Run: 2026-02-19-01KHTRNEQQQ71Q7PN23DFDSBXH

Rory stepped into The Raven's Nest, instantly recognisable from her childhood memories. The dimly light soaked into her senses, an eerie familiarity. "Si, you old dog!" called a voice from one of the booths. "Look who finally graced us with their presence." Aurora slipped off her backpack, her heart pounding with both excitement and anxiety at the sound of that rough voice. The man who'd spoken had to be Silas. He rose from the booth with a sigh and began ambling towards her, his silver signet ring flashing in the dim glow from a dozen flickering candles. "Rory," he greeted her with a crooked smile, extending a hand. "It's bloody well good to see you. Heart nearly stopped, it did, seeing you walk in like some sort of…of spirit." "Si, don't be daft," she said, her voice small and nervous as she looked up at her old friend's now greyed auburn hair, and noticed the slight limp tugging at his left leg. "Could've sworn you were never one for superstition." "Aye. You're right there, mate," he agreed, wincing as he stretched his stiff leg. "Just, well. When you see someone you thought you'd lose in Prague like I did, it starts raising ghosts. We're all ghosts to be true, wandering endless orbits away from each other like fuckin' planets." Rory's stomach felt queasy, her throat like a barren desert, at the casual mention of that place, that time. "Silas. I don't know what all Eva told you, I'm sorry I've not been the friend you remember. I think 'bout those days all the time. Too much, maybe." "Hey. No. There's nothing to be sorry about. If anyone is, it's those other tossers that forced the pair of us away, sent you down all those darker paths to get away from all that shite. Don't forget your roots though, kiddo." She smiled softly, studying the warm face he'd not let himself change over the years, other than the grey in his hair and the scars she didn't dare ask about. "Right, well. I came for the gig, not a guilt trip." "Good, good. Come, we've a table set aside for you and the gang." "Gang?" "Ah, hah! Didn't she mention it'd be a reunion?" Rory threw up her hands and laughed as Silas chuckled, leaning on her shoulder before leading her over to the corner of the bar. All eyes were on her as she moved in front of the distinctive green neon sign above the entrance, and suddenly she wondered, nervously, what hell others might've kept from her. What secrets they'd kept hidden over the decades. She knew well the cloak and dagger group Silas had gathered around him, knew they met in secret within that hidden back room Silas kept covered with one of his grandfather's musty old bookshelves—just like a glitzy Hollywood caper. Quite the jolly retirement gig for a former spy. He listened to gossip, secrets, and state-level intel from within this innermost circle of contacts he'd fostered from his days abroad. Once they were seated, his rag-tag crew breaking from their tense camaraderie to greet her, her heart leapt to see familiar faces. They looked a little worse for wear, but the same sharp eyes flashed with recognition and welcome. Here, was Eva, Silas' gung-ho niece with a knack for illegal tech and a soft spot for pickpocketing and pinching internet secrets. Dark russet hair splayed everywhere, and a cheeky grin, just as Rory remembered. Just a bit more worn. Dutra followed, her usual smirk chiselled across her face, a fat cigarillo resting between her lips, and with matching threaded through the brim of her old-timey fedora. She unceremoniously poured herself a drink from the smallest of their bottles the table. "Oh, and you didn't think I'd miss this one, did you Si?" Johnny asked, his accent positively drenched in thick, syrupy Brummie tones. He never had been the quiet type. Rory recalled a decade ago, Johnny having been the wildcard of their inner circle, a jokester and jester. He'd always been partial to the odd impromptu lap dance or karaoke session at the office Christmas party. Now, he shuffled in looking like an anemic, disheveled mess. "And that makes all of us, then?" Rory asked, nervously. "That it does. And now we just need to wait for the Copper Cat to show and our little game of time travel can begin," Silas said, his gaze dropping to his pint. He seemed to be much more comfortable looking at the beautifully crafted Guinness rather than her eyes for very long. He took a deep swig and wiped his mouth. Rory shot a glance around the room. How many of them were former spooks, how many government types or gangsters or activists or attackers, behind these faces? "If I'd known it was going be a trap, I'd've at least stuck around the flat and spied on you all over video chat," Eva joked. "Oh, I'd've paid good money to hear that Yorkshire gob all over my screen!" Johnny retorted with a smirk.