SPPA Chronicles (Sarre & Nix)

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This marked the third day in a row that Xyne was awake during the day, and given the little sleep and complete upheaval of his normal schedule he was understandably grouchy. Cass had passed along new orders just after sunrise, and didn't seem very pleased with them either. Honestly, he really didn't understand why he had to be the one to message Katelyn.

It was simple, the text he sent. 'New orders, You are assigned with me and Baker until the offices are rebuilt, call Cass. We'll meet you at Le-sha's in the Neutral District.'

Le-sha's was a small place tucked away in the corner of the Air Coven's territory. Simple sandwiches, and the best soups in the city. After Xyne had mentioned it and Eleanor said she had never been, which was borderline appalling, he decided that was an excellent place for them to meet.
 
She received the message with a lazy sigh. Her phone was always silent, but it was always close enough to wake her. When she was sleeping, its default position was tucked under the side of the pillow.

It was bright out - either mid-morning or early-afternoon. Habit kept her more awake in the dark. If it had been the commander, she would have outright ignored it, but it was Xyne - far less irritating - so she crawled out from under the hideous green-patterned blankets she found herself under.

She called Cass on the way home. Judging by the lack of crowd on the streets, she judged it to me around lunchtime. Made sense.

"Hey, I got Xyne's message," she said, hoping she was loud enough to speak over the road noise. "It was vague. How well-armed do I need to be?"

"Armed enough to take out Avrost, and his lackeys. You're his new bodyguard. He's not supposed to know. Neither is Baker. Keep him busy in the North District, while Kira and Ash try to make peace or terrify one out of them."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Katelyn muttered, but she hung up nevertheless. Being a bodyguard, she could deal with. It was just a matter of being able to hide. Discreet manipulation was harder. She could act, and she could read, but it was easier to find opportunities instead of creating them. But she wasn't about to decline and give anyone - particularly the commander - the satisfaction of being able to assume she was dead weight.


Half an hour later, she was heading in through the doors of the little sandwich shop, freshly showered and with a clean change of clothes (Who needed a blow-dryer when you had a motorcycle?). She had a pistol in one pocket, and a pretty revolver tucked into a hidden pocket inside her coat - for backup and luck. There was a violin case slung over her shoulder.

She waved briefly to Xyne and Eleanor, who were sitting in the back corner like hooded medieval figures, but headed for the counter first, for coffee and breakfast.

"Ah, an SPPA musician?" the clerk chuckled.

Katelyn offered her a friendly smile. "Shh."
 
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It was the simple things that could turn a day around. An excellent turkey sandwich with literally the best potato soup in the city and Xyne was almost smiling. It was easier to forget that everything was chaos when you were enjoying something simple.

He returned Kat's wave, taking a drink of his warm tea and looking at Eleanor's coffee with tolerance. "Doesn't that ruin the taste of the food?" Honestly, he really wasn't in any hurry to go wandering around the Southern District again. Even if Kira, Ash and Eleanor were good at keeping the mood up. Well, more Kira and Eleanor.
 
"Only for you," Katelyn said, sitting down beside Xyne and taking a long draught of her own coffee. She'd asked them to put ice in it, so it was cold, but weaker. "You two look surprisingly comfortable wearing those eye bags." She put the case on the floor, letting the bridge area lean up against her leg. It landed with a louder thunk than a violin would have. "I'm pretty much part-time at this point, and loving it."

"That's not a violin is it?" Eleanor muttered.

"Of course not," Katelyn said.

"I heard that there were a lot of colours in the shifter district," Eleanor said, suddenly changing the topic. The new officer hadn't ordered much - just a small cup of tomato soup. She was almost done, and stirring away at the remaining red sludge - pretending to eat so she didn't have to wait. Xyne was happily wolfing away at his larger portions.

"It's the designers," Katelyn said, unwrapping half of her own sandwich. She'd been worried about being late. So far these two were taking their time. "If you're either good with your eyes or your hand," she said, "you can find work there making custom clothing. How'd your lovely stroll along the river go?"
 
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Xyne mumbled something at Kat, that was most likely a smart comeback but it was muffled. He swallowed, wiped his mouth and answered. "We can't all look like we spent the week kicking back either." There wasn't any heat in it, more good natured teasing.

"Which time?" He didn't even wait for an answer before continuing. "The last time was a complete bust, nothing, not even scuff marks from the fight.. which I thought was really strange." He had mentioned it to the commander even, that there had been no sign of his fight in that alley. That alone was suspicious. "First time... there were a couple of tracks to the river, but that was it."

He finished the last bite of his food, and settled back in his chair. "So did Cass explain why you were assigned here? All she told us was because she said so and not to argue." But that was Cass, especially if she was getting pressured from others
 
"She decided it would be safest if you guys chased a bunch of possibly-boring leads up north," Katelyn said, subtly twisting the truth to hopefully achieve a desired effect. "I think it's the arm and the inexperience," she said. "Why I have to tag along? I have no idea. Maybe the Commander passed on the message that she wants me doing something. I've been lazy these last two days."

She munched on the steak sandwich. It was delicious. The coffee was good too.

"Oh, yeah!" she added, interrupting Eleanor, who had opened her mouth. "All the calls were anonymous. So that'll be fun. Maybe we should just go shopping."
 
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