Alcohol wasn’t really my thing. Still, there were times when I needed a reminder of how close I’d come to getting splatted. Thanks to the recent attack, the drink was more than memorable. When the chief Rune Investigator suggested that I avoid food for a while, he wasn’t kidding. The experience felt as if I’d swallowed a bucket of coral. It took Sky half an hour and a handful of charms to get me into a presentable state. Since the world had gone round about my visit to the rig, she was good enough not to complain about it. The cost of the charms still went to my tab. And just when I was thinking that things couldn’t get anymore exciting, my wristcomm chimed.

“Waters, where are you?” the device activated on its own.

“Picking some things from my old place to take to my new place,” I said, trying to sound more or less alright. “Everything okay?”

“You’re funny.” The tone of his voice suggested that he’d gone through something almost as stressful as I had. “Ellcron got Earth law involved. All the discussions have moved there. Until a decision is made, we’re forbidden to look into their financials, question their employees… hell, we can’t even get within a hundred feet from their building without their written permission. The lt.’s been at it with the Captain. He’s really pissed off.”

Good thing I wasn’t there. The last thing I needed was to deal with the Lieutenant’s shit. Having my place trashed had earned me some leniency, but that would quickly evaporate if he saw me and I didn’t bring something to earn my worth.

“What about the family? Are they covered?”

“Pretty much. Celsius is untouchable. The wife is hiding behind the corp lawyer and now that we have a fall guy to confess to messing, the scene has sent a written statement blaming it all on him.”

“What about the daughter? He said she was crazy.”

“Circumstantial. If Ellcron hadn’t gone nuclear, we might have had an in, but the captain doesn’t want to risk it until we hear from Earth.”

“Shit!” By then, there won’t be anything left to find. “Are you still keeping an eye on them?”

“That much we can do. They haven’t gone anywhere, but we can’t monitor any of their communication. Oh, and we’ve hit a blank when it comes to the charms or the portable press.”

That much I expected. When the Blue Dock Syndicate wanted something gone, it tended to vanish. It didn’t help my situation, though.

“Also, before I forget. Get over here! The lt. might be pissed now, but if you don’t show up soon, pass or no pass, he’ll kick you out of the city itself.”

“Nice to know I’m wanted. I’m at C’s. Can you send someone to pick me up?”

He ended the call. It wasn't the first time I’d seen Clay in a bad mood, but usually it was an indicator that things were bad.

“I’m off,” I shouted in the diner. “I’ll settle my tab next time.”

“And we’ll all turn to clouds.” The woman gave me an annoyed look. “Just get out of here.”

It was as good goodbye as any. Still, I would have preferred Summer to be here. Part of me hoped she was absent because of the whole Starnight thing. However, I knew better. After all, I was pretty much the same in that aspect. Summer did what Summer did, namely going about trading memories and info.

Doing my best not to stumble, I left the diner. Instinctively, I checked my pockets for charms. I knew there were none there, but habits were hard to kick. Maybe I should have tried one of Ellcron’s charms, preferably the ones that wouldn’t drill my head in.

Four minutes and a half later, Clayton’s rune carriage flew in. I expected he’d send his own, though I thought he’d be the one in it.

“Get in!” Nixen shouted from the window.

Taking advantage of the situation, I ran to the other side and went to the front. There was more space there.

“You sure know how to stir things.” The detective brought the carriage up in a maneuver that wasn’t strictly legal.

“I bet you say that to all the cute guys.”

“I’ve seen piss puddles better than you.”

The ease with which she came up with the insult suggested she was used to this sort of thing. It was said that all sorts made their way to H-Sec. Only thing I knew was that unlike Clay, she didn’t have a Duty and Customs background.

“How are things at the office?” I asked.

“If there was more shit, we’d have a waterfall.”

“That good?” I nodded a few times. “Never knew you had a wild side.”

“Waters, just shut it.”

“Just trying to lighten the mood, detective.” I looked out of the window. “Clay told me about the Earth stuff.”

“There’s a lot he hasn’t. Heads might roll on this one.”

“I thought H-Sec was above those things.”

“We aren’t. Difference is that with us it takes longer for the head to fall off.”

That’s why I loved politics. H-Sec couldn’t afford to appear weak. That’s why firings weren’t instant, but started a timer. All that embarrassed the organization were probably buried in mindless duties until a specific day, years later, when they retired for “personal reasons.”

When we arrived at H-Sec central things were almost as bad as described. There weren’t people running along corridors waving their hands in the air, but there was the unmistakable sense of dry tension in the air. I didn’t need to extend any water to feel that, just as I felt the annoying essence of dragon skin.

“You two.” The Lieutenant pointed at us the moment we got to the office section. “Conference room, now!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Yes, sir,” I said with a wide smile. Beside me Nixen frowned. That was a mistake and the most common reason that skilled people got a rough deal. When someone was skilled, they were annoyed when things were less than optimal. Those that weren’t skilled, in contrast, knew they had nothing to offer and focused all their energy on making themselves appear as charming and friendly as possible. Being an uncharted, I had learned that both methods had their advantages as long as one knew when to use the appropriate one.

Over twenty people were in the conference room. Most I’d never seen before. However, there was no mistaking the gloom on everyone’s expressions.

“I’ll give it to you straight,” the Lieutenant said. “Top brass from Earth has chosen not to get involved. Which means that we’re dropping everything Ellcron related.”

A wave of silent grumbles swept through the room.

“As far as they’re concerned, they are just the employer of our murder victim. We can’t accuse them, we can’t question them, we can’t even force them to clean up if they take a shit in the director’s office. Is that clear?”

The following silence indicated that it was.

“That said, we still have a top priority murder to solve.”

“Not as easy when all our suspects are off limits,” someone said.

“Almost all,” the lieutenant corrected. “We still have the fall guy. Like it or not, he’s no longer an Ellcron employee. Legal’s looking into it. My guess is that he’ll be charged with corporate theft and accidental homicide in a day or two.”

The grumbles became audible.

“Hey! I know it stinks, but those are our options. We’re lucky we got even that. Everyone knows we’re a new team, so we don’t have the pull to tango with the big corps yet. In a few years that will change, but for now we must take any win we’re given, even if it isn’t a win.”

I looked at Clayton. So much for H-Sec having the power to change things. At the end of the day, change remained an illusion. Everyone was a jester, dancing to someone’s tune. Even I had a package of questionable origin within me that I had smuggled through the watermark in a H-Sec rune carriage. At the end of the day, all we could do was to focus on the small wins and try to make the world a bit less shitty part of the time.

“Do we have to apologize to Kode’s lawyer?” I asked.

Everyone stared at me.

“I mean, that’s why he’s here, isn’t it?” I added.

“No Ellcron lawyers have been in the building for the last six hours.” The lieutenant’s voice was firm, with the slightest hint of curiosity in it.

I was just about to say that I could feel the dragon skin essence stinking up the room when I stopped. Instead, I expanded an invisible layer of water over the surrounding floor. Without a doubt, the essence was there—invisible footsteps starting at the door and making their way to the lieutenant.

A realization hit me like the flick of a switch. It was a long shot, but maybe there was a way to make a change after all?

“Lieutenant, if I have a way of finding the murderer, will you take it?” I asked. “I won’t break any of the rules you just mentioned, but…”

“Everyone except Waters, Clay, and Nixen out,” the man said. “You never heard the last part of the conversation.”

In conspiratorial fashion, the rest of the detectives left the room. Shortly after, the glass walls of the conference room turned opaque and a series of silence runes activated.

“Explain,” the lieutenant said.

“Was Denil’s confession made public?”

“No. What’s the point? Ellcron might as well have written it for us.”

“You said that he was charged with theft, right?”

“Waters,” Clayton joined in. “You’re not thinking of doing what I’m thinking of doing?”

“Why not? It’s worked before.”

“Will someone explain to me what—”

“He’s thinking of bluffing,” Clayton was quick to explain before I had a chance to. “The only common element that links everyone in the case is the portable charm press. Waters is suggesting that we make everyone think that we know where it is then see who pops out.”

“Is he serious?” The lieutenant turned towards me.

“It worked back when I was in Duty.” I shrugged.

“We’re not talking about some two-bit businessmen. This is a world corporation we’re dealing with. Do you think they won’t see through this?!”

“The clothes don’t change the person. They’re only human. Even if they suspect it’s a trap, they’ll be forced to act just to make sure. Besides, what other option is there? In a few days, Ellcron’s fall guy will go down for this and your department will get a black eye. This is a chance to stand out.”

“Or get two black eyes.”

“At least they’ll be matching.” I smirked.

Now came the moment of truth. People always said that the fate of everything was decided in a few moments. Given that far greater minds had come to that conclusion, there was no reason not to think it true. However, in my experience those moments felt like a lifetime.

“What do you need to do?” he asked.

Internally, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Just what you promised everyone involved—inform everything involved that you have caught the culprit and not only did he give a full confession but also shared where he’d hidden the device. I’d offer to do it myself, but I don’t think Ellcron would appreciate seeing me. Well, I don’t think any of the suspects would.”

“I wonder why.”

“It’ll also be a lot better coming from you, sir. The kneeling general and all that. Oh, just one more thing. Make sure to mention that Denil had an uncharted working with him.”

“An uncharted.” The Lieutenant frowned. “You better be sure about this. I can’t fire you with all the heat I’m getting, but I can be very creative when I want to.”

“I have no doubt, sir. You look like someone who’s gotten to where he is through determination.”

“I’m glad we understand each other. When do I inform the suspects?”

“Evening would be best. I need to talk to someone and set up the trap location. If all goes well, I’ll call everyone with details in a few hours.”

“And if you don’t?”

“I better think of a creative way to survive outside the city.” I left the room.

Not hearing anyone the sound of footsteps behind me, or anyone shout my name was encouraging. It meant that they were willing to go on with my plan. That was the easy part. Now I had to convince someone who despised me to help out at a moment’s notice.

I made my way out of the building. A mile later, I took out Starnight’s package from within me and dropped it by a tree in the nearest garden. My investigative instinct tempted me to stay on for a few hours to see what would happen with the package. Sadly, I was on the clock.

Using city transport, I made my way to Clear Swamps. On the way, I made a call to C’s asking for Summer’s help to find Celsius’ uncharted girlfriend. Sky was as helpful as even, but she did convey the message. Half an hour later, I got the response—an address dictated to me by Sky again. As I suspected, Ellcron’s protection only went so far. After my little performance at their office, they had distanced Rain, throwing her back into the slums. That made things a lot easier for me.

When I asked how Summer was doing, she ended the call. Like most people, she knew exactly when not to get involved in other’s drama.

The place Rain lived in was a lot worse than Celsius’. In a way, it was very much like my old place, but way cleaner. That was a good thing—it meant I didn’t have to deal with anyone else.

I made my way to the door and knocked. At first, she didn’t open. If I had come as myself, she probably never would have. However, the suit and the emblem on it worked in my favor. Uncharted couldn’t afford openly pissing off H-Sec.

The door opened a crack.

“What do you want, jester?” Rain asked from inside. “Haven’t you done enough?”

There were several approaches I could take, some better than others. I chose the fastest.

“Do you want to get into Ellcron’s good books?” I asked.

A moment later, the door opened wide, letting me go inside.