<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;"><strong><br/><br/>Niagara, Canada<br/>Hegemony TLD<br/>Secure Living Quarters, 12th floor<br/>3 Years Later<br/></strong></span><strong>__________________________________________________________________________________________________</strong><br/><br/>It had been several years since the arrangement had been made between the Marquis and the<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;">Schröders. As promised, an entire floor had been upgraded, secured and modified to accommodate their family. The floor acted both as living space and educational center for their children. Jericho had also been good to his word about the safety and hands off approach taken while observing Callahan and Lynde. Surveillance systems had been installed specifically for this task, leaving only key areas and personal spaces free from observation. Additionally, the parents had taken turns monitoring the young ones, sharing the burden of raising two children, until all of them began to feel more like family than employer and employee. It couldn't be helped, and if Jericho had been asked about it he would have admitted he enjoyed the arrangement. It was quite convenient having more people to discuss certain sensitive matters that normally he'd only been able to share with Liliana.</span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;">The children, for their part, never really knew that they were being watched, and it had become plain early on that the two of them had grown very close in a few short years. They were practically inseparable and, according to the analysts assigned to monitoring them, often showed more negative tendencies when apart than when together. That didn't mean the little rascals didn't get into trouble while together, quite the opposite, but when together they were markedly more happy than when apart. Observation only went so far though, and by the time it was their 8th birthdays it was time to try something new.</span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;">Standing in the large open space that served as the </span></span><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;">Schröder's living room, Liliana called the two children over to her. It was her turn with them on this day and she had patiently watched over them as they had jumped from one form of entertainment to the next. "Children. Come here. I have something for you." Liliana rarely lost her refined mannerisms, even while relaxed. To anyone who didn't know her she might appear rather cold towards others. This wasn't the case however, it was just the way she was raised. Leaning forward her emerald colored evening gown rustled as she picked up the metal box that was resting on the small table next to her chair. "I have a gift for you both." </span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;">Opening the box she showed its contents to the little ones. "These are for you. One each." Inside were two identical elegantly crafted watches. Liliana had first received the watches nearly a week ago from her husband. He had explained that they were more than watches, that they had highly sophisticated electronics for monitoring and recording the childrens' vitals. They also acted as two way radios. A small bonus for them to play with and enjoy. Unfortunately, they'd also been gaudy ugly little things and Liliana had almost gagged at how terrible they looked. She had immediately told her husband to give them a more fitting design for their station. He'd simple said, 'Yes, dear.' but he had a little smile on his lips and Liliana suspected he knew fully well what her reaction was going to be. She have him a knowing look and a smile of her own before turning to leave. Now, a week later, the gifts were things of beauty and elegance. In hind sight, probably a bit too elegant for children but oh well.</span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;">"Here, let me help you put that on dear." she said to Lynde with a small smile. The young girl had really grown on Liliana and she honestly liked her. She still remembered the first time they had met and how she'd almost gotten zapped. Truth be told, she had gotten zapped, but she'd played it off as a near miss. Liliana had used her abilities for years to help her husband and Hegemony grow and no one had been the wiser. She saw no reason for that fact to change now. Once the watches were on both children she gave them one of her regal smiles. "There, don't you both look splendid." Reaching down she touched the button on the side of Callahan's watch and Lynde's watch beeped softly. "Go on dear, press the button. I think you'll like what you find." She knew it was only a matter of time before they ended up running off and, true to form, once they did she just watched them go. "Adorable."</span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;">Callahan was overjoyed by the present his mother had given them. She had never been much of a gift giver, but when she did it was always something special. "Lynde! Come on! Let's go to the play room!" he said with a smile. His face didn't hurt anymore these days when he smiled, in fact he smiled more often than not. "These are so cool! I wonder how far their range is?" he said as he hurried down the hall with his closest friend. </span></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: gg sans;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;">The play room, true to its name, had just about everything they could possible want to keep themselves occupied. From coloring books and toys, to balls and electronic gadgets, they had no shortage of things to play with. Despite all that though, they spent more time together than with any toy. "Hey, lets try these out. We could head in opposite directions. What do you think?"</span></span>