《Uncharted Waters》


 1. Waking Waters

    Sleep and I have always had a love-hate relationship. One could almost call us ex-lovers. She¡¯d keep tempting me to go back into her arms, and I¡¯d pretend to ignore her. Sometimes I¡¯d flirt with her, just enough to prove I was still alive. Sometimes I¡¯d even give in, and instantly regret it, waking up screaming and all covered in sweat. It was a good thing that I no longer shared a place with anyone else. Even low-level scum had a breaking limit, and after a few weeks of me, most had reached theirs.


    This night, though, the nightmares had taken a break, leaving me at peace better than any drugs or charms could provide. Surrounded by serene calm, I¡¯d let myself drift off into a dream. I¡¯d dream of my childhood, when I was part of the sea, before the humans arrived, bringing the chaotic change that came with them¡­ before the pain that tore me in two.


    The high-pitched chimes of the doorbell shattered my sleep and the dreams with it. I was brought back to reality with the finesse of a sledgehammer.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I hissed. This was the first good dream I¡¯d had in months and it had been ruined.


    The color of the see charm mirror had turned red, indicating my visitor was from H-Sec. Quickly, I leapt out of my bed and looked around. Still dazed from the nap, I tried to remember if I¡¯d brought anything illegal to my home. Usually, I was smart enough to stash it elsewhere, but lately things hadn¡¯t been going that well.


    ¡°Waters, open up!¡± There was banging on the door.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I said beneath my breath. There was no time to hide anything. My only hope was that if I¡¯d brought anything compromising it was out of sight.


    ¡°Waters!¡±


    ¡°Be with you in a jif!¡± I shouted, grabbing my pants from the floor. For a moment my body transformed to water, allowing me to pull them through, before it solidified again. Quick dressing was a major advantage of being a water spirit, at least one of the few that were still allowed.


    I rushed to the door and removed the bolt. Barely had I done so when the door swung open.


    ¡°About time!¡± A five-foot eight human said, busting into my home.


    To my surprise, he was alone. Given the standard practice in this neighborhood, I expected at least a dozen. He wore civilian clothes, but the crest on the right side of his coat clearly identified him as a member of H-Sec. The green contour let me know he was part of the Inspection Division.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s my favorite uncharted?¡± he asked, turning around with a smile.


    It was at this point I got the feeling he was vaguely familiar.


    ¡°Assistant Clayton?¡± I blinked.


    The last time I saw him was a decade ago, back when I was working for Duty and Customs. As a human, Clayton was my boss. Even at the time, he was cynical for his age, doing what he did out of a sense of familial duty, even if he only half believed it. He used to tell me that everything we did was pointless, since none of us had the power to bring change. All we were there was to make sure that only approved smugglers got to do business. Even he had no idea how right he was.


    Looking at him, he¡¯d changed quite a lot since then. Gone was the long ponytail, replaced by a short, perfectly tended haircut. His jaw and neck had grown wider, not to mention he had put on a few pounds. Given that back in Duty and Customs he was called ¡°Clay Stick¡±, that wasn¡¯t a bad thing.


    ¡°Detective,¡± he said, tapping his crest.


    ¡°Congratulations,¡± I said with as much enthusiasm as a wet cat. ¡°I¡¯d offer you a drink to celebrate, but I don¡¯t have any booze. Laws and all.¡±


    ¡°So this is where you¡¯ve been living.¡± Clayton ignored me. ¡°A lot worse than your old place. Couldn¡¯t find anything upstream?¡±


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    ¡°I prefer it here.¡± I closed the door. ¡°It¡¯s further away from the Duty and the docks.¡±


    There was a measured silence. I could tell he got the reference, for he looked away. Ten years ago, there had been an incident at the eastern delta docks. The news outlets called it a tragedy. For me, it was the most painful event in my existence¡ªa massacre that had killed hundreds, including my own family. It was said that I was fortunate. The attacker had sliced me in half, but somehow failed to kill me. There were years I wished he had. Authorities on the highest level had gotten involved. A team of special overseers had come from Earth itself to assist with the investigation, and yet no one had been able to find anything. After millions of work hours and enough paperwork to sink a transport ship, all everyone had was a codename for the perpetrator: Midnight Ten.


    ¡°Look.¡± Clayton sighed. ¡°Thing is, I¡¯m working on something and could use your help.¡±


    ¡°My help?¡± I almost laughed. ¡°You must really be in big shit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken with my boss. He¡¯s agreed to let you in as a consultant. That means you¡¯ll get a class D charms permit, more money than you usually make on your gigs, and a city pass.¡±


    City pass? The last time I had one of those was back when I was working for Duty Controls. It allowed non-city residents to venture into the main metropolis area.


    ¡°I¡¯m not Duty anymore,¡± I said, despite the temptation. ¡°Find someone else.¡±


    ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve tried. You¡¯re the best damned seer I¡¯ve known. Even back in Duty you did more than half the division.¡±


    ¡°And how did that turn out?¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be like that. H-Sec is more than inspecting parcels. We deal with major crimes, things that most locals won¡¯t touch. We can make real change here.¡±


    It was difficult to argue against that, especially since he had the authority to make my life miserable. As my uncle used to say, change is always for the worse unless you¡¯re human. After twenty years, I hadn¡¯t seen anything to prove him wrong.


    There was one thing that Clayton was right about¡ªH-Sec had a lot of authority. The mandate they were given allowed them to mess with anything beneath the sun, even Earth-born. If nothing else, maybe it would be worth it to see some of those untouchable bastards squirm. Also, this was my chance to find out what had happened during the Midnight Ten incident. For years I¡¯d been trying to dig up any information, with close to success. Even the underground clammed up when the subject was brought up. With H-sec, though, I could get access to the original unredacted case files. Hopefully.


    ¡°City pass?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I have it right here.¡± He tapped his vest pocket. And just to complete the sales pitch, he slowly took it out and tossed it to me.


    I looked at the small laminated card. It was funny how a piece of plastic had the power to change someone¡¯s life completely. With this, I could almost feel like a metropolitan. Faint runes glowed on the edges, confirming that the card was legit. Clayton had already taken the liberty of filling in my name and personal details. There was no need to ask where he¡¯d gotten them from. H-Sec had free access to all personal information.


    ¡°No photo?¡± I asked, looking at the back of the card.


    ¡°It¡¯s a temp pass. My boss needs to sign off for a permanent one. If you¡¯re interested, that is.¡±


    ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± I smirked. ¡°What¡¯s the job?¡±


    ¡°Murder in the metropolis. Upper middle class, so it¡¯s high profile.¡±


    For H-Sec to get involved, there had to be more to it than that. Normally, every major crime in the metropolis would make it on the news, but few garnered this much attention.


    ¡°The usual suspects?¡± I went to the wardrobe to get something proper to wear. Most of my clothes were considered okay, but I only kept one for special occasions. It was a bit touristy, for when I went to meet clients with deep pockets, mostly humans. Considering where I was going, that would be considered the bare minimum.


    ¡°That¡¯s the thing. There are no suspects.¡±


    I looked at him over my shoulder.


    ¡°No one in his family seems to have any motive. His apartment is top of the line, and his work¡­ Well, let¡¯s just say that murder wouldn¡¯t be the way they handle issues.¡±


    ¡°Rich guy dead with no suspects.¡± I was starting to see why he¡¯d come to me. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if he got dragged into the case due to the lack of leads. Shit always went downhill and rookies tended to get all of it. ¡°When was he found?¡±


    ¡°An hour ago, actually.¡± Clayton looked at his watch. ¡°Almost an hour. The RI unit is on the scene going through things now. I told them to wait a bit until we got there.¡±


    ¡°Seas! You set everything up in one hour?¡±


    ¡°This is H-Sec, Waters. We work fast.¡±


    No kidding? The local guard station took half a day just to process a simple request, more if I didn¡¯t bribe them.


    ¡°Anything I should know?¡± I took a handful of charms and put them in my pocket. Even if I were working for H-Sec, I wouldn¡¯t be caught dead without protection. The small pieces of tin and crystal had saved me more than a few times so far.


    ¡°Even with the pass, you¡¯re still just a consultant. Before you go overboard, let me know.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I lied. ¡°I¡¯ll be just like old times.¡±

 2. Death at Beachwater

    Entering the metropolis area was like entering a bank. Only difference was that instead of walls and armed guards there was an invisible line circling the area. Cross that line and a hundred gargoyles would swoop down from the nearest buildings. If one was lucky, they¡¯d get caught quickly without much hassle. If not¡­ I had heard talk that a mage unit had to be called in to clean the mess. Officially, the intruder was said to have been caught with a suitcase of explosion charms. Whether that really had happened I had no idea. All the metropolitans cared about was to keep their surroundings pretty, shiny, and somewhat safe. In that they succeeded flawlessly.


    ¡°The place has changed since you¡¯ve last been here,¡± Clayton said as the rune carriage flew over the buildings. It was a five-year model, on the verge of being considered gauche in social circles. The H-Sec crest on it ensured complete access to virtually the entire city without stops or checks.


    ¡°Not that much.¡±


    I had spent six months here, most of them in an emergency hospital ward. Normally someone such as myself wouldn¡¯t merit such treatment, but as the only witness of the Midnight Ten case, exceptions were made. It was at that point that I had managed to get a glance of the richer half through a bulletproof window.


    ¡°Where are we headed?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Beachwater.¡±


    I whistled.


    ¡°Told you this is a big case.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best not to embarrass you.¡±


    Beachwater was one of those places where even the rich felt out of place. When it came to living there, it wasn¡¯t just a matter of money, but political clout. Historically, it was said to be one of the places first seen by humans upon arriving to my world. Unlike most parts of the city, it had remained mostly unchanged. As far as I knew, it was the only place that combined fine sand, lush vegetation, and cutting edge Earth technology.


    Less than fifty buildings located in half a square mile of serene beauty I hadn¡¯t seen since childhood. One single road went through the district, used exclusively for emergencies and large-scale deliveries. At present, it was full of city cars and ambulances. Looking down, they looked out-of-place like ants on a fresh piece of exotic fruit. Several cars moved out of the way, allowing Clayton¡¯s carriage to land.


    ¡°Stay here for a bit,¡± he said as he made his way out. ¡°Need to clear things with my boss.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you cleared everything?¡± I asked, mildly amused.


    ¡°I¡¯d received permission,¡± he clarified. ¡°I still need to tell him what¡¯s going on.¡± He rushed off along the marble pathway into the building. I had no choice but to stay and wait.


    Ten seconds in, I could already tell that the local city guards disliked me. The only time they¡¯d seen a water spirit in such a high-class neighborhood was probably as a suspect. To be honest, I couldn¡¯t blame them. During my investigations, I¡¯d brushed elbows with enough spirits to know that most of the charted ones were linked with some form of criminal activity. Those that weren¡¯t, worked for the city bureaucracy.


    ¡°Not the welcome you expected?¡± a female voice asked.


    A tall woman dressed in a casual outfit was leaning on the other side of the carriage. Her suit was identical to Clayton¡¯s, though she wore it way better. She¡¯d removed her coat, which only made her features more pronounced beneath the synthetic white shirt. A H-Sec crest hung on a chain round her neck. Most remarkable of all, she was a natural ginger. The color was almost non-existent in my world, making her seem equal parts dangerous and alluring. If I¡¯d met her under different circumstances, I¡¯d probably offer to buy her a drink even if I knew it would end poorly.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect much,¡± I replied. ¡°Neptune Waters.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± The woman smiled and opened the door. ¡°Get out.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I get a name, Detective?¡± I did as I was told.


    The woman looked at me from head to toe, then smirked.


    ¡°Maybe when you get some decent clothes. Now, let¡¯s see the crime scene.¡±


    ¡°Detective Clayton told me to stay¡ª¡±


    ¡°You can go out If I say you can.¡± The slight edge in her voice made it clear she didn¡¯t like being contradicted. ¡°Clay swore you were the hottest thing out there, so I want to see for myself.¡±


    Not the best start. Then again, as my cousin liked to say, I had a lot to look forward to.


    The detective took me past the uniform guards to the main lobby of the building. There, we made our way to the private elevator that led us to the seventh floor. I could tell by the building materials that went into the building that the place was reserved for the filthy rich. When the elevator doors slid open, my suspicions were confirmed. The only times I¡¯d seen such opulence were from the pages of waiting room magazines.


    Everything, furniture included, was made of chrome, glass and marble. The architect had made wonders using the space to create a private biome, merging the hardness of the man-made materials with the gentle organic warmness of several gardens that spread through the space. An orchard of mini-cherry blossoms was placed near the far wall next to an artificial stream that ran along its lane to another part of the apartment.


    The body was in plain sight, lying on the floor face down fifteen feet from the entrance. He was wearing a casual white suit of artificial silt that almost made him blend in with the floor. A dark puddle of blood was visible near his head, suggesting a potential cause of death.


    Taking one step out of the elevator, I stopped. A dozen people of the Rune Investigation unit were combing the scene for clues, all dressed in their bright orange uniforms.


    ¡°May I?¡± I pointed in the direction of the body.


    ¡°Guys, give us a minute,¡± the ginger detective said.


    Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Moments later, they looked at me. Already I¡¯d been put in a lose-lose situation. If I failed to find something they¡¯d missed, I¡¯d be publicly humiliated. If I did¡ªthey would. The RI investigators probably thought the same, for several of them moved away from the body, leaving me enough space to get on with it.


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    ¡°Knock yourself out.¡± The detective crossed her arms.


    ¡°Are there any witnesses to what happened?¡± I asked in a very by-the-book manner.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s giving statements downstairs. Talk freely.¡±


    Nice trick. Whenever someone told me to talk freely, that was the last thing I should do. At the same time, I was expected to talk.


    ¡°The body was staged.¡± I made my way to the unfortunate victim. He was a bit overweight for someone of his standing, probably due to a combination of work stress and bad habits. ¡°The way he¡¯s lying suggests he¡¯d made his way from the elevator when something happened.¡± From the corner of my eye, I could see the grin on the detective¡¯s face. ¡°But there are no footprints coming from there, so someone must have moved him.¡± I slid my fingers along the surface of the floor. ¡°Or turned him.¡±


    I looked at my finger. It was perfectly clean, with only the slightest trace of essence.


    ¡°Did you swab the whole place? I¡¯m not feeling a lot of magic around?¡±


    ¡°High-society construction,¡± the detective said. ¡°No charms, no trinkets. Only magic is within the tech. Not something you¡¯re familiar with, huh?¡±


    I ignored the provocation, looking closely at the man¡¯s head. There was an opening the size of a coin on the size of his temple. I¡¯d have preferred to poke inside the wound with my water to see how far it went, but that was a job for the medical examiner.


    ¡°Apparent cause of death is a large puncture on his left temple, going all the way through to the other side. I¡¯d guess that¡¯s where the blood came from?¡±


    The lack of response suggested I was right. Taking a step back, I looked at the man¡¯s left hand. The thumb and index finger were coated with a thin layer of residual magic.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t find any murder weapon, did you?¡± Transforming my hand into water, I checked his vest pockets. They appeared to be empty, though I still felt the same trace of residual magic.


    ¡°No, not for now.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t find any.¡± I straightened up, returning my hand to normal. ¡°What¡¯s that way?¡± I pointed in the direction of the stream.


    ¡°The kitchen, the guest room, and a lot of¡ª¡±


    ¡°The kitchen,¡± I cut her short, heading in the direction.


    The detective quickly followed. The pacing of her footsteps made it clear that she didn¡¯t appreciate being interrupted. However, she was professional enough not to make an issue of it as long as I produced results.


    The ¡°kitchen¡± was a large open space, separated from the rest of the apartment by two walls at a hundred-and twenty-degree angle. It had everything one could hope for: shelves, electronic ovens, three sinks, two fridges, and lots of other appliances. All had the golden seal indicating they were made on Earth.


    ¡°What are you searching for?¡± the ginger asked as I went through the ovens.


    ¡°People this rich don¡¯t use their kitchen for cooking.¡± I took out a metal tray out from one of the ovens. There were two vintage cookie boxes on top. ¡°They use them for decoration and for hiding things.¡± I opened the box. The sensation of magic hit me as a pile of multicolored coins was revealed. ¡°Here¡¯s your murder weapon,¡± I said, picking up a red coin. ¡°Only a person ashamed of using charms would hide them close at hand.¡± I looked closer.


    ¡°How did you miss this?¡± The detective turned to the closest Rune Investigator.


    ¡°We hadn¡¯t reached the kitchen.¡± The man raised his hands in front of his chest defensively.


    ¡°Check everything else!¡± the woman hissed, then moved closer to me. ¡°Uppers?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Some of them, maybe. Not this one, though. Whoever made it had a wicked sense of humor. Someone made a hang charm to look like a painkiller.¡±


    ¡°Hang charm?¡± one of the RIs asked.


    ¡°A drill charm used mostly for hanging frames. You press it against a hard surface and it makes a small hole to place a support rod.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it used for knee capping in the slums. Strictly speaking, your victim killed himself. He was doing something in the apartment, possibly work related, went to get something from his stash to relieve his headache, then snap¡ªinstant headshot.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± The detective nodded. ¡°No trace of the weapon since the charm¡¯s gone. Only some magic residue on the fingers and temple.¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡± I dropped the coin back in the cookie box and handed it to one of the RIs. ¡°Whoever made the charm enhanced it to make sure it did the job.¡±


    ¡°Find out what each of the charms do and where he bought them from,¡± the detective ordered. ¡°I want to see a report by the end of the day! And finish processing the scene! If you missed this, there might have been other things as well.¡±


    People quickly rushed back to their jobs. I didn¡¯t envy them. Working on such a high-profile case could make or break anyone¡¯s career, even a metropolitan.


    ¡°So?¡± I smiled at the detective. ¡°Did I pass?¡±


    ¡°We would have come to the same conclusion.¡± She refused to concede. ¡°You just saved some time.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. I guess now we must find who in the family was involved and what they¡¯re hiding.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think any of them are involved?¡±


    ¡°Someone moved the body. They¡¯re not the killer or they¡¯d have taken the charms. Still, they did take something, dragged the body, then used some charm or device to mask their own footprints. Quite a lot of effort for someone not involved.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You could tell this just by looking at the crime scene?¡±


    ¡°Sort of.¡±


    In truth, I¡¯d let a layer of water as thick as a molecule brush over the floor ever since we¡¯d entered the building. It used to do the same back when I was working at Duty and Customs. The secret of being a good seer wasn¡¯t the ability to glance into the future, but the ability to seamlessly gather physical information. And I was very good at my job. A pity that there were so many ways through charms of devices to hide traces. My job would have been a lot easier otherwise.


    After doing my little show, I was dragged back to the elevator. Apparently, the surviving witnesses were giving statements somewhere outside. I didn¡¯t know anything about H-Sec protocols, but if they were anything like those of the city guards, witness statements were taken within half hour of arrival and again two hours later. In this case, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if each of the family members had a lawyer at hand.


    ¡°So, who¡¯s the victim?¡± I asked as the elevator went down.


    ¡°Janas Kode, senior researcher at Ellcron. Has a wife, two children¡ªone of which still lives in the house.¡± A holopane emerged in front of me¡ªthe culmination of charms and human electronics. ¡°Owns no other property or company shares, as per his corporate contract. Parents are deceased. His grandmother was originally from Earth, which earned him his start at Ellcron.¡± The contents of the holopane shifted. ¡°Rich, no official arrests, no particularly bad vices, and no mistress.¡±


    ¡°No mistress?¡± I looked at the image of his wife. Considering how plain she was beneath her jewelry and expensive clothes, I found that hard to believe.


    ¡°Ellcron, apparently, offers an escort service to some of his researchers.¡± The woman scoffed. ¡°We¡¯re still waiting for official statements from the corp, but everyone else we¡¯re spoken to describe him as quiet and driven. Not someone who¡¯d normally be targeted.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re be surprised how often the ¡°quiet driven ones¡± usually are. How do we proceed now?¡±


    The holopane vanished from the air.


    ¡°Clay must have finished getting you cleared with the lieutenant, so you¡¯ll join in taking witness statements.¡± The elevator stopped. ¡°When I say join in, I mean observe. No asking anything without my say so and don¡¯t even try using any charms.¡±


    ¡°Never even crossed my mind,¡± I lied, as I pulled back the invisible layer of water into myself. For now, it was better not to cause too much waves.


    ¡°And it¡¯s Nixen,¡± she said just as the doors opened. ¡°Detective Konstanza Nixen.¡±

 3. Three Liars and a Lawyer

    In my part of the city, if someone had to be questioned, they¡¯d be grabbed, runed, and dragged to the station of the guard where the authorities would spend hours interrogating them in less than pleasant surroundings. Here, interrogations were called witness statements and were conducted in a very different fashion.


    I followed detective Nixen by the building to where a pagoda had been built. A person in a H-Sec uniform handed a glass of water to the grieving widow. I instantly recognized her from the images I¡¯d seen on the holopane. The woman was a decade younger than her husband, dressed in a stunning violet dress in an attempt to hide her plainness. It was strange that she didn¡¯t seem to have any jewelry or tech accessories on. On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t sense any traces of tears on her face either.


    Seeing me, the woman pulled away from the H-Sec agent, making a sign for the large man behind her to approach. The expensive suit screamed lawyer. The sea-dragon skin shoes suggested he charged a small fortune per hour.


    ¡°Is that an uncharted?¡± the lawyer asked after his brief conversation with the widow.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, he is.¡± The detective didn¡¯t blink. ¡°He¡¯s a consultant on this case.¡±


    ¡°I find that hardly appropriate.¡± The lawyer looked at me as if I were a piece of rotten seaweed. ¡°Miss Kode has just gone through an extremely traumatic experience and could do without further aggravations.¡±


    ¡°Seriously, mom?¡± a girl sitting a space away asked. She had inherited a lot of her mother¡¯s plainness, desperately trying to mask it beneath a messy rage-against-the-system look. If I could describe her in two words, it would be ¡°trustfund rebel¡±¡ªa bored child from a rich family trying to be everything her parents weren¡¯t. ¡°Instead of apologizing to him for taking his world, you have your lawyer shoo him away?¡±


    ¡°Marshia.¡± The widow pursed her lips. ¡°This is hardly the time.¡±


    ¡°Neptune Waters happens to be one of the best seers in the city,¡± Clayton¡¯s familiar voice came from behind. ¡°I specifically invited him to join this investigation to find your husband¡¯s murderer as quickly as possible. After all, that¡¯s what we all want, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I could smile if I weren¡¯t the center of attention. Clayton had a knack for using awkwardness to beat anyone into submission. It wasn¡¯t that he had clout or considerable political connections, but rather, he¡¯d present things in such a way that would make it a faux pa for anyone to disagree.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine what you must be going through now.¡± Clayton approached the widow. My guess was that he was lying through his teeth. Judging by Nixen¡¯s expression, she was thinking the same. ¡°Let¡¯s just finish taking your statements so you and your family could grieve in peace.¡±


    While he tapped on his watch to open an official inquiry holopane, I glanced through the rest of the suspects.


    Other than the widow and the daughter, there was a man in his late twenties. He was too old to be Kode¡¯s other child, which suggested that he had to be a friend of the deceased. Or maybe he was friendly with his wife?


    ¡°You stated that you found your husband early in the morning?¡± Clay asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The widow looked away. ¡°Janas tended to work late and came at all hours. I guess I expected today to be no different.¡±


    ¡°Let me just be clear. You did not hear your husband enter your apartment, or did you?¡±


    ¡°No. I was just making my way to the grove when I¡­¡± She sniffled, covering her face with a handkerchief in such a way that would make third rate actresses recoil. ¡°He was just lying there.¡±


    For a fraction of a second, Marshia glanced down, then up again. In that sliver of time, I recognized the glint of shame that flickered within her eye. She was definitely hiding something. The question was whether it was related to the murder of the Kode¡¯s life in general.


    ¡°Did your husband bring any work home?¡± Clayton continued.


    ¡°No.¡± The widow stiffened. ¡°Never.¡±


    ¡°Did he mention having any issues at work?¡±


    ¡°My client has a signed NDA regarding all matters related to Ellcron,¡± the lawyer interjected. ¡°I would advise you to stop that line of questioning.¡±


    No luck there. Corporations had the habit of wrapping their employees with more legal requirements than seaweed in the ocean. Having the person¡¯s wife included as part of the packet suggested that mister Kode was involved in some rather important things within his company.


    I redirected my attention to the last suspect. His posture was tense, even stiff, making it obvious he regretted being caught in such a situation. My instincts screamed that he was the one that we should be pressing. A common trait of opportunists was that they had no loyalties, especially towards their targets.


    ¡°Did your husband seem troubled or concerned lately?¡± Clayton asked.


    ¡°No.¡± The woman turned to the lawyer. ¡°He had his ups or downs, but he didn¡¯t look any different than usual. Well, he was upset with the money Marshia was spending on causes, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°So, there were disagreements between your husband and your daughter?¡± Detective Nixen asked.


    The standard good cop, bad cop routine. What I found more interesting was that this time, the lawyer didn¡¯t step in.


    ¡°There were arguments, yes. But if you¡¯re insinuating that my daughter had anything to do with the death of my¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that detective Nixen had no such intention,¡± Clayton said. ¡°When did you see your husband last?¡± he asked.


    The widow and the daughter looked at each other.


    ¡°I think it was yesterday noon,¡± the widow said. ¡°Janas had been working a lot lately, so we agreed to have lunch together in Paris. It¡¯s a small restaurant near the Pavilion Center.¡±


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    ¡°Thank you.¡± Clytan paused as the holopane opened a city map and plotted the location. ¡°And you, miss?¡± he turned to the daughter.


    ¡°It¡¯s been days. I¡¯m asleep when he goes to work, so¡­¡± she shrugged. ¡°The last time we saw each other, I asked him to make a donation to the Free Seas initiative. He refused, so I shouted at him¡­¡± tears sparkled in the corners of his eyes. ¡°I told him I wish he was dead.¡±


    ¡°Marshia¡ª¡± the widow began, but was quickly interrupted by the lawyer.


    ¡°My client meant that purely figuratively. Her statement is not to be considered a threat or used as an excuse for further questioning.¡±


    ¡°Understood, councilor. And his son?¡± As Clayton asked, the image of Celsius Kode emerged on the screen. He seemed remarkably normal, considering the rest of his family. From what I was able to see, he was listed as unemployed, but with parents that rich, that wasn¡¯t an issue. ¡°Was he in contact with mister Kode?¡±


    ¡°Cel lives alone.¡± The widow was quick to say. ¡°He and his father have never been close. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ve spoken in years. Cel considers himself something of an artist. Paradrawing at present. He quit sand drawing a few months ago and glassworks a few months before that. This last week he¡¯s been on an extremely expensive retreat where he¡¯s been jumping from air balloons all day.¡±


    ¡°That sounds interesting. And you, sir?¡± Clayton turned to the man. ¡°I understand you¡¯re a friend to the family?¡±


    ¡°Err, yes.¡± The man hesitated. ¡°I¡¯ve been close to them, yes.¡±


    ¡°Could you clarify the nature of your relationship?¡±


    That was a nice touch. Clayton had subtly changed the focus from the victim to the entire family.


    ¡°I¡¯m miss Kode¡¯s economics tutor. Her parents expressed a desire that she learns the basics so as to get a good start in life.¡± He reached into his trousers pocket and took out a crystal business card case. ¡°Here¡¯s my card. I¡¯m with Icemore University.¡±


    ¡°Icemore?¡± Clayton took the card. ¡°And do you have anything to add to the situations?¡±


    ¡°No. Nothing I could think of?¡±


    Even why you¡¯re spending the night in Kode¡¯s place? I laughed internally. If I knew Clayton, he¡¯d give him just enough rope to hang himself later on.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Clayton stopped the holopabe. ¡°That would be all. If we have any news, we¡¯ll be sure to inform you as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°Did Janas use charm uppers a lot?¡± I asked casually.


    The question couldn¡¯t have been more shocking if I had tried. Everyone from the deceased¡¯s family to H-Sec stared at me. Even the lawyer was at a loss for words. Others in my place would be worried that I¡¯d face serious consequences. Being an uncharted water spirit, I had no such fear. There wasn¡¯t much I could lose anyway¡ªat worst my pass would be revoked and I¡¯d be thrown back in the slums where I lived. If someone wanted to be particularly nasty, they could banish me out of the city itself, but in a case such as this that would bring more questions that it was worth hurting me.


    ¡°Y-you!¡± The widow stood up and rushed to me before anyone could react. ¡°How dare you!¡± She gave me a sharp slap in the face. Considering her size, it was stronger than expected. Then again, it wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d gotten one of those. ¡°My husband had his faults, but he was a senior researcher and an esteemed member of this city! He¡¯s achieved more than your king can dream of!¡±


    She briskly walked away, still trembling. A few moments later, once the shock effect had expired, the lawyer followed.


    ¡°Thank you. That would be all.¡± Clayton smiled, downplaying the whole thing in his typical fashion. ¡°Thank you for your statements.¡±


    He passed by me, walking away from the pavilion. His colleague was less than understanding. The glare she gave me was enough to burn through steel.


    ¡°You¡¯re a bastard,¡± she hissed. ¡°This¡¯ll be one shitstorm. We¡¯ll be dealing with lawyers till the end of the case just because you couldn¡¯t shut up.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯ll be no lawyers,¡± I said, heading after Clayton. ¡°If anyone was serious, they¡¯d say it now. Besides, she knew about her husband¡¯s habit.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s using as well. When she slapped me, I felt the essence on her fingers. Uppers, sexers, and a few other charms. A lot taken in the last day.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me she could be the target?¡± the Nixen blinked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve no idea. I just know that she¡¯s been using charms.¡±


    We went to the rune carriage in silence. H-sec had opened the security cordon of the area, which meant that in addition to every vehicle already here, we could expect a heavy media presence to descend upon us like vultures on a corpse.


    I was quickly shoved in the back of the carriage. Rune charms activated, making the window panes opaque from the outside. I could guess that having my face on every news report and article next to a murder headline wasn¡¯t going to be well received by H-Sec of the powers that be. That suited me just fine.


    ¡°Nice to see you haven¡¯t lost your touch.¡± Clayton took the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°The lieutenant approved your transfer, by the way. There¡¯s still some paperwork needed, but it¡¯ll all be sorted by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°If he¡¯s not kicked off the case by then,¡± Nixen took the other front seat, slamming the carriage door as she entered. ¡°You sure you want to risk our careers on him?


    Clayton chuckled.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Waters won¡¯t put the case at risk, will you, Waters?¡±


    ¡°No, sir. No risk at all.¡± I said, switching to the stereotypical water spirit accent.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°About the case?¡± I took out a charm from my pocket.


    Similar to the unfortunate victim, I also used recreational charms. The difference was that mine was custom-made to keep the nightmares at bay. The slight high was merely a side effect, and lately it wasn¡¯t much of a high. Of course, I had no intention of telling Clayton that, nor did I intend to use illicit charms in the back of a H-Sec car. The charm I was about to use was a memory charm¡ªit created a small crystalized water crystal of all recent memories and stored it within my body.


    ¡°It¡¯s murder alright.¡± I pressed the jagged piece of crystal against my forehead. It disappeared with a faint cyan glow. Invisible to everyone else, a new crystal formed within my gut. ¡°The family¡¯s massively messed up, but I don¡¯t think any of them killed him. I know that all of them were lying.¡±


    ¡°Shocking,¡± Nixen grunted.


    ¡°The widow found the husband while he was alive. My guess is that he surprised her as she was preparing to have sex with a lover, though not the so-called teacher. They probably got into an argument, which was probably why Janas took a charm. I guess that¡¯s when the daughter woke up and helped cover up things.¡±


    I leaned back, closing my eyes. The lack of sleep was getting to me again.


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of guesswork.¡± Nixen didn¡¯t sound impressed.


    ¡°You¡¯ll see. Your RU guys will tell you that Janas died in the kitchen and had some sort of case with him. Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Good old Waters,¡± Clayton laughed. ¡°Glad to have you aboard, my friend.¡±


    The next step was to check out Janas¡¯ place of work. Given who we were dealing with, even H-Sec would likely take a day to cut through the walls of legal paperwork required for a visit. With me involved, it might take even longer.


    ¡°I want to be there when you go to Ellcron,¡± I said.


    ¡°Joker.¡± Nixen scoffed. ¡°They¡¯d burn the building down before they let an uncharted set foot in their lobby.¡±


    ¡°Which is why they¡¯ll be focusing more on me and less on your questions.¡±


    It was a weak argument, but caused both to clam down. If I were them, I¡¯d be thinking of ways to use my distraction to their advantage. There was a high chance that I would be asked to bring in some device within my body.


    ¡°I¡¯ll run it by the Lt,¡± Clayton said. ¡°Until then, lay low.¡±


    ¡°Your word is my command. Can you just drop me off back home? I prefer not to attract too much attention on my first day.¡±

 4. The Memory Broker

    Getting picked up by H-Sec or any of the local authorities was common in my part of the slums. Being driven back, though, would be remembered for years. I asked Clayton to drop me off at the watermark, and thankfully he did.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fetch you tomorrow when we get an authorization for the visit,¡± he told me.


    ¡°Better I go to your office.¡± Having H-Sec visit me twice in a row would get my landlord angsty to the point he might kick me out. ¡°I have a pass now, so it¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up here, then.¡± He took off his watch and tossed it to me. ¡°I¡¯ll get you a new one tomorrow. Don¡¯t sell this and answer when I call.¡±


    The tech was top of the line. Selling it would let me live like a king for a year, maybe more. That could never happen, though. Not even idiots would touch H-Sec tech, and for my own safety, it was better that I didn¡¯t flash it around.


    ¡°Got it.¡± I quickly put it in my trouser pocket. ¡°See you tomorrow, Clay. Detective.¡± I nodded to the woman, my glance lingering longer than she should. The way she looked, I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. ¡°Safe trip home.¡±


    The glance I received in return was anything but flattering. It was going to be interesting working the case with her. With luck, it might even be fun.


    I waited to make sure the rune carriage was out of sight when I headed into the slums. I didn¡¯t go to my neighborhood. With Clay dragging me out of bed, I could use some food. More importantly, there was someone I needed to see.


    There were many joints that offered food in places like this. The really good ones always had short names¡ªthat way, people didn¡¯t have to waste time setting up a meeting. More important for me right now, they also had regulars.


    After twenty minutes on the streets, I found myself in front of C¡¯s. The owner¡ªan old water spirit that was three times older than the city itself¡ªhad adapted quite well. The dinar was one of the landmarks of the slums, serving food to all kinds. One had just as much chance to come across a petty gangster as a media celebrity slumming it out with her bodyguards. Every now and again, they¡¯d even let me in.


    The door opened with a ring. Supposedly the bell attached to it had been a gift to old Mars from the first colony commander to come from Earth, long before the city was even a thought on paper. Two rows of tables greeted me, half full as always. Taking one good look at the customers of the moment, I made my way to the bar.


    ¡°Waters, you¡¯re still banned here.¡± Big Sky pointed at me. The pictures on the walls depicted her as a glamorous beauty. All that was long before my time, but I still had a soft spot for her, even if she was one mean old lady. ¡°Get your dripping ass out of here!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here on business, Sky.¡± I tossed a few coins on the counter. In most parts of the city, anything other than electronic currency would be forbidden. Not here, though. ¡°I promise not to cause a mess.¡±


    ¡°You said that last time.¡± The woman grumbled. She still took my coins, though, and also poured me a glass of beer. When I say poured, I meant she filled a shot glass with it. ¡°What you got?¡±


    ¡°Difficult to explain,¡± I replied, looking at the minuscule glass. Even up close, it seemed like a thimble. ¡°It pays more than enough. Where¡¯s Summer?¡± I downed the glass in one go, then slammed it back on the counter.


    ¡°After last time, she won¡¯t be happy to see you.¡±


    ¡°Business is business, Sky. Tell her I want to talk.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no.¡± The large woman crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not getting involved with you two. You want to talk to her? Go talk to her. Keep me out of it.¡± She filled up my shot glass, slipping in a charm crystal under the glass. ¡°Find a table.¡± She tilted her head in the direction of one near the window. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. Need any food?¡±


    ¡°You know I can¡¯t refuse your cooking.¡± I snatched the charm, then downed the glass again. ¡°And a proper beer.¡± I placed some more coins on the counter and headed to my table.


    Several of the patrons gave me angry looks as I passed by. I didn¡¯t recognize them personally, but knew they were part of the Blue Dock Syndicate. I owed someone there money. Luckily, we were related, so I had a bit of leeway.


    My food arrived a few minutes after I sat down¡ªalgae and fries. Since the arrival of the humans, we¡¯d started copying them in many ways. In some cases that was done out of necessity, others of convenience, others still were just good ideas.


    Outside the window, a rune junky was being hassled by some minor thug¡ªa reminder of the scar that still hadn¡¯t fully healed yet.


    ¡°Makes you think of the old days,¡± a woman said out of nowhere, taking a seat across me.


    She was as elegant as the slums allowed: loose blue shirt, whitish dress, and enough cheap jewelry to fill a cargo container. The rumor was that half the gems she was wearing were hidden charms. That was wrong. I knew firsthand that all of them were.


    ¡°Back then, you could go fifty feet without beating someone up.¡± She took a fry from my dish. ¡°Or getting beat up.¡±


    ¡°Yep. The good old days,¡± I whispered.


    It was said that when the humans initially arrived, things weren¡¯t that bad. When the initial colony was constructed, every effort was made to keep us locals happy. It was a time of plenty. Water spirits got fancy new things such as clothes, homes, and tech, and all we had to do was follow a few rules. There was no way to tell for certain. I was too young to remember. What I did remember was the chaos that followed.


    Sky came, leaving two large beers on the table. Somehow, I knew that Summer¡¯s bear was put on my tab. Since I was asking the favor, I dropped her a few more coins, then activated the silence charm she had handed me back at the bar. A membrane of water surrounded us, enveloping the table like a bubble.


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    ¡°You¡¯ve changed your hair,¡± I said, waiting for Sky to leave the silence bubble. ¡°You used to like it long.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re in your tourist suit.¡± She took the drink and downed it in one gulp. Even back when I knew her, she was a heavy drinker. After the Midnight Ten incident, she¡¯d kicked it up a notch. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if half of her body was made of alcohol.


    ¡°It¡¯s for a job.¡± I pushed my drink to her side of the table. ¡°It¡¯ll pay well. I just need some info.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s the going rate for joining H-Sec?¡± Summer took the second drink and gulped it down.


    Of course she¡¯d know that. She had a knack for obtaining information and, more importantly, storing it. The number of memory crystals within her was scary, probably the reason she needed industrial amounts of alcohol.


    ¡°Was that a yes?¡±


    ¡°Seriously? We haven¡¯t seen each other for half a year and that¡¯s what you have to say?¡±


    ¡°I was busy,¡± I lied.


    ¡°Busy my waves! If you had given a damn about me or yourself wouldn¡¯t just come see me when you needed help for a job.¡±


    I remained silent. She was right, of course. Then again, she was the one who had originally kicked me out. Staying together with someone obsessed with the docks¡¯ massacre was a tough sell. She was affected almost as much as me, which had drawn us together initially. My inability to let go had later driven us apart.


    ¡°And H-Sec, of all places.¡±


    ¡°Clay came by and asked me to help with a case,¡± I said.


    ¡°Good old Clay. And you couldn¡¯t say no?¡±


    I looked out of the window.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think so. I should just stand up and leave. If you enjoy playing the jester for the humies, that¡¯s your call. It has nothing to do with me or¡ª¡±


    ¡°If I do well, I¡¯ll get access to the Midnight Ten files,¡± I cut her short.


    She paused. It was emotional blackmail, and both of us knew it. Yet, deep inside, Summer still wanted answers as well. The massacre had wrecked many spirit families. I just happened to be the one to have survived in the middle of it.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± she asked, despite her better judgment.


    ¡°What can you tell me about this?¡± A few coin-like charms floated to the surface of my palm.


    Summer gave them a suspicious look.


    ¡°Illegal charms?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Got them from the bowl of a victim. One of them is modified to drill a hole on a surface when activated. The victim thought it was a pain reliever and pressed it against his temple.¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡± She took them from my hand. ¡°Quality stuff. No one here would bother making this. Where was your victim?¡±


    ¡°Beachwater.¡±


    ¡°No shit?¡± She grinned. ¡°Fancy place. Buying memories from there costs a fortune.¡±


    ¡°Know anything that could help?¡±


    She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.


    ¡°Not much. I¡¯ve no memories of the buildings. Road deliveries end in front of the door. The area is nice. Lots of security systems and protection wards. You can¡¯t get there unless you¡¯re invited, or very, very well equipped. I¡¯d say someone meddled with the supply. Easier that way.¡±


    ¡°Any known charm distributors?¡±


    ¡°Nep, that¡¯s Beachwater we¡¯re talking about. People there don¡¯t go to street corners to get a fix, they have people to send people to get it for them. My guess, it¡¯s someone human. No risk of anyone selling the memory that way. I¡¯ll ask around, though. Something this high quality is bound to make ripples.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it.¡± If this were just any case, I¡¯d give her the memory crystal of this morning and ask for details. However, I knew Summer well enough not to. The first thing she¡¯d do was form a copy, which she¡¯d sell to the highest bidder: unions, media, corporate competitors, maybe even a few investigator rivals of mine. ¡°What do you know about Janas Kode?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know him,¡± she said after a short delay.


    ¡°He works for Ellcron.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The shift in her voice scared me. ¡°As what exactly?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± I lied. ¡°They''ll probably say on the news.¡±


    ¡°They did. Only all they said was that there was a murder in Beachwater and the authorities were investigating.¡±


    Damn it. She knew even before she sat down. I¡¯d hoped that H-Sec would impose some restrictions on news coverage. Apparently, they hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°I could look into it as well, but it¡¯ll cost you. That consulting gig better pay well.¡±


    ¡°I pay my debts.¡± Most of them, at least.


    ¡°You know the rumors. Other than that, there¡¯s nothing more to add.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Summer. I guess that¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know a thing or two about his kids, though.¡±


    I froze.


    ¡°You told me you didn¡¯t know anything about the man.¡±


    ¡°I lied.¡± She glared at me. ¡°It was an indirect connection. You roam through a million memories in two seconds. Janas I know nothing about. He¡¯s some drone who married to a woman with money and leads a boring life. The kids are a different matter. Marshia Kode has visited a slum or two. She¡¯s part of those ¡°free the spirits¡± groups that keep popping up. She¡¯s been picked up one or twice by the locals for trespassing here and there, but nothing major. No charges, of course.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Celsius is a different matter. He¡¯s got a temper. Parents sent him to a few places for treatment, but never got to the core. He attacked his old man publicly in a restaurant.¡± Summer smiled. ¡°I have the memory of a waiter. It was a big deal for a few seconds before someone covered it up. Ellcron, I¡¯d guess. After that, things got worse.¡±


    So that was why the eldest had ¡°left¡± the house. Interesting that the widow hadn¡¯t mentioned it.


    ¡°I¡¯d look out for him. Kid¡¯s dangerous. Having a screw loose and unlimited money is a bad combination.¡±


    ¡°They told me he was at a retreat learning how to paradraw.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s definitely in a retreat,¡± Summer snorted. ¡°Saint Julian health resort. Twenty-four hours of calm and therapy, with no access to anything off the island. The thing is, he got released two days ago. My guess is that he made a call to mommy and she agreed to end his vacation early.¡±


    That was one angle. Celsius would have free access to the apartment and the means to find and buy the modified charms in question. It also might explain why the widow and her daughter were being so loose with the truth. Family was family, after all, and I had the impression Janas wasn¡¯t particularly liked by anyone else in the family. Cold treatment from the mother, rebellious son and daughter¡­ Maybe the widow was blaming him for dragging her down the social ladder and had festered that hatred in the children as well.


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Not enough for you?¡± She took another of my fries. ¡°That¡¯s all I got. I¡¯ll let you know when I get more.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I stood up, leaving my food behind. ¡°Take care, Summer.¡±


    ¡°You too. Good luck with your new job. Just¡­¡± There was a pause. ¡°Don¡¯t get consumed like last time.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I lied. ¡°I thought you knew me better by now.¡±

 5. The Ellcron Visit

    I¡¯d never seen the faces of my parents. Back when I was a child, we didn¡¯t have faces. We didn¡¯t have a single form, either, floating through the ocean like threads in fabric. I suspect they never appreciated the idea of mimicking humans, so they left. The only thing they left me was the memory of warmth, calm, and a few kind words.


    ¡°Some influence you were.¡± I tapped on the jar containing the memory crystal and lay down on my bed. Usually I¡¯d relax, losing my form, letting my clothes slide off onto the ground. Tonight, I just lay there, waiting.


    There was no telling when Clayton would call and I had to be ready for it and I wouldn¡¯t blame him. Despite his calm surface, this was a pretty big case and already I¡¯d found all suspects involved were lying. H-Sec had probably come to the same conclusions. It wasn¡¯t like the son¡¯s history couldn¡¯t be checked. However, one big question remained: what was taken from the dead man¡¯s body? I could understand the wife killing him out of neglect, the son for money, and the daughter for current political beliefs. Nothing involved stealing or rearranging the murder scene.


    I close my eyes for a moment. Next thing I knew, Clayton¡¯s watch was chiming in my pocket.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I said instinctively, even before grabbing it.


    Last thing I remembered, I was running from danger. The dream had faded away too soon for me to remember what the danger was, but it was bad enough to make my legs lose form.


    I tapped the surface of the watch. ¡°Yes?¡± I repeated.


    ¡°Morning, Waters.¡± A holoplane appeared with Clayton¡¯s face on it. ¡°Time to go. Meet me where I dropped you off.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I solidified, filling out my clothes. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit early?¡± I looked at the window. It was still dark outside.


    ¡°Legal got us a signed visit authorization. We¡¯re going before anyone at the judge¡¯s office has leaked it to Ellcron.¡±


    Good luck with that. ¡°Sure. See you in twenty.¡±


    ¡°Better make it ten.¡±


    ¡°See you in ten.¡± I tapped the watch, causing the holopane to vanish.


    Twirling the water within me, I straightened my clothes and left the room. The street was empty. According to the time, it was a quarter past five. Not even criminals were out at this time of night. Only people who would be this bold were joggers and dog-walkers, neither of which lived in the slums.


    Q quick sprint through my neighborhood quickly reminded me that I¡¯d repeated the mistake of not having breakfast. Maybe it wouldn¡¯t have been as bad if I had actually eaten yesterday instead of giving all my food to Sunner. Either way, it was too late now. With luck, I¡¯d get one of the detectives to treat me to something after the visit to Ellcron was over.


    The rune carriage was waiting for me at the exact spot I¡¯d been dropped off. This time they had the decency to disguise it as not belonging to H-Sec. The runes used were top-notch, but the idea was flawed. Having a non-H-Sec carriage all the way here was twice as suspicious. A backdoor opened for me as I approached.


    ¡°Morning, detectives,¡± I said as I slid into the vehicle. ¡°And how are you today?¡±


    ¡°Watch.¡± Nixen reached back from the front seat.


    I pulled it off my wrist and handed it to her.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your new one.¡± It was a lot less impressive than what I had before¡ªa thin metal strap with a rune-chip gem.


    ¡°Looks like a downgrade.¡± I put it on.


    Clayton laughed as he lifted the carriage in the air.


    ¡°We just need to find you, not have you poking about the H-Sec network.¡±


    Not what I expected, but it was inevitable there would be a few bumps on the way. With the information they had on my past, it was easy to see why they didn¡¯t trust me completely. If I got this case right, things would change.


    ¡°Get into the clothes in the back.¡±


    I glanced at the seat space next to me. There was a set of new clothes still in their plastic packaging.


    ¡°What I have isn¡¯t good enough?¡±


    ¡°Not unless you¡¯re part of a low budget porn movie.¡± She didn¡¯t sound amused. ¡°Just get in the damned clothes.¡±


    The trip to Ellcron¡¯s branch office took us three minutes. I needed less than a tenth of that to shift from my current clothes into what the detective had prepared for me. The quality was better than anything I¡¯d worn and most things I¡¯d seen. Elegant, well fitting, almost flawless in a gentle cyan-gray with the H-Sec logo stitched on both the shirt and vest. It was said that everyone in H-Sec wore a suit even beneath their uniforms. Now, I could see why.


    ¡°When we question them, you¡¯ll follow our lead, won¡¯t you, Waters?¡± Clayton asked.


    ¡°Of course. You know me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem,¡± Nixen grumbled.


    The rune carriage stopped in Ellcorn¡¯s parking, ten feet from the main entrance. A building such as this had to be equipped with a landing platform on top, but that probably was only for corporate usage. Still, I was impressed that we didn¡¯t go through any checks.


    Clayton and Nixen got out first. I followed quickly after. There were no guards to be seen, although statues were visible perched on every floor. From this distance, it was impossible to tell whether they were active gargoyles or an architectural choice. In places such as this, it was better not to find out.


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    The massive door of glass slid to the side, acknowledging our presence. We went straight inside and to the nearest external conference room. Several guards in full body armor and heavy weapons kept an eye on us every moment.


    All who claimed that the building was a fortress were not exaggerating. Provided that Ellcron was one of the five companies that established a presence in my world during the early days of travel between the two, I would have expected something a bit more Earth-like. Other than the massive size and defense measures, the architectural style was the local watered-down mix. Apparently, even being number five means one could stop trying.


    ¡°Good day to you, detectives.¡± A white-haired man in an expensive black suit emerged from the conference room. ¡°I¡¯m Mirto Gellow, head of corporate security. Please, welcome to Ellcorn.¡± He invited us in. ¡°My apologies for the current venue, but when we learned that you have an uncharted consultant, we found it prudent not to allow him access to sensitive areas. Memory crystals and all.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Clayton nodded with a smile as he passed by.


    The room was no different from what I imagined: spacious, sterile, with nothing but a single large table surrounded by chairs. At the far side, a woman was sitting, reading a newspaper. The moment she saw us, she folded the newspaper and put it on the table. Its pages turned blank.


    ¡°May I introduce Saura van Buren,¡± Gellow said, closing the door behind us. ¡°Our senior in house counsel.¡±


    The woman nodded. So did the detectives. I just stood still, like a sore thumb.


    ¡°There must be some misunderstanding,¡± Clayton said in a tone that suggested he believed the opposite. ¡°We¡¯ve received written permission by a judge to interview anyone in relation to Janas Code.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not entirely correct.¡± The woman interjected. She had a small frame, making her stand out even more in the massive grayness of the office. Unlike the security chief, her outfit was a lot brighter, almost pretty. Straw white hair fell beneath her shoulders, completing the casual corporate look. ¡°You were permitted to ask any questions regarding mister code and receive an answer, within limits. Nowhere was it specified who you''re to have the conversation with. Since I have familiarized myself with the case in depth, it¡¯s my fiduciary duty to answer all questions in the name of our executives and employees alike, saving them loss incurring distractions.¡±


    Clever. That was quite the legal loophole. The issue was that if H-Sec tried to close it, they would find the corporate world even less cooperative. The best course of action was to accept this and rely that Ellcron wouldn¡¯t share their ingenuity with any of their competitors.


    ¡°Very well. What could you tell us about mister Kode?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much, unfortunately. He was close to being a model employee. Good results, highly valued skills, perfect dedication. In fact, he was on the short list for this quarter¡¯s promotions.¡±


    ¡°And what exactly did he do here?¡± Clayton pressed on.


    ¡°He was a senior researcher, but I believe you know that.¡±


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t the question.¡± Detective Nixen stepped in. ¡°What project was he working on?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I cannot answer that. The judge¡¯s permission doesn¡¯t include discussion of proprietary secrets. Suffice it to say that it was on a top ten product.¡±


    ¡°Can one of your competitors have killed him?¡±


    ¡°Anything is possible, but in this case, extremely unlikely.¡± Van Buren nodded. ¡°Despite his talent, Janos didn¡¯t have access to anything that would have been worth killing for.¡±


    ¡°But you just said¡ª¡±


    ¡°That he worked on one of our top ten products, and he did. However, I never mentioned under what capacity. Consider the new space shuttle. It contains a multitude of feats in the field of engineering and rune electronics. That doesn¡¯t mean that there aren¡¯t painters linked to the project.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that mister Kode was the equivalent of a painter?¡±


    ¡°In a manner of speaking. In a few months, things might have changed, but for the moment there¡¯s nothing he could say about the product other than information our competitors already possess.¡±


    Killed before he could be any useful. I took a few steps forward, but the head of Ellcron security quickly gave me a sign to stop. No doubt they had an extensive file on me and knew better than to let me get anywhere close to anyone.


    ¡°What about internal issues?¡± Clayton asked. ¡°Did any of Janas'' colleagues feel unhappy that he made his way on the promotions list? Or the project?¡±


    ¡°Detective.¡± The lawyer gave the most charming smile imaginable¡ªthe type sea-vultures made before biting. ¡°Unlike what you¡¯ve heard, we¡¯re not literally a cutthroat business. People have been known to use underhanded methods to advance, but never here, and definitely not¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then why did you send an agent to clean up the crime scene?¡± I asked. Detective Nixen was furious that I had spoken. No one else, though. The calmness emanating from both the lawyer and head of security suggested they were even expecting it. ¡°The Icemore University tutor is, in fact, one of your agents, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    Clayton and Nixen looked at me. Meanwhile, the Ellcron people glanced at each other.


    ¡°What led you to such a conclusion?¡± van Buren asked.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t look like he was sleeping with either the widow or her daughter. Also, the family lawyer didn¡¯t seem at all worried when he was questioned.¡± Also, you just confirmed my suspicions.


    ¡°Well, you are indeed correct. It¡¯s natural for Ellcron to send someone to retrieve sensitive materials. We can assure you that nothing was compromised.¡±


    ¡°Uhu. So, you didn¡¯t find what you were looking for.¡± I pulled up a nearby chair and sat down. ¡°What was that exactly?¡±


    ¡°What Waters means to ask is whether any additional details regarding mister Kode come to mind,¡± Clayton quickly said. ¡°Getting into a dispute with H-Sec would be of no one¡¯s benefit, especially since it increases the risk of Ellcron property going missing.¡±


    The threat was subtle and completely provable in court, but I could almost hear the wheels in van Buren¡¯s mind turn. In her place I wouldn¡¯t bother with a cost-benefit analysis. They had already admitted lying once, so they might as well share a bit more of the truth.


    ¡°It is potentially possible that Janas took a sensitive component by mistake,¡± the lawyer said. ¡°Nothing particularly valuable in itself, but a vital part of something else. Our employee was sent to retrieve it along with any other paper documents. Unfortunately, as you said, the item in question was not present. Only its container was recovered at the scene, which, I might add, is also exclusively Ellcron¡¯s property.¡±


    ¡°And we¡¯ll be sure to take great care of it.¡±


    The conversation disgusted and fascinated me at the same time. Both sides were haggling about evidence as if it were a rug for sale. It almost seemed like they were doing us a favor by letting themselves get caught.


    ¡°Mirto will see to it,¡± the lawyer said, sending the man out of the room with a single glance. ¡°Would that be all?¡±


    ¡°Has anyone noticed mister Kode act differently lately?¡± Clayton continued. ¡°Maybe tenser than usual?¡±


    ¡°There were a few reports regarding this, but he remained within optimal limits, so no action was taken. If you want my personal opinion¡ªunofficially, of course¡ªthe reason was his son. Just two days ago, he stormed here, demanding to speak with his father.¡±


    Celius here? That was a bit unexpected. However, it confirmed that he was in the city proper.


    ¡°While Ellcron is not heartless, we do not allow family visits without vetting on appointment. The boy was detained, searched, questioned, and escorted out of the building. I believe Janas wasn¡¯t even informed of his visit.¡±


    ¡°Did he seem furious enough to kill?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was not present at the interrogations, so I cannot say. I do know that he left here rather displeased by the outcome. Keep that in mind when you question him.¡±

 6. Turn in the Trail

    There were many ways of catching a suspect. H-Sec could get anyone¡¯s information in minutes, then suck all the gargoyles in the city to fetch them. There were a few issues with that. Despite being the prime suspect, Celsius remained just a suspect. Dragging him to H-Sec was a matter of order; plunging the city into chaos¡ªnot so much.


    The instant our conversation at Ellcron was over I knew we had to part ways. The detectives were good, but they remained human. Even after years of intense training, their minds couldn¡¯t break the habit of considering the easiest answer that popped up. With the suspect being rich and human, they were confident he¡¯d use his money to hide behind lawyers in one of the grey-zone anonymizer buildings, created just for the rich and famous, could spend a few days incognito. Once that failed, they¡¯d check with past girlfriends, acquaintances, and the like. The real trick was not to search for the person, but his problems.


    Since Celcius had been dragged to therapy several times before, he¡¯d known how things worked. Unless one was exceedingly rich, there was no way to remain hidden in the metropolis area. The strongholds of anonymity weren¡¯t that many, and even they would prefer to keep a good relation with the city authorities. The best way to disappear, yet be close enough to make demands to one¡¯s parents, were the slums. If it were me, I¡¯d pick a place that was also close to Saint Julian. That way I¡¯d have somewhere to go when I snuck out of the place. A quick call to Summer confirmed that. Apparently, Celsius spent only half as much time there as the record stated he did. Given that there were no reports of him crossing the waterline. Either he had come across some military grade stealth charms, or he was staying low in the nearby slums. It would have been better if summer had managed to buy some sighting memories, although she¡¯d done the second best: confirmed that a lot of fresh money had been spent in Clear Swamps. It wasn¡¯t a full guarantee, but I was willing to chance it. For one thing, I didn¡¯t owe anyone there money.


    It was a ten-minute ride with a rune carriage from the Ellcron building to the Clear Swamps. Using city transport, the trip lasted over an hour and a half.


    ¡°Are you an uncharted spirit?¡± a ten-year-old in a school uniform asked me.


    Judging by the expression of everyone else in the water-rail, it was a question most of them wanted to know the answer to, but were too afraid to ask.


    ¡°You got me,¡± I replied without giving him a glance.


    ¡°Why are you here? My mommy told me that spirits aren¡¯t allowed on the wa-rail.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m special.¡±


    ¡°Special how?¡±


    ¡°I catch dangerous people.¡± I tapped on the emblem on my suit. ¡°Spirits and humans.¡±


    I could see his expression brighten. By the looks of it, he¡¯d be bragging about this for weeks.


    ¡°How? With magic? Or some water powers? I heard that uncharted can change into anyone.¡±


    Technically, he was right. Water spirits could change shape at will. It was said that during the early days, they did just that, mostly for fun. Of course, humans never took kindly to others walking with their appearance. It wasn¡¯t long before anti-impersonation laws were imposed. Enforcement spells soon followed. Today, every registered spirit was stuck with a single form, forbidden from changing. Every molecule of their being was scanned and put into a database from where they could be monitored twenty-four hours per day. The rest of us¡ªthe uncharted¡ªhad the ability to shift to water or change appearance at will. However, should we match the characteristics of any human or registered in the city, we¡¯d be torn to shreds by Oracle Enforcement.


    ¡°Can¡¯t talk about that.¡± If I were Summer, I¡¯d lean forward and dazzle the child with some cheap trick. If I were Goal, I¡¯d scare him off. Since I was neither, I looked out of the window, doing my best to ignore the incessant questions. After five minutes the boy git tired and stopped.


    ¡°Last stop of the line,¡± the automatic voice announced. ¡°Please get out of the water-rail compartment. Make sure you have all your luggage and belongings with you.¡±


    I stood up and made my way out. I expected the station to have a lot more spirits. Instead, I noticed a few more security patrols. At first, I thought I was the reason¡ªan uncharted on the water-rail was a pretty big thing. A quick glance at the notice boards let me know there¡¯s been a string of muggings in the area.


    Charming, I thought. Even the edges of the metropolis weren¡¯t immune to petty crime. That gave me hope. If someone wanted to get someone unnoticed, they¡¯d pick the most problematic spot to cross the watermark. Trouble, regardless of the type, tended to drive the authorities¡¯ focus on one spot. Ignoring anything else. Muggings, for example, tended to make them focus on keeping people from the slums going in, not the other way around.


    Taking a few steps, I looked at the food joints in the area. Most of them were the standard fast-food chain outlets that served the universally accepted junk. There were a few privately owned stalls, probably there since the station was constructed. All of them looked relatively well kept. I went towards one of them. The moment I saw a bunch of teens with ¡°Save the Spirits¡± t-shirts, I knew this was the place to go.


    The inside of the place was exactly as I expected it to be. The clientele was purely human, but that didn¡¯t stop the owners from selling water spirit food at exorbitant prices. One glance was enough to tell anyone that the stuff was barely edible. However, fashion knew no taste.


    ¡°Hey, look,¡± someone whispered as I made my way to the counter.


    I couldn¡¯t tell whether it was the suit that impressed them, or the fact that was uncharted. Hopefully, it was the latter. If they focused too much on the fact I was working for H-Sec, it would be difficult to get what I was looking for. Then again, there were ways to make it to my advantage.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Algae and fries,¡± I said, leaning against the counter.


    ¡°We¡¯re out.¡± The kid at the cash register crossed his arms. He was skinny, probably in his final years of teenage, with a dozen pins decrying the ¡°system¡± on his work uniform.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± I leaned closer. ¡°Listen, I need a jester favor.¡±


    The term jester never bothered me much. However, I knew it was a big deal, especially among people. No one knew exactly where it came from, but it was the impolite way of describing uncharted working for wealthy human individuals or corporations. Technically, I didn¡¯t work for either, but it was close enough.


    Upon hearing the word, the boy tensed up. Muttering an excuse, he went to the room behind the counter. Moments later, a large woman¡ªpossibly the owner¡ªappeared.


    ¡°I hear you want algae,¡± she said in a calm tone. The smile on her face suggested this wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d gotten that question. The slight frown told me that she wasn¡¯t pleased about it. ¡°We¡¯re fresh out, but maybe we can find something else you¡¯d like in the back?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I knew how the game was played. Calmly, I went round the counter, following her to the admin and storage area of the food joint.


    I had to admit, the place was a lot cleaner than expected. With the amount of weekly inspections, I supposed it had to be.


    The woman made her way to a large, comfy chair in front of a rune screen and sat down. Her hand slammed a small glass paperweight. Instantly a silence sphere formed around us.


    ¡°You¡¯re no jester,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°And you¡¯re no H-Sec, either. So, what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Off the books info,¡± I replied. Normally, I¡¯d add a little something in terms of bribery, but right now my funds were low. ¡°Nothing that will affect you.¡±


    ¡°Why should I help?¡±


    I smiled.


    ¡°I might not be H-Sec, but I consult them. I can tell them that this place is worth checking out. And with the brats back there, it¡¯ll make for a lot of interesting conversation.¡±


    The woman kept on her poker face, but I could tell she didn¡¯t appreciate the idea. I¡¯ve been to enough places like this to know that they made the majority of their profit by organizing ¡°secret trips¡± to the slums. Technically, it wasn¡¯t anything illegal. Metropolitans, even children, had the right to go anywhere in the city, as well as waste their money on anything they wished. The payment went into ensuring that nothing terribly bad happened to them. Kidnappings or injuries were bad for business on both sides.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your scam. I just want info on someone.¡±


    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯d know?¡±


    ¡°Are we playing this game? Even if you aren¡¯t the only place organizing trips, you know everyone who is.


    ¡°Maybe I do.¡±


    ¡°Better. He¡¯s young, violent, and been to Saint Julian¡¯s recently. Ring any bells?¡±


    ¡°Look, if I remember all the idiots who pass through here, I¡¯d need ten uncharted to sort through the memories.¡±


    ¡°A repeat customer. Someone who¡¯s been going in and out frequently in the last few days.¡±


    For the slightest of moments, the woman¡¯s eyes widened before returning to normal.


    ¡°You remembered something,¡± I said.


    ¡°There was someone who asked about Saint Julian. It was a girl, though.¡±


    ¡°A girl?¡± I shifted the water off my palm to make a portrait of Marshia Kode. ¡°That her?¡±


    The woman looked.


    ¡°Yep," she nodded.


    Well, well, well. Now what I was expecting. When Summer had told me the girl went to slums, I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d visit her brother. It made sense, though, given how much they disliked their father.


    ¡°That was months ago,¡± the woman continued. ¡°Most of the time she¡¯d come here to chat with an uncharted.¡±


    ¡°Someone like me?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not like you,¡± the woman snorted. ¡°She was a young, pretty thing. For a while, I thought the two had a thing. Money would often be exchanged, but hey, I don¡¯t judge.¡±


    We both knew that she did, but was afraid to admit. For my needs, this wasn¡¯t the development I wanted, but it was starting to make sense. Marshia was likely feeding her brother¡¯s habit. While the scum was probably lying unconscious, stoned up with whatever charms he had gotten his hands on, confused little Marshia was all the way here, paying off his debts.


    ¡°When was the last time they were here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A week, give or take.¡±


    A week was pushing it. Any trace she¡¯d left would probably be long gone by now. Then again, there was a chance I could get lucky.


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°The table by the window. Always paid extra to make sure it was free.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Better stay clean for a few weeks.¡±


    I stepped out of the silence bubble, then back into the serving area. Everyone made a point not to look at me. All of them had probably used the services and were doing the best to seem innocent. It was a good thing that H-Sec weren¡¯t interested in them, or they¡¯d be giving statements with a family lawyer nearby and a lot of angry parents.


    The table I sat at was moderately clean. As I feared, too much time had passed for me to sense any presence, human or other. I extended my water along the surface, enveloping it with an invisible wrapper. At first there was nothing of interest, then suddenly a struck gold: remains of water essence underneath one of the table screws. The uncharted probably had probably been nervous enough to subconsciously play around, leaving a faint trace of her essence behind. More importantly, I also found skin fragments of Marshia. As Sky used to say, never look at the bottom of a human table unless you want nightmares. She was right, but in this case, the nightmares brought me one step closer to finding my target.


    So, you didn¡¯t just have anger issues, did you, Celsius? I wondered.


    If anything, that was an aftereffect. The kid had clearly become a charm addict. The apple hadn¡¯t fallen far from the tree, which made me think, what if I had been wrong about Janas? Maybe it wasn¡¯t his charms that we had found at his home, but Celsius¡¯? That would explain some things. The arguments, the threats¡­ they sounded very much like someone going through withdrawal. It also posed an interesting question: what if the target hadn¡¯t been Janas, but his son?


    I looked at my wristcomm. I was presented with two choices. If H-Sec learned about this theory, they¡¯d either descend on Clear Swamp with the fury of a thundercloud, or¡ªmore likely¡ªwould delegate the case to a lesser department and focus on the next major case. Either way, things didn¡¯t look good for the kid or the people around him.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± I said beneath my breath. This was why I didn¡¯t like getting involved in cases with kids; they always found a way to pull me under.

 7. A Sons Secret

    Finding a human charm addict in a slum of uncharted was a lot more difficult than it sounded. If it were an undercover agent, a tourist, or even a newcomer there wouldn¡¯t be anything easier. Regardless of the amount of bribe money at their disposal, it always left a bitter aftertaste. Plus, there was no telling when it would abruptly come to an end. Charm addicts, on the other hand, were a guaranteed source of income so the locals tended to protect them.


    A few more talks with Summer increased my tab and also earned me earful from Sky not to use C¡¯s as my personal call center. However, it also got me some interesting information. The vicinity to Saint Julian had been quite beneficial to the slum, creating a whole mini industry in addition to the ¡°free the spirit¡± tours. There were the general touristy locations, made to look worse than they were sometimes even involving make-belief raids¡ªcourtesy of the local authorities. The established clients were located much further in the area, hiding in a neighborhood that had the appearance of being well off by slum standards.


    I spent hours going through the local food stores that served human food, searching for any trace of the uncharted that had met up with Celsius¡¯ sister. At first it almost seemed that she never did any shopping of her own, but with enough persistence and dedication, I finally came upon a place with her essence on the door handle. It was strong, fresh, suggesting that if she wasn¡¯t in there, she¡¯d left minutes ago. Unfortunately, right at that time, my wristcomm chimed.


    Having H-Sec call while being in an uncharted shop was among the less appropriate things that could happen. If it were anyone else, I¡¯d ignore the call, or turn off the device altogether. In this case, though, all I could muster was to flash a smile and move my left hand to my ear.


    ¡°Waters, where are you?¡± Clayton asked. Holding the device so close to my ear automatically decreased the volume. Sadly, that wasn¡¯t enough to get rid of the sound altogether.


    ¡°Out and about,¡± I tried to sound casual. ¡°It¡¯s a bit difficult to buy what you¡¯re searching for here.¡±


    My best bet was to pretend that I was doing a favor for a friend. I¡¯d covered the suit with a layer of myself, masking the H-Sec emblem. Even so, I¡¯d hardly pass for anything other than a jester.


    ¡°Anything you can share? Turns out that Celsius frequently skipped Saint Julian¡¯s. Records were fixed.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t say?¡± Several people were already looking at me. I tried to get to a more secluded area of the shop, pretending to search for a brand of plankton.


    ¡°Going through friends and family was a bust. Most of them haven¡¯t seen him in years, the rest are lying they didn¡¯t, though a chat with their lawyers turns out they haven¡¯t seen him in weeks. The eyes in the sky haven¡¯t been able to spot him. The tech-mages are trying to solve the mess. The lieutenant and the captain are off to inform the regional governor how someone has bypassed Oracle security. It¡¯s a bit of a mess.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it always?¡± Picking a box of plankton, I went to another shelf.


    ¡°The RI came through, though. The charms are very high-quality stuff. Too high quality for an uncharted to have made. Nexen is out to pay a visit to the usual suspects. With luck something will shake loose.¡±


    ¡°Things rarely do.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the big news, though. Turns out you were right. There were traces of a security container at the scene. The RIs estimate it was about the size of a small suitcase made or reinforced fiber-steel. Whatever it held was a lot more valuable than what Ellcron claimed they had lost.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s interesting, but¡ª¡± my eyes fell upon an uncharted a few steps away.


    She had put quite a lot of food in her plastic basket. Normally, that wouldn¡¯t be suspicious, except nearly all of the food was human.


    Instinct made me reach out into her basket and grab one of her belongings. Although sloppy, that was the fastest way to confirm her essence was that of the person I was looking for.


    Maybe it was my wristcomm, or maybe she was able to see through the thin layer covering me and spot the crest on my suit¡­ whatever the case, she immediately shifted into water, letting the basket and clothes fall to the ground.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± I shouted, chasing after the escaping pool of water. The suit gave me a serious disadvantage. In different circumstances, I¡¯d have gone full water as well. However, there was no way I was leaving a H-Sec suit in a place like this, not when it also held my temporary pass.


    Dropping the box of plankton, I ran towards the door. The girl was way ahead of me, pouring away along the street. Luckily for me, she didn¡¯t seem particularly good at this. If I were running away, I¡¯d slide along the walls of buildings, jumping from one to another, making sure that my pursuers couldn¡¯t travel in a straight line.


    ¡°Waters?¡± Clayton asked through my wristcomm. ¡°What¡¯s going¡ª¡±


    Sorry, Clay. I tapped the device off. Our conversation was going to have to wait.


    Reaching into my pocket, I took out a handful of charms and activated them all. None of them were able to make me as fast as my target. However, they were able to hide my essence, and when chasing someone panicked, this was a big advantage.


    I leaped against a wall, pushing myself onto the roof of the opposing building. Just because my target was on the street didn¡¯t mean I had to follow her there. To further make myself invisible, I also used a chameleon charm on myself. Strictly speaking, their usage was forbidden, but we weren¡¯t in the metropolis area anymore, so I doubted anyone would care.


    The change had its effect. After several hundred feet, the girl made her second major mistake. Thinking she¡¯d lost me, she briefly switched back to her humanoid form. The chameleon charm did its work, rendering me completely invisible from a distance.


    That¡¯s it, I said to myself, slowly moving closer. Calm down.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    The uncharted looked around. After a while, she looked up straight at me. This was the point at which rookies panicked and tried to hide, revealing their location. I¡¯d done that a few times and knew that the best thing to do was remain perfectly still. Either the charm was going to do its trick or not. There was no need to make things easier.


    Just show me where you¡¯ve stashed him, I thought.


    For several seconds she stood there, uncertain what to do, after which she started walking. Her pace was fast, though by no means running. I followed her along several streets, watched her enter a building from one entrance and exit through a window. It was almost impressive for an amateur. Ultimately, she took me to the place I needed to be at.


    The house was still in a state of construction. Someone rich must have thought it was a good idea to have a mansion in the middle of the slums. My guess, it was someone who wanted to take a few business shortcuts. Apparently, someone had disagreed¡ªbackers, competitors, local authorities¡ªleaving the structure in a state of semi-completion. Right now it wasn¡¯t a place for someone to spend a fully functional life in, but perfect for someone to hide, especially if they were high on charms.


    I watched the uncharted slide beneath the entrance door. That was all I needed.


    ¡°Clay,¡± I said after activating my wristcomm. ¡°I think I¡¯ve found the son.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. You¡¯re in Clear Swamp?¡±


    ¡°I tracked someone who might be a go between him and his sister.¡±


    ¡°Might? That¡¯s not your usual style, Waters.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go in to get you a confirmation.¡± There was no way I wasn¡¯t going to get the suit ruined. ¡°Send someone to hop by unless I call you in the next minute.¡±


    ¡°Waters, you can¡¯t just¡ª¡±


    I cut the call again. Sometimes, it was better not to hear all the trouble I might get into. If the kid was there, everything would be forgiven. If not, I¡¯d look pretty stupid, although I doubted I¡¯d get more than a serious warning. I had established a connection between Marsha and the uncharted girl, after all.


    With the charms I had, it would be easy for me to drill a hole in the wall and squeeze through, leaving the suit behind. However, that was the uncharted P.I. approach. Since the suit gave me a whole lot of new authority, I decided to act differently. Climbing down from the rooftop, I made my way to the building¡¯s front door and knocked.


    ¡°Better open up,¡± I said. ¡°If I¡¯ve tracked you here, it means a fleet of rune carriages are on their way. The only question you need to answer is, do you want to open up for me or for them?¡±


    I could hear arguing inside. It was natural for people to feel uneasy when presented with such an option. Sometimes it would be accompanied by a combat charm on the door.


    After a few seconds, I heard the sound of the latch move. The door opened.


    I¡¯d like to think I wasn¡¯t someone easy to astonish. Living through a massacre and the low that followed had made me see a great number of unpleasant and unusual things. Seeing Celsius at the door in his underwear perfectly well with no telltale signs of charm addiction was not something I expected.


    ¡°Is it true?¡± he asked. ¡°Are the guards on their way?¡±


    ¡°It goes a bit higher than that, kid,¡± I tapped on the H-Sec crest on my shirt. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡±


    Celsius grabbed his hair, as a sudden outburst of rage flushed his face red. Even so, he was smart enough to step back and let me pass. Now that the gig was up, fighting was going to do him no good. Still, I kept my left gripping a charm in my pocket, just in case.


    ¡°Nice place,¡± I said. For once, it was true. The livable section of the building didn¡¯t seem to lack much. There were paintings on the wall, a lot of charting equipment and a double king-sized bed. The uncharted girl was also there, sitting quietly on the edge.


    I was just about to compliment her attempt, when I suddenly noticed¡ªthe sheets of the bed were waterproof.


    ¡°You¡¯ve a deviant?¡± I glanced at Celsius.


    ¡°Here we go again.¡± He slammed the door. ¡°So, what? There¡¯s no law against it!¡±


    In effect, there were several laws. They just didn¡¯t affect humans. Although, the scandal would be enough to get anyone ostracized from society. Although we copied the human¡¯s appearance, sex between them and water spirits wasn¡¯t a thing. From what I¡¯d heard, the effort was high, and the gratification was low. Then again, who was I to judge?


    ¡°How long?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Three years,¡± the girl said. ¡°And almost two months. Cel needed a place to hide after ditching Saint Julian. I helped.¡±


    ¡°And things moved on from there,¡± I finished for her. That was definitely weird, though not the reason I¡¯d come. ¡°I¡¯m not here for that. I¡¯m her because of what happened to your father.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Celsius sat down on the edge of the bed. ¡°Even when he gets offed, that fucker messes up everything.¡±


    ¡°You were seen shouting at him in a few places. Did you have one of your shouting matches the morning he died?¡±


    The anger dissipated from his face, replaced by the distorted masque of sadness and regret.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he whispered, looking down. I could smell the teardrops in his eyes.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t about money, was it?¡±


    ¡°No. It was about Rain. I knew he¡¯d never approve, so I just wanted to cut all ties with him. The fat fucker wouldn¡¯t have it. The Ellcron NDA allowed him to control my life until I became twenty-five or started working for the corporation. All I wanted was to have nothing to do with him, but he kept on going about the scandal it would cause, as if he was one to talk.¡±


    Quite the family drama. I wouldn¡¯t take a lot of poking to learn another secret or two. Sadly, I didn¡¯t have a taste for gossip.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I waited for him to get home. Since he was avoiding the topic anywhere in public, I thought I could have a man-to-man conversation at the apartment. I hoped he¡¯d be drunk. It would have made things easier.¡±


    ¡°Did he usually come home drunk?¡±


    ¡°Heck no. The coward wouldn¡¯t dare. He wanted to. He¡¯s been doing so bad at work, that there was talk of demotion. If that happened, my mother would divorce him, and he¡¯d end up in some two-room loft near the watermark. That¡¯s why he brought work home. It was his last chance to prove he was adequate at something.¡±


    There it was again¡ªthe theme of the missing device.


    ¡°What happened next?¡±


    ¡°We argued. I¡¯d have hit him if that would have helped, but seeing how pathetic he was, I didn¡¯t.¡± He paused, brushing off the teardrops from his eyes. Next to him, Rain put her arm around his shoulder. ¡°We went to the kitchen and got a charm from his stash. I mocked him about it. I said that he¡¯s worse than me if he had to rely on those things. He pressed it against his temple and¡­¡±


    ¡°I get the picture. So, the charms aren¡¯t yours?¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding? I know what that stuff does to you. Maybe I had a few back at school, but I kept away. You can¡¯t get a job if you get hooked on those.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re no idea where they came from?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Only that he had a steady supply. The junk was on the kitchen counter non-stop! Even when I dumped all of it down the drain, the next day there¡¯d be more.¡±


    I was just about to ask him about the Ellcron suitcase when I heard the sound of carriages landing outside. Clayton had come through, as always, even if it was a bit sooner than I¡¯d have liked. Still, I was just the consultant; I didn¡¯t get a say in operational control.


    I stood up, went to the door, and opened it. A dozen H-Sec agents were there in full uniform and protective gear. At this point, the only thing I could do was step to the side and let them get on with their jobs.

 8. The Deviants Interrogation

    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill my father!¡± Celsius shouted in H-Sec¡¯s interview room.


    It had been half an hour since the rune carriages had flown myself, Celsius, and his girlfriend to their main office and still he kept sticking to his story. Given the delicate nature of the case, there wasn¡¯t much even H-Sec could outright do due to the nature of Kode¡¯s family NDA situation. Ellcron¡¯s lawyers had made sure to tangle everything with so much legalese that they had proxy involvement with nearly the entire case.


    ¡°Fucking deviants,¡± detective Nixen said, looking at the suspect through the one-way wall. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up for that crap.¡±


    ¡°And here I thought you had seen it all, detective,¡± I said. I had to agree with her, though. Flirting was expected, in some establishments even encouraged, but anything beyond that was a bit too far. Interestingly enough, it was always well-off people that were deviants. So far, I hadn¡¯t even heard of a case in which someone with a busted credit score being a deviant.


    ¡°Think he did it?¡± the detective asked. ¡°Or does your seer intuition say differently?¡±


    I could have loved to give a definitive answer. The quick arrival of H-Sec had cut my conversation with the kid short. He had shared some interesting things, though not enough to come to a firm conclusion.


    ¡°He claims that he was there when it happened,¡± I said. ¡°But didn¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Everyone caught claims to be innocent.¡±


    To be honest, he did look good for it. The kid had a temper, a book load of psychological issues, and in addition to his obvious problems, financial troubles as well. Apparently, his father had cut him off completely. All the money he got was either from his mother or smuggled to him through his sister. With the death of Janas, he¡¯d at least get a direct flow of money from his remaining parent, as long as he kept his affair discreet.


    ¡°He also claims that his father was crap at his job,¡± I went on. ¡°On the verge of getting demoted even.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± That grabbed her interest, as I knew it would. ¡°That¡¯s not what Ellcron said.¡±


    ¡°And also that his father was the junkie in the family. A steady supply,¡± I stressed. A steady supply meant regular expenses.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing in his financials, even the ones tied up with Ellcron.¡±


    I gave her a skeptical look.


    Corporations were known to provide unusual entertainment for their top employees. If they were lying about Janas being highly talented, it was probably that they were lying about other things as well, including drug charms.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to look into Ellcron¡¯s entertainment expenses regarding him. The kid¡¯s still good for it. His father didn¡¯t like the uncharted, so maybe junior had enough and decided to show him who¡¯s the man? You can¡¯t trust deviants.¡±


    ¡°Yep. You can¡¯t trust them just as you can¡¯t trust normal people. Where¡¯s Clay?¡±


    ¡°Having a chat with the Lieutenant. Depending how this turns out, you might have gotten him in serious trouble or earned him a pat on the back. My money is on getting him in trouble?¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m uncharted?¡±


    ¡°No. Because you¡¯re you.¡±


    She walked away. Seeing the way her hair waved as she walked almost made me regret she wasn¡¯t a spirit. Though, even if she were, I doubt anything would have changed. The whole point about fantasizing was that most of one¡¯s dreams weren¡¯t meant to come true. Those who didn¡¯t know that crossed the line or were condemned to a miserable life, sometimes both.


    I redirected my attention back to the interrogation.


    ¡°You say that you had a fight?¡± The H-Sec agent paused for a moment. ¡°A verbal fight with your father,¡± he quickly corrected himself, ¡°after which, he took a charm and killed himself.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Celsius grabbed the straw he was given. ¡°No!¡± He said immediately after. ¡°He didn¡¯t kill himself. He did something that killed him.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? You just said that he was upset with your relationship. Maybe he couldn¡¯t live with the shame?¡±


    ¡°He was used to living in shame. That¡¯s why he spent so much time at work. That¡¯s why he brought stuff to do back home. He didn¡¯t like us reminding him of the fuckup he turned out to be.¡±


    ¡°Wrong approach,¡± I said beneath my breath.


    The interrogator was aiming to trick the kid with his own statements. It was a great approach that got most people to incriminate themselves. The problem was that it was a terrible method of getting the truth.


    The door opened behind me. Initially, I thought that the charming detective Nixen had forgotten something. The person standing at the threshold was definitely not her. The crimson plated crest told me that he was a bit more important than the H-Sec people I¡¯d been dealing with so far. The bar of metal pinned to his collar told me that he likely was Clayton¡¯s boss.


    ¡°Lieutenant.¡± I nodded, acknowledging his authority.


    That seemed to do the trick, for the man walked right next to me. His clothes were as casual as could be. That didn¡¯t stop the fabric from costing a small fortune by local standards. Everything was important from Earth. No, it was more than that¡ªeverything felt freshly important, suggesting that if he wasn¡¯t used to such clothes, someone in his family was.


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    ¡°That¡¯s the guy you found?¡± the Lieutenant asked.


    ¡°Celsius Kode.¡± I nodded. ¡°Messed up kid. He might have done it, but you won¡¯t get anything out of him this way.¡±


    ¡°You suggest to pressure the girl?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell whether he was testing me or he genuinely was interested in my feedback. Just in case, I decided to play it safe. Relatively safe.


    ¡°Only if you¡¯re for of gambling. He¡¯s got a temper, so it might go either way.¡±


    ¡°You think you could get a better result?¡±


    ¡°I know it.¡±


    ¡°Tommy, clear out,¡± he said in his wristwatch. ¡°Waters will take over.¡±


    That was bound to ruffle a few feathers. Then again, my very presence in the building had done enough damage.


    I made my way out of the room along the corridor and into the interrogation room. On the way, I didn¡¯t miss a chance to get two cups of something from the free dispenser. Hopefully, it was organic and somewhat good.


    ¡°Hey again,¡± I said, opening the door with my elbow.


    Celsius glared at me as I placed both cuts on the table, then took a seat.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to drink that,¡± I said off the bat. ¡°I just like being close to something steaming,¡± I lied.


    It was one of those lies that people had to think a bit before they could determine if they were false. In most of the cases, I was found out, but that didn¡¯t matter¡ªI had still made them think, and unlike spirits, humans were only able to focus on one topic at a time.


    ¡°If your father¡¯s a mess-up, why is Ellcron defending him?¡± I leaned back. ¡°They¡¯ve even sent a lawyer now to defend their good name and intellectual property.¡±


    ¡°There was nothing intellectual about my father.¡± The kid gritted his teeth. ¡°Maybe he was good at some point, but after marrying my mother, he became a lazy drone like everyone else.¡±


    ¡°Were they thinking of firing him?¡± He took the cup, held it for a few moments, wondering whether to take a sip or not. Ultimately, he didn¡¯t put it back down, giving me every excuse to take hold of it and pull it my way.


    Back in Clear Swamp I hadn¡¯t had a chance to make a proper reading, not with Rain being so close in any event. Now the cup told me a lot of what I needed to know. I could tell he had no substance abuse issues, which was a surprise, and that he had been meddling with rune tech, though not charms.


    ¡°I made a deal for him to keep his shitty position.¡± A victorious, crooked smile formed on his face. ¡°Would have been fun watching him get replaced by his degenerate son. Mom wouldn¡¯t have taken the scandal well.¡±


    ¡°You got a job in Ellcron?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I was at the building a few days ago¡ªto settle the deal.¡±


    This was unexpected and also NDA territory. As long as I didn¡¯t force him physically to give details, I was fine, but even so, I expected Ellcron¡¯s lawyer to bust in any second.


    ¡°Old guard is losing his touch. I¡¯ve learned more at school than the corporate drones learn, slacking in an office for fourteen hours straight.¡±


    ¡°You still became a drone.¡±


    ¡°They approached me. One of my dad¡¯s lawyers saw me playing with tech one time when I was home. They¡¯ve been recruiting me since then. Now I have a reason to say yes.¡±


    I could imagine what it was. And that also pretty much shot the vengeful son theory. Celsius wasn¡¯t having financial difficulties. If anything, both that and his peculiar tastes would have been dealt with by the corporation. What he really wanted, despite refusing to say it, was his father¡¯s approval. Somehow, he was hoping that getting a job would make his father accept him sleeping around with an uncharted. There was no way that would happen.


    ¡°What did your father bring from work?¡± I pressed. ¡°There was a trace of a suitcase container at the scene.¡±


    ¡°No idea. He practically lived with that thing. One time I tried to open it and¡ª¡±


    The door to the interrogation room swung open.


    ¡°That would be all.¡± The familiar dragon-shoe lawyer from the crime scene rushed into the room. He didn¡¯t look like the type that rushed regularly, but I guess he had made an exception just this once. ¡°Taking advantage of my client¡¯s distraught state is a big no-no.¡±


    ¡°Your client?¡± I crossed my arms. ¡°Isn¡¯t he just your client¡¯s son?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my client as well, as you managed to pry out.¡± He tossed me a crystal shard with an official legal seal on it. ¡°The information wouldn¡¯t have been made public for a few months, but Ellcorn decided to provide H-Sec a sneak peek with the understanding that the info will be kept highly confidential.¡±


    I was about to reply to the first thing that came to mind, but Clayton¡¯s arrival prevented me from doing so.


    ¡°Of course.¡± The detective walked past the layer. Making a point to stand between me and the man. ¡°Our consultant was just having a friendly conversation with mister Kode.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The lawyer made a sign for Celsius to stand up. ¡°Needless to say that any conversation conducted by an unobserved uncharted cannot be considered evidence.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said it was a conversation, sir.¡± Clayton smiled. ¡°You and your client are free to go at any time without charge.¡±


    ¡°And his companion, as well. You¡¯ll see in the contract I provided you that she¡¯s classified as a company asset and as such beyond H-Sec¡¯s jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡±


    A few more looks were exchanged, after which the kid and his lawyer left the interrogation room, closing the door behind them. Clayton looked at me, sighed heavily, then sat in the empty seat.


    ¡°There goes the only viable suspect we had,¡± he said, his words soaked with disappointment. ¡°I hope the conversation was worth it.¡±


    ¡°Your lieutenant, thought it was worth the risk.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s not his head on the block when things go wrong. Did you learn anything?¡±


    ¡°A few things. I need to reflect on them a bit more. Bottom line, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s our guy. His fingers still had traces of high-rune-tech essence. Plus, the liar confirmed that he works for Ellcron now.¡±


    ¡°So, we¡¯re back to square one.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± I stood up. ¡°We have a few good leads. There¡¯s the question of the charms.¡±


    ¡°Nixen is looking into that.¡±


    ¡°And also, the mysterious item that Jasan always kept close at hand. Whatever it was, he brought it home on a regular basis. That makes it important.¡±


    ¡°A pity the lawyer didn¡¯t come a few seconds later.¡±


    ¡°If he had, Cel would probably have told me that he tried to open it but set off some security safeguard. Trust me, if he knew what was inside, he would have started with that.¡± I made my way to the door. ¡°Ask yourself this: how good was Jasan in reality? Either the son was lying like a drunken sailor, or the victim was terrible at his job. Either way, Ellcron made a contract with someone they normally wouldn¡¯t have and did a lot to cover it up. Makes you think.¡±


    ¡°Waters, each time you get close to something, you stop making sense. We¡¯re not at customs anymore. Here, I need an explanation I can present to my boss.¡±


    ¡°In that case, I wish you the best of luck. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll come up with something.¡± I waved to the see-through wall. ¡°See you tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Waters, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll walk about a bit. What¡¯s the point of having a temporary pass if I don¡¯t abuse it while I can?¡±

 9. Cherry Algae

    There was nothing like the metropolitan area. Every show and cheap novel did its best to describe it, frequently going over the top into the realm of the absurd. Walking along the streets, I could honestly say that the writers and show directors didn¡¯t go far enough. There was a sense of prosperity, grandeur, and tradition in everything around. It didn¡¯t matter that most of the buildings were a decade old, sometimes less. Looking at them, one would think that they had been a permanent fixture in the world for centuries. Everything was in its place, from the stands on the streets to the high-rises that pierced the clouds.


    As I walked, thousands of gargoyles looked down in my direction. The temporary pass was the only thing that separated me from quick death. Strangely enough, the people didn¡¯t seem to be particularly troubled. Maybe they were so confident in the city¡¯s gargoyles and defense runes that it never crossed their minds that I might be someone who didn¡¯t belong here. Their overconfidence was tragic, but I wasn¡¯t one to complain. As a certain acquaintance of mine liked to say ¡°be grateful for anything that makes a cat fatter.¡± In my case, I was just glad that it kept the ¡°cat¡¯s¡± claws away from me.


    Walking through several of the ¡°standard¡± neighborhoods,¡± I slowly made my way to Beachwater. The area looked a lot different now that all the commotion was over and the law enforcement vehicles had gone. Of course, just because there were none of them there didn¡¯t mean that the area was completely unprotected.


    ¡°Stop,¡± a hoarse female voice said after I¡¯d gone fifty feet within the neighborhood. ¡°What¡¯s your business?¡± A combat mage emerged out of thin air. The cloak she was wearing had a quite impressive mix of charms woven within its threads, rendering her bulletproof in addition to being invisible.


    ¡°I¡¯m with H-Sec,¡± I said, with as much arrogance as I could muster. ¡°I¡¯m to revisit the crime scene.¡±


    The look the woman gave me told me loud and clear that she didn¡¯t give any shits.


    ¡°Want me to get ten rune carriages here?¡± The best way to deal with someone who gave no fucks was to give no fucks back. I pulled back my sleeve, bringing my wristcomm in full view.


    ¡°Wait.¡± The mage said. Even if she didn¡¯t trust me, there was no ignoring the tech and the emblem on my suit. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself.¡± I relaxed my hand and continued forward.


    At no point did she offer to give me a ride, even if it was clear she had a vehicle¡ªthe soles of her shoes were too clean for her to have walked all this distance. Since it was going to be a long walk, I decided to have a friendly chat to pass the time.


    ¡°Know the Kodes?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen them,¡± she replied with the enthusiasm of a sea cucumber. ¡°They come and go in rune carriages, like everyone else here.¡±


    ¡°All of them?¡±


    My main goal was to annoy her, but the silence told me that I had hit the mark.


    ¡°Their kid is already at H-Sec.¡± I saved her the trouble. ¡°He can¡¯t get in any more trouble.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not him. It¡¯s the lawyers. They always came in land vehicles.¡±


    That seemed a bit unusual until I thought about it a bit more. Despite the many advantages, air-transport was always tagged. Making one undetectable to charms required a lot of political pull, and ended up being more noticeable than if it had standard city markings. Cars, on the other hand, could be made completely incognito with a few high-end charms. If a corporation like Ellcron was footing the bill, the land vehicles could be equipped with enough tech to trick any grid sensors. There¡¯d be no records of anything coming or going, just the words of a few combat mages who¡¯d fallen so low they were guarding a road.


    ¡°Often?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    ¡°What about yesterday or the day before?¡±


    ¡°There were a few. Came and went a few times. Some of your guys checked them on the way out.¡±


    ¡°Good to know.¡±


    When we got to the building, the mage accompanied me to the elevator to the Kodes¡¯ floor. Officially, the apartment remained an active crime scene, granting H-Sec full access to it. Technically, I wasn¡¯t exactly H-Sec, but that detail seemed to slip the mage¡¯s mind, for she was more than happy to see me go up. Her only role, as she saw it, was to make sure I didn¡¯t harass any of the other residents.


    The apartment was the same as I remember it, minus the bleeding corpse on the floor. The Rune Investigators had done a splendid job cleaning the place. I couldn¡¯t feel even the slightest trace of essence anywhere.


    I made my way to the kitchen. There was no trace of the charm, but the fridge was fully stocked. Ex expected there were a few spirit dishes among the human food. Marshia was apparently taking the whole ¡°free the spirits¡± thing quite seriously.


    Cherry algae, I read out the description on the plastic container.


    Not something I had tried, or ever would, but thieves are no choosers, so I opened it and took a bite. The taste was a mixture of sweetness and stagnant water. Instantly, I spat it back and put the container on the nearest counter. A closer examination of the package revealed that it was half a year past the expiration date. That was unusual.


    Opening the fridge again, I examined the rest of the products. On the surface, all of them seemed fresh, but on closer inspection, anything with an expiration date was long overdue. Having worked with humans before, I could understand them leaving food to rot, but even so, there were two unusual things about this picture. For one thing, only my type of food seemed to have gone bad. Trying some yogurt, while disgusting, remained fresh. Also, there seemed to be faint traces of magic essence coming from the fridge shelves.


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    Placing all the products on the counter, I removed one of the class compartments and enveloped it with a thin layer of myself. As I suspected, the back had clear traces of a charm¡ªsomething that would keep the food fresh. Pity that the person who put it didn¡¯t know that Marshai would change diet. Commercial algae came with its own set of charms applied during the packaging process, since it tended to spoil faster.


    You didn¡¯t examine the fridge, did you?


    That was the problem with most humans. They were so overconfident in their skills and tech that they rarely followed through to the end. I could almost see them now. In their minds, the RIs had gone through every inch of the floor, and still no one had bothered with the obvious. That said, I wouldn¡¯t have paid attention, either, if it wasn¡¯t for the cherry algae.


    Systematically, I emptied what was left of the fridge and spread a layer of water inside. Experience had taught me that there were only two reasons for something to be for show: to impress people or to hide something. Given the low-scale products in the fridge, it definitely wasn¡¯t to impress anyone.


    It didn¡¯t take long to find what was hidden. There was a small hole in the bottom of the fridge, barely large enough for a needle to fit. Being made of water had its advantages, so I forced part of myself into it and pressed whatever was inside. When nothing happened, I pulled instead. The entire bottom of the fridge moved up, revealing a small empty section. Very low tech, but in today¡¯s age, this sort of cache was the best. The entire section was coated with magic-absorbing foam, making sure that whatever was there couldn¡¯t be detected.


    The impression in the foam was large enough to hold a small box or an extremely thick book. Whatever had been hidden here had left a quite distinctive magic trace; one that matched the traces found on the body.


    What were you hiding? I wondered.


    The more and more it was looking like the mysterious item could have been the reason for Janas¡¯ death. However, that didn¡¯t clear any of the current suspects. It was still possible that one or all of them had made a deal with Ellcron for legal protection in exchange for the item in question. Or maybe they had made a deal with a competing corporation? When it came down to it, the business world wasn¡¯t too much different from slum gangs, they just wore better suits.


    Carefully, I put everything back in place, including the algae I had choked on. The proper thing was to call Clay and tell him of my discovery. Given the nature of the mysterious item, I decided to hold that off for a while.


    To be on the safe side, I went through the rest of the apartment. The RI unit had managed not to miss anything else. And other than a few questionable charms in one of the bedrooms, everything else seemed perfectly mundane, only with a giant price tag.


    The combat mage was waiting for me in the lobby when I got down. We exchanged a few words, after which she accompanied me all the way to the neighborhood¡¯s external limit.


    Given that it was way into the night, and I wasn¡¯t given any cash, I decided to do the only option available to me: call Clay.


    ¡°Waters?¡± he asked after a ten second delay. His voice was slow and slurry, making it clear I¡¯d woken him up.


    ¡°Sorry about this, Clay, but I¡¯ll need a ride to my place.¡± I paused for a few seconds, giving him enough time to process the request. ¡°The waterline, not my actual home.¡±


    ¡°Waters, do you know what time it is?¡±


    ¡°A good detective never sleeps. Seriously, Clay, I¡¯m in the middle of the metropolis area and I haven¡¯t been paid. Do you expect me to walk all the way there?¡±


    I heard the sound of a loud thumb followed by the scattering of smaller objects.


    ¡°Where the heck are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just outside Beachwater. I went to check the crime scene in case the RIs had missed something.¡±


    ¡°You did what?!¡± Any trace of sleepiness quickly vanished from Clay¡¯s voice. ¡°First thing tomorrow we¡¯ll talk boundaries. You¡¯re a consultant. That means you don¡¯t get to go to crime scenes unaccompanied.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡±


    ¡°What did you find?¡±


    ¡°Just that your guys did a great job. They were all over that place like a tidal wave. One interesting thing, though. A lot of Ellcron lawyers seemed to have been going in and out, and not just on the day in question. Whatever Janas was involved with, it was more than a bit of tech.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk with the Lt about another visit. Would help if you got me something more. A few cars going in or out isn¡¯t too unusual.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all I have at the moment,¡± I lied. ¡°Anything from the charming detective Nixen?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll kill you if she hears you call her that.¡± Clayton let out a chuckle. ¡°Nothing that would help. She¡¯s trying to track down their expense numbers, but it¡¯s not easy. Without specific proof or well-founded suspicions that Janas was getting the charms from them, they refuse to show us any of their records. There have been some whispers along unofficial channels that charms are considered part of an employee¡¯s entertainment package, but that¡¯s about it. Do you think they used such a method to kill their own guy?¡±


    ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t know. It all depends on the thing that everyone¡¯s not talking about. If it¡¯s important enough, maybe other corporations are involved.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already looked at that angle. It¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±


    ¡°Even corporations don¡¯t want H-Sec taking an interest. Unresolved high-profile deaths are as bad for them as they are for us.¡±


    Probably not as bad as they are for the victims, I thought.


    ¡°In that case, I suggest we sleep on it and look at the facts fresh tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Waters. I¡¯d never have thought of that. I¡¯m sending you a taxi carriage. All¡¯s paid, so just tell them where you want to go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the man, boss.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± He ended the call.


    I felt a bit guilty for a moment. When I remembered that he¡¯d woken me up during one of my few good dreams to drag me into this case, the sense of guilt vanished. Now all I had to do was wait for the taxi to arrive.


    Half a minute later, the large red vehicle landed a step away from me. There were a lot of things that could be said about humans, but when it came to services, they were always punctual. The driver not only agreed to take me to where I wanted, but offered to go beyond the watermark. Since I wasn¡¯t the one paying, I agreed and also helped myself to a glass of whatever alcohol the taxi had to offer. Come tomorrow Clayton was going to be pissed, but it was his fault for agreeing to this.


    Five minutes later, I was walking in the familiar streets of my home neighborhood. Naturally, I had masked my suit to remain somewhat inconspicuous.


    Just as I turned the corner to my house, my wristcomm chimed. At first, I thought it was Clay calling to check on me. To my surprise, the caller was marked as unidentified.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I approached my left hand to my ear.


    ¡°Nep, I found something.¡± I heard Summer¡¯s voice. ¡°You¡¯ll want to see this.¡±


    I was just about to ask where she was calling from when my front door flew off its hinges, zipping by me like a speeding bullet.


    ¡°Call H-Sec,¡± I said without hesitation. ¡°Ask for Clay. Tell him I¡¯m in trouble.¡± I ended the call before she could argue.

 10. Friendly Warning

    It wasn¡¯t the first time someone had come to beat me up. In my line of work, it was inevitable that some of my targets weren¡¯t especially appreciative of my efforts. Sometimes the clients weren¡¯t either. Having people break into my home to give me a piece of their mind was unfortunate, but understandable. When someone tore down my door to get out of my house to beat me up, then I knew this was a lot more than old debts or unhappy customers.


    I grabbed half a dozen charms in my pocket and threw them at my home. Within seconds shards of ice appeared in the air, blocking the entrance. In a best-case scenario this was going to gain me five seconds. More importantly, it was going to make the people inside hesitate a bit. If I had ice charms, there was no telling what else I was equipped with.


    I was just about to turn around and rush off, when a gunshot sounded, sending hundreds of pellets into my shoulder. If I were naked, such a shot would have hurt, though little more. Since I was in a suit, the force of the shot sent me flying backwards.


    Fuck!


    It was stupid to assume that a single group of people had been sent after me. The door was just to make a point. My hunters never had any intention of letting me escape.


    ¡°Get him!¡± A large man in a tank top and shorts dashed towards me. Everything from his clothes to his movements suggested he was low level hired help, probably a thug enforcer. Facing him would be difficult, especially since he still was carrying a shotgun.


    Several shots sounded behind me¡ªthe people in my house were shooting at the ice. If I were human, I¡¯d be worried that a stray bullet could kill me. Now, I prayed that it would hit the thug in front of me instead.


    Taking all the charms from my other pocket I threw them at the thug. Inactivated they were nothing but a desperate distraction. Yet, everyone who had grown up on the street had developed a healthy fear of charms.


    The man quickly reloaded and shot, blowing the charms out of the air and missing my hair by inches in the process. I took advantage of the fact to extend my hand and cover his face in water.


    Unlike what people thought, spirits didn¡¯t have the ability to transform any part of our body into sharp objects. No matter how hard we tried we could never stab someone, but we were experts of choking. The thug¡¯s head was quickly covered in a thick layer of water.


    He tried to pull back, dragging me along, but to no avail. I had him. All I had to do was steer him in the direction I wanted to and¡ª


    A sharp piercing pain shook me as someone shoved a stun baton into my neck. The force was enough to have it pierce the surface in my being, then discharge.


    Despite my will, I released my grip of the thug. My only consolation was the knowledge that a healthy dose of charge had gotten to him too.


    ¡°Check for memories!¡± A new voice said as I was slammed to the ground.


    The thug in front was still coughing. One of the other two¡ªan equally wide thug with a ski mask, ripped the top of my shirt open and plunged his hand into my chest.


    ¡°Crazy fucker,¡± he said, searching through my upper torso. ¡°Where¡¯s the memory crystals?¡±


    Pain and questions were the worst combination. Despite having heard and understood what the thugs were asking, I didn¡¯t have the ability to answer, and I wanted to. My mouth moved, but combined with my reflective struggling, it came out as if I were just trying to break three.


    ¡°Get him inside!¡± The thug with the shotgun said, getting back up on his feet.


    Thankfully, that put a pause to the pain. And during that pause¡ªas I was dragged into what was left of my home¡ªI had a few moments to think and plan. I knew for a fact that they were searching for something. Their particular skill sets, along with the first-rate gear, and peculiar timing, suggested it was related to Janas.


    ¡°Where d¡¯ you keep the crystals?¡± One of the men shoved me against the wall.


    My place had never been in a particularly good state, but right now, they had absolutely trashed the place. Anything of value or importance they already had, including all the info relating to the Midnight Ten massacre I¡¯d managed to gather. My prayer was that they hadn¡¯t destroyed it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve no crystals,¡± I lied. ¡°More complicated that way.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the case?¡±


    Bingo. I was just coming up with excuses to explain the five memory crystals I had pushed down to my ankles. The crystals were something they could do with, but the real reason they were here was information about Janas¡¯ mysterious suitcase.


    ¡°Ellcron,¡± I managed to say. ¡°Ellcron has it.¡±


    The thugs looked at each other. That was apparently the right answer, but not the one they hoped to hear.


    ¡°You sure?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t at Jasan¡¯s place. The cleaner must have taken in before H-Sec arrived.¡±


    Silence followed.


    ¡°What¡¯s so important about the case, anyway?¡±


    A boot made its way through my chest, displacing my internal liquid until it reached the floor.


    ¡°We¡¯re asking the questions.¡± The thug pressed the stun baton against my forehead, just enough so a bit of it sunk in. ¡°Move away from this. If you don¡¯t, next time we visit, things won¡¯t be this friendly.¡±


    ¡°Cool. Be sure to send me a postcard.¡±


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The trick about terror is that it was all relative. Back when I was working Duty, such a threat would have made me obey their order to the letter. The massacre had changed that. This entire incident, unpleasant as it was, didn¡¯t even rate among my top ten worst nightmares. The thug must have guessed the same by my expression, for he stepped back.


    ¡°Crazy fucker.¡± He smirked. ¡°Know this. Crazy doesn¡¯t keep you from getting dead. Back off. No more warnings.¡±


    After staring at me for a few more seconds, he left, taking his friends with him. As relief swept through me, I quickly made a new memory crystal. There was a potential chance that someone could identify the thugs from somewhere. It was a long shot, of course. Whoever had hired them could do a lot worse.


    The sound of sirens came from outside, coming closer. Before they could reach my house, my wristcomm chimed.


    Now you appear, I thought to myself. Forcing myself up, I activated the device.


    ¡°Waters!¡± Nixen shouted. ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Nice to hear you too, detective.¡± I dragged myself to where my door used to be. I could see the flashy light of law enforcement approaching. Clayton was probably too far away, so he sent some of the locals to lend a hand. Impressive response time, considering it usually took half an hour for anyone to get moving in the slums. Knowing Clay, he probably had threatened the local chief in his typical polite fashion.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I got a visit. Someone wasn¡¯t happy about my involvement in the investigation.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Ellcron would be my guess. Whoever it was, they were very interested in Janas¡¯ missing case. Oh, and tell your RI¡¯s to check the fridge. There¡¯s something interesting for them there.¡±


    ¡°Damn it, Waters! What did I tell you about consulting!?¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me. See you when you get here.¡± I ended the call.


    One of these days this habit of mine was going to get me in trouble. Not now, though. I knew that Nixen would be more interested in what I¡¯d found in the victim¡¯s place.


    A few minutes later, the street was filled with cars with blinking lights and sirens. There were so many that I felt every law enforcement officer west of the waterline had come here. The last time I¡¯d seen a gathering such as this was during the docks massacre.


    The following events moved rather quickly. I was detained, arrested, released, questioned, brought to the first H-Sec agent to arrive, then questioned again. My story was simple enough to be conveyed in ten seconds, which was why no one believed me. Even Clayton had his doubts once he arrived at the scene¡ªwhich would no doubt mark the start of my third, be it more polite, questioning. I planned to tell him the same I¡¯d told everyone else, when he grabbed me by the hand and shoved me in his rune carriage.


    It wasn¡¯t the untypical harshness with which he¡¯d done it that surprised me, though; rather, it was the person who was already in there.


    ¡°Hi, Nep.¡± Summer said, sitting comfortably in the car. ¡°Looks like you ruined the suit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll deduct it from my pay.¡± Once I actually got any pay. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Because I brought her along.¡± Clayton said from the front as he slammed the door behind him.


    ¡°Just so you know, I¡¯m billing you,¡± Summer said. She and Clayton had met back when I used to work for him. They never were particularly close. In fact, the only common thing between them was me. ¡°So, what¡¯s the story?¡±


    ¡°A warming for me to back down.¡± I leaned back as well. ¡°Whoever sent them was searching for something I didn¡¯t have.¡±


    ¡°Something your cleaner-than-clean victim had?¡± She gave me a confident smile. ¡°And you¡¯re sure you don¡¯t know what that is?¡±


    ¡°Summer¡­¡± I sighed. ¡°Whatever it is, it¡¯s gone. H-Sec searched the apartment. I searched the apartment. It was there until it was gone.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re half right. I checked one of the charms you gave me.¡±


    ¡°You gave her a charm from the crime scene?¡± Clayton asked, the pitch of his voice rising to the universally accepted level of disapproval.


    ¡°Clearly it wasn¡¯t missed. What did you find?¡± I turned to summer.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my chips? Cost me a lot to find the info,¡± she said with a wide smile. ¡°Ten large should cover it.¡±


    ¡°Could you assist, detective? I would, but as you know, I still haven¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± The man sighed. ¡°Coins?¡±


    ¡°Preferable, though transfer also works.¡± A QR code formed at the bottom of her palm. ¡°Here¡¯s good.¡±


    Clayton pressed his watch against the code. There were a series of chimes, after which he moved it away. ¡°Ten thousand mundis.¡± He tapped in the amount. ¡°Sent.¡±


    Summer waited for a few moments for one of her left earring to chime, then continued.


    ¡°Ellcron was making the charms. More specifically, your victim.¡±


    ¡°Come on.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t believe it myself. A few acquaintances of mine analyzed the materials. They were pretty high end. Refined to industrial purity. And that¡¯s not all. The charm patterns were imprinted on them straight on. Oh, and before I forget, the method of imprinting was patented by Ellcron a decade ago. One of their less-well known patents.¡± She turned to Clayton. ¡°I have an acquaintance at the patent office.¡±


    ¡°Ellcron printing their own illegal charms.¡± Clayton shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a new one.¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Things were starting to make sense. ¡°There¡¯s been talk that uppers would be removed from the restriction list for years. And even if they aren¡¯t, Ellcron could use them internally to keep their employees happy. Part of the employee entertainment package.¡±


    ¡°You think Janas was the guinea pig testing them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a task that requires any skills. That explains why his son thought he¡¯d lost his skills, and also why he constantly used so much.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense. Who would kill him, though? Or do you think he offed himself? Seeing everything around him go to shit¡ªdispleased wife, distant daughter, and a deviant son who wants Janas to accept his relationship with an uncharted. After years of using Ellcron¡¯s illegal chars, he had no more and decided to end it all in front of his entire family?¡±


    ¡°Not impossible.¡±


    I¡¯d seen people do stranger things. There was no telling what went through the minds of the rich. It would be in his style or orchestrate everything. Although, who made the killer charms? It definitely wasn¡¯t Ellcron, and if Janas had hired someone, H-Sec would be all over them by now.


    ¡°Guys, you¡¯re missing the point,¡± Summer said. ¡°The charm Nep gave me was freshly made. I¡¯m talking hours, not days.¡±


    ¡°You think he got it on the way home?¡± Clayton asked.


    ¡°No, Clay.¡± Now it was my turn to sigh. ¡°She¡¯s saying that Janas made the charms himself. That¡¯s the big secret that everyone¡¯s been keeping. The device everyone¡¯s after is a charm press made by Ellcron, no doubt.¡±


    ¡°He made charms in his own home? Holy crap.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his wife knew, or at the very least suspected. Maybe the son, though I doubt it. If he¡¯d known, he¡¯d probably have tried to trash the device. He only saw it as a case.¡±


    ¡°Just when I thought that family couldn¡¯t get more fucked up.¡±


    ¡°Maybe Ellcron made them that way. However, that¡¯s not our biggest problem.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, without the actual device, we couldn¡¯t prove a thing. And no judge will allow us to go through Ellcron¡¯s tech schematics on circumstantial evidence.¡±


    ¡°An even bigger problem. If Janas had the ability to make charms in his home, who¡¯s to say that he didn¡¯t try to sell some? That could have ruffled some feathers among the established players, not to mention that Ellcron wouldn¡¯t have been happy about it.¡±

 11. Pawn Sacrifice

    ¡°Does it hurt when you move?¡± Airon Galespi, the chief Rune Investigator, asked.


    When a human went through an accident, or beating, they¡¯d normally be sent to a hospital or health clinic. In the case of law enforcement, they might ask a medical examiner for assistance. Me, I was sent to the Rune Investigation unit, since they had the greatest knowledge on the subject. The whole thing was only partially awkward for everyone involved.


    People at H-Sec weren¡¯t used to having a fully naked uncharted in their offices, especially in transparent form. On my end, relying on help from people I¡¯d publicly humiliated in the last few days made me realize the importance of toning things down a bit.


    ¡°Not much.¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they zapped me with, but it was heavy duty.¡±


    ¡°Looks like military issue.¡± Airon moved away from me. ¡°I can run some tests, if you¡¯d like, but I¡¯m fairly certain it¡¯ll only confirm it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it.¡± I didn¡¯t particularly care what had caused the damage, rather the people who¡¯d ordered it. ¡°Do I get to live?¡±


    ¡°Expect the pain to continue for a while. I¡¯d avoid eating for at least a day. If it was military, it¡¯s made to get worse when eating. It should dissipate in a few days.¡± He went back to his desk, where holopanes with research results and daily reports were flickering. ¡°You can stop being transparent now.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, doc?¡±


    This time the reaction got a reaction. I wouldn¡¯t call it ice breaking, but at least it was a start.


    ¡°Get dressed then stop being transparent.¡±


    I went to the chair where my new H-Sec suit was waiting. What was left from my previous one was bagged, tagged, and sent for analysis.


    ¡°Anything new on the charms?¡± I asked casually as I slowly put on the clothes in human fashion.


    ¡°Nothing that you don¡¯t know already,¡± he said, his back turned to me. ¡°The process follows one of Ellcron¡¯s patents. Of course, they have hundreds of those involving charm creation, ten times as many, if you include rune tech. There is residual essence suggesting that it might be linked to the mysterious missing container, but nothing that would hold up in court.¡±


    In other words, we had nothing. Not surprising considering we were dealing with corporations, but still annoying. Even if we caught the thugs that beat me up, I doubted we¡¯d be able to link them to Ellcron.


    ¡°You know, we¡¯ve met before.¡± Airon turned around all of a sudden.


    ¡°Oh?¡± I thought back. ¡°You were in Duty and Customs?¡±


    ¡°No. I was a rookie at RI when they brought you here.¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect that. There were too many people back then to remember. Besides, I wasn¡¯t in a particularly good state.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do much, just one of the gophers that were bossed about by the big shots. Most of the time, I wasn¡¯t even allowed in the room. I still remember the commotion, though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that many deaths all at once¡­ it was a pretty big deal.¡±


    ¡°Not the massacre. Afterwards. Dozens of people came straight from Earth itself. People in full space suits with tinted visors that skipped quarantine altogether.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    Supposedly, it took half a year of medical procedures to prep someone from Earth to the local environment. The trip back was longer, which was why going to Earth had come to be known as a one-way retirement trip. In urgent cases, though, people would put on a spacesuit and drop by directly in a matter of hours.


    ¡°If I knew I¡¯d be that important, I¡¯d have given a few autographs.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better that you didn¡¯t. Anyway, take it easy for a while. If there are any other problems, let me know.¡±


    That was the polite way of him indicating the conversation had come to an end. I finished putting on my clothes, changed my skin texture to what was appropriate, and left his office. As tempting as it was, I didn¡¯t make a memory crystal of the conversation. At a later point, I¡¯d make sure to have a follow-up, though.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Nixen asked. She and Clayton were waiting for me in the corridor. The fact that they were here and not anywhere else suggested that all of our leads hadn¡¯t panned out.


    ¡°I¡¯ll live.¡±


    ¡°Good. Up for another visit to Ellcron?¡±


    I tilted my head. Seems I didn¡¯t give them enough credit. Considering less than six hours had passed, I didn¡¯t expect them to be allowed a second visit this soon.


    ¡°I won¡¯t embarrass you?¡± I teased.


    ¡°Waters, this is one meeting I¡¯m counting on you doing your worst.¡± The woman smiled.


    ¡°Clay, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve been a good enough influence on her.¡± I smirked. ¡°Just say when.¡±


    The ¡°when¡± turned out to be ¡°right away.¡± We quickly went to H-Sec¡¯s parking lot, where I took my usual seat in the back of the rune carriage. The detectives went in front, quickly whooshing us up and away towards the Ellcron building. I could instantly tell that this would be one big fishing expedition by the public manner of our approach. Even from the window, I could see the sides of the carriage flashing. The only thing missing was the sound of sirens to give the impression we were going on a raid.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Ellcron¡¯s response was appropriate. From the moment we landed in their parking lot, we were escorted by a cordon of security personnel, thoroughly checked for charms and tech, then brought to the same guest office we had been before. The only difference was that instead of one lawyer, now there were ten. My good old favorite ¡°dragon shoes¡± was also there¡ªI could; sense the essence of dragon skin long before we went inside. To my personal surprise, the cleaner agent I¡¯d met at the crime scene was also there. Could it be they were offering him as a sacrificial chip?


    ¡°Nice to see you again, detectives and mister Waters,¡± Saura van Buren said with a polite smile. The minute wrinkles near her eyes and on the side of her mouth suggested that she was all but happy with our visit. ¡°To what do we owe the pleasure?¡±


    ¡°There have been a few recent developments on the case,¡± Clayton began. ¡°Since they involve Ellcron directly, H-Sec considered that we come and inform you immediately.¡± There was a slight pause. ¡°In person.¡±


    ¡°How very thoughtful.¡± The woman sat down at the end of the table. The remaining lawyers and her head of security did not. ¡°Please elaborate.¡±


    ¡°It has come to our attention that mister Kode has been producing custom charms using patented Ellcron technology. An omission I¡¯m sure on your part, so we came for a clarification.¡±


    A small vein appeared on dragon shoes¡¯ temple. He was clearly nervous.


    ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s quite an accusation. I¡¯m sure that the media and quite a few judges wouldn¡¯t appreciate you dragging the good name of Ellcron and a valuable deceased employee into the mud.¡± Van Buren quickly switched to playing Clayton¡¯s game. ¡°No one wants a huge scandal related to this unfortunate matter.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my mistake,¡± Clayton quickly backed off. ¡°There seems to be a misunderstanding here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t beat yourself up. We¡¯re all human, at least most of us. Mistakes happen and I¡¯m certain that¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re talking about Celsius Kode,¡± Nixen interrupted. ¡°The son of the deceased and also one of your employees. At least we were led to believe so by Kode¡¯s appointed lawyer.¡±


    Everyone looked in the direction of the dragon shoes lawyer. For a brief moment, even I felt pity. Being part of a shoal of sharks was all good, up to the point that one was seen as a dead weight and liability.


    ¡°You¡¯re accusing him of producing charms?¡± Saura responded with something between shock and laughter.


    ¡°With the intent to sell,¡± Nixen lied. While H-Sec and Summer were looking into that angle, there still weren¡¯t any confirmed cases. ¡°It has been documented that the son had issues with his father. You, yourself said so last time we were here, I believe. Plus, he¡¯s a deviant.¡±


    The number of coughs from the corporate lawyers told me that he might not be the only one in the company.


    ¡°Not illegal, of course, but speaks to motive,¡± Clayton stepped in again. ¡°Our working theory was that Celsius used his father to gain access to a portable charm press which he used to create charms for himself, others in his circle, and when he was found out¡ªto kill his father.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± the dragon shoe lawyer snapped. ¡°He doesn¡¯t even use charms!¡±


    ¡°Victor.¡± The smile remained on Saur van Buren¡¯s face, but it had transformed into that of a snake who¡¯d just found its latest meal. ¡°That¡¯s a rather surprising development, I¡¯m sure. Of course, we¡¯ll have an internal investigation on the matter and bring you the results at our earliest convenience. Say a few weeks?¡±


    Clayton was just about to continue, when he was preemptively interrupted by van Buren again. ¡°Naturally, we cannot allow any external contact with mister Kode while our internal inquiries take place. You are free to see a judge with claims of exigent circumstances, but I suspect you¡¯d only be losing your time. Now, if that is all.¡±


    ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t.¡± Now it was my turn to shine. ¡°Less than an hour after finding out about the charm press, I was attacked. Quite a nasty experience, my door was blown out, a group of thugs with military grade stunners came rushing in.¡±


    I paused, giving the woman a chance to react. The fact that she didn¡¯t immediately accuse me of wasting her time strongly suggested that she was the one behind this. Likely she somehow had the crime scene watched and noticed me finding Jasan¡¯s hiding place for the item.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard similar things happen in slums. The odd thing was that other than the military grade equipment,¡± I stressed heavily, ¡°they seemed to know about the device. Not only that, but they told me to drop the investigation.¡±


    ¡°And you think that¡¯s linked to my client?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. How often do thugs attack people with the H-Sec emblem on their clothes?¡±


    This caused exactly the commotion I knew it would. A few of the lawyers quickly engaged silence charms to discuss the implications. Business practices were one thing. Attacking H-Sec directly was a whole different matter.


    Seeing Saura¡¯s smile fade slightly was an added bonus.


    ¡°Well,¡± she said, giving herself time to think. ¡°I¡¯m glad that you brought these incidents to our attention, detectives. In fact, your visit coincides with the conclusion of an internal investigation of our own. It appears that mister Denil Overton, whom you¡¯re familiar with from the initial crime scene, has betrayed the company¡¯s trust. While tasked with protecting Ellcron property, he has disrupted a crime scene prior to H-Sec¡¯s arrival, stolen valuable equipment for personal gain, and, as it appears, hired street muscle to cover up his crimes. Such behavior will not be tolerated by Ellcron, which is why he has been fired since last night and voluntarily agreed to turn himself in.¡±


    I¡¯d never seen a lizard cut off its tail faster. The moment the man was ordered to attend, he¡¯d probably seen the writing on the wall, although he didn¡¯t expect ¡°attack of an H-Sec agent¡± to be added to the charge.


    ¡°Denil Overton?¡± Nixen asked in a skeptical tone.


    ¡°That is his legal name. Now that he¡¯s no longer our employee, Ellcron has no reason to maintain his work covers. Are there any other incidents H-Sec would like to inform us of?¡±


    ¡°Not at this time,¡± Clayton said. ¡°If something comes up, you¡¯ll be the first to know.¡±


    ¡°We appreciate it and are thankful for your understanding, just as you appreciate Ellcron¡¯s cooperation.¡±


    The standard exchange of goodbye threats. They were nowhere near as subtle as exchanges in the slums. Then again, Ellcron didn¡¯t have to worry about every conversation being recorded and used as evidence. They probably had enough layers that could prove that the meeting we just had never took place.


    Clayton took custody of ¡°Denil.¡± The unfortunate man was publicly cuffed and taken out of the building under the concerned gazes of lawyers. While it was fun seeing a corporation be brought down a peg, this was a hollow victory that didn¡¯t help one bit with the case. The cleaner would no doubt confess to a lot of things, deny others, leaving Ellcron clean. As for the murderer¡­ The only suspect we¡¯d eliminated was the same one we¡¯d publicly accused moments ago.


    ¡°Tough luck,¡± I told Denil as I joined me in the back of the car. ¡°Tell me, did you ever sleep with any of them?¡±


    ¡°Fuck anyone from that crazy family?¡± he laughed. His sophisticated accent was completely gone, making him a whole different person from the one that had been interviewed two days ago. ¡°No thanks. The mother¡¯s obsessed with making it seem she¡¯s having ten affairs to prop up her social standing, and the daughter¡­ I¡¯d seen snap dragons less crazy.¡±


    ¡°Hey, at least she¡¯s not a deviant like her brother.¡±


    ¡°Sure, tell yourself that.¡± He looked out of the window. ¡°For my money, the kid¡¯s the sanest thing the family has.¡±

 12. Blue Dock Syndicate

    There was a certain sense of nostalgia that came with a home, even if it was an overpriced wreck smack in the middle of a slum. I could have said that I¡¯d had good memories in this place, but that would be a lie. If there was something that could be called a nightmare den, that was it¡ªthe place I mostly went to sleep, and since sleep meant nightmares, I avoided it just as often. Still, it had been my nightmare den, and having to leave it felt like leaving part of me behind.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Summer said from the doorway. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d see you clean the place.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± I said, taking the charm mirror off the wall. Strangely enough, that was the only thing the thugs hadn¡¯t broken. Probably had to do with one of the weird Earth superstitions. I¡¯d long stopped taking count. ¡°H-Sec did it for me. They even offered to pay my landlord for damages.¡±


    ¡°That must have been fun.¡±


    ¡°Yep. So much so that he refused to take it, then told me never to have anything to do with him again.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine. The land¡¯s more valuable, anyway. And this way he¡¯ll automatically be given a building permit. A true win-win.¡±


    In real life, there never was a true win-win. Of all people, Summer had to know that. Maybe that was why she was so obsessed with the idea. At the end of the day, everyone was a slave to their obsessions. I had my nightmares to chase after. She had other things.


    ¡°Need any help?¡± she offered as I covered the mirror with a thin, protective layer of water.


    ¡°This is all I¡¯m taking. Everything else is trash or taken.¡±


    ¡°Even the massacre files?¡±


    ¡°Even my massacre files.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­ Do you need your memory crystal back?¡±


    ¡°No, keep it a while longer. I need to get settled first.¡±


    That was one of the services that Summer offered. In addition to all the memory crystals she carried with her, she had several stashes to use when needed. Many would pay good money to have a copy of their secrets stashed away safely somewhere, in case something unfortunate happened. Her rates were pricey, more than I could ever afford. However, there were things we¡¯d do for each other for free. When she had come to me to help her with something, I had agreed, no questions asked. When I had given a copy of all the information I had about my obsession, he had just taken it, without saying a price.


    ¡°So, where are you going?¡±


    ¡°No idea. Clayton found me a place in the metropolis area. Closer to work and safer.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you rising in the world?¡± Summer teased.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen the place yet. For all I know, it might be a bucket in H-Sec¡¯s closet.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll be closer to work, and very secure.¡±


    ¡°Summer, shut up.¡±


    I took one final look at what had been my home and walked out.


    ¡°Any news on the charms?¡± I asked as I walked out.


    ¡°Yeah. Some.¡±


    I waited.


    ¡°Are you going to tell me, or do I get Clay to send you more cash?¡± My question was meant as a joke, but the way Summer¡¯s expression soured, she didn¡¯t take it as one.


    ¡°No, not Clay.¡± She looked away.


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to figure out why. Rather, I would have figured out if the answer wasn¡¯t staring me in the face.


    A top of the line aqua-limo was parked a few hundred feet down the road. Back in the day, the aqua vehicle industry was supposed to be the wave of the future¡ªone of the truly unique technologies that this world had to offer. All that went by the wayside after the integration of charms and human tech. Now, the only people who owned aqua cars were collectors and those who wanted to make a point. And the head of the Blue Dock Syndicate was definitely someone who wanted to make a point.


    ¡°Starnight,¡± I whispered, more to myself than Summer.


    ¡°He wanted to have a meeting with you,¡± she whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    I handed her the charm mirror¡ªI wouldn¡¯t need it where I was going and I didn¡¯t want to give anyone excuses to shatter it.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I understand.¡±


    Even if I wanted to, I couldn¡¯t blame her. There was one rule in the slums: never refuse Starnight. If there was something similar to the Earth equivalent of a godfather, Starnight was it. The syndicate he was head of controlled close to a third of the city¡¯s docks. Strictly speaking, he didn¡¯t own the facilities or the land they were built on. However, he made up for that by controlling the labor. If someone wanted to get something done, legal or not, they had to go through him. And since he was reasonable and strict when it came to the big picture, the city administration and the corporations were rather understanding. As long as he caused any disruptions of goods, they were content to let him do whatever he wanted. The reason why he had managed to remain on top for so long was that he never abused his authority. One could almost say that he was fair in all matters. The problems came when he thought someone wasn¡¯t being fair to him.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The drive to Starnight¡¯s place was silent. The people he¡¯d sent to fetch me weren¡¯t in the mood for a chat, and I had no intention of giving them an excuse to start one.


    The aqua-limo slid along the road on a layer of water. In ten minutes, it entered the docks¡¯ district going along one of the unused piers, then continued along the sea to one of the offshore rigs. The closer we approached, the more I became worried. Regardless of the trouble I¡¯d gotten into the past, I¡¯d never been taken to the rig. Personally, I didn¡¯t know any that were, at least not that openly admitted it.


    ¡°Take your wristcomm off,¡± the driver said once we had arrived. ¡°You¡¯ll get it when you come back.¡±


    I pulled it through my hand without hesitation and put it on the back seat.


    ¡°Now, get out.¡±


    Half a square mile of advanced fibersteel rose three hundred feet above the sea¡¯s surface. At some point, it had been the start of a military installation. Never completed for some reason, now it was Starnight¡¯s exclusive property, transformed into a giant garden. The grass and half the flowers I¡¯d only seen in pictures.


    A stone path led inwards to a small wooden shed. Near it was Starnight himself, tending to a rosebush. There also were a half a dozen uncharted seated on benches nearby. By the glances they gave me, I could tell that none of them liked me.


    ¡°They say you can find roses anywhere on Earth,¡± Starnight said the moment I got ten feet away. ¡°You just plant them and nature takes care of the rest. Here I have to work to keep these alive for more than a month. I¡¯ve tried charms, Earth imported soils, even got one of the new drone gardeners, and I still haven¡¯t seen any last more than half a year.¡± He stopped what he was doing and turned around. The features of his face were dull¡ªan indication of age. ¡°Do you know why I keep getting new ones?¡±


    ¡°Because there¡¯s no other hobby like it?¡±


    ¡°Because I believe that eventually they won¡¯t let me down. Some say that I should give up.¡± He pointed the bush shearers in my direction. ¡°Some say that I should give up on you. You¡¯re extremely high maintenance and I¡¯ve yet to see a return of my effort.¡±


    ¡°Look, I¡¯m on my way to get you the money. I¡¯ve this solid gig that will¡ª¡±


    He waved his hand, telling me to stop talking.


    ¡°Your life hasn¡¯t been easy,¡± he continued. ¡°We all know that. I know that. When you needed help, after what happened, I was there to give it. When you had problems paying me back, I gave you an extension. Most of the punks don¡¯t know it, but seeing everyone around you die like that changes a person and not for the better. That¡¯s why I constantly ignored the mess you made, swallowed your excuses, and kept tending to you. After all, you never planned to disappoint me. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Your parents would have been very upset if I had to do something unpleasant to their child.¡±


    In several of the few conversations we¡¯d had, Starnight had told me that he knew my parents. Whether that was true, or just part of the act, I¡¯d yet to know for sure. The way he treated me, though, suggested that there was something to that.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back. I promise.¡±


    ¡°I know you will, dear boy, and with interest.¡± He smiled. ¡°Until then, though, you¡¯ll be doing me a few favors.¡±


    If it were anyone else, I¡¯d tell them to fuck off. Here, I had to approach the matter carefully.


    ¡°H-Sec have their eye on me,¡± I decided to exaggerate things a bit. ¡°The moment I make a turn, they¡¯ll know about it.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Always so negative. I know you¡¯re their jester now. Which is why I¡¯m offering you this opportunity. Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll only be doing small things. Innocent things. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make it so they don¡¯t even notice. For example, there¡¯s a small package in the car, next to your wristcomm. All you have to do is take it across the waterline. Do that and you¡¯d have done me a favor.¡±


    Any sane person who has asked what¡¯s in the package. Any sane person ran a risk of getting killed as a result.


    ¡°Gladly,¡± I said. ¡°Where do you want me to take it?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You can leave it on the street if you want. Others will take care of it afterwards. All you have to do is cross the line.¡±


    This didn¡¯t sound good at all. Slowly, I nodded.


    ¡°And just so you don¡¯t feel used, I¡¯ve found the answer to the question you¡¯ve been asking. Yes, your victim did sell a few charms here and there. Not much, but enough to get my attention. Naturally, I instantly recognized the product, so I¡­¡± he paused. ¡°Sent an inquiry to Ellcron on the matter. There¡¯s plenty of room in the charm trade, no reason to get in an argument when it could be avoided. The thing is, they never intended to get into the business, not even internally.¡±


    ¡°Not even internally?¡± I asked out of habit. ¡°Why not? With that, they¡¯d corner the market. Their savings alone would be worth millions.¡±


    Starnight laughed.


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you never got into any sort of business. You¡¯d have failed miserably. What¡¯s the point in cornering a market that you don¡¯t need? There¡¯s no shortage of charms, there never will be. For the price of a charm, Ellcron can get a monthly supply, weekly if they feel like splurging. The whole idea was Kode¡¯s. I never learned why he did it. I was just asked to make sure that the charms disappear from the streets, and those he offered them to got suitable replacements.¡±


    ¡°Where did he get them, then?¡±


    The moment I asked the question I realized I¡¯d gone too far. Starnight wasn¡¯t one of my friends, nor was he some low-level informer I could joke about with. It was already a small miracle that I was still standing.


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the things I always liked about you¡ªyour sense of curiosity. Terrible for business, but so amusing.¡± He went back to tending his roses. ¡°He made the products himself. You were right about that. But it was never about selling them, but consuming as many as quickly as possible. How that¡¯s related to the rest of your problem, you¡¯ll have to figure it out on your own.¡± He waved over his shoulder. ¡°Goodbye, Neptune. And don¡¯t forget what we discussed.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Starnight.¡± I quickly turned around and made my way back to the aqua-limo.


    The package was there just as he said it would be¡ªa small box the size of a watch case, all wrapped in plastic. Inconspicuous, it wasn¡¯t. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t matter where I dropped it off.


    I unbuttoned the top of my shirt, then shoved the package inside. It was marginally uncomfortable, but nowhere as bad as last night¡¯s attack. Once I was done, I put my wristconn back on. There was no indication of missed calls.


    ¡°Where will you drop me off?¡± I asked. Now that I was leaving the rig, I felt a bit more talkative. At least I knew nothing would happen to me in the next few days, provided I did as I was asked.


    ¡°Why? Need to be anywhere special?¡± the driver asked.


    ¡°C¡¯s.¡± I leaned back. ¡°I think I could use a drink.¡±

 13. Consequences

    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!¡±


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    ¡°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¡ªinvisible 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¡ª¡±


    ¡°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¡ªinform 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¡ªan 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¡ªit 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.

 14. Planned Gamble

    Stakeouts were a subtle art: choosing the perfect spot, finding the best vantage point, blending the most seamlessly with the immediate environment. Even in my relatively short experience in the matter, I¡¯d been everything from a puddle to a barrel of water. Once, I even had to hide inside a drainpipe for half a day, waiting to catch my target in a compromising position. That knowledge was useless when it came to humans. The best they could do was find obvious concealment spots and remain still for long enough so that someone with the patience of a goldfish wouldn¡¯t see obvious threats. Tech was a great help, but whenever there was tech there was also countercheck; and when dealing with powerful corporations, it wasn¡¯t difficult to tell who had the upper hand. Our sole advantage was that H-Sec had access to Earth made comm tech. It looked a lot clunkier than I imagined, but at least lacked an essence trace.


    ¡°Are you sure they¡¯ll show?¡± Clayton whispered in his comm.


    ¡°They¡¯ll show,¡± I replied. ¡°They can¡¯t risk not to.¡±


    The lieutenant had done a good job sharing the information with everyone involved in the case. As far as they were concerned, the department had accepted the loss and now was going on with the story that Jasan was murdered by an overzealous ex-company employee. Of course, it was the added detail linked the location of the victim¡¯s mysterious device that had attracted all the attention. Marsha had even gone as far as to openly ask for the location, before being advised to remain quiet by the good old dragon shoes lawyer.


    ¡°Who do you think it¡¯ll be?¡± Nixen asked. ¡°My money¡¯s on the daughter?¡±


    ¡°Why her?¡± Clayton sounded confused.


    ¡°Only a psychopath can be surrounded by so much shit and be this calm. Her father¡¯s been living on charms, her brother¡¯s a deviant, her mother¡¯s been faking affairs left and right, and all she¡¯s concerned about is getting a few grand for free the spirits cause.¡±


    The detective did have a point. There was something messed up with Marshia. Having access to her medical file would have been nice, but that was off limits even before Ellcron had escalated things.


    ¡°So, who do you think¡¯s good for it?¡± the detective asked again.


    ¡°Gellow,¡± Clayton replied.


    ¡°Ellron¡¯s security guy? Why him?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get to become corporate security off a resume. If I wanted something like this done, I¡¯d send him.¡±


    ¡°Letting a servant do the work? You sure your family aren¡¯t corporates?¡±


    The banter eventually stopped. While it was a good way to calm one¡¯s nerves, it was also distracting and annoying for most others.


    Another half-hour passed before the first signs of someone approaching.


    ¡°Lookout five. I¡¯ve eyes on a camouflaged carriage approaching from the sea.¡±


    Clever. Since most would be watching Clear Water¡¯s watermark, coming from the coast would be unnoticed.


    ¡°Essence leaks are minimal. Looks like one of Ellcron¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Told you,¡± Clayton whispered.


    ¡°Wait till the suspect gets into the building,¡± the lieutenant ordered. ¡°Looks like your plan worked, Waters. Good job.¡±


    Being praised by someone important never got old. Yet, I still couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy. Setting up a sting in a slum was tricky business, even when some of the locals were on our side. Until the suspect entered Celsius¡¯ old hiding place, we had nothing.


    ¡°Lookout two. I have activity. A biker on an aqua-bike¡¯s making her way towards the honeypot. Identity confirmed. It¡¯s Marshia Kode.¡±


    ¡°Say again?¡± I could hear Nixen¡¯s smirk through the comm.


    Now I knew the kid was crazy. A human riding an aqua-bike at high speed was the fastest way to get a few limbs ripped off. I could do it without a problem, but for a human to try, they had to be both crazy and experienced. Seemed like Nixen was right about the girl, after all.


    ¡°What do we do, lt.?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Keep your positions! They haven¡¯t seen us. Wait for them to get on the scene and¡ª¡± there was a sudden moment of silence. ¡°Shit. The widow¡¯s coming as well.¡±


    That pretty much made all major suspects, all arriving at the same conclusions at the same time. Unlike the first two, though, the widow didn¡¯t even bother keeping it quiet. She was flying through the sky with her husband¡¯s registered rune carriage, completely ignoring the speed safety limit.


    ¡°Waters.¡± The lieutenant¡¯s icy tone was enough to freeze me solid. ¡°You better have a solution for this. I don¡¯t plan on getting two black eyes.¡±


    ¡°Just play it out,¡± I said. ¡°Wait till all of them get near the building, then surround the place and we¡¯ll settle it later.¡±


    ¡°All units, prepare to spring on my command.¡±


    I could see the widow¡¯s carriage approaching in the distance. Apparently, I wasn¡¯t the only one, for the daughter speared at the end of the road moments later, driving like a maniac. It almost looked like a race between the two to see who¡¯d get there first. As it happened, it was the mother. Stopping directly above her son¡¯s love nest, she moved the carriage about a bit, then gently landed on the street. The front door opened, and I got a faint whiff of the familiar dragon skin essence. The lawyer rushed to open the passenger¡¯s door, but the widow proved faster, shoving him out of the way as she got out. Without her expensive clothes, she didn¡¯t seem remotely as glamorous as during our first meeting.


    ¡°Mother!¡± The daughter arrived at the scene mere seconds later. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Marshia, go back home. This doesn¡¯t concern you.¡±


    ¡°I think you need to get back home! Have you been drinking again?¡±


    ¡°It would be best if we all keep our tone down,¡± the lawyer intervened. I really didn¡¯t envy his job. Even from this distance, his expression made it clear he thought coming here was a mistake. ¡°We don¡¯t need to attract attention.¡±


    ¡°It might be a bit too late for that,¡± Saura van Buren¡¯s voice sounded without warning. The woman emerged from thin air along with a pair of fully geared battle mages with automatic weapons. ¡°I¡¯ve learned that there¡¯s Ellcron property inside that building and am here to reclaim it.¡±


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    ¡°All teams, go, go, go!¡±


    I braced for the inevitable chaos that would follow, and the chaos came. H-Sec operatives in full gear jumped out of their hiding placed in the surrounding buildings. While their gear wasn¡¯t as impressive as that of the corporate guards, it was enough to scare the hell out of any civilian. Rune carriages flashing red, green, and blue rose up into the air, blocking any potential exits. That didn¡¯t mean that no one tried.


    The corporate battle mages were professionals, so they quickly surrounded van Buren, triggering a series of protection fields. They were fully aware that the law was on their side, so it never crossed their minds to engage in criminal behavior. Marshia, though, ran like a fox caught in the henhouse.


    Without a second thought, she leapt onto her auto-bike, boosting it to full speed. The bike jetted forward, passing inches away from a pair of H-Sec agents further down the road. Adrenalin and instinct took over, overriding reason on all sides, resulting in shots being fired.


    Damn it! Why did I have to be so close? I had a pretty good idea how messed you the kid was, but even so she remained a kid.


    I poured out of the suit, speeding in her direction. No longer being restricted by form, I was a lot faster, though still not fast enough to prevent one of the projectiles from hitting her shoulder. The wound had to be serious, though remotely as serious as losing control of the bike. Even while not at full speed, it had gained enough inertia to be dangerous.


    Hating myself, I leapt forward, enveloping the kid entirely as I pulled her off the swirling bike. There was a moment of sharp pain as a small part of me was torn off by the vehicle. Panic kicked in, bringing me back to the memory of the docks¡¯ massacre. Instantly, I froze, feeling helpless. That had been the moment I was closer to death than I ever had been¡­ and all I could feel was the sound of laughter rippling through the water.


    ¡°Waters!¡± A loud yell snapped me back to reality, just in time to feel the impact of the ground. Thankfully, the kid was still alive.


    ¡°Bring some med charms!¡± I yelled as I morphed back into human form. ¡°She¡¯s got one in the shoulder.¡±


    ¡°Marshia!¡± I could hear her mother yell in the background, H-Sec keeping her, or anyone getting closer.


    ¡°We got her, Waters.¡± Clayton came running to me moments later. ¡°We got her.¡±


    I stared at him in disbelief, his features appearing alien to me. Then, slowly, I let go of the kid.


    Without a word, I went back to my clothes. The moment of chaos was over. It would probably take days for the effects to fully wear off, but until then, I had another job.


    Order followed. Before I knew it, the whole area was full of H-Sec and local law enforcement. The entire area was cordoned off, leaving all suspects except the kid, safely isolated on the scene. In my mind, I tried to shift gears and return to normal. I failed. The only thing I managed to achieve was to put on my suit and pretend I had.


    ¡°You, okay?¡± Nixen walked up to me.


    ¡°As could be. How¡¯s the kid?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll live.¡±


    ¡°Good, because she isn¡¯t the one who killed her old man.¡±


    I made my way to where the suspects were gathered. This time, the conditions were as they should be. There were no chairs to relax in, no drinks, not even a sympathetic shoulder to cry on.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure that you were only doing your job,¡± Saura van Buren said to the lieutenant standing in front of her. ¡°Ellcron doesn¡¯t intend to bring charges for that. However, our property is in that house.¡±


    ¡°That thing killed my husband!¡± Kode¡¯s widow shouted. ¡°I have a right to see what caused his death!¡±


    ¡°The culprit is already in H-Sec custody. This whole matter has nothing to do with Ellcron.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong,¡± I said, forcing a smile. ¡°Both of you.¡±


    The comment grabbed both women¡¯s attention, making them stop glaring at each other and turn my way instead.


    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that someone killed Jasan Kode, but that person isn¡¯t Ellcron¡¯s cleaner. Excuse me,¡± I quickly corrected myself. ¡°Ex-Ellcron¡¯s cleaner. Neither is Celsius, which they¡¯ve done a great job hiding away.¡±


    ¡°But the device is in this building,¡± Saura van Buren said. ¡°A device that was stolen by our ex-employee. A device worth billions,¡± she stressed.


    ¡°Why are you so sure?¡±


    There was a momentary pause.


    ¡°Because H-Sec told me,¡± she glanced at the lieutenant. ¡°You told me that Delin confessed to putting it here.¡±


    ¡°No, he didn¡¯t. All he said was that he confessed to taking it and using an uncharted to stash it somewhere. Isn¡¯t that right, sir?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much.¡± The lieutenant nodded.


    ¡°But we checked! The essence signature of the device is there right now!¡±


    ¡°Is it? Or is that the residual essence from Jason¡¯s hiding place along with a stash of charms?¡±


    The woman¡¯s face turned pale, then red as winkles formed round her eyes and mouth.


    ¡°You think this is amusing? You¡¯ll think differently when my legal team buries every last one of you. Even Earth won¡¯t be able to save you!¡±


    ¡°Ominous.¡± I walked a few steps away, moving towards the widow. ¡°One person was fully aware that there was nothing here, though.¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± the widow asked in disbelief. ¡°Why would I? I came because I was told I¡¯d find the reason for my husband¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°Not you, Mrs Kode. Your Ellcron appointed lawyer.¡±


    In seven out of ten cases, when a suspect was accused of a crime they committed, they ran for it. That made things a lot easier later. The lawyer, however, was either too smart for that or too stupid to realize he had been caught.


    ¡°Me?¡± he smiled straight at me. ¡°That¡¯s quite a remarkable thing to say.¡±


    ¡°You see, I had Celsius¡¯ significant other call each of you with a slightly different version of events. It all boiled down to the same thing: H-Sec believed the device to be hidden in the house where Celsius spent his time while in the slums. The place had been checked, of course, but there was just enough suspicion to make you think that maybe something was missed.¡±


    I looked at each in turn.


    ¡°Would that be nice? A valuable piece of technology that Ellcron had lost. The cause for Jason¡¯s death. The one thing that could exonerate a beloved brother. The threat of exposure. Couldn¡¯t take the chance there might be something to incriminate you, could you, Victor?¡±


    ¡°As mis van Buren said, if you¡¯re making baseless accusations, you¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    ¡°You were at the crime scene, right?¡± I cut him short. ¡°How did you get there?¡±


    ¡°I was called by Kode¡¯s family. I am their family lawyer.¡±


    ¡°So, you were there before Denil?¡±


    A glint of hesitation appeared in the man¡¯s eyes. I couldn¡¯t tell whether he had to figure out what I was going for, but he didn¡¯t feel as confident as a moment ago.


    ¡°N¡­¡± he paused. ¡°Yes, I was there before. In fact, I was the one who suggested that we request Ellcron''s assistance. Mis van Buren will confirm.¡±


    Got you! ¡°Then why wasn¡¯t there any trace of that awful dragon skin essence in the building?¡± This was it¡ªthe coup de grace. Even the H-Sec agents nearby were clear on the matter, for then moved closer in case the lawyer made an attempt to escape. Now that someone with his level of comfort would try. ¡°I¡¯m pretty good at finding traces of essence, but I didn¡¯t find it. And neither did the entire Rune Investigation team.¡± I widened my smile. ¡°It wasn¡¯t that you wanted to be afraid of leaving traces, but just needed something to get the presence of the ever so expensive device off yourself. That¡¯s why even when I saw you for the first time, I couldn¡¯t feel any essence coming from the shoes. Funny thing. If you had changed them, I¡¯d never have known.¡±


    In the last five years, I¡¯d confronted culprits many times. Sometimes they cried, sometimes they became aggressive, sometimes they tried to bribe me to keep quiet. Not once did it feel this satisfying? Maybe Clayton had a point. More likely I was going through the aftereffects of my flashback.


    ¡°Was it worth it?¡± I had to ask.


    ¡°It would have been,¡± he said with a sad sigh. ¡°More than you¡¯d even know. For decades I¡¯d been working for messed up families. It was alright when they were marginally competent. But him? He was a walking lab rat with delusions of grandeur. In the last few months, he had me make his charms because he was too lazy to do it himself. Well, now he got to taste something unique. For a few days, at least he was special.¡±

 15. Settled Waters

    The case was all over the media. It was almost funny how organizations who were threatening to sue each other to the ground could come out with a common statement, once each of them got what they wanted. It was also a nice plus that the perpetrator was someone who allowed everyone to save face. H-Sec was pleased they had solved the case to glowing media reception and Ellcron was happy that they¡¯d returned their device¡ªwhatever it really was. Even the family got a nice boost: all scandals were swept under the run, they were all publicly proved innocent, and even Rain caught a special exemption contract from the company itself. Of course, with a family like that, there was no telling how long the happiness would last. If one were optimistic, maybe a decade, maybe even more.


    Meanwhile, I also got a little something for myself. The lieutenant was pleased enough with the result that he extended the period of my temp pass to a full year. Being issued a permanent one would have been better, but one had to accept the small wins. At least I got the right to stay in the metropolis area.


    I sat back, relaxing in the only piece of furniture in my new home, looking at the cityscape. It was often said that nothing could beat a view of the city. In ninety-five percent of the cases, that was a lie, but it was the remaining five percent that people strived for. The place that detective Nixen had found for me was on the roof of a five-story bakery. The monthly cost of a square foot in a neighborhood like this was more than I could make in a couple of years. Fortunately for me, the construction company had forgotten to install pipes, plumbing, and a staircase, making the pair of rather nice rooms completely unlivable for humans. So, after an arrangement between H-Sec and the building¡¯s owner, I was given the place rent free.


    As I was sitting calmly, admiring the view, the doorbell chimed. Just because a place was inaccessible, that didn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t have visitors. Standing up with a faint grumble, I went to the door and opened it.


    ¡°Hey, Waters,¡± Clayton said, leaning against the end of a rather large bathtub.


    ¡°Clayton.¡± I looked at him, then at the bathtub. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°I brought you a bed. Nixen told me the place was bare, so I thought I¡¯d get something to make you feel more at home. Like a housewarming party.¡±


    ¡°You brought a bathtub to a housewarming party.¡± Sometimes I really didn¡¯t understand what he was thinking.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t cheap getting it here, so help me get it in.¡±


    Humans used to say never look a gift horse in the mouth. I¡¯d no idea if there were any sayings involving bathtubs, though. With a nod, I helped him bring in the monstrosity, carrying it to the designated bedroom.


    ¡°So, how does it feel to have an official H-Sec case beneath your belt?¡± he asked, whipping the sweat off his forehead. He was just about to lean against one of the walls when I quickly stopped him.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°No!¡± I pointed at the wall. ¡°I haven¡¯t runed them yet.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± He took a step away, looking at the wall, as if he knew what I meant.


    ¡°And to answer your question, feels the same as before. Especially since H-Sec did their best to avoid mentioning my involvement in the case.¡±


    ¡°Well, you know how it is. Big organization, new team¡­¡±


    ¡°Or even mentioning my name.¡± I added. ¡°You and Nixen got a mention.¡±


    ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s usually like that at first. There¡¯s always next time.¡±


    That¡¯s what he used to say back when we used to work together for Duty and Customs. For over a year, I thought he was just being polite until one day my name made its way to the employee of the month list. It was the most useless thing imaginable; it didn¡¯t even come with any reward, but I thought of it as the most significant thing I¡¯d achieved. I had become a lot more cynical now, but still cherished that moment.


    ¡°Yeah, next time.¡± I nodded. ¡°I¡¯d offer something to drink, but¡­¡± I looked around demonstratively.


    ¡°On that note.¡± Clayton reached into his pocket and gave me a crystal card. ¡°Your official pay. I tried to get the lt. to consider coins, but it¡¯s a complicated process. You¡¯ll have to be virtual for now.¡±


    ¡°Virtual currency in the metropolis area.¡± I took the card. ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯ve always wanted. Treat you somewhere?¡±


    ¡°Err, not today. I¡¯ve a lot of reports to write. Someone¡¯s got to do it, and since my name was mentioned¡­¡±


    ¡°Sucks to be you.¡± I smirked. ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to do nothing in your honor, from my very own new bathtub.¡±


    ¡°Very funny.¡± He went towards the door. Reaching it, he stopped. ¡°Waters, when I dragged you into this, I promised that there¡¯ll be more than parcels at H-Sec.¡±


    ¡°Yep, and you were kidding.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not all I meant. I didn¡¯t want to say this because I didn¡¯t know how it would turn out, but¡­¡± he took a small folded sheet of plastic from his inner pocket and gave it to me. ¡°That¡¯s all the department has about the docks¡¯ massacre,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s not much, but none of it has been made public.¡±


    I stared at the film-like sheet. I was the real deal. The holographic seals proved it.


    ¡°How did you get that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not important. I just wanted you to have it. If you don¡¯t want to read it, shold be easy enough to get rid of. Your choice.¡±


    ¡°You can get in a lot of trouble if someone finds out you¡¯ve given this to an uncharted.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my problem.¡± He stepped beyond the threshold. ¡°See you around, Waters. Take care.¡±


    The door closed behind him. For several seconds, I kept standing there like a statue, looking at the document. Everything I¡¯d been searching obsessively for was not in my hand. All I had to do was open it to get an idea what had happened that day.


    ¡°You really are a bastard, Clay,¡± I whispered.


    I went to the bedroom, then placed the sheet of plastic under the bathtub, unread. Then I went back to the chair and sat down. Dozens of thoughts passed through my mind, most of them unpleasant. The view, though, remained as beautiful as ever.