WnW 4.8

Nell and I showed up on main street in the middle of the work day. People walked briskly to their next appointment, clad in clothing unsuited for the hot midday sun that refracted off the reflective sides of the skyscrapers around us. I imagined the silvery spires as magnifying glasses looming over sweaty worker ants, stress clear on their faces as they tried to reach the next air conditioned sanctuary.

A man wearing a pink collared shirt and sunglasses waved at us from the shade at the side of an office building. I didn’t recognize him at first until I spotted the distinctive crystalline fingernails. 

“Ready for your first job?” Zola asked as we drew near.

I moved out of the way of a hurried commuter. “I guess so,” I said uncomfortably. “What are we doing?”

“We are watching the Jiezhi. They have been recruiting a lot lately and we found out that they have been using this building,” Zola patted the wall. “Where there is smoke, there is salmon, so we have to be on our toes. It is likely the Jiezhi are planning something big.”

I blinked, not sure if I’d heard him right.

“That’s not the saying,” Nell said blithely. “It’s ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’.”

Zola smiled at her apologetically. “My mistake. We might not get much useful info today, the security is higher than we thought. We will see what Terry says when he gets here. He is not very upfront with his plans ahead of time.”

“Hey guys,” a voice whispered next to me.

I jumped a little and Nell giggled. “Hey AJ,” I said weakly. “Didn’t know you were here.”

“How does it look in there, AJ?” Zola asked.

“They’re meeting way up on the twenty something floor. None of the windows are open so I can’t listen in. They’ve got stuff they’re showing the others on a laptop. I can’t really tell what it is, the windows are tinted.”

“Okay, good job,” Zola said. “We will keep waiting for Terry.”

Nell crouched down to examine some sad looking shrubs. “Zola, you talk a bit differently. Are you from somewhere else?”

She was more direct than I would have been, but Zola didn’t seem to mind. “Cape Verde. I was a teen when I moved here. I speak Creole, although it has gotten much more rusty now.”

“Back at the hideout, you called yourself muscle, but you aren’t very muscular.”

I pulsed Nell and she looked at me, confused as to why I was warning her. So direct today…

Zola just grinned wryly and flexed an arm. “What? You cannot see these guns?” He was the opposite of beefy. Skinny to the point where I couldn’t even call him wiry.

He lowered his arm self-consciously. “I am joking. When I said that, I meant something different from literal muscle. Intimidation is the name of the game. Make sure people we deal with do not try things.” He scuffed his shoe on the sidewalk and shrugged. “Terry gave me a few pointers. Turns out I am decent at it, although it is a bit embarrassing.”

I was still having trouble wrapping my head around him being intimidating. I couldn’t see it.

“Afternoon, gentlemen,” a voice drawled.

I turned to see Terry, with his customary scarf around his neck, even with the warm temperature. He managed to make it look fashionable, using it as a replacement for a tie to compliment his suit. He regarded us with a lazy smirk.

“Not exactly dressed for the occasion,” he remarked as he walked past us.

Zola fell in line behind him. Nell and I followed after them, catching up just before Terry stopped beside the corner of the building.

“I wasn’t aware that I needed to change clothes. And I don’t have a suit,” I admitted.

“Well, I don’t think it will matter too much for this job. We’ll have to get you something for the next one.” Terry scratched his chin as he mused. He was staring at a car that had stopped at the lights. It took me a second to realize that he was using the glass as a mirror to look around the corner.

“Do you have an elastic?” Terry asked.

I was taken aback. “What?”

“Never mind.” He stuck his hand inside his pants pocket. “I think I… ah yes.” 

He withdrew a small black hair elastic and stepped up to me. I stood motionless as he put my hair in a ponytail. He stepped back and frowned. “Hmm. Not professional enough.” 

He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a pair of square glasses. “The prescription is pretty weak, you’ll have to live with it for a moment.” He placed them on my face, then squinted. “Not bad.”

I blinked rapidly. “Why am I the only one getting a makeover?”

“Because you’re coming with me. The Witch can stay outside with AJ and be our eyes on the outside.”

Nell looked like she was about to protest but then she stopped and nodded, placing her hand over her cast.

Another car stopped at the lights and I used the chrome finish to look around the corner. A group of five men stood outside the building’s entrance. They weren’t chatting. They just stood there, blocking off the doorway. I couldn’t garner more details than that from the reflection.

Terry pushed up his sleeve and looked at his watch. It was an expensive brand.

I flinched as a disembodied voice spoke beside me, “They just finished and left the room.” AJ. I was going to have to get used to that.

“Right on time,” Terry said confidently. “Follow me.” He clicked his heels on the pavement and strolled around the corner.

I scrambled to follow. “Wait, what’s the plan?” I asked nervously.

“Plan?” Terry didn’t break his stride towards the five men guarding the entrance who radiated hostility. “We’re going to walk right in.”

When the guards realized that Terry was walking straight towards them, they began to shift their posture and narrow their eyes. One man reached to the back of his waist, but stopped when another of the group laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Mr. Zhang!” Terry said loudly without breaking his stride. He singled out one of the guards, gesturing at him. “Mr. Zhang, come with me.”

The man’s expression turned confused. All the guards were looking at each other. Terry reached the group and they began to step to the sides to let him through. Then one man stepped in front of Terry, blocking his path. Terry stopped and clucked his tongue impatiently.

“Move,” Terry said. He said it with such dismissive authority that I thought he might have used his ‘second voice’, but if he had, it had been too subtle for me to catch.

The man scowled and held his ground. “Who are you?” He asked.

Terry ignored the question while staring down the man. “Zhang, do you know this man?”

The man who I assumed was Mr. Zhang hesitantly responded, “Yes. Li, he is in charge of security today.”

Terry spoke, staring the much larger man down. “Li, you have two options. Step aside and I forget this insolence. Or continue to impede me and I explain to the leaders why I couldn’t do my job. I’ll be sure to mention you by name.”

He didn’t give the man a chance to respond, instead he walked forward, brushing past Li. The frowning guard exchanged some muttered words with Zhang, who then followed us into the building. Nell pulsed with concern. I sent her back reassurance. Things hadn’t gotten out of hand, at least not yet.

The lobby of the building contained sparse furniture and at the back was a single elevator. Terry continued to walk with a purpose, I followed him, and I could feel Zhang’s careful gaze on the back of my head.

“Sir?” he ventured.

Terry ignored him and pressed the elevator call button.

Zhang persisted, “Sir, who do you work for?”

“Hm? The Jiezhi of course.”

Zhang looked like he was going to ask a follow-up question when Terry turned to face him. 

“Zhang, I have an important task for you. On the tenth floor is an office we use for recruiting. A desk in the office has some important papers I need you to retrieve.” Terry pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped on it. “Let me see your phone.”

Zhang hesitated. “Why do you need me to get it? Why not send them?” he asked, gesturing at Zola and I.

“Because a certain someone trusts you and told me to trust you. I think you know who I am talking about.” Terry leaned in close to Zhang, who looked uncomfortable. “I can trust you, right, Mr. Zhang?”

Zhang’s desire to not rock the boat seemed to win out over his suspicion and he pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it, screen facing up. “Of course, sir.”

“I will keep the security busy,” Zola murmured in my ear. “Go with Terry.”

“What if they find out?” I whispered nervously.

Zola patted my back. “We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.”

Terry tapped his phone. Zhang’s phone beeped and a voice spoke from it, “Contact received. Are you sure you want to trust this-” The voice continued but the elevator doors opened, drowning out the next part. Terry casually reached over and tapped ‘accept’ on Zhang’s phone. Then he walked into the elevator. I followed him inside. 

Terry called out, “Call me when you find it.”

Zhang looked confused. “Am I not coming with you?”

“Take the stairs. It would be better if no one sees you.” Terry hit the button to close the elevator doors. He waved at the guard as the doors closed, saying, “I’m counting on you, Zhang.”

Then we were alone in the elevator. Terry had hit the button for the twentieth floor. “That should keep him busy for a while,” he said with his usual lazy tone. I realized that he had spoken differently in front of the guards. It was still brimming with confidence, but he had spoken more forcefully, like he expected results.

“How did you know Zhang’s name?” I asked.

“A guess.” Terry smiled and rubbed his neck. “There are a few Chinese surnames that are fairly common. I chose one of the most common and then just looked for a reaction. There were two people in that group with the name Zhang. I just focused on one and made it clear I was talking to him.”

I watched the floor number climb on the display. “I could have sworn you knew him. How did you trick them so easily? Are you using your Shape?”

He made a pained expression. “Please don’t think I would rely on such a crutch. I’m very good at what I do without it. Not all of us appreciate the Shape we’ve been given.”

“I didn’t mean to offend. I’m genuinely impressed.”

Terry clapped me on the shoulder. “It really boils down to misdirection and confidence. Redirect people’s focus so that they aren’t suspecting that you aren’t who you say you are. People tend to just go with the flow when they aren’t confident in something. They naturally gravitate towards people who seem like they know what they’re talking about.”

“So there isn’t anything on the tenth floor.”

“I’m sure he’ll find something. I just didn’t want him to keep tailing us.”

The doors opened and we got off. This floor was a wide, empty office space. Terry watched the elevator doors close. I walked over to a nearby window where I got a fantastic view of the Sill. On windy days like today, the verdant tops of the trees rippled visibly even from this far away.

I turned back to Terry. “So what’s the plan?”

Terry shrugged. “Get as much info as possible and get out. Specifically about whatever the Jiezhi has been recruiting for. Granted they probably won’t give me much. That’s why we have this.” He gripped his phone with two fingers and spun it upright. “Vanessa gave me a program that introduces vulnerabilities into phones. We can track location, check files, and even listen in if they don’t check their phone.”

I noticed that the elevator was coming back down from higher floors. Terry pressed the button to call the elevator.

“So you’re going to bug as many phones as you can. Alright. What am I here for?”

Terry eyed the elevator light. “Nothing much. Just watch and learn. And maybe do some conning of your own.”

“I’m not good with people.”

He chuckled. “You made a deal with Sullivan. Not just anyone can do that.”

I winced. “Word’s been getting around, huh.”

“I’m good at getting the ‘word’. Anyway, what you meant to say is that you don’t know how to make friends.”

“That isn’t-”

“Which isn’t always the goal of my line of deception. Misdirection and confidence. You don’t need to be buddy buddy with people. I suspect you may be good at this. It lends itself to those who can change rapidly.” He side-eyed me with a sly grin on his face. “Of course, that may mean something different to you.”

The elevator was getting close. Terry straightened up and loosened his scarf a little. “In the meantime, you can play off of my prompts. I’ll try to make it obvious for you. Start by being on your phone. Look busy.”

I complied. My fingers shook a little as I realized just how little of a plan Terry had. He was improvising. Hopefully he at least had an escape plan…

               The elevator doors opened. Three Asian men stood inside. One of them stood out because of the large cast he had on his left leg.

“Gentlemen,” Terry began, “I’d like to have a word, if you will.”

They displayed the same distrust and confusion we’d seen from the guards.

“Who are you?” One of them asked.

“I’m a private agent contracted by the Jiezhi to audit new recruits. Is the recruiter with you?”

An older man stepped forward, clearly sizing him up. “I am. Who sent you?”

“I can’t disclose that. We suspect there may be an attempt to plant a mole in the organization. This is why they hired outside the Jiezhi.” 

The man opened his mouth to speak but Terry turned to me instead. “When is my next appointment?” Terry asked.

I looked down at my phone and pretended to flip through my calendar. What did he want me to say? He hadn’t given me any hints. “Um.”

“For fucks sake, Henry! It’s a simple question!” Terry exploded at me. “Why did I let your father talk me into employing you when you can’t even read a fucking phone?”

I reeled back in surprise. Terry’s face was livid with rage. I was still frozen with uncertainty. Then I saw Terry lift the side of his mouth that was hidden from the others.

“I’m still waiting for an answer,” he said impatiently.

“Five o’clock.”

“Where?” He pressed impatiently.

What did he expect of me? Frustrated, I said the first name that came to mind, “370 Perth Street.” It was the address of the building where I took dance lessons.

Terry nodded, turning and checking his watch. “That’s across the city. I don’t have a lot of time. I will speak with both recruits individually in private. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes each. You’re free to question them about it afterwards,” he told the recruiter. I realized that it didn’t matter what I said, just that I answered confidently. Terry was just bouncing the focus to me to distract the recruiter.

“I should make a call,” the recruiter said.

“By all means.” Terry said, glancing at me.

He wants input. “Sir,” I said, “I’ll need his contact information, if they call me to double-check.”

“Right.” He tousled my hair. “You’re not so useless after all. He’s right, let’s exchange contact info. I may need to contact you later anyways.” He held out his phone.

The recruiter brought his phone close and a computerized voice spoke, “Contact received. Are you sure you want to trust this program? Some features may be accessed by-”

“Ignore that,” Terry said powerfully, while tugging on his scarf.

The recruiter blinked slowly. “Ignore what?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Terry said and turned to the other men. “Now, you in the cast. Come with me.” 

The man complied, clunking along clumsily. As I followed the man and Terry to a nearby office, I realized that Terry had just used his Shape. Looking back, I saw the recruiter was on the phone, talking rapidly in Mandarin.

Inside the office, Terry shut the door. He smiled at the recruit. “What’s your name?”

The man answered with some apprehension, “Peter.”

“Peter. I lied to your recruiter. I’m not here to audit you.”

I looked at Terry in alarm. Was this a good idea? He met my eyes seriously for a moment, then turned back to the recruit. I couldn’t get a handle on Terry. He seemed to revel in the chaos.

“I’m here to interrogate you.”

The recruit’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Sit down.”

The recruit sat down heavily in the only chair in the room.

“I need you to remain calm. My associate over there is nicknamed Bloodhound. He is a Cast. If you lie in his presence he will drain your blood through your orifices.”

The man’s head jerked over to look at me. He was sweating visibly now.

“I know you’re thinking of trying something. It seems that he’s not the only Cast in the room, hm?”

The way the man tensed as Terry said that, I realized he was correct. The cast must have been masking an easily visible Shape.

“What we are trying to determine is if you are loyal to the Jiezhi. My partner here doesn’t think so. But if you cooperate, I’m sure you can change his mind.”

The man made eye contact with me again. I stared at him, expressionless. Internally, I was terrified, but he seemed to believe I was capable of what Terry claimed.

“I’m loyal,” he gasped.

“What were you recruited for?”

“I… don’t know.”

I took a step towards him.

The man shrunk back in the chair. “I don’t!” 

Terry nodded appreciatively to me. “You know what they were looking for in you, what skills they were interested in,” he prompted.

“They just wanted me for my Shape. The other guy though, he’s a 3D modeller.”

“Giving up your comrades so easily? That doesn’t reflect well on you.”

Peter paled.

Terry looked at me, nodding his head. I stepped back and leaned on the wall. “It seems you’re telling the truth. Which means we should have a chat with the other one. He may be our mole.”

The man visibly relaxed. “So I can go?”

“Give me your phone first.”

After Terry shared contact information with the recruit, the man hastily left the office. Terry clapped me on the shoulder as he passed. “See? You’re a natural,” he said.

I realized that Nell was sending me some uneasy pulses. Nothing to panicky, but something was going on. I followed Terry, wondering if I should say something.

“Uh oh.” Terry muttered.

Looking past him, I saw that the floor was empty. The recruiter and the recruits were gone. The elevator light was moving towards the ground floor. I watched it with dread.

“I believe the jig may be up,” Terry remarked.