William Stocks often thought of his job as boring. It wasn’t a complaint. It was just an observation. A fresh stack of papers and emails each day, sprinkled with idle conversation with Four had given his life a steady rhythm, and while it was hardly exciting, he had made his peace with it. Which was to say, it was very much a shock to see the flurry of activity that followed in the wake of his second Trebira report. He had several direct meetings with Davis, and even a virtual meeting with Davis’s boss, Manford Howitzer, the General Manager of Office 87’s Security division. Alongside Auditor Sharp, he’d had a conference call with CFO Lisa Overrent to summarize the financial analysis in the report, and through that meeting he learned the CEO of Office 87 himself, James Westsmith, was personally taking the issue to head office in Office 01 to argue for a general mobilization of the Corporate Security. Apparently the lower-level Office 01 bureaucrats were putting up a frustrating blockade of denials and red tape. Through it all, every time William opened the Trebira case file, despite his fervent wishes to the contrary, he continued to see his name attached as the assigned project head. It stood there, in simple, unassuming font, alongside his new job title: Records Clerk III – Inspector. Blast Damien Cash and blast his promotion!

  The worst part, as he’d recently learned from Davis, was that as the listed project head he’d have to return to Grand North to confirm the results of the financial investigation. “Try not to worry too much about getting out – your safety is my job. Just make sure you memorize the exit routes.”

  Davis was in William’s office again, sitting on the edge of his desk with a cup of coffee in his hand and looking wholly unperturbed by the whole situation. “Pardon me for being a little worried, then. If we’re right, I’ll be standing between a Security special response force and 6 Alpha projects. If we’re wrong, I’ll be in the one calling that Security special response force to tell them it was all a false alarm and they got worked up over nothing.”

  “It’s at least 6 Alphas – there could be more. Look, however many they have, none of them can be all that dangerous or we’d have noticed some kind of psychic effect the first time we were there. I’m telling you not to worry, Will.”

  Four’s pointed metal antennas twitched. “I think I’m going to create a system back-up just in case.”

  “See, Four’s worried too. And as a human, I can’t back myself up in case something goes horribly wrong.”

  Davis sighed, and took a long swig from his coffee cup. “Four, don’t encourage him. Nothing’s going to go horribly wrong, Will. I’ll be right beside you the whole time. So please chill.”

  ****

  William was decidedly not ‘chill’ as he arrived back at the Grand North Research Center exactly three weeks to the day after he’d last visited. Unlike the first time, when he’d arrived by subway, this time he was in the front seat of Davis’s armoured security car. As they approached, every bump and crack in the pavement sent rattles echoing around the cabin, reminding William that behind him was a half-dozen combat androids and a small fleet of drones. Another dozen identical vehicles and an additional drone strike force were all on standby a few blocks away. All of which did very little to reassure his nerves as he stepped out into the bright sunlight. The temperature had dropped quite a bit the last few days, and he could see his breath as he grimly walked up the stairs to the lobby, briefcase in hand and flanked by Davis and Four.

  The lobby was pleasantly and disarmingly warm compared to outside, but otherwise was exactly the same as he remembered it, from the columns to the sleeping android at the front desk. It was usually not a good sign to see an android in sleep mode – it meant they were trying to charge as quickly and efficiently as possible, which implied they were kept so busy they couldn’t just plug in and charge normally during a quieter stretch of the day. William felt a moment of sympathy for the android – working under an eccentric like Trebira couldn’t be easy. He knew he certainly didn’t want to meet Trebira again. At best he’d be stuck waiting hours for her to look up from her computer, and at worst she was some kind of radical experimenting with unlisted Alpha projects. She hadn’t seemed hostile or dangerous during their first meeting, but with eccentrics you could never really tell. The android shuddered to life as he approached, “Do you have an appointment?”

  “This is a follow up review from Office 87 Records. It’s unscheduled, but if you you’ll just see here, all the authorizations are in order.”

  The android studied the offered documents, then nodded his head. “Of course. You are welcome to review the facility as needed, but unfortunately Dr. Trebira is presently away.”

  William felt suspicion tickle the back of his head. “Will she be in later today?”

  “The absence is indefinite. I’m sorry, but I was not provided any information about when Dr. Trebira would be returning.”

  William turned and looked back at Davis and Four. Four only tilted her head slightly, but Davis, surprisingly, was grinning, “See there, I told you there was nothing to worry about. We’ll get the androids to do a full sweep and inventory of the building, but I imagine the good doctor has already removed anything incriminating. Feel free to look around, I’m going for a coffee.”

  Daivs could be easy-going, and perhaps overly relaxed, but even by Davis standards he was being a little too nonchalant. Catching up to Davis outside as a small troop of Security and Records androids filed into the research institute, William asked in a lowered voice, “Do you reckon she was tipped off?”

  A momentary dark look crossed Davis’s face, “That’s exactly what I reckon, Will.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Nothing had changed about the conspicuous coffee shop in the empty neighborhood and the conspicuous old man with the bushy beard. Nor was there anything different about the suspicious look he gave the three of them as they came up to the counter.

  “Two coffees, black. Fresh, if you can.”

  Davis’s order was quick and succinct. The old man’s movements setting out mugs and measuring out beans for the grinder were rough, but as he began pouring the boiling water over each mug’s filter, his movements became more graceful, smooth with the polish of a lifetime of practice. It smelled wonderful, and William wondered if it could possibly be any better than Four’s coffee. It seemed almost an unfair comparison, since Four was focused only on William’s preferences, while anyone running a shop had far more tastes to consider. Yet from the first sip, William was immediately impressed. There was a richness to the flavour, bold yet not bitter. Beside him Davis actually sighed in satisfaction. “That is genuinely fantastic coffee. Seems like an oddly quiet neighborhood for someone with your skill. I guarantee you’d have folks lining up for a cup like this if you were anywhere close to Central. The folks next door must drink a lot to make it worth your while here.”

  The old man stared at him for a long enough that it was just beginning to become awkward, before gruffly replying, “They drink enough. Never did like the bustle of Central – you can’t make a good cup if you can’t hear yourself think, is what I’ve always felt. I grew up in this neighborhood, in fact that research center next door used to be a school. Think of this shop as indulging in a bit of nostalgia in my old age.”

  “Are you the one who brought in the gardener androids, then?” It wasn’t a particularly important mystery, but it was mysterious, and William did feel a certain satisfaction slipping the pieces into place.

  “Wasn’t my idea, no. Miss Trebira suggested it after noticing me trying to keep up with it myself. They’re missing a human touch, but they do a good enough job keeping the place neat and kept up.”

  “I’m surprised. Dr. Trebira didn’t seem the type to have time to spare for appreciating flowers,” Four mused. William, quietly enjoying the coffee, was quite relaxed, and had nearly forgotten the whole reason they had come back here in the first place. Four’s inquisitive statement brought him back to focus – Trebira, vanished obsessive researcher, and now apparently urban gardening appreciator?

  The old man glared at Four, or perhaps more specifically, towards the metal antennas over her ears. “Does your type appreciate coffee?”

  “I can’t drink it, but the aroma is pleasant. I make it regularly for William here, so I’m able to appreciate it a bit through empathic learning, too. On both counts, your coffee appears to be exemplary. Is it your technique? Or perhaps the quality of the beans?” William couldn’t help but think the whole conversation was going a bit off topic, but Four seemed to be enjoying the discussion, so he didn’t interject.

  “Androids really get more impressive every year. Well, Miss Android, both are important – you skimp anywhere and folks notice. You have to start with good beans, and you want to grind them immediately before you start brewing – only just before! Then you get to water ratios and pour technique, and that’s all stuff most folks mess up, too. But what’s most important… I call it human connection, you might call it empathic learning, but I suspect it’s not that different in the end. You need to appreciate the other person for who they are, and do your best to approach that from the brew. Mr. William seems tired this morning, so I’ve given him a lighter roast with more caffeine, while Mr…”

  “Davis,” Davis introduced himself, offering his hand to the old man.

  The old man seemed to consider the offered hand for a moment, before reaching out to firmly shake it, “Jack. Jack Flannel. For Mr. Davis here, he gets a darker roast. More flavour, a little less caffeine. Better for folks who drink coffee like water, eh?”

  Davis flashed his most winning grin, “You have me all figured out, Mr. Flannel.”

  “What about Trebira, then? What kind of coffee did she like?” William asked quietly. He tried imagining what kind of coffee she might prefer, and could only come to the conclusion he wasn’t suited to a career as a barista.

  “She always said she didn’t care for taste, that she just needed something to give her energy. But that’s the thing about Miss Trebira. Just like when she suggested the gardener androids and even offered to pay for them out of her research budget. When she says she doesn’t care, that’s a lie. She cares - a whole lot more than you’ll ever see her admit.”

  Davis set down his mug on the counter, now empty, and asked frankly, “Did she ever mention anything about what she was working on?”

  “Never to me. But I could tell it was important,” the old man said simply.

  “Thanks for the coffee,” Davis turned his back to the counter, and stepped out into the daylight. William’s own cup was empty as well.

  Four gave a small bow as they left the narrow café, “Thank you for your advice today, Mr. Flannel.” Jack Flannel had already turned to the sink, his back turned to them.

  Back in front of Grand North, watching the steady stream of Records androids going into and leaving the research building, William commented, “Apart from a fantastic cup of coffee, that didn’t seem to have helped much.”

  Davis nodded, “If there was a tip-off, it wasn’t him. Chances are it came from inside the corporation, which is going to be a huge pain in the ass. Not only is it a lot of people to check, but inevitably office politics are going to get dragged in while we’re looking.”

  “So what had you interested in Jack Flannel back there?”

  “He mentioned there used to be a school where Grand North is now. I looked up a bit of neighborhood history while figuring out our escape routes. Fun fact, the sewers here are big enough to walk through, if we felt so inclined. But that’s why Jack casually mentioning a school stood out. That school was demolished nearly a hundred years ago.”

  William felt momentarily dizzy, “Wait, so if he remembered the school, does that mean he was one of Trebira’s Alpha projects?”

  Davis shook his head. He looked more serious than usual, “I doubt it, but he’s definitely something. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence he set up shop right next to Trebira’s research center.”

  “So where do we go from here?”

  “We need to consult an expert, and until we can figure out who tipped off Trebira, preferably an expert from outside the corporation. I don’t have a ton of connections with the universities these days, but Professor Alfred Niirisu was vital to creating up several of the safeguard that were used with Alpha project development, and from all accounts is one of the preeminent geniuses in the field.”