Hidden Secrets

They said their goodbyes and a few minutes later walked into the Songbird. It was busy; Ren and Lark were onstage while Lara was serving. Oddly enough, Quinn was working behind the bar.

None of the Songbird staff missed the fact that QJ and Robin were holding hands when they walked in.

Quinn grinned when his son sat at the bar. He poured him a beer without asking and slid it in front of him. "You look pretty today, Robin; something different with your hair?"

Robin laughed and patted her hair, "I was riding, so it's probably from that."

A few minutes after they sat down, Ren and Lark wrapped up things on stage and joined them. QJ decided to give his dad a hand and made burgers for the Songbirds. Thrush popped her head into the kitchen just as he was finishing up. "Two more QJ."

QJ handed her a plate, "take these for now, and I'll make two more."

By the time he finished the last two, Robin was nestled nicely between Thrush and Wren; they were obviously teasing her. Robin's face beamed while they made jokes; they were her two best friends.

"Saved you a place, QJ." Ren patted the seat next to hers; he sat down and started eating. He could feel the eyes of the table on him.

Wren leaned forward, her blonde hair braided neatly. "So... going to give Robin back to us soon?"

QJ didn't bother to look up; he just shook his head. "No."

Her voice was filled with amusement as she continued teasing, "Robin says you are making her a hide-out gun. Will you make me one too?"

QJ shook his head. "No."

"That's not fair, QJ. What does she have that I don't have?" Wren smiled sexily, her blue eyes trying to tempt him.

QJ finally looked up; he thought about it for a moment. "Not saying."

The entire table laughed at his reply. Robin stared at him, her dark eyes unreadable. "He's working hard, creating something good."

"Ignore them, QJ." Ren slid an arm through his. "I hear you're a Viscount now; that's amazing!"

"Yep... and Vice-Commander of the Guild." QJ wolfed down his food while keeping an eye on the time. "Damn, I have to get back."

Robin gave him a small smile. "Cya QJ."

QJ returned her smile, "Cya Robs."

He quickly grabbed his plate and walked behind the bar with it. After putting it in the sink, he waved to the table and headed out.

The afternoon went by quickly. After checking in with Rachel Brenner, QJ spent the remainder of the day working on his Captured strategies. He beat Nina three times in a row and tied Ringo one-to-one. One Problem had decided to group up early, so QJ enjoyed a quick dinner with his parents before logging in early.

[Welcome to Guns and Gore, the Phoenix Server.]

Location: One Problem Guild Keep.

Time: 1700 hours

Server Population: 29,828 Your current level is 29.

QJ walked into Keep Hall; none of his guildmates were around yet. He opened up his hud, and a moment later, a black panther with sky-blue eyes stared back at him. QJ smiled at the unexpected face. "Very funny, Belle."

Belle squeezed into view; her eyes were dark blue, signifying that she was using vision transfer with Mali. She wore her dark blonde hair on top of her head in a messy bun; her face was serenely beautiful. "I thought you no longer spoke to me, QJ."

QJ shook his head. "Actually, I no longer speak to Ru, but that really doesn't work out since she's always at the Academy now."

Belle's face was slightly flushed, "I'm afraid I don't handle alcohol very well."

QJ nodded in agreement. "Me either; honestly, I don't remember much about the evening. I do have one question, though."

"I... I'm very glad you contacted me. What's your question?"

The rumor was that the Silverleaf women had plied QJ with wine; as rumors go, was completely inaccurate. QJ had swiped a keg of Leah and Em's brandy late at night. Em had thought that halflings were helping themselves, so she enlisted her workers to give chase. This led QJ to flee right into the Silverleaf tent in an effort to hide. They ended up drinking the keg dry.

"It was dark, and my head was hazy," QJ admitted. Was it you or Ru?"

"Me... Ru was already passed out. You and I were the only ones still awake." Belle felt her face heat up. "You aren't going to ignore me for two more years now, are you?"

QJ shook his head. "No, of course not. I need your help, actually."

Even though Belle had been blind since birth, she was still capable of many things. "Yes..."

QJ sighed heavily; he felt guilt seeping into him. He had forgotten how sweet Belle could be. "Don't agree before I tell you the specifics."

Belle nodded, "fine. Tell me."

"I need you and a dozen of your sisters. They have to be competent fighters, no rangers though, melee only."

Belle listened intently. "Are casters okay?"

QJ thought about it for a moment and then nodded. "Quick learners preferred; this is long-term, Belle. Special training and undercover work. You will all be under contract."

Belle's pretty face showed her interest. "Can I say yes now?"

QJ grinned. "Yes."

She caressed Mali's ears, causing the big cat to purr loudly. "I accept. When and where?"

"GnG, of course, my estate is called Briar Rose. It's very close to Maelstrom. The sooner, the better, since some special training will be involved."

Belle nodded, "give me two days. I'll contact you if I need more time."

[Martial Law, the Lost Frontier]

The steady dripping of melting ice may be a peaceful sound, but when one drop joined in concert with thousands, it became an unpleasant cacophony to the ears. The cavern was dark, cold, and wet. Not the sort of place that anyone would deliberately call home.

"Are you going to come in, Nae?" A muffled voice spoke from the darkness of the cavern depths. "Or are you avoiding me?"

The thin woman, with blue eyes so pale they looked white, stared at the rocks near her feet. "No. I was ashamed."

"Ashamed?" The voice was neutral; without knowing its gender, it would be impossible to guess. "You've made mistakes in the past, lots of them. Why would this one be different?"

"Because I..." Nae trailed off nervously.

"Because you lost our best opportunity to put a dagger into Quinn Riley?" The figure moved out of the shadows, but that did little to reveal who it was. The face was hooded, and unnatural darkness clung to the features, a sign that some sort of masking protocol was being used.

"It's that Songbird's fault."

"Nae... Answer something for me."

Nae looked up for the first time since her arrival. "Of course."

"Where did you learn stupidity at? To be so good at something must surely require a lot of practice on your part."

"I was told that he hunted those caverns alone." Nae suppressed the urge to shiver.

"You could have entered GnG before he did; instead, you waited near the gate, watching him. That was a poor decision. Everything that followed was a result of that. You aroused suspicion, and our carefully laid plans have faded to nothingness."

"I'm sorry. I will do better next time."

The figure laughed at the words. "Next time? Are you certain there'll be a next time? You left a trail behind. What makes you think Q won't find us?"

[Riley Residence, an offline VRP]

"Why am I here, Quinn?" Tal asked. The small VRP whiteboard still had the complete breakdown of the plan Q used to rid Exodus of his mom's killer more than twenty years earlier.

"Same reason as before, secrecy." Quinn stood up and casually erased the digital whiteboard before writing a name and location at the top.

Immediately Tal shook her head. "It can't be. That person is dead."

Q leaned against the wall. "I thought so too. When this happened, I made a list of everyone from our past who could pull it off. Know what I found?"

Tal nodded. "No one was left," she had done the same thing.

"Right. You're smart so once you've eliminated the possibilities you decided it was someone new." Quinn paused when she nodded. "Let's put it in simple terms. If I told you that 3x3=9, your answer would be?"

Tal raised an eyebrow. "Coming at me with math? Very brave, even for you."

Quinn nodded in agreement. "And if I wrote down 3x2=9, what would you say?"

"That your answer is wrong," Tal replied.

"Is it?" Quinn asked. He moved to the chair beside her, staring at the board. "You've eliminated one variable. What if I insist that the 9 has to be right?"

Tal stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes intent on unraveling his meaning. "The answer can't be right."

"Of course, it can," Quinn countered. He stood up and placed an 'x' under each of the numbers. "I should have started like this, (3x2=9) one of these numbers has to be wrong and it's not the nine."

A smile pulled at the corner of Tal's lips. "The two would be wrong."

Quinn touched the tip of his nose with his finger. "Boom, it's not the answer that's wrong, it's the question. You assumed that the question was infallible."

Tal smiled until all her teeth were showing. "So... Someone from our past, who we've ruled out, shouldn't be ruled out."

"I've accounted for every possible variable." Quinn brought up an image of the woman who had attacked Lark. "Trying to put us off the trail by leaving Lark's crystal in Civil Unrest might have worked if I didn't know the origin of the attacker."

Tal stared at the location written on the whiteboard for a moment before turning her gaze onto her husband. "Are you saying that we'll find them there?"

Quinn shook his head. "Doubtful, but it's a good place to start. Remember what you told me about that crystal you pulled Lark out of? Who has the resources and capabilities to pull that off? Are you following me?"

"I wasn't before," Tal admitted while staring at the name on the whiteboard. "But now I am. We're on the trail."