LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter Three Hundred Thirty One
With the new lead from Frostbite, we officially had options looking for the leak. If we'd had to search in Rajak proper among the Unity directly things might have been dicey, protection or not, but since this was WCP business we had more options for people to watch our back. On top of that, as per the protection clause of our contract, Frostbite had an F-ranker follow along with us in case we needed backup, specifically, she sent Rime along.
I was pretty touched she dispatched her most powerful F-rank to keep an eye on us, though I knew at least some of that was because she wanted Rime to make some of the wishes. The F-ranker had brought along a large amount of valuable elixirs as per our deal, and I would be able to grant her wishes without compromising our efforts to boost my friends to F-rank before we left. Though Benny and Jessie had both informed me that they'd finally been seeing some reputation gain from the fight in the auction, with Benny getting another twenty five points of Might (presumably from swinging around that giant ass hammer) and Jessie getting twenty points of Vitality.
I was glad to see they were benefiting, I'd thought it was odd we hadn't seen any renown from that mess, but from what I could tell people had kept it under wraps for a while and it took time for rumors to disseminate. I knew sometimes great deeds were only counted after the incident was considered over in the minds of those involved too, like the scavenger hunt, so maybe that had something to do with it. It just kind of sucked Callie and I didn't benefit, having already capped our stats at the peak of G-rank.
We brought Rime back to the house, introduced her to everyone, and then consulted the resident WCP expert, Zeke. "So." I asked my uncle as we all settled in. "Who should I talk to around here to find a middleman for brokering information? I know wishes aren't great for finding secrets, but we act as go betweens on enough stuff that I'm sure we have specific protocols for where to find those kinds of people. Or can you not tell me that?"
He shook his head. "No, that I'm free to share. You'll need to pay for the actual information as per the rules, but directing you to where you can purchase those services isn't an issue. Let's see..." He stroked his five o' clock shadow furred chin. "I would say you should talk to Duncan the Liar. From what I've heard, he's in everyone's business."
"The compulsive liar is a reliable source of information?" I asked in confusion. "Isn't that a bit...counterintuitive?"
He shrugged. "If you can get him to talk. Believable lies come from a place of truth. You need to understand something in order to obscure it. If anyone would know it would be him, even if he isn't the broker, he should have an idea of who is. Provided you can motivate him."
"I'm surprised you knew that, honestly. Rajak wasn't your city, and you've just been kind of hanging around since we got here. I know you didn't want to take over this branch, so why the research?" Not that I was complaining of course, this was pretty useful to me. Still, it made me wonder if his senses were just so monstrous that he passively picked up secrets from all over the planet or something.
My uncle just shrugged. "I got a dossier from the branch head, Facade, when I arrived. He included a brief introduction to all the E-rankers within the WCP, and most of the power players in the Unity in town. I suspect he was trying to make sure I wouldn't have a reason to go poking around for information if a question came up. He's good at managing problems before they come up, it's how he's managed to remain in power so long."
I remembered Callie having mentioned Facade. He was supposedly a party animal without much real skill who relied on his lieutenants to do most of the actual work, but we'd both pretty much guessed that was as much of a cover story as his name suggested. Seemed like Zeke actually had a bit of respect for him, based on his grudgingly appreciative tone, and that said more in his favor than any number of rumors.
"Alright." I said with a sigh. "So...how do we meet Duncan the Liar? I didn't hear anything about him having a faction. Is he in the E-district? Can you BE in E-district if you don't have a faction? Those buildings are huge, are there people who just hang out alone in there?" I hadn't spent much time in E-district, and I was honestly curious about how the most upscale part of the Rajak WCP functioned.
Sadly, based on his sigh, the knowledge I sought was not to be. "Nah." He said with a wave. "He spends most of his time in the dark districts, the higher end ones, but there are ways to get in touch and arrange meetings. Has to be since according to the dossier he moves around WAY more than necessary."
He pulled out a piece of paper from...somewhere, maybe a spatial artifact? Not a ring, but I remembered him saying he carried a ton of stuff on him., Regardless, he started scribbling out instructions from memory before he passed them to me. "The locker in question is in the terminal, so you won't even need to go down into the WCP. Just write out a note to the specifications and then slip it into the front slot."
I briefly considered asking why he hadn't just written the note, but I realized the reason was obvious. He couldn't interfere in my business. He was able to tell me how to arrange the meeting, but getting a note from a B-ranker would have basically obligated Duncan to show up, which would be direct action on Zeke's part.
Callie had been showing Rime around while Zeke and I talked, but after he confirmed the contact method for Duncan, I went to find her and the two of us, plus Rime herself, headed for the station with the entrance to the WCP. We let Rime drive, which went fine, and I added another reliable driver to my mental checklist. Benny hadn't ever learned to drive a shuttle, much like I hadn't, and Callie would kill us all, so it was nice to have a new option for transport when Jessie was busy.
Arriving at the place, I saw Rime look around in interest. Callie noticed it too because her immediate response was to ask our F-ranked protector. "Have you never been here before?" It seemed crazy to me that someone could live IN Rajak and never visit the WCP, but thinking about it there was at least some logic there. The WCP and the Unity were competitors, and the Palace was almost another city compared to Rajak proper. We hadn't done much exploration of the world above, given my connections to the forces beneath us, but someone like Rime wouldn't have that. This would be enemy territory.
The F-ranker's blue hair cascaded as she shook her head. "Never had a reason. It's...interesting. Some of the lower ranks from the academy and such spend time below, but I've been part of Fimbulwinter since I was a child, and the boss lady doesn't send us down here. Too dangerous she says."
"You'll be fine with us." I assured her. "We're sticking to the mixed rank areas anyway, and between our identity and our connections, the E-rankers down here won't mess with us. Assuming no one gangs up on you most F-rankers shouldn't be a problem right?" She was high up in her rank from what I understood, and being Frostbite's second meant she was probably pretty scary on top of that.
Rime seemed taken in by the food kiosks, venders, and various other interesting attractions inside the massive stone building that was the entrance to the WCP. As per our instructions though, we ignored the tourist attractions and followed the tile floor back into the depths of the building, past all the canisters and away from the people. We turned off into a side hallway that shrunk down from the huge open area to a claustrophobic mashup of two walls so close together I had to turn sideways to walk down it, emerging from THAT into a dark and somewhat cramped low ceilinged room.
The dim room was, as we'd been told it would be, full to the brim with squat, dark metal lockers. "Alright." I said, checking the paper. "We're looking for...Z34962." Closing my eyes with a sigh, I asked unhappily. "Can one of you guys please tell me that the plates on the closest lockers don't start with the letter A?"
Callie leaned over to peer at one of the plates on the lockers. "A00032. Sorry sweetie." I sighed in defeat. That was just great. This began our journey through the locker hall, constantly checking the plates as we went. Duncan the Liar was either a huge dick or extremely paranoid, possibly both.
When we finally got to the locker in question, I pulled out a sheet of paper with the prepared directions, folded it around one and a half F-ranked chits (bringing my personal coffers down to exactly one E-ranked chit, or one hundred G-ranked chits) and then proceeded to spin the wheel on the lockers door in a series of very exacting and complicated patterns. A rune lit up on the metal after the third spin, and I slipped the paper through the slot on the front, jumping as a loud bang shook the door.
"Did it...work?" Said Callie cautiously. I consulted the paper, going over several of the addenda on the note. There were a few details on confirmation, and...got it, the bang on the door was a good sign. Probably.
"It did." I confirmed. "Or a giant energy chicken is about to burst out of the locker and try to eat us. But the note says that would have happened about thirty seconds after the bang, and since it hasn't it seems like we're all good. Now...we wait." Duncan would get our message and show up to talk to us, though how he would manage that I had no idea, the note just said to wait here.
Rime looked annoyed. "Of COURSE the first time I come to the WCP I have to spend the whole visit in a cramped locker depository. Does it say how long it will take for him to arrive?"
"Oh." Said an amused voice from behind us. "Not long. I would imagine." We all froze, having completely missed anyone appearing until the voice spoke up. We turned slowly to find a foppish, brown haired man with a scraggly goatee and predatory amber eyes leaning against the inside of one of the lockers, which was open as he stared at us.
The yellow doublet and tights were the same as I'd been told about at the gala, and his hands toyed with a brass flute as he watched us. I felt like a bug under a microscope. Even knowing that he was E-rank and I was protected didn't blunt the edge of danger I felt from him. Like he was insane and capable of anything.
Of course, given his title, it was hard to say how much of that was a real impression and how much he'd purposefully cultivated the feeling to put people off their game. As 'the Liar' I expected Perception was his bread and butter, and aside from stealth, I supposed Perception would be excellent for giving false impressions like that. Either way, he was here now. He held up a familiar folded piece of paper, sans money. "I heard you were looking for some information." Well, that was a good start. Probably.