Jasque leaned forward, all congenial, charming friendliness gone. "Is she human? What are her capabilities?"

  Sam shook her head, unperturbed. "Sorry, Jasque. You know how it is. If I have a choice not to tell you, then I can't share for the sake of security."

  "She could be putting Wade at risk!"

  "No, based on her profile and his, she isn't. All I'll say is that, if some difficult and hard-to-contrive requirements were met, she could become a massive asset. For now, she is just a cartographer."

  The woman took a sip of her water and looked around.

  "Nice place. I like it more than the last one."

  Wade nodded. The house was pleasant enough. The downstairs had a sunken area with comfortable couches and a very nice sound system. That and his instruments upstairs were some of the few truly personal touches. Not to say that they left the home barren; it was decorated exactly enough to not raise suspicion. Considering two bachelors lived in it, though, that meant it was not very decorated at all.

  It was just hard to think of the place as home. Jasque always reminded him of how long they had until they needed to leave for the next location, which was less than four years most of the time. And there was always, always, a life-or-death deadline just around the corner that made everything else seem unimportant. Knowing that, they didn't have much use for a home when a house could keep them alive and in business.

  Speaking of business. "How long do we have till Frost needs me?"

  "Incursion is in three months, but it could be two to four weeks travel up the coast."

  He leaned back and nodded. Travel was harder than before the magic came. Any significant joinery required powerful protections or caravans with guards. Journeys were even longer for him since he needed to stop back at old sites and make sure they were still doing well.

  "Which location is he at?"

  Sam told him about a beach he remembered. It had been a while since those defenses were touched up.

  "I'll want at least four weeks on-site to bring everything up to snuff before the incursion." Sam nodded but didn't take notes. Someone in her line of business probably tried to avoid leaving written records as much as possible. "But," he said, leaning towards her, "that means we only have four weeks to sort out the situation with Shilloh. Have you been read in on what happened?"

  "Some. Tell me everything."

  The three of them spent some time going over the issue. They discussed their progress with the Limb Stealer hunt as well as how rarely Shilloh was noticing territory as they progressed.

  To his credit, Jasque did not try to wheedle out Shilloh's background. He didn't even ask indirect questions. That was how he worked. If Sam said it was safe and she retained her trustworthiness, then the matter was closed. If it didn't impact their ability to help humanity then it was invisible.

  As they spoke. Sam took everything in calmly, professionally, and politely. She reviewed some of their notes. She even briefly did math on a scrap sheet of paper. But finally, she spoke with the voice of authority.

  "I believe this situation is being handled well. If she is the first to notice the controlled land, then we are in good shape. Her senses are unusually sharp. That being said," she fixed both of them with her eyes, "her handler will make contact soon. She will not be informed that you two are anything special. She will be evaluated to see if interactions with you have made her more sympathetic to our cause. Prior to your departure, I will make contact again and we will decide how to proceed."

  They all agreed and began wrapping up for the night. To the world at large, Sam was an old college friend who traveled a lot for business. As part of that cover, she would spend the night in their guest room.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  They were all separating for the night. So, when Jasque went to change into training clothes, Wade took the opportunity to ask her a question.

  "Sam, how hard should we try to convince Shilloh that the Blightbanes are worth it?"

  The agent paused. She must have been exhausted, but she let none of it show. "I would not attempt to convince her about the cause. My advice would be to let her form a personal connection with you. My understanding is that she is deeply moved by the well-being of innocents and profoundly motivated by the well-being of those who are close to her. Manipulators and debaters do not hold her esteem."

  "So, what? Magically act out perfect friendship? I don't have training for that."

  Sam laughed, a bit of genuine warmth lighting up her face, "Is it that hard? If all you do is keep in touch over a year or two, then we will lose nothing. It might even be nice for you. But, if you become our foot in the door during that time, the benefits could be huge. Or," she smiled, "you could just make a friend. Which not only skips the need to act but also has meaningful benefits despite being difficult to quantify."

  "I mean…" he frowned, "I guess that means I wouldn't need to go on a date with Kora to learn more about Shilloh."

  Sam blinked, "Kora?"

  He read her in on the situation, and she ended up shaking her head with a funny look on her face. "Honestly, Wade, that sounds like a great way to make sure you traumatize yourself away from any future dating Plus, going around someone's back is bad practice, especially for Shilloh."

  "But Jasque—"

  She held up her hand, mouth pursing in a way that spoke to contained annoyance. "I can't— It would not be appropriate for me to disparage Jasque or his techniques. However, I can confidently say that I have more training if the goal is turning assets. Just hang out around each other. Maybe invite her to some group activities."

  He nodded, but an immediate issue came to mind. Wade checked over his shoulder before saying something that he was very nervous about acknowledging out loud, "I know I'm not the smartest, especially with this sort of thing. Still, I feel like I'm obligated to share. I, well, I don't think she likes Jasque."

  Sam's smile froze again before the warmth came back, though this time it was more muted. "No, I imagine not." She signed and rubbed her eyes. "Listen, again, it would be unprofessional to comment too far, but I'll reiterate to him that she isn't a threat, and her profile highlights you as having a better shot than him."

  He didn't know he had been tense until he relaxed. That would actually help a lot. Socializing and making friends didn't usually serve any of the big ideals Jasque cared about. And they both knew that Wade wasn't the brightest marker in the box. Because of that, Jasque did as much of their talking and going out as was feasible. He got it done faster, never lost focus, and the loss of his time was less valuable.

  "Thank you, Sam," the Were straightened his shoulders and tried to look confident." I don't have long before we stop working with her, but I'll do what I can on our next few excursions."

  "Why not just get a meal together?"

  "But," he said, trying not to let his voice show how obvious he thought the answer was, "I have work and training."

  "A lunch break never hurt anyone."

  Images flashed in front of his eyes, and he felt a weight of purpose settle back onto his shoulders. It was an ivory yoke gilded in gold and stained rusty-brown with death.

  For a few moments, the weight had left him. But he shouldn't have let it. "With all due respect, when it comes to the Godkiller Program, I think a lunch break can hurt. The scale is too big."

  His agent looked at him and glanced towards the guest room, where towels and clean sheets would be waiting. But she dug a knuckle into the space between her eyebrows one last time.

  "I'm really not the person who can throw stones about being a workaholic," she snorted, laughing to herself. "Still, consider that you might want to bring that up on your next psyche eval. No offense meant. It's just the sort of shit they always nag me about. They say it leads to burnout in the long run."

  "I will take it under advisement," he said, absolutely planning on thinking about it, and absolutely certain that it wouldn't change his mind any more than the last dozen times people had asked him to consider it.

  She looked at him and shook her head, probably reading his micro-expressions or something. "Whatever. Just remember, Shilloh is powerful and rare among the rare. It would be negligent of you not to spend a couple of hours relaxing and talking to her every month."

  She didn't say it loudly, but his were hearing still picked up on her mumbling as she turned to the guest room. It sounded suspiciously like, “Ya' fucking maniac.”

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