Chapter 35

            Christmas morning comes, and Zoey feels a tiny bit better after having slept in until 10. She did feel bad that she didn’t return to the sanctuary until the pastor’s message was almost over, but she’s sure God understands how she feels better than everyone else does.

            “Merry Christmas,” she says as she enters the living room.

            “Merry Christmas,” her dad says as he gets up. “And good morning. You usually don’t sleep in like this.”

            “I know, I’m sorry.”

            “It’s okay,” he says. “We’ve all got a lot on our plates right now.”

            Her dad gives her a quick little hug, then she heads to the kitchen. Her mom’s already busy with preparing things for the Christmas dinner with the family later.

            “Merry Christmas,” Zoey says.

            “Merry Christmas,” her mom says as she glances over. “Please feed your cat, she’s been eyeing the turkey since I brought it out.”

            “Neeko,” Zoey giggles as she picks her cat up off the counter.

            Zoey sets Neeko down by her plate and again places cat food right on it. Neeko eats while Zoey gets herself breakfast.

            “Do you need any help in here?” Zoey asks while she stirs her hot cocoa.

            “The makizushi,” her mom says while checking the rice. “This should be good after it’s cooled. Finish your breakfast and we can start on the nori.”

            “Yes!” Zoey says with an excited clap. “I love Christmas futomaki.”

            Zoey eats her syrup-drenched waffles quickly and brings out the makisu, the special bamboo mat used for the preparation of the makizushi rolls. Her mother brings out the seaweed which will be the outer layer. Her mother brushes the seaweed with sesame seed oil before spreading it out on the mat.

            Futomaki translates literally to “thick roll”, so Zoey makes sure to get as much rice as she can to bring it to the two inch diameter. Her mother lightly seasons the rice with salt and a sprinkle of the sesame oil. Zoey and her mother then carefully slice carrots and cucumber into strips, and place them along the length of the seaweed. Her mother adds chunks of flaked tuna, and then the entire thing is rolled up tight.

            Her mother cuts the roll into halves, and then those halves into quarters, and then Zoey helps cut those quarters into eighths. The eighths are set into rows of four on a little square platter and sealed with Saran wrap to be stored in the fridge.

            At this same time in San Leandro, Simon helps cut store-bought lumpia and places them on a big platter. His mother then scoops some up and puts them into a wire basket for deep frying.

 

            Hours later, Zoey helps her parents get the food and gifts into the car. She quickly texts her cousins that they’re on the way. Zoey holds onto the tray of sushi while her parents secure the turkey in the backseat. The actual cooking of the turkey will happen at the Takagaki’s new home.

            Zoey’s dad closes the trunk and hops in the driver’s seat while mom is shotgun. The car pulls out of the driveway and heads down the street.

            Zoey’s phone buzzes with responses.

            Jeff: Dad’s picking up Gramps, he should be back just before you arrive

          “Jeff’s letting me know Grandpa Takagaki should be there to meet us,” she informs her parents. “Uncle Takagaki went to go get him.”

            “That’s great,” her mom says.

            Mrs. Mizaki is naturally very happy to hear her father, Grandfather Takagaki, will be joining them. Grandfather Takagaki has slowly shut himself off over the last few years, after losing his wife, Grandmother Takagaki. It’s been rough on the whole family, but especially Mrs. Mizaki, since she lost her own mother. She just wants her father to be part of the family again.

            The Mizaki Family arrives just as the Takagaki’s new car pulls into the driveway. Mr. Mizaki parks on the curb and Zoey looks to see Uncle Takagaki help Grandfather Takagaki with his things. Zoey and her mom excitedly open their car doors and hurry out.

            “Oto-san!” Zoey’s mom greets her father. “Merry Christmas!”

            “Ah, Hana-chan!” he replies, a soft smile growing on his stern face. “Meri Kurismas.”

            Father and daughter share a hug then Zoey’s mom hugs her brother.

            “Thanks for bringing him here,” she whispers to him.

            “Well, one of us had to,” he whispers back. “It’s Christmas, after all.”

            “Ojii-chan!” Zoey says as she gives Grandfather Takagaki a hug of her own.

            “Oh, Zoey Kana,” he says, including her middle name. “Meri Kurismas.”

            “Jii-chan,” Jeff says as he and Seth walk down the porch steps. “<Go on inside. We’ll help with the presents and things.>”

            Grandfather Takagaki looks at his grandsons with the same soft smile as he gives them pats on the shoulders. He and Uncle Takagaki walk into the house while Seth and Jeff help Zoey and her parents with the presents, the turkey, and the sushi.

            “Oto-san!” Aunt Takagaki greets as she walks out from the kitchen. “Merry Christmas.”

            “Meri Kurismas, Megan,” Grandfather Takagaki says as they hug.

            “I’ll make some tea if you’d like,” she offers.

            “No, that is fine, Megan,” he says. “Just some water will be fine.”

            “<I’ll get you the water, Dad,>” Zoey’s mom says as she brings the turkey with her to the kitchen.

            Aunt Takagaki follows Zoey’s mom into the kitchen while the fathers and grandchildren bring in the presents.

            “Oh, makizushi,” Grandfather says as he sees Zoey carrying the tray.

            “Yes, I helped mom make them,” Zoey smiles. “Enough for everyone now that you’re here, Ojii-chan.”

            “I look forward to it,” he smiles as she heads into the kitchen.

            “Mmm~, smells good!” Zoey says as she puts the sushi in the fridge.

            “Thank you,” Aunt Takagaki says. “That turkey looks great.”

            “Thank you,” Zoey’s mom says back. “Do you have room in the oven?”

            “Just barely,” Aunt Takagaki says. “Let me open it up.”

            Uncle Takagaki helps Grandfather Takagaki sit down in the arm chair while Zoey’s dad and her cousins put presents under the tree.

            “Okay, let’s get to presents while we wait on the turkey,” Zoey’s mom says.

            Everyone takes a seat somewhere in the living room, borrowing chairs from the dining room set so that the dads have places to sit. Zoey sits on the couch as close to Grandpa as possible while Seth and Jeff take care of handing out presents.

            “I’m going to assume Marina wrapped this one herself,” Seth says as he hands Zoey a gift with a lot of tape.

            “I keep telling her to have Karina or Chloe help, but she’s stubborn,” Zoey chuckles.

            “Oh yeah they did much better,” Jeff says as he brings the others over.

            Zoey giggles as she adds those gifts to her stack.

            “Perhaps you should open our gift first, though,” her mom says as she brings something out of her purse.

            “Wait, you had a surprise gift?” she asks as her mom hands it to her.

            “We figured you’d guess what it was before you ever opened it,” her dad says.

            Zoey looks the box over, then starts to get an idea. She quickly unwraps the box to reveal…

            “A smartphone?!” she shouts in excitement. “You guys got me one?”

            “Obviously,” her mom says. “We talked it over and decided that it was time you had one.”

            “Especially now that we’re going to be moving,” her dad says.

            Zoey excitedly opens the box to the smartphone and pulls it out.

            “Oh this looks great,” she says as she admires the sleek black rectangle. “Oh, but I’ll probably have to start over, huh?”

            “Nope,” her dad says. “The saleswoman assured me that the SIM cards are compatible between that model and your old phone.”

            Zoey gasps excitedly as she pulls out her cellular phone. She looks around and finds where the SIM card in the cell phone is, and pulls it out. She finds it on the smartphone and pulls that one out, to then trade them. She puts away her old phone and turns on the new one.

            “It’s asking for a PIN number password,” she says.

            “Use the last four numbers of your phone number,” her dad tells her.

            Zoey types those in and it is accepted.

            “Yes!” she says as she sees all the available features. “Camera~!”

            Zoey taps around and activates the front-facing camera. She poses with her friends’ gifts in her first-ever selfie! She excitedly sends the picture to all her friends. Then she actually opens her friend’s gifts to see what they are.

            From Marina, the sloppy wrapping job actually did well in disguising the item. Zoey didn’t realize it was a novelty drinking cup with cat paws all over it. And looking at it, it looks to be one of those special insulated ones with the air gap, so that cold beverages stay colder while allowing you to hold the cup when drinking hot beverages.

            Chloe loves crafting things herself, so this year’s gift is an adorable bean bag cat head with big eyes, yarn whiskers and a button nose. Zoey enjoys the soft kush-kush sound the beads inside make as she bounces the bean bag in her hand.

            Alicia’s gift is a pair of red translucent cat’s eye sunglasses. Karina’s gift is a set of choker necklaces, in white, black and red. Zoey puts the glasses and red choker on and quickly takes another selfie to send to her friends.

            “Did you really ask for more of those necklaces?” her mom asks.

            “Ugh, Mom,” Zoey grumbles as she rolls her eyes. “They’re not a bad thing, okay? Even if they are called, ‘chokers.’”

            “Is that all of the presents?” Uncle Takagaki asks as both he and Zoey’s dad are trying on their new Oakland Raiders jerseys.

            “One more,” Jeff says as he goes back under the tree.

            “Oh,” Jeff says as he spots a name on the tag.

            Jeff looks at Zoey awkwardly as he brings the gift box over. She immediately recognizes it.

            “With everything going on,” she says as she, “I guess I forgot I still had it.”

            “What is it, Zoey Kana?” Grandfather asks as she takes the box in her hands.

            “This was Shaun’s Christmas present to me,” she says. “But… We just broke up, so I’m not sure what to do with it now.”

            “You broke up?” Grandfather says in surprise. “Your grandmother and I thought that would never happen.”

            “Neither did I,” Zoey says with a sad smile. “But life doesn’t always go the way you expect, right? Maybe Shaun and I aren’t meant to be.”

            “Wait, what did you get him?” Seth asks.

            “Oh, that’s right,” she says as she remembers now. “I had put together a scrapbook. It was stuff from our first date at the mall. I dunno, I guess I just wanted it to be like, part anniversary gift, too. Though, now I feel like an idiot for ever making it.”

            “Zoey, you’re not an idiot,” her mom says with a sympathetic tone. “You’re just a girl in love.”

            Zoey smiles softly as her mom comfortingly rests a hand on her shoulder.

            “What’re you going to do with his gift?” Aunt Takagaki asks.

            “I’m not sure,” Zoey says. “I guess it’d be a waste, depending on what he got me. Not even sure if it matters.”

            “Well, unwrap it and see what it is anyway,” her mom says.

            Zoey tears the gift paper off, and reveals a bottle of perfume.

            “Oh, well, that’s a nice gift,” Aunt Takagaki says.

            “It is, actually,” Zoey says. “Because this was the scent I wanted a couple months ago, but it wasn’t on sale, and then I missed out on it. And I was kinda sad about that. It smells nice, right?”

            Zoey lets her mother and aunt smell the sweet mix of cherry, strawberry and raspberry.

            “I guess Shaun found a way to get a bottle before they were all gone,” Zoey continues. “So he was paying attention when I thought he wasn’t.”

            Zoey stares at the glass bottle, its shiny silver spritzer nozzle and box it came in.

            “I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with this,” she says as she puts it back in the box. “I just don’t know.”

            Zoey’s mom puts another comforting hand on her shoulder while everyone sits quietly.

            “Hey, um,” Zoey says, wanting the silence to go away. “How’s the food doing?”

            “Oh, I suppose we should get back in there,” Aunt Takagaki says with an awkward laugh.

            Aunt Takagaki gets up and heads for the kitchen. Zoey’s mom gives her a comforting hug from the side before following after.

            “<Everything will be alright,>” Grandfather Takagaki says to Zoey.

            “<Thank you, Grandpa,>” she replies with a sad smile.

 

            Simon’s family finishes up their own gift opening and everyone takes inventory of what they got.

            Simon got: a new pair of slacks; some button-up shirts to go with them; a long sleeve of Butterfingers; a few packs from the newest expansion in his favorite trading card game, which he also opened to find some excellent cards; and perhaps the best gift of all, a $50 gift card! Simon’s brothers also got those, so the Michaels family coordinates a day to go shopping and use up the cards.

            Everyone puts their gifts away safely, and while Simon’s mother and aunt work in the kitchen, the rest of the family sit and watch television.

            “Oh, Scrooged is on again,” Simon’s dad says as he skims the cable guide.

            Mr. Michaels uses the remote to go to the channel playing the movie.

            “Oh look, Frank,” the Ghost of Christmas Present, who looks more like a tooth fairy than a ghost, says. “It’s a toaster!”

            She takes the big four-slot metal toaster and uppercuts Bill Murray!

            Everyone has a laugh as Bill Murray magically falls out of his brother’s apartment and into a frozen corridor under the streets of New York.

            “Okay, dinner should be ready in another ten minutes,” Simon’s mom says to everyone.

            “I’ll be right back,” Simon says as he gets up.

            “Going to the bathroom?” his mom asks.

            “No, I was gonna make a call, actually,” he says as he shows his phone.

            “Really? Who are you going to call?”

            “Cyndi,” he says nervously. “The girl from school you met after the concert.”

            “Oh,” his mom says in surprise. “Okay.”

            Simon hurries to the hallway and the back room, mostly to avoid the surprised eyes and curious smiles. He dials Cyndi’s number and waits as it rings.

            “Simon, hey,” Cyndi says when she picks up.

            “Hi, hey,” he says, a little nervous.

            “I didn’t expect you to call yet,” she says. “Are you done already?”

            “Well, we got through gifts, but there’s some time before dinner’s ready,” he says. “So uh, how was your Christmas morning?”

            “It was good,” she says. “I got a new jacket I might try out this week. How about you?”

            “Well, no jackets, but I got some nice dress clothes,” he says. “And a bunch of Butterfingers, actually. I could share some, if you want.”

            “Aw, that’s sweet of you,” Cyndi says. “But that’s okay, I’m not really a fan of Butterfingers.”

            “Oh, okay,” he says.

            Simon feels a little bad she turned him down, but at the same time, he gets to keep all his Butterfingers now.

            “So when did you want to hang out this week?” he asks.

            “I was thinking tomorrow, if that’s okay,” Cyndi says.

            “Yeah, sure,” he says. “What time were you thinking?”

            “Maybe the late morning,” she says. “Like, you can come by around 11, and we can go somewhere.”

            “Okay,” he says. “Where would we go, though?”

            “We can worry about that tomorrow,” she says. “See you then.”

            “Yeah, see you then.”

            The two hang up and Simon puts his phone away. He then returns from the back room and right into the dining room, where everyone is already waiting. He now has to face their excitedly and teasing smiles.

            “So you’re going to spend time with Cyndi tomorrow?” his mom asks.

            “Were you eavesdropping?”

            “No, but you didn’t close the door so we heard everything you said echo down the hall,” his dad says.

            “Oh… I’m so stupid…”

            “What is it?” Simon’s grandfather asks.

            “Simon just called his girlfriend,” his mom explains. “Ang kanyang kasintahan.”

            “Oh…!” his grandfather replies, now getting the same smile.

            Everyone has a little laugh and Simon picks up a plate and silverware. The entire family stands still to say grace.

            “Dear God, thank you for this day,” Simon’s dad says. “Thank you for this Christmas day, where we get to celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for us. Thank you for allowing the family being able to gather together, and for the food that we are about to eat. In your name we pray, amen.”

            “Amen,” everyone else responds.

            The family goes around the table buffet style to scoop up what they want to eat.

            “Bihon~,” Simon says as he scoops the noodles onto his plate.

            “Is that all you’re going to have?” his cousins tease.

            Simon looks at his plate and realizes it’s half full of noodles. He looks at the rest of the selection, and fills the other half of the plate with corn. The grandkids all have a little laugh as Simon finishes by getting his drink.

            “So what’s this Cyndi like?” his aunt asks.

            “She’s nice,” he says nervously.

            “And…?”

            “Well, y’know,” he shrugs. “She’s cute, slender, blonde, a little shorter than me.”

            “So she’s taller than Mom?” his brother Josh asks.

            “That’s not that hard, dude,” other brother James says.

            Everyone laughs, even their mother as she gives her sons a smirk that says “Oh you.”

            “So you’re like boyfriend and girlfriend?” his cousin Danielle asks.

            “Yeah,” he says. “I mean, we haven’t gone on a date yet, but it’s not like we’re not.”

            “Did you get her a gift?” his aunt asks.

            “No, we kinda became boyfriend-girlfriend a little too late for that,” he says. “But she didn’t bring it up or anything, so I don’t think she’s upset about it.”

            “Well, she might not be upset, but wouldn’t it be nice if you got her something?” his mom says.

            “It would,” he says, “but I don’t really know what she’d like to get as a gift.”

            “How is she your girlfriend but you don’t know what she likes?” Danielle asks.

            “It’s hard to explain,” he says.

            It really is, since he hasn’t told anyone but his dad about how he’s The Spektrum. But there might be a way to still talk about Cyndi without talking about that…

            “We met at school, in our Spektrum Fan Club. We just talked, and we both happened to like superhero stuff like in the comics, so we thought it was kinda cool it was real. Obviously it’s a little scary with everything else that happened, but she trusted The Spektrum would save the day.”

            “What’s going to happen now that he’s gone?” one of Simon’s uncles asks.

            “I don’t know,” Simon says. “I guess Reciprocity Inc. will do something to keep the school safe. If that’s possible.”

            “We’ll just have to pray things will be okay,” Simon’s mom says, to which the adults of the family agree.

            Simon nods, but he still worries, since he knows the truth about how Reciprocity Inc. behaves. But he also knows the truth about himself and The Spektrum, so that’s a relief.

 

            As agreed, Simon meets Cyndi at her house, and he arrives just minutes before 11 AM. She was eagerly waiting in her living room since about 10:45 so she excitedly hurries out the moment she sees him walk up.

            “Good morning,” she says as she trots down the walkway.

            “Good morning,” he repeats. “Is that the new jacket you mentioned?”

            “Yes, actually,” she smiles as she models it. “What do you think?”

            “I like it,” he says. “Looks warm, and cute.”

            “Thanks,” Cyndi smiles.

            “So did you think of where we’d go and hang out and stuff?” he asks.

            “Yes,” she chuckles. “Just follow me.”

            Cyndi turns back to her house and waves. Her mom waves from the window, so Simon somewhat awkwardly waves back before following Cyndi down the street.

            As Simon follows Cyndi, he starts wondering about getting her a late Christmas gift.

            I have that $50 gift card, he thinks, but have very little idea as to what Cyndi likes. We’re both on the nerdier side, but would she like the same things I like? Should I ask her about what she likes? No, that might give me away. But I might choose wrong and look like an idiot. And if I choose something rather generic, like a superhero t-shirt, I might come off like I’m not very creative.

            Simon worries himself with all these thoughts, but then actually looks at where they’re going.

            “Wait, are we still in the suburbs?” he asks.

            “You’ve never been this way?” she asks.

            “What do you mean? Where are we going?”

            “Look,” she says as they stop.

            “A fence?” he says as she points to the tall chainlink.

            “Look what’s beyond the fence,” she laughs.

            Simon looks and sees a familiar running track, football field and larger grass field.

            “Oh, it’s the high school. Wait, why did you bring us to the high school?”

            “Because we’re going to try and figure out who shot and killed The Spektrum,” she says.

            “Seriously? Cyndi, we’re not Batman and Robin or something. Not all superheroes are super detectives.”

            “Yes, but Clark Kent and Lois Lane are reporters,” Cyndi counters. “And sometimes reporters are investigative journalists. So we’re investigating.”

            Simon isn’t so sure about this, but Cyndi’s combination of big smile, wide open eyes and thumbs up makes him chuckle.

            “Okay, we’ll investigate,” he says. “But I don’t know how much we’ll find compared to what the police and Reciprocity Inc. didn’t.”

            “Actually, that’s our first real clue,” Cyndi says. “The police were kept back, remember? People from Reciprocity Inc. got here first and kept them out.”

            “Did Reciprocity not check back here?”

            “I don’t know,” she says, thinking back. “They left in such a hurry to go search for the shooter.”

            “Huh. So maybe they did miss something.”

            The two look around the base of the fence for any footprints or other things left behind. But they aren’t trained in things like forensics or tracking, like the people you see in crime dramas, so nothing is obvious.

            “This would be so much easier if I could Analyze,” Simon grumbles.

            “If you could analyze what?” Cyndi asks.

            “Oh, no, I meant, if I could be Code Yellow,” he says. “Obviously you noticed how the other Color Codes had abilities, right?”

            “Right,” Cyndi says. “Code Red had the special ability of ‘Overdrive’, to go extra super fast, and Code Blue had the Force Field.”

            “Code Yellow had his own special ability,” Simon says. “It ended up being called ‘Analyze’, where it was like my brain and eyes were on a different level. I could see things, calculate things, I’d be like a super computer. If Code Yellow was still active, I could just use him to look at everything and figure out where the shooter ran off to.”

            “Wow, that sounds really cool,” Cyndi says. “It really is too bad we don’t have Yellow right now.”

            “You’re telling me,” he chuckles.

            “Maybe there are more clues on the other side of the fence,” Cyndi says. “C’mon, help me up and over.”

            “What?” he says in surprise as Cyndi puts her hands on his shoulders.

            “Give me a boost,” she says as she brings a foot up.

            “Hold on,” he grumbles as he puts his hands together.

            She puts her foot in his hands and he helps her up to the top of the fence. She climbs up and over then hops down. Simon uses help from Code Silver to jump and grab the fence to climb up.

            “I wonder,” he says as he straddles the top. “Did he leave any evidence on this fence?”

            “Oh, good idea,” she says as he climbs down. “But wait, between how cold it’s been and not wanting to leave fingerprints, he might’ve worn gloves.”

            “Oh good point,” he says as he reaches the bottom. “Well this isn’t one of those ‘I told you so’ things, but I did have a feeling we, a couple of high school sophomores, would not be able to find much.”

            Cyndi sighs and grumbles, but accepts the same conclusion.

            “I guess this was a waste, then,” she says. “I just thought we’d get lucky and find something, y’know?”

            “It’s okay,” he says. “We can still go somewhere else.”

            “Go somewhere else?” she repeats. “You don’t seem that bothered that we didn’t find anything. Don’t you want to find the person who shot you?”

            “Isn’t it just Zita?” he says. “I would’ve figured she’d shoot me if Zorb was going to lose.”

            “But that would require multiple teleportation lights,” Cyndi says. “Wouldn’t it?”

            “Wait, really? There weren’t two lights?”

            “No,” Cyndi says. “I mean, I know you died, so you didn’t get to see it, but I’m pretty sure there was only one light. And, thinking about it, I feel like Zita would’ve run down to Zorb’s side, right? Like… Like I did for you.”

            The two blush and smile as they look each other in the eyes.

            “I guess you have a point, though,” Simon says, returning to himself. “If Zita was present, she wouldn’t need to shoot me in the back. She could just show up and shoot me. And, as crazy as it sounds, I’m pretty sure Zorb isn’t the kind of guy to have someone help him fight. He obviously will let people fight for him, just look at the ten henchmen he has. But when he fought me himself, it felt like he was going to win or lose on his own. Because again, wouldn’t he have had Zita nearby?”

            “What if that’s what Reciprocity is assuming?” Cyndi says. “They’re just waiting for Zorb and his people to return, but the shooter isn’t one of his people at all. We should make sure they’re not wasting their time!”

            “But how?” Simon asks. “I don’t know who Catgirl really is, so I can’t just get a message to her about it.”

            “Then just call Reciprocity themselves,” Cyndi counters. “What does Catgirl have to do with it?”

            “Well, she’s the closest member of the Power Surge to us,” he says. “She’d be the next one this shooter could target.”

            “Well, yeah. But then just call Reciprocity and they can warn everyone.”

            “Okay, okay.”

            Simon takes out his phone and goes through the call log. He doesn’t have to go far, he really only ever calls his parents on this phone and vice-versa. He scrolls past their numbers and Cyndi’s to find the “Unknown” number that goes to Reciprocity Inc. He presses the green phone button to call the number.

            The other line rings while he holds the phone to his ear. And rings. And rings. It’s never taken this long before.

            “We’re sorry,” a clearly automated voice says, “but this number is no longer available.”

            “Not this again,” Simon grumbles as he hangs up.

            “Not what again?” Cyndi asks.

            “The number is supposedly out of service,” he explains. “This is how it was when I tried calling them randomly before. Reciprocity Inc. has this secret phone number all to themselves, and they seem to choose when it’s active.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Yes, I’m sure. Here, you try calling.”

            He shows Cyndi the number and she dials it on her phone. She waits while the line rings, and even puts it on speaker for them both to hear.

            “We’re sorry,” the automated voice says again, “but this number is no longer available.”

            “Exactly what it told me,” Simon says.

            Cyndi hangs up and they both put their phones away. But then Cyndi’s phone rings almost immediately!

            “What do I do? What do I do?!” Cyndi asks in a panic.

            “Well, answer it!” Simon says, also a little panicked.

            Cyndi presses the green phone and picks up the call.

            “H-hello?” she asks the caller.

            “Who is this?” a woman asks Cyndi.

            Simon recognizes the voice as the woman who he talked to for Anonymous Inc. missions.

            Cyndi looks to him with an expression asking what to do. He motions circles with his hands to tell her to just keep going.

            “My name’s Cynthia,” she says. “I… I found a number on my friend’s phone and was curious about it. That’s why I called. Who is this?”

            “That doesn’t matter,” the Reciprocity agent says, sounding much sterner now. “Never call this number again, or we will find you.”

            The agent hangs up, and Cyndi takes a big gulp of nervousness.

            “Cyndi,” Simon says. “Cyndi?”

            He puts his hand on her shoulder and she snaps to attention.

            “Are you alright?” he asks.

            “Yeah, yeah,” she says, smoothing her hand on her pants. “Why wouldn’t I be? I only upset someone from a shadowy organization with mercenaries or whatever, right?”

            “I’m pretty sure that was just a threat to scare you,” he says. “Though, it’s not like you’re ever going to dial that number again, right?”

            “Noooo no no,” Cyndi says with a nervous laugh and a shake of her head. “I’ll even clear it from my call log.”

            Cyndi takes care of that while Simon looks around again.

            “The shooter could’ve gone in any direction,” he mutters. “It’s a needle in a haystack, even for professional investigators.”

            “So, I guess we should just call it quits then?” Cyndi says as she puts her phone away.

            “Yeah,” he says. “And just hope whoever this is doesn’t get a good shot at one of the others.”