“So the first step of our plan is to gather intelligence,” said Jack. “Where do we

  start?”

  “We need to take a look at the bank and see if it has any magical thing going on

  before we try to break in,” said Josie. “We know magic works here, and the elves at

  least can use some of it.”

  “And the rings,” said Jack. “Both Accordly and the Dark Rider had them as power

  ups.”

  “Once we are sure we can break in without causing problems, we need to get anything

  that will point to locations and staff,” said Josie. “A master set of books would be

  ideal, but anything like maps, or plans, could save us some time.”

  “We need copies,” said Jack. “If we just take them, then they’ll know we’re onto

  them. Right now, they just know that someone broke in and cleared that one

  warehouse out, and cleared this place. I’m surprised no one has tried to take this back

  from us.”

  “I can make copies,” said Josie. “What if they can’t take this place back?”

  Jack looked at her. He looked at Elaine. She seemed as perplexed as he was.

  “Why wouldn’t they be able to take things back?,” asked Jack.

  “Didn’t you say the guys living here was paying protection?,” asked Josie. “And Guin

  was their protector. Maybe they can’t take the place back because they don’t know

  what happened here yet.”

  “If Guin keeps his word, the only way they will know is if they show up and can’t get

  in and we explain it to them,” said Jack. “That’s a problem that will solve itself if we

  take some of their guys out during our lookaround.”

  Josie added inspectors with a question mark to the board.

  “It looks like we might need to get a guard dog for when we’re out doing our things,”

  said Jack. “So the main goal is to get into the building, copy their books and any

  maps, and leave without exposing ourselves. Am I reading that right?”

  “I think so,” said Josie. “I don’t know if it is wise to talk to anyone staffing the

  building. They could turn us in for our interest as soon as we separate.”

  “What happens if we’re wrong and the Exchange is not involved with the

  Montrose?,” asked Jack. He smiled at their disbelief. “I like to have options to fall

  back on.”

  “If they’re not involved, we leave them alone unless they come after us,” said Josie.

  “Until they cross us while we’re trying to cover this quest, then we can start doing

  things to make them miserable.”

  “When do you want to do this snooping?,” asked Jack.

  “I think we should do it tonight to show we’re working on the quest so we don’t get

  pulled out of here,” said Josie. “I have things the way I like them and I don’t want it

  ruined because we’re not getting things done.”

  “Can you stand guard duty until we come back, Elaine?,” asked Jack. “I don’t like the

  fact that things could escalate beyond what we can do with our watches to stop them.”

  “At this rate, we’ll have to put a wall around our wall,” said Josie.

  “Any ideas on how we can communicate without phones?,” asked Jack. “I know you

  did something when that bird flew into the training hall.”

  “I created a magical homing pigeon,” said Josie. “I left it with Lorelei and Bob so

  they could call me if they had problems with their new governmental positions. She’s

  a duchess now instead of a princess, but she has to command the areas the Crown

  seized from their rebels.”

  “So it’s stable?,” asked Jack.

  “The elf lands have a lot of magic running through them to fuel the bird,” said Josie.

  “They might not work the same way here in Hawk Ridge.”

  “But it is a way we can send messages in case of an emergency,” said Jack. He

  smiled. “I’m so stupid. I thought so much about towers and satellites I never thought

  about just creating a signal that works wherever we go. The homing pigeon was a

  great idea. I wished I had thought of it.”

  “I don’t like that look on your face,” said Josie. She crossed her arms. “What’s on

  your mind?”

  “That I am an idiot,” said Jack. “I could have had a phone network at any time if I had

  just stepped outside the box like you did.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Josie. She glanced at Elaine. Their assistant seemed to be

  just as confused as she was.

  “We never needed a tower to channel a signal when we always had magic to do it for

  us,” said Jack. “When do you want to do the raid?”

  “I think we should look at the building as soon as the Exchange closes,” said Josie.

  “Sometime around sunset.”

  “I need to think for a minute,” said Jack. “Then I need to check to see if this works.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  If it does, the girls will be able to call us any time they need us.”

  “What are you thinking?,” asked Josie.

  “I don’t know yet,” said Jack. “Could you give me some time? If it works out, we’ll

  be able to call each other at any time we want. I need to talk to myself for a bit.

  Thanks for the idea. You’re awesomesauce.”

  “So we should get dinner together?,” said Josie.

  “Yes,” said Jack. “I might need some kind of marker from the girls. If you could get

  that too while I am still thinking, it would be great.”

  “What kind of marker?,” asked Elaine.

  “Some kind of symbol like Josie’s lightning,” said Jack. “Something that represents

  them.”

  “Like a pony mark?,” asked Josie.

  “What?,” said Jack.

  “My Little Pony?,” said Josie. He gave her a blank look. “Friendship is magic?”

  “Yeah, like that,” said Jack. “Go ahead. I have to think. Then we’ll do the raid.

  Elaine, you said you knew the adventurers on sight. The ones at the Bell Tower?”

  “That’s right,” said Elaine.

  “Do you know them well enough to describe them for a picture?,” asked Jack.

  “I don’t know,” said Elaine. “Maybe?”

  “That’s something else we can handle after the raid,” said Jack. He rubbed his hands

  together. He went to the door. He opened it. “Number Two! Can you bring us some

  water?”

  He closed the door.

  “Alicia is not Number Two,” said Josie. She squinted at him. “If you don’t watch out,

  you’ll be stabbed before the week is done.”

  “Not now,” said Jack. “I’m still having my moment. I need some paper. And a pen.”

  “Do you know what you’re doing?,” asked Elaine.

  “I don’t think so,” said Jack. “I just remembered something, and I think I can make

  that work for us.”

  A knock sounded on the door. Jack went to the door and opened it. Alicia stood there

  with three cups of water in her hands.

  “Do you know your way around the neighborhood?,” asked Jack. He took the cups

  and handed them out to the women while keeping his.

  “Not really,” said Alicia. “I came up from the South. My father wanted work here in

  the city as a leather worker.”

  “I’m going to be doing an experiment later,” said Jack. “I want you to think about

  what you think of as something that represents you like a family crest, or something.

  Josie has her lightning for instance. Can you do that? Then I am going to need you

  to go out and walk around for me.”

  “Walk around?,” asked Alicia.

  “Yes,” said Jack. “Can do?”

  “I can do it,” said Alicia. “Not a Number Two.”

  “You can be my number two anytime,” said Jack. “Elaine is my Number One.”

  “She is good for you,” said Alicia. “I have to go back to my study.”

  “Wait,” said Jack. “Do you really think so?”

  “Yes,” said Alicia. “You need someone to help you keep your loon inside.”

  “And where did you pick that up, young lady?,” asked Jack. He grinned at her.

  Alicia looked at Josie and walked away.

  Jack looked at Josie. She hid her face with her mug of water. He looked at Elaine. She

  was red.

  “All right,” said Jack. “That was a reminder not to ask Alicia anything I didn’t want

  to know. Do you two have anything to say before you start dinner?”

  “I think I shall gracefully bow out until you are ready to show us your idea,” said

  Josie.

  She walked out of the office.

  “I don’t know what to say,” said Elaine. She held her cup in both hands.

  “I think you are good for me too,” said Jack. He sipped his water. “Blushing looks

  good on you.”

  “I think we should talk about this when things have settled,” said Elaine. She shook

  her head. “Then we will have to think about what your Society will think about

  anything like a marriage.”

  “That’s fine,” said Jack. “I will be ready when you are.”

  “Thank you, Milord,” said Elaine. She stepped out of the office. “Good luck on your

  idea.”

  Jack closed the door and sat under the lamps he had moved around. He needed to talk

  to two of his personas to make sure he could actually do what he wanted to do. Then

  he needed to test it for distance.

  If he could get coverage for the city, that would be more than he needed for the

  moment.

  And if he needed to expand the coverage, he felt like his idea would be simple

  enough to add on without causing problems.

  He decided to talk to Magik first. That persona had been a big help against the Dark

  Rider. That knowledge would be useful in spell work. He selected a net of spells and

  translated that to the top paper in ink. He looked at his notes and nodded.

  He called on Mister Fantastic and checked his idea and notes. He found a wealth of

  design issues that he wrote down as fast as he could before the persona wore off. He

  sat back when he thought he had everything right.

  He just needed to build a prototype.

  He looked at his watch. He needed to wait for it to recharge. Then he could build a

  prototype that he could use to define his idea. Then once he had that, he could just

  duplicate the prototype for all the girls, Elaine, and Josie.

  He was almost ready to go.

  What shape should the communicators be? That was the thing he needed to decide

  before he did anything else. He looked at the notes from Mister Fantastic. He decided

  on the wristband.

  He would rather have gone with the implant, but doubted the kids would go for a

  piece of metal stuck in their jaws. He didn’t understand how sci-fi could describe that

  and not think how awkward that could be with a device hidden in your face.

  The main thing was that the devices would work forever off of whatever energy fed

  magic in the city. And the only thing he had to really worry about is if the girls

  decided that liked to talk on the phones so much they ran the charge out.

  He would have to lay out some rules for them.

  He took one look at the design notes and decided he needed the marks so he knew

  who was calling him.

  Once he had that marked out, he could build something for them to use. Then he

  could think about Harp’s new arm.

  He left the office and headed downstairs. The girls were at the dining room table,

  working on learning how to spell and read. He smiled when he saw them. He went to

  the kitchen and saw Josie and Elaine cooking meat on a grill over the fire in the

  fireplace.

  “I should have come up with something that acted like a stove,” said Jack. He smiled

  when the women jumped at his words.

  “Don’t do that,” said Josie. “What’s up?”

  “I’m almost ready,” said Jack. “I can make a prototype now. All I need is a symbol

  to call.”

  “I guess use the lightning bolt,” said Josie. “Elaine?”

  “I think a quill would work for this,” said Elaine.

  “I have to get what the kids want, then I can put one together,” said Jack. “I don’t

  expect the range to be that great, but if we can cover the city, that should be enough

  for right now. I’ll have to figure out how to add a booster if we need it later.”

  “And you think this is the fix we need?,” asked Josie.

  “It’s a step, but if we stay here long enough, I think I can add on to the basic model

  until they will be like our phones,” said Jack. “I need to experiment with one to make

  sure it does what I want before we swear by them.”

  “What kind of experiment?,” asked Josie.

  “I want to make sure that the kids can use them without losing an arm,” said Jack.

  “The basic stuff.”

  Find a way to get home.

  Find a way to get home.