“Right.” Malcolm glanced out the window at the empty street outside his apartment. “We’re going to have to walk, given that the buses aren’t running this late. Still think it was a good idea to make me give up the portals?”
She rolled her eyes at him on her way to the door.
The walk took a little over an hour, but the weather was fair, and the moon was out. Tapestry let out a sigh of relief as they walked up her porch steps. She opened the door and froze suddenly enough to cause Malcolm to walk into her back.
“What… the hell?” she said, her voice tight with shock.
“Oh, hey Tapestry,” said Savior. “How goes the mission?”
Tapestry’s living room looked different. The couch and TV had been moved to one corner. Melanie was, unsurprisingly, currently curled up on it with a controller in hand. In the center of the room now sat a ping pong table. Savior and Wax were engaged in a casual game, knocking the white ball back and forth with measured strikes.
“He bought a ping pong table,” offered Wax.
“No need to state the obvious,” said Malcolm. He put an arm around Tapestry’s shoulder. “You want to be my double’s partner?”
“This… isn’t staying,” said Tapestry.
“I think it adds to the Feng Shui of the space,” said Savior. “Besides, ping pong is very good for hand-eye coordination, a critical skill for a champion.”
He brought his paddle down in a hard smash, punishing Wax for playing a shot that bounced too high.
“Melanie,” said Tapestry. “Why did you let them do this?”
“Uh…” Melanie shrugged, her focus entirely on the TV and PS4. “I dunno.”
Her personality has taken a complete 180 since she started gaming…
“But truly, it is good to see the two of you!” said Savior. “Here, let us sit and talk for a bit. I want to hear all about your honeymoon.”
Malcolm chuckled. He looked to Tapestry and saw her face redden and her hands clench into fists.
“We have to tell you what happened with Golden Joab,” he said, deciding it was best to ignore Savior’s question.
Savior’s smile turned frosty.
“No need,” he said. “Melanie, might we turn the news back on, for just a minute.”
Melanie didn’t respond. Wax walked over to the TV and switched the input, which seemed to de-zombify her. She blinked her eyes, only then seeming to notice and understand that Tapestry and Malcolm had returned.
“Hey,” she said. “How was the trip? I’m so glad the two of you are back safe and sound! It was so weird around here without you, Aubrey. Savior is a total lunatic, and Wax can only do so much to keep his crazy ideas in check. We have a ping pong table here now, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“I noticed,” said Tapestry. “What exactly did you want us to see, Savior?”
He pointed to the TV, which was just coming back to news after a commercial break. Malcolm stared at it in disbelief. The voice of a female news anchor spoke over an aerial shot of the Hawktail Casino.
“The robbery is currently estimated at just short of ten million dollars,” said the anchor. “The casino management say that it was first noticed after a disturbance in the theater during a show by the magician, Golden Joab. Police have yet to release any information pertaining to potential suspects.”
“According to an internal source within the department, security footage of the incident has proven to be inconclusive,” said the voice of a male anchor. “Authorities are still unsure of how the perpetrator infiltrated the vault without setting off any of the many alarm systems on the door.”
Savior crossed his arms and looked squarely at Malcolm and Tapestry.
“So,” he said. “How did the mission turn out? I’m assuming you can fill in a few more pieces of this jigsaw puzzle, can you not?”
Tapestry glared at Malcolm with the intensity of a dying sun. He shook his head slowly and shrugged.
“He was working with a spryte who called herself Jade Portal. She can, well, create portals.” Malcom could feel all of the eyes on him narrowing. “She was pregnant. There was no way for us to capture her, with her power, and I couldn’t justify killing a pregnant woman, just for the sake of convenience.”
“You know, we’ve done studies at the Champion Authority,” said Savior in a suddenly deathly serious tone. “Close to ninety five percent of all monsters are infertile.”
Malcolm ran a hand through his hair, feeling incredibly stupid.
I just took his word on it. He would have said anything to get away. And with all that money…
“I am not happy, Cutter,” said Savior. “In fact, I’m the opposite of happy. You are gullible with a capital G. Taking a monster at their word… No, that’s gullible in all caps!”
“I messed up,” said Malcolm. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Tapestry walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, probably to vent her frustration on a batch of cookies. Malcolm stepped over to the wall and leaned against it. Savior followed him, drawing in close, and speaking in a low voice.
“You asked me about something the other night, at the tavern,” said Savior. “Something that you wanted, as a favor from me.”
The pardon. That’s off the table now, given how badly I’ve messed up.
“The next time I give you an order,” Savior said, carefully. “Will you follow it through?”
Malcolm nodded.
“Of course,” he said. “I botched the job this time. I wasn’t… thinking clearly, I guess.”
Malcolm expected anger, or at least a stern rebuke. Instead, Savior just clapped him on the shoulder and smiled.
“That’s good enough.” Savior took a breath, looking suddenly much older, and very tired. “It’s hard job, Cutter. I know. I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than you have.”
He held Malcolm’s gaze for a couple of seconds. Malcolm felt a sudden, fierce sense of loyalty, both to the Champion Authority, and to Savior. Savior pulled away after a couple of seconds and picked up his ping pong paddle.
“Come on, Wax,” he said. “One more round.”
CHAPTER 28
Malcolm returned to his own apartment to sleep that night, using his wind manipulation to get there in a series of gliding leaps. He woke up early, showered, dressed, and immediately headed back to Tapestry’s to report in.
The ping pong table had been moved outside onto the grass. Savior was engaged in a heated, super powered match against Wax, and at least a few of the normal rules had been thrown out. Wax slammed the tiny white ball over the table and Savior’s head. Savior took flight, soaring up and around it for his return shot.
Wax missed, and Savior pumped his fist in the air in celebration. He turned and gave Malcolm a wave as he saw him walking over.
“Cutter,” he said. “Finally, a worthy opponent. Wax, give him your paddle. This could get interesting.”
“Uh, actually, I just came to see what was on the agenda for today,” said Malcolm. “If there isn’t anything related to Champion Authority work, I should probably check in with Tapestry.”
“She’s at the market with Melanie,” said Savior. “Practically dragged her out of the house. Not a big fan of how often her little sister has been playing those darn video games, I don’t think.”
Little sister… I guess nobody has corrected him yet.
“Alright,” said Malcolm. “Well, in that case…”
“I do have something for you.” Savior set his paddle down, and grew serious. “It’s a chance for you to redeem yourself after what happened at the casino.”
Malcolm nodded.
“A chance to redeem myself,” he said. “Alright. What does it entail?”
“Killing the monster that used to be Bradley Rogers,” said Savior. “I believe you knew him by the name Melt?”