#unfriendly reminder that i fucking hate AI and people who uses it for to one-up artists and writers in their crafts can step on a lego

[give-me-back-my-rhodey]

Seeing Through the Masks - AUgust Day 18

Title: Seeing Through the Masks

Author: Purple_ducky00

Rating: Teen

Warnings: N/A

Card number: 016

Square Filled: Obadiah Stane of the @tonystarkbingo flash card

Pair: Bucky/Tony; background Steve/Sam/Sharon

Link: Read on AO3

Summary: Bucky is hired to be Tony Stark's bodyguard. Once annoyed by his task, he starts to see the real Tony Stark behind all the masks he wears

+++++++

Bucky groans. It’s only his second day working for Stark, and he’s ready to quit. As Stark’s bodyguard, he’s supposed to get a daily schedule and be updated if anything changes. This is the third time today that Stark changed the schedule and didn’t inform him.

 Stark is abrasive, unfriendly, and unable to shut up at all times. When Pepper brought Bucky down to Stark’s workshop to meet him, Stark went on a rant to her about how he doesn’t need a bodyguard, and the bodyguard will only get in his way.

 Pepper firmly told him “You need a bodyguard. The Board implemented it.”

 “Did they forget that I own more than half the shares?” Stark demanded. “And that I’m the fucking CEO? Without me and you, this business might not go anywhere?”

“Mr. Stark. Just humor the Board on this one. I know you think you’re invincible, but the truth is, none of us want to see you get hurt.” Pepper had said softly, and Stark acquiesced.

  He looked at Bucky and said. “Fine, but you do not get in my way at any time. Pepper, did you give him an NDA? I don’t want any of my plans stolen. I don’t know why you didn’t just tell Happy to guard me like before.”

 “You made Happy your driver,” Pepper reminds. “And now he’s the head of security at SI. Do you really want to downgrade him? And yes, I gave Mr. Barnes an NDA to sign, which he did. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

 “No. No.  Ok thank you, Miss Potts. I will call you if I need you. Barnes, is it? Just stand there and don’t get in my way.” Tony had dismissed them as he went back to his work.

 Mouthing the word ‘sorry’, Miss Potts led Bucky to the door. “So, we’ll get you a key card and everything. I’ll have Tony put a code for you on this door. I’m sorry. He’s prickly at first, but I’m sure he’ll warm up to you.”

 Now, Bucky just wants to strangle the man. Stark is talking to his CFO, Obadiah Stane. “No, it’s not going to work that way. Obie, Obie, listen to me. I know how these things work, trust me. You know Dad would have told you the same thing. I will take care of it, Obie. Leave it to me.”

 Stane gives Bucky the creeps. Something about him just seems… off. But Bucky grits his teeth at the arrogant tone in Stark’s voice. The call hangs out, and the man turns to him. “You, come help me with this.”

 Fighting the urge to roll his eyes, Bucky walks up to Stark. “What do you want me to do?”

 “Hold up this piece of metal here. I’d ask the bots to do it, but they’d probably drop it, those little terrors.” He grins. Bucky’s not sure where Stark stands with the bots. He’s always insulting them, but he never gets rid of them. Bucky holds up the sheet of metal while the billionaire does a few experiments on it.

 In the end, Stark shakes his head and groans. “Won’t work. I told him.” Realizing that Bucky is still there, holding the metal, he waves at him. “Go ahead and put it down. I have to scrap it.”

 Bucky puts down the metal and walks back to his place by the wall. Stark ignores him for the rest of the day. Soon enough, it’s nighttime, and Tony dismisses him as he will not be going out tonight. Miss Potts thanks him for his work for the day and hands him the key card and badge that he will need going forward. He nods and walks out of the house.

 Meeting Steve, Sam, and Sharon at a restaurant, Bucky does not eat dinner until close to 930. Sam asks him about his new job, and Steve rolls his eyes. “No, you don’t wan…”

 “My new job?” Bucky smiles sharply, all teeth. “Let’s just say, it’s a good thing it pays well. Very well. My employer doesn’t even want me there, is an arrogant jerk 99.99999999% percent of the time, and doesn’t know how to treat anyone well, other than himself. It’s so fun.”

 Sam widens his eyes. “Wow. Sounds like you should just quit.”

 “Can’t. I’m under a year’s contract. I guess that’s how they trap the people in this job. Major lawsuits against me if I just quit.”

Sharon leans forward. “So, who’s your employer or is that classified as well?”

 “Tony Stark. And let me tell you, he is a pain in my ass.”

 +++++++

Bucky notices a few differences in Stark’s treatment of people… and things. Miss Potts, he treated with the utmost respect. They banter back and forth, and he usually is quick to give in to her demands. Stark has a voice in his ceiling. A learning AI, the genius had told him. Stark treats this voice like a friend or something. He’ll have full conversations with the voice. Bucky thinks it’s weird, but Stark is ‘eccentric’ right?

 He meets Colonel Rhodes within the first month of his job. He is unprepared for the pure, unadulterated joy he sees on Stark’s face when Rhodes walks through the door.

 “Rhodey!” Stark cries and runs over to hug the man. “How was the flight back? Do you need sleep? What’s on the docket for your leave?”

 Bucky just stares at the expressiveness of Stark’s face. Of all the days Bucky has escorted Stark around the city, and of all the people Stark has talked to, Bucky has never seen Stark drop his guard so much as he does right now. Rhodes, Bucky notices, hugs his friend right back. “I’m going to need some rest, Tones, then we can do whatever. Hey DUME, hey U, hey B, how are you guys?” Rhodes pats each of the bots. They beep happily back at him. He notices Bucky for the first time. “Um, Tones? Who’s this?”

 “Oh. Bodyguard.” Tony crosses his arms, defenses rising once again. “The fucking Board and Pepper strong=armed me into keeping this one. Apparently, they don’t want to see me hurt or some shit.”

 “Hi, James Rhodes. Nice to meet you.” Rhodes walks over to Bucky and extends his hand.

 Bucky shakes it. “James Barnes. Likewise. Can you make sure Mr. Stark updates me when he decides to leave the premises? I’d hate to get in trouble with Miss Potts if I lose him again.”

 “I’m right here.” Stark snaps.

 Rhodes chuckles. “But would you listen? Come on, Tones. You don’t want him to face Pepper’s wrath, do you? You know she’ll probably aim it at you, too.” Wrapping his arm around the smaller man’s shoulders, Rhodes leads him out of the workshop. Bucky trails behind at a slower pace.

 ++++++

Stark warms up to him over time.  He brings Bucky to red carpet events and galas. He makes sure to inform him when he’s going off schedule. Stark also lets him know when he’s taking home a bed companion or two. Bucky is happy he doesn’t have to stay inside the room when Stark has sex. Bucky had accidentally gotten an eyeful once before, and he wishes he could scrub the view out of his mind. It doesn’t help that Stark’s ass is perfect. He has to stop thinking about this!

 Apparently, when Tony gets comfortable with you, he flirts with you a lot. Now Bucky wouldn’t mind, except that he is incredibly gay, and Stark is terribly attractive. Bucky once fantasized wiping the grease off of his face the one-time Tony had emerged from under his Roadster, eyes sparkling. This is not good.

 Pepper must have noticed his discomfort and tells him. “If you want him to knock it off, just tell him. He'll understand.”

 “No, I don’t really mind,” Bucky admits. “I just have to stop myself from flirting back.”

 She shrugs. “As long as it’s just simple flirting, and nothing comes of it, I’m sure you'll be fine. He'll probably like you better.”

 “As long as I have your permission.” Bucky smiles. This job might have just gotten a lot easier.

 The next time Bucky meets up with his friends, they ask about his job. “I may have exaggerated last time.” He ducks his head, sheepish. “I don’t know if I’ve just gotten used to him, or what, but Tony isn’t so bad, you know?”

 “Oh, so he’s Tony now?” Sharon grins. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. But I think a lot of the problems I had with him were personas he thinks he has to live up to. When he’s alone in his workshop, he’s almost magical. The stuff that he can make is amazing, even if they end up being weapons of mass destruction. I don’t really like that. When he’s with Miss Potts or his friend Colonel Rhodes or even ugh Stane – I do not like that guy, he’s always so… open and relaxed. It’s almost as if he feels like he can be himself.  Then, when he’s around other people, at least one wall comes up. When he’s at a gala, he’s in an unbreakable safe. You can’t reach the real him, no matter how hard you try. It’s kind of sad that he has to do that.”

 “I think he’s just an asshole who can only be nice to the few people he actually likes.” Steve crosses his arms.

 Sam gives him a look. “Once again, Steve. Do you know the man?”

 “No, but.”

 “Why are you judging?” Sam glares, and Bucky chuckles. Sam knows how to give Steve a reality check.

 Sharon shakes her head at her boyfriends. She turns to Bucky. “What’s he like around you?”

 “He usually just kind of forgets I’m there when we’re in the workshop, but I don’t think he completely trusts me still. When he’s sleep-deprived, though, he likes to flirt with me.” Bucky grimaces. “Sometimes, I like it a little too much.”

 “Don’t tell me you’re crushing on Stark.” Steve groans.

 “Since he seems to be a topic of arguments, how about we just stop talking about Tony?” Bucky suggests. “Steve, how’s your art commission coming along?”

 Steve launches into his explanation on what he’s doing, and Bucky zones out. Does he really have a crush on his employer? How is that a good thing?

 ++++++

One day, Tony grabs Bucky by the arm. “We’re skipping out of the awards show or whatever Pep has planned for me tonight. I hate them. How about we go to the new casino instead?”

“Mr. Stark.” “Tony.” “Tony, you have to fly out to Afghanistan the next day. A late night at the casino isn’t going to help you. By the way, I still think I should accompany you to Afghanistan. I did fight over there, you know.” This was an argument that kept coming up.

 “Pshh, what do you know? I’ve been doing this since I was 16. I’ll be fine.” Tony brushes him off. “If you’re not going to go, I’m asking Happy.”

 “I’ll go, but you’re going to shield me if Miss Potts tries to kill me.” Bucky relents.

 Tony gives him a side eye. “Bold of you to think she won’t just kill me. And also, aren’t you supposed to be my bodyguard? Where I go, you go?”

 “So, why shouldn’t I accompany you to Afghanistan?” Bucky mentally cheers. He doesn’t usually one-up Tony.

 Tony pats his cheek. “I have Rhodey and plenty of Army and Air Force personnel there to protect me if something goes wrong. You should be happy; you have a few days off.”

 Bucky and Happy both accompany Tony to the casino. Happy sticks by Tony’s side while Bucky fades into the background. He watches as Rhodey comes from the awards show with an award for Tony. Tony apologizes and promises to be ready for the flight tomorrow. Rhodey leaves and Tony hands off his award to a Caesar cosplayer. Bucky’s heart wrenches as it does every time Tony picks up someone for a roll in the bed. He follows Happy home in his own car, checks the perimeter, makes sure everything is ok, and goes home for the weekend. Tony is right; he’ll finally have some extra time.

 ++++++

Bucky is bowling with Sam, Steve, and Sharon again when Rhodey calls him. Thinking Tony is coming home a day early, he excuses himself and answers the phone. “Hey Rhodey.”

 “Bucky.” Rhodey’s voice comes over the speaker. “Are you sitting down?”

 “No, but I can. Is something wrong?” His body fills with dread. He should have been over in Afghanistan.

 Rhodey sighs a ragged breath. “Tony, he, uh…. The convoy Tony was in got attacked. He definitely survived the attack, but they must have taken him. We don’t know where he is.”

 “No. no. You’re lying.” Bucky accuses. “I should have been there. I should have told Tony I was going with him, no matter what. This is…”

 “Not your fault.” Rhodey interrupts. “This is not your fault at all. We should never have had Tony there in a hotspot to begin with.”

 “Are – do you have people looking for him?” Bucky asks.

 “Of course, we do.”

 Bucky trembles. “It won’t be enough. Rhodey, let me come. Let me come and find him. I need him. Let me…”

 “Bucky, you know I can’t do that. “Rhodey sighs. “I know he means a lot to you. He means a lot to me, too. I’m not going to stop until I find him. I promise you, Bucky. I promise.”

 Bucky hits end call and sinks to the ground. What is he going to do now? Sharon notices his position and runs over to him. “Bucky! Get up, are you ok?”

 “No. Tony, he’s….” Bucky breaks down into tears.

 “Shh, It’s ok honey. Let’s get you to a real chair.” She takes his shoulders and leads him to their lane. “Just sit here. You’ll be ok.”

 Sam and Steve notice that he’s crying. “Shit. What happened, Shar?” Sam asks.

 “Something with Tony Stark. Bucky can’t finish his sentence. It must be pretty bad.”

 They take him home, and when his shock wears off, he tells them what Rhodey said. “I think I love him. And the bastard has to go get himself kidnapped.” He scoffs, wiping away tears from his eyes. “I don’t even know what I’m going to do tomorrow.”

 ++++++++

Three months pass. Bucky is just going through the motions. Serving as Pepper’s bodyguard, Bucky accompanies her to all her meetings and outings. He breaks down in tears once again when he gets the call that they found Tony. Accompanying Pepper to the airport, he refrains from embracing Tony and never letting him go. Instead, he tells Tony that a three-month long vacation is long enough.

 When they get in the car, Tony tells Happy to get him a cheeseburger and Pepper to call a press conference. Bucky sees a new resolve in Tony’s eyes that he never saw before. Tony tells the press that he’s shutting down weapons manufacturing. Bucky is happy. Bombs only caused more destruction.  That was one thing he hated about the army. Rhodey, on the other hand, is pissed. He tells Tony that he needs to rest and relax.

 Stane tells Tony to sit back and let him take care of all the PR. Bucky is always skeeved out about that guy. Tony obeys him and works on creating a flying suit. He tells Bucky he doesn’t know who to trust so he’s keeping it all private. Bucky is honored that Tony trusts him. IT takes a week or two for Tony to get everything working right, and once he masters the technique, he takes it out for a test drive. He returns not even an hour later, crashing through the ceiling. “Needs a few adjustments.” He pants.

 Bucky watches silently as Tony talks with JARVIS about changing a material for the suit, and the colors he should paint it. Tony’s focus is taken away by a reporter on TV, talking about the annual Firefighters Ball, hosted by Tony Stark. “Hmm… did we get an invitation to that, J?”

 Not to my knowledge, Sir.

 Tony tells JARVIS to fabricate and paint the new suit. “Don’t wait up.” He tells the AI. Nodding to Bucky, he asks, “Coming?”

 They quickly change and arrive at the gala in no time. Obadiah sees Tony and reminds him that he was supposed to lay low. Tony tells him that he just needed to get out. As per their normal gala routine, Tony goes to the bar while Bucky fades into the crowd. He notices the guy from Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division approaches Tony. Tony seems preoccupied. He takes a sip of his Scotch, shakes the agent’s hand, and makes his way toward… Bucky?

 “Care to dance?” Tony asks him. Bucky can’t say no. They dance for a little while until Tony asks Bucky if he’d like some air. The go out on the roof, talking about anything and everything. Things get said, an almost kiss happens, and Tony goes back to the bar to get them drinks.

 He’s gone for a long while, and Bucky goes to find him. He’s on the steps of the hall, talking to Stane. He’s not happy. Stane leans in closely and says something quietly and moves away, waving at Tony. Tony signals at Bucky to leave, and they drive back to Tony’s house in silence.

 Tony spends the next day watching feed of reporter talking about a town called Gulmira. He is not happy. He sends Bucky upstairs for something, and when Bucky comes back down, he is gone. Bucky groans, knowing all too well what Tony is doing. The military won’t take this happily.

 After almost getting shot out of the sky by the US Air Force, Tony returns home. His suit pinches and he takes a little while to come apart. He sends Pepper to get some files off his computer. Telling Bucky that he won’t be going out anymore tonight, he sends his bodyguard home. Bucky leaves five minutes too early. Stane attacks tony, paralyzing him and taking his arc reactor.

 Pepper calls Bucky, asking him where Tony is. “He’s not picking up his phone, and I’m afraid Stane is trying to hurt him. Can you go back and check on him? I called Rhodey, too.”

 Bucky makes a quick U-turn and heads back to Tony’s mansion. Rhodey is already there, helping Tony into his suit. “No time for arguments. I got to go.” Tony says and flies up out of the hole in the ceiling.

 In the end, Tony saves the day. Obadiah is killed, and Tony barely survives. Bucky runs up to him and kisses him fully on the lips. “I’m sorry if this makes things awkward, but never scare me like that again.”

 Tony kisses back with the energy of a man reaching a near-death experience. “I guess that means I have to quit now.” Bucky laughs.

 “No, I’ll just move you to Pepper. I don’t need a bodyguard anymore. I have my suit, you know?” Tony hugs him. “We’re gonna be alright.”

[vanquisher2099]

Part Seven: A Hacker Walks into a Club

Jade left the office with a feeling of impending doom hanging over her head. The sun had already set, but the night really never had a chance to take any sort of hold in the city, not with so many lights all over the place. Normally, she considered the bright city lights something of a comfort, but at the moment she would have welcomed the darkness. She felt far too visible out here, watched by eyes that she knew were probably unfriendly. Still, the important thing was not to panic. Her mind was running through any number of scenarios, all of them unpleasant.

Vanishing was out of the question, of course. The whole point was that someone had to keep an eye on Camila, and step in at the first sign of trouble. Except if her cover was well and truly blown, it was only a matter of time until Camila figured out who she really was, and while there was no guarantee Camila would take the opportunity for revenge (in fact, there was a much better chance she’d be willing to help), Jade just as soon would not find out. But to vanish would be to utterly admit defeat and, as far as she was concerned, resign herself to a life on the run. Still, it would at least give her the opportunity to hunt down Alayna. That was a tempting thought.

Jade shook her head, as if to clear it of the temptation. Alayna was, for all intents and purposes, dead. It wouldn’t do to go haring off after her and placing the both of them in danger, even if it would be immensely satisfying to see her face. File that away under plan B, Jade decided as she ordered a cab. A few minutes later, and she was sitting comfortably in silence as the automated cab took her to her destination: a small, out-of-the-way bar and (occasional) dance club on the west side of the city. While the cab drove, Jade pulled up a program on her computing rig that effectively functioned as an advanced privacy module – which was a fancy way of saying it blocked anyone from seeing her location. Normally, she didn’t bother with it, as it blocked everything, including navigation assistance, but as she’d called a cab (and as she really, really didn’t want anyone to be able to easily locate her at the moment), she made an exception.

With that accomplished, she began steeling herself for what would, inevitably, turn into a fight. What she was doing crossed a line that she and the others had all agreed they would try very hard not to cross. It was downright dangerous to even accidentally encounter one another, and they had drawn up plans to make certain that such accidents did not happen. There was, in essence, danger in the wrong person seeing more than one of them in one place, and while they’d both undergone some serious work to change their appearances, well… an AI was difficult to fool, after all.

Still, if anything was worth taking the risk for, it was this – and it was, after all, part of their contingency plan for any sort of emergency. Jade simply wasn’t sure what the next move should be. There was, simply put, not enough data available to her to be able to make the right call, and while getting the right data was possible, it was also far too much of a risk for her to declare herself so openly back in business. She needed, in essence, someone who was already pulling down the data, and that meant going to see Maesin.

The cab rolled to a stop and chimed to let Jade know her account had been debited the amount. Her hand hesitated over the door handle. “You could just run,” she thought to herself again. “You could run and find Alayna and find a nice place to just settle down and get out of this whole fucking business.” It was a tempting thought. Then she was getting out of the cab and heading into a sea of pulsing bass, bathed in a cool blue neon light that, if she was being honest, really was a bit much, even for a bar aiming for a grimy techno aesthetic.

It was crowded, which made Jade even more uncomfortable. She swallowed back her nerves, putting on the same professionally bored persona that she used at Ceres Industries, and hoped that she came off as stressed and in need of a drink rather than terrified and in need of a drink. Jade waved to catch the attention of the bartender, a younger-looking woman with short green hair.

“What can I get you?” Said with cheery professionalism.

Jade raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a little young to be working in a bar?”

The bartender snorted. “Look at the eyes, lady. They make us look as young and attractive as they want.” Bright green eyes stared back at Jade, and there was an almost imperceptible flicker to one of them. “Now that your conscience re: corrupting the youth is salved, do you want a drink or not?”

“What’s the strongest drink you have?”

“Too expensive for you, probably.”

“I don’t know, I make quite a lot.”

“Your funeral.” The bartender shrugged and began mixing.

“You’re pretty good at that,” Jade said, conversationally.

“Just like they programmed me to be,” the android replied, depositing the drink in front of Jade with a flourish that was, if they were being honest, completely unnecessary.

Jade nodded her thanks and scanned her credit chip to pay for the drink. As she picked up the drink, she palmed the small chip stuck to the bottom of the glass and slid it into her wristband. A message popped up on her heads up display with a time and location data. After finishing her drink (which was in fact as strong as advertised), Jade felt some of the tension in her shoulders ease slightly. She did not, in spite of her desire to do so, order another drink. Instead, she waved the bartender over and ordered something nonalcoholic, which she sipped slowly, keeping an eye on the time and generally trying very hard to relax.

Eventually, Jade headed back out of the bar and hailed another cab, which took her to the meeting place the chip had indicated. It was a blind alley, of course, the sort of place where people tended to either do shady deals or murders. Jade peered into the alley dubiously, and looked around for a security camera to hack into. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing in range. Taking a deep breath, Jade walked down the alleyway, doing her level best to keep an eye out for anything murderous.

She noticed the movement to her left a split second too late for her to do anything about it. An electrified club came sweeping out of the darkness and quickly accomplished three things: first, it scrambled her computer, making sending any kind of distress signal impossible; second, it overloaded her night vision, effectively blinding her; and third (and perhaps the only one that mattered) it knocked her out cold. Jade’s body jerked and went limp, allowing her assailant to hoist her easily over their shoulder and walk into the night.

When Jade regained consciousness, she was unsurprised to find her computer was unable to send or receive any sort of signal – although the clock did let her know she’d been unconscious for only around five minutes. She also noticed that she’d been tied to a chair, which was bolted to the ground, and she was in what she was pretty sure was a basement. She was, in fact, inside a Faraday cage, which explained the lack of any signals to her computer.

The sound of footsteps on the bare cement floor caused her to refocus, and she was thoroughly unsurprised to see the bartender striding toward her.

“You know Maesin, this is a little over the top, even for you.”

“Is it? Because you know, one of the last times I got summoned to a meeting someone wiped my fucking memory. Forgive me if your sudden reappearance has me acting with an overabundance of caution.”

Jade rolled her eyes and tried to focus past the pounding headache. “Wiping your memory was your idea.”

Maesin’s fist slammed into the cage wall, causing Jade to jump. “It was not my idea, it was some past version of myself’s idea who was, I think, a fucking idiot. She knew I’d hate her for it and fucking did it anyway.”

“Well, I don’t know what to tell you then,” Jade said, sighing, “You know she did what she thought was right. Besides, you weren’t the only one she was hiding things from – at least some version of you had a say in it.”

Maesin smiled mockingly. “Would it help if I told you it was for your own good?”

“No.”

“Then we’re even, aren’t we?” Maesin said, a little acidly.

Jade snorted. “I guess.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched out between the two women for a while, then. Just as Jade was beginning to think she should have gone with plan B to begin with, Maesin opened the door to the cage and walked up to the chair to let Jade loose. Jade stood up, rubbing her wrists gingerly. Then she punched Maesin in the face, as hard as she could. Her hand exploded into pain, and she swore loudly.

Maesin didn’t really react, choosing instead to watch impassively as Jade cradled her hand. “Sorry,” she finally said, “I guess I deserved that.”

“Remind me to use a weapon next time.” Jade said through gritted teeth.

There was another long pause, before Maesin gave a performative sigh. “Do you want to tell me why you’re here, or would you rather we just glare at each other for a little longer?”

“You’re the one who knocked me out and stuck me in a Faraday cage.” Jade pointed out.

“Yeah, well, I would’ve put you in here even if I wasn’t being paranoid. There’s too many people with a lot of time and less respect for privacy.”

“Fair enough.” Jade took a deep breath, and decided to jump right into it. “D3m3t3r contacted Camila today.”

It was unfair, Jade thought, that Maesin had perfect control over her expressions. She remained completely stone-faced, although Jade knew it had to come as a surprise as she did not immediately respond to the news. Finally, “Did she?”

Jade nodded. “Sent a letter with a warning that there were spies in the organization. It included my ID and complete family history.”

“Your real family history?”

“No, no. But everything we put together? It was all there. And she highlighted it. Specifically.”

This got a frown out of Maesin. “Okay, so you’re blown.”

Jade wanted to agree and start talking about running, but something – maybe the thought that Alayna wouldn’t have given up, maybe not – got her to disagree. “Not quite. Camila didn’t seem like she bought the idea of me as a spy.”

“But you aren’t sure.”

“No, not really. I… she wants me to help track down whoever sent her the list. Except, obviously, I already know it’s D3m3t3r.”

Maesin hummed to herself thoughtfully. “Well, that’s something at least. But D3m3t3r… I mean, you know it can’t be her, right? She went dark years ago, and trust me, I would know if she was active again.”

“Well who else would have any interest in exposing me? And who else would sign off D3? Those seem like pretty firm indicators to me.” Jade ran a hand through her hair, exasperated. “What if she’s back up but somehow laid low enough to keep off your radar?”

“It’s super unlikely.” Maesin said. “Don’t forget, I took over as Madame Midnight for you. There’s nothing that goes on out there that I don’t at least get a rumor of.”

Jade frowned slightly at the memory of giving up her info broker persona. “Okay, so in that case, we’ve got someone trying to trade on D3m3t3r’s name. That doesn’t explain why they’d try to expose me. I mean, how did they even know our contingency plans? Not even D3m3t3r knew about those.”

“True, but if you knew where to look – and it was no secret in D3m3t3r’s organization that we were keeping an eye on Tower, remember – you would just need to look in the right spot. Could be they just assumed personal assistant was a good spot for a spy and flagged you to see if you’d get spooked.”

Jade’s face fell. “Which I did. Shit.”

“You followed the plan.” Maesin said, reassuringly, “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You and I are nothing more than bartender and customer as far as anyone else knows. Well, unless you were tailed on your way to the alley, but I’m reasonably confident you weren’t. Any observation of you stopped the moment you stepped into the bar, according to my own surveillance. It’s frowned on in there.”

Jade felt a measure of relief. “Of course. We picked it specifically for that reason, didn’t we?”

“Yes, we did.” Maesin seemed at to think she’d done her best at mollification, and shifted subjects. “Back on topic though – Camila still trusts you?”

“At the very least, she wants me to think she still does. Like I said, she wants my help tracking the source of the message. Like, I’m supposed to bring her a list of potential private investigators who could help.”

“That is…” Maesin trailed off, thinking. “Not the worst thing you could do, really.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that we need to know who the hell is running around claiming to be D3m3t3r as much as Camila does – I mean, probably more than she does, if we’re being honest. If we have to warn Alayna…”

“You know where she is?” Jade somehow managed to keep her voice even. “I sent her a note when I found out she was… you know. But I don’t know if the courier ever found her. I uh, I specifically told him not to tell me if he did, honestly.”

“Smart move. But no, I don’t know where she is.” Maesin said, only being slightly dishonest. “I know where to start looking,” she clarified, “but there’s a number of different identities we’d have to chase down to be sure.”

Jade nodded. “Okay, so then our plan is… I see what I can find with Camila’s resources? And we warn Alayna if we have to?”

“More or less. I’ll see what I can find out on my end. If there’s someone out there trying to use D3m3t3r’s name, it’s a sure bet they’re not going to be particularly friendly to us.”

“Right, well, I guess that’s a plan, then.” Jade gestured to the door of the cage. “I assume you’re going to show me the way out?”

Maesin nodded, and the two headed out of the cage. She led Jade up a flight of stairs to the ground floor of what turned out to be a storage facility, full of lockers for apartment dwellers to keep the things they couldn’t fit in their apartments (but couldn’t bear to part with) secure. Maesin opened one such locker and stepped inside, where Jade could see a set of power cables and a workstation humming quietly.

She couldn’t help a last comment. “You know, I liked the old HQ better.”

Maesin laughed. “Yeah, me too. Exit’s over there. There’s a bus stop two blocks south – it’ll take you back into the center of the city. Do me a favor and don’t reconnect to the network before you’re well away from here.”

Jade bit back a comment about how she was hardly in need of a lecture on proper spycraft, but thought better of it. Instead, she settled for, “Wouldn’t dream of it.” A pause. “You know, it was… good seeing you, somehow. Assault aside.”

“Yeah,” Maesin said, “It’s nice to see a familiar face once in a while, I guess.” Then, as Jade began to walk away, she called after her. “You know… I miss her too. She was my best friend.” There was an almost pleading tone to her voice.

Jade didn’t trust herself enough to turn around. “I know,” she said. “I’ll be in touch.”

Part Eight

Part Six