Chapter 1687 - Outplayed (Part 1)

"Infiltrating the City Hall is not that hard." Manohar shrugged. "You just have to get in during the day when the arrays are down, jam the lock so that the arrays don't trigger, and hide inside an empty room. Then you wait for people to leave, do what you have to, and get out in the morning."

"What about the guards? You can't just walk inside the City Hall unnoticed." Orion pointed out.

"You can, if you have the right face. I have done- I mean, it's one of the reasons I understood that I was dealing with a shapeshifter." Manohar saved himself at the last minute.

"Let me ask you one thing." Orion said. "You don't seem the kind of guy who asks for help nor did you want Jirni here. Then how did I get this job?"

"You are right. I don't need help and I never fail." Manohar said, puffing his chest out with pride.

"That's not what I-"

"I had the perfect plan to find our culprit before your arrival and I even got the Royal Permission to experiment on them and on their accomplices as much as I want after making them talk." Manohar cut him short.

"I'm not great at interrogating people, but usually it's enough to start from my experiments and the talking comes naturally."

"Then why am I here?" Orion asked.

"Well, let's say that usually a lot of my test subjects- I mean prisoners die from unexpected complications. The Crown wanted to make sure that this time I would follow their precious orders so they called your daughter."

"Phloria? Why not Jirni? She's the one they send to make you behave."

"Because they wanted the Beanpole to do something useful for once and drag you out of your slump. They knew that if they called Jirni you wouldn't have come. They are afraid that you're slipping."

"So I'm your babysitter and she's mine?" Orion was flabbergasted.

"Yes, Dad." Phloria nodded. "The Royals wanted me on a mission and I thought that this was the perfect occasion to make you meet Mom and maybe settle things between the two of you.

"I'm not asking you to forgive her, just to put this story behind you before it eats you alive. Lucky told me about your drinking problem and how it's affecting your career."

"Damn furball." Orion was angry at the Ry and moved by the concern that his daughters were showing him. "I promise you that I'll talk with your mother, okay?"

"That's unfair, dude!" Manohar said in outrage. "Maybe I shouldn't have spiked your drinks, but I made up for that by being honest with you. There's no reason to call my mother."

"He meant mine." Phloria said, making the god of healing sigh in relief.

"Wait, what do you mean, drinks? As in more than one?" Orion had wondered why that morning he didn't feel rested and his mouth tasted like trash.

Then he remembered the weird taste of his evening tea and that the staff of his hotel had complained about a wild animal making a mess of the kitchen dumpster.

"First of all, let's all remain calm, appreciate the fact that nothing bad happened, and remember that I'm certified insane." Manohar said as if it explained everything.

"You son of a…" Orion tried to assault him, but a powerful hard-light construct and Phloria stopped him.

Meanwhile, it was almost time for Jirni's appointment with the City Lord.

He lived in the high end of the city and his house was so big that it took an entire city block. The mansion was surrounded by a wonderful park filled with tall trees that welcomed the guests of the Marquis.

Topiary beasts and high flower beds formed green walls around the mansion, giving it color while also hiding everything that happened inside the City Lord's office on the ground floor from prying eyes.

There was only one place high and close enough for Friya and Quylla to do their job, the bell tower of the nearby Royal Library. The problem was that to gain access it was necessary to show an ID.

The girls couldn't use their own without leaving a trace that would immediately alert Marquis Beilin and no fake ID that Friya had from her days as a mercenary would pass a thorough examination.

To make matters worse, unlike Friya, Quylla's presence in Ruham was known since she had accompanied Jirni and the moment she showed her face, people would recognize her.

She wore simple clothes and covered her head with a hood that she would have been forced to remove when the guards checked her documents, exposing her real identity.

It was the reason why Friya wore a shirt instead of her usual loose blouse.

"Is everything alright, officers?" She asked after the two men at the entrance ignored the papers in her hand for a few seconds, focusing on her shapely bosom instead.

The first three buttons were undone, showing a great deal of cleavage that drew their eyes, no matter how hard they tried to focus. Friya had the care to take deep breaths, making her chest press against the thin fabric of the shirt and giving the illusion that the rest of the buttons would pop any second.

"Yes. Your breasts are in order." The guard on the left, a middle-aged man with brown hair, eyes, and mustaches said.

"I beg your pardon?" Friya was waiting for the moment to play the righteous outrage card and that slip of the tongue qualified.

"My colleague meant that your papers are breastfect." His colleague, a man in his early thirties with dark hair and a perfectly shaven face, tried to save the situation, actually making it worse.

"I demand to speak with your commanding officer! This is no way to treat a lady." She hid her cleavage with her hand, making their brains start working again.

"There's no need to go that far! Please, accept our humblest apologies and enjoy your stay in the Royal Library." They gave her such a deep bow that the plumes of their helmets touched the ground.

Friya marched inside, making Quylla slip inside unnoticed as well.

"Good gods, how is that possible?" She asked once they reached their destination.

"It's not that hard." Friya shrugged. "One button is enough to distract teens, two for young men, three when I want to play it safe."

"No, I meant how is it possible that you have no problem doing stuff like that. I would have died of embarrassment in your place." Quylla said.

"Are you kidding me? I saw you at the galas. You had your fair share of men talking to your cleavage all night. You should be used to it at this point."

"That's why I don't date any of them! They are creeps."

"I agree. It's the same reason I usually dress like a monk, but sometimes creeps have their usefulness. Now shut up, Mom has arrived." Friya used a binocular to look inside the City Lord's office and to find the dimensional coordinates of a spot that would allow them to listen to the conversation with Spirit magic.

Marquis Hassar Beilin was a man in his early fifties, about 1.63 meters (5'3") tall, with thick black hair streaked grey and a finely groomed short beard.. It hid his age lines except those around his eyes, also giving him a wise appearance.