"Muuuuch better," said Maddie, lounging on a couch and draining a glass of champagne.
Courtney had taken them into a private room on the next floor, with a man outside the door and every lock turned. "Are you going to tell me who this kid is yet?" she asked Jeremy, ignoring Maddie entirely.
"Rachel DuValle," said Rachel, before he could speak. She held out a hand for Courtney to shake. "I've been looking forward to this meeting for years, governor."
Courtney looked thoroughly unimpressed. "...And?"
"Use your fuckin' brains," Jeremy sighed. "Who the hell do you think she is, if I'm here?"
"Enough of the games. You got your private meeting," Courtney said testily. "Even if I did get a leg up on Mettis, I'm still losing a lot of face right now."
"Mom would be so proud," Maddie murmured, barely audible across the room.
"I'm one of the survivors of Rallsburg," Rachel interjected. Before Courtney could even start to react to that, Rachel kept going—as if she wanted to just get everything over with as fast as possible. "I believe the upcoming Rallsburg Diaries book is one hundred percent accurate, and will quite probably lead to a mass influx in the near future. I'm also the last elected representative of the Awakened, and this is my formal extension of greeting to you as the governor of the state we reside in."
"...She serious?" Courtney asked Jeremy.
"As a fuckin' bomb."
Courtney reached out slowly and shook Rachel's hand. "I... see."
"I realize this is a lot of information in a short span," Rachel went on, dropping the handshake as quickly as she'd offered it. "But we don't have a whole lot of time. The book is scheduled to go on sale Tuesday, and things will happen very quickly from that date."
"Things like what, exactly?"
"Oh come on, Courtney, don't tell me you didn't even look at that damn book," said Maddie, sitting up awkwardly on the couch. "Everyone's about to find out magic's real. They're gonna want a taste of it for themselves. Washington's 'bout to become the hottest tourist attraction in the whole fuckin' world."
"You're about to have an event of unprecedented scale on your doorstep, governor," Rachel added, "and I'd like to help. I may be the only person in the world with the resources and experience to do so."
"How?"
"Before I explain, I'd like to make clear what I need from you."
Good, she learned. Make the terms clear before Courtney can fuck you over later. Courtney frowned, and Jeremy saw her eyes flick over to Maddie for a fraction of a second. Yeah, bitch, we coached her. Deal with it. "I'm listening."
Rachel cleared her throat. "Full amnesty for my people on any crimes they may or may not have committed while residents of Rallsburg. A protective detail for my family and amnesty for fleeing the country while wanted for questioning."
"That one's a federal crime," Jeremy cut in. "Courtney can't do shit about that. But we can probably still swing it."
Rachel nodded. "I'll have a full list of requests for you, but that's the general idea. We need protection."
"This is something to do with the increase in random unexplained deaths in the Olympic region, isn't it?" Courtney asked, furrowing her brow.
"Someone's hunting us," Rachel confirmed.
"And 'us' is..."
"People with access to magic."
Courtney sighed. "This is going to be a long night."
"No kiddin'," said Jeremy.
As Rachel began to detail more of her requests, as well as exactly how she could help Courtney in the coming weeks, Jeremy stepped out of the room. He trusted Maddie would make sure Courtney didn't abuse Rachel. Somebody had called him from a number he hadn't recognized, and while normally he'd just assume it was a spam caller and ignore it... he'd given out his number to a fair number of useful contacts lately. Could be anyone.
It took seven rings for the other end to finally pick up. "You called me?"
"...Mr. Ashe, right?"
Who the fuck is this? He sounds like a high schooler. "I give you a card?"
"Yeah. I... I need your help."
"Who is this again?"
"Jonathan Hudson."
"The magician, right? Theater kid?"
"...Yeah."
Please don't be wastin' my time... "What's goin' on?"
"I'm scared. I think they're coming for me."
"You mean—"
"They're gonna kill me."