“Are you kidding? It’s like,” he looked at the time on his comm device, “11:23 am? They’re almost three hours early. What’s going on?”

Sydney scowled, “I don’t know. Do you want me to ask them?”

He shook his head, “No, but this is a complete pain in the ass. What the hell is wrong with these guys? They didn’t do this last time.”

Looking up from the screen and down the hall in what he guessed was the direction of the living room, Sydney said, “You’re repeating yourself. Just get back here, okay?”

Then she cut the connection, leaving him to stare at the default comm screen showing the names of his favorite connections. He pressed the one that said, “Team,” using the text message option, letting it translate speech to text, “They’re here now! I don’t know what’s going on, but get to my place.”

Then swept around through the air in a wide arc, flying around the spire of a downtown church and back toward his mom’s condo. It didn’t take long to get there, maybe ten minutes of flight.

He landed on Cityview Luxury Condominiums’ roof, pulling out his keys and unlocking the door to find Jody waiting on the other side.

Wearing a silver costume with accents and the fist logo in black and white, Jody smirked, “You’re slow, dude.”

“Compared to you, everyone’s slow,” Sean said, and they fist-bumped.

“Don’t you know it,” Jody backed out of his way and let him in.

“What about Dayton,” Sean asked as he noticed the two suits sitting at the table. One was tall and blond and with his size could have passed as a bodyguard. The shorter, dark-haired one tugged on strands of his mustache. He remembered that guy. He’d talked with him in the past. He’d have his name in a second. It was a geek name.

As they walked toward the table, Jody said, “Dayton’s still driving. He shouldn’t be long.”

“Hope he’s not,” Sean said and made for the shorter lawyer, “Good to see you, Mr. Winslow. I’m a little surprised to see you here.”

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Mr. Winslow stopped pulling on his mustache and stood up, holding out his hand. “I’m sure you are. I’m surprised to be here right now myself. We were expecting to meet you at the arranged time, but we got a call today. Apparently, one of Future-men’s board members wants to meet you and this is the only time he has. We’ll be happy to come back at the expected time, but we thought we should be here when he is.

“Honestly, none of this is standard in any way. I hope you won’t take offense at the inconvenience, but it is a great opportunity. Most of our clients never get to meet anyone this high up. Frankly, it’s a surprise that he’s taken an interest in your team, but I’m afraid I can’t account for the whims of those above me. You know how it is.”

“Sure,” Sean looked over at Jody who shrugged and then back at Mr. Winslow. “Is he still coming? He’s not in the bathroom or something, is he?”

Mr. Winslow and the other lawyer laughed. Then Mr. Winslow said, “No. He’ll be here when he’s here. I’m sorry.”

The doorbell rang and everybody jumped. Before Sean could take a step toward the door, Jody stood next to it, pressing a flashing button on the intercom. A voice came over the speaker, “This is Dayton. Can you guys let me in or something?”

“What’ll you give me?” Grinning, Jody looked back at Sean.

“Let him up,” Sean said.

Dayton’s disembodied laugh echoed in the room, “At least I know you’re there. Good on you for beating me.”

“That’s me,” Jody said. “I’m a responsible adult.”

Then he pressed a button on the intercom. “This looks like it’ll open the door.”

“That’s it,” Dayton said, “the door’s unlocked. Be up in a second.”

“Doubt it,” Jody said, and stepped away from the box, covering the distance back to Sean without seeming to move. He was simply back where he’d been before the doorbell rang.

Sean knew that Jody’s power wasn’t so much super speed as making the speed of time around him faster. He hoped Jody hadn’t pulled a prank on the way back.

Moments later, he heard the whirr of the elevator’s motors and the sound of doors opening. Then from the other side of the door, Dayton said, “I don’t know the place either, but I’m pretty sure Sean’s mom’s place is 801.”

Sean walked over to the door and opened it, thanking whatever power in the universe cared that Jody hadn’t decided to screw with this too. When he pulled the door open, Dayton stood there, all but seven feet of him, in a blue and white costume that showed his muscles.

Dayton wasn’t alone.

Behind him stood a man in a black suit. Sean didn’t know suits, but he knew what expensive suits looked like. The look of this man’s reminded Sean of the suits his father would wear when he wanted to impress.

Outside of the suit, the man wasn’t that impressive. Grey-haired, he had to be less than six feet tall, but he had an intense gaze that moved over Sean in an instant, seeming to take in every detail.

With a glance back toward the older man and a frown, Dayton said, “Hey Sean, I didn’t get his name, but this man says he’s here to see us.”

Clearing his throat, the man said, “I’m Martin Greatson. From what I’ve heard, you have great potential.”