“Wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon,” Ozon opened. “Change your mind about the job I offered?”

 

I scrunched my face. “Drop the pretense. We both know I wouldn’t have messaged you again if you hadn’t kidnapped a child.”

 

Blustery laughter surged from the mic. “Thank you! Thank you so much! Cards on the table, I wasn’t positive this girl was connected to you. I mean, she’s a child! I even considered the possibility that I had made a mistake! The secret exit gave me hope, but still, I wasn’t positive until this second.”

 

“You must be cruel to be kind,” Grandpa whispered. “Convince him you can walk. He must not learn how important the leverage he holds is.”

 

My muscles knotted while my face remained focused. While I agreed with Grandpa’s assessment, in theory, I had another approach in mind. A strategy ironically aligned well with another piece of advice Grandpa gave me. You might recall it; it’s the best method for contending with aggressors.

 

“How did you pull it off?” I asked.

 

“What are you doing?” Grandpa whispered.

 

I would’ve said I was attempting to ensnare him into gloating if  I could’ve answered. His choice to begin the conversation with such a subtle taunt – a reference to the method he tried to bait me with – suggested that he’d lord power over me if given the opportunity. I figured if he taunted just enough, he might say something which would grant me the foundation for a theoretical turnabout.

 

“Can’t work it out?” Ozon asked.

 

My teeth trapped my lower lip as two routes appeared before me. One way involved me remaining on course with my chosen tactic. I’d feign ignorance, luring Ozon to taunt me about how I had fallen into his trap. If I instead revealed how much I understood, I could perhaps convince him to confirm the answer with his response. I’m overthinking this, I realized. I could do both. But before I did, I decided it best to say nothing, to see how he’d respond.

 

“Having trouble?” Ozon asked. “I guess you’re not as good a detective as you are a thief. That or maybe your intelligence has been exaggerated. Yes, that must be it! It would explain why you made things so easy.”

 

Kakaz! I thought. He seemed careful about his word choice, despite relishing the opportunity. It would take more than silence to slip him up. “I’ll concede that you’re far smarter than I expected.”

 

“It’s a shame I can’t say the same for you.”

 

A tiny smirk edged my lips. “As much as I hate to ask, I must know how. How did you know to target that apartment?”

 

“If you can’t solve it yourself, you don’t deserve to know.”

 

I sealed my eyes, gulped down a steadying breath, and huffed.

 

“Besides,” he continued, “the past isn’t as important as the present. And I presently have The Child. You shouldn’t be worrying about how I found her. No, no, no, no. You should ask, ‘what will I do with her?’ Tell me, Grandmaster, what do you think I must do to her to get the answers I want? She’s young, so I doubt she has a high pain threshold.”

 

“What do you wish to learn?” I asked.

 

“More about you, of course. Things like your name and your connection with this girl are good starters. Now, if you told me instead, I wouldn’t have to get those answers from her.”

 

I sharpened my glare. The likelihood of any of this being so simple was slim to none. Still, I couldn’t risk Sylvia. Time to alter my approach, I decided. I still believed in my strategy, but I figured the circumstances required a more proactive approach.

 

“You’re incorrect,” I said.

 

“About…” Ozon asked.

 

“The past not being as important as the present. He who knows the past can shape the future. Or, in this case, ‘she.’ I know why you targeted the child.”

 

“Oh? This should be a treat.”

 

“The answer lies with Stasik Bogden and The Braterdarii. You’re aligned with them, if not an actual member. Your name suggests as much, seeing as it's Zimavatan. Regardless, the job with Bogden was bait. You probably tipped them off to the possibility of me probing into them. If I did nothing, you lost nothing. If I took the snare, you could investigate me.”

 

“You’ve quite the imagination! Though the fact you’re only figuring this out now suggests you’re not the quickest.”

 

I let out an exaggerated sigh. “I was hoping you’d deduce what I had concocted at this point. Place yourself in my position. How would you approach it if you suspect something might be a snare but intend to attempt it anyway?”

 

Ozon remained silent.

 

“I’ll answer this for you: you’d mitigate the risks. Much like your usage of Narcissa.”

 

I paused again. The swelling downpour rattled atop the ceiling and filled the void.

“You’re lying,” he said. “You’re connected to that apartment somehow. It’s why it was so heavily guarded. Why it had reconnaissance for the entire building. Why it had an escape route.”

 

Pearls of sweat trickled down my forehead. I had entered the most perilous part of the con. One wrong move would’ve ruined the illusion. Still, I was confident I could outfox him. I simply had to make him believe that I was as cutthroat as he.

 

“I told you, I’m connected like you’re connected to Narcissa. That apartment was a pawn I offered up to you. It was worth confirming a certain gentleman’s involvement in all this. Tell him I said ‘howdy.’”

 

I wish I could’ve seen Ozon’s face; I pictured one contorting between astonishment and rage.

 

“This girl’s life is on YOUR—” Ozon began to explode.

 

“I wouldn’t harm her,” I said. “I’ve another question worth considering: why did I choose her apartment as my bait? Can you tell me, Mr. Braterdarii?”

 

By this point, sweat painted my forehead. I had no inkling what went on inside Ozon’s head, but I hoped he concluded that I chose a Youzai affiliate to counter his Braterdarii allegiances. It made it more convincing if he reasoned it himself.

 

“Who is she?” he asked.

 

“Someone valuable to a certain criminal faction. And if she isn’t returned, I’ll start pointing fingers and sharing evidence. Do you think Mr. Bogden will protect you? War is bad for business, after all.”

 

Raindrops clattered against the rooftop as my words lingered. I figured their imagination would manifest something far worse than anything I could say.

 

“If a gang war happens,” Ozon said, “many beyond me would suffer. Beyond the clans and factions. Could you live with it on your conscience?”

 

“I’m doing my utmost to broker peace. The next move is yours.”

 

The patter of raindrops filled the void once more. A smirk began to creep onto my face, but I resisted – I didn’t wish to assume the best yet.

 

“I’ve got an idea,” Ozon said. “You wish her returned? Fine. I shall… if you provide me something in exchange.”

 

I grimaced. “What do you want?”

 

“You. I only care about this child because she’s a link to you. Give up, and I’ll let her go. She has no value to me. Besides, based on all you’ve said, you’re no saint in this. Do you think The Youzai won’t do their best to take you out too?”

 

“They don’t know who I am.”

 

“They’ll know. If I go down, I’ll make sure everybody knows how noble the ‘noble thief’ really is.”

 

His words carved a glower onto my face. As much as I loathe to admit it, he was an adversary worthy of my skill. I’ll have to give him what he wants, I realized. This time, I’d apply what Grandpa tested me on.

 

Empathy and perception of the deal were clearly out of the question – kidnapping a child showed Ozon lacked the former, and I could not manipulate the perception without somehow sacrificing someone else. Thus, I had to focus on the process.

 

“How would you wish to go about an exchange?” I asked.

 

“Let’s keep it simple. You come to a place of my choosing. I’ll be there with the child. I release her, and you leave with me. We don’t involve any outside parties.”

 

“I choose the locale.”

 

Ozon quieted once more. “I’ll agree if you can name where in the next ten seconds.”

 

“The Melting Pot. It’s a restaurant, so meeting there won’t draw attention. The child can be brought with little concern, and the crowd present can keep us both honest.”

 

My other reason for selecting the backdrop went unsaid. I’m certain Ozon suspected a ploy involving the environment; I suspected them of it when they attempted to choose the meeting place. Thus, I employed no gimmicks. I intended for Ozon to squander their time seeking something which didn’t exist before our meeting.

 

“How do you wish to go about the exchange?” Ozon asked.

 

“I’ll have someone accompanying me. They’ll escort the child home.”

 

“Fine. We'll meet in two hours.”

 

Ozon broke the connection, concluding our exchange.

 

I remained still, staring at the screen, my posture squared, my muscles knotted. I had yet to unclench my hands.

 

“Have you been doing this stuff this entire time?” Grandpa asked.

 

“Most jobs aren’t this vexing,” I said, eyes still fixated on the screen.

 

“Speak for yourself,” Wynn said.

 

“We don’t have time for this,” I said as I spun around and sprung out of the chair. “Grandpa, is Gale utilizing any surveillance on me besides you?”

 

“None which I’m aware.”

 

Plan for the worst, I thought to myself as I considered the best countermeasure. But, sadly, my best was likewise my only countermeasure: Rebecca.

 

I glide my teeth across my bottom lip. I would’ve preferred to keep my ace hidden from Grandpa. Still, our potential safety from Gale – or any other prying eyes – took precedence. “What of Becca?”

 

“Is she involved in this as well?” Grandpa asked.

 

“No. Or, at least, not yet. I require her assistance to cover my tracks this time around.” Thoughts of her and of acknowledging our relationship with my family sizzled my face. “She and I are…”

 

“I’m aware,” Grandpa said.

 

“Who isn’t?” Wynn teased. “Don’t need to be a great detective to notice everything there.”

 

“I’ll arrange a rendezvous between us,” I said, aiming to move the conversation on as swiftly as possible, “convince her to dismiss everything for this night only and sneak out to the exchange.”

 

“Kiddo,” Grandpa said without meeting my eyes, “do you intend to martyr yourself?”

 

“Of course not.” I snatched my phone from its charging station. “We’ll conceive a plan on the way.”