As far as messes went, there were worse ways to drop the ball. Not a lot, but they were there. The Crash of 98' came to mind. There was the incident with the Downtown Stalker. And who could forget the Sunday Marches of yonder year? Angelas always had some catastrophe brewing. As did most cities. Keeping it afloat amidst the chaos was a mayor's duty. To keep the peace. After doing it for three years, Brian figured he would have gotten used to it.

Sitting at his desk. Staring out the window. He could see them. The thousands of people who counted on his everyday decisions. All it took was one slip-up, and he’d ruin them all. Kill jobs for thousands. But his rocky first year aside, he'd been doing fine as of late. Great even. The economy was booming, they’d just built that new theme park, and people were finally starting to see Angelas for more than just “that haunted town.” Things were finally looking up for their fair city.

And then she showed up.

“Sir.”

He sipped at his coffee, the cream and sugar washing down the taste of bile. How was it a single ghost could cause this much of a headache? Where were those crack-pot ghost hunters when he needed them? Or the exorcists? If all it took was some magic water and prayers, he could have done the deed himself. But then she just had to make things worse by calling for backup. A whole squad of mages came at her, and somehow they were the ones limping away.

He sat back in his chair. Guess Tildi was right. This job is gonna eat me alive, isn't it? He took another sip, finally addressing his waiting assistant.

“Do we know what it was?” he asked.

Felissa handed over her files. What few files she could, in any case. As expected, there wasn’t much she could disclose due to PIB confidentiality. As loyal as she was to him, her duty as a mage always came first. She'd made that clear as day when he first hired her on.

“We believe it’s a devil,” she said. “More than likely, she made a deal as a last resort.”

“And that giant dog?”

“It’s minion. It called him, ‘Master’. Anything beyond that is an ongoing matter.”

He nodded, flipping through the papers. It was nothing too in-depth. Photos of destroyed property near the junkyard. Bystander accounts. News reports. Nothing a civilian couldn’t find with a little digging. Still, it was convenient to have everything gathered up in one place. It made planning his next steps simple.

“I’m calling the twins.”

Felissa fixed a frown.

“With all due respect, sir," she said, "they won’t be necessary.”

“The devil's in our city, Felissa. I'd call the Army if it'd get him out."

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“You'll only cause a panic, sir. You know that. Besides.” She pointed to one of the photos. A crane which had been crushed to pieces. "Anything with that kind of power would need the Air Force, at least. And the minute we call them in, our investigation ends."

He sat back in his chair. Though he hated to admit it, his assistant had a point. Going scorched earth on the issue might solve the problem short-term, but in the long-term, he'd have a city in chaos and who knows how much untoward destruction. For the time being, the mages were the best option. They kept things quiet. Secure. Calling in the twins or an air strike was just begging for a media blitz. And then there would go their city's reputation.

No. For the time being, he had to entrust his stubborn assistant. She was the smartest mage he knew. And the strongest.

“Fine,” he said. "But keep this out of the public's eye, Felissa.”

She smiled. “Always do, sir. ”

He looked down at his now empty cup, pouring himself a quick refill. A mayor's duty is never easy, is it? Felissa grabbed herself a cup as well, sitting down on his desk as she drank it black. How she could stand the bitter taste was a question he must have asked her several times over the year or so she'd been with him. Tupwell filled his cup with sugar cubes, sitting back to the rich taste.

“There is one other thing, sir,” Felissa said. "Do you remember that guy that came in? The one with the ghost?"

"Her 'associate'?" He frowned. "Oh no. Don't tell me she-"

"No, he's still alive, sir."

He sighed. That was a relief, at least.

From their brief encounter, it was clear as day the kid had been tricked. The way he spoke. The way he acted. More than likely she’d fed him enough misinformation to sway him to her side. Make him think they were friends. He'd hoped Felissa chasing her away had dissuaded him. Fear wasn't a perfect motivator, but it usually helped.

“You’ve been keeping an eye out for him?” he asked.

“Yes. He’s all but stopped visiting the junkyard.” She smiled. “He actually doesn't seem that bad. Makes decent grades. Even works part-time down at Redway."

“The hospital?”

“Yes.” She stared into her cup. “I imagine the ghost awakened something in him. He went from engineering to nursing school overnight.”

He nodded sadly. The poor kid. It wasn't easy knowing that world existed right under their noses. To meet a ghost and catch a glimpse of what lay on the other side...He must have had a good heart. Too good to be caught up with ghosts and devils. They were lucky he'd come with ghost girl, that day. As long as the ghost was still a threat, they’d make sure he stayed safe. Him and everyone else in the city.

“Maybe I should pay him a visit," Brian said. "Hopefully it won’t be too much of a shock.”

“You’re the mayor, sir. Wherever you go is bound to be a shock.”

He chuckled. "Yes. I guess that’s true. Maybe off the record?”

She shook her head.

"I'll go, sir. I need to check on a friend there, anyway."

He nodded. As long as she stayed out of uniform, the mage did look no different than any other civilian. Maybe it was for the best.

Given the mess they had, staying discrete was the new name of the game. They'd want to protect the people, but they couldn't be seen doing so. Whatever their moves were, they would need to be carefully planned out and strategic. Hence why he was glad to have Felissa at his side. If there was one thing his assistant was good at, it was staying under the radar. She sipped at her drink, letting out a gasp as she finally started to relax a bit.