"Uh huh," I said, not bothering to take it. "And you are?"
"William Sterling," he said, shrugging off my snub and producing a card with a flick of his wrist.
I ignored that too. Something about him didn’t feel right and this conversation was all the red flags I needed.
I moved to take Glacia’s hand as she looked at me weird—but that was kinda on-brand for her so I didn’t think too much of it.
Immediately I lifted off the chair so did he and now he was standing right in front of me as Glacia, for some reason laced her fingers between mine and was gently nudging me back to the booth.
It was a bar of supe-abled and I was sure I could take him, but the look in his eyes told me that it wouldn’t end with him.
So I sighed and sat back down as he did the same, and just like that he flicked the card back over to me with a smirk I wanted to beat off.
I took the card, turned it over, and felt the bottom drop out of my stomach.
William Sterling
Solicitor
The New Order
Immediately I read the words red lights flashed into my head and my fingers instinctively tensed up.
Fuck. It was the Order. No wonder this guy acted like he owned the world. Him and his partners wanted to.
"I see," I said, placing the card facedown, the coat of arms of a phoenix—or something phoenix adjacent swirling around a shield with TNO shining like gold. "What does the Order want with me?"
"Ah ha hah. How modest," William said with a smile as greasy as an oil slick. "Surely you do not think your endeavours have gone unnoticed by our organization?"
How was it that even after I switched world these bastards still wouldn’t let me be.
"I was kind of hoping they had."
"Ah ha hah," William laughed again, about as sincere as a snake. "Very amusing, but I assure you they have not. We would be most delighted should you wish to join our group. A mid-tier ranking would not be out of the question. Several of our councilmembers have also shown an interest in having you as one of their subordinates, and our benefits are quite exceptional."
I bet they were. Just looking at the guy across from me said all it needed to.
And I knew more than most probably did about the Order. I’d never tangled with their upper echelons.
The Council of Nine were generally busy trying to cook the ice caps or destroy various nations, but some of their ancillary members had fucked around with me and found out more than once.
Usually when I was already on a job and they interfered, meaning I had to deal with a villain on top of a hero, and things got pretty messy. It wasn’t something I liked to do, and I tried to avoid it if possible.
The Order were not the forgiving type, but thankfully the members I’d dealt with hadn’t been beaten too badly. Besides, it was usually blamed on whatever hero happened to come along, which worked for me.
"Thanks, but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass," I said.
"This is quite the offer, you understand," William said.
"I get that," I said. "But my current obligations don’t allow me to take that on right now."
William sighed, tilting his head. "That is... most unfortunate, Polaris. I hope you come to a different conclusion in time. The offer shall remain open until then. My lady," he said, bowing his head to Glacia.
Glacia just gave him a glare, her lips tight.
William chuckled and rose with almost uncanny smoothness, like he was more liquid than man.
The damp slapping of his footsteps seemed to indicate something of the sort as well.
I watched him go, keeping my eyes on him until he was well out the door, and only then let out the breath I’d been holding.
"Fucking hell," I said, running a hand through my hair. "What a day."
"I’m surprised, sir," Glacia said.
"Hm?" I noticed the intent look she was giving me. What was that about. "Why?" I said.
"Most would kill to join the Order. In fact, I believe it’s a prerequisite. Yet you turned them down. Why?"
I snorted. "Glacia, like I told you. The Order are absolutely goddam mental. They’re all about power, and that’s not what I want. Take a look at this bar," I said, indicating Riggin’s with a sweep of my hand. "Can you imagine a member of the Order coming in here for a drink and some chicken wings?"
Glacia thought about it, frowning. "I suppose not, sir."
I thumped a fist on the table meaningfully. "Exactly. That kind of fame is not something I need. The kind where the only way I’m shopping at the grocery store is if I sent in a giant robot to level half the place first. The Order wants to rule the world or destroy it. I’ll be the first to admit that the world has some problems, and not everything is perfect. But I don’t think putting in charge the guys who’d throw an assistant in the laser shark tank for bringing the wrong coffee would help."
"I see," Glacia said, and her eyes had that shining look again, like I’d just said something super profound. "That’s an excellent way of looking at things, sir. I agree completely."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks," I said, noticing that she was actually kind of cute when her eyes sparkled like that. Pretty and crystal clear as a glacier in the sunlight.
I cleared my throat. "Anyway, it’s getting late, and I’ve had a long day. We’ll pick things up again tomorrow. Here, give me your number. I’ll call and pick you up, then take you to the old railyard. I want to see what you can do."
"Looking forward to it, sir," she said, sliding her phone out.
A nice one too, I didn’t fail to notice. I didn’t think that model from Razer was even out yet.
Once again, I wondered just who Glacia was, but pushed it from my mind.
No. No. Best not to ask and find out. I just had to get her through this job, and that was that.