September 10, 2003 – 21:30
"An unlikely ally?" said Coralis.
Frank and the four mages stood in the kitchen around the kitchen island, deeply invested in Veronica's story.
"Very unlikely. A few days later, the citizens' relentless plea fell into the ears of a sympathetic CIA agent. Intrigued, the middle-aged agent decided to visit them to find out more. He had met the one called Blue Thunder once before, and he remembered seeing a camera surveillance footage showing her and a young male seemingly deactivating a nuclear weapon on an isolated island. He knew she was no evil."
"Fart in the Sea. He saw me and Blue," said Henry, looking at Coralis. "Erik and Gus were standing guard. We were all wearing an invisible cloak then, but it fell. When we got home, Gus managed to hack into their surveillance system to scrub the footage clean, but he couldn't find it… that agent must have intercepted it before Gus got to it."
"A CIA agent? What's his name? I mean, how do we know for sure he won't do anything with that video and that he believed the citizens? We still haven't seen any counter statement in the press," said Coralis.
"An invisible cloak? Aren't you using invisibility glamour?" said Frank to Erik and Henry.
"We are now, we learned after that mess," said Erik, looking at Frank before turning his attention back to Coralis' phone. "Do you know what he did with the video he saw?"
Coralis grabbed a wine bottle from the wine rack and opened it, then turned to pull five glasses out of the cupboard.
"Now that you got the gist of the story, here are the hard facts. Yesterday morning, I sent Trisha and Horrace, one of the men who arrived there with Hendrick when we were done, to Clear Valley to speak with the citizens. They remembered well Trisha and Horrace and told them that CIA Agent Dimitri DeMarco met them just before they arrived. They don't care about the claim you might be a witch, what angered them is the accusation that you killed and kidnapped their residents to summon a demon when in fact, you saved them."
"I met that agent once, yeah, but not in the US. Eva and I met him and another agent in Mexico. They wanted information about some shady local covens," said Coralis while distributing the glasses of red wine.
"I don't know what these witches were up to, but they're the reason he didn't lump you with them. Clear Valley people found it strange that a CIA agent would want to talk to them and they didn't really want to talk to him, but figured they had nothing to lose. He gave some Clear Valley citizens his contact details, telling them to call him if they remembered anything else."
"The witches they needed information on were nasty ones, the kind that should have been on their wanted list. I killed most of them, including their coven leader… the spared one should have been on their lists… but weren't for some reason."
Henry and Erik stood next to each other, both had their elbows on the counter, leaning on them.
"I think we both know why. When Trisha gave me his contact details, Hendrick gave him a call and he agreed to meet with him in an abandoned church that we sometimes use for events. We didn't know if we could trust him and considering I was on their wanted list, Hendrick didn't want me there."
"Makes sense, no offence," said Coralis.
"Now, about that video. Fart in the sea you said? Please, I want to know what this is about, and so does Hendrick, I'm sure. Were you really deactivating nuclear weapons?"
"Yes, we were. It's a project that Blue, the twins and I started working on after graduating school. When we hear whispers of nuclear weapons or anything of the sort, we go check it out and, well, turn them harmless," said Gus.
"That's badass! Anyway, he told Hendrick that he destroyed that video footage before someone else saw it. He doesn't believe that Blue should be killed and he thinks that the US and many other countries are making a huge mistake. He suspects that his superiors have been brainwashed by some representatives from EBEE."
"That makes him an unlikely ally, yeah," said Frank.
Frank was worried about Coralis and couldn't stop thinking about ways he could keep her safe. He didn't want to come home to hear that she'd been killed.
"Yes, if we can trust him," said Erik.
"He said he wants to help you but isn't sure how because it could get him killed. He warned my brother about a video going around showing you manipulating an army of zombies, or what looks like it. After talking to the Clear Valley residents, he checked their visitor logs to see who brought the zombie video. According to him, a guy named Jorgie delivered it to his superiors a month ago and that video is the main reason why you rank so high on their list."
"Seb is going to LOVE that story!" said Frank, refilling his glass. "He's been saying for years that Blue's bosses were plotting against her. This is just one more thing that will reinforce his mistrust toward them."
"How do we know he can be trusted?" said Coralis.
"Sis, you do know that Hendrick isn't going to put you in contact with him without knowing beyond certainty that the guy can be trusted. As a peace offering, this agent is giving you the location of a nuclear weapon located in the Sahara Desert. Hendrick thanked him and told him that he'd get back to him if his information turned out useful. He wants to make sure this agent isn't sending you to a trap."
"All right, send me the detail and I'll look it up," said Gus before finishing his glass of wine.
"Let's hope that it doesn't put Hendrick as a person of interest," said Coralis.
"Don't worry about it. Hendrick is sending a messenger to your apartment as we speak with that information. We know your phone is untraceable, but there is something else Father wanted to give you."
"What does he want to give me this time and why?"
"See it as a way for him to show you his undying support. Think he's sending you a hundred-something years old bottle of whiskey. Now, your turn. The Silverblue Heart. Spill!"
The twins chuckled and Gus refilled his glass of wine. Frank opened a new bottle, struggling to stay serious.
"All right, I told you about the duel I had to do against one of my mother's brothers just to get to the Rawindra sword, right?"
"Yes, and you also told me about some strange necklace you found there after killing his cousin. Oh, wait… was it the Silverling Heart?"
Gus and the twins proceeded to tell Veronica what they had been up to since a bounty hunter broke into their apartment and what they found out. Sebastian and Stephanie arrived when they were almost done with their story and Frank handed them a glass of wine.
"Hello Veronica!" said Sebastian.
"You managed to make a replica out of pictures? Hey Sebastian! You missed story time," said Veronica.
"So it seems if I'm to judge by everyone's facial expression."
"Yeah, Gus found me a few holographic ones, that necklace has quite the history. I think I got it close enough, but I'm not sure if I got the right silver density."
"It won't matter, the target will probably die before they can weigh it or have it inspected," said Erik.
Erik walked to the pantry to search for snacks and found bags of microwaveable popcorn. He picked one, unwrapped it and handed it to Coralis, not knowing how to make it.
"Ooooh, now we come to the juicy bits. What will it do? What's the plan for it? Are we talking Vase of Blue Sky epic?"