“Pete? It’s Douglas Burke.”
Silence. Then a too-hearty “Doug! It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it has. Haven’t seen you since we took that long ride into the wild country.”
“You looking for a lawyer? My clients are usually located in town, but …”
“I don’t need a lawyer. Not exactly.”
Another silence. “I guess you’re calling in the IOU.” A sigh. “Burke’s Justice doesn’t come without cost, but it can save a man’s life. What do you need?”
“Information about a man called the Controller. He runs a compound where cassandra sangue are held. I know he’s in the Midwest.”
“The Midwest is a big region.”
“That’s why I need help from people who live in that part of Thaisia.”
“ ‘Where cassandra sangue are held’? You make it sound like a prison.”
“Prisons have rules about how inmates can be treated. No one is monitoring what happens to those girls.”
Uneasy silence. “Look, Doug. I’ve never gone to one of those places. Gods, I have a wife and two kids, not to mention a car payment, and we’re hoping to buy a house. I couldn’t afford it. But this might not be a good time to be spending your money on a prophecy.”
“Why is that?”
“Client of mine. He’s not guilty of all the charges against him, but he’s not innocent either. I haven’t been able or willing to guarantee he won’t go to prison for a while, so he went to visit a man called Mr. Smith who has ways of predicting such things. But when I met him after that very expensive meeting, all my client did was complain that he’d been cheated, that the girl hadn’t told him anything about himself or his spot of trouble, had just screamed about wind and fire. Mr. Smith tried to pass it off as metaphor for a heated debate in court, but when my client threatened to raise a fuss, Mr. Smith returned half the fee. Lately there have been whispers that the places claiming to have girls who can see the future are just scams.”
“Has it occurred to anyone that the girls are seeing the future? That the wind and fire are an accurate prophecy?”
“Oh, now, that’s … Doug? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying if the man known as the Controller isn’t found very soon, those prophecies will be accurate. The Midwest will burn, Pete, and the Others aren’t interested in leaving survivors.”
Gasps. “Why?”
“You’ve heard about the troubles? About the drugs called gone over wolf and feel-good? About that town that went crazy because of the tainted ground beef?”
“Sure, I … The police suspect him? Is there any proof?”
“Human law does not apply in this case. The terra indigene consider him an enemy, and they are going to hunt him down. How much of the Midwest survives that hunt will depend on how quickly they find him. Help me find him, Pete.”
“I … How much time do we have?”
“When was your client going to trial?”
“Two weeks.”
“Then we have less than that.”
Another silence. “Is it just me, or are you calling in other IOUs for this?”
“I’m calling in all of them.”