Orb Weaver: Plague Chapter 13

The first step had been to determine how to contact Tattletale.

“I know where they stay,” Aisha had said.

I shook my head. “And what if she realized she was picking up a tail? The very first rule is you don’t let the person tailing know. That place could be empty now, or a trap.”

Aisha frowned. “Think she’d do that?”

“I think if someone was following me, and I picked up on it, I’d consider it a threat. More so if they came to my home.” I tilted my head. “What if say, Hookwolf followed you home, and one day he decided to visit you?”

Aisha blinked. “We’re not fucking Nazis!”

“No, but you work for the Law. I’m associated with the Law. Us showing up, uninvited, would be a threat. Also, Tattletale—Lisa, doesn’t seem to trust her boss. Does she?”

“No…”

“What if she’s right? Their lair might already be under observation and we could tip Coil off.”

“Sh… what do we do?”

“She got pizza at seven, right?”

“Yeah?”

“What type?” I asked. Aisha frowned.

“Why—“ She shook her head. “four, I think… three three meats and one veggie.”

“And yet the Undersiders have, I believe, five members. Two tinkers, Hellhound, Tattletale, and Regent.”

“Hey, look at Tattletale, she don’t eat a whole pizza. Bet she’s sharing with Regent.”

“Mmm… yes. But if they’re still using the pizza place…”

Humans are creatures of habit. Sure you might be safer varying your routine all the time, but most people don’t like that. They get into comfortable patterns. I remembered that from some of my books. And having no pattern creates a pattern all its own. If you spend all your time working to be unpredictable, someone might wonder why… Another book on counter-espionage tactics.

But most importantly, a manual from the FBI.

The best way to interact with a suspect is to get them to relate to you as a friend. Don’t raise the pressure, lower it.

“We can contact her at the pizza place.” I said, thinking about the neighborhood around it. “I expect she doesn’t have a tail, and if she does, she can let us know.”

“We’ll talk there?”

“Of course not.” I smiled at Aisha, then tried not to shudder at what I was about to do. “We’ll hit the arcade and miniature golf.”

“What, what?”

“First of all, it’s under truce. Even the E88 doesn’t molest people in there. Second of all, the last time we saw Coil’s people, what did they look like?”

“Mercs.”

“How well would they blend in walking through an arcade?”

“Like someone’s dad trying to be cool.”

“Exactly.”

Then Aisha got an annoyed expression. “Shit, I can’t be there.”

“Why not?”

“’Cause I’m an open cape. If I walk in, and then Tattletale walks in, Coil ain’t gonna have to have someone on scene to get you know, suspicious.”

She has a real gift for this. “No, but you’ll be there and he won’t notice.”

“Why?”

“Your brother works a lot, right?”

“Yeah, sometimes I think he’s competing with Armsie for Stick up his ass.”

“Then what should be more natural than to bring him out to the arcade, to try and calm him down?”

“Why?”

“Because, Brian might be a good representative, if my pitch to Tattletale works—I think she’d make an excellent Ward.”

“What? But they’re crooks!”

“So was your brother.”

“Yeah, but Bro didn’t like, have a choice.”

I paused. “And maybe Lisa does not either. Her actions don’t speak to a good working relationship with her boss. And I can offer her the same thing I offered Dinah—A ticket out of town.”

“Shit…” Aisha paused. “Okay, how about this, new plan. Me and Bro meet you like before the meeting, so he can tell you about the Undersiders. The more you know about ‘em…”

‘The better.” I paused. “It might be wise to not tell him until he meets us.”

“Yeah. Big Bro might get all… Big Bro on me.” She paused. “I know, I can just tell ‘em I’m trying to set you two up on a date, so like you don’t die as crazy cat ladies!”

My bugs froze, then went berserk.

“Yes. That is a possible way to get him to come,” I said.

****

Lisa sighed as she stood in line. Everyone liked this pizza place, and more importantly, she hadn’t gotten banned from it.

So what, that clerk had it coming… People with Bulimia shouldn’t throw stones about someone getting acne. She got the pizza and then turned, just as a lanky girl practically ran into her, ignoring everyone while she was talking on her phone.

“Like Tommy is totally a jerk!” she was saying as Lisa dodged back, one of the pizza’s falling and hitting the ground, along with a letter from the girl.

“You little—“ Not an accident. Intended to hit you. Dropped letter deliberately. Lisa blinked as the girl turned the corner. Gait similar to the Investigator. Is The Investigator. Knows you use this pizza place. Contacting you covertly. Concerned you might be under observation.

Lisa looked around. You are not currently under observation. The relief was followed by a little twinge.

So is she mistaken and thinks I have a tail, or just super paranoid? She didn’t let her power off the chain for that.

Under cover of checking her pizzas, Lisa opened the envelope to see a single sheet of paper.

YOU HAVE AN EMPLOYER YOU MAY NOT LIKE. I ALSO HAVE ISSUES WITH HIM. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN A MEETING TO DISCUSS LABOR RELATIONS?

Under it was an email, with a line under it. “Send yes, and I will send you further information.”

Typed using generic printer, no finger prints, likely handled using gloves. Now Lisa shook her head. She didn’t want to blow her power out looking at something that she bet was a dead end.

So she wants to meet. She turned her power loose on the contents.

Aware of Coil. Aware you may not be working for him of your free will. Willing to meet to exchange information/make a deal?

Lisa frowned as she slipped the letter into a pocket and started back to the hideout. Now she felt paranoid, but unless she wanted to be popping pills like crazy, she couldn’t look at everyone.

I don’t need to. If they had her coming here, following her would be easy. So why hadn’t the PRT come crashing into the hideout?

Investigator knows Coil has penetration on the PRT.

Do I want to get involved? Coil had made it pretty plain what he would do if she seriously tried to turn against him. Maybe this was one of his little tests…

The Investigator had taken out a Master/Thinker who everyone else had missed. She’d helped Orb Weaver. She’d out thought Lisa, and that still really rankled…

Not part of the PRT/Protectorate, but Affiliated. Has a better relationship with Protectorate members, including Alexandria. That one had come directly from Coil, when he’d sent her the material to review just how bad the Dinah situation had been.

Best Chance you have.

Lisa took a deep breath. Sometimes her power was wrong. This was one of them.

It was the only chance she had.