Page 22 of Fool Me Twice

He looks visibly shaken by the very idea. Hastily, Ez jumps in to talk him down. “No, of course not. At most, I think that we might have a corrupt higher-up in the Chain who could feasibly be working with a corrupt higher-up in the Sanctum, but that’s‍—that’s just wild supposition, really. Not supported by evidence.”

“Right,” Micah says faintly. “Just, uh. Just wild supposition.”

“And you said that Gregorio himself signed off on the paperwork to get them transferred to other states, right?” Ezprompts. “So there’s my answer, then. Gutierrez was probably just mistaken or lying, and‍?—‍”

Micah’s head jerks up. “Gutierrez?RomaGutierrez?”

Damn it. You had one job, Laguerre!“Yes,” Ez says reluctantly. “That one. Gutierrez the Younger.”

Micah has the decency to look chagrined by the nickname‍—the same nickname he used to describe Roma to Cass a few months ago. Not for the first time, Ez wonders if Micah and Gregorio ever met Naomi Gutierrez and Sawyer Solomon before they defected from the Sanctum and left Redwater behind.

But that’s a mystery for another day. Now, Micah is considering Ez with what can only be described as calculated interest, which she doesnotappreciate. “Oh. You’ve been… working with her?”

Ez fights back a scowl. “Not bychoice.The mega-rifts need to be hit from multiple angles, and unfortunately, the Sanctum’s blocking spell is a solid complement for my disconnecting spell. Gutierrez just happens to be inexplicably available whenever any rifts open near me, which totally isn’t suspicious at all, but…” She shrugs one shoulder. “Them’s the breaks.”

“Right,” Micah says, and suddenly, he pulls open one of his desk drawers, grabbing a stack of folders‍—photocopies, Ez realizes with a jolt, of previously submitted paperwork. Sometimes, Micah’s loyalty to his job is almost scary. “I’m going to look into this, okay? I’ll triple-check the paperwork and dig into those out-of-state Chains, too.”

“Micah, you really don’t need to‍?—‍”

“Oh, believe me, Ireallydo,” Micah says, and he gives her a strained smile. “Can I get back to you on this?”

Guilt gnaws at Ez’s stomach. She’s exceedingly grateful that Micah is taking this seriously and jumping on the task with his usual vigor, but‍?—

But he also looks utterly haunted by the possibility that they could have a crooked demon in the Chain. Ez’s chest twinges. She wouldn’t call Micah “innocent” by any means, but sometimes, he seems more hopeful than the rest of them. She hates taking that away from him. “Of course you can get back to me,” she says quietly. “No rush, okay? I really appreciate your help.”

“And Ireallyappreciate you bringing this up to me,” Micah says, snapping his fingers. The soundproofing spell evaporates like it was never there in the first place, closely followed by the door unlocking itself and the blinds zipping back up. “Do you need anything else, Ez? You’re still taking a break from campaigns, right?”

With all the turmoil in Redwater right now, Ez almost forgot how desperate she was for some action a few short weeks ago. She almost laughs at the thought. “Still taking a break, yeah. And no, I don’t need anything else. Thanks again for the help, Micah.”

“I’ll be in touch,” Micah says, and without further ado, he sits back down in his chair, flips open the top folder on his pile, and starts reading.

Grimacing, Ez backs out of the Outpost and into the steadily warming April air, taking a long sip of her hot cocoa.

Somehow, she really doubts that she’s going to like the results of Micah’s deep dive.

11

It’s been exactly four days since Roma told Ez about the neophyte demons in the Sanctum’s prison, and she’s been regretting that decision for exactly four days.

Gritting her teeth, she bursts towards her punching bag again, throwing a vicious combination of straight punches and elbows before finishing with a savage roundhouse kick. Her breathing feels ragged and her sweaty hair is frizzing out of her ponytail, but despite her best efforts, she just can’t seem to get into a rhythm. Usually, practicing her close combat skills on the training grounds is one of her favorite pastimes, something that really calms her down and centers her, the thin fabric of her boxing wraps the only barrier between her and the bag, but now‍?—

Now, she just can’t get those neophytes out of her head.

Much to her irritation, she can’t get Esmeralda Laguerre out of her head, either. Despite everything, Ez really seemed to take Roma at her word when she mentioned those demons, and Roma has the sneaking suspicion that Ez actually investigated further‍—not that she’s said anything to Roma, of course.

But Bryant and Chester have opened two more mega-rifts since then, and both times, Ez was quieter while she and Roma closed them. Less antagonistic.

Like she was starting to view them as highly reluctant allies instead of active adversaries.

In principle, that’s a good thing. It’s agreatthing, actually. Roma’s mission is to get close to JJ again, close enough to convince him to come back to the Sanctum‍—or bring him back by force if she can’t. Earning the tenuous trust of one of his demon “friends” is hypothetically an excellent development.

Roma just wishes that development were fabricated, like it’s supposed to be. Not a case of her telling a demon, one of the monsters she’s supposed tohunt,about what could potentially be sensitive Sanctum information. If anyone found out, it could get her thrown in prison as a dissident‍—or worse.

And, even though she knows it’s illogical, she can’t shake the feeling that everyone can see the truth written across her face. Like the more she thinks about it, the more danger she’s in. The anxiety keeps whipping around her brain on repeat, getting faster and faster and louder and louder until‍?—

“‍—‍earth to Roma? Hello?”

Roma’s heart jumps into her throat. She whirls around to see Bryant standing behind her, eyebrows raised expectantly. “Oh,” Roma says weakly, leaning against the punching bag to catch her breath. “Hey, Bry.”

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