I followed Technica into a small eatery, similar to the one we had been to before. Just like the previous one, this one seemed to focus on providing discrete service to high-level customers and I could easily imagine the ambassadors of the nearby UN-building using locations such as this one to conduct clandestine meetings. I had to grin a little when I noticed the sign out front, telling us we were entering the Wicked Witch’s Kitchen.
They recognised Technica and we were quickly ushered into a private room before being left alone with the menu.
“Are we secure to talk here?” I asked, while looking through the offerings. Their names were a little strange, playful and whimsical, but luckily with an added explanation. For example, Coffee was called Wicked Witch’s Wakeful Wonder which made me grin a little, but other names, like Dragon’s Breath Soup made me wonder. The description made it out to be a hot tomato-chili soup, eliciting a giggle from me. It would have to be quite spicy to qualify as “Dragon’s Breath”, would it not. Whoever had named the dishes was either certifiably insane or very enamoured with fantasy-stories, possibly both. But, given that we were in a shop named Wicked Witch, it should come as no surprise.
“We should be. Obviously, nothing is perfectly secure, but there are a few locations that are protected very well. This is one of them, and the owner makes sure to keep it that way.” Technica answered, ignoring the menu, apparently already knowing what to order.
As I considered what to order, I remembered a few things I had made note to ask Technica.
“Say, when Sophia woke up, why were you so quick to unmask yourself? I mean, you spent the last decade and a half hidden and now you show your face to a girl you hardly met and without any connection to you.” I asked, wanting to understand a little more.
”Why wouldn’t I?” she asked, her question catching me short before she continued. “What you need to understand is, that I hid myself to make sure nobody would go after my family, my daughter specifically. Both my former husband and my son are important and active in the business world, making them a target in their own right. My daughter on the other hand, was, even with her position of privilege, not a target. That would have changed if the connection had been made. But, now that you are my apprentice, such considerations have changed, as you are a target in your own right, just like my husband and son are.”
Her explanation was a little strange and I had a strong feeling that there was more to it, but at the same time, I had a hard time keeping my face straight at her linguistic gymnastics to not call me her daughter. There was something in her voice that made me think those hurt her and a soft voice in the back of my head, not coming from Galatea, suggested that she had denied herself just as she had denied me. And, just yesterday, she had acted contrary to the behaviour I had seen in her, when she had assisted me in getting Sophia out. Or rather, when she had gotten Sophia out with my help.
I ignored the voice, focusing on the present, where Technica continued.
“And here, in the center of the Guild’s power, people know my face. They don’t know about the original connection between us, but even if they knew, it wouldn’t matter. You need to keep a mental separation between the normal society and the Powered society, there are even people who mentally separate things they know in their Powered guise from things they know normally. They perform impressive mental gymnastics to keep those two parts from interfering with each other, to the point that, according to rumors I’ve heard, one of them was married, in their civilian guise, to their arch-nemesis while in their Powered Guise. Both were Guild-members and when they met at Guild operations, they were professional to each other and I have no doubt that they knew about their other identities but they kept it separated.” she explained and I felt flabbergasted. I asked myself if I could do that, remembering how I had felt about the double-dealing relationship with Sandra, Voltic, and her friends, but even then, it was less a real friendship, even if I enjoyed their company, it had been business, at least from my end. Trying to imagine Sophia being a hero during the time we lived together and keeping the two parts of that relationship separated, it boggled my mind. I doubted I would be able to do it, even if I tried.
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“What happened with them?” I asked, curious.
“Once the wife got pregnant, her partner’s alter ego vanished. As far as know, he’s now a stay-at-home dad, gleefully showing everyone images of his babygirl.”
I was about to respond when there was a ringing sound and Technica pressed a small, unobtrusive button causing it to stop and the door to open, allowing the waiter entry.
We both ordered, Technica a Trollslayer’s Delight, a smoked-salmon dish, while I got myself the Jolly Halfling’s Breakfast, a breakfast platter that combined first, second and third breakfast, at least according to the description.
The waiter left and I asked about the chime we had heard and Technica explained that the doors were sound-dampening to the point that knocking would not be heard inside, or an answer outside. The chime let the people inside know that the waiter wanted entry, making sure that, if people were talking about sensitive topics, they had warning.
We continued our talk on simpler topics, mostly regarding the role of the Guild. It had been something I had been curious about, she had mentioned that the Guild was helping with the official fight against Terrorism and that there were situations in which the Security Council could order the Guild to intervene. If I was to be a member of the Guild, I wanted to know what they actually did.
What I learned was quite interesting, local Governments could ask the Guild to assist with policing but in that case, the Council could refuse if they felt it was against the interests of the Guild. When I wondered when policing would be against the Guild’s interest, she gave the example that once a dictator had asked for assistance to keep an uprising contained. When she explained that ultimately, the Guild had intervened on the dictator’s side, I was truly surprised until she explained that the coalition that had caused the uprising had started it with an ethnic cleansing. It had been a question of lesser evils.
In addition to that, the Guild could be, and more often than not was, asked to assist with natural disasters, earthquakes, hurricanes, tidal waves and the like. Such assistance was always rendered and it was the most common reason for Guild operations.
Lastly, the Security council could ask the Guild to intervene in a conflict but it needed a resolution and there were additional hurdles. Such an intervention had never occured in the almost eighty years the Guild had been operating.
As we talked our food came and conversation mostly ceased as I was focused on devouring the excellent food. The bread was still warm, as if fresh from the oven, the coffee served with breakfast was incredible, even to my standards and the rest was tasty enough to make me stop thinking.
When we were done, I felt much better about the world in general and the immediate future in particular. There was still the talk with Sophia to be had, but somehow, I felt more positive about it. She was safe and Clark would never bother any of us again. There might be some fall-out from his death, but Technica had indicated that, even if his family knew who had been responsible, the Guild would not punish me. There might be a warrant out back home, but if I went there on Guild-business, I would be treated as if I had diplomatic immunity.
Technica and I split up, with me heading back towards the hospital and Technica going back into her lair. At the hospital, I had to check in which I did in my mask and under the name Metis, which did not even raise an eyebrow. It still felt strange to walk around in broad daylight, wearing my costume and nobody batting an eye. But, so was the Guild area, even on the walk from the eatery, I had seen two more people wearing their own masks while walking somewhere with a purpose.
When I got to Sophia’s room, I knocked, not wanting to disturb, if the Doctor was still in, making sure that Sophia was healing well.
“Enter.” I heard her call through the door, so I did. Looking at her, she looked much better than before, there was more colour in her cheeks and her bandages had been changed.
“Hey…” I said before my voice caught with emotions.