Chapter 97: Sleeping Beauty

After a gruelling run, I was finally reunited with the rest of the party, even picking up an extra along the way, which was good. Less so was seeing Harvey sprawled out in my bed, groaning in his sleep and dead to the world.

[Harvey Miller - Level 10 Thief of Souls]

“Harvey booked two rooms for us,” I pointed out, because while I was willing to do plenty of dubious deeds on the job, that most definitely didn’t include sleeping with the line manager.

I’d seen far too many careers, businesses and lives ruined, all because some moron in a hurry couldn’t keep it in his pants; accordingly, I’d made sure to instill a strict policy of non-fraternisation at my pension fund. It didn’t take much to set up, just a few paragraphs on a single side of A4 paper that every employee had to sign, and it had quickly proved to be worth its weight in gold; written in black and white, there was nothing for litigious employees to contest, allowing for the subsequent terminations to proceed in no time at all.

“I couldn’t find the key. Also, I have no idea which room is his, since he ran off almost as soon as we arrived.”

Pumpkin was annoyingly correct, and it wasn’t worth the effort of disputing, so I gave it up as a lost cause; Harvey could keep the bed in the meantime, despite my own desire to flop over.

“Let him rest then,” I grunted. “Is he going to be alright?”

A perfunctory look didn't find any injuries on him, but I was no doctor, and even a professional glance wouldn’t account for any internal damage.

“He looks a lot better now than when I was carrying him back; I swear, there were more holes in him than a dartboard. They all closed up after the green light arrived, so he should be good.”

That was one potential problem taken care of, I reflected, deciding not to ask how Pumpkin had managed to drag an adult man with him while evading pursuit. My gut told me I wouldn’t like the answer, and gut instinct was important in matters of life and death; they’d saved my bacon on more than one occasion, even if the case that got me in the end was too much to hide. That said, if Harvey had gotten a dose of All Heal…

“Can you wake him up?” I turned to Kyle, who had watched our reunion in silence; whatever awkwardness there was at being a third wheel smothered beneath his professionalism.

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“Not any more gently than you,” Kyle replied, making a fist as he stared at my expectantly.

“Please don’t,” I retorted, raising my own open palm in his place.

[Water (10 oz) withdrawn.]

Harvey sputtered back to the waking world, the latest victim of the old bucket of water sans bucket. A pretty poor way to wake up, all told, but still nicer than a punch to the stomach, and less likely to provoke an instinctual counterattack at that. True to form, Harvey coughed and spluttered, but his eyes opened without any fists flying from either end. I wasn’t unsympathetic to what he’d been through, but as he was the highest ranking member of the Dead Hand within reach, there was no chance I was leaving him to snooze through an active warzone, not when a single stray attack could do us all in.

“Will,” Harvey’s eyes focused on me first of all. “What did you do to Damien when he first went to try and recruit you?”

“Choke him for a bit and intimidated him, before sending him back to you.”

[Harvey: How many carriages did we set out with?]

“Six.”

Two questions, one verbal and one through the System; Harvey was understandably paranoid given what was going on, so I didn’t begrudge him the additional verification, as I’d have done the same were our positions reversed.

“Good,” Harvey nodded, visibly relaxing, before finally turning his attention to the last man standing. “I see Pumpkin as well, but who’s our new friend?”

“A long-time local. He was one of the first to respond when your warning came through.”

[Changeling Skeleton withdrawn.]

“We were planning to find you, then get the best name to turn this in anonymously while still getting most of the reward, but well…” I trailed off, still holding the rickety bones for emphasis.

“Not much point in that any more,” Kyle shrugged helplessly. “A shame really, the reward was a big one, but we were just a bit too late to matter.”

“Realistically, there was nothing you could have done to affect tonight’s outcome,” Harvey shook his head. “A plot like this would have been many years in the making, the work of embedded agents spanning generations of infiltration, with significant logistical support from man and monster alike. Getting me out of the fire was already above expectations, speaking frankly; but even if we’d swept the nest clean by nightfall, Heaven’s Reach would still be at war.”

“You knew this was coming?” I raised an eyebrow. “Or did your captors let something slip on the way?”

“I was unconscious for most of that time,” Harvey shook his head. “Amelia tried her best to reach me though, and when that failed she left me notes on the general situation as she understood it. I’m unable to reach her for further instructions, or anyone else outside the city. Even my contacts within Heaven’s Reach have gone quiet, so I’m afraid we’re on our own for the time being.”

“Lovely,” Kyle groaned. “So, now that we’re all here, should I leave and pretend we never met, or is there a chance I can tag along? There’s safety in numbers when things go this bad, and I like to think I’m a decent shot.”

“He was pretty helpful on the way back,” I admitted.

“That might be for the best,” Harvey allowed. “Alright, here’s what we’ll do.”