Chapter 782: Almost Clandestine

“Hello, Ned,” Maeve said with a grin as she put her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. “Doing alright?”

“Not really,” the disembodied voice complained. “Considering the fucking contract you’ve got me under, business has been slow for me.”

“It could be a lot slower,” Jay said with narrowed eyed at the space where she thought the invisible spy’s head was located.

“Right, right,” Ned replied in a sour tone. “Thank you for your magnanimity…”

Magnanimity indeed. Jadis had not turned Ned Aubert into the authorities after catching him in the middle of a criminal act. Nor had she enacted any of the more physical punishments that she was inclined towards after capturing the asshole who had been spying on her friends and family. Instead, she had let Maeve deal with the man, extracting as much information as possible regarding the Colgrave plot, and any other info regarding who he had sold information to regarding Fortune’s Favored. However, on Maeve’s advice, Jadis had not interrogated Ned for any other information that he possessed regarding imperial nobles or merchants or whatever else he had been involved in at the capital. Instead, a contract had been written, one which Ned had been strongly encouraged to sign.

Ned Aubert wouldn’t be spying on anyone, nor would he be selling any secrets to anyone anymore. Not without Jadis authorizing it first.

“How long are you planning on having me sit on my thumbs,” Ned asked, a sound like fingers tapping on wood coming from the table. “I don’t like wasting hours like this.”

“It’s only been a few days,” Maeve purred. “Think of it like a vacation.”

“My idea of a vacation involves a lot more naked women and alcohol.”

“Nothing’s stopped you from visiting establishments around the city,” the Fetch pointed out. “Just so long as you’re available when we call.”

“Which you haven’t done,” Ned retorted.

“We have now,” Jay said cooly. “So, stop complaining. Also, I don’t like talking to thin air. Drop the invisibility.”

“Fuck no,” the spy snorted derisively. “I wouldn’t want to be seen dead in this place.”

“That can still be arranged.”

“…fine.”

A moment later, the spell that so effectively cloaked Ned in invisibility faded away, revealing a gangly human man with bright orange hair. Aside from the hair and the unhappy scowl on his face, Ned wasn’t particularly notable. He had the look of an average person, someone who would fade into the background, which was odd considering he possessed many notable features. Orange hair, freckles, a crooked nose, pockmarks on his jaw, a thin frame; Jadis felt like she wouldn’t have much trouble describing the spy to a sketch artist or an investigator if asked. And yet, when she looked at him, her eyes seemed to want to slide off of him. Possibly the effect of some magic spell, or a skill, though Jadis could only guess at the specifics.

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep this quick,” Maeve continued to grin at her fellow spy. Jadis got the distinct impression that the shapeshifter was enjoying having the upper hand over the man. “We need all of the information that you have on the investigation into Cobbler, the Demon who has been put on trial for murder.”

“With a focus on any info that the inquisitors might have gathered on the four people who might be from the Rubaline Dominion, the ones who incited the riot,” Jay added quickly. “Anything you can get about them at all.”

“I have some info,” Ned’s frown lightened slightly. “I can deliver my notes within the hour. But the price—”

“Five eagles.”

“Maeve!” Ned exclaimed with an offended look. “I never sell for such a low price! How can you even suggest—”

“Five eagles,” Maeve repeated. “I’ve already done my own research and I doubt you’re going to have much more than what I’ve got in hand.”

“Then why waste my time?” the man asked in frustration.

Jadis couldn’t help but agree with Ned, despite her dislike for the spy. If Maeve didn’t think he had anything to add to her own investigation, then why were they in the Hole, talking to the little dipshit?

“We need you to go on a trip to Glitnir, the last port the four who fled after the riot was instigated. Find out what you can, get as much info on whoever might have helped them, if anyone. And, if the trail is good enough, we want you to go further, follow them to wherever they went next and keep us informed.”

Jay raised her eyebrow at the liberal use of ‘we’ that Maeve was using. She hadn’t discussed any of this new plan with Jadis or the others. The job the shapeshifter was proposing to Ned was entirely of her own making, and Jadis wasn’t entirely sure how good of an idea it was.

“Interesting,” Ned leaned back in his seat, one hand rubbing at his smooth chin. “I haven’t been on a fox hunt in a while, but I could be convinced, with the right motivation.”

“Ten crowns.”

That got Jay’s other eyebrow to raise. Acorns, oaks, and eagles were the standard denominations of the silver currency used by the empire. While Ned had been dismissive of the sum of five eagles, that wasn’t a small amount. One of the earliest lessons on money Jadis had been given when she had first come to Oros was that ten eagles was enough to buy a quality horse and saddle. Five eagles was more than enough for a man to live comfortably for a couple of months, at least. A single gold crown was worth a hundred silver eagles. Ten crowns wasn’t an amount that Maeve could take from the Fortune’s Favored coffers without asking.

“What if I do end up going further than Glitnir?” Ned asked, not showing his reaction to the ridiculous sum.

“Then you get paid more,” Maeve lifted one shoulder coyly. “Depending on results, of course. But I think you can see how well you’ll be treated if you can deliver.”

“I always deliver,” Ned replied, his eyes glinting with challenge.

“That’s what I always heard about you,” Maeve’s wide grin grew to an uncomfortable size. “Just remember that if you are thinking about taking an extended vacation rather than delivering as promised, I have this.”

A metal disc half again bigger than a silver coin and many times thicker appeared in Maeve’s hand. The charm was attached to a short silver chain and Maeve let it swing back and forth, letting Ned get a good look. A medley of unpleasant emotions warred on the man’s face as he glared at the small item, though his expression settled on fearful as Maeve’s hand closed around the enchanted disc and pointed with one finger at Jay.

“And I have her. Trust me, Ned. You don’t want Jadis hunting you. The results won’t be as good for you the second time she catches you.”

Jay didn’t try to look intimidating. She was still half her normal height and it was hard to loom when she had to look up at the person she was supposed to be looming over. However, she knew that Ned knew from personal recent experience just how strong she was, so the job of instilling fear was already done.

“As long as you pay me, I’ll keep my word,” Ned said boldly, though he did his best to not make eye contact with Jay. “I’m happy to track down fellow saboteurs, anyway. Sounds like a challenge. Just about anything would be better than waiting around here with eyes and ankles crossed.”

“Five percent up front. The full amount upon delivery.”

“Twenty percent,” the human spy insisted. “If I end up traveling beyond Glitnir, I’m going to need the funds.”

“Ten percent. That’s more than enough for travel expenses when taken from ten crowns.”

“Alright, ten.”

“Then we have a deal,” Maeve held out her hand. Jay noticed the flash of a gold coin in her palm.

“Deal,” Ned agreed, taking the Fetch’s hand and clasping it firmly.

As soon as their hands parted, Ned stood up from his chair and disappeared. Literally. One moment the orange-haired man was there, the next he was gone. There was no sound of footsteps on stone to signal his physical departure, nor was there any other sign that definitively proved that he had left the vicinity, but Jadis felt relatively confident that Ned had fled the scene with as much haste as he could muster. She had really put the fear of God in the man when she had caught him.

Still, just to make sure, Jay suddenly stood from her seat, jabbing at the air all around the lone table with superhuman speed. Since her extended finger didn’t hit anything, she knew that the invisible spy wasn’t within a ten-foot radius, at the very least.

“It’s insane to see you moving that fast without even using a skill,” Maeve shook her head as she watched Jay retake her seat a second later. “You become a blur. I can barely see what you’re doing when you do that.”

“Noll says I can do better,” Jay shrugged.

“Noll isn’t normal,” the Fetch replied dryly.

“Noll’s abnormality aside, how did you get your hands on that?”

When Maeve gave her a questioning look, Jay made a circle symbol with her fingers.

“Oh, the tracker? I didn’t. I just used my new skill to replicate the way it looks. I’m getting pretty good at that, hmm?”

“Yes, you are,” Jay nodded in easy agreement.

The tracker was one of several conditions that had been written into the contract that Ned had signed after being caught by Jadis. It was, in essence, no different from the enchanted devices that Noll had suggested Jadis put onto her weapons to make sure that she would be able to find them if she ever lost them in battle. The only difference was that the one that was chained around Ned’s ankle also had an additional custom enchantment added to it that would notify the holder of the paired charm if the chain was broken or the tracker otherwise removed from the wearer.

There was no part of Jadis that believed that Ned Aubert, an apparently extremely skilled and high CLR infiltrator and spy would not be able to get around such an enchantment. He could probably pop the ankle bracelet off and have it around some poor sucker’s leg within minutes if he wanted. The contract was also just that; only a contract. Supposedly it meant that he worked for Fortune’s Favored and agreed to the monitoring charm as a condition of employment, but there was nothing stopping the man from breaking the contract and slipping away. Nothing physically, anyway.

The only true deterrent that kept Ned in check was knowledge. Knowledge that Jadis had willingly given to the man. She had shown him her status sheet. Not everything, of course. She had not shown him any skills or spells or anything like that. She hadn’t even let him see her class names. But she had shown him her stats, giving him a good look at the sheer numbers he was contending with should he choose to invoke her ire once again.

Then Jadis had grabbed Ned and flown straight up at supersonic speeds, reaching a point where the air was too thin to breathe and the cold was too much to withstand. She gave him a look at a view that no one else on Oros could give him, then carried him back down to the ground with just as much speed as she had used to fly up. She hadn’t made any threats or promises. She hadn’t even said anything. Jadis didn’t need to. Ned had understood well enough without words.

“You didn’t use your skill to make that gold coin, though,” Jay pointed out, her mind moving on from thoughts of the tracking charm and contracts. “Not unless you unlocked a new skill that lets you break off pieces of your body.”

“Mm, that would be a weird way of making money,” Maeve joked before shaking her head. “Don’t worry about the coin.”

“I’m not,” Jay let out an amused breath. “But Aila’s going to be pissed that you took from the coffers without permission.”

“Who says I did?” the Fetch pouted. When Jay only gave her a look, Maeve continued with a huff. “I wouldn’t take from company funds without say so. That was my own coin.”

“Your own?” Jay asked with surprise. “I didn’t think—”

“What? You didn’t think I have money?” Maeve laughed. “Jadis. I’m over fifty years old and I’m a spy. I have lots of money. I just don’t normally have much use for it since I usually live in other people’s homes and wear other people’s clothes.”

“Alright, that’s fair, I guess.”

Sighing, Jay shook her head and looked around the room they were in. She was curious about the Hole, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend much time in the den of larping spies and wannabe thieves. It was also getting late, and the rest of her lovers and her other selves were getting ready for bed. The prudent thing to do would be to head home.

Then again…

“So, if I’m done being your muscle for the night,” Jay leaned forward and smiled slyly at her shapeshifting lover, “and you’re done being a taskmaster, is there anything fun to do around here?”

Maeve’s grin returned as, under the table, Jay felt the Fetch’s foot slide up and down her leg.

“I can think of a few ways to entertain ourselves…”