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“As a franchise?”
“No, we like the location.”
She manifested two speed-firing crossbows and began firing. When they were on the ground twitching, she daintily pressed the beacon.
Hazor was next to her a second later. “Really?”
She grinned and held one crossbow out, pulled the trigger, and shot their vehicle. It exploded. “I needed to make a point.”
Yvari was there in a moment. “What was that?”
She shrugged. “Creature stuff. It came with the gills.”
“No, it didn’t. You had that on Earth.”
“Shut up, Sunny.”
Yvari looked at him. “You know her?”
“I am her younger brother, Overseer. She had the energy strike power in a lesser form when we were still on Earth. She could stun with a touch or spark a fire.”
Cloudy crossed her arms. “Squealer.”
Yvari stared at her. “Why didn’t you disclose this on arrival?”
“I didn’t have this on arrival. I got it after I had my appearance blended to make me look more like sea Vecchin.”
“And you are bond-locked.”
“Yes. I like it here and have no intention of leaving Siloven. This job is enough for me. I have an apartment, family, friends. Why would I want to leave?”
“What if Hazor leaves?”
“We are currently just acquaintances. If he leaves, I will get him a nice cake or something.”
“You think he will continue to act as guardian here?”
“Not my business. I am content to create unexpected akko addicts. It is full of vitamins and minerals and doesn’t get nearly enough attention.”
“What the hell do you put on it? It’s amazing.”
“Two different fruits, some oil, and wishful thinking. The acids soften the akko and give it the texture that is reminiscent of exotic seaweed.”
Yvari nodded. “Yes! That’s it.”
Cloudy nodded. “I did the research on what was palatable, what woke the senses. Did some experimentation on my parents’ coworkers and then brought the menu to Emgoth. We began working together. He made me a partner, and our profits are reliable.”
Peacekeepers arrived and arrested the unconscious men before slapping them awake.
Yvari blinked. “How did they know they weren’t dead?”
“Uh... practice?”
“You do this sort of thing often?”
“Often enough. In a living being, my bolts just short out the nervous system for a while.” She shrugged.
Hazor and the others were helping the peacekeepers wrap the thugs up.
