Alex was a handsome black man of about 30, dressed in a tight t-shirt and dark jeans. He wasn’t particularly large, maybe 5-10, but he was muscular....‘So, you have it?’ Alex asked pleasantly, after the waitress brought them their drinks. ‘I had to do a little arranging, but I think you’ll like the package,’ Ted said as he took out the envelope and passed it across the table. Alex peered inside, pulled the bills out onto his lap and quickly counted them. But when he reached 60th bill, he was. You could be stripped of all your power after it’s over with.”I shook my head. “I’m not worried about the Council right now. First, I’m working to help them, through you, to end the Lockdown, and second, they wouldn’t have access to their power while it’s still up anyway.”Dalton squirmed on the bed. It was the first time I had ever seen her look uncomfortable. “The Council doesn’t know you’re helping me. I’ve only told them about your alibi and that I’ve continued investigating on my own.”I. I couldn’t afford a lawyer and tried to deal with it myself,” she sighed as Scarlett came out of the bathroom. “Are we ready to go? I don’t really want to be here anymore.”When I nodded, she grabbed her backpack and was the first out the door. The office was empty so she just dropped her key in the box on her way out. Our taxi was already waiting and the driver whistled as the girls got in.“A man with one woman that gorgeous is uncommon, but two? Are you a modeling agent or something?”“No,. "Not exactly the Ritz," Walter muttered under his breath. "Make ye not fun of th' stoore," rasped a voice from behind Walter, pronouncing the "o" in "store" with an "ooo" sound rather than the long "o" sound Walter was expecting to hear. "A damn foreigner," Walter thought to himself as he stared at the wizened woman walking to him through the shadows. "How I help ye, Waltair Muyrgeetsoon?" "A Slavic accent," Walter thought, "probably Romanian or..." "Czech," finished the woman. She was old.