Director Scott sighed tiredly as he finished the last of the paperwork in his virtual inbox. He was an older man, as evidenced by the increased gray peppering his formerly black locks. His wife thought it made him look distinguished and wise.

He quite agreed.

But right now, he didn’t feel distinguished or wise. He just felt tired. He was almost too tired to eat, but he knew it was important, even with the extra weight he carried. Weight was a sign of affluence, and he would not allow himself to appear impoverished because of a little stress.

The last week had been particularly rough, even beyond the constant attacks by dungeon-spawned monsters.

He never would have thought dungeon-spawned monsters would be something he had to worry about. It was like they’d all gotten sucked into a fantasy novel, except instead of a single person or group getting isekaied, the whole world had gotten snared.

Now, with the space station losing communication and somehow crashing into Sumar… Both of those occurrences should have been impossible, especially the latter. Yet, somehow, they had both occurred in quick succession.

What was worse was that the station had crashed into the communication tower on the newly habitable moon, leaving them completely blind to what was happening on the surface.

How were they supposed to support the Senate’s efforts if they had no clue what was going on?

If the little network genius wasn’t being monitored in the capital at the time, he would have thought she had something to do with their string of bad luck. But even the best network specialist couldn’t hack into a space station in orbit with only an outdated tablet and a few basic electronics.

No.

There was probably a far more reasonable explanation for what had happened. He just didn’t know what it was. But he was certain they’d find out once Commander Arcspire figured out how to restore communications.

Still, if the girl would just come to her senses and work with them, things would be so much easier for everyone involved. It was silly for her to hold such a grudge against the Senate for exiling her. From what he could gather, she’d been given a lot more grace than most.

The little delinquent should be grateful her parents weren’t shipped off with her!

As the thought simmered, his visual overlay alerted him to an incoming priority message. He sighed again before accepting it, and a portion of his vision was immediately covered by the holographic projection of one of his aides.

The excitable one.

He was one of the newer aides who had not yet grown jaded or hardened by the realities of governance. It was only a matter of time.

“This better be important,” the older man growled. “I was just about to order lunch.”

“Yes, Director Scott,” the man said uncomfortably. “The target we’ve had trouble acquiring was just reported missing.”

“Missing?” he repeated in confusion, though he knew exactly which target the aide was referencing. It was the very same annoying brat he’d been fuming about just a moment earlier. “How is she missing? She’s being monitored constantly. Did one of the other Senators interfere?” he asked coldly.

While all of the Senators presumably worked together for the good of the empire, it was no secret that there were factions within the larger governing body that often worked toward their own goals. The Senator he worked for was part of the most powerful faction, so the weaker Senators wouldn’t interfere with his interests without a very good reason.

All the Senators knew that Senator Dowry planned to conscript the former exiles who had enough talent and value to make the effort worthwhile. Once they poached everyone of real worth, it wouldn’t matter if they offended the rest of the criminals.

They were a bunch of ingrates anyway. Every one of the exiled former citizens should be grateful for the opportunity to return to civilization. He doubted they enjoyed living in squalor.

Or maybe they did? There was a reason each of them had been exiled in the first place.

“There’s no signs of involvement by any of the other factions. The agents on scene recovered security footage showing her leaving through an unfinished portion of the wall. She then used her magic to complete the wall behind her, so we have no idea which way she headed.”

“Well, at least she finished her job,” Director Scott grumbled.

The girl was probably already dead if she’d left the safety of the city. Though he’d heard she was capable of making weapons, there was no way a lone child could survive the hordes of monsters that continued to assault the city. Even if she was wearing the fancy armor those criminals had somehow gotten ahold of, it wouldn’t be enough against so many dangerous monsters.

They were nightmare fuel. Nobody could survive on their own out there.

“What are your orders, Sir?” the aide asked. “The agents on scene want to know if they should go after her.”

Director Scott almost laughed at the suggestion. Quite frankly, he felt a sense of relief at having a constant source of irritation removed.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Shaking his head, Director Scott said, “There’s no reason to waste time recovering the stupid girl’s body. She was a priority, but there’s no reason to throw away good, loyal lives for someone too arrogant to recognize her own limitations. The Senator will understand.”

Like a good subordinate, the man didn’t question his orders. “Understood. I’ll pass the message along.”

Feeling like the day had made a turn for the better, Director Scott ordered lunch from his favorite restaurant. The walls surrounding downtown had been finished days earlier, so it was once again safe to travel between buildings.

Lustria had never gotten as dangerous as some of the other cities, but that was to be expected. As soon as the monsters became an actual threat to the citizens, Director Scott had recommended intervention, calling in favors to gain control over some of the mercenaries called in from that cesspool of criminals that pretended to be a real nation.

Since he’d pronounced his actions loudly, ensuring everyone knew who was responsible for their continued safety.

Him.

Not the criminals doing the work. They were just unimportant cogs in the proverbial machine. Director Scott was the one who made it happen, and everyone knew it.

They were all so grateful for his efforts that he practically had his food order before he made it! Everyone was falling over themselves to express their gratitude.

He was important before. But now? He was a local hero. His actions had saved people.

Not that he cared beyond the convenience they provided. But that wasn’t the point.

He’d almost certainly secured the next Senator position to become available. Maybe they’d even create a new seat for him! Given how rare openings are, the citizens may very well demand it!

As expected, his meal was delivered so quickly that he suspected the runner had left as soon as the order was submitted.

As the savory flavors of grilled pork and fresh vegetables flooded his tastebuds, his attention was pulled toward his computer screen. His virtual inbox had been replaced with a video. It looked like some kind of documentary, though he had no clue how it was playing on his computer.

It was part of a secure network, so nobody should have access.

His eyes grew wide as he watched, and his annoyance turned to concern. He immediately attempted to turn off the offensive exposé, but no matter what he did, the images continued to play.

His overlay immediately lit up with several contact requests. Not having time to bother with even a fraction of them, Director Scott accepted the call from his most trusted subordinate.

If anyone knew what was going on, it would be her. The rest could wait.

“Ms. Hanselgrom, can you explain the video currently playing through what should be a secure network?” he asked before the woman’s holographic avatar fully manifested.

“Sir, as far as we can tell, it’s playing on every connected device. I’m not sure if it’s localized—” The hologram paused for a breath as his subordinate listened to someone not shown through the hologram. “It is not localized. It seems to be happening all over Gentrius.”

“In the wastelands as well?” he asked, knowing the criminals had outdated technology – castoffs and handouts from their betters, no doubt.

Unless they stole it.

“I have no way of verifying that, but it seems likely,” his aide replied. After a moment of silently watching more and more of their government’s secrets being unveiled, Ms. Hanselgrom said, “Oh, that is not good at all. How did they even get that footage?”

“That’s something I’m going to need you and your team to work on finding out,” he said tensely, knowing that he’d have to answer some pointed questions very soon.

The footage she’d referenced showed Director Scott meeting with some of his subordinates and giving them instructions to obtain compliance from the exiles by any means necessary. His stomach had already dropped, but as copies of his messages, both text and email, were displayed on the screen, it felt like he’d imbibed poison.

Senator Dowry was going to fire him. There was no question in his mind. He would almost certainly be made into a scapegoat—

The thought froze in his mind as the next set of messages and footage began displaying. Instead of seeing his own shameful behavior, he got to witness the secret meetings and underhanded dealings of his boss.

But it didn’t stop there.

Almost every Senator and major Director was featured at one point or another, their secrets laid bare. Government conspiracies to revise history and smother dissent were exposed. Footage from the Senate’s reclamation offices displayed hidden crematoriums where those who were deemed too much of a threat to exile disappeared.

Really, the Senators who only had mistresses and secret bastards were the lucky ones. What might have been a career-ender before this was barely a blip when compared to the actions of their fellows.

Thankfully, whoever compiled the exposé seemed to care more about current affairs since the coverage quickly shifted to document the bribery and coercion being used to poach the very individuals who’d put themselves at risk to save a country that openly shunned them.

A distant part of his mind recognized that the exposé was masterfully done. Making that ragtag group of violent criminals out to be saviors just because they built walls while they gleefully killed anything that might give them a bit of experience was simply genius.

Genius like the one now being featured on the screen.

Director Scott frowned.

While the video didn’t give the girl any particular attention, the inclusion of such recent footage showing the girl leaving and building the wall behind her bothered him.

Was she somehow involved in the creation of the video? Was she still alive out there in the wilds?

He shook the thought from his mind. That was ridiculous.

If she had access to devices capable of accessing the public network, much less his secure network, they would have been able to track her. She had no AI – that had been fried before she left. Her technology was either left behind or so outdated that it didn’t support tracking. There was no way she was responsible.

“Isn’t that the target Johan’s team was tracking?” his aide asked as she watched the exposé through her own devices. “It’s too bad they lost her. She would have been a good asset.”

He almost smiled at the reminder that the annoying task of acquiring the girl’s obedience was now a non-issue. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We need to figure out how to handle the fallout from this.”

Thankfully, the video ended a few moments later.

“I need answers, and I don’t particularly care how you get them,” Director Scott said, focusing his attention on his subordinate. “At this point, there’s no use worrying about crossing any lines. I need to know where the video came from, how the footage and information were obtained, and how the Senators and my fellow Directors are reacting to the revelations.”

“I’ll get on that right away, Sir,” the competent woman said before her holograph dispersed. The older man leaned back and sighed. He’d been doing that a lot lately.

He glanced at what remained of his meal. He’d barely started eating when the exposé commandeered his computer, but the thought of continuing his meal made his stomach roil. Not only that, but it was cold.

Nobody of worth would lower themselves to eat cold food, not when the meal was meant to be served hot.

Wrinkling his nose, he dumped the nearly full container into the trash and pressed a button to summon the janitorial staff to empty his garbage. They could fish out the containers and return them to the restaurant. That was what they got paid for.

He’d have to eat an early dinner and a late supper to make up for the wasted meal. It was just one more thing to punish the culprit for when they identified the responsible party.