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       #Post#: 1863--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Lina Moreau Date: February 9, 2017, 9:35 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Still looking rather disgruntled, Lina reluctantly lifted her
       glass to tap against Lima’s. Then Lina braced herself, and,
       before she could rethink the situation, took a gulp of the
       drink.
       It burned like fire down her throat, and her eyes watered as she
       started coughing violently. It didn’t even taste good, in Lina’s
       opinion. But not about to be beaten by a little liquid, she
       recovered and took another drink.
       #Post#: 1869--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Agent Lima Date: February 10, 2017, 3:36 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       The two just sit there and watch at the spectacle Lina's
       performing, and boy what a show it is. Opposite of her
       companion's technique, Lima drinks her much emptier glass with
       quick precision. A deep exhale follows to vent the burning
       sensation. Overall it's a tender smolder, the taste of cherry
       painting her palette. As she waits for Lina to finish, she
       slides the glass back to Briggs. "Thanks for the warm up. I
       wanted to stop by to see if the safehouse is still around."
       Briggs nods, taking the glass and wiping it clean. "Sure is.
       Still tidied up like ya left it. 'Ere, I'll go get ya keys," the
       griffon nods over to the short maned mare, "make sure she
       doesn't vomit on the counter, just cleaned it." Lima simply nods
       as Briggs walks to the backroom.
       #Post#: 1873--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Lina Moreau Date: February 11, 2017, 6:09 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       After a couple more coughing fits, Lina finally finished her
       drink. “That was… good…” She gasped out, staring at the counter
       as she started to feel a bit queasy. She lowered her head so her
       forehead was against the cool surface, as she forced herself to
       take deep breaths to keep the nausea at bay. In a much lower
       voice, she addressed Lima. “You actually like that stuff?”
       #Post#: 1881--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Agent Lima Date: February 12, 2017, 11:18 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       "Of course," Lima answers rather smugly, "it's something that's
       best enjoyed in moderation." She sighs, pouring herself another
       glass and taking a sip. "It does have a kick though. I don't
       know, just after what happened today..." The mare's tone becomes
       more sincere. "Sorry that uh, you couldn't get your vengeance on
       those two pigeons. Trust me, I wanted to as well. Just... doing
       something like that before meeting the others; I didn't want to
       risk it. Especially not before meeting the real string puller."
       #Post#: 1885--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Lina Moreau Date: February 12, 2017, 1:48 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Lina lifted her head, but didn’t respond for a long moment.
       “Doesn’t matter,” she finally said, her voice toneless. “They’ll
       get what’s coming to them. They’ll have to. I’ve made promises.
       And if by that, you mean Yankee, well… He’s my new priority.”
       She fully sat up, then gave Lima a long look. “So… what’s your
       stake in all of this? What’s so important about questioning
       them?" She knew perfectly well that it was none of her business,
       but the small bit of curious 16-year-old Lina remained,
       prompting her to ask anyway.
       #Post#: 1894--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Agent Lima Date: February 13, 2017, 6:39 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Once asked, Lima simply pours another shot into her glass. After
       gulping it down in one go, she takes a deep breath. Her gaze is
       distant, as if reliving the whole experience again. "Answers,
       Lina. If you haven't noticed, The 26 is big on lies. Even when
       they're telling you the truth, they never give the whole thing.
       Their biggest project is a prime example. I had to look out for
       my agent's welfare while he underwent the training,
       conditioning, and assignments." Lima pauses, her ears folding
       back. "God, Lina. The things he's been put through; his whole
       life was shattered to pieces. All just to make him a weapon. I
       wasn't in a good spot when I was hired, and there were plenty of
       strings attached. So like the Directors, I lied to him. At first
       I didn't care, I'll admit. I was getting paid and this was just
       some random stallion that was part of some, what I thought at
       the time, short term experiment."
       A small smile emerges on her face; her eyes though are
       conflicting, nostalgia and pain intertwining. "But over time, he
       grew on me. He was... always wanting to do the right thing, and
       honestly believed he was, like most of the other agents. But
       even today he doesn't remember what he's really done. I'm partly
       to blame for that; being a PhD in psychology, the Directors
       utilized my skill to suppress certain memories." By this point,
       Lima doesn't even bother with her glass, drinking straight from
       the bottle. The signs show from her slight wobble that she
       herself is starting to reach her limit. The warm smile is
       replaced with a somber grimace, "So fast forward a few years,
       he's supposed to take the resistance's leader out, but he wasn't
       ready, I knew he wasn't ready. But I was so stupid! I assured
       him he could do it; another bucking lie. He did though, but it
       got so bad... so many innocents just... gone. And that was
       something he would remember, something that would haunt him
       since."
       Lima lifts of her goggles. Placing them in front of her to gaze
       into the lens' reflection of herself. "That's when your buddy
       Samiel got involved. I didn't even know about him until he sent
       guys to kill my agent. He was the target, but his friends, his
       troops... his somepony paid the price. Samiel nearly succeeded;
       not by his assassins, but by my agent's own hoofs..." At this
       point, Lima didn't care how she looked at this point, her mane
       was beginning to get frazzled, her tail just droops.
       "That's when I realized that things had to change. No more lies,
       no more doing what those bastards want just because I was
       scared." Her expression becomes stern, resentment present in her
       words. "When I had the chance, I took as much information as I
       could about our program and gave it to the one pony I knew could
       make the most of of it; the one who deserved the truth more than
       anyone." Lima takes one more gulp before sliding whatever was
       left over to Lina. "And the rest is history. They end up behind
       bars and The 26 is dismantled. I felt a bit of remorse though.
       We were a small group, and most of us genuinely wanted to help
       others; but I know them, they'll manage. As for myself, I had to
       go through the Director's records. I found though, that the
       program my agent was a part of, it started years before either
       of us got involved. I suppose I just want closure. To know if
       all this was just for money, power, research or something else.
       I expect the truth, not just with The 26, but myself as well."
       The pegasus glances over to Lina, her deep blue eyes full of
       exhaustion. "I don't want to lie anymore Lina. Especially to
       you, someone who suffered because of all this bullshit."
       #Post#: 1912--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Lina Moreau Date: February 18, 2017, 5:48 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Lina listened to all Lima had to say, not saying a word. Very
       little emotion crossed her face- her mask was back on, and it
       would take more than Lima’s story to shatter it. When the other
       pegasus finished, Lina was quiet for a moment, mulling over what
       to say. “Lima, I… I don’t know what to say. Except for… thank
       you for telling me. I wish I could trust you enough to tell you
       my whole story in return. But I don’t.” There was no venom in
       Lina’s voice, despite her words. She pushed away the bottle from
       both of them, and gave an almost silent sigh. “Maybe we should
       just get some sleep.”
       #Post#: 1922--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Agent Lima Date: February 19, 2017, 10:24 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Although she wasn't expecting much from Lina to begin with, it
       was relieving to tell someone what's been going on in her life.
       With wings feeling a little lighter, Lina simply nods and slides
       off her chair.
       "Ere ya go girls." Briggs returns with the set of keys. "Made
       sure the food and drinks are stocked and fresh." The griffon
       slides the keys over, gives the mares a nod, then resumes to
       tidying up his bar.
       "Thanks Briggs." Lima replies, swiping the keys and heading to a
       doorway on the far side of the room. "This way, Lina." She
       suddenly stops and trots back to retrieve the goggles she left
       behind on the counter.
       A short time would pass as the two venture through the hallway
       on the other side. They end up in front of a metal door. A twist
       of the key and the tumblers pop open. Once the door swings open,
       the two are greeted by a large suite. The living room is
       furnished with modern style items. An open kitchen is located
       further back, opposite of the restrooms. Various maps and items
       from around the world's pose as decorations from the past.
       "Welcome to my lovely abode." Trotting in, Lima makes herself
       confortable, tossing her things on a nearby chair. "Help
       yourself to whatever. I'm gonna get ready for bed." With that
       said she vanishes into the restroom, leaving Lina to settle in.
       #Post#: 1936--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Lina Moreau Date: February 24, 2017, 4:46 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Lina simply nodded and started looking around. She wandered over
       to one wall, where a large world map was hung. She gently
       touched the words marking Saddle Arabia with her hoof.
       "YES!" 15-year-old Lina rushed into her small room. It was
       finally happening, she was finally going. Her parents were
       needed to make a diplomatic trip to Saddle Arabia, and they had
       finally agreed that Lina was old enough to come with them. Lina
       peered back at her unmarred cutie mark and grinned. This was it!
       She was going to be just like her mother and father. All her
       schooling had led up to this, and Lina was ready for anything
       Saddle Arabia might bring.
       A shadow passed over Lina's face, and she lowered her hoof. She
       remained in that position, staring blankly at the map.
       #Post#: 1939--------------------------------------------------
       Re: The City of Stone
       By: Agent Lima Date: February 25, 2017, 7:37 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Lima wearily drags out of her room a rather luxurious sleeping
       bag. Slowly but surely she hauls it over to the sofa a short
       distance behind Lina. Laying it out, the mare places a pillow as
       well before noticing her companion's silence. Ocean blue eyes,
       weary with exhaustion, glance over to her. "You're all set over
       here Lina. A-are you ok?"
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