Clyde leaned closer to me, "I hope you know what you're doing, she seems not to be amused." he whispered.
"I?..." I was at a loss for words, "Normally Kyle knows what to do, I hoped she would be cheered up to see us and we use Kyle's card to do a bunch of stuff and make her happy and collect some intel on what the Commissar wants us to do." While we talked Sinne came closer one step after the other to the car.
"Iby? Where is your confidence in menkind?"
I started to sweat, she left the last of the stairs behind herself and was only meters away from the car.
"Its gone! I thought seeing us would cheer her up because I haven't said anything and maybe she could have thought Kyle called her!"
"IBUKI YOU IMBECILE!"
I screamed as his hands wrapped themself around my neck. "You can't treat their pet psychopaths as pets!"
"I haven't!" His grip tightened. "I didn't mean to!"
"You haven't fought about any of this!"
"I haven't!" He released his grip.
"What are you boys!" Sinne shouted as she swung open the car door. She looked down on me when I almost fell out of the car and Clyde leaned across the seats in his attempt to strangle me.
"Hey…?" I offered, looking up at her, Sinne's eyes wandered over to Clyde. From his shifting body weight I could guess he was giving her a shrug. "Listen, it sounds complicated but…" Sinne raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what im doing, but you probably have to be part of it."
She forced a smile, tilted her head and dragged me out of the car by the neck. I dropped to the ground with my heels holding on for dear life at the entrance of the car.
Sinne crouched down next to my face. "Ibuki? Why have you called me, and why did Clyde try to strangle you?" I looked to Sinne and into the car hoping for Clyde for backup. "You know… The Commissar, Kyle's father, he told me and I quote 'to gather up some musketeers and the dogs of war' but hasn't elaborated any further on that aside that well be going on a hunt but that can mean anything from him rewarding us to a beach trip in which we no tavern remains unbothered to almost any kind of errands he felt inclined to do that night."
Sinne looked up to Clyde in the car and then down on me once more. "Did that happen more than once?"
An aching headache crawled up from too many nights which were lost due to an abundance of alcohol consumption. "You dont wanna know…"
A sparkle of light shot from one eye to the other in tandem with a flicker of emotions.
"Im sorry, but don't worry!" I reached for my wallet and produced Kyle's backup Credit card. "You were not forgotten, I know Kyle wanted to treat you to some nice place!" I searched for some excuse I know would make her happy. "And made reservations! But the doctor doesn't know for how long he's out so you have to make do with me!" I doubled down, uncertain if it even was necessary.
The same sparkle appeared again but this time it was followed by a bright smile from Sinne. She leaned down and slung her arms around me, my shoes lost any hold on the car when she pulled me closer. "Ah Iby, you didn't have to go that far~"
I definitely had.
Inside the car I could hear the slap of skin against skin. In the embrace of Sinne I tapped her rapidly against her back when sufficiently recovered.
Noticing that I've been laying for the most part on my arm after she dragged me out of the car she released me from her embrace. Sinne smiled and then sat down next to Clyde.
"So where are we going?" Sinne asked almost to cheered up.
I pushed myself off the ground. And opened the door behind Sinne. "You don't wanna sit here? I think Clyde has a booster seat."
"What do you take me for! Lynn is barely any taller than I or do you treat her the same way." I looked into the backseat window. I saw the reflection of Clyde's eyes. The universe's loudest glare of Shut the hell up.
It was obvious for my own safety that I wont neither admit or deny what we have done with Lynn and what we haven't.
"So where are you taking me?"
"First to the Police station and then we got some other boys to hit up without third squad were fewer than a dozen people. If we are not doing any bar hoping we are going to need a couple dozen people from what I've seen in the lower city."
I sat down behind Sinne and closed the door. "So Police station and then what?" Clyde asked.
"Drive first I look if we can meet up somewhere in between…" I looked at the screen on my wrist checking if the first squad was on standby or somewhere else.
As luck would have it, they were at the shooting range at the militia quarters. Getting them informed is as important as tying in other teams, it is hard to say what the Commissar even wants to achieve so my option is limited to teams which consist of people which are either operatives or aligned with the Technocrats in one way or the other…
Thinking about it, I haven't seen Kira in a while. She's been absent from everything which transpired in the past forty eight hours, so has Clyde for the most part or first squad… She always has something deeper going on and Kyle said that she looks with the same eyes as his sister. Whatever that means, but she knows people and places. Maybe bluffing has gotten me this far, it can get me further.
"I know what you are doing and what you have done, and I need a favor so it might slip my mind." I texted her without context.
She didn't take long to reply.
"What do you want Ibuki?"
"I need a couple favors, a bunch of bad enough dudes, a recommendation for a fancy restaurant people would die for to eat at. Some way to get me and Sinne dressed for such an occasion and some other bones you feel included to throw my way."
"You need me in a french maid outfit?"
"Affirmativ"
"Over and out."