Annette was a wild card. She was fantastic at killing people, but overreliance on her talents was liable to make them new enemies. Her killing those Genesis Army agents last week was a prime example. Even though she’d done it to protect Erna, that was what had led to their current life on the lam.
Annette and Erna was a pairing that none of their previous missions had featured.
Now, though, there were no older teammates like Sara or Sybilla for Erna to rely on. She was the only one who could keep Annette in check.
“Don’t go doing anything unnecessary.”
Erna ignored Annette’s proposal and glanced at her pocket watch.
After taking a deep breath, she stood up.
“It’s time for the meeting. If we mess this up, we’ll be sleeping on the streets tonight.”
Pilca’s tenth arrondissement was home to an alley packed with pubs called brasseries that were popular with the masses. They were notable for their lack of interior dividing walls, making each one into a large hall where one could drink cheap beer. At similar establishments in arrondissements closer to the heart of the city, it was no rare sight to see scriptwriters, actors, and directors from major movie studios discussing new methods of visual expression, but the clientele in the tenth arrondissement didn’t give off quite so sophisticated an impression. Most of them were stonemasons, plumbers, and other municipal laborers. Many of the brasseries advertised raw oysters as their signature dish, a novelty that Erna found highly unusual.
She and Annette headed into one of the buildings.
The two of them looked too young to be going to a bar, and several of the adults shot them rude looks the moment they went inside. It was hardly the kind of place they were excited about going to while fugitives, but it was a risk they needed to take. If they’d invited their guest somewhere that spooked him enough not to show up, then all of this would have been for nothing.
Fortunately for them, their counterpart was already there at the meeting spot. He’d already started drinking.
“The best meals always start with an empty belly.”
In the back of the brasserie, an amiable young man hoisted up a tankard.
“I have to say, I wasn’t expecting to get invited out by a pair of schoolgirls.”
They knew from their investigation that he was twenty-six years old. The man looked like respectability personified. His hairline was parted straight down the middle and trimmed as cleanly as the grass on a sports pitch. Taken on the whole, though, he didn’t appear stuffy or formal in the least, and his necktie was fashionable.
That was Jean Mondonville, a fifth-year law student at Nicola University, the school with the most prestigious law department in the country.
As Erna recalled, that line about “the best meals” was a popular Lylat turn of phrase.
Jean’s table was already laden with shellfish, and when the girls sat down, he slid the plates their way. Annette’s eyes gleamed.
Erna tried to her best to hide how badly her stomach was rumbling as she faced Jean. “Thank you for accepting our invitation.”
“How could I not, when the envelope was emblazoned with the St. Katraz insignia?” He shot her an overly dramatic wink. “I could never turn down a request from a winsome young schoolgirl. Ah, how thrilling.”
“Um, this isn’t that kind of—”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. When the letter came tucked inside another package, I figured there was more to the story. Especially considering where you wanted to meet. I’m just glad this wasn’t all some scam.”
He waved his hand teasingly.
Jean might have come across as unserious, but he actually had a good head on his shoulders.
Erna ran through some quick introductions. After giving him their Lylat aliases and their fake backstory about being exchange students from Din, she got right to the main topic. “We heard you’re in charge of a student dormitory.” She gave him a small bow. “We need you to take us in. Please, lend us one of your unused rooms.”
“Ah, I see,” Jean said with a grin, before adding, “So what I’m hearing is, I haven’t just become irresistible to women.”
Nicola University had over a dozen dorms, most of which were managed solely by the students. The university placed a lot of emphasis on educational freedom, and it let the students in the dorms live more or less unchecked. Rumor had it that there were transient youths who lived there who may or may not have even been enrolled.
Jean was the manager of one of those dorms, and he lowered his voice. “…Can I ask why?”
“We’re being hunted by the Genesis Army. It all happened last week. I was helping out these homeless people when the Nilfa unit decided to question me.” Erna hung her head. “There were three men. They took me, and they…”
She trailed off, leaving Jean to fill in the rest. The Genesis Army agents had been dealt with before any real harm came to her, but Jean didn’t need to know that.
Jean’s brow formed a deep furrow. His imagination was running wild, just the way Erna had hoped it would. She was aware of how delicate she looked—like the kind of unfortunate girl just waiting to be victimized—and she’d spent the last year developing the skills to use that awareness as a weapon.
“When I resisted, they called me a foreign spy and tried to arrest me… Now I’m on the run.”
“Goodness me.” Jean let out a long exhale. “Oh, that is dreadful. Trust me, I know all about how evil the Nilfa unit can be. My heart aches for you.”
He buried his face in his hands and gave his head a grandiose shake.