Jack still had a lot of cleaning up to do, but he could do after the talk with Todd.

Everyone was slowly going through their meals, trading plates when they didn’t like

the dishes present.

“I would like to add Eric and his group to the com bands,” said Josie. “We might need

them for other jobs cleaning out the Montrose.”

Jack thought about mocking her. He decided to let it lie. Josie had gone out on a job

and come back. The Fass team had supported her because of their own self interest,

but they had supported her. He could use a lighter touch this one time.

“I can make a unit in a couple of minutes, but I have to work on it after I clean up,”

said Jack. “As long as everything is deployed in guest mode, it will take twice as long

to recharge. Maybe three times as long.”

“Guest mode?,” asked Josie.

“I had thirty people here,” said Jack. He waved at the bubble of the table. “And they

all wanted to talk to you, but you missed it and they had to put up with me.”

“Is that why you told Beatrice’s boyfriend he has to give up his fingers?,” said Josie.

“Again what would we do with them?”

“We could pickle them and put them as a sign to tell people no trespassing, or else,”

said Jack. “I am sure it will work wonders on the tax collectors.”

“I’m sure it will,” said Josie. Her voice said how much she thought of his proposed

deterrent. “Speaking of tax collectors, did Duke Hent find the other magistrates for

his shadow board?”

“No,” said Guin. “But he did say an audit of the books was underway. He needed

independent proof before he could move against any wrongdoers.”

“That’s probably better than we hoped,” said Jack. He smiled. He had a small plate

in his hands from the kitchen. He went through the food with a fork as he stood inside

the ring of space. “After all, not many people would accept two people breaking into

their houses, walking them to the central archive of the Tax Service, and showing

them thousands of entries where their property had been robbed of millions of gold

pieces, and they only had a limited way of getting it back. An audit allows him to

demonstrate that he is not as stupid as he looks and that he either crushes the

offenders, or folds them under his wing like the old Duke did before I talked to him.”

“You talked to the old Duke Hent?,” asked Budd. “How did that go?”

“The two seconds I had was all I needed,” said Jack. “Go ahead and finish your meal.

I have cake and ice cream. Then we are going to have to ask Todd what his intentions

are.”

“I don’t think we should stick around for that,” said Fass. “That is something that

should stay in the confines of your family as weird as it may seem.”

“I have to agree with the assessment,” said Guin. “I doubt Master Fain is going to

want to be more embarrassed than he already was.”

“Show Master Guin the book we got from Markam’s camp,” said Josie. “Master

Guin, if you can tell us anything about those holdings, that would be good. We found

some leads that led up to Cairn where Emily was being held. If you can give us

something to strike at in Shemmaria, that would be even better.”

“We can do that tomorrow,” said Fass. “I don’t think I can go through another round

of planning right now after all this food. I would like to get some sleep and look at

things fresh in the morning.”

“So would I,” said Guin. “If you will come to the Silver Coin tomorrow at about the

third call, I will set up a space where we can work.”

“I would like a priority target to destroy,” said Josie. “I want to disrupt their supply

chain and seize anything not nailed down.”

“You want something that will cost money to replace?,” asked Guin. He locked his

hands together. “You might have to take more than one target.”

“If the two of you can get me something that will hurt the Montrose enough that they

stop operating until I can find their leadership,” said Josie. “I will appreciate it.”

“Take your time, plan out a few days,” said Jack. He put his empty plate down. “I’m

going to have to look some things over for Rick’s people. And if the Lich Queen

shows up, we might really be in open warfare.”

“Understood,” said Guin. “Good luck with your domestic situation. I rarely found

them working out any way like I intended with my family.”

He stood to go, and so did Linus.

“I will be ready on the morrow, Master Fass,” said Guin. “I am sure that there will be

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a host of targets to select and ready for plucking.”

“I will be there,” said Fass.

“Would you like to take some of the food home with you?,” asked Jack. “I made

plenty.”

“I think I will fast for the next few days,” said Guin.

“Could I have some more of the cake?,” said Linus. “It will make the others jealous.”

“Sure, buddy,” said Jack. He went into the apartment and brought out a whole cake

on a covered dish. “Take it with my blessing.”

“Thank you,” said Linus. He peeked under the cover and smiled. “I take back some

of the things I said about you.”

“You said bad things about me?,” said Jack. “I slaved over this food. I worked my

fingers to the bone. The least you can do is take back all the bad things you said.”

“Don’t do it, Linus,” said Josie. “Don’t give into the emotional blackmail and the

attempt to make you feel guilty.”

“I’m not,” said Linus. “Not with this delight in my hands to make me feel better.”

The mobsters strolled off, Guin waving at his carriage to pick him up.

“We have to go too,” said Fass. “This has been an exciting and enriching day for us.

I’m sure Guin will let you know about any town we want you to destroy.”

“I was hoping to get another piece of cake,” said one of the fighters. Jack didn’t have

all of their names down in the brief time they had taken spots at the table.

He went back into the apartment and came out with two trays. He handed them to the

fighters. He smiled at their expressions.

“The one on the left is more cake,” he said. “The one on the right is leftover food you

can put in an icebox and eat tomorrow.”

“You’re the best witch’s brother I have ever met,” said the guy with the cake.

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Jack. He waved them off as they started back to their

quarters.

“Let me let some of this digest before we talk to Todd and Bea,” said Josie. She

leaned back from the table. “This was a spread and a half.”

“I’m going to start shutting the kitchen down,” said Jack. “It draws a lot of power

doing what I did to expand the hearth and icebox. Once I have that back to normal,

we have our talk, and then I take the table back inside.”

“Go ahead,” said Josie. “I think I am going to sit here unable to move and watch the

street.”

Jack went into the kitchen and looked at his robots. They had worked perfectly as

chefs. They had cooked everything to perfection.

“I’m going to shut everything down now, guys,” Jack said. He pushed back a twinge

of guilt at just making these cooks only to shut them down when he no longer needed

them. “You did a good job. Everyone was impressed by the work you put in.”

The servants bowed the best they could. They did some last second cleaning before

being cut off.

Jack took their rings so they would safely power down. He placed them in a cannister,

before pulling the ring for the hearthstone out of the wall. That shrank down and went

on top of the cooks. He checked the icebox. If he cut that off, the food in it would

spoil before they could eat it all. He left the ring in place but cut off the duplicating

effect so they could use everything up before it went bad.

He placed the cannister on the top shelf in the pantry to keep out of reach of people

who didn’t know what they were doing. He checked the hearth one more time to make

sure all the food cooking in it had been served.

He stepped outside. The table ring had to go too. It was drawing more power than

what he wanted it to have. As soon as their talk was over, he would get rid of the ring

and move the table inside.

Bea and Todd came up without the others. He considered that to be a good move

since he would have to shoo the other girls away instead of letting them in on Bea’s

business which she obviously didn’t want.

“Hello,” said Josie. She shifted in her chair. “I’m Josie Fox. How do you do?”

“I’m fine,” said Todd. “The dinner was excellent.”

“It was great,” said Jack. He smiled as he took up a spot behind Josie.

“Beatrice hasn’t told us anything about you,” said Josie. “Are you two moving in

together, getting married? I’m not taking fingers for a dowry so you don’t have to

hide your hands.”

Jack wondered when the last time he was as green as this boy seemed.

“We just started courting,” said Todd. “I don’t know what we are going to do. My pay

from the Guild only goes so far to keep me in shelter.”

“What do you do?,” asked Josie.

“I was brought in to help with general services for the adventurers and clerks,” said

Todd. “Sally, the head clerk, is the defacto manager since no one can find Guan,

so she hired me to help with the books, get supplies, point adventurers at certain

quests we feel are important and not what they would usually take. Actual quests pay

more but you have to have experience to be able to make demands for jobs. I don’t

have that yet.”

“Actual quests are more dangerous than being a clerk,” said Josie.

“I know, but it’s the only way to make money,” said Todd. “Right now, I can’t

support myself, much less a wife.”

“Beatrice is old enough to know her own mind,” said Josie. “I will give you my

blessing, but let’s be clear, if you start courting someone else, have the courage to tell

Beatrice first, and if anything happens to her, it better happen to you too.”

“When you two figure out what you want to do about housing and such,” said Jack.

“Let me know. Maybe I can put together something for you that will last as long as

you both live.”

“You’re not going to set him on fire?,” said Bea. “That’s great.”

“What?,” said Todd.

“No,” said Josie. “I’m saving that for when he does something so stupid that it’s

the least harmful result of fixing whatever problem he is in.”

“I like to think I would never do that,” said Todd.

“Everybody thinks that,” said Jack. “And then the next thing you know, you get

hit by a truck and have to fight fox spirits with your incredible expanding staff. If you

two need help, we’ll help you, which you knew Bea. Sneaking around is for little

kids. Grab your first love and own it. That’s what we used to do when I was a child.”

“You never did that,” said Josie.

“When I met Maria Gonsalvo, I grabbed hold of her in ways you have never thought

to be grabbed,” said Jack. He winked at Josie. “Too bad she stepped on an Eye Eee

Dee, or I might not have left the Army.”

“You two are not that much older than me,” said Beatrice. “Are you?”

“You may kiss your beloved, Todd,” said Jack. “But only kiss, and not here. The

younger girls will want to know all these answers to their questions about face

sucking, and I don’t think I am qualified to give them the answers.”

“And you will be persecuted if something happens to Beatrice,” said Josie.