The beginning of their work day was always punctuated with the strong, authoritative voice of Godmother calling them to attendance for their assignments. They gathered in their equivalent of an operations room. The projecting map of City 31 color-coded from Blue to Yellow to Orange to Red. To Archer's satisfaction he spotted the fringe portion of the map a refreshing blue, patting himself on the back for that. It seemed the rest of the City was relatively civil, but he knew that wouldn't last for long if the Sacred Coil continued to consolidate and make their moves throughout the city.

"Alright agents!" Whisper began in an informative tone, a tablet in his arm as he addressed the agents standing at attention in a single file. "New day, new assignments. I can see Verge has already departed for the 31PD Precinct to supervise the questioning of the Sacred Coil we apprehended earlier. In addition, some rumors circulating around about an Elerium deal on the outskirts of the city have reached our ears, Zephyr, Shelter, you're being mobilized to shut that down."

With a short, curt "Aye" from the muscular, pale-skinned Hybrid woman and a passive "Okay." From the tan Chilean Psionic in response, Whisper continued.

"We've also received some tips from the Viper's Nest about a disturbance in The Switchyard about some more weapon smuggling, as of yet unrelated to Sacred Coil, but that may change, nevertheless they're a threat to the city. Godmother, your team has already been put together."

"Understood." She replies, once again stern and plain, her hands tightly held behind her back.

"Finally. Archer and Torque."

Archer's ears perk up at the mention of his name, he comes to full alertness as he turns, waiting for whatever task awaited him.

"We've been short on funds the last week or so. Mainly working with what we have with not much buffer if we have to expend more than we already are, and with Sacred Coil trying to reform, it's likely we'll hit that point sometime in the near future. It's for that reason we want you two out to connect with the 'upper crust', so to speak."

Through the long-winded manner of phrasing Archer realized what exactly was going to be asked of them. As if reading his thoughts, his Viper partner huffs from her nostril vents, rolling her eyes.

"So we're the lucky winners that get to beg rich people for spare change? Greaaaaaat." she says in a 'enthusiastic' tone, her voice slowly deflating as she twirls a finger in the air for emphasis before crossing her arms over her chest.

"You have your assignments, Chimera Squad, dismissed." Whisper says, opting to ignore Torque's quip. As characteristically stalwart as ever, Godmother echoes Whisper with a "Let's get a move on!"

And with that, the agents file out with the details pertaining to their assignments. Archer thumbs over the profile of their specific assignment. Torque's long neck having no trouble peering over his shoulder.

"Alright, who're we mooching off this time?" She says, to which Archer huffs, but can't help but share the sentiment. He turns his eyes back down to the candid photo of a man and his Wife. Smiles on their soft features, etched with age, the man is dressed in a well fitting pinstriped suit, the woman in a ruby red dress, he turns his eyes down to the small block of text below the photo.

"Ellis and Marcia Calsbury. They owned a small number of factories before the invasion, afterwards, they adopted the ADVENT foundry tech and applied it to them, they produce...dental hygiene goods, toothbrushes, paste, stuff like that."

"Any fang whitener?" Torque asks in a half-interested voice.

"Not sure. Doesn't say if they expanded to non-human products. My guess is they did when everyone else started, so maybe." Archer answers absent-mindedly. Committing the address to memory before sealing the file and moving to exit.

With the APC reserved for Godmother's team, Archer and Torque were left with a humble, unmarked police car. The sleek black design betrayed the true age and condition of the vehicle. And while the APC was in top condition, the car was a bit...lacking.

As he opened up the drivers seat door and stepped in he turned his head to watch Torque pull open the door and slither in, her long body coiling up on the seat and snaking down to where a human would've put their legs before strapping herself in.

The ride took them from the dilapidated block down into the sleeker, more populated streets and avenues down City 31. And as he had once seen when he had been driven in he saw the blend of almost half a dozen different species pass him by. A hand venturing from the wheel to fiddle with the radio, switching it on and flitting from station to station.

"...marks the second week of the redevelopment of the long-neglected steelworking district…" says a reporter in an airy, informative tone. Archer twists the knob.

"YumFlakes! The newest nutritious, delicious and affordable addition to your breakfast table! Now compatible with all digestive systems! YumFlakes! They'll make you say yu-" The forced, excessively sappy delivery from the voiceover makes Archer flick the nob without any hesitation.

A synthesized, electronic wall of noise pushes forth from the speakers, A high pitched whine overlaid with at least a dozen extra electronic instruments are like nails on a chalkboard to him, his hand immediately going to the knob he flicks it and finds the next station manned by a human man with a smooth voice that made Archer feel comfortable in letting his hand return to the steering wheel as he listened.

"Hey there, ladies and gents, I'm Noah McCormack and you're listening to 107.7 Wave. Bringing you all the hits since before the Invasion. This next one's about the time when we'd be looking up at the lights in the sky and wonder, who's there?" As the Radioman's voice faded out and the music began, from the first beginning seconds, punctuated with a high pitched beeping before the strumming of a guitar mingles in. Archer felt his heart beat a bit faster as he sat up in his chair. He knew this song.

He hadn't gleamed much enjoyment from his childhood and teenage years, far too preoccupied with hunting to provide food for their resistance band, watching out for Advent patrols, and general busywork as he lived in hiding from the Alien occupiers. But this song, this one song. He had sung it occasionally when the younger members of their group had some time to waste, it was a comfort to him, and he certainly wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to indulge himself.

"You, look to the staaaars for answers, your face, glowing blue. You smiiiile, at the thought that there's something out there. Suddenly your smile turns to a stare." Archer sings under his breath, his hand beating the steering wheel in time with the pumping drumline. Torque pulls her head, propped up with a scaly fist, up from where it rested against the passenger side window and turns to focus her eyes at Archer's half-humming, half-singing.

"A million tiny light bulbs shining through celluloid across the country. Littllllle, greeeeen, mennnnn. Eyes shielded with a shaking hand, the women screaming, and the children gather and wonder… da-da-da-da.. Who's Thereeeeee, who's theeeeeere!"

He gently rocks his head in tune with the music, still beating on the steering wheel gently. Turning the corner from their congested street, and as the traffic dies down the car speeds up ever so gently. Torque cocks her head as Archer continues to watch the human enjoy himself. The sight of the normally uptight marksman unwinding as he beat in rhythm to the song made her feel something in the pit of her stomach. There was a sentimentality to his light hearted singing, it wasn't just some stupid, catchy human pop tune that had sprung up on the radio, she could tell that it was something more important. She continued to think, her chin resting on her fist. She thought back to her own childhood, but come to think of it, she had less of a childhood by traditional definitions and more of a pre-adult phase, since she was hatched there was nothing more to her upbringing apart from strict conditioning, the fitting and gradual acclimation to her implants, and her training, to be used to root out Humans like him. The closest she had to a childhood song was the ADVENT anthem, and she wasn't stupid enough to start humming bars of that in challenge to Archer's dopey little song, she realized that she couldn't relate to the human's nostalgia trip in any meaningful way.

"Fond, of a night out in Cal-ifornia. It's late, an interruption in spaaaace. You smile, could there be someone out there? Suddenly the smile has been erased. The radio crackled voices, with obvious and used excuses. Blue gas, flickering, abovvvvve. Flicks and cartoons, bumper stickers, in preparation for tomorrow. And the children gather and wonderrrr...Who's thereeeeeee? Who's THEREEE?"

As the vocals give way to a guitar solo that makes Archer's grin spread from ear to ear he echoes the chorus. "Who's thereeeeee? Who's thereeeee. Who's thereeeee-"

His complement to the guitar on the radio is abruptly left hanging in empty air as the radio knob is once again turned to the noise-music. His enthused singing getting drowned out in the electronic screeching and synthesized instruments. Archer notices the change almost immediately, his eyes darting down to the scaly white finger of Torque receding back into her lap, or Viper equivalent. "I like this station better." Is all she has to offer, in an awkward voice.

Archer realized perfectly well that it wasn't something to get that upset over, but he just couldn't help it. The constant rudeness and attitude from Torque since he had arrived, her taking his coffee this morning, the stupid pranks and insults preceeding that. And now she was changing the music that had soothed him so deeply in his otherwise pained and fear-ridden formative years, that was the final straw. "Torque, what the fuck?!" he blurts out in an angry voice, his face focused on the road but his voice clearly directed to her.

"I just didn't like your stupid old human music radio station, that's it!" The Viper returned defensively as she crossed her arms over her chest and threw her weight back into the seat. Her eyes narrowing to slits.

"But you really had to fucking change it mid-song, it was almost over! You could've just been patient! But I guess ADVENT skipped out on that part of your education in lieu of Human-Strangulation 101!" Archer shoots back. "I mean, Jesus Christ has literally anyone bothered to teach you manners and common-courtesy? Or do you just rely on the hope that people will write off your behavior as sass and not call you out on it. Give me a fucking break, Torque." He says in an exasperated huff.

Torque recoils back in her seat, her talons digging into the flesh of her palm as she ignores Archer bringing up ADVENT. She knew she should have apologized, but she blurted out the first thing she thought, something that she thought would make her look less vulnerable. And even though what Archer said was at least partly true, she knew she could use his bias towards aliens as decent enough deflection from that fact.

"I don't need to explain anything to you! If the rest of my team have thick enough skin to take my banter then so should you! You're just on the team because they needed another human to even the score, you're just dead weight!" She hisses, jabbing a finger at him as he makes a particularly rough turn onto the street the Calsburys, their potential donors, lived on.

"Yeah! I'm just expected to shut up and take it when you're being pissy, which is all the goddamn time! Last I checked, Chimera Squad was supposed to be a well disciplined mixed-species task force, not a group of quirky, well armed clowns! Maybe if we spent more time fighting actual criminals instead of PUNKING each other we wouldn't have to be out here begging for funding!" Archer snaps at her, his foot still on the accelerator as he drives up the street, row after row of traditional, pre-invasion brick houses flanking their car. Some were painted in appealing pastel colors, white, baby blue, a rose-red here and there. The houses were quite modest as far as high-income levels went. It made for quite a serene, peaceful vista. Completely contrasted by the small scale yelling match that was now taking place inside of the car.

"I'M SORRY IF YOU'RE NOT EMOTIONALLY MATURE ENOUGH TO HANDLE ME CHANGING THE STATION ON YOUR OH-SO FAVORITE SONG. WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE BASE I'LL BE SURE TO LET YOU LISTEN TO IT AS MAAAANY TIMES AS YOU WANT!" Torque screeches at him. Archer is about to shoot back before they both lurch to the front of the car. Even in a vehicle as old as theirs, it still had a decent quality proximity detector and anti-collision system. And the brakes had just slammed down as they came only inches from rear-ending a, from the looks of it, very expensive sports car. The sudden stop brings their argument to a screeching halt, and they both sink in their chairs with a deflated sigh. In silence, Archer brings the car to parallel park in front of a sapphire blue house, a medium sized garden with a bench placed beneath the shade of an overhead tree taking up the lushous front yard.

From out the driver's side window Archer sighed again and pulled out the document. "We're here." He says in a flat voice, double checking the address before flipping the document closed and resting it on the dashboard. "You want…" he begins, turning over to Torque, who had gone back to staring out her window, her gaze focused on a man walking a small terrier. "You want me to go by myself?" He asks, and after a few seconds of silence she shakes her head.

"Nah, works better if there's two of us there. Plus, to show off the wonders of 'inter-species cooperation' you'll need another species for that." She grumbles, reaching over to unbuckle her seatbelt and slide out of the car. Archer nods and exits as well.

The short walkup to the front door allowed them to take in the more subtle details of the house. Archer could notice the reflective eyes of a tabby cat staring at the pair of them walking up the stone steps and to the door. And Torque's tongue flicked out to take note of the sour, earthy aroma of freshly cut grass. When they had both stepped up and Archer pressed the doorbell, the one-two-three chime audible from inside the House, Archer took one last aside with Torque. "Maybe stand a little bit behind me, they're old, it'll be easier to process if they see a human first." He suggests, to which Torque rolls her eyes but nonetheless acquiesces.

A youthful sounding, happy, female voice is heard, muffled through the door before it swings inwards to reveal Mrs. Calsbury. And though the document had stated that the Calsburys were approaching their mid 80s, Marcia looked and acted at least 20 years younger.

"Oh, agent!" She says jovially, giving Archer a smile as she looked over the Chimera Squad insignia stitched on the shoulder of his uniform, her eyes flit up to Torque and her slitted, serpentine eyes meet the woman's, Archer holds his breath for a moment before the human woman corrects herself. "Agentss." drawing out the s to emphasize the two of them as she gives Torque the same smile she gave Archer.

Marcia was dressed in a light shirt and navy blue slacks, her dirty blonde hair tied up in a bun atop her head, and while her clothes were unassuming her physical appearance truly took Archer aback.

Through the marvels of genetic engineering technologies left over from the alien occupation, human lifespans had doubled and even tripled in some cases, people were more physically fit, and just on average healthier than pre-invasion averages. And the same was true with Marcia, her skin was jaw-droppingly smooth and supple-looking, her blue eyes were bright and animated, and though her hair had begun to gray as age set it in was nowhere near what could be expected from a woman her age. As she reached out her hand to shake Archer's he noticed that while her hand was wrinkled, it, like her hair and face, appeared to be 20 years younger.

Genetic therapy, It was one of the things that was the prime talking points ADVENT used when speaking of the positives of the occupation, and one of the things that were almost universally regarded as a positive in the modern day, and it was safe to say Mrs. Calsbury was clearly a prime example of the advantages of such treatments. But with how the promise of miracle cures for diseases such as diabetes and cancer were mingled with an ever-encroaching suppression of the Human population in the past, Archer had always been wary of any mention of the practice.

"Good morning, Mrs. Calsbury. I'm Agent Archer and this is Agent Torque. We're from the Reclamation Agency and would like to speak with you for a moment." Archer began in a friendly-sounding tone. Thinking back to how one of his childhood friends had been a retail worker before the invasion. He remembered how she mocked the simple, unassuming voice she used when addressing customers, he couldn't help but understand her struggle as he stood there. "May we come in?"

Marcia nods. "Of course, of course." She says, turning to gesture deeper inside the House. "Oh, and please take off your shoes." She adds as she turns to walk inside. As she turns her back Archer could hear a small hmph and small thump against the stone steps and sighs softly.

Walking inside, Archer's eyes scanned over the photos on the walls, he looked over his shoulder to see Torque slithering a bit slowly behind him, while he was looking over the photos in an attempt to create some smalltalk later on, Torque seemed to be doing more than giving the photos a passing glance. She went slowly, the smooth flowing motions of her tail falling to the Viper equivalent of someone walking in slow motion. She couldn't help but have her attention drawn to the assortment of family photos. It looked to be a graduation, Mr and Mrs Calsbury flanking their three children. They were all smiling, happy. Her eyes focused on their faces as the swish-swish of her tail was drawn out to a sluggish rate to allow her to look over it more in depth, her hands clenching up into fists as she stared at the photo.

"Torque!" He whispers, snapping his fingers a few times and bringing her attention to him with a slightly agitated look. He wordlessly nods his head towards the living room where Marcia was leading them, and with what he can swear is reluctance, she follows.

The living room was a tad more lavish than the rest of the house so far, the wood panels they walked on looked freshly buffered, a few pieces of art hung from a few walls, a scenic, naturalistic painting of a lush valley was contrasted with a rigid, geometric piece of abstract art. There, Torque and Archer were greeted by Ellis Calsbury.

The man casually draped himself lengthwise across a fine leather couch, his head turned from a now ignored documentary about a Hybrid pop artist's rise to stardom to the pair of reclamation agency agents. Like his wife, Ellis looked very youthful for a man in his mid-eighties. His dark hair, combed back from his scalp, was slightly marked with grey hairs, he was lean but not frail, and a hazy afterimage of a stubble marked his face. Unlike Marcia, Ellis jerked up a bit as his eyes met Torque's first. The man quickly scooching up and out of his prone position, leaning back up against the arm of the couch before standing up.

"Oh! Aw Hell you caught me off guard, hah hah. What can I do for the two of you?" He says, clapping his hands together as he smiles at the pair of agents.

"We'd just like to talk for a little bit about the Agency." Torque says. With Archer nodding in agreement. "It won't take long, I assure you."

Ellis cocks a brow at the pair before making a soft heh before nodding his head over to the dining room table. "Sure, we're not doing anything anytime soon. Have a seat." He offers.

Pulling up a pair of chairs, Archer and Torque sit, the viper agent draping her body over the chair in a way that remind Archer of a soft-serve ice cream machine, a thought that brought a slight smile to his face which faded as he leaned forward and put his hands on the table. Ellis took a seat opposite of them and locked his fingers together, resting his elbows on the table.

"Now, before we talk business, could I interest you in anything to drink? Water, coffee?" Ellis offers, and Marcia, moving from the dining room into the kitchen, leaned forward onto the kitchen counter and looked between the three of them, waiting for an answer.

"A coffee would be nice, black, please, thank you." Archer says.

"Anything for you, honey?" Marcia asks Torque as she turns to pull cups from the sink, Torque looks up and mulls it over before she responds.

"Oh, a coffee too, black also." She says.

"Heh, takes the work off of me, I guess. I'll have it right up." Marcia says as Ellis clears his throat, drawing the attention of their guests back to him.

"You have a very nice house, Mr. Calsbury. I assume dental care hasn't gone out of style anytime soon." Archer begins in a friendly voice, rubbing over his thumb with his other hand as he begins to make smalltalk, Ellis perks up and points a finger at him.

"You'd be surprised how clever the industry has gotten since we got set on providing to non-humans. A friend of mine manufactures toothbrushes specifically designed for mutons. You see, you can't use normal plastic because they have a habit of snapping when a muton goes to brush their teeth, so he bought out an old utensil factory and repurposed the machinery to cut out toothbrushes made from metal!, the bristles are still fiber, but with the actual handle made from metal they look sleek and do their jobs damn well. It's interesting the way that corporations adapt like that to accommodate different people's needs." Ellis begins, his voice doing a good job of carrying interest into a topic that was honestly not very engaging on its own. Archer didn't need the entire play-by-play of how aliens handled dental hygiene, but for the sake of politeness he lead in and feigned interest.

"You sell any fang whitener?" Torque asks idly, the churning of the coffee grinder being beaten out by her curt tone. Ellis turns his attention to the Viper.

"Our chemists are actually working on a few formulas in that regard, the tricky bit is making sure none of it gets stuck inside of the fang, given that it's hollow on the inside. Trust me, once we have a prototype you'll be one of the first beta testers." Ellis says with a warm tilt in his voice before the grinding of the coffee machine abruptly stops. Marcia comes over with their coffees, placing the black coffee before the two agents, along with a cup she made for herself and one for her husband, she gets settled in besides them before her face lights up in recognition.

"Sorry! One second please." She says as she stands up and walks down the hall and disappears into another room, the agents look to Ellis as he shrugs and blows on his coffee. In just a moment Marcia returns, something very clearly coiled around her index finger.

"You know, Mr. Archer. You're not the only one with a scaly friend." She says in a good-humored tone, and as she returns Archer can see a small snake coiled around her finger, its small head resting atop her fingertip.

"You brought out Nutmeg?" Ellis poses the question to his wife, to which she smiles and shrugs her shoulders. "Why not?" she says before sitting down, gently resting her hand down onto the table and letting the small snake slither around. The Western Hognose was a small thing, with scales the color, true to its name, nutmeg, and as the tiny snake explored the stretch of table between the two pairs, it would occasionally be nudged back as Marcia gently scooped the snake up in a hand and brought it back towards them, the Hognose's body flowing like water between its owner's fingers. Archer was a bit amused by the small animal, Ellis seemed a bit embarrassed, and Torque couldn't help but stare.

"Anyways." Ellis begins, clearing his throat and drawing attention away from the snake now attempting to burrow inside of the tablecloth laid out. "Give me your sales pitch."

"Ah." Archer responds, working to put together the most professional string of words he could manage.

"To put it simply, the Reclamation Agency is a stabilizing force in City 31. You can see that from the work we've done in the past. Gray Phoenix, the Progeny, Sacred Coil. All threats to the City and to the lives of all people, Earthlings or Otherwise, that live in it. But we can't operate solely on our own, we collaborate with the 31PD, community leaders, and when the situation calls for it, with influential people of the city. Such as yourselves. Without saying much, your financial support could certainly help us fight against a newly emerging threat, and help maintain peace in City 31. Something everyone can benefit from."

Archer's mouth was still half-open when he heard Torque rattle off a disarmingly articulate, professional response. Ellis and Marcia had given the Viper woman their attention, even as Nutmeg slowly coiled around the Viper's thumb. Not wanting to leave his partner hanging, Archer leans in to elaborate.

"We don't ask this lightly, and we aren't going to be knocking on your door every day for handouts. But you'd be surprised how far a few thousand dollars can stretch. And with a successful business like yours, that's pocket change. We'd be working to take dangerous people off the streets, and all that money that would've been robbed from good people gets taken out of the criminal's hands and put into yours. So it's essentially an investment for yourself." Archer adds on.

By now Nutmeg had uncoiled around Torque's thumb and slithered over to Archer, weaving its way between his fingers before returning back to Marcia, she gently stroked over the Hognose's scales, her features turned up in thought. Ellis took a moment to process what the two of them had said. His interlocked fingers brought up to his mouth as he studied the two. Finally, he nods, his hands coming away to reveal a slight, approving smile.

"Well, you certainly have my attention. I was raised to have respect for the people who keep us safe at night, and you certainly don't strike me as Riverside beat cops who I'm paying their pensions for. You'll have my support, and you know what. I'm hosting a networking party over the weekend, with a pitch like that you may get more than a few grand from some toothpaste salesman like myself. I know people that'd like to have their brand names associated with public safety." Ellis says in an enthused tone, snapping his fingers before extending his hand out to shake with Archer. "Consider yourselves invited, I hope I'll see you there."

Archer looks to Torque and she looks to him, they share a slight smile before Archer turns to take Ellis' hand.

"We'll be there."