Kaleb looked at Hank Nova and sighed loudly. “I’m sorry, Hank, but I don’t know where Roy is.”
Kaleb guessed what the hardware store owner had wanted to ask him. Hank deflated in the chair he was sitting in. Apparently he had guessed right. Hank exhaled loudly, bowing his head and clenching his fists on top of the desk in front of him. The man was clearly upset and worried glancing back up at Kaleb, Hank asked.
“Do you have any idea where he is?”
Kaleb nodded. “I think he went to Under-Town. I have friends there and he might have tried to contact them.”
“So you’ll look for him?” Hank said hopefully.
Kaleb sighed again. “I could but know that the HLO has ordered me not to contact Roy.”
Hank looked confused. “What? Why?”
“Because I got him hurt and let him take part in what essential a gang fight.” Kaleb explained.
Hank’s confused face scrunched up in further confusion. “He had a shoulder wound when he came home. We figured he got it working with you. But he is working with a Super, we expected him to get hurt at some point.”
Kaleb step up closer to the table and heard Bob close the door behind him. “The HLO didn’t tell you what happened?”
Hank shook his head. “No, we just assumed he got caught up in something. Is that why you weren’t at your house? I had to call in a few favors to find you.”
“How did you find me?” Kaleb asked.
“I know some people from when I was preparing to be a Super. It never panned out, but some old family friends pointed me out this way.”
Kaleb momentarily wondered about who could track him down. But looking at Hank’s concerned face he put it on the back burner for now. He leaned his hands down on the desk and explained what had happened. He told him about going to Under-Town to work a job, about Wulkun being captured, about the fight with the Faceless and the Phreaks, and about the fallout that happened at the HLO.
When he was finished Hank sat back in his seat and rubbed his hands over his face. “That’s a load of horseshit. The HLO can not restrict who you come into contact with, they shouldn’t have that power. Maybe for their own people, but definitely not civilians and they especially can’t restrict you working as a Super. You just have to work with one of the freelance guilds.”
Kaleb leaned his back against the guard shack window and crossed his arms. “I keep hearing about these other associations and guilds but I don’t know where they are or how they work.”
Hank got up from the desk chair and moved around the desk. “The HLO holds the biggest contract in the city. They are government sanctioned to work in the greater Texas area and the city offers them the biggest benefits to work in Austin. But there are smaller businesses that work on a contract by contract basis. City hall allows them to work within the city, but getting contracts is a crap shoot.”
Hank walked to a nearby water cooler by the door to the shack and got a drink before he continued. “I’m surprised that you weren’t made aware of the alternatives. Then again, I guess it's understandable the HLO wants you working for them or no one.”
“Why?” Kaleb asked.
Hank sipped his water. “Because they get a subsides from the government based on how many people the HLO have working for them. The smaller guilds don’t.”
Kaleb nodded. “So it’s the difference between working for an international business or a mom and pop store.”
“Kind of.” Hank agreed. “But smaller guilds most submit a manifesto to the city. Sort of their guidelines for how they want to work in the city. Such as working to decrease the amount of demons in the city, or helping to clean up after a villain wrecks the city.”
“So like the DAD?”
“Exactly. They are, technically, a small guild working in the city.” Hank nodded.
“So what you are saying,” Kaleb said moving to stand in front of Hank. “is that the HLO is the biggest dog in the yard. But I can still work in the city if I jump through the right hoops?”
Hank nodded. “Yep, although I’d expect some push back from city hall. Especially if the HLO throws its weight around. But if you go through the proper channels and submit the right paperwork, then there’s nothing legally they can do. The hard part after that is getting the contracts to work in certain parts of the city. Plus, you won’t have the HLO’s support systems.”
Kaleb nodded. “It also means I can find and talk to Roy and there’s nothing they can do about it.”
Hank smiled. “Yes. Although it concerns me that the HLO thinks they can restrict private citizens like that.”
“Yeah, but maybe they have started to get too big for their britches.” Kaleb said patting Hank on his shoulder.
“So will you head out to find Roy now? I want to help, Marie is worried sick about the boy.”
Kaleb scratched his head. “How was she, after Roy came back wounded?” He asked worriedly.
“She was livid. But we calmed her down. I think deep down she was already prepared for something like that to happen. At the end of the day though, you brought our boy home. A little banged up, but alive.” Hank said.
Kaleb glanced out the window and saw Shaggy still standing by the dump truck. “I have to drop off the dump truck and I want to talk to a few friends at the hangar. They may want to help.”
Hank nodded and waved a hand at the door. “Well, lets get to it then.”
Kaleb nodded back and walked out of the guard shack. Bob was standing by the door and approached Hank as the pair left. Shaking the man’s hand Bob said.
“Don’t worry Hank, we’ll find him. I will place some calls to some of my old friends and we’ll have some people out and searching the city.”
Hank gave his thanks and moved with Kaleb over to the dump truck. Shaggy stepped forward and frowned at Kaleb.
“I hate to rob and run, but I have to log off for a few hours.”
“It’s no trouble. Thanks for the help. You know where to find me if you need anything and I’ll visit Under-Town soon to deliver you guys some weapons.” Kaleb said sticking a hand out.
Shaggy shook his hand before disappearing in motes of light. Kaleb glanced around at the others, but the all didn’t seem to register the short man vanishing in front of their eyes. Shrugging he asked Hank to drive his car while he took the truck. Once he accepted, Kaleb passed over the keys and the two made their way onto the airfield.
After making the short trip Kaleb parked in front of the large hangar doors and got out. Hank parked next to him and did the same. Hank’s eyes stared up at the hangar as Kaleb made his way around the side of the building.
“What is this place?” Hank called out to him. “It looks familiar.”
“It was a gift from Obadiah.” Kaleb responded smiling.
“From my dad?!” Hank asked surprised. “When did you meet him?”
Kaleb shrugged. “Last week, he contacted me once he heard I was working with Roy. Well, one of his people contacted me. So I went down to Galveston to talk to him. Roy didn’t tell you?”
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Hank chuckled. “It’s an unspoken rule in our house to not discuss what Roy is out doing with you.”
Kaleb opened the side door chuckling too. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Once he entered he saw Two Gun, Claire and Abby standing in the office. He waved at all of them as he and Hank joined them. The trio looked to be discussing something as Kaleb walked in.
“What’s up?” Kaleb asked.
“Hey, Professor. We were just talking about what to do today. We’re kind of at a loss without the HLO giving us directions.” Two Gun said.
“Oh, I may have something for us there.” Kaleb said smiling and moving toward the door controls.
“You might not want to do that, dear.” Claire said drawing a curious look from Kaleb.
“Your bunny-girl NPC in leather is asleep downstairs.” Abby clarified.
Kaleb shook his head as he opened the main doors. The loud whirring of the doors echoed through the hangar. Kaleb just grinned as he turned to the others. They all just sighed at his antics as Kaleb moved to exit the hangar. Claire even smacked the back of his head making his head snap forward violently.
Kaleb rubbed his head and was about to say something when he was blinded by a blue flash of light. Suddenly he was held against a wall and an anger woman was staring daggers at him.
“Morning, Farrah.” Kaleb said happily.
Farrah just stared at him angrily as the noise from the doors died down. Kaleb could see Farrah’s ears twitch at the noise. He smiled at the bunny-woman as she tightened her grip on his lab coat and shook him. Kaleb’s head smacked against the wall a few times before he tried to break free. Farrah’s eyes demanded an answer as she maintained her grip.
“I have a bunch of equipment I need to bring in and then we have to go find Roy.” Kaleb explained.
Farrah snorted loudly and released her hold on him. “How did you lose Roy?”
Kaleb readjusted his lab coat and explained. “I didn’t lose him, he’s gone missing and we have to find him.”
“That the job you had in mind?” Two Gun asked.
“Yeah, I think he might have gone to Under-Town to look for me. But first I want to bring in the dump truck so Daivor can get a better look at what we got.” Kaleb said.
“The quicker we move the better.” Hank said giving Farrah a short wave.
“Well, let’s get the thing in here.” Said Claire moving toward the large opening.
Kaleb passed the keys to Abby as she followed Claire outside. Two Gun asked Hank something, so Kaleb leaned forward and whispered to Farrah.
“Kind of overacting there aren’t you, Farrah?”
“They think I’ve been asleep since I got back early this morning. I’m supposed to be an NPC so they don’t know I can log out, which means I sleep in-game. How would you react if someone woke you up with a loud, obnoxious noise?”
“Less violently.” Kaleb said. “You know hiding this will be a pain in the ass.”
Farrah nodded. “Yeah, but hopefully it won’t be much longer. We can manage for now.”
Kaleb sighed as the large green dump truck moved into the hangar and stopped nearby. Claire backed the truck up near the wall with Abby providing help. Daivor flew out of the truck window and moved over to Kaleb.
“You mind going over this stuff with Farrah?” Kaleb asked the Gnome.
“Oh, that’s no trouble at all.” Daivor said tracing his eyes up and down Farrah’s body.
“You know I can’t understand him, right? What kind of help can I be?”
Before Kaleb could answer Daivor moved his chariot closer to Farrah. “I can give her a dusting. I should have enough for a such a cute woman.”
Kaleb winced at the Gnome’s tone and spoke to Farrah. “He says he can fix that. Then you two can get some stuff divided out for us.”
Farrah shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, I can do that. I’m kind of useless until you get a proper communication array set up.”
Kaleb shrugged. “I know, but I think we might have some of what we need. Maybe even get you a few drones.”
“You must get the permits if you want to fly drones over the city.”
Kaleb agreed. “Yeah, I see a lot of paperwork in my future.”
The others all walked over having completed their conversations. Kaleb nodded his thanks to Claire and Abby. Abby even handed over his armor and weapons. Kaleb put on his gear as Two Gun walked over with Hank. Two Gun patted Hank’s back comfortingly as he addressed the group.
“Seems that the boy disappeared sometime last night. Neither of his parent’s have seen him all morning. They contacted all his school friends, when that didn’t pan out they contacted the police. But Roy hasn’t been missing long enough. Plus, he is a 17-year-old boy about to graduate, so they probably assume he is out with a girl somewhere. Now the Professor seems to think that Roy went to Under-Town to look for him. So I assume that’s where we are headed?” Two Gun explained before looking to Kaleb for confirmation.
Kaleb nodded. “Well put. I have some friends in Under-Town, so he might have tried to contact them.”
Two Gun wiped his hands on his pants and waved outside. “Then let’s get to it. I haven’t been, but I’m willing to bet that Under-Town isn’t a friendly place.”
Kaleb waved at Daivor and Farrah as they all moved to leave. Hank spoke up as they were walking. “That is something else: He took his bag with him, the one with all the equipment the two of you built.”
Kaleb moved to the driver side door and opened it. “So he has his weapons wherever he is.”
“That could be good and bad.” Abby said opened the back door to get in.
“Careful.” Said Kaleb. “This is an old cop car, so the back doors don’t open from the inside.”
They others all nodded as they got in. Kaleb started the car and pulled away from the hangar driving toward the gate. As he drove toward Bob’s guard shack, Two Gun who was in the passenger seat pointed a finger out the front window. A yellow hover taxi was zooming down the road along the gate followed by two black sedans.
“Now what?” Kaleb asked as he pulled the car to the gate just as Bob walked out of his shack.
Bob’s was watching the approaching taxi which was slowing down. As the car passed in front of the gate, the back door opened and a person threw themselves out of the taxi. Rolling on the dirt road a few times the brown-haired person rose to his feet and made a mad dash for the gate. He had a large rucksack over his shoulder and was moving as fast as he could.
“Roy?!” Hank yelled from the back seat, trying to open his door and slamming his head against the window.
“I told you.” Kaleb said as he and Two Gun got out of the car and let the others out. “That’s Roy, Bob!”
Bob looked like he was ready to throw his power around. But he stopped at Kaleb’s words. Instead, he switched his gaze to the two other incoming cars. The two cars pulled over to the side of the road and four men got out of both cars. One man pulled a long-barreled weapon from the back seat of one sedan and aimed it at Roy.
Before anyone could react, the man fired. A large brown net launched from the end of the barrel and rocketed toward Roy. Kaleb moved to help as the net got closer to Roy’s back.
“Down!” Kaleb shouted.
Roy ducked as Two Gun fired at the net and Bob clapped his hands lightly. The bullets shredded the net as the vibrations from Bob’s clap pushed it back through the air. The eight men in black suits gathered in front of the gate and stared at them as Roy got back up and moved across the gate. Hank hugged his son as the others watched the black-suited men across the street.
One man stood next to the driver side door of his car and spoke into the mic attached to his car. An amplified voice echoed across the street.
“Attention! This is the HLO Guard Services! We are in pursuit of a runaway! Please disperse and hand over the juvenile into our custody and we will not harm you!”
Hank moved his son aside and marched forward angrier than Kaleb had every seen him. “THAT IS MY SON! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING SHOOTING HEAVY ORDNANCE AT A CIVILIAN! I SHOULD SUE YOU BASTARDS!”
The man with the microphone paled noticeably as Hank shouted across the street. They hadn’t expected one of Roy’s parents to be here. They all looked at each other confused until the leader spoke into the mic again.
“Sir, your son’s safety was our main concern. We wished to stop him before he stepped onto private property and got hurt by their security.”
Bob snorted as Hank growled. “He was coming to visit his friend you dipshits! Besides haven’t you heard of necessary force?!”
The leader coughed into the mic before he continued talking. “Sir, the Professor is no longer a member of the HLO. We can not guarantee his safety while your son is in his vicinity. We have warned the professor to stay away from him. This violates -”
Hank cut the man off harshly. “What? The HLO? Since when can the HLO decide who we meet and talk to? What’s next? Curfews and checkpoints in the streets? Get the hell out of here! I will take this incident and the HLO’s craziness to city hall!”
The leader sighed helplessly before suddenly straightening up. All the men tilted their heads and had the same posture as Cas and Pol had. They were talking to whoever was giving them their marching orders. After a while all the men glanced between themselves and moved back into their cars.
The HLO cars turned around and disappeared down the road. Kaleb and the others turned to Roy who was panting and leaning against Kaleb’s car. Roy gave them all a small wave smiling awkwardly.
“Hi.”
Kaleb sighed and rubbed his temples as Hank moved to check on his son. Claire clapped her hands suddenly surprising everyone.
“Well, that’s a job well done. What should we do next?”