Chapter 192: Progress Report
“Good afternoon, Boss.”
The man greeting Isaac looked like someone straight out of a 1920s mob film, complete with a strong but perfectly understandable Italian accent, black suit, and a fedora.
A getup that was hardly subtle, or something commonly worn in this time period. But it wasn’t real, simply an illusion projected by one of his [Skills], something that worked based on perception and expectations. As long as no one grew suspicious of your presence, no one would stop you if you went somewhere you shouldn’t be, making it the perfect disguise.
It also helped hide your real identity even from people who sort of knew who you were. When people only saw the most picture-perfect cliché of your [Class], they often failed to see the real you. Even Isaac didn’t know what his real face was, but it wasn’t like he needed it, given that this man’s loyalty was assured.
Or maybe this guy just liked the look, who knew? After all, Gregorio Zambon, formerly an Italian mobster, now Isaac’s number one off-the-books investigator. Well, his only off-the-books investigator, but given that he had a legendary investigation [Class], that was more than enough.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Zambon.” Isaac greeted and pulled out the second chair at the table. They were currently in a small coffee shop in Cornwall, with scones, clotted cream, jam, and tea. A terrible location for a clandestine meeting under normal circumstances, but the people holding said meeting had infosec abilities up the wazoo.
[Perception Interdiction] and [Unknown Fear] for Isaac, [Perception Interdiction], several [Skills] from the Eldritch summoning category that made trying to peek a memetic hazard for Zambon, as well as several [Class] [Skills] in that vein.
If anyone tried to overhear, they’d notice and there would be hell to pay.
Unless they decided to have this talk across the street from a national intelligence agency, they’d be safe. Besides, those scones were looking damn good.
“What do you have for me?” Isaac asked.
“Several leads, two potential high-ranking members of this cult, and one location that’s currently being furnished.” Zambon reported, “But we need to talk.”
“So, you figured it out?” Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You knew I would,” Zambon replied. It wasn’t a question, though Isaac did catch a hint of surprise. The man sitting across the table from him wasn’t wielding the full power of his infosec [Skills] against Isaac, presumably an attempt at making him feel more at ease. After all, Zambon now knew just how powerful Isaac was, and how dangerous he could be in a fight. And not just the power he’d shown to the public either, but at least some of the true depth of his power and potential.
Isaac nodded.
“You wanted me to figure it out,” Zambon said.
Isaac thought about responding but decided it would be superfluous. Instead, he sighed “I don’t think I’ll need to say anything, will I? At least unless there are specific things you want to know that you haven’t been able to figure out yet.”
“All of this was just an XP farming opportunity.” Zambon said, half asking, half telling “And you’re doing this all ... hm ... you want to save the world. You wanted someone able to research your enemies, or rather, the world’s enemies. But that person couldn’t be someone who could turn on you, sell you out, so you found someone with an [Oath].”The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.
He paused for a moment, tapping against his chin with his index finger, then continued with new confidence “It’s really that simple, isn’t it? You really just want to save the world.”
Isaac nodded.
Zambon chuckled softly “Well, boss, I know I already promised to be by your side forever as long as you treat me right, but I’d like to promise it again: I’ll help you save the world, come what may.”
Isaac thought he did a good job hiding his surprise, but really, who was he kidding? No matter how good of an actor he was, no one could hide anything from the person sitting across from him.
“I realize how that sounds, but really, is it so strange? I live on this planet too.”
“New target, eh? Are you sure there isn’t anything we could help with?” Habicht asked in between bites of his steak. He was back in the Starhail, having dinner with Isaac.
“I’m afraid not. There are no targets left anywhere in Germany, I’m pretty sure they ran for the hills after we took out their Hamburg office.” Isaac shook his head “If you want to help with a mess in England, you need to bug our political overlords to get going on international cooperation.”
“Oh, that’s not going to go well.” Habicht sighed “That would require some actual concessions.”
He practically spat the word, then took another swig of his beer before he kept talking.
“See, that’s the issue, isn’t it? We, humans, can’t get our act together long enough to fight our way out of a paper bag, let alone achieve anything big or significant. We shouldn’t have to rely on individuals to work to save the world.”
“Heroes happen when shit hits the fan. If everything goes smoothly, there aren’t any heroes because they aren’t needed. Therefore, in any situation in which you have heroes, you’ve got a problem of titanic proportions.” Isaac observed.
“Sad but true.” Habicht said “But I think we might be able to root our enemies out before their time limit runs out. We’ve already found two of their major bases, haven’t we, and if we break their operations in the entire nation in one shot ... we’d be able to tear them apart pretty quickly.”
“Maybe. But both of those bases were in modern nations with comprehensive databases and plenty of paper trails. People who hide like they do show up pretty easily. But in nations who aren’t as anal retentive about proper documentation as Germany is, they’d probably just disappear into a crowd.”
“Damn, good point.” Habicht swore softly “So, what’s next?”
“The Brits storm the convention center at the proper time, stomp flat all opposition using help from Camelot and hopefully, we’ll get enough to chase them across borders.” Isaac said, “We’ll see where we go from here.”
“About that, do you think I might be able to borrow your investigator once in a while?” Habicht asked.
“That ... won’t work,” Isaac told him.
“Someone I’d have to arrest?” Habicht asked.
“Maybe, I don’t know, all I know is that he’s trustworthy. The [System]-enforced kind.” Isaac said. The fewer broken laws he was concretely aware of, the better for someone always around law enforcement.
“Ah, gotcha.” Habicht nodded “Hypothetically speaking if you had a nigh-infallible investigator, who would you send him after?”
“Our friends with the nihilistic streak, and the occasional extraordinary problem.” Isaac said, “But, hypothetically speaking, if you could work in the phrase ‘extremely dangerous, dastardly criminals’ into the press statement about something, that something might end up added to the schedule.”
“I can’t do that too often without people realizing what triggers the mystery informant to help.” Habicht pointed out.
“Or you could just tell me if we have a meeting that’s been planned ahead of time so it doesn’t look like you’re meeting with me just because you’ve got a problem,” Isaac said.
“Or we could do that. Shall we make this dinner a biweekly thing?” Habicht suggested.
“Sure, but I can’t always promise my investigator will be available,” Isaac said.
“I know. If I ask for help, it’ll be very important.” Habicht promised, “So, what do you think is up in that base?”
“I did check the place out a bit. It’s still empty, but there are several million euros worth of magical materials already stored in there, as well as magical storage set up in countless broom closets and the like, and so many guards. Guards, traps, and everything else a group like this might need, but disguised really well. I wish I were going too ...”
