"... No," Raven replied as he stood. "... I should probably get to bed." So he started walking toward the door.

Wolfe slowly moved out of the way. Just as Raven reached the door he spoke, "... Thank you for bringing Laurel back safely," his voice was still monotone but there was a note of weariness that hadn't been there before.

Raven paused in the door frame. After a moment he confessed quietly, "I can't stop thinking about my family."

Wolfe was silent for a long moment. "Would you like to go see them?" he offered, "It's the most I can do, our trouble with CLIKZ you've gotten pulled into won't be resolved overnight."

Raven was quiet for a long moment. "Is it really the best thing for them? Me staying here? Should I sit around and wait until CLIKZ and whoever else is after someone here decides to get them involved? I can't let anything happen to them... I have to keep them out of this. Whatever it takes."

Wolfe was silent as he watched Raven. When he spoke it was in a firm tone, "I think it highly unlikely for CLIKZ to take things that far. They are after Laurel and the lab while trying to keep us away, they do not have limitless resources." He fell silent after that, seeming to be debating something.

"... Even if there is only a slight chance... I can't stop wondering if this is where I should be right now. I love my family so much. But there are people here I care about that will be effected by my actions. And I don't want to hurt them either... I can't decide..." He was silent for a moment, staring into the dark hallway outside, before speaking a little quieter, "Do you have another reason why I should stay?"

Wolfe continued to watch Raven closely, "No," he said blankly.

After a moment, Raven's head nodded, and he stepped out of the door frame. "... I'll keep thinking then," he whispered without turning around. "But you've had a rough week, so enjoy yourself." And with that, he started walking away.

Wolfe said nothing. Not twenty minutes later, however, Wolfe was in the control room doing research on Raven's family.

There wasn't too much out there. Not because it was hard to find, but because they seemed a little private. Wolfe located the farm easily. He had one pretty big family. And it looked like his mother ran the farm herself. There wasn't anything about a father. It wasn't one of those high-tech farms either. Most of what they did seemed to be pretty medieval. But they were somehow surviving and making payments.

Wolfe looked into the farm a little more closely before heading to the hanger and picking out a small hovercraft. In a matter of hours he landed in a concealed place and went to take a closer look at Raven's home.

--

In the midmorning, Nic got a chat-call on his computer presumably from Laurel.

The farm consisted of several acres, many different fields, and many scattered buildings in the middle of nowhere. But it was a beautiful place. All kinds of crops were growing at many different stages. It seemed like they did a little of everything. There weren't too many animals, but there were enough chickens to feed eggs to everyone who lived on the farm eggs every morning.

Before dawn, several people were already in the fields, both men and women and even a kid or two. But the kids mostly goofed off while the older ones went about their morning routines. By the time the sun was up, the farm was in full swing. All the people appeared to be mostly a cohesive unit. Only a handful of people seemed to dislike the morning as most people smiled and laughed with each other as they worked.

--

Nic cautiously answered.

Wolfe only watched for about an hour. Then he crept around the perimeter, out of sight, and set up small cameras. When he was done he went back to his juttle and changed. When he reappeared he was in the uniform of an employee. The logo was clearly recognizable as one of the leading security companies. His hair was hidden away beneath a company hat. He took out a small suitcase and pulled a scooter from the back of the juttle. Soon he was seen putting down the road towards the farm.

--

Laurel's face almost hidden by a neon blue bob grinned at Nic. "Hey!" she chirped, matching neon blue eyes sparkling. She looked creepily similar to Akil with those contacts.

Some of the workers waved at Wolfe as he passed by. Apparently one of them had called ahead because someone was standing outside the main building to greet him. He was one of the supervisors. Raven's mom wasn't in sight.

--

Nic paused a moment before asking, "What was the last thing I said to you before you left?"

Wolfe waved amicably back. When he got to the main building he parked his bike and grabbed his briefcase from the back before walking to meet the greeter. "Good morning to you!" he called with an actual, broad smile that didn't look in the least bit creepy.

--

Laurel blinked, looking a little taken aback. "Uh..." her eyes drifted from the screen as she thought about it. It seemed to be taking her a bit too long to recall. "Oh!" she smiled, looking back at Nic, "You promised you'd be a good boy," she exclaimed loudly as her smile grew larger.

The man wished him a good morning back and introduced himself. "I'm afraid we didn't receive a message that anyone was coming," he told Wolfe.

--

Nic didn't reply, face serious as always.

Wolfe nodded, "I'm Scott Buchanan, my company Stark is updating in the area." Wolfe smiled, "There's been cases of vandalism near you, I'm here to check on your current security system," he explained. There had been some cases of vandalism. Nothing too major.

Stark security was very well known and a respected company.

--

Laurel sighed a little, smile diminishing, "We just finished for the night. I wanted to call you before we head to bed," she told him, "Sorry if I bothered you."

"... Yes, well, the guy who usually handles this sort of stuff is away right now... Can I see your ID?" he asked.

--

"... You didn't," Nic replied.

Wolfe nodded again as he pulled out his ID and handed it over. It checked out fine.

--

Laurel pulled off her wig and shook her head a little, "Mkay, well... you just didn't seem happy to see me so it's hard to tell," she admitted as she set the wig on something offscreen.

[siiiigh]

So the man found someone who knew the security system better than he did to show Wolfe around.

--

After a long moment, Nic replied, "It's odd seeing you with hair." Well, at least he was trying to be funny.

So Wolfe poked around their security system. He stopped the man a few times, pointing out holes in their current system and asking permission to fix them.

--

Laurel blinked, looking back at him, "Do you like the hair on me?" she inquired.

"How much is this going to cost?" he asked.

--

"I'm not used to you with hair," Nic replied.

Wolfe chuckled a little, "Wouldn't it be great if I said free?" he mused before focusing back at their system, "It'll cost you slightly more monthly but it's the newest system on the market and needed update for you," he explained, glancing back at the man.

--

"But I look more feminine with it, right?" Laurel pressed.

"Nothing's free," he replied before he scratched his head a little. "... I'm not sure if its in our budget..." He called over one of the older children playing nearby by name and told him to tell Auntie she needed to make a few minutes to talk with the security man. The child nodded and ran off.

Wolfe nodded, "This will prevent any unauthorized person from entering your land. You won't have to worry about vandalism at all," he explained.

"It's not me you need to pitch to," the man explained.

Wolfe chuckled, "I'm not pitching," he added as he stood and looked around for the Aunt.

Eventually the child came back with a large woman with some cooking flour in her hair following him. She was much shorter than him - but there was no mistaking it. She was Raven's mother. There were many similarities including her smirk. She carried herself like a leader, and everyone clearly respected her. When she arrived, she introduced herself in a deep voice to Wolfe.

--

"No," Nic replied.

Wolfe introduced himself to her and showed her his ID as well. "I found a few glitches in your system and would like to upgrade it for you if that's alright," he explained again.

Auntie glanced at the man who nodded, and she turned back to Wolfe. "How much will it cost?" she asked.

So Wolfe told her. It was a reasonable price for what Wolfe would be doing, even on the lower end for the upgrade he would be putting in.

Auntie didn't hesitate to drill him on all the details. She didn't try too much haggling, recognizing that it wasn't a bad deal. Eventually he talked her into it and she asked for the paperwork to look over.

Wolfe was very patient and answered all of her questions. When she asked he opened the briefcase and took out the required paperwork. There was no hidden costs or elements that Wolfe did not discuss with her. While she looked over the paperwork he asked quietly if he could have a glass of water.

Auntie nodded. "Feel free to help yourself to the kitchen," she told Wolfe. "There are some leftovers from breakfast and lunch is served at noon. I'll fill these out and get them back to you shortly."

And so, Auntie headed back to the main house while the man showed Wolfe to the massive building they called the kitchen.

Wolfe blinked at Auntie before letting the man lead him to the kitchen. "You all seem very close here," he observed as he poured himself some water.

The man nodded as he got himself some home-made lemonade. "Mostly," he replied. "Nothing is perfect, but it isn't a bad life."

Wolfe nodded, "And Auntie is in charge?" he clarified, taking a sip.

The man nodded. "Does a damn fine good job too," he replied.