Chapter 996: The More I Listen, The More I Hear

Anna’s car stopped in a Manhattan alley. Taika got out first, panning the area with his gold-rank perception. He was wearing a dark suit, unlike the big, loose clothes he generally preferred. He tapped his earpiece.

“I’m seeing them two blocks away,” he said. “The Secretary, a bronze-rank driver and a gold ranker. Parked, probably waiting for us.”

“The gold is a Secret Service agent,” Nik’s voice came through the earpiece. “Her name is Camilla.”

“How do you know that?”

“I have a tap into their personnel database. The cybersecurity is decent against vanilla magitech, but it’s still not up to stopping essence abilities. Not gold-rank ones, anyway. Also, I have a drone listening in. They know you’re there, but they’re not going to move until they sense Anna go inside.”

“Did they stick to the terms of the meeting?”

“So far as I can see. They have backup, but nothing closer than two klicks out, as agreed.” Nik’s voice came through the earpiece. “Two more golds and a small army of silvers. Probably too far for any but the golds to react fast enough if something happens.”

“Keep an eye out,” Taika said.

“That’s literally the entire point of having me here.”

“Oh, yeah. Where are you, exactly?”

“I’m in the bakery.”

“Bro, I can’t sense you at all. Your stealth power is pro, now that it’s gold-rank. How many powers to you have left to go?”

“Eleven that are still silver. I’m hoping to hit gold-rank by the end of the year. Hang on, someone else wants a photo with me.”

“Bro, selfies? You’re on the job.”

“Oh, I have custard on my fur? Sure, you can wipe it off. Grab one of those moist towelettes.”

“What?” Taika asked.

“Yeah, I know Hawthorne Wipes has had some ethical problems with their CEOs, but their towelettes really are the best.”

“Bro, your mike is still on.”

“That is so sweet. I think you’re cute too.”

“Do we have to go over the ‘no furries’ rule again?”

“I can’t help it if people love me.”

“Are you talking to me again?” Taika asked.

“Yeah, sorry about that. What? Oh, yeah, it is Taika Williams I’m talking to. See the earpiece? Pretty easy to spot, with ears like this. Hold on. Hey, Tai, you want to go to a party after?”

“This is very unprofessional, bro.”

“I’m famous and adorable. What am I supposed to do?”

“Maybe not station yourself inside a bakery run by a dragon.”

“He’s not actually running it. It’s a branch location. And do you know how hard it was for a dragon from another universe to get a US business licence? We should be supporting him.”

“Not my point, bro.”

“You’re good to send Anna in, by the way.”

Taika grumbled and shook his head. He rapped his knuckles on one of the car windows and Anna stepped out as well. She could hear the chatter from the crowd queued up on the other side of the building.

“They’re here,” Taika said. “Two streets down, stationary. Probably waiting for us to go in first.”

“Then let’s,” Anna said as a teenager with a hair net and a flour-dusted apron exited through the back door of the building, warm, delicious smells wafting out with him.

“Mr Williams, do you want those profiteroles before or after?”

“Oh, now who’s unprofessional?” Nik asked.

“Shut up,” Taika said, then waved his hands at the bakery apprentice in apology. “Sorry, Ted, not you. I’m talking to the rabbit.”

“No worries, Mr Williams. How awesome is Nik? Best wingman ever.”

“The basement, Ted?”

“Right, sorry Mr Williams.”

Ted walked down a short set of steps to a metal security door, where he swiped a card and entered a lengthy code on a keypad.

“What is down there?” Anna asked.

“Mostly fridges and non-perishables,” Ted called back as he pressed his hand against a scanner. “The recipe cabinet, too. Mr Stash doesn’t let us store any of them digitally.”

The red light over the door went out and the green one lit up.

“You can go in,” Ted told them as he came back up the stairs. “I’ll stay out here to let the others in. The door shuts and locks itself after thirty seconds.”

Anna looked him over.

“No offence… Ted, is it? But why are you the one doing this?”

“Ted’s a skogtroll,” Taika said.

“A what?”

“I’m a forest troll,” Ted said, looking embarrassed. “Nice to know the old glamour magic is working. My family live in the woods and stuff. It’s a whole thing. You’d better get inside before the door locks itself again.”

Taika led the way down, going through the door first.

“Clear,” he called out and Anna followed.

The basement was mostly refrigerators and storage cupboards, lined around the walls. The middle of the room had a plain wooden table and two matching chairs. Taika took a position by the door as it ponderously swung shut. Anna claimed one of the seats.

“Do you think Jason is adhering to the Secretary’s request?” Anna asked. “No Shade spies at all?”

“Yep,” Taika said. “No offence, Anna, but I think he’s done worrying about what some government might do. That’s kind of why we’re here right?”

“I suppose it is,” Anna said. “It’s odd, thinking about Shade not lurking in my shadow. When did it stop feeling invasive and start feeling like a safety net?”

“I would guess around the time the vampires started randomly ambushing people all over the world. But I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”

“I’m a bureaucrat and a politician, Taika. And I work for Jason Asano. I always have reason to worry.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Fair enough,” Taika said, then turned opened the door. “They’re here.”

Moments later, the lights over the door switched from red to green and it swung open to admit the Secretary of State’s bodyguard, who looked Taika up and down. Mostly up, given that Taika was a foot taller and wider than her. Even so, her body language was unintimidated and full of challenge.

“I can turn into a bird, bro.”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant,” Camilla said. “Also, did you just call me ‘bro?’”

“Don’t engage,” Claire Danvey said as she walked, in. “Mr Williams is almost as well known as Asano himself for derailing conversations with absurdity.”

 

Anna stood up.

“Hello, Claire.”

“Anna.”

They sat, their guards going outside before the door locked.

“Bahrain,” Claire said.

“Lovely to see you too,” Anna said. “It has been a while, yes. Oh, very well, thank you.”

“He removed a government from power, Anna.”

“Why here?” Anna asked. “Why the dragon’s bakery.”

“Because it has a secure room and is one of the most surveilled locations on planet Earth. Stop diverting the topic, Anna. Your boss staged a coup so invisible that we still have no idea how he did it. We have footage of him when it happened, from the other side of the planet. Clear footage, when he normally shows up as a blur, if at all.”

“Your point?”

“He can’t just delete a government, Anna!”

“Yes, Claire. He can.”

“What if he decides to do the to the USA? China? Australia?”

“Snap elections, I’d imagine.”

“You’re being flippant?”

“And you’re yelling.”

Claire slumped back in her chair and took a slow, calming breath.

“The world governments are panicking, Anna. Bahrain has seen massive civil unrest. Innocent people are dying.”

“Don’t try to take the moral high ground, Claire. How many governments have the US ousted? Every nation in the world has spilled its share of innocent blood.”

“Don’t try to absolve Asano by playing lowest common denominator, Anna. And he’s not a nation.”

“Yes, Claire, he is. Literally. He’s an entire solar system. I know you’ve had this explained to you, multiple times and in detail. I was there for some of them.”

“Does the solar system even realise what he’s done? How many people he’s gotten killed? Does he care?”

She locked a challenging gaze on Anna.

“Do you?”

“You know me better than to think that, Claire. Don’t make this about me.”

“I don’t know him better than that.”

“I asked him about the deaths in the aftermath of what he allegedly did.”

“Allegedly? Are you serious?”

“You’re the one who mentioned his alibi. If you have evidence, Claire, feel free to share. Or you could listen to what he said when I asked him about the chaos in Bahrain.”

“And?”

“Have you noticed that the vampires haven’t taken advantage of it? Not one incident.”