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Chapter 140: Knightly Discussions

Nathanial kept watch over this Chris Hubbard person the entire morning through a scrying spell, but he saw little of interest until Canadian History. Ms. Paul had them copying some notes down for the first ten minutes, and then they'd discuss them for the remainder of the class. Nathanial had just put his pencil down when someone knocked on Mr. Hubbard's door.

The Muskrat made sure his medallion was hidden before he called out, "Come in." The door to the small office in the airport opened, and one of his employees came in. She was a middle-aged Beaver, one that had aged relatively well, even though she showed a little extra weight. Mr. Hubbard seemed a touch unhappy to see her. He motioned for her to close the door, which she did. "Is something wrong out there, Emmy? I still have a lot of paperwork to fill out."

"Yes, there is, Chris, and it's to do with that paperwork." Her boss frowned, but she kept on. "None of us are happy, even those not in the Knights. This just makes no sense. She saved the plane, Chris! So did Arthur and Patrick! You've told us this was orders from higher up, but nothing about it makes sense: not the reasons you gave us for the attack, not framing Gisele, Arthur, and Patrick for something all_of us are guilty of, or the secrecy, or anything! This stinks to high heaven and flies completely in the face of our vows. None of us signed up to murder innocent Furs, not even as collateral damage. _Especially not as collateral damage. We want answers, and they'd better be a damned sight better than what you've given us."

Mr. Hubbard's face could've been carved from stone. "Are you done?"

"I won't be until I get proper answers." She stomped over to stand in front of his desk, placed her fists knuckles-down on it, and leant forward. Her broad tail thwapped against the ground behind her. "Who gives a fucking damn if there were a hundred_Spirit chiefs on that plane? We aren't _Hunters, Chris; we know they aren't Demons. They might be unstable, some sort of crossbreed between Fur and Fey, but they're not evil -- just dangerous. Shooting that plane down would've cost innocent Furs their lives, and for what? War? We wouldn't tolerate Spirits shooting down a plane of our leaders, so why would we expect a different response from them? War would be inevitable. So why?"

Mr. Hubbard stood, picked up an envelope, held it out with his left paw, and raised his right paw. "Your medallion. You're out of the Knights Templar as of now. The Temple of Solomon has already been informed of your insubordination and authorized your removal."

Emmy stepped away, shaken. "Wh-What?"

Mr. Hubbard flicked his fingers on his right paw a few times in a 'come on' sort of way. "Your medallion. I warned you many times to let this drop; this goes far up the chain, Emmy, and they don't tolerate questions from mere foot soldiers, or even sergeants. Heads are going to roll over that fiasco, and the four that have rolled so far aren't going to satisfy them. Any insubordination is going to be stamped out _immediately._You just wouldn't listen."

Nathanial frowned. 'Four? Who's the fourth? There was Helika's mom -- Gisele, I guess -- and then the Gecko, the Wolverine, and the Otter. Only two guys were named, despite three of them working there.'_There _was another Knight helping that day, though. 'Sergeant Heimdolf? Was he kicked out, too?' Nathanial saw red for a moment. Liam cried out from the desk beside him. Nathanial and the entirety of the class stared at the small Rottie in shock.

Ms. Paul dashed over; she looked really concerned. "What's wrong, Smith?"

Liam's voice quavered as if he was in _lots_of pain. "S-Sorry. It is just a leg cramp. Could--" He bit his lower lip and grunted. "--I go into the hall to walk it off? I might require assistance."

Ms. Paul glanced at Nathanial's notes. "Certainly. Nathanial, if you're done, could you please help him?"

Nathanial immediately jumped up. "Of course!" He scampered over to help Liam up; his friend went to put weight on his left leg and would've fallen over if Nathanial hadn't caught him. He had to support most of Liam's weight on each step as they left the classroom.

At the airport, silence weighed heavily in the office for almost a full minute before Emmy passed over her Knight's medallion and took the sealed envelope. Mr. Hubbard pointed at the door. "Get out." The doors clicked behind the two students and the former Knight at the same time. Nathanial diverted the majority of his attention back to the school.

Liam led them a few paces away from the door and tapped his temple. Nathanial activated his telepathy spell. _*Yeah?*_He noticed Liam wasn't leaning on him anymore, and walked quite easily on his left leg, even though he stayed close.

*What, pray tell, happened? You suddenly became most wroth, such that I feared Snow would appear and send the school into a panic.* So...Liam _lied_and said his leg hurt just to get Nathanial out of the room?

His incredulity warred with righteous fury. *Not only was Helika's mother fired, but she was kicked out of the Knights! Her_and _three others! Two of the Knights she works with, and I think Sergeant Heimdolf, too! All for helping save that plane! I just watched a Knight who was defending Helika's mom and the others get booted out, too, for 'insubordination!'* The lights across the school flickered; that, or Nathanial's sight faltered for a moment. He absently rubbed his chest.

Liam grabbed him by the arms. He stared at Nathanial's eyes. "Look at me." The Akita met his gaze full on and found himself tumbling into them; they were all he could see. The healer's voice faded into the background, becoming little more than a soft drone. "Peace. Peace. Let the anger flow out with every breath. Take a slow breath in." Nathanial found himself complying without realizing it. "Hold. Now, slowly exhale through your mouth. Feel all your troubles leave with it. Breathe in, breathe in the calmness of the empty halls. Of the still air. Hold. Now, exhale again." They kept this up for a few minutes until Nathanial felt almost completely calm. "Good... Good. Let the peace flow through you." Liam's ear twitched toward the classroom door. "Now, take your place by my side. And keep breathing."

Nathanial felt himself be released from whatever Liam did to him, and he braced his friend up once more to 'help' him limp down the hall. Ms. Paul poked her head out. "How's your leg, Smith?"

The Rottie cautiously stepped away, and limped a few steps on his own. "It is tolerable. I will rejoin the class; I apologise for the disruption."

The young teacher smiled. "Don't worry about it. I've had my share of leg cramps after working out too much in soccer practice. I know how much they can hurt and how suddenly they can sneak up on you."

Even though he felt calmer, Nathanial hadn't forgotten what he'd learnt. *I'm going to ask them if they want to join the Monks, Liam.* Now Liam sincerely almost fell over.

*Do not make such an offer until we can talk freely about this, Nathanial, and we will have much to discuss.*

Nathanial wasn't sure why Liam sounded so put out; Gisele Leutzinger and the other two Knights proved themselves to be very moral and trustworthy people, ones who put lives above any sort of agenda. If they were like Emmy, who seemed to dismiss the propaganda spread about Spirits, they wouldn't have much trouble accepting the truth about all the Nightwalkers out there. They should be the sort that the Monks were actively searching for. They also had inside knowledge of the Knights Templar, and had more than ample reason to divulge those secrets. It would be _stupid_to ignore this opportunity. Nathanial said nothing for the moment and quietly returned to his Canadian History class.

Nathanial slipped away from Liam for a moment after Canadian History and ducked into a washroom. He sensed Liam notice his absence and move to join him, but Nathanial quickly opened a tiny portal to Chris Hubbard's office. It was all he needed to put a shield around the room to block noise from escaping, and it was easy to enlarge it so he could step through. The portal winked out just before Liam stepped into the washroom.

Mr. Hubbard sat up straight as soon as he saw the purple energy surround him, and he reached for a drawer in his desk. Nathanial knew a pistol was in it, so he held it shut with telekinesis. "Ah, ah, ah." He wagged a finger at the Knight. "I'm just here to talk." He telekinetically slid a chair away from the wall, placed in front of the desk, and sat. To be safe, he also disconnected the phone line. He quickly began scanning the surrounding area, particularly the lockers, for firearms and munitions.

The Muskrat let the drawer go and raised his paw to stroke his long whiskers. "Unless you're here to turn yourself in, we have nothing to talk about."

'Nothing? The gall of this guy. How could he possibly believe I'd let the Knights persecute good people like that? And turn myself in? Does he know what his bosses want me for?' Nathanial felt his blood pressure rising the longer his thoughts ran on. He grinned mischievously at Mr. Hubbard instead of showing how he really felt. "No? How disappointing. I was looking forward to this all morning. Just so you know, I have no intention of laying down on the altar to die willingly, Mr. Hubbard. I'll fight with every breath I have and beyond. But the reason I'm here is to talk to you about Gisele, Patrick, and Arthur. I guess Emmy and Lars, too."

Mr. Hubbard's bald tail tapped against the shield behind him; Nathanial felt a tingle along his jaw and minor fluctuations in the magic supporting the barrier. This guy must be a chi-adept. The Knight's face hardened just like it had when he confronted Emmy. "I commend you on your spying skills. I'm guessing it was you who poked my collar this morning. It changes nothing. This is an internal matter of the Knights Templar and of no business to the Arcane Society."

The Akita cocked his head. "No? Hmm, I would've thought the intentional provocation of war was the business of _everyone._You have no idea how hard it was to keep the peace after this fiasco, and if it becomes common knowledge that the upper echelons of the Knights are cleaning house of all moral Furs, you'll be taking away the primary reason we _aren't_in the middle of a bloodbath. The fact that five Knights fought beside me against an obviously evil act placated the chiefs you tried to murder -- despite the possibility of someone in your organization giving the go-ahead on it."

'Murder. Is that all these guys know how to do?' He thought of that young Spirit pup, Grayson, and saw him crying over his grandfather's grave while his parents slipped away to fight in a lawless war -- a war with no quarter, no prisoners, and nothing considered too extreme. Grayson would soon be crying over many more graves, and he wouldn't be the only one crying for however little time they had before he, too, lay beneath the earth. 'Would the fight...?' Nathanial snorted in his mind. The fight would practically start at the Markses' doorstep, what with Geoff being a major target already -- and not just Geoff, but Nathanial and Micah. Would the Knights seek to use bits of his baby brother as a source of magic? Would the Society?

Mr. Hubbard pulled at the drawer holding his gun again. "Don't grin at me like that, you damned freak!"

Nathanial cackled. "Would you rather me scowl? You wouldn't like me when I'm mad. Mad as a hatter, make your tail flatter. Did you know Canada was almost built on the fur trade? Beaver pelt, muskrat felt, fuzzy hats so warm, water does them no harm." The Muskrat jerked on the handle so hard that the whole desk bounced across the floor. It was getting hard to keep it shut. Nathanial shook his head. This guy might make a lovely coat, but Nathanial needed him to revoke all that firing and ejection stuff. People tended to do better at that when they were still alive. "Never mind. I want you to do whatever it is you need to do to get those people back into the Knights and give them back their jobs. It's the people who gave the order to shoot the plane down that should be kicked out of the Knights, and they should be locked up on terrorism charges."

"Fuck you. Keep your damned wet nose out of the Knights' business, or you'll regret it."

Nathanial scowled now. "You fucking shit-heads started this! The carjacking, my mom, the attack at her funeral, everything!_You _made this my business!" He took a deep breath. "You leave me the fuck alone, leave the Spirits alone, and I'll return the favour. You don't need to give Lars, Gisele, and all of them rewards, even if they deserve them, but just show that they aren't being punished. That'll keep the Spirits from acting, and we can all go on with our lives. Peaceful lives. No one else needs to die." Too many had died already.

Mr. Hubbard released the drawer. "And how do you propose I do that? They were caught with illegal weapons in their lockers."

"Weapons you had them keep there." Speaking of weapons, Nathanial noticed a number of the lockers in the locker room had false backs and several rifles, pistols, ammunition, ballistic vests, and the like in them -- including Chris Hubbard's. One bank of lockers could be moved aside to access a large cache and the trigger to release the locks was in his locker, too. Perfect.

The Muskrat shrugged. "Irrelevant. The police caught them, and the media was notified. I can't really give dangerous people their jobs back, now can I?"

It was Nathanial's turn to shrug. "I don't give a damn how you do it. Just do it."

Mr. Hubbard folded his paws on the desk; Nathanial noted they didn't shake at all. "You're asking the impossible. No, I won't, in both instances. They're fired, and none of them are welcome in the Knights. If that's all you want to talk to me about, you have your answer, and you can leave. It's my lunch break."

Nathanial stood. "I do have my answer. You'll find out what mine is before long." Nathanial opened a portal home, stepped through, and restored everything in the room back to the way it was, even going so far as to remove any bits of shed fur. He sent his mind out to find Conor and Dirk; they had a lot to discuss.

Five minutes later, Nathanial sat in his chair downstairs in the Marks house's basement, with Conor, Dirk, Aedan, Faeden, and Ciaran seated nearby. Nathanial wasn't too surprised that Conor requested two of the alpha's bodyguards and advisors to be there, but he didn't expect Ciaran to be included.

The house phone lay on the coffee table next to a tea service; the alpha was on speaker. "So, pup, you're telling us the Knights kicked out four of the five guys who helped save that plane? They're _intentionally_trying to provoke a war!"

Faeden nodded. "Yes, sir, they are, but the question is how can we stop it?"

The speakers crackled when the alpha roared. "Why the hells should we!? They want a fight, let's give it to them! We're warriors, not some pansy-assed little Furs!" Nathanial wasn't sure the alpha meant that. After Alpha McDougal's visit, Nathanial was almost positive most of his bluster was...well, bluster. A mask to fit the role the Elemental thought was necessary. The role of the advisors was to talk him down and give him the out needed to follow a rational course.

The older ones seemed to know this, but Nathanial wasn't sure Conor did. The Water Elemental rubbed his eyes. "Da, I really hope you're joking or just caught up in the moment. Unless you're prepared to move the Markses into the tunnels of our clan, we can't let this devolve into open conflict." Noises of surprise and a bit of protest met that statement. Ciaran and Dirk just looked thoughtful.

The assassin cleared his throat and the room fell silent; even the alpha's growls stilled. "I assume you're talking about the sacrifice? If there's conflict, we'd have to bring Geoff home, and that'd leave Nathanial with only Da to protect him. Even the _smallest_chance the Knights are right about the whole 'key' business is too big a risk. I agree we'd need to move Nathanial."

Aedan scowled. "How could you get the clan to agree to provide shelter for a family of Mages? We received a lot of flak for just a weekend visit."

Dirk shrugged. "Tell them the truth."

Alpha McDougal snorted. "That my grandson is fucking the pup's ass fifteen times a day? Some might agree it's a finely toned ass, but they'd hardly say its shaggability is reason to cover it, even if it's the ass our Dark Elemental fancies."

"Da, leave Nathanial's ass out of this! I know it's fuckably fine, but it's not what Dirk meant, and you know that, too! We're talking about the end of all magic beings in the world!" The turn in the conversation made Nathanial want to sink through the floor.

The older O'Conalls, even Ciaran, stared at Conor. Faeden rubbed his nose. "'Fuckably fine'? Uh...Conor?"

Conor growled. "You haven't heard Geoff, Faelen, and Liam go on about it. They aren't as bad as Da, but I swear, a day doesn't go by when someone doesn't make some sort of comment about Nathanial's rump."

They didn't look convinced. Peeking through the phone, Nathanial noticed the alpha looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter, but the roar of his voice didn't betray the silent shaking of his shoulders. "Gods, you fucking sissies! First that teleporter Mage and now a good old-fashioned brawl. You're all too scared to do anything! Let's hear it then; what bit of slinking do you propose we do to let these bastards off the hook?"

All eyes turned to Nathanial. He cringed away from them before he caught himself. 'Only bravery is allowed into the clan. Bravery.' He looked at the alpha, the hulking figure that dwarfed the office he sat in half a world away, and donned a mask of his own: the mask of the wunderkind. How would someone in one of the superhero teams say this? With certainty, with belief this was the best course of action, but not_intractability. Make it sound like the details were open to discussion, but not the main plan. "We play the PR game. The opening of all modern wars is fought through smoke and mirrors, and it's time we take advantage of it. The reason Chris Hubbard gave to me for _why he couldn't just rehire them is because the world was told -- through the media -- that they were dangerous thugs who kept illegal weaponry in their lockers at the airport. I propose we turn that against him. I call the CBC news crews, tell them who I am, and ask them to meet me at the airport. I get a few RCMPs, ones not in the Knights, to join us, and play up this whole secret agent charade the world has created for me. I bring them to Mr. Hubbard's locker, open it, and show them all -- on camera -- the weapons stored there. If necessary, I can even show them the hangar the Knights have in the airport and all the armaments the Knights keep in it. I can say the three Furs who were fired were framed, and that I supplied the weapons they had, too, or that they work for me and had permission to store weapons there." He paused a moment, as if a thought had just occurred to him. "For that last one to work, I'd need the backing of the Society, though."

As expected, the faces of everyone around him hardened, not at the general idea, but at the involvement of the Society. Faeden poured a cup of tea and took one of his grandmother's cookies. "Do you think the media would buy it? You're just a pup. Surely they don't _believe_the conspiracies around you."

Nathanial smiled. "They want to believe it. It sells well, and that's all that matters." Aedan copied his son's actions and then sipped the dark brew.

Ciaran nodded. "It's true. My sources are abuzz with stories about him, each more fanciful than the last, and they all want to hear more. This is even with them knowing he's a Mage and not a movie-like action hero."

Conor grimaced. "Avery tells me the same thing; she's been constantly pestered about it since her exclusive interview, and even the Merfolk have asked me about him."

Faeden bit into his cookie. "Still, Avery's interview was to try to keep this crap from happening. If we embrace it, won't all those paparazzi come back? Won't it piss off the Society? I thought Nathanial was supposed to be keeping a low profile."

Aedan swirled a cookie around in his tea. "Are you suggesting we call one of those agents over to get their thoughts on this? It might be better for keeping the peace if the Hidden World sees the Society is backing up their claims as the de facto government." He shoved the soaked cookie into his mouth.

Nathanial saw the storm gathering on Alpha McDougal's brow. He headed it off with, "No. We'll handle it. I'm not averse to asking Jay or Ella for advice if they're off duty, but if the Society were to handle it, they'd just defer it to the agents who have jurisdiction for the airport. Those agents are either incompetent or in cahoots with the Knights. There is no way they could turn a blind eye to the activities there, otherwise. I saw the action in the tower shortly after we pulled up to the gas station, and that was after everyone had been rounded up. I don't know how long the Knights had control of the tower, but the agents should have seen_it and intervened long before that. They also ignored or missed the Knights' hangar full of weapons, and probably _decades of smuggling done through it. That's why I want the RCMP involved, and not the Society. It'll involve asking a favour from Sergeant Heimdolf, but that's preferable."

Aedan swallowed his snack. "All the more reason to talk to one of your agent friends unofficially. How can you guarantee you won't get Knights when you call up the cops even with this sergeant's help? Why would the cops believe you or cooperate? You need the clout the agents' supposed position in whatever spy agency you Canadians have gives you, but on the other paw, we also need this to be prosecuted publicly in mundane courts, so the world sees justice happening. The Society hushes things up too much. We need the media to make this public, but we need the Society -- even just the idea of the Society -- to keep the peace. For now."

That 'idea of the Society' bit sounded a lot_like what Ella had told Nathanial, Geoff, and Faelen when she first met the two Spirits: the agents didn't have the resources to back up the Society's claims, and it was just the _perception of power that kept the various factions in line. She also said that if push came to shove, the Society could mobilize _very_fast.

Ciaran tipped his head to his older brother. "I agree, on all counts. We need the Society to make it work, but it needs to be in public to maintain the charade of stability. We also need the Society to have their noses rubbed in the corruption in their ranks."

Unseen by the rest, Alpha McDougal sat back and tapped the pads of his fingers together. He seemed to be weighing everything in his mind. His voice carried a crapload of scorn, though. "Let me guess, you back this stupid farce of theirs, too, Conor?" He pulled a decanter of water out of his desk and poured a shot. He tossed it back and fished around in an ice bucket for a few cubes.

The alpha's youngest son sighed. "Da, you aren't drinking again, are you?"

"It's none of your gods-damned business. Now, do you agree with this shite or not?" The giant Wolf poured some more water on the ice and stirred it. The clinking cubes sounded clearly over the phone.

Conor's growl made Alpha McDougal grin maliciously. To keep this from devolving into a fight, Nathanial quickly told Conor, *It's water. Your dad's just winding you up.* Of course, that just made Conor growl even more loudly. On the other end of the phone, the alpha's shoulders shook silently again.

The Water Elemental rubbed his face. "Yes, you damned fucker. Given time, we might be able to come up with something that doesn't involve the Society or Nathanial, but the sooner this is resolved, the better. I think we should get Agent Ella's unofficial participation immediately."

Alpha McDougal took a drink before snorting. "Fine. We'll back down, again. It's a good thing Hades does the judging and not Ares, or we'd be doomed to Tartarus for sure. Call the witch and get this over with." He quietly opened his trousers so he could scratch his balls. The alpha went commando, it seemed.

The unexpected action took Nathanial aback, though he still hit the number for Agent Ella. 'Gods, that thing is huge.'_Nathanial had seen it a few times, once in action even, but the thick sheath with the tapered point of flesh peeking out still made his breath catch. It really looked like Geoff's, just scaled up a _lot.

Agent Hugh answered on the other end. "What is it now, Nathanial?"

The pup brought his senses back to Nova Scotia and through his cell to the agent's phone. Ella sat in the open office with Hugh standing behind her facing the other way; the black Cat wrote _'sorry'_on a scrap of paper before making it vanish. A half-eaten sandwich lay on the desk in front of the Badger.

The second shock so close to the first completely rattled Nathanial. "I-I, um, w-well it's..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _'Bravery. Wear the mask of the wunderkind.'_He opened his eyes. "Good afternoon, Agent Hugh, I had hoped to ask Agent Ella a few questions."

The black Badger frowned. "She's busy." Agent Ella twirled her pencil around in her fingers and pulled out a crossword puzzle. "You can ask me, instead."

Nathanial mentally shrugged. "Very well. I need you to help me impersonate a CSIS agent while I arrest a Knight on public television." The bluntness of the request made Aedan choke on a cookie, though perhaps it was the sudden departure of the proposed plan that took him by surprise, instead.

Agent Hugh frowned and gripped the small wireless phone tightly. "What? What trouble are you stirring up now?"

The young Mage smiled tightly. "Trouble? Me? I'm not stirring up any trouble. I'm trying to stop a war. _Again._I'm in a meeting with several Spirits discussing the latest provocations made by the Knights, and I need an agent's help to keep things from boiling over."

It was Hugh's turn to close his eyes and take a deep breath. The Badger silently mouthed a few obscenities. "We're on our way. Don't do anything until we get there." Agent Ella went to stand by her boss.

"Use the patio door by the pool. We're downstairs." Nathanial withdrew his sense just as Agent Hugh hung up. He sensed them arrive outside a split second later. "Agents Hugh and Ella are here. They'll be down in a moment."

The sound of the alpha sliding his chair back prompted Nathanial to look over. The large Wolf was on his hindpaws, tucking his junk back into his pants. "Open a portal, pup. I want to be there in person for this."

Nathanial glanced at Conor, who'd opened his mouth to argue, but the sound of pawsteps rumbling down the staircase made Conor close it with a click. He nodded. Nathanial said, "Yes, sir," and opened a portal into the alpha's office.

The two groups stepped into the basement at the same time. Nathanial closed the door and the portal before gesturing at his new guests. "Welcome." He stood up from his chair; Aedan had already bounced up and hastened to stand behind his boss's left shoulder and Dirk did the same to stand by Conor. "Alpha McDougal, this is the Regional Director, Agent Hugh, and the team leader of the Halifax agents, Agent Ella." The alpha nodded curtly. "Agents, this is Alpha Luke McDougal of the Cork Clan." He gestured at the others. "This is Conor McDougal, Faeden O'Conall, and Ciaran O'Conall."

Agent Hugh glanced at the two unnamed Spirits and obviously understood the reason -- bodyguards don't get introduced when they're on duty, and these two were on duty. "So what is this all about?"

Alpha McDougal's muzzle wrinkled and pulled away from his teeth a bit. "Several things, Agent, but mostly those fuckers just fired and ejected the Knights who stopped the Canadian chiefs from being murdered. They're punishing those who stopped a war and are deliberately insulting us! This provocation won't go unanswered!"

Conor rose and held up a paw. "Alpha, sir, we have a plan to fix this. Why don't we tell them about it and see what they say?"

Alpha McDougal's eyes blazed; he looked furious. "Say?! Who gives a damn what they say? I want to know what they'll do! They're partly responsible for all this! How the fuck could the Knights take over the airport's control tower like that without the agent in charge of the airport noticing?" He jabbed a finger toward Nathanial. "That untrained pup noticed it within a minute! How could they get that surface to air missile there, set up, and fucking fired without any interference from the Society? How could they hide all those weapons on the premises without being stopped!? Partly responsible? Damn it all, they're_complicit!_ There's no way it could have happened without them at least turning a blind eye!"

Agent Hugh quivered in barely controlled anger, but Ella maintained a calmer appearance, though Nathanial got the impression the alpha's charges were making her think. Conor continued to try to calm his father. "Maybe it's just a few corrupt agents. Most police forces have some officers working with organized crime in the ranks, no matter how hard they try to keep the forces clean. This is why we wanted to discuss this with Agent Ella; we know she has nothing to do with the airport. If Chris Hubbard, the manager of...CATSA, was it? The security at the airport? If he loses his job and the Knights who saved the plane get theirs back, the local clans won't have anything to rally behind. If the Society makes an appearance while the RCMP arrest him, it'll show the Society is taking this seriously. With Nathanial present, the Mage who worked with the Knights to stop the attack, it will show the whole Hidden World that the Society and the Knights are working together to keep the peace. A charade, sure, but that's all we need at the moment. If the court case is public, it'll also keep this front and centre for a long time, and show justice being done. We might get months or even a year of mileage out of this PR stunt."

Nice. Conor had just painted out the plan with broad strokes and gave the reasons for all the key details. Alpha McDougal growled and relented. "We can't afford the loss of lives a war would entail, but I'd order an attack in a heartbeat to preserve our honour. If we can avoid fighting and keep our honour..."

Ella quickly addressed her boss, who didn't look all that convinced. "Alpha McDougal is right, sir. A public show like Conor proposed would allow the Spirits to save face, it would show the Nightwalkers we take their safety seriously, and it would remind the Knights we're still here. First their attacks on the Markses, and now the Spirits, show that they're militarizing. We can't let them continue. We need a very public display to put them back in place."

Nathanial's stomach quietly growled so he opened a tiny portal in his locker and levitated his boxed lunch through. The smell of food made a few more stomachs growl. Agent Hugh took a cup of tea and a cookie. "So let's hear this great plan of yours, Mr. McDougal."

Conor sipped his tea. "It's not mine; it's Nathanial's." Nonetheless, he ran through the plan in a bit more detail.

Hugh finished off his cookie and tea. He gestured at the plate. "They taste just like my grandmother's."

Ciaran smiled. "Mama made them. An old family recipe."

"That's what my granny said, too. It's probably more true in your family's case, even if your mother came up with the recipe herself." Food really did have a way of bringing people together. Hugh wasn't all sunshine and roses, though. "So, we get some non-Knight RCMP officers there to make the arrest, act as CSIS agents to give Nathanial some clout and show the Hidden World we care, and have the media film it all? Neither the RCMP nor CSIS like making arrests on camera. How do you propose we tip them off? It'd ruin Nathanial's cover if he calls."

Dirk leant over to whisper in Conor's ear. Conor nodded. "My wife is a reporter, and she took a few days off to watch our daughter while her normal nanny is visiting family. We could bring her over and she could call a local outlet with a proposal for joint exclusive coverage if they supply the camera crew."

Nathanial wryly thought, 'If this keeps up, they might start thinking she's the Lois Lane to my Superman.'

Agent Hugh shrugged. "Fine. And what grounds will we have to search the lockers? We don't have a search warrant."

Nathanial pulled out his phone with a tiny smile. "You don't need a search warrant if you have reasonable grounds to search, like a sniffer dog smelling drugs. In this case, we're going high tech." He was met with blank stares. "I can supposedly find anything with this. Like Mages." He held it out and cast his _firefly light_spell, but made the lights even smaller and hovering just above the screen of his phone. He'd gotten the idea from all those mini-maps in video games. Two little dots sat near the centre to represent Ella and Hugh, while two more sat on the edge of the screen to point the direction to Nick and Micah. He wasn't identified since he was the centre of the 'spell,' and the locations for the dots were pulled from his conscious mind.

Ella looked at the phone. "What spell is that? Don't let Arrie catch you casting it."

Hugh gave her a dirty look. "If he's casting unsanctioned magic, you should be scolding him, not advising him to just avoid getting caught." He didn't wait for an answer and turned to Nathanial. "So, what are these dots, and how isn't that exposing magic?"

Nathanial's smile grew a little. He identified the dots, wrapping up with, "This is a common bit of tech in sci-fi shows and video games. I can guarantee that a Fur's first reaction would be to suspect a high-tech gadget over magic, especially since I'm supposedly the product of some secret government experiment."

Faeden looked at the phone's display. "It's almost like a tricorder or something. Even knowing magic exists, I'd think of tech first." He shrugged and continued a bit sheepishly. "But then again, my wife always says I watch too much TV." Hugh looked at Ella and the Spirits; they all nodded or shrugged.

Ella added, "I don't watch much TV, but it doesn't match what I'd expect from a scrying spell, either. If I cast a spell that tracked Mages like this, I wouldn't expect the information to be displayed visually." Nathanial opened his lunch box and began wolfing his food down while the others talked. Agent Ella smiled a bit at that. "We've put a lot of effort in keeping magic from being top of mind for the Furs; I agree with Nathanial that it'd be perceived as a bit of high-tech gadgetry."

Alpha McDougal harrumphed. "All good, then. Conor, call your wife and have her come over. Neasa can watch Gwen for the evening. It's not like the girl's a pawful or Neasa's busy with anything. When Avery's ready, she can come over while I go home, but it better be soon; I think the pup's lunch break is almost over." Nathanial nodded while he struggled to swallow an over-large mouthful. Thankfully, Geoff had been giving him practice with that, so he didn't choke.

Agent Hugh didn't look at all pleased. "Ella, take Nathanial to school when he's ready. I have some phone calls to make and interrogations to begin. Let me know when all this is going to take place; I'll be escorting him along with..." He glanced over the Spirits and let his gaze rest on Dirk. "...him. He looks intimidating enough, and having a Spirit on paw should add to the message we're sending."

Conor glanced back at his bodyguard before addressing the matter. "Wouldn't a Spirit's presence just serve to antagonize the Knights? We're trying to keep the peace here."

Hugh snorted. "Who gives a flying fuck? They're already antagonised." Ella's jaw dropped, and Conor's eyes widened a touch. Alpha McDougal swallowed a chortle, but the corners of his mouth still threatened to leave the perpetual scowl they enjoyed. "The Knights grossly stepped out of line, and as the wronged party, you lot should have a presence when we start slapping them back into place. This is my jurisdiction, and I won't tolerate insurrection." He nodded to the alpha. "Luke." He turned away without waiting for an answer and stomped off.

Ella's tail lashed about in annoyance. "My apologies, Alpha McDougal, everyone. The prospect that some of his agents are complicit in this makes the whole affair personal for him." Nathanial poured a cup of tea and used Chill to bring it down to a drinkable temperature. He chugged it down. Ella put her paw on his shoulder. "Slow down, Nathanial. You still have seven minutes." Conor began calling his wife.

Nathanial ducked his head. "Y-Yeah, but I'm probably going to have to spare every minute I can to apologise to Liam and Geoff. I snuck away from Liam to deal with this, and Geoff's probably having conniptions." With both of them in ill-temper, perhaps his most profuse apologies should be to Faelen.

Dirk answered for his boss. "Geoff already called Conor. We let him know what was going on when you came here." Dirk moved back to his seat. "He was having conniptions. Liam-sensei sounded little better." Oh, dear.

Conor hung up his phone. "She's changing her blouse and will go to Da's office when she's ready." He looked at his 'son.' "I think it's your turn to get the flowers."

Nathanial's paws latched onto the end of his tail, which curled down between his legs.