"Ms. Fawkins, I will feel no remorse at whatever must be done. Perhaps Ms. Crenshaw is unaware of the collateral damage that has resulted from these 'Games'?"

"I'm not unaware. The question was whether the contestants were universally evil, which—"

"It appears that Ms. Ramsey has vocally expressed her interest in large and 'splashy' fights. Mr. Gewecke has confirmed that this has been her established opinion for quite some time. Fights are 'splashiest' when they involve more than two participants, when they take place in front of an audience of non-participants, and when they involve, it would appear, considerable amounts of physical destruction. Ideally of property, but, from the sounds of it, Ms. Ramsey does not much object to the injury or death of non-participants. She does, however, object to non-participants refusing to watch or attempting to flee the scene entirely. Thus the barrier. Thus this debrief, Mr. Gewecke, Ms. Crenshaw, Ms. Fawkins. If this were a matter of consenting adults choosing their natural end, however immoral or gruesome, it would not strictly be the Wind Court's purview. However—"

"I thought it wasn't the Wind Court's purview," you say. "I thought you, um, quit."

"You appear to be misinformed, Ms. Fawkins. Such things happen when a person vanishes for weeks. My subordinates and I are still very much part of the Wind Court. Unfortunately, it is the Eyrie that has forsaken the name. A pity." He smiles, close-lipped. "As I was saying, there is, in my educated opinion, a real and present danger to both the people and the infrastructure of the Corcass. This being the 'Grand Finale,' Ms. Ramsey will undoubtedly be seeking maximum spectacle. I am not taking this lightly. While I don't have the manpower to singlehandedly—"

"Hold on." You tap on the table. "Haven't you known about the barrier for weeks, probably? Couldn't everybody have evacuated before Ramsey showed up?"

"We tried," Eloise says, as Monty says "It's not that easy," as Lucky's smile turns sour. "Firstly, I'll note your lack of any assistance in the efforts here, Ms. Fawkins. Most of us did not have the luxury of holing up and avoiding responsibility. In fact, efforts were made to promote evacuation. They were largely refused. The Wind Court is not, by and large, trusted in this region." ("Wonder why!" Eloise says.) "Moreover, residents of the local town did not want to leave their homes and return to mass destruction. Meanwhile—"

"I thought Camp was portable?" you ask Monty. "It's all tents, and—"

"Kid," Eloise says, "you think anyone you know wants to tuck their tail and run? Come on."

You frown. "I mean, there's a lot of people at Camp I don't know."

(3/5)

"The immediate search for the Leftenant has been paused. It is thought she fled. I do not condone unnatural methods of locating her, which would appear to be the only methods remaining. Nobody can say, Ms. Fawkins, that I did not put in the effort. Was that your sole reason for coming?" Lucky tilts the bottle against his chest. "I wouldn't want to discover the Leftenant here in front of me."

You rub your thumb across your fingers. "Lucky."

"Ms. Fawkins."

"...Have you confirmed the Wyrm thing? Or the involvement with Jean Ramsey?"

"An inquiry has been submitted. Being as we are a considerable distance from Wind City, it may be weeks until a credible response is received."

"And what are you doing in the meantime?"

"I am defending innocents from the encroachment of the unnatural. When am I not doing this?"

Lucky's eyes are cold and bright. He might as well be behind a wall. You could cut your losses— he wants you to cut your losses— but you're going to be God, God-damnit, and you can find the right question to ask. "That's what the Wind Court does?"

"Of course."

"And if they weren't doing that... and you had credible word that the mission was, um..."

«Irreperably perverted.»

"...irreperably perverted, what would you do?"

For the first time, he looks away. "If I found this to be the case, I would have no choice but to pursue the mission on my own initiative. But that is my decision to make, Ms. Fawkins, and nobody else's. I will not be incentivized."

You lean forward. "If it all works out, I really will put you back on the—"

"I will NOT—" He slams the bottle on his desk. "—be incentivized. Are we clear?"

"...Yeah."

"Wonderful. Now, it's best you go. My patience is not inexhaustible."

You should go: you got your answer, as roundabout as it is. You don't know why you linger. An incompleteness? His wall is still up. You've been lobbing things over, but never through. "I will, but... I just... I want you to know that everything I told you is true. Maybe you wouldn't have believed it without a trick, but I really, honestly will be God. I'm not saying that as an incentive. I just want you to know that."

"I see. It must be extremely challenging to deal with that, Ms. Fawkins." Neither his voice nor his face betray any emotion.

"A little bit, but I just... I guess... I think you have a really narrow-minded way of doing it, but our goals aren't that different overall, okay? Defending innocents sounds good to me. I'm happy to defend loads of innocents. When I'm God, I—"

Lucky lifts an eyebrow when you don't finish. "Well, go on."

(4/5)

"A keen eye, Ms. Fawkins. But I suppose it'd be simple for you to recognize it, given your extensive history with our organization. Excuse me." He wipes his lips. "I trust it will also be simple for you to recognize that your tricks will fail on me. I will not be led. Understood?"

"You took my poster down."

"The immediate search for the Leftenant has been paused. It is thought she fled. I do not condone unnatural methods of locating her, which would appear to be the only methods remaining. Nobody can say, Ms. Fawkins, that I did not put in the effort. Was that your sole reason for coming?" Lucky tilts the bottle against his chest. "I wouldn't want to discover the Leftenant here in front of me."

You rub your thumb across your fingers. "Lucky."

"Ms. Fawkins."

"...Have you confirmed the Wyrm thing? Or the involvement with Jean Ramsey?"

"An inquiry has been submitted. Being as we are a considerable distance from Wind City, it may be weeks until a credible response is received."

"And what are you doing in the meantime?"

"I am defending innocents from the encroachment of the unnatural. When am I not doing this?"

Lucky's eyes are cold and bright. He might as well be behind a wall. You could cut your losses— he wants you to cut your losses— but you're going to be God, God-damnit, and you can find the right question to ask. "That's what the Wind Court does?"

"Of course."

"And if they weren't doing that... and you had credible word that the mission was, um..."

«Irreparably perverted.»

"...irreparably perverted, what would you do?"

For the first time, he looks away. "If I found this to be the case, I would have no choice but to pursue the mission on my own initiative. But that is my decision to make, Ms. Fawkins, and nobody else's. I will not be incentivized."

You lean forward. "If it all works out, I really will put you back on the—"

"I will NOT—" He slams the bottle on his desk. "—be incentivized. Are we clear?"

"...Yeah."

"Wonderful. Now, it's best you go. My patience is not inexhaustible."

You should go: you got your answer, as roundabout as it is. You don't know why you linger. An incompleteness? His wall is still up. You've been lobbing things over, but never through. "I will, but... I just... I want you to know that everything I told you is true. Maybe you wouldn't have believed it without a trick, but I really, honestly will be God. I'm not saying that as an incentive. I just want you to know that."

"I see. It must be extremely challenging to deal with that Ms. Fawkins." Neither his voice nor his face betray any emotion.

"A little bit, but I just... I guess... I think you have a really narrow-minded way of doing it, but our goals aren't that different overall, okay? Defending innocents sounds good to me. I'm happy to defend loads of innocents. When I'm God, I—"

Lucky lifts an eyebrow when you don't finish. "Well, go on."

(4/5)