November 4, 2003 – 16:30
Coralis and Sebastian were near Chongqing, China, walking out of a meeting with their coach, and three team officials through holographic communication. They had warned them that they weren't going to renew their contracts at the end of that season. With the current political situation that was making them busier fighting off the radical clans, they had to retire from flyball if they wanted to keep their loved ones safe.
The team officials tried to convince them to renew for another 2 years, but they understood their situation. Both had recently taken a mate and were targeted in this witch-hunt. Even if the witch-hunt and faction war ended before the season did, they would probably always have people after them, given their line of work outside the field. Their priorities had shifted.
They still had some time before the game started, so along with their teammates, they went to a shifter restaurant nearby. As they were about to pull the front door open, Coralis's phone rang. It was Frank. She was surprised he would call, given the time difference. He was usually asleep at that time.
She walked to an alley beside the restaurant to answer the phone, and Sebastian followed her.
"Everything okay?"
"If you hear rumours going around, know that it's not true."
"What rumours?" said Coralis, sensing the worries in his voice.
Frank didn't know how to explain it, but he wanted to tell her before she heard it from someone else or read it in a paper. He hoped she wouldn't doubt him as he didn't need that kind of rumour going around, especially not right after he finally got a yes out of her.
"Remember the event I had to cover last Friday evening?"
"The promotional thing, right?"
Frank took a deep breath.
"Yes. There is now a rumour going around, saying that I had an affair with some actress that night. I promise you, luv, that it isn't true. I don't know who is spreading that."
"Yeah okay, but why are you worrying about it?" said Coralis, confused.
Sebastian gave her a puzzled look.
Frank stayed silent for a moment and sighed.
"Because especially with what we just went through, the last thing I needed was that kind of shit to ruin things between us. I love you, only you, I didn't see anyone else behind your back."
"Do you really think I pay attention to rumours? If I see a paper with your name mentioned on the front page, sure, I'll read it, but tabloids? Probably not. I mean, between the fay lord claiming I was betrothed to their heir while other slimies pursued me for their sons, and journalists linking me to Sebastian and Veronica, and we're not even talking about the hunt, you've heard way worse about me. If you tell me it's false, I believe you."
"I love you so much! Thank you for believing me. I still want to find out who's been saying that and address it."
"I love you too, but I gotta go eat before the game starts. Really, don't worry about it. If you want to address them, do it for you, not for me. I never bothered addressing those about me, so now that it's your turn, that'd be hypocritical to expect you to address them. Hell, I even used rumours to my benefit, ask Hendrick."
Sebastian was struggling to stay serious when she ended the call.
"I sometimes forget that your man is now starting a career that puts him in the spotlight. He needs to get used to that type of fake news. I wonder, however, if the person who is spreading that hellshit is someone who knows about you. I can see the Swamtons doing that kind of shit just to cause problems between you and Frank. His name never was mentioned, but some fay following human entertainment press could have recognized him. Think about the timing, and there is no such thing as coincidences with us."
"I didn't think about that. Now that you mention it, I want to find out. Fay heads will roll if that's the case. We'll see what kind of evidence they have, but we both know how easy it is to fabricate them. He was so anxious about it over the phone."
"Yeah, I bet," said Sebastian as he opened the entry door to meet their teammates inside the restaurant, "especially after what you just put him through."
"Especially considering that, I will not be the one to give him a hard time over it, he doesn't deserve that. He told me the rumours are false, I believe him."
Her phone rang again when they got back to the visitor locker room.
"I should take that one," she said, walking to the bathroom.
She activated a mute-ball before answering.
"I'm listening."
"Blue, I just received an interesting tip from CIA Agent Dimitri DeMarco, and I think what he is proposing can play in your favour. Is it okay if I put you on a conference call with him? I want to trust him, but trust takes time to build, especially these days. I don't want to give him your phone number or have you two meet directly, not yet."
"Sure, why not, I'll hear him out. The game is about to start, is it okay if we do this after the game, once I'm back to the hotel?"
"Game? Where are you at?"
"I'm in China, we're playing in Asia until Thursday."
"I see. I'll check with him, but it should be fine. Let's say in 3 hours from now?"
"Make it 3 hours and a half, just in case. Things are quite hectic lately, and I just announced that this is my last season with the team."
"You got it girl, let me know if there is anything."
"Do we have another vampire war at hand?" said Sebastian when she returned to the locker room.
"I don't know, but I don't think so," said Coralis, looking around her. "I'll tell you after the game when we're out of here."
The Northerners lost their game 15 to 7. Coralis and Sebastian wanted to dodge the journalists but couldn't. Coralis sent a quick text to Hendrick to let him know that she'd be back at her hotel a bit later.
"Do you remember the unlikely ally we told you about?" said Coralis after taking off toward the hotel, with Sebastian flying beside her.
Their hotel wasn't far. When they were in the area, they used to sleep in the fairy district, but with the witch-hunt that was happening, they decided to book in a werewolf establishment instead, finding the werewolves more trustable.
"Yes, I remember. The Fart in the Sea tip wasn't a bust."
"Right. Hendrick said he's got another tip for me, but it doesn't sound like it's about nuclear weapons this time. He doesn't fully trust him, so he wants to middleman it and put us on a conference call. If you don't mind, I'll put him on speakerphone, so you could hear what's being said."
"I don't mind at all, on the contrary. I think I should record it from the hologram, just in case things go south."
They entered their room and Coralis activated a mute-ball. She texted Hendrick to let him know that she was back, 25 minutes after the agreed time, and that he'd be on speakerphone. Hendrick called 2 minutes later.
"I'm listening," said Coralis when picking up the call, looking at Sebastian as she pressed on the speakerphone button.
"Blue Thunder! Haven't seen you in a long time!" said Dimitri DeMarco.
"Agent DeMarco! Mexico, wasn't it?"
"Yes! You have been a big help with a pesky coven of witches who were planning something against us. Without you, we would have failed miserably and would probably not have returned home to our spouses."
"Interesting season to be hunting down witches, isn't it?"
She could hear Hendrick chuckling in the background. Sebastian smirked.
"I'm not too sure about that, people are shooting themselves in the foot in my opinion. That is why I wanted to talk to you. We both know that you shouldn't be on any list. You're indeed powerful, but you are one of the reasons why we didn't have a witch problem in centuries."
"Our contact told me that you have an interesting proposal for me. I'm all ears."
"First, I want to give you a second peace offering. I will give you the coordinates of a bunker containing nuclear weapons."
Sebastian grabbed a pen and wrote down the coordinates on his hand.
"Got it, thank you."
"It's me who should thank you and your crew. Now, let's get down to business. Do you know a witch who goes by the name of Vladina Murita?"
"Heard about her. She's a blood witch based in London, if I'm not mistaken, and she happens to be listed 5th on your list of Most Beloved People."
"Correct. Can we agree that she deserves to be on that list?"
"No objection from me."
"It's been brought to my attention that she made a deal to take you down, but I don't know with whom. How about you take her down instead, and I make sure to have an agent to pick up the corpse and prove what she's been up to?"