Nestra changed in a nicely provided changing room that smelled of old sweat, under the baffled gaze of a couple of army gleams. Her Wellington suit was nice and familiar, even after some time out of it. She felt protected in it. Funny how the human Nestra loved armor but her Aszhii self disliked anything touching her skin that wasn’t some eldritch symbiote out of hell. She next walked to the ‘antechamber’, a vast bunker with medical and storage facilities designed as an airlock between the base and the monster-infested wilds. There were plenty of auged and gleam soldiers here; most of them very young. They made no secrets about their curiosity. She found Ilar near the gate arguing with a NCO, and by arguing, she meant that the NCO talked in a glacially polite tone and Ilar was quite obviously ignoring him. The old man still tried his best. “And although the path you picked should not have C-class creatures, it does not mean there won’t be C-class creatures. Those travel. I don’t care how good your crunchie is, the odds just aren’t good. Hell, I wouldn’t send a full squad there without backup.” “Your objections are duly noted, sergeant. As I said before, you are absolved from any responsibility should a problem occur.” The sergeant’s dark mustache bristled with anger. He found Nestra, focusing his attention on her with laser focus. “You are putting yourself at major risk,” he said. He glared. She shrugged. “Dammit woman, you’re not some green idiot. Don’t do this.” “Oh, ah, yes, Yun sunbae-nim. She might be here tonight? Who is asking?” “Clytemnestra Palladian, with the Financial Crime Division. I am in need of… guidance.” He looked at another employee who eyed him with the measuring look of someone watching someone else make a mistake that would erase them from the rat race. “I see. I will wait a bit longer then.” She returned to the office’s door. The drone would definitely phone his boss first thing, and Nestra would soon have her answer one way or another. People moved quickly here. The stone had successfully been tossed into the pond. Now she would see those ripples. “I’m afraid Yun Sunbae-nim is unavailable tonight. Could you leave your contact information please? She will call you as soon as she is available.” Darn. That meant a soft no, at the very least. Nestra gave her number just in case, not that they needed it, and left, but there was someone waiting for her near the entrance. “Miss Palladian?” a smooth woman asked with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Nestra noted the intentional omission of her title. “Mr. Ito would like to see you.” “Lead the way then,” Nestra said. The woman walked, turning back several times to look at Nestra like she wasn’t believing what she was seeing. Or not. Maybe Nestra was projecting a little, and also running out of patience. Nestra’s guide knocked and let Nestra in. She took a moment to look at her surroundings. Her nominal boss’ office was an oasis of serenity in a desert of office decorations provided by the lowest bidder. Blue light fell from the ceiling over mushroom terrariums — or whatever those were called. Some were fluorescent and came with faint traces of mana. Paintings on the wall depicted underground caverns and the likes. It was pretty nice, cozy even. Ito was a tall, lean man of middle age with an intelligent face. Graying hair at his temple gave him a look of respectability. His suit was deep blue and as spotless as the rest of his person. He looked thoroughly unamused. He leaned back in his seat with quiet annoyance on plain display. Nestra did so. It was a necessary step to get out of here. He studied her in silence for a while. Nestra knew what he wanted to do. Most people hated silence, but she didn’t. She enjoyed silence very much. Especially when it was going to be filled with an annoying voice any time soon. There was an ephemeral beauty to silence. Some of those mushrooms looked really weird. “Officer Clytemnestra Palladian, officially attached to my unit, though we both know that is a convenience.” Nestra returned her attention to the man, though she didn’t reply. He hadn’t asked questions yet. The way he talked was slow and deliberate to the point he was even marking the commas and periods with a small pause. “You know why I have called you here.” “I can hazard a guess,” Nestra replied. Again, silence returned to the room. Sometimes, she felt like there was a script to human interactions or human confrontations she was supposed to follow, like a sheet with directions everyone else had that let the conversation flow forward, and every time she talked, the person with the direction had to check again because they were lost. Sometimes it was annoying. Other times, there was some sort of vindication to it. “You have come here out of sympathy for your superior Kim Soo-Young.” Something in the way he watched her reaction told her he was fishing. He might have just learnt she was working against him. That meant that Baatar might not have thrown her to the wolves which was a good thing to know. “You have never been truly punished for your conduct. You believe your family will protect you. That is why you came here to find someone to champion your efforts to overturn my judgment. You believe the worst you risk is to be fired.” He glanced at his screen. It was short but enough for her to guess her file was displayed there. She really wondered what it said. “You are wrong. There are many things a police officer in your position will do to secure an edge, especially in the challenging environment of District Fifteen. I am getting more and more curious as to what those measures were.” He leaned forward, placing both hands on the desk. It felt like she had his full attention now. Nestra had to admit, he was really good at conveying messages through posture. It was fascinating, really. “There is a due process. A way of things. You are hitting your head against the walls, Miss Palladian. Your skull will crack first.” “Just to clarify, the due process to look into Kim’s imprisonment is to check with you?” “Because you sent her there, then you sealed all records so people couldn’t get a better look into things sooooo… that sounds like a waste of time.” “You are hereby suspended pending disciplinary action. Leave your badge and your gun here. You should have known better than to test me.” “You can have the badge but the gun’s mine. MaxSec license.” “You are no longer MaxSec.” “Still got the license though,” Nestra said, knowing this was one of the things he couldn’t touch. Gun licenses were extremely hard to revoke in Threshold. “Here,” she said, leaving her ID on the table. “Was there anything else?” “I do not want to waste another minute of my time talk—” “You know there is one thing you didn’t even mention,” Nestra interrupted. It was so obvious Ito hadn’t been cut off in a while, because anger prevented him from reacting. “You never insisted Kim was guilty. Didn’t even cross your mind.” Nestra gave him one last look, but he wouldn’t be provoked further. Not like she could catch that snake incriminating himself even if she could record him without him knowing. None of this mattered in the grand scheme of things. It was all posturing, but there was one thing that she knew for sure now. Kim was innocent. Someone as angry as Ito would have been outraged that someone like her could question his methods of investigation. The fact he hadn’t even mentioned it was a sign, and she was under the impression he hadn’t tried to act innocent to throw her off because she was too insignificant to matter. Not worth the effort. She showed herself out. She seethed all the way to the parking lot, having to ask a guard to let her out on two occasions since her credentials were already revoked. Just at the entrance, she came across a familiar figure. Well, it ought to be familiar but Nestra couldn’t quite place her. The East Asian woman strode past in a beautiful white kimono that would look at home in a gala. Strands of mana clung to it, making it shine from a ghostly inner light. She gave Nestra a knowing smirk. Nestra blinked. That felt… no, it was personal. Her instincts told her it was on purpose. It was a message. A really weird one. What? Nestra turned to the elevator as its doors closed, but the woman had her back turned. Familiar but not too much. Who was that? Someone she’d met recently. Someone rich. Japanese, probably. A rich Japanese woman who could have something against her. There was only one who could fit the bill and even then… Nestra gasped. She knew who this was. She remembered, though last time, the woman had been wearing black. This was…. Shinoda’s widow. The person who had a burning hatred of Kim. Nestra blinked. That sounded like a ridiculous conspiracy but… that timing, that smile… Holy shit. It couldn’t be… could it? Ito and Shinoda’s widow working together to fuck up Kim’s life? Nestra breathed down on her anger. Sending someone to the Red House for two decades because you were shown up at a funeral? Who the hell did that? No, it was simply too obvious. No one could be that ridiculously petty. No, she refused to believe it. This was just…. too many assumptions in a row. But then what was that bitch doing here? Nestra scratched her head. Better not to dwell on it too much. “I’m going crazy, seeing schemes everywhere.” What if it were true, though? What if Shinoda’s widow goaded Nestra because she knew Nestra was powerless to help Kim? The poisonous thought seeped into her mind, stoking her anger. Her heart raced until she was in her car and her visor rang to hopefully provide a distraction. Unknown number. Nestra picked up immediately. “You have courage, child, I will grant you that. And integrity. But not much else,” a mature woman said. There was no visual. Nestra didn’t need it though. She knew who she was talking to. “Should I call you sunbae-nim even though I’m pretty much fired?” Nestra asked Deputy Director Yun. “No need. This is an informal discussion. As I said, I am as impressed by your loyalty as I am by your lack of foresight.” “Look, I got nothing, ok?” Nestra snapped. “No proof, no lead, and the only person with access to everything also happens to be the culprit. You tell me what I’m supposed to do.” “Very funny. What is Kim looking at? Twenty years in the Red House? Thirty?” The person on the other side sighed, a heavy sound filled with regret. “It’s not unusual for high management to clean house on occasion, though I agree, this seems rather… excessive.” “Really?” Nestra hissed. “Excessive? Ruining someone’s retirement plan is excessive. This is destroying someone’s life, dammit!” “I get your point, Miss Palladian. It appears your reputation is well-deserved.” “I have a reputation?” “One does not take Gidung down a peg without earning some attention. You also tend to be… loud. I shall cut to the chase then. I cannot help you in a meaningful amount of time.” “I have my suspicions, yes, but I cannot prove it in any significant manner. Now that Kim has been arrested, he might be able to pin everything on her.” “Wait, you’re saying he actually stole stuff? I was assuming he’d drummed up false numbers just to get Kim arrested, but that it was false.” “No, he is rotten. Unfortunately, only he knows what he’s doing and I suspect he merely skimmed off the top. His department is the only one that does not cost money to the taxpayer because he salvages and reemploys so much of what he seizes. As far as the director is concerned, he’s an important asset.” “I see. Untouchable, is what you’re saying?” “You, as Clytemnestra Palladian, have no way to touch him.” “I will not jeopardize my career for such a slim chance of success. As I said, he has access to, and is the only one who understands, all of the evidence. Your only chance of success is to go even higher.” “You just said that talking to you was a lack of foresight. The director is even higher. What am I supposed to do, crash down his gates and set myself on fire?” “Your family, Miss Palladian. Your only hope is to find someone influential enough to make a request, as unlikely as it is. That would be just to get the case open, not even solving it. Your father is not popular but he is respected. He might have the ear of some of the more righteous members of the government. Who knows? I certainly don’t see another way.” “I feel like I’m being thrown from a desperate gambit to just grasping at straws.” “This is your doing, Miss Palladian. Most other people would have given up long ago. Should you fail, you will most likely be blacklisted and likely expelled from civil service, but I will continue to look into Ito’s wrongdoings and when I do, I will make sure Kim is freed.” “When will that happen?” “I do not know. People like him believe they are so smart and above the rest of mankind that nothing can ever affect them. He will keep committing crimes until he is caught.” “And I shall not stop you, Miss Palladian. As I said, if you want to free Kim now, you need the word of God. Good luck.” She hung up. Nestra sat back into her seat, giving herself a minute so the anger would fade away. She knew what she ought to do. It was time to choose but… was there really a choice? Seth was going to be so mad. “Crescent,” Ragnarok said. As usual, the old woman faced the window away from Nestra. The light of dawn cast the city in a favorable light, but all Nestra could think about was corruption. “Ragnarok,” Nestra hissed. “I am curious as to what you want. My secretary mentioned a favor?” “It relatesss… to my civilian identity.” Ragnarok turned. Her cold eyes bore into Nestra’s own, a measuring look. Nestra hadn’t been sure but, for some reason, Seth had not objected to Ragnarok linking her demon and human self. That still expanded the list by one. Ragnarok waved her hand. Shutters locked over the windows, then a background sound made Nestra’s ears buzz. A very high privacy screen then. “You are aware that the many measures in place to protect your identity are of no use if you voluntarily information, right?” “I know. Only you. Worth it…. I think.” “What could possibly justify you lowering your mask?” “There is an innocent in the Red House. I need help saving her.”