"Lemme get this straight, you want us to steal. . . a jacket?"
We sat in a dank basement, under a garland of passive aggressive Christmas lights. Ha Kun was at the bar, mixing some sort of coconut cloud. He told us to to meet him at some random basement and here we were. We arranged onto falling apart leather couches, everyone shooting nasty looks at people who got into their space bubble. Orion had his legs thrown over my lap and Maisie was glaring at him as if he'd suddenly grown a third head. Owen had a book in his lap. Turns out the dude had a thing for pirate stories. Not what I was expecting. If I teased him about it, I would most certainly be pounded into a pulp.
Ayofemi had even come in in his lab coat. Wire rimmed spectacles were in the process of falling down his nose as he did lab reports.
Ha Kun clearly wasn't a fan of giving us advance warning. I was right in the middle of formatting a hypothetical tripartite system of judicial council since Loren King was two seconds from being voted out of office when I got the text. Before I left the office, Marjan told me that if I needed backup, I could just text her and she'd get one of her munchkins on it. Yes, munchkins. One of their partner's partners had an ex who used to call all of her partners munchkins, and because it was so cute, the entirety of the polycule could now be referred to as the munchkins.
"Yes. I want you to steal a jacket. Consider it a test of your abilities. Should you succeed, and the odds are that you won't, then you will promoted."
"Promoted to leader?" Maisie piped up.
"Promoted from lowly trainee to not lowly trainee." Ha Kun grouched.
"Why this particular jacket?" Catalina asked.
"It's Dominic's. He and Nina used to be lovers. She refuses to give it back." My eyebrows shot up. I wasn't expecting a gossip session, but hey, I'd take any information I could get.
"Is Dominic. . . " Maisie wasn't quite sure how to finish that sentence.
Ha-Kun snorted. "No. They never slept together as far as I know. " He skewered Maisie with a look. "You're the only fool in that situation if you think a powerful relationship needs sex. There are far more important factors than how tangly you can make yourselves."
"What's the catch?" Orion interjected. "If everyone before us has failed, then why are you giving this to a bunch of trainees?"
"I didn't say I think you could do it." Gee Ha Kun, thanks for the vote of confidence. "We give this test to everyone. Figure the more people try it, the better chance we have of someone succeeding one day."
"Where's the jacket?" Maisie asked.
"I bet you it's in Thorn territory." Aisha interrupted.
"I bet you it's hanging right on display where everyone can see it, but no one can touch it." Rowen added.
"I bet you. . " Emery began
"It's even better," Ha Kun cut off Emery curtly as a wicked gleam made its way into his eye. Soil and Sky, were we that fun to torture? "Get your leather on everyone, because you're going down the rabbit hole."
***
Wonderland stood out like a sore thumb, even against the fluorescent lighting of downtown Pardahna. The towering mansion was filled to the brim with people hanging off of balconies, wine glasses in hand. Early evening meant that the party was just beginning.
Light and music shone from the open french doors, the pulsing base shaking the pavement. Flags hung from the balcony. The infamous fifth floor sported it's iconic lingerie row, rows of lacy scraps hung around the perimeter of the building. The hum of conversation puffed the area around it into a bubble of shimmer and life.
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City of Fire and Ink
غموض / الإثارةWhen Cha Seojun's grandad dies, he leaves her with a massive, but dangerous inheritance. Upon his death, Seojun learns about his true dealings with the gangs that run the city of Pardahna. The Lourdes Priori want their money back and if that means k...
