I never really appreciated how useful Jason’s school bus actually is. Now that it is just Jason, Luna, me and Daisy in here, a lot of the seats have been folded back into the walls, and a big table was set up in the middle with some chairs around it, giving us a meeting room on the road.

“So, that means we might still need some caretakers for all the children.” Jason says.

“Yeah, having just bots to take care of them does feel kind of iffy, even if we give them a good AI.” I add.

“Do you have any suggestions as to who?” Jason asks.

“Not really. Of course, I think we should ask the people taking care of the children now, but when I talked to them before, it sounded like they might still have some prior engagements. Besides that, I know Anika’s husband has some kind of education in childcare, so asking him would not be a bad idea. What about you?”

“My husband might be interested in coming by some days, but not as a full-time thing.” Jason adds, “But you bring up a good point. We should ask some of the people already in the hotel if they are interested.”

I nod. “How do you feel about hiring some people from the outside?”

“You have, by the way, not considered all the options of people you know.” Luna speaks up.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I am qualified to do many things and one of those things happens to be teaching kids about math and physics.”

“So look at who we can ask in house, and then hire what we don’t have?” i conclude.

“If we use our AI to vet them, I don’t see much of an issue with it. How much should we pay them?”

“A lot” I simply state.

Luna nods in agreement.

Jason arcs an eyebrow at me.

“What, they’d be taking care of children. That can’t be easy, and also we want to make sure they don’t fuck them up. High pay is good compensation in those cases, right?” I explain.

Jason leans back in his chair. “I agree, but where are we getting the money from?”

“Not sure. Are there any ventures PsyCo is currently doing that make the money required?” I ask, being somewhat hopeful, and sure, I am still syphoning money left and right from New Hope accounts, but that is not sustainable.

“Not yet, but I think Magenta wants to create some stuff. She just needs your help.” He says, a bit of a smile on his face.

“Sure, whatever she needs, I guess.” I mean, what's the worst that can happen? If she does something bad to me, she will get in trouble with Clair.

“Good, then I’ll message her that you are ready to do some interviews.” Jason

“Oh fu… protectors. I'm going to hate this, aren’t I.” I groan out, as I bury my face in my hands

Jason gives me a sympathetic look. “Yeah, these things are never fun. But it might improve your image, and merchandise we can sell for money to fund the orphanage.”

I let out a long sigh. “Me and my big mouth, promising all those kids a home. What have I done to myself?”

“Magenta isn't that bad. Just smile, answer some of her questions, and you’ll be fine.” Jason reassures me.

“Right, sure. So, besides a lot of money, is there anything else we still need to keep this stuff running?"

“Technically, safety would be a concern, but Leo has been outfitting the entire building with turrets and shielding, so that isn't something we have to worry about,” Jason says

“Who?” I ask, being unfamiliar with the name.

Jason’s eyes go wide as he looks at me with surprise. “Silver Scorpion. You didn't know his name?”

“Honestly, after our first meeting, the only thought I had about him was how to keep myself out of arm's reach in case he flips out again, not what his legal name is.” I admit.

I can hear Luna chuckle in the background at that. Jason just shakes his head.

“Moving on from that,” he continues. “I guess the next thing we should consider is the future of the children.”

“Like what they are going to be when they grow up?” I ask.

“Kind of, but also how we get them there. Claire has already made a deal with a local college to allow PsyCo employees to take extra classes and not get docked points for sporadic attendance. But we still need to figure out high school and middle school.”

I nod along then pause “What do they actually teach in high school?”

“You don’t remember?” Jason asks, pausing his explanation.

“The problem isn't really my memory. It’s my experience. I spent about a year in high school, I think, before I got picked up by corporate; and for most of it, I was on my AUG doing everything besides studying.”

“Sounds like we need to send you to whatever facility we create, as well.”

I stick out my tongue, accidentally licking the metal of my mask “Blech! No thanks. I have a job, and it keeps me busy enough as is.”

Jason frowns. “Your job is to be a jackass.”

“And I am good at it,” I point out.

“Yeah, you're so good at it that we are heading back to Zürich.” He says with a smile. “Maybe you should consider being less good at it.”

“I can, but what would be the fun in that? I mean, think of all the free advertising I am doing.” I say with a smile, “Anyway, let’s get back to schooling. I can personally teach any computer related topics. Is that something they teach?”

“Basic coding became a part of the standard high school curriculum between 2020 and 2040, depending on where you’re looking.” Luna interjects.

I turn to Jason. “I guess Claire can do chemistry and Cierra can do economics.”

“Would they be willing to do that?” Jason asks, giving me a strange look.

I shrug. “I mean, it is a good test, right? For when we have kids, kind of like a test run where you can give the kid back at the end of the day.”

Luna shakes her head. “You do

realize that dealing with an entire classroom of children is very different from raising just one kid, right? Like I have done both, sorta, and I promise there’s less overlap than you’d think.”

“There is also a big difference in knowing something, and being able to explain it to someone who doesn’t know that thing. But I mean, if they’re okay with all that, I don’t see why not.”

I nod. “I guess the only thing left to do is just ask if they want to do it.” I pause. “Or just hire some teachers. I heard they were chronically underpaid, so it shouldn't be hard to, you know, steal some of them away.”

Jason lets out a deep sigh. "Why is that a better idea than it should be?”

“Because the world fucking sucks, my friend. And conforming to its rules is a lot easier than going against it.” I say with a smile.

Jason massages his temple. “Well, with that, we've got everything sorted. At least for now.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Protectors, am I happy that PsyCo is actually run by competent people, and me, I guess? But Jason is right. If we want our little company to keep operating smoothly, we should probably figure out a few more ways to increase the cash flow.

I turn back to the other occupants, that being Luna and Daisy. “Luna? How do you make any money?”

Luna raises an eyebrow. “I do actually have a job.”

“Right, you are scamming the Austrian military out of their budget.” I say with a nod.

“I am not scamming them.” Luna scoffs.

“True, it isn't really a scam, when paying for your coffee will keep them safer than buying a new tank, that's for sure.”

Luna huffs. “I don't drink coffee. And do you really think that's an okay way to speak to your mother?”

I choke on my tongue. “Mother? What do you mean?”

“After our brief drive, I felt you were severely lacking a parental figure, so I decided to become that figure.” She looks at me with a serious gaze. “Please do not resist.”

I slowly turn to Jason. “She can just do that?”

Jason seems to be deep in thought, then slowly nods. “Yeah, I think so. Who can stop her?”

“Great! Welcome to the family, Mother. Family game night is Thursday evening, so you better be there.” I say.

Jason frowns. “You have a family game night?”

I nod “We do now.”

Luna looks dejected.

“I can’t make this Thursday, I will unfortunately need to act as a deterrent during a negotiation between Vienna and some random interchangeable corporation, but I’ll make sure to keep my Thursdays clear going forward.”

Jason sighs. “Life must be so much easier when you are crazy.”

I chuckle. “I'm not crazy, just pleasantly insane.”

“What's the difference?” he asks.

I chuckle “Wouldn't you like to know?” I do a little happy skip and place myself down besides Luna, my new mother… yeah that is going to take some getting used to.

“So, have any thoughts about birthday presents. Because you have that big sexy sword and I kind of want one.”

“Don't you already have enough swords?” Luna asks.

I gasp. “There is no such thing as having enough swords! I always need more ammunition for my arm rail gun.”

“I don’t think swords are meant to be thrown.” Jason points out.

“Why not? I have several swords that were made with throwing in mind, so I could have ranged options. Come to think of it, I kinda stopped using them after buying my physics-defying vacuum-gun... You know what? Sure. You can have a throwing-sword, as a treat.”

“But it's not my birthday yet.” i state.

Luna raises a hand and rubs the top of my head. "Sure, kid, but I think I am getting you something normal for your birthday.”

“Samurai normal? Or like normal, normal?” I ask.

“You will just have to wait to find out.” she says with a laugh

I frown, “Well, that sucks, but I guess I can understand.” I say, as I kick my legs a bit.

“Maniac, not to interrupt, but do you know where we need to go to pick up the kids?” Jason ask,s as he looks outside.

“Ah, right, I knew I was forgetting something. Just give me like 5 minutes and I’ll have that figured out, too.” I say, as I start calling Katelyn.

She picks up after about a minute. “Hey, where are you? People are getting irritated.”

“Sorry, what are you talking about?” I ask, feeling rather confused.

“People are waiting for you to defend yourself,” Katelyn answers.

“Well, that's their problem. Anyway, we are on the way to Zurich to pick up the orphans. Are they safe?”

“Yeah, they are fine, but they're on the other side of town. I didn't want them to be close to whatever this mess will turn into.”

“That's fair. Can you send me the coordinates, so that I can send someone to pick them up?”

“Yeah, I can,” Katelyn says “but you are coming here, right? I don’t think these people like having to wait this long?”

“Tell them that if they wanted me to be on time, they should have notified me more than a day in advance.”

“Yeah, I think I'd rather not.” Katelyn finally says, after a long pause.

I shrug. "Yeah, fine, I’ll be there in a bit. Make sure they don’t kill each other in the meantime. Or wait, let them kill each other. Less for me to worry about.”

“Yeah, I'm hanging up now before I become an accessory to a crime.” With that, the connection is broken off.

I quickly sent over the coordinates to Jason. “Here you go. That should be the location, and you might want to hurry.”

Jason raises an eyebrow. "Why?”

“Because I was just informed that the league of teenagers with power tools is a bit cranky.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you can have a horrible attitude?” Jason asks.

“Not really. Most people used to say that I was a good and hard worker and that I was always polite.” I say with a smile.

“Then what happened?” Jason asks, looking curious.

“I stopped being afraid of the gun they kept pressing against my head.”