SEASON 1 EPISODE 15 // ONE SHOT, OR ONE OPPORTUNITY (TO SEIZE EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED)Collaborative post between Forest State & Lunas Legion
DATE // SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2025
LOCATION // TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
CAST // Antares Gray
Things were relatively normal around the Team Futures house in Mississauga - the team had a training exercise coming up soon in Thailand, along with some of the other teams of the Hero League in what was set to be a televised spectacle, but before that, they would have some time around the house with nothing major coming up and no activities outside of the fairly routine ones such as basic training and going on low level patrols around the city. That wasn’t to say, however, that things weren’t about to change and take a step out of the ordinary - at least for one member of the team.
Antares would find herself receiving a text message from a number she didn’t recognize, and a number she hadn’t given her own number to in the past, and the words were… Slightly cryptic. Not necessarily bad, but one had to ask, just what was the meaning of it? The text itself didn’t exactly go far in explaining it.
TELL PRODUCERS YOU HAVE A MEETING AND STEP OUTSIDE
WALK EXACTLY TWO BLOCKS TO THE RIGHT OF YOUR HOUSE
LOOK FOR THE LAMBO HURACAN
GREAT PRIZES AND FAME AND FORTUNE AWAIT
Antares blinked, staring down at her phone with a slightly confused expression on her face. The number was blocked, so she had no idea who it was. Anyone else might’ve thought this was some obvious trap, but really, if this was a trap, it was so obvious that there was no way anyone would use this as bait. She turned her phone off, getting up off the couch she was lounged on watching some TV show but not bothering to turn it off.
You couldn’t just dangle something like this in front of her and not expect her to at least have a look, if there was no Lambogini Huracan around then she could just fly back. It wasn’t like it was a common car, after all.
She left the house’s lounge, heading towards the lobby, actually walking and not flying for once. She wasn’t sure if the message was being specific about that, but she felt it would be better to lean on the side of caution for once. As much as she loved flying, she was curious.
“Going out to a meeting, I’ll be out for a bit, you can call me if you need me since it’s not out of flight range if something comes up.” Antares said, giving a small wave to Sadat as he approached her in the lobby and pre-empting the inevitable question of where she thought she was going before he could even say anything as she pushed open the doors and left.
It was a bit colder than she was used to, but nothing unbearable as her power went to work warming her back up. Antares hummed to herself as she walked, not exactly fast but not slowly either, eager to see if there was actually anything to this and if it wasn’t just a prank or a trap or something like that. It wasn’t like she couldn’t fly two blocks if it was a trap.
There was indeed a Huracan on one side of the road, the windows tinted somewhat - but it was clear someone was looking at her from there… As she approached and grew closer to it, she could hear the engine rev as the driver pulled off the curb and accelerated in her direction, stopping at an angle next to the sidewalk and rolling the window down. The girl inside was notable for not seeming much older than herself… That, and for having fire red hair which stood out immediately even if it didn’t look natural.
And then there was the fact that she was stunningly attractive, again to an almost unnatural level. But she carried herself… Like a regular person, it seemed, taking the encounter casually.
“Antares… Feel free to climb in the passenger side,” she said, pulling up the sunglasses she was wearing as she looked at the hero standing outside her window, gesturing to the other side. “There’s a lot of things to talk about.”
“You got me curious, not every day I get random texts from hidden numbers.” Antares said, walking around the back of the car and climbing into the passenger, letting out a small sigh of relief internally that this wasn’t a trap or a prank from another member of the team or even the producers. “What’s this all about anyways?” Antares asked as she buckled herself in, briefly fiddling with her clothes.
“Well… You’ll see,” said the girl, not answering. She pulled off, keeping one hand on the steering wheel while she reached for a cigarette with another, accelerating but taking her hand of the wheel long enough to light it before pressing it between her lips. “I go by Linzey, by the way… Or just Linz,” she said, setting the lighter down and returning the cigarette to between her fingers as she kept one hand on the wheel and went into a tight turn. “And I assume I would be correct in saying our background research was right when it said you were after fame and fortune.”
“I’m not a hero out of the goodness of my own heart, I don’t think anyone is.” Antares said, shuffling around and trying to get more comfortable in the strange situation. “So yeah, that’s why I’m here, fame and fortune. More the fame part, although was it really necessary to offer it like some phone scammer?” Really, they were lucky that she was curious and indeed a little greedy, she wasn’t sure any of the rest of their team would’ve bought into it. They would be too suspicious of it, too tense or just didn’t care.
“You’re after fame and fortune enough to
actually come despite it being offered like a scam. I’d say that was a decent enough test for our purposes,” said Linzey, letting out a slow chuckle as she took a drag from the cigarette. “I’d like to know… What you would think of getting a sizable boost to your fame. You see, believe it or not, I work with some people that would like to make you a star. A real one, not just a star on this show which is small time in the grand scheme of things. If you don’t believe me… Well, how do you think I ended up with this car? I can attest to their skill at what they do.”
“I’m listening.” Antares said, turning to face towards Linzey, her eyes lighting up ever so slightly. “Do you mind if I ask where we’re going?”
“You have a couple of options… We can head somewhere more high class than this to talk business, or you can get on a plane to New York and we can head somewhere else that’s going to blow your mind - the latter is a better demonstration of what my firm can offer you, of course. Either take something good and immediate or take something better and wait about an hour and a half… The choice is yours,” Linzey said with a shrug. “I was headed downtown, actually.”
“I think I have a few hours or so before the producers start panicking about where I’ve gone running off to, just have to hope nothing major comes up or I’ll have to explain why I’m suddenly in New York.” Antares said, her mind slowly kicking into gear. One person in a Lamborghini was one thing, but she wanted to see exactly what was being offered, just to make sure they could actually deliver. It wasn’t like it was clear what this firm even was, she hadn’t even heard the name being dropped and this was a lot of effort for a trap for one recent, albeit up-and-coming, arrival on the scene of superheroes. It wasn’t like she had any enemies willing to go to this much effort to go after her.
Linzey scoffed. “You tell them that you and your agent have personal business - these days, heroes disappear all the time for that kind of thing. Teams aren’t the biggest thing out there anymore, everyone has a brand of their own and that requires plenty of meetings, trips, and the like… Technically, it’s not a lie. You
are leaving to do something for your brand, after all. But you do have an agent to relay this kind of stuff, right?”
“Not exactly?” Antares cringed ever so slightly, realising this was yet another thing that someone more experienced with this world probably would have set themselves up with by now. “I’m new to this whole celebrity business, but that doesn’t mean I can’t lie and say this is me setting myself up with an agent.”
“I can get you a good one in New York City, you’re going to get screwed in this business if you don’t have one… Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the network is already screwing you since you didn’t have someone that knows this kind of thing to read the papers over before you signed… But I’m assuming this means that you want to head to NYC instead of downtown.”
“Yeah, NYC.” Antares nodded. “And yeah, the network probably is screwing me over somewhere, but if it’s ‘small-time’ as you said then it doesn’t really matter, I’ll be on to greater things after the first season of the show has run its course most likely. It’s reality TV, we’re here for one season probably and then we’re done and they’ll follow a new team.”
“Hero League has long term plans for this, they actually intend to give the team enough of a push to compete with Aegis New York at some point, although that’s probably going to take place over a number of seasons… Hard to compete with the top teams in the world with little experience unless you happen to be in a manufactured supergroup that takes members from a bunch of established teams - they think investing in the future is key to staying ahead of competitors. There’s a reason the contract you signed has an option for four more years… Of course, it’s an option the League can trigger, not you, meaning that if they want you for another four years and you want to do your own thing for more money, they’re going to win in the court since, well, you signed those years away yourself,” Linzey said, turning in the direction of the airport and shrugging. “Don’t ask me how I know all that.”
“I’m guessing it’s just one of those things I’m better off not knowing.” Antares chuckled. “That just means I need to get them not to trigger that option which… I barely remember thinking over, if I’m being honest, if I want to move onto something that pays better and doesn’t require sharing screentime with everyone else on the show. Some of us will get to continue, some won’t, new seasons will mean booting off everyone that’s not a favourite, wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an end of show public vote about who the viewership wants to stay on.”
“Stay right where you are, if you pull something to get them to drop you or if you don’t put the effort in, you’re not going to find yourself able to go anywhere with the Hero League in the future - that’s where we need you. And you’re going to be much better off taking the exposure and the constant popularity push than this in the long run than you’re going to be taking Emirati or Qatari money and disappearing to the deserts just because it pays more… Payment involves more than money, and the best paying jobs aren’t always the best ones for your career,” Linzey said somewhat adamnatly. “Few other heroes get as much help starting off as you and the others on this show. They’re invested in your success and that’s why my firm is interested in investing in you.”
“I’ve got no intention of getting myself dropped off this thing, sure the Qataris or whoever might
pay more but I’m not shipping myself off to some tiny desert state.” Antares shook her head. “I’m just saying that the League might not trigger the extension period for me and I’ll be replaced in the second season.”
Taking another drag from her cigarette, Linzey chuckled. “You don’t want that to happen, you know. Look at it like this. They think you’re going to be big. They invested in you a lot already, bringing you out here and paying for you to live here and paying you what’s in your contract and funding your training and all that. If they’ve decided to drop you from the show for whatever reason, cutting ties with their investment, what makes you think any of their decent teams are going to give you the time of day? You want to be on, say… A Chicago Midwesterners or an Aegis London after this - not some affiliated team in Iowa or Idaho City because the big ones already see you as someone the League invested in who flopped.”
“True, I guess.” Antares said, cocking her head towards the window and nodding, watching the side of the road pass them by. “No one wants someone who could’ve been big but then was dropped, usually for some valid reason. I don’t think I’ll be replaced personally, and I’ll do my best not to be, I didn’t make it this far just to be told no after all.”
“Basically, we’d like for you to be the next big thing and not the next Timothy Teemo,” Linzey stated, referring to a hero who had been famous during his college days, the sensation around him gaining the nickname
Teemomania, before he suffered a hard drop off when it came time to move on to bigger and better things. It was a sensation most fans of the superhero scene - and many casual followers - in the United States were familiar with. As Linzey spoke, they were arriving at the airport, and Linzey started towards… The parking for the section of the place where the private jets and the like took off. “Plane should already be ready for us…”
“Yeah, I’d much rather… Not end up with that particular fate.” Antares shivered ever so slightly. There was nothing worse than getting so close to your dreams and then having them torn out from just in front of you.
When they parked, Linzey stepped out of the Huracan and led Antares into the terminal itself so they could pass through the shorter customs and security line and head to the plane that was already ready to go on the tarmac. “The flight’s going to be about an hour… But I’m sure we won’t end up too bored,” she said, looking over her shoulder with a slight smirk, smoothing out her skirt and showing for the first time just how much it showed. “Depending on how adventurous you are.”
“I guess you’ll find out.” Antares grinned back at Linzey as she stepped out of the car, eyes briefly roaming over her before she turned her gaze away. “Let’s go.”
Linzey stepped out of a room within the back of the business jet, smoothing her hair out and adjusting her clothes - her new clothes, about in the same style with a skirt and a white button up shirt, but they were… More neat than the current state of her previous set. Still panting slightly but taking a deep breath to compose herself, she returned to the cabin with a slight smile on her face, placing a hand on the shoulder of Antares. “I assume my efforts have helped to sway you in these negotiations,” she said… And she had indeed gone all out with these ‘efforts’ she spoke of.
“Quite a bit, although I’m still curious about exactly what I’m seeing in New York, you’ve hyped it up an awful lot so it better not disappoint.” Antares said with a smirk, looking up from the chair she’d spent most of the flight over in, her own causal clothes now traded out for an outfit that matched Linzey’s. She figured showing up to whatever this was in just a T-Shirt and shorts was a bad idea.
They were descending towards La Guardia Airport as Linzey spoke, sitting down next to the window on the same row as Antares and looking at the city skyline as they made their approach and navigated the rivers and urban areas to come closer to the airport. “I guess you could say that I’m taking you here to seal the deal and prove our connections… The place we’re headed, you’ll find a lot of people in the business that you might recognize. Most of ‘em are heroes, I can get in because I work with several of them. Either directly or indirectly through the firm that puts cash in my pockets.”
“Well, it’s good to know that you’ve done this kind of thing before, means I’m not relying on amateurs if you and yours have experience with this.” Antares said, leaning forwards and watching the ground slowly rise up to meet them. For someone who flew everywhere, she still found flying in a plane slightly unusual. It wasn’t like she was used to this kind of flying.
“I will say one thing, though, which is to not stand out too much and draw too much attention… You’re not just seeing on camera personas around here. Which, you’re probably still seeing from most heroes even with your status as a member of the Hero League. You haven’t done enough to really see behind the mask when it comes to most of these guys,” Linzey said, her voice trailing off as they made their landing and started to taxi towards the apron. “That, and you’re too hard to blackmail since you’re utterly shameless.”
“I’m not sure if I should take that last part as a complement, an insult, or both. But I’ll do my best to keep my head down, no flying, nothing that I’d normally do on camera and generally stay quiet.” Antares nodded. “I can not draw attention if I want, it’s just doing the opposite of what I’d normally do.”
They were led off the plane and there was another ride waiting for them, not a taxi but another vehicle for Linzey to drive - the sedan was less high profile than the Huracan, but it didn’t seem like it was her main ride. When both of them climbed in, they started off from the airport. “And if you see someone from the show - actually, scratch that, I’m basically only talking about Svetlana or Young… Hide,” Linzey added as a word of warning. “There’s going to be a fuckton of questions we don’t want to answer if they see you here…”
“Not exactly good at hiding, trying to fly off would make too much of a scene and my hair kinda sticks out of a crowd so I can’t blend in.” Antares said, her tone slightly worried. “Might be best for me to wait outside wherever we’re going in the car, you can probably check if Svetlana or Young are in and then we go from there. Svetlana doesn’t exactly like my persona, shall we say, so she’d probably take any excuse to knock me down a little.”
“I’d be more scared of you ending up dead in the East River when she realizes you’ve got ammo to take
her persona out,” Linzey replied ominously. “You haven’t exactly earned your way into this place, you can’t be blackmailed, and well… No one particularly trusts you. But you’re going to need me to get in the door anyway, and I have the feeling Svetlana might be distracted regardless… If she even is here. I know she’s not in Toronto, but I’m not sure
where she actually is…”
“You’re really kind-of throwing me into the lion’s den then aren’t you?” Antares let out a small, reluctant sigh. “Wherever the lion’s den even is, I don’t think you’ve ever actually said.”
“It’s in Brooklyn, we’ll get there… Eventually. You know the traffic around these places. And I’m showing you a taste of what it’s like at the upper reaches of the business before offering you the chance to… Start heading in that direction yourself. Although, I can’t claim I don’t have an ulterior motive of my own…” Linzey said, letting her voice trail once again. “You’re headed to an event in Thailand soon, with the rest of your team. There’s going to be a lot of other Hero League people there for it, the whole thing is like a couple weeks. I need someone else on the inside of it, you’ll find out more about that later.”
She paused, continuing to drive. “But I think any risks will be worth it. After all, I’m setting you up to hang with the big dogs… Part of the reason I’m bringing you here, so you aren’t just a
new face that’s going to get ignored by anyone important.”
“If you want me to do secret agent stuff you may have come to the wrong person, but I’ll see whatever it is when I get there. It’ll give me something to do when everyone else is probably bitching about the heat and the humidity and bothering me for ice to cool themselves down or whatever.” Antares said, keeping her voice neutral. “But nothing comes for free in this world, so like I said, I’ll see what I can do.” She was much more wary now, but given how Linzey was bringing her to talk with some of the high-ups in the Hero League, whatever she wanted her to do couldn’t be too bad.
“Not asking you to do too much other than form connections. For now.”
That was all Linzey said before they parked behind some building, one that was marked as a club but despite the large size of it, didn’t look like it was in the best condition and didn’t look like it was open to the public - there were signs about how it was an invite only place. “Don’t judge it by the outside, if the outside looked like the inside you’d have too many outsiders trying to get in,” she said, gesturing to the exterior of the building which looked like a converted warehouse, as she stepped out of the sedan. “Oh and uh… Since you’re an outsider and you’re basically a civilian to these guys, expect a cavity search when you show up. They’re pretty paranoid about spies.”
“You seem to imply that I mind cavity searches.” Antares smirked. “But it’s understandable on all counts, I think I’m forming an idea of what this place is, but I won’t say anything since it’s that kind of place.”
Minutes later, they had been allowed into the building, Antares losing her phone and being told that she could have it back when she left. The guards were pretty particular about that, and they gestured down a hallway where Linzey and Antares walked before pushing through a second set of doors at the end which brought them into the real club - even if someone had stepped inside the main entrance, they wouldn’t have
seen anything of importance, really. But that was different in
this part of the building, where the interior was bathed in a purple glow and where the architecture and the furnishings were modern, strobe lights shining in some areas and other areas being covered in shadows as if they were meant to obstruct the faces of the people that were hanging around them. The warehouse exterior of the building didn’t exactly compare to what the interior looked like, at all.
No, the interior was a lot more upscale and just had the general feeling of a place inhabited by the elite, which it was.
They continued down the main path through the club, and as Antares looked from side to side, she would be able to recognize some of the faces within, from some of the teams of the Hero League that she had seen on TV in the past, including one or two heroes from the Chicago Midwesterners, the team that had been mostly responsible for covering the local area where she grew up, in Indiana. Not that many things actually happened in that rural part of the state - it was a far cry from the gunfights and danger of Gary.
“Don’t stare and keep moving… But turn your head very slowly to your right side…” Linzey said in a low tone towards Antares, not turning her own head much but using her peripheral vision to keep an eye on a specific scene - none other than Svetlana Roux with some younger male hero from Denver, the two of them sharing a couch that was in the shadows and from the looks of things, even in the darkness, it was apparent they were making out.
Antares didn’t stop, only turning her head ever so slightly, her eyes only briefly flicking over in the direction that Linzey had indicated before quickly turning her eyes away, moving her head back the tiniest fraction so she was facing forwards again, still following Linzey through the crowd. It was funny, really, seeing Svetlana who complained so much about how she wasn’t a proper hero being no better than she was when safely away from the public eye. Not that Svetlana would ever know she knew, she wasn’t stupid and she remembered Linzey’s warning from earlier.
Not everyone was shameless like her, after all.
Continuing through the building and heading towards a stairwell that was near the back, Linzey slowly pointed out another sight. “Over there is Alexandre Ethier, the father of your teammate Noelle… And a couple of the members of the Montreal Hunters. I suppose they came here to talk without being bugged,” she said in the same hushed tone, her eyes traveling to the businessman who was conversing with a couple of out of uniform heroes, paying too much attention to the talk to notice Linzey glancing their way.
Antares didn’t bother turning her head towards them; she didn’t exactly like Noelle, and Noelle didn’t exactly like her, but they had a loose agreement not to really interfere too much with one another, so she didn’t particularly care that her father was here. It was just another face that might recognise her, and thus avoid given there was the… Tiny chance he might inform Noelle. Better to be safe than sorry.
They were getting close to the stairs, before Linzey saw something that surprised her, but she didn’t stop and stare and she didn’t point it out specifically to Antares, considering she didn’t want her to do the same thing. “Just saw some chick from Aegis London getting it on with someone,” she said, before pulling Antares into the stairwell, deciding it was better that the newcomer wouldn’t see such a sight and potentially end up in danger because of it.
“Anyway…” she muttered, composing herself slightly after the surprise. “Some of these heroes are going to be in Thailand for the Hero League’s exercises. Your team, also. I’ll have a list of ones I need you to talk to when that happens. For now, however, I think there’s someone on our payroll that you might be interested in meeting.”
“Mind giving me a heads up on who, or is that part of the surprise too?” Antares asked, keeping her voice low. She knew exactly what this place was now, and why Linzey had been so cautious when speaking about it too her. It was where everything that the heroes wanted to do in the shadows happened, where they could drop whatever masks and facades they wore on camera, to just be themselves and to meet in privacy.
She was lucky in that, she supposed, that she had no mask to wear on camera. One of the perks of being absolutely shameless and confident enough in your own sense of identity to own yourself utterly.
“I think you’ll recognize him,” Linzey said, leading Antares up the stairs and stepping out onto a second floor, one that was a bit less crowded than the first one but still had a decent amount of people - it wasn’t just heroes, after all. It was also agents, managers, and other people in the business… Even a few journalists who likely gave up their integrity by putting out whatever stories the heroes in the room dictated to them. In exchange, they received something that many of them wanted - access to the life that was off limits for the vast majority of them, which sometimes came with benefits when it came to breaking big time stories.
She led Antares to a more solitary corner of the room where they would see a youngish brown haired man attempting to charm a couple of women, turning his attention to Linzey and recognizing her when she came over. “Linz, funny to see you here right now…” he stated, having been interrupted somewhat. This, of course, was Scott Naughton… Otherwise known as The Hoosier, the one member of the Chicago Midwesterners that had been born and raised in Indiana - Bloomington, specifically.
He paused, however. “Bringing a newcomer? What… Would this be about?” he asked, before recognizing Antares from the show. “Oh, I assume she’s a fan since she’s from my state?”
“A little bit.” Antares admitted. “I didn’t exactly follow the whole hero scene much until I ended up in it, but you end up following the few heroes that’re actually from your state regardless of how much you’re into the whole thing.”
“Suppose that’s true… How’d you end up around here, though, with the whole reality show thing-”
“I brought her,” said Linzey. “She might end up on the payroll soon… Figured seeing you around here might help convince her.”
Scott let out a chuckle. “Well, I
can say that I wouldn’t be here without the firm. Probably wouldn’t have made it all the way to Chicago either if it wasn’t for some help from there. We’ve both gotten boosts, F-”
Linzey lashed out quickly with a kick to the shin, cutting Scott off from whatever he had been about to say.
“... Ah, right. Linzey’s two cars are from the firm, I’m sure you get the idea. They take care of us, and well, they’re working to make things better for all us heroes. You’re getting more than just an endorsement,” he stated, as if attempting to sell her a car. Although, like most big time heroes, he had a charisma about him and he wasn’t the worst car salesman in the world.
“I’m not exactly seeing anything that screams out ‘no’ beyond some mildly shady things but hey, not everyone can get access to this kind-of thing.” Antares said carefully. She wasn’t really the cautious type, she had gone out to investigate an ominous text message after all. “So… Yeah, do I need to sign anything or whatever, how does this all work?”
“It happens not all at once. You’re getting an endorsement and we’ll get you an agent first, more… Management and stuff will come later. Doesn’t look good when someone goes from amateur to mainstream overnight, not to mention it’s hard to make that happen in the first place. And if you get too big at once… The powers that be will come down on you without mercy. It’s the reason we haven’t offered these endorsements to anyone that will take them,” remarked Linzey. “Hope you don’t mind that the endorsement is going to uh… Be from a VPN company, the number is undisclosed officially but it’s quite big for what it is.”
“Does it really matter who actually endorses you?” Antares asked. She hasn’t really assumed who her benefactor was, the way Linzey had phrased it earlier made it sound like it was from a completely different entity. “And yeah, if you get big too quick it’ll look manufactured and fake, but I can be patient and wait. I was willing to slog it out with the show for however long it took after all.”
“You’ll have to be in some advertisements and such for the company but other than that, it shouldn’t matter,” said Linzey, nodding. She led Scott and Antares over to a table, reaching into her jacket for a few folded sheets of paper and placing them down. “This is actually what you need to sign… Everything is for Super-VPN, my agency will… Deal more directly in the future. You can look it over. As you can see, the deal will give you a million over the next year. But that’s, um… A taste. Do more for us, and you’ll get more out of it.”
“Makes sense.” Antares nodded, sliding the pieces of paper towards her and briefly skimming them over, just making sure she wasn’t selling her soul to the devil or anything like that, literally or metaphorically. “I don’t see anything glaring, mind passing me a pen so I can sign however many scribbles need it?”
“You sign at the bottom,” said Linzey, taking a pen out and handing it over to Antares, watching carefully. She… Seemed satisfied with the outcome she had gotten here. “And after that I’ll tell your new agent to… Start booking you for a few things that will help you. And possibly us.”
“You wouldn’t be doing this for me if it didn’t help you in some way.” Antares chuckled, picking up the pen with her hand and scribbling her signature out where it said to sign. “But I think it’s a good enough deal.”
Linzey chuckled, leaning close to speak in Antares’ ear. “Yeah, it’s good enough… Welcome to the family, Antares. And remember these words which will get you places with the right people…
Carpe Diem,” she said, adding a lower tone for the last part, stressing the words as if they were important before she backed away, stretching and standing up. “I have to go, I’m currently expected in D.C. in a couple of hours, but Scott will handle the rest, and let you pick an agent and such…” she said.
She paused, however, reaching into a bag and taking out something, a Samsung phone. “Oh, and if you need to contact me, this is the one to use. Never call me from your main number. This has my work number in it and my regular one… I’d prefer if you called the second one but if you really need me for something I’ll basically always pick up on my work one. Sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds good.” Antares nodded, reaching out to take the phone from Linzey, mulling the phrase over in her head. Carpe Diem, or ‘time flies’ or something like that. Slightly ominous, but distinctive and easy to remember. “I’ll put really need you for something under literal life and death emergency, regular just for if I want to talk about something or other or non-urgent advice. I’m assuming you’ll call me on this phone rather than my normal one?”
“Of course,” Linzey stated with a nod. “I’ll be in contact… Actually, I’m sure we’ll see each other again in Thailand. I’m going to be there, but there’s some things that it’d be easier for you to do… Anyway, I need to be in Washington, so I’ll see you… I hope today has been enough of a demonstration of why you should work for us in Thailand.”
“More than enough, and I should probably head back to Toronto.” Antares nodded. “The car will take me back to the airport and fly me back I’m assuming? I could fly back to Toronto myself, but I’d much rather not.”
“That can be arranged. I’ll make a call about it while I’m on my way back,” Linzey said. “When you’re with us, everything you could need is taken care of.”
“Thanks.” Antares nodded, grateful for that she wouldn’t have to spend the six hours or so flying back to Toronto under her own power. Flying at her maximum speed for such a long time was both boring and tiring. “I’ll see myself out, if you don’t mind.”