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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 2 of 2))
"Ah, yeah," said Raul, "the reason I was looking for you was because I thought we could get breakfast together--and maybe have some bro talk."

"Oh! Bro talk?"

"Bro talk."

"Hmm. Yeah. It has been a while since our last bro talk, hasn't it?"

"Yep."

Adan's easy smile didn't change, but Raul knew that look in his green eyes. He understood. Of course he did. They all knew what bro talk meant.

Raul had received new orders late last night from his reaper all the way back in Atreya. No doubt, Adan and Esai had received the same orders from their own reapers as well, but they had yet to discuss them among one another.

With so many reapers about--and potentially hostile servants--they had to be careful with what they said aloud. Thankfully, it was no difficult adaptation for the Blackburn Triplets to speak in code. They'd been doing it in various forms ever since they were little boys terrorizing Marshrock together.

Adan turned to Carla, his smile having become abruptly more apologetic. "I'm sorry, darling, but my less handsome brother here is right. Bro talk is a sacred tradition in our family. I'm afraid our lovely conversation will have to end here."

Carla looked bewildered, yet also somewhat amused. "I see..."

Raul wasn't about to let that jab slide, however. "Bro, we have the same face. No matter how you slice it, we're equally handsome."

Adan shook his head. "Bro, bro, bro... truly spoken like the youngest and most naive of us. Handsomeness is about more than just the structure of your face, my dude. It's also about how you carry yourself. It's about having a deeper, inner dignity and projecting that outwardly in everything that you do."

"And do you suppose that your 'deeper, inner dignity' is negatively affected by all the bollocks you talk?" said Raul.

"I sure hope not," said Adan.