We arrived at the dark market an hour before the meeting time. Once we found a good place for Eric to hide out, I found myself a nice little corner to hide out in and watch the meeting take place. The setup more closely resembled a craft fair than I expected, tucked into a rather spacious alleyway between two businesses. Since that part of town was known for its nightlife, I found the whole thing to be rather clever.
Lenny and Sara loitered around the back entrance to a coffee shop, waiting for his contact to show up, occasionally wandering off to check some of the wares being sold out of trunks and briefcases. A few people even had tables. I did a few rounds myself once things started to get busy, blending in with the crowd and casually listening in on the conversations. I picked up a few names that I mentally tucked away for later. Given the situation, I figured it was best to not exchange names up front, but I didn’t want to miss a chance to learn some things.
Conversation didn’t really pick up until around the time Lenny’s contact came to meet him. I had taken care to settle in a shadow where I could watch the three of them chatting, as well as the back entrance to the building I knew the rest of the group was in. I knew Maguire had whatever was going on handled, but it made me feel better to be nearby, just in case.
The meeting happened and after a few minutes of talking, Lenny’s contact slipped him something and then they parted ways. I sent Maguire an all clear alert and continued to linger until everyone else had a chance to clear out. He responded back with a location request. Confused, I shared it with him, and moments later he found me.
“We have a problem,” he said.
“So I have gathered. What’s going on?”
“I left the table to go to the restroom and when I got back, both Tanya and Eric were missing. I checked everywhere in the building and couldn’t find where they went and I was about to contact you when you texted me.”
“Okay, that’s not good. Do you know if either of them got any messages before you stepped away?”
“No, but they could have while I was gone. Why? Do you think they were contacted by the thieves?”
“That is possible. The others may know something, but they’re probably on their way to the safehouse.”
“I drive, you call them,” Maguire suggested.
“Deal.” I pushed off the wall and made a beeline for the car, Maguire following close behind. A few people watched us curiously but no one tried to interact with us. Probably because I had what my friends like to call my serious face on, which tends to convince many potentially chatty bystanders that it was not a good time to strike up a conversation.
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By the time Maguire had the car started and was backing out of the parking spot, I had Sarah on the phone.
“When is the last you heard from Tanya?” I asked the second she picked up.
“When we split up before the meet. Why?”
“She and Eric have gone missing. No signs of fowl play and no signs of where they went or why. Anything going on on her side that could lead to her disappearing like this?”
“Not that I know of, but Lenny is checking. Tanya is on good terms with most people here and we don’t exactly have a lot of enemies, at least that we know of. Where are you?”
“We are headed to the safehouse, unless you can give us another direction. Do you have any way of finding Tanya or tracking specific magical resonances?”
“Hang on.” There was a shuffling noise as she switched hands and jogged down a hallway, presumably to find Lenny. “We have something in place for situations like this but we haven’t exactly had a chance to test it in a real life scenario. Lenny is pulling it up now. He will text you when he has something. I am going to try and call Tanya.”
“Sounds good. I’ll try Eric. Thanks, Sarah.”
She didn’t respond, but she didn’t really need to. We both had stakes in this and I knew I could count on her. I tried calling Eric twice, once from my phone and once from Maguire’s. No response. We were halfway back to the safehouse when Lenny texted me with the address for an apartment building.
“The safehouse is on the way. I’ll have them leave some stuff at the door so we can drop by and pick it up. I have no idea what we are about to walk into, but I would rather be overprepared,” I said.
“Always a good idea.” Maguire sped up. “Tell them to grab the potion in the neon camo thermos. It's a version of what I made to track down Frost, but keyed to the heart. Chances are high that it’s in the same place as Eric.”
“Good thinking. We either find our friends or we find leverage. Hopefully both.” I added it to the list of things I was asking Sarah and Lenny to look for and sent the text, settling back into my seat with an anxious sigh.
“Does this happen often?” Maguire asked as we pulled up to the safehouse.
“Not really, though this isn’t the first time,” I admitted, darting out of the car to grab the box of supplies. “Need to remember to take extra precautions in the future. This pattern can’t be a coincidence.”
“I am sure we will figure it out. Two Jacks can change the world, after all.”
I chuckled. The conversation fell off as my attention focused on the components in front of me. I worked almost on autopilot, mixing and arranging and combining things. We didn’t have much to work with but if there is one thing Jacks are good at, it’s creative problem solving.
That, and mischief.