Meeting The Montgomerys

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Job Sign-Up: Page 32, Post Number 799

-Capital Crocus, late morning-

The capital city of Fiore was in full swing and full of traffic as Victoria rode through the streets on her DH-40 Centaur Prototype, being careful to obey the speed limit of 30 MPH and to avoid hitting careless pedestrians who thought that stepping out in the road while vehicles were in motion was a good idea. There were cars of all different makes and models, including some of Dagger Corp's newest offerings. Victoria found the Dagger Corp cars to be sleek and attractive and had briefly considered buying one, but she did not need one now that she had the Centaur. The Centaur was much more to her liking because of its design and its abilities. Besides, not everyone could boast of owning a prototype vehicle with special features that would never be included in the mass-produced version.

Victoria recalled that Thomas Montgomery's address was 1780 King's Court. She looked at the street signs while she waited for the stop light to turn green and saw that King's Court was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she had to travel deeper into the city to find her destination, so the brunette would keep going until she found her destination. Maybe she should have done what her friend Abigail Windstrider did and gotten an iLac and the NeverLost app to turn the device into a handy GPS device. Oh well.

Once the light turned green Victoria gently throttled up until she was going 15 MPH and kept going straight while looking at the street signs. She passed by one for Knight's Lane and kept going. One street later and she had passed by Duke's Castle. Victoria was not sure if she was even going the right way, but she would keep going on her current path because there was some jackass in a black convertible who was tailgating her and honking the horn. The brunette clenched her teeth and kept going.

At the next stop light was a sign. Victoria ignored the young woman yelling insults at her and looked at the green and white street sign above her and to her right. She read the letters and blinked.

The street she was about to turn on to was King's Court!

Victoria smiled and ignored the foul-mouthed young woman who was calling her a "biker bitch" and other names. She activated her right turn signal and waited for the light to turn green. Once it did she throttled up and turned right, hoping to get away from the blonde bimbo who was behind her hurling abuse because Victoria dared to obey traffic laws.

-King's Court-

Victoria lowered her speed to 15 MPH while going through the upscale neighborhood and calmly turned to look behind her. Maybe that blonde bimbo had gone straight, turned left, or had otherwise went somewhere else, but to the brunette's chagrin the blonde's convertible was right behind her. So were the insults.

"GET OUTTA MY WAY, YOU STUPID BIKER BITCH!" She screamed and honked the horn at Victoria. She then stomped the gas and zoomed out around Victoria, matching speeds with the Centaur and giving the Sabertooth mage the middle finger while shouting something else. Victoria turned to face the persistent blonde and hear her newest insult.

"GET A CAR, YOU BROKE BITCH!" The young woman shouted. Victoria looked into her eyes and saw that they were purple. Victoria knew only one purple-eyed blonde who was so vulgar and rude.

Francesca Corlone.

Victoria blinked and looked forward so that she did not get into a traffic accident. She could not believe what she had just seen. Meanwhile the young woman zoomed ahead of her and got in front, then did a brake check. Victoria managed to react just in time to slow down and avoid hitting the rear fender of the convertible. She did not want to have to pay the blonde for damages and endure her theatrics.

"I'M FRANCESCA CORLONE! I OWN YOU!" The young woman screamed before laughing and zooming away from the brunette. Victoria blinked.

What was Francesca Corlone doing here?

How did she beat the charges in Rose Garden?

And did she have a new home in Capital Crocus?

Victoria had no idea. She could not believe that the wannabe mob princess somehow avoided being arrested after the fall of the Corlones, but here she was stinking up another city. The silver lining to the unexpected encounter was that she did not recognize Victoria in her new form. That would give the brunette time to learn where her house was and avoid it like it was Morgate Town.

Now that she had established that the wannabe mob princess was here she continued down King's Court looking for Mr. Montgomery's house. Hopefully Francesca Corlone's house was far away from Mr. Montgomery's. Victoria liked to think that Capital Crocus had some standards and would not allow someone like her here, but she knew from experience that money talked and made people overlook all but the most egregious transgressions... sometimes even the most egregious transgressions could be overlooked for a lot of money. She wondered how much Miss Corlone paid for her new house and how much of that money came from her father's illicit dealings. More than likely all of it did.

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-Fifteen minutes later, King's Court-

Slowing down to 5 MPH, Victoria drove into a cul-de-sac at the end of King's Court and frowned when she saw the black convertible sitting in the driveway of one of the houses to her left. The house in question was a single-story house with a white exterior and off to the left side was a three-car garage. Flanking the beige front door were small statues of angels holding water pitchers. Victoria found the decorative angels to be inappropriate, mostly because of who the house belonged to. The house address was 1783 King's Court... Victoria would have to remember to avoid that place from now on.

She frowned even more when she saw Francesca Corlone standing in the driveway and talking on an iLac with someone. Victoria wondered who the mob princess could be talking to... maybe it was the lawyer who had helped her avoid charges for being an accessory to her father's numerous criminal activities. Francesca was wearing a tight white tube top that barely contained her large breasts and a dangerously short purple skirt with black high heels. Victoria saw that her old enemy's fashion sense was as awful as ever... she was trying to look attractive, but her personality was sure to drive away any man or woman she attracted with her looks.

Victoria ignored the blonde and looked for 1780 King's Court, which was to the right of her present location. The brunette slowed down to 3 MPH and maneuvered into the driveway of the house, then shut it down and climbed off. She then followed a concrete path to the front of the house, where she found a doorbell off to the right of the slate gray door. Victoria pressed it once and stepped back.

The door opened and a young black-haired woman with blue eyes wearing a purple midriff-baring tank top and black skirt stood inside the doorway. It was Allie Montgomery, the young woman she had rescued from Zupazu's Executioners in the Haunted Guild.

"Oh hey Victoria!" Allie exclaimed. She reached out and hugged the brunette tightly. Victoria did her best to remain upright as Allie tried to pull her into the house and threatened to drag the brunette down to her knees. A few seconds later a black-haired young woman wearing a blue t-shirt and black gym shorts strode by and saw her younger sister hugging Victoria. Victoria looked to the older Montgomery with pleading eyes.

"Allie, Victoria's about to fall onto her knees. She'd appreciate it if you let her go now." Alex suggested to her sister. The young woman saw what she had done and promptly released the Sabertooth mage from her grasp. Victoria quickly stood upright just outside the doorway.

"Don't just stand there, Victoria. Come on in!" Alex bade her.

"I'd like to, but first I've got a favor to ask of you." Victoria replied.

"What do you need?" Allie asked the brunette.

"I drove here and I'm worried that someone's gonna try and steal my vehicle while I'm inside. Do you guys have space in your garage for it or am I just being paranoid?" Victoria asked them. Alex smiled.

"We got you, Victoria. Go to your vehicle and I'll open the garage for you." She said. Victoria flashed a thumbs-up and walked briskly to her Centaur before Francesca could come over with a baseball bat to try and damage the Centaur. She got on board, activated it, and very slowly maneuvered it into the spacious three-car garage that the Montgomery family had. Allie then shut the garage door behind Victoria, thus ensuring the safety of the Centaur while she visited the Montgomery family.

-Inside the Montgomery house-

"So, what brings you all the way to Capital Crocus?" Allie asked while drinking from a plastic water bottle she had gotten from the kitchen. Alex was rummaging in the refrigerator for a drink of her own while Victoria stood just outside the doorway to the kitchen. She had taken her shoes off at the garage door and had left them on a special mat

"Your father invited me here to talk about my family. He said that he was an old friend of my father's." Victoria replied while standing just outside the kitchen. Alex stood up and emerged from the refrigerator clutching a can of Cherry Charge soda. She looked at Victoria and briefly interrupted to ask her a question.

"Hey Vic, you want one?" Alex asked Victoria.

"If you don't mind." Victoria replied in the affirmative. Alex walked over to Victoria and handed the canned drink to her, then briefly ducked back into the refrigerator to grab another can of Cherry Charge for herself. After a few seconds of noisy rummaging she found another can and slowly extracted herself from the large double-door refrigerator, then stood upright and closed the doors.

"Thanks." Victoria thanked Alex for the drink. Alex nodded.

"So, you think our dad knew your parents?" Allie asked, getting the conversation back on track after her older sister briefly interrupted.

"According to a letter your father sent me, he did." Victoria replied. Allie sipped from her bottle of water and looked at the brunette.

"What's your last name again?" Alex asked.

"Sheridan." Victoria answered. Allie gave a thumbs-up.

"I recall him sending a letter to Sabertooth for a Victoria Sheridan almost a week ago. He'll be interested to meet you... once he gets home from work." Allie told her. If Victoria had known that she would have timed her arrival later in the day, but then she would be intruding on a family meal. Even though she would have to wait for Mr. Montgomery it was a good thing that she had arrived when she did.

"So, what do you want to do while you wait, Vic? Do you wanna go get something to eat at a restaurant, then go see a movie?" Alex asked the Sabertooth mage. The brunette nodded.

"I might be up for that, Alex. How long will it take your father to get home?" Victoria asked them. Allie was the one to answer that question

"Oh, about another four hours or so... if he doesn't work overtime on a case. He's a lawyer, so long hours are a frequent thing with him." Allie answered.

"Oh, OK. Where did you guys want to go eat?" Victoria asked the Montgomery sisters.

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-Capital Crocus Mall, 11:25 A.M, All-Star Grill-

Allie, Alex, and Victoria sat side-by-side at the bar inside the sports bar in Capital Crocus Mall named All-Star Grill while waiting for their orders to arrive. The brunette looked around the restaurant and half-listened to sports news from the world of automobile racing... three middle-aged sports analysts in business suits sat around a circular table and discussed a rumor that a new female driver named Ashton Androtti who had won numerous races in the minor leagues was going to step up to the big leagues. According to the analysts, her grandfather Andrew Androtti Sr. and father Andrew Androtti Jr. were champion drivers, so Ashton would have her hands full living up to their legacy.

The bar was crammed with sports memorabilia such as autographed pictures displayed proudly in frames and framed and autographed t-shirts of star athletes. There was even a football helmet sitting proudly in a square glass case in the center of the area behind the bar where bottles of alcohol were sitting on shelves. The interior was all modern decor with square tables dotted at regular intervals throughout the restaurant and arranged according to sports sections. For example, soccer fans sat facing two big-screen televisions that showed nothing but soccer games and soccer news while baseball fans sat in their own section with their own televisions. Those who did not have a preference sat at the bar and watched televisions showing sports like baseball, soccer, arena football, automobile racing, and other popular sports.

All-Star Grill stood a short distance away from a store called Fashionable Lady, which according to Allie sold perfume, lipstick, eyeliner, and other beauty products. Fashionable Lady sounded like a place that Victoria would have ordinarily avoided because she was a tomboy who disliked overly feminine things like pink clothing and perfume, but part of her wanted to pay it a visit and at least see what was available.

Victoria looked at the televisions hanging on wall mounts located above and behind the bar and saw news about Ashton Androtti, soccer games, baseball scores, and other sports-related topics she did not care much about. She was more interested in getting her chicken wings and french fries than she was getting all the latest sports news and gossip. Allie sat at the bar watching soccer news about Capital Crocus' soccer team the Crocus Challengers, who were supposedly set for a championship run after acquiring several talented players who were free agents. Alex watched the arena football news and twirled her drink straw in her fingers. Victoria wondered when their food would get here.

It had been about twenty minutes since each girl had placed their respective orders. Allie ordered spicy chicken wings with extra hot sauce while Alex and Victoria played it safe and ordered the mild chicken wings. Neither Alex nor Victoria cared for spicy foods while Allie could not get enough of them. Victoria hoped that Allie knew what she was doing... after this they were going to go to the movie theater and see if there was a decent movie to watch, which could take awhile because when they drove by it in Alex's blue sports car the theater was starting to form a line to get in. Alex said that was because Celestial Conflicts was a big box office draw that was bringing in millions of Jewels per week.

Victoria's attention was drawn to the bar when her food was set down in front of her by a young man wearing an umpire's outfit, who then went to the back and retrieved Alex's meal, then went to the back and brought out Allie's food while a young female employee brought out their drinks. Victoria and Alex had ordered large Cherry Charge sodas while Allie ordered water. Once the trio had gotten their food they began to eat.

"Hey Vic, what movie did you want to see?" Alex asked the brunette, who had just bitten into a chicken wing.

"I don't know. What's playing at the theater?" Victoria asked the older Montgomery sister. Allie set down a hot wing and spoke up.

"There's the sci-fi space opera Celestial Conflicts, there's an old-fashioned detective movie called Six-Shooter Sleuth, there's a romantic comedy called My Meeting With Sandra, but the one I'm really interested in is Cybernetic Conspiracy." Allie chimed in. Alex looked at her sister.

"Isn't Cybernetic Conspiracy a computer game?" Alex asked. Allie nodded.

"Yeah, it is. Normally I'd be concerned about movies based off of video games, but I heard the producers got a really good sci-fi script writer named Robert Deckard to write the screenplay." Allie said. Alex turned to Victoria, who in turn was looking at Allie.

"I don't have any real preference... except that I don't like romantic comedies." Victoria said to the Montgomery sisters. They nodded in agreement.

"We don't either, Vic. They're either all sappy romance movies that went out of fashion sixty years ago, movies full of really bad cliches like frat boys trying to raid sorority houses, or incomprehensible art movies about stuff like lovers who live continents away sending messages through bottles that drift in the ocean." Alex voiced their opinion on romantic comedies. Allie nodded in agreement.

"We can decide what we want to watch when we get there, if that's OK with you guys." Victoria said to them.

"Fine with me." Alex said.

"Me too." Allie seconded her sister's opinion.

"OK. When we finish here we'll go to the theater and see if there's anything good playing." Victoria reiterated the plan they had come up with. The trio then resumed eating their meals while they watched the televisions or glanced at each other. The restaurant was beginning to get more customers, but the trio were not worried because they would eat and get out of here long before the lunch rush really started.

-Capital Crocus Mall, 12:35 P.M.-

The trio had finished eating and had paid their bill just as the lunch rush was really getting started. There was a line of people snaking out of the restaurant that was at least fifteen people long and over half of them were wearing sports jerseys or hats or caps sporting the logo of their favorite team. The trio left All-Star Grill and walked towards the mall food court to begin the journey to the mall parking lot so that they could leave the mall and go to the movie theater before it got too crowded... not that a crowd would deter the trio. They wanted to see a movie and would go see one even if they had to wait a few hours to do so.

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-Capital Crocus Theater, 1:55 P.M.-

The trio had gotten out of the mall parking lot without too much trouble, but the wait to get into the movie theater was a long and dull one. They had arrived at the theater at 12:50 P.M. but had to wait slightly over an hour because the theater was running on a skeleton crew and there was only one person manning the ticket booth. Alex and Victoria were OK with it, but Allie was visibly annoyed by the wait. The trio learned that tickets to Celestial Conflicts were sold out, so they chose to see Cybernetic Conspiracy because none of the theater's other offerings were particularly interesting. They paid for their tickets and went inside the theater to go get concessions before their movie started at 2:30 P.M.

-Inside the lobby, 2:00 P.M.-

The trio walked into the lobby with thirty minutes left before Cybernetic Conspiracy started, which was just enough time to brave the lengthy concession lines and get what they wanted. Taking advantage of an all-too-rare short line made possible by the people in front of them bailing out to take a sudden trip to the bathroom, the trio promptly hopped into it and waited their turn in line, getting to the counter in the astoundingly fast time of four minutes. So far everything was going smoothly for them, a trend that Victoria holed would continue.

Within another five minutes they had gotten their drinks, candy, and popcorn and were on the way to the theater where Cybernetic Conspiracy was showing, one marked with the number 12. Victoria, who was the least burdened of the trio with a large Cherry Charge clutched in her left hand, opened the door for the Montgomery sisters, who had their hands full. Allie had a large cup of water and a large tub of popcorn while Alex carried a large Cherry Charge, a large tub of popcorn, and a box of chocolate candy precariously perched underneath the tub of popcorn. The grateful sisters went by and Victoria followed them into the theater.

-Inside Theater 12, 2:09 P.M.-

The trio made their way to the seating in the middle of the theater, which was lightly populated by moviegoers. They chose seating that was in the middle of the higher seats and sat down, catching a few early movie previews for standard box office fare like romantic comedies about college students, action movies that were big on gunfights and explosions, and even some strange arthouse movie about a guy wearing sunglasses carrying a potted plant across Desierto. As the previews went on they got to be annoying, so the audience began to chat amongst themselves about other things.

"Man, these previews suck. How many times are they gonna make romantic comedies set in college?" Allie asked between mouthfuls of popcorn.

"Dude, I don't know." Victoria answered incredulously. The preview that was on the big screen was for a movie named The Perfect Partnership, which was about a girl in a sorority who was obsessed with a rich guy who just so happened to be in all of the Business Administration classes she attended. The rich boy checked all the boxes for typical "college romcom heartthrob" such as having perfect brown hair, deep blue eyes, chiseled abs, and a near-perfect GPA along with a large circle of friends and admirers. The girl, on the other hand, was a card-carrying nerd with waist-length jet-black hair who wore thick black-rimmed glasses and wore long-sleeved shirts and long skirts. One could see the plot of the movie coming from miles away.

Nerdy girl wants rich guy, so she goes on a quest of self-discovery, bonds with her sorority sisters while going through typical college movie hijinks, and eventually gets the guy after learning that true beauty was within.

Victoria kept quiet and sipped on her drink as the preview mercifully ended and the theater darkened. The curtains concealing the left and right sides of the screen drew back, then the opening credits to Cybernetic Conspiracy rolled. While they rolled a mournful violin played as a male narrator who sounded exhausted described the world that Cybernetic Conspiracy was set in. It sounded like typical "dystopian future" fare, but Victoria was interested enough in the premise to listen to the narration.

The year was 2152. The world was groaning under the weight of numerous problems, most of them caused by humanity. Wars over resources that had been going on since the start of the 22nd Century with no end in sight, rising levels of pollution in the world's oceans and rivers, corporate interests acquiring a disproportionate amount of influence in the political system through lavish donations to politicians, and growing gaps between the rich and the poor that showed no signs of being narrowed.

The scene was a view of a pristine white laboratory where a gloved hand dropped a solution into a beaker. The next scene was a picture of Leonardo DaVinci's famous artwork The Vitruvian Man. While the image formed the background the narrator spoke of how militaries and governments all over the world were hard at work creating super soldiers to end the wars over resources... and to form the backbone of special police forces dedicated to rooting out people who were tired of the gross economic disparities and lack of voice in the political system.

The scene changed to formations of uniformed soldiers with cybernetic enhancements such as cybernetic arms and eyes marching in perfect lockstep. The narrator said "These men of iron are relics of a world gone by. They are to be replaced by men of the future. Men of the future made by men of the past. How this paradox plays out will affect the world for centuries to come." Victoria did not quite get what that meant, but she surmised that it meant that the super soldiers were being created by men who were stuck in the past for goals that were equally outdated such as the global supremacy of their country.

The screen went dark and the narrator said "The men of the future will wield the power of nanites."

Next came a scene where uniformed men with no cybernetics and glowing blue eyes jogged in formation before scenes of battle came on. In one battle scene a nano-augmented soldier lifted a disabled Armored Personnel Carrier above his head before turning around and facing a squad of soldiers shooting at him, then tossing the vehicle at the squad in a ghastly game of bowling. In another a nano-augmented soldier shrugged off point-blank fire from a cybernetically enhanced soldier wielding a light machine gun and casually walked up to him before delivering a single punch with enough force to practically disintegrate the cyborg soldier's head. A third scene showed a nano-augmented soldier in heavy armor wielding a rifle that looked like the cannon of a tank with one hand and blasting an enemy tank into a heap of flaming metal before blasting another five into scrap with a single shot to each tank. In the end a pile of dead cyborg soldiers lay at the feet of a single nano-augmented soldier wielding an assault rifle. The nano-augmented soldier turned towards the camera with an expressionless face and glowing blue eyes.

The movie sounded like typical dystopian fare, but again Victoria was keenly interested in the premise because she had never seen anything like it before. The narration did a good job of setting the mood of the world the movie was set in and the music only enhanced the mood. Victoria was glued to the screen and wanted to see how the movie ended.

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-Three hours later, the lobby-

Victoria and the Montgomery sisters left Theater 12 after having spent three hours watching Cybernetic Conspiracy from start to finish. With the exception of the slow beginning the movie was surprisingly good all the way to the end. It was a powerful story told from the perspective of a nano-augmented soldier named Rousseau who had been created to serve the corporations but had defected to the global resistance halfway through the movie when it was revealed that countries throughout the world were under the control of shadowy and powerful individuals called "Sovereigns", people of fantastic wealth for whom buying a private island in one of the world's last unpolluted oceanic regions or buying a private army for personal protection was well within their means. Rousseau endured a lot of challenges after defecting; he had to fight cyborg soldiers loyal to the corporations, the prejudice of anti-corporate resistance groups against nano-augmented people, a particularly determined hunter of renegade nano-augmented people named Darwin, and even his own "brother" Hobbes, a soldier who had remained loyal to the corporations despite being presented with evidence that everyone was a pawn to them, even the new "men of nanites."

The brothers clashed in a well-choreographed fight atop a corporate skyscraper that did a good job of showcasing the belief of human nature Rousseau and Hobbes each held. Rousseau believed that mankind was inherently good and could build a functioning society without a need for strict control from self-appointed higher authorities. Hobbes believed that only strict laws and stern taskmasters could keep human society functioning without it coming apart due to individuals being free to pursue their own whims. Rousseau was called a "dreamer" by his brother, who felt that such an idealistic view of humanity was alarmingly naive at best and utterly childish at worst. Rousseau retorted that Hobbes was only endorsing the view of the Sovereigns because he sat beneath them on the power structure; were Hobbes to be at the bottom he would see the Sovereigns for what they really were... cruel, uncaring feudal overlords who only cared about preserving their own power and wealth no matter how many people had to die for their privileged position to be maintained.

The fight between the brothers was a draw that ended with Hobbes retreating to report to his corporate masters, but resistance movements that had previously waited in the shadows were inspired to take more overt action by the example of Rousseau, the super soldier who had dared to rebel against the Sovereigns and fight for the common man. The movie ended on a hopeful note as Sovereigns around the world noted a sharp rise in resistance activity and either prepared to defend their holdings to the last corporate soldier or made plans to appeal to "The Pentarchy" for help. Then the credits rolled.

The trio was surprised by how good a movie based on a video game was, but the creators of Cybernetic Conspiracy were not finished yet. Those few hardy viewers who could temporarily ignore the need to go to the bathroom and sat through the lengthy credits sequence were rewarded with a few surprise scenes at the end. In it the same sequence of a white gloved hand using a medicine dropper to put drops of a substance into a beaker and The Vitruvian Man serving as the background image for scientific innovation were repeated, but then the narrator came in with a new announcement.

"The Pentarchy, those five rulers of the world, hear the call of their vassals and prepare for battle."

Next came a scene where five shadowy figures stood in front of a holographic globe that had countries that were home to rebel activity marked in red. To the left of the globe was a bank of computer monitors that played scenes of unrest from around the globe. To the right was a bank of computer monitors that listed the names and locations of military bases throughout the world that presumably housed the military assets of The Pentarchy. The five had to only give the word and their full power would be unleashed on the scattered and uncoordinated rebels. One could almost feel the tension in the air as the five figures cloaked in shadow calmly spoke amongst themselves.

"The rebels have become emboldened by the success of the rogue soldier Rousseau." One of them said.

"Yes. His defection is most troublesome." A second replied.

"It is of no consequence. We have others, others loyal to us." A third figure assured the second that the defection of one nano-augmented soldier would not stop their plan.

"This I know, for we intend to make them ourselves." A fourth intoned.

"Yes. That we will." The fifth and final member commented. Then an overhead shot of The Pentarchy showed their shadows stretching towards the holographic globe and coming together to form a hand with fingers reaching out to seize the world as a rising violin sound played. Then the screen went dark.

That was a memorable extra scene that set the stage for the next movie in the series. The trio were not sure how to take the promise of a sequel. On one hand, they wanted to see how The Pentarchy moved to reestablish their control over the world and how Rousseau would deal with the new breed of nano-augmented soldiers that would be sent against him. On the other hand, they were worried that the series would fall prey to "sequelitis" and that the next film would be a shallow cash grab instead of a movie that was not afraid to explore the nature of power, how it corrupted those who craved power for its own sake, and how sometimes people who never asked for power were exactly the ones qualified to wield it.

Now that they had seen the movie they had better get back to the Montgomery home to meet Mr. Montgomery, who was due home in less than an hour. The trio paid a visit to the restrooms and then walked out of the theater and towards the parking lot to go home. They just hoped that the sequel to Cybernetic Conspiracy was as good as the first movie.

-The Montgomery home, 5:50 P.M.-

The trio entered the Montgomery home and took their shoes off at the garage door. Mr. Montgomery was expected to be here in roughly forty minutes and they wanted to be here for them. Victoria was especially interested in what he had to tell her about her family.

"I'm glad we went to see Cybernetic Conspiracy. I was pleasantly surprised by how they treated the subject matter and didn't turn it into a bland dime-a-dozen action movie." Allie said.

"Me too, but I'm worried about whether the sequel will be as good as the first. I've heard people say the same about Celestial Conflicts." Alex chimed in. Moments after making that statement she heard a ringing sound and rushed to her room. Victoria looked towards Allie.

"It's her iLac. It must be our dad calling. I bet he's calling to tell us that he's working overtime... again." Allie commented as her sister answered the iLac.

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-The Montgomery house, ten minutes later-

"Bad news, guys. Dad's working overtime again. He says he's got a really important case to work and that it can't wait." Alex told Allie and Victoria the outcome of the call. Allie groaned.

"He always says that he's got a really important case to work on!" Allie fumed. Victoria, remembering what had transpired between her and Sophia Jarnefeldt a few days ago, kept quiet and did not ask any probing questions about the family's relationship. Alex turned to Victoria.

"Sorry, Vic. Dad's really busy and can't meet with you today. He said that he'll have to reschedule the meeting for another day." Alex apologized to the brunette for having wasted most of a day. Victoria took it in stride.

"It's no problem, Alex. I had fun today." Victoria replied with no trace of animosity. It was not like she had anything really important to do today. If she did not go to Capital Crocus she would be sitting in her room drinking vodka and looking for a bartending school to apply for... not that there was anything wrong with that.

Victoria walked towards the garage door to put her shoes on. She was going to get on the road to Ace Of Spades before nighttime traffic got too bad. She also wanted to avoid seeing Francesca Corlone on the way out of the King's Court neighborhood.

"I'd better get going back to Ace Of Spades, guys. I had a lot of fun today. Maybe we can do it again some time." Victoria said to them. Both girls looked momentarily disappointed that she was leaving before smiling at her.

"I'll open the garage for you, Vic." Alex said.

"I'll go to wave goodbye." Allie said. Together the trio departed for the garage. In a few hours Victoria would be back at the guild hall looking for her next job and waiting on the next meeting with Mr. Montgomery. While Victoria was a bit upset that she would not learn about her birth family today, she would learn about them one day. She had waited this long, so what was a little more time?

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[Total Word Count: 5,891/5,000]