Aunor didn't trust many people. It came with her position, she supposed. Being one of Ikora's Hidden agents, as well as a prominent Praxic Order member and bearer of the Cormorant Seal had its drawbacks.
Yet situations kept arising that justified her distrust; the Praxic mole being the most recent example.
Logically, she knew that anyone was capable of betrayal, but she found the concept of one of the Order betraying them difficult to come to terms with. The Praxic Order was supposed to stand for justice. They were meant to be an example to other Guardians, warding them away from that slippery slope of the Darkness.
Sarren was one of the few that held her trust. He had been in the Order for a long time and had proven again and again that he would do the right thing.
Ever since she'd encouraged him to pursue the anonymous tip the day before, he had been keeping her appraised of his progress.
She was currently looking over a version of Miyako Thorne's file. Sarren had made note of relevant pieces of information in the file, such as the fact that Thorne was fairly new to the Order; she'd only been with them for five years or so. Sarren had also noted her work absence - she hadn't come into the headquarters for some time and the database showed that she wasn't assigned to any active investigations or missions.
Aunor didn't want to jump to any conclusions but if Thorne was the mole, it made sense that she hadn't been showing up for work. Sarren had mentioned that he would be checking out Thorne's residence that day to see if she was there or if she'd left any clues as to her whereabouts.
Aunor closed the file and got to her feet, stretching out her back. She had been spending a lot of time at her desk lately - more than she was used to. It was high time for her to get back into the field.
Opening her office door, she strode out, ignoring several curious looks from her colleagues along the way.
"Where are we going?" asked Bahaghari, sounding interested.
Aunor sighed. "I want to take a look at Hayden's cell," she replied, "I need to see it for myself."
As she hadn't been one of the agents assigned to the Hayden investigation, she had been kept at arm's length. But something about the case felt off to her, particularly concerning Hayden's escape.
When she arrived at the cell, she found that it had been left as it was. No efforts had been taken to clean or repair anything, which worked in her favor.
It was known that Hayden had not escaped himself. The cell was unlocked via a Praxic keycode only accessible to someone outside of the cell. There were no signs of forced entry, which meant either the person who'd broken him out was in the Order, or they had stolen a keycode.
"Does the keypad save the last used code?" Aunor asked.
"I believe so," said Bahaghari, who had materialized to take stock of the cell, "Would you like me to check?"
At Aunor's nod, the Ghost flew over to the keypad, scanning it with her beam. After a few seconds, she sighed. "I'm afraid the last code used on this door was yours when you visited Hayden. Whoever broke him out must have hacked past the keypad."
Well, that was disappointing. Still, Aunor wasn't surprised. They hadn't had much luck in the case so far, so why should that suddenly change? "I suppose it was worth a try," she muttered.
It stood to reason that someone who could disable security cameras would have the necessary skills to hack an electronic lock. So Aunor moved her focus to the cell's interior.
She had previously noted signs of a struggle from the images Sarren had provided. As she surveyed the space, these signs jumped out at her once again.
The scuff marks could have been made by one person, but when combined with the mark on the bench and the dried blood, they painted a suspicious picture. Aunor moved closer to the bench, peering at the gouge in it. "This wasn't hit by something blunt," she noted, "it had to have been sharp. A knife or some other kind of blade."
"And whoever used it was strong," said Bahaghari, "Look how deep it is. It would've taken a lot of force to drive it in that deep."
"Mmhm… I don't think it was Hayden. He didn't have a knife on him. And even if he'd somehow managed to get his hands on one, I'm not sure he would have been able to wield it with that much force."
"Especially not with the binders on," said Bahaghari.
There was blood around the marking on the bench, as well as a few other splotches on the floor. It had long since dried, staining dark reddish-brown. "Would you be able to analyze this?" she asked her Ghost.
Bahaghari moved closer, squinting at it. "Maybe," she said doubtfully, "It's dry so it might take me a minute to get a usable scan."
Aunor gestured for her to try. The Ghost swept a concentrated beam over the biggest spot - the one around the gouge. Aunor waited for a few minutes as Bahaghari scanned the blood.
Finally, the beam disappeared.
"It took me longer than I thought," said her Ghost, "But I'm fairly certain it's a match for Hayden's blood."
Aunor's eyebrows shot up. Scuffed floor, gouged bench, and now splotches of Hayden's blood. It was looking less like an escape and more like an abduction. She couldn't come up with another feasible scenario that fit with what she was seeing. But she wanted confirmation that the theory made sense.
"So here's what I'm thinking," she told Bahaghari, "Someone disables the security cameras, enters Praxic headquarters, hacks their way past the keypad, and tries to grab Hayden. Hayden puts up a fight but is ultimately subdued and his captor is able to get him out of the Tower before anyone's the wiser."
"Hmm," said Bahaghari, "It does make sense…"
Aunor nodded, but she still didn't feel entirely satisfied. She couldn't see the motive. "I don't understand why they did it," she said, "What could they have to gain from it?"
"Me either," admitted her Ghost, "But it's usually either money or power."
Aunor tapped her chin thoughtfully. Bahaghari was right, money and power were usually the two biggest motives. "Hayden has a bounty on his head," she said, "A few of my CI's in the City told me about it. But it didn't exist until after he escaped... Or was abducted," she added as an afterthought.
The bounty was to bring Hayden in dead. Even if it hadn't been posted until after Hayden was no longer in Praxic custody, if the other person had wanted him dead, he'd surely have been killed in the cell. Obviously whoever had taken him wanted him alive, for some reason or other.
The only people Aunor could think of that might pay for a live Guardian were their enemies outside the City, which wasn't a comforting thought.
She wished there was someone else for her to theorize with, but Sarren was busy tracking down Miyako Thorne and she was reluctant to trust anyone else in the Order for the time being.
"I need more input," she told Bahaghari, "I need someone I can bounce theories off of."
"I know what you mean," her Ghost sighed, "...Why not ask Ikora?"
Aunor blinked in surprise. She hadn't considered going to Ikora. Not because the Warlock wasn't brilliant, but because Aunor wasn't sure how she'd react to Aunor investigating a case she hadn't even been assigned to. Still, maybe it was worth a try.
"You know what, Bighari? I think I will."
She took one last look around the cell before leaving with a new goal in mind. Hopefully, Ikora would be able to shed some light on the situation.
When Aunor couldn't find the Warlock Vanguard in her usual place in the Bazaar, she went to Ikora's office. Ikora was reading a book at her desk. The space was filled with warm candlelight and a pleasant aroma.
Ikora looked curious, though not surprised, at Aunor's presence. She slipped a ribbon in between the pages to mark her spot before closing the book. "Hello Aunor," she greeted, "What brings you?"
"Ikora," Aunor returned the greeting with a nod as she moved further into the office.
She only hesitated for a moment before pulling out the chair opposite Ikora's and sitting down. The Warlock Vanguard's expression shifted slightly as she realized that Aunor's visit carried more importance than a quick check-in.
"I'm here about Hayden," Aunor told her.
Ikora sighed. "That is a statement I've heard far too often as of late… I assume the Order is pursuing him?"
"Yes," said Aunor, "there are several active teams attempting to find Hayden and bring him back to the Tower."
"And the mole?" asked Ikora, "I trust you've made some progress on that as well?"
"Yes. But neither of those are why I'm here." Ikora raised an eyebrow. Aunor took it as prompting for her to continue. "Something about Hayden's case doesn't feel right," she confessed, "I took a closer look at a few things, and I believe the circumstances around his escape are not what we first assumed."
"I see," said Ikora, "What is your theory?"
Aunor took a breath before replying. "I think he was abducted. I know the idea of someone taking a Guardian from the Praxic holding cells is objectively less likely than him breaking out, but the facts support it."
There was a moment of silence before Ikora spoke.
"Are you sure?" she asked. Her tone was not accusatory. "You know the dangers of twisting facts to suit theories."
"I do," said Aunor, "But that's not what happened. My theory is based on the evidence in Hayden's cell, among other things. For example, the camera feeds were all offline and someone had bypassed the keypad on the cell door. Hayden couldn't have done that from inside the cell."
"That may be so," Ikora acquiesced, "But both of those things could have just as easily been the work of an accomplice. One of Hayden's friends, perhaps."
"That was our first theory. And the one that the rest of the Order is still operating under. But the evidence inside the cell tells a different story. There are signs of a struggle: scuff marks on the floor, a gouge in the bench, and even a few splatters of Hayden's blood. If the person breaking him out was an accomplice, why would he put up a fight?"
Ikora's brow furrowed as she considered the point. "Your theory has merit," she said finally, "I trust you haven't yet brought it to other members of the Order?"
Aunor shook her head. "I only just began looking into the possibility myself. So far, only you and Bahaghari are aware of my theory, though Sarren may have similar theories of his own."
"I believe we should keep it to ourselves for the moment," said Ikora, "It's a strong theory but still only a theory. You will need solid proof if you wish to present it as an alternative to the Order's escape theory."
Aunor nodded. As much as she wanted to put her theory to the test, she knew it would go nowhere if there wasn't more evidence to back it up. "What do you suggest?" she asked. She personally felt that the only course currently open to her would be to figure out who might have wanted to break Hayden out and why.
Ikora sighed. "Presently, I think the best thing you could do is search for more evidence or figure out who was responsible for breaking into Praxic headquarters."
That was pretty much in line with Aunor's own thoughts. Whoever had gotten Hayden out would have needed access to the Tower.
Unfortunately, that didn't narrow down the number of suspects very much. Aside from the number of Guardians in the tower at any given time, more civilians had been allowed access to the new tower than the old one. Whoever it was would have to be skilled, both in not attracting attention as well as with technology.
"My first guess would be another Guardian," said Aunor, "No one would question a Guardian walking around in the Tower. They aren't easily put off by locked doors and security systems and their Ghosts would be able to hack electronic obstacles…"
Ikora seemed to pick up on the hesitation in her voice. "But?" she prompted.
"But a Guardian would have had no trouble subduing Hayden because while his Light is suppressed, theirs wouldn't be. It would be a one-sided fight, not as much of a struggle."
Ikora hummed in agreement. "What reason would another Guardian have for breaking him out, also?" she asked, "If he fought them, we know it wasn't one of his friends."
"Much of Hayden's case wasn't made public as well," said Aunor, "I doubt any Guardian outside of the Praxic Order knows anything more than Hayden's possession of a Weapon of Sorrow. Has word of the trial spread outside of the Consensus?"
"No," said Ikora, but there was a frown in her tone, "As far as I know, no one has publicized it… There's a possibility that they went after Hayden because he had a Weapon of Sorrow."
Aunor frowned. "I doubt many Guardians feel strongly enough about Weapons of Sorrow that they would go to those lengths."
"Anti-darkness sentiments were at their height after Yor," Ikora pointed out, "I'm sure there are still Guardians with those ideals. Perhaps they were inspired by Shin Malphur." Aunor felt her face contorting at the name. It was definitely possible, she just didn't like it. "Or perhaps," Ikora continued, "it was Shin Malphur himself."
Aunor liked that idea even less. If it had been Shin who'd gotten to Hayden, the Praxic Order would have to be searching for a body rather than an escapee. "I don't think it was," she said, trying to keep the distaste out of her voice, "If it had been, he would have just killed Hayden in the cell."
Ikora nodded, conceding the point. Aunor was glad that hadn't been the outcome, but Ikora's brainstorming caused another unpleasant thought to surface.
Sarren had told her that Shin Malphur was after Hayden. Since the notorious Hunter was not one to be deterred, it was very likely that he, as well as the Order, was on Hayden's trail. She made a mental note to pass the info onto members of the task force.
"I don't think it was a Guardian," she told Ikora.
"I'm afraid I agree," replied Ikora with a sigh, "But in that case, what motive would a civilian have for targeting a Guardian?"
"I'm not sure," said Aunor, "But whoever it was certainly knew the right time to make their move." Though how they'd known it was the right time, Aunor couldn't say. Still, whatever motivation they had for going after Hayden must have been pretty strong. She got to her feet. "Thank you for discussing this with me."
Ikora nodded, rising as well. "Of course, Aunor. I only hope your path is clearer in the wake of it."
"I think it is. There are a few things I still want to look into, but I'm more confident in my theory."
"I'm glad," said the Vanguard, "I only ask that you continue to keep me in the loop."
"I will," said Aunor, "Hopefully I can get to the bottom of this before it's too late."
She wasn't entirely sure what she meant by "too late," but she knew her time was limited. People were looking for Hayden and the outcome depended on who found him first.
If her theory was right, she had the chance to get the Praxic Order closer to the trail.
Sarren tried not to feel too discouraged when he found that Miyako Thorne's residence was empty. It looked like it had been for several days at least. While it was bad news that he hadn't found the Warlock there, the good news was that it was another point in favor of her being the mole.
He had known that Thorne hadn't been assigned to any active investigation and following up with Amanda told him that her ship was still in the Hangar. There was still a chance she was indisposed but her empty quarters said otherwise. A period of unannounced absence was always somewhat suspect, but the fact that it was happening during an internal molehunt made it doubly suspicious.
As he left Thorne's quarters, he checked in with Tau on the identity of the person who had sent him the tip.
"The only thing I've been able to decipher is that the message was sent from inside the Tower," said his Ghost, "Nothing beyond that."
Sarren sighed. Something was better than nothing, no matter how small that "something" was. Using his eye, he pulled up Thorne's file. Her list of known associates was short and most of them were other Warlocks in the Order. It was a reasonable assumption that she wasn't hiding with any of them.
Sarren didn't particularly feel like traveling all over the Tower to check the ones that weren't Praxic, so he decided to delegate that to the other two Warlocks assigned to the molehunt. He'd done most of the work so far, anyway. "Has Aunor made any progress on the anonymous tipster?" he asked.
"I don't think so," replied Tau, "I can ask Bahaghari to ask her but she's talking to Ikora right now so it'll have to wait."
Sarren nodded. The identity of the person who'd sent the message was secondary to the information it contained. "What do you think our next move should be?"
Sarren felt a touch of happiness from his Ghost at having been included. Tau always enjoyed it when Sarren asked for his opinion. "Her file says she's New Monarchy, right? I think we should go talk to Executor Hideo."
Sarren considered it. It was a good idea. He wasn't sure how much Hideo interacted with the Guardians pledged to his faction, but hopefully, the Executor would at least know of her. "Let's do it," he said, changing his course.
It was a bit of a walk from the location of Thorne's quarters to the Bazaar, but Sarren didn't mind. It gave him time to get his thoughts in order.
Hideo had to have noticed if Thorne had stopped showing up to New Monarchy functions. He was closer to getting an actual lead than he'd ever been.
When he arrived at Hideo's center of operations, he found the Executor speaking to a Hunter whose cloak bore the telltale New Monarchy insignia.
Sarren waited off to the side until the Hunter left before approaching Hideo. "Hello, Executor Hideo," he greeted, "I'm Sarren Windrunner, Warlock of the Praxic Order. I've come to ask about one of the Guardians pledged to your faction." Hideo nodded for him to continue. "She hasn't shown up to Praxic headquarters for several days now. Her-"
Hideo sighed, cutting him off. "I don't see why you people think I would have more of an idea of your Warlock's whereabouts than you do. You are their employers, are you not?"
Sarren frowned at the interruption. "Her name is Miyako Thorne," he said, "We would like to question her about an ongoing case." He didn't see a benefit to informing the Executor of her identity as the suspected mole.
Hideo's sigh was even more exasperated. "Her again? Traveler forbid I get a break from hearing about Thorne. First those other Guardians, now you. Tell me, Warlock, are you here to accuse me of doing my job as well?"
Any line of questioning Sarren had been prepared to pursue was forgotten. Someone else had asked the Executor about Miyako Thorne. Multiple someones. Sarren couldn't think of anyone else who would be interested in Thorne's identity apart from his team and Aunor.
He held up a hand. "One moment. What 'other Guardians' are you referring to?"
Hideo looked irritated. "Yesterday a Warlock and a Titan were asking about her. Among other things."
A Titan. Maybe the Warlock was Praxic and their friend tagged along. "Did the Warlock identify as a Praxic agent?" he asked.
Hideo shook his head. "No. As a matter of fact, he and the Titan were friends of Hayden... Tristan Bentlix and Rogue-12."
Sarren nodded as he took in the information. He recognized the names. And the Guardians, as a matter of fact. He had spoken to them around the beginning of the Hayden investigation. After the Hunter had escaped, he knew that the Order started keeping tabs on his friends in case Hayden went to them for aid. But he couldn't think of a reason why they would be interested in Miyako Thorne.
Distantly, he was aware of the Executor talking about harassment and pressing charges, but Sarren was too absorbed in this new information to care. If this trail led nowhere - which seemed to be the direction of things - maybe Hayden's friends could provide him with a new place to start.
Either way, it would be better to finish his questioning sooner than later.
He returned his focus to Hideo. "Have you had contact with Thorne since she disappeared or any idea of her current whereabouts?" he asked, cutting off whatever the man was saying.
Hideo frowned. "No," he said.
If Sarren had been anyone else, he might have bought it. But as he'd told Jade Wrythal, his bionic eye could read people's physiological baselines. And the sudden spike in Executor Hideo's heart rate was extremely telling. He might as well have the word "liar" stamped in red on his forehead.
The corner of Sarren's mouth twitched up grimly. "You lied," he said, "Don't do it again."
His eye informed him that Hideo's heart rate had picked up.
"What was the relationship between you and Miyako Thorne?" he asked, "And stick to the truth because I'll know if you lie again."
Hideo's gaze flicked to Sarren's bionic eye. A look of momentary frustration crossed his face. "Thorne worked for me," he spoke through gritted teeth, "Before she worked for the Order. Is it so shocking that her loyalty would remain with New Monarchy?" He paused. Maybe he actually wanted Sarren to answer the question.
The Warlock frowned. It was time to get to the heart of the matter. "Miyako Thorne is under investigation for the acquisition and leaking of sensitive material outside of the Praxic Order," he said, "Were you aware of this?"
Hideo's jaw tightened. "...Yes."
"How much were you involved in her actions?" Sarren asked curiously.
The Executor bristled for a moment, looking as though he were about to refute the implied accusation. But his gaze flicked to Sarren's eye again and his posture sagged slightly in defeat. "I was the one who instructed her to obtain the file," he admitted.
Sarren's eyebrows shot up. This was more than just a rogue operative. It was a calculated move by someone with a seat on the Consensus itself.
"Why did you have her take the file?" he demanded.
"In truth, it was the Praxic Order that forced my hand," said Hideo, meeting Sarren's eyes evenly. The Warlock's brow furrowed as he attempted to parse the logic. The Executor continued. "After finding Hayden guilty of possessing a Weapon of Sorrow, your order opted to send him to your rehabilitation program. It was far too lax a punishment. Guardians who succumb to the temptations of Darkness not only threaten those around them, they compromise the very integrity of the Vanguard itself."
Sarren felt something inside him rise at the faction representative's comments. "Who are you to judge how the Praxic Order conducts its affairs?" he challenged hotly.
"I am a member of the Consensus," replied Hideo, the corner of his mouth twitching into something like a smile. "Granted, that power has waned since the Red War but the Consensus is ultimately still the ruling body of the City. Our decisions are made for the benefit of the City and its people."
"Possessing a Weapon of Sorrow is a third-degree offense at best," Sarren retorted, "The Order could have stepped in to prevent any further corruption and reverse the effects." And evidenced by what he'd seen of Hayden, the corruption hadn't yet had much of a hold on him.
"As I understand it, the Darkness is a slippery slope," said the Executor, "How many still recall the tale of Dredgen Yor's fall to Darkness? Hayden is on the same path."
Sarren studied the faction representative through narrowed eyes. "So you got wind of Hayden's case and you felt his sentence was too light. But instead of contacting the Order about your concerns, you decided to leak his file on the possibility that it would further incriminate him and force the Consensus' hand, is that it?"
"I only had the file leaked because I felt its contents were troubling enough for the rest of the Consensus to know about," Hideo told him. A certain amount of smugness crept into his voice. "It takes more than one voice to call a Guardian to trial so evidently, I was right."
"That is not how justice is served," hissed Sarren icily.
The Executor's tone remained even. "Sometimes justice requires prompting." He folded his hands in front of him, interlocking his fingers. "I assume you've heard of the tenets that guide New Monarchy?"
"Broadly," the Warlock gritted out.
"Then I would like to remind you of our sixth tenet: 'To hold all individuals, compacts, and alliances to the highest standards of productivity and right behavior.' Hayden's behavior is most certainly the wrong kind and by allowing it to continue, we would doom ourselves."
Sarren pursed his lips. "How do you figure?"
"By setting a harmful precedent. Guardians should be held to the highest of standards. Their actions can annihilate gods, topple empires. A compromised Guardian should be judged swiftly and unyieldingly." The conviction in his voice was absolute. It was clear that Hideo wholeheartedly believed in what he was saying.
Sarren pinched the bridge of his nose. "You are aware that the City is not ruled by the tenets of your faction?" He raised an eyebrow. "In fact, I seem to remember that your seventh tenet involves abolishing the Consensus in favor of a monarchy."
Hideo inclined his head. "I am aware… and the City is the lesser for it." He sighed. "But you know now what I did and why I did it. You will find Miyako Thorne on the level below this one, designated as a New Monarchy storage room. I assume you will want to question her."
Sarren nodded, sending a message to the other two Warlocks on his team to do so. "Don't expect to be left out of this," he told the Executor, "At the very least, you'll be removed from the trial and charged with conspiracy and the revealing of privileged information."
Hideo didn't look very put out by this. "The trial will still occur," he said, "As for the charges… we'll see."
"Yes we will," promised Sarren.
With that, he turned away from the New Monarchy representative. He had a Warlock and a Titan to find.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I put a reference to a movie in it and if anyone's able to spot it, I'll be pretty impressed. See you next time!