Unperturbed, Whist kept talking in a louder voice. “The working theory is that they took advantage of the chaos in the city to move on the VennZech operations office with the explicit goal of capturing Director Tensall. We have collected a few sworn statements from employees that have confirmed he was possibly engaged in—”
“Agent Whist,” Cardinal Crayland snapped, “how dare you make such an accusation against a senior corporate executive. I want these employees to be investigated immediately on suspicions of slander. They might even be working with the terrorists.”
“Absolutely not, and their confessions were made under strict anonymity.” Whist cracked his first gloating smile. “And Sentinel agents do not take orders from the Adjudicate, Cardinal Crayland.”
“You listen to me, Manion,” Crayland said coldly. “You are on very thin ice with us. I have a report on your career, and your… personal habits. If you put one foot out of line, it will not be difficult to have you removed.”
Whist was about to make a snappy retort, but Cardinal Darys cleared his throat.
“I’m sure he will maintain the very highest standards of League security, and I will not have my agents interfered with,” he said sternly. “Continue following your leads, Agent Whist, but keep your resources focused on resolving this crisis. The background of this group is irrelevant—they have taken hostages, and their lives are forfeit.”
Once he was freed from the tyranny of live video calls, Whist stumbled out of the communications truck and looked around the staging area. A trolley carrying water bottles had been left to one side, so he kicked it over. Unfortunately, the act of petty violence did nothing to soothe his rage, and he whirled around to see a scared-looking Agent Marinou, holding a cup of coffee. She thrust it forward in a defensive gesture.
Whist took a moment to calm himself, smiled, and took the coffee. It was delicious, and instantly made him feel more human.
“Good brew,” he said. “Thank you.”
He continued to watch her expectantly, but when the expected side order did not materialize, his smile turned into a frown.
“I’m so very sorry, Agent Whist,” she said “I did try to get some more cigarettes, but the shops have started to close, and I couldn’t… it would have taken too long. Again, I am so very, very—"
“Is that a report for me?” Whist snapped. “Give it here.” He almost snatched the tablet out of the woman’s arm, but stopped at the last moment, and let his hand remain outstretched.
Marinou handed over the device, then blushed. “Well, actually I’ve just had a thought, sir.”
“What?” Whist said, as he scrolled. The tablet contained information on the former Marines suspected of being resident on Caldera, and their possible connections to the colony. The information was interesting, causing him to almost miss his partner’s hesitant suggestion.
“Sorry,” he said, and his eyebrows tried to merge as he processed the beginnings of a migraine. “Could you repeat that? Got distracted.”
“Well, there’s a new executive from VennZech who’s standing in for Divine and Tensall, and she kept asking to meet with you—”
“Why in the name of god would I want to meet with another one of those cockroaches?”
“I think she’s a smoker, sir.”
Whist’s eyes gleamed. “Brilliant. Make it happen right now. I don’t care what she has to say, but she’d better have a spare pack.”
A short car trip took Whist and Marinou towards the starport, and a quiet truck stop. Caught up in desperation whilst trying to digest ident histories, Whist did not think to ask why a senior executive would agree to meet in such a dinghy establishment, or why the place seemed to be empty apart from a few female bodyguards. He was completely absorbed by the connections between VennZech’s rumors of their director’s young-looking lady friend, and the possible presence of a rogue investigative group at the operations office, in what had to be more than a kidnapping attempt. Entering the café, he didn’t look up from his tablet until they stopped in front of a table.
“Hello Manion,” an unpleasantly familiar voice said.
Whist stopped in his tracks until a rush of adrenaline made him try to dart backwards, but a woman stepped in his path with a gun aimed at his stomach. He growled as she held out an expectant hand.
“VennZech Executive?” Whist snarled as he glanced at the shocked looking Marinou. “You treasonous, lying snake.”
With exaggerated anger, he pulled his side arm from out of his jacket and shoved it hard into the woman’s hand. Then he turned and glared at the figure who was waiting for him in the booth with an infuriatingly calm smile on her face.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“Jiao Zhang,” he spat. “I knew I’d never be rid of you.”
A quick scan of the room confirmed that he had indeed walked into an inescapable trap. The ‘bodyguards’ waited at every conceivable exit, while the woman who had disarmed him gestured for him to sit.
He slumped into the couch and his finger shot out immediately towards his false Sentinel agent.
“Jezebel,” he snapped. “Harpy. I know what you did. I know how you led me like a blind dog. You give them here right this instant, or so help me I will tear this place to pieces.”
“Oh, yes, of course, sorry,” Marinou said.
She jumped forward and her hand shot into her jacket. When it emerged, it was carrying a glorious, sealed pack of smokes. Whist snatched them away from her, then almost tore the plastic seal away with his teeth.
“Oh, Manny, were you drinking again?” Zhang asked in a sympathetic voice.
“Late last night,” Marinou said. “He’s probably still hungover, as well as dealing with withdrawal.”
After a frantic moment, driven more by helpless rage than actual desperation, Whist had two sticks lit and inhaled their fumes deeply. He eyed Zhang suspiciously. In the place of his normally impeccably dressed and manicured ex-lover sat a hunched figure, peering at him through exhausted, bloodshot eyes. Her hair, now loose and frizzled, framed skin pale from stress. She had obviously had a very difficult day, which meant that she was somehow tied up in whatever was going on.
“God dammit,” he said, resolved not to cut her any slack. “Of all the things I do not need to deal with in the middle of this galactic shitshow. If I find out that you and your corporate masters are somehow responsible for all this—”
“It’s good to see you, Manny,” Zhang said. “Whether you believe me or not, I’m happy you’re the one leading the force.”
Whist snorted. “Well, I can’t say the same. I have no appetite whatsoever for any ‘favor’ or ‘deal’ or whatever it is you’ve dragged me here for.” He turned to stare at Marinou. “You look like a rookie—did she tell you how her sordid games work? All the men you’ll twist around your fingers and make dance like puppets?”
Marinou gave a half-hearted smile.
“Do they at least offer you a personal yacht, for your work? I wouldn’t be surprised, all the corporate strings she can pull.” He turned back and glanced at his watch. “If I’m not back in ten minutes they’ll come looking for me.”
“No, they won’t.” Zhang said. “They’ll assume you’ve gone looking for a drink after your chat with your superiors.”
“You listen to me,” Whist said fiercely. “If anyone gets hurt today because of your stupid games, I will spend the rest of my life trying to track you down. And it won’t end with drunken phone messages either, you witch.”
“I will not allow anything of the sort to happen.”
“Then let me get back, by god! Can you imagine how much work I have to do? Can you imagine what the damned overlords will start plotting if they think I’ve gone missing?”
Zhang smiled patiently “You actually don’t have that much to do.” She slid a tablet across the table.
“What is that? Speak.”
“A variety of files detailing the recent movements of Eagle Rescue, and transcripts of everything that was done or said in the operations office since it was attacked this afternoon.”
Whist narrowed his eyes. “You were involved in this, weren’t you?” he hissed. “This… this heinous assault on my city was perpetrated because you and your shadowy cronies—”
Zhang held up a finger. “There are also files proving that Carlotta Divine is the terrorist Allana Rayker.”
One of the many reasons Whist enjoyed anger was its blessed ability to mask pain. He was immediately reminded of that fact when his temper evaporated, leaving behind all the injuries and heartache he tried to suppress. He felt cold, alone, and miserable.
But his aging, investigative clockwork wound on, and he found himself reaching across the table for the tablet and starting to scan it. Silence fell in the cafe, undisturbed by the patient women.
After a few minutes, without lifting his eyes from the files, Whist spoke. “Marinou, or whatever your real name is, you are not to look at Zhang, you are not to get her permission, you are not to hesitate for even a second, but you will leave immediately and return to the crisis center. There, as my new partner, you will give a believable explanation as to why I am missing, and do everything in your power to make sure my control of the scene continues unchallenged.”
Marinou almost managed it, but couldn’t help a slight pause in her movement as she turned for the door.
“And cigarettes,” Whist yelled after her as she broke into a dash. “All of the cigarettes.”
He continued to read, and when he was done, he laid the tablet down and looked up at Zhang.
“You look awful,” he said.
She smiled grimly. “One of mine was captured.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. Do you want to tell me what you are proposing?”
“A trade, of sorts. One that will end this situation peacefully, and return law and order to the city. There’s only one caveat. It will have to be stretched out.”
“For how long?”
Zhang sighed heavily and shook her head. “As long as you can manage.”
“And you have… your people in there?”
“Yes. You needn’t worry, they’ll bend over backwards for you. We all just want this to end.”
“Hmm,” Whist stared out at the distant buildings. “So that you can go and hunt Rayker? Find your lost sheep?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, Jiao, I’ll do it. I suppose I don’t need to remind you how completely different this day could have been if you just talked to me from the beginning?”
“I—” Zhang looked away, and for a moment, appeared to have aged by a century. “It’s been a very bad month, for us. We’ve made a lot of mistakes. I don’t know what will happen next, but I will probably be severely disciplined. Unfortunately, none of that changes the fact that there was no possibility of my contacting you.”
“Just like there was no possibility for our relationship? For you to stop living in the shadows and playing games with people’s lives?”
Zhang smiled sadly. “I regret what happened between us, Manny. I’m sorry I betrayed you. And I know I’m a very flawed person. But my job… just has to be done.”
Whist nodded, and managed what he hoped was a sympathetic expression. Then, unable to stop himself, he twisted it into a smug grin. He held out his hand past the table and snapped his fingers, while maintaining eye contact with Zhang.
There was a tense silence, while she rolled her eyes.
“Bro,” a satisfyingly offended voice behind him said. “Bro, you did not just snap your fingers at me.”
Zhang waved a hand. “Just… let him have this one.”
The woman cursed, then strode forward and dumped Whist’s sidearm into his patiently waiting hand.
“Do that again,” the bodyguard hissed, “and you’ll have it shoved up your ass.”
Whist laughed. “It’s the little things in life,” he said cheerfully, and meant it. Despite the immense challenge ahead of him, he was suddenly feeling a lot happier.