Free Incident 27 by Scott Kinkade Page B

you think, Ev Bannen.”
     
    * * *
     
    Maya
returned to the village of Blasdow. The inhabitants greeted her warmly. She
exchanged pleasantries with them and made inquiries about the targets of her
search. They said they hadn’t seen either Ev or anyone fitting Arcturus’
description. That was disappointing, but she continued on to the O’Hare’s
house. Jenny answered the door.
     
    “Well,
well! If’n it isn’t our savior. Well, one a’ them, anyway. What can this lass
do for you?”
     
    “Hello
again. I’m looking for my friend Ev. Average height; short brown hair. I don’t
suppose he’s been back here.”
     
    “Oh!
So it’s the plain one you be looking for.”
     
    Maya
wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Well, I wouldn’t exactly call him plain. I
think he’s good looking.”
     
    “I’m
just havin’ a bit o’ fun with you. Think nothing o’ it. No, I haven’t seen your
friend. I woulda heard if’n he came back here. We’re a small village, you know.
Word gets around.”
     
    “Oh.
OK.” Maya felt dejected. Still, her hopes were extinguished just yet. “I’m also
looking for another man. Tall; long black hair; tanned.”
     
    “Ah!
Now him I did see. He showed up recently and inquired about the way to
Stonecroft.”
     
    “Stonecroft?”
     
    “Yes.
It’s the famous stone monument. I told him he was quite a ways off.”
     
    Now
things were starting to look up. “Just where is this monument?”
     
    Jenny
told her. Maya thanked her and headed off towards Stonecroft.
     
    * * *
     
    On
an island, in the middle of a lake in the northern area of the continent, sat
Zero Grade House #4—Tru Republic Branch, or House #4 for short. It was a
magnificent mansion situated on a well-maintained property. A huge lane made of
bricks extended out from the front of the mansion with a fabulous fountain on
top. On either side of the fountain were exquisitely-pruned hedges in the form
of various gods. Ev didn’t recognize any of them, but Arcturus said they were
the bosses of the organization. They called themselves the Flawless Few. They
were rumored to be unimaginably powerful. Ev hoped he would never meet them.
     
    “Fortunately,
they never visit these minor branches. They always send their lackeys in their
place,” Arcturus said.
     
    Ev
stared at the obscenely-huge building before him—it had to have at least a
hundred rooms—and wondered how this could be considered a “minor” branch. “Are
you sure they’re not here today?”
     
    “Positive.
They’d never set foot in such a—let’s say ‘quaint’—place. It’s beneath them.”
     
    “Then
where do they live?”
     
    “I
don’t know. Belial was more open to me than he was to Maya, but even he
wouldn’t tell me. All I know is, the Flawless Few’s home puts this one to shame
in every way.”
     
    Ev
tried to imagine such a place. Perhaps these gods of gods lived in a
fantastical realm he couldn’t even imagine. Like maybe an infinitely large
house in a dimension outside time and space. Wouldn’t that be something to see?
     
    He
put those thoughts aside for the moment. There were more pressing matters to
think about as they approached the front door. “Strange. I don’t see any
security cameras.”
     
    “CCTV
is for mortals,” Arcturus said. “Gods have no need of such things. There’s a whole
team in here that specialize in surveillance. They spend all day
astral-projecting around the property. They know we’re here. Count on it.”
     
    The
door opened. Cautiously, Ev followed Arcturus inside. For about the hundredth
time, he considered the possibility the other man was luring him into a trap.
Nevertheless, for the sake of his dream he went anyway.
     
    They
found themselves in the biggest, most lavish living room Ev had ever seen. His
entire house could have fit inside it. There was a beautiful marble floor, as
well as marble pillars spaced evenly throughout the almost cavernous room.
Chandeliers hung from