A big desk. A large chair. A slender man sat alert, shoulders squared and back ramrod straight, hands folded on the desk in front of him. Medals clustered on his narrow chest, the heavy braid on his shoulder nearly cluttered out by the dozens of ribbons, medals, and bars he wore. He looked up as Gideon and Jet entered and gave a small nod.

“Commander Jergen,” Jet greeted the man.

Gideon glanced at Jet. Unsubtly, he leaned in. “This guy’s your boss? You’re kidding, right?”

Jet pulled a face somewhat more subtly. “Respect, Gideon.”

“I don’t respect assholes,” Gideon replied.

Commander Jergen cleared his throat. “You stand in front of a superior officer. I won’t accept insults. Speak again and face tribunal.”

Gideon’s eyes lit up. “Eh? I didn’t say you were the asshole. You’re the one assuming that on your own. You can’t blame me for your own troubled conscience.”

Commander Jergen’s face reddened slightly. He narrowed his eyes at Gideon. “You dare?”

“Why don’t we talk it out? What makes you feel like an asshole?” Gideon said placatingly. He found a chair against the back wall and pulled it up to the oversized desk, sitting opposite the man and folding his hands on the desk in clear imitation. “You can trust me. Go on.”

Jet stood at attention, his eyes on the middle distance and a wooden expression on his face.

Commander Jergen stood up from his desk. He glowered at Gideon. “Mind your words. One word from me, and the entire army will hunt you down.”

“They’ve tried before. I mean, Jet found me this time, but… Eh. I bet I could take half your garrison, with the chokepoint of the door. Oh, and those archery windows? Jet, we’ve got it made. If Elly and Angel were here, it’d be a sure bet,” Gideon said. He nodded to himself, crossing his arms thoughtfully.

Commander Jergen’s eyes flicked to Jet. “Is this insubordination?”

“Sir! I have nothing to do with anything this man says!” Jet replied, saluting.

“That’s right, that’s right. I’m a private citizen. You can’t do anything to me,” Gideon said, grinning.

Commander Jergen put a hand on his sword.

“Oh? Give me a good argument for self-defense. I dare you,” Gideon replied, putting a hand on his tome. Lightning flickered through his hair, golden eyes faintly glimmering in the low light.

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Commander Jergen stepped forward.

Gideon backed up, still grinning. “But… there is a way to make me care about what you say. Right now, I’m being dragged along, an unpaid prisoner. I’ve got no reason to respect you, and less to listen to what you have to say. However, I’ve been told that all it would take is a single word from you to change that. You put me in the payroll, and I suddenly care what you think.”

Commander Jergen stopped, stunned into stillness. “You barge into my office, insult me, and then demand to be paid?”

Gideon lifted a finger. “I was ordered into your office, insulted you, and demanded to be paid. Let’s get things straight here, alright? You’re the one who insisted upon my presence. I was perfectly happy to remain strangers.”

Commander Jergen’s face turned red, then purple. A vein throbbed in his forehead.

“But now that we’re acquainted, why don’t we talk money? Look, my friend, magic is not free. Do you know the cost of mana-conducive paper and aether ink these days? And let’s not even get started on my travel costs. I’ve been dragged across the country and forced to subjugate bandits and dragon cultists and even a few dragons! Lesser dragons! I haven’t seen a single gold from that, not a one! Have you looked at the market rates of a decent mage nowadays? Compare me to the top Professor at the National Magic College and—”

“National Magic University. It hasn’t called itself a college for nearly a century now,” Jet corrected him.

“—national magic school, and you’ll find I don’t come up short. Do you know how much it costs to hire him? And you’ve strung me along this far for free! Can you really demand that I continue to work for nothing?” He strode forward as he spoke, finally arriving at Commander Jergen. He slammed his hand down on the desk and stared into the commander’s eyes, panting slightly.

“The top mage at the university is a woman,” Jet added.

“Oh, whatever. You think I pay attention to those losers?” Gideon muttered.

Commander Jergen caught his breath. “You come into my office, you, a lowly criminal, and demand—”

“Enough with this criminal bullshit! I only killed dragons. It was a town full of dragons, okay? Jet, you tell him,” Gideon said, looking over his shoulder at Jet.

Jet sighed. “Gideon…”

Commander Jergen narrowed his eyes at Jet. “You brought him here? How could you?”

You asked for it, sir… Jet stood there silently, his eyes somewhere distant.

“You asked for it!” Gideon said, putting his hands on his hips indignantly. “What, is your memory going? You don’t look that old.”

Commander Jergen drew his sword. Gideon leaped back, slapping his tome.

Jet grabbed Gideon and backed away, scowling. “We’re leaving.” To Commander Jergen, he added, “Apologies for wasting your time, sir.”

“Wasting his time? What about my time? Which is expensive, by the way. This isn’t the end of our salary discussions! I demand payment! I’m not free, you know?” Gideon called, as Jet dragged him out of the office.

“Payment? As if! If you’re lucky, we won’t execute you,” Commander Jergen snarled after him.

“Oh, like I haven’t heard that before. Honestly, you military types are all the same. All muscle, no—”

Jet kicked the door shut.

Gideon looked at him, then shook his head. “You listen to that guy? Seriously?”

Jet pressed his lips together and turned on his heel, saying nothing.

Looking at Jet, Gideon chuckled. “Oh, I see. I see.”

“What do you see?” Jet muttered.

“Opportunity,” Gideon said gleefully.

Jet sighed. “Just… don’t involve me.”

Gideon nodded, still grinning. He peered at Jet. “Hey… you think I could get the army to take down that idiot?”

Jet stared at him, then shook his head. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”