— CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN —

  Chasing Ghosts

  |Ace>

  Coming out of our meeting, we knew we needed to find more information on this Jefferson character. So the first thing we did was... well, actually, we stayed up late going around to different restaurants and sampled them for the top 5 article. And the second thing we did was wake up late the next day to catch a train back to Celestia Grand.

  But the third thing we did was call up our Trade Union contacts to see if they knew Jefferson. And we hit gold first shot! Excalibur's message read:

  [Excalibur]: Jefferson? He's one of our key informants inside the Guard - he works for Poe. You can trust him, guys.

  Sitting on the train as it pulled into Constellation Station, Cherry and I looked at each other.

  "They're inside the Sewer People!" Cherry said.

  I said, "We can't trust any of them!"

  "This is a solo mission now!" Cherry punched her fist into her palm.

  So we were on our own, but at least we knew who we were dealing with: Poe, the World Guard's Head of Logistics. He would have lived in the Evermoon District alongside the other World Guard higher-ups. The issue there being that it was a very open, deserted, and well-patrolled area, so our chances of skulking about there unnoticed were slim. However, the Evermoon District was right across the River Moondrop from the Constellation District, so what we could do was set up shop in a house near the riverbank and deploy our drone to scout out the mansion district.

  Sitting by the window of some NPC-owned house, we huddled over the drone controller, watching the camera as it flew over gaudy themed mansions. Every possible theme, every architectural gimmick on earth was accounted for. A Roman villa, a Shinto shrine with a Zen rock garden. They even had a pyramid, though even the Guard officers weren't tacky enough to live in that thing. No, they mostly stuck to the French riviera and English countryside sections. Which was great for us, because the drone's range limited us to a few blocks in from the water.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  "All that's missing is a castle with a moat." Cherry said.

  I panned the drone's camera to the far right, and sure enough, there was one - complete with a drawbridge and banners. "Check the next block." I said. "I bet there's a pirate ship."

  I did, and there was.

  None of them were obviously marked with a sign that said 'This is where Poe lives!' so our plan was to follow him home after work.

  Instead, we got in as close to Evermoon Gardens as we could and looked through the windows to find his office. The western wing housed most of the administrative offices, so we started there.

  We found Poe's office on the third floor, back corner with a clear view of the rear gardens. It was a spacious room filled with bookshelves, a large desk covered in neat stacks of paperwork, and several display cases full of wargaming miniatures. Not what I expected from a suit, but I guess Poe never really wore a suit anyway - he was more business-casual.

  Hours passed as we watched the man go about his daily business. Meetings with staff. Reading reports. Writing messages. Occasionally staring out the window with a pensive expression.

  "Who knew running a secret criminal empire would be so mundane?" I muttered, my eyes starting to cross from staring at the screen for so long.

  Cherry had long since abandoned her post, sprawled on the floor playing solitaire with a deck of cards she'd bought from a nearby shop. I couldn't blame her - surveillance was mind-numbingly dull work.

  Despite that, it wasn't my vigilance that caught our first fish. While Cherry was staring blankly into space, her eyes suddenly sharpened.

  "Hold on a second!" She scrambled to her feet, pointing at a corner of the screen. "That guy!"

  I squinted at where she was pointing. A figure was walking down the boulevard away from the capitol building.

  "What about him?" I asked.

  "That was the guy that was just in a meeting with Poe!"

  I looked closer. The distant figure was sure dressed the same - a little more casual than most of the big wigs, but nothing that stood out. I'd dismissed the whole meeting as another routine thing - a messenger or something from another department - we'd seen several already. But this guy was walking east.

  Evermoon Gardens was located on East Boulevard, which connected Syzygy Square to the eastern gate of the city. The only things even farther east were a few corners of the Nebula and Evermoon Districts - which were themselves the least populated parts of the city. Next to no one should have had any business there.

  So what was this guy doing? Delivering something to the garrison manning the checkpoint on the east gate? It wasn't concrete, but it was the most interesting thing that had happened all day, and I'd be lying if I said my attention wasn't flagging.

  I turned to Cherry with a smile. "You think it's time for a little tailing?"

  Cherry jumped to her feet, already heading for the door. "I think it's time for anything!"