Hestia stood on the stone walkway in front of the research facility, hands tucked into her pockets as she looked unperturbed at the sheer reinforced concrete walls and humming electric fences. Two members of the 3445 in APEX armor stood about twenty paces apart, their rifles ready but not quite pointed at the woman while a third guard approached her.

On the walls of the facility a half dozen guns, four of which were hidden behind thin coverings of paper or holographic light, trained themselves on the solitary samurai. Kat watched as indicators blinked on the security monitor, indicating that the explosives hidden underneath the concrete were ready to turn the building’s driveway into shrapnel and a series of craters that no tracked or wheeled vehicle could traverse.

Hestia’s mouth moved on the monitor and she lifted a hand to about chest height. The 3445 soldier extended a dark rectangular box, pressing a button on its back to cause the top to slide off.

“We can turn the sound on if you want Ma’am,” the tech next to Kat cut in. “The new mics are pretty good, but there will still be a lot of wind and interference at this distance.”

Kat stood up straight. She hadn’t really realized that she was leaning over the poor worker’s shoulder until she took a step back. Internally, she winced. Sweat was pouring down the employee's face and his hand was shaking slightly above the scroll pad that he could use to redirect the facility’s front cameras.

“I’m fine,” Kat said calmly, trying not to agitate the man any more than necessary. It wasn’t every day that he had a shareholder breathing down the back of his neck, and she couldn’t really blame him for being anxious. Still, after the previous issues with her security detail, Kat wasn’t inclined to trust any of the apparatus that she’d inherited from GroCorp until Heather and Emma had a chance to finish their investigations.

She glanced at where her security chief stood with her back to the monitoring room’s wall, metal arms crossed in front of herself. Heather was watching the entire situation like a hawk. Eyes flicking from one tech to another as if she was ready to pounce the second someone sneezed without permission.

Kat swallowed a chuckle. Maybe it wasn’t here that had the security staff worried after all. As relaxed as she might be about the situation, Heather wouldn’t hesitate to tear them apart for any failure. Evidently, the previous infiltration and mortar attack had weighed heavily on the other woman’s conscience.

“Genetic tests are back,” the tech remarked. “There isn’t any stallesp material and her DNA doesn’t show any signs of the genetic tampering that we associate with a flash clone. Unfortunately, we can’t find her biometrics in the corporate database-”

“You wouldn’t,” Kat replied with a smile, turning toward the room’s metal reinforced door. “You should still run her through the screening gas, but Heather and I will meet her in person. The courier is a named samurai. If you actually did have information on her, I’d worry that she was starting to slip.”

The man froze, his Adam’s Apple working audibly as Kat exited the room, Heather a half step behind her. The two of them entered the elevator that would take them to the building’s ground floor where Hestia was clearing security, and the minute the lift’s doors closed, Heather took a deep breath and faced her.

“I still think that you should have me lead the way Miss Debs. I know that you have history with this Hestia, but we are only a couple days out from a very serious threat on your life. We both know that in certain circles, even close friendships can be bought for enough credits. The chances that this samurai might have betrayed you are low, but at the same time I don’t think that we can risk it. I’m grateful that you didn’t fire me after my previous negligence, but-”

“You weren’t negligent,” Kat responded, hand unconsciously reaching down to touch where her knife was concealed under the fabric of her pantsuit. “By the time you were hired, sleepers were already in place. It would have taken a superhuman effort to screen literally every GroCorp employee. You’ll be careful in the future. We both know that.”

“Still.” Concern and indecision warred with each other across Heather’s face. “I understand that you’re capable, but I already feel like I’m a bit of a failure as your chief of security. All of my direct reports have been dismissed. Worse, it’s for good reason. Now you are meeting with a dangerous outsider and you won’t let me intervene. Admittedly, you have a prior relationship with her, but even letting a named samurai in the same room as a shareholder is-”

“Enough.” Kat’s hand swished through the air, cutting Heather off. “You’ll be in the room. If Hestia decides to betray me, I’ll be able to survive on my own for at least five to ten seconds. You can just gun her down as she tries to get a bead on me. Is that a fair compromise?”

Heather nodded as the doors to the elevator opened. It was clear from the set of her jaw that she wasn’t entirely happy with the conclusion to their disagreement, but she knew better than to push the issue further.

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Kat’s mouth. Despite all the annoyances, pointless meetings and headaches that came with being a shareholder, at times it was good to be the boss.

The two of them walked out into the main corridor that handled the complex’s comings and goings. Four guards stood at ready, two in the open in APEX armor and another two hidden behind armored gunports. Others might rely on automatic defenses, but after raiding a dozen or so ‘secure facilities’ and watching Whippoorwill repurpose everything connected to the local network in a matter of seconds, Kat had developed trust issues.

Computers were tools that could help, but without a person watching their operations in real time, they were a massive security risk. Proper firewalls and automated defenses could thwart or kill most electronics specialists, but a top tier operative could cut through them with ease. Given the importance of the research being performed inside the facility, it would have been insulting if Kat’s enemies sent anyone but the best.

To Kat’s right, near the back of the hallway, a set of doors opened, revealing Whippoorwill. At the same time, the heavily armored security doors that marked the other end of the corridor opened.

Hestia stepped through, a smile on her face and wisps of the gas used to detect flash clones and hybrids coiled around her feet. With a quiet hiss, fans in the floor sucked the mist away, leaving only the samurai as she walked into the main atrium.

“Nice place you have here Erinyes,” the older woman said happily. “I’ve met some paranoid rich folks in the past and you put them all to shame. Seriously, I don’t think a mouse could sneak in here without your goons double checking it to make sure it isn’t an alien in disguise.”

“No offense,” Hestia continued with a wave of her hand in Heather’s general direction. “As far as goons go they were nice, courteous and professional. It was one of the least objectionable manhandlings I’ve gone through as part of a security screen.”

Heather just sighed. Her arms whirred slightly as she crossed them in front of her chest.

“They aren’t even my goons,” she replied. “That said, I’m glad they treated you well. As I’m sure you’re aware, there have been security breaches all across the world since the stallesp were revealed. For a sensitive mission like this one, determining your identity before you met with Shareholder Debs was paramount.”

“If it’s proof of my identity you want,” Hestia said, a wild grin blossoming on her face. “I have a much better idea. Clones can wear your skin, but from what I’ve heard, they can’t replicate the abilities you’ve earned in the Tower.”Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Hestia extended her hand out palm up and three balls of blue flame sprang into existence, dancing over her fingers as she smiled triumphantly at Kat. She lowered herself into a crouch and one of the orbs of fire flattened out, coating her right hand and arm up to the elbow.

“I’ve been looking to spar for a while Erinyes,” Hestia continued, the remaining two balls of flame flowing up her arm toward the top of her head where they hovered like a pair of spectral antlers. “What do you say? There’s nothing more distinctive than a samurai’s style. It’s a calling card that anyone they’ve encountered can recognize in a heartbeat.”

Kat took a step away from Heather and the elevator, slipping open the hidden compartment above her thigh and touching the hilt of her knife. She could almost feel Heather opening her mouth to say something before thinking better of it.

“Are you sure about this?” Kat asked with a smirk. “You’re getting a little older Hestia. I don’t want anyone saying that I’m picking on the elderly. It could ruin my reputation.”

Another pair of blue flames popped into existence above Hestia’s right hand as she dropped into a slight crouch, preparing herself to jump into action at a moment’s notice.

“As an esteemed elder of the samurai community,” Hestia replied, “I would be shirking my duty if I didn’t give a newcomer some pointers. Just think of it as me providing you the guidance earned from years and years of experience.”

Kat dropped into her own half crouch, Pseudopod coiling around her back as it slipped down her left leg and quietly drew her second knife from the back of her dress shoe. As soon as the weapon was clear, she kicked the shoes to the side. Fighting in dress pants and a blazer would be hard enough, but she would much rather fight barefoot than deal with the stiff yet somehow slippery footwear that had become popular amongst shareholders long before she was born.

“Are you ready?” Kat asked, ignoring the disapproving glare from Hestia that was burning into the spot between her shoulders. “Remember, I’m not going to go easy on you just because you might break a hip.”

Hestia waved her arm, sending two of the marbles of flame streaking toward Kat as she threw herself to the left. Almost simultaneously, Kat’s knife was in her hand and she was sprinting toward the other elementalist in a zig zag pattern, pushing Shadow Step to its utmost.

Part of her wanted to use her arcane magic to cast Resist Fire, but Kat knew better than to rely on the spell. She didn’t have much experience with protection magic, and it interfered with her ability to use elementalist abilities. Plus, Kat suspected that the spell was called “Resist Fire” rather than “Protection From Fire” for a reason. Given Hestia’s skill and experience, Kat wasn’t enthused to test exactly how many degrees of heat the spell would mitigate.

One of the balls of fire expanded, turning into a swirling cone curved through the air as it tried to catch up with Kat’s rapidly moving form. The other transformed into a rod of white hot flame, pointing itself at her heart and accelerating until it was moving almost as fast as one of Kat’s crossbow bolts.

Kat’s left hand flicked up, firing a Water Jet into the line of flame. It didn’t stop the spell entirely, Hestia had spent far too much mana for an off the cuff wood tier ability to cancel it out, but the competing magic served a much more useful purpose.

Stinging steam billowed everywhere, obscuring the center of the corridor and breaking Hestia’s line of sight, and blocking out enough light for Shadow Step to reach its full potential.

She took a step, slipping through the air and reappearing about three paces closer to Hestia. Behind Kat, the fire attacks sailed through the air, burning the wood paneling where she had been standing. Another step brought her even closer to the other woman as Shadow snapped into place, making her all but invisible in the foggy haze.

Another cone of fire zoomed past, disappearing off to Kat’s left. She veered toward the attack and sprinted into its wake, blinking in and out of existence as Shadow Step burned through her stamina at an exorbitant rate.

A second later she was rewarded by a third cone of flame rushing through the air to her right. If Kat would have dodged away from the previous spell, she would have jumped right into the jaws of Hestia’s trap.

Of course, that’s what a ranged attacker should do. Kat had seen some of it from Jaalin and Stekat, using one attack to set up the next by forcing someone into a position where they could no longer dodge before unleashing your most powerful spell to finish the fight.

Movement in the thinning steam drew Kat’s attention. Hestia’s silhouette flashed, a ball of flames spinning into existence in the palm of her left hand while her right still burned, encased in a thin gauntlet of fire.

Kat cast Dazzle and activated Shadow Step at the same time, creating a flashing strobe of light that reflected off of the fog and blinded the other woman. She slipped through space reappearing three paces away, just behind Hestia as the other woman threw out her left hand, blindly unleashing a wall of flame that burned away most of the fog.

Mana burned through her system like grain alcohol as Kat quickly shifted her active spell. Just as Hestia realized that Kat was behind her, Pseudopod wrapped itself around her left leg, yanking backward and planting the samurai face first on the wood paneling.

Before Hestia could move, Kat’s knee slammed into the small of her back, pinning her to the floor even as the Pseudopod grabbed her right bicep, pulling the flaming limb safely to the side. She struggled once beneath Kat, flexing her shoulders to try wriggler free.

Kat’s knife slammed into the wood next to Hestia’s head with a loud thwack. The woman froze beneath her. A second later, the fire on her arm flickered out and Hestia began to chuckle.

“God Erinyes, I haven’t felt that alive in years. These days I’m usually only brought in as a specialist to burn something big down from afar while the chrome handles the toe to toe fighting. It really gets the blood pumping.”

“It certainly was exciting,” Kat replied as she rolled off of the other woman. “I think I could have managed without the fight, and I’m pretty sure that you just gave Heather a heart attack, but it’s good to know that my cardio is paying off.”

Hestia rolled over onto her back, shoving an arm beneath herself to massage the spot where Kat had planted her knee.

“Your security chief will live,” she said dismissively, hissing a bit as she found a bruise. “And so will you. Practicing in the gym is one thing, but you need to actually fight now and then to keep yourself sharp. Plus, it’s fun.”

“Well,” Kat responded dryly as she offered Hestia a hand. “I’m glad you had fun. More importantly, I didn’t break your hip now did I?”

Hestia stuck her tongue out at Kat as she stood up, spare hand still massaging the aches and bruises from her unceremonious takedown. Kat couldn’t help but notice that Hestia’s injuries were awfully close to her hips as the other woman replied.

“You didn’t break them, but I have to say, that little bout of excitement really got me a bit worked up. I wouldn’t mind if you tried in a bit more private of a setting. Business can always wait.”

Kat stared blankly at her for a second before blood rushed to her face. She released Hestia’s hand and took a step back, glancing wildly back and forth between Whippoorwill and Hestia.

“I have a girlfriend,” she stuttered. “I’m very flattered, but-”

Hestia followed her gaze and smiled at Whippoorwill.

“Chiffon?” She asked. “I haven’t really seen her outside of an infiltration suit, but she’s almost as cute as you. I really don’t mind if she’s involved too. Just the opposite actually.”

“What?!” Kat squeaked, her brain screeching to a halt as she tried to process the sudden and abrupt detour the conversation had taken.

“Hey Chiffon!” Hestia called out. “What do you say that you, Erinyes and I, retire to the bedroom for a little team bonding? I might have a couple of years on the two of you, but as the corpos say, it pays to do business with an established firm.”

Whippoorwill immediately reddened as Kat shook her head vigorously, barely managing to force out a response.

“I don’t think either of us are ready for that. Thank you for the offer, but uh. Not now thank you?”

“Suit yourself,” Hestia said with a shrug. “Anyway, now that we have all of that settled, I suppose I should talk to this Heather of yours. I’ve heard she has a pair of super secret data sticks for me and we have to talk logistics on their transfer and concealment.”