PART 8: The Sowing Tomorrow Gala Job – The Sting
It didn’t take long for my scheme to hit rough waters. Fortunately, the earliest portions went as intended. Wynn, Grandpa, Becca, and I departed from Cain Manor together and split at Becca’s. I exited the limousine as Becca and went to the cluttered space she calls home. The next phase required me to prepare two layers of clothing to complete my quick change.
I was ready to lose tails. What I wasn’t prepared for was a head-on attack.
When I exited Becca’s apartment, I found my favorite ICN Special Agent ascending the stairway.
“Good day, Rebecca,” Gale said as he entered the hallway. “Are you headed somewhere?”
I sealed my eyes and thought that this couldn’t be real. However, when I opened them, nothing had changed.
I had to contend with Gale.
I nodded before I mimicked Becca’s voice as best as I could. “Yeah… What are you doing here? This place…” I gestured at the humdrum, beige hallway. “…It doesn’t seem your style.”
“There’s something new I wish to discuss with you,” he said. “I can give you a ride to wherever you’re headed while we do so.”
Kakaz, I thought while lifting the edges of my lips into my best impression of Becca’s beautiful smile. I couldn’t think of a reason to decline.
“Sure,” I said, “thanks!”
We departed for the theatre in Gale’s dark green sports car. Though the interior was feathery and the air conditioning brisk, I could only focus on how the sun beat down heavy and hot rays through the window. It was as if I was sitting in an interrogation room.
“There’s a case I’ve been working on,” Gale said as he pressed down on the accelerator and pushed us into motion. “I’d love your opinion as a magician.”
“Lot of pressure to put on my shoulders, but I’ll do what I can. What’s up?”
“A woman named Holly Kean reported her car stolen ten days ago. It was a light blue Sheppard Tracer.”
I nodded along, as it was all I could manage. Gale’s words had robbed me of my voice.
“Luckily,” he said, “it was easily found. Unfortunately, the thief abandoned it around Starfall Boulevard.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I asked as the pieces formed in my head.
“What I now face is a seemingly impossible mystery. Forensics inspected the vehicle and found evidence linking Cassidy to the car.”
I drew deep wrinkles into my brow and titled my head. “That’s impossible.”
“As I said, a seemingly impossible mystery. After all, Cassidy was with you, correct? At the Nimbus Resort, if I recall correctly.”
“Yeah.”
“Interesting… The place the car was stolen from, Hart Street, isn’t far from The Nimbus Resort, so it would be plausible for her to go to it. However, if what you’re saying is the truth, she didn’t.”
“Cassie was with me the whole time! Trust me, I’d have noticed if she was missing.”
We crawled to a stop at a red light.
Gale shifted his gaze to me and asked, “How long have you been in love with Cassidy?”
“None of your business!” I shouted – it seemed like something Becca would say.
“Though you don’t deny you are in love with her.”
I averted my gaze. “It’s not a secret or anything…”
The light turned green, and Gale turned his gaze back to the road. The car picked up speed once more.
“If my sister is to be believed,” he said, “you’re quite the fan of The Grandmaster of Theft as well. If Cassidy Cain was The Grandmaster of Theft, it would be in your best interest to lie for her…”
“Cassie isn’t The Grandmaster of Theft! If you found evidence, it's ‘cause somebody’s setting—” I halted.
I hadn’t left any evidence. One, I was far too thorough. Two, even if I had, my information wasn't in any records, so Gale couldn’t compare anything against it. Three, he wouldn’t have been going about it this way if I had.
He’s lying, I realized.
He still had reached far enough to connect me to the crime scene – I imagine his suspicions of me enabled him to. Still, he lacked any decisive evidence to verify his theory. Thus, he sought to dupe my alibi, Becca, assuming she was a weak link.
Clever, I conceded. The investigative work required to reach such a conclusion was stellar. If I had to hazard a guess, Gale took the information I was in the vicinity for the night and sought any oddities in the area. Once he learned of the vehicle, it gave him ammunition.
If I was the actual Rebecca, his scheme might’ve worked. However, I knew how to turn the tables. “Y-you’re setting her up, aren’t you?!”
The shriek of brakes brought us to an abrupt stop behind another car. “Rebecca, I would never—”
I jammed my hand into the seatbelt release button, acting as if I were to run.
“Hold on!” Gale said.
I began to open the door, but he stretched across, grabbing my arm.
“This was a test!” he blurted out. “Just a test! You needn’t run.”
I completed the act with a gawk before slamming the door shut. Then I twisted my features into as harsh a scowl as I could summon. “Explain!”
Gale sighed. “A car truly was stolen. It wasn’t too far from you that night, so I deduced that Cassidy stole it. If she was the one who stole it, you had to be an accomplice. You’re a supporter of The Grandmaster, after all.”
“So,” I said, “you were testing my response…?”
“Correct.”
“That’s dumb! If Cassie was The Grandmaster, wouldn’t she have a car ready nearby or something? And what would she even be doing? Why would she even do anything?! She was under surveillance by Sharpe Security at the time, thanks to her having to prove stuff to SOMEONE who accused her of being The Grandmaster!”
A hint of a wince touched Gale’s face, but he kept his eyes on the road as he turned a corner.
I decided this was the best time to press on his guilt harder. “Why do you keep insisting on Cassie being The Grandmaster?! Don’t you trust her?!”
Gale reduced speed as we came into a parking lot outside a theatre. He negotiated his way through silently while I kept my glare trained.
Once he found a space outside the door and parked, he answered my question with a question. “…What do you think of Cassidy’s mother?”
I blinked, genuinely blinked, before wondering what my mother had to do with anything.
“I haven’t talked with her much,” I said, as Becca and Mother have only met a couple of times, “so I don’t have much of an opinion. She seems extraordinary, though, based on her reputation and what Cassie has said. Can totally see how she is Cassie’s mom.”
“Cassidy takes after her mom in a lot of ways. I don’t believe that’s necessarily a good thing, however. Scarlett Cain is a dangerous woman.”
I fought against the urge to glare. Instead, I tilted my head. “How so?”
“People like Scarlett are why our nation is in its current state. They elected Winzer to the chancellorship and lobbied him to remove regulations that only increased the power and wealth of those who already possessed wealth and power.”
Is this seriously about politics?! I wondered.
“Scarlett frustrates me due to her arrogance and domineering attitude,” Gale continued. “Cain International seems ideal on paper. I won’t deny their support of worthwhile causes or how well they treat their employees. However, she’s accelerating a return to feudalism. Without government regulations, corporations shall become the new kingdoms. And with those kingdoms shall come similar issues which once existed.”
While I remained flat-lipped silent, my heart frowned. Gale’s diatribe was…not without merit. However, it begged a particular question.
“What does this have to do with Cassidy?” I asked. “Or The Grandmaster of Theft? The Grandmaster stands against corrupt elites.”
“The Grandmaster and Scarlett aren’t all that different. Scarlett believes she knows best and does whatever she can to grasp more power. So why wouldn’t Cassidy – her daughter, her heir – be the same? What’s to deter her from adopting a similar attitude and expressing it through a different means? Through illegal means? She possesses the aptitude for it.”
I was going to hold my tongue when a realization hit me: I could push back this time. Since I was Becca, a known supporter of The Grandmaster of Theft, I could debate without drawing ire.
“Let’s say Cassidy – who isn’t The Grandmaster – was The Grandmaster,” I said, Becca’s voice maintained. “Would that really be so bad—”
“Yes,” Gale said, his voice firm. “No amount of ‘good’ that comes from stepping out of line justifies the horrible things The Grandmaster of Theft does. She’s a selfish, childish egomaniac who will only bring more trouble down the line.”
I ground my teeth together as I reconsidered speaking with him. After all, what was the point? He wouldn’t change his mind.
“Rebecca,” he continued, “heed these words: The Grandmaster of Theft isn’t a hero. She’s a cautionary tale. The ‘nobility’ people credit her for can’t last in such a trade. It’s one of the many reasons she must be stopped sooner rather than later.”
Spasms cinched throughout my muscles as “I cannot control others if I cannot control myself” repeatedly replayed in my head. Every second longer with him was a hazard to my scheme. The wise choice then was to ensure he couldn’t pursue me any longer before leaving.
“I still don’t see how this connects to Cassidy,” I said. “Even if she was a threat – which she isn’t – how do you conclude that Cassidy specifically must be The Grandmaster?”
“The idea came to me when she announced her interest in Narcissa. It was admittedly a hunch, but an investigator’s hunch has cracked many investigations. In this case, it led to oddities, such as Cassidy disappearing for a day or how she’s infiltrated Narcissa’s operation.”
“I feel like you had a theory and are trying to make everything fit. Ever think that maybe you’re just assuming the worst?”
“Why else would I test my theory on you?”
I shook my head and opened the door. “Well, your experiment failed. Hope it was worth it because I will tell Cassidy about what you did.”
I began to stand, but before I could complete the action, he said Becca’s name and drew my attention back to him.
“While I won’t ask you to do this,” he said, “I would appreciate it if you didn’t share any of this with Cassidy. I’d rather not complicate matters between us. Also, I’m ending my investigation, regardless of your decision.”
I cast him my offended glare. A part of me – a large part of me – wished to push back. I had warned him not to mention this investigation to anyone. What’s more, he could theoretically become an issue once more in the future. So it seemed reasonable to remove him as a threat.
I’m angry, my more practical side observed. I’m angry, so the smart move is not acting on it.
Gale could assume the worst of me, but it only became true if I confirmed it. Thus, I wouldn’t. As Grandpa would say, part of the mastery of power is what one chooses to not do.
Having said all that, I still had a sense of self-preservation. I wouldn’t harm Gale, but I’d still deter him. I reached into my pocket and withdrew Becca’s phone. “I’ll keep my mouth shut if you record yourself saying that you won’t bother Cassidy anymore.”
“I won’t – so long as direct evidence doesn’t come to light.”
His conditional statement was better than nothing. After all, his entire case so far was circumstantial. It simply meant I had to stay on my game.
Gale recorded his audio statement before thanking me for this deal. I said the most Becca thing I could conceive – I swore, as a magician, to remain silent – and we parted ways. I continued with the job while dismissing Gale’s criticisms. He could view me however he wished; it didn’t change what I intended to do.
