Chương 98: CDM 2, Chapter 34: Networking

The next day, Martin Kielar resurfaced at two points in my life. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I had gone several days without remembering that he existed, which also meant I had gone just as long without thinking about Jonathan. Finding him some measure of justice was still important to me, but clearly my selfish mind had been elsewhere.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) announced the grand opening for the Kielar Cancer Treatment Center, a whole new facility paid for by the Kielar family's generous donations. The articles I saw showed him cutting a ribbon with big scissors and posing with a group of sickly children with bald heads. He wasn't the first scumbag to bolster his reputation with philanthropy.

The steel baron Andrew Carnegie had two libraries, a museum, and a university named in his honor, and he was the same person who ordered Pinkertons to attack striking mill workers. He was anti-union, infamous for awful working conditions, and was associated with the Johnstown flood disaster. He was one of the wealthy people who lived on the other side of the dam before it broke. Kielar simply followed a playbook that many people had followed before to great success. Around 1 p. m. that day, Beth called me.

She could barely speak between desperate wheezing breaths. She was hyperventilating. I encouraged her to focus on slow breaths. When she could actually speak, I asked, "Where are you?"

"Frank's."

"What's wrong?"

"Martin Kielar came into the shop today with two other people from his guild. They talked to Frank about placing an order, and… I'm so embarrassed, Dor. I came out of the back to let Frank know I was moving on to my next task, and Kielar was right there. Feet away from me. I froze, and I couldn't do anything but stare."

"What did he do?" To my knowledge, Kielar had no idea who Beth was, but then I remembered he made certain that I received Jonathan's photo, following that with an in-person warning the next time I encountered him on a harvest site. How far into my family did he look?

"He told me not to be shy," Beth continued.

"Then he offered to take a photo with me. Frank had to basically push me into the back of the shop to get me to move. He's out front with Kielar. They're still talking. I'm hiding in the fucking bathroom."

"Did it seem like he recognized you?"

"No. He was trying to hit on me."

"I'm sorry, Beth."

"I can't freak out like this, not here. Not in front of Frank."

"From everything I've heard about Frank, he sounds like a reasonable person," I assured her.

"Do you want me to come get you?"

"No, I'll be fine." She took a deep inhale.

"I'll try to be fine."

"Don't rush yourself. Take a few minutes in the bathroom to find your footing before you go back into the shop. He'll probably be gone by then too."

"Okay. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you at work."

"I don't mind at all. I want you to call me when you feel like this. Call me back as soon as you need me, okay?"

"Okay." Now I was the one who needed to collect themself. I did exactly what Beth did: I hid in the bathroom until my emotions leveled out again. I hated the idea of someone like that interacting with my sister in any way, but I also should have known it was inevitable. Frank made bows for crawlers. Of course he would cross paths with some of the big names in the city. By 8 p. m., I still hadn't finished reviewing the first drake wing video.

This harvest site was operational for six days, and on top of that, I was distracted by my worry for Beth and my hatred for Kielar. Beth had a shift at Milly's that night. Since she didn't live with me anymore, I couldn't count on running into her at the apartment, and I wanted to check in to see if she was doing alright. Business was slow. Only a handful of patrons were present, spread between sitting at the bar or at one of the tables.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I spotted Enforcer McDouglas in the corner. He wore a cough-syrup-purple polo and talked to an older man in a ball cap. I saw only the back of his head, so I didn't immediately recognize him.

"I didn't know you were coming in tonight," Beth said as I sat at the bar.

"Wanted to see you and say hi."

"Thank you. I'm doing alright, and I'm sorry. I don't know what that was earlier."

"Nothing to apologize for. Slow shift?" Beth looked around.

"Slower than usual but not terrible. Did you know that Frank and Benny knew each other?"

"Huh?" Oh, that's right. Beth knew Enforcer McDouglas as "Benny." I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to that.

"You didn't see them sitting together?" I turned. McDouglas caught me looking but returned his focus to speaking with Frank.

"I didn't know that was Frank," I answered.

"But yes, I did hear they knew each other."

"Do you know how?" I shrugged.

"The crawler world isn't that big, especially in Pittsburgh. There are a few dozen reasons they could have crossed paths. How often does Frank come in here?"

"This is maybe his second time. He said he was in the area and thought he'd say hi. Then he saw Benny, and they've been talking ever since."

"How much does Frank know?" I asked. Beth shook her head.

"Nothing. He didn't poke at it either. Just made sure I was okay."

"Sounds like a good dude." Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Yeah, he's sweet. Did you want a beer, or are you heading home?"

"I'll take a beer." Beth poured me a glass and turned her attention to the other patrons. The television over the bar looked like New Eden coverage. Rick Young gave a camera crew a guided tour of a brand new town, which would eventually become the capital for the new nation. The volume was off, and so were the subtitles, so beyond reading the text in the lower thirds, I couldn't pick up on anything else specific.

Something bothered me about the buildings and sidewalks that took a while for me to place, then I realized what it was. Everything was new and clean. Real cities weren't like that. There was always a piece that was dirty and rundown from decades of use and weather. I had never seen a place where all of it is new. There wasn't a rough part of town a few blocks over, and the shots weren't framed in such a way that an abandoned building next door could go unnoticed. It practically sparkled.

"Gray?" McDouglas half-shouted across the bar.

"You're really going to pretend you don't know me? Come sit with us."

"I didn't want to interrupt."

"I don't buy it." When I approached the table, Frank gave me a nod.

"Sit, sit," McDouglas continued.

"We're just shooting the shit." I had only just begun to settle into my seat next to McDouglas when he frowned.

"Sorry. I have to take this." He stepped outside with his phone pressed to his ear.

"Small world," Frank said in his scratchy voice.

"So you work with Benny, huh?" I nodded.

"He's good people. You could do a lot worse."

"He's taught me a lot."

"He's got a lot to teach. You're smart to keep in touch with him."

"I'm happy to hear that," I said.

"I knew that, but someone with your experience saying that makes me feel even better about it."

"My experience?"

"Sorry. I know this is rude, but I heard you were an accomplished spellbow. I didn't mean to bring that up, though. I only meant to say I know that you know your stuff." And that was true. Did I want to know everything about Frank's build and crawling career? Yes, very much so. With what happened to Beth today, I didn't want to take any risks with what I asked Frank in case my questions bothered him. My dumb ass still managed to screw that up.

"I'll forgive you. This time." I was relieved to catch a small smile before Frank took his next drink.

"Had a strange moment at the shop today," Frank mused, lowering his voice at the same time.

"How does Beth know Martin Kielar?"

"Umm… You see, she uhh… She's just not a fan." Well-handled, Dorion. That was your smoothest lie yet. Frank made no effort to hide his dubiousness.

"Well, she's got the right tools for this business. She's picking up the craft better than most, and she has a mind for how money works. I can make a beautiful bow, but I can't be bothered to fuss with a website or social media. She won't have that problem."

"She's a special person," I agreed.

"And I wanted to say thank you, by the way. What you did to give her time off was very kind."

"Not sure what you mean." I chuckled.

"Okay. That's fair. I'm still grateful, though." McDouglas reappeared, reclaiming his seat as he apologized for stepping away so suddenly.

"Gray's running a dex archer build," McDouglas said, raising his hand to signal that he'd like another beer.

"Hit level 10 recently."

"Piercing and Multi-Shot?" Frank asked me.

"Yes, sir."

"What'd you take for your level 10 unlock?"

"Vengeful Arrow," I answered.

"Good choice. Too many gurus out there push for Split the Arrow. It's good you didn't fall into that trap."

"Are you against it for dex builds or in general?"

"In general. If you need an ability to be accurate, then you haven't spent enough time on fundamentals. It's a waste."

"That's a relief," I said.

"I'm always worried I'm following the wrong advice." I caught McDouglas smiling to himself, like he was proud that he sparked this particular conversation.

"Are you multiclassing?" Frank asked next.

"No, sir. Pure archer."

"By choice or because it's expensive?"

"I'm pretending it was by choice, but really it's the latter." Frank laughed.

"I hear you. Pure archer can be just as good as anything else if you use it right. Don't listen to any shithead that says otherwise. Too many people underestimate what an archer can do."

"Thank you. That means a lot. I'll let you two get back to it. I have an early shift in the morning."

"Dempson treating you alright?" McDouglas asked as I stood.

"Yep. Just have a lot to do. Have a good night, gentlemen." Frank and McDouglas both raised their glasses. I didn't see Beth come out from behind the bar, but she hugged me a moment later and whispered a thank you for coming to visit. After so long of not being a big brother, I had worried I was too out of practice to be any good to Beth. That feeling was especially strong when she first arrived, but feeling her squeeze made me think I wasn't doing so bad after all.

Enforcer Chapman visited my cubicle early the next day.

"I noticed you didn't resume your wild monster tracking efforts this week." Shit.

"I got carried away reviewing footage for Investigator Dempson, and it slipped my mind. I'm sorry." Chapman sighed.

"You can't abandon a project the moment something new comes across your desk."

"You're right. That was not my intention, but I'll correct it and won't let it happen again."

"We can let that slide this time," Chapman said.

"You've been down a partner, so I'll give you some grace."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"As you've probably surmised, your partner is out again today. Have you spoken to Enforcer Cortez by chance?"

"I tried texting him," I answered.

"He just said not to worry and that he'd be fine." Chapman didn't reply. She simply nodded and walked away. On one hand, I was thankful that she didn't ride me about falling behind on my EPA work. On the other hand, I would have liked to have saved that mercy for something more meaningful. Those moments were rare for Chapman, so I wasn't likely to experience that grace again any time soon. Starting with the day I left for Taiwan, I sifted through the miscellaneous monster sightings caught by CDM drones.

There were six goblin sightings. Two were in the vicinity of the Banning Mine, which the EPA had yet to label a site of concern. The rest were rural locations with SOCs nearby. The EPA would still get the report of what we saw, but none of those data points were particularly concerning. The most interesting sighting was a troll in the southeastern corner of the Hill District, which is pretty much the middle of the city. Granted, the image wasn't great.

The "troll" only passed through the corner of the frame in a wooded area at night. By the time someone from RAID reacted to the alert and got to the controls, they couldn't find any sign of it. When I zoomed in on the image, I wasn't sure if it was a troll either. It could have just been a person. If I stared long enough with any one conclusion in mind, I could convince myself that either was true. The EPA didn't have an SOC for trolls anywhere near there, but I was curious.

I emailed our point of contact at the EPA to see if they had any more information or if they had looked into it. A troll in the middle of the city sounded far-fetched, but then again, that scenario exactly happened in Mexico in Puebla. Trolls hunted undetected for years by disappearing beneath the city. All caught up, I turned my attention back to reviewing drone footage. I hoped to get to the second drake wing video today but made the mistake of revisiting my spreadsheet.

Dempson's team had updated it, flagging 27 additional harvest sites. Oh god, that was so much video.