Remnants

The Team and the Decoys

Evan's meeting had been overwhelming for everybody to say the least and it had been no different for Anya. While Jack and his family had bombarded Evan with questions, Anya could only find herself sitting in stunned silence. A quick glance at Liza told her that her best friend had already been filled in on at least most of the information the rest of them were learning.

The night before, Liza had refused to discuss Evan's plans for the morning. She said that she had promised him that she would not discuss anything until he had the chance to talk to everyone. Instead, they had spent the night catching up after their months long separation. Liza wished to know every detail about her training, everything about the people of the village, and continued to press her about "that cute apprentice." In turn, Anya had asked about Liza's ever growing business and about one of her bodyguards that had potentially captured his employer's eye.

Anya had never been to a sleepover before the Separation. After, she had stayed with friends in the village occasionally, especially after her father had been killed. Now though, she felt confident that she could say she had been to one. They had stayed up until they could no longer keep their eyes open, sitting on their cots with only the light cast by the wood stove to illuminate their tent. Both were exhausted, Anya from the fight and Liza from her long day of travel and from healing those who had been injured in the fight. Even her nightmares seemed to haunt her less. They still woke her up in the night but seeing Liza's sleeping form on the other side of the tent calmed her. Listening to her soft breaths, Anya's eyes grew heavy and she was actually able to sleep through the rest of the night. To wake up in such fear and not feel alone combined with an exhausting day was all it took for her to get a mostly full night of rest.

Now, sitting on a stool in the kitchen, questions raced through her mind. What had her dad's involvement been with this secret war? How had he made it through unscathed? Why hadn't he said anything about the Separation before he died? But instead of those burning questions, the ones she actually voiced seemed most important at the moment. She now looked at Evan, more concerned with the future than the past.

"Thank you for bringing us back on track, Anya. And that's a very good question. Like I said, the mission is to gain intel on The Order. Their old headquarters were in Dallas. The goblin incursions seem to be coming from that area so, under the guise of being Liza's bodyguards and assistant, we're going to work our way through the people in the area and get as close to the city, and the goblins there, as we can. Then Jack and I are going to sneak in further to see whatever we can see while the rest of you maintain a base camp and stay ready to leave as soon as possible," Evan said.

"Why all the secrecy? Why can't we just go out just you, Jase, Anya, and me? Or even just you and me? And why do we need to pose as bodyguards?" Jack asked.

Evan looked at the door suspiciously, "Well, I can't be sure but I think The Order has eyes everywhere. And I don't want them to know that we might be headed right into where they are most powerful. People around have seen Liza and that she travels with four male bodyguards. So you, Jase, and I will take three of the spots. The fourth will be filled by Leo."

Evan pointed at the man that Anya recognized as the leader of Liza's bodyguards, and the one that the alchemist had a crush on.

Leo nodded and spoke up, "Yeah, Liza isn't going anywhere without me. And I worked narcotics with Fort Worth PD so I know the area and might still have contacts over there."

Anya sized up the man. He was a few inches taller than her and had hulking arms that were covered from shoulder to fingertip with tattoos. His curly brown hair and beard were both neatly trimmed short. He had hard brown eyes and radiated severity but had a splash of freckles across his caramel cheeks that softened his grim appearance. It made sense to Anya that he had been a cop before. He carried an old pump action shotgun when on the road and always wore a Glock 17 pistol on his hip, likely the one he had been issued by the police department.

"Yes, and Leo worked with our Journeymen that operate out of the west side of Fort Worth. I'm hoping that we can link up with them, obviously discretely, at some point. The rest of Liza's men will stay behind," Evan said, patting the bulky bodyguard on the shoulder.

"What about me?" Anya asked. "You said four bodyguards and with you, Jack, Jase, and Leo, that makes four."

As Anya expected, Evan had an answer for this question as well. "You're going to pose as Liza's assistant. I think we've seen that you can play the innocent girl part well so you can handle that. Even though she doesn't normally have an assistant, we shouldn't have any problems with people believing that you are one. Plus you'll have a good excuse to be by her side at all times in case something happens."

"Well if we're so worried about spies, won't people notice that Anya and I are gone?" Jack asked, arms crossed in the way they always seemed to be when he was processing things.

"That's why the rest of your family is here. We need decoys. Someone who can look like you and Anya at a distance. They won't be doing your job, just moving around the area to make it look like you two are still out on patrol," Evan said, looking to Jack's brothers.

"Oh, I can do that. Riding around and looking like my big brother for a couple of weeks? Sounds easy," Henry volunteered.

Jack shot him a dirty glance, "I'm not too sure about that, what if something happens and you actually have to something a Journeyman would do?"

Evan answered for Henry, stepping alongside him, "Then Liza's men will back him up. They're all plenty capable and will probably be a little bored sitting around here. I was hoping Henry would volunteer. He looks a lot like you when you don't have your beard."

"Yeah, Henry still can't quite grow a beard like a big boy," Brian said, patting Henry on the shoulder.

"Why would I ever want to cover up this beautiful face?" Henry said with a grin. His smile melted away as he turned to Jack, now with a seriousness that Anya was unused to seeing on the easygoing man, "I'll be fine Jack. I promise I'll be careful. It's just riding around on a horse. You know that our village guard runs a tight ship in this area, as do the other villages' guards. I'll play dress up as you for a couple weeks and then I'll turn the Journeyman business back over to you."

"Okay, fine. But what about Anya? You think Brian is going to pose as a girl half his age and half his size?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Whoa, half my age? And half my size? I wasn't expecting a personal attack," Brian said holding up his hands defensively.

Jack rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean. Who is going to pose as Anya though? I can't think of anybody that I would trust to let in on this secret."

Anya watched as Aly stepped next to Jack and put her hand on his arm. The apprentice instantly knew what was coming and knew that her master would not be happy about it at all. Jack looked down at his wife as she spoke up.

"I can't think of anybody else we can trust with this secret. That's why I'm going to do it."