Broker

It was the dead of night when Sonya stepped through the portal and reached up to toss her hair, shaking it out and letting out a self-satisfied sigh. Liberty was dead. They’d made their plans, her mind was whole, and her heart was set. All she needed to do now was push forward. She stopped in the living room of the hotel suite she’d rented for the trial hearings and rested her hand on her hip before pulling out her phone. Colin and Amos walked in behind her with Marta taking up the rear, Ishtar having dismissed her body and returned to Sonya’s ability. Her shadow billowed once out of the corner of her eye as she set her sunglasses on the counter and checked her messages.

Odd. Nothing about Liberty. Carla didn’t even try to notify me.

“...It’s a little quiet,” she said thoughtfully and glanced towards Amos. He was back in a T-shirt and shorts, his messy brown hair and scruffy face a contrast to Colin’s clean and pretty image.

Amos nodded and closed his eyes, jerking his chin left and right for a moment. He opened his eyes, and his lips curled down into a frown. Sonya put away her phone and walked over to the fridge, pulling out a soda and popping it open. She took a sip and turned around to lean against it, fixing him with a stare and waiting for him to speak.

“Full communications blackout for the Pandora Committee. The entire situation is being kept under wraps as they investigate directly. I’m still pushing through security; gimme a sec,” he said and sat down on the couch.

Sonya squinted at the can for a moment and sipped it again. She pulled out her phone and dialed Cass’ number first.

<”This number is currently out of service. Please try again later,”> a pleasant voice said on the other end. 

Sonya’s eyes narrowed. What the?

She dialed out to Lillian’s number. <”This number is currently…”>

The hell? She blinked at her phone and looked over at Amos, whose face was starting to darken. They exchanged a look, and she sipped at her drink, setting it down and focusing on her phone. She dialed out to Alex and then to Snow. When the latter got the same error, she dialed out to Chunhua.

<”This number…”> Sonya hung up and rubbed the bridge of her nose before exhaling. If I go directly to the Pandora Committee without being informed about the situation, they’ll ask how I know. I can’t just march down there. She flicked her eyes towards the door.

“Blackrazor, go downstairs and check on my daughter,” she commanded, and without a word, the rippling shadow beneath her feet shot towards the door, slipping under it and vanishing from sight. She sipped her drink again and tapped a long nail impatiently against the countertop. She turned to Amos. "Anything?”

“I think they didn’t appreciate my last couple of hacks,” Amos said with a half smile. "They’ve got someone good updating their internal security. I’ll be through soon.”

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Humblebrag,” she said and stood up straight, adjusting her tie. She turned to Marta, who was still standing off to the side, waiting patiently for orders. “Go get the car ready. We’ll probably need to move quickly if my gut feeling is any indication.”

Marta bowed. "Right away,” she said and made her way to the door.

Sonya turned to Colin, who had taken up a seat at the dining table of their suite and had leaned back in it until it was partially tilted off the floor. He glanced her way, and his brown eyes turned red. "Need me to do something?”

“Be ready to leave-”

<”Mistress,”> Blackrazor’s voice came into her head. 

She raised a finger to Colin to pause their chat. He got up and grabbed his suitcase, <”What happened?”>

<”There are several Pandora Committee soldiers outside of their suite, Mistress,”> Blackrazor said. Sonya glanced up at Colin and jerked her chin towards the door. He nodded and hopped to his feet, hurrying out to follow Marta down to the parking garage. <”One of them appears to be a scout or sensory-type hero. They turned my way when I was approaching.”>

Sonya pursed her lips before an idea occurred to her, <”Come back. I’ll try something else.”>

<”Yes, Mistress.”>

Sonya closed her eyes and reached out with her Technopathy - she could literally feel the sluggish, stymied sensation of the restricted internet traffic around her. She shifted away from using that kind of signal and concentrated on another. A single signal similar to her own and Amos’. She touched it gently, feeling for a point of entrance before slipping inside and urging it to simulate a call.

A small voice popped into her head a moment later, <”H-uh?”>

<”I’m glad Amos was the one who designed your implant. Hello, Snow,”> Sonya said, only to be cut off.

<”Miss Chernovna! Where have you been? We had no way of getting ahold of you, and-”>

<”Calm down, dear. What’s going on?”> Sonya said, taking another sip.

<”A bunch of Pandora troopers showed up a few hours ago and picked up Cass. Lily went with them!”> The girl said frantically. <”They won’t let us leave the room; otherwise, I would have gone upstairs! I can’t even get a frigging email out. …Miss Chernovna?”>

Sonya’s fists clenched at her sides. <”I’m here. Did they have a warrant?”>

<”Yes, but Cass has been with us the entire night. There’s no way she did anything!”>

Sonya closed her eyes. <”I’ll take care of it, Snow. You just get some rest,”> she said and ended the connection.

CRRRK

The can crumpled in her grip, the last bit of it spilling onto the ground at her feet. She closed her eyes as white hot-fury burned beneath her skin. It took every ounce of hard-earned self-control to bring herself back from blasting the entire building with Imperious. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair, searching for patience. She leaned back against the fridge and sorted out her thoughts. Jumping at their throats won’t do me or Cass any good. Should I be patient and wait for them to verify her story with a truth-detecting ability?

Her lips thinned. If they were going to do that, she would be back at the hotel room by now. I know Verity is in town. She rubbed her chin and turned to the right. So why? I can understand the communication’s blackout, but why did they block Snow and Alex in their room? She paused. Unless it was to prevent me from learning about the situation before they had time to talk to Cass. But why would they-

Firth.

Her blood boiled.

“Amos,” she said evenly, and turned to her friend.

“Yeah?” he said, looking up from the coffee table that was now adorned with two laptops and three tablets held aloft by small drones.

“I want everything on Leiandra Firth,” she said as she started marching towards the door. “Her life, her family, her connections, her property, her taxes - everything. I want to know what kind of toilet paper she uses.”

“On it.”

–

Sonya sat in the car with her legs crossed and her eyes fixed on the window as Marta drove them past the latest blocked street. It seemed like every route to Pandora Headquarters had been blockaded in the aftermath of Liberty’s assassination. More than once they had been turned away by security personnel. On the third attempt, she had Marta park at the barricades, and with a nod to Colin, she got out.

The troops at the barricade looked at one another as she drew closer.

“M-Miss Chernovna, I’m sorry, but I can’t just open the barricade. We’ve been given orders. No one in. No one out,” one of the men said apologetically.

She stopped at the barricade and sighed, nodding. "I’m not holding this against you, boys,” she said patiently and graced them with an easy smile. "You have a job to do. I get it. But I’ve learned that my daughter is being interviewed without her legal representation, and I can’t have that,” she said flatly. "So contact whatever superior you need to. Her lawyer is in the car behind me.”

The men looked uneasily at one another, and one stepped away, tapping his ear and talking in a low voice. She could hear everything he said, of course, but pretended not to as she approached the barricade. "I hope they’re paying you boys overtime,” she said, leaning against the barricade.

One of them chuckled. "Salary, ma’am.”

She nodded. "Right, right, they switched you guys over to salary during the last summit,” she said. "I honestly forgot. Wild few weeks for everyone.”

One of the men chuckled. "It’s not so bad. Overall pay is better for us.’

She stood up straight. "Good! If not, I was going to have a word with-”

“Miss Chernovna,” the man who stepped away called and walked over. He hesitated and rubbed his neck. "We need to go through a few things before-.”

Sonya tilted her head. "You were asked to stall me.”

His eyes widened.

She smirked and tapped her temple. "Very good eyes,” she said. He didn’t need to know that she’d actually listened to the conversation rather than read his lips. She tapped her nails on the barricade and let out a sigh. "That person knows they can’t legally keep me from bringing my daughter her representation, so they want you to do a full screening to stall me,” she tapped her nails again before stopping. "Let me be clear. I am not an employee of the Pandora Committee, and neither is Handmaiden.”

The men looked at one another.

“Please don’t make me threaten you, boys. Do the right thing,” she urged them.

It didn’t take long for the men to move the barricades out of the way and for the car to pass through, making a bee-line for Pandora Headquarters. Sonya kept her smile up even as the irritation mounted. It didn’t burn as hot or as wildly as it had before. She could feel the difference from when she was under the influence of Visage’s side effects. She was angry, but in control, more in control than she’d ever felt, if she was being honest with herself. There was an odd sense of certainty in her chest that felt separate from all of her other emotions.

“You good?” Colin asked, giving her a worried look.

“I’m angry,” she said quietly, and looked out the window as they reached the outer walls of the Pandora Committee Headquarters campus. “I’ll feel better once I see Cassiopeia.”

“She’s a tough girl. She’ll be fine,” Colin said and brushed his hair back over his shoulder. "Once I’m in there, she’ll be untouchable.”

Sonya smiled at him. "I know, as always, I’m so glad I brought you in.”

He smirked and thumbed his nose. "Can’t imagine my life playing out any different.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to,” Sonya laughed as the car came to a stop, and she slipped out, straightening her tie as several Pandora soldiers came hustling over. Marta stepped out as well, and they stopped in their tracks. Sonya waited for Colin to get out and join her. She looked up at the moon high in the sky and then down at the gathered soldiers before striding forward. “I’m here with legal representation for Cassiopeia Chernovna. Step aside,” she called out.

“Let her through,” a familiar voice chimed in from behind the soldiers.

The men stepped aside quickly, revealing the raven-haired prosecutor. Leiandra Firth stood with her arms crossed at her waist and her red eyes glowing brightly in the low light. She wore a severe black jacket and skirt with black hose. Sonya walked towards her. She didn’t stop as she reached the woman and walked past.

“Chernovna-”

“Leiandra,” Sonya cut her off with a tone as cold as ice. "We’ll talk later. I care more about my family than entertaining you.”

Sonya marched past her and kept going, Marta tailing her and Colin as they strode past the gate and towards the main building. 

“Wait!” Leiandra called.

Sonya gestured, and she felt Marta stop through her senses, rounding on the woman and standing in front of her as Sonya went inside. There was a flurry of activity in the rotunda as men and women raced this way and that. Soldiers were stationed at every door and passage within the building. She closed her eyes and was about to search the building’s security system for Cass when Leiandra called out to her.

“Chernovna, please, just a moment. I can take you to her,” she said quickly.

Sonya turned and leveled her with a stare. "You?” she demanded. "Why should I believe a word you have to say?”

Firth, now being escorted by a scowling Marta, blinked, clearly shocked by Sonya’s snarl. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms. "You have my word that I’ll-”

Sonya took a step forward. "I take my word seriously, Firth. I have cultivated it. I take pride in it. I know more than anyone the value of a person’s word. So let me make myself clear. You have done nothing to prove that your word means anything to me,” she growled. "Your little snub yesterday? I can let that go. But if you had anything to do with this, if you played some kind of game using my daughter as a piece? If the place you take me to isn’t where she is. There will be consequences.”

Firth scowled. "I am a prosecutor for the ICC and a lead investigator for the Pandora Committee. You can’t threaten-”

“Watch me, Firth,” Sonya growled before standing up straight and letting out a breath. She adjusted her tie. “Take me to Cassiopeia.”

The prosecutor held her gaze for a few more heartbeats before nodding and turning, marching to the right and leading the way as personnel raced about to try to get a handle on the growing situation. Liberty’s assassination had thrown the entire headquarters into red alert. Sonya put it out of her mind; her sole focus was making sure nothing untoward had happened to her daughter.

They passed through at least two security checks that were quickly bypassed by their ID cards and a word from Leiandra. While it happened, Sonya didn’t miss some of the men quickly moving to the side and calling ahead on their comms. As they resumed their rapid passage through the building, Sonya glanced at Firth’s back. Her shoulders were tight and her fists clenched.

“I’m not the only one looking into you, Chernovna,” Firth said.

Sonya cocked a brow. "Hm?”

“There are several representatives who like you a lot less than I do,” she said. "I didn’t order the blackout.”

“And the guards at her hotel room?” Sonya asked. "If they weren’t there, I would have known about the situation much sooner.”

Firth stopped and spun, turning an almost horrified look on Sonya. Sonya frowned at her before her eyes widened as well. "You didn’t know.”

The Prosecutor’s eyes fell, and she turned away. "No, I didn’t.”

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