Chapter 484 (1/2)

“Uncle Hank!” Jane shrieked, dropping her rubber ball and throwing herself at him in a blur of blonde pigtails.

Hank’s eyes narrowed a fraction, even as he beamed at her and swept her off in his arms. After all, she moved fast. Of course, not too fast, but with enough speed that she probably had 40-50 Agility, and with enough Reaction and Perception to manage it all. The girl was fucking 9, what the hell was her school putting her through…?

“Heya weasel,” Hank said, spinning around the shrieking girl until she was helpless with giggles. They were currently standing in a manicured park near the Lodestone School, filled with extremely intricate jungle gyms designed to train Stamina and dexterity in the children who played there, rather than breed fun. To the side, Ms. Smoke was standing, a frown on her face as she looked at Hank.

Of course, Ms. Smoke didn’t speak; Ms. Smoke was a stickler for the rules, and she was only a Tier 2 citizen. It would be improper for her to reprimand Hank Howard, an exalted Tier 3 citizen unless he was doing something obviously reprehensible and damaging to the interests of Jane.

‘Oh, how far we’ve fallen,’ Hank thought, somewhat sadly, as he rubbed Jane’s head.

Which didn’t mean that Ms. Smoke felt shy at all about her constant glares. But it did mean that she would let Hank pull his niece out of school, if only for half the day. He disliked the hierarchy most of the time, but he supposed that if he had to slog through the shit on a daily basis, the least he could do is enjoy the benefits on days like this.

“Oh Uncle Hank! I’ve missed you so much! Pleeeeease help me skip school. We are having a quiz in monster anatomy class today, and I am going to fall asleep and then DIE if I have to sit through one more remedial lecture! PLEAAAAASEEEEEEE.”

Hank smiled looked at Ms. Smoke.

Her frown deepened.

“I don’t see why not,” He said brightly. “Why don’t we get ice cream?”

*****

After an afternoon and evening of spending quality time with his niece, Hank found himself standing before the President of the UHF.

“Alan, you are getting fat,” Hank said, partially to break the tension of their staring contest, but partially to point out to the man that he was truly letting himself go.

Alan harrumphed in that way that Hank knew so well from their childhood, in the way that meant ‘I am well aware and the only reason it is happening is that I am so inundated with important, pressing matters that my personal health is the least important of my challenges and I have deliberately decided that it is the area in which I am most comfortable with some small amount of lax behavior’.

Or something. Hank knew his brother Alan very well or used to. Growing up, they had been extremely close. Even before the System came, they were still very tightly connected. But somewhere in his heart, Hank knew what it was. Alan had never forgiven him for that third pronouncement by Ghost.

Alan Howard: Tier 1

Hank Howard: Tier 3

Even now, as Alan Howard sat at Tier 4, the most important nonmilitaristic individual in the Zone, it wasn’t enough. That small jealousy had grown into something insidious and persistent.

But they were still brothers, so Alan said nothing about the comment, leaning back in his chair and folding his fingers into a steeple. “Have fun today?”

“Yes,” Hank said simply. They both knew that Hank had a very close relationship with Jane. And Hank believed that Alan was also aware that Jane needed something like that in her life. Especially since she had been transferred to the Lodestone School, a move that Hank had vehemently opposed, she needed those moments where she could forget the pressure of living under the weight of the System and remember that she was just a kid.

“...Well, if you don't wish to speak on it further, then I won’t belabor the point; keep your distractions to the minimum, alright? Now-”

“Distractions?” Hank interrupted, glad that Alan had the poor sense to send away his honor guard. Of course, Ghost would be watching, but there was only so much that the AI could do from afar, and it allowed Hank to speak freely. “What she needs is a childhood. The Dungeons are handled, the monsters have been pushed back from the populated areas. Why drive the children so hard? Your own fucking daughter, Alan.”

Alan swiveled in his leather chair and stood. When he stood, he emphasized that slowly building belly even more. Where Hank was tall and a little towards a stockier build, Alan had always been shorters and slighter. To consider the possibility now that his brother was heavier than him… it was somewhat amusing to Hank.