Chapter Text
A frigid gust of wind stings Pietra’s eyes as she steps out of the taxi and into the busy streetside building to meet up with a client, her gait quick and purposeful. It's late afternoon and she wants to be in and out quickly so she can relax back at home. The hostess inside gives her a smile as she approaches, “Welcome to the Sprig and Root club. Do you have a reservation-”
“I’m actually meeting someone.” Pietra says passing the hostess without slowing her stride. She weaves her way around crowded tables and waiters to the back corner of the dining room. She pulls out a chair and sits down across from a man dressed in a neat suit and tie. He looks to be in his mid forties and already has signs of aging from the strands of silver in his short black hair.
The man furrows his brows when she sits across from him, “Who are you?”
“Good to see you, Mayor.”
“Wait a minute, I'm waiting for someone. You can’t just walk in here-”
“You were waiting for me. Sorry I'm a little late.” Pietra leans back in her seat then waves over a passing waitress “Excuse me? Can I get a drink, please? Whatever he’s having.”
When the waitress leaves the mayor gives Pietra a baffled look, “What? Hey this is a private club that’ll go on my bill-”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He leans forward slightly to speak in a hushed voice “You can’t be serious. You’re my contact?”
“Very serious. What? Were you hoping for someone with a bit more gravitas? Does a person need to have a penis to scuff boots with political bigshots?”
There’s a short pause before the man huffs, “Fine. Did you get it, at least?”
Pietra reaches into the tote bag on her lap and pulls out an envelope then slaps it on the table “I did. But-” she slides the envelope out of reach “We need to discuss the price.”
“What?”
“I’m raising it. By three thousand.”
“What?”
“The info was a lot harder to retrieve than I anticipated. And it required more time and resources to ensure that these are the only copies.”
“You can’t do that. We had an agreement.” He protests, irritated.
“I don’t remember signing anything.”
“I’m not paying more.”
“That’s fine.” Pietra shrugs and stands, envelope in hand then turns to leave.
“What? Wait, wait - do you - do you know who I am? Do you know I could ruin you?”
“Ruin me? Really, Mayor?” Pietra scoffs,amused.
“I-”
“Honestly, It’s pretty ballsy of you to threaten the woman who has pictures of you with your mistress in a luxury love hotel.”
The man’s face pales, “I- you-”
“But we could find out how serious your ruinous power is, though. Because Mr. Sharp - I'm sure you know him - offered me an impressive amount for any information I may have on you. I told him I couldn't as I was already preoccupied and I don't breach the confidentiality of my clients. But if you’re releasing me from our agreement..” Pietra takes out her phone and makes to dial a number.
“Wait! Wait, wait, wait I’ll - I’ll pay.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I”ll pay the three thousand.”
“Four.”
“...Let me make a call.” he says, resigned before pulling out his phone and dialing.
The waitress from before comes back over to their table, “Here’s your drink ma’am, a maple old-fashioned.”
“Thank you.” Pietra sits back down and takes a sip of her drink while the mayor is still speaking quietly on the phone.
“Seven thousand. Yes, right now.. Just do it - thank you.” He ends the call and looks back to Pietra, disgruntled “It’s done. And you won’t like that, it's bourbon.”
“Hm.” She downs the rest of the drink, sets the glass down with a thud then stands back up to leave.
“You...like bourbon?”
“Nice to meet you, mayor. Call me again anytime.”
It’s cold it’s cold it’s cold it’s cold
I’m back on that bench in the park. Hard metal beneath me only making me colder, my thin coat not enough to hold onto any heat. It’d already begun to snow when I arrived.
It’s cold it’s cold it’s cold
I can barely remember why I came here of all places. Can barely remember why dad was so angry. I should have just stuck it out. Hid in my room until he cooled down. Then we would all be able to go back to pretending everything’s normal .
I’m cold
I remember hearing sirens. Hearing my brother’s voice.
Before losing consciousness the only thing i could think was
I’m so, so cold.
-BZZT BZZT BZZT BZZT
I jolt out of a restless sleep from the sound of my phone buzzing on the coffee table to my left. I collapsed on the couch as soon as I got back from meeting with Merit’s mayor. Dealing with politicians is exhausting .
Looking at the time on my phone it reads 11:26 am. My sleep schedule is so messed up.
When I unlock my phone expecting to see a missed call or text, I see instead that it’s an email about a new job request. I open it and rather than it being another demand from a tactless governor trying to save his reputation, it’s a simple three sentence message with an address link attached:
“I’d like to talk about a job I need done. Meet me at the Sunrise Roast cafe. Downtown Merit.
- V.V”
Well that’s a little odd.
Kind of suspicious, but my job has always been on the iffy side so this isn’t anything unfamiliar to me. Being an information broker means you need to be tough. It’s not exactly safe either when you’re basically making the same enemies as your client when they have you digging up dirt on people.
Sitting up from the couch, I make the decision to just meet the person. Money is money and what’s the worst that could happen. I close out of the email then open my messages and text my brother the address and tell him to be on standby. At least he will know where to look should I end up disappearing.
I stand up from the couch and drowsily stumble into my room to get dressed. I never dress for more than comfort so I just pull on my favorite sweater, leggings and a pair of boots. No coat needed. I haven't been bothered by the cold in a long time. I grab my bag and tuck my pocket knife into one of my boots. Just in case.
When I step into the little nook cafe, warmth and the smell of coffee immediately wafts over me. The cafe is quiet aside from the mechanical whir of appliances and low music coming from the overhead speakers. It’s nearly empty with two people sitting by the wide windows overlooking the busy streets and one other man sitting on the opposite side of the shop near the wall. His eyes are already on me when I turn towards him and he motions me over when our gazes meet.
I sit down across from the man and take in his appearance. He’s light in almost every sense, his skin pale and hair blonde, eyes a piercing glacier blue.
“I ordered us drinks already. I’d like to just get right to the point” The man says, finally breaking the silence, then reaches into his pocket pulling out a newspaper clipping and placing it on the table between us. “Have you ever seen this man before?”
I look down at the photo, scanning over the headline:
Civilian hero saves bank
Written in the article it talks about how a civilian somehow was able to stop an armed bank robber, all apparently without injury too. Weird. Sounds kind of fake..Unless..
I look back up at the man with a shake of my head “No I’ve never seen him. Though I think I may have heard about this incident on the news some time ago. Why?”
The man leans back in his chair and regards me for a moment before speaking again “I actually want to find this man and I know you’re good at digging up things on people. I’d like you to work with me to find him.”
I frown slightly at that “Shouldn’t you hire a private investigator for that? I don’t really do this to find people, just information about them.”
“I’m aware of that but I believe you could be of some help especially since this man is not your average everyday guy.”
“What do y-”
He leans forward in his seat a bit and fixes me with a look I'm not sure I want to know the implication of “And I know you’re not an average person either.”
My heart stutters in my chest. There’s no way he means what I think he does. He couldn't, most people don’t even think we exist. Unless he’s one of those people who know and see us as something to be gotten rid of. Contained. The hard press of my pocket knife against my ankle is suddenly more prominent.
I swallow hard and force my expression to stay flat. “..I don't know what you mean by that.”
“Oh, but you do. I know you do, Pietra. You had an accident and you were different after it weren’t you?” the man asks though it doesn’t come out like a question at all. It’s a statement. A proclamation that he knows exactly what I'm trying to hide.
I clear my throat and shift uncomfortably “No idea what you’re talking about. I don’t think I can help with this. Sorry to waste your time.” Grabbing my bag I move to stand and hurry out of the cafe but my knees suddenly nearly buckle when their usual dull ache shoots into sharp stabs of pain.
“I was hoping to not have to do that.” I hear him speak again as I stagger back into my seat with a pained grunt.
“What did you just do?” I give him a nervous glance, fearing I already know what he’s going to say.
“We are much more similar than you think, Pietra. And this man is killing people like us because he thinks it’s the right thing to do, so having your skills on my side could be very helpful in stopping him.”
I stop and think about it, looking down at the floor to gather my thoughts. This may be out of my comfort zone but if this guy is killing EOs then my life could very well be in danger. It would be helpful to keep close tabs on the man. And if I help get this guy off the streets, It could keep dozens of people from getting killed over something completely out of their control.
I heave out an exhausted breath, rubbing a hand over my eyes before looking back at the man sitting before me, waiting “I don’t typically do this for free..”
Reaching into his coat pocket, the man pulls out a thick roll of twenties and places them on top of the photo still on the table.
I blow out a breath before completely throwing caution to the wind “What’s your name?”
A barely there smile works it’s way onto his face “It’s Victor. Victor Vale.