Broker

After Sowards died, it didn’t take much convincing for the thugs he’d hired to surrender. It wasn’t very long after that Leiandra found herself sitting on a couch in the safe room, staring down at the floor. She’d refused medical attention. She didn’t need it. All she could do was stare at the spot where Sowards had fallen. She felt sick, her entire body itching with pins and needles of numb sensation. She clenched her teeth and leaned forward, resting her head between her knees as she tried to take steady breaths.

Something fell over her shoulders, and she flinched, reaching to grab at it. A blanket? She looked up and met Sonya’s eyes. Her expression was softer than usual. She looked down at the ground and swallowed hard. “How did you know?”

“You reached for it when you felt threatened. If your ability didn’t have combat potential, you wouldn’t have done that,” Sonya said calmly. “You stopped him.”

Leiandra clicked her tongue. “If you hadn’t pressured him before all this happened, then-”

“Then what?” Sonya asked, tilting her head. “Then he boils over later? He was still under investigation, Leiandra. It would have happened eventually.”

Leiandra ground her teeth but said nothing. She was right. Forcing Sowards to make a move sooner rather than later was better. He had accepted the offer from Ishtar and likely would have regardless of whether or not Sonya had messed with him. She closed her eyes and sighed, looking back at that bloody spot and wincing. Her stomach churned again.

“First time killing someone?” Sonya asked.

“Yes.”

“Don’t hold it in, then. I’ll get you a bucket,” Sonya said and turned away, walking to one of the cubbies in the safe room.

Leiandra looked up and watched her back as she reached in and pulled out a few things. She glanced towards the door where a pair of ASTA security guards were standing. The ones that had betrayed them had been arrested. She saw Sonya’s heels before a bucket landed on the ground at her feet. Leiandra tilted her head up and looked into the CEO’s eyes. Her expression was unmoving. “How many have you…”

Sonya frowned.

Leiandra nodded. “Not something anyone wants to talk about,” she sighed and reached for the bucket. A few minutes later, she was drinking from a bottle of water and wiping the tears from her face. She coughed and hung her head as Sonya rubbed her back. “I’m not built for this kind of thing. I fight with words and within the framework of the law. That's why I didn’t go for my license.”

“A year ago I would have accused you of being a coward,” Sonya said next to her.

Leiandra chuckled. “And now?”

“You’re still a wimp,” Sonya quipped.

Leiandra stared at her before bursting into laughter. “You’re a cruel person.”

“I’ve been called worse,” Sonya said with a sigh and leaned back on the couch before looking at the door. “I’m very proud of her.”

“Handmaiden?”

“Yeah. She did a marvelous job. The world won’t forget what happened out there.”

Leiandra considered her for a long time. “Is this whole world tour really about passing around a couple reawakening tokens?” she asked.

Sonya gave her a mischievous side-eye. “Not in the least.”

Leiandra snorted and got shakily to her feet. Sonya hopped up and almost looked like she was about to fret when Leiandra waved her away. “I’m fine,” she muttered before looking the CEO dead in the eyes. “Sonya, I don’t approve of how you do things sometimes. I think that you’re hiding the fact that you are some kind of criminal.”

Sonya put her hands in her pockets and raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

The prosecutor let out a breath. “But…” she shook her head. “I think I’ve started to understand why. I don’t agree with your methods, but I can see the goal, and it’s a good one.”

“Does that mean you’re going to go easy on me?” Sonya asked with a grin.

“Absolutely not!” Leiandra laughed. “I am going to make sure you answer for your crimes, whatever they are. You won’t get away with it.”

Sonya grinned. “I guess we’ll see.”

Leiandra looked past the CEO towards the door behind her and frowned. “Yeah, but in the meantime, until I catch you,” she turned to hold the woman’s gaze. “Don’t stop.”

Sonya raised her eyebrows in surprise before letting out a small laugh and clapping Leiandra on the arm. She turned away and walked to the door. It hissed open, and they were greeted by Handmaiden’s stoic face. Sonya turned around and crossed her arms, raising her chin up. “Have the Committee send me a list of their picks for watching me on my little adventure,” she said and held up two fingers. “I’ll take two.”

“I’ll let them know.” She paused before taking a step forward. “Um… may I ask something?”

Sonya glanced up over her shoulder at Handmaiden before shrugging and looking back. “Sure.”

Leiandra’s hands twitched once before she looked back at the bloodstain on the floor. “Does it…get better?”

“No.”

Leiandra’s shoulders sagged.

“You’ll see his face every day,” Sonya said. “You’ll think about it. Wonder what you could have done differently. It will gnaw at you,” she sighed. “But that’s the weight of a life. It’s up to you to be strong enough to carry it.” Leiandra looked back up to see Sonya turn away and raise her hand in farewell. “So you’ll be just fine, Leiandra. Get some rest.”

As she watched Sonya leave, Leiandra couldn’t help but see a mountain resting on that woman’s unwavering shoulders. Just how many lives are weighing you down, Sonya Chernovna?

—

Sonya glanced up at Marta as they walked down the hall towards the elevator. Her friend looked back at her and met her eyes before looking away. “What?” Marta asked.

Sonya grinned at her. “So do you have a date set?” she asked.

Marta’s face turned red, and she frowned. “Sonya, we haven’t had any time to talk since the fight.”

“Aww, gimme something to work with! Do you need someone to officiate?” She gasped and clapped her hands. “We could have Colin do it!”

“Colin is neither a priest nor a judge,” Marta pointed out as they reached the elevator. She tapped the button, and the two of them entered when it chimed, setting the destination for the top floor. Sonya watched her friend frown. “Where did Amos run off to in all the excitement?”

“Oh, he slipped away to record your fight,” Sonya said and leaned against the inner rail of the elevator, humming to herself while she reached into her warehouse. She plucked her latest contractual acquisition out and grinned, a shard of glass appearing over her palm. She spun it lazily in the air before dismissing it. Stripping powers upon death is a handy little clause to include. Thanks for the idea, Colin. Though that does give me some other ideas I hadn’t even considered before. When I get back, I need to sit down with Charon. I just had an amazing business idea. Broker, it’s time to put you to work!

“Hoo hoo!” she cheered. So much time wasted last year, but I’ll make up for it!

She snickered before checking on Marta, who was frowning. “Oh, don’t be like that. Think of it like a home movie. A couple’s dance!”

Marta crossed her arms. “Hmph.”

Sonya looked up into her friend's face, grinning ear to ear. Marta did her best - Sonya could see it - but she couldn't contain it for long. She broke into a wide and goofy smile as they neared the top floor. “I’m getting married!”

“You’re getting married!”

The two of them burst into noisy elation as the door chimed and opened. The guy standing on the other side of the door took a step back. “Sheesh! You could knock out someone's hearing with that.”

The two women turned to Amos, who was standing in the doorway, picking at his ear. They all stood in silence for a moment before he shot her a thumbs-up and a grin. “It just vanished from the map. Mission accomplished. They’re already heading back.”

Sonya tilted her chin up. “Then we’re almost done here,” she said proudly. “Good work, Doctor.”

He stepped onto the elevator with them, and Marta hit the button again to send them back down. She turned to Amos, who was looking thoughtfully into the distance. “Have they noticed yet?”

“Just did,” Amos said. “The Pandora Committee just released an internal alert about the Lake Eyre dungeon vanishing. The local guildmasters are racing there right now.”

Sonya rubbed her hands together. “Then it's time to wrap up and run for it!”

—

Qilin stepped out of the archway at the spot where the Lake Eyre dungeon had been, her lips forming a thin line. She turned in a complete circle and channeled her power. The details were all present, but it felt like specifics were missing. She couldn’t identify exactly who was involved, and that meant that she wouldn’t be able to bring misfortune to bear against them. Even so, she had a pretty good idea. Not that it changes matters, she thought lazily. I want a word with her anyway. It was nice while the terms of our deal lasted, but now they’ve expired. I need to renew it. Hopefully she likes what I have to offer.

Her fingers twitched a little. Just one month with the thrill of a mortal’s luck was exhilarating. I need more. How could anyone live with this banality?

“Hero Qilin!” a voice called out to her from behind.

She frowned and turned with a long, suffering sigh towards the trio of heroes that landed. All lower Mythic-tier. The three top guildmasters in Australia. So weak. How boring. I hope they don’t make this a hassle. I want to go find Ishtar.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

“Did you see who did this? They couldn’t have gone far,” one asked quickly, marching towards her and nodding to the spot where the gate had been at the edge of the large lake. “That dungeon was a national strategic resource. This is a serious issue.”

Mundane problems. Why should I care about something like that? Solve it yourself. Dungeons appear every day. Just go find another one, idiot.

“No,” she said and gestured to the spot where the portal was. The footprints simply vanished at some point. She could sense that an intense flow of mana had been drawn near the spot where they’d disappeared but really couldn’t be bothered to point that out. What good would it do her? “They’ve long since gone. One of them must have some manner of transportation ability.” 

The guildmaster scowled and pointed at her. “You must have something! You’re an international hero! They say your senses are better than anyone else’s!”

Tedious. 

Another one of them stepped forward. “Hey! He asked you a question! Just because you’re-” 

She turned her head slowly towards the latest speaker and frowned, looking the woman dead in the eyes. She held her gaze until the woman withered a bit, taking a step back. Qilin shook her head and turned away. “So boring,” she sighed and reached up to tap her earpiece. “Euclidia, get me out of here. My guess is that Kingshark’s attack on the ASTA competition was a cover for Ishtar’s real goal of sending the rest of her men to take this dungeon. They’ve already left.”

I suspect Blackrazor and that lightning user, Kerauna. Mephisto had some strength to him too, from what I could sense, though he was a coward. She paused and frowned. She hadn’t thought about Mephisto since her deal with Ishtar, his face fading into the background of her mind. He was largely unimportant to her in that context, so she hadn’t bothered considering him since then. Yet now his face bothered her. Where do I know him from?

“Already? Alright, I’ll get the gate up in a sec!” Euclidia said into her ear.

Qilin ignored the white noise of protests behind her as her thoughts churned. She had been so elated to have her luck ability bound back then that it hadn’t quite sunk in as to who she had met that day. He’d appeared a bit different - the eye color was off, and his presence was strangely distorted to make it distracting - but there was no mistaking it. She brought his face up front and center in her mind's eye. Colin Matthews, the lawyer who had appeared during the Liberty hearing. He is Mephisto. Her lazy thoughts trailed off as she idly stared at the spot where the dungeon portal had been.

A thrill went up her spine.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Colin Matthews is Mephisto! she thought as her eyes went a little wide. She reached up and touched her cheek, a bit of warmth there. But if he is Mephisto, then- Her thoughts whirled with the possibilities, Qilin’s Wisdom putting the pieces together. It’s a completely insane conclusion, but no other answer makes sense! Who else would be able to pull it off? 

Interesting! So very interesting! Why is she doing it? She swallowed hard. Does it even matter? Finally, something entertaining in this boring world. Do I interfere? No. Why ruin a good thing? She chewed on her thumbnail as a drop of sweat trickled down her temple. Regardless, I know where to find you now, Ishtar!

She tapped her earpiece again. “Change of plans, Euclidia. Is the awards ceremony still ongoing?” she asked.

“For the ASTA Competition? No, it’s been delayed till tomorrow. You wanna head over there? Nothing worth looking at, really. Kingshark has already buggered off,” Euclidia said.

Quite the contrary, something very interesting is going on over there. Something able to finally soothe my boredom. I can go right to the source, she thought delightedly.

“Yes,” she said, her heart pounding. “Has the Committee convinced Chernovna to accept a security detail yet?”

There was a long pause before Euclidia spoke up. “Actually, yeah. Prosecutor Firth just confirmed she’s requesting two Internationals to watch her back for the remainder of her tour. Apparently that’s her stipulation to accept. You want to do that? You’re bored all the time as it is. Babysitter doesn’t exactly sound like your thing,” Euclidia said dismissively. “First Wind’s on the top of the bodyguard list too. I know how you feel about him.”

The guildmasters were shouting at her now. She resisted the urge to kill them. Dealing with Luca is a small price to pay for this, she reasoned.

“I think I’ll go anyway. Call it a gut feeling,” Qilin said. “I will go speak with her in person and make sure I’m one of the two.”

“...Okay! If you’re sure.” Euclidia said hesitantly. “Portal up in five, pretty lady!”

Qilin hung up and reached up to clutch at her chest. She knew something no one else knew. It was so obvious in retrospect, but the truth made the world seem so much more interesting. Sharing that truth would spoil everything. She had to keep it to herself. She had to be on the front row to see more. Her body trembled as a smile she hadn’t made since she was a child spread across her face. Sonya Chernovna is Ishtar.

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