Author Games: The Absent Empress

Task Five Entries: 11-20

Maanyo

Neither of Aar's companions liked rain. As the storm drove down around them, sheets of water obscuring Aar's view of Chicago, Reason grumbled something profane, and The Girl's forehead creased. But Aar closed his eyes and relished the moment. It hardly rained in Somalia, and the feeling of standing within water, coolness washing over his face and hands, relaxed him.

"It's a block away," The Girl said, her voice clipped. The three heroes had left their Project Phoenix taxi a couple blocks back, electing to walk the rest of the way to avoid suspicion. Reason and Aar were relative unknowns, but The Girl—Irene, as she had insisted Aar call her—had worked with high-profile clients for years now. She obscured her mouth and chin with a red wool scarf, eyes surreptitiously scanning the crowds that jostled their group.

A week and a half had passed since Ms. Sato had disappeared. Concerned staff members were requesting information from external entities, and private channels had provided a handful of leads. According to Irene, the investigation team had sifted through myriad claims before settling on the trustworthy few; these included a report from a Project Phoenix affiliate in New York, a file compiled by a Japanese private investigation firm, and a record from the Chicago Police Department of multiple call-ins corroborating Ms. Sato's description. Project Phoenix had sent groups to follow up, one of which was Irene and Reason.

Aar had not been assigned to Irene's group originally. In fact, neither he nor the Beat had been assigned to any group—their skills, an investigator had informed them, would not be necessary. That had not prevented Aar from volunteering. His priorities had changed since the mission to Vancouver; he could be of service, he knew now, but his devotion to Project Phoenix's noble goal had solidified, causing him to seek out even further usefulness on the team. This meant developing his soft skills, learning to work better with people and operate in the political tangle of superhuman affairs. With their unique strengths and variety of experiences, Aar's fellow heroes had lessons to teach him, whether they realized it themselves or not. Officially, Aar had come to Chicago as "backup", but he would gain more from watching Irene work than he would give.

Before long, Aar, Irene, and Reason had halted in front of CPD Headquarters. The building was not nearly as impressive as Project Phoenix's, its brown-brick walls rising two stories at most. Two flags hung in front of the door, one American, the other what Aar presumed to be the state's.

"No point standing around," said Reason, and she strode toward the open glass door. With quick glances to her left and right, Irene soon followed, leaving Aar to pick up the rear.

The inside of the building was suitably bureaucratic. Reason was standing before a wide reception desk, where Irene had begun to unwind the scarf from around her head. Another open door stood behind the desk; through this, Aar could see a large room filled with computers, people in business clothing flitting from one end to the other. His gaze was distracted by the voice of the smiling receptionist in front of him him:

"Project Phoenix, I assume?"

Aar blinked. This man, clothed in a crisp white shirt and red tie, should not have known they'd come from Project Phoenix. Irene had mentioned they'd need a code word to get into the back, for discretion's sake.

Aar glanced at Irene, who was rewrapping her scarf around her face, though her cheeks had turned noticeably red. Had the receptionist identified Irene? She was recognizable in certain circles, though she hadn't been publicly affiliated with Project Phoenix, as far as Aar knew. Perhaps the staff had sent word of who would be coming.

At a word of affirmation from Reason, the receptionist stood from his chair and said, "Right this way." He began to stride to Aar's left, where a closed door led out of the lobby and deeper into CPD Headquarters. Reason and Irene trailed after him, but Aar hesitated. The lack of a code word had disoriented him, and he stared at the open door to his right, where CPD workers sat at computers. Now he noticed something new—the door had been propped open with a doorstop. Someone was deliberately exposing this area to the lobby, but why? Could it be a show of transparency? Aar assumed the CPD would want to hide their inner workings, but perhaps he misjudged them.