.”
Damon glances at Key, and Key nods. Exiting the conversation, Damon heads to the kitchen to relay their orders to the chef.
“Do you mind if I call you Key? My friend says the regulars do–”
“Is that your question, General Ryker?” interrupts Key, her voice stern.
“No,” Ryker smiles. “And unlike Damon, I know you’re not from Taliarusa. I would say it feels a little unfair that you know who we are, and I don’t know who you are. But now that I’ve seen you up close… I think you might’ve just stumbled across one of the few people in this country who actually knows your real name. I thought you disappeared, Natalie Reeves.”
‘Shit…….’ says Pola, leaning forward on the couch.
“What–”
“Hey! Key! What’s taking you so long?!” yells a man at the bar, interrupting Key.
Key faces the bar and shouts, “Can it, Colton! Go shit in another girl’s bed, will ya?!”
As the regulars erupt with laughter, Key faces the generals again.
“What do you want?” asks Key.
“Honestly, nothing,” says Ryker. “Natalie Reeves, one of the only three remaining survivors who participated in six. Of course, we all assumed you were dead, but here you are. I just find it odd that somebody who has been missing for over nine years is now the owner of the most popular diner in town. I’m wondering, what name did you use to gain this property?”
“Key Spradlin.”
“Why create an alias?” asks General Lacina.
Key’s gaze narrows as she pauses, “I wanted to make money… I didn’t want to be hungry anymore. So, I sought out unconventional solutions, but the deal went bad, and I needed to protect myself. I may not be from there, but I found safety in Taliarusa. That’s where I got a new identity,” says Key, showing her wrist, which also had a scar similar to Damon’s.
The generals look toward General Fields, who says, “She’s telling the truth.”
“I’m registered for military service… all my documentation has been approved, just under a new name. You can easily look that up yourselves. And I haven’t caused any trouble since I came back three years ago. So why are you here? Why threaten me and allude to my abilities?”
Ryker raises his hands defensively, “There’s no threat here. We’re just a group of colleagues who wanted a nice meal and happened to learn that there’s an advanced dual-wielder running everybody’s favorite place in town right now. And then you add on the fact that you hired an evolved wielder whom you may have met through your… unconventional methods or little vacation to Taliarusa… and then add on the fact that you’re wearing Hantz Tech… it’s all just a little interesting.”
“It seems General Fields is well-versed in detecting lies, so she can confirm if the following is the truth. I acquired my first iris core shortly after my trials by accident, and then the second was one I traded for in Taliarusa. I had to train and develop my iris cores in order to survive. I may have been trying to lay low, but it’s life or death over there. Once I rose to a high enough rank, I bought Hantz Tech at the first chance I could afford it. When I returned to Iasa, I used what was left over to buy this property and follow my dream of opening a diner. As for Damon, I only met him recently, and I sympathized with his story. If any of that warrants my arrest and you want to stop me from serving beer to the drunks at the bar, go right ahead.”
Once again, everybody turns to General Fields, who nods.
“I think this is a misunderstanding,” General Lacina says, eyeing Ryker. “Recognizing you was merely a coincidence. We were not searching for you, nor did we know you were even alive when we decided to come tonight. But now that we do know, you won’t be able to hide in the shadows any longer. There are only so many people in Iasa who are as strong as you. You mentioned you’re signed up for service, and we’ll need all hands on deck when we eventually go to war with Racafi.”
“Iasa is… going to war?” asks Key, putting on an act.
“There’s a good chance we will,” says General Tailor, sighing. “Unless we work something out with them, but we don’t have much to offer these days.”
“Why… why tell me about this? Sounds like the public isn’t supposed to know, and what if I just run away again? You can’t count on my help,” says Key, the noisy atmosphere drowning out her voice.
“The public doesn’t know, and you won’t tell them either,” says Ryker. “And as for you running away… you’d be abandoning your diner. You won’t do that. You’ll help us, right?”
Processing his words, Key asks, “So why fill me in?”
“Because you have connections,” says General Lacina. “Not only do the people of Iasa trust and know you, but if you were a high enough rank to afford Hantz Tech in Taliarusa… you must’ve had relationships with at least some of the top rankers. Most of those powerful individuals are the heads of clans or nations; we could use those numbers in this war. An alliance would be ideal.”
Key scoffs, “Why would they help Iasa? If you can’t offer anything, they have no reason to join the fight.”
General Lacina softly smiles, “We might be able to offer our trust, but the clans and countries in Taliarusa all seek power and influence over one another. Which is why we’ll give them something neither we nor Taliarusa can currently offer.”
The other generals hold their attention on General Lacina along with Key.
“In this world, the pure iris cores are more valuable than anything else. And if the fifth pure core has truly been found in the land of Taliarusa, then the world is on the cusp of change once more. If we manage to defeat Racafi with the help of various clans and nations, we’ll hand over the spoils of Racafi—their money, resources, and, most importantly… their two pure iris cores.”
In shock by this sudden yet masterful scheme proposed by General Lacina, Key is left speechless.
“Gentlemen, Ivy, Key,” says General Lacina, raising her glass. “I truly believe now that Iasa will rise again.”