Chapter Twenty-One – The Calm

Chapter Twenty-One – The Calm

“Samurai tend to work alone. It’s true that there are some larger organisations run by samurai who exist to assist samurai on and off the field, but even the members of these tend to be extremely self-reliant and have a tendency to want to work on their own.

In this teamwork seminar, we hope to use some of the tips and tricks learned by observing these to make your teamwork even greater!”

–Obligatory Team Building Seminar, 2056

***

Somehow, Lucy convinced Franny that she absolutely needed a tour of the house. She had the taller redhead by the wrist and dragged her off to see some of the neater rooms. She was pretty proud that she’d designed a lot of the house herself.

That left Delilah and I at the table, both of us more than a little stuffed and suffering from that pleasant haze that came from eating far too much of the worst kinds of food.

“It’s a nice place,” Delilah said. She made a vague, weak gesture at the room around us.

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” I said. “Not as safe as I want it to be yet, but we’ll get there.”

“I trust you,” Delilah said. She picked at some fries, finding the most burnt, crispiest one before tossing it into her mouth. “Thanks for the supper, by the way.”

“I hardly did much here,” I said. “Mostly Lucy’s work. I just tossed money at the problem.”

“It’s still a nice gesture. I needed to get out of the house.”

“That bad?” I asked.

“I’ve complained about it at length already,” she said. “Besides, it really isn’t that bad. Just a lot of old worried nuns who don’t know what they can do to help. It weighs on you, you know? Not knowing, not being able to act. I think… maybe that’s one of the requirements to become a vanguard.”

I tilted my head. “You mean you need to be pissed that you can’t do anything?”

“Didn’t you feel that, when you were offered the position?” Delilah asked.

I snorted. “If I recall, I was mostly thinking ‘oh shit oh fuck I’m going to die.’ There might have been some internal screaming too.”

Delilah’s shoulders shook with a single exhale of laughter. “I guess that’s fair. We don’t exactly have the most peaceful job there is.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “I kinda like it though.”

She nodded along. “It’s not bad work. Satisfying, in its own way. But it is dangerous. Hey, Cat?”

“Yeah?”

Gomorrah didn’t say anything for a bit, it was clear she was thinking about something. “If I die, can you take care of Franny for me?”

“Uh,” I said. “You know, I already have one girlfriend.”

She jabbed her elbow into my ribs and I coughed as I bent over from the blow. “Don’t be a fool, you know what I meant.”

I grinned. “I know, I know. Just messing with you. But okay, yeah. As long as you do the same with Lucy for me.”

Gomorrah nodded. “It’s a deal.”

“Okay,” I said before extending my hand to her. She looked at it for a moment before she took it and we shook. “Deal. But only if you promise that you’ll cork it first.”

“Hah! Now that I think about it, I really picked the short stick with this one, didn’t I? You’re the one always in close proximity to things that are exploding.”

“Damn right,” I said. I leaned to the side, bumping her shoulder with mine. “So, you want me to take care of Franny, huh? That must mean you care about her a whole lot?” It was a statement, but I wasn’t hiding any of the implication behind the words.

Delilah rolled her eyes and tore apart another fry before answering. “I do care a lot about her. She’s my best… one of my best friends. I don’t know if I care about her the way you’re implying though. So please keep your head firmly out of the gutter.”

I couldn’t help the grin. “One of… does that make me best friend number two?”

“In a far second place, maybe,” Delilah said. “Also, while we’re on the subject, can you tell Lucy to calm down a bit with her… romantic intentions? I think she’s not nearly as subtle as she thinks she is.”

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“I can tell her. Don’t know if that’ll stop her. She’s got this thing for hopeless people.”

“Franny and I are hardly hopeless,” Delilah said.

I made a so-so gesture with my hand. “You’re both a little hopeless,” I said. “Besides, you’re our friends, and Lucy probably just wants the best for you. Or what she thinks is best.”