"Really, Donna I do not know what to say. Where did you get an Edge 14? They are not even on the market yet. Besides a desktop setup would be way too expensive to build from scratch, and to have a proper set up with laptops a person would have to use two or three of them at once to run and counter check everything all at once." Mai says looking shocked and very intrigued by the new cell phone in her hands as she sits at the table.

 "Hmm, really? Ok. So you will need a budget of, say, twenty or thirty thousand dollars for each laptop you need to be built. Better have at least three, so you have a backup if needed. Will a hundred thousand work for a desktop, or will that need to be a bit more?" I ask.

 At that, I hear someone choking as they spit their drink out and the table beside us erupts into chatter about Mr. Atkins not going to be able to buy his way around me. The dhampir did not miss a beat and quickly walked up to the front of my table.

 "Ms. Stonebear, if you need security or muscle for anything, we would be glad to offer our services." One of them says.

 "Sorry boys, I have no use for anyone on steroids and none of you have the weapon expertise that is needed in the jobs I do," I say, declining their offer.

 They all look very disappointed as they start to walk out talking about what classes they should change so that they might gain the knowledge that I seek out.

 "Donna, are you in need of partners in your line of work? This summer, I worked up in Alaska and met a few people you might be interested in. They are a bit of a misfit group but can handle almost anything thrown their way. The Military honorably discharged them, mainly because they are all women and supernaturals. Something about too much flak because they were females and many countries still discriminate against females, so they would not be taken seriously or be able to get into a position where they could complete assignments." Mai says.

 "Really? So why are they all in Alaska? I would think they would have picked a better location than that and tried selling their services to others." I ask curiously. 

 "Because there is good pay up there doing odd jobs. Like killing vampires and werewolves that think robbing goldmines would make them rich." Mai says quietly, hoping I would believe her about there being supernaturals up there like that. 

 "Ah, so they are hunters for hire? Do they get many jobs for that? I have heard that many people do not think women are up to handling that sort of work." I say as if I knew very little about it.

 "I suppose that is why they all work on the different fish boats and for some of the oil companies when the small-time gold miners do not need their services. I met them one night while tending bar and kinda heard they needed floor plans for a place to do a job, but did not know anyone that could get that info for them on short notice. So I asked if any of them had a laptop and kinda hacked into a system for them to get all their info. They paid me pretty well is why I was able to come back here early and attend school this year." Mai says while fidgeting at the table.

 "Well, contact them and see if they are available. I have been in a few tight spots on a couple of jobs and turned down a few because I knew it would be suicide for me to try them alone. I probably should have taken them though since the teams that did take them were all killed." I say as if it were no big deal.