After a few more rounds of unproductive questions and retellings, Detective Flores finally left. I closed the door on his insincere smile and turned back down the hall toward the kitchen. I needed another coffee after all of that. Actually, I could go with something a bit more alcoholic than that, but I wasn't ready to start drinking in the morning all alone. Not yet, anyway.

As tiring as Detective Flores was, his visit showed me that Bushra and I weren't out of the woods yet. I wondered if he was going to start following us. Or maybe he'd been following us already? I stopped in the hall and opened Location. I didn't see blue dots hanging around the front of the building. I did see some in the building itself. Mrs. Klein was in her home, at a guess that was her in her kitchen. I felt briefly guilty about spying on the older woman. There was another blue dot in her home, in the living room. A guest? A flush of anger filled my head, as the certainty of Detective Flores smug face sitting on Mrs. Klein's sofa formed in my mind. Of course he would.

I tamped down on my anger, knowing there was nothing I could do about it short of storming down there and bodily hauling the man out. As tempting as that was, it wouldn't do any good, would probably get me arrested, and would scare poor Mrs. Klein half to death. I closed Location resolutely and tried to get the image out of my mind. Coffee. That's what I needed.

I tried to get back to work, but had problems concentrating. I couldn't help checking Location every few minutes, and saw after a half hour that the second blue dot had gone. I'd have to stop by Mrs. Klein's place with an apology gift at some point.

Over the next few hours, in fits and starts, I was able to put together a quick framework of a strategy plan for our company, and a rudimentary forecast working backwards from a (hopefully) not-to-unreasonable number. There were a lot of costs I hadn't yet figured out, but I left those as placeholders for now. I'd been writing these kinds of plans at the product level for a while now, and well, there was only one product for our company at the moment. Kris would blow it all up, I was sure, budgeting was more her thing than mine. Oddly, though, that didn't bother me like it had when I was doing product planning. If anything, I wanted her to tear it down and make it better.

The initial drafts were as far as I got. My mind kept drifting to other things when I tried to add in the details. Mrs. Klein clutching the ring from her husband. The light from the video game illuminating Iter's face from the sofa. Detective Flores sitting in mock idleness in my chair. Bushra's forced smile at the door. Thorsten's sickly leer. Bruce's husk of a body lying on the van. The shiny gold of his garnet ring, stained with his blood.

I was about to push my laptop away and close the lid, when I saw a there was an email notification from Bushra. It was an invite to a chat room. The corners of my mouth turned up, and I clicked the link to join.

[BushraP] Hey Mai! Welcome to our company's chatroom!🎉

[KD] Yo! About time! 😉😝🤩🥳

That's a lot of emojis, Kris.

[Mairead] Hey there.

[BushraP] i was tellin kris how it went with my parents this morn. mom's stepped out 2 get groceries, but i'm not allowed 2 leave the 🏡😅

[KD] Grounded. 🔒

[BushraP] lol, no. she's just scared so i'm humorin her. I put this chat together while i was waitin.

I scrolled up to read Bushra's previous posts. It seems she told her parents an edited version of almost being kidnapped, and they were (understandably) freaked out. She also told them about being laid off from work (but not the accusations), and the new company. She'd spent most of the morning with her mom, talking about things.

[BushraP] i skirted most of the deets, but it's all good now!

[Mairead] Glad you're ok.

[KD] <3

A knot that had been tightening around my heart began to unwind, and I smiled at the screen. I moved to another window to grab a link, and then went back to the chat.

[Mairead] I put together a draft strategy doc [link]. Lots of holes, but a starting point.

[KD] 💲💲💲

[BushraP] woo hoo! It's startin 2 feel real!

[Mairead] lots of work to do yet.

[KD] yup. good start tho.

[BushraP] but now we hav 2 tackle the big one.

[Mairead] ??

[KD] ⁉️

[BushraP] our name! i hate saying 'the company' all the time.

[BushraP] we need a name!!!

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

[Mairead] ...

[KD] 🤔

[Mairead] Suggestions?

Kris posted a link to a Boromir meme, "One does not simply NAME A COMPANY"

I sighed. Kris was one of those people in chat. She'd always been brief in our texts. This kind of group chat with Kris was a new experience. I put a hand to my mouth and pursed my lips to suppress a giggle.

[BushraP] i'm sure u'll think of something!

Kris posted the Success Kid meme with the text "U Got This!"

Wait, they're throwing this on me?

[BushraP] anyway, mom'll b home soon. I'm stickin around here 2day 2 keep them happy, but when should we meet up again?

[KD] Tomorrow afternoon? I can get off early.

Woah. Two whole sentences from Kris.

[Mairead] Sure. Where to meet? Back here?

[KD] My house is in the middle: [map link]

[BushraP] SF works 4 me! tell me when 2 b there!

Before dropping off, I told them briefly about my encounter with Detective Flores.

[KD] Mai, be careful. 💜

[BushraP] still? ugh! 🫰

[Mairead] I will. You too.

✦ ✦ ✦

I closed the laptop lid and leaned back against the couch. My back ached. This was definitely not an ergonomically correct office environment. I stood up from the couch to stretch, and Taiga jumped up to appropriate the cushion I'd departed to take charge of the residual warmth. I smiled crookedly down at her, then turned and made my way to the kitchen for a coffee refill.

"Hello again, Our Hero!"

I'm glad my coffee was empty, as I'd be wearing it after jumping 6 inches in the air.

"The fuck!" I yelled, putting a free hand on my heart while I held my cup out in front of me as if in warding. "Iter! Don't scare me like that!"

The god himself was in my kitchen in full divine radiance, robes and all. He beamed at me, arms wide as if he were blessing the room. Which, who knows, maybe he was in some way.

"We have returned to accompany you once more," he ignored my outburst, grinning like a grandparent visiting their favorite grandchild. "We have much to relay, but first We must proclaim Our joy in appearing before you again."

"Yeah, yeah, it's great to see you, too" I muttered distracted. "But before all that, d'you mind telling me who that is?" I nodded to the figure standing behind Iter, looking around the kitchen in shrewd interest. They were shorter than Iter, roughly my height, but almost twice as broad. It looked like what they lacked in size they tried to make up for in hair. There was a huge mountain of wild, dark blonde hair rising about their head and incorporating a lengthy, thick beard like a mane. Poking out from the hair was an abnormally long, pointed nose, upon which balanced a pair of intricate silver pince-nez that looked as though they would fall off at the slightest turn or tilt of their head. Tiny ice blue eyes peered out from within that thicket and darted about the room, taking everything in. I assumed there were a mouth and ears in there, but I couldn't swear to it in a court of law. They wore loose woolen clothing and a heavy wool cloak, all in various tones of moss, earth, and mud.

"Of course!" Iter replied, unphased. "It is Our pleasure to introduce Our new companion… " Iter began, turning to the figure behind him, but was interrupted.

"Hero. Well met," a low grumble escaped from within the tangled mass, and they reached forward past Iter with a broad hand twice the size of mine that appeared to be covered in strips of linen and leather. I reached out my hand in turn, and it was enveloped entirely within their firm grip. They moved forward in a breath and their eyes were before mine, dancing around my face as if taking in each feature and line. The smell of soil, smoke, sweat, and steel suffused my nostrils, and I would have taken a step back if that vise-like grip hadn't held me in place. "Siarrálfr, I am called." Then immediately I was released, nearly causing me to stumble backwards.

"Siarrálfr is an elf," Iter added, deflated at being upstaged. But he brightened again almost immediately. "They are from another world, here to assist Our Hero in her quest!"

"A what?" My brain was still trying to process the name, feeling its way around the unfamiliar syllables. But it immediately latched onto Iter's response as a priority consideration.

"Elf," came the deep throated rumble, "From Vanaheim, I am come to aid you." At this statement, Siarrálfr bowed deep, but they angled their head so that their eyes never left mine. When they had straightened, their eyes immediately began their cataloguing of the kitchen once more.

"Our investigation of the ring you found confirmed it's Magical nature," Iter stepped forward once more to take the reins of the conversation. "However, as an item imbued with Magic, it was beyond Our ability to ascertain more. So We chose to obtain the aid of an expert in Magic devices." Iter looked at his companion with an expression close to pride. "We have obtained the very best."

"A simple enchantment," Siarrálfr growled, finally abandoning their survey of the room. "An elf-child could craft as much. But the ring itself, an amalgamation of perfection and flaws. Neither man nor elf of my world could have made it." Their eyes peered back at me, and a hand disappeared inside a pouch at their waist. It returned with the gold band and garnet gemstone held like a tiny toy in their massive hand. "I am assured by the gods it was manufactured in this place." Their gaze swept the room once more. "Evidence of this, I see in every corner." They held out the ring to me.

I paused before accepting the ring from their hand, and a throaty chuckle emerged from within their beard. "The enchantment is undone. The gods willed it so." I accepted the ring and looked at it curiously. It looked the same. I Appraised it:

Gold band with a set garnet

No longer a magic item, then. Also, confirmed that the stone was garnet and not ruby.

"Perfection and flaws?" I asked, the first thing I could think of, overwhelmed with questions.

"The edges of the band are cut so uniform it would seem as if it were cast in a die. However, the metal is too dense for such a simple process. In addition, the alloy is pure and uniform, if low grade. But the gem is poorly set, off-center and ill-fitted," Though hidden by hair, I could sense the affronted frown within. "What being could have such mastery yet care so little?" The self-proclaimed elf became agitated, waving about the room. "I see much the same in the designs of the devices here. And many materials unknown to me." I couldn't see their mouth, but the beard seemed to descend at the sides in a deep scowl.

"You mean the appliances?" I asked, taken aback. "I'm guessing many of these were cut and assembled by machines, with maybe some additional cheap labor to finish it off."

"Machines, you say?" Two giant fuzzy eyebrows fell inward toward the bridge of their nose. "Do constructs operate your smithies in this place?"

I looked over at Iter, who was looking back at me in expectation. "Okay," I sighed, "This is going to take a bit to explain if I have to go all the way back to the Industrial Revolution. But," I rounded on Iter, "Before that, I want to know what you mean by 'here to assist'." I looked at him pointedly. "And they better have somewhere else they can stay the night."

Iter's smile faltered a bit, but at that moment my phone started buzzing. I pulled it from my pocket to check the number. Epic Encounters?

"Hi, Mai here," I answered, motioning at Iter and his buddy to be quiet, and then raising the phone to my ear.

"Mai! It is Laci," his lilting voice came over the speaker, a little subdued.

"Hey Laci, what's up?" I looked up and saw Siarrálfr moving toward my coffee maker with purpose, and waved to Iter to stop them.

"Are you busy tonight? I was hoping you and I could chat." His voice lacked its usual good humor.

"Sure? What's this about?" I frowned, nervously watching Iter attempt to dissuade the elf from touching the appliance. The large being pulled it's arms behind its back in a show of assent, but then leaned in to absorb every detail and angle of my coffee machine with eyes so brilliant blue they were almost white.

"It is about this new company of yours," There was a pause at the other end of the line. Just as I was about to chime in to ask for more details, Laci continued. "I hope you'll forgive an old man for prying. I spoke to a few old friends about this program. I am afraid you are having a problem."