Luca took a moment to examine the envelope. It was fairly light, and had that nearly translucent tone of white that Japanese pop singers would try for with chemical whiteners. He grinned, remembering a rather enjoyable evening attempting to convince a couple of pop stars that a healthy tan was a beautiful thing.

Luca turned his attention back to the man who had handed the envelope to him. He was a lean, hard looking man, probably a former soldier or an outdoorsman. He had a jawline that politicians occasionally paid surgeons to imitate, his hands had thick callouses, and what might be the most impressive scar Luca had ever seen. It ran across his forehead, followed his nose, disfigured his lip slightly, and ended at his chin.

He also noticed that the man had already sized up not only himself, but Alcuard and Isabella.

"So, do you need me to sign for this?" Luca asked, and he waved the envelope between his fingers casually.

The man blinked in surprise and gave Luca another carefully thorough look. "No one's ever asked me that before."

"Process Server is a pretty thankless job," Luca reflected. "And you look like the guy who gets handed the worst assignments."

"What's a 'Process Server'?" Isabella asked.

Luca smirked. "Clearly you haven't been sued, or summoned to appear before a government body on official business. When the legal issue is serious, they hire people like this guy to make sure that the poor sap being sued or summoned, me in this case, actually receives the notice."

"I'm usually bearing the worst news in someone's life," the man said and he titled his fedora down a little so the shadows of his hat covered his eyes. "And Mister Cardego is right, I'm the guy they give the assignment to if they're worried the recipient is going to try to punch someone in the face, threaten them, or have mercenaries try to murder the courier in their home."

"Wait, people have tried to murder you just for doing your job?" Isabella asked the man wearing the hat.

"It's why I take the hard jobs," the courier replied with an idle shrug. "People have tried to kill me to make sure I can't testify that they received the summons to court. Which is why it's so impressive that someone actually offered to sign for it. You have a lot of character."

The man extended his hand to Luca. "And I am sorry, for what it's worth."

"It's not like you're suing me." Luca shook the man's hand. Somewhere in the back of his thoughts, the wolf awoke. It didn't try to surge out, didn't growl, but even it was wary of this man. Strangely, the man reminded Luca of his father. "Who are you?"

"Name's Lanval Adams," the man said, and with his other hand, he offered Luca his business card. "I own a small contracting company called 'Peace of Mind'."

"Contracting company?" Alcuard asked.

"Registered mercenary company, but we do any sort of work that requires peace of mind. We aren't cheap. But that's a good thing for the reasons people hire us," Lanval, and he tilted his hat. "I hope I'm the low point of your week, Mister Cardego."

Isabella whistled just after the man left. "Is it bad that I'm both frightened and a little turned on?"

Luca laughed. "It's how I usually feel around Viviana."

There was a polite cough. Luca turned around to see the young banker was still waiting, tablet in hand. "There are further arrangements to make, particularly concerning how you would like your investments conducted, and the preparation of at least some of your assets for spending."

Alcuard smiled. "Of course. We should schedule this soon, but there's no rush."

The woman took a short breath, and said, "There is also the legal matter of your current claim to ownership of at least a portion of Mars. We have already begun legal proceedings on your behalf."

Luca had been sucker-punched before. Hearing what the woman just said felt remarkably similar.

"Say what now?" Luca asked. His voice quivered, a sudden and pronounced fear flowing through him as the potential implications began to sink in.

"As the opposing party in this case, you really shouldn't be in the room right now, Mister Cardego," the woman said curtly.

"He remains," Alcuard said, and there was a smooth, quiet, yet noticeable threat in those words. "And I did not authorize this use of my money. Particularly not to one of the first friends I have known since I woke up."

Luca, in the meantime, had turned away to open up the letter. He dropped the envelope on the floor and had no intention of picking it up again. He may end up splurging a bit to buy this bank just so he could fire the irritating woman who was now threatening the one thing he needed most in the universe.

"Luca Cardego, of the Cardego Corp, this is a legal injunction blah blah blah," Luca read aloud, skimming through the paragraphs. "Because of new evidence suggesting Mars to be occupied prior to your terraforming, your ownership of the world must be reviewed by an international tribunal. Your terraforming project may need to be regarded as vandalism, and appropriate recompense for damages incurred to our client will need to be paid."

Luca growled and glanced back at the woman, who looked like she was enjoying herself a great deal. He looked back and continued to read aloud. "Until such time as the legal ramifications have been resolved, you are expressly forbidden from stepping foot on Martian soil. Failure to abide by this injunction may result in the forfeiture of title and property, including the holdings of the Cardego Corporation and your extensive personal assets."

Luca looked up. "I can't step foot on Mars?"

The woman smiled with all the sweetness a cat shows to a mouse. "Not until this issue is resolved."

"Resolve it. Now," Alcuard said, and though it might have just been a trick of the light, the room seemed to darken. "And you will reimburse me for the inconvenience of launching a lawsuit in my name, without my permission."

The woman's smile faltered, and she began to stutter out an apology. "I, uh, of course, sir. It's just that it's the International Court, an auspice of the United Nations, so even if we press for an immediate resolution, we can't drop the injunction until the court offices reconvene."

"And when is that?" Alcuard asked.

The answer didn't matter to Luca. It wouldn't be soon enough. He shook his head and stumbled away, beginning to feel sick to his stomach.

"Next Wednesday. But Mister von Dracul, the matter of your citizenship must be resolved, and quickly. We cannot leave an issue like this alone, or you could lose claim to your fortune. Not to mention you would have no rights under international law if you gave up claim to your home-world."

"Mars is not my home," Alcuard snarled. "This civilization of yours inherited this world because I gave it to you! And on your first opportunity for gratitude, this is how I am repaid?"

Luca could barely hear the argument any more. He collapsed into a nearby chair, and dropped his head into his hands. His thoughts were unhinged, unfocused, and marinated in shame. If he couldn't be on Mars for days, the whole point of doing what he did had been cut out from under him. And he would need to burden a pair of people he had already weighed down entirely too much.

Without knowing he was doing it, he reached into his pocket and drew out the portal controller. He turned it on, and immediately a black sphere appeared in front of him.

"Viviana?" Luca called through the portal.

Luca felt a lurch of relief in his stomach when Viviana answered. "I just heard. The Luna legal team is about to send a shuttle down to the UN headquarters to get this sorted. But I'll be honest with you boss, I don't think this will get resolved in the next twelve hours. What are you going to do?"

"I can't go back to them, Vivi," Luca replied. It hurt to even voice the possibility. "I promised him the last full moon would be the last time he would have to do this."

"I know. But what other option do you have? If you ignore that injunction, they might put troops on Mars, or put you in prison. God help them," Viviana replied earnestly. She paused, and there was a hint of hesitation in her voice. "I already called them. They'll be ready if you need them."

"Fuck!" Luca bellowed, and the portal disappeared with the tap of his thumb. He flicked across the small screen for a moment, until it displayed the destination he was looking for. He pressed it and another portal appeared in front of him.

He got up from the chair, stepped through, and the portal vanished behind him.