Scene 9

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The hospital had been calm – doctors and nurses checked on patients lying in cots inside large, plain rooms; others wandered the sterile hallways, reading through files on tablets, discussing patient needs or normal gossip, or forging ahead to their respective destinations; some patients had a modicum of freedom, meandering the halls looking for food, the chapel, or simply something to do – until the Peace Keepers brought the dying man in. 

Maren had followed them, slightly queasy. The tall Peace Keeper – Mav? – had driven recklessly: flooring and breaking suddenly, taking excessively sharp and fast turns, and even running red lights. 

The Peace Keepers had succinctly explained the situation, the nurses distributed each injured person to a proper place: the kidnapped victims went to a recovery room, the unconscious fake service workers to a separate one where they were handcuffed to their beds, and the dying Flame Dancer to the emergency room. 

Now, twenty minutes later, a tense silence settled over Maren. Mav had left to check on the kidnapped victims, abandoning her outside the operation room with the shorter Peace Keeper, Koda. The young man couldn’t have been more different from his friend. His dark brown hair was close-cropped, almost to the point that he was bald, and he sported a neat, trim goatee the same color of his hair. His light brown skin displayed no evidence of smile lines along his cheeks or eyes, which were dark and narrowed, intensely calculating and cold. He stood at attention except for his arms, which were folded, making Maren feel he was judging not only her, but everything else around him. 

This was someone Maren didn’t want to cross. 

The door to the ER opened and several nurses exited. The doctor, a very tall man, finally left and approached Koda. 

“He’s stable,” the doctor said. “But he won’t be up for several hours.” 

Koda didn’t raise his head to meet the doctor’s eyes. His eyes flitted upward, then he nodded. The doctor departed, his shoulders shivering. 

Koda pressed two fingers at his left wrist, where his protective forearm gear connected to his glove. A small hiss sounded, then a panel on his forearm opened. He pulled it back to display a screen, which he tapped several times. 

“Mav,” Koda said. “How are they? Good. Get back ASAP. He’s alive, but out. We need to interrogate the civilian.” 

Now Koda turned his gaze on Maren. She held her blanket tighter around her, but that didn’t stop the shudders. A minute later, Mav sped-walked down the hallway, nearly bowling over a patient flirting with a nurse at the nursing station and apologizing profusely from over his shoulder, never missing a step. 

“They’re sleeping,” Mav said, eyes manic and nostrils flared. “But the doctors are detoxing them. They were drugged, injection point at the neck. I forget the name, but it’s basically a strong sedative. Too much of it, though, and you don’t wake up.” 

“Easy, Mav,” Koda said, as if he were trying to calm a frenzied animal. “Rushing ahead will not help the victims. If their kidnappers mis-dosed them, then they are already dead.” 

Mav’s fists trembled. 

“It’s... likely worse than that,” Maren breathed. 

They fixed their sights on her. Now Mav looked more like an actual Peace Keeper. 

“Then let’s do this officially and quickly.” Koda tapped the screen on his arm a few more times. “Full name.” 

“Maren Daly.” 

“Date of birth.” 

“Twenty-first, Daber, 1216.” 

“Happy belated birthday,” Mav said. 

“Says you left your old guild, Radiant Dawn, the day after your eighteenth birthday,” Koda said, reading the screen. “Why?” 

“I wanted something new,” Maren said, her answer already prepared. “I want to do something that no one on Talam has ever done.” 

“Which is?” Mav asked. 

Maren beamed, planted her foot on the nearest bench, fixed her hands to her hips – making the blanket fall to the floor – and stuck out her chest. “I am...” she swished her head aside, staring dramatically down the hallway, “the leader of Talam’s first traveling guild!” 

Mav – his professional Peace-Keeper demeanor already dropped – mouthed the word “cool”. Koda, however, looked at her with glazed eyes. 

“What is the name of this guild?” Koda asked. 

“I don’t know yet!” Maren declared. 

“How many members?” 

“Just me!” 

Koda actually sighed. “Having trouble recruiting for a pointless endeavor?” 

“It’s not pointless!” Maren removed her foot from the bench and threw her arms to the side. 

“Talam already has dozens of guilds.” 

“But they’re located in the largest cities. What about villages and hamlets? Not to mention the counties that don’t have a guild.” 

“You were a member of Talam’s oldest and largest guild. You know how guild work operates better than me.” 

Maren bit her tongue. Of course Koda wasn’t like that blond man from before, or like Mav, and simply admired her adventurous spirit. 

Not that he didn’t make sense, nor had he been the first to point it out. If a smaller, rural settlement needed aid from a guild, they would simply make the contract online. If accepted by a guild member, said person would travel to their client and then do the job. 

“But there are so many people the guilds don’t help,” Maren said. “Hundreds of requests go unanswered because a village is too far away, or the reward isn’t worth the time and cost of getting there. As a traveling guild, we’re already on the move! If one of those places has problems, we can help!” 

“You think you can afford to continually travel to every settlement in Talam?” Koda asked. 

“No, but...” Now Maren’s fists were trembling. “I can at least help where I am. And see more of the world while doing it.” 

Koda tapped his screen again. “Is that how you got here? Or were you in the wrong place at the wrong time?” 

Here we go. Maren launched into her story, detailing the attack in the valley, her discovery of the breach at the dumpsite, and her learning of the kidnappings. 

“Here’s the map I made.” Maren presented her tablet, which Mav took, his lips thin. “I was going to investigate the area and head to the police station to see what they know.” 

“The police will not be much help,” Koda said. Unlike Mav, who had gone pale, his demeanor hadn’t changed, even at the possibility that the kidnapped victims were somehow being turned into monstrosities. “It’s been nearly half an hour since we called them about the abductors. The police station is only a few blocks away.” 

Koda didn’t continue. He didn’t have to. The hospital was devoid of any form of law enforcement except for him and Mav. 

“Then let’s go to Trulson Tech,” Mav growled. 

“Not yet,” Koda said. 

“But they’re the ones doing this! Why else would they be trying to fix the towers at the dumpsite?” 

“They have full access to the site. They might have just been notified of the breach first and went to fix it. Titans know what dangers could seep out if it’s not fixed quickly enough.” 

“It could also be a ruse,” Maren said. “One company makes their workers dress in a rival’s uniforms. If anyone catches them, everyone will believe the rivals are in the wrong.” 

“Bit conspiratorial, but not impossible,” Koda said. 

“Then what are we going to do?” Mav asked, scowling. “Those victims could be getting tortured right now!” 

Koda placed a hand on Mav’s shoulder. “We will find them.” 

Mav took a deep breath, then gave a long exhale. “I don’t wanna sit around and do nothing.” 

“We won’t,” Koda said. “I’ll make a few calls, get some info on these three. It will take some digging, but if we can discover anything about them, it might lead us to their employer.” 

“And right to the victims,” Maren said, turning to Koda. “But couldn’t your Gift do that already? I mean, you’re an Ethereal Leader who controls space. You should be able to see the whole city from here, right?” 

“How’d you know his Gift?” Mav asked, astounded. 

Maren and Koda stared at Mav, then shared a glance. 

“Forgive him,” Koda said. “Mav is brilliant at many things. Being intellectual is not among them.” 

“Hey! I mean... you’re not wrong, but still!” 

“I carried five people in the air without the slightest gust of wind or anything suspending them. What else was she supposed to think?” 

Mav scratched the back of his head. “I was distracted with... everything.” 

“Uh-huh.” 

“Anyway,” Maren cut in. It seemed like they’d had this style of conversation many times before and she didn’t know for how long it could go. “Why don’t you just look around the city with your Gift to find everyone?” 

“Never met an Ethereal Leader before, have you?” Koda asked. 

“I’ve... heard of them.” 

If there was one Wielder in every million people on Talam, Ethereal Leaders were one in ten million – supposedly. She knew of one woman in the Peace Keepers with power over space, while a man with powers over time was a professional Dominion athlete. One older man was particularly powerful, as he was Gifted with both space and time, though he was a cardinal for the Perpetual sect of the Titanian church. If the one-in-ten-million odds were true, there were at least seventeen more Ethereal Leaders in Talam. 

And Maren was talking to one. 

“We are not omnipotent,” Koda continued. “I can see a lot of the city at once, but the information can be overwhelming.” 

“And some spatial technology messes with his vision,” Mav said. 

“So I can’t just focus for a few minutes and solve all the problems.” 

“As awesome as that would be.” 

“That sucks,” Maren said, her shoulders drooping. “So what’s our next move?” 

“Mav and I are going to make up a plan,” Koda said. “You are going to stay here, away from our investigation.” 

“Excuse me?” Maren’s cheeks flushed, feeling pinpricks along her head. 

“You’re a civilian,” Koda explained. “As your guild does not have the minimum three members to be considered official, it is not right to get you involved in this.” 

“And it’s right for you? I don’t see anything marking your ranks. You’re just out of training, aren’t you? Haven’t even sworn your oaths yet?” 

“We will next week,” Mav put in. 

“But that means we’re all in interim positions. I have the rest of the month to find my two other members, but I can take up contracts during that time.” 

“Not if those contracts are involved with criminal investigations,” Koda stated. “Not even C-minus rank guilds have that privilege, let alone a single-membered, interim E-minus rank one. But we, as soon-to-be Peace Keepers, are allowed to help in criminal investigations, so long as we follow the parameters allowed to us.” 

“Glad to see our Peace Keepers know the law,” a new voice said. 

All three looked at the newcomer. She was almost as tall as Mav, with a bun of blond hair pulled back even tighter than his. She wore a grey pinstriped blazer and a long, grey skirt. Her high heels clacked on the floor as she planted her feet down, standing a foot from them. 

“Who are you?” Mav asked. 

“Selene Hicks, esquire,” she said, flashing her credentials. 

Great. Maren tried not to roll her eyes as the woman shook their hands. A lawyer. 

“And your purpose here?” Koda asked. 

“To keep you from instigating violence against my clients any further,” Selene said. 

Maren’s stomach churned. This woman was not about to try and let those kidnappers off, was she? But maybe Maren could derail this conversation before it left the station. 

“And who hired you?” Maren asked. “I know your clients didn’t call you, given their condition.” 

“My employer is none of your concern,” Selene said, eyes flicking over Maren as if she were something nasty stuck to the bottom of her heel. “And before you make a false accusation, no. I do not legally have to share their name.” 

“Since you came before the police did, I assume your employer contacted you,” Koda said. 

“Your point?” 

“That you should be aware of the verbal report I gave the police over comms. I, as an Ethereal Leader, saw those three in a van with people hung to the walls. The only violence we instigated was a legal search and rescue of abducted victims.” 

Selene pulled a small tablet from her suit pocket and expanded it. “Is that so?” 

She pressed the screen and a voice came out: “Found a car. Gonna have a little chat.” 

It was Mav’s. Both Maren and Mav stared, shocked, at the tablet. How had she gotten a recording from Peace Keeper comms? 

Koda, however, didn’t miss a beat. “I had seen that same car and sent Mav to where it was going.” 

“He said he’d found a car, not the car,” Selene said. 

“He’d never been great in school. I doubt he knows the difference between definite and indefinite articles.” 

“I notice you’re awfully silent,” Selene said to Mav. 

Mav shrugged, trying to look unconcerned, but he scratched the back of his head again. “Koda told me where to go to get the people, and I went. I saw the car and went to have a chat. It turned violent.” 

“You changed your article,” Selene said with a little smirk. 

Mav’s brow furrowed. “I’m not a journalist.” 

Maren couldn’t stop herself. Despite how tense this situation was, or maybe because of it, Mav’s genuine confusion and the subsequent baffled look on Selene’s face made Maren laugh. 

“Sorry,” Maren said, calming herself as the lawyer gave her a death-glare. “But that kinda proves Koda’s point.” 

A wry smile twisted Selene’s lip. “Oh, but it proves nothing. Unless there’s documented proof, recording or otherwise, that Dakoda said this to him, this appears to have been an unprovoked act by Recruits looking to make a name for themselves right out of training.” 

“I’ve collected the evidence we acquired to narrow our search to service vehicles,” Koda said, tapping the screen on his arm. “And we have a witness who can corroborate our investigation. Her name is Millie, a receptionist down at 2113 Caldea Lane. If you want to ask her about us and the things we said to each other, you’re more than welcome.” 

“Hearsay doesn’t hold my interest.” 

“So you’re not going to question a witness, which would be beneficial in upholding the law, and you’re calling Peace Keepers liars?” 

That would have been enough to make any regular civilian buckle. Questioning a Wielder of any kind was practically sacrilegious, but insinuating that one lied? That was unheard of. Yet Selene’s gaze remained cool and collected. 

This was a woman who worked with dangerous people. 

Selene pressed her tablet to Koda’s forearm. “This is an official cease and desist order. You’ll find it’s gone through all the official channels and everything is signed accordingly. So this conversation is over. 

“Now get out of this hospital and do not bother my clients again.”