Strengthening. (4)

"Naked?"

"Yeah, practically. She left me a message stating that they couldn't keep me onboard for longer because of the current situation. I guess after hearing that she's being watched, I shouldn't be too surprised."

"How did they transport you to and from the Walker?" Nura asked, suddenly perking up.

"Teleportation, Sir." Relovan responded as he reached for something on the table. "Those two… attendants of hers came here and teleported me into the Void Walker, so I can only assume they did the same to bring me back."

"I see… interesting." Nura said more to himself than anybody else.

The rest of the evening was spent making light conversation, and in spite of Relovan trying to coax more details about the Chief's plan out of him, he got nothing but distracted sounding small talk. It didn't take all that long for the Chief to excuse himself and actually leave, with Kipp coming in after receiving a signal of sorts. He not only took the chair that the Chief had been seated on, he even took the lion's share of the food and drinks. The small assistant moved with such speed and efficiency, he almost looked like a blur. In no time at all, everything was cleared up and after giving Relovan a nod, Kipp disappeared, with Nura following after him.

"Get your rest, Lawman." Nura said without stopping or looking back at the Enforcer. "I'll be back tomorrow to explain the plan to you in detail, and depending on how well my next meeting goes, we might even start."

The Chief squeezed out through the door with some difficulty once more, and just like that, he was gone. Relovan stood there in silence at first, looking around at the mostly empty table and then into his bedroom in the direction of his bedside table.

"…what do these people think another man's house is?"

Despite being somewhat annoyed and dissatisfied with the meeting, Relovan ate the food that was there and went to bed shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, back on the Dock, Void Lord Juxtae's Walker, which was surrounded by not only guards dispatched by the Council, but palisades as well, was being approached by a rather small police convoy. It arrived rather quickly, and as an armed guard approached the main vehicle with the intention of finding out just who was coming to pay Juxtae a visit, the door opened automatically and Nura stepped out. The entire vehicle actually rose by a good few inches as he did this, and the approaching guard stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the giant Adonian and swallowed a lump in his throat as an opportune gust of wind caused his cape to flutter.

"Ch-Chief Nura… how may we help you?"

"I am here to see the Void Lord."

"May I ask what—"

"I have something to discuss with her regarding what happened that day."

"Y-Yes, well to be honest, the curfew instituted by the Council is in effect, and—"

"I am going in – it is up to you whether or not this is a painful exercise or not."

The Chief's eyes glowed a deep shade of amber, and there wasn't even a hint of facetiousness or jest in said eyes. The guard wasted no time in stepping aside, and even saluted the massive man. Nura just started walking and soon enough, he walked through the makeshift gate where there were a few more guards stationed.

"Alert the Void Lord of my presence if you don't mind. Oh, and I would appreciate it if my vehicle was allowed to park inside."

Chief Nura didn't wait for the guards to respond, and just powered his way into the camp of sorts. The presence of not only the Void Walker, but the guards meant that refueling activities were severely neutered – with only a handful of pumps working, as well as a small amount of space being available. During the early days of Nala's 'beaching', the local press had been camped at the Dock, hoping to get a glimpse of Juxtae or a comment from her. Instead, they got Council dispatched guards and chased away, so they had been complaining about all the space that the Void Walker was taking up, as well as the encampment set up around it. All this meant that in the end, it was rather simple for Nura to not only approach the Void Lord, but possibly see her. As the Chief made his way towards Nala, he suddenly felt multiple gazes on him, which gave him pause only for a second before continuing his approach. The Adonian stopped just as he was about to reach the Void Walker's 'belly', and much like it did that day, it opened and the DeeDee twins descended from the opening.

"Police Chief Nura." One of the twins said as they both bowed.

"Word was sent of your intention to meet with the Lady." The other said. "May we ask to what end this meeting has been requested."

"…there is someone the Void Lord and I have to discuss." Nura answered.

"…someone?"

"Correct."

There was a momentary period of silence before the two women stood up straight.

"Please follow us." They said in tandem as a set of steps lowered from the Walker.

This brought a toothy grin to the Chief's face as he nodded while waiting for the steps finish extending.

The following morning, Relovan was up early, and took his first step towards his regaining a sense of normalcy in his life. There were many things he felt he had to get information on, including his employment status and just when he would be allowed back at work. He had heard nothing from his precinct, so he was somewhat concerned. He was also anxiously waiting to see just what the Chief had come up with in terms of securing his safety. He had been visibly irked by the comment of being killed by a sneeze, and more so by the fact that Void Lord Vox was likely to try and kill him. He had a lighter workout than the one he had the previous day, showered and even ate breakfast. While Relovan was eating, his phone alerted him to a text from Nura.

"Lawman! We will be there soon to pick you up! The plan will be explained in the car! Later!"

There was a series of strange emojis included in the text that Relovan just stared at for the longest time, before shuddering slightly.

"…it should be illegal for that man to text like this. It's not cute."

With that he put the phone down and finished off his food. Once done, the Enforcer cleaned up, packed a light bag just in case he was to be away from his apartment for some time, got ready, and waited silently in the small apartment. Unlike the night before, Relovan got ready as quickly as possible as he didn't want to be surprised by the sudden emergence of the Chief. This turned out to be quite the wise decision, as no more than an hour after receipt of the text, there was a heavy knock on the door. When Relovan opened the door, he was greeted by Nura, Kipp and many, many more officers that were a part of the Chief's entourage.

"Chief." Relovan greeted with a tip of his faded cap. "…and the rest." He said with a disinterested shrug.

"Lawman." Nura said with a barely contained chortle.

"You're traveling heavy this morning, Sir."

"No heavier than I was last night – you just didn't see them. Anyway, I assume that you're ready to go?"

"I'm too weak not to be ready, no?" Relovan answered with a slight glare.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Nura responded with a grin before turning around and gesturing with his head for Relovan to follow.

The Enforcer did just that, and the entire group moved to the various vehicles in the parking lot, with Relovan hopping into the car with Nura and Kipp. There was an untold number of fast food cartons and Tupperware boxes in the car, and it took Relovan a second or two to count them all.

"…what is all this?" Relovan asked while staring at one of the boxes.

"The remnants of the Chief's breakfast." Kipp said in a somewhat deadpan voice as he started the car and drove out of the complex.

"How many breakfasts, exactly?"

"Just the one." Kipp answered again.

"I… see." Relovan responded as he looked out the window.

"Enough about that." Nura said as he waved his hand dismissively. "We are to discuss the first phase of the plan now."

Chief Nura glanced towards Kipp, who nodded and pressed a button on the centre console of the vehicle. A screen slid up as if from nowhere and partitioned the interior of the car, separating Nura and Relovan from Kipp. Relovan watched this happen in silence, before looking at the Chief.

"I assume this is for the sake of privacy?"