Sea of Secrets

Chapter 9 - Mira

Kai and Mira turned to the white-haired man, his dark green suede suit strained to hold him all in, and his golden monocle inspected them.

"Judge Wallace." Lydia clapped, "I was just about to get you from your office."

"Well," The Judge rested a hand atop his large stomach, "I came to see what all the fuss was about, though I should've known Mr. Kudo was behind it." The Judge shooed Lydia away, and she scurried into the surrounding room with a nod.

He adjusted his monocle, "And if it isn't Miss Valdez?"

She kept an indifferent tone. "Nice to see you again, sir."

"How's Nikolai? Still enjoying the nightlife of the city?" The Judge asked, an odd friendliness in his voice.

Bastard. "He's well, and he has been busy. Today, he tracked down one of your targets."

"He did?" His brows raised. "How unusual."

Mira shot him a glare, but it didn't faze the Judge. He raised a knowing brow, "How are the bounties?"

Acting oblivious, she noted. Her lips pursed as her blood began to boil, "Limited." Nonexistent.

"Oh, I assigned some bounties for Viktor. Surely he sent some to Nikolai, no?"

"Judge," said Mira, "It's been almost two weeks since our last bounty from Viktor, and even that was just a small reward."

His eyes widened. "I've been so backed up lately, I just haven't had the time to speak with Viktor about that." A kind smile, "I'll talk with him. We will get you two a bounty, don't you worry."

"Three." She corrected him, "There are three of us now."

"Oh my," His brows furrowed as he looked at Kai. "You are a group?"

Kai opened his mouth, but Mira spoke for him, "Yes. He is."

"But Nikolai is..." The Judge trailed off, but she finished the thought.

"Working on bounties with Kai and I." Mira nearly smiled, though it didn't distract from the cold fire in her voice. "That should be of good news to you and to the city, no?"

Judge Wallace remained cordial, and she knew it was to spite her, "Of course. Davor needs all your help. Your team will get bounties."

"Don't get our hopes up." She murmured under her breath, as she fell behind Kai. The Judge met Kai's frightening gaze, the emptiness behind his pale gray eye.

"And Mr. Kudo." The Judge gestured towards his blazer, "Bounties getting rough these days?"

His shoulder. The trader. Kai narrowed his eyes at him, "You could say that."

The Judge raised his hands innocently, "Now, now. Don't get angry with me, Mr. Kudo. Remember, you've brought this all onto yourself."

Kai's jaw clenched, "I'm not upset with my sentence, but you are withholding bounties from me."

The Judge shook his head, aloof, "I would do no such thing."

"'Buy your freedom with the rewards,'" Kai kept his fiery gaze, "that's what you said, Judge. You promised you would give me a chance to redeem myself."

The Judge rested a hand on Kai's shoulder, "And I have done exactly that. You just need to be patient, and I'm sure everything will work out just fine."

Kai pushed his hand away, and Mira saw the Judge's warm expression fade.

"You're going to slave me around, dangling a few bones of freedom in front of my face to keep me convinced that I'm almost out." Kai spoke through clenched teeth, "Your false hope is nothing but a way to use me. To use my-"

Suddenly he glanced back at Mira, eyes wide with some sort of fear. Mira's breath caught at the sight.

And Judge Wallace's warm, yet unsettling smile returned, "You aren't being used, Mr. Kudo. I bestowed upon you the power to protect the city. Unless," He took a daring step to Kai and leaned into his ear, whispering for a long while as Mira watched intently over him.

She couldn't hear what the Judge had said, but she saw Kai turn stiff, his back straightened as his face turned pure white with terror. Not his usual nonchalant, sly self.

Lydia, thank gods, accidentally broke up the friendly chat, holding a stack of files and a burlap sack.

"Here's the bounties you wanted, sir. I've got them all sorted. Oh," she held up the burlap sack, "and here is the reward for Cillian!" She felt the tension between the two. The Judge's whispering, Kai's horrified face, "I'm terribly sorry, is this not a good time?"

The Judge backed away from Kai, granting her a kind nod, "Quite the contrary. It seems we owe these young, hard workers a bounty." He examined the files in her hands. After a skim through the names, he pulled one from the stack, and with an unsettling kindness, he gently placed it into Kai's hands. "You three have my greatest thanks."

Lydia handed the burlap sack to Kai and winked at him. "And mine, too."

He didn't give her as much as a glance before he abruptly slipped between her and the Judge, straight to front doors with urgent strides.

The Judge kept his caring demeanor as Mira gradually followed Kai down the Hall.

"Be careful!" He shouted, and Mira thought about turning back to say something. What she would say, even she didn't know, but hopefully, it would get rid of that slimy grin.

Kai was clicking away at his pocket watch so quickly she thought the brass might bend.

"Hey," She had finally caught up, walking beside him out the doors.

He didn't say a word.

"The Judge. He seems to know you well."

"He and I," A brief pause, "We made a deal, and now..."

"Now?"

His words were sharp. "I'm in deep shit."

He went silent as he pushed the tall door open, holding it for Mira before they began their way down the Court steps. Kai didn't give her a chance to ask further when he whistled for Nikolai, who was laying on the bench, half-asleep.

Nikolai slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes, "How'd it go?"

Kai stayed silent, his pocket watch still opening and closing, so Mira spoke for them both.

It was a disaster. "It went well."

Nikolai gleamed, "Really? What did the Judge say?"

"That he's been meaning to get you a bounty." She couldn't look at him, at his hopeful eyes.

"Did you tell him about our team?"

"I did, and he was surprised by your work with Cillian. He said he'd speak with Viktor about your share of the business's bounties."

"Then that's that," beamed Nikolai, "now we'll be receiving targets in no time."

She tried to show the same excitement, but she didn't like deluding him, "I don't think so. Cillian's bounty wasn't enough to impress him, and Viktor is still refusing to give us-"

"No!" He closed his eyes, taking a harsh breath, "Viktor isn't taking this away from me. Not again."

Mira fell quiet as she walked away from the boys. Cobblestones under her feet, she strode off away down the street.