Zeraki stood and faced the map behind Hadiza. He studied it, looking over all the pins and scribbles.
"Well, to start off, I’m an Extractor."
"Oh! We are SHOCKED! Big man. All this time we thought you were born with every language on the planet at your fingertips. You... you charlatan!"
The sarcasm and mock outrage in Hadiza’s voice made Zeraki’s eye twitch, and Ola and Number 3 laugh. Number 7 and Number 4 were on the lookout outside the house in case someone made it past Ola’s guards.
"Fine. Okay, how much do you remember about the carriage ride to Astrohelm?"
Hadiza sat up and turned to lean on the backrest as she looked at him. "Everything. Why?"
Zeraki nodded and looked at Ola. "Indeed. I too have a recollection of everything."
Zeraki turned and looked at the map again. "I don’t remember much, but the little I do remember is all mysteries and enigmas. Like how the carriage driver’s cloak could speak. I know about Extractors, but the whole talking cloak thing still throws me off."
"Wait, big man, what talking cloak?"
"There was a time the carriage driver talked to us by the campfire. She sounded male."
"I remember the conversation, but it didn’t feel important back then. It still doesn’t feel important now," Ola muttered.
"Well, I bet the fact that the whole conversation was understood by us all, even though we didn’t speak the same language, also felt normal."
Hadiza slowly lay back, looking dazed. "These are some scary thoughts you’re putting in my head, big man."
"That’s not my intention. The point is, the whole journey to Astrohelm is a bag of mysteries, but I believed it was for our own good after they gave us the charms of concealment."
"But charms of concealment aren’t anything special. The church gives them out freely to believers of the Midnight faith," Ola stated.
Zeraki paused momentarily. Concealment charms were anything but ordinary however they’d been around and easily accessible for so long that its mysteries were taken for granted.
"These charms are different.” He finally said, “They are also badges from the empire. I easily got a job because of it, and Hadiza got into the Academy without having to pay any fees. They weren’t extravagant gifts, more like a helping hand to start a new life. This is why the concealment function has always felt important to me."
"Wait... big man. Are you saying that I got attacked because I broke mine?"
"You broke it? Why was I not made aware of this?" Ola’s gaze suddenly turned to Hadiza.
"... I didn’t think it was that important anymore, considering I’d already been accepted into the Academy. I wanted to keep the badge, but I must have broken it while in the lab."
"Well, I kept a close eye on her and watched for anything out of the ordinary. As we were heading out for lunch, I saw a man who had been seated behind her follow us into the bakery, but he’d changed. He carried himself differently, at least. A shy bookworm with little presence to speak of one moment, then a confident persona commanding respect with his strides the next. I figured that if the man was a mawaki, he wouldn’t dare step foot into the Cherry Blossom dojo. That’s how we ended up there."
Zeraki walked back and sank into his armchair. Number 3 deftly moved and settled on the fur carpet.
"At least that explains why I have these," Ola said as she pulled out three files. "I’m currently in the banking and catering business. Yet here are three mechanics and/or innovation companies pushing to have a piece of the Ruler’s Nexus. They aren’t after me. They’re after you, my dear."
The room fell silent, and Hadiza looked to the carpet. Zeraki perceived sentiments he’d seen so many times on Tara. She was worried they were going to throw her under the bus— carriage?
"Choom," Zeraki said.
Hadiza looked up, and Zeraki smiled at her.
"Silly child. I will give up my name before I ever abandon any of my own. I already said it before, we march at first light. But tonight, we rest, for the day has not been gentle to you. To the both of you." Ola looked Zeraki in the eye.
Zeraki’s heart wasn’t settled. He talked to distract himself from the waves of desire to cause pain. Sitting still made his mind spiral. His hands itched to put down the snipers and as many mawaki as he could until none of them were left.
Zeraki took a breather. He closed his eyes and tried to rein in the impulse. He had never needed self-control before because he had always been a spectator. Guilt had done a number on him, and now Wrath.
"I may have a way to find out which companies were involved in attacking her," he finally stated. If murder wasn’t on the table, then he’d settle for the next best thing: siccing Ola on them.
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"Oh, and Miss Ola, Extractors shouldn’t kill mortals," Zeraki added, just in case Ola was nuttier than he was.
"Do not worry, my friend," she gave him a tender smile. "I’m not an Extractor yet, and Hadiza here already brought me up to speed on the consequences of Extractors killing mortals.
"As for the investigation, this ‘way’ of yours... Is it the one you used to keep your wits about you during our travel to Astrohelm?"
Zeraki nodded.
"Good. Request granted. You may have the files. I will also be letting them buy the shares they so desperately want."
"Uh, won’t letting them do that be giving in to them?" Hadiza asked.
"We’ve hardly been in Astrohelm a week. I doubt the Ruler’s Nexus is in any position to start a war right now. Maintaining the peace seems like a logical move," Zeraki reasoned.
"No, my friend. Your understanding of the word ‘peace’ is corrupted. Peace is me telling everyone I’ve kicked to the ground that getting up is an act of war. I’m accepting these companies because they shall be beneath me as vassal companies once I’m done with them."
Zeraki was dumbfounded, while Hadiza had watery eyes, holding back her laughter. Number 3 had no such compulsions and cackled like a witch.
———
Zeraki ended up getting hired as Hadiza’s guard with a salary comparable to a middle-class citizen’s in Astrohelm—forty Blackmore gold a month.
He was doing his best to ignore Number 3’s retelling of the meeting since she acted out every part, especially Ola’s domineering speeches, which made Number 7 curse like a sailor for missing them.
He got to the library at four and reported to Labaan his run-in with the mawaki. Labaan wasn’t actually upset with him about it and found it regrettable that he was quitting. After getting the salary for the days worked, Zeraki settled down in a turret and found a book to read while Number 3, 4, and 7 went to the basement to read through as many reports as they could.
Left alone with his thoughts, Zeraki began getting restless. Scenes played out in his mind of Hadiza getting shot, of her slowly dying strapped to a chair. He kept bouncing the heel of his foot on the concrete floor, an urge to move and do something to suppress his raging heart.
[Number 3: Dad! I found something. The Gracie Family are preparing a retaliation on the Valentinos for the damage on Sim-sim street. That’s where the carriage was shot at today.]
‘Huh… I was convinced they were the mawaki, but if one of the companies was involved, then I suppose it’s easier hiring them than the mawaki.’
[Number 4: Hold that thought, Otousan. I’ve found a report on Hadiza. It’s not much, just that she’s also been marked as a person of interest to keep an eye on. Her only entry is that she just survived a run-in with the mawaki.]
[Number 7: Father, I’ve found nothing on the companies. It’s either we missed the reports of their involvement, or the agreements aren’t on the first page.]
‘Come back. Let’s shelf this for now. I’m close to being ready to advance. We’ll consider our options after that.’
Number 3 drifted through the floor. [Can we ask Labaan what your pathway is?]
‘Well…’ Zeraki looked to the central desk where Labaan was.
‘I suppose so.’
Zeraki approached Labaan and asked if he could help him identify his pathway. Labaan froze, then began shifting in his seat.
"I-I’m sorry, Mr. Zeraki. This is just a l-library. I-I have something to do upstairs. H-have a lovely d-day, Mr. Zeraki."
[Number 7: Right. Forgot this whole spy business was a secret,] he said as they watched Labaan trip on his way up to the second floor.
———
Zeraki left and headed for the dojo. He had a lot of pent-up frustration to get rid of, and going through his drills was just the distraction he needed. The feeling of making progress. Of getting close to a milestone. An hour went by, and then he moved to the dummies.
He was the only one in the room, but he figured that the rest probably belonged to the Gracie Family and were getting ready to hit one of the Valentinos' businesses.
Muay Thai was a brutal and painful art. The feeling of his fists, knees, punches, and kicks connecting to the many arms that swung around when he hit them, then having to dodge or block them when they swung around, admittedly felt good.
What would feel better, though, was if the mawaki were on the receiving end.
Or the Valentinos.
Zeraki stopped and thought about it. What if he joined in the attack on the Valentinos? Sure, he’d promised Ola not to go on a killing spree, but his heart demanded suffering. Death was only one form of it. And now that he thought about it, the Valentinos were a gang. Death was nothing but an inconvenience to them. There was no shortage of gearheads pinning to join their ranks.
‘What were the businesses the Gracie family are considering hitting?’
[Number 3: The Carnival of Dreams Circus, The Derby—horse racing, I think—and the Silver Dice—a gambling den.]
[Number 7: Father, the attack on the Valentinos is supposed to be a secret. Asking to join will require us to give an explanation of how we know about it.]
‘Who said anything about asking? We are simply going out to enjoy a nice evening and leave the killing to the Gracie family. Number 3, of the three places, where would you like us to go?’
She had stars in her eyes. [The Derby!]
‘Then so be it.’
———
The Derby was along Penny Street, an entire hour away from the dojo. The place was a mess. And this was in comparison to his neighborhood, where trash heaps were on the sidewalk. It smelled of wet horse, wet dung, sweat, and alcohol; all of them coming together to create a signature smell that uniquely identified Penny Street.
[Number 7: Well, this is underwhelming.]
Zeraki smiled. ‘No, this is perfect.’
The streets were packed, and security was concentrated on the barns and the betting stalls. Zeraki stood in the crowd that packed the lobby and kept his eyes on the security personnel.
Some people kept trying to force their way into the betting stalls after the matches to beat up the personnel, only to get dragged out. At times, some were taken to a hidden underground room, then shot.
Once the Gracie family hit, reinforcements would hopefully reduce the number of guards in this location. If the Gracie family decided to hit this location, then that was even better. He would use that distraction to collect whatever it was Number 3, 4, and 7 would find.
Number 3 was looking through the offices handling the betting stalls. Number 4 was looking into the horse barns for something interesting, and Number 7 was looking through the VIP stalls and management offices on the third floor.
It was 8 p.m. when Zeraki finally saw movement in security personnel. None moved from the ticket check gates, horse barns, or betting stalls, but a lot of security from the VIP booths and among the crowd in the grandstands were reduced.
Zeraki squeezed his way through the crowd in the lobby and walked into the bathroom stalls, then waited for the gunshot sound that would start the 8 p.m. race.
There were documents Number 7 thought looked important, considering how well hidden they were in the office on the third floor. Trinkets with the Midnight Stargazing symbols were spread throughout a small compartment underneath an old desk.
---