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Ray tracked a blade of his ceiling fan as it danced around in circles. He was intrigued by the blades changing colour depending on its distance from the window, becoming light blue as it came closer to the source of light illuminating the room. He had forgotten to close the curtains before going to bed, but was too comfortable to move; and he was afraid he'd wake his girlfriend who was laying silently beside him in bed, desperately holding on to his arm like it was novelty sized stuffed animal. 
 
“Still awake, Ray?” she croaked yawning and whispering all at once. She rolled on her back and smiled at her boyfriend. 
 
“Did I wake you?” Ray sat up, intent on shutting the curtains. 
 
“Nightmares, Ray,” she held on to Ray's arm to stop him from getting up. “Could we... talk a bit?” 
 
Ray looked at the clock beside his bed. “It's two AM. Can it wait until morning?” Ray groaned. 
 
“Yes, I'm sorry,” she let go of Ray, and he stood up. Before he could make it to the window, his phone rang. 
 
* * * 
 
Freezing rain drummed constantly against the windscreen of Ray's car as it pulled out of the parking lot that the Franklinport highway was at rush hour. He had a headache and his knees felt sore, a good sign he hadn't had enough sleep. All he could think of was coffee and how quickly he could acquire it. Then the radio switched on at full volume, blaring heavy metal music. He glared at Laurence who laughed hysterically until Ray managed to switch it off. 
 
“What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously!” Ray took a deep breath and licked sweat off his lips. 
 
“Oh, just shoot me for trying to improve the mood, you're a real killjoy you know?” Laurence stretched and then rubbed her bloodshot eyes. “You're not the only one who got woken up at two AM to rush to the scene of a stolen car.” 
 
“Yeah, what's up with that?” Ray paused, focusing on a difficult left hand turn, “Why didn't Koler call the police when his car was stolen? I know from when I was with the force that they can track that down in less than an hour. Just punch in a license plate number and you can get a location.” 
 
“I think it had to do with his phone in the car,” Laurence replied. 
 
“Wait, how do you know his phone is in the car?” Ray laughed quietly. “I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have missed his excuse for pulling me out of bed at that god awful hour.” 
 
“He kept playing with an empty phone case.” Laurence began to draw a face in the moisture that had formed on the window. “ Most people don't have a cellphone case and no cellphone. Not to mention he called from a home-phone, which is under his wife's name. Judging from the fact the he felt the need to dress up for us, gel his hair and put on cologne, and way too much of it might I add, he's a guy who takes his image very seriously. Koler wouldn't have called with the house phone under his wife’s name if he had his phone. All facts considered, I would conclude that's really why he wants his car back as soon as possible and won't go to the police to do it.” 
 
“Am I the only one who's ever told you that it's scary that you picked up on those details?” Ray stopped the car in front of Mayar and Laurence's house. “You might want to check if you have an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” 
 
“OCD is when you have involuntary or unwelcome thoughts that cause uneasiness which leads to obsessions and compulsions.” Laurence noticed Ray already knew she was trying to defend herself and disagreed despite her coming excuse. “I'm just saying, I have the benefits and none of the negatives, which means I'm not OCD.” 
 
“Seriously? You do that all the time. It's exactly like an obsession or a compulsion.” Laurence placed her feet on Ray's cars dashboard and stuck out her tongue. He swatted her feet down and stepped out of the car. “You act like you're 12 sometimes.” 
 
“Still young at heart is all. Unlike you, granddaddy Ray,” Laurence replied stepping out of the car and following him inside. 
 
They asked Mayar if she could attempt and hack the police car tracking system to quicken the pace of the search. Mayar accepted, but soon found that, as easy as it was to hack the police system, hacking into the government satellites the police used for tracking cars proved to be extremely difficult. 
 
After hours of waiting, huddled into Laurence's personal library, Laurence suggested: “If we're already in the police system, why not simply go to traffic cam footage? We know when the car was stolen from Koler's security cameras, and we know which way the car went.” 
 
“Hold on, Laurence,” Ray asked, confused. “How do we know which way the car went? There are no security cameras at the roundabout near his house, so we don't know which way the car went. Go straight and you head into the city, left or right and you're leaving town North or South. If it's the latter two then we don't know where it's headed, and odds are it's the latter two.” 
 
“Fresh rubber marks show they went straight. Remember how it's raining? Only something as pronounced as a heavy rubber mark from spinning tires would still be easily visible on the road.” Laurence sipped a glass of iced coffee and smiled. “Anyways, Mr. Skeptical, Mayar can prove me right or wrong by just looking up the security footage of the first traffic camera to come up on that road.” 
 
“Black Rheinfahrzeug with the license plate AEZ 389?” Mayar asked before Ray could comment. 
 
“Uh... yeah, actually...” Ray saw Laurence was grinning from ear to ear. He shrugged. “Now all we have to do is track that until we find where it stopped.” 
 
This took a few hours more; it was evening by the time Mayar shouted excitedly. “Hah, found it! Not surprising, it's in Old Port.” 
 
“Where in Old Port?” Ray asked, yawning. He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but he certainly felt much better. He dropped the book he had been picking at on the ground, which earned him a terrifying stare from Laurence. He quickly picked it up and carefully placed it in one of the many piles on the floor. 
 
“Not sure. The funny thing with this area of Franklinport is that most people don't have all the digital security systems that they have in the rest of the city. Because of that, it's actually the most secure and easiest to hide something in.” Mayar closed her laptop. “Looks like you two will be doing this solo.” 
 
* * * 
 
Chase looked up at his older brother in disbelief. He spun around, away from the computer screen so that his whole body face his brother squarely. “You did what?” 
 
“Look man, it was your idea. Why should that bastard get to...” 
 
“I hear you on that. What I'm wondering is why the hell did you steal his car?” 
 
“I'm sorry, but I just got you back something that was stolen from you and now you're questioning me?” Jordan rolled his eyes. “Look, we'll bring the car back. But I need your help first.” 
 
“How do you need my help?” Chase pulled off his headphones and placed them carefully on the desk. “Just pass me the memory drive and give the car back.” 
 
“That's the problem,” Jordan gave an awkward laugh. “We never actually found the memory whatever...” 
 
Chase rubbed his eyes with frustration. “Wait, so you don't actually know if the memory drive is in the car or not?” 
 
“Depends on what you mean by 'know',” Jordan replied with a hesitant smile. 
 
“I mean that you have seen it in the car at some point,” Chase slid into his jacket. He had mixed feelings about Koler not going to the police. He'd concluded that Koler had passed on calling the authorities because they would have been here by now. It meant Koler was either afraid that he could talk his way out of the situation with the police and flip the police on Koler, or it meant that Koler intended to kill him. If he intended to kill him then Koler had already assembled a group of scary men with guns. Franklinport had no shortage of those, and they were now in the process of slowly sniffing him out. 
 
“Well, then... no.” Seeing Chase was clearly unhappy, Jordan tried to salvage the situation. “Hey, maybe we can trade the car for the memory thingy and...” 
 
“Koler's not that stupid,” Chase replied tying his shoes and heading towards the door. “He'll just take the car.” 
 
* * * 
“We've checked just about every auto shop in Old Port...” Laurence slouched on the dashboard and sighed; Ray felt equally defeated. “Should we expand the search to outside of Old Port?” 
 
“No, I trust Mayar. It's here, we just need to think of where.” Laurence played with her hair as she thought, listening to the sound of the rain tapping on the car. 
 
Why would you steal a car and bring it to Old Port if you didn't mean to break it up? It could be we have just overthought a joy ride... No, they wouldn't have gone to the outskirts of town for the car, and they certainly wouldn't have brought the car so close to home. Perhaps it has nothing to do with the car? Maybe they knew what was on the phone in the car... but how would someone in Old Port know what would be on Koler's phone... and why would they steal the car? If they managed to get access to the car and locate what was inside, then stealing the car would be a reckless, idiotic extra step...Unless they didn't find what they were looking for, but knew it was in the car. But how could they know that? Hold on...
 
Laurence picked up her cellphone and called Mayar. Ray watched attentively, unaware of where Laurence's mind hand went. “Mayar, can you access a home cloud server through a car even if they are several dozen kilometres away from each other?” 
 
“Of course, if you know the port numbers.” Mayar replied, surprised by the question. 
 
“Brilliant! I love you so much!” Laurence shouted excitedly. 
 
Mayar smiled, “Of course you do.” Then an idea crossed her mind for the first time. “Hold on. I'm going to hack Koler's home cloud and use that to get a location on the car.” 
 
“Not the tree I was climbing, but that works.” Laurence breathed deeply, weighing heavily her next request. “When you are done could you hack into the cars inboard system and tell me if you find anything peculiar in there?” 
 
“We aren't investigating Koler, babe, are we?” Mayar replied. There was silence for a few moments on the other end. “Laurence?” 
 
“I'm thinking Koler left out a part of the story.” Laurence paused. “Did you find the car yet?” 
 
“Interesting, some good old mystery and intrigue, huh? Yes, I found the car, it's in the garage of those apartments at Admiral.” 
 
“Good. Get back to me when you find it, eh?” 
 
“I'll make it work.” 
 
“Love you, Mayar.” Laurence waited for a response but Mayar hung up. She shrugged and placed the phone in her jacket pocket. It was then that she realized Ray was staring at her, waiting for an explanation, “Take us to Admiral. I'll explain on the way.” 
 
* * * 
 
Koler stared at the two men who stood before him. He could feel his neck becoming chafed by his sweat-soaked collar. His two PIs were taking too long, and his worry that they had found what was in the car had taken over. Now he had to wipe the slate clean. “Took you guys long enough to get out here.” 
 
“Freezing rain has had our VTOL's down all day. When the rain broke we came as fast as we could.” The taller of the two replied dryly. 
 
“So you're the guys-- or, 'issue fixers'-- that Tri-Tower sent? You guys don't look like much.” The taller of the two men raised his hand and the glass of water a maid had just poured in the kitchen sped over and made its way to him without spilling. He smiled appreciatively at the maid who rolled her eyes, not impressed by the Hybrid's trick. 
 
Koler laughed and smiled contently. “Here's how this goes: You eliminate whoever is around the car when we arrive, I extract what was stolen and you guys clean up.” Koler stood up and fixed his tie. 
 
“Sounds like standard fair for us.” The smaller of the two Hybrids took a glass of water from the maid and smiled appreciatively. She took off her knit cap and smiled at the second man's more humble approach before returning to attend whatever she was cooking. 
 
 
“Good, let's fix some issues.” 
* * * 
 
The Admiral Apartments building was not much. It was one of the many brutalist styled apartments built in the 1970's to accommodate the rapid expansion of Franklinport following the collapse of South Vietnam. Laurence stepped out of the car, umbrella in hand, but soon discovered it wasn't raining. She decided to carry it with her anyways, certain the rain would recommence soon. 
 
Ray and Laurence flashed their badges at the garage security guard who accepted them without question. Laurence shoved Ray and then pointed at the gun she had produced from her purse. He then pulled his own weapon out of his jacket and followed Laurence inside carefully. The whole building was quiet, only the sound of the odd car passing by above could be heard, echoing off the under ground garages massive concrete walls. There weren't many cars to take up the space, and the few there were older and rusted. 
 
Koler's car is going to be easy to spot, at least. 
 
“Laurence, I think that's it.” Ray said, stopping behind his partner. 
 
“Think that's it? How many black, five-hundred-grand Rheinfahrzeugs did you expect to see down here?” Laurence smiled. They darted behind one of the few other cars, giving them a few dozen meters between them and the men searching the car to plan. 
 
Ray rolled his eyes. “Shut up. Now what?” 
 
After a quick scan for weapons, which found none, Laurence stood up and walked towards the four men who were rummaging through the car, “Hello, guys!” she shouted waving. They immediately all stood up and faced her, their shocked expressions showing they hadn't been prepared  for an intruder. 
 
“How'd you get past Hank?” one of them said stepping forward. Laurence noticed he'd picked up a crowbar from somewhere inside of the vehicle. They had probably destroyed the car in the search for the information that had been stolen. 
 
Laurence pulled out her fake police badge, “Hank's fine, don't worry.” She stepped past the man who had come to challenge her and walked straight to Chase. 
 
Jordan stepped in front of Laurence protecting his brother, “Don't get near him, buttons.” 
 
“Buttons? That's one I haven't heard before.” Laurence produced a throwing knife which she tossed in the air. It hovered before pointing menacingly at Jordan. “Oh, fun fact: Koler uploaded your concept to the car's internal computer. Sly move, isn't it, Chase?” 
 
Chase boldly stepped out from behind Jordan and faced Laurence. Feeling the situation deescalating, Laurence allowed her weapon to fall softly back into her hand. She hid it in her sleeve. Chase spoke softly, but his face remained defiant and confident. Laurence liked that. “You know about it? My design?” 
 
“It's not unheard of, but your take on it was pretty smart. A car that runs on a solar charged battery that charges a secondary battery while running, and then switches back to the solar battery after it charges? That's smart.” Laurence smiled, a hand outstretched. “I'd use friction instead of a turbine though. More power created in low speed scenarios. Turbine's sort of iffy.” 
 
“You work for Koler?” Jordan asked, still not sure if he should feel threatened or not. 
 
“I'm not sure anymore actually,” Ray stepped forward and shook his partners shoulder. “What's the plan, Laurence?” 
 
Laurence spun around Ray and sat in the front seat of Koler's car. She started the engine, and the beast roared to life. 
 
A combustion engine? Now somebody's got too much money.
 
She then pulled out her phone and downloaded the data from the car into her phone. Once the transfer was completed, she ripped open the computer cover in the centre console and extracted a small memory card. She threw it on the ground, stepped out of the car, and crushed it under her leather shoe. “That really depends on Koler.” 
 
“How does this depend on Koler?” Ray looked at Laurence's phone. “Wait, you just uploaded the thing we were sent to find onto your phone?” 
 
“Yes Ray, now keep up please.” She turned to Chase, “Care to explain what's going on, Ray's not the sharpest knife around.” 
 
“I came up with an energy recovery system for cars. Less charging at fill stations means you save money and less energy from power plants being put into charging cars. It could stop the desertification of the continental US alone.” Chase smiled proudly. 
 
Ray was dumbfounded. “That... that's amazing. And you're how old?” 
 
“Sixteen,” Chase replied. “I went to that High-Tower West company to see if they would buy my idea. Koler took the memory card and kicked us out.” 
 
“So he wanted to claim the idea as his own...” Ray was interrupted by a voice in the stairwell. 
 
“Actually, I was going to get rid of it. As the old saying goes, you don't mess with oil and gas!” Koler appeared with two suited men at his sides, “Now I remember Laurence saying 'it depends on Koler' as to her deciding which side she's on. Well, what do I have to do for your phone?” 
 
Laurence stepped forward to greet Koler, “Half million in Euros and a nice place on the ocean. Only two of us would live there, so it wouldn't need to be big. Maybe a Library, though.” Laurence smiled, caught in a pleasant dream. “Yeah, a nice coastal house with a Library would really be what I'd need.” 
 
“Done.” Koler laughed. Laurence tossed her phone. Koler fumbled it but managed to catch it before it hit the ground. 
 
“The hell?” Ray charged at Laurence, barely able to stop himself from punching her. “Seriously? That could save the fucking country!” 
 
“Laurence, please don't!” Chase begged. 
 
“Customer loyalty is a rare thing, Laurence.” Koler turned around and began heading back the way he came, “Too bad studies show a distinct link between poor customer service and profit.” The two men who had come with Koler presented rifles which they aimed at the group by the car. “You know what to do, kids.” 
 
Laurence shook her head at Ray, who sprinted after Koler, beginning to piece together Laurence's  plan. As he did, the two guards attempted to shoot at Ray, but their bullets ricocheted around him, bouncing off the shield Laurence had created for her partner. As they tried to give chase, Laurence pulled the railings out of the wall in the stairway and created a barrier. The two guards then turned to Laurence, realizing that the time they had given to trying to stop Ray had allowed the rest of the group to escape. 
 
“Well, what do we have here? A little girl who thinks she can play with the big boys!” The larger suited man yelled. Laurence fired her handgun at the two men as they approached. The bullets ricocheted around them. 
 
Hybrids. Just had to be goddamn Hybrids. 
 
They both produced machetes, which they threw into the air. They hovered for a second, like owls zeroing in on a target before diving. Laurence jumped behind Koler's car and the machete's failed to break through the doors and hit her. Quickly, she took off her jacket and pulled out five throwing knives, which she launched into the air. With them suspended as if supported by string, she then charged out from behind the car. Unaware of Laurence's movement, the suited men pulled their machetes back into the air, preparing for another attack, giving Laurence a chance to fire the one knife she had left in her sleeve at them. It caught the shorter one by surprise, and he fell face first onto the concrete floor, blood streaming from his neck. 
 
“We Hybrids are just so terribly fragile despite this vast array of offensive power, don't you find?” Laurence mocked as she enticed her five other throwing knives suspended above the car back to her. They then began to spin around her like cars caught in a tornado in which she was the eye. 
 
“You bitch!” The remaining man reloaded and fired. Laurence could feel her legs getting weaker. 
 
He's going to break my shields... 
 
She ducked behind a pillar to catch her breath. She then pulled an epinephrine needle out of her purse and injected it into her arm. With a sudden kick her energy returned. She then carefully moved from behind the pillar, but the remaining man had disappeared. 
 
* * * 
 
“...rence....” 
 
Bleeding from the head. Not good. 
 
“...aurence...” 
 
 Legs and arms both wont move. Not good. 
 
“Laurence...” 
 
The world slowly came together piece by piece, clawing away at the darkness of unconsciousness. With what strength she could manage, Laurence's head began to try and track the source of the sound. 
 
“Where's the god damn phone, you bastard?” Laurence could make out the voice of the larger suited man. 
 
“Laurence, get up please!” Ray yelled. “Right now would be friggin' fantastic actually!” 
 
Ray, getting emotional under pressure as always. Why do I keep him around again? Oh, that's right... 
 
Laurence slowly rose to her feet. She felt something liquid running down her face. When it arrived in her mouth she first thought it was sweat, which she found strange, but soon realized it was blood from being hit in the head. She then felt a huge burst of pain her chest. 
 
Broken ribs and a hit to the front of my head... Was literally kicking me when I was down. The nerve of some people... 
 
The suited man was holding his machete to Ray's neck, “Tell him to give me the phone and we all walk out of here alive.” Laurence slowly began moving towards the two struggling men, her body swaying side to side as she attempted to maintain balance. A smile slowly crept on to her face. For reasons she couldn't understand, it made Ray much calmer and he stopped struggling. This worried the suited man greatly, and he pushed Ray away and began to back up. “Stay back!” 
 
Laurence continued forward towards the suited man. “You know, I really like people like you. You give me an excuse to kill. You'd be surprised how few of those exist, excuses to kill. Of course, I don't need an excuse, but people tend not to like it when you don't have one. Strange, eh?” Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. 
 
“I'm going to stab you, chica. Don't think you'd like being stabbed in the heart now would you?” His machete began to float away from his hand. He was taking careful aim, making sure that wherever he hit would be a fatal blow. 
 
“No worries, my associate assures me I don't have one,” Laurence tried to laugh but coughed up blood instead. 
 
Going to want to finish this sooner than later. May also have a lung on the verge of collapse. A collapsed lung would not be suitable for combat... 
 
“You're a bloody psychopath.” 
 
“I'm a woman who suffers from an anti-social personality disorder which borders on sociopathy.” Laurence smiled, her blood soaked teeth shining, her eyes open wide, brimming with insanity, “But 'bloody psychopath' does have a nice ring to it.” 
 
She charged, as did the suited man. His hit landed, Laurence's did not. His laughter filled the garage as Laurence fell on her back. “That's for my mate you fucked up!” He walked over to the corpse, only to see Laurence, smiling, and his machete handle on the ground beside her. The blade vanished. 
 
“This is for messing up my face, and you know how much effort a girl can put into her face!” 
 
He turned around,  to see the blade from his machete hovering before him. He attempted to wrestle control of the weapon away from Laurence, but he realized that Laurence had shattered it and reassembled it to appear as if it weren't broken. He was able to stop one piece, but the others found their target, poking through his soft flesh with ease. He fell over, lifeless before his muscular body reached the floor.   
 
Laurence lay on the ground, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She was struggling to maintain the small grasp she had on consciousness. “Laurence, you aren't looking too hot.” Ray was soon above her. “Come on, I'll carry you out of here.” 
 
“Where's Koler, Ray?” Laurence asked, pushing his hands away. Ray didn't reply. “Ray, where's my phone? That was a pretty damn expensive phone. Koler already gave me a heart attack almost dropping it.” 
 
“I have your phone,” Ray showed the phone to Laurence, and scrolled over to the data she had uploaded from the car. “Now let's go.” 
 
“Koler, Ray. What happened to him?” 
 
“I shot him. Happy?” 
 
“Ecstatic, actually! Granddaddy Ray finally grew a pair.” 
 
Ray rolled his eyes. “Means a lot coming from Ms. Titanium Ovaries. Now let me pick you up.” 
 
* * * 
 
Ray walked into Laurence's room. The books were still in a sea of piles spread across the floor: towers of organized chaos. He carefully danced to an empty chair and sat down. Laurence glanced at the intruder from behind her book and then continued to read. She was seated cross-legged in her reclining chair; Ray wondered how she avoided having her legs fall asleep. 
 
“It's dark in here,” Ray stretched his arms and picked up a book. 
 
“The Secret Sharer. It's a classic. Short and worth it,” Ray wasn't sure how Laurence had noticed him picking up the book, much less known which one, but he decided not to question her. She addressed his question nonetheless. “I thought you'd appreciate it, so I put it there.” 
 
“How'd you know I would look at that pile?” he asked inquisitively. 
 
“Good hunch,” Laurence sipped on a glass of tea which she then placed back on its windowsill perch. 
 
Ray chuckled, “Fair enough.” They then sat in silence for a few moments, the sound of turning pages echoing softly in the small room. Finally, Ray built up the courage to ask his question, “Were you actually happy that I shot Koler?” 
 
Laurence pulled a bookmark out from her hair and closed the book around it. She then leaned back in her chair and sighed, “Did you enjoy it, Ray? The ultimate act of strength. Enforcing your will over another living thing in the most meaningful way?” Her voice was deep and emotionless, coming from a dark place within Laurence that Ray often forgot was there. 
 
“I've killed before, Laurence. I was a Marine.” Ray felt disgusted. “I still think it is the worst thing I've ever learned how to do in my life.” 
 
“One day you'll understand, Ray.” Laurence replied coldly. 
 
“I don't want to understand.” Laurence sighed and returned to her book. Ray shrugged and stood up, “Are you feeling better?” 
 
“I'm fine, Ray.” 
 
“Have you been taking the Morphine the doctor gave you? A concussion, collapsed lung and five broken ribs isn't a small thing.” 
 
“No. Morphine addiction is a serious threat for me. I've been keeping away from it.” 
 
“And right now, you're...” 
 
“Are we done, Ray?” 
 
“I believe we are, Laurence. I'll see you whenever another job comes up.” Ray left, closing the door behind him. 
 
You understand me, Ray. You pretend you don't, but you do. And one day, I'll make you admit it to me.

Description
Ray tracked a blade of his ceiling fan as it danced around in circles. He was intrigued by the blades changing colour depending on its distance from the window, becoming light blue as it came closer to the source of light illuminating the room. He had forgotten to close the curtains before going to bed, but was too comfortable to move; and he was afraid he'd wake his girlfriend who was laying silently beside him in bed, desperately holding on to his arm like it was novelty sized stuffed animal. 
 
“Still awake, Ray?” she croaked yawning and whispering all at once. She rolled on her back and smiled at her boyfriend. 
 
“Did I wake you?” Ray sat up, intent on shutting the curtains. 
 
“Nightmares, Ray,” she held on to Ray's arm to stop him from getting up. “Could we... talk a bit?” 
 
Ray looked at the clock beside his bed. “It's two AM. Can it wait until morning?” Ray groaned. 
 
“Yes, I'm sorry,” she let go of Ray, and he stood up. Before he could make it to the window, his phone rang. 
 
* * * 
 
Freezing rain drummed constantly against the windscreen of Ray's car as it pulled out of the parking lot that the Franklinport highway was at rush hour. He had a headache and his knees felt sore, a good sign he hadn't had enough sleep. All he could think of was coffee and how quickly he could acquire it. Then the radio switched on at full volume, blaring heavy metal music. He glared at Laurence who laughed hysterically until Ray managed to switch it off. 
 
“What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously!” Ray took a deep breath and licked sweat off his lips. 
 
“Oh, just shoot me for trying to improve the mood, you're a real killjoy you know?” Laurence stretched and then rubbed her bloodshot eyes. “You're not the only one who got woken up at two AM to rush to the scene of a stolen car.” 
 
“Yeah, what's up with that?” Ray paused, focusing on a difficult left hand turn, “Why didn't Koler call the police when his car was stolen? I know from when I was with the force that they can track that down in less than an hour. Just punch in a license plate number and you can get a location.” 
 
“I think it had to do with his phone in the car,” Laurence replied. 
 
“Wait, how do you know his phone is in the car?” Ray laughed quietly. “I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have missed his excuse for pulling me out of bed at that god awful hour.” 
 
“He kept playing with an empty phone case.” Laurence began to draw a face in the moisture that had formed on the window. “ Most people don't have a cellphone case and no cellphone. Not to mention he called from a home-phone, which is under his wife's name. Judging from the fact the he felt the need to dress up for us, gel his hair and put on cologne, and way too much of it might I add, he's a guy who takes his image very seriously. Koler wouldn't have called with the house phone under his wife’s name if he had his phone. All facts considered, I would conclude that's really why he wants his car back as soon as possible and won't go to the police to do it.” 
 
“Am I the only one who's ever told you that it's scary that you picked up on those details?” Ray stopped the car in front of Mayar and Laurence's house. “You might want to check if you have an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.” 
 
“OCD is when you have involuntary or unwelcome thoughts that cause uneasiness which leads to obsessions and compulsions.” Laurence noticed Ray already knew she was trying to defend herself and disagreed despite her coming excuse. “I'm just saying, I have the benefits and none of the negatives, which means I'm not OCD.” 
 
“Seriously? You do that all the time. It's exactly like an obsession or a compulsion.” Laurence placed her feet on Ray's cars dashboard and stuck out her tongue. He swatted her feet down and stepped out of the car. “You act like you're 12 sometimes.” 
 
“Still young at heart is all. Unlike you, granddaddy Ray,” Laurence replied stepping out of the car and following him inside. 
 
They asked Mayar if she could attempt and hack the police car tracking system to quicken the pace of the search. Mayar accepted, but soon found that, as easy as it was to hack the police system, hacking into the government satellites the police used for tracking cars proved to be extremely difficult. 
 
After hours of waiting, huddled into Laurence's personal library, Laurence suggested: “If we're already in the police system, why not simply go to traffic cam footage? We know when the car was stolen from Koler's security cameras, and we know which way the car went.” 
 
“Hold on, Laurence,” Ray asked, confused. “How do we know which way the car went? There are no security cameras at the roundabout near his house, so we don't know which way the car went. Go straight and you head into the city, left or right and you're leaving town North or South. If it's the latter two then we don't know where it's headed, and odds are it's the latter two.” 
 
“Fresh rubber marks show they went straight. Remember how it's raining? Only something as pronounced as a heavy rubber mark from spinning tires would still be easily visible on the road.” Laurence sipped a glass of iced coffee and smiled. “Anyways, Mr. Skeptical, Mayar can prove me right or wrong by just looking up the security footage of the first traffic camera to come up on that road.” 
 
“Black Rheinfahrzeug with the license plate AEZ 389?” Mayar asked before Ray could comment. 
 
“Uh... yeah, actually...” Ray saw Laurence was grinning from ear to ear. He shrugged. “Now all we have to do is track that until we find where it stopped.” 
 
This took a few hours more; it was evening by the time Mayar shouted excitedly. “Hah, found it! Not surprising, it's in Old Port.” 
 
“Where in Old Port?” Ray asked, yawning. He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but he certainly felt much better. He dropped the book he had been picking at on the ground, which earned him a terrifying stare from Laurence. He quickly picked it up and carefully placed it in one of the many piles on the floor. 
 
“Not sure. The funny thing with this area of Franklinport is that most people don't have all the digital security systems that they have in the rest of the city. Because of that, it's actually the most secure and easiest to hide something in.” Mayar closed her laptop. “Looks like you two will be doing this solo.” 
 
* * * 
 
Chase looked up at his older brother in disbelief. He spun around, away from the computer screen so that his whole body face his brother squarely. “You did what?” 
 
“Look man, it was your idea. Why should that bastard get to...” 
 
“I hear you on that. What I'm wondering is why the hell did you steal his car?” 
 
“I'm sorry, but I just got you back something that was stolen from you and now you're questioning me?” Jordan rolled his eyes. “Look, we'll bring the car back. But I need your help first.” 
 
“How do you need my help?” Chase pulled off his headphones and placed them carefully on the desk. “Just pass me the memory drive and give the car back.” 
 
“That's the problem,” Jordan gave an awkward laugh. “We never actually found the memory whatever...” 
 
Chase rubbed his eyes with frustration. “Wait, so you don't actually know if the memory drive is in the car or not?” 
 
“Depends on what you mean by 'know',” Jordan replied with a hesitant smile. 
 
“I mean that you have seen it in the car at some point,” Chase slid into his jacket. He had mixed feelings about Koler not going to the police. He'd concluded that Koler had passed on calling the authorities because they would have been here by now. It meant Koler was either afraid that he could talk his way out of the situation with the police and flip the police on Koler, or it meant that Koler intended to kill him. If he intended to kill him then Koler had already assembled a group of scary men with guns. Franklinport had no shortage of those, and they were now in the process of slowly sniffing him out. 
 
“Well, then... no.” Seeing Chase was clearly unhappy, Jordan tried to salvage the situation. “Hey, maybe we can trade the car for the memory thingy and...” 
 
“Koler's not that stupid,” Chase replied tying his shoes and heading towards the door. “He'll just take the car.” 
 
* * * 
“We've checked just about every auto shop in Old Port...” Laurence slouched on the dashboard and sighed; Ray felt equally defeated. “Should we expand the search to outside of Old Port?” 
 
“No, I trust Mayar. It's here, we just need to think of where.” Laurence played with her hair as she thought, listening to the sound of the rain tapping on the car. 
 
Why would you steal a car and bring it to Old Port if you didn't mean to break it up? It could be we have just overthought a joy ride... No, they wouldn't have gone to the outskirts of town for the car, and they certainly wouldn't have brought the car so close to home. Perhaps it has nothing to do with the car? Maybe they knew what was on the phone in the car... but how would someone in Old Port know what would be on Koler's phone... and why would they steal the car? If they managed to get access to the car and locate what was inside, then stealing the car would be a reckless, idiotic extra step...Unless they didn't find what they were looking for, but knew it was in the car. But how could they know that? Hold on...
 
Laurence picked up her cellphone and called Mayar. Ray watched attentively, unaware of where Laurence's mind hand went. “Mayar, can you access a home cloud server through a car even if they are several dozen kilometres away from each other?” 
 
“Of course, if you know the port numbers.” Mayar replied, surprised by the question. 
 
“Brilliant! I love you so much!” Laurence shouted excitedly. 
 
Mayar smiled, “Of course you do.” Then an idea crossed her mind for the first time. “Hold on. I'm going to hack Koler's home cloud and use that to get a location on the car.” 
 
“Not the tree I was climbing, but that works.” Laurence breathed deeply, weighing heavily her next request. “When you are done could you hack into the cars inboard system and tell me if you find anything peculiar in there?” 
 
“We aren't investigating Koler, babe, are we?” Mayar replied. There was silence for a few moments on the other end. “Laurence?” 
 
“I'm thinking Koler left out a part of the story.” Laurence paused. “Did you find the car yet?” 
 
“Interesting, some good old mystery and intrigue, huh? Yes, I found the car, it's in the garage of those apartments at Admiral.” 
 
“Good. Get back to me when you find it, eh?” 
 
“I'll make it work.” 
 
“Love you, Mayar.” Laurence waited for a response but Mayar hung up. She shrugged and placed the phone in her jacket pocket. It was then that she realized Ray was staring at her, waiting for an explanation, “Take us to Admiral. I'll explain on the way.” 
 
* * * 
 
Koler stared at the two men who stood before him. He could feel his neck becoming chafed by his sweat-soaked collar. His two PIs were taking too long, and his worry that they had found what was in the car had taken over. Now he had to wipe the slate clean. “Took you guys long enough to get out here.” 
 
“Freezing rain has had our VTOL's down all day. When the rain broke we came as fast as we could.” The taller of the two replied dryly. 
 
“So you're the guys-- or, 'issue fixers'-- that Tri-Tower sent? You guys don't look like much.” The taller of the two men raised his hand and the glass of water a maid had just poured in the kitchen sped over and made its way to him without spilling. He smiled appreciatively at the maid who rolled her eyes, not impressed by the Hybrid's trick. 
 
Koler laughed and smiled contently. “Here's how this goes: You eliminate whoever is around the car when we arrive, I extract what was stolen and you guys clean up.” Koler stood up and fixed his tie. 
 
“Sounds like standard fair for us.” The smaller of the two Hybrids took a glass of water from the maid and smiled appreciatively. She took off her knit cap and smiled at the second man's more humble approach before returning to attend whatever she was cooking. 
 
 
“Good, let's fix some issues.” 
* * * 
 
The Admiral Apartments building was not much. It was one of the many brutalist styled apartments built in the 1970's to accommodate the rapid expansion of Franklinport following the collapse of South Vietnam. Laurence stepped out of the car, umbrella in hand, but soon discovered it wasn't raining. She decided to carry it with her anyways, certain the rain would recommence soon. 
 
Ray and Laurence flashed their badges at the garage security guard who accepted them without question. Laurence shoved Ray and then pointed at the gun she had produced from her purse. He then pulled his own weapon out of his jacket and followed Laurence inside carefully. The whole building was quiet, only the sound of the odd car passing by above could be heard, echoing off the under ground garages massive concrete walls. There weren't many cars to take up the space, and the few there were older and rusted. 
 
Koler's car is going to be easy to spot, at least. 
 
“Laurence, I think that's it.” Ray said, stopping behind his partner. 
 
“Think that's it? How many black, five-hundred-grand Rheinfahrzeugs did you expect to see down here?” Laurence smiled. They darted behind one of the few other cars, giving them a few dozen meters between them and the men searching the car to plan. 
 
Ray rolled his eyes. “Shut up. Now what?” 
 
After a quick scan for weapons, which found none, Laurence stood up and walked towards the four men who were rummaging through the car, “Hello, guys!” she shouted waving. They immediately all stood up and faced her, their shocked expressions showing they hadn't been prepared  for an intruder. 
 
“How'd you get past Hank?” one of them said stepping forward. Laurence noticed he'd picked up a crowbar from somewhere inside of the vehicle. They had probably destroyed the car in the search for the information that had been stolen. 
 
Laurence pulled out her fake police badge, “Hank's fine, don't worry.” She stepped past the man who had come to challenge her and walked straight to Chase. 
 
Jordan stepped in front of Laurence protecting his brother, “Don't get near him, buttons.” 
 
“Buttons? That's one I haven't heard before.” Laurence produced a throwing knife which she tossed in the air. It hovered before pointing menacingly at Jordan. “Oh, fun fact: Koler uploaded your concept to the car's internal computer. Sly move, isn't it, Chase?” 
 
Chase boldly stepped out from behind Jordan and faced Laurence. Feeling the situation deescalating, Laurence allowed her weapon to fall softly back into her hand. She hid it in her sleeve. Chase spoke softly, but his face remained defiant and confident. Laurence liked that. “You know about it? My design?” 
 
“It's not unheard of, but your take on it was pretty smart. A car that runs on a solar charged battery that charges a secondary battery while running, and then switches back to the solar battery after it charges? That's smart.” Laurence smiled, a hand outstretched. “I'd use friction instead of a turbine though. More power created in low speed scenarios. Turbine's sort of iffy.” 
 
“You work for Koler?” Jordan asked, still not sure if he should feel threatened or not. 
 
“I'm not sure anymore actually,” Ray stepped forward and shook his partners shoulder. “What's the plan, Laurence?” 
 
Laurence spun around Ray and sat in the front seat of Koler's car. She started the engine, and the beast roared to life. 
 
A combustion engine? Now somebody's got too much money.
 
She then pulled out her phone and downloaded the data from the car into her phone. Once the transfer was completed, she ripped open the computer cover in the centre console and extracted a small memory card. She threw it on the ground, stepped out of the car, and crushed it under her leather shoe. “That really depends on Koler.” 
 
“How does this depend on Koler?” Ray looked at Laurence's phone. “Wait, you just uploaded the thing we were sent to find onto your phone?” 
 
“Yes Ray, now keep up please.” She turned to Chase, “Care to explain what's going on, Ray's not the sharpest knife around.” 
 
“I came up with an energy recovery system for cars. Less charging at fill stations means you save money and less energy from power plants being put into charging cars. It could stop the desertification of the continental US alone.” Chase smiled proudly. 
 
Ray was dumbfounded. “That... that's amazing. And you're how old?” 
 
“Sixteen,” Chase replied. “I went to that High-Tower West company to see if they would buy my idea. Koler took the memory card and kicked us out.” 
 
“So he wanted to claim the idea as his own...” Ray was interrupted by a voice in the stairwell. 
 
“Actually, I was going to get rid of it. As the old saying goes, you don't mess with oil and gas!” Koler appeared with two suited men at his sides, “Now I remember Laurence saying 'it depends on Koler' as to her deciding which side she's on. Well, what do I have to do for your phone?” 
 
Laurence stepped forward to greet Koler, “Half million in Euros and a nice place on the ocean. Only two of us would live there, so it wouldn't need to be big. Maybe a Library, though.” Laurence smiled, caught in a pleasant dream. “Yeah, a nice coastal house with a Library would really be what I'd need.” 
 
“Done.” Koler laughed. Laurence tossed her phone. Koler fumbled it but managed to catch it before it hit the ground. 
 
“The hell?” Ray charged at Laurence, barely able to stop himself from punching her. “Seriously? That could save the fucking country!” 
 
“Laurence, please don't!” Chase begged. 
 
“Customer loyalty is a rare thing, Laurence.” Koler turned around and began heading back the way he came, “Too bad studies show a distinct link between poor customer service and profit.” The two men who had come with Koler presented rifles which they aimed at the group by the car. “You know what to do, kids.” 
 
Laurence shook her head at Ray, who sprinted after Koler, beginning to piece together Laurence's  plan. As he did, the two guards attempted to shoot at Ray, but their bullets ricocheted around him, bouncing off the shield Laurence had created for her partner. As they tried to give chase, Laurence pulled the railings out of the wall in the stairway and created a barrier. The two guards then turned to Laurence, realizing that the time they had given to trying to stop Ray had allowed the rest of the group to escape. 
 
“Well, what do we have here? A little girl who thinks she can play with the big boys!” The larger suited man yelled. Laurence fired her handgun at the two men as they approached. The bullets ricocheted around them. 
 
Hybrids. Just had to be goddamn Hybrids. 
 
They both produced machetes, which they threw into the air. They hovered for a second, like owls zeroing in on a target before diving. Laurence jumped behind Koler's car and the machete's failed to break through the doors and hit her. Quickly, she took off her jacket and pulled out five throwing knives, which she launched into the air. With them suspended as if supported by string, she then charged out from behind the car. Unaware of Laurence's movement, the suited men pulled their machetes back into the air, preparing for another attack, giving Laurence a chance to fire the one knife she had left in her sleeve at them. It caught the shorter one by surprise, and he fell face first onto the concrete floor, blood streaming from his neck. 
 
“We Hybrids are just so terribly fragile despite this vast array of offensive power, don't you find?” Laurence mocked as she enticed her five other throwing knives suspended above the car back to her. They then began to spin around her like cars caught in a tornado in which she was the eye. 
 
“You bitch!” The remaining man reloaded and fired. Laurence could feel her legs getting weaker. 
 
He's going to break my shields... 
 
She ducked behind a pillar to catch her breath. She then pulled an epinephrine needle out of her purse and injected it into her arm. With a sudden kick her energy returned. She then carefully moved from behind the pillar, but the remaining man had disappeared. 
 
* * * 
 
“...rence....” 
 
Bleeding from the head. Not good. 
 
“...aurence...” 
 
 Legs and arms both wont move. Not good. 
 
“Laurence...” 
 
The world slowly came together piece by piece, clawing away at the darkness of unconsciousness. With what strength she could manage, Laurence's head began to try and track the source of the sound. 
 
“Where's the god damn phone, you bastard?” Laurence could make out the voice of the larger suited man. 
 
“Laurence, get up please!” Ray yelled. “Right now would be friggin' fantastic actually!” 
 
Ray, getting emotional under pressure as always. Why do I keep him around again? Oh, that's right... 
 
Laurence slowly rose to her feet. She felt something liquid running down her face. When it arrived in her mouth she first thought it was sweat, which she found strange, but soon realized it was blood from being hit in the head. She then felt a huge burst of pain her chest. 
 
Broken ribs and a hit to the front of my head... Was literally kicking me when I was down. The nerve of some people... 
 
The suited man was holding his machete to Ray's neck, “Tell him to give me the phone and we all walk out of here alive.” Laurence slowly began moving towards the two struggling men, her body swaying side to side as she attempted to maintain balance. A smile slowly crept on to her face. For reasons she couldn't understand, it made Ray much calmer and he stopped struggling. This worried the suited man greatly, and he pushed Ray away and began to back up. “Stay back!” 
 
Laurence continued forward towards the suited man. “You know, I really like people like you. You give me an excuse to kill. You'd be surprised how few of those exist, excuses to kill. Of course, I don't need an excuse, but people tend not to like it when you don't have one. Strange, eh?” Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. 
 
“I'm going to stab you, chica. Don't think you'd like being stabbed in the heart now would you?” His machete began to float away from his hand. He was taking careful aim, making sure that wherever he hit would be a fatal blow. 
 
“No worries, my associate assures me I don't have one,” Laurence tried to laugh but coughed up blood instead. 
 
Going to want to finish this sooner than later. May also have a lung on the verge of collapse. A collapsed lung would not be suitable for combat... 
 
“You're a bloody psychopath.” 
 
“I'm a woman who suffers from an anti-social personality disorder which borders on sociopathy.” Laurence smiled, her blood soaked teeth shining, her eyes open wide, brimming with insanity, “But 'bloody psychopath' does have a nice ring to it.” 
 
She charged, as did the suited man. His hit landed, Laurence's did not. His laughter filled the garage as Laurence fell on her back. “That's for my mate you fucked up!” He walked over to the corpse, only to see Laurence, smiling, and his machete handle on the ground beside her. The blade vanished. 
 
“This is for messing up my face, and you know how much effort a girl can put into her face!” 
 
He turned around,  to see the blade from his machete hovering before him. He attempted to wrestle control of the weapon away from Laurence, but he realized that Laurence had shattered it and reassembled it to appear as if it weren't broken. He was able to stop one piece, but the others found their target, poking through his soft flesh with ease. He fell over, lifeless before his muscular body reached the floor.   
 
Laurence lay on the ground, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She was struggling to maintain the small grasp she had on consciousness. “Laurence, you aren't looking too hot.” Ray was soon above her. “Come on, I'll carry you out of here.” 
 
“Where's Koler, Ray?” Laurence asked, pushing his hands away. Ray didn't reply. “Ray, where's my phone? That was a pretty damn expensive phone. Koler already gave me a heart attack almost dropping it.” 
 
“I have your phone,” Ray showed the phone to Laurence, and scrolled over to the data she had uploaded from the car. “Now let's go.” 
 
“Koler, Ray. What happened to him?” 
 
“I shot him. Happy?” 
 
“Ecstatic, actually! Granddaddy Ray finally grew a pair.” 
 
Ray rolled his eyes. “Means a lot coming from Ms. Titanium Ovaries. Now let me pick you up.” 
 
* * * 
 
Ray walked into Laurence's room. The books were still in a sea of piles spread across the floor: towers of organized chaos. He carefully danced to an empty chair and sat down. Laurence glanced at the intruder from behind her book and then continued to read. She was seated cross-legged in her reclining chair; Ray wondered how she avoided having her legs fall asleep. 
 
“It's dark in here,” Ray stretched his arms and picked up a book. 
 
“The Secret Sharer. It's a classic. Short and worth it,” Ray wasn't sure how Laurence had noticed him picking up the book, much less known which one, but he decided not to question her. She addressed his question nonetheless. “I thought you'd appreciate it, so I put it there.” 
 
“How'd you know I would look at that pile?” he asked inquisitively. 
 
“Good hunch,” Laurence sipped on a glass of tea which she then placed back on its windowsill perch. 
 
Ray chuckled, “Fair enough.” They then sat in silence for a few moments, the sound of turning pages echoing softly in the small room. Finally, Ray built up the courage to ask his question, “Were you actually happy that I shot Koler?” 
 
Laurence pulled a bookmark out from her hair and closed the book around it. She then leaned back in her chair and sighed, “Did you enjoy it, Ray? The ultimate act of strength. Enforcing your will over another living thing in the most meaningful way?” Her voice was deep and emotionless, coming from a dark place within Laurence that Ray often forgot was there. 
 
“I've killed before, Laurence. I was a Marine.” Ray felt disgusted. “I still think it is the worst thing I've ever learned how to do in my life.” 
 
“One day you'll understand, Ray.” Laurence replied coldly. 
 
“I don't want to understand.” Laurence sighed and returned to her book. Ray shrugged and stood up, “Are you feeling better?” 
 
“I'm fine, Ray.” 
 
“Have you been taking the Morphine the doctor gave you? A concussion, collapsed lung and five broken ribs isn't a small thing.” 
 
“No. Morphine addiction is a serious threat for me. I've been keeping away from it.” 
 
“And right now, you're...” 
 
“Are we done, Ray?” 
 
“I believe we are, Laurence. I'll see you whenever another job comes up.” Ray left, closing the door behind him. 
 
You understand me, Ray. You pretend you don't, but you do. And one day, I'll make you admit it to me.