The Sin Hunter: Double or Nothing

Time for a Trip

Doctor Cynthia Florence awoke from a restless night of sleep, filled with strange illusions and odd inscriptions when her alarm clock buzzed. Extending an arm from beneath the warm covers of her blanket, Cynthia pressed the alarm shut, rolling over in her mattress cocoon. Doctor Florence was not a morning person, and as a direct result was not very accustomed to the shenanigans the Living World offered for a Demon. Yes, Doctor Cynthia Florence, with degrees in Physics, Biology and Engineering that would make Oppenheimer, Einstein, and the greatest minds of history and the world over's heads spin, was the definition of a rebel. 

Cynthia rolled herself out of bed, gently grasping a mug filled with warm coffee. The outside of the mug was scribbled with words reading, "Number One Scientist," with the word scientist being scribbled out and replaced with "Mom." Cynthia raised the liquid to her lips, the very smell sending volts of silver sparks through her hair, fringing the edges of her gills as she tilted her head back, cracking every bone from her knuckles into her spine, stretching out in contented splendor. "Now that's the shot of caffeine I needed," she muttered, slipping into a deep red robe with her initials engraved in green silk on the pockets. 

Upon leaving her bedroom, Cynthia was greeted with a wonderful view of the ocean shores, along the coast of Topsail Island in North Carolina. The beach house was her husband's request, with Maxwell Ferri being a leading pioneer in the world of Marine Biology and having two newly discovered species of fish under his belt. Cynthia hopped down the steps while her hair tied itself back and out of her face, and she greeted her children at the bottom of the steps. Jules, Michael and Amber had all been playing with a unique and strange model of an exoskeleton when they turned to rush and greet their mother with open arms and warm hugs.

Cynthia extended a limb from behind to grab her coffee mug, wrapping up and over the kids toward the kitchen counter while her free hands wrapped around her children. "Good morning, you bright-eyed, bushy-tailed bunch!" she laughed. Jules backed up a few steps, smiling. "Mom, did you hear the awesome news?" Cynthia raised an eyebrow, confused. "The 'awesome news'? What news are you into nowadays?" Jules chuckled, fixing her watch. "No, Mom, not that social media junk. Jack's coming into town!" At the mention of her associate, Cynthia was, admittedly, taken by surprise. She hadn't been in proper touch in years. 'I wonder if this has to do with the funeral. He's probably a wreck after getting that call from Harry,' she thought.

"That's great! We should definitely plan a time to visit him while he's here!" Michael and Amber both exploded in giggles and glee while Jules crossed her arms, sighing and shaking her head. Cynthia put a hand on her eldest daughter's shoulder, fixing her own glasses. "And please, Jules. Don't go bringing up any of your training business to him. The funeral wasn't great for him, what with Liana being his sweetheart." Jules nodded, brushing some stray curls out of her face. "Yeah. Do you think that's the reason he's in town?" Cynthia shrugged, moving toward the kitchen table where her husband, and Jules' father, sat reading the news headlines. "It could be. That's why we're leaving ahead of time for two things."

Jules cracked her knuckles, nodding. Max tilted his head up, raising an eyebrow. "Where are you two off to so early?" Cynthia turned, planting a kiss on her husband's cheek. "Good morning, my little Pufferfish. Jules and I are off to go get some driving hours in today." Max nodded, setting his iPad on the counter. "Ah, right. Driving hours. Can't be forgetting about those." Cynthia nodded, wrapping her arms over Max's shoulders. "Thank you so much for this, dear. I know the kids and work can be a handful, and-" "Hey," Max interrupted with a piece of buttered, cinnamon-dusted toast, "save it for the road, hon. And don't worry about me, I've got it all under control." Cynthia stepped back, taking her husband's hands in her's. "Are you sure?" she asked.

Max nodded, shifting his hair back. "Don't worry about me, Cynthia. Take Jules and go figure out what's going on. I can't be the only one who found themselves asking about how Liana died. This is between you and your 'old' crew." Cynthia shifted a hand to her chin, gritting her teeth. "Hmm...the old crew...man, I haven't talked to any of them in decades. And Lord knows where Shrap is, nobody's seen him for ages." Max shrugged, but Jules stepped back into the hallway, her replica fedora tied with string around her neck. "Well, Mom, what do you say to getting the gang back together? Jack needs a little lightening up, and I'm sure seeing the gang again would help him a lot."

Cynthia snapped her fingers, nodding. "Now that's the girl I raised. Good idea. Whatever the case, we'd better get on the road now before traffic clogs the interstates." Cynthia and max shared a small kiss before Cynthia brushed by Jules, whispering, "Grab your Sin Hunter gear. Where we're going, you'll absolutely need it." Jules nodded, crossing her arms before she ran for the steps, turning the corner and vanishing from sight. In the meantime, Cynthia knelt to give her other children the biggest squeeze she possibly could. "Mommy's gonna be gone for a big business trip for a while. Jules is, too. Can you two behave with Daddy while I'm gone?" Michael and Amber both nodded, arms crossed in front and hands clasped in innocent little cheer.

"You betcha, Mom!" Both responded in equal joy and obedience. Cynthia stood up slowly, rustling her children's heads of hair. "God, I am the luckiest mom ever," she smiled, standing up while Jules emerged from the steps, a large, dusty brown duffel bag draped over her shoulder. "Okay," she huffed, "I'm all good to go. Mom?" Cynthia nodded, adjusting her glasses. "You betcha. Let's get going." "Uh, sweetie?" Max asked. Cynthia turned, eyebrows raised. "yes, dear?" max motioned with a piece of toast to the bathrobe and nothing underneath. "Are you sure you're charging off to work dressed like that?" Cynthia shrugged, grabbing a suitcase from Jules when she handed it down.

"You know me better, Max. In this house, nobody without being prepared for anything." Max nodded, shrugging while he tucked a piece of toast into his mouth. "Fair point." With a wave and a smile, Cynthia and Jules closed the door shut behind them. A business trip was long overdue for the scientist and her daughter, the new Sin Hunter.