Chapter 40 – Conspiracy of One
At first, Shin seemed to be heading for the boys' dorm, but he veered off the main path just before he got there, ducking down a narrower lane. Flik had to break into a quick shuffle to catch up to him. Shin followed this path for a while, then suddenly turned to the left on an intersecting path, nearly coming right at Flik, who flopped onto the dewy ground to avoid detection. When Shin was past, Flik got up and continued the pursuit.
He couldn't tell if Shin knew he was being followed or was just paranoid, but Shin kept to a widely deviating course, which led them to the western perimeter of the academy. Here Shin ducked into the forest at the edge of the school, Flik quickly mimicking the move. Under the trees, Flik froze in place. The light of the moons didn't easily penetrate here, and he was no woodsman. For a long moment, he was sure he'd lost Shin, but then he saw the silhouette of the man between a gap in the trees.
Flik tried to creep as quietly as he could, but leaves on the underbrush rustled as he passed. Shin started, abandoned his cover, and sprinted back into the open, running across a wide field. There was no way Flik could follow without also coming out there, which he did. Shin was twenty yards ahead of Flik, and Flik could see him looking back over his shoulder to study his opponent. They were running in the general direction of a building, the library, Flik thought.
When Shin reached the building's side, he paused to draw his spider sword, and slipped inside through a fortuitously open window. Flik was smart enough not to pursue through that same window, but opened the one adjacent. He too drew his sword before clambering into the library.
It was pitch black inside, but Flik had the general impression that bookcases loomed over him on either side. His feet were on some sort of carpeting. He fitfully stabbed into the darkness with his blade, trying to feel for anything. After a few tries, he was able to place the two shelves, which formed a corridor not more than a yard wide. He heard nothing of Shin.
Edging forward, Flik felt along the shelf with his free hand until it came to an end. With his sword ready, he turned the corner and stepped into the next aisle over. It was empty. He could see moonlight filtering in from the window. Disappointed, he dropped his shoulders a little. There would be no finding Shin now. Another chance had slipped through Flik's hands.
He was just about to exit via the window when he suddenly became aware of another light source. Shifting around, he saw a very dim illumination coming from ahead and above him, possibly from the second floor of the building. It didn't seem possible that Shin would make such a careless mistake, but Flik decided to go investigate. He took a few steps forward on the carpet.
On the third stride, the floor dropped down a step into a sunken area. Unfortunately, Flik wasn't ready for it and stumbled, flailing around in the darkness. His sword, still drawn, plunged into a soft object, all the way up to the cross guard. Trying to regulate his breathing, he pulled the weapon out from what felt like an armchair. A shadow moved in the light above, but it didn't go out.
Flik moved more carefully now, working his way around several more chairs and a table, until he could see the faint outline of stairs going up. He climbed them, slowly and deliberately, crouching as he came to the end. The light was situated at one of the reading tables, and a figure sat by it in a chair. Cautiously Flik advanced on the table.
As he crept closer, he began to relax. This wasn't Shin, but a girl in a short green skirt and a ponytail. It was Meg. What was she doing in the library? She was reading a book. The memory flashed through his mind that her particular reason for coming was to find a certain book. Flik was just about to surreptitiously depart when Gadget's dry voice intoned, "Warning, Mistress Meg, there is an intruder approaching from behind you." Meg glanced back over her shoulder, glaring directly at Flik.
He smiled, gave a casual wave, and said, "Hey, Meg. Strange time to be up, isn't it?"
For the life of him, he never did figure out why Meg reacted the way she did. She screamed, "It's the ghost!" and flung one of her knives in his direction. It caught in the fabric of his wide Falenan sleeve.
"Switching to attack mode," Gadget declared calmly, rolling out from under the table. Flik held his hands out in a sign of peace. Of course his sword was still in his right hand. Meg, backing away, knocked into the table, upsetting and extinguishing the light. She screamed again. "Switching to infrared mode," Gadget announced. "Continuing attack."
This was too much for Flik. He wasn't going to try to defend himself in the darkness. He turned and quickly tried to find his way back to the stairs. "Target is retreating." Gadget's voice sounded more ominous without any light. "Continuing attack. Will put target to rout."
"Don't leave me alone, you stupid machine!" Meg wailed. "I don't want to be alone with a ghost!"
Flik found the stairs, but not the railing. His arms swung wildly as he fell, trying to find some purchase. It was actually his shoulder that hit the railing, spinning him off it. He landed back first several more steps down, momentum carrying him into an awkward back roll. He crunched into the other railing, flipped over it, and fell the wrong way into an armchair below.
From somewhere far above, Flik heard, "Target is no longer a threat. Terminating attack." He thought he could make out Meg sobbing hysterically. Then he crawled out of the chair and lay panting on the floor for a few moments, relieved to find that, despite all the pain, everything seemed to work normally. He stood up and blundered through the darkness, looking for a way out. Disoriented, he found a window, opened it up, and oozed out, right onto a rose bush.
He could feel the thorns tugging at the fabric of his robe as he fought to extricate himself. When that was done, he staggered around to the path, feeling hopelessly dejected. Another night wasted without anything to show for his work. He started walking back towards the attendants' lodge, eyes on the ground, wondering how things might get worse.
"Is that my Bluto?" Nina's voice asked.
Flik looked up. He was standing by the fountain near the administration building. Nina had arrived by the southern path. As surprised as he was to see her, he could see that she was equally surprised by his appearance. He decided that now was the right time to take control of the conversation. "What are you doing out so late at night?"
"N-nothing. What about you?" she retorted uneasily.
Flik shrugged, aware that he had leaves stuck on his clothing. "Same here."
Nervously she gestured to the fountain. "You want to sit down? We could talk about stuff."
Actually, he did feel like resting. His body was bruising up and he needed to clear his head. He sat down and closed his eyes, listening to the splashing of the water. Then Nina sat down next to him, snuggling up against his side. There went any chance at clearing his head.
After a few uncomfortable moments, Nina murmured, "Has my Bluto ever been in love?"
Reflexively Flik's hand moved towards the sword at his side, but there was Nina, pressed up against him. She seemed to take this gesture as an invitation and took his hand in hers. His head turned; she was gazing intently at him. He tried to keep his cool as he answered, "I have been." I still am.
She leaned into him, tilting her head up towards his, making him scoot back just a bit. "Were you in love with some lady in a far land, that you'll never see again? How tragic! Hiding all of your pain under that manly exterior. What you need is a little comfort." Her other hand was suddenly resting on his thigh.
Flik swallowed, trying to keep his voice nonchalant. "Actually, I like to think that she's really close to me, watching over me. In a sense, you might say she's always with me."
Nina's head, which had been drifting up towards his, stopped. "Always with you?"
"Yeah," Flik answered, trying to back a little more away from her.
"Even at night? Even this night?" There was a plaintive quiver in her voice.
Now he was getting annoyed. "What part of always don't you understand?"
Nina suddenly broke eye contact with him, and, in the next moment, Flik ended up back first in the fountain. Coughing and soaking wet, he pulled himself back up to a sitting position, trying to recover his bearings.
Nina was no longer next to him, but standing about a yard away. The moonlight seemed to shimmer wetly in her eyes as she said, "I have to go now. I…hope to see you tomorrow. S-sleep well." She ran from the fountain, wiping at her face.
That was the second girl he'd left in tears this night, Flik realized. He didn't understand any of it. On the other hand, he understood the water dripping off his sleeves all too well. He was already beginning to shiver. Without wasting any more time, he jogged back to his room, entered through the window, and pulled off the sopping bow, robe, collar, gauntlets, and his yellow shirt. Luckily his pants had not gotten too wet. He set the waterlogged garments out to dry and climbed into bed. It was then that he noticed that Meg's dagger had fallen out somewhere along the way.
Wakefulness came all too quickly. Flik didn't want to move. His muscles ached and the bed was dry and warm, but he knew Riou would be waiting for news. He rolled up to a sitting position, the pain making him regret the motion, and stood up. Moving stiffly, he walked over to the table where he'd placed his wet clothing the night before.
The yellow shirt was damp, but wearable. Flik stuffed himself into it. The robe was a wet mess that he was perfectly glad to leave out to dry. He also left off the collar, bow, and gauntlets. As he was checking the clothes, he noticed a small slip of paper on the table. The paper was wet, but he could clearly see that it had smudged ink on it. This was a message, then. Had someone slipped in during the night to leave him a note or had it been there when he'd returned?
Flik shook his head; it was all too likely that the latter was the truth. He'd been too exhausted upon his return to notice it. He sat down and tried to read the smudges. All he really got was, "-at the square in front of the school." The signature appeared to be Fitcher's. Flik needed to find Riou and the others quickly, so that they could all hear whatever Fitcher wanted to say. He groaned, stood up, and put on his sword belt.
There was a knock at his door. With trepidation, Flik asked, "Who is it?"
Taking his words for an invitation, Emilia the librarian opened the door and walked through. Her face had a very stern look about it. "Good morning, Mister Bluto. I'd like to speak with you for a few moments, if you don't mind."
He did mind, but was too polite to say so. "Go ahead, and call me Bluto, please."
"Right." She walked over and sat in the chair by the table. "How long have you been in the service of Master Riou?"
That was not a question he'd been anticipating. He sat down on his bed before answering, "A couple of years." Then he remembered about the forms being three years old. "Five years," he amended quickly.
She nodded as if mentally taking notes. "Would you say that you make every effort to ensure Master Riou's safety?"
"I'm not sure I understand the gist of this, but yes, I would."
She made eye contact with him. "Would you break laws or rules to protect him?"
He was back on his feet in an instant. "Are you accusing me of doing something like that?" His mind was racing. How much did she know? What would Riou do if everybody's cover were blown?
She smiled easily. "Nothing like that. It's just that sometimes we find that our students' escorts can be a little overprotective. They don't seem to understand that we have a very competent security staff on campus to deal with these sorts of things. Occasionally there are unfortunate 'incidents' where bodyguards have been caught snooping around after hours. In all those cases, we've politely but firmly expelled the bodyguard from the campus and informed the local authorities. I'm afraid it just doesn't do to have armed men sneaking around a school at night."
Flik's palms were suddenly very sweaty. He rubbed them together. "I understand."
"Indeed. Since you've arrived, there've been two such incidents. You can rest assured that our security team is investigating them. Also, I'd also like to inform you that the library is now indefinitely closed. Have a good day." She stood up and walked from the room, closing the door after her.
Flik's head was spinning. His first thoughts were that they were on to him and that he'd have to abandon Riou. But that didn't make any sense. Why would Emilia give him any kind of warning if he was the prime suspect? Was it possible that she was going around to all the bodyguards this morning with the same news? That didn't seem likely, especially given that she'd highlighted his arrival and the library specifically.
He toyed with the idea that she'd come to warn him because she didn't want him caught. Why? Was she some sort of secret ally, hoping that he'd find Lady Teresa? However it was just as likely that she was some sort of Highland spy in the academy, waiting for him to reveal her location. There were too many permutations; he couldn't think them all through. Perhaps she was a friend of Fitcher?
He jumped. Fitcher! He was supposed to meet Fitcher with Riou and the others. His pained muscles protesting, Flik sprinted from the attendants' lodge, running down the paths of New Leaf Academy for the second straight day. He had a better understanding of the path system, so he made it to the boys' dorm fairly quickly. Even so, he was too late. If Riou and the others had waited for him, they were long gone by the time he arrived.
Flik considered going to find Fitcher on his own, but decided to search for Riou just a little longer. He jogged down another path, heading in the direction of the administration building. This time his persistence was rewarded, for Riou and the others were strolling towards the fountain -the same one he'd fallen into a few hours prior- just as he arrived.
"Yo, I'm very, very sorry I missed you this morning," Flik panted. He looked up and saw the curious expression on their faces. Nanami, in particular, looked concerned. She'd also changed out of her green dress into a school outfit, a gray skirt and red blazer. "What's wrong?" Flik asked.
Nanami was the one who voiced their concerns. "Fl-Bluto, are you…doing anything with Nina? She's always talking about you, about making meals for you, about waiting for you in your room, about-"
"She's totally got it for you," Meg interrupted. She looked none the worse for their little "encounter." She also didn't seem to recognize that he'd been the ghost.
Nanami shook her head. "I mean, you're allowed to make your own decisions and all, but we'd like to know just how interested in her you really are."
Flik blinked. All of the girls seemed to be very absorbed by this matter, even Wakaba, who'd only known him for three days. They were all staring intently at him. Luc was very pointedly looking up into the sky. Riou looked surprisingly annoyed by the whole issue, waiting for the answer with his arms crossed.
"I don't understand how this has happened," Flik said. "Nanami, I haven't done anything to gain her interest, I promise you that. I'm not interested in 'that' sort of relationship with a child."
For some strange reason, Nanami looked very relieved. "That's good. I thought for a moment that maybe you- wait! What do you mean by 'a child'?"
"That's enough of that," Riou said irritably. To Flik's surprise, the youth looked very tired, as if he too had not had enough sleep recently. Was Riou also investigating Lady Teresa's whereabouts? "Flik, do you have any news?" Riou continued.
"Oh, yes. I got instructions from Fitcher. We're supposed to wait for him in the square outside the academy."
"Finally," Riou muttered.
Today was Swordsdei, the beginning of the weekend, so there weren't a lot of classes going on. Consequently, many of the students were heading out into the city. As Flik and his group approached the gates, they heard an excited conversation.
"You think something's really going to happen?"
"Oh yeah, this is big. He's probably going to get beaten to a pulp."
Flik glanced at Riou. "Let's be careful. We don't want to get caught up in a riot."
"Agreed," Riou replied.
A crowd had formed outside the gates, shouting jeers and insults, but there was only a small group of people at the center of the action. Flik muscled his way forward, wondering how in the world he was going to find Fitcher in this. Then he came to the open space at the center of the crowd and found that question answered.
A group of five men, all relatively young, were shoving a sixth among them. The sixth man was Fitcher, who was unable to resist.
"You're one of those stinking traitors!" one man shouted.
"Why were you slinking around? Come on, you can tell us." This man was portly, with a scraggly brown beard.
"I'm not a traitor," Fitcher pleaded, trying to regain his balance. "I'm working for Greenhill's best interests!"
"You have a Muse accent," a third man declared, in a nasal tone. "You're one of those bastards from Muse." One of the other men came up behind Fitcher and shoved him hard to the ground.
"Please, stop!" Fitcher begged, before absorbing a kick to the side of his mouth. "I didn't do anything." All five of the men were kicking him now.
Nanami tugged on Flik's sleeve. "Those jerks! We have to stop this. Come on, let's beat them up."
"No," Flik responded. "I'll stop this myself." He fingered his sword. "If this turns bad, I don't want you getting involved. You still have to find Lady Teresa."
"But-"
Flik didn't remain to listen to what Nanami was going to say. He boldly walked out from the onlookers, right up to where the men were kicking Fitcher. "What's going on here? What did this guy do to you?"
The kicking abruptly stopped and the assailants looked warily in Flik's direction. The fat man with the beard testily said, "You're not from Greenhill, so this isn't any of your business. Get out of here, unless you want to get hurt too."
Fitcher, who was bleeding from a kicked nose, looked uncertainly up in Flik's direction. "Maybe I am a stranger," Flik said, "but even I know that Greenhill and Muse are supposed to be allies."
The fat man stabbed a finger at Flik's chest. "Idiot, you don't know anything. If those traitors from Muse weren't here, we'd still be a free city. They stabbed us in the back, and this bastard's one of them."
"Thank the runes," Fitcher declared, recognition in his eyes. He tried to rise, but one of the men shoved him back to the ground. "Fl-"
Flik cut him off with a sharp shake of his head. He didn't want Fitcher blowing his cover here, not with five angry men who were looking for an excuse to get more violent.
Fitcher seemed to understand. "Kind traveler, please, tell these men to stop." The men in question looked darkly from Flik to Fitcher. Telling them to stop wasn't going to work.
Besides, Flik had a different plan in mind. "A traitor," he said scornfully. "One who sold out his allies. He can't be allowed to get away with this!"
The fat man nearest to him smiled. "That's right! You understand us exactly, don't you?"
Fitcher looked piteously towards Flik, who had to struggle to keep anything but disdain from showing on his face. "He deserves to die slowly," Flik judged. "Even a lynching would be over too quickly. What would be best is to stab him in the guts. He'd have a long, painful time to think about his crimes before he died. There'd be a lot of blood, too."
As expected, the thought of actually killing someone, especially with their own hands, caused the assailants to hesitate. The fat man's smile turned into a nervous frown. "Well, I…"
Flik pulled his sword sheath off his belt. "Come on, you want to kill him, don't you? Don't you want everyone to be able to hear his screams, even all the way across the city? Don't you want everyone to know that you were the man who stood up for freedom and justice?"
The fat man suddenly looked very green in the face. Flik stepped past him so that he stood in the circle around Fitcher. He held his weapon out to the others. "Don't any of you want to strike a blow against oppression? Don't any of you want to spill the blood of traitors?"
The men of the circle started backing away from Flik. One of them mumbled, "No thanks, I'm…good."
Now Flik really was feeling disdain and he let that feeling echo in his expression and tone. "I thought there were some real men here, but I guess I was wrong. So be it, I'll cut him down." He drew his blade, letting the sheath rattle on the cobblestones. There was murmuring from the crowd, so he raised his voice to address them all. "People of Greenhill, let me strike a blow against treachery and for justice in your name. I will consummate this act so that no one will ever think of betraying your fair city ever again." He pulled the blade over his head, letting all in the crowd see it glittering in the sun. "Now the traitor dies!"
It wasn't very surprising how few people stayed behind to see the completion of "justice" in their name. The square was nearly empty in under a quarter minute. Unfortunately, it wasn't totally empty. A pair of bored-looking male students stood nearby. They were teenage boys, maybe a year or two older than Riou.
"Do it!" one of them shouted. "Let's see some blood."
The other one nudged his friend. "I know, he should stick his sword right up the other guy's-"
That was when Flik blasted the street in front of them with a bolt of lightning, sending up a spray of rock fragments and creating a loud clap of thunder. The two students put their hands up to cover their faces and ran for the academy.
Then Nanami and Pilika were hugging him tightly. "You did it, Flik!" Nanami cried. "You stopped them!" Flik wanted to tell her not to use his real name, but the others were also speaking.
"Amazing!" Wakaba exclaimed. "I must study that technique for avoiding combat."
"Very cool," Meg said, winking.
"Total luck," Luc remarked.
"It was not," Millie retorted. "Flik's a hero."
"I think so too," Eilie said.
Riou was smiling. "Good job, Flik. Now let's see if we can convince Fitcher of that."
Fitcher had ducked his head when Flik had raised his sword, and was still tucked in a crouch in the middle of the square. "Please, be merciful!"
Flik, managing to disengage himself from Nanami and Pilika, walked over to Fitcher and tapped him lightly with his boot. "Yo, Fitcher, you can get up any time you like."
Cautiously, Fitcher looked up. "I'm still alive?" Flik nodded, at which point Fitcher jumped up to embrace him, kissing him liberally -despite the stubble- on each cheek. "Thank you, thank you, Flik!"
Flik tried to push him away. "It's okay, Fitcher. You don't have to make such a fuss about it."
Riou walked over. "Let's find an out of the way place so Fitcher can give us the news."
Fitcher smacked his forehead. "Oh, yes, right. This way please." He led them out of the square and down several streets leading towards the west. Eventually the streets led them to a wooded park with paths and benches. Fitcher chose a secluded location by an apple tree and sat down on a bench. Riou, Nanami, and Eilie sat down on the bench opposite. Pilika sat on Nanami's lap. Luc, using his wind magic, whisked an apple down for Millie, who exclaimed happily. Wakaba perched herself on one of the branches. Meg sat down on top of Gadget. Flik took a seat next to Fitcher. They waited for him to begin.
First, he sighed. "It's like this everywhere in the city. Old friends are treating me like scum. I can hardly learn anything."
"What do you know?" Flik prompted.
"She's within the city," Fitcher answered, then laughed ruefully. "I learned that from Highland soldiers. It seems the general who took this city has been out scouring the province looking for her, but hasn't found anything. It looks like the group hiding Lady Teresa is very small."
"It's a conspiracy of one," Flik asserted. "Shin. It all comes down to him." He looked over at Riou. "We'll just have to go back to the academy and gather more clues." He turned to address Fitcher. "Fitcher, you be careful too. We don't want something like that to happen again."
Fitcher shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't stay in the city. At this point, I don't know who might try to sell me to the Highlanders. If you find Lady Teresa, meet me at that inn we were at, the night before you entered the city. By the way, this new Highland general is no joke. He'll be coming back to the city in a couple of days. I don't advise being here when he does."
Flik looked down at his feet. Everyone was silent for a minute, then Nanami softly asked, "Where should we be looking?"
Flik had no idea, but he knew that time was running out.