Borderline (The Arcadia Project, #1)(94)
We settled around a small table that had only four chairs. Caryl elected to stand, removing any awkwardness that would have arisen from one of the men having to give up his seat to me.
Closing her notebook with a soft snap, Caryl looked at us for a moment, then spoke in her usual bored tone. “We have reason to believe that the census anomaly is caused by fey that are being held in flux somehow via an incomplete Gate at the Valiant Studios construction site. We need to find a way onto the property, locate the Gate, and free the trapped Arcadian citizens.”
“Are you going with us?” Teo asked Caryl.
“I am.”
“Then the breaking and entering will be no problem, right? You can just make us invisible and do that thing you do to doors.”
“I imagine the external gate to the property is made of metal, not wood, so I cannot decompose it. As for ‘invisibility,’ I’m afraid with my familiar in use I cannot afford the expenditure of energy required to cast a group enchantment.”
“Do you have to bring Elliott?” Gloria asked.
“Without my familiar, I fear I would be more hindrance than help, due to the stressful nature of the enterprise.”
“I can take care of getting us onto the lot,” I said. Everyone turned to look at me. “Inaya can just drive us right in.”
Caryl eyed me. “And just how exactly are you planning to explain to Inaya that you need access to her construction site in the wee hours of the morning?”
“I told her everything,” I said.
“What?” cried Teo and Gloria in alarmed unison.
“Foxfeather met Inaya this morning, and apparently they’re Echoes, so it’s not like Arcadia is a big secret to Inaya anymore. She had information I needed, so I set up a meeting with her.” I conveniently left out the order in which those events had occurred, but even so, Teo smacked a palm to his forehead, and Tjuan shook his head slowly with a look of profound disapproval.
“I will second Millie’s ‘relax,’ believe it or not,” Caryl said. “Her employment has already been terminated, and I am already due for disciplinary measures. We may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, particularly when there is a chance to obtain some crucial intelligence about Vivian’s plans. She’s been building to something for years.”
“Why’s National pickin’ on you, Caryl?” Gloria said, sitting forward in her chair. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“This is not the time to debate the responsibilities inherent in management,” said Caryl. “Prepare yourselves for a bit of trespassing. The danger should be minimal; if we are somehow caught by their private security, I will recover my familiar’s energy and enchant our way out of it. But let us hope that is unnecessary, as I will be dead weight after that at best. On a related note, can someone please get Martin’s cat out of here?”
I wasn’t sure how that was related, but Monty was indeed sniffing around a filing cabinet near the door. Tjuan obligingly rose and removed him, much to my disappointment.
“Be prepared to defend yourselves,” Caryl went on, “in case I am unable to help you.”
“Self-defense is not really my thing,” I said. “I’m kind of pleased that I’ve mastered self-locomotion.”
Tjuan sat back down, mumbling something that I was entirely sure I misheard.
“Huh?” I said in astonishment.
“I said I’ve got your back. Don’t make it a thing.”
“Actually,” said Teo, “Millie brings up a good point. Isn’t bringing her asking for, like, three kinds of trouble?”
“She is our compass,” said Caryl. “She will likely feel drawn to Claybriar’s location.”
“Fey glasses,” said Teo. “We just look around for a ward that screams ‘keep out,’ and we’ll be fine.”
“I’m going,” I said flatly to Teo. “He’s my Echo. You of all people should understand.”
“Don’t you say a goddamned word about my Echo,” he said. “I understand fine; I just don’t care.”
Caryl cleared her throat. “If the two of you wish to bicker further, please do it after we’ve completed our objective. Teo, the advantage of having someone along who can direct us and potentially dispel wards outweighs the disadvantages of her physical and emotional handicaps.”
“If she’s going,” said Teo, “I’m not.”
“Very well,” said Caryl. “You are dismissed.”
I tried not to laugh at Teo’s expression but didn’t quite succeed.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one amused. “Someone got his bluff called!” sang Gloria.
“Was that a bluff?” said Caryl. “I would prefer not to waste time with such things. If you delay us further with your grievances, Teo, I’m afraid I will have to leave you behind regardless of your preferences.”
“I’ll be fine,” said Teo. “Forget I said anything. I’m fine. I’ll go.”
“I want you all to listen to me very carefully,” Caryl said in a tone that brought me to full attention. “This rescue attempt must be done entirely by the book. Our book. We will break human laws if we must, but the laws of the Accord will not be bent, bruised, or in any way trifled with. I understand that in this country it is considered harmless, even admirable, to flout authority for its own sake, but when it comes to maintaining balance between two worlds, the rules are not arbitrary, and I am the authority here. I do not want to have to give an order twice, and I do not want to be questioned. Is that perfectly clear?”