Chapter 4: 4

Krieger had gone for a nap in hopes that it would help her along with the monster hangover she had. Everybody else had gone about their business whether they had work to do or if they went to chill out. Tony and Devin were watching some show on television about classic cars while Justin, Ronson and Michael gathered round the snooker table and had a few games of cards as well as a few beers. Jess and Faye however were still up at the bridge. Zeke was currently piloting ship but the twins stayed up there just in case anything happened. They were quite happy watching their own shows on TV and reading magazines or articles on their holowatches. Michael had won a few rounds of cards much to his surprise as he was never that good at card games. He left Justin and Ronson to it, making his way to the galley where he would start preparing something for dinner.

He set the main speaker in the galley to play whatever was on at that moment on the Galaxy Radio Network. It's was a seventies show, playing some great tunes by The Rolling Stones, David Bowie and some other brilliant bands and artists he actually liked. Michael set about making dinner for everyone, taking everything he had learned earlier in to consideration. He decided to make a fragrant chicken curry with mixed vegetable rice and homemade naan. At least with this he could swap out regular white rice with brown rice especially for Justin as Zeke had informed him that it was okay for his moderately strict diet. He could make it with yoghurt too instead of cream so that would make it a bit healthier. And not too hot either, he didn't want to blow everyone's head off with the first meal.

It was fairly easy to make, Michael knew the recipe off by heart as it was something he enjoyed making plus it tasted really good. He could also leave it to simmer for a little while, which gave him time to go and get accustomed to his quarters. He had brought a few more bits on board but his room didn't really have that much of a lived in, homely feel to it yet. Perhaps when they got to Pacifica he might find something there he liked or he might buy something when they got back to New Edo, maybe some trinkets or some action figures he liked. There was a craft and hobby shop in the nicer part of New Edo quite a bit further up from the port where they sold various model kits, especially Gunpla kits. Michael had always wanted to have a go at building and painting one, maybe even make it a hobby seeing as now he had a good job to actually pay for a hobby. He then remembered that now he could probably do whatever he wanted. Save up for a vehicle, or a holiday somewhere nice or maybe even a nicer apartment.

Michael did a little dance to himself in joy now that he had a good job with decent money. Positively beaming, he made his way through the ship back to the rec room and joined the card game Justin and Ronson were still playing.

'I've made a chicken curry for dinner. It'll be ready in a short while.' Michael announced.

'That's great, haven't had a curry in ages.' Ronson exclaimed.

'Oh I substituted one or two things in it for healthier options,' Michael said to Justin. 'But it won't compromise the taste or flavour.'

'I like this kid already Chris.' Justin said to his Vice Captain. 'I appreciate that. Besides, this lot could benefit from eating healthier than what they've been doing.'

Ronson stuck his tongue out at Justin's remark and carried on fiddling with his cards. 'I'll go wake Cas up in a bit when dinner's ready, she'll be ravenous when she wakes.'

Michael occasionally popped back to the galley to check on the curry he had made which was now properly cooked, he set everything on its lowest temperature and prepared the rice and naan bread which wouldn't take too long. He decided to take stock on the equipment that was in the galley that had never actually been used before. Blenders, food processors, huge stand mixers and random electrical kitchen trinkets like waffle irons and toasted sandwich makers. There was plenty of cutlery and crockery along with loads of baking dishes and tins. Michael had come across an entire drawer dedicated to baking, filled with cookie cutters, piping bags and other baking paraphernalia; some of which had actually been used, showing signs of wear.

'We might not be cooks but we do love a good cake. That smells amazing by the way'

It was Ronson stood in the galley doorway. He had wandered in at some point to check on Michael.

'It's nearly done, just gotta wait five minutes for the rice and naan.'

'Great I'll go wake Cas up then. I'm surprised she isn't awake already and feeding her face.' Ronson mused. 'Zeke can call everyone for dinner, the rest of us don't need physically dragging out of bed.'

'I'll do that now Chris.' Zeke's voice sounded out. 'Dinner is ready, please report to the galley.'

Michael set a stack of plates and cutlery on the table in the galley as well as the large dishes containing the curry and rice and a serving dish for the naan he made. He figured the crew weren't the type to stand on ceremony and would most likely help themselves instead of being served. Soon enough everybody started filing in to the galley, taking a plate for themselves and spooning food on to it. Michael was in two minds on if he should put some glasses and a jug of water out on the table, but seeing how the crew of the Osiris operated he figured beer would be a better choice and grabbed a case of Budweiser stubby cans from out of the fridge in the pantry. Justin, Devin and Tony were all sat down enjoying their meal. Michael made two extra plates for Jess and Faye and set them on a hotplate to keep them warm whilst the twins sorted their navigation plan and left Zeke to pilot the ship while they ate. He eventually sat down with his own dinner, casually watching Krieger and Ronson who quite frankly ate like animals; hunched over their plates shovelling food in to their faces like they hadn't eaten in a month. Krieger and Ronson had turned up to the table later than their crew mates and finished a full plate of food well before them too. The Captain and Vice Captain inhaled their meals and pushed their plates away.

'Mikey, that... was fucking awesome.' Krieger partially belched out as she rubbed her stomach. She then proceeded to drag her plate back and spoon some of the remaining sauce on to her plate and wiped some torn up naan bread around it before stuffing it in to her mouth.

'I think we can all agree that was amazing, thanks Mikey we're looking forward to what else you're gonna cook.' Ronson added. He eventually got up and gathered all the plates and dishes, stacking them so they were ready to go in the kitchens pot washer that had barely been used. The twins had come through and ate their meals in relative silence as they were both watching videos on their holowatches, letting an occasional chuckle out at some funny cat videos. They soon finished and said their thanks to Mikey for the food then went back to their posts on the bridge. They didn't need to really as Zeke could run the ship on his own but they always needed to be on standby should anything happen.

Space travel was never an easy thing. It was boring and pretty tedious. This was a relatively short journey to Pacifica from New Edo however longer journeys especially on commercial ships warranted a stint in stasis for the passengers just to make the trip shorter. But the only cryo-stasis pods on board the Osiris were the emergency escape pods and no specially fitted ones just for travel. Krieger and Ronson didn't like stasis anyway not since their mishap with Bishop so they purposely never took jobs that would take forever to travel to or couldn't make good use of the interdimensional travel gates; they'd put up with being bored for a little while.

'We have approximately thirty minutes before we exit the Nova 5 gate, please perform your landing checks then return to the bridge ASAP.'

Zeke's smooth voice sounded out over the ships speaker system. The crew instantly went to work checking that everything was still in place and wouldn't come loose during landing. Eventually everyone came to the bridge and sat themselves down ready for entry in to Pacifica's atmosphere, not before exiting the Nova 5 gate. Michael wasn't a huge fan of being on a ship that was exiting an interdimensional gate, it felt like you were in a really fast elevator coming to a stop where it made your stomach feel like it was bobbing up and down inside you; except this felt like your stomach was full of heavy rocks and it was trying to exit through your mouth hole and arsehole at the same time. Not a pleasant experience. It soon passed, then it went to feeling like you were landing in a commercial aircraft.

'Wow, I've never been to Pacifica before.' Michael mused as he watched the main cargo harbour of Pacifica's main city Belvedere come in to view. The waters of the harbour were immaculate and glistened in the late evening setting sun. The city lights of Belvedere began to illuminate the impending darkness, spilling up the grand and tall buildings and on to the streets.

The Osiris landed in the off-world cargo bay in a space specially reserved for them by Conner. Krieger beamed at this fact as it meant that they were close to getting to the Grosvenor; Conner's fancy as hell hotel where his daughters party would be held and also where the crew would be staying. The Grosvenor was a hotel of complete fantasy and elegance and the crew of the Osiris were going to savour their stay here even though they were working. Ronson told everybody to never mind the hotel itself but apparently the bar was the stuff of legends. The crew disembarked the Osiris carrying just a few belongings with them in small suitcases. All they had to do now was pass through planet security and state their business to the local authorities. They all steadily approached the off-world ship dock exit

'Captain Cassandra Krieger of the Osiris. We're here at the request of Byron Conner.' She stated as she stood front and centre, her audience being half a dozen armed police officers. They looked her up and down noticing the twin shoulder holster containing her guns and the black katana positioned on her left hip. One or two of the officers had sighed at the mention of Byron Conner; the guy practically ran the planet and pretty much the police force too meaning that those under his personal employ were damn near untouchable and one of the guards even looked slightly shocked at Krieger stood before him; obviously knowing who she was. Paired with the fact that the galaxy wide law of people being able to carry weapons corresponding to their home planet with a valid licence, the police officers figured something was going to go down.

The crew still had to register as visitors to the planet which was a fairly simple process. Just a quick DNA fingerprint scan from them all, a quick pat down for things that may not be licensed and a bag search and they were on their way somewhat to the chagrin of the guards who knew damn well they were letting mercenaries out in to the city. They couldn't do anything about it, not when Conner was the one who brought them here.

'Right lets get to this damn hotel then.' Ronson huffed as they finally left security. He fiddled around with his holowatch for a moment then alerted everyone that a shuttle would be along in a few minutes to take them to the Grosvenor. The crew stood at the side of the road clutching on to their bags and suitcases as they watched the people of Belvedere walk on by to their evening activities. Pacifica was an incredibly rich and vibrant planet and Belvedere was where the cream of the elite crop resided. If you didn't have tens of millions of credits in your bank account or an important high flying job then you couldn't live here. The people out on the streets instantly recognised the crew as outsiders and glared as they walked past the smoking and cursing group looking dishevelled and scruffy with their guns and swords on show. They would glare for a few moments then hurriedly walk on and give the crew a wide birth as if they had some sort of infectious disease. The people of Belvedere were always clad in the finest designer gear, many of Earths designers who also came out to the new galaxy had set up shop there; the city itself being almost like an amalgamation of every rich shopping district back on Earth. Everybody looked smart and stylish. The crew of the Osiris just looked like reprobates, the faces of the staring locals showing their disgust and slight fear of the outsiders.

The crew didn't care either way. They had a job to do and were getting paid mega money to do it. The shuttle eventually turned up and took the crew to the Grosvenor just a short ride away.

'Hi. We have rooms booked. Under Captain Krieger and the Osiris crew.' Krieger boomed at the staff behind the marble and gold reception desk on the ground floor of the hotel. The staff consisted of two attractive young women and a handsome young bloke dressed in possibly one of the finest uniforms Krieger had ever seen. They all quickly glanced at her before giving off a simultaneous condescending eye-roll, obviously not happy at the off-world filth that had just walked in.

'And who made this reservation exactly?' One of the receptionists asked sarcastically. She was blonde, probably in her twenties and absolutely stank of some stupidly expensive perfume that was practically burning Krieger's nostrils.

'Well if you just be a doll and look at your little holoscreen there you'll see the reservation was made by your boss Mister Byron Conner.' Krieger put on her most sickeningly sweet voice on paired with a smile that was bordering on dangerous. The receptionists face soon changed, nearly turning grotesque after confirming this fact. Little did Krieger know there was actually a note along with the reservation.

'Special security under my employ for tomorrow's event. DO NOT ANGER THE CAPTAIN. BC.'

'Ah yes. Ms. Krieger' The receptionist changed her tune quickly upon reading this note. 'Mr. Conner has reserved our biggest and best sui...'

'Captain... Captain Krieger.'

'Ah I apologise, Captain Krieger.' The receptionist breathed heavily, only now just properly noticing that the woman in front of her had two guns in a shoulder holster and a huge katana hanging from her hip; which Krieger instinctively and habitually had her left hand resting on over the kashira of her sword. 'Yes Mr Conner has put you in the hotels best suite on the fifty-third floor, its actually just a few floors below his own personal floors.'

'Isn't that just delightful!' Krieger stated sardonically. 'And how convenient! I'm meeting with Mr Conner tomorrow morning.'

The receptionist didn't really know how to reply. So she just kept her mouth shut whilst the typed away on her holoboard. Her colleagues were trying to make themselves look unknown but Krieger knew from their looks along with them repeatedly looking down at their holoscreens then back to her that they were obviously looking her up on the net. She chuckled internally before turning back to the young woman dealing with her.

'Okay so if everybody would please sync their holowatches on the panel here, it will give you access to the suite.' The receptionist gestured to the data panel just in front of her. Krieger went first hovering her holowatch above it, waiting for a beeping noise signifying it had synced. 'And if you Captain can present a credit account for the security deposit.'

'Of course your boss doesn't trust us that much to waive that shit.' Krieger mumbled. Sure they were getting the suite as part of the job but Conner was watching his back with the crew in case of rockstar behaviour or running out after a huge room service bill. She rested her index finger on the reader on the counter and waited for yet another beep signifying it was confirmed. The receptionist blinked in surprise at what popped up on her screen; Captain Cassandra Krieger: Rhodium Level Account.

Michael poked his head round just to see what was going on and noticed that the receptionist looked like she was about to throw up.

'Chris what's wrong with her?' Michael whispered to his Vice Captain. 'She gonna barf or something?'

'She's just found out that Cas has a Rhodium class bank account.'

Michael wanted to throw up himself after hearing that. Nobody had a Rhodium level bank account unless you had at least several hundreds of millions of credits in it. He only had an Indium level account which was the lowest of the low. He was lucky he even had a bank account to begin with. Krieger turned back to face them with the sternest of faces.

'What. I've been thrifty.'

A few minutes later and the rest of the crew had synced their holowatches with the suite door code.

'Okay so...' Krieger trailed off as she squinted to look at the girls nametag pinned to her left lapel. 'Christina. Be a sweetheart and call somebody to take our luggage to our room would you please? We're gonna hit the bar now. Thaaanks.'

Krieger left her with a sickeningly faux smile. The girl stood from her desk and signalled to a nearby porter who dragged over a large bell cart and proceeded to load it up with everyone's cases and belongings ready to take to the suite. The crew eventually made their way through to the hotels bar on the ground floor that was upon even just a quick glance, incredibly well stocked. The hotel itself seemed pretty quiet though with only some rooms being booked out for those attending Conner's daughters party tomorrow evening. Conner's idea was that if he only had the party's guests stopping at the hotel and denied any other bookings he may be able to reduce any dodgy people staying there. Ronson had requested Conner's P.A. send through blueprints of the hotel along with a list of all guests who were to be attending and various other bits of information that may be of use. That could wait till tomorrow though as the crew were currently getting shit-faced in the hotel bar, earning them some pretty stern looks for some of the other hotel patrons; most of whom were guests at tomorrow's party and had flown in earlier.

Everybody was winding down after their trip by consuming a large amount of alcohol, but with the twins and Justin being the voice of reason and probably the more sensible people of the group they managed to usher everyone else upstairs to the suite as they had a fairly busy day tomorrow. Krieger and Ronson had a meeting with Conner at ten in the morning plus the others had stuff to prepare like suits, dresses and weapons for the job that night as well as go over their plan. Zeke however was tasked with going through the extensive guest list, cross checking everyone with any database he could find to hopefully get more information on them and if they were a potential undercover threat. Zeke also had a list of staff who would be working at the party to go through also.

The twins made sure that Krieger and Ronson were definitely tucked up in bed. The somewhat drunken pair clung on to each other for support as they wandered in to what would be the master bedroom. Michael noticed this and quickly asked Justin some questions before he retired to bed.

'Is that a thing? Like, those two sleep together?' Michael quizzed the Doctor who just nodded.

'Well not 'sleep together, sleep together'" Justin finger quoted. "Whenever we're off planet and not stopping on board the Osiris those two always share a room. They're stupid close to each other. Seriously in all the time I've known them I've never seen them apart for any lengthy amount of time it's like they get separation anxiety when they're not together.'

'PTSD I assume?' Michael said. He knew what it was like, not from personal experience but from some of his old EMA buddies.

'Something like that. Mental health isn't really my speciality but they went through some nasty shit together under cryosleep without knowing any of it. Waking up physically a different person is bound to have an effect on you y'know?' Justin stated.

'I suppose so.'

'Hey if it's anything, they both used to be stand up respectable soldiers. Y'know they actually took it seriously. After the whole Bishop thing they just said fuck it to everything, they do whatever the hell they want now, no need to repress their individuality or personalities.'

'That's how it should be though.' Michael mused. 'Nobody should have to change how they are for some social ideal.'

'And wouldn't the universe be more interesting if everybody could be who they truly are.' Justin grinned. 'Go get some sleep man we got a busy day tomorrow.'

'Yeah, goodnight Justin.'

Michael made his way through the massive suite in to a bedroom that he was allocated, saying goodnight to the others who were still milling about. His small suitcase had been taken in to the room and placed at the side of the door. Retrieving a small washbag he had in his case he began his night-time routine of washing his face and brushing his teeth before stripping down to his underwear and climbing in to the huge emperor size bed, feeling the chill of the high thread count cotton sheets against his skin. It sent him to sleep straight away.

Michael woke up the next morning relatively early considering what time he actually went to sleep. It was just a little before nine and it sounded like the others were awake too what with the loud chatting and laughing he could hear from somewhere else in the suite. He groggily slid out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and shoved his feet in to a pair of complimentary slippers courtesy of the hotel before readjusting his boxers and making his way out. The noises were coming from the balcony that lead out from the main living area of the suite through some large sliding doors. He prepared himself from the onslaught of the morning sun that was already beating down, shielding his eyes from the glare as he sat himself down at the patio table next to Devin. The twins were tucking in to some various fruits laid out before them as everyone else picked at the other breakfast items laid out on the table. Krieger was slouched down in her chair opposite Michael with her katana propped up against the table, wearing her comedy sized sunglasses and hotel bathrobe, trying to navigate her mouth round a stick of celery protruding from what was obviously a Bloody Mary.

'FUCKING ROOM SERVICE YEEEEEESSSSS!' A voice shouted out. Ronson had finally showed up for breakfast, breezing round the table to where Krieger was and giving her a bizarre hug round the neck as she carried on attempting to drink her Bloody Mary. He parked himself beside her and dove in to whatever was in front of him. Krieger had eventually decided to try and cram some butter smothered toast in her mouth as well as some bacon and sausages that were in a heated tray. Ronson was busy helping himself to some fresh orange juice and some toast smothered in raspberry jam.

'So what's the plan then boss?' Tony asked. He was sat next to Justin who was reading the morning news report on his holowatch as he slowly chewed through his scrambled eggs on wholewheat toast. Tony himself shovelled more fruit salad in to his bowl as he waited for a reply from Krieger.

'We need to prep as much as we can for tonight. Chris and I are meeting Conner in just over an hour so we'll get more details off him, but in the meantime I want you lot to go over our weapons detail and find some suitable attire for this stupid brats party.'

Krieger downed the rest of her Bloody Mary as if it was a signal for Ronson to carry on for her. She had only just noticed there were sweet waffles and maple syrup within arm's reach so he could talk for a bit.

'Conner has given us the details of a nearby suit hire place if any of you guys if you haven't got a suit handy. Just go down, get fitted and the hire charge will be sent to Conner. Fay, Jess, you two have something to wear yeah?'

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The twins nodded. Michael payed attention as they both spoke.

'Faye's lending me her dress.'

'And Jess is lending me her dress.'

The rest of the crew slowly looked at each other as if the twins were pulling their legs. They both wore the same clothes all the time and they were both the exact same size so what difference would there be?

'Yeah Jess' dress fits me better.'

'And Faye's dress fits me better.'

Michael had now figured that Jess was sat on the left and Faye was sat on the right, both had different hair partings again this morning; left for Jess and right for Faye. He internally groaned at knowing that telling the two apart was going to be difficult, so he tried to push that out of his mind and carried on listening to Ronson.

'Well get more info off Conner then we'll relay it back to you. Zeke's been going through the guest list and staff roster so if he finds anything odd we'll know. He's also monitoring the hotels CCTV which will be a big help'

'The whole point of tonight is for us to be as inconspicuous as possible as if we are actual party guests. Listen in to some conversations, try get some info out of the others guests in case any of them know anything or even slip up and to generally protect the important people if anything happens. Remember the OWLF have been going after Conner and his businesses pretty viciously, there's no reason why they wouldn't attack tonight especially with his family and this many VIP's in attendance.' Krieger added. She munched on a syrup slathered waffle.

'Conner has however stated that he wants absolutely no weapons on show.' Ronson continued. Krieger let out a mammoth groan.

'I hate not being without my USP's,' She whinged through her toast. 'It goes against the Armament Laws but it's a good idea if we wanna flush out any dickheads. They'd maybe think twice if they saw any of us open carry, not having anything on show might tempt them to make a move.'

'Cas you don't have your guns on you now.' Justin said to her. She simply looked at him then opened her bathrobe revealing the black shirt she had slept in and the double shoulder holster she always wore firmly strapped to her holding her beloved .45's. She wrapped the robe back around her and carried on chewing her waffle. 'Well that answered my question.' Justin thought.

Tony blotted his lips with a napkin signifying he was finished breakfast and gradually rose from his seat.

'I'll go order us a shuttle then, I definitely need a suit for tonight I left mine at home after I last had it dry cleaned. Who else is coming?'

'I need a suit.' Said Michael. 'I don't actually own one to begin with.'

'I'll need one too. I've bulked up quite a bit recently so I'll probably not fit in the one I have.' Justin raised his hand. Everybody looked at Ronson who shook his head no as he already had one aboard the Osiris then they looked at Devin.

'I already have one with me but I'll tag along anyway.' Devin replied. 'I wouldn't mind the ride out.'

'Sweet.' Said Tony. 'I'll get the shuttle for ten. Faye, Jess, you two coming with?'

'No.' The twins replied in unison. Jess took the lead from there. 'We can go back to the ship and pick up anything you guys need. Just give us a list and we'll take care of it.'

Everyone nodded in agreement. After demolishing whatever breakfast food was left on the table, the crew went their separate ways, getting ready for the day then heading out to do whatever they had planned. Krieger and Ronson had cleaned up and changed; Krieger putting a little make up on her pale face and Ronson styling his hair how he liked it. They dressed as they normally would; Krieger in her usual form fitting black clothing and Ronson dressed comfortably in jeans and a fitted t-shirt. Neither of them were tarting themselves up to meet Conner, they were doing that later for this stupid party. Krieger arranged her shoulder holsters and slung her sword from her left hip. Ronson had brought his own sword this time, hanging it on his left hip but taking the time to make sure his inner pants holster was in the correct placement for his Sig Sauer P220; the handle and receiver just slightly visible showing some elaborate engraving and custom grip.

As everyone else had left, Krieger and Ronson made their way out in to the hallway where they were greeted by a rather brawny looking woman in a suit, maybe around five foot six but twice as bulky as Krieger.

'Mr. Conner has sent me to get you. Follow me please.'

Krieger and Ronson turned to each other then shrugged their shoulders. They followed the woman down the hallway then off in to a private elevator that could only be accessed with certain coding on a holowatch which this woman obviously had. A short quiet ride up in the elevator led out in to a small room that contained a small desk, a few machines with holomonitors and a full body scanner. There was also yet another guard sat behind the desk who instructed Ronson and Krieger to deposit their weapons on the desk for a visual check then to pass individually through the scanner after laying a finger on the DNA fingerprint reader. Ronson went first. The scanner machine started beeping instantly to which the male and female guards inspected the full body scan that popped up on the holoscreen next to his DNA profile which showed his identification profile.

'78% NANOMACHINE CYBERNETIC. REGISTERED VICE CAPTAIN OF OSIRIS COMPANY. NEW EDO RESIDENT. ARMED.'

That was the too long, didn't read version. Underneath was Ronson's full identification record which pretty much listed everything from where he last checked in to using a fingerprint scanner along with medical history and any other details such as arrests.

The guards were told what to expect with these two. And knowing that their boss had requested there be no weapons on show at the party tonight, he didn't say if they were to see him without them today. And wanting to avoid any potential lawsuit over the Armament Law they gave him his sword and gun back. Ronson quickly replaced everything as he waited for Krieger to pass through. She really didn't like being without her weapons if she could help it, sometimes she even slept with her holsters still on and her sword propped up beside her bed.

She begrudgingly removed her holster and sword and dumped them in front of the guard at the desk. The woman stood behind the desk waiting for Krieger's scan to appear on screen. She stepped in to the scanner and waited for it to start making a horrible noise.

'82% NANOMACHINE CYBERNETIC. REGISTERED CAPTAIN OF OSIRIS COMPANY. NEW EDO RESIDENT. ARMED.'

Krieger was ever so slightly higher on the cyberized scale than Ronson. The scan showing that most of her insides had been converted to a much more stronger and resilient material than flesh; nearly on the same scale as Ronson but her skeletal and skin structure was just a touch more denser. She stepped out of the machine and quickly took her weapons back, strapping them in to place with a quick precision. The female guard wandered to the other end of the room and opened a door in to yet another elevator which they rode only a floor up. They were now in Conner's private quarters. The woman ushered them through in to a rather grand but extremely modern kitchen where they saw Byron Conner himself sat at a shiny glass dining table reading an actual newspaper as he sipped at a cup of coffee.

'Mr. Conner. Captain Krieger and Vice-Captain Ronson to see you sir.' The woman said to her boss. She retreated behind him and stood firmly with her hands behind her back.

'Thank you Margie. Please, take a seat.' Conner gestured for the duo to sit opposite him. They both complied. As if from out of nowhere, a maid appeared and placed two cups in front of them along with a cream jug and a sugar bowl and started pouring coffee for them. She left as quickly as she came leaving Krieger and Ronson a bit startled wondering where the hell she came from. Conner neatly folded his paper and laid it down on the table.

'Thank you for coming. I wanted to go over the schedule for tonight along with any other details that you may require.' Conner spoke. He sounded stern, but tired.

'Well we've already got a crew member working on your guest list and staff roster, trying to cross reference with various sources and records if they have any affiliation with the OWLF. We're also monitoring your CCTV system in real time just in case.' Krieger replied. She sipped the coffee slowly, it was actually really good coffee too so she was going to savour it.

'Good start. I also want you to work in conjunction with the remaining security team I have. You've already met Margie she's one of my trusted personal body guards.'

Krieger and Ronson both leaned to the side and gave Margie a quick grin and wave before returning back to a normal position to try and look somewhat serious.

'I only have a total of four personal guards left after the last attack, these are people that have been with me for years so I know I can...'

Conner trailed off as a shrill scream of "DADDYYYY!" rand out through the kitchen. It was the blonde haired daughter who come flying through quicker than shit through a goose.

'DADDY! Mom says I can't go out on my own today I wanted to go shopping for a new dress because I don't like the one I got for tonight and I hate it and I want another one and I need to buy new shoes that match and Kelly Sissons is such a bitch because she told everyone that I'd look...'

The girl who had just blurted a whole bunch of nonsense with barely a breath was soon shushed by her father.

'Your mom's right you can't go out on your own, you know why.'

The girl's face contorted as she was on the verge of a crying tantrum. Her skin started turning red and her eyes started welling up. Her face soon changed as she heard footsteps approaching behind her. Krieger and Ronson leant to the side again to see a tall, blonde haired man in a black suit come and stand beside Margie and rest his hands behind his back. Krieger and Ronson both made slight "oohs" at the man, returning upright again as they noticed the daughter scowl at them for their action then hurriedly try and regain her composure.

'Well can I go out if I take Erik with me? I've been out before recently with one of the other guards. Can I?' The daughter asked her father.

'I don't see why not. You can go with Margie though, Erik has some work to do today for your party later.'

The daughter made yet another face at the answer she was given.

Krieger and Ronson watched the two guards roll their eyes slightly at the spoilt daughter. Erik looked to sigh slightly as she had requested he go with her on her shopping trip and Margie also groaned as she had been the one tasked with the job instead. The duo knew there was something going on there that the guards obviously couldn't make known at that time. Krieger and Ronson being as good as they were operating their bodies as they should to appear normal but were actually having a private conversation using their neuralmod coms link. They had plenty of practice talking normally to others but talking to each other through the neuralmod. It wasn't easy for most people to multi task like that, but then again Krieger and Ronson weren't most people.

'Fifty creds says he's straight.' Krieger sounded out through the com link.

'Fifty creds says he's gay.' Ronson retaliated.

'You're on mate. You're not winning this one like last time.'

'I so will. He'll give me his number first just you watch.'

'Dream on. What's this spoilt bitch's name anyway I forgot already?'

'Tiffany? Tanya? Tamara? I dunno it's a dumb T name whatever it is, she's annoying the fuck out of me.'

'You and me both dude. She fancies that Erik summat rotten though.'

'Girl at this point I don't blame her. That's a good looking man right there.'

'So that's pretty much it for this evening. I'll have my P.A. send you the finalised schedule for tonight A.S.A.P.' Conner said to the pair. They stood from their seats and finished off the rest of their delicious coffee.

'Daddy are these the weirdos you hired for my party? They don't look very professional.'

'Wow, blunt force trauma girlie.' Krieger thought. The arsehole in her had to follow up with something sarcastic and witty.

'Oh believe me we're very professional.' Krieger stated as she laid her left hand on the kashira of her sword and stared directly at the daughter. 'If I can participate in the Convict Chase every year and come out alive and myself and my crew can handle incredibly difficult contract killings and bounties then we can handle a little old potentially dangerous birthday party.' Krieger laid on a condescending tone at the end of her sentence. With a quick glance at Margie and Erik, she noticed slight grins appearing on their faces, they nodded at each other just before Erik began leading the way out. The young girl however stood with her mouth slightly agape, not knowing what to say.

'We'll see you later. Thank you for your time.' Ronson added. He followed Erik with Krieger bringing up the rear. She could hear Conner telling his daughter off in a serious whisper, the reflection of him grabbing her arm appeared in the shiny mirror chrome of the kitchen cabinets as she walked past.

'Do not make those two angry, especially her okay Tammy she's dangerous? There's nobody else I can get at this short notice that can do this job. You're lucky this party is still happening.'

'Yes daddy.'

Krieger rolled her eyes as she stepped back in to the elevator with Ronson and the bodyguard Erik. Hopefully he could shed some light on the whole situation. Conner was genuinely worried about something, especially after what he just told his daughter. There was something going on and she was going to find out.

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