Oracle

Part 3

"Mr Elison," a deep, well-cultured voice came over the phone, "I trust you are well?"

"Well enough, sir. I'm currently at the Rusty Rook," Elison commented, standing up and moving away from the bar where people were trying to listen in. It wasn't normal for Calder to call one of his subordinates out of nowhere, especially someone as low on the food chain as Elison.

"The Rook?" Calder hummed. "Is my son's leg donor doing well?" he asked, something clicking in the background.

Elison glanced back over at Justice who was pouring John a drink. John winked at him, using his abilities to listen in. The man murmured something into Justice's ear which made him blush and look over at John with a nervous expression. The butcher had transplanted Justice's leg onto Calder's son after he had had an accident. An easy operation, but as a known viable transplant for Calder's son, Justice lived under the knowledge that John could ask him to donate more than his leg if something else happened to the boy.

"He's well. John is looking after him. Remarkably still naive despite what happened and working at the Rook," Elison commented, not wanting to offend the boy but not about to lie to Calder either.

"Good," Calder purred. "The naive-ness is not a bad thing, and it is sweet to know such a thing can exist in that environment." Calder paused and then his voice turned serious. "Speaking of which, this is a serious phone call. The butcher has broken his orders and is now under investigation. Some of his accounts don't add up; merchandise has gone missing after use."

"The merchandise isn't at the middle house?" Elison frowned. John glanced up in his direction with a frown of his own. Missing bodies were not good. Part of the point of the middle house programme was to ensure there was no bad blood from the merchandise and no one who would speak up to tell the truth about what was going on in the back streets of the dock city. Rumours were bad for business.

"From what we can tell, one in ten aren't. Enough to hide at first glance but it seems to have been going on for a few years now. Do you have any ideas as to why this may be?" Calder asked. John moved over to look Elison in the eyes himself.

The feeling of being trapped between a rock and a hard place sprang to Elison's mind. "I can guess, sir. I know some of the slave traders have been unhappy with some of the recent changes you have made to the rules. Whether they are unhappy enough to start disobeying your rules or not, I cannot say. I'm just a locator," Elison frowned, uncertain as to what his boss was expecting from him. John made the situation more unsettling by acting as a truth detector for Calder. John was not under Calder's control; they were equal on the surface. If people started breaking the rules that would concern John as a slavebond owner. Though John did have to play to the same rules as everyone else.

"True, true, true. I'd argue a lie, you are not just a locator," John commented loud enough for Calder to hear. His voice was neutral but his eyes showed his displeasure. John did not like lying of any sort.

"I'm glad to hear you, at least, are not involved in what is going on. You are very useful to my organisation, Mr Elison," Calder commented, his voice still serious. "But I am sure you can understand that your job will be suspended for a little while. We can offer you other jobs with the butcher's associates in the same trade, if you would like that?"