THE SABLE SPY | SEVENTEEN

 THE ATMOSPHERE WAS MUTE back in Borewood Street. Cadieux paced around the living room, where Cass sat with Marcus, Tyler, Benjamin and Luke, all of them deep in thought.

"We followed the trail as far back as Corrant Road before losing it," Luke was saying. "Dumont, genius that he was, left a tiny trail of blood. Don't think he was injured, though. More likely he slashed his hand last minute to leave us a breadcrumb trail."

"They're hiding them deep in the slums, then," Cass deduced. "Do we know if Hua Jueying or Ned own property there?"

"Even if they did," Cadieux said, "it wouldn't be under their names. No self-respecting businessmen would openly own property in the worst slums of Arecia. It just couldn't be explained. They're both rich enough not to stuff mistresses in the slums, after all. Fake names, or they'd use someone else. Iolanthe Mi said that he has contacts with Cheonuang gangs. The Ivory Rats are affiliated with... the Cheonuang's..."

"The Hwangmok Gang, I think," Benjamin replied. "The Rat's territory stretches to the heart of the area. And the Rats aren't fond of us. They won't appreciate us digging around. I know a girl under them who might be willing to help, but she won't dare push too much. She has far too much to lose."

"Ask your contacts to see if a six foot male got dragged in anywhere last night. It wasn't that late, someone might have seen. Not that anything would have been done about it. Probably thought it was gang skirmish." Tyler hissed. "We should have let someone stay behind with Dumont." That was a sentiment all of them shared. In their urgency to retrieve Ciri, they had forgotten that they could be taken and hurt as well.

"Laurence is tough. And most likely he's with Ciri now. Between the two of them, they'd most likely get themselves out before we make our first move." Marcus's words were soothing and meant to comfort. They didn't need or want either.

"So what, we wait? Not going to work. We can tip something off with the City Watch, I think. Use them to quiet down the crime to make it easier to flush out our criminals," Cass suggested.

"Might just get Ciri and Dumont under an even heavier set of locks," Cadieux pointed out. "We need to move subtly. And I don't want to involve the Watch. We don't get along very well."

"Hua would be expecting us to move. He'd know what we're doing either way." Luke drummed his fingers against the table by the side of the couch. "Could we involve the Saians?" That was directed to Cass.

"Past the school? That's exactly what Hua's making sure we won't do by holding Ciri and Laurence captive. What's he afraid of. The moment he gets whiff of a Saian agent running around town, their lives are forfeit."

"Would he have recognised Lady Asteria last night? If he does, he'd realise the Saians already probably know. Or at least will know soon." Benjamin was frowning. "He's living on borrowed time. He has to realise that."

"We have to get them out before that time runs out. He has no reason to keep either alive once he's ready to run and hide."

"What would a man who's running from a country do to keep himself safe?"

Cadieux paused in front of the window, before turning to face them. Benjamin spoke first. "Change his appearance. He's rich enough to afford a wiccai to change his appearance, if he can find one. He'd run, most likely. Me, I'd run to Melique. Sai won't dare push there, not yet, giving him enough time to plan his next move."

"His wife is estranged. His parents are dead, and he has no siblings. He'll be running alone, most likely with a few trusted men to keep him safe," Cass mused. "Wherever he goes, he'll have to leave by port. We watch that."

"He packs up his money." That was Marcus. "We can watch that to estimate how long he has left. He'll sell off his stocks, withdraw his money and transfer it somewhere else. Give the properties he can't easily get rid of to his friends. Clean up any loose threads here. Right now that's us."

"He'll vanish clean off the earth for a few years," Cass said. "The way my family did after the revolution. The Iron Wolves can hunt him down if he makes the slightest move, with or without changed appearances. They're wiccai too, after all. And that's considering if a few Girans don't do it first. He'll get all his money in Gira out first, in case they figure it out early and freeze all his assets."

"We watch and guess when he'd make his move. Good. Now we find a way to know where he's tucked Laurence and Ciri," Cadieux declared. "Ben, do your thing. Tyler, go grab a map. We mark all the locations of interest so far and see if we can get a pattern. Probably scout out Ivory Rats territory later."

"I'll be back in a few hours," Benjamin said, jumping out of his seat. "Have to bribe a couple crooks to loosen their damn tongue, apparently." Tyler left with him to grab the map, returning a moment later, spreading it on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

Cass stalked to the corner and returned with one of the chess sets they kept there, using the pieces as markers. She placed the king on Vawkher's Alley. Luke grabbed the queen and dropped it where Laurence's trail had ended. She grabbed a pawn and placed it where she had been ambushed and another at the Silent Willow. In a few minutes, most of the locations had been marked.

"Well, it's definitely Sial Corner," Tyler mumbled. "I know a few of the inns and taverns here–" he jabbed his finger near the western front of the area "—were built during the Blarkens' era. They could have been stuffed in one of those hiding holes or secret rooms and no one would glance twice. Smugglers often use those to stash their things and spend the night." The tavern she and Marcus had gone to had been there as well, so she added a new marker and told them quietly what it was.

"Laurence's trail suggests they were heading to the northern front, though. Right to the docks. Ivory Rats territory indeed. What do we know about the Ivory Rats?" They were one of those newer gangs who had only sprung up a few years ago, so she wasn't familiar with them.

"They're led by a Vayante refugee. We don't do business with them. They're no joke." Luke pulled back his dark brown hair, tied back in a tiny queue down his neck. "Most of them are refugees. Benjamin has one link inside, I think. A wiccai girl from Lohia."

"They have a wiccai?" Cass had tensed. Lohia was one of those countries who hadn't appreciated the magical folks, so there were plenty of Lohians in the Hatlen Isles. If the Ivory Rats had managed to get their hands on one in Caling...

"A healer, I think."

"She can't..."

"Change Hua's face? No. She's just a healer. I haven't heard anything about wiccais who could change their own or someone else's appearance outside of the Isles themselves." A wiccai couldn't change too much. But they could make Hua's eyes, nose or mouth bigger or smaller, sharpen his jaws or set them wider. Enough that no one would recognise him upon first glance. "I don't think Hua's desperate enough to travel there?" Luke glanced at Cadieux, who shrugged.

"Desperate men do idiotic things. Like kidnapping a Saian and an Arecian agent and offending two major world superpowers." Cadieux had sounded immensely annoyed all day. She couldn't blame him. "The Saians have eyes in the Hatlen Isles. It's how they assembled the Iron Wolves. He knows that. He wouldn't go there." Arecia had a few wiccai healers under government employ, and there was rumour that one of the lieutenants in the army was one as well. Melique using wiccai on the field was the main reason the Wolves were assembled in the first place. But those had used rogue wiccai, who were roughing it on the streets while trying to hide their powers. Sai had managed to sneak people into the sanctuary of the wiccai and recruit there.

"In all of this excitement, we've forgotten about someone. What do we do with Ned Liu?" Marcus glanced up from where he had been frowning at the map, surveying the figures in the room.

"Watch him, of course," Cass said matter-of-factly. "Maybe try to figure out what Hua has over him. Ned's a coward. That could come in useful."

"You'll think he'll help us?"

"We need to figure out why he's helping Hua first, of course," Cass murmured, sliding her fingers over the wooden table. "If we can fix that, Ned would grovel at my feet."

"What is Ned Liu afraid of?" Tyler asked, leaning over the map, scowling. Cass flashed him a blank stare. "Right. Forget I asked. Approximately everything. Well, that solves the issue. Can we just kill him?"

"He's scared of death," she deadpanned.

"Astonishing. So then what?"

"You're right. He is scared of everything. That's our solution. We scare him back."

"You want to blackmail him as well." Cadieux immediately understood. "I don't suppose you know a legion of that man's dirty secrets?"

Cass flashed a grin. "I know a thing or two he might want to keep hidden. But I'm not sure if it's enough, since none of those information is major or life-changing. I'd still suggest finding out what Hua has over him in the first place before making our step. We lost Laurence yesterday night because we let our arrogance blind us. We thought it would be easy— in and out."

"It wasn't," Marcus finished for her. "We watch Ned Liu, day and night. Benjamin sees if the Ivory Rats are harbouring Hua Jueying. We check the rest of Sial Corner. Anything else?"

Cass grimaced. "I think it's about time I at least tell my great-aunt what on earth has happened here."

Everyone stared at her. "How will the duchess react?" Cadieux asked slowly, stepping away from the table and turning back towards the window, most likely fearful the woman would skin him alive for letting Ciri be captured or Cass get hurt, even if neither were in his control.

"I'll make sure she realises how important it is for her not to interfere. She likes Ciri, she'll understand the need to stay put. This is just in case. I'll tell her enough about the plot for her to report if we fail."

"We won't fail."

Cass gave Luke a grin. "We'll see, won't we?"

✴

"YOU BETTER MAKE THIS quick," the dark-skinned wiccai demanded. She was an uncommonly pretty girl. Cass could see that even with the woolen cloak and hood she had worn. Black hair like the midnight sky, tied back in dozens of little braids, eyes so dark you couldn't tell what they were thinking. "If my friends realise where I am—"

Benjamin held up a hand. "I know, don't worry. This is Cass. She's the sister of the girl who was taken. Cass, meet Jada."

The wiccai girl eyed her suspiciously. Cass offered a small nod. "You're from Lohia?" She asked slowly, leaning backwards.

"Aye," the girl responded. "Saffrine." There was a touch of pride in her voice. After all, Saffrine was widely considered one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world. She spoke Arecian with a touch of Lohian accent. Someone well-educated, though there was a hint of street slang, learnt from the time she had spent in the slums. Most likely she had lived in an upper-middle class family until her powers had forced her to run.

"I've been," she replied placidly. "Do you know where my sister is being kept?"

A shrug. "I'm not very trusted. I'm a witch, at the end of the day." There was a slump in her shoulder as she said that. Someone who had had the word thrown at her far too many times. "But... I did see someone being taken in last night. I live on the third floor at the house at the end of the street, you see. I heard ruckus at around midnight. Didn't bother checking. They bring people over at strange times all the time."

Cass glanced at Benjamin, who nodded. She turned back to Jada. "Have you heard anything like that in the past few weeks?" The person being taken in last night would be Laurence. "And where might they have been put?"

"Ivory Rats turf runs from the northernmost of Sial Corner to the street right there." Jada nudged with her chin at the area across the street. "There's gang skirmishes around here frequently, since the Krakens want their land back, so they won't keep prisoners near the border. Don't bother checking here. I'd suggest the inns, taverns and gambling hells. That's where the old buildings are. Ben knows them places. He can lead you there." Cass glanced at the boy, who nodded.

Jada was starting to look skittish now. "I should go. Before..." Her eyes flickered uncertainly to Benjamin, who patted her on her shoulder.

"I'll seek you out when I have news." His words were firm. An exchange of favours, then. Jada nodded, biting her lips, before offering a quick nod and vanishing down the alley. Benjamin stayed put, and so did Cass.

"What are you giving her?" She asked curiously.

Benjamin waited a few minutes more before replying. "Like she said, she's Lohian. Her parents kicked her out when they realised she was wiccai, but she was always close to her sister, who had married before her. They lost contact. I'm trying to help her find her family. Her sister's husband is decently rich, and from Joskum—" those in Joskum were kinder towards wiccai "—and would agree to either take her in or send her to the Hatlen Isles with enough money to find herself some work and support herself. In return, she fetches me information."

"A perfect exchange." She nodded approvingly. "So Laurence and Ciri are being kept in Ivory Rats turf. Will you be able to scout out the places she mentioned?"

Benjamin winced. "What she didn't say is that I'm not exactly welcomed in their territory. I know the places, been there before, but I can't go now. Especially not without disguise."

"Can't she do it?"

"Jada's on thin ice with most of the gang. They don't like keeping a wiccai around. If not for how useful her abilities are, she'd have been kicked out long ago. I won't push her to do more than she could. She'd refuse to aid me otherwise, or try and get kicked out, in which she'd lose her entire purpose in the first place."

Cass eyed him suspiciously, so he sighed. "That, and I'd feel really bad. She is a genuinely nice person."

Cass shrugged. "The world isn't kind to nice people."

"And that's why I always go out of my way to help the few ones left." Benjamin grimaced and began to exit the alley, Cass following behind him. Both of them had opted for woolen cloaks as well to conceal their identity.

"You're one of them, did you know that?"

Benjamin looked back and chuckled as she watched him with a vaguely amused expression. "Oh, you're going to regret saying that in a few years." She always liked the boy, who had been an orphan pickpocket plucked off the streets. They wanted to send him to Lady Janae, but the boy had persisted in his wish of becoming one of them. So they had let him stay. He's seen tough days, but had never let it corrupt him or turn him bitter. She admired that.

"Let's head back." Benjamin shrugged, and Cass snorted but didn't argue as she followed.

"You know," she started again once they had taken a few steps. "I've never met anyone who has wanted to be a nice person less. Is there a story there?"

Benjamin glared at her. "Like you said, the world doesn't reward good people."

"It was a compliment, what I said to you. Accept it with grace and dignity."

"I ain't a gentleman. Never gon' be one. Not going to bother." His street slang always came out when he was annoyed. He had never quite managed to grow out of it, no matter what he did. She offered him a pointed glare to remind him of his accent and he swore quietly under his breath. "Don't know how that keeps happening, sorry."

Cass shrugged. "When I get super pissed, I often start swearing in Saian. The difference, though, is that you're learning this to pretend to be something you're not. People take one look at me and know I'm Saian. Try to work on that, especially if you're going to be sent on any long-term covert missions." Which he most probably would. It was much more difficult to send aristocrats on those, since they were easily recognisable, and their disappearance would be remarked upon. A random orphan off the streets wouldn't have that happening.

She had taken some part in Benjamin's training. She was the one who had taught the boy how to throw knives with deadly accuracy, and how to lie without hesitation. If he went out there and made a fool of himself and lost his life, it was partially on her for not training him well enough.

Benjamin sighed. "I know. I'll try to fix it. No, I will fix it. Don't you worry, Cass." He gave her a reassuring lopsided grin. It reminded her of Laurence. But he'd be fine, if he was with Ciri. Between the two of them, they could take on the whole world.

"Come on, kid. Let's go back before Cadieux utilises the whole squad on our sorry butts."