Mister Louie got back to me while I was on the drive back to the hotel.
"I double-checked and I can tell you for sure that the number you gave me was a burner," he said, amused. "Now why would anyone be giving you a burner, Alisa?"
I held back a sigh. "Maybe because they don't want to talk to me?"
"Who in their right mind would wanna ignore a sweetheart like you?" Louie laughed. "Is this someone dodging a debt or something? Coz you seem pretty determined to catch him. You don't usually ask me for a favor this big."
That made me smile. "I wanna keep things a secret for a little while, Mister Louie. And you could say I'm the one who owes this person a favor and you know I always pay my debts. So I have to be able to contact him so we can talk it out, you know?"
"Hmmm... well, whatever your reason, I hope you know that whatever I come up with using my methods, it won't hold in court? This is kind of the definition of invasion of privacy and such." He was cautioning me, but he didn't sound upset about it at all. In fact, I could almost hear the faint satisfaction in the dwarf's voice.
"You think you can find him for me?"
Louie snorted. "Dear, who do you think you're talking to? I'll get him, don't you worry. He's an Adventurer right? And a pretty popular one, too. No matter how private he is, he's bound to get a call from the Guild and the Anomaly Guard. I've been wanting to try this new magic algorithm I've been working on in secret--"
Beep! Incoming call from Dad! Beep!
The message flashed before my eyes.
"Sorry, I got another call Mister Louie, I'll call you back."
"Sure thing, dear."
"Hey Dad. What's up?" My Dad's face flashed onto my holo screen, and from the moving scenery behind him I could tell he was in the backseat of a car like me.
"Are you going back to New York tonight?"
"Mmmhmmm. How about you, Dad? You still in Manila?"
"Just finishing up. Let's have dinner with a friend of mine. You remember my old party member, Harry Rosche? His niece was in the same club as your brother Spencer in high school." He grinned at me. "Harry happens to be the Anomaly Guard Regional Director for Greater Asia."
Oh-la-la. Dad sure moves fast. I grinned back. "How interesting. I've always been curious about your old buddies, Dad."
"I thought, since I was in the neighborhood, I'd invite him and his niece for a little catching-up. We rarely get to stay a week in Greater Asia these days."
"But isn't the Regional HQ in Hong Kong?"
"Yes, that's why I booked a private Portal for them. I'll be picking them up at the Manila Terminal around 7pm, so dinner is at 8pm. Don't be late."
One of the most interesting applications of magic in modern times was Portal technology. Initially, Portals were only used in traveling between dimensions--mostly by elves since they were the race best adapted to magic--but ever since the Gaia Incident, Portals became extremely unstable and were at a constant risk of becoming Breaches that would invite Anomalies over.
It took decades and the combined ingenuity of advanced human technology, dwarf craftsmanship, and elf knowledge of magic to produce the first stable Portals that could be safely used. Taken a step further, Portals became the most convenient form of transportation in the world. They were helluva lot expensive, too. So they were mostly used for mass transport like shuttles or private pods and cargo, since the cost of generating and maintaining a Portal was too much. Unless, of course, you were a Vega and you owned ten major terminals and could easily shoulder the reservation and operation fees of commercial Portals (which you don't own) for personal use.
Dad sure was taking things seriously. I better step up my game, too.
*****
Contrary to popular belief, wealthy people eat in normal places, too. Maybe there are rich people who really only eat in fancy high-end restaurants and think fast-food chains and diners are beneath them, but not the Vegas. We love food. And we don't really care if the one who prepares it is a certified culinary master or a veteran streetfood stand owner, as long as it's good food.
It was the first time I've ever been here, but from what Dad told me, he and his party used to come here all the time back in the day, to celebrate special occasions.
The restaurant was called Piper's Castle. I didn't know who Piper was, and the place looked nothing like a castle, but they served damn good food and even better liquor. No wonder Dad loved this place.
We were seated in one of the private dining rooms on the second floor. Harry Rosche, his black hair shaved military-style, nearly as tall as dad and slightly bulkier (he was a Rank A Tank) but with the kindest smile I've ever seen, sat beside his niece Diane. Diane was a very pretty, dainty sort of girl, and was very familiar to me (I once caught her making out with Spencer one summer, but of course we never talk about that) since she was the Student Council president when I was in high school. Anyway, Dad was sitting beside me, already on his third glass of what must be the best beer I've ever tasted, when an old lady came into the room and gave us a plate of purple cakes for dessert.
Dad clasped the little woman's hands in both of his while Harry pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
"Kids, I'd like you to meet Madam Josefa, the most magnificent clairvoyant to ever live!"
My eyes widened in recognition. Diane had apparently heard the stories, too, because she gasped out loud and said "You're Madam Josefa Zabala, the heroine who ended the siege at Blackbird Hall!"
"Is that what the history books call it nowadays? You two numbskulls should teach these young'uns better." As fragile and sweet as she looked, as sharp and unforgiving her personality seemed to be. I immediately liked her.
"That was no siege. It was pure idiocy. Using fire spells willy-nilly to kill off a dozen lizard Anomalies in the middle of summer, and they were surprised when the whole town went up in flames! Fire inside the town walls, ravenous Anomalies outside, nowhere to run or hide."
Madam Josefa at the time was an Anomaly Guard Squad Captain and she had a vision of the impending disaster. The trouble was that her vision didn't specify which town, nor in which City State. All she knew was that the place would be somewhere in the tropical lands of Greater Asia, without a hint of sea nor river. Working with that minimal information, not to mention the time pressure and limitation of the technology of their generation, they still managed to avert a disaster that could have cost the lives of nearly ten thousand people. It truly was a heroic feat.
My Dad loved telling us stories about his former mentor's adventures. To think that I'd get to meet the woman who made my Dad into one of the best Adventurers out there before the rest of my siblings.
I snapped a group photo of us and sent one to my eldest brother with a little message:
Ha! In your face, Conrad. Dad really loves me best.
(My only excuse for this childish behaviour was the beer. It was really good beer. Thank God I didn't think to post it on my social media account.)
Madam Josefa urged us to take one purple cake each. The moment I swallowed the cake, my stomach felt like I'd been sucker-punched and I bent over double. Similarly, Dad and Harry and Diane wore similar expressions of pain and befuddlement. And just as quickly as it came, the pain disappeared. Madam Josefa gave Dad and Harry a look of particular disgust.
"I ought to tan your hides! Such disgraceful behaviour! Is this what parents do these days? Getting drunk with your daughters like this when you're supposed to be putting a stop to the oncoming disaster?" My senses felt incredibly sharp and clear after ingesting the cake, and Madam Josefa's scolding was much too loud.
"They're not kids anymore--"
"You are all children to me! I'm a hundred and twelve!"
The two giants mumbled their apologies but the old lady was having none of that. "I did not bring you here so you can get wasted on beer. We have urgent matters to discuss."
Madam Josefa pointed her fan in Harry's direction.
"You begin, Mister Director."
Harry flinched visibly at being reminded of his title. He glanced at Dad, then he sighed.
"We have reason to believe that a second Wane will soon be upon us. It's not public information yet, but it soon will be."
Did I hear right? A second Wane?
The look of sudden seriousness on my father's face was a sign that this was indeed true, no matter how hard it is to believe.
"Soon? How soon?"
It was Madam Josefa who answered. And for some reason she was looking right at me when she did. "In two years."