Kyla eased her car through the building's gate, merging back onto the main road that threaded through the university campus. As luck would have it, they encountered a traffic snarl — unusual for the time of day, but then again, classes had just let out at four o'clock sharp, which explained the congestion. Beside her, Lisa was idly peering out of the side window, lost in thought.

"Speaking of Computer Science, do you remember Andrei?" Kyla asked out of the blue, breaking the silence.

Andrei Krazinsky — that name sparked a clear image in Lisa's mind. The man had once been an operative for the SOGEV, a com-block spetsnaz, before turning double agent. Lisa had a detailed memory of him; back in her days with the AA, she'd worked alongside SOG operatives on a mission that Burns had only hinted at. Andrei had been at the center of it, offering his services along with a hard drive brimming with SOGEV's secrets.

"Of course, I remember him," Lisa answered, a hint of somber reflection in her voice. "An idealist, tragically caught up in the SOGEV's web."

"What was SOGEV again?" Kyla queried, her eyes still fixed on the sluggish traffic.

"Spetsial'naya Operativnaya Gruppa Elektronnoy Voyny, or the Special Operation Electronic Warfare Group," Lisa explained. "They were the ones behind the kind of chaos where you'd find your radio signals jammed, or a missile launcher inexplicably targeting friendly aircraft. A real can of worms. After the conflict ended, Andrei was scooped up by the ISB."

"Oh, so he's your coworker?" Kyla said, the corner of her mouth turning up in amusement.

"More like my pseudo-boss," Lisa corrected with a half-smile. "A turncoat ending up as a boss, quite the twist."

The car inched forward, finally finding space to accelerate towards the exit.

"Exactly. He's technically my superior, but I have strict orders to take him out if he steps out of line," Lisa shared, her tone turning serious again.

"Steps out of line? Like how?" Kyla probed, curiosity piqued.

"Like if he started passing information to our former adversaries, the communists. The peace treaty didn't magically erase all our problems. We've still got remnants of the old fights cropping up, rogue partisan attacks. We track them using whatever means we have — human intelligence included," Lisa explained, her gaze shifting to the road ahead as they finally cleared the traffic.

"Right, a resource is still a resource," Kyla nodded, absorbing the gravity of Lisa's world.

"Even if that resource is a former enemy," Lisa sighed, though she had to admit, despite his past, Andrei had his merits. Surprisingly, he was a decent boss — often treating her to meals at restaurants or drinks at bars, all out of his own pocket. He might have once been a staunch believer in the communist cause, but as the war dragged on, pragmatism won, and he changed sides. In Lisa's eyes, Andrei was nothing short of a self-declared genius, except when it came to culinary skills.

"Is he still with the ISB?" Kyla inquired, her eyes momentarily flitting to the rearview mirror.

"He is. Why do you ask? You're not still with the ESA, are you?" Lisa half-joked, a subtle challenge in her tone.

Kyla laughed off the suggestion. "Nope, but I've kept in touch with Glacia," she said casually.

"And who might she be?" Lisa asked, a tinge of curiosity coloring her voice.

"My boss," Kyla replied succinctly.

"I see," Lisa nodded, her mind already piecing together this new snippet of Kyla's life.

The traffic congestion finally eased as they neared the gate. A bulky construction truck had caused the bottleneck, its massive form immobile and blocking the entrance. Vehicles were being rerouted through the exit, creating a snarl. Once past the obstacle, they reached the open road.

Kyla indulged in the freedom, the car's engine humming contentedly as they left the university behind. The speedometer needle crept up, eager to reach the speed limit, and Lisa's hand found Kyla's shoulder in a gentle admonition to ease off the accelerator. Kyla, however, seemed to take it as encouragement to do just the opposite.

Their rapid journey concluded in a mere five minutes, not including the twenty minutes spent navigating the campus traffic. Kyla pulled into the Dunkin' parking lot, which was surprisingly barren, save for two other vehicles that might've belonged to fellow students from their own university or perhaps from AIT.

They stepped out of the car and into Dunkin', immediately enveloped by the refreshing chill of air conditioning — a stark contrast to the muggy outdoor air. The venue was quiet, a rarity during the usually bustling hours of late afternoon. A handful of customers were present, each absorbed in their own world; some were fixated on laptop screens with earphones as their only company, while others engaged in light conversation, their laughter occasionally breaking through the soft melody that filled the space.

Lisa and Kyla approached the counter, where a barista with a cheery ,probably fake, smile greeted them. "Welcome to Dunkin'! What can I get for you today?"

"I'll have hot Black Coffee, please," Lisa said. Her order was straightforward, no-nonsense, much like her demeanor.

"And for me, a regular Iced Mocha, alongside with two Oreo Donuts," Kyla added, flashing a quick grin as she passed her card for payment.

“Just one, please, she’s paying me,” Lisa gave out a smile to the barista.

Kyla put the card on the table and the barista scanned it. Kyla entered her pin number and she waited for the payment to go through. The barista then gave out the card back to Kyla while he prepared the coffee for both of them. They waited at the counter since they didn’t plan to drink the coffee there. They watched as the barista expertly prepared their drinks, the sound of ice clinking and machines whirring filling the lull.

“Here you go, ma’am,” the barista said, placing the coffee on the counter.

Kyla raised an eyebrow, “Ma'am? Do I have a 'mom' vibe today or something?”

The barista blinked, a bit embarrassed, “Uh, no, just... manners?”

Lisa laughed, patting Kyla's arm, “Calm down, our esteemed clown. To him, anyone over 20 probably seems ancient.”

Kyla rolled her eyes, but with a grin, she placed a $10 bill on the counter, “Here’s a tip, and thank you for the coffee, handsome.”

Lisa then sighed, “Kyla…” She then grabbed the coffee with hand.

As Lisa's fingers wrapped around the hot cup, the bell over the Dunkin' door jangled with a force that was far too deliberate. A woman, face half-hidden beneath the shadow of a hood, stormed in. Her eyes, wild and scanning, settled on the barista as her hand brandished a gun from beneath the folds of her oversized jacket.

"Money, now!" she barked at the barista, who froze, the color draining from his face.

The sparse patrons in the Dunkin' cowered behind tables and laptops, their eyes wide with fear. Lisa and Kyla exchanged a glance—a silent conversation passing between them. They had been through a lot of dangerous scenarios, but unarmed and unprepared in a Dunkin' was not on their usual mission description.

The robber, growing impatient with the barista's stunned stillness, swung her gun towards Lisa and Kyla. "You two! Wallets, out, now!"

Kyla's hand hovered over her purse, her voice calm and even, a stark contrast to that previous clown-ish behavior. "You don't want to do this," she said. "Think about what the consequences of armed robberies."

The robber sneered. "I ain't got time for lectures, lady. Wallets, or I—"

But Kyla was already moving. "Sure, sure, the wallet," she said, her tone disarmingly breezy as she delved into her bag.

In a swift, almost imperceptible motion, Lisa threw the hot coffee on her hands directly into the robber's face. In another swift motion, she then grabbed the pistol from the robber’s hand, throwing it into the counter, and with another swift motion, Lisa rotated her body and did a tornado kick towards the robber’s head.

Still disoriented, the robber didn’t realized Kyla had moved beside her.

“Heads up!” With that warning, Kyla then drop kicked the robber right in her torso. The robber fell to the ground, almost passing out from the drop kick alone, mainly due to Kyla’s sheer momentum and her bionic leg making her kick hitting way harder than what she intended.

Lisa grabbed the pistol from the counter, pulled its magazine, and pulled the slide of the gun to unload the bullet from the pistol. “Call 1-1-2. Close the shop, the police might want an eyewitness on this,” Lisa then grabbed Kyla’s still coffee and her donut from the counter.

“Bloody meth-head,” Kyla shouted at the robber, body still filled with adrenaline, probably ready to beat the robber to death. “You’re fucking lucky, you stupid bastard!”

"Good reflexes," Lisa nodded at her friend while giving out her donut.

“Yeah, thanks,” Kyla retrieved the donut and coffee from her hand.

“Let’s get the hell out of here, not really in the mood to be questioned right now, I’ll come to the police station later if they need me.”

Lisa and Kyla didn't waste any time. With the defeated robber groaning on the floor and the barista fumbling with his phone to call the authorities, they moved quickly towards the exit. As they pushed through the door, the clammy heat of the afternoon slapped against their faces, a vivid contrast to the cold air-conditioned atmosphere they had just left behind. They entered their car and went back to Lisa’s apartment.