Reese opened his eyes.
He stared at the ceiling for a moment.
Then he sat up, rubbed the back of his head, and looked at Francis and Malcolm standing in the corner of the room.
"Hey guys," he said cheerfully.
A silence.
"...You were unconscious," Francis said.
"Yeah?" Reese said, feeling his head. "Huh."
He stood up, stretched, and looked at Malcolm.
"Did you hit me with something?"
Malcolm said nothing.
"Cool," Reese said, completely unbothered, and walked out leaving Malcolm and Francis silent.
Malcolm casually exited the room, and began heading down the stairs.
"Stop!" Li exclaimed as it appeared in front of Reese who got stunned, enough to trip and fall to the ground.
"Ow!" he exclaimed as he held his butt in pain.
"You scared me" Reese said staring at Li.
"This is what you react to?" Li asked with a hint of sarcasm in its tone but Reese did not bother repsonding.
"Your brother struck you with a wooden implement and dragged you upstairs," Li said.
Reese paused for a moment, "Malcolm?"
"Yes."
"Huh." Reese rubbed the back of his head again. "That's actually kind of impressive."
Li stared at him in stunned silence.
"He attempted to eliminate you as a perceived threat to his academic future."
"Oh that's just Malcolm," Reese said, standing up and dusting himself off. "He does stuff like that."
Li filed this under a category it was still building. The category was getting very full.
Meanwhile on the staircase Francis and Malcolm had been watching Reese, as he left their sights, Malcolm quickly turned to Francis.
"See. I told you he was going crazy"
Francis did not respomd immediately as a thouhgt full expresion appeared on his face for several moments.
Finally he glanced at Malcolm and a smirk appeared on his face.
"He must know something really bad for you to be acting like this" Francis said and Malcolm's face immediately dropped.
Meanwhile on the ground floor, Reese sat back on the couch.
"We have more pressing matters," Li said, and the holographic panel appeared. "Objective one. You need to find your way into the industry. I have identified a starting point."
Reese looked at the panel.
"Little Miss Sunshine," Li said. "Independent film. Currently in post-production. Small budget. The studio has no faith in it."
Li hesistated for a moment before deciding to continue.
"I am only telling you all this for free because its your first mission..." Li muttered and Reese quietly waited but he was unmoved by what Li was saying.
Li quickly picked up on his disinterest however.
If Li had teeths and a jaw it would be gritting its teeth at this moment as it stared at Reese who had already switched on the TV.
"It will gross over a hundred million dollars."
Reese immediately shut the TV off and glanced towards Li.
"I am intrested."
"Good."
"So where do I go?"
"Hollywood, Warehouse 12, thats all I can say." Li said and Reese nodded as he stood up.
"I wonder how far away Hollywood is from here?"
"Shouldn't be too far," Reese mutterd as he muttered casually as he got off the couch.
"Ten dollars should be enough."
That's what he needed.
Ten dollars to get to Hollywood and back with enough left over for something to eat if things went sideways.
He had learned a long time ago that things always went sideways and it was better to eat first.
He dropped to his knees in front of the living room couch.
"What are you doing," Li asked.
"Give me a second." he said in between his humming as he wedged his hand between the cushions. His fingers found a penny, a chewing gum someone had left in there, a TV remote that had been missing for three months, but then a smile appeared on his face as he felt paper.
Pulling it out, his smile widened.
It was two piece of paper.
Two dollars to be Exact.
He held them up.
"It's always there," he said. "Every couch. Every time."
Reese pocketed the two dollars and headed upstairs.
He passed Malcolm's empty room, stopped, backed up, and went in. Malcolm's city map of Los Angeles was tacked to the wall above his desk.
the one he used for his "future commute planning".
Reese took it.
He paused at Dewey's door.
Dewey's ceramic piggy bank sat on the dresser. It had a small cork in the bottom that Dewey thought nobody knew about.
But Reese knew about it.
He shook the pig gently and a grin appeared on his face when he felt the weight.
He popped the cork, tipped it, and counted what came out on the dresser.
Eight dollars and thirty cents.
He took the eight dollars. Left the thirty cents. Dewey would notice the missing money but the thirty cents would confuse him long enough for Reese to be gone.
Back in his room, Reese pulled a bag from under the bed and threw in two shirts, a pair of jeans and his toothbrush. He thought about it, added another shirt. Thought about it again, took one out. He wasn't sure how long this would take.
Finally he decided to add the shirt, slinging the bag on to his shoulder he headed downstairs, moved through the kitchen without stopping, and pushed through the front door into the California morning.
He stood on the front step for a moment. Checked his pocket. Map. Money. Keys he didn't need but took it anyway because it felt right.
"One hundred million dollars," he muttered.
He grinned.
"Here I come."
He began walking.
The bus stop on 183rd was empty except for an old man eating a sandwich who looked at Reese's bag and then looked away not wanting to even bother. Reese didn't take it personally. He consulted Malcolm's map, confirmed the route, and folded it back up badly.
The bus arrived eleven minutes late. Reese paid his $2.75, found a window seat in the middle.
The bus smelled like cleaning product and fast food but Reese didn't mind.
It barely registered.
He watched Artesia give way to Compton give way to the slow sprawl of Los Angeles rolling past the glass.
Li floated beside him, silently.
An hour and forty minutes later the bus slowed and Reese looked up.
Through the window, in the distance, the Hollywood sign sat white against the hills.
He stared at it for a moment.
"Okay," he said exhaling.
The bus doors opened and he stepped out.