It was always a warehouse.
Vicky hovered above the rust-streaked rooftop of what had to be the tenth warehouse she'd scoped out this month, give or take a few. Abandoned churches and factories were runner-ups, but warehouses? Warehouses were like a drug to the criminally inclined. This one looked like it had been condemned sometime in the mid-90s and forgotten about by everyone except the rats and whatever lunatic had left tire marks carving through the cracked pavement out front.
"Are we sure this is the place?" Crystal asked, arms folded over her chest as she gave Vicky a soft glare. She didn't sound thrilled about being there, and Victoria didn't blame her. It was past midnight, and the city smelled like car exhaust and brackish water. And technically, they both had school the next morning.
"It's the address I was given." Victoria answered, eyes still scanning the streets below.
Crystal raised an eyebrow. "From your anonymous friend?"
There it was, that look and tone. The one that said Vicky was being reckless again. The look she usually got when she skipped PRT protocol to go off instinct or impulse. Vicky could practically hear Carol's voice in the back of her head too, just waiting for the report to hit her inbox.
"I didn't ask you to come." Victoria said, soft but even. She had only told them just in case she needed backup.
"No, you didn't." Crystal didn't sound mad, more resigned than anything. "But I know you."
Victoria didn't respond, instead she silently dropped onto the gravel-covered rooftop, scanning the ventilation units and skylights for signs of tampering. Crystal remained above, as she drifted around the building perimeter.
"Anything?"
"It's shielded most likely." Crystal replied. "I can't see anything."
Victoria crouched by a raised air vent. One of the screws was halfway unscrewed. Fresh, it stood out like a single white tooth in a mouth full of rot. Someone did a half-assed job here. "This vent's been messed with, it could be exhaust."
"Could be a trap," Crystal added.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Victoria checked her phone, confirming the coordinates one last time. Chimaera hadn't sent a follow-up, just the location.
They moved quickly and quietly. Down through a broken skylight into the main structure, past the rusted beams and scaffolding that held the skeleton of the warehouse in place. The ground floor was littered with machine parts, grease stains, and tinker scrap. Unlabeled barrels sat stacked near the far wall. A few of them were glowing faintly, not exactly ideal.
"It stinks in here," Crystal muttered, floating a few feet above the ground. "Burnt ozone, solvents, weed, definitely Squealer's stink."
Victoria nodded silently. Her footsteps echoed too loudly as she walked across the concrete, but she didn't slow down. Confidence was its own kind of armor.
She found the first workbench near the center of the room. It was cluttered with parts, half-welded tinkertech, circuitry, and a few shards of what might've been a busted containment cell. And beneath a tarp, a long, ugly shape.
Victoria peeled it back.
"A railgun." she said, almost to herself. Crude, boxy, but clearly dangerous if it worked. Not Squealer's usual style. She favored the ridiculous, the loud, and the excessive. This was precise, almost military.
There were blueprints beneath the tarp. Crude sketches, engine layouts, unintelligible notes scrawled in grease pencil. None of them were labeled with a tinker's mark, but it wasn't hard to tell this was Squealer's domain. The only question was who else had been here.
"Vic-" Crystal said in her ear, "There's a rigged door in the back. Bombs, maybe tripwires, definitely not civilian-grade." Tinker Grade? Most likely.
Victoria's jaw clenched. "Someone wanted it found, but not by everyone."
"You think your Thinker friend set us up?"
"No, if it was a trap, they would've been here waiting to monologue. Thinkers like to hear themselves talk."
She looked around again. There was a distinct feeling crawling up her spine. The warehouse was empty, but not untouched. Something had happened here recently.
There were dusty footsteps everywhere, erratic as if people were scrambling to leave.
"We're pulling out." Victoria said. "We've seen enough to call in the PRT.
Crystal didn't argue.
They reconvened on the roof, the cold wind biting a little harder now. Crystal was already dialing the PRT's field dispatch.
"You're reporting this?" Victoria asked. She had assumed Crystal would make her do the call.
"Of course I am. You saw what's in there. If we don't get someone to clean that up, the Merchants will be back here tomorrow with a forklift and a dream." Crystal sighed as she was placed on hold by bureaucracy.
Vicky raised a lone, blonde eyebrow."And what are you going to tell them?"
Crystal looked over from her spot on the roof. "That I got an anonymous tip."
"And when they ask from who?"
Crystal shrugged. "I don't know, but I know someone who might."
Victoria met her gaze.
"You don't think I noticed?" Crystal said. "You trusted that intel too easily, way too fast."
Silence stretched between them.
"I'm not judging you." She continued speaking. "I just want to know if you're in trouble."
"I'm not." Victoria said defensively. Maybe she had been a bit foolish, trusting this intel too fast, but if there was a chance to make this sect of the Merchants hurt then it was worth it.
"Should I be worried?"
Vicky didn't answer.
Crystal frowned. "You've got that look again."
"What look?"
"The 'I'm making a decision and I'm not telling anyone until it's too late' look."
Victoria sighed. "It wasn't a trap, that's all that matters."
"For now." Crystal floated into the air, the glow around her body illuminating the rooftop. "Don't do anything stupid and wait for the PRT."
"Define stupid." Vicky teased with a grin.
"That." And then she was gone.
They came, as I had anticipated.
I crouched low on the rooftop of the old print shop across the street, nestled behind a vent pipe with just enough elevation to watch the warehouse from above. It was the perfect cover, though the air tasted like rust and dust, and I hadn't moved in almost an hour.
Victoria Dallon's silhouette was unmistakable even in the dark. Even from here I could see her posture. Controlled, assertive, and confident to the point of arrogance, but never quite tipping over. She's wondering if Chimaera was in the area.
Crystal Pelham hovered beside her, more cautious, a touch too cautious, but that was fine. The glow of her body was practically a neon sign against the cloudy night. An asset and a liability, like so many in her family. She has better offensive capabilities, but her family members are better on the defense.
I took a sip from the juice box in my hand and kept my reddening eyes on them.
Crystal likely joined Glory Girl to prevent her from getting in trouble. They suspect this is an ambush, which was to be expected, the intel came to them from an unknown Thinker.
They moved as I expected. Victoria went to the vent, and Crystal orbited the structure. They were scanning, cautious, as they should be. A leader didn't move without recon. The site had been scrubbed, but not too cleanly, and that was the point.
The railgun had been left uncovered just enough to entice them and prove my information as correct. The footprints I had left were too precise for Squealer's usual chaos, but they served their purpose. And the bomb-rigged door in the back? Real, but old and now faulty. Still, it was enough to reinforce the image of Squealers lab.
They entered slowly.
The light from Crystal's body gave me everything I needed. The way they hovered. The way Victoria led the way without hesitation.
She believed me. It was rather foolish on her end, this could've been a trap, but it worked out for me.
I leaned back, breathing in the night air as best as I could with my mask. The cold helped slow the racing thoughts that ran a track around my mind.
"Phase One complete," I murmured as the duo soon left the warehouse, returning to their previous vantage point.
In the end, Squealers lab really didn't matter. The Merchant's were a hodgepodge of small gangs that worked together when necessary. I would need them in the future, once my plans accelerated.
What was important though?
Victoria Dallon had picked up the phone.
And she played her part wonderfully.
A/N
Released in honor of Star Wars Celebration! I hope to be able to update again on May 4th.