Warning: Sealing Commision Surveillance

A small blue van with tinted windows slowed to a stop across the street from Grabby’s library. A well-faded sign above the door read: Grabberson’s Used Book Library. The sealed metal door held a closed sign. Light still shone from behind the windows. The van backed into an empty space directly under a faded streetlight. The headlights turned off, then the engine went silent.

A plastic wrapper with a half-eaten maki roll on the console was weighed by chopsticks. Condensation dripped from an untouched bottle of wheat tea; it threatened the speaker.

Horrick stretched all six of his arms back as he moved to an office chair in the cab and yawned, “Might as well activate the new listening device. Here’s hoping for a quiet night and a nap. Right partner?”

Nobody else was in the van.

He opened the wireless interface application and selected device number nineteen. It was late in the evening, so the soft white noise didn’t surprise him. Unlikely Jorseph would have the sneakers out already. They were probably stored in the closet and still in the box. It was possible his mother had put them in storage for later. Considering the size of Avelina’s apartment, Horrick felt he had a chance of hearing something.

He dialed the library office using an unmarked number. The ring tone buzzed continually. A drone floated above the van. He adjusted the camera feed to record the entrance. He dialed Grabby’s cell phone, but it went to voice mail.

“Something’s not right.”

Horrick clawed the wheat tea and wrenched off the cap. The console beeped in the middle of a chug. The plastic bottle wobbled on the console with tea splashing inside.

The logo of the Sealing Commission, a locked treasure chest behind crossed sabers, appeared to announce an incoming call. He opened it before the ringtone started. A woman appeared with an eye patch over her left eye. Rough scales lined her maw. Her mane was ragged and gray. One of her front facing fangs was missing.

“Just checking in. How'd you find the place?”

Horrick pressed a button on the side panel, “Evening Captain Rain-Stone. I’m dispatching a drone now. Nothing really going on here at the moment, but I’d feel a little better if I wasn’t operating solo.”

“You’ve been briefed on the situation.”

“Yes mam. Target objective is to gain intelligence on who leaked information about dealings with this supplier. Surveillance equipment is to be installed as close to the target as feasibly possible without being discovered.”

“If at all possible, the higher ups would like to keep this imp in our pockets. We’re only to activate a protocol five or higher if absolutely necessary.”

“Avelina has been leaving her son at the library for years and is a known employee of the World Government. Shouldn’t we consider the possibility that the imp is compromised by IORA?”

“She’s a secretary. We have no evidence the imp is working with them, or that he’s even on their radar despite taking risks to collect information. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If the situation evolves to include organizations under the world government umbrella, we’ll have to move with exceptional caution and make some very difficult decisions. Limit your activities to passive surveillance. Don’t hesitate to notify me if you find anything strange.”

Horrick grabbed the tea bottle, shook it, and turned to review the drone footage as it flew over the building, “Speaking of strange. The glass sky light over the dome is shattered. I can fly the drone right in the building. There’s broken glass all over the floor.”

“What? Maybe I’ll dispatch another agent to your location. And, actually, no, never mind. The Water’s Flow’s bank headquarters exploded.”

Bursts of tea shot out his nostrils, “What?!”

“It’s on the news. Broken glass everywhere. Looks like the work of an artifact user.”

Horrick flipped on a side screen and adjusted it until news displayed the police barricades and traffic jams. A reporter and the scrolling feed claimed the building had been compromised in a water main explosion.

“Obviously an item. Orders?”

“It's a major bank HQ. The WG is going to be all over this and I don’t have enough agents to cover every point of interest. We can’t be left empty handed. Looks like you’re on your own. Get some rest if you can. You don’t have to overdo it so long as the cameras are well positioned.”

“Understood. I’ll collect data on the imp.”

The captain ended the call.

Horrick muttered, “I never get the exciting assignments.”

The drone hovered in the center of the library. Horrick repositioned it above a shelf. The camera showed the library full of moths, beetles, and small flies. Some of the shelves were broken and their books had toppled to the floor.

The door to the kitchen was barred with plywood. A metal door down the hall was ripped in half across the middle. The drone flew to the opening. A wide gash through the metal frame destabilized the surrounding wall. Markings indicated water splash.

“What in the name of the sun happened here?” he clicked a panel on the two-way radio and held it, “I’m seeing signs of a struggle. Requesting back-up if at all possible.”

The audio remained quiet. The library aisles towards Grabby’s office were clean. Books remained neatly stacked on the shelves. The drone peeked inside. There was no sign of him at the desk. Papers were scattered across the floor. A wrinkled leather satchel crumpled against the wall. Claw marks injured the desk calendar.

Horrick grimaced as he flew the drone over the desk while aiming the camera, but there was nothing but more papers. The drone lowered. The camera whizzed. Brownish-red spots speckled the paper across the floor.

“If this is going to be another sleepless night, I’ll have to close the store tomorrow.”

Horrick rubbed his head. He leaned over the console as the radio squeaked.

“No can-do shoe monger. Observe and report. Don’t get caught. Over.”

The drone took a final pass. A shattered toilet was in the bathroom. He piloted the drone back to the center of the library. It lifted high above the building to hover quietly. The central camera feed aimed straight down while the auxiliary camera scanned.

An alert indicated the listening device recognized voices. He heard Jorseph speak and adjusted the feedback. The young man sounded a little softer than usual, “Hey, open up, I want to read you again.”

The microphone picked up muffled scraping.

“What’s your deal? You opened before. My mom’s not home and I want to practice using you. It’s not something…”

Horrick narrowed his eyes and reached to close the application, but couldn’t bring his claws to click the feed off, “Come on buddy, you’re better than this.” He delayed himself by taking several large gulps of wheat tea.

“…Or would you prefer Grabby use you instead?”

Wheat tea sprayed across his computer screen. A cloth wiped saved it from dripped into the electronics as he coughed, “What in Sun dragon’s name?”

Another voice, this one softer and lacking any dragon rumble, “You don’t need to open me. Nobody needs to open me. I’m tired and I want to sleep. Please don’t touch me.”

Silence for a moment, broken by her voice, “you’re going to tear me!”

Horrick’s fist slammed the console with force that shook the van. The bottle of wheat tea toppled. Cold tea spilled across the table and dripped on his pants. He made sure to check the drone camera feeds despite breathing fire hot enough to char the symbols on his keyboard.

“…I need to find the spell that changes me back…”

It sounded like they were having a fight. Horrick stood too quickly and hit his head on the roof of the van. By the time his ears stopped ringing, some more of the conversation had passed. He heard Jorseph start yelling from the speaker.

“Stop lying to me! Who am I supposed to trust? Maybe Grabby was right about you!”

“Stop touching me.”

“Fine!”

Crackling of breaking glass.

Horrick sunk in his chair limply and pulled at his mane, “What am I listening too?” He kicked the desk with his equipment, then roared, “Great, now what do I do?”

For now, he leaned in to adjust the feed and listen more intently.

“You don’t care if my friends don’t recognize me. You don’t care how much trouble I get into. You don’t care if I lose everything. You were just a selfish evil book all along!”

A book? The feed went wild. Reverberation battered the microphone. A voice boomed through the room but the sound became ear piercing. Then slowly the feed returned to normal.

“…mad… going… police. Calm down!”

Horrick landed the drone on the roof of the library and powered it down.

“Lilly?” Jorseph said.

Booming reverberations assaulted the microphone again. Horrick’s claws nearly pierced the metal desk as he stood. He jumped in the driver seat and fastened his seat belt, “I’m calling field initiative. This is a case for forgiveness before permission.”

The screeching recording boomed, “Overflowing!”

“Lilly, please, you’re hurting me! … fix-”

An unmark van’s engine revved wildly. It dug out of the parking space. Tires screeched. A motorcycle swerved. The driver cursed before riding off. Tires screeched again. The blue van sped through winding narrow streets.