Chapter 32

Dema was, as Wen predicted, efficient. By the next morning, she had arranged a meeting with her contact, and the same evening found Wen back in the tunnel system, this time washed in a red glow. 

He was, as instructed, alone. Normally this would have concerned him, but at this point, he didn't care. Dema had offered nothing besides, "he's easily spooked, come alone or don't expect him to show up."

Caid had objected but was promptly ignored.

Dema had waited for Wen outside the tunnels, leading him down to the meeting point. Internally, he was grateful. There was no way he was going to try and navigate this on his own again. 

I do the talking," Dema said, leading Wen further and further into the winding red light, "you stand and answer only questions directly addressed to you."

Wen opened his mouth to argue, but Dema didn't hesitate, "it's for your own good! Say one thing a little too hostile, and he's gone. And I can guarantee neither of us will ever see him again."

As annoying as it was, that did make sense. Wen resigned himself to being somewhat more collected.

Dema led Wen to a dead end, so far into the maze that Wen was certain no one would find them. How was their contact supposed to?

Dema sensed the question before Wen could ask, and she answered neutrally, "he's already here."

"Hmm." A soft hum echoed around the walls. Wen whipped his head to try and discern where it came from, and when he turned back, a man was standing in front of him. 

"The second son of the great Green Sea requests my audience. To what do I owe the honor?" The man was older than Wen had expected, his long hair streaked with white and tied neatly on his head. He stood pin straight, arms carefully clasped behind his back. He circled Wen slowly, never taking his eyes off him.

Although his outward demeanor was entirely different, something about the way he moved reminded Wen eerily of Day. The fluid way he almost seemed to slide from place to place. The resemblance was striking, though far more intimidating without Day's bright smile and nonchalant attitude. 

"Thank you, for coming all this way," Dema said, her voice more amiable than Wen had ever heard it.

"Hm, well, I was promised compensation." The man's eyes didn't move from Wen. 

"Of course. We are looking for information, and are more than willing to pay."

Finally, the man's eyes flicked to Dema. "I agreed to this meeting out of courtesy for our long-standing…business partnership. I don't know what you're looking for, but I don't sell secrets. That's how I've stayed alive."

"Who," Wen spoke for the first time.

Dema reached to pull on Wen's arm, a fruitless attempt to undo what he had already done.

The man looked back at Wen. "Who?"

"Not what we are looking for, who," Wen clarified. 

"It doesn't matter," Dema said quickly, "we aren't asking for anything that will get you in trouble. I'm discrete, you know that." 

"I don't trust you if that's what you were hoping for." The man took a step back. Wen suppressed the urge to reach out and grab him. "I can guess what you want from me. Everyone wants to find them. I don't care. They are unfindable. Get used to it."

"You found them," Wen said, desperately wanting to pull the man forward.

The man took another step back. "Sorry to disappoint. Best of luck on your venture."

Wen could feel the situation beginning to fall out of his grasp. Just before the man could slide back into the shadows, Wen blurted, "He's important!" 

That stopped the man's backward retreat. "He?"

Wen nodded. "I don't know how to explain all of this," Wen began, running his hands frantically through his hair.

"You probably shouldn't," Dema muttered.

"He's…connected." Wen said quickly, "To them. You are too. I don't know how, but you know about them. He did too, and now he's missing. Please."

The man's eyes softened minutely. "If he was involved with them but wasn't one of them, then the chances of him not being dead are very slim. I'm sorry. Truly."

Wen shook his head vigorously, not sure what to say. 

Dema spoke before Wen could, "He may have been…with them. We're not sure."

The man's eyes widened slightly. He quickly schooled his expression back down, but his surprise had been obvious. 

"No," Wen cut in, "he's not."

The man tilted his head. "Is he or isn't he? There isn't much room for gray areas with the Shadows."

"Not." Wen stated, at the same moment Dema said, "Possibly."

The man brought a hand to his forehead and pressed it between his eyebrows. "This is going to be messy, isn't it?"

"No, no," Dema said quickly, "you don't need to be involved in this at all. We are just asking for anything you know, anything to help us track where he might have been taken."

"Taken?" The man's expression grew somewhat amused. "The Shadows aren't known for kidnapping." They are known for killing was left unsaid.

"Why does it matter to you?" Wen snapped, "Give us the information or don't. I'll figure out how to get to them either way."

"Hm," the man's lips turned upward, "then sounds like you really don't need me after all. In that case, I really will take my leave now."

"No, wait," Dema sighed, "we do need you. You are our only lead," she waved a hand in Wen's direction before continuing, "he's bad at showing it, but he needs your help."

The man paused for a moment, before closing his eyes. When he reopened them, his expression had become serious. "Neither of you seem to know what you are getting yourselves into. But I do. If who you are looking for was targeted by the Shadows, he is dead. If you continue your search, you will soon join him."

Wen was shaking his head before the man could finish, "You may think that, but I will keep looking for him, and I will find him. He isn't dead, and I'm going to bring him back."

For the first time, the man smiled. It was soft and pitying, and Wen found he didn't care for it. "I'm sorry," the man spoke gently, as if speaking to a child, "I really am. But there is nothing I can do for you or your friend." He turned to Dema and continued, "As for us, I'm afraid our partnership must come to an end. Nothing personal, but if you don't plan to halt your search, things are going to get messy."

Before either Wen or Dema could reply, he took a step back and simply said, "For what it's worth, I hope you find your friend. I honestly do." With that, he was gone, sunken into the shadows before Wen could process what had just happened.

"Well shit." Dema growled. "There goes our only lead and my very lucrative trading operation.

"You have plenty more," Wen said, not bothering to look even slightly concerned.

"Okay, well, lead-wise, this is all I had for you." 

"Yes, and I certainly appreciate it." Wen began calmly walking towards where he assumed an exit would be.

"You're…surprisingly okay with this." Dema watched Wen carefully.

Wen ignored her, pressing the button on his watch 3 times until a light blinked back in response. He held it to his mouth and spoke clearly, "he's headed up."

Instantly, there was a response, "copy that. All teams notified."

Dema blinked a few times. "You're going to try and catch him?"

"Of course not," Wen scoffed, "it's unlikely that would make him change his mind about giving us information."

"So?"

Wen sighed, as if explaining was the most taxing thing he had done. "He must have an informant, some way of getting his information. We're going to catch them and make them talk."

Dema had the sudden realization that she had been very wrong. This was going to get messy.