Callahan had always liked the open air park that was located on the top floor of their building. In many ways it was the only real taste of freedom him or Lynde had gotten over the last few years. He really never gave it much thought that her and her family had moved into the building. He was far too excited at the time just knowing the fact that his best, his only, friend would always be close by. In the proceeding years it had crossed his young mind, especially the times they had asked to go outside and were never allowed. Instead, they would be brought here, and it had become a special place for the two of them.<br/><br/><br/>Callahan nodded when Lynde told him to stay put so that they could test their new watches. He was just as excited as she was, and it showed. "Ok, I'll be here!" he called after her even as she vanished around some trees and he lost sight of her quickly. They both knew the layout of the park very well however, and he wasn't worried about loosing track of her if worse came to worse and it turned out the range on their watches wasn't all that far. He needn't have worried though, they would soon find that signal traveled far and the reception was perfect.<br/><br/><br/>Looking around the park where he stood he checked off in his mind all the little places they had discovered over the years. Over that way was the first tree they had tried to climb. He still had painful memories of falling out of it. He hadn't really been hurt all that badly, but it held a special place in his mind because of the way Lynde had taken care of him until their parents had arrived. It had also been special because his mother had given him one of her rare huge once she had determined he was alright. The scolding afterward hadn't been quite as fun.<br/><br/><br/>Still lost in thought he heard his watch beep and he pressed the button, Lynde's voice coming through through loud and clear a moment later. "I hear you!" He knew the moment she said she'd check further she'd have been off like a shot. That was always something he had liked about her, her boundless energy. It was almost contagious, and every time they were together he felt excited to see what new things they could get into together.<br/><br/><br/>Pressing the button again when it beeped Callahan could clearly hear the excitement in her voice. "I'm on my way." he could only assume she took a straight line through the trees. If that was the case she'd eventually make it to the far side and the observation lounge that was located there. It would take him more time to try and follow through the trees, so he turned down a nearby open path and took off running. With nothing to block his path he could cover more ground quickly, but even then it still took him a few minutes to reach her.<br/><br/><br/>Panting heavily he came out exited the other side of the trees and spotted Lynde almost immediately. Just as he'd thought she was near the observation lounge, almost right up to the big glass windows. After another few short moments of jogging he reached her side. "How did you get here so fast?" he asked her once he'd caught his breath. She'd always been fast, but it seemed to him she had been a lot faster than usual today, and she wasn't even breathing heavily at all.<br/><br/><br/>Those thoughts were brushed aside a moment later when she told him to look in through the windows. Just as she'd said, he could see their dads, along with several other well dressed people. He even saw the man that had helped them go up the elevator. He must have just arrived himself because he was pulling a chair out to take a seat at the table.<br/><br/><br/>When Lynde encouraged him to press his face to the glass he didn't hesitate in the least. With a soft laugh he pulled the corners of his mouth upwards and he crossed his eyes. He'd seen a book once in his mothers study on plays. Thinking it had been a story book he had tried to read it but it had been far beyond him and most of the pictures had been awful, with the exception of one. There had been two masks, one with a happy face and one with a sad face (https://img2.cgtrader.com/items/717699/1be1d68454/large/theatre-happy-sad-masks-3d-model-low-poly-max-obj-fbx-ma-mb-mtl.jpg). He imagined they both looked a lot like that picture right then at that moment.<br/><br/><br/>Inside the observation lounge Jericho was busy explaining the newest finds that Hegemony had been able to discover over the last six months. Normally he'd have Liliana with him during one of these meetings with the company backers but it as her day with the children, and honestly he felt he could handle it just fine. Besides, he knew his wife enjoyed her time with the children, even if she had a hard time showing it. It always warmed his heart each time he caught one of her little smiles at the antics that the kids liked to pull. He saw no reason to drag her here to one of these boring meetings when she could be enjoying herself with the children.<br/><br/><br/>How ironic those thoughts were a few minutes later when he turned in his chair and saw Lynde and Callahan with their faces pressed up against the outside of the window making ridiculous faces at everyone present. Fortunately, he didn't need to do anything since he saw Jurgen was already taking care of it. "Thank you Jurgen. Please see to it that they are properly escorted." Turning back to the meeting he and apologized for the interruption before continuing.<br/><br/><br/>Callahan saw Jurgen heading their way and immediately knew they had been busted. "Uh oh. Here he comes." was all he managed to get out before Lynde's dad pushed the door open and immediately started to look them over after kneeling down. When it came to their parents Cal had learned pretty quickly that no matter what he said to them, unless it was the truth or an apology, it was better to keep quiet when they were in trouble. "Sorry." he said, instantly following along next to Lynde as Jurgen took her hand and lead them away.<br/><br/><br/>Liliana was quite comfortable in her recliner, an old book held in her hand that she had already read several times before over the years. All was right in the world at that moment, even the kids weren't making a fuss and she really appreciated the peace and quiet. That is until her phone rang a few moments later. Putting down her book she picked it up and checked the caller ID before answering it. "Hello?"<br/><br/><br/>Liliana blinked slowly at the question. "Whatever do you mean, Jurgen? I..." she said, trailing off. "Hold that thought." she said and stood quickly. It took less than a minute to make her way to the playroom. When she found that it was empty she could feel her face flush red with embarrassment. Taking a calming breath she lifted the phone to her ear again. "I assume you have discovered two slippery little<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;">la bête (beast). </span></span>I am most curious to discover how they managed to sneak past me. Please return them. I'm sure their tale will be most entertaining..." she said calmly, but these days she rarely used French unless she was upset about something.<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 1em;"> </span></span><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>