“I know, but I’m not here for a patent.” Victor reiterated to the Bureau inspector Carter had introduced to him. “The technique to create my creation won’t be sold and neither will the device itself. So what need is there for patenting?”

“That’s…” The inspector struggled, alternating his gaze between the young-man and his superior. “Mr. Walsh could you explain how…”

“I’m not here for work Rudy, and I actually agree with his reasoning.” Carter said, extending a helping hand in the direction Rudy hadn’t expected.

“But theoretical breakdowns aren’t allowed when processing magika devices for a license. Without submitting an accurate schematic and applying for…”

“So you have the skems for all the Port-Gates downtown? And Brinx new air-dome, you guys have that one too?”

“That’s…” ‘Different’, he began to say, but the grains of truth were hard to ignore. “Mr. Walsh, is this really okay?”

“It’s his trade secret,” Carter nodded with a similar dose of trepidation despite his stance. “As long as the theoretical breakdown he provides can be confirmed by three ranking officials, we are allowed to skip the schematic patent requirements and push through with the business permit.”

“If you say so…” Rudy shrugged, signing off on a few boxes from the stack of forms Victor and Carter had prepared.

The trip took longer than Victor had hoped it would, but for Carter it seemed to fly past. From his experience on both sides of the desk, it would normally take almost an entire day of waiting to complete the entire licensing process. But Victor’s glib tongue seemed to ease every roadblock they met.

“Think of the void fields like a spinning a coin. When turning, would you be able to tell one from two?” He’d said to one of the auditors who was tasked with signing off on his theoretical.

A half-minute later, the man leaped from his seat as-if a major clue towards his own research had been unveiled as part of the simple breakdown. He slammed his stamp down without another thought and then raced off to request time-off for his stalled research.

The other two had given similar reactions in one way or another. So after a breezy four hours, Victor had safely secured the documentation necessary to begin the creation of his business empire.

“Oh, I’m popular?” Victor remarked as the phone in his pocket began stirring once they’d reached the parking garage outside the bureau.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

“Look’s like Katie was trying to reach you.” Carter agreed, noticing the few missed text-messages on his phone as well.

“More than just her…” Victor shrugged, scrolling through the five number’s that’d called him. “Do you mind?”

“Go ahead.” Carter assured him with a nod, pulling open the door and scooting across the wide bench so Victor could fit. Grabbing a handset, Carter told his driver where they were heading while beside him Victor held the phone to his ear as it rang Ana’s number.

“Finally!” Her voice shouted before Victor could even manage to get a single word in. “Get to the Port-Gate’s I’ll pay your ticket, you’ll have to take…”

She paused as she traced an imaginary line between a few large Port-Gate hubs.

“Take the six forty-five setting to Istanbul and from there hop the seven o’clock setting change from Moscow then into Novosibirsk.”

“First explain, what’s even happening? Where do you need me and why exactly?” Victor asked calmly, having received a few similar calls from others prior to the Academy.

“If I take that kind of time, then I will have to recalculate your entire route!” Ana shouted in a combination of just enough Novgorodian for Victor to still have an idea of what she was saying.

“I’m not risking port-gates again, just tell me what’s happening calmly. I can handle the rest on my own.”

He heard the sound of a deep breath and some subtle encouragement from a deep voice on the other end of the call, until eventually a response came in the woman’s true voice.

“Sorry, my head’s been pounding so everything just starting moving fast.” Knowing no more words from him would interrupt her, Ana continued from the beginning.

“A few days ago, my sister told me her friend stopped returning her calls and texts, she asked me to look into it but I didn’t put much thought into it. I left it to Boris, thinking it was nothing, but he picked up on something much bigger. It wasn’t just my sister’s friend; every single one of the sixty students from her school have completely vanished.”

“Unscheduled fieldtrip?” Victor asked unconvincingly.

“My sister ignored my advice and flew to check on her, she landed sometime yesterday morning, but a few hours ago, her texts coming stopped and now her phone is going straight to voicemail.”

“I’ll investigate it. Don’t worry.” Victor said in a weak attempted to assure her.

Still, it had the effect as a weight seemingly lifted from Ana’s shoulders. She wouldn’t stop searching via her means, but now she at least knew someone trustworthy would be on the ground to help her.

“I’ll call you on a different number. Watch for it, I’ll probably need your help.” Victor added before ending the call as he met the questioning look coming from Carter Walsh across from him in the limo.

“Should we drop you off somewhere else?” Carter asked, having heard bits and pieces of the conversation and recognizing the severity drawn on Victor’s face.

“The hotel’s fine. I need to prepare some things.”

After the short call with Ana, Victor stayed on his phone, tapping away long message after long message to a number with only a few digits different from his own. Ignoring the motion-sickness inducing suspension of Carter’s absurd preferred mode of transport, Victor continued typing messages to the unlabeled contact, each eliciting no response.

He was confident the message would be received so he didn’t expect a response.