IACET

KEVIN

Kevin Irwin was a Jotuun spy.

He didn't have any buffs or cosmos, but that was the point. It wouldn't be very subtle if he was three feet taller than everyone else. Passer was the common term, but he hated it. It implied that he was an assassin.

He was in his dorm room, with a depressed Simon and a jolly Steve. He had difficulty paying attention to Steve. Despite his height, he was just baseline, and years of training forced Kevin to memorize Simon's every word, since he was the enemy.

Well, enemy was a bit strong. He wasn't a Jotuun, and that meant he was a potential threat. Kevin was ordered to observe his movements—and those of his sister—but nothing more.

“Let me get this straight,” Steve said with a slow chuckle. “Your culture has some weird monster thing watching over your servers.”

“Correct,” Simon said. He was sitting on his bed, the picture of calm. Kevin was perched on his own mattress, the top bunk bed, where he got a good vantage of everything. Steve's bed was under his, but he was standing by the window.

“This creature didn't know about the screamers or the Composer or anything.”

“Right. He seemed to be on bad terms with the Power.”

“Right, right... and he was scared of MC and the Servants for some reason.”

“I think he was just paranoid.”

Steve was smiling at some private joke. “Whatever. The point is... you agreed to talk to MC on his behalf. Quiz her on how far the 'sarian research is coming, all that.”

“That's about the size of it,” Simon said. He took a sip of his drink, as though we weren't discussing anything more important than sports.

Steve laughed and rubbed his forehead. “Kevin, help me out here. Explain what an idiot he's being.”

Kevin shrugged nonchalantly, doing his best to quell his pounding heart. This was the most important discovery he had made since he found out Simon was working with a fey. If he used the same laptop for his interviews, the bug Kevin had planted would turn out to be completely invaluable.

“I don't think it's really that big a deal,” Kevin lied. “Every culture has secrets. His talks.”

Steve frowned, a rare sight. “No, I don't mean about telling us about it. I mean the fact that he's trying to screw over MC.”

“Hey, I'm not screwing her over!”

“Steve has a point,” Kevin said. “Letting someone listen in on your conversation without telling her will be a breach of trust. You should consider just telling her.”

“Somehow, I don't think Aramazd will appreciate that.”

“Hey don't worry!” Steve said, slapping Simon on the back jovially. “You said he was completely cut off from the outside world. He has to work with you.”

“Besides, it's not like you have to tell MC you're working with...” Kevin waved his hand. “An abomination. If she would even consider him that. Just say he doesn't get enough contact with people to feel comfortable talking to her.” He shrugged. “It's true enough, right?”

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Simon rubbed his forehead, finally showing some consternation at what was coming. “I really don't want to trick MC at all. I mean, it's MC.”

Kevin snorted. “Five minutes ago you were willing to lie outright. Now a little bit of subterfuge is out of the question?”

“That's different,” Simon insisted. “That was me fulfilling a promise.”

Kevin shrugged. “You can make distinctions like that if you want. Doesn't change what you're doing.”

He threw up his hands. “So, what? I have a choice between screwing over someone who hasn't seen another living soul in a month, or the most important woman in Domina?”

“Or just talk to the monster again,” Steve suggested as he sat down on his own bed. “Just explain that you don't feel comfortable messing with MC.”

“Somehow I don't think it will be that simple.”

Kevin sighed again. “You have your choices laid out in front of you, Simon. Pick one, and accept the consequences.”

Simon nodded. “You know what? You're right. I'm going to tell Aramazd it's off.”

That was about when Kevin realized that he was in the middle of convincing Simon to turn down a priceless espionage opportunity.

He sat bolt upright on his bed. “Wait, you can't do that!”

Simon stared. “Wait, what? You just said—”

“I know what I said,” Kevin snapped. “Look, your 'rex buddy wants to discuss things with MC, right?”

He nodded slowly.

“And MC likes debating with intelligent people, right?”

“Well, obviously, but...”

“So you just have to convince both of them it's in their best interests to work together.” He shrugged. “Take the third option.”

Simon put his face in his hands. “Okay, okay. That's... that actually makes sense.” He shook his head. “But leaving aside your schizo behavior, I really don't think it will be that easy. Aramazd is really paranoid.”

Kevin really needed to keep him from thinking about his actions. “Well, you only met him once, right?”

Simon frowned. “No. Didn't I... no, I forgot to tell you. I met him last Friday. Talked to him a couple times since then, tried to work out a better solution. Didn't work. He's definitely scared of what MC will do to him.”

Kevin heard Steve giggle. “But come on. It's MC. What's she gonna do? Cut off his cell service?”

Kevin smiled grimly. “If you think that's the worst she can do, I invite you to see what happens if you piss her off.”

Steve laughed, and they heard rustling from his bed.

“Settle down, guys,” Simon said. “I'll figure something out.” He bit his lip. “I'll talk to Jelena. She's good at politics.”

“Yeah, but she's a spy for the fey now, right?”

“True. Even though no one has the heart to tell her.” Simon frowned at Kevin. “Wait, how'd you know that?”

Inwardly, Kevin cursed at his own stupidity, but he kept his calm and just shrugged. “You mentioned it earlier.”

Simon looked confused, then shrugged too. “Whatever. You're right, she's out. I guess I'll have to deal with it myself.”

Steve snapped his fingers. “The ferret girl might be helpful. The one rooming with Delphie.”

Simon cocked his head. “You mean Zusa? She didn't strike me as the type to have any experience in this area.”

“Well, she's the friendliest of the bunch. Might be able to give you a little advice.”

“Better than you two, at least,” Simon muttered. “At least she's sane enough to not do a complete one-eighty halfway through the conversation.”

“Don't be so sure about that,” Steve said with mock seriousness. “She is a woman.”

Simon sighed. “That makes one thing easy, at least.”

Kevin raised an eyebrow. “What's that?”

“I was considering bringing you guys along for advice when I talk to her.” He smiled grimly. “I've changed my mind.”