While Lightforge, Sunbird, and Gray Guardian trained themselves diligently, the world outside their subterranean hideaway continued to move. Cannoneer was keeping himself busy, but that was secondary to keeping himself safe. Despite being on his last life, that wouldn’t have been his first choice. He was only doing it because he’d promised to do so to Sunbird, and he valued her trust.
And so he didn’t go poking around in the business of dangerous people. Fortunately, he did have other ways of getting information that might be useful. As a rule, people didn’t expect much from the guy with the big gun. As long as he showed up on time and pointed his weapon in the right direction, most didn’t give him a second thought.
That also meant that they didn’t think twice about mentioning things to him without realizing their importance. He wasn’t the only person gathering information under the radar in that way, and he had met a lot of them. That network allowed him to gather information and know who was moving and where. It was a powerful resource that made him valuable to a particular set of people.
Among those people who valued him in that way was the woman standing in front of him. She towered over him, her muscular frame making him feel rather small by comparison. They had met in a park, by all appearances not attempting to hide what they were up to at all.
Cannoneer knew that it was an act. There were at least eight operatives roaming the area and keeping unwanted eyes away. Meeting in the open was just a way to show that they had the power to do so. And who was “they?”
The Lighter Shade Alliance. A group of neutral players who were the information gatherers and middlemen for the big players of the world. And the woman in front of him, Gale Force, was one of their higher ups. In fact, she was his direct superior within the alliance.
She was reading over a report of the latest information that he’d managed to gather. They met regularly for this purpose, but her presence never seemed to get more comforting to him. She was big, stern, and just a little scary. Even when she was just reading papers, she had an air of danger around her, like she might just snap and tear him to pieces at a moment’s notice.
Instead she simply finished her review and placed the report into her inventory. She nodded at him and might have shown him the ghost of a grin.
“Good work, as always. No problems?”
“Just the usual hazards. Nothing serious enough to report.”
“Good. Now, we have a mission for you.”
“Is that a good idea? I’ll be honest, I’m out of revivals.”
“An understandable concern, but I think you’ll want in on this.”
“Why? What is it?”
“Your friends’ disappearance. Certain groups have taken notice.”
“People vanish all the time. Why does anyone care?”
“That gadgeteer friend of yours has annoyed a lot of people. Some of them are looking for him.”
“Well, maybe that’s why he’s vanished.”
“Maybe, but some people have a different idea. There have been reports of strange energy surges in your area. They’re short and only come once every few days, but the first one was right on top of his shop. It may be nothing, but there’s a group following the potential breadcrumbs.”
“Uh huh. And what do you want me to do about that?”
“Infiltrate one of the groups and learn what they know and what they want. It should be simple.”
“I’m a known associate of his, there’s no way they let me in.”
“A known associate with no spare lives who’s apparently been abandoned. It’s enough to make some people think about jumping ship to the other side.”
“Not all of them will buy that. It’s a big risk.”
“It’s your friends that they’re looking for. I thought you would want to do something about it. But, as always, the choice is yours.”
Cannoneer wanted to grind his teeth in frustration. That was the public line for all alliance assignments: members were free to accept or decline at their leisure. The truth, however, was more complicated.
So far as he could tell, there were rarely consequences to refusing a request. At least directly. The problem was that the alliance almost always assigned jobs based on who they thought would get it done the most cleanly. If you refused, the job would still be done. But it would be done more noisily and with significantly less subtlety.
It was a difficult tightrope to walk, but they managed it. And it left members like Cannoneer feeling like they had no choice but to accept. If he didn’t, the odds were good that someone more reckless would be tasked to do it instead, and he had little confidence in the outcome of such a situation.
Maybe others saw it a different way, but as far as he was concerned, there was no choice at all.
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Using the alliance’s resources and power to set up a private meeting in public was, as it turned out, the easy way of doing things. It was much more complicated to set up an actual secret meeting between disparate parties.
And that was how it took most of the next week before everything was in place to introduce Cannoneer to the people who were trying to find his friends. He had reservations about the plan, but he had confidence in the reputation of his alliance.
Lighter Shade was the consummate go-between for those on either side of major conflicts. Not powerful enough to be a threat, but big enough to turn the tides if they threw their full weight behind one side or the other. That key positioning meant that, most likely, he would be perfectly safe.
He didn’t know the building where the meeting would take place, and he doubted he’d be able to identify it after this was over. It was just one more facade among dozens like it in the area. It wasn’t the only one with drawn shades and locked doors, though it was one of few with any lights on the inside.
He approached a side door and knocked in an agreed-upon pattern before stepping back and waiting patiently. At first there was no response, but he was patient. With an operation this delicate everyone took their time.
The door opened silently with no one behind it. Cannoneer walked in without delay and found himself in a simple room with a table and two chairs. All of the furniture looked like it might have been plucked from some little boutique cafe and set down in this nondescript building.
A person was sitting in one of the chairs already. A woman who looked a bit like a vampire, if he was being honest. Bone pale skin and raven dark hair. The fancy victorian dress didn’t help, nor did the translucent parasol that she had balanced on one shoulder.
She sat in silence, sipping at a cup of tea as he approached. She daintily placed her cup on the table in front of her and gave him a small, demure smile.
“Cannoneer, at last. What a pleasure to finally meet you. Please, have a seat. Would you like some tea?”
“Yes, thank you. I appreciate the hospitality, though I’m afraid I don’t know your name.”
“By design. I’ve heard that you have a gift for uncovering information, and I had no interest in having you snoop through my business.”
“Ah. I’m sorry that you felt the need to take such precautions.”
“We work in a business that favors the prudent. With that being said, it also favors those with strong relationships. It is in that spirit that you may call me Feathertouch.”
He sat and took the cup of tea offered to him, but didn’t drink. He did his best to return the woman’s smile, but something uncertain was sitting in the back of his mind, ringing alarm bells.
“To be honest,” he said, “I was surprised that you were willing to meet with me. I understand that you’re looking for some people that I know.”
“That’s quite right. Your friend Lightforge was making quite a splash for a time, and now he seems to have vanished without a trace. Such a thing is quite unusual, as you must realize.”
“Not really. He made choices that made enemies. His shop was torn apart. It’s not that surprising that he might have gone with it.”
“Perhaps not, but that’s not what happened. And if I’m to be frank, I’m not interested in where he’s gone. Do you know who I represent, Cannoneer?”
“No. Someone with enough power to earn a seat at the big table.”
“That’s a bit inelegant, but correct enough. I’m here as a representative of the Knights of Frost. We have sworn our fealty to the rightful ruler of this place. I do hope that you’ve heard of us.”
“I have but… I didn’t realize that you operated in these circles. I suppose I have more to learn than I thought.”
“It would appear so, yes. But as I said, we are unconcerned with the location of your friends, but rather with what they possess.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hmm. I was told that you were a quick study, so I find myself curious about the current pace of your thoughts. Perhaps I should be more direct: I know that your friend has created something rather impressive, and we will know more about it.”
“I don’t understand. That’s not what this meeting was supposed to be about.”
She took another sip of tea before gently setting the cup down and raising a hand towards a door. She snapped her fingers and the door slid open, revealing a man who looked half beaten to death tied to the wall.
Feathertouch didn’t even glance at the man, locking her gaze onto Cannoneer before she began speaking again.
“Our beloved Queen knows something of whatever device your friend has created. She did not deign to lower herself by explaining to the likes of us, but we exist to enact her will all the same. So when we heard about your little meeting with that one, we simply had no choice but to interrupt.”
Cannoneer’s blood ran cold as she laid it out for him. This was not the meeting that had been set up for him. Somehow, despite their precautions, they had been discovered. And now a group that sounded an awful lot like a cult was looking into the situation instead.
He swallowed hard and slammed a fist down onto his thigh to keep it from shaking. He had to focus; if she had wanted to attack him then she would have already done it. She was here to talk. He took a few slow breaths and calmed himself down.
“Why are you here? What do you get out of this meeting?”
“I must say, I find myself rather disappointed with you. If you will permit me to return to my previous point, what do you know about the Knights of Frost?”
“You’re dedicated to your leader. Strong, but not quite in the top tier of power.”
“Well, how fitting that you are only half correct. Our queen does not lead us; that is beneath her. She need give no command to bid us do her will, for it is our entire purpose.”
“Wait, she’s not a member of your alliance?”
“No. That is an honor which we have yet to earn. But with your help we hope to change that. Now, how about we have a little chat about your friends. Shall we?”
“And what if I don’t want to talk to you?”
“That would be unfortunate. We would have choice but to hope that our contingency has luck on their side.”
“Of course you have a contingency.”
“As you said, your friend has made enemies. Several of them were willing to take anonymous tips as to his potential location. With a little bit of confidence it isn’t hard to send them into a frothing rage at whatever targets we wish.”
“But you’re just guessing?”
“Quite right. But who knows? Perhaps they’ll get lucky. After all, how far can a gadgeteer really go from his workshop with such impressive technology to work on?”
“I think this meeting is over.”
“If you wish. It’s too bad that you aren’t more willing to be reasonable. I hope you don’t come to regret it.”
Cannoneer stood and left without another word. There was no two ways about it; this had gone badly. And now his friends were going to be in danger without ever realizing it.
He stayed in control of himself until he was out the door, at which point he took off running.