“Tor! Help! Box didn't come in today, probably off sleeping off the celebration. I can't blame him, given the end of the war, but it's a pain.” She was wiping her hands on a rag, and trying to ring up a sale at the same time. She stopped and stared at all the people with them, Royal Guards and huge fighters, but the pause didn't last long. She was busy after all.
“Debbie, we need to talk. Um…” Looking around Tor tried to arrange who would work best where for now, and found he only really had two choices to work with, as funny as it would sound to everyone.
“Rolph, could you handle sales in the device shop? Kari, the bakery? It smells like there's product in the oven, so watch for that.” It came out as a command, but no one, not even Smythe, bristled at it. The royal kids were already working by the time Debbie finished up with the costumer she was serving hand pies to and turned around to give him a hug.
Tor stood back and slipped a Truth amulet over her head, starting the device with a flick, making her glow suddenly with a soft cream and golden yellow striped aura.
“Debbie, are you now, or have you ever been a spy?” He asked without pause.
“What? I'm a baker… I mean no, but…” She looked honestly confused at least.
Tor nodded since it was just the truth. That was reassuring.
“Did you have anything to do with the death of the girls in the Capital?”
“No… what’s this about?”
“Do you know if Box did?” The words were soft and not happy sounding at all.
She winced, her good looking face pinched a little. For a long time she didn't say anything, Smythe started to re-ask the question, but Tor put out a hand and touched his arm gently, getting him to stop. Finally, after nearly three minutes she spoke.
“I… Don't… honestly know. But… he's never been right, has he? When he was a child he'd kill animals if you didn't watch them closely. He just showed up here in the Capital last year during King’s week and said it would be fine for him to stay on, since I needed the help, but later I got a note from home and no-one knew where he was. He said he'd just forgotten to say where he'd gone, but Tammy Mills left at the same time from the Copperton. Everyone thought they must have run off together… He wouldn't say.”
Tor gave her a hug, more relieved than he'd thought he'd be on hearing that it wasn't her. That his friend was innocent at least. This one.
“Do you know where he is? Or might be?”
Debbie didn't hedge, giving the name of every place she could think of, every person she thought might know where he'd be. Trice took notes. Finally Smythe took over and patted Tor on the back.
“I have this now. Let's secure this location and set up here in case he comes back. Sir Kolbrin, if you'd see to that for us?”
The giant bald man just nodded darkly.
Debbie started crying. Which made sense didn't it? It was her brother and he might be involved in some fashion with some very dark things. He probably was. It made Tor’s heart ache to consider, so he didn't.
Instead he got Rolph and Karina packed in to a carriage with Wensa flying, Veren in the back seat. Debbie with them, because she needed some familiar faces and comfort. Tor hugged her again before they all left, lifting straight up from between the close packed buildings.
Kolb looked out the front door and a few seconds later three people ran over. Karen and Davie along with the huge Baron Haver. He shrugged.
“Tor, you know the situation best. Where do you want people?”
He stopped for a second. If they kept the shop open it would look most normal, until people got inside at least. But Haver and Karen were both nearly strangers. Davie would look normal enough, having worked for a week with the man once, and Tor could do the same back in the bakery. He nodded then.
“Haver and Karen outside. The roof of surround buildings, if you can find a good location? Not to put too fine a point on it, but if I saw you two standing around out there, I wouldn't come in and I know you. Little intimidating.” He smiled at them, knowing it was a little sad, but not able to do better.
“David, you run the bakery section. I'll tell you what to do and try to help as I can. Kara, would you run the shop next door please?”
The Royal Guard had stayed for some reason, but just gave a single nod and walked into the next room, clothing shifting into nearly an exact replica of the light blue velvet dress that Debbie had been wearing. It was good work, especially on the fly like that. Impressive really. Tor wasn't sure he could have done the same thing. The guard was taller than Debbie and past the dark hair didn't look like her at all. But she did look like a wealthy merchant suddenly, instead of a kick-ass combat instructor.
Tor blinked as he realized that she actually had been. A combat instructor at Lairdgren. The one that had beaten the back of his right arm into near uselessness once. Tor rubbed at his arm in memory. That had been a few years before though and in the moment, everything hurt and that wasn't her fault at all.
They worked for hours, dark falling and the evening wearing on. The bakery did brisk business and after a while the device shop started to as well, when Tor popped his head in he started to understand why. Kara wasn't haggling well at all. Letting things go for about half of what they normally would. Word was getting around. That would work, as long as they looked busy, wouldn't it?
It wasn't until later, near ten in the evening, that a familiar dark head popped into the bakery side through the outside door.
Box.
The man smiled and gave a wave when he saw Davie, “hey! How’s it going Dave?”
The large Countier turned with a tray full of hand pies to go in the racks for display.
“Hi Box. Not too bad. Little bit of bad news, but other than that, everything's all right. Debbie had to go off to the palace with Kari and her brother for a bit. We've got some people in to cover though, so no business is being lost. You remember Tor?” To his credit the very tall, hard looking boy kept working the whole time, as if it really was no big deal. Even Tor bought it and he knew better.
“Hello Box.” He grinned and gave a pained half wave. It was bad enough he'd had to just run the cash box all night. David couldn't do a lot of baking though, not on his own yet, but he followed directions perfectly, nobleman or not. definitely his favorite Countier.
He explained this to Box carefully, getting a solid nod in return.
“Sorry I was out all day, bit of a bender last night, celebrating the end of the war and all that. Just woke up an hour ago, passed out in some Inn. What's the emergency? Is everything all right? Need a baker at the palace or something?” He sounded confident as if it just made sense that, if there was a baking emergency, of course his sister would be called in to cover it.
“Actually, yes. One of the baking staff turned out to be an Austran agent of all things. Horrible really, right there by the food all that time. Thank goodness he was actually working for a friend of mine, not someone evil. Really messed up situation. All the agents are leaving now though, part of the peace treaty.” Tor stretched and pretended he was just a little sore, instead of the truth, that he was incredibly so.
Kara walked out of the other shop area smiling, which got Box to do the same.
“Hey, I don't think we've met?” The man's voice was a little smooth and oily, but polite enough really. His field didn't react to her though. Not at all. Not like a man, true, but not like a person either.
Tor noticed the difference right off. It was like the man didn't really see her at all practically. It was bizarre. He noticed Tor and Davie all right. And he spoke to her… but it was just an act.
Tor moved forward as if he was going to give Kara a hug or make an introduction, as she started to speak.