The cleaning crew had arrived, shuffling in for another day at work; a bunch of Fixers hired to clean up all the corpses, pile them into body bags, mop up the blood, and sweep up the debris. The ones with friends and family would be getting a proper funeral. The less fortunate ones would likely be tossed out on the street for the Sweepers to chow down on. It was dirty work and not for someone with a weak stomach to gore, but it was one that had to be done.

  As they looked at the destruction that the Ghillie Dhu brought with them, the only thing the survivors could take pride in is that the body count on all sides was pretty even.

  Runaway Office sat together in the lobby, all of their wounds since been treated. Emilio would have to be walking with a cane for a while and his hand was pretty messed up; it didn’t require any surgery, but he was feeling numb in the tips of his fingers. Oliver, despite having been hurt the worst, was taking a nap, her head in Heidi’s lap, and her mask resting on her chest. Only someone as nuts as her can sleep so soundly after being injured like that. Heidi, the lucky one, only received a few cuts and damage to her prosthetics.

  Evil Eye Office, surprisingly, didn’t take too much damage; two casualties, but that’s better than the whole Office getting wiped out. The way the Operator grinned to himself over their survival drew the angered stares of the other survivors.

  Knive’s Out, unfortunately, hadn’t a single survivor. In just one night, an entire Fixer Office was wiped out by a single man, the strong Tree of the Ghillie Dhu, Oberon.

  Carlo’s Office, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, had a single survivor. The arrogant Fixer who led the Office, Carlo, sat with his head buried in his hands, his tears now dried up, he was too sad to even cry anymore. He was currently being treated for his wounds by a medic, pulling bullets out of his back.

  Emilio stared at him from across the room and sighed. He wanted to see his ego get checked, just to see him get knocked down a peg. But not like this. This is just depressing to look at; especially when he knows all too well what it’s like to be a lone survivor. “Right then… This was a fucking wash.” He said, going through his pockets for a cigarette.

  Heidi, realizing this, took one from her pocket and handed it to him. “It’s my last one, savor it.” She too was busy coming down from her own fight; she finished tossing the mental toll of the fight around in her brain, but the physical exhaustion still lingered. The cleaning crew upstairs was probably wondering why there was a single member of the Index among all the corpses. Squeezing her thumb against her palm, suddenly the lighter built into her hand flicked on, despite it supposedly been out of fuel this whole time. “Wha… Well, I’ll be… Now it works.” She said, as she lighted Emilio’s cigarette for him, only for the flames to sputter out soon after.

  “Thank you,” Emilio nodded. As the group tried to relax, Emilio flicked some cigarette ash to the floor, tendrils of smoke coming from his mouth. “Think I’m gonna cut ties with Cacao Workshop after this… I know it’s our first job with them but still.”

  “You think so?” Heidi asked.

  “Yeah, this whole thing started because of stupid managing and leadership. If they focused more effort into protection, maybe kept people outside to watch, none of this would’ve happened.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “Ech… Maybe I’m just pissed off. We’re still getting paid at least. We can expect our payment tomorrow, that’s what I’m told.”

  “You’re the boss.” Heidi shrugged, looking down at Oliver. “Whatever you think is right, I’ve always been a follower. I’m sure Oliver doesn’t mind either.” She looked back up, as she saw Silvio approaching them. The two stared at the large Fixer. Previously known as their asshole neighbor, they didn’t expect to see such a side of him. Maybe not a friend or a member of the Office, but someone they could fight side by side again. Maybe share a drink with him sometime. Heidi greeted him. “Ah hey there. Thank you for saving Oliver back there.”

  “Yeah.” Silvio said. “She’s a bit of a little shit and she is no ally of mine, but I couldn’t just let another person die when I could save them.”

  “…Or did you do it because I threatened you.” Heidi smirked.

  “Heh… Yeah, that too…” He scratched the back of his head, nodding. “But, uh, I hope it’s not a bad time, but I might not get the opportunity. There is something you guys might want to look at regarding her. Something that I saw while helping her.” He said, pointing at the bandages that wrapped around Oliver’s chest. He went silent, as if he was waiting on the pair to ask what.

  “…Continue…?” Emilio asked, raising a brow.

  “Well, she has an odd scar running down her chest. The surgical kind of scar you only get when you open someone up to take something out… Or put something in.” Silvio shrugged, again he paused as if he was waiting for them to say something in return. But, he quickly continued speaking. “But hey, it isn’t my place to tell you guys what to do. Sorry I was such an asshole to you guys before…” He gave a sad smile. “Hope to see you guys down the line… Or not… It’s up to you really.” He said, before walking off, going over to Carlo.

  The Runaways were now left alone once more, the two of them left to their thoughts for a bit. But, after about a minute of just sitting around, Emilio stood up, propping himself on his new cane that he had to get acquainted with for the time being. He wobbled, wincing in pain as soon as he put pressure on his right foot. “Ah!” He leaned to his left side to alleviate the pain.

  “Shit, don’t push yourself.” Heidi said. Placing Oliver’s mask back on the bear obsessed girl’s head, she stood up, carrying Oliver over her shoulder. “Heading out already?”

  “I don’t like saying goodbye to people who pissed me off. They’re probably gonna come out with some speech about how they are sorry for our loss and blah blah blah.” Emilio said, as he limped to the door. “I need a shower and to sleep this off. Plus, it’s midnight and the Sweepers are gonna be here in like 3 hours.

  “Damn right. A shower and some instant noodles sound really good right now.” Heidi nodded, walking with a waddle from having to carry Oliver. As the two made their way out though, stepping out into the moonlit Backstreets, they heard someone behind them. Looking over their shoulders, they were met with Carlo and Silvio, already done with whatever they were discussing.

  “Mind if we accompany you?” Silvio asked.

  “Go ahead.” Emilio obliged. “We’re probably not gonna say much though. Not quite in the mood to talk anymore.”

  “That’s okay.” Silvio said, walking besides Carlo. “We aren’t either.”

  Carlo looked like absolute shit. His previously pristine blond hair was still mottled with blood. Same with his once fancy uniform, now bloodstained and ruffled. Clearly had been crying, having just lost every one of his allies. It was moments like this that lead so many Fixers to never grow attached to anyone. To never grow empathetic. That it’s better off to just view your allies as allies or tools and not friends. Emilio knew what it was like. Silvio too.

  The group marched on, going through the Backstreets. It was strangely quiet tonight. Not many people out and about right now. It gave an almost peaceful aura to the whole place, something that rarely ever could be said about the Backstreets, especially those of District 23. Tossing his cigarette to the ground, Emilio took a deep breath of that crisp and clean air, thinking about the day where his whole life changed for a second time.

  It was several months ago, back when the Library was still rising to power. Fixers and Syndicates disappearing into it one by one. One of those Fixer Offices was the popular Dawn Office, whose Operator was tea drinking buddies with the Operator of Dead Flowers. Emilio visited now and again; just to hear their stories and get some extra insight from a pair of old men. He remembered chatting with the old and wise Operator, whose skill was matched by his age, as the quiet and awkward glasses wearing Fixer stood alone.

  To think that cowardly, tea making Fixer was the man who took everything from him. Well, that’s what the rumors say at least.

  Emilio looked back to Carlo, one last time. He thought of asking him if he wanted to join his Office. But that’d be fucking rude. Far too soon too. If he wanted to find a new Office and a new place to belong, he could do it on his own time. Silvio was doing fine on his own, as far as Emilio knew; he wasn’t about to pry into how he was doing though.

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  After a bit more walking in complete silence, the group stopped at Runaway Office, the lights inside currently off. Next door was the apartment where everyone by Carlo stayed at. “This is where we get off.” Heidi said, looking to Carlo. “You gonna be okay?”

  The group turned to look at Carlo, all eyes on him. Finally, he broke his silence. “…Another day in the Backstreets ending in Y. That’s what everyone says, huh?” He shook his head back and forth. “…What can I even say? It’s just me now. Returning to a now empty Office.” He gripped his spear tight. “Can’t even have revenge when I don’t even know where those bastards are going. Can’t even just lie down and die because that’s not gonna help…” He said, continuing to mumble under his breath. Whatever he was saying was indecipherable to the other Fixers. He mumbled and mumbled, until Emilio spoke up.

  “So? If you want to lie down and die, go ahead. It’s your choice to make whether you live or die, after all… Just don’t do it in front of me.”

  Everyone else stayed silent. Carlo looked over to Emilio, the two of them making eye contact. Previously locked in an expression of pure grief and dismay, Carlo still carried that same grief, but his eyes were now full of clarity. As if Emilio snapped him out of a trance.

  Emilio sighed and continued, fully aware of how offensive his words came off of; he wasn’t taking anything he said back though. “Listen, I’m not telling you to go kill yourself. But as someone who was right where you were, I can tell you: If you go die now, you’re going to be letting down all of your friends. If they lost you, I’m sure they’d use that to keep going.”

  Carlo kept staring at Emilio, his eyes still filled with that same grief and clarity as before. His mouth hung open as if he was about to say something.

  “Well? What is it gonna be? I know my words aren’t anything special. Anyone can say them. But at least I know what it’s like to lose everyone too, if that means anything.”

  Carlo finally broke eye contact and looked down the street, towards the direction of his Office. Still sad, his mind at least clearer than before. He uttered, “I… Want to keep on living.”

  “Then do that.” Emilio nodded. “It’ll take getting use to, but hey, do it.” He motioned to the entrance of the apartment. Heidi and Silvio filtered in, leaving Carlo and Emilio alone. But, he then put on a kind smile; he really did put the pathetic in empathetic. “You’ll be safe out there, will ya? I’d hate for you to go off and get killed after this.”

  Carlo nodded. “I’ll be fine… I’m only a few blocks away.” He tapped his spear against the ground. “Thank you… And sorry for earlier.”

  “Don’t even have to apologize. Words don’t hurt me anymore… Well, most of the time.” he laughed. “Ah, fuck it. I’m not fooling you, am I? Words do still hurt me now and again. I’m just trying to act all cool and tough here.”

  “You’re a survivor, aren’t you?”

  “Twice over.”

  “Then you have twice the amount of grief to carry.” Carlo said, beginning to walk off. He was actually smiling; his eyes betrayed the smile, sadness still lingering in them, but he was putting on a smile. “Hope to see you again in the future… I’ll… Maybe I’ll try to get more Fixers. Maybe carrying on by myself for now. Don’t think I can take another loss like that.”

  “Whatever works for you.” Emilio watched him walk off, waving him away. He clearly wasn’t over the loss of all his friends. It wasn’t easy to cope with such a huge loss. Perhaps he left with them because he couldn’t bear to look at all the corpses anymore. But, at least Emilio’s words set him in the right direction. Taking one last look at the night sky of the Backstreets, Emilio went inside, following after Heidi and Silvio.

  Silvio had since retired to his own apartment. Emilio walked through the door to his own, where Heidi was waiting for him. Oliver was now set on the couch, marking the first time that she had been brought in. Her shallow breathing chest fell and rose.

  Heidi, who was knelt down in front of Oliver, looked as her Operator walked in She waved to him. “Pep talk over? He’s gonna be okay is he?”

  “Yeah. I think he’ll be fine. At least he looked like he was fine. I don’t know why I care so much when I was wishing something bad would happen to him just moments ago.”

  “His state was too relatable, I guess.” Heidi said, before looking over to Oliver. “Speaking of being okay… She’s gonna be okay.”

  “Right.” He nodded. He couldn’t help but feel relieved at that. “So… About what Silvio said. Are we gonna talk about the whole…”

  “Surgical scar thing?” Heidi asked. “Yeah. Silvio had no reason to lie to us about something like that. Plus…” Heidi put her fingers to Oliver’s chest. She ran her metal fingers on the spot the swords slashed through. “I have an eye for wounds. There is no way she should’ve healed this quick. Not without some modification. There is also how heavy she is. You weren’t the one carrying her, but goddamn, she feels like someone who is twice her size and height.”

  “I’ve noticed it too.” Emilio scratched his head. He moved to one of the sofas, setting his new cane aside. “You think she’s a Nest guinea pig? She was super vague about her past.”

  “I mean, that wouldn’t make her special. Rich folk from the Nests love pulling people, especially children, out of the Backstreets and doing experiments on them.”

  “Another day in the Backstreets ending in Y.” Emilio nodded, repeating the same thing Carlo said earlier. “Well, Oliver isn’t a child. So it would’ve had to be years ago, wouldn’t it?”

  “…Or recently. Maybe she got the modifications after coming back from the Library. That is if she even went to the Library.” After a short pause, both of them staring at Oliver, puzzled at how she could still be asleep. Heidi then, broke the silence. “Em, you’re going to have to talk to her about it.” Her tone growing cold. “You gave Cacao Workshop shit for poor leadership, I know, but you’re our leader, aren’t you? You should take responsibility as the Operator.”

  There was that phrase again. The same thing Oliver told him when talking about Heidi’s Prescript… A Prescript that she had yet to tell him about. Well, if he was going to have to take responsibility, then be careful what you wish for, Heidi. “Oliver said the same thing to me a few days ago. About something that I had to ask you about.” It was the first time in a long time he had snapped at her. His tone wasn’t of anger, but of strong annoyance. “What about the Prescript that you didn’t tell me about? That you didn’t even give the details of to Oliver?”

  Heidi stayed silent. Her little secret was no longer able to be hidden.

  “…Thought so… From your silence you know just what I’m talking about.” Emilio said, looking down at her, brow furrowed. He sounded betrayed. “Why didn’t you tell me, Heidi? If I have to take responsibility as your leader, you need to take responsibility as my subordinate.” He put his hand over his chest, the other one held outwards. “Well, Heidi?”

  Heidi kept quiet for a little longer, before taking a deep breath, “I have not one excuse.”

  “Will you tell me the contents of the Prescript?”

  “Kill your past.” She answered plainly.

  “Kill your past?” Emilio repeated back, confused.

  “Yes.” Heidi nodded, “It means to kill each of my old allies one by one, eventually leading up to Proxy Eve.” It takes an experienced member of the Index to understand a Prescript so vague. “They want me to full separate myself from the Index and fully become a Fixer. Rogue was there to give me a sharp shove towards it.”

  “…Why were you so hesitant to share it? That doesn’t sound like something you had to keep hidden, especially from me.”

  “There are aspects of and people from the Index that I struggle to fully separate from, that’s all. If you left a group on good terms and then someone came to you, telling you to kill all your former allies, you’d also be hesitant, right?”

  “I guess so… Very well…” He crossed his arms, lost in thought. He knew how weird and esoteric the Index could be, it was hard to break free of a mindset like theirs. Humming, he nodded, “Alright, I won’t ask further questions. That’s enough responsibility for the night…” He sank into the sofa, groaning. “I guess we’re all a bit stressed out and angry.

  “Probably.” Heidi nodded, closing her eyes. “I’m gonna take a short nap before making something to eat.

  “I’m going to go splash some water on my face and take a shower.” Emilio said, getting to his feet, nearly falling over as soon as he put pressure on his injured leg. As a matter of fact, all of them were in desperate need of a wash. “You can go after me. Clean up sooner rather than later.”

  “I will.”

  With a thumbs up, Emilio headed for the bathroom, one of the few consistently clean places of the apartment; if he was going to use the bathroom or shower, he wanted to do it in a clean place. Stumbling in, the first thing he did was get a good look at himself in the mirror. How bad does his face look now? His dark skin was speckled with blood here and there; he wasn’t sure how much of it was his own. A large bruise was over the ear that was struck. He thought his hearing was muffled on that side, looks like his ear was a bit swollen. Hopefully it’d go down before the next job. There was a tiny, almost unnoticeable piece of broken glass on his cheek that he only now noticed; it must’ve punctured him when he fell to the ground. Plucking it out, he tossed it into the sink and turned the faucet. Now was time for the big gamble. Did they have hot water tonight or…

  He gasped as the hot water hit his hand.

  As if by magic, all the soreness was washed away. Even the bruises felt remarkably better. The calluses across his hand loosened up. His eyes widened. “Oh fuck yes…” They had hot water! A commodity to some, especially those in the Nests. To those in the Backstreets? An event meant to be celebrated. Maybe tonight wasn’t going to be so bad. Quickly, he made his way out of the bathroom; but not before splashing some of the hot water on his face, instantly feeling relieved and cleaning the blood off. Once out of the bathroom, he called to Heidi who was napping on the couch. “Heidi!” He called to her, “Get your ass in here, we got hot water!”

  This got her attention. “Shit, for real?” She got up, leaving Oliver on the couch. Heidi was certain that she would be fine. “Fucking, eh… I guess there is some silver lining to tonight. That or whatever cosmic forces out there are showing us pity.”

  “I’d say I don’t need pity. But at this point, I’m fine with a little bit of pity.” He joked, removing his jacket, down to his undershirt.

  It was one thing that they did now and again. An act of immense trust. Initially it started as a means to conserve water, but now it was used as a rare form of bonding. Neither of them viewed the other in a sexual light. Not even a romantic light either. Maybe it was because they both preferred their relationship just as it was and never anything beyond that. Maybe it was something simpler and that it was just because when you work a job that is constantly surrounded by death and bloodshed, it kills any sex drive you might have. Regardless of the meaning, tonight the Fixers planned to forget about today until tomorrow.

  A shared bath.