In Which Justina Gets Lost Looking For Food and Xanaria Learns About Breaking and Entering


Justina tumbled for a moment, weightless, then regained her balance and stepped back out of the hole. She felt the shift, a slight jerk like stepping off an escalator. The first thing she felt was the wind on her face. She closed her eyes and smiled enjoying the sensation. The next thing she noticed was the smell, like cinnamon and apples and fresh green grass.

She waited a little while but Xanaria didn't arrive in her mind. How long can it take to connect to the Metastone? Although I suppose Skipper did say time might seem to move differently. I can wait a little longer.

Justina sat down on the grass and looked around her. She was in a field splashed with wildflowers and surrounded by tall trees that were almost glowing orange and red in the late afternoon light of autumn. It was lovely, and made her feel young and full of awe. She wondered what kind of world this was. She hoped it was similar to home. She hoped it was similar enough she could use the money in her wallet to buy groceries. But a deep, wild, and hungry place in her heart wished it would be different. That there would be great magic or spaceships, fairies or flying cars. That's silly. Skipper said it would be similar to my home metaverse. Still…

She waited, enjoying the sunlight. After about ten minutes she began to get concerned. She closed her eyes and tried to root around inside herself for Xanaria's friendly presence. She felt the bond they had shared since they ran through the library together but couldn't sense her friend's consciousness. She tried to reach out, to feel her way along that bond. For a moment she thought it worked. She felt Xanaria. She was... concerned but trusting, and a little bored.

That doesn't make sense. I'm probably imagining it, trying too hard.

Another fifteen minutes passed and Justina thought, maybe I should just get started. I hope Xanaria shows up soon.

She stood, sighed, and stretched out her stiff legs.

From behind her she heard a soft baritone voice say, "Who are you?"


Xanaria knew instantly that she wasn't in Justina's head. It wasn't just that she was standing behind a row of mens coats inside a dark walk-in closet with a notepad full of someone else's credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information. It was mostly that Elizabeth felt very different than Justina did. Elizabeth was very much in control at the moment, so Xanaria settled back and let her work. Elizabeth was doing breathing exercises to slow her heart and keep her body loose and still. At the same time she was thinking through several possible escape routes. Through the door they heard the sound of footsteps, the rolling of wheels, and the faint squeak of someone sitting in a leather chair. Xanaria started to get nervous but Elizabeth was having none of that, and pushed her all the way back into the farthest corner of her mind. Not wanting to get in the way, Xanaria let herself be pushed.

Elizabeth waited, patience and practice keeping her limbs loose, still, and uncramped, her breath slow and silent, and her heartbeat even. She was tucked into the off season closet that Mr. Kriston kept in his downstairs office space. Hopefully he wouldn't be too long. He had a fancy party going on outside and he was supposed to be out there. She had planned on him entertaining all night and for the blame to be spread out across too many people with too many lawyers and too much money for it to go anywhere. And if someone did go down she wouldn't lose any sleep over it. They were, for the most part, Mr. Kriston's crowd showing off their "generosity" by donating to "charity" although she knew from her pre-heist research that barely 5% of the money ever did anything more than get passed around between their deep pockets.

She ran through what she could do if he opened the closet and saw her there. She was wearing clothing that covered her entire body in dark shades of grey, blue and brown, so as not to stand out. Black, as she had learned, was terrible if there was any illumination around. Her best hope if he opened the door was to blend into the shadows behind his full length winter coats. She was very glad she had yet to steal anything that could be noticed as missing.

After a while she heard the door open and a woman's voice said, "Rupert, you needn't hide at your own party." There was laughter in her voice, and if you had never met her in person the threatening undercurrent could easily be missed. "People are wondering where you've run off too. Or with who."

"Alright Carol, I'll be out in a minute, I just had an idea and wanted to get to work right away. It could be a lucrative one. I know you like when the money comes in."

"Well, then, work on it after your party, silly man."

Elizabeth heard him sigh, and then the chair creaked again as Rupert Kriston followed his wife back out of the office. The door closed and the lock clicked. She counted fifty breaths to make sure he wouldn't be returning.

She was just about to move when a voice inside cautioned her, ~Wait. I hear him coming back.~

Xanaria crept back out just a little and listened. With her Elizabeth was able to hear the hurried footsteps coming back down the hallway. She stayed put while Kriston, swearing once or twice, rummaged around in his desk. She heard him mutter a satisfied little huff and then heard the sound of a cell phone vibrate slightly as it got unlocked. He left again.

Thank you. Handy skill.

~I'm a little out of my depth, but I'll let you know if I hear anymore trouble.~

Xanaria sank back again and watched as Elizabeth carefully and quickly found and picked the locks on the desk drawers one after another, jotting down social security numbers, bank account information, and anything else that might let her bleed him dry over the next few weeks. Then she carefully locked it back up again.

She knew he wouldn't keep anything significantly liquid or damaging in a backup office. She ignored the stack of twenties tucked in the back of the bottom drawer.

~Isn't that a lot of money?~

If he escapes Carol and returns here it would be too easily missed. Don't worry. There will be more.


Justina whirled too quickly, and overbalanced slightly. She flung out her arms for stability and stared at the young man leaning against the tree behind her. He was tall, gently smiling, and barefoot with an easy grace in his every movement. He raised his hands, a little apologetically.

"Excuse me, I didn't mean to startle you, I was just wondering if you could use some help finding your way to town."

Justina stared at him for a moment as her heart rate slowed down, "Um, yes actually." She dropped her arms back to her sides. "I'm… very lost. If you could point me in the right direction, that would be really helpful."

He nodded knowingly, still leaning against the tree. "Your charm is an unpredictable one, I take it? Teleportation usually is."

Justina's mind went blank. My charm? He didn't say that like a pick up line. Wait. Teleportation? She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

He chuckled, a warm and friendly sound. "You don't need to look so shocked. I'm Rob, I'm an uncommonly strong Gardener from Crowstown. The tree told me it saw you step out of the air, and led me to you. I can help you get back to town and figure out how to get home."

As he talked Justina felt herself begin to smile. Magic. He's talking about magic! This metaverse has Magic!

"Thank you,'' she said. "That would be very helpful. I'm Justina"


Elizabeth slipped up the back stairway. It led straight from the kitchen to the rooftop garden with an unobtrusive landing on each floor so guests could get their breakfast in bed but wouldn't have to see servants while using the stairs. Since the party was on the ground floor everyone from the kitchens would be thoroughly tied up down there. The smells that drifted up from the kitchen were marvelous. They made Xanaria think longingly of meals that tasted like more than salty chalk. Then she was amused by herself.

~My mother would give me such a lecture about gratitude for even thinking that. Having enough food of any kind wasn't something I knew before I met Skipper.~

I know what you mean. By the end of highschool, I made damn sure I possessed the skills to never go hungry again. I try to pay it forward when I do a job like this. Most of the cash I find tonight will go towards shelters and food banks all across the county. The electronic money can cover more ground, and if I'm careful how I route it I can keep most of it from being reclaimed. She shook her head slightly. Can't count on it until the job's done, though. But... I'll see if I can get a lot of canned food for you guys. Things that will keep until you need them.

~Thank you!~

They reached the fourth floor and Elizabeth was back to business. She had done her research and knew the layout of this building by heart. She made a beeline for the main office and in just under a minute had picked it's elegant and expensive lock. As she opened the door she felt the cool wash of a charm nullifying ward. Not having any charms on her, or planning to use hers even if it could be useful, Elizabeth was unaffected and unconcerned.

She slipped inside and locked the door behind her, not wanting anything to seem out of the ordinary. There was light from the windows, although it was already starting to fade. A quick scan of the room took in the desks, file cabinets, computers and three paintings on the walls.

She cast an appraiser's eye over the paintings. The one on the far wall was a genuine Van Gogh purchased at an auction last year. There had been a representative from a big museum with their eye on it, but he had disappeared the day before and the investigation was quickly dropped

The Waterhouse painting next to the door was also an original, and the doorway showed her that wall was an ordinary thickness. But the painting on the wall to the right and across from the windows, while gorgeous, was not by an artist whose name would make fortune hunters drool. It's frame was also significantly thicker than it needed to be. It was almost too easy.

~It could be a decoy.~

Elizabeth shrugged. If it is, we'll know soon enough.


Justina followed Rob down a path winding through the trees. It was wide, but overgrown. She hadn't even noticed it until Rob walked right onto it. They walked in silence for a while. Justina wasn't sure what to say in this unfamiliar world, and Rob just seemed to be enjoying the forest. Eventually the silence, comfortable as it was, became too much for her.

"How far is it?" She asked.

He looked at her and smiled slightly as if he had forgotten she was there and was being pleasantly reminded. "Not long." He told her. "Maybe twenty minutes to get out of the park and another ten to town. Once there I could take you to the courthouse and they can figure out how to get you home. Or I could take you to the local diner first."

Justina opened her mouth, but before she could answer her stomach growled loud enough to be heard.

Rob chuckled softly. "Diner first it is then."

Justina wasn't sure how to ask 'does my money look like it's from an entirely different world' in a way that wouldn't sound insane. She did recognize the North Face logo on his jacket, so she hoped that their money would look the same too.

She hedged, "I, ah, I don't know if I can pay for it. I'm not sure how far I've come. Will they take this here?"

She held up a five dollar bill from her wallet. All her cards she had left behind, of course. Even if they did work here she wasn't okay with stealing money from someone.

He raised one eyebrow slightly but all he said was, "Yes, you're still on this side of the border, but don't worry about it. The diner has a collection box set up for people I find in the woods. It happens more often than you'd think."

"Ah, thank you."

They lapsed into silence again. Justina listened to the susurrus of the breeze in the leaves and watched the dappled sunlight. The man's easy calm was infectious and it really was a lovely day.


Elizabeth ran her fingers gently around the edge of the painting feeling for anything unusual. It only took her a couple moments to find two catches, one on the right side and one on the top. When pressed simultaneously they made a quiet click and the paining swung out on well hidden hinges. See? Wall safe.

It was an elegant thing, smooth and sleek with barely a hairline crack around the edge. It had two key holes over a keypad in the center. Elizabeth recognized the model. Once the keys were turned she would only have a minute to enter the 6 digit code.

She took a small flashlight and shined it at a steep angle across the keypad then breathed on it's glossy keyes. As the fog from her breath faded she saw the smudge of fingerprints o and 0. Elizabeth nodded and turned her back on the wall safe.

Xanaria was confused but she stayed quiet and watched the master work.

Elizabeth went to the desk. She scanned it carefully. It seemed pretty standard in a sleek, expensive way. It had 3 drawers on the right side, the bottom one tall and firmly locked with an odd little LED over the keyhole, another long drawer over a hole for the chair, and a blotter fancy enough it almost needed one of its own. But peeking out from under the edge of the blotter she spotted a tiny corner of colored paper. Carefully lifting the edge she saw a line of post it notes. They each had long alphanumeric strings on them and were headed by an underlined acronyme. Elizabeth pulled out a tiny digital camera. She took several quick pictures and stowed it away again. She could already tell some of them were the same passwords she had gotten from the computer downstairs; they had merely been shifted by one number or letter. It was barely even a code at all. So when she got to the sticky note that said:

WS:

491735

She easily translated it to: 502846

She nodded and then returned to the wall safe. She had read all about this kind of locking mechanism before. It was designed to be fiddly. When used properly the owner would need to use both hands and turn two identical keys at the same time. If they were even off a little bit then the safe wouldn't unlock. It also wouldn't set off the alarm because it was expected to take a legitimate owner a couple tries to get it right. As soon as the keys were turned properly the keypad would turn on. She would have one minute to enter the code. If she waited past the minute or got the code wrong even once the alarm would go off and the safe lock down.

This meant that she would need to either find the keys, one of which Kriston always carried in his wallet and another she hadn't even found clues about, or she would have to pick two locks, the same way, at the same time, each with only one of her hands.

Elizabeth grinned and stretched out her fingers, This will be fun.

It took her four tries before the locks clicked together and the key pad began to glow. She grinned punching in the code and the safe swung open silently.

~That was awesome.~ Xanaria thought, impressed.

Elizabeth didn't respond but Xanaria felt her glow with pride.

Inside the safe were several stacks of twenties and 13 keys laid out carefully on a little shelf. Each key had a label with a symbol on it. She assumed they meant something to Kriston but she could likely decipher them given time. She wrapped all but one of them in a long strip of velvet, so that they made a tidy bundle but none of them were touching each other. She tucked the bundle away in one of her many pockets. The key she kept in hand. It's tag had a symbol on it that looked like a drawer, and attached to its head was a small chip and LED that matched to one on the bottom drawer of the desk.

After clearing the safe of money, Elizabeth went back to the desk. The key fit perfectly and the lights flashed green. She left it in the lock and slid open the drawer. It was full of files. The labels were in plain english, presumably because getting through this many layers of security must mean you were supposed to see them. There were too many papers for her to take them all but she slid off her flat backpack and propping it open against the side of the drawer began to go through them. The backpack had been especially designed to hold papers. It could be made larger or cinched down tight to hold them flat against her back and kept them from crinkling or getting in the way. The lining was thin noise reducing foam to keep any rustling sounds as quiet as possible when she was moving. Each time she found an especially incriminating piece of paper, she slid it into her pack. Even so, it was starting to fill up even before she was halfway through the drawer. Many of the papers even had Rupert Kriston's signature on them and that gave Elizabeth a vengeful little thrill each time.

She had just reached a file for a children's cancer charity, where most of the money had gone into the pockets of Kriston and not toward the children at all, when Xanaria heard someone running down the hall. She barely had time to secure and shoulder her backpack when the door slammed open.


Justina and the man walked into town just as the light was fading from the sky. Once they passed out of the trees and stepped onto the sidewalk Rob seemed to come back to the present a little more.

"The diner's just a couple blocks this way. You can rest to get your bearings there. The courthouse closed at 5 anyway so we just missed them for tonight."

Justina nodded and said something pleasant, grateful, and bland, but her mind was elsewhere. Where is Xanaria? How am I going to get back? What will I do until tomorrow? She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and tried to focus on where they going.

It was a normal enough town at first glance. A drug store, a couple coffee shops, a gas station. It had trees growing up in little green strips next to the sidewalk and Rob made sure to brush each one with his fingers.

The first time she really noticed anything unusual was when they passed a toy store. There was a music box in the window with a tiny ballerina dancing in it, but it wasn't just spinning through a couple mechanical moves, she was really dancing in fluid graceful motions. Justina watched it as they passed but didn't slow down, or ask about it. She tried not to show in any way that she thought something like that was unusual.

Rob noticed anyway, "Beth really is a brilliant artist, isn't she?"

Justina agreed, whole heartedly. After that she started noticing more and more little things around town. Nothing big or obvious was unusual. There were still stop signs on the intersections, still light bulbs in the streetlights. But some of the signs on specific stores moved or glowed without lightbulbs or passing under them you smelled clean cut grass and expensive chocolate. She smiled thinking about all the other things that could be true in a world like this.

Before long they arrived at a little cheerful looking dinner named Hart's Haven and Hamburgers. It had a glowing white deer leaping over the words on the sign. As they approached, a woman came out of the diner smiling cheerfully. She was tall, broad and graceful. She stepped over the three stairs by the door, saying "Oh good, you found her!" And gave Rob a warm one armed hug pressing her cheek to the top of his head. Then she took Justina's hand and pulled her out of the gathering gloom and into the warm and welcoming diner.

The inside of the diner was just as cheerful as the outside. It smelled of hot sugar and fried potatoes, and she felt her mouth begin to water. Justina heard clapping and was surprised to see there were several people at the long counter who were looking right at her and applauding. She was guided to a seat at the counter with tall spinning chairs that were surprisingly comfortable.

Eleanor gave her a menu and then moved up to the small stage by the window that had a microphone, a stool, and a sturdy music stand. She ignore the microphone, her voice easily filling the room, "Next up on the open mic sign up sheet is John with a new poem but since our rescue has just been brought home," She paused and smiled as a brief flurry of applause filled the diner. "We're going to have a pause until she has a plate of food in front of her. I know you all can't resist learning a newcomer's stories. And telling your old ones to a new and captive audience."

There was a chuckle of the kind made by people who have heard a joke before but still are amused by it. Eleanor made her way back to Justina at the counter where she had quickly been surrounded by curious patrons.

"What would you like, dear?" Eleanor asked "We have 50 bucks or so in the feeding rescues funds so pick anything you want." While she spoke a notepad appeared in her hand as if by magic.

Maybe it was magic, Justina thought, but no, that seems like too mundane a trick for a woman with such an aura of quiet power.

"I do have money," Justina protested, "I can buy my own meal."

"Nonsense this is tradition, you wouldn't mess with tradition would you?"

There was an expectnat hush and Justina smiled, "Okay, well," She scanned the menu quickly, "The eggs Benedict sounds amazing."

"It is." Eleanor made a quick note on her pad. "Anything to drink? Hot tea is a favorite with people coming down out of the woods."

"That does sound good. Um…"

Her hesitation resulted in an instant chorus of cheerful suggestions from the people gathered round.

"Oooh, you should try the earl grey."

"No, it's too late for caffeine, take the apple cinnamon."

"My favorite's lemon ginger."

"She'll pick the apple cinnamon."

"Shh, let her decide."

"Can't go wrong with the white rose rooibos"

"Peppermint! Peppermint!"

Laughing a little Justina held up a hand and they settled down. "Wow, thank you, those all sound good. I'll think I'll take the apple cinnamon tea. Thank you"

"And your dessert? You have to pick a dessert."

"Eleanor's pecan pies are the best in the state."

"The triple chocolate caramel fudge cake is to die for."

"She would love the blueberry crumble, but she won't pick it."

"The tiramisu just came out of the oven!"

"Apple pie is a classic."

"The cheesecake here is my favorite."

"Guys guys! Give her a chance to choose."

They all looked at her expectantly, "Well, I'm not sure I would be human if I turned down triple chocolate caramel fudge cake."

"Wonderful!" Eleanor smiled at her closing the notepad, "Don't let these guys scare you off before I get back!"

With that she disappeared into the back of the diner, and the patrons closed around Justina excitedly asking eager questions. Luckily, she found that they were just as happy to tell her about themselves as they were to ask about her, and she deflected easily.

Justina found herself fascinated by the casual way magic wove through these people's lives and yet didn't affect their human nature. She lost track of time and wasn't expecting it when a plate of perfect eggs benedict, with a generous helping of hollandaise sauce, was placed in front of her.


Elizabeth didn't waste time. She crashed through the window just as the first gunshots rang out. She felt bright hot pain light up her left arm, and she didn't know if it was from the glass or the gun.

~Oh, Sleeping Goddess! What is it with my friends and trying to jump out of upper story windows!~

Shut up. It's not that far.

They didn't have to go all the way down, luckily. Elizabeth knew from her pre-mission research that the window right below them had a gable above a protruding window seat. She landed poorly, thrown off by the pain in her arm, and rolled over the edge. She barely snagged the gutter on her way down. Her left arm refused to hold on and she hung by one hand as she heard shouting from the room she had just left. The gutter squealed and twisted under her weight. She pushed off hard from the angled glass side of the gable's window seat just as she felt it give way and lept to another gable one floor down. Landing much better this time she caught her balance and barely hesitated before jumping again to the next one down. Then to a decorative cherry tree. She edged around to the far side of the tree and, hoping the thick flexible rubber soles of her boots would protect her, she jumped for the high electric fence pushing off it and onto a pine tree on the other side.

She felt all the hair on her body try to stand up and heard the terrifying buzzing crackle of the fence beneath her, but her boots held up and she made it unscorched to the tree on the far side. She half slid, half fell down the tree and took a moment at the bottom to finally look at her wound.

It was worse than she hoped but better than she had feared. Something had torn a chunk out of her upper arm and it was bleeding continuously in a steady drip. It had clearly missed anything serious, but she must have left a trail of blood all the way down the building.

Shit. Shit shit shit! Elizabeth pulled a roll of thick gauze from a deep pocket and began quickly and efficiently wrapping up her arm. Oh, damn it, do you know what some Blood Charmers can do with blood?

~No. But I assume it's bad.~

I'm screwed. Some of them can track you and that sucks, but some of the darker ones can use it to boil you alive or freeze you in place or pull the rest of your blood to them. Everyone's charm is unique of course, even if they can be similar, but you can bet Kriston will find the worst of the worst even if he has to buy a whole jail to get them here. I can't leave it. Which means I have to use my charm. But then my charm print will be all over this place and I'm caught.

~At least you'll be alive, those other options sound horrible!~

Shit.

Elizabeth finished with her arm and put away the gauze. She shook out her good hand and dipped two fingers into the small puddle of blood she had left on the ground. Elizabeth reached deep and then let her charm roll up and out, back up the building. She felt a slight stinging sensation as the blood already drying and glueing the fabric to her arm vanished from existence, along with the puddle she had been touching and the streak she had left on the tree.

And now they will know I'm a Cleaner. Even before they get a forensic team out here to memorize my charm print, they'll be visiting all the Cleaners in town to try and recover what I've taken. She turned and began to run through the forest. I can't go home.

~Where will you run?~

I have a couple ideas. In the meantime I know someone who will help me no matter what, although I'd rather not impose on her and her fiance, unless I absolutely have to. First things first, though. These papers have to make it into the FBI's hands. Otherwise this will all have been for nothing.