Chapter 64: Irrelevant

Vance’s jaw tightened. "The charges—"

"Are irrelevant." Vex cut her off without raising her voice. "You’ve caught me with a corrupt noble and some coin. Impressive. But everything here was authorized by the Treasury Department. Lord Daven has been operating as an agent of the Crown, gathering intelligence on smuggling operations throughout the city. This entire arrangement is legitimate."

Nacho watched Vance’s face as the words hit. The Inquisitor didn’t flinch, but something in her eyes flickered with the recognition of a trap springing closed.

"You expect me to believe—"

"I expect nothing." Vex turned her gaze to Nacho, and for the first time, she addressed him directly. "But you. You’re the one I’m truly curious about."

She took a step toward him, and none of Vance’s people moved to stop her. Whether that was because of some subtle authority she wielded or simple shock at her audacity, Nacho couldn’t tell.

"A Siren with abilities I’ve never encountered before. Power signatures that don’t match any known classification. And the skill to neutralize an entire security detail in under two minutes." She stopped a few feet away, close enough that his tentacles could reach her if he wanted. "I could use someone like you."

"I’m not for sale."

"Everyone’s for sale. The only question is price." She tilted her head, studying him like a particularly interesting specimen. "The Rat King offered you a partnership. Vance offered you protection from prosecution. Those are both reasonable offers for someone in your position, but they’re also limited. Local. Small-scale."

She spread her hands, a gesture that somehow encompassed the entire Empire.

"I’m offering you scope. Whatever you’ve been doing in Valdris, whatever little games you’ve been playing with criminals and Inquisitors, I can make it bigger. The Consortium operates in every major city in the Empire. We have agents in the nobility, the military, the religious orders. We have resources that make the Rat King look like a street beggar."

The specificity of her terms told him she’d been watching for a while. That she knew about his arrangement with the crime lord. That she probably knew about Vance too, and about the Velvet House, and about every move he’d made since arriving in the Mortal World.

That’s the part that actually concerns me.

"And if I say no?"

"Then you walk out of here tonight with your Inquisitor friend and your captive noble, and we pretend this conversation never happened." She smiled again, that patient, knowing smile. "But you’ll think about it. They always do."

Nacho didn’t accept. Didn’t refuse.

"I’ll think about it."

The words came out honest for once. Because part of him was thinking about it. The part that remembered what it felt like to be trapped, to have no options, to be owned by people who didn’t care whether he lived or died. The part that wanted to never feel that way again.

Vex nodded, satisfied. "Take your time. You know where to find me."

She turned toward the rear door, walking through Vance’s people like they weren’t there.

"You can’t just let her leave!" Vance’s voice cracked with frustration as she moved to intercept. "She admitted—"

"She admitted nothing." Nacho’s hand caught the Inquisitor’s arm, holding her back. "And even if she had, you can’t touch her. Not yet."

"But—"

"Her paperwork is probably already filed. Daven probably has a genuine commission from the Treasury somewhere in that pile of documents. And if you arrest her tonight, without ironclad proof that can’t be explained away, you’ll be the one facing charges."

He felt the tension in Vance’s arm, the barely contained rage of someone who’d been outmaneuvered. But she was smart enough to recognize the truth when she heard it.

The rear door opened. Vex paused on the threshold, framed by moonlight.

"Oh, and Siren?" She glanced back over her shoulder. "The Grand General you’re waiting for? She arrived in the city three days ago. You might want to have a conversation with her before you make any decisions."

Then she was gone.

Nacho’s Apex Senses tracked her departure, feeling the ripple of displaced space as some Talent or artifact carried her away faster than any normal movement could account for.

[Apex Senses detected: Spatial displacement. Target has vacated the area.]

[Warning: Unknown Talent signature detected and lost.]

The warehouse fell silent in her wake. Vance’s people stood frozen, unsure what to do with the anticlimactic ending to what should have been a triumphant raid. Daven whimpered on the floor, still bound by Nacho’s tentacle and still very much conscious despite the Charm effect.

"Well." Vance pulled her arm free of Nacho’s grip, her voice flat. "That went perfectly."

Four words. Maximum sarcasm per syllable.

He didn’t argue. The operation had succeeded in the narrow sense. Daven was captured. Evidence was seized. The Consortium had been exposed, at least partially.

But Vex knew about him now. Knew what he could do, or at least suspected. And she’d made her offer in front of Vance, forcing both of them to acknowledge that there were bigger players in this game than either had realized.

She introduced herself and left on her own terms. Just like the Rat King did in the Drowning Rat.

He was starting to notice a pattern with genuinely dangerous people. They never fought when they didn’t have to. Never showed fear when fear would be weakness. Never gave you the satisfaction of seeing them sweat.

They just... waited. Confident that time was on their side.

The cleanup took another hour. Daven was secured in chains enchanted to suppress magical abilities. The charmed guards were sorted into two categories: those who’d cooperate with the investigation and those who wouldn’t. The former were released into Vance’s custody. The latter were left bound in the warehouse, their memories of the night’s events already fading thanks to a combination of Charm effect and whatever the Inquisition used for situations like this.

Through it all, Nacho’s mind kept circling back to Vex’s final words.

The Grand General you’re waiting for. She arrived three days ago.

Sera was here. Had been here for days, apparently. And she hadn’t contacted him.

That could mean several things. Maybe she was busy with official duties. Maybe she was conducting her own investigation. Maybe she was testing him, seeing how long it would take for him to figure out she’d arrived.

Or maybe something had changed. Maybe the month she’d promised had run out and the rules were different now.

Either way, he needed to find her. Soon.