Freezing Shadows, Chapter 90 (Patreon)

Chapter 90: Captain

After talking things over, we decided that helping the mayor with her troublesome fetish would probably lead to more trouble than it was worth. The lieutenant mayor, however, was a more reasonable sort. Ayda would take out the current mayor in a way that wouldn’t look suspicious, while Felicity and Syndra’s team would chat with the soon-to-be mayor, Naomi Cash, and get her on our side.

Naturally, those were tasks that would need a couple days to complete. Which was fine, because we needed time to contact the Angels, get forces in place, get more supplies, and come up with a plan that would take out the hive without causing either widespread panic or launching a manhunt for us. But some things could be set in motion today, like chatting with the captain. So, while the others were making their preparations, Shadowkeeper took my team to meet Captain Rice and his daughter at home.

Captain Hendrix Rice lived in a private estate nearby. Not quite neighbors, but about two kilometers in a straight line from the manor to his home. Of course, the roads did not cut straight across properties like that, so things weren’t so clear-cut. But still, getting to his house wasn’t a problem.

Of course, we couldn’t just pop over in the vehicles we brought with us, because bringing armored step-vans with heavily-armed drones to a person’s home uninvited was generally considered rude and unfriendly. Not the best impression if you wanted to get someone on your side. Fortunately, the manor had some vehicles on hand, besides the ones we brought with us. Such as the Nightsky limousine Shadowkeeper ‘inherited’ when my mother gave her the estate.

The Nightsky came standard with concealed armor, full chemical seals on the interior, and protections for the occupants. The only other improvements made to the vehicle were subtle ones. Cameleon coating, morphing license plate, spoof chips, and vehicle tag eraser made it so the limousine could blend in anywhere that a limousine wasn’t immediately out of place. Gridlink with the gridlink override meant that they didn’t need to worry about fuel or being limited to ‘safe’ traffic speeds. And the smart tires reduced the maximum speed, but greatly increased the vehicle’s handling. Not something you wanted when trying to chase someone, but very useful for avoiding trouble or attempting to throw off pursuit.

Getting through the gate was as simple as the driver explaining that Lady Shadowkeeper and guests were there to see Captain Rice about a potential issue. Before the revolution, our family had been well-known in Olassalen, though opinions of us were divided. The more vocal rebels wanted all the nobles in the ground, of course, but we had at least earned a reputation of being fair to the gentry, and my father had been one of the nobles who worked to try and ensure that everyone had at least a basic standard of living. Granted, that was mostly because people who had a roof over their head and enough food to eat were less likely to get truly desperate, but it had earned the family some good will with the locals, which is why no one had bothered Shadowkeeper when she took over the estate.

The estate was a fairly simple four-bedroom house. Not extravagant, and definitely no mansion, but with the property around it? Definitely showed that the Captain was well off, but not ostentatiously so. And since the only people living there were Rice, and his two daughters, Laura and Haylee? It was more than enough house for them to live comfortably.

We left most of our weapons at the estate. None of us were unarmed, of course, since even Shadowkeeper wore her weapon focus katana on her hip, but we left the guns at home. Thankfully, that didn’t look out of place, since one of the customs in Ola Serin was carrying melee weapons. Guns were looked upon more strictly, but as long as you weren’t waving the monofilament whip around, you wouldn’t be harassed for having a sword worn openly, or a couple knives where people could see.

Captain Rice answered the door when Shadowkeeper knocked. He was tall, gym fit from the looks of it. Brown hair in a military-style cut, and still wearing his daily wear uniform, since he’d just gotten home from his day’s work. A stun baton and tonfa hanging on his hip, rather than a blade. Easier to keep things nonlethal, that way.

“Lady Shadowkeeper,” he nodded, respectful but warily. “I must admit, I was not expecting to receive a visit from you. You aren’t known for going and visiting people, after all. Has something happened?”

“Not yet, Captain, but there are things happening that you will need to know about. Partly to try and ensure that people do not get the wrong idea, and panic, when things begin to happen, but also to help contain things, should we start seeing more fallout from this than is strictly advisable.”

Captain Rice frowned. “If it is that important, shouldn’t we be talking at my office?”

“Unfortunately, that isn’t possible, Captain. Too many ‘unofficial’ individuals are going to be acting, as they have the experience with what will be happening. But the size and scale of things is not something that can be just easily ignored, which is why it is important that the Peace Forces help create the appropriate tale for the public. And that is something that is best discussed away from the halls of power.”

“My daughters are home. Is that going to be a problem?”

“If they can be trusted to keep quiet about things until the events have run their course, then this is fine. And, if you help us with this, we can, perhaps, offer young Haylee the chance to spread her wings, without causing you undue stress. I know that she has been restless, and getting into trouble again and again. But I also know that you do not wish to see her hurt, or unhappy. My companions can assist you, and her, helping her establish herself somewhere abroad, for instance.”

Captain Rice froze at the mention of his daughter, and sighed. “I guess I should have expected you would know about Haylee’s trouble, Lady Shadowkeeper. And I see you have someone who I am going to officially say merely bears a strong resemblance to one of the Mollens, who hasn’t been seen around here since the revolution. Fine. Come in.”

The captain stepped aside, and let the seven of us in. We made our way to the living room, where Rice’s two daughters were standing. Laura, the eldest, was dressed in a business suit, since she worked with the Aishar (the equivalent of a District Attorney) as an aide. She was one of the pillars of the community, apparently. She’d also been in the same grade at the same school as me growing up, which meant that she recognized me immediately, especially since I was with Shadowkeeper. There wasn’t much point hiding my identity, at least not in this room.

Haylee, however, was younger. She’d been eleven, when the revolution hit, and was barely seventeen, now. Part of the reason she had been able to get away with as much as she had was due to her being a minor. Now, I saw her dressed in a band shirt and strategically ripped jeans, with black eyeliner and leather bracelets on her wrists. She was rebelling, hard, it seemed.

“Lord Mollen!” Laura gasped. “I haven’t seen you since the revolution! Half our class ended up dead in the revolution, and the chaos of the crash, and those that remained haven’t been able to get any word about you. Where have you been?”

“Now, now, Laura. Not a lord anymore, you know that,” I chuckled. “As for where I’ve been? I decided that leaving the country for a while would be beneficial to my health. But when Shadowkeeper put out the call for everyone to head home, I wasn’t going to ignore it.”

All three of them froze at that. Captain Rice looked at Shadowkeeper. “Was whatever you’re getting into really worth calling all the family here? With, I presume, the ones they trust and work with?”

“It is, Captain. And now, perhaps, you have some idea of why we must speak. And why we must have some means of controlling the narrative, when things begin to happen. Most of the people are either incapable of comprehending the forces at play, here, or are blissfully unaware, and it would be both safer and a kindness to ensure that they remain so, to the best of our ability.”

We quickly got down to business, and explained as much as the captain and his family had a need to know about the bugs in general, and made sure that they understood the severity of not letting the information slip. The basic nature of the bugs, and how no one who had been ‘invested’ could be saved. They were gone, and their meat suits had new masters, if they still existed at all. And people who spoke about such things too openly either died, disappeared, or were made into a vessel for a new insect spirit.

“By the fact that you’re here, talking about this with me, I assume there’s a collection of these spirits here, in Olassalen?” Captain Rice was sharp on the uptake, which made things easier. “So, where are they, and how many?”

“The hive is in the Ya-Po-Ah Terrace. The entire building should be considered a hive, and lost. As should anyone who lived or worked there. The metahumans who once were there have all been converted or killed.”

Haylee gasped. “Daddy, I heard from Taylor that he had to find a new dealer recently, because some ‘mutants’ scared the old dealer off. His old haunt was one of the street corners near the Terrace, and he hasn’t been able to find any other dealers without leaving that area. He was talking about how annoying it was.”

“Damn it,” Rice cursed. “That’s why my officers have noticed that vagrancy is down and they are finding fewer squatters downtown. Same with the reduction in drug offenses and solicitation busts. These wasp spirits have been hunting, or whatever it is they do, haven’t they?”

“More than likely,” I nodded. “But they wouldn’t go just grabbing every person they could find. These spirits know the value of stealth, as evidenced by the fact that you haven’t discovered them before. The retirement home is a nice cover, because no one expects the elderly to remember everything. The drug dealers, prostitutes, and homeless leaving the area (willingly or not) is no surprise, either. They wouldn’t normally have the strength to attack.”

Shadowkeeper nodded. “There will be a major assault on the Terrace. The entire building will need to be condemned and demolished as quickly as possible, when things are done. And you will want to get in touch with as many police and civilian leaders as possible, to keep them from running their own story. And we need a way to explain away the heavy fighting that is going to happen, so that the public does not think that there are mass-murdering psychos.”

“I believe I understand. But what was this about Haylee, you mentioned earlier?”

“What about me? Do I get to watch the action?”

Shadowkeeper looked at Haylee, and said, simply, “We would not ask for your father’s influence and support to be on our side, without offering compensation. Even if he would willingly spend that influence to help save the city from such an insidious threat, we prefer not to be debtors for others. So, we thought to offer him something that he could scarcely get here: a chance for his youngest daughter to spread her wings and get a new start in another land, possibly as an influencer or entertainer, where your actions will not cause trouble for your father, while at the same time, giving you a chance to experience life outside the country. The only question is whether you prefer the idea of Seattle, Denver, or Los Angeles?”

“Ooh, Denver is the city that is broken between all the countries, right? With the dragon living there? I wanna see what that’s like!”