Earning Mr. Bank's Favor

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 33, Post Number 807

-The Neutral Grounds, inside Mr. Bank's residence, Mr. Bank's office-

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit with black bike shorts on underneath the skirt, Leona did not have either her backpack of supplies nor any weapons, not even Ses Revanche, which normally stayed in her right boot. She had been called here by Mr. Bank, who needed Leona to do a job for him. He had specified that she not carry any weapons with her on the job he was going to assign her, a requirement that made the Wizard Saint suspicious but one she ultimately complied with for the sake of the job.

"Ah, hello my dear Wizard Saint! It's been too long since we last met!" Mr. Bank warmly greeted Leona. Leona faced the unblinking face on the monitor and raised her right hand in greeting, then gave a small smile to the client.

"It has been awhile, Mr. Bank." Leona confirmed that some time had passed since the last time they had spoken.

"I see that you're doing all right." He said to her. Remembering her most recent trip to the space station and every shortcoming of hers she had gone over while there, Leona decided to go along with the small talk to learn how to make small talk herself.

"I'm doing all right for myself, Mr. Bank." Leona replied but did not elaborate. That kind of thing was not what she should be doing if she wanted to improve her social skills, but she did not need to burden Mr. Bank with her laundry list of issues lest he grow concerned about her ability to do the job and replace her.

"Excellent. I see that you haven't brought any weapons with you. Or at least I trust you haven't." Mr. Bank said to Leona. She soon got what he was hinting at and wordlessly took off her boots, then showed their insides to Mr. Bank.

"I left everything behind at the guild hall." Leona stated. Without her backpack she had nowhere to store any weapons.

"I see that. You may put your boots back on." Mr. Bank sounded satisfied with what he had seen and gave her permission to put her boots back on. Leona did so and within seconds was wearing them again.

"Tell me, Wizard Saint. Do you know why I asked you to leave your weapons and your backpack at home?" Mr. Bank quizzed her. Leona crossed her arms over her chest and thought about the question. It took her a few moments before she came up with a logical answer.

"Because you're sending me to see Dr. Harrison in Motor City." Leona stated to the client. Mr. Bank gave off an amused chuckle.

"Exactly." He confirmed. Leona put her hands on her hips and frowned. She was not amused by what she had just heard and did not hide it. She was supposed to be more mature than she was acting, but she deeply despised Dr. Harrison for his previous rude behavior towards her. She could tolerate the insults to her intelligence, but she found it much harder to ignore being called a thief and being literally pushed against a wall.

"I can tell that you're not pleased with this job. I also know that you and Dr. Harrison don't get along, but please, listen to me." Mr. Bank acknowledged that the Wizard Saint was not happy about where she was going to be sent and acknowledged that she and Dr. Harrison were not on friendly terms before asking her to hear him out. Leona took a quiet breath.

"I'm listening, Mr. Bank." Leona stated calmly. She would set aside her feelings so that she could do the job Mr. Bank was going to give her.

"Excellent. I need you to perform another courier run for me. I asked for you because all of my other helpers refuse to carry anything to Dr. Harrison no matter how much I offer to pay them or how much I threaten to reduce their pay should they refuse to work with him." Mr. Bank informed her what her job was. Leona listened to the reason she had been hired and mustered the courage to ask a question of the client.

"Is he that bad?" Leona asked Mr. Bank. Mr. Bank chuckled again.

"I'm afraid so, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank replied candidly. When Leona heard those words she knew that she was going to be in for a difficult time.

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"How bad is he?" Leona asked Mr. Bank. Mr. Bank sighed.

"Dr. Harrison's much more combative than usual... and that's saying something. He's not only called my helpers rather unpleasant names, but he's also gotten violent with them. He even gave one of my male couriers a black eye for asking him a question." Mr. Bank told Leona what she would be in for. Leona did not like the sound of that, but she had no choice but to brave Dr. Harrison's ire for the sake of the job.

"All right." Leona said as the reason for the requirement to not carry any weapons or her backpack finally dawned on her.

"Now you see why I asked you to leave everything behind." Mr. Bank stated. Leona nodded.

"It's as much for your protection as it is Dr. Harrison's protection. I'm afraid that if you have a weapon with you he'll be tempted to try and grab it and use it on you. He's already thrown things at people, so I'm afraid of what he'll do if he gets a real weapon." Mr. Bank explained. Leona was not entirely convinced of that reasoning, but she kept her doubts to herself.

"Then again, you do have magic. You can't use it in the Neutral Grounds, but once you're in Motor City the situation changes dramatically." Mr. Bank conceded that the Wizard Saint did not need a weapon when she had magic at her disposal. Leona nodded with a grim expression on her face.

"I trust that you won't do anything drastic to Dr. Harrison." Mr. Bank said to Leona. Leona felt more than a little offended by the implication that she would immediately resort to violence against the doctor, but she kept her negative feelings to herself.

"I won't do anything drastic to him." Leona assured the client.

"I trust that you won't, but considering that I'm all but out of helpers willing to deal with the man, I'll tell you this. If he lays a finger on you during your meeting with him, a single finger at all, tell me when you get back and I'll deal with him myself." Mr. Bank started off calmly but developed a menacing tone near the end of his second sentence. Leona was not sure what he meant by "dealing with" Dr. Harrison himself, but she was not going to ask. The desk in front of the monitor lowered and within seconds popped up with a silver briefcase on top of it.

"Go now. Take this payment to Dr. Harrison and collect the results he has for me. And remember... if he lays a single finger on you at any point, tell me the moment you get back." Mr. Bank commanded Leona. Leona walked up to the desk and grabbed the handle of the briefcase with her right hand, then faced the monitor.

"I'll be on my way to Motor City now, Mr. Bank." Leona informed the client.

"Excellent. I wish you good luck." Mr. Bank bade her farewell. With that Leona began the walk out of the office and towards the elevator.

-Motor City, six hours and forty-five minutes later, outside Dr. Harrison's home-

After a long walk from the Neutral Grounds to Motor City Leona was a bit tired, but as soon as she saw the door to Dr. Harrison's house her fatigue was sidelined by a sudden surge of adrenaline. She was about to walk into the home of a scientist who had made it abundantly clear that he disliked her. Mr. Bank's reports of Dr. Harrison's behavior also put Leona on edge because there was no telling how he would react to her presence. At least she had access to her magic again, so if he came after her with intent to kill she was more than able to defend herself.

Leona took a deep breath and walked up to the door of Dr. Harrison's house, then rang the doorbell. The door opened almost immediately to show the disheveled scientist with sweaty and wrinkled clothing that had obviously been worn for several days. It also looked like he had not showered for several days. He made eye contact with Leona and his eyes narrowed.

"YOU." He said in a tone full of hatred. He looked down at the silver briefcase clutched in her right hand and deduced why she was here. Without saying anything else he stepped aside.

"GET IN HERE, YOU DUNCE. I WON'T REPEAT MYSELF." He ordered her. Leona wordlessly obeyed the order and walked into the doctor's house. Once she was inside he slammed the door behind her.

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-Inside Dr. Harrison's home-

Leona stood inside Dr. Harrison's home and watched the disheveled doctor as he approached her. He was obviously not happy to see her and the only thing protecting her from him was the fact that she was carrying a briefcase of Jewels for him. There was no telling how long that protection would last.

"THAT BRIEFCASE. GIVE IT TO ME. NOW." Dr. Harrison instructed as he approached Leona with his right hand held out. Leona wordlessly gave him what he wanted. He snatched the briefcase from her and took it to his lab at a brisk walk.

"DON'T LEAVE THE LIVING ROOM. IF I CATCH YOU OUTSIDE OF IT I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET EVER BEING BORN." Dr. Harrison commanded Leona to remain where she was and threatened vague but dire consequences should she leave it. Leona watched him disappear from sight into his lab, where he slammed the door shut hard enough to make her ears hurt. As she stood in place Leona felt a growing sense of indignation over how harshly she was treated.

She was a Wizard Saint.

Why did she let herself be pushed around like this?

Leona quickly concluded that Dr. Harrison was deliberately using her status against her to get away with his behavior. She could not act against him without risking losing her status and everything she had worked to earn. Not wanting to risk losing everything to a doctor with an overinflated ego, Leona took a deep breath to calm down before she said something stupid.

About ten minutes later the door to Dr. Harrison's lab opened and out strode the doctor with a black leather briefcase. Leona looked towards him and was fairly certain that he had something for her to take back to Mr. Bank. He held out the briefcase and Leona reached out to take it, but just as her hand drew close he snatched it away.

"I didn't give you permission to reach for it, Dimwit." Dr. Harrison chided her. He then drew his arm back and swung at her face with the briefcase. Leona blocked it with her left forearm and felt a burst of pain when the briefcase hit. Dr. Harrison followed up by walking up to her and jabbing a finger in her face.

"Listen to me and listen to me good, you bimbo. I don't like you and I don't think you're fit to carry a briefcase to Mr. Bank. I don't know what he sees in you and I don't really care. Maybe he's taken pity on you because you're so stupid that all you're fit to do is menial work." Dr. Harrison started verbally tearing into Leona again.

"I don't know how you got your titles, you brainless waste of space, but you drag them through the mud with your unrelenting stupidity. If you had any brains at all you'd realize how dumb you are, then resign and make way for someone who's actually smart enough to be a Wizard Saint. But I know that I'm wasting my breath. The word "resign" has too many syllables for you to understand." Dr. Harrison continued to tear into Leona with jabs at her titles and intelligence. Leona continued to endure them for the sake of both the job and her promise to Mr. Bank that she would not hurt Dr. Harrison.

Dr. Harrison advanced on Leona and she backed up until her back was literally against the wall. He then got into her face.

"NOW GO BACK TO MR. BANK AND GIVE HIM THIS BRIEFCASE! IT CONTAINS VERY VALUABLE RESEARCH, RESEARCH THAT'S MORE MUCH VALUABLE THAN YOU ARE!" He commanded her before shoving the briefcase into her chest. Leona took it with both hands and he backed away from her. The Wizard Saint wordlessly turned towards the door and Dr. Harrison stormed ahead of her to open it. He opened it and glared at her.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, AN INVITATION? GET OUT OF HERE!" He bellowed at her. Glad to finally get out of here, Leona began to walk for the door. She was about to step through the doorway when she felt a sudden and forceful kick to her backside that sent her sprawling forward onto the ground outside.

-Outside Dr. Harrison's home-

"GET OFF MY PROPERTY, YOU WASTE OF SPACE!" Dr. Harrison shouted at Leona before slamming the door shut. Leona got up, brushed herself off, and picked up the black leather briefcase with her right hand. She turned around and glared at the house she had just been literally kicked out of. She felt a surge of adrenaline as she seriously contemplated breaking the door down and punching the doctor's face in.

Through great force of will Leona sidelined her adrenaline-soaked wishes for revenge long enough to realize something important.

Dr. Harrison had just handed her a lot of ammunition to use against him thanks to his inability to be a decent human being. Mr. Bank would hear of this latest round of mistreatment and he would take Dr. Harrison to task for it. Leona would get her revenge and she would get it the legal way.

Leona quickly turned around and began to walk away from Dr. Harrison's house with the briefcase of results Dr. Harrison wanted delivered to Mr. Bank clutched in her right hand. She could hardly wait to get to the Neutral Grounds and tell Mr. Bank of the mistreatment she had endured. Mr. Bank would make sure that Dr. Harrison would not get away with his abrasive behavior this time.

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The Neutral Grounds, inside Mr. Bank's residence, Mr. Bank's office-

Leona had taken over six hours to walk from Motor City to the Neutral Grounds and to Mr. Bank's home. As a result she was more than a little tired, but a combination of adrenaline flowing from indignation at the latest round of ill treatment from Dr. Harrison and the knowledge that Mr. Bank was going to take the doctor to task had sustained Leona through the long walk back to her client's home. Now she was standing in front of the monitor and speaking to her client.

"Hello, my dear Wizard Saint. How did your delivery to Dr. Harrison go?" Mr. Bank asked Leona.

"It went." Leona answered laconically in a voice laden with fatigue. An awkward silence filled the air for several moments before Mr. Bank spoke.

"Did he mistreat you again?" Mr. Bank asked bluntly. Leona nodded and rolled up her left sleeve, then looked down at her arm. There was a bruise on her forearm from where Dr. Harrison had hit her with the briefcase she was holding in her right hand. Leona held up the forearm so that Mr. Bank could see the bruise.

"I see." He said laconically. Leona then turned around and showed him the back of her skirt.

"And I see a shoeprint on the back of your skirt. Did Dr. Harrison kick you?" Mr. Bank asked Leona.

"Yes, Mr. Bank. He literally kicked me out of his house. I was walking out of the door to start my trip back to the Neutral Grounds when he kicked me. I fell onto the ground in front of his house." Leona reported.

"That does it." Mr. Bank declared in a calm voice. There were no theatrics and no loud screaming like Dr. Harrison had indulged in. Mr. Bank had made a simple declaration and that calm statement was more alarming than any amount of screaming he could have done and any threats he could have made.

"I've given Dr. Harrison plenty of chances to change his behavior and he's wasted them all. No, "waste" isn't the right word. He's willfully thrown all of those chances away. I won't tolerate this any longer." Mr. Bank informed Leona that soon the doctor would face a reckoning with him. Leona could feel the tension and kept her mouth shut.

"I see that you have a briefcase in your hand. Is it from Dr. Harrison?" He asked Leona.

"Yes, Mr. Bank. Before he kicked me out of his home Dr. Harrison gave me some results he wanted me to take to you." Leona answered plainly.

"Put them on the desk. I'll read them later. In a few minutes I'll summon Dr. Harrison to my office." He instructed her. Leona silently walked over to the desk and set the briefcase on top of it, then stepped back and watched the desk drop down into the floor. Moments later it reemerged with nothing on it.

"Excellent. You've completed your assignment. I'll take it from here. I don't want you in here when the not-so-good doctor arrives." Mr. Bank informed Leona that her courier task for Dr. Harrison was now complete.

"Where do you want me to go? Do you have something else for me to do?" Leona asked the client.

"Yes. I'd like you to enter the elevator." Mr. Bank replied.

"OK." Leona said. She turned around and walked towards the elevator, then got into it.

-Inside the elevator-

Leona stood inside the elevator and watched the doors close. The moment they closed the elevator began to descend and Leona waited for the ride to end. Roughly thirty seconds later it stopped and the doors opened. Leona stepped out of the elevator and onto the floor where it had stopped.

-The sixth floor-

"Welcome to the sixth floor, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank welcomed Leona. The Wizard Saint stood in a hallway that went both left and right. The wallpaper was a nondescript beige and the walls were devoid of pictures or any other form of decoration. Beneath her feet was light green carpet. In the corners of the ceiling were speakers.

"It's been a long time since someone's been in here. Most of my hired helpers quit working for me after one encounter with Dr. Harrison, but you've survived two encounters without quitting." Mr. Bank informed Leona.

"What do you want me to do here, Mr. Bank?" Leona asked him. She was not sure if he could hear her since she was not speaking into an intercom, but to her surprise he heard her clearly.

"I'd like for you to wait in here until it's safe, Wizard Saint. What I'm going to say to Dr. Harrison will not be pleasant. It'll undoubtedly make him angry and he'll want to take his anger out on you since it won't take him long to figure out that you reported his misbehavior to me. I want you to stay on this floor so that he can't harm you." Mr. Bank explained to Leona what he wanted her to do on the sixth floor.

"When you can use your magic he's no match for you, but since you can't use magic in the Neutral Grounds he's much more of a threat. If he's physically abusive when he's not angry, I fear what he'll do when I tell him what I'm going to tell him." Mr. Bank explained his reasoning for having her come here with no sarcasm or condescension whatsoever. Leona noticed his serious tone and kept quiet as he continued to talk.

"Don't worry, Wizard Saint. I control the elevators, so he can't get to you even if he wanted to. I'll let you know when it's safe to come out." Mr. Bank informed her that his control of the elevators put her safely out of Dr. Harrison's reach.

"Thank you, Mr. Bank." Leona thanked the client for going this far to keep her safe.

"You're welcome, Wizard Saint. Now it's time for me to make the call to the not-so-good doctor. It'll be a long time before we speak again, so do get comfortable." Mr. Bank bade Leona before going silent. After he went silent Leona was alone on the sixth floor with nothing but time. Mr. Bank had promised her that she would have plenty of time on her hands while he spoke to Dr. Harrison, so it was time to see everything the floor had to offer.

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-The sixth floor, fifty-five minutes later-

Leona was pacing back and forth in the hallway wondering what would be said between Mr. Bank and Dr. Harrison once the two met. Mr. Bank had explicitly stated that there was a good chance that the doctor would not be happy with what was going to be said, so she suspected that he was going to call Dr. Harrison on his behavior and give the latter an ultimatum. She also suspected that if things got bad enough the doctor would be fired. Leona was not happy about that second possibility in the slightest.

Leona had not set out to make the man possibly lose his job, but Dr. Harrison had forced her hand with the verbal and physical abuse he had meted out to her during their last two meetings. She was not going to lie to Mr. Bank about her mistreatment to protect the doctor, especially since Mr. Bank had treated her with a lot more courtesy than the doctor. The worst Mr. Bank had done to her was make the occasional verbal jab at her intelligence or her competence as a mage. He had never physically abused her or threatened her physical well-being for moving beyond a certain point in his house.

Now it was out of the Wizard Saint's hands. The meeting between Mr. Bank and the doctor was only a matter of time and something unpleasant was going to happen. Dr. Harrison had brought it on himself by refusing to be a decent human being, but that did not mean that Leona had to be happy about it. However, the Wizard Saint began to feel conflicting emotions moments after having the last thought.

As she walked down the hallway she felt conflicting emotions about what was going to happen within the next few hours.

Part of Leona was not happy about what might happen, but another part of of her was more than a little excited to see the rude doctor finally face consequences for his behavior.

In both of their meetings Dr. Harrison had taken great delight in calling Leona insulting names, taking jabs at her intelligence, and implying that she was a thief who had to steal other people's money to have any of her own. While those insults made Leona feel more than a little irritated, she could let those slide. What she could not overlook so easily was the physical abuse inflicted on her.

Dr. Harrison had shoved her against a wall in one meeting and at the end of the second meeting literally kicked her out of his house with a kick to the backside that sent the Wizard Saint sprawling face-first onto the ground. Leona felt humiliated and angry, two feelings which were a bad combination for her to feel. After being kicked out of his house she had seriously considered breaking Dr. Harrison's door down and showing him the consequences of deliberately antagonizing a Wizard Saint. It had taken more effort to put aside that impulse than it should have taken a Wizard Saint to set aside negative impulses, but she had refrained from acting on it. As much as Dr. Harrison deserved a fist or two to the face for his mistreatment of her Leona was not going to get arrested for assault and battery because of the doctor and she was not going to break her promise to Mr. Bank.

Leona walked to the end of the hallway, then turned around and began walking to the other end. As time passed Leona was getting more and more excited about Dr. Harrison facing consequences for his behavior. She recalled the time Mr. Bank had told her that she needed to learn to work with people who were not nice because the world was full of them.

She had tried to give the doctor the benefit of the doubt because he might have been under a lot of pressure to produce results and the pressure was affecting his personality, but the benefit of the doubt had went out the window the moment he had kicked her out of his house. That incident proved beyond the shadow of a doubt what kind of man the doctor was. The doctor was a smug and entitled asshole.

Leona continued walking and thinking about what was going to happen in a few hours. The wheels had been set in motion when Leona came back and showed her injuries to Mr. Bank. There was no stopping it now and even if she could stop it by speaking to Mr. Bank and pleading on the doctor's behalf Leona did not want to stop what was coming. Should she try to plead with Mr. Bank to give the doctor one last chance to change his behavior her intercession would only embolden Dr. Harrison to become even more abrasive and violent since he would effectively get away with abusing a Wizard Saint.

Instead of interceding out of a misguided sense of mercy and enabling the mistreatment to continue Leona was going to sit back and let Mr. Bank do what he thought was best regarding the abrasive and abusive doctor.

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-The sixth floor, six hours and twenty-five minutes later-

About five hours ago Leona had tired of constantly walking back and forth and was leaning against a wall to give her legs something resembling a break. Leaning against a wall was slightly more dignified than sitting on the carpet, but soon she would need to sit down. Her legs had almost reached the limit of their endurance due to the fatigue from walking to Motor City to make the delivery to Dr. Harrison, the return trip from Motor City to the Neutral Grounds, and all the pacing in the hallway she had done over the last three hours or so.

"Hello, my dear Wizard Saint. Are you still among the living?" Mr. Bank asked Leona over a speaker a short distance to her left. The startled Wizard Saint quickly stopped leaning on the wall and stood up straight.

"Yes Mr. Bank, I'm here." Leona replied, doing her best to keep the shock of suddenly hearing his voice from reaching him.

"I'm going to tell you that Dr. Harrison has just entered the building. Don't worry about anything. He can't use the elevators to get to you because I control them. In fact he doesn't even know you're here and I fully intend to keep it that way." He informed her. Leona thought of something.

"This is probably a dumb question, but can he hear you talking to me?" Leona asked Mr. Bank.

"No, my dear. This is a secure communications channel. Dr. Harrison has no idea that we're talking." The client informed her. Leona was relieved to hear that she was not jeopardizing Mr. Bank's effort to conceal her presence from Dr. Harrison by talking to him.

"He's on board the elevator now, so I'll be quick. It will take quite some time for our conversation to end, so feel free to make yourself at home. Sit on any couch, sleep on any bed... you get the idea." Mr. Bank informed her of the not-so-good doctor's presence and gave her permission to use the furniture on the sixth floor. That permission was what Leona had been waiting for.

"Thank you, Mr. Bank." Leona thanked him for granting her permission to make herself at home.

"It's no problem, my dear. Now I must go... Dr. Harrison's almost to the top floor and he's rather agitated. I'll contact you again when the conversation's over." Mr. Bank informed her that he needed to go. Then there was silence. Leona was now alone again.

Leona decided to go seek out a chair or a couch to sit on and turned right, then walked down the hallway to the last open door. She peered inside the room and found a black leather couch in the center of the room. That would be a perfect place to sit. Without further delay Leona walked into the room.

-The reading room-

Leona walked into the room to sit on the couch and looked around her. There was a large brown wooden bookshelf on the wall facing the couch and another smaller bookcase positioned to the right of the couch. Both of them were filled with books that looked to be older than Leona.

The exhausted Wizard Saint made a beeline for the couch and gently lowered herself onto it. She cared nothing for the books right now. She only wanted a bit of comfort. Once Leona was sitting she felt a flash of embarrassment.

She should have asked Mr. Bank for permission to use the furniture much earlier than she had.

Leona probably looked like an idiot... again.

She definitely felt like one right now. Every time she had begun to make progress she did something stupid to set herself back. Instead of leaning on a wall like a misbehaving student sent out to stand in the hall during class she should have asked Mr. Bank for permission to use the furniture when she first arrived on the sixth floor. It was yet another mistake to throw on the pile of mistakes she had made over her life.

The Wizard Saint did not spend too much time dwelling on the mistake because she felt herself about to go to sleep. With great effort she lifted herself from the couch and left the reading room to go find a bed.

-In the hallway, three minutes later-

Leona was back in the hallway and looked around her for any room that could be a guest bedroom. After looking to the left she looked straight ahead and saw a room with a large double bed. It was right in front of her the whole time.

Leona sheepishly walked across the hallway and entered the room.

-In the guest bedroom, one minute later-

Leona walked into a medium-sized room with beige wallpaper and a brown wooden nightstand to the right of the bed, but the main draw was the double bed. It was nothing elaborate... it had a typical dark wooden frame with no decoration and plain beige bedsheets, but Leona did not care whether the guest bed was fancy or plain. It was good enough for her.

The Wizard Saint walked over to it and took off her boots, then sat on the edge of the bed. She swung her feet around and reclined on the bed, then started staring at the ceiling. It did not take long for Leona to start feeling drowsy.

While lying on the bed she wondered how the conversation between Mr. Bank and Dr. Harrison would go. She swiftly concluded that she really did not care. The outcome was not in her hands and since it was out of her hands there was no point in worrying about it.

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-The sixth floor, eight hours later-

"Wizard Saint." A male voice said. The half-asleep Leona ignored it and rolled over on the guest bed. Whoever was calling to her could wait.

"Wizard Saint." The voice repeated. Leona ignored the voice again. It was just the product of her imagination.

"WIZARD SAINT!" The voice shouted forcefully. Leona flailed about and bolted upright. It was Mr. Bank!

"Yes, Mr. Bank?" Leona asked meekly while trying to recover from the sudden surprise of Mr. Bank shouting at her to get her attention. Her heart rate was through the roof and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Moments ago she had been half asleep, but now she was wide awake.

"Ah, there you are! I'm glad to see that you're still among the living." Mr. Bank said to Leona. Leona quickly stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her outfit, then hurriedly made the bed up the best she could. It was not a perfect job, but it would look a lot better than leaving the bed unmade.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Bank?" Leona asked her host.

"Yes, my dear Wizard Saint. I'd like you to report to me in my office as soon as possible. I have something to tell you." Mr. Bank informed her. Leona wordlessly walked over to the edge of the bed, sat down, and grabbed her boots. She quickly put them on, then left the room and made a beeline for the elevator while walking as quickly as she could go.

-Mr. Bank's Office, three minutes later-

Once she got off the elevator Leona quickly made her way to Mr. Bank, whose unblinking eyes bored into hers from the monitor. He was watching every step she took with unblinking eyes and a self-assured expression that suggested that he had everything under control. Leona walked until she was a short distance from the desk, then stopped and waited for him to speak.

"I'm glad to see you again, Wizard Saint. Were you asleep when I called for you earlier?" Mr. Bank asked Leona. The Wizard Saint's face turned red from embarrassment.

"Yes, Mr. Bank. I was asleep." Leona admitted to him. She braced herself for a stern lecture on taking her host's invitation to "make herself at home" a bit too literally and sleeping on a bed. Mr. Bank chuckled.

"Perhaps it was just as well that you were, my dear Wizard Saint. The conversation with Dr. Harrison took roughly seven hours to conclude. He was very agitated and was very insistent on making his opinion known to me." Mr. Bank said to her. Overcome with curiosity, Leona had a question for him.

"If I may ask, what did Dr. Harrison have to say to you?" Leona asked her host. Mr. Bank chuckled again.

"Oh, he had quite a lot to say, my dear. In fact that's why I called you to my office." Mr. Bank told Leona and left a tantalizing hint for her at the end of his second sentence.

"He ranted long and loud about how I sent him couriers who weren't worthy to polish the framed diplomas on his walls. He claimed that I was insulting him by sending couriers who didn't understand the significance of his work. He had a particular dislike for you." Mr. Bank told her. Leona blinked.

"Oh, yes. He made absolutely certain that I knew that he hated you. He ranted about how you envied the money I sent to him and how you'd steal every last bit of it from him if he didn't use a firm hand in dealing with you." Mr. Bank told her more of what Dr. Harrison had talked to him about. When she heard the comment about her envying the doctor's money Leona frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, then made eye contact with the monitor.

"I don't need to steal from him or anyone else to have money! I've worked hard for what I have!" Leona protested indignantly. She had worked for years to make the money she had in reserve. She had earned every bit of her money through hard work that often involved putting her life on the line.

"I agree, but Dr. Harrison didn't see it that way. He ranted about how you were plotting to steal his money and how you weren't fit for anything other than menial work because of your stupidity." Mr. Bank continued to talk. Leona kept her arms crossed as she listened to her host tell her more of what had transpired while she was asleep.

"It was a long and boring rant, I assure you. He directed all manner of insults at you such as bimbo, dimwit, thief, and others that I've long since forgotten. He went on for hours and hours about you." Mr. Bank said in a dull and bored tone. Leona was not fazed by those insults since she had heard them all already. Besides, she had been called a lot worse before.

"I think he was holding back how he really felt about me." Leona allowed herself the privilege of uttering a rare sarcastic remark. Mr. Bank chuckled.

"You're quite the wit, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank said with light sarcasm. Leona took the remark in stride and let it pass without comment.

"If you're through demonstrating your razor-sharp wit I have another assignment for you. Don't worry, my dear. This one doesn't involve Dr. Harrison." Mr. Bank said to her with the same light sarcasm from moments ago. Leona lowered her arms from her chest and lowered her hands back to her sides.

"What did you need me to do for you, Mr. Bank?" Leona asked him with genuine interest.

[Post Word Count: 962]
[Total Word Count: 6,304/10,000]

The desk in front of her lowered into the ground. Moments later it reemerged with a silver briefcase on top. Leona immediately knew that she was going to run another courier job.

"I'd like you to deliver a payment to Dr. Madison in Motor City. I trust you won't have any problems with her." Mr. Bank gave Leona her next assignment.

"Dr. Madison is nothing like Dr. Harrison. She's actually courteous towards me and doesn't treat me like I'm garbage." Leona replied. The Wizard Saint would have no problems with making the delivery to the female doctor because Dr. Madison was a much better human being than Dr. Harrison. The greatest difficulty would be the very long walk from here to Motor City, then the walk to Dr. Madison's home.

"Excellent. I'll see you whenever you get back from your errand. Now off you go, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank told her. That was Leona's cue to set out for Motor City immediately.

"I'll see you in several hours, Mr. Bank." Leona replied before turning around and walking towards the elevator. Once she reached the first floor it was going to be another long walk to her destination, but she had slept earlier, so she had plenty of energy with which to make the trip.

-Motor City, outside Dr. Madison's home, seven hours and thirty-five minutes later-

Leona stood outside Dr. Madison's home with the silver briefcase in her right hand and took a few quiet breaths. Even though she had plenty of energy for the return trip she was still a bit winded from almost eight hours of non-stop walking. The Wizard Saint probably should have flown to the city outskirts on the back of Winged Lion, but she did not think to do so because she had bigger things on her mind, namely whether Dr. Harrison had sworn revenge on her for informing Mr. Bank of his latest round of abuses.

Leona was more concerned about that possibility than she should have been for someone of her status and power. Even if he did not come after her Dr. Harrison did not need to target her directly to get his revenge. He could go after anyone she knew here like Dr. Reid and Dr. Madison. While the not-so-good doctor had entitlement and anger issues, he was no idiot. He knew that in Motor City the Wizard Saint was able to use her magic again and that barring special circumstances a head-on confrontation with her had a very good chance of ending in her favor.

While Leona doubted that Dr. Harrison would come after her, she was not going to underestimate him. Whatever Mr. Bank had said to him had set him off and in his agitated state the doctor likely figured he had nothing to lose by confronting the one who turned him in to his employer. There was the possibility that Dr. Harrison would stage the confrontation in public so that if he attacked her Leona could not easily use her magic to defend herself without the risk of hitting innocent bystanders or causing collateral damage.

Leona took a deep breath and walked up to the door, then knocked on it. The door opened almost immediately to show Dr. Madison. The brown-haired doctor made eye contact with the Wizard Saint and smiled.

"Hello, Wizard Saint. I see that you have a delivery from Mr. Bank for me." Dr. Madison greeted her. In contrast to Dr. Harrison the female doctor was immaculately dressed in a blue sweater under her labcoat, knee-length black skirt, and black dress shoes and did not look sweaty. Dr. Madison also did not look agitated like Dr. Harrison had. Leona nodded.

"Please come in." The doctor bade her and stepped out of the way. Leona obligingly walked into the house and Dr. Madison gently shut the door behind them.

-Inside Dr. Madison's house-

Leona stood in the living room with the doctor, who almost immediately turned and walked towards her laboratory.

"Please wait here, Wizard Saint. I will be back shortly with some results for Mr. Bank." Dr. Madison requested in a much more polite way than Dr. Harrison when the latter had made his "request" earlier.

"I'll be waiting right here, Doctor." Leona replied calmly. The difference between the two doctors was night and day. While in Dr. Harrison's house the mood was one of simmering hostility waiting to boil over, in Dr. Madison's house the mood was much calmer. The female doctor was so calm that it bordered on detachment, but Leona would take that over hostility any day.

While she waited for Dr. Madison to return Leona looked around and saw a few framed degrees and diplomas. Dr. Madison did not have nearly as many degrees and diplomas as Dr. Harrison, but those items did not make the holder better than anyone else. Dr. Harrison would have to learn that lesson the hard way. Leona heard the clicking of dress shoes on the wooden floor and turned to face Dr. Madison, who was holding a black briefcase.

"Here you go, Wizard Saint. Please take these results to Mr. Bank. I am sure that he will find them interesting." Dr. Madison requested. Leona took the black briefcase in her left hand and held out the silver briefcase in her right hand. Dr. Madison took the silver briefcase from her and held it at her left side.

"Now I must get back to my laboratory. There is much work to be done. Until next time." Dr. Madison bade Leona farewell. That was Leona's cue to leave and begin the return trip to the Neutral Grounds.

"All right then, Dr. Madison. I'll see you later." Leona bade farewell to the female doctor and turned around, then walked for the door. She opened it, went outside, and shut it behind her. Leona was facing another lengthy walk, so she had better get to it.

[Post Word Count: 990]
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-Mr. Bank's residence, Mr. Bank's Office, eight hours and twenty-five minutes later-

"I see that you've completed the delivery to Dr. Madison. I also see that you've got something for me." Mr. Bank greeted the Wizard Saint as she walked into the room. Leona waited until she had stopped in front of his desk before replying.

"Yes, Mr. Bank. Dr. Madison sent some results she claimed that you'd find interesting." Leona replied.

"You know what to do, my dear. Place the briefcase on my desk and I'll read them later." Mr. Bank replied. Leona silently walked over to the desk and placed the black briefcase on top, then stepped back and watched the desk recede into the ground, then rise moments later.

"Well done, my dear Wizard Saint. I trust that Dr. Madison didn't give you any trouble." Mr. Bank said next. Leona shook her head.

"Not at all, Mr. Bank. Dr. Madison's a pleasure to deal with compared to Dr. Harrison." Leona reported. Mr. Bank gave an amused chuckle.

"That she is, but Dr. Madison's a strange one. She's so calm that she's almost detached from this world. She's married to her job and I don't think she has any family or significant others, so there's nothing to stand between her and her research." Mr. Bank offered his opinion on Dr. Madison. The part about being married to the job sounded a lot like Leona herself. The Wizard Saint was almost always on the go and almost always working or doing guild paperwork. She did not do much else besides those two things, but the arrival of Masha and Nathan into her life meant that she might have to find a better work/life balance.

"Anyway, you've completed that assignment for me. I appreciate you being willing to do that for me on the heels of the unpleasantness that Dr. Harrison subjected you to." Mr. Bank expressed his gratitude for her making a return trip to Motor City so soon after dealing with Dr. Harrison.

"It's no problem, Mr. Bank." Leona assured the client.

"Dr. Harrison's a thoroughly unpleasant man. He fancies himself superior to everyone because of his degrees, his diplomas, and his certifications. While he's undoubtedly a learned man, his people skills leave much to be desired." Mr. Bank spoke about Dr. Harrison. Leona was inclined to agree with that assessment, but since her own people skills were lacking, she kept her mouth shut.

"When I spoke to him about his mistreatment of you he owned up to it, but he claimed that you forced him to behave that way. He claimed that without him using a firm hand with you that you'd wander into his laboratory and mess up his experiments or steal his money when he wasn't looking." Mr. Bank added, telling Leona more of Dr. Harrison's defense of his unpleasant behavior towards her. Leona frowned.

"Yeah. I totally made him shove me against a wall and made him force me to dump the contents of my backpack on the floor last time. I also made him literally kick me out of his house hours ago." Leona said with obvious sarcasm. Mr. Bank chuckled.

"Yes, Dr. Harrison's logic is... strange. Speaking of the not-so-good doctor, I'll spare you the rest of the details of our conversation and tell you something. You should know that I issued him an ultimatum." Mr. Bank informed Leona.

"What might that ultimatum be, Mr. Bank?" Leona asked the client.

"I told him that you were the last of my couriers who was willing to deal with him. I also told him that should he ever lay another finger on you that next time he'd be fired. No ifs, ands, or buts." Mr. Bank informed her. Leona was not happy to hear that.

"I can't say that I'm happy about that, but it's not in my hands." Leona replied candidly. She had a feeling that Dr. Harrison would switch from physical abuse to verbal abuse in order to exploit the loophole in Mr. Bank's words.

"You're right. It's NOT in your hands, Wizard Saint. As much as I dislike the man I still need him. He does good work." Mr. Bank replied with equal candor. Leona frowned deeper but kept her mouth shut. The choice of how to deal with Dr. Harrison was Mr. Bank's and he had given his verdict on the matter. Whether she liked it or not Leona would have to abide by his decision.

"All right then." Leona replied as calmly as she could. She should have been more mature than to express her displeasure, but the news that Dr. Harrison was getting one last chance was a slap to her face. Dr. Harrison was likely going to switch from physical to verbal abuse and was going to be even more unpleasant to her now that he knew she had told on him.

"With that being said, I appreciate you putting up with him for so long without retaliating. I won't forget how you were the better person in dealing with him." Mr. Bank tried to soften the blow a bit by assuring Leona that she was the better person. That was not much comfort to the Wizard Saint, but she was glad to know that her efforts had not gone unnoticed.

"I appreciate you saying that, Mr. Bank." Leona said calmly, making it a point to acknowledge the compliment. She was not going to linger on the subject of Dr. Harrison because Mr. Bank had already made his decision on the matter and she was not going to challenge him on it. It was time to move on.

"Is there anything else you need me to do for you?" Leona asked Mr. Bank. Silence filled the air for several moments.

"I'll need a few moments to think, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank answered.

"All right, Mr. Bank. I'm in no hurry." Leona replied calmly. She remained where she was and waited silently for Mr. Bank to speak again.

[Post Word Count: 1,002]
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Leona waited in silence for several minutes as she looked at the unblinking image of Mr. Bank. She was waiting for him to tell her whether he had another assignment for her and was hoping that he would either give her one or let her know that he had no further work for her and dismiss her.

"I'm afraid that I don't have anything else for you to do for me today, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank informed Leona. The Wizard Saint remained calm when she heard that news.

"All right then, Mr. Bank." Leona said in calm acceptance of what she had just been told. If he did not have any more work for her then he did not have any more work for her.

"In between dealing with Dr. Harrison and making two trips to and from Motor City you've done quite enough for me today." Mr. Bank told her. Leona did not question him. Her legs were kind of tired from the second trip to Motor City and the return trip to the Neutral Grounds. It was a good thing that she had slept earlier or she might not have had the energy to make the trip and still be able to stand under her own power.

"All right then, Mr. Bank. If there's nothing else you need me for, I'll be on my way home." Leona informed him.

"Very well then, my dear Wizard Saint. I'll let you be on your way. Do be careful on the road." Mr. Bank bade her farewell. Leona waved goodbye and turned to walk towards the elevator. She had taken six steps towards the elevator when she heard Mr. Bank call to her. Leona stopped in place and turned around.

"I know that you aren't happy with my decision to allow Dr. Harrison one last chance to improve his behavior. It wasn't a decision I made lightly. Believe me." Mr. Bank said to her. Leona had been content to let the subject go, but since he had brought it up again, she would talk about it a little more.

"It wasn't my decision to make. It was your decision." Leona replied calmly. Mr. Bank's earlier candor in saying that the decision was out of her hands had stung Leona and was still stinging her, but she would not hold his decision against him. She had to be mature about things that did not work out in her favor and not throw a tantrum every time something did not go her way. Leona was not one to throw tantrums, but she had been more than a little displeased to learn that Dr. Harrison would continue in Mr. Bank's employ.

"While that may be so, I still appreciate you handling it so well. You've done a lot to earn my favor. And with my favor comes rewards." Mr. Bank said to her, offering the possibility of rewards for her continued service. Leona remained silent for a moment. She was not a child who needed to be bribed. She could handle disappointment without having a meltdown. Deciding to respond to her client to avoid seeming like she was snubbing him, Leona finally spoke.

"I appreciate the fact that you're willing to hire me again in the future, Mr. Bank." Leona said to him, making it a point not to mention the offer of reward. She did not need to be bribed to continue to work for someone after they had made a decision she did not like.

"You're fast becoming one of my favorite helpers, my dear Wizard Saint. You've been a reliable courier and you've put up with Dr. Harrison's irrational behavior without quitting or using violence on the man. I have no reason to not want to hire you again." Mr. Bank replied. That answer satisfied Leona. She would let the subject go and head back for Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

"I'll keep an eye out for your messages, Mr. Bank." Leona told him.

"Excellent. I'll see you later, my dear Wizard Saint." Mr. Bank replied. With that Leona waved goodbye and turned to walk towards the elevator. It was going to be a long walk to Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, seven hours later-

After another very long walk Leona was back in Silver Wolf Guild Hall and was in her room changing her clothes. She took off the green outfit top and changed into her green tank top. She did not anticipate leaving the guild hall again for the rest of the day, so she could afford to be a little casual.

After changing Leona faced the door to her room and took a deep breath. She was probably going to have a lot of paperwork to handle when she got to her office. She would handle it later. Right now she wanted to go get some coffee before she took on administrative tasks of any sort.

With that in mind Leona left her room and made a beeline for the guild cafe. She would sit down in the guild cafe and drink some coffee, then go from there.

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-The Guild Cafe-

Sitting at "her" table in the back of the guild cafe and sipping from her cup of coffee, Leona sat in silence and thought about Mr. Bank's decision to give Dr. Harrison an ultimatum instead of dismissing him from his employ.

Leona should have kept her opinion to herself instead of voicing her disagreement with Mr. Bank's decision in any way. It was his business what he did about the not-so-good doctor. Leona did not have any say in the matter and should have kept her mouth shut. Instead she did the exact opposite of what a Wizard Saint should have done and opened her mouth.

Leona should have felt fortunate that Mr. Bank still wanted anything to do with her after that mistake.

Despite the fact that the choice was out of her hands, Leona still felt that Dr. Harrison would only be emboldened by having been given one last chance to clean up his act. He now knew exactly what Mr. Bank would not tolerate and would now switch over to verbal abuse instead of putting his hands on Leona like he had done in the past. Just as she had anticipated the doctor had effectively gotten away with abusing a Wizard Saint.

Leona took a sip of coffee and stared at her table.

Who was she to decide whether or not someone got another chance?

Leona had made so many stupid mistakes at the Ishgar Symposium that she looked like an idiot, but here she sat, still in possession of both of her titles.

Someone had given her another chance despite her mistakes.

Maybe that was Mr. Bank's point in giving Dr. Harrison another chance despite the latter's behavior. Or maybe Leona was reading too much into it and it was just a business decision, not a way to teach Leona a valuable lesson. Who knew?

Leona took another sip of coffee.

She was still displeased about the decision, but like she had asserted earlier to Mr. Bank, the choice had not been in her hands. It was his decision and Leona would have to abide by it. It would be tough to do, but she was a Wizard Saint. She had dealt with tougher challenges before and dealing with a newly emboldened Dr. Harrison would be a challenge, but compared to some other challenges she had endured like the Border Clash between Bellum and Pergrande and the fight with Odhran Aegisbane, dealing with Dr. Harrison would be a lot easier... or at least she hoped it would be a lot easier than those previous two trials.

Leona took yet another sip of coffee, then took a deep breath.

It was time to go and fulfill her administrative duties. Leona stood up from the table, pushed the chair back in, and picked up her empty cup. She would get a refill to go and take it with her to her office to give her the energy necessary to handle the paperwork that was waiting on her.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, six hours later-

Having somehow handled two large stacks of guild paperwork without falling asleep at her desk or spilling her coffee on it and ruining it, Leona was now back in her room and preparing to try to go to sleep. She had taken off her boots and was sitting on the edge of her bed while staring at the floor.

Leona was trying to go to sleep, but she was not able to because she kept thinking about her unpleasant interactions with Dr. Harrison and how Mr. Bank had given the former another chance. Dr. Harrison had been rewarded for his physical and verbal abuse of Leona and his lengthy ranting at his employer by being given one last chance to clean up his act. Leona recalled that Mr. Bank had justified the move as a necessity because the doctor did good work on his behalf.

Leona thought about her own work as a Wizard Saint and wondered if that was why she was still standing after the tragic outcome of the Ishgar Symposium. Despite her tendency to make stupid mistakes at the worst possible time she had been given another chance to prove that she could get her act together. Considering her own track record of mistakes, the Wizard Saint had no right to sit in judgment of someone else.

The Wizard Saint closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She really needed to let bygones be bygones.

But she could not let what Dr. Harrison did to her go so easily. If Dr. Harrison had contented himself with verbal abuse she could have let it slide with nothing more than an irritated sigh after she was safely out of his laboratory. But he had crossed the line and had physically attacked her on at least two occasions. As a Wizard Saint she was supposed to overlook such incidents, but as a person she could not let them go so easily.

Leona took another deep breath.

She had to let it go before her emotions compromised her judgment.

Leona stood up from her bed and made a beeline for the guild library without even bothering to put her boots on. Maybe a change of scenery would help change her mood.

[Post Word Count: 882]
[Total Word Count: 10,034/10,000]

-Inside the guild library, one hour and forty minutes later-

Sitting at "her" table in the far left corner of the guild library, Leona stared at an old book with a black cover that was on plant ingredients... it was an old book that she did not even know the title to because she had not bothered to learn the title. Leona had skimmed the shelves and grabbed it because she was desperately looking for a distraction from her negative thoughts concerning Dr. Harrison. No matter how hard she tried to forget what he did to her she just could not let it go.

Leona was not even reading the pages but just skimming them in an effort to distract herself from how she felt about the day's events. She was on a section pertaining to the properties of nightshade and skimmed a section where nightshade was one of the ingredients for an effective plant-killing weapon. Leona frowned because she already knew that from her creation of the Nightshade Machete a few years ago. She was just wasting her time "reading" the book since she was not learning anything new, so she gently closed it, stood up from her chair, and grabbed the book with both hands. Leona then walked to the shelf the book came from and gently put it back into place.

Leona then walked back to her table, pushed the chair in, and left the library.

-Leona's Room, three minutes later-

Leona was now back in her room with nothing to show for her efforts but wasted time. She was not feeling any better than she had when she had left the room earlier. The Wizard Saint walked over to her bed, sat on the edge, swung her feet onto the foot of the bed, and then reclined until her head was on the pillow. From there she stared at the ceiling.

She needed to get to sleep, but right now that was not going to happen.

Leona continued to stare at the ceiling because reading one of her numerous personal books would be pointless considering that she could barely bother to open the book, let alone actually read it. Leona continued to stare at the ceiling for what seemed like hours before she finally went to sleep. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day for her.

[Post Word Count: 390]
[Total Word Count: 10,424/10,000]