Chapter 39: Bounty Hunters
Ten days later
“I can’t guarantee what will happen to you if you stay here.”
Kay didn’t acknowledge George’s statement. She had been subjected to his obnoxious lecturing and pointed questions for ten minutes now, in addition to the nearly ten hours of interrogation she had undergone the previous weeks. His office was underground, like Gardner’s, which added to the feeling of claustrophobia eating at her.
All in all, the disciplinary investigation she was facing wasn’t as bad as she had expected, but she knew a large part of that was because of Gardner being honest with her superiors and taking the brunt of the blame. Though she felt guilty admitting it to herself, Kay was surprised by the woman’s sense of honor.
“I can’t comment on pending investigations outside of official hearings, but I can tell you this is your chance to cut your losses and leave,” George continued as he reached for a paper on his desk. “I’ve been authorized to accept your resignation and negotiate the terms of your departure.”
Her mother – who was officially out of the reach of healing magic, and would live with a broken spinal cord for the rest of her life – had warned her that this was the likely outcome. Maywitch had a tendency to try to push people out before their investigations were even complete. While major discipline inside Maywitch was rare, when it did happen, it was usually a fatal blow to the recipient’s reputation in the witching world. If they were allowed to stay in Maywitch, it would reflect poorly on the superiors involved – in this case, George, since Gardner was in hot water of her own, and wouldn’t be anyone’s superior ever again.
But while George had his priorities, Kay had her own orders: stand up for herself, and by extension, for her mother. While Kay didn’t feel a ton of loyalty after the disappearing act Bailey had pulled, she sure as hell wasn’t about to throw her own mother under the bus. Kay would side with her over Maywitch any day, especially since her mother’s interests and her own happened to match up in this case.
“Or else what?” Kay said softly.
George’s expression remained placid as he glanced down. “Best-case scenario, we assign you to kitchen duty for the rest of your days here. You are a liability, after all, with how much you know.”
“But I wouldn’t do anything to throw my own mother under the bus, you know.”
The low moan of the air conditioning gave the room an eerie feeling, and she had to fight back a shudder as he stared at her. “What are you trying to say?”
“I want some ongoing compensation. I need to be able to support my mom and myself. Make my silence a condition of receiving that compensation.” Her voice shook, and she fought to keep from fidgeting. She had argued with people, lost her temper, and made a few enemies before – but never when the stakes were so high. Not when it was more of a negotiation than a fight.
“We’re giving her a stipend and covering her medical care.”
“But that won’t be enough, and you know it. Not in the long term.”
George’s eyes narrowed for a split second before his poker face returned. “There is one more option, but it’s probably not what you’re looking for. You’re skilled enough that you’d make a decent bounty hunter. It’s a pilot program we’re doing, so we might end up phasing you out at some point. That’s our best offer, though.”
Kay sat back in her chair. That was what Bailey suspected they would offer, since Kay was nowhere near qualified to do research or law enforcement liaisons. “Pay and benefits?”
“Stipend plus commission. Minimal health insurance.”
“Details?”
George’s eyes narrowed again. “Watch your tone. I’m doing you a favor.”
She bit back a snort of laughter and tilted her head instead. He watched her for a long moment, as if unsure whether she would hold her tongue, and rested his hands on the arms of his chair. “Commissions vary, and the stipend is $800 a month – enough to cover rent if work is dry,” he continued.
“It’ll need to be a little more than that for—”
“Take it or leave it,” he said, rising and crossing the room. “Your choice, Adamis.”
Half-baked thoughts and pieces of scenarios whirled through her mind, but she knew she had few other options. She slowly blew out a sigh, not wanting him to sense her dismay. “How long is my contract, and am I allowed to take outside work?” she asked.
“Contract is one year to start. Outside work must be approved by us. Anything much more than freelance writing or waitressing a couple hours a week will be rejected.”
So they could starve her out if they wanted to, she thought as she watched him linger by the door. “I accept,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “I was afraid you’d say that. Congratulations,” he said as reached for a file cabinet near the door. “A few forms, then, before you leave.”
----------------------------------------------------
The forms took nearly an hour. Every time Kay filled in a box or signed her name, she felt a nagging grain of fear and anger push further into her brain, but she tempered it by thinking of her mother.
And, she realized as she signed the final line, at least she could indirectly help protect Nadia and the others. That brought her more comfort than she expected. She looked up and met George’s eyes with a smirk playing at her lips, and as he dismissed her, she stood and practically twirled toward the door.
She strode down the hallway but only made it twenty feet before a voice stopped her: “What did they offer you?”
Tierra was lurking in a vestibule next to George’s office door. She took a few hesitant steps toward Kay, who smiled. “Bounty hunter. It’s what Mom said they would offer—”
“Are you crazy? I told you, leaving is your best option! They’re going to give you the same responsibility with none of the protections!” Tierra hissed. “This way, they push all the risk onto you—”
“Protections? What fucking protections? We almost died back there because Maywitch left us in the lurch! You said it yourself!” Kay snapped.
Tierra scowled as her face flushed. “I really don’t want to see you end up dead, Kay, so hear me out,” she said as she glanced down the hall. “As messy as Maywitch has been in the past, this new bounty hunter thing that they’ve been planning in is a new low. It’s like when my dad’s companies subcontract out work. You farm out the work under worse conditions than before – no comms and research support, no safe base, no supplies paid for – but people will still do it because they don’t have options. But you do have options outside of magic, so just…”
She trailed off, and Kay shook her head again. “I didn’t even finish college yet, remember? And any kind of additional disability payment Mom might get through the government wouldn’t be enough for her, especially since it takes so much time for that paperwork to go through,” Kay murmured, smiling in a desperate attempt to convey confidence. “And I’d rather keep doing this, since I halfway know what I’m doing now. It’s hard to explain, but my mind is made up.”
Tierra sighed. “I hope you don’t regret it. You only signed for a year, right?”
“Yeah.”
“There are worse things you could’ve done. You’ll have a chance to reconsider, if you survive the year.”
Kay smiled grimly. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Anyway, take care of Holly, okay? Assuming you both stick around.”
“What about Nadia?”
Kay raised an eyebrow. Nadia was back under quarantine during the investigation, and the timeline for her release was fuzzy, at best. Though most Maywitch staff were permitted to visit her with supervision, Kay, Holly and Tierra were exempt from that while they awaited their punishment. “Her too, but, I mean… Isn’t that a little out of our hands?”
“Not as much as you think. I think they’ll release her sooner rather than later, especially since they went ahead and pressured her into getting sterlized, but her ass is gonna be out of Maywitch completely, and with some
really ugly terms.” Tierra folded her arms, keeping her gaze fixed on Kay.
After a long silence, Kay glanced away, searching for words as she stared off at the opposite end of the hallway. “I’ll be there for her,” she murmured. “If they let me be there, anyway.”
“I mean…” Tierra paused, glancing away. “They are more likely to let you two be around each other if you’re still on their orders.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you’re a bounty hunter and your residence doubles as a safehouse, they might task you with keeping an eye on her. If you’re just a regular mage, they will likely make her whereabouts classified. Either way, they may try to keep you two away from each other if, but I think that first one has a decent chance of happening since Bailey will be staying with you too. Two sets of eyes on Nadia, then. This is all assuming the investigation shakes out in our favor, though.”
The uncertainty Kay had felt began to melt. She tried to temper the hope welling up in her heart as she fumbled with her obsidian pendant. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?”
“Because I just now figured out from the look on your face that there’s something going on between the two of you. You blushed a little, too.”
Kay raised a hand to her face. “Huh? No I didn’t—”
“I had my suspicions, but you two are pretty subtle, eh?”
“Wait, what are you—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell them. ‘Cause if they suspect fraternization, they won’t let you two anywhere near each other.”
Kay searched Tierra’s expression, but the senior mage’s smile was sincere. “She earned my trust back, in a weird way. You’ve earned it, too. That’s all. Don’t act so surprised,” Tierra murmured, waving a hand. “Go. George has a meeting in the big conference room in a few, and he’ll be pissed if he sees you standing around.”
“Right,” Kay said, glancing over her shoulder. “Thanks, Tierra. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“Same to you,” Tierra said, raising a hand in a half-hearted wave as she turned to leave. “Be careful out there.”
----------------------------------------------------
It took several minutes for the flush to fade from Kay’s face. She once again had to fight to keep happiness from overwhelming her; she knew the dangers of getting her hopes up. The process of packing her things seemed much less tedious than she had expected, though, and she made quick work of shoving her few possessions into a duffel bag and beat-up suitcase Maywitch had given her.
She glanced around the room one last time and spotted Nadia’s books on the shelf on the wall. Kay wondered if she could take one of them to Nadia’s quarantine ward, but then remembered that the guards were coming any minute. George had made it clear that she had to leave within thirty minutes of signing her resignation paperwork, and she was rapidly approaching that deadline.
Maybe – just maybe – she and Nadia could be reunited upon her release. Maybe if certain people pushed for it. Maybe if the right combination of Maywitch’s dysfunctional politics and understaffing resulted in a perfect set of circumstances. Maybe if the stars aligned.
If that was what Nadia even wanted, anyway. Kay pushed the thought aside as she shouldered the duffel bag. There was a knock at the door, and she turned and opened it without missing a beat.
“Coming.”