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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 2 of 2))
Raul, Melchor, and Orric could only watch.

As soon as Leo got close to it, the drone whirled around to look at him. Raul expected it to immediately attack or sound an alarm or to hear Orric tell them that the new arrivals were now headed this way.

But none of that happened.

Instead, Leo merely sat there cross-legged on a hovering platform of boron in front of the drone, seemingly inspecting it. He had already dematerialized the column that he'd used, apparently not wanting it anymore.

The drone wasn't moving, either. It just let the black-armored man observe it, like that wasn't a strange thing to do.

Trying to look closer with his binoculars, Raul noticed something on the underside of the drone. Something pointed toward Leo. A faint blue light? Words?

It was a small display. Some kind of computer screen. Leo must have been reading it.

After a short while, Leo held up a single index finger, as if to ask the drone for one moment, and then he stood up on his platform and launched himself off of it back toward the three of them.

He fell with enough speed that Raul thought he would either break all the bones in his body or smash this little boron fortress like a meteor--or both. But Raul's expectations were again mistaken, because Leo softened his landing at the last moment with another column of boron, though this one had a softer, sandier texture in order to catch him.

And, Raul supposed, the man's passive soul defenses would've been astronomically strong. His body wouldn't be bothered by that kind of violent change in speed at all.

"Okay, so good news," said Leo from inside his helmet. "The folks lookin' for us are from Ridgemark, and they just want to talk. Supposedly."