Reset Reality

Luc Francois sighed as he typed away at his terminal, his eyes darting back and forth between the monitor and the pile of paperwork on his desk. His friend Laurdine had been gone for nearly three weeks now, and every day that passed without her left him feeling more and more despondent. He knew she was only off investigating a lead, but after all they'd been through together, he felt almost like they were joined at the hip. Without her to keep him company, he had little else to do but work.

The intercom on Luc's desk buzzed loudly, startling him out of his musings. "Hey Luc," said a soft voice from the other end of the line. "Guess who."

"Lauri?" asked Luc as he pressed down on the small button beside the speaker. "Where are you? You're not supposed to be calling me on this line!"

"Relax," said Lauri in a more serious tone than before. "I'm using a public terminal in a local cafe."

Luc breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. "Well I'm glad to hear it."

"What's up with you? I think you sound tired."

"Yeah maybe a little," said Luc as he ran a hand across his face. "It has been kind of a rough few days around here."

"Oh yeah? What happened?" asked Lauri with genuine concern in her voice.

There was a brief pause before Luc replied: "Well... we got word that those two guys who attacked us are headed back this way."

Lauri let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh great," she muttered under her breath.

"Yeah I know right?" replied Luc with equal displeasure in his voice. "And we're pretty sure they'll be bringing some friends along this time too."

Lauri was silent for a moment before she finally spoke: "Well... that's not good." A second passed before she continued: "Do you want me to come back early then? Maybe get things ready for them?"