Standing in an empty hallway, Terra gazed at the door latch before her. Twice she reached for it but pulled back. Resigning to the inevitable, she grasped it.

This is where the feces contact with the rotating air mover.

The open door revealed a stark white room with another door in the back, presumably the location of her scolding. Afraid to break the silence of this place, Terra tip-toed to a plain desk beside the inner door. A woman seated there stared down intently at a tablet viewer propped before her.

The woman's stylish black dress, immaculate blond hair, and artful makeup contrasted sharply with Terra's casual attire, consisting of a wrinkled gray tank-top and black leggings. Having overslept, Terra barely had enough time to throw on some clothes and tie her frazzled long hair into a ponytail. At one time, this might have bothered her.

After a moment of awkward silence, the woman glanced up to Terra, tilting her head and raising an eyebrow as if wordlessly asking 'what?'

"Agent Terra Lorr to see Walt."

The woman casually pointed toward two empty wooden chairs along the wall and then looked back down at her tablet viewer.

Well, that was friendly. Where does Walt find such sociable assistants?

Terra sat on one chair, found it uncomfortable, then moved to the other. Equally uncomfortable, she slumped down, splaying her legs out. Her eyes flitted around the room but found nothing that might distract her from the queasy feeling in her stomach nor calm her fingers drumming on the chair arm.

Not even a tacky propaganda pamphlet exalting the virtues of our Blue Uprising and the evils of the Sage Dynasty.

She moved her fingers to the silver and gold half-heart pendant that hung from a gold necklace. Anna had one also, but a mirror image, gifts to each other years ago to symbolize their friendship. Terra's eyes moistened and a persistent grief darkened her heart as she stroked the jewelry.

If only Anna were still here.

The continued wait gave Terra a chance to go over once more in her mind the events that led her to this point. At least her story should be consistent with her report.

Terra snapped out of her thoughts as the door at the back of the room swung open, shuddering as it banged against the doorstop. Out stomped an older bald man with a sour scowl on his face, who Terra recognized him as one of the Blue Uprising Governors, and definitely not one to give her a glowing performance evaluation. Hissing, his eyes shot a menacing glare at her, to which she responded with a small wave and sweet smile that dripped with sarcasm. His scowl deepened, and he clomped out through the outer door, slamming it shut hard enough that even the disinterested administrative assistant at the back of the room jumped.

I probably shouldn't have done that.

"Lorr!", a male voice shouted from the back office.

Ah, Walt summons me to my beating.

Terra ambled in and plopped down in a padded chair in front of the desk. Laying flat on the otherwise empty desktop, a tablet viewer displayed her report of the errant mission. Walt, a stocky man with messy balding hair, let out an exasperated groan and rubbed his forehead. Obviously, she had been the subject of a heated discussion between him and the foul-tempered governor.

"So, Walt, how have things been going?" Terra said.

Ignoring her question, Walt glared at her. "Terra, why do you do these things to me? I've been your supervisor for a long time and we've worked well together, haven't we? The mission directives were clear, weren't they? I usually let you get away with bending them a bit, but this time you threw them out. You could have made contact before going rogue."

"There was no time," she responded with a shrug. "I had to act quickly. And that idiot Ian..."

"You know you broke his nose."

"I saved his sorry arse first. He had it coming."

A slight smile crossed Walt's face. "If he wasn't such a pompous arsehole, I might have taken the medical cost out of your pay. But be careful. He has supporters among the governance council, and yours are fading fast." He sighed and ran a hand through dwindling hair. "I read your report. I must say, I am impressed with your skills at, um, shall we say, creative writing? This is one of your best yet."

Terra hid a smile with her hand. She enjoyed the word sparring they often had.

He continued. "Your assignment was straight forward, assassinate the mayor of New Haven. The council wanted to make an example of him. Ian was assigned to go with you."

"Taking that arrogant fool with me was a mistake. We were lucky that we both lived through it." She paused for a deep breath. "Walt, do we have to kill everyone who defies the Uprising? Maybe we could all just sit down with a round of ales and talk it over."

"Not for us to decide. You had your orders."

She huffed, "Yeah, well, the Council doesn't have a clue what is going on out there."

Walt focused directly into Terra's eyes. "About the Council. Some of them wanted to terminate your employment."

Terra suppressed a shiver. The way Walt annunciated the word terminate had an ominous ring to it.

Walt continued. "But fortunately for you, the mission turned out well. The mayor has given us a wealth of intelligence and is singing your praises. And the Uprising avoided a much greater public embarrassment than it already was." He leaned forward and almost whispered, "Officially, you are hereby reprimanded, but between you and me, you done good, kiddo."

"Thanks, Walt. I really do appreciate your support." A comfortable warmth spread through Terra.

Walt grunted, then pulled up his viewer and tapped on it a few times. "I have a new assignment for you. It should now be on your viewer. Use standard encryption."

Terra pulled out her viewer from a pocket sleeve at her thigh, a smaller version of the one Walt held.

Rolling his eyes, Walt said, "I know it is too much to ask that you stay out of trouble, but at least this is far enough away that it may not be as noticeable."

Terra wrinkled her brow. "The Highland Province, right?" Several days travel away, the Highlands was a relatively poor agricultural region, but a hotspot of conflict with Dynasty forces. "Walt, are you trying to get rid of me?"

He snorted. "As if it would be that easy. Your assignment is to find and assess someone known as the Hooded Man."

She lowered her eyebrows and narrowed her eyes, not at all trying to hide displeasure. "You want me to chase that myth? Is this atonement for the last mission?"

Walt ignored her second question. "Others are not so sure. The Hooded Man is either a folk story or perhaps one of the most powerful Talents we have ever seen. If he is real, we want you to recruit him and bring him in. If he will not come to our side, make sure he never joins another." He firmed his expression, the meaning obvious to her. "Do you understand?"

Terra gulped at the implied action. "Yes."

Walt pointed to the text at the bottom of her viewer. "Meet up with an informant, Lar Flinn. I believe you have met him before?"

"Yeah, but he's a weasel. Never sure if I can trust him."

"Well, he claims to have information on this Hooded Man. If he has nothing useful, remind him not to waste our time. The rest is on your viewer. Hex will be your central contact. Leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Terra softened her facial features as a shadow crossed her heart. "Umm, Walt, can we delay this just a bit? I mean, tomorrow is--"

Walt nodded in understanding and softened his tone. "Oh, yes. I miss Anna, too. Take tomorrow off and leave the next day."

"Thanks."

Terra stood and turned to the door. Before she grasped the latch, Walt delivered one last warning. "Oh Terra, send us regular updates and do not deviate from the mission directives. Many on the council looking for any reason to condemn you. Am I clear?"

With an affirming nod, Terra opened the door. Passing Walt's oblivious assistant, she exited the outer office, and walked down the hallway to a large open area teeming with activity. A flurry of technicians wired cable to computer stations positioned at random locations. She grinned as her eyes fixed on the person she sought.

"Hex!"

The short man with a paunch belly looked up from his station and returned her grin. "Terra! Damn glad your name is not among the memorial to our fallen agents. Heard you've been a very bad girl. Did Walt give you your spanking?"

Terra smirked. "Only verbally. Get your mind out of the ditch."

She glanced around at the clutter of boxes, wires, and parts, then at the bare walls. "Love what you are doing to the place. Who is your decorator?"

"You know how the Dynasty trashed our last place?" He motioned across the large room, embellishing wide arm movements. "Thought we would put the statuary over there and maybe the impressionist paintings on the far wall."

Terra grinned at his sarcasm, but then changed the subject. "You've heard about my new mission? Glad to be working with you again. What do you know about this Hooded Man?"

Hex put a hand to his chin. "Lots of folklore, but not much reliable information. Some cast him as a champion of the common man. Not even sure if he is even real. I hear the Dynasty is looking for him too, but they have put little resources into it. That probably means they are skeptical of his existence or have no idea where to start. The sightings started after the Day of Darkness."

Terra trembled at the reference. The Day of Darkness traumatized anyone with significant Talent. All powers and aura-sense disappeared as if switched off. The event disrupted society and led to days of rioting and upheaval. Some good came from it, though. Defenseless without their powers, several of the more depraved elitist Talents perished at the hands of those they abused.

The Day of Darkness also happened around the time Anna died. Terra couldn't help but wonder if these were somehow related.

Hex continued. "The stories about the Hooded Man are all similar. He takes out some powerful Talent to rescue the oppressed, and with ease. All the sightings are of a mysterious man wearing a hood, hence the name, but it is hard to tell what is true. I've loaded more details on your viewer. There are even some that think he is the manifestation of the Null told in Dr. Hsu's final notes, although nobody takes that seriously, as he was quite insane by then."

Terra nodded. Hex impressed her with the amount of information he could dig up, and he was one of the few people she truly trusted. "Okay, thanks. Let me know what else you find."

Hex cast her one more smile. "Hey, be careful out there."

"Aren't I always?"

"No."