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Author's Note: Here's chapter thirteen. After two chapters of pretty much solid action, this one is a breather. We'll call it the calm before the storm. Its still a good chapter and leads right into the next where both my heroes get to shine a little bit. I'd like to thank djkauf for the wonderful editing and DC Comics for their fantastic characters.

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Chapter Thirteen:

I stood in the elevator; the blonde security guard kept staring at my naked legs. I tried my best not to blush but it’s pretty hard when the only thing you’re wearing in a blue blazer. Luckily, for me the Creepy Guy is so tall or else I’d be even more embarrassed. It was bad enough that as soon as I walked in the lobby, the guard at the desk was staring at me. I suppose it’s not every day that a half naked chick walks through the front door. But what can I say; I like to make an entrance. If that means I look like a fool doing it then I look like a fool.

“Khaji, you still with me?”

I got no response. After crashing, Khaji sort of faded out on me. She was just as exhausted as I was, probably more, in fact. I should have never pushed myself into using the armor but it was the only thing I could think of. I got the jump done, though. It was a half assed jump but I still stopped the bad guys and threw them off our trail. Now La Dama would grasp at straws trying to find me. There was no way I was going to allow her to lead me into another ambush. I groaned when I thought about who she might be. If I was right and I know I was, I wonder how she’d pulled it off for so many years.

Amparo---there I finally admitted it---was a legitimate business woman. At least we think she is. Brenda was never really able to figure out where her aunt got all her money from. When she asked once, Amparo told her something about investing in good stocks. Now I know that was a load of crap.

Crime paid well and apparently very well for Amparo Juarez.

The elevator finally stopped. I sighed; it felt like I was in the fricking thing forever. When the door slid open, I saw a plush red-carpeted hallway. The guard stepped out first, looked up and down the halls then nodded to me. I smiled at him and stepped out. I’d always wondered what the upper floors of Queen Tower looked like and now I knew. I’d only ever been in the lobby and that was only once. I used to watch with envy as others walked over to the elevators and road them up to parts unknown. I had a pretty good idea what was on most of the floors but I always wondered if there was something more. But now as I stood on the twentieth floor, looking at the red carpet under my feet and the beige colored wall in front of me, I was kind of disappointed.

“Miss Reyes?” said a voice.

I turned and saw a tall, younger guy standing a few feet away. He was dressed in a crisp black suit, his hair slicked back. He had a warm welcoming smile. He walked toward me; there was definite confidence in that walk of his. His looks reminded me a little of Josh but maybe that’s because I seemed to have a thing for blondes. When he finally reached me, I had to look up because he was kind of tall. He was exceptionally gorgeous though. Looking at him made me blush. God, I’m never going to get a hang of this girl thing and all the crazy hormones.

“Good morning, Miss” he said, checking his watch to make sure he had the proper greeting. It was after one in the morning, so it was technically the right one. “If you’d follow me please, I’ll show you to your room.”

“My room?”

He nodded as the two of us walked down the hall. “Miss Queen has set you up in one of the luxury suites for the night. She’s arranged for some clothing for you and I can have room service brought up for you if you like.”

Room service? What the hell was this guy talking about? I thought we were taking a crack at La Dama tonight. I didn’t have time for fancy suites and things like that. This bitch had my family and I wanted them back. I wanted them back NOW. I was fuming as he led me around the corner and stopped at the first door on the left. He took out a card key and zipped it through the electronic lock. When he opened the door, my eyes practically bugged out of my head. The room that I entered was by far the biggest one I’d ever seen.

I gasped in shock. There was no way all of this could be for me. The man walked into the room behind me and over to a pair of double doors, opening them up. I looked briefly at them and saw a plush looking bedroom beyond. But I was still concentrating on the room before me. It had a Spartan feel to it. The decor went with a black and chrome motif. The floors were hardwood, there were fake paintings on the walls---at least I hoped they were. There was some good sculpture though, much better than anything I could ever pull off. I walked over to the big metal frame sofa, running my fingers along the black leather upholstery. It was clearly designed by a man who didn’t have time for luxury. I only met Mr. Queen once and it was very brief. He shook my hand, said it was nice to meet me and moved on. I think the whole encounter lasted all of five seconds. But in those seconds, I think I got a good gauge of the man. He didn’t like anything fancy and this room really showed it.

“Your clothes are on the bed, there’s a menu by the phone. Just dial six and you’ll get room service. Our kitchen is open twenty four hours a day and you can order anything on the menu.”

I nodded. “Is this a business office or a hotel?”

He smiled. “Mr. Queen liked his guests to stay where he could always get access to them. So it’s kind of both. Miss Queen has seen fit to continue some of his traditions with a few of her own added touches.”

“Added touches?”

He smiled again. His teeth were so damn white. “There’s now a video arcade a few floors down and one of the formal dining areas has been turned into a movie theater.”

It pays to be rich I guess.

The guy smiled again and left, closing the door behind him.

“Khaji, tell me you’re seeing this?”

I finally got a response from her: “We’re in the lap of luxury.”

“Thanks for before” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, it was still kind of sore from earlier. “Getting the armor up and running must have taken a lot out of you and I’m glad you believed in me enough to do so.”

“We’re partners now, that’s what partners do.”

I nodded. “You get some rest and recharge. Hopefully we won’t be needing the armor so soon.”

It was a lie of course. I was pretty certain that I’d need the armor in twenty four hours or less. But I didn’t want to tell her that. She’d already done enough for me in the last twelve hours or so. She needed her rest, hell we both did.

Thinking of sleep, I walked into the bedroom. It was a lot less Spartan than the rest of the place. It had a different décor too. It was clear that a woman designed this room. There was a pattern on the furniture and a maroon color scheme that was kept throughout the room. The large king size bed was covered in a maroon spread and pillows and the curtains hanging from the windows were maroon too. I walked over to the bed, finding a pair of gray pajamas and a note. I picked up the note: Thought you might need these. It’s too late for a strategy session; we’ll have one in the morning when we’re all refreshed and thinking straight. Have a good night’s sleep and don’t worry, we will get your family back. It was signed Olivia on the bottom. I smiled and set the note aside, then picked up the pajamas. I sighed; they were in my size. How the hell could she have known that?

I dropped my borrowed coat on the floor and quickly slipped on the PJs. They were made of cotton and were nice and warm. They were different from the ones I wore to bed but I was so tired that it didn’t really matter. I walked over and closed the double doors then jumped into bed. I barely got under the covers before I dropped off to sleep.

___________________________________

The sun was glaring in my face when I opened my eyes. Don’t you hate that? You’d think with such dark thick curtains something like that wouldn’t be possible. I groaned and sat up, the covers sliding off me. I stared bleary eyed around the room for a second, trying to figure out where I was. I rubbed the grogginess away and groaned. Then I remembered. The events of yesterday came flooding back to me. First, the ugly thing attacking me in the alley, and then the guys chasing me from the factory district to my house. Finally La Dama’s goons taking my family and being rescued by the Green Arrow.

Thinking about her, I threw the rest of my covers off. I looked around the room. The curtains were open enough for the morning sun to come streaming through them. I slid off the bed and bumbled over, opening them the rest of the way. I was greeted by the most gorgeous view of the city I’d ever seen. It was breathtaking. I could see everything, all the way to the Bay and the bridge and even a little beyond that. If this is what Olivia woke up to every morning I could definitely get used to it.

"I think one would get bored with it after awhile.”

I shook my head. “Not a chance.”

I smiled as I walked away from the window. I was glad to hear Khaji sounding so chipper now. I was really worried about her yesterday, especially after I pushed her even though she wasn’t ready. I felt real guilty about that.

“How’s the armor?”

“It should be fully charged and ready to go by midday.”

I nodded. I was glad to hear it. I was probably going to need it a lot in the next few days, depending on how long it took us to find La Dama. I had a pretty good idea where to look and how to start the search. If she truly was Amparo like I suspected than maybe we could trace her finances and figure out where she’s been shelling a lot of money. There’s bound to be some kind of paper trail, right? I mean if this place is really in the desert like Damper thought than there’s bound to be some kind of record of it.

I thought about it as I opened the double doors and walked into the main room. The bathroom was off to the left. The guy last night vaguely pointed it out but the door was open so I could see it clearly. I walked in, amazed at how big it was. You could fit two of my bathrooms in here. The tiles were sea green; there was a double sink and Jacuzzi style bathtub. So far, I’d been a shower girl but looking at that tub, I couldn’t resist. I stripped out of the pajamas, leaving them on the floor. Then naked, I walked over to the tub. It took me a while to figure it out bit I got it working in quick order. Brenda had a Jacuzzi in her solarium. I’d only been in once and seeing as it was also with Brenda and Paco, we were wearing bathing suits at the time.

But that Jacuzzi didn’t compare to this one. As I slipped into the frothing water, it was like pure ecstasy. I closed my eyes and let the jets massage my bruised and battered body. It felt so good and relaxing. My hand drifted to between my legs and before I knew it, I found my fingers pleasuring myself. It was ten times better than in the shower. I even moaned a few times. After what seemed like forever, my fingers started to prune. That’s usually a good sign that you’ve been spending too much time in the water.

There was a light knock on the door than a soft female voice. “Miss, I have a towel and bathrobe for you, I’ll hang them outside the door.”

The voice surprised me. I wasn’t used to being waited on. So I thanked the girl. I reluctantly climbed out of the huge tub and wandered over to the door. I opened it just a crack and peered outside, but the girl belonging to the voice was gone. The hook was just on the other side of the door. I snatched the towel and bathrobe off it. I dried my hair with the towel than wrapped it turban style again. Then I slipped into the bathrobe. When I left the bathroom, there was a tray and a card sitting on the little glass top table near the large window. The blinds were drawn, thank God. I didn’t want the whole of the city to see me prancing around in my robe. I went to the table, looked at the enticing breakfast of French toast and scrambled eggs but read the card first. It was from Olivia, telling me to meet her up on the thirty fifth floor when I was done.

I ate breakfast in a rush. I was kind of anxious to get going. There was a lot I wanted to do today, the top of which was to find La Dama’s desert base and get my family back. There was another knock on the door when I was finished. I didn’t even get a chance to say come in when the same guy from early this morning walked into the room, holding a garment bag. He smiled and set it on the back of the sofa.

“Good morning again, Miss Reyes” he said with that toothy grin of his. “Last night I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Lucas, if there’s anything you need, just ask.”

I nodded. “How the hell do you people know when I’m done with things?”

He laughed. “The whole of the building is monitored by closed circuit cameras.”

I grimaced. I didn’t like the sound of that. “There’s not one in the bathroom, is there?”

He laughed. “No, the bathroom has floor sensors. They activated when you turned on the water. We also monitor the water intake levels of the whole building and water temperature. When your bath water started to get cold, a maid was sent to deliver you a towel and bathrobe.”

I nodded. Ok that was creepy. Efficient but still very creepy. “Big Brother is watching, huh.”

He laughed. He had to stop laughing; it was infectious. “More like Big Sister.”

He didn’t elaborate. He winked and walked out of the room, leaving me alone again. I got up and walked over to the garment bag he left. When I opened it up, I groaned. Why is it that every girl I met was trying to get me into a dress. I looked in the bag, hoping to find something else but the only other thing in it was a pair of white sandals. There was some underwear too. I begrudgingly took everything out of the bag. There was a tall mirror on the wall. I took off the bathrobe---making sure I was completely dry---then got dressed. The dress was light blue and very airy. I think it was a summer dress but I wouldn’t know how to tell. It flowed when I moved, not that I tested or anything. Ok, so you caught me but what girl doesn’t put on a dress and twirl.
I slipped on the sandals---thankfully they had no heel---and walked out the door.

_________________________________

Do I need to bore you with the ins and outs of another elevator ride?

Suffice to say I rode it alone this time to the thirty fifth floor. When it stopped and I got off, I expected to end up into another red-carpeted hallway. But I was surprised when it opened up to a spacious room. One wall was lined with computer servers, in the center was a circular table and the wall directly in front of the elevators was covered in large flat screens. There had to be at least twenty of them. Half showed various scenes throughout the building, the others streamed live news broadcasts from around the world. In front of the screens were several computers arranged along a narrow table, a pink haired girl sat in front of them.

Olivia was lounging in a chair in the corner. She was dressed normally today or at least as normal as a billionairess gets. She was wearing thigh leather boots, a green tank top and skinny jeans. Why is that I was the only one wearing a dress. Even the pink haired girl was dressed more casually than me. I looked around the room, glancing from the sofa set in the other corner to the little bar in the last corner. But there was no sign of Probe. Maybe Olivia didn’t trust her enough to allow her into this room, after all it was kind of high tech and secretive and Probe was technically the enemy. Even though I’d like to think of her as a friend now.

When I walked into the room, Olivia was deep in conversation. But there was no one there. I thought maybe she was talking to herself but then I heard a voice:

“Are you sure she can be trusted?” It was a girl’s voice. “My ring has extensive databases on this Scarab and the Reach it claims to work for.”

Olivia smiled. “Jade, you guys can relax. Josie is one of the good guys. I vouch for her.”

The voice huffed. “Do you need any backup?”

Olivia paused and looked over at me, waving me into a chair next to her. Then she turned back to whoever she was having a conversation with. “I think me and the Blue Beetle can handle it. This La Dama runs a tight ship, but you’ve seen the news, you saw what Josie did.”

Jade sighed. “Keep me apprised of the situation and if you need help, you know where to find me.”

I gasped as I sat in the chair next to Olivia. The ring on her finger had been glowing green for a second and now it was done. I realized then who she’d been talking too, it was the Green Lantern. My heart started thumping in my chest. I was starting to geek out again. I was able to keep my breathing under control, thank God.

Olivia turned to me, moving her whole body. Her legs were crossed, making her that much more sexy. “Did you have a good rest?”

I nodded. “Was that really Jade?”

She rolled her eyes and held up her hand to show me the ring. “This little puppy helps me keep in constant communication with her and the others. She gave it to me a while ago but I kind of avoid using it. I’m not exactly what they’d call a team player. I can get you one if you want; Jade and the others are dying to meet you after all.”

“ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THE QUESTION” Khaji practically screamed in my brain.

I winced from the outburst. “That won’t be necessary. I have something much better than a ring.”

Olivia smiled. “I’m sorry we couldn’t get working last night but I was so exhausted when I got home I nearly collapsed.”

The pink haired girl huffed. “Well if you weren’t spending the whole day training all the time then you wouldn’t be so tired.”

Olivia ignored her. “Josie, I’d like you to meet my partner in crime and the best friend a girl could ever have, Mia Dearden.”

The pink haired girl turned around in the chair. She was really cute. Not gorgeous like Olivia but definitely cute enough to date. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Ollie.” She then turned to me. “It’s finally nice to meet the face behind the voice.”

I realized then that this must have been the girl that Olivia was talking to in the car. Mia seemed kind of fun and spunky; I could see her and Brenda getting along fine. Thinking about Brenda gave me a heart pang but I pushed it aside.

“Are you the brains behind this operation?” I asked, sweeping my arm around the room.

“You bet your ass I am.”

“She contributes a great deal, don’t you, Speedy.”

Mia huffed and spun around in her chair. I could really tell the two of them were good friends. It made me smile. Olivia cleared her throat and got to her feet. “Now on to business. This place here we call the Hub.” Mia huffed again, Olivia ignored her. “We monitor everything that goes on in this building and the rest of the world here.”

"The rest of the world?”

She smiled. “It pays to be multi-billionaire. I have satellites positioned all over the globe. I do all my hero stuff in our city but there are others like us all over the world now. Whenever there’s a problem that Jade hasn’t picked up, my satellites grab it and I feed it to the closest hero in the vicinity. It’s kind of cool actually, kind of like Big Brother.”

“Or Big Sister” added Mia quickly.

I smiled. Now I knew what Lucas meant earlier.

Olivia continued as if she was never interrupted. “We’ve been searching the Net, looking for any mention of La Dama. So far, she has been kind of low key, just a few rumblings here and there. Urban Legends are like that. But she’ll slip up, it’s only a matter of time and as soon as she does, we’ll nail her.”

I took a deep breath. Could I really do this to Brenda? She loved her aunt. Could I really betray my friendship with her and tell them. I guess I’m about to find out. “You don’t need to search; I think I know who she is.”

Olivia raised her eyebrow. Mia turned in her chair, giving me a look. Then I think it dawned on her and I swore if a light bulb could appear above her head it work. “You mean the bracelet?”

I nodded. "Yesterday after school my friend Brenda gave it to me. She said they were a gift from her aunt. Which is kind of strange because the woman kind of hated me when I was a boy and had only just met me when I was a girl. I didn’t think anything of it at the time but now that I look back on it there’s no way she would have given me that bracelet out of the kindness of her heart.”

Mia nodded. “What’s her name?”

“Amparo Juarez.”

Olivia and Mia shared a glance. It was only quick but I noticed it. I didn’t pursue it though; it was probably nothing. Mia typed away at the keyboard; it didn’t take her long. “Here we are, Amparo Juarez, age thirty six.”

All the screens blinked off for a second and when they came on there was a profile picture of Amparo on them. Mia typed away again, several other smaller screens popped up, showing bank records and business transactions. They scrolled across the screen, popping up and being replaced by more. I only got some quick glances but what I saw was crazy. Apparently, Amparo didn’t get the money from sound investments. A lot of it was through illegal means. Most of said means involved what the documents called export, but I kind of knew that to be smuggling. There was something else, too.

According to the pages on the screen, Amparo was funneling a lot of cash around, most of it going to somewhere in Baja.

Mia finally stopped typing. The last thing that appeared on the screen was a 3D map. She moved her cursor over an area that appeared in red. I looked at the screen, it was somewhere in the Sonoran Desert. It suddenly clicked. The desert is where Damper claimed Warehouse 13 was. This had to be the place.

“That’s it, I’m sure of it,” I said as I leaned over Mia’s chair. “The leader of Posse said that there were rumors of a place in the desert called Warehouse 13. He said it was run by La Dama and that she took Metas there to experiment on them.”

“Do we have a satellite in that area?” asked Olivia, leaning forward too.

Mia typed for a few seconds and shook her head. “That area is controlled by Luthercorp. He owns the whole region in fact. Your grandfather let him have it because it’s just dry land and dirt out there. Luther bought it all pretty cheap, said he wanted to turn it into a resort."

Olivia scoffed. “Resort my ass.”

I was confused. “Lex Luther, you mean the philanthropist?”

Both of them laughed. “I never heard of him. We’re talking about his real face, not the fake one he puts on for the press.” Olivia sighed. “This doesn’t look good at all.”

She walked away for a second, touching her green ring. She stepped further into the room, I didn’t’ hear her conversation. Instead, I stared at the screen and the place in the desert where our satellite couldn’t penetrate. What did Lex Luther have to do with Brenda’s aunt? Olivia came walking over a minute or two later, smiling.

“I just talked to Lena. She coordinated with Jade. Apparently, there is something out there after all. But it’s not a resort. The official story is a research facility, one of those bio dome things they wanted to build on the surface of Mars.”

Mia nodded. “What is it really?”

Olivia shook her head. “Lena didn’t know but she claims that her father likes to keep that area under really high security for some reason.”

“So are we firing up the jet?” Asked Mia, with a grimace.

Olivia smiled and nodded. “Oh, most definitely.”

________________________________

It took us about an hour to drive to the airport. Mia wanted us to take the helicopter but Olivia didn’t want to draw attention to us. She was kind of the media darling as of late and there were a lot of paparazzi hanging around the Tower. I’m still not sure how she manages to sneak off and be the Green Arrow if they’re always watching. So we take an SUV instead. The four of us hid in the back. Lucas drove; making sure the paparazzi got a good look at him so they knew that Olivia wasn’t in the vehicle. A couple of them snapped pictures until they realized they were wasting their film.

I sat in the back with Mia and Probe. The ride to the airport was in subdued silence. Probe was apparently pretty pissed that she wasn’t allowed in the Hub. It was for the reasons I thought. Olivia and Mia just didn’t trust her enough to let her see their operation. I was kind of pissed too but it made sense. I knew she’d never go and intentionally blab to the gang but things happened. It was better that she stayed out of the loop. We had her meet us in the garage. Lucas was there with her and the two of them were talking about some of the cars there.

When we arrived at the airport there were more paparazzi, apparently they liked to stake out the Queen jet just in case. Olivia made a big spectacle out of it. She got out of the car, lugging a big tote and smiled at the cameras. There were so many flashes I think I’m going to be blind for weeks. Probe didn’t seem to mid. One of the photogs even stuck the camera in her face and took a picture. She didn’t even blink. Me, I shielded my eyes and dodged questions. Everyone wanted to know where the three of us were going and what our names were. Olivia handled the questions. Apparently, we were on our way to one of the little private islands she owned---there were three of them.

“Nothing like a little vacay with the girls” she said with a smile.

It was an eye opening experience.

Olivia put on the media darling act until we were on the plane. She even sat at the windows and waved. She kept it up until we were taking off. Then she sighed, dropping into her seat. “That was so exhausting.”

“You don’t like being rich and popular?” I asked.

Mia snorted. Olivia ignored her. “I don’t mind it sometimes but most of the time it’s a royal pain in the ass.”

"I’ll trade lives with you,” added Probe from the back of the plane.

When we got on, she decided to sit by herself. I think she was still a little pissed about earlier. But she had to understand why we couldn’t let her into the room. It was one thing that she already knew who Olivia and I were but it was another thing entirely for her to see the whole operation. Hell, I didn’t even think I was worthy to see it all. But apparently, Olivia did. In fact, she accepted me without any problems, which I thought, was the coolest thing in the world. I wonder if the others would be so accepting.

“We don’t need their acceptance, especially the Lantern.”

Khaji had been quiet for so long I kind of forgot she was there.

I groaned. “What’s your deal with them anyway?”

She huffed. “The Lanterns of Oa and the Reach are mortal enemies. Our two civilizations have fought for centuries, neither coming out as the victor. A peace was erected between the two of us but it is bound to fail some day.”

I sighed. “You’re not of the Reach anymore. You need to get past their grudges and realize you’re your own person now.”

She said nothing. I groaned. I didn’t have time to argue anyway. I turned to the window and watched as California flew by underneath us. It wouldn’t take us long to get to Baja. We weren’t going to the airport though. The Queens owned a private airslip. We’d touch down there and apparently take cars into the desert. How close we’d actually be able to get to the facility was another story entirely.

“Mia” I asked, interrupting her computer game. “How close can we get to this place?”

She didn’t bat an eye when she answered. “A couple of miles maybe. We’re going to have to get some four wheelers for the rest of the journey. Well you guys are anyways.”

“You’re not coming with?”

She looked up from her laptop screen. The color drained from her face. “I’m the technical support kind of sidekick. I let the boss do all the wet work.”

Olivia and I laughed. I wonder what Brenda would think about becoming my sidekick. I closed my eyes and envisioned her running around alongside me in a blue leotard with plastic bug wings and cheap antenna. I couldn’t help but laugh. There was no way she’d go for that. Maybe I could get her on the end of a radio too. She wasn’t good with computers but maybe she could offer moral support, telling me jokes or something like that. I sighed. Thinking about Brenda made me hurt again. It was horrible to think about but we were going to this place to put a stop to her aunt. I wonder if Brenda was there and how she’s react when she found out. I know there’s no way she’d be in on all this but there was no way she’d stand idly by while we tried to arrest her beloved aunt either.

“Your friend has a good head. She’ll do the right thing when the time comes.”

“I hope so.”

The rest of the plane ride I spent looking out the window. We touched down in Baja about an hour and a half from taking off. There was another SUV waiting for us at the Queen strip. We clambered inside. This time Mia got in the front while Olivia got into the back with us. She was dressed like the Green Arrow now, having changed on the plane. She made sure that most of the staff at the airport weren’t outside when we disembarked from the plane. Now she was sitting next to me, putting arrows into her quiver. Most of them looked like normal arrows but there were a few that were kind of wicked.

“Trick arrows” she said, fingering the tip of one with a gloved finger. “Seeing as I might be going up against some Metas I thought it would be a good idea to come prepared.”

The one she was fingering had a jagged tip; it looked like it could shred flesh. “Have you fought many Metas?” I asked as she slid the arrow into her quiver.

“A few but mainly I fight normals.”

I took a deep breath and asked the question I’ve wanted to ask since I met her yesterday. “Where have you been the last few months? The city has fallen apart without you.”

She sighed and spoke in a soft voice.”After my grandfather was killed I realized that I wasn’t prepared to deal with all the pressure of being a hero. So I took a breather. Then I came to the conclusion that in order to be a proper hero I needed to learn how to be one. So let’s just say I got a little help and leave it that.”

I nodded. Fair enough. “Maybe when we’re done here, your friend can help me?”

The question came out of the blue. But I’d been thinking about it for a long time. I did need help. It was one thing to rely on the armor all the time but yesterday; I was without it and got my ass kicked. I needed to know how to defend myself and stop relying on the armor to save me all the time.

She smiled, putting a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll see what I can do.”