“You sure this is the right one?” Phil, a short man in a dark businesses suit turned to his partner. He parked in his usual spot when they noticed the sign now read “NRA” instead of “NSA”. Fred, a tall man in a dark business suit, took off his sunglasses to glare at Phil with cold brown eyes.
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” he apologized for accusing his partner of a mistake that simple, then turned the ignition off. “Let’s go see what’s going on.” Fred put his sunglasses back on, and the two men stepped out of Phil’s black SUV.
“Double check,” Phil said as they approached the front door of the NRA. “It wouldn’t be the first time we got pushed.” He paused at the entrance to wait for Fred to double check their location. The tall man lifted his hand in the air and splayed his fingers wide. A pulse of soft golden light radiated around his hand; after it disappeared he looked at Phil with a confused look on his face, and shrugged.
“See? Told you.” Phil reached inside his jacket, and returned with his gun. “Let’s go see if someone did it on purpose.” Fred nodded. He pulled the glass door open to let Phil enter the building first. They walked into an empty pristine white lobby, each footstep echoed as they made their way through the lobby towards the elevator. Fred pressed the call button and the elevator dinged immediately. The doors slid open to reveal a tall man with a mane of wavy golden hair, and a well maintained golden beard. He smiled at the two men.
“Good morning, gentlemen. I’m sorry to spring this on you, but I’d like your help,” he said. Phil relaxed enough to holster his gun, then he moved to step into the elevator, but Fred placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“What’s wrong?” To answer his question Fred reached up and knocked on the border between the elevator and the lobby. His knuckle bumped a solid, invisible barrier. Golden light radiated outward from the point of contact.
“I’m somewhat in hiding at the moment, I’m sure you understand. You’re welcome to stay there while we talk,” the man in the elevator said. Phil nodded, and the two men took a step back from the elevator.
“What can we do for you?” Phil asked.
“I need you to investigate a woman, a Zero,” the blonde man said. Both men shrugged in their dark suits.
“Why us? If she’s a Zero, get the locals,” Phil asked.
“There are no locals, it’s Dana Sharp.”
“THE Dana Sharp? Earth 1 Dana Sharp?” The tall man in the elevator nodded.
“Still. Why US?” Phil asked again. “A Sol like you can probably get any of a hundred other Uniques.”
“I’ve been watching hundreds of other Uniques. You two are the best qualified.” Fred lifted his arm towards Phil for a High Five, but the short man dismissed it with a wave. “You’re the only agents with leveled AlterNet characters,” the stranger added.
“Huh, alright.” Phil chuckled to himself, and extended an arm to give Fred a High Five. The blonde man smiled at the sharp sound of their hands slamming against each other.
“Don’t let your guard down just because she’s a Zero. She’s got plenty of Uniques on her payroll,” the man advised. Phil and Fred nodded, both wearing goofy smirks on their face. “Thank you for your time, I’ll check in again,” he said. The interior of the elevator went pitch black for a second, but when the light returned the blonde man no longer stood there. Phil and Fred turned around to walk out of the building.
“I told you it’d come in handy. Now we get paid to play a game,” Phil said once they reached the black SUV. “We should probably drop the car off first,” he added. Fred wiggled his fingers in the air to open a clear vertical portal in front of the SUV. Phil smiled and drove through the portal to park in his spot at the NSA building where they worked.
