Nine-to-Five 024 (Patreon)

Career Opportunities IX

~~~

Arthur Cadogan pondered the day’s events in the solitude of his office.

The day had turned to night. Most Regum employees had returned home or were on their way there already. The exceptions were those busy with other projects and those who lived in Regum Tower. This left most of the building quiet and peaceful, though this did not make much difference for someone like Arthur. Whether day or night, his office was a sanctuary few could breach.

And yet, he found he did his best thinking on nights like this.

“What a delightful frown.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes. A single word left his lips.

“Morgan.”

Every light in the room dimmed as soon as he said her name. When they returned to normal, Arthur Cadogan was no longer alone. A woman was standing before him as though she had always been there.

Morgan was well over six feet tall, making her taller than many men and nearly all women. She wore a long white dress that exposed her shoulders and accentuated her willowy figure. Her hair was long and so dark it seemed unnatural. There were no jewels or ornaments on her body. She was not even wearing make-up, though many would say she did not need it.

“Arthur,” she said. The corners of her lips curled up in what some might call a smile. Most would find her expression too unsettling to be called such. “I can see it has been a productive day for you.”

“Did you know there would be another Exceed on that train?”

Morgan frowned. A soft tut left her lips.

“Most people would begin with hello.”

“You began by telling me I have a delightful frown,” Arthur pointed out.

“I am not most people.”

“Neither am I. Did you know there would be another Exceed on that train?

“Such a one-track mind.” Morgan shook her head and sighed. “No, I did not know there would be another Exceed on that train. How could I?”

“You helped us ensure the incident would happen,” Arthur said. “How could I not suspect you of having done more?”

Arranging the incident hadn’t been hard once they put the pieces together. Nathaniel Robards, the Exceed threatening Amanda Collins’ mother, clearly meant to pass the files he obtained to someone else. However, he was unable to do so because the people he was supposed to make contact with were no longer alive.

Due to Timothy’s late night-outing, Regum needed to clean up his loose ends. In doing so, they removed the upper leadership of a gang that wasn’t just involved with a mysterious drug but with Exceed trafficking as well.

Once Gerald’s men realized the two cases might be related, all they had to do was lead the remaining members of the Rough Diamonds to Robards without either side noticing their involvement. All it took was an address hidden under the parquet. From that point on, it was simply a matter of watching the pieces act according to their best interests. It got even easier once the police went out of their way to set up a trap, something Regum had known about due to their backdoor into their database.

Arthur had simply used Morgan to ensure an altercation would happen on the train so that Timothy and Amanda could act before the police got a chance to spring their trap.

However, the presence of another Exceed in the train had caught him off-guard.

“As always, you misunderstand how my craft works. I cannot ordain events to happen. Not in the way you are thinking of,” Morgan said. “You and your minions increased the likelihood of the train becoming a place of conflict. I merely gave things a little nudge to ensure it would be so. However, I cannot introduce any new variables. If an Exceed appeared, he did so because he was already involved. You just weren’t aware of it.”

Arthur held Morgan’s gaze for several seconds, trying to find any trace of deceit there. It was useless, he knew. The older one was, the better at lying, and Morgan had lived much longer than he.

Not that he thought she was lying this time, but it was always good to be a little suspicious.

“Very well,” he said after a while.

“Personally, I don’t see what has you so bothered,” Morgan said, making herself comfortable in one of his sofas. “You got everything you wanted out of this.”

Tentative loyalty. Field results against an Exceed with some combat experience. Increased comradery between his interns. Those were all undeniably good things. In some ways, the day’s results had exceeded his expectations in a positive way.

However…

“There was another Exceed on the train.”

Morgan groaned. “So you have said. Many times. You are beginning to sound like a broken record, Arthur.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes. Either Morgan didn’t get it, or she was just being difficult. Maybe both.

“We knew there was a possibility of Robards becoming involved with the operation. That was why we had him under more surveillance than usual today. Had he gotten remotely close to the train station, we would have acted differently.”

The toad Exceed the police used as bait had never been something they felt seriously threatened by. That man was too new to his powers to be an obstacle, and the files in Mrs. Collins’ computer reassured them that he was not likely to start an altercation.

Jack Frost had been an entirely different animal.

“Two Exceeds,” Arthur said, lifting up two fingers so Morgan could see. “There are two Exceeds involved in an Exceed trafficking operation.”

And if there were two Exceeds, there could be three, four, or even more. However, that wasn’t the worst of it.

“Not only does it mean this operation goes far deeper than we assumed, but there is something at play that can ensure Exceeds are willing to work with them despite the obvious issues.”

“A valid concern,” Morgan admitted. “However, I must remind you there are others involved in this situation as well. The authorities are probably looking for the answers you seek even as we speak.”

~~~

“You went behind my back!”

“You wouldn’t listen!”

“I wouldn’t listen? You launched an entire operation without consulting me!” Director Williams shouted into her screen.

“I don’t need your permission to set up an ambush!” Commissioner Donovan shouted back.

“You do when it involves a high-profile case like this one! You do when you use an Exceed as bait! That’s my jurisdiction!”

“I kept asking you to give me less conspicuous Exceeds to work with!” Donovan said, spit flying from his mouth and landing on his screen. “You kept insisting on Slate! What would he have done on the train? As we found out just a few hours ago, he can’t even fit inside one!”

Director Williams refused to dignify that comment with a response. As the fastest hero in the area, it had been natural for Slate to be the first one to arrive at the scene. Unfortunately and somewhat embarrassingly, he had been unable to go inside the train due to his bulk. The hero had to content himself with running his scanners while standing outside the windows. Not that him being inside the train would have made a difference. Everything had been over by the time he and the police arrived at the train station.

“Don’t you dare try turn this around on me! You overstepped your authority! Now, we have a scandal on our hands! Pictures of those frozen train cars are going to be on every front page tomorrow!”

The incident was already making its rounds through the evening news. The PR division was not happy about it, especially with all the work they had to do after the toad incident at the beginning of the Summer.

“Those train cars were frozen because you underestimated Frost!” Donovan said. “I warned you about him, and you didn’t listen!”

Director Williams’s nostrils flared as she prepared to fire back a scathing remark.

At the very last moment, she stopped herself.

“You know what?” she said, tired. “You’re right.”

Donovan blinked, clearly not having expected that. “What?”

“You did warn me about Jack Frost, and I dismissed him as a tertiary concern at best.”

Of course, so had he. The reason why Donovan had wanted her to go after Jack Frost was so he could keep chasing after the Exceed trafficking ring without CHEM’s interference.

“Clearly, I was wrong,” she continued. “Jack Frost might be a third-rate Exceed, but he’s a third-rate Exceed who has clearly been working on his power, and whose connections to the criminal underground go far deeper than we thought. He’s a dangerous Exceed who represents a threat to everyone living in the Port Stanley Metropolitan area and must be stopped.”

Donovan narrowed his eyes as he realized where she was going with this. Tough luck. There wasn’t much he could do about it. Not after what he’d pulled.

“That makes this, all of it, CHEM’s jurisdiction now.”

“I… understand.”

“Do you?” She asked, eyebrow raised. “Because I want to make sure you understand the mess you’ve made. There are only two things I can say in your favor. You didn’t lose Mr. King, and you at least managed to capture most of the men related to the drug ring. Not that the last one can really be attributed to you. We have a vigilante to thank for that, I hear.”

A female vigilante, according to passenger testimony.

If this had happened on a plane, she would already have a decent list of suspects. Unfortunately, you didn’t need to present an ID to get on a train. There were even vending machines outside the station where anyone could buy tickets.

There was only one woman Saddie Williams knew for sure had gotten on that train, but she didn’t want to kick that beehive just yet. Hopefully, the testimony from the gang members they caught would shed some light on the vigilante’s identity, though it seemed they were having unusual problems on that front.

The few suspects who had woken up had been reported as being weirdly blank-faced and generally out of it. As if they had woken up after a night of drinking. Her people were already theorizing that might be the vigilante’s power.

“That vigilante!” Donovan spat the word. “Hurt one of my officers. He’s not going to be able to walk for months! I want her in custody.”

Director William winced in sympathy. Most likely, it was the result of an unfortunate series of coincidences. The vigilante had no way of knowing one of the criminals she was fighting wasn’t one. All the same, events like these were precisely why vigilantism was a tricky issue. That was not even getting to the level of brutality this vigilante had operated with.

“This is the second time a vigilante appears the same day something happens to this group,” Donovan continued. “It can’t be just a coincidence. We need to bring them in.”

“CHEM needs to bring them in,” she corrected. “You are going to be lucky if you get out of this with just a few sanctions. Now, I might be inclined to speak in your favor when we explain everything to the governor, but…”

She left the sentence hanging. Annoying as it was, it was better to have Donavan in her pocket than to have him replaced with someone new.

“I will… cooperate.” Donovan sighed. “Send in your Exceeds. Just… make sure to capture them. Frost first, then the vigilantes.”

“I am so glad we have finally come to an agreement.”

~~~

“Just let them sort out your problems for you and relax. Comparatively speaking, I’d say you have been the winner of the day. News of the frozen train cars are on almost every station, yet Regum’s reputation remains as clean as always. You have nothing to worry about. Not on that front, at least. Now, that boy…”

Ah. Arthur nodded as he recalled how his conversation with Timothy had gone.

~~~

“So… you’re kind of a supervillain.”

Rather than denying it, Arthur merely nodded. “I suppose that is one way to describe me.”

“Kind of obvious in hindsight. Rich guy with his own pharma company and all, and it’s always the big pharma companies.” Tim nodded to himself. “No one’s ever heard of an evil construction company, you know? Or an evil pottery store.” Tim paused. “Is there one?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Okay. Good, good...” Tim sighed. “Say... did you have anything to do with my mom getting hit by a car.”

“We did not send those men after you if that is what you fear,” Arthur replied. “You found them on your own, and they found you through their own efforts. However, we could have stopped them from picking you up that night. I chose to see how events played out. The crash was an accident we did not foresee.”

“Ah. I see.” Tim bit his lower lip and nodded several times. Then he suddenly jerked his head up. “You are not keeping her in a coma on purpose or something, right?”

“We are not.”

“Good. Good.” Tim took a deep breath. “And if I say I want nothing to do with this?”

“We will still treat your mother until she has fully recovered,” Arthur replied.

“Good. Good.”

Arthur Cadogan raised an eyebrow. “I must say you are taking this awfully well.”

“Am I? Really?” Tim frowned. “I mean, I could blame you for what happened to my mom, but it’s like, I also could have stopped those guys right there on the street, you know? If I had, then the crash would have never happened. So, it’s not like none of it is on me. Even if the whole thing would have never happened if you never gave me powers, it’s not like I dislike them or anything, so it’s not like I would have said no if you just offered. Plus, you are taking care of my mom, so I kind of don’t want to burn this bridge right now and all.”

“That’s a mature way of looking at it.”

“First time anyone called me that.” Tim chuckled awkwardly. “...If you’re lying, I’m going to break your face.”

Tim’s voice wasn’t loud or threatening. He even kept the same awkward smile on his face when he said those words.

“I mean it,” he added. “I kind of like you, so I really hope you aren’t lying. But if you are... I’m going to break your face. I know I can.”

“I know you can.”

“Good.” Tim shuffled in place awkwardly. “So yeah, that’s all I had to say.”

~~~

“He wasn’t lying,” Morgan told him. “Not one bit. He meant what he said. You do realize that, right?”

“I do.”

~~~

AN:

Trains regulations can vary a lot from place to place. That's been my experience. There have been places where I needed to present ID, and others were you just buy your ticket like you're buying candy at a store. Fun stuff. 

Anyway, I'm happy I was able to get this chapter out on time. It's the last update of the year.

Have a Happy New Year, Everyone!