Chapter 4: Aleyn Zant

Link leaned against the wall beside the family bathroom of the Termina airport: the only family bathroom of the Termina airport. Thirty minutes before, she and Sheik heard the announcement that their flight was delayed another two hours, at which point Sheik asked Link if she'd be okay looking for a restroom. The two searched for almost an hour before they finally found a gender neutral restroom Sheik could use, and the one they found was on the exact opposite side of the airport from their terminal. Link held not an ounce of resentment.

Sheik exited the restroom, handcuffed to a small metal case and apologizing profusely, "I am sorry. I had planned to hold it until once on the plane, but a two-hour delay made that plan impossible. I didn't mean for us to walk across the entire airport."

"No worries, Sheik," Link said with an earnest smile, "It's not your fault there aren't any agender bathrooms. You didn't design the place." She gave a loving slap to Sheik's back and the two walked back to their terminal. "Bet you miss that private plane now, huh?"

Sheik nodded, "I do. Unfortunately, it is a luxury reserved for the princess."

The rest of their flying experience was, thankfully, uneventful. The Royal Family had sprung for first class tickets, which meant Link was able to enjoy a bit more legroom, a bit more cushioned seats, and a lot more peace in which to read. Her only neighbor was Sheik, and neither one of them was uncomfortable with silence. Before Link and Sheik knew any substantial time had passed, the pilot announced that they would be landing soon, and asked passengers to buckle their seat belts. The two complied and the plane's landing was nothing but smooth. After being the first ones off the plane, Link remarked how much she loved not having to wait to exit the plane.

Both Link and Sheik carried on the luggage they needed, so they both blew past baggage claim and out the doors without pause. In front of them was a large circle drive where several cars drove up to pick up loved ones. On the other side of the drive sat a large parking garage. Link looked up and down the drive for an unattended taxi as Sheik looked at a cellphone and touched Link's arm, "I have arranged for a town car. The driver is in the wrong drive and requires directions. If you would like, I will find him and bring him here."

"So, you want me to wait here?"

Sheik nodded.

"Alright, leave your bag with me. I'll watch it while you go. We'll load them all up at once."

Sheik nodded again, dropped the bag, and ran across the street into the parking garage just beyond the drive. Just after Sheik jogged into the garage and disappeared from view, a black limo with tinted windows pulled up in front of Link. The door opened.

"Miss Link?" asked a large man in a suit who was stepping out of the limo.

"Doctor." Link said, keeping a careful eye on the man.

"What?"

"I have a doctorate. I'm a doctor. Not miss."

"So you are Minerva Link?"

"Yeah," Link stared down the hulking man. Her eyes locked onto his sunglasses, but her mind was in her bag. This guy meant her harm, and if it came down to it, she needed to get the batons out of her bag. How could she do that? There are so many people around, how can she keep them safe?

"I'm here to give you a ride." He held the door open for Link.

"Bullshit." Link called him out, but he did not seem to react.

"You misunderstand. My employer would like very much to see you."

"What happens if I don't want to see them? What happens if I just walk away?"

"That won't happen." The man opened his suit jacket to reveal a black gun holster. He then nodded to the door of the airport, which was framed on each side by a suspicious looking man in a suit; both men were staring at Link.

Link tried to evaluate her situation. If she went in the car, she couldn't guarantee her own safety, but if she refused a whole lot more people could get hurt. She looked around the busy loading bay for more planted people with guns: She couldn't recognize any, but there were so many heads that she couldn't be sure. Her eyes drifted down to her bag. Her batons were tucked away inside, and she couldn't think of any way to get them without drawing attention.

The man at the car must have seen her thinking about the bag, "Leave the bags here."

Link made the uneasy decision to get in the car. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt, and she knew that these people wouldn't try to hurt her until after she had met this employer. By that time she could come up with some plan on getting away. Link nodded at the man and started to get into the car.

Just before she stepped inside, she saw Sheik emerge from the parking garage, eyes darting back and forth from Link and the car to the crowd, finding possible targets. Link could see that Sheik meant to rescue Link. Link made eye contact with Sheik and shook her head slightly. She didn't want Sheik to make any sort of move. She didn't want Sheik captured as well. Sheik understood the understated gesture and slowed down, and snuck back into the garage.

Link sat in the middle of the back seat, and the man who opened the door followed her in, closed the door, and tapped on the glass separating them from the driver. The car lurched forward, and they were off.

As they drove, neither Link nor the armed man tried to strike up a conversation. Link's eyes floated back and forth between the man and the window, as she tried to track where the car was moving, just in case she needed to make a break for it. The man's eyes were glued on Link. About an hour after they left the airport, the car entered a neighborhood of large mansions, just outside the city. The car reached a large automatic gate, which creaked open as the limo approached.

Once the limo was parked just outside the large house inside the gate, Link was pushed out of the car and to the large oak front doors. The house was huge. The entry way was grand, tall, and capped with an ornate golden chandelier. Link was pushed forward, passed a sitting room that reeked of old money and brown alcohol, and into an office. It wasn't until she was dropped into a brown leather chair that she could look around the office. The majority of the office looked as if it were pulled from a stodgy decorating magazine, with old books, brown leather, and dark red wood. To Link's left was a large bookshelf that took up the entire wall and was filled with books and small, ornate sculptures. The sole deviation from the "rich old guy" aesthetic of the room sat behind the desk, across from Link. The wall was taken up completely by a fish tank, which was filled with large, colorful fish and an impressive Shark.

"Hello, Professor Link. I hope you weren't waiting long." Link turned around to face the door. Walking in was a short, very thin man wearing a suit that seemed to be a size too big for him. His balding silver hair was combed back close to his scalp, and his thin neck poked out of his shirt collar like a tortoise's head pokes out of its shell.

"Well," Link said as he walked, clanking his hard shoes on the wooden floors, "Considering I didn't even know I was going to be here." The man smirked and sat down behind the desk, framed by the swimming shark.

Link nodded, "Mr. Zant."

Zant smirked again and clasped his hands together, "So, you know who I am."

"Of course." Link said, trying to sound confident, considering her dangerous circumstances. Aleyn Zant is one of the more wealthy people in Hyrule. Everyone knows the story of how the kid from Kakariko who grew up fishing Lake Hylia, saving money until he could buy his own restaurant, and then another, and then real estate. He worked his way from a fisherman's apprentice to all out mogul. Except, through her royal connections, Link knew that his acquisition of wealth wasn't entirely legitimate. The Royal guard suspected Zant to be guilty of extortion, drug dealing, money laundering, and even murder. Link knew she was in a delicate situation, and knew she shouldn't push her luck.

"And you know why you are here?"

"Can't say I do."

Zant took in a deep breath, as if to begin a campaign speech, "I wanted to talk to you about my daughter."

"Midna."

Zant nodded, "Yes, Midna. It took quite a deal of work to get her assigned to such an esteemed scholar like yourself."

"Thank you."

"I just want to be sure that I am doing everything I can to ensure that she succeeds. And that she is safe."

"Well, to be honest with you," Link sat forward in her chair, "I am not entirely sure that she wants to be with us. She doesn't seem interested in archeology."

Zant waved her off, "Oh, she isn't." He chuckled, "She was unable to decide on a valuable major herself, so I helped her decide."

"You 'helped' her?"

"Yes. At first, she wanted to be an astronomer, but I couldn't allow that to happen, Midna is too flighty for the hard sciences." Zant chuckled; Link did not, "Then she chose to major in criminal justice. She said she wanted to be a detective. Well, I couldn't allow that too happen. She is far too rebellious, and being a detective would be far too dangerous, you see," Zant smirked as the giant shark passed by the office window.

"Yes. I see." Link played along.

"Which brings me to the reason I asked you here."

Link couldn't help but notice the word asked.

"It has come to my attention that you, with my daughter, were attacked by biker thugs while working?"

Link tried to hide her surprise, but her jaw clenched and her eyes widened. How did he know about the Stalfos?

"Yes, I thought so. See, the safety of my dear Midna is of the utmost import to me. I cannot have her being mugged or worse by some…" Zant groaned as he thought, "…lowlife."

"I totally agree." Link said.

"I am glad you do," Zant stood and walked around to the side of the desk. His tone shifted from a toying voice to a gravely serious one, "I will not tolerate Midna being put in danger when under your supervision."

"And I totally agree, "Link repeated, "But the Stalfos situation was the result of coincidence, nothing more. My team and I have been pulling the strings on this sweater for over a year now and haven't encountered anything like them. I don't expect to see them again."

"Even still," Zant crossed his scarecrow arms, "I would prefer you stop pulling these particular strings."

Link was stunned at the request. After taking a pause to collect herself, she asked, "excuse me?"

"If following this path means my daughter is going to be attacked by these lowlife criminals, than I must insist that you not follow this path."

"But, Mr. Zant…"

"I understand that this would mean a substantial setback for you and your work." Zant walked back to his side of the desk and opened the top drawer. He placed a large leather binder on the desk and opened it, "In exchange for making this sacrifice, I am willing to fund your research for the next three years."

Link wasn't swayed, "Mr. Zant, I can't just…"

"Five years. Professor, I can write all sorts of numbers in this checkbook." Zant snatched a pen from his desk and teased the paper of the large checkbook.

Link didn't know what to do. She had a moral problem accepting bribes, and she was on the verge of the greatest discovery of all time, a discovery 800 years in the making, and she didn't want to turn back now. However, one does not simply say no to Aleyn Zant.

Zant must have seen Link's indecisiveness, "Tell me, do you like my shark?" He turned to the tank, where the shark took another lap around the tank. "I caught him myself just a year ago. Magnificent beast, eh? So strong."

"Sure."

"But notice the other fish in the tank? The shark doesn't attack them, even though it is clearly bigger than they are. Why? Why does the shark leave those alone?" Zant was probing.

"Why."

"The shark knows how to pick its battles. The other fish are poisonous to eat, and the shark knows that if it turns on those other fish, it will surly die. He serves as my reminder…" Zant's eyes locked with Link's, "…that we all need to know how to pick our battles."

Link nodded, not breaking eye contact with Zant, "right."

Zant smirked, and broke his gaze from Link's to grab a small card from his desk, "Of course, I don't expect you to make any decisions today. Take my card," he handed the card to Link, "Contact me when you decide to take me up on my offer." He then pushed a button on his desk, and the door behind link creaked open to reveal two large people in suits, "My people will take you to your university. I believe your friend has grabbed your bags."

Link didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She stood, stared at Zant for a moment, and then followed the suits out of the room. Just as she reached the threshold of the door, Zant stopped her with a breath, "And remember, professor: pick your battles."