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“Well, I’m not going to bring them down tomorrow, but I’m learning a lot.”
While we ate, I summed up the work I’d done that day. “They seem to have their hands in a lot of businesses, magical and otherwise. The nonmagical people have no hope against them, since they wouldn’t even know that they’d need magical immunes to check contracts. They’re able to take over businesses left and right. Of course, I have no proof that this is actually something they’ve done. I just know that there are magically veiled contract clauses that could be used to do such a thing.” I handed Rod the list I’d made. “This is all from memory, the best I could do. Since I can’t carry anything in or out, I can’t take notes or write it down when it’s fresh.”
“I’ll make sure our verifiers are on high alert,” Rod said, folding the list and pocketing it. “But we probably can’t warn all these people without the Collegium suspecting you. It might even be a test.”
I gulped. “Oh, right, I hadn’t thought of that. If everyone mentioned in the documents I reviewed is somehow prepared for them, they might figure out it was me, even more so if they set it up that way. But I hate the idea of anyone getting bilked when we could have stopped it.”
“I wonder how often that sort of contract double cross has happened,” Marcia mused. “Even if people read contracts, would they memorize them to the point that they’d know there were whole new clauses in there the next time they checked the contract?”
“It’s not just the Collegium that does that,” Rod said. “That’s why we have verifiers to check everything.”
“But this is on a huge scale,” I said. “They seem to be trying to build a massive conglomeration under their control.”
“It does sound a lot like mob tactics,” Marcia said. “Only with magic.”
“And way more corporate,” I said. “This doesn’t look like any seedy backroom at a neighborhood social club. If it weren’t for all the weird security measures and stuff like not even knowing where the building is, you’d think it was any other major multinational firm. And the people are actually kind of nice.”
“Just don’t go native on us,” Rod said, laughing. “We don’t want to have to deprogram you.”
“No worries about that. I can already tell that they’re up to no good. I just need to get in a little deeper to see what they’re really trying, maybe learn more about how the organization works.”
“The moment you feel uncomfortable or scared, get out of there.”
There was something else I wanted to ask him, but I wasn’t quite sure how, so I waited until we were done with dinner and Marcia was putting the leftovers in the refrigerator. “How’s Owen doing?” I asked softly. “I know this is rough on him.”
“He hasn’t exactly said anything, but you know Owen. He doesn’t say things. But don’t worry about him. He’s a big boy. After what you’ve watched him go through, it wouldn’t kill him to see how the shoe feels on the other foot.”
“I just want to be sure he knows that nothing I said was for real. It really was about the assignment.”
He reached out and pulled me close in a brotherly hug. “You don’t have to worry about that one bit. He knows.”
*
The next day, I made sure I had nothing on me from the outside world when I left the changing room, and I made it without setting off any alarms. I found my office with only one slightly wrong turn, and there was a stack of folders waiting for me, with a note from Roger on the top, asking me to go over them and check them against a master document. I took that to mean I’d be working on my own. Perhaps one of my so-far unseen competitors was working one-on-one with him today.
But I didn’t mind being left to myself, since that meant I’d have a chance to concentrate on memorizing names and other information. It felt like busy work, but it made the time pass quickly, and before I knew it, there was a light tap on my door. I looked up to see Evelyn. “Ready for lunch?” she asked.
I closed the folder I was working on. “Sure!”
“Come on, and you can meet the others.”
First we went to the office next to mine, where an African American woman in maybe her midthirties was studying documents that looked similar to the ones I’d been working on. She looked up and rubbed her temples when we entered her office. “Lunch?” she asked, sounding grateful to be interrupted.
“If you’re ready to go,” Evelyn replied. “Trish, this is Katie, another one of the newcomers. Katie, Trish.”
“Hi,” I said, with a little wave.
“Does he have you doing stuff like this?” Trish gestured at the documents on her desk.
“Yeah.”
“You know, there’s a reason I didn’t go to law school, but you’ve gotta wonder, what else is hiding out there.” She shoved her chair back from her desk and stood, twisting to stretch her back. “Enough of that, and I may go nuts.”
“It’s best to take frequent breaks,” I suggested.
We headed to the next office, where a slender blonde who couldn’t have been too long out of school sat staring into space. “And this is Rebecca,” Evelyn said.
“Bex,” the young woman corrected. “Is it lunchtime already?”
