Poison City

 

“Do you have a telephone here?” Marcus stretched and shot up, defying the expectation of everyone: “I need to make a call. Gloria and her friends would need to know this.”

 

“There’s a landline in there.” Kevin pointed at the inner room: “Also, keep the conversation short. It’s supposed to be a secure line, but the technology is kinda old and the masking may get noticed if the connection is maintained for too long - ”

 

“Yes and avoid redialing too many times or too fast if you can’t get through.” Mick added from the side: “These kinds of calls may draw attention to your connection.”

 

“Got it, anything else that could help us?” Marcus nodded.

 

“Ask her about any concentrated electrical place or ‘sanctuary’ from the paranormal.” Keryn snapped her fingers: “It’s a long shot but those people might be there, or at least, they may have a safe house of their own there.”

 

“You’ve got it.” Marcus went inside: “But no promise though, she might still be offline. We can only plug in once we’re safe.”

 

The others followed and kept their ears peeled for the conversation. Marcus sensed their doing so, but did not feel like objecting. The more information to share, the better the clarity.

 

He dialed the number while looking at his phone. He had not had her number memorized. Maybe he should.

 

The phone rang for a few times before she finally picked up: “Who is this?”

 

“Gloria, this is Marcus.”

 

“What? Why are you using this phone number!?”

 

“Complicated, I can only call you on this secure line. Are you safe?”

 

“Yes, I am safe now. ” Gloria let out a breath of relief but was still tense: “Wait, answer me this: how many people did we see in the ruins?”

 

“One.” Marcus responded without a doubt: “How many questions did we ask each?”

 

“Two questions.” Gloria finally relaxed: “Okay. Good. What do you need?”

 

“First of all I have some intelligence to share with you. Just know that we are not a hundred percent sure of the authenticity and accuracy.” Marcus sighed, then proceeded to give Gloria a summarized rundown of almost everything they discussed, mainly Blue Envelope 1148 and their conversation with Luo Zhuge about it.

 

“That’s - that’s helpful. Thank you.” Gloria took this information surprisingly well: “And I guess it’s actually somewhat reassuring that you have two sides to the story. And - I am coming to the conclusion that your surprised visitor was telling the truth.”

 

“Really? He was telling the truth?” Marcus deliberately asked with his voice slightly raised: “What made you say that?”

 

“Because we have tried to dig into the sources in our district, and according to the records of the collective, the city has been behaving in a very suspicious way. But - thank you for telling me about this - this Borrowed Fate of Three Spirits spell. We can finally put a name on it, and it helps.”

 

“Okay, glad to know. ” Marcus nodded: “What are you planning on doing next?”

 

“I’m gonna go look into some things before we head out. I mean, your data center idea is good. But - there’s still an issue of - ” She talked to someone on her side, a slightly distant and faint female voice Marcus could not make out: “ - sorry, there’s still an issue of how we could even fight or repair this situation. So - now we know - what we know, we still need to know how to properly fix the situation.”

 

“Good choice. I’ll be going to the master I told you about for advice. Will you be coming along?”

 

“I’m afraid no. I’ll need to go with my friends to check on some clues.” Gloria answered: “Call me or come find me when you’re done, huh? I imagine we’d have plenty of things to talk about.”

 

“Yeah I also have one more thing - more of a favor to ask, if you don’t mind.”

 

“Sure, what do you need?”

 

“Do you have a place where my colleagues and family could hide?” Marcus asked, nervous about what Gloria would say.

 

“A place to hide? Don’t you - ” Gloria sounded surprised: “Oh! Luo Zhuge? He found you in your safe house?”

 

“Yeah. And through some - disturbing means as well. ” Marcus sighed.

 

“Okay, do you have a way to avoid being tracked?”

 

“Unfortunately no, I only have some idea on how to minimize the effectiveness. ”

 

“Give me a second.” Gloria might have covered the phone with her hand to discuss with those around her.

 

It only took her around ten to fifteen seconds before she came back with an answer: “Yeah sure, for a short moment anyways. Go to the same cafe shop we met earlier. The owner would leave an address for you. Change clothes and take a shower there. Anything he might have left a tracking mark on, you lock it in the safe. How many of you will be there?”

 

Marcus thought for a moment: “Five of us will be going, but only 4 of us will stay. I will come back later after handling things - and seeking advice.”

 

“I want to go - ” Kevin wanted to interject but was shushed by Marcus with a raised finger.

 

“Perfect, you’ll have 5 suits of peasant clothes. Change everything. And don’t forget to tip.”