Greg never took his eyes off the imposing man that strolled in like he owned the place. A fact that Fiona did not ignore, while Thanatos glanced at his subordinates. “I believe my instructions were to not be seen or detected.”

  “They were. We were taking precautions.” Hans bowed his head slightly. “I’ll take responsibility for Randal–”

  “We will discuss this later. This was an eventuality that was coming.” Thanatos, stern and bold, pivoted to look at the shop, at Theo, then back to her and Greg. “I am impressed, Gregory. You’ve come a long way from a simple accountant and former adventurer.”

  Greg bit his lip gently at that slight spoiler, and Fiona chose to say nothing, examining that exquisite business outfit. It put most of her wardrobe to shame, with the level of detail in the fabric, and the perfectly folded pocket kerchief. Or the likely magical enchantments woven into it, judging by the slight glow around it.

  With a simple click of his tongue, Greg finally started the discussion. “You know, saving face after a lifetime of trying to make myself into a more efficient version of you, doesn’t mean I have to accept this as sincere. We haven’t spoken in almost ten years, Father, and you show up, now?”

  “Can a father not show admiration for his son’s accomplishments?” Thanatos asked, sounding confident. He waved to the room. “Or, the company he keeps. Miss Swiftheart, you have come a long way, as well. From adventurer to merchant, to–”

  “Mister Lockheed, I am careful about the company I keep. I know your reputation, so your presence here is tolerated so much as you keep to business, or matters concerning the greater good of Fiefdala.” Fiona crossed her arms, and sized the man up. Not a single word rattled him, and he gazed right back. “First question. Why are rival gang members targeting my shop? Were they fixing to hurt Greg?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?” That second part of the question was the bigger unknown, and she had a theory. “You know, if the shop had burned to the ground–unlikely, given Bonnie’s protective wards–insurance would have shelled out for the loss. The watch would have known in a second foul play was involved. If anything, you knew they’d look at you, first.”

  Thanatos nodded at this. “I have a…differing view of how business should be conducted in this city. This puts me at odds with those in power. But burning my own son’s shop down, in an act of spite? No. Gregory and I don’t talk anymore, but I do respect what he has built.”

  “Yeah, that’s what every criminal says–”

  “I didn’t come here for the commentary, Swiftheart,” Thanatos interrupted forcefully. Fiona swore she could hear the tension in his limbs like a deadly coiled mafia don spring. “I believe in earning what I’ve worked for. I believe that those who work hard should be rewarded for their efforts. And that some avenues of the law should not be ignored.”

  “Fine. Why were they trying to burn my shop, before the current situation?”

  “Simple. Someone wanted your shop gone. Or at least, delayed. As for who that was, I think you have more than a few people that don’t like you that much,” Thanatos stated, and glanced at the paintings that were going on display at the museum soon. “This has to be the biggest La’teur collection I have seen. Can I interest you in–”

  “They belong in a museum,” Greg and Fiona stated irritably. Thanatos grinned at that.

  “Not every mark has limitless power, you know. I bet I could hold onto these longer than most. Ah, well. The point is, that you present a problem, Swiftheart. You left people with a headache they didn’t know how to deal with. At least, not without making an ugly scene.”

  “Get to the point. I know why the Santinos would be out for me, now. We broke up their gold smuggling act and sneaked in fakes to cover up the theft. You keep doing that for long enough, and eventually, you can bleed a country dry. Am I close?” she asked, fingers tapping on her arm.

  “That is only part of it. But why before? Why wait till now?” he asked.

  Fiona frowned as he gave them a moment to consider. A few possibilities came to mind: he knew she was a summoned, and a wild card, in addition to the powers of her mark. Or, he put together this meeting to create a situation for Greg to at least sit and talk. That one had a lot of moving parts and there were too many things that would have been sheer coincidence,

  The third theory was puzzling: he cared about this shop, and the city. He just didn't care to follow the rules as much. Even screwed up parents could care about their kids, too.

  “Thanatos, what’s your beef with the Santinos? Is this a power play to get us to get rid of your rivals?” she demanded. “Because, bravo. I’d be very willing to crack heads together, if presented with an opportunity.”

  “No. This is bigger than some rival troublemakers, who don’t respect boundaries that were established long before they shipped here on the rivers, starving for a piece of the action,” Thanatos replied. She heard those hands creak with coiled strength.

  He really hated these guys, she noted. “Then, what is it about?”

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  “The Santinos have a connection to Vale. They do things I don’t like.”

  “Well that’s a broad net,” Fiona muttered. “You know, it’s like those ratfolk that all got transfigured? They were effectively slaves of a different sort. I’m not sorry I earned their ire.”

  “Good. Then we’re in alignment,” Thanatos said after a pause. “I have reason to believe that the Santinos were another ratchet of tension on the kingdom. I want them and their operations shut down, here and there.”

  Fiona laughed heartily at this. “Me, help you? Nah, thanks, I have enough frenemies on my staff.”

  “Oh? What about another alternative?” Thanatos smiled. “Gregory, I know enough about your situation to know Barry leveraged a poorly worded and vague, ancient law to screw you over collectively. And that Barry is stalling his treasury on the audit.”

  “Yeah, is it not weird that they haven’t said a word?” Fiona asked. “Like a whole lotta nothing. Though, I thought Rikkard was behind that.”

  “No. Barry is looking for more ammunition to coerce you. He isn’t going to find any, thanks to Greg's efforts to keep above board, as they say.” Fiona hated that cocksure grin on Thanatos’ face, but she also knew he likely wasn’t blowing smoke. “I also found out the reason he wants you in the negotiations. Someone tipped him off that your mark provides unusual powers, though I don’t believe he knows the full extent, other than flinging gold at insane speeds.”

  “Hey, coinuken is a signature move. I would have gone with ‘money shot’, but that has a lot of other unsettling implications,” Fiona stated while gritting her teeth. “So, what? He wanted this deal from the beginning. That didn’t happen till after.”

  “I think he’s going to have your shop seized. He’s dropping all pretense of fairness, and he’s about to burn his bridge with his father to do so.”

  “He tries that, I’ll take my demolition hammer and wreck the palace,” Fiona threatened. “Where’d you hear this?”

  “Because I keep people in places where it’s prudent to listen,” he answered. Greg and Theo bristled at this.

  “And you’re the one that magically knows this? It’s not like we don’t have ears listening in, either,” Greg countered, eyes taking a dark look as he glared at his father. “He can’t do that. I’ve done the reading, and you’re clearly angling in to be a hero when you do nothing but further your own interests, at every turn.”

  “I am furthering my interests. I’d hate for you to lose this shop, and your reputation, Gregory, because of a sniveling twerp sitting in a throne too big for him,” Thanatos answered, looking unbothered by the accusation.

  Fiona tried to not laugh, but she did anyway. “He really doesn’t fill that throne well, does he? He’s so tiny compared to Rikkard! Literally and figuratively,” she added between laughs. “Kid has a Napoleon complex if I ever saw one.”

  “So, you dangle this information in front of us. Why?” Greg folded his arms, looking cross at his father.

  Thanatos glanced at a display case of small items. But he continued to talk. “Because I have a solution.”

  “We have a solution already,” Fiona countered. “We’re paying off this king’s ransom tomorrow. I’m gonna have to grab every bit of savings out of my account, but with the accounting we’ve done, I’m officially debt-free. Then we’re gonna summon him down to the tax office with a spectacle and watch him panic, and then, we’ll offer him a lifeline–at a cost. So, why do we need you, Mister Lockheed?”

  “Because he layered a trap into this. He is going to nail you on fraud. The valuation of the items–”

  “Are bogus. We know. We’ve got paperwork, and tallied the over and undercount. He technically owes me money,” she grinned. Thanatos wore a blank expression.

  “But did you account for everything?”

  “Yes, dad, we have,” Fiona uttered with a roll of her eyes. “I have made this man my dragon to slay. Not that I’ve slayed any dragons, but still, I am dedicated to humiliating this brat in the best way possible: having him make an ass of himself in front of the whole city. And if he tries to arrest me for some bogus charge? Jake and half the adventurer’s guild will be backing us up.”

  “You’ve thought this through more than I thought,” Thanatos mused.

  “Because she knows how to run a business, and knows how to do more than swing a hammer,” Greg stated stiffly, and gave her a subtle nod. It felt like a big moment, hearing him say that, but the moment was but a flash, as he turned to his father. “We don’t need your help, father. And we don’t want your help.”

  “Oh. Well then, I guess I’ll go, then.” Thanatos sighed and motioned to his counterparts. “I guess our help isn’t needed.”

  Theo stepped in. “Hang on. You sound awfully sure of yourself. How does the fake gold play a role in all of this? You never answered it directly, earlier. You said ‘it was a part of it.’ You know something else. Something we don’t.”

  Thanatos turned and smiled. “You know, I do love a good coincidence. What could you do with a pile of fake gold that almost no one could detect?”

  “If I was smart, exchange it. But you do it at a level you could make a lot of money before the theft was discovered,” Theo proposed. “That coin degraded in a week. Perhaps the Santinos were testing it to see how well the fake held up? We still don’t know how it decayed. I’d have to study it. But it didn’t do that until after Fiona declared it a fake.”

  “Hey, I’m a merchant of fortunes,” she shrugged. Thanatos tilted his head in curiosity, but said nothing in response. It was telling of his lack of response. “You know the next move, don’t you?”

  “I know that the Santinos likely got the gold from Vale. I know they were likely expecting to gather data from their efforts. I know who else is in Vale.”

  Fiona glanced at Greg, then at Theo. “Who?” she pressed.

  “A certain individual who has caused much strife to your situation. A certain cinder dragon who has a penchant for swindling, trickery, and ruining lives for fun. If he’s not involved, he likely will know who is.”

  She waited three seconds as she considered what this would mean to follow this trail. “We’re still doing our Plan A. You clearly want the Santinos to take a bruising. And now, you have something we want. Why does everyone around here like shady deals?” she sighed.

  “Fiona, don’t do it,” Greg interjected, teeth on edge.

  “I’m doing it. I don’t hate Doug enough to not want him to get payback on his brother–”

  “No, we’re not,” Greg interrupted, glaring at her. “I will support you on just about everything, Fiona, but this is something I will not allow.”

  “We’re not breaking any laws–”

  “It’s not about laws,” he declared with a growl. “A word, aside?”

  Fiona returned the glare right back at him. “Fine. The office. Thanatos, we’ll be back.”

  “Uh…I’ll be here. Chilling. With the totally legit export company boss,” Theo replied shakily, as Fiona stomped off to her office, and closed the door firmly.

  She loved her office, but there was not a lot of love in the room, with Greg looking furious, in contrast to the cheery pictures of the group on the walls. “We are not making a deal with him. Ever.”

  Greg's really not onboard with this plan...that's gonna cause a fuss.

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