Tommy sat outside the office. His leg bounced nervously as he stared up at the ceiling. He could hear Mamacita and MD whispering to one another across the hall from him. If he pressed his ear against the wall he was leaning his head against, he could hear Sam, Nook, and the new person talking to each other with tones that spiked between almost-yelling and slightly above a whisper. There was the buzzing of the fluorescent lights above his head, and there was a low thrum of redstone running through the building. Tommy counted the seconds, his heart dropping closer to the floor as each hand of the clock ticked forward. Tommy could feel his heart beating against his knees when the office door swung open. Mamacita and MD immediately shut up, and Tommy nearly jumped to his feet. All the attention in that dimly lit hallway was thrust upon a tired-looking Sam.

"Come in. He'll see you all now," Sam said, stepping into the hallway to provide room. Tommy walked into the room first. Mamacita cautiously entered the room with an antsy MD following behind her. The three of them lined up shoulder to shoulder in front of the dark oak desk. Tommy let his eyes travel across the room, taking note of the bookshelf stocked full of books and the windows that were decidedly not locked. There were two chairs pressed into the side of the desk, but no one sat down in them. The only person who was sitting was the man that Tommy's attention was inevitably captured by.

A man sat behind the desk, his hands folded together on top of the wooden surface and his back ramrod straight. Although he possessed a youthful face, his hair was a metallic silver. As the sunlight filtered in behind the man, parts of his hair shone like rusty copper, sickly green and dull. His eyes were a blazing, rich red like with a flower-like design inked in pinkish orange around his pupils. His lips were pressed into a thin line, and he was wearing a black suit with a dark green tie. The more noticeable features didn't align, but Tommy could see parts of Nook in the curvature of the chin and the slant of the cheekbones.

Nook himself was standing behind the desk, leaned against the window. He had removed his homburg hat, allowing everyone to see the green streaks in his dark brown hair. He wasn't smiling like he usually was. He wasn't moving his hands around like he had too much energy. He was stock-still with a soulless, borderline angry expression crossing his tanned face. His brown eyes refused to look at anyone, staring intently at a potted plant in the corner like that plant had murdered Nook's whole family.

Sam closed the door behind him, standing against it as if someone was going to try to escape. Tommy knew that none of them were. Mamacita and MD would never consider trying to escape from their bosses, and Tommy would use the window if he needed to leave. The window led immediately outside, after all, and going through the door would force him to run through the hotel.

"Thank you for taking the time to see me. I apologize for the long wait. I needed to smooth out some details with Manager Sam and my younger brother," The man at the desk said with a sickly sweet smile that didn't fit his face at all. Tommy kept a shudder at bay as he waited for the man in front of him to continue speaking. "My name is Samson Bucket. I would prefer if you called me Mr. Bucket. If it is alright with you three, I will immediately get to business. This hotel is one of the busiest, after all, and I do not wish to hold you here longer than necessary."

Bucket stood onto his feet, walking around the desk with slow, methodical steps. When he came to the front of the desk, he looked at the three people he had gathered. He focused on each one specifically as he began talking. "Tommy Innit, you are the receptionist for the day shift. Mexican Dream and Mamacita Sueno, you two are part of the cleaning crew. Together with Manager Sam, the three of you make sure that this hotel runs efficiently. You have my gratitude for all the hard work the three of you have done over the years."

Bucket's smile disappeared off his face, and Tommy knew that they were seeing his true colors shine through. Tommy could see Nook's hands grip his upper arms tighter, and Sam shuffled away from the conversation. Bucket continued speaking, unbothered by his companions' tense reactions. "That being said, all three of you must be let go. You were hired by Manager Sam, and although I trust his judgment, I will be running the hotel a lot differently from him. I want professionals to be working here, not a teenager, a former drug addict, and a former prostitute. It simply isn't good for business."

Tommy flinched, but not because he was fired or because he was called a teenager. No, Tommy flinched because Mamacita and MD had horrible pasts that they didn't like thinking about. Mamacita had been born into her life, and she had fought her hardest to escape the vicious cycle. Sam helped her find this job. MD had spent months in rehab trying to get better from his sickness. When he finally managed to overcome it, Sam had been the only person willing to hire him. Tommy was just a scared, hungry child when Sam showed him how to run a hotel. The three of them had been saved by Sam so that they didn't need to think about where they came from. It wasn't fair for Bucket to use that against them, especially not with how Mamacita's breath kept stuttering and MD's fists were shaking.

"That is uncalled for, Samson," Nook said, pushing off the window to glare at his older brother. Nook had been there longer than any of them, and he had obviously known about all of their situations. Nook had never held it against them. He never made them feel awful. For Tommy alone, he had watched Shroud while Tommy was at work, he had laughed at the blonde's jokes, he had told some potential clients for the hotel to leave when they had hurt Tommy's feelings and slapped him.

Bucket turned to his brother with a hard look in his eyes, a sharp scowl pulling his face into an ugly expression. "I cannot change what the truth is. Tommy Innit is an underaged teenager with a foul mouth and a thieving streak. Mamacita Sueno was once part of a whorehouse where she sold her body. MD was once someone who went into debt trying to acquire drugs. There is nothing I can do or say to make these facts less true."

"I haven't stolen shit," Tommy yelled, his anger bursting before he could get a grasp on it. He had been trying to hold back the entire meeting, but his self-control rapidly left him. He was alone with his anger and a singular target who was hurting the people Tommy considered his friends. "Mamacita didn't work there because she fucking wanted to, and MD has been clean for over a fucking year! So, you can shut the fuck up because you have no clue what you are talking about!"

Mamacita grabbed his forearm, holding him back as Tommy took a step forward. If she wasn't there, Tommy would have grabbed the lapels of Bucket's suit to shake the man around.

Bucket turned to Tommy. "Why should I take your word for it? You are not even legally able to vote. Not as if you could because you are a resident of Logstedshire. I do not understand why Manager Sam would hire you... why he would hire any of you."

"Mr. Bucket, your father put me in charge of this hotel. He allowed me to make all the decisions. I do not appreciate you undermining my or his authority," Sam spoke up from the door. Sam's expression was the harshest Tommy had ever seen it. No matter what Tommy had ever done, Sam would always stare at him with fondness and infinite patience. He had been nothing to kind to Tommy, to Mamacita and MD. Tommy always wondered what it would take to make someone like Sam upset, and he was starting to realize that he shouldn't have tried to test fate by asking that.

"You are no longer in charge, Manager Sam, nor is my father. The hotel is mine. I will run it how I see fit, and if I say that these three shambling messes of people are not allowed to work here, my instructions will be followed. I am done arguing this situation with you and Sami. Tommy, Mexican, and Mamacita are fired. I have already written a letter of recommendation for your next employers. You may get it up here. After that, please leave the premises," Bucket said, lifting up three pieces of paper.

Tommy marched up, grabbing the one with his name on it. He immediately tore it up in small pieces. He glared up at Bucket. "I don't want to work for anyone who thinks your recommendation is worth anything. You are a shitty person, and I hope this hotel comes crashing around you."

Tommy marched out of the room, brushing past Sam without looking at anyone else in the room. He could hear a little bit of yelling before a door was slammed shut. Tommy looked over his shoulder to see MD trying to calm Mamacita down. She almost punched the wall, but MD stopped her before she could. The two of them eventually linked arms, walking down the hallway behind Tommy. They caught up with him fairly quickly, and the three of them walked outside the hotel.

"Guys, wait," They heard behind them. Tommy wanted to continue moving forward, but Mamacita grabbed his wrist as she and MD stopped. Tommy huffed as he turned around, looking up at the glass doors of the hotel. Sam was standing at the top of the stairs with a saddened expression on his face. Sam rushed down the steps, careful not to trip over his own feet. When he was at the final step, he looked at them all with something almost like tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry about him. He was an asshole, and he shouldn't have said anything that he did. It will certainly be a change, but I want to offer you all a cleaning job at the bank. It isn't a glamorous job, but it does pay well. It might even pay a little better than this place. I would be your only boss, so this will never happen again."

"Thank you, thank you," Mamacita whispered, dropping her head in her hands as relief sagged through her. MD began speaking rapidly in a language Tommy could barely understand. Sam smiled at them both, lifting his arms up. Mamacita gave him a hug, and MD squeezed Sam's hand as tightly as he could. All attention eventually shifted on Tommy. The blonde stared at them for a long moment before shaking his head.

"I appreciate the offer, Big S, but I can't. I was planning on quitting soon, anyway. I have a lot of things coming up in my life," Tommy explained. He could tell the energy shifted from relief to confusion around him, but he wasn't in the mood to explain what his next steps were. He couldn't, even if he wanted to, since it involved a persona he had tried to put away a long time ago.

Sam stepped away from Mamacita and MD, placing both of his hands on Tommy's shoulders. Sam searched his face for a long moment, and Tommy breathed in deeply at the kindness in those warm eyes. It seemed Tommy's Sam had been returned to him, the one that ruffled Tommy's hair and played along with his stupid jokes. Sam pulled Tommy to his chest, his arms wrapping all the way around Tommy's back. "If you ever need a job or cash or anything, you can come see me. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"Big Man Tommy Innit always takes care of himself. My middle name is 'careful', y'know?" Tommy said, his arms wrapping around Sam's middle section.

"Along with 'Kraken' and 'Danger'," Sam relented, remembering the full name Tommy had put down on all his paperwork. Tommy huffed a laugh, forgetting all about that.

"Take care of Mamacita and MD for me. They're good people. And take care of Nook. He isn't a wrong'un like his brother," Tommy said as he pulled away from Sam's warm hug. Sam's hand went up to ruffle Tommy's hair like he used to do every morning Tommy would show up to work. Tommy allowed himself to lean into the touch, knowing that he would probably never get anything like it again. He would probably never see Sam again.

"Of course, I will. Good luck in your next endeavor, Toms. Don't forget my offer," Sam said, taking a step back. Mamacita hugged Tommy next. When she let go, MD gave him a hug, too. Once they had all said their goodbyes, Sam led Mamacita and MD down the street towards the bank where they would start working. Tommy remained firmly planted in place for a long moment. He looked up at the hotel, trying to commit every last detail to memory. As he stared, he noticed that the honey brown haired man that was subscribed to Avicular was looking down at Tommy from his window. Tommy wasn't close enough to tell what the man's expression was, but it made him walk away before things got any more intense.

As Tommy walked to his apartment in Logstedshire, a communicator buzzed in his back pocket. It was a run-down machine that had been taken from a dumpster and fixed up by Beau. It couldn't do a lot of the things a regular communicator could, but it allowed for messages to be sent back and forth between him and Beau. The message she had sent now appeared on the screen, I finished deciphering Johnny's communicator. I know what their next step is. Meet at my place?

Tommy quickened his pace, hoping to get to his apartment sooner so he could grab Vermillion's costume. This was the job he had given up working at the bank for. He was going to end Apex once and for all.