Eleven: Plans in Motion

The Triumvirate of the New York Underside usually held court in the Throne Room above the Twelfth Level Dome. But to address the Underside, they needed different facilities. Yasi was overseeing the repairs, when Tecca had quietly informed her that an address was coming.

Keeper and Archivist were there when Yasi arrived, and the three of them gathered in the Whisper Gallery, assembled before the central trunk of steam pipes, as though at the brass altar to a forgotten god.

One thing Connie had not noticed when she had visited the room, was the window. It was at the base of the trunk of pipes, and covered over with an oilcloth curtain. Keeper drew it back and the Twelfth Level was visible. Standing before the pipes, Archivist opened a few valves. As Keeper spoke, her voice rang through all of them, taking her words to the entire Secret City like a Public Address System.

The feeling of dread in the Underside was still thick after the Riverfolk attack, and remained until Keeper spoke. She had been the Arbiter for longer than most anyone could remember, and the sight of the ancient woman with a smile on her face was a blessing. She told them half the truth and all of the results.

After that, the party began in earnest. There was a real sense of victory in The Underside. The threat had been neutralized, the enemy plans brought to nothing by quick and decisive action.

Archivist closed the pipes as the celebration began. Among the Triumvirate, the overriding feeling was relief. "We were lucky." Keeper said finally.

Archivist nodded. "We were lucky, but we had help. History is full of examples where one person acting in good faith can bring all the plans of evil men to nothing."

Yasi let out a breath. "Is that why you guys decided to give Vincent and Connie a chance?"

"Sort of." Archivist nodded. "A lot of the time we forget that we're part of the city above. We eat the same food they do, breathe the same air they do... We need them more than they need us. We have our secrets, and we only survive because we keep them; but if we keep ourselves closed off from them completely..."

Yasi nodded and turned to Keeper. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"Because..." Keeper shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I don't hate him. Not anymore. I fact, I never really did. I just didn't approve."

"Can I ask you something else, then?" Yasi said casually. "Why'd you let Dorcan out?"

The old woman barely flinched. "Because he's innocent. I let you arrest him because I thought maybe you had something you weren't telling me, something I didn't know about... but then I listened to your list of 'evidence' when he was locked up... Yasi, I can explain all that."

"How?"

"He started making great effort to become your second in command, because... I told him to."

Yasi reacted. "What?"

Archivist suddenly pulled out his fob watch. "Oh, would you look at the time? I have to go... do something very important."

Archivist almost ran out of the room. Keeper and Yasi let him go, watching each other.

Keeper sighed and scratched the back of her neck. For a moment, Yasi thought the old woman looked embarrassed. "I told him that I would look favorably on his attempts to put his name forward as your second in command."

"I remember." Yasi admitted. "And I remember thinking that was odd. You don't usually care about my Team's appointments."

Keeper sighed hard. "It was pretty obvious that he had feelings for you, and you'd known him for years but he liked you anyway..."

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true." Keeper defended. "I figured having him as your second... Practically your partner..."

Yasi's jaw dropped. "You were trying to set us up?"

"You've been on your own too long to be healthy, and I'm an old woman, Yasi. I want grandchildren." Keeper said without remorse. "And you're not doing your part, so I had to push you along."

"KEEP!" Yasi almost shrieked.

"Yasi, I took a shot three years ago." Keeper waved it off. "I don't send you men anymore, you never slow down long enough to do anything about any of them. But Dorcan was a good kid who stayed loyal for three years of being ignored. And because he liked you, he got thrown into the Oubliette as a traitor."

Yasi looked down. "He could have been."

"Yasi." Keeper just glared at her.

"Okay, he's innocent." Yasi admitted. "Don't set me up with people."

Keeper sighed. "Fine. But I still want grandchildren."

"Keeper!"

Keeper glared. "Yasi, Dorcan was the one guy in the place that still called you by your name all the time. Even Wotcha was intimidated by you. It's a talent we took pains to teach you, but... Look, I'm your Keeper, like I am for everyone in this place, but I'm still your mother. When was the last time you sat and talked with someone? Not ordered about, or got a report. When was the last time you just sat down and chatted about nothing?"

Vincent. Yasi thought about the time at the Brooklyn Bridge, the night in the Met...

Keeper nodded as though she was reading Yasi's mind. "That's why I didn't like him."

"Why'd you offer him and Connie a job then?"

"Because I knew Connie wouldn't take it, and I knew we needed a friend in the City Planner's Office. If there's one thing the last month has proven, it's that our place here can be… fragile."

Yasi shifted to the safer topic. "Have I completely screwed up with Dorcan?"

"Yes. Fix it, would you?" Keeper told her directly. "If not properly, then enough that you can still work together."

Yasi glared. "Keep, I just locked up a good friend for having a crush on me. This is already kinda mortifying. A moment of human sympathy from my mother would not be totally out of line from you right now."

"Provide grandchildren, I'll be warm and fluffy." Keeper dared her.

Yasi sighed and turned to go.

"And don't pounce on Vincent." Keeper said blithely. "There's an appropriate period you wait after a breakup, and it's longer than two days."

Yasi was so stunned she couldn't speak. Her mouth just opened and closed in shock, making her look like a dying fish.

"Since we pretty much detonated his relationship with Connie, you don't want to look like you were just waiting for the chance." Keeper continued, as though talking about the weather. "You do that when nobody's looking. Toodles!"

Keeper vanished before Yasi could get over her shock paralysis. She stayed that way for a very long time, uncertain how to react to the whole mess her life had become.

~oo00oo~

Vincent honestly didn't know how to react to anything any more. He felt like a secret agent, living a normal every day life in a city office as a paper pusher, just waiting for his handler to make contact with a covert mission. In a very real sense, that was his life now.

But then he looked around his home and realized that it didn't feel like his home any more. Which made sense. Connie hadn't moved into his place; it was an entirely new space that they had picked together. Yesterday the apartment had a 'lived in' feel because it had plenty of personal effects about. By the time Vincent had made it back, a lot of them were gone from the living room, and all of them from the bedroom. Connie had come in and collected her things. Every room was filled with empty shelves.

Faced with the prospect of his home suddenly seeming like an echo chamber with everything missing, and staring at the TV all night with his nerves this jumpy. He chose a third option and started cooking.

~oo00oo~

Dorcan came into Yasi's chamber, and stood stiffly at attention on the edge, as the smell of cooking wafted over him. "Captain?"

"I'm here." She called from the dark corners. "Please, come in."

It was the first time he could recall the Shinobi Captain ever using the world 'please' and he took the hint appropriately. She kept the lights low, and once he stepped away from the opening, his eyes could make her out by the glow of her cooker. She was stirring a pot on her small stove, and he came over to join her.

"I was wondering if you'd accept the invite." Yasi said awkwardly.

"I almost didn't." Dorcan admitted as he came in.

A small inhuman hiss answered as he approached, and he glared in its general direction. "I don't like you either."

"Be nice to my cat." Yasi told him without turning. "Merlin never did anything to you."

"I'll be as nice to your cat as you are to your oldest friends." Dorcan shot back.

"And thus ends the small talk portion of the evening." Yasi sighed. "Would it help if I said I was sorry?"

Dorcan sat down, cross-legged. "I don't know. I've never known you to apologize for anything."

Yasi turned the flame down low on her cooker, and spooned out two serves into bowls. "I know." She admitted. "Something the Sensei told me: The King Doesn't Make Mistakes."

"Like killing Grey?" Dorcan challenged.

Yasi paused. "You heard about that."

"Yeah. I got eyes in this city too, Captain." He spat. The bowl she handed him sat ignored on the stone floor beside him. "You want to know how many ways killing a cop was dangerous?"

"I know." Yasi sighed. "But letting him live would have been worse… Owen lied to Grey, or at least told him only half the truth. He meant to expose us, Dorcan. He was going to drag us all out into the world's attention, and for what? Trespassing? Squatting? You know how many places there are in this city where a homeless person isn't allowed to lie down in the gutter? If you can be booked for that, then what the hell would they do with us?"

"So you killed him?!" Dorcan hissed. "Just lopped his head off, like it was a… a…" He shook his head briefly. "I don't know, but still, what the hell?"

Yasi glared. "Dorcan, if Vandark bought him off with the promise that we'd be exposed to the world as criminals, you know as well as I do that he'd never have lived to see that either."

Dorcan was unforgiving. "So you figure Vandark would have killed him long before he got anywhere. Great, you just knocked something off the bad guy's to-do list. Good guys aren't supposed to do that!"

Yasi sighed. "I know. Dorcan, you and I have both killed to keep this place a secret. We're Shinobi, it's our job to protect and conceal, no matter the cost. He may have been a cop, but Grey had declared his intent. He was an enemy."

"Our enemy? Or Vincent's?" Dorcan challenged.

Yasi almost swallowed her tongue. "What?"

"Its not the first time we've faced and killed someone who got too close. Not the first time one has threatened to expose us either, but you usually don't strike so soon. So what the hell made this cop so dangerous? Could it be because he knew Vincent and Connie? I know you don't have any particular interest in his girlfriend, even if you had a hand in them getting together, but you keep..."

"So what if I do?" Yasi forced out a short bark of laughter. "Vincent is a paper-pusher. And an Upsider. He's a baby in a snake pit when up against the Watchers, let alone Riverfolk. You were there."

"Then why are you smiling?" Dorcan challenged.

Yasi schooled her expression immediately, but far too late.

"Just hearing his name cheers you up. That's a smile that comes from real emotion." Dorcan rubbed his face. "I have never once seen you smile like that, even for a little while." His tone turned bitter. "There was a time I would have given anything to get you to smile like that for me. In fact, it was yesterday."

Yasi looked down, shamed. "I didn't know. I mean, I always suspected you felt that way, but I never really thought-"

"No, it was far easier for you to think that someone who wants to spend time with you must be looking for a place to stick a knife." Dorcan growled. "Even if it's me."

Yasi squeezed her eyes shut. "I was wrong." She admitted.

"THANK YOU!" Dorcan exploded, as though he'd been waiting for that admission a long time.

Long silence.

"Dorcan, I screwed up, no mistake." She said finally. "I was hoping you and I might be able to figure out... I don't know, but I hate to leave it here. I was hoping that we could at least eat a meal together without coming to blows."

Dorcan smirked bitterly. "I would, but you're a lousy cook, Captain. That's why you're so skinny."

Long silence.

Yasi burst out laughing, and Dorcan joined in. It was harsh, bitter laughter; the sick kind that came when nothing was funny.

"I made Vincent some soup. He thought it was medicine. Couldn't bring myself to admit it." She admitted between laughter, and that just set them off again. It went on for a while.

Yasi settled first. "Just out of curiosity...I get that you're ticked at me over yesterday and I don't blame you, but have you been waiting to say these things a long time?"

"I've been waiting to say a lot of things for a long time." Dorcan admitted.

Heavy silence.

"This was a mistake." Dorcan stood up. "I should go. Don't worry, Captain; I won't make it worse. I just wish... well, a few things."

Yasi caught his wrist as he turned to go. "You used to call me Yasi. Ever since we were kids, even with my parents... We were friends a long time, Dorcan."

Dorcan didn't answer. His frame was practically radiating tension. "A very long time, Captain; but... we were never really friends, were we?"

"Dorcan, am I going to spend my whole life paying for a stupid mistake?" Yasi slumped a little. "Is there no way to salvage… anything?"

Dorcan seemed to deflate a little himself. "You're right. We have known each other for many years. What I don't get is... why is all that history supposed to make me forgive you, when it couldn't make you trust me?" He spoke in a low, tightly controlled voice. "You're losing it, Captain. The Underside is coming under threat, and it has been by inches for years now. I'm Shinobi. My job is to protect it, and believe me I will. This is my home too." He paused at the entrance and looked back at her. "Do you even know who your friends are any more?"

Yasi didn't try to stop him as he left the room.

After a moment, the cat came over and nuzzled her hand. She pulled him into her lap and scratched behind his ear. "I really messed that one up; didn't I, Merlin?"

The cat wriggled free and went over to the bowl Dorcan left, sniffing at it for a moment, before retreating into the shadows again, looking for rats.

"Everyone's a critic." Yasi snorted.

But Dorcan's words had hit their mark, and she spent longer thinking about it than she normally would have.

After a moment she rose to her feet and left her room behind.

~oo00oo~

The rain had continued for over an hour. It wasn't a downpour, just a steady, constant rain that made gutters into rivers. Vincent was still cooking as the wind came up a moment and pounded the rain into the windows. He wondered idly how the Underside handled rainfall, and then remembered the River. It all flowed out somewhere, just as it did above.

There was a knock at the door and he paused. Connie still had a few things here, but he was certain she still had her key. Yasi would use the window... He sent a quick glance over to the hall closet by the door. The goggles and the crossbow were there, wrapped in the coat Yasi had given him. History suggested they wouldn't be much help, but he supposed Owen or Riverfolk wouldn't knock. "It's Open!" He called from the kitchen.

The front door opened, and Drew came in; along with his usual posse of Benji and Tony.

Vincent poked his head out and looked, his eyes going straight to Connie's brother. "Oh. Come to make good on what you said the day we met?"

Drew snorted. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?" He mock-growled. "But Connie has assured me that you were a gentleman, and that it was her choice to walk away. Something about heading in different directions."

Vincent bit his lip. "I suppose that's as good a way of putting it as anything."

Benji sniffed. "I smell lasagna." He said.

Tony elbowed him. "Could you not think with your stomach for just one minute?"

"I'm not. You know and I know that Vincent only cooks when he's upset." Benji argued.

"This is true." Tony considered. "I remember when he missed her birthday party, we got peach cobbler."

The wind picked up again and beat the rain against the windows.

Benji pretended to take off his hat and pose like Oliver Twist. "You wouldn't send us out into the rain, cold and hungry, would'ya, Vincent?"

Vincent sighed and smirked a little, despite himself. "Well, as it happens, I made enough for three or four meals." He admitted. "But you'll have to set the table."

Benji beamed. "Oh sure."

Tony scoffed. "Please, you've never used silverware in your life."

Drew followed Vincent into the kitchen, letting them speak privately. "Connie says she was against you taking the job. She said she was worried for you."

Vincent wouldn't meet his gaze, focusing on the task of setting out servings. "Did she say why?"

"Something about the people you'd be working with, and the hours… She wasn't too specific. Said the job had a confidentiality clause, which meant you couldn't talk about it." He shrugged. "I work in a bank, I know all about keeping private information secret in everyday conversations."

Vincent nodded. "That's pretty much it, yeah. I think that Connie didn't believe I could balance my work with my relationship."

"She right?"

Vincent sighed hard. "I don't know."

"You're cooking. Benji's right, it's a nervous habit for you. Worried you did the wrong thing?"

"Yeah, a little." Vincent admitted. "But if I had to do it over again, I'd probably do the same. Wherever this leads, it's just something I have to do."

Drew nodded, but he wasn't smiling. "Connie's upset. As her big brother, that makes me furious, but she's handling this one well. Maybe because it was her choice to end it here, maybe because she understands why you're doing this. So this is a bad day, but we all move on."

Vincent nodded. "Thank you for that."

"Don't thank me." Drew said seriously. "This could be the worst mistake you ever made. So far it's cost you your girlfriend, and speaking as her brother, the best thing that's ever happened to you. Connie and me? Our parents worked two jobs each just to keep us in the black, and we hardly ever saw them as a result. Nobody ever lay on their deathbed, wishing they had spent more time at work." Drew said seriously. "Career is career, but love is forever."

"I smell garlic bread!" Benji hollered from the next room.

Drew headed out. "Something to think about."

Benji and Tony perked up as Drew came out of the kitchen. "Food?" Benji chirped hopefully.

"It's coming." Drew told him. "Guys, we're not staying. I needed to talk to him, and we'll shovel a little chow into Benji to shut him up, but don't get settled. There's always a discreet interval when one of your family goes through a breakup. We're not friends with Vincent until that period of time is over."

"No more food?" Benji repeated the point he understood.

"Not from Vincent, not for a while." Drew confirmed, breaking it to him gently. "Connie wouldn't like it."

Benji nodded. Connie had often told him that he was loyal and hungry as a pup, and that's why she had nicknamed him 'Benji'. He was about to say something when they heard a noise from the other end of the apartment. All three of them looked out the living room door down the hall. With the doors open, they had a clear view of the hall window opening from the outside...

And Yasi stepped over the windowsill, the fire escape clearly visible behind her. She closed the window behind her, and shook the rain from her hair and clothes. The three extra people in the room were stunned. "Um... Hello."

Yasi wasn't the least bit concerned as she came into the living room. "Hi there."

"And who exactly are you?"

"Yasi." The Shinobi said easily.

"And where are you from?" Drew challenged.

"Downstairs." Yasi said, giving nothing away.

Vincent, overhearing the whole thing from the kitchen, couldn't help the slight smirk as his heart sped up a bit. Downstairs? No kidding.

"Vincent?" Tony said, more amused than anything else. "This girl climbed in your hallway window."

"Well, that's where the fire escape is." Vincent called back, as though that explained everything, and poked his head out of the kitchen. "Yasi." He said neutrally, giving his guests a glance. "What's up?"

"I smelled lasagne, and it's raining outside." Yasi said, as though that explained everything. Vincent came into the room and took a look at her. She was standing ramrod straight, her sword was missing, and though she held her hands behind her back casually, Vincent could see her hands shaking a bit from his angle. She was tense, not used to being surrounded by strangers.

Vincent pushed the garlic bread over, and she spoke as she took a piece. "If you're in the middle of something messy…" She started to say quietly, careful not to let anyone overhear.

"Stay. They'll only be here long enough to grab food and go." Vincent assured her. "Please."

Yasi nodded gratefully, and sat down. Drew looked Yasi over subtly and glanced toward Vincent; the question in his eyes. He didn't ask, and Vincent was grateful, though he worried about Connie. Their main circle of friends were all here, with Yasi sitting in Connie's usual seat. The thought of her being alone made him feel guilty.

~oo00oo~

Connie was staying with her brother for a while, until she found a new place. He had been happy to take her in, and stay with his girlfriend for a bit so she could have privacy. She'd spent the better part of a day convincing him that her breakup with Vincent was amicable. Drew was the definition of a Big Brother, and he wanted to punish anyone who made his little sister cry. Connie appreciated it, but even if she felt justified in doing it, leaving Vincent was her choice.

And a part of her couldn't help the fear that Yasi might be around. Her brother would be diced if he dared to lay a finger on her ex-boyfriend.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Connie spun in shock at the tapping on her window. A small shape was visible as distant lightning silently lit up the stormy sky for a moment.

"Tecca?" She whispered in surprise and opened the window for him. Even twelve feet from the ground, the boy seemed at ease perching on a windowsill in the rain. "Tecca, what are you doing here?"

Tecca sniffed. "I'm cold." He admitted finally.

Connie all but pulled him in forcibly, and quickly found a blanket to wrap him in.

Tecca accepted it. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on things around here. I can do that inside the window too, right?"

"You can for as long as it's raining." Connie returned. It was not a polite offer, it was a direct order to stay and warm up. "How long were you out there?"

"Hey, it's not like I chickened out." Tecca snarled, suddenly ferocious. "I handled the winter nights long before you came along, lady. You should have seen Wotcha. She was untouchable, no matter what was happening around her. I'm the Watcher now."

"I know: You direct the lightning." Connie responded loyally. "Would you like some hot cocoa?"

Tecca licked his lips. "Yes." He said carefully, as though it were a test.

Connie smiled and fixed it for him while he dried off. "So, what brings you by?"

Tecca took the drink and wrapped his fingers around the cup. She cleared her throat expectantly; and he swallowed. "Thank you." He said quickly; and hid it behind the mug. Connie beamed at him, and the two of them slowly sipped their hot drinks for a while. She'd spent enough time around homeless kids at the clinic. Not one of them were willing to admit needing help. None of them were willing to admit they wanted grown-ups looking after them.

"You know, Tecca…" Connie said casually. "I'm really glad you stopped by. Things with me and Vincent fell apart after… well, after. I guess I'm just not brave enough. I was still scared of Owen coming after us, I guess. It was scary down there for me. I'm glad to know I've still got someone looking out for me, now that I'm here alone." He was a smart kid, and she was careful not to make it sound like she was humoring him.

Tecca studied her, picking her apart with suspicious eyes. The jaded look was a terrible thing to see in one so young, and finally he decided he trusted whatever he saw. He reached into his messenger bag, and pulled out his copy of The Secret Garden. "Well… since you need someone to sit with you a while… We might as well do something?"

Connie smiled. "Well, as long as you're sure." She picked up the book. "More cocoa?"

~oo00oo~

Connie's friends had left once the lasagna was gone. Vincent was washing the dishes when Yasi suddenly reappeared, and picked up a dishcloth.

"Gotta say, I was surprised to see you come in while they were here." Vincent offered as she took a plate off the drying rack. "I figured you'd wait till they left."

"It was raining." Yasi excused, but both of them knew that wasn't it. "I wanted to... I don't know. Look, I've never told anyone this, so I'm going to fumble it a little, okay?"

"Okay." Vincent settled and let her talk.

Yasi licked her lips. "Do you remember when you bought me coffee?"

"Sure."

"Double-tall Mocha-swirl, with caramel shots and whipped cream." Yasi recited. "I know it by heart. When I was in training, a group of us would come up to the surface, spend time slipping in and out of your world, learning how to be invisible. But when we were done training, we stopped. There was no reason to be up here. But when I became Captain, I came up to the surface alone. It was what I did to relax."

"Lonely at the Top."

"Lonely when you're young." She added, setting down the plate and picking up another. "I was the youngest Shinobi ever to become the Captain." Yasi said proudly. "There were a few people who figured it was nepotism, but I proved them all wrong."

"Nepotism?" Vincent repeated, a little confused. "Why should... wait." It struck him suddenly and his eyes bulged.

Yasi smirked. "You had to find out sooner or later."

"Keeper and Archivist are your parents?" Vincent almost shrieked, making the water splash a bit. "Holy cats! You're gonna look like Keeper when you get old?!"

Yasi just looked at him. "Weighing your options? Should I go tell Connie to move her stuff back in?"

Vincent held up both hands. "Hey. You know that's not why we broke up."

"I do." Yasi confirmed. "But I get why she'd think it was me." She bit her lip. "All that stuff we did? Coffee at the Bridge? Music at the Opera House? I've never actually done that with someone. It was almost like a secret life. I don't think you were conscious enough to see me fight. But if you saw it... that's my real face. That's what I do." She sighed and scrubbed her face. "My worlds collided that night at the Bridge, Vincent. I saw you looking, and you weren't scared of me. I hated that a part of me... wanted you to be scared." Yasi admitted. "It comes naturally most of the time. Nobody laughs at a sword. It's who I am, and I am very good at it. Intimidation gets to be habit after a while, and... it never worked on you. It occurred to me that... I didn't know what to do when fear didn't work."

Vincent took that in. "How you reacted when fear didn't work, was to show me something incredible that was right in front of me the whole time."

"I don't mean you, I mean everyone." Yasi interrupted him, drying the dish in her hand compulsively. "I threw a man I've known my whole life into a deep dark hole, because it honestly didn't occur to me that he was a trustworthy friend. It's not any great personality flaw, I just... never put the effort into making friends. So now I don't have any. It sort of hit me just now that it's making me kinda... isolated."

"Yasi, I wasn't scared of you. I was stunned. I mean, I always knew you were dangerous. I saw the way Wotcha shuddered when she spoke about you. But knowing it and seeing it were different things. Connie is scared of you because of that, Yasi. I'm not."

She nodded. "That's because when we first met, I was trying to get you to like me enough to follow a total stranger down a long dark tunnel, in the middle of the night, at an empty subway station you'd never been to, while telling nobody where you were going."

Beat.

"Well, put that way I sound kinda stupid." Vincent said finally.

Yasi smirked and started drying the next plate. "I wasn't wearing the sword when we met. Most people who meet me for the first time see that sword and sort of forget there's someone holding it."

"See? When you don't lead with that, you're really quite charming." Vincent offered. "But for what it's worth... I was very glad you were there the other night, scary or not. You did save my life. Me and Connie would be dead if you weren't that dangerous."

She smirked, and set down the plate. "You know something? This is my first time drying dishes."

"Really?"

"You've seen how we do it. You've done it yourself." She pointed out. "You finish a meal in the Underside; you throw the bowl away and some Gremlin pounces out and grabs it before it hits the ground."

"Yasi, welcome to the life of a dull surface dwelling kitchen."

The Lostkind's smirked, just a little. "You're still calling me Yasi?"

Vincent blinked, a little confused by that. "It is your name."

Yasi's face slowly transformed, blooming into an amazing, genuine smile. "Yeah. It is." She put the dish down, picked up another.

He was about to try and make sense of that, when there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Called Vincent.

"Detective Ryan, NYPD." Shouted a voice from the hall. "We need to ask you some questions."

Vincent looked but Yasi had already vanished.

~oo00oo~

"You've never seen a garden before, have you, Tecca?"

Tecca shrugged as she put the book away. "There are gardens in the Underside. We set some of them up to clean the air and the water. A little bit at least. Algae and such. One of the Lostkind in California made glowing moss and sent some to us long time ago. It's nice there, like light growing in all different colors."

"Yeah, but without the sun, you don't have things like roses and trees."

"No trees. No room for them."

Connie picked her words carefully. "What about Central Park? Ever been there?"

"Last year. I was part of a team that Borrowed some stuff from a plant nursery." Tecca offered. "Someone made dwarf fruit trees. You'd probably like it."

"Mm." Connie nodded, non-committal. "More cocoa?"

~oo00oo~

Once he was done answering their questions, Vincent left his apartment and went to the nearest coffee shop, pleased to see that the rain had passed. When he returned home, he ignored the door and went up the fire escape to the roof. Yasi was perched on the corner of the air conditioner, eyes closed, and legs crossed. She was meditating, or waiting for him. She didn't open her eyes when he approached, but she smiled when he placed the coffee next to her.

"Did you have any trouble with the police?" Yasi asked without opening her eyes.

Vincent hoisted himself up next to her, and took a sip of his own drink. "They had questions about a policeman that was investigating the attack on Friday night."

"Officer Grey." Yasi said neutrally.

Vincent nodded. "Connie told them about my cell phone. That's why they came to ask me about it."

Yasi opened one eye. "What'd you tell them?"

"The truth." Vincent said with an innocent gleam in his eye. "I told them that my phone was stolen the last time I volunteered to help a bunch of poverty stricken homeless people, and I had no idea what happened after that."

Yasi grinned. "You've been hanging with a bad crowd, Vincent. You've become a regular Artful Dodger."

"When we ran into Davidson the other day, it sort of hit me that I never had an alibi planned. You might want to warn Wotcha-oh." Vincent bit his lip, and a look of true pain crossed both their faces. "How's Tecca taking it?"

"I don't know." Yasi admitted. "He's a tough kid and he won't admit weakness to anyone, not even when his own grandmother gets it. But your cover was a good one. The cops will start looking toward the homeless, and they won't find anything."

Vincent hesitated, but spit out what he'd been thinking. "Detective Ryan, the cop that came to ask me questions? He said that Officer Grey hasn't been heard from in over a day. You think Owen and Vandark are cleaning up loose ends?"

Yasi nodded. "Could be."

Silence.

"Yasi, you don't know anything about what happened to Grey, do you?" Vincent challenged.

The Shinobi shrugged easily. "Nope. Never met the man."

"Well then..." Vincent sighed. "I'm a loose end too. And so is Connie."

"I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it. Probably Owen and Vandark making sure we don't have any leads to them. You only know Owen and Grey, and both of them have vanished. It's over."

Vincent nodded slowly. "It's over."

Yasi rocked back and let her legs swing freely, picking up her coffee. "We had the funeral."

Vincent winced. "That was quick."

"It's our way."

"I wish you'd told me. I would have liked to be there."

Yasi sighed and took a sip. "That sort of thing..."

"I know, it stays in the family; and outsiders ain't invited." Vincent murmured.

Yasi wanted to apologize, but couldn't bring herself to do so. "Well, be glad you weren't there. It was the most horribly depressing experience of my life. We kept telling everyone the danger had passed, but Wotcha was the first person we'd lost to enemies in so long... And she wasn't the last one we lost that weekend."

Vincent nodded and squeezed her hand. She pulled it away carefully. It wasn't harsh or irritated, she was just keeping her distance from him. It suddenly dawned on him that he had never seen the Lostkind touch each other casually. Taps on the shoulder, hugging someone, shaking hands…

Of course. It came to him. People who live Underground in tight quarters would have different rules on personal space. He pulled away. "Sorry."

"It's okay." She said, and after a moment, he thought he could see a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Vincent, this won't mean anything to you, but…" Yasi bit her lip. "I know who my friends are."

~oo00oo~~oo00oo~~oo00oo~

If you're enjoying 'The Lostkind', but don't want to wait for the next chapter, you can get the whole thing here in ebook and paperback format.

Ten: "I Don't Want To Lose You."

Dorcan woke up slowly, his ears ringing. He was seeing six of everything, which didn't bother him too much since there wasn't a whole lot to see at the time. After a while, his eyes focused on the chain. There was a heavy linked chain bolted to the floor, and it was shackled to his ankle. Realization struck him and he looked up quickly, at the high smooth walls of the cell he found himself in. It was almost pitch black, but every Shinobi knew how to see in the dark, and he could make out the heavy oak door above. He was locked in the Oubliette. "HEY! Lemme out of here!"

The hatch opened, and Yasi stared down at him. "What took you so long, Dorcan?" She demanded. "I told you to watch our two guests. I told you to protect them. I told you that they were a target, and we couldn't be sure of all our own. I trusted you with this. We were worried somebody might come up behind them and put a knife in their backs… instead, they're in the middle of an open attack on the entire Underside. Why'd it take you so long to get there?"

Dorcan looked up blearily. "You're not seriously telling me…" He gaped. "You don't honestly think that I'm the one who…"

Yasi started counting on her fingers. "You were the one that told me the nets had been winched out of the way, you were the one that-"

"The one that saved Vincent and Connie when they were too frozen to save themselves!" Dorcan shot back.

"Yes, but we know that Vincent wasn't the target of the attack. It was a diversion. So I want to know where you were, for those three minutes while the Riverfolk were scaring the hell out of everyone when you should have been hiding in Vincent's shadow."

"They were taking the elevators up to their chamber when you left, then Connie changed her mind and jumped to one going the other way." Dorcan called up. "I was supposed to watch them both, and they split up! What was I supposed to do?"

"Exactly what you did, but I'm wondering if you weren't doing something else at the time too." Yasi was merciless.

"Yasi, I've been your second for years! You've known me my whole life." Dorcan snapped.

"I remember." Yasi nodded. "And I also remember that you didn't put your name forward to be my second until three years ago. Within a few months of this whole thing starting, in fact." She glared at him. "What was your real reason for suddenly being at my back the whole time?"

Dorcan's mouth shut with an audible sound as his teeth slammed together sharply.

Yasi nodded. "Okay. Talk to you again soon, Dorcan."

And the hatch swung shut with a resonant bang.

~oo00oo~

"He might have a far more innocent ulterior motive for wanting to get close to you, y'know." Keeper challenged.

"I know." Yasi admitted. "It's threatened to be a problem for a while, but I can't trust anything else he says right now."

"He likes you, that's hardly a threatening problem." Keeper caught her arm. "Yasi, my dear... do we need to have a conversation?"

Yasi tensed. "About?"

"It's no secret that Dorcan was a little sweet on you. Good looking man, someone you trust, you're in a high-placed job, don't have a lot of confidants... you have a tough day, you decide to talk to someone, you realize he's the only one around..."

"I haven't told Dorcan anything he couldn't have got from his post."

"Nothing?"

"No."

Keeper just looked at her, until even Yasi wilted a little under the fierce glare. "What?"

"We talked about this, about you keeping everything close to your chest. We talked about you trusting your people, and showing them that you trust them... This was a big night, for good and bad reasons..."

Yasi wondered sometimes how much Keeper knew. For sure she knew the answer to every question she asked. "Spit it out, Keep."

"I know you've already confided in someone, and it wasn't me or Archivist..."

Yasi wanted to look at her feet for some reason, but she spoke the truth. "It was Vincent."

"You want to know how many ways that's a bad idea? Getting chummy with him?"

"He's not the bad guy, Keeper."

"He's not exactly one of the good guys either. At least, not one of our good guys." Keeper shot back.

"He's proven himself to be a friend to us, and trustworthy with our secrets. As of now, we can't say that about our good guys, let alone anyone from the surface, or any other Underside out there."

"He froze during the fight, he froze at the jump during your little initiation test two years ago."

"How the hell do you know about that?"

"I know everything." Keeper softened, at least for her. "Yasi, this is me you're talking to. Why Vincent?"

Yasi sighed hard. "There's nothing going on between me and him."

"No, there isn't. If there were, I would have put a swift, brutal stop to it long before now, but you've never been this open with anyone before. Why him?"

Yasi struggled with the question for a second. "I... I never really thought about it before, but maybe... maybe, because he isn't one of us. Maybe because with everyone here, all the Lostkind... I can't be relaxed when I'm the Captain of the Shinobi. Vincent didn't have a clue what a Shinobi was when we became friends."

"And the fact that he can't be relied on?"

"If I need a warrior, I look in a mirror." Yasi scorned. "Have I ever needed someone to look after me?"

"Constantly, but not like that." Keeper shot back and rose to her feet. "So. Where the hell did that attack come from? You and Watcher were so convinced that someone had cleaned out the River and lower levels. You said that the Riverfolk weren't there any more."

"We thought that because we found a bunch of Riverfolk bodies." Yasi nodded. "And at the same time, there was dead silence from the River. So I figured something had happened to them. They can't go the surface and survive the pressure change, so if someone was kicking them out, the only place they could go is here."

"So. We know they're still down there. We know they had casualties long before they came up. What's option three?"

"That someone has taken over, down below our feet." Yasi nodded tightly. "But we can handle the River with a few more Razor Nets. It's a blow, but one we can handle."

~oo00oo~

With some of the ropelines severed, and neither Connie or Vincent able to scale the walls as easily as the Lostkind, the most convenient private place to talk was at the stall the two of them had taken refuge in.

"You really think Dorcan is working for Vandark?" Vincent asked. "I mean, he did sort of save my life today."

"Yeah, but we know they weren't after you." Yasi responded. "I've known him for years, trained him myself. I can't believe he's a traitor either, I just can't see any more likely suspects out there."

"We'll find out eventually." Keeper said coldly. "I told him to keep an eye on you and Connie. But it took him a few minutes to get to the Seven Steps when the Riverfolk attacked. Where was he for those few minutes?"

"Owen's escape could have been anyone. The fight was far from there. Anyone could have got the door open."

"Doesn't matter." Yasi said. "We won."

"Won?" Vincent repeated. "We lost Owen, we lost two Shinobi… where did we go right?"

Connie looked cannily at Yasi. "You found something, didn't you? In Owen's locker. Something that changes the whole game."

"No." Yasi said. "Something that wins it."

~oo00oo~

"We've got the information." Yasi waved the package victoriously. "All the secret ways in and out that he spent two years finding, we got all of it. I don't know how much Owen had committed to memory, but I highly doubt he would have written so much of it down if it was enough to be worried about."

"Owen must be freaking out, trying to decide what to tell Vandark." Keeper cackled. "I'm told he doesn't have a 'shoot the messenger' policy, but do you really wanna find out?"

"Does this mean we did it?" Vincent asked, delighted. "I mean… Owen will never get away with that trick twice, surely…"

"He tries, you know where to find me." Yasi chuckled. "We did it. The real question is what to do next."

Everyone turned that over in their heads for a moment.

"Yasi." Archivist interrupted powerfully. "Take the civilians home."

Vincent and Connie reacted with surprise. "Now?"

"The danger is over." Archivist reasoned. "You two have lives of your own that you're on the verge of screwing up, and Owen is still at large. If he tries to get back into the City Planners Office to recreate the information we lost, Vincent can find out. If not, Vandark will almost certainly kill him for blowing the whole plan. The crisis is over. Go home, declare victory, get some sleep."

"You've done us a fantastic turn today, and like as not saved this place." Keeper put in. "We got long memories down here, and it's probably a good idea that you take some time to sort yourselves out before you come back."

"Come back?" Vincent and Connie both repeated in unison, though Vincent sounded a good deal more hopeful.

"Hate to say it, but this whole thing could have been over a year ago if we'd sought Vincent's help when we had the chance. I was the vote against bringing him back in on it while Owen was there watching." Keeper conceded, looking to Vincent. "I wish I liked you more, but it's probably a good idea to have someone in the City Planner's Office."

Yasi met Keeper's gaze. Was that true, or was the old woman giving Yasi a legitimate reason to keep Vincent around? Either way, Yasi gave away nothing.

"And as for you, Connie; well... we've wanted to recruit you for three years." Keeper continued.

"You have?" Connie and Vincent said in shared disbelief.

Archivist nodded. "I suggested it. Tecca and Wotcha thought highly of you."

"They were watching me at the Clinic?" Connie stared at him. "What did they say?"

"They said that you had the gift of empathy, and that you had love for strangers. That's a rare prize. Tecca said that you always remember the kid's names, and that you sat and read with them while their parents were with the doctor."

Connie looked down. "Family member with a fatal disease needs to go to the free clinic... Doesn't seem right to leave their kids alone."

Vincent watched the Triumvirate subtly. They liked that answer. "So, now that we know; now that we've been here, is the offer still open?"

Yasi looked at Archivist. Archivist looked at Keeper. Keeper glared at Yasi. "Take them home."

Yasi was on her feet instantly. "Yes'm." She led the way out, Connie and Vincent following.

"I thought you didn't like him." Archivist said to Keeper as soon as the door closed.

"I don't." Keeper said immediately. "But... Yasi likes him."

Archivist smiled broadly. "You old softie."

"Don't spread that around." Keeper sighed. "My little attempts to push her and Dorcan closer together seem to have backfired spectacularly, and against all natural laws she seems to trust the yutz from Upside... and he did help us out. Twice now."

Archivist was still smiling broadly at her.

"Stop that." She growled. "I'm not being nice to him, I'm just looking out for Yasi. I don't want her moping."

"Was she moping two years ago?"

"Not as such, no." Keeper admitted. "Things might be different now, and I figured – Stop smiling at me! – I figured handling the people who work here is my job."

"Yes, of course it is." He made no effort to hide his amusement. "But of course, you have to tell Yasi that you're against it."

"If I told her anything else she'd push back. This way it's her idea."

"Has it occurred to you that we could all save ourselves a lot of time and effort if we just said what we thought?"

"Ahh, but then we wouldn't really be Lostkind, would we?"

"You're a good girl." He told her primly.

"Well, you didn't marry me for my money." Keeper demurred. "And stop smiling at me!"

~oo00oo~

"Put your paws down, Vincent." Connie said lightly as they walked. "You've been drooling like you smell a roast dinner ever since Keeper said you might get to come back."

"Oh, come on. You don't want to see more?" Vincent waved a hand around at the Market and its stalls. Life was returning to normal in the Underside after the attack.

"I've seen plenty." Connie retorted. "I saw kids in Halloween costumes killing people. I saw ninja jumping across rooftops and coming into our home with swords..."

"You've seen the worst day we've had in decades." Yasi retorted. "This isn't our life. What you saw before the attack, down on the Seven Steps? Lots of trading, music, traffic... That was our real life. We laugh, we cry, we hurt, we love... Just like anyone else does. We're not so different, we just live a few feet out of sight."

"I know, I know..." Connie admitted. "But I got a job, and I got a life, and I like where I am with both of them. I don't want to get a second job that involves sneaking through sewer grates when nobody's looking."

Yasi nodded. "Sure. Most people wouldn't, which is why we almost never ask. Think about that for a second. You got an offered something that several million people would never know was possible."

"Yeah, but... I didn't get an offer. I got drafted the second the Riverfolk broke into our apartment." Connie retorted. "And maybe what happened today means they can't hurt us any more, but you know that's not really the end of it. They spent three years on this plan. Vandark; whoever he is, is patient as hell."

The three of them paused to let a team of Borrowers through to the stairs with their heavy loads, waiting beside a stall full of 'borrowed' clothing. Yasi sent a nod to the stall-merchant; when something occurred to Vincent suddenly. "Yasi, what time is it up above?"

Yasi drew her fob watch, and checked the extra two hands. "Early morning. Sunday. It'll be just after dawn when we get there…"

"Our anniversary was Friday night…" Connie looked to Vincent. "My God. We might just get away with this."

Vincent looked down at himself. They both had filthy torn clothing, and Vincent's bruises were becoming more visible as they healed. "Assuming we don't get caught climbing out of the subway looking like we've been mugged six times."

"Mm. There's a thought." Yasi grabbed clothing off the stall's pile and pushed them at Connie and Vincent. Cloaks, sweaters, casual clothes that covered up the damage. "Here. Take these and cover up."

"Wear them well, go in beauty." The stall-keeper bowed slightly to Yasi. "Shinobi, may I ask... is it over?"

Yasi smiled at him. "Coates, the matter is dealt with. We'll have more to tell you soon, but for now, the danger is over." She sent a smile to Vincent.

Connie shook out the bundle Yasi had pushed at her. It was a long leather coat, that went down as far as her knees. It covered up her clothes neatly, and she tied it at the waist. Vincent had something similar. It looked a lot like the one Yasi had worn. "Where'd you boost so many of these from?"

"Borrowed." Yasi corrected pointedly. "And... from a place that won't miss them. Don't ask."

Connie adjusted the coat. It was hardly the strangest thing to adjust to this week.

Yasi glanced around. "I'll be right back."

Vincent turned to ask her why, but she had already vanished. "Where's she going, you think?"

"Probably the Chapel." Connie guessed. "Check on her wounded before she leaves the place."

Vincent nodded. "Like you do, checking on the out-patients before you end your shift at the Clinic. You two actually have a lot in common."

"We do not." Connie retorted.

~oo00oo~

"How's Pockets?" Archivist asked warmly as Yasi stalked out of the Chapel.

Yasi met his eyes with a hollow gaze, and shook her head slowly.

Archivist sighed. "We were preparing a memorial for Wotcha. Did you want to make it a ceremony for all of them, or..."

The Captain shook her head. "The Shinobi will hold our own Memorial for all our guys."

Archivist nodded. "Listen, this may not be the time, but... Don't be too hard on Connie."

"Why the hell shouldn't I be? She's so selfish." Yasi shot back. "She's looking at us like she's expecting us to kill her and eat her, and never mind that our whole world is at stake here."

"She's not selfish, she's scared." Archivist returned. "You know Rule Number One."

"Be Invisible." Yasi recited promptly.

"Why do you think that is?" Archivist asked her, suddenly a teacher with his favorite student. "The Upsiders don't have a clue we're down here. Why do you think we want it to stay that way?"

"Well." Yasi blinked. "I guess because we're scared of them coming down here."

"No sweetie, it's because they'd be scared of us. The one thing that terrifies all manner of man, is that which they do not understand. So we stay hidden. They don't notice, they don't know, and we don't care. If they suddenly knew we were under their feet, they would act out of fear, and drive us out of the hidden places into the light. The unknown becomes a target. So we stay hidden."

"Vincent never had that problem." Yasi protested.

"Well, let's compare shall we?" Archivist challenged. "Vincent was introduced. A pretty girl invited him in and showed him her world; and then we sat him down, served him tea, and asked him for help. Now Connie. Her boyfriend vanished, she found evidence that he'd been in a violent altercation, then someone she thought was a friend attacked her, and her house was invaded by two small armies that proceeded to go to war in her living room. The good guys chloroformed her and dragged her to a secret underground city, and she wakes up to find she's caught up in a grand conspiracy to-"

"I get the point." Yasi interrupted.

"She's trying desperately to protect the things she loves, from a position of no power or control at all, from things she can't begin to guess at." Archivist finished. "And the one she wants to protect the most, is failing to perceive a problem at all." He pointed a warning finger at her casually. "And by the way, that protective streak extends to the kids at her clinic, the homeless at the Kitchen... That's the whole reason why we thought about recruiting her, and the whole reason Wotcha pointed her in Vincent's direction."

"Wotcha did that after we decided we weren't going to see either of them ever again. The situation has changed."

"Only if they say yes." Archivist told her firmly.

~oo00oo~

Yasi led Vincent and Connie through the Underside. They were content to follow until they reached the boat. The three of them sent a suspicious look to the water, but Yasi assured them that the nets were back in place, dragging The River with razor wire, keeping the monsters at bay.

The boat took them back to the ladders and stairwells. They took them as far as Archivist's Whisper Gallery, and then from there an elevator. Vincent tried to remember if this was the same route they had taken the last time he left the Underside, and decided not. Going up was so much more exertion than going down, but eventually the 'street lamps' that lined every corridor thinned out, before fading to nothing, leaving them in darkness.

"How do you find your way?" Connie asked, being led by the fingertips as Vincent had.

"We don't find the way, we know the way." Yasi answered. "There's a difference."

Vincent shut his eyes. His vision was useless in the dark, and it made it easier to use his other senses. As he gave up trying to peer into the darkness, he became more aware of himself, of the crossbow slung under his arm like a gym bag, the long coat over it... and the goggles he took off the Riverfolk.

Curious, he pulled the goggles out and held them up over his eyes. Somehow, the pitch black opened to him, and he could see. The corridor was visible, if only just, and tinted in a bright ruby sheen, the same color as the red Riverfolk goggles.

Grinning like an idiot, he pulled away from Yasi, and put the goggles on properly. Suddenly able to see, he tried to creep past Yasi, but even if she couldn't see him, his footsteps were easily apparent to her sharp senses. "Vincent?"

"I'm okay." He called to her. "Do I want to take the left path or the right?"

"Okay, now you're just freaking me out." She commented, but he could see the smile on her face. She reached into her coat and pulled out the hand lantern. She and Connie paused a moment while she wound it.

Connie reared back from the sudden glow. Vincent half expected his vision to white out, like they would with night vision lenses, but he seemed to be able to look at the lantern normally.

Yasi's jaw dropped in disbelief when she saw him wearing the goggles. "Where the hell did you get those?"

Vincent shrugged. "Spoils of war."

"If you've got a light, why the hell are we creeping around in the dark?" Connie demanded, shielding her eyes from the light.

"Connie, the Labyrinth is our first line of defense. You find your way in, you try and find your way back. The darkness makes it harder to find your way without a guide." Yasi explained patiently, before sending a cheeky smirk at Vincent. "Well, unless you've stolen some Riverfolk goggles, that is."

"You want them back?"

"Why? I don't need them." Yasi snorted, and led the way. "We try not to weigh ourselves down with a load of junk we don't need. That's why we decided against offering Connie a job at first."

Connie didn't even blink. "Is that why all two of your outfits are at least a century old?"

Vincent responded by being very very quiet.

~oo00oo~

Connie nearly gasped when they came out into the light. It felt like a million years since they had last seen the sky. Vincent came out right behind her, and a moment later the sound of a car filled their ears. It was the first engine either of them had heard in over a day, which was near impossible in New York City.

Then the screech of wheels, and they both spun to find they had climbed out of a manhole in the street. They both jumped at the sudden attack, and the car screeched to a halt at the sight of them.

The driver leaned out his window and screamed a torrent of abuse that neither of them could comprehend. The guy seemed more interested in the fact that they were in his way, than the fact that they'd just risen out of the ground.

Clank.

They both noticed the manhole cover close tightly. Yasi had left them once they reached the surface. Connie put her arm in Vincent's and they both left the street.

The car moved on, the driver flipping them off as he went past.

"It's good to be back in New York." Connie sighed, her equilibrium restored instantly by the experience. "Come on, let's go see if anyone noticed what the hell they did to our apartment."

~oo00oo~

But when they got there, the door was fixed. Their key was under the doormat. When they got inside, the place was tidied up. Several of Connie's knickknacks were missing from their carefully chosen places on the shelves, but there were no shards on the floor.

Vincent looked the question to Connie, who held her hands up defensively. "Vincent, I swear, the place was trashed! A war went on in here."

Vincent looked around, and then bent down to get a closer look at the furniture. "You're right. This has been repaired. You look close, you can see where the wood was splintered... and where it was replaced."

"What'd you expect?"

They both spun and found Yasi sitting on the windowsill. The window had opened and neither of them had heard.

She came in properly, and shifted over to stand against the wall, out of sight from the street. "We've been invisible a long time. We know the trick of it. We don't leave fingerprints." She sent a glance at Connie. "Afraid the Fixmen couldn't find replacements for everything."

"If I hadn't known what happened here..." Connie nodded. "Owen was right about that much. The things you guys can do..."

"We don't want to rule the world, we just want to make our way and not be seen doing it." Yasi promised her. "And that, in its way, brings us back to you." She nodded respectfully to Connie. "A friend in the Medical Profession, especially in the Free Clinics, would do a lot to help the kids. If they knew you already it would be an advantage. Our kids don't trust easily, and Tecca thinks highly of you. There's always room for another teacher to tell our kids about the City..." Yasi inclined her head toward Vincent with a smile. "Recent events have shown how fragile our world can be. Especially to someone in the City Planner's Office..."

Vincent was smiling. "How would it work?"

"You guys would be part of our world. Not Lostkind, just friends. Very few people come and go like you would. There have been very few people who could walk in both worlds. And for now, you'd be the only ones that do. Even The Watchers walked through your world without actually being part of your society. You keep your day jobs, you keep your apartment, you keep in contact, and every now and then you come down for a day or two. Think of it like taking an extra part time job on the side."

Vincent looked to Connie, who yawned hugely. A moment later he matched it, suddenly aware of how tired he was.

Yasi nodded swiftly. "Sorry. You guys should get some rest." She went to the window. "Think it over. An offer like this doesn't happen often."

~oo00oo~

"I don't think I ever fully appreciated the modern wonder that was a hot shower before this moment." Connie said happily, as she came out of the bathroom an hour later. She looked considerably more relaxed in her terry-cloth robe, and she joined him on the couch, cuddling up under his arm.

Vincent stretched his legs out and as far as they would go and settled with her. "So. We haven't really had a chance to talk about... any of it."

"I keep looking over my shoulder." Connie admitted. "Part of me expects to find Lostkind kids hiding behind the towel rack."

"I went through the same thing." Vincent admitted with a chuckle. "I honestly thought I'd never go back there..."

"I know." Connie admitted sadly.

Vincent reacted to her tone. "What?"

Connie took his hand in hers, and kissed his fingertips. "If you'd gotten the job offer two years ago... you never would have given me a second look."

Vincent tensed. She could feel his posture changing where she leaned against him. "Connie... I love you."

"And I love you." She returned honestly. "But it's the truth."

Silence.

"This is New York City, Vincent." She said quietly after a while. "If that's not interesting enough for you, I don't know what you could possibly find a hundred feet below ground level."

"It's not about boredom." Vincent told her. "But... I remember my dad, he told me that where he grew up was entirely different to New York. He said the feel of the place was different. The speed the pedestrians walked at, the way everyone looks at each other or looks away, the energy they put into their jobs, or their recreation... Y-" He corrected himself. "The Lostkind call it the Rhythm. When I got down there... I felt like I was walking at the same speed as everyone else. I felt like the feel of the place was mine."

Silence.

"Vincent, they say it's over now. They got Owen's dropbox, and they've declared victory; but you know it's not over. I mean, Yasi and Keeper and Archivist were making happy noises, but you know there's worse to come. I don't want to be there when it all hits the fan... And there's nothing down there that really interests me anyway."

"There's me." Vincent offered softly.

Now Connie hardened. She almost turned to stone under his arm. After a moment, she pulled away, sitting upright on the couch. "So. That's that, then."

Vincent shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, that was... I didn't mean that."

"Yes, you did." She retorted. "You just didn't mean to say it. Yet." She scrubbed her face with her hands. Vincent could see her eyes turning red with unshed tears. "I don't want to be Lostkind. You do. Is it really that simple?"

Vincent said nothing.

"You're supposed to be on my team." Connie pressed. "That's what you do when you love someone. You make them your top priority. Especially if you wanted to marry me."

Vincent looked at her tightly. "You said 'no' as I recall."

Connie's face hardened. "Is that it? You making me choose?"

Vincent glared. "You're making me choose." He shot back. "I'd be perfectly happy to marry you and work with the Underside. Are you making me choose?"

Connie stood up. "If I knew we were having this conversation, I would have worn something other than a bathrobe."

"Connie, I don't want to lose you." Vincent said honestly.

"Vincent, you didn't lose me. I lost you. I lost you the second Yasi took you Underground."

"There's nothing between me and Yasi!" Vincent protested, yet again.

"Not you and her. You and there. Who knows how many laws you might bend or break if you become one of them? Plus whatever risks there could be to your health living Underground, plus the Riverfolk..."

"If you're trying to scare me out of it, you can't." Vincent returned. "I've been living with the danger of this longer than you have, Connie. Gill tried to kill himself because of Owen's manipulations."

"And that's not going to stop you?"

"Why? Owen's been exposed, he can't hurt us any more."

"See? This is my point. You're not a thrill-seeker, but this doesn't bother you? The Underside is worth more to you than your job, your safety... more than me."

Vincent didn't have an answer to that.

"Hope she's worth it." Connie said, with just the tiniest hint of bitterness.

"Connie... I am going to say this again." Vincent repeated, getting tired of saying it. "There's nothing going on with Yasi. I am not a teenager. I've been with you two years, the total combined time I spent with her was... what? Two days?"

"That's only half of it though." Connie shot back. "You want to be part of the Underside. I can walk away from it, and go about my life. I don't think you can. I think you only did two years ago because they told you not to come looking. The first thing you knew of that world, the first person you met of the Lostkind, was Yasi. When you think of the place, do you think of her? Because I'm betting you do."

Vincent felt his jaw drop open. "I... I honestly hadn't thought of it that way."

"Of course not, you're a guy." Connie shrugged. "I know how you feel about me. I know you'd never cheat on me. But I can't compete with another woman, and a whole world at the same time. You love the Underside. And Yasi is the Underside to you."

Vincent said nothing.

Connie nodded. "I hope you and the Secret City are very happy together." She said calmly. The sort of calm that came from having made a tough decision and accepted it. She leaned over and kissed him softly, before heading into the bedroom without looking back.

He didn't go after her.

She was kissing him goodbye.

~oo00oo~

He had slept on the couch. He didn't want to sleep in the bed when he knew he would be there alone. Even so, he hadn't slept well. It was a warm night, but the weather wasn't the reason he'd left the window open.

Connie had packed a bag and gone to a friends' house. Vincent had implored her to stay until morning at least. Their relationship had been torn down the middle, but not in any way that made them hate each other. They could at least be allies about it. But Connie had insisted, because she knew Yasi would be back during the night, and didn't want to be, 'in the way', as she put it.

Vincent lay awake wondering about their conversation, wondering what Yasi would have thought if she'd heard it...

Did he love Yasi? The thought came back to him now and then. Connie was right, he loved the Underside. When he thought of their wild tribal power, the energy, their beauty... Yasi was the first promise, the first mystery of the place...

But he'd just broken up with Connie after two very happy years, and Yasi was not the reason why. For all the things that had happened, he was still the Outsider to the Lostkind. He was a helpful neighbor that ran errands for them from time to time. He still wasn't one of them. If he tried to approach Yasi so soon after losing Connie, it would not only make him a sleaze, it would…

Such thoughts chased him into sleep. The window stayed open all night, and after a long time, he looked up and saw a familiar shadow on the wall. Yasi had come in his window again. "Hey."

"Hey." She said, and sat on the end of the couch by his feet. "Connie?"

"Not here." He said shortly.

Yasi nodded slowly, having expected that. "So. How badly have I screwed up your life?"

Vincent stayed where he was and started counting on his fingers. "Well, there's the Riverfolk playing bongos on my ribs... There was Gill almost killing himself so Owen could get into his job... My ex-landlord wouldn't give me my security deposit back because I kept letting vagrants sleep in the building without telling him." He pretended to think for a moment. "And... oh yes, Connie walked out. You seem to be the common thread in all these things."

"Vincent, lots of couples break up because of work." Yasi offered. "You were her boyfriend, and you got an opportunity that meant you had to be absent for a while, work outside the city, keep a few things in confidence… and she couldn't handle it. It's not a new story, just a new setting."

Vincent blinked. "Put that way, I don't sound nearly as selfish."

"Selfish? You sacrificed your normal life and broke up with your girlfriend to save a bunch of people that you can't even talk about. Exactly where does the selfish part come in? Jeez, Vincent... You should hate my breathing guts right now."

Silence.

"By the way, just to end the suspense, I'll take the job." Vincent commented without opening his eyes.

Yasi nodded. "There's a shock." She drawled. "Grab your coat."

~oo00oo~

"Why are we here?" Vincent asked with interest as they entered the City Planner's Office.

"Well, I told you you'd be keeping your day job." Yasi said, leading the way toward his cubicle. "And since radios and cell phones aren't worth a damn to us, we'll have to show you a few ways to get in touch."

Vincent was quietly thrilled. "You could just get a cell phone. Come up to the surface now and then, check your voicemail."

"Ugh, how boring." Yasi scorned, and pointed to the elevators. "Meet me in the Archives Room."

Vincent sent a glance toward the elevator, and then looked back at Yasi.

She was gone.

"One day I'm gonna stop falling for that." Vincent sighed, and headed downstairs toward the Archives Room.

~oo00oo~

She was waiting for him the second he stepped off the elevator. "This building used to have a pneumatic correspondence system. You sent a memo through a vacuum tube. Once email was invented, it became less than worthless, but it's still here."

Vincent nodded. "Too expensive to tear it all out, since it's not bothering anyone."

Yasi led him over to the far side of the archives, in the dustiest corner of the room. There was a tube in the wall, covered in cobwebs. "Send me a message this way." She told him. "That tube will take it down to the Underside, through the Whisper Gallery. From there it will come straight to me." She turned to look at him face to face. "I will send you messages the same way, so you'd better check this spot. Make sure nobody else finds them."

Vincent nodded, suddenly aware of how close they were, the narrow aisle between the stacks forcing them into tight proximity. She licked her lips and he knew she was aware of it too.

"She understood, right?" Yasi said suddenly. "Connie? She understood. I mean, it's not like we were asking you both to move Underground forever."

"She knew." Vincent acknowledged. "She just didn't want to come. She thought it would be dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as living in New York." Yasi shot back.

"Connie wanted kids." Vincent said suddenly.

Silence.

"Okay?" Yasi said, not quite getting it.

"I think she was picturing our lives suddenly being underground half the time… She was seeing kidnappers and ghosts and trying to fit the life and family she wanted into that…" Vincent shook his head. "Even if we agreed to keep our personal lives, let alone kids, up on the surface, it's still another big slice out of our lives that we wouldn't be together."

"But she's not especially wrong. The less traffic back and forth the better. We've still got the information Owen collected, so Vandark can't get in. At least not in anything like the numbers he'd need to do some damage. But we were able to clear Dorcan, so..."

"Dorcan's innocent?" Vincent interrupted. "That's good. He's saved our lives."

"Yeah, I'm relieved too." Yasi admitted, though he noticed a blush on her face. "He's barely speaking to me, but there was a perfectly good reason for all the things he was doing, so..."

"What was his perfectly good reason?" Vincent asked with interest.

Yasi's gaze flicked to Vincent as her blush spread down her neck. "That's not important."

Vincent's interest was piqued, but he knew better than to press it. "Okay."

"By the way…" She said lightly. "Welcome to the team."

"Vincent?" A voice commented.

Vincent spun in surprise, to see Davidson in the doorway. He sent a look over his shoulder, but Yasi had vanished. "Hey, Boss." He said, fighting for calm. "What brings you down here this time of the weekend?"

"I was about to ask you that..." Davidson came closer. "Were you just talking to someon-My God, what the hell happened to you?"

Vincent winced. His bruises were still relatively fresh and swelling up nicely. "It's nothing. I fell down the stairs."

"How many times?" Davidson demanded. "You should be at the emergency room."

"I'm fine." Vincent waved it off. "I was just..." His mouth shut suddenly. It just hit him that he didn't have an alibi ready.

Fortunately, Davidson was thinking about something else at the time. "By the way, did you hear about Owen?"

Vincent nearly swallowed his tongue. He had absolutely no idea how to answer that one. His heart stopped for a moment, and then started again at triple speed. "What about him?" He asked carefully.

"He quit." Davidson said, and Vincent relaxed. "Got a job somewhere on the West Coast."

Vincent could feel his heart thundering as the sudden spike of adrenaline started to fade. "Well... W-we knew he wasn't staying on permanently. Remember?"

"Sure, but that was two years ago. I guess I figured he had settled here." Davidson sighed. "Well, people move on. I just wish I had a little more warning. The man resigned by letter. He tell you?"

Vincent bit back the first response that came to mind. "No." He said finally. "I had no warning at all."

Davidson took that at face value. "Okay. Glad you're okay."

~oo00oo~~oo00oo~~oo00oo~

If you're enjoying 'The Lostkind', but don't want to wait for the next chapter, you can get the whole thing here in ebook and paperback format.