I go back to Angel's place.

Night falls on you after dinner, and there is still no sign of Scarlet. You trusted her by herself, but that trust chipped away as you, Angel, and the rest of the children settled in for the remainder of the night. You told Angel that Scarlet was simply securing a good name for the ARS and that since you weren’t a complete member of the Syndicate, there was no reason for you to linger.

Angel stuck around for a little bit longer, but he seemed much more interested in talking to you, so you did. You got the notion that Angel was everything Scarlet had said– he bullshits a lot to you but had enough charisma to himself that you had difficulty finding where the lies were sometimes. After 20 or so minutes, he offers you a drink. The idea wasn’t terrible, but under pressure from Scarlet, you opt not to put anything in your system that could hinder you. Unfortunately, it seemed Angel wouldn’t say “no” for an answer.

“Now, you seem like someone who has no time for himself. I have no doubt Amara runs you like dogs and Scarlet…Well, I know she can be a handful. I’ve worked with her many times before, you see? And as a man, I know what fatigue looks like. I see you and thought I was looking into a mirror!”

Angel had no bags under his eyes, and his smile was so bright it was like seeing snow beneath the midday sun. You squinted, shaking him off with a wave of your hand, but then he became deathly serious. “Drink with me now, or I’ll make sure Amara puts a bounty on your head when your contract ends.”

“Alright,” you shoot your hands out. “I’m not much of a drinker, so I don’t want to exert myself with too much.”

Angel is baffled by your response. “You’re currently living at Tiny’s Tavern and are a lightweight?”

You’re alarmed to learn that Angel knows where you are living. “Tiny’s Tavern isn’t just a bar, you know?”

He muses smugly, his lips curled in pleasure. “I know that, but I know you drink. I have little eyes everywhere, good sir. Would you like to know how Delilah is doing?” He chuckles, but you can’t tell if he’s teasing you. It seems genuine.

“She’s a big a girl,” you say, hoping your face hasn’t flared up as much as it feels like it has. “I trust she’s gone to do better things with herself. She deserved better than that shithole anyway.”

“Shithole!?” He exclaimed. “That place is a prime example of underground connections!”

You shrug, indifferent to his comments. “I suppose I have a higher taste then.”

Angel then barks with laughter, slapping his knee with such **** it even makes some of the kids in the room look over. “You’re right. Tiny’s Tavern isn’t the greatest example of networks, but you really wouldn’t suspect it to be such a hub of trouble, would you?”

“No,” you say. “I wouldn’t have. But, at the same time– does anyone suspect anything like that to be operating out of here?”

Angel’s sly expression softens slightly. “I think this criminal lifestyle is about to die before we do. Give it a few more years before the new American governments expand, or the Japanese decide California isn’t enough…Bah! Politics is a boring subject, though. Isn’t it? How did you get roped up in this business.”

“Eh,” suddenly, the drink in your hands seems more inviting. “One thing led to another. I felt cool and thought I was badass for doing it, but it’s led me so far from home I don’t even know if I could settle down and stick to one place. To some degree, I think it’s actually a scary thought to me.”

Angel smiles when you take the first sip of your drink. You find the flavor to be repulsive, but you finish it after a few more minutes of conversing with him. When Angel turns in for the night, you’ve got yourself into a hard buzz. You filtered out of the chambers with a stumble, sweating and dizzy. In the moonlight, nothing looks the same.

In the back of your mind, you remembered when you told Scarlet she could depend on you for support if anything ever happened to her. Now you were rushing out in the snow in the dark, sloppy with your gear around you and with a prayer, hoping you were at least heading in the right direction.

Whether by luck or not, you stumble over the exact steps you and Scarlet left earlier that day and find the ranch house. It’s as you remembered it, but of course, in the dark.

There aren’t any lights outside, but what surprises you the most is that you’re not stopped when you get close. No one is posted out as an acting guard. You hesitated at the threshold, wondering if you should call out. A strong sense of Deja vu comes to you on your first time running into Scarlet.