Lucy leads her daughter to her office inside the study.
Stopping just outside the office door, Luscin asks, “Mother, what are we doing, do you work here?”
“Me, work? Free’er no. Your father would never allow me to get a job, both out of pride and for practical reasons involving his job. I’m a volunteer, I sponsor the bird watching club.”
“That’s what your letter said, what about the cobbler shop. Are you a silent partner or something?”
“Luscin, the Cobbler Shop is no more a shoe repair store as the Bird Watching Club is organized avian observation,” she says with a grin.
“I don’t understand.” It’s been a tumultuous day, first she hears about Sir Jenkin’s, then she discovers her mom is out of the house and sober. What else can happen today, she thinks?
Lucy reaches for the door and opens it, “Come in sit down and we can answer all your questions.”
“We?”
Luscin enters and should not have been as surprised as she was, “Master Adara!”
She’s never been one to hug people, preferring to hand brace, or a nod of the head for greetings, yet she finds herself hugging her master from Mammatus.
Luscin and Vania separate, and the three ladies take seats. Lucy behind her desk, Vania returns to the chair by the window, leaving the chair in front of the desk for Luscin.
The three women fall silent, not knowing where to start, not even sure what protocol dictates who is in charge. Vania Adara is a visiting Master from Mammatus Study, Lucy is the mother of Luscin, and it’s her office. Luscin knows she’s the lowest ranking person in the room but is also the one that knows the enemy.
Master Adara was willing to allow Lucy to take the lead, it’s her city, study, and daughter at risk after all. When the silence stretches to almost a minute, it’s more than she can let slide.
Speaking in her casual drawl, “I suppose we should get started. Mrs. Lael, why don’t you catch Luscin up on all you’ve accomplished.”
Embarrassed, Luscin’s mother responds, “I’ve not accomplished much, but I’ve been busy for sure.” Standing up, “I’m thirsty, can I offer either of you a drink?”
Luscin’s hopes sink as she remembers her mother’s weakness for wine.
Lucy continues, “All I have is water mind you, but it’s filtered and cold.”
That last piece of information perks Luscin right back up, “Water,” not wanting to dredge up the past she adds, “how do you make it cold?”
“We have a boy, he’s 14 so we should stop calling him a boy. He has the gift with thermal energy but not enough to be a Defender like Master Adera here. He’s employed by the study to make ice.”
Vania speaks up, “That sounds tedious. I can’t imagine how boring that must be.”
“You’re not wrong about that. His contract requires him to produce a ton of ice each day. The study sells it to merchants and residents that have the means. He can produce a ton in under six hours if he tries. Most days he has friends call on him and they play games, other days he reads; on those days it takes him nearly ten hours. The interesting part is he’s been researching a way to make ice without the gift. Using a machine. Not the type you make with spirit, but a mechanical device. It sounds fantastical, exchanging heat without the gift, don’t you think Luscin?” As she was speaking, Lucy walked to a box that was next to the office door. Inside was a block of ice and half a pitcher of water.
“Yes, that is interesting. I’m actually curious about how that could be done. And yes, I’d like that drink.”
“I’ll take one as well,” adds Vania.
Taking three glasses from a cupboard above the icebox, Lucy pours the water and serves her guests, “We’re not here to discuss ice, I should get on with answering your question as that will help my daughter make her decision to accept my assistance.”
Luscin looks skeptically at her mother. Two years ago, she was drunk half the day and passed out the other half.
“As you are probably aware, someone left me a note the day you disappeared. It told me if I wanted to be a mother so bad I should look out for the children of Downwind. That’s where I found your adopted siblings, as well as a willing and talented workforce. Father’s organization never had an intelligence apparatus. I finished that bunch of ragamuffins training in the fine art of spying and sell the intelligence to Father.”
Luscin wanted to make a joke about her father and lacking intelligence but the thought of him made her stomach hurt.
“Luscin, I know that look. You’re remembering all the bad things your father did to you. His methods were crude, but he cared for you immensely. He wanted you to hate him. He tried to make you, want to be as far away from his business as you could get. He knew you had the gift, he thought if he hurt you enough, you’d strike back and realize how strong you are, and go and become the best you. When your grandfather gave us that ultimatum, your father was contemplating switching allegiances and going to war. Hate Father, but not your father. In the end it worked, only you didn’t punish Father like he’d hoped.”
Luscin sat silent while her mother explained away her terrible childhood. Nothing she said changed how she felt about her father. The beatings she received, his dead eyes when he hurt her. Those are the only things she remembers of Father. She wanted a father, but she was born to The Father of Downwind, the man who ran every illegal business in that smelly place. First, she dissociated those feelings with the help of her mental training, then she put the beatings and Father out of her thoughts.
“Tell me then about this Cobbler business that doesn’t make shoes,” Luscin quips.
“That’s a bit more straight forward but before I continue, I need to hear from our silent friend by the window.”
Master Adara likes this woman but is skeptical, “What would you like to hear, shall I make some bird calls? Do you even know any bird calls?”
Lucy smiles a little before, making a series of chirps, “That’s a Piping Plover… One of my favorites is the Caspian Tern, it sounds like this.
Luscin and Vania sit wide-eyed and stunned as the proper lady before them belches out the harsh croaking bird call, “Raaa, Raaa!” Afterward she leans back in her chair, oozing with satisfaction.
Master Adara, “I should not have doubted your commitment to your craft. What is it you want to hear from me? Not a bird call I should hope, I wouldn’t dare follow such a performance.”
“It has been my understanding that your order protects the people from monsters and the business of us common criminals are of no concern to you, am I correct?”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Amused by the way she walked into it, “You are quite correct, our order is not tasked with enforcing any laws. What common people do to one another is none of our concern.”
“Then I shall continue. Some of the talent I found among the kids of Downwind were of the artistic variety. They’ve proven to be excellent forgers of documents, ID’s, and decrees from foreign dignitaries, the opportunities are endless. The best part is picking the target governments and bureaucrats to defraud. We have to share a cut with Father’s organization, but the rest funds a home for wayward children. They’re generating so much income we will likely have to start a legit business to obscure the funds.”
Luscin can hardly believe this is the same woman she used to clean up after when she would piss herself at the breakfast table. The news of a home for lost children brightened her outlook considerably. The orphans of Thuma have come a long way from the days of Alfie and Felix feeding them to a monster.
That last thought reminds Luscin of the point of this visit, “I am grateful you’re taking care of those children. I’m not so sure about how you’re using them.”
Defensively, Lucy interrupts, “I don’t employ anyone under the age of ten, I wait until they…”
Now Master Adara interrupt her, “Excuse me but one of your crews had a child who couldn’t have been ten try to rob me.”
With eyes as lifeless as Fathers ever were, Lucy answers, “They were not representing the family’s interests. I operate an information gathering and document reproduction enterprise, I do not employ footpads. The crew you encountered was operating independently and now that you’ve informed me of their actions, I will deal with them.”
Nobody spoke following Mrs. Lail’s cold response. Her tone reminded both Luscin and Vania that behind the cute euphemisms and funny bird sounds, she’s a high-ranking member of a powerful crime syndicate.
The tension was becoming palpable until Luscin spoke up again, “As I was saying, I appreciate what you are doing for the children of Thuma, but its apparently not enough. The last part of your letter warned me of a job I failed to finish and of its consequences. I’m here to finish that job and as you can see, I brought assistance.”
Mrs. Lail sits back in her chair as her eyes light back up and her charming smile reappears, “Yes, you did and she’s a full-on Defender, with an extensive resume. We’ve been making ourselves acquainted these last two days and have been trading intelligence on the matter. She believes there are two operatives in Thuma, she called them Desolators, the name is a bit dramatic, but fitting if they are responsible for all the foulness in Thuma.”
Luscin already knows the answer but asks anyways, “What do you mean by foulness?”
“The dark cloud that hangs over the city, the distrust between neighbors that were once friends, the flash mobs that turn vigilante and dispenses street justice on the thinnest of suspicions. Somebody is purposely manipulating the population of Thuma and turning it against itself in a fit of self-loathing.”
Luscin tenses at the mention of mobs dispensing street-justice.
“So, you two have had a two-day head start, where can I find these Desolators?”
Now Master Adera speaks up, “We have no idea. I went to the block where you first encountered the one you called the Hag. The only notable feature is the empty lot that once held a home that you presumably burgled and assaulted its occupant.”
She continues, “The child that escorted me to the Study says he met you before and was one of the kids that went to verify the hag was truly dead. There was a man seen entering the house several times before it was eventually demolished. Every witness gave a different description of the man. Even witnesses that observed him at the same time. That is a skill of disguise that I cannot replicate, and that is my specialty. I’d beat myself up with that fact, but I’m not 300 plus years old. Given the time I may get that good too.”
Lucy adds, “This man could be the second Devastator your study suspects. But my education suggests another option. The Hag is a Devastator, this man is either her handler or her boss. If you look at them from my perspective their relationship matches handler agent perfectly. It’s not uncommon in my business for such an arrangement to exist, the pattern seems obvious to me.”
Master Adera urges her to elaborate with a circling hand gesture.
“Yes, of course. There are three possibilities, two equal partners, handler and agent, and boss and agent. Each relationship with different implications for the man’s abilities. If they are equals, I expect the two of you to take them down easily. If they are handler and agent, you can expect him to be tougher for sure, but much of his authority comes from someone else, a tougher fight but doable. If it’s the third option, and the man is her boss; he will be overwhelmingly stronger than she and possibly a problem for even the two of you. But he being the Hags boss could also be a bonus, because one thing is for sure, a boss does not stick around and babysit every one of their operatives. Bosses have more important things to do, or so we like our subordinates to believe. You may never cross paths with him while taking out the Hag.”
Master Adara nods in approval of the summation of their foes, “You mentioned a theory based on some of the intelligence you gathered. I believe Luscin should hear that too.”
Lucy as a mother isn’t so sure of sharing this theory for fear of how her daughter will take the facts that helped to shape said theory, but Mrs. Lael knows the importance of controlling how damaging information is disseminated, “Luscin, I believe someone is targeting the people that you would consider important to you. I’ve been informed that there are multiple contracts for my death, not entirely unexpected in my line of work, but the odd thing is, each assassin that was approached describes a different buyer. Even ones approached on the same day. Not conclusive but there’s someone else who appears different to everyone. Two of your previous masters from this study, Masters Kovac and Schneider were killed in their homes, presumably during robberies. Father knows every operator in Thuma, not only are these incidents not sanctioned, but they were performed by parties from outside Thuma. Now I didn’t expect you to be to upset by those two pieces of news. The next two are more personal, your study friend Wendy, you two were once close. I don’t know what happened that night, but Father beat her pretty bad, but she survived unlike the two young men that were abusing her. Seven months ago, she was found dead in an alley. She had been raped and tortured to death.” Lucy paused to check on Luscin’s reaction.
Luscin thought she hated Wendy for her betrayal that night. Why did she feel sorrow over learning of her torture and death? She takes a meditative breath to calm herself and nods at her mother to continue.
Lucy went on, “Your father linked this last one. Father kept an eye on you and knew all your friends, even the grocer that was so fond of you. Your father never told him, but he was the only store in Thuma that didn’t pay for protection and now he feels responsible for what happened. You see…”
Luscin held up her hand, flat, signaling her mother to stop speaking, “I already know this one. I don’t want to hear it again.”
“He was a good man, he did exactly the opposite as these Desolators and deserved a better end. I am sorry for your loss.”
Vania and Lucy give the girl time to control her grief. When Luscin sits a little straighter in her chair, Vania decides to continue in Lucy’s place, “Luscin, we both believe you are being taunted into returning. This is personal to this monster; we may be able to use that against it.”
Luscin, feeling a glimmer of hope returning, “How so?”
“We set a trap of course.”
“You want to use me as bait?”
Master Adara now looking and sounding exactly like Luscin responds, “No we can use anyone for that purpose. Do not forget I am the Master of Sight and Sound.”
Stepping from behind Luscin’s doppelganger is Master Adara. “Nobody need be put in danger as bait so long as I am here.”
Vania proceeds to sit back down on top of the duplicate Luscin, who squawks in indignation before disappearing.
Mrs. Lael was impressed and couldn’t stop thinking of the possibilities of having someone like Master Adara on her payroll.
Lucy Lael kept focused, “Luscin, the first step is to make sure nobody knows you are here. I take it you spoke with someone since you knew the fate of the grocer.”
“His name was Sir Jenkin’s, and yes I made a scene in front of his boarded-up store, plenty of people saw me.”
Master Adara offered her experience with engaging with the locals, “You’d be surprised at how many people that should have noticed you but worked very hard not to see you. Unless someone made eye contact, they did not see you.”
Luscin responds, “I guess only one person saw me, but I had made myself larger and amplified my voice to get his attention.”
Vania claps her hands once and says, “Splendid! Then I will put on that exact disguise and make myself seen all over Thuma. Nobody will know if any of the sightings are really you after that.”
Vania continues, “Once we’ve muddied any reports of you being here, it should look like Mammatus Study is here to lure the Hag out of hiding. Once that is done, this is what I’d like to do.”
The three-woman huddle in Lucy’s office for the better part of five hours. They hash out a solid plan of action before calling it a night. Master Adara disguises Luscin as a female version of her prior escort and takes her to the inn where she had reserved two rooms.
Lucy heads home to let Luscin’s father know that his daughter is doing well.