Page 16 of Chaos and Crowns

“I’m glad you’re so excited about this piece,” Ernie said. “You know, you could do more special interest pieces like this on a talk show. Maybe it could give you a high-society spin, focusing on art and history. Not just celebrity gossip.”

Odelle exhaled forcefully through her nose and made sure her polite smile didn’t slip. Of course, Ernie would take this as a sign that she was considering his offer. She couldn’t afford to disagree though, not until she had everything they needed to get their hands on the crown.

“That’s a good thought,” she said noncommittally, turning back to her computer and hoping he would drop the conversation. Ernie seemed to take the hint, but he still sauntered away smiling as if he had scored a victory. Odelle tried to brush the annoyance from her mind so she could focus on the issues at hand. Her efforts were thwarted as another figure stopped behind her desk chair.

This time when Odelle looked up, she didn’t bother to put on a smile. Mallorie leaned a hip against her desk, heavily powdered skin from being on camera making her face look even more like a mask. Odelle was surprised that Mallorie’s face didn’t crack when she offered a smug smile.

“I hear rumors that you’re getting your own talk show. That’ll be such a cushy job, no more chasing down statements. Just talking about the best quiche recipes for springtime or interviewing the bird who learned how to dial a phone.” Mallorie’s tone made it clear that she knew exactly how Odelle felt about the matter.

“And where did you hear this rumor?”

“Straight from Ernie, considering I’m the one who gave him the idea.” Mallorie folded her arms over her chest with supreme satisfaction.

At that, Odelle turned in her desk chair to face her directly. “And why would you do that? What did I do to make you want to undercut me at every turn?”

“You really don’t know?” Mallorie’s perfectly penciled eyebrows rose. “You don’t remember that story about the string of robberies we covered right before you got moved from the weekend anchor to the weekdays?”

“Yeah, we worked on it together,” Odelle reflected with a frown.

“Oh, so you do remember that we were a team on it. Something you didn’t consider when you fact-checked me and then went to Ernie with my error before even giving me a chance to fix it,” Mallorie spat.

Odelle opened her mouth to retort but paused when her heart dropped. She had gone to Ernie with an addendum before the story aired, wanting to ensure the facts were accurate. After all, she prided herself on triple-checking her facts. She hadn’t even thought to run it by Mallorie.

Mallorie snorted. “Well, I’m not sure if I’m relieved or disappointed that you weren’t trying to throw me under the bus by exposing my mistake. Either way, your need to do everything yourself really screws other people over sometimes.”

Mallorie shook her head and slunk away, leaving Odelle reeling. She shook the feeling off, telling herself she’d deal with work disagreements later. Save the city from the physical incarnation of evil first. Priorities. She picked up her desk phone and dialed.

“Hello, Mr. Whitehall speaking.”

“Hello Mr. Whitehall, it’s Odelle Zvezda from channel three. Listen, I was so sorry about what happened when I came to interview you the other day, I wanted to make it up to you,” Odelle gushed.

“These things happen,” Mr. Whitehall assured, “Although it’s a shame you didn’t get to see more of our collection.”

“It was very impressive. That actually brings me to why I called. As part of this story I’m doing, I interviewed Thaddeus Pagonis, the antiquities dealer. He’s recently come into possession of several incredible pieces, and I mentioned to him that you might be interested in them. I was wondering if you would like me to set up a meeting,” Odelle explained.

“Who did you say this was?” Mr. Whitehall asked.

“The Thaddeus Pagonis,” Odelle insisted. “You’re so lucky he said he’d be willing to meet with you. He rarely sells in the U.S.”

“Oh yes, Thaddeus Pagonis. Of course, I didn’t hear you the first time.”

Odelle almost chuckled as she pictured Mr. Whitehall frantically searching the name and finding a myriad of websites, blog postings, and news articles mentioning the fictitious antiquities dealer. His ego was certainly too fragile to allow him to admit that he didn’t know of somebody so important. Not to mention, Odelle was getting better at building false identities for ancient sorcerers, not that she was hoping to make a habit out of it.

“Fantastic,” Odelle said. “Would the day after tomorrow work? He’s not in Chicago very long. I also mentioned your collection to him, and he would love to see it.”

“Oh—well that’s very soon. But, I suppose…” Mr. Whitehall blustered.

“I just wouldn’t want you to miss such a rare opportunity,” Odelle explained.

“Yes, I suppose that would be wonderful then.”

Odelle smiled in victory as they ironed out the details. A bit of basic web design, a few well written blog posts, and Thad would now be able to act as their Trojan horse.

* * *

Thad clapped his hands in delight at the news.

“Oh, an eccentric and enigmatic antiquities dealer. Sounds right up my alley. You’ll have to help me pick my outfit.”