The encounter that started it

Okisato sighed as Mimoko stared at him. "You really want to believe in Svetlana, huh."

"Why can't I?" Mimoko scowled.

"Look, I don't mind telling you what I know about Ursha, but even if you learn all that I know, Svetlana isn't just going to open up to you. I'll concede the point that maybe she is trying to rebel, but I have no doubt the tsar is in full control of this."

"I know a way to prove it."

Okisato's gaze narrowed. "If you actually are thinking of doing what I think you're doing, and can successfully pull it off, then that could give credence to Svetlana's claims, but be warned. There's also a big loophole that could also give her an out and make her seem completely trustworthy."

"It wouldn't work?"

"I'm saying it would be something the tsar would allow, and thus, it can't be ruled out he'd try to goad you into requesting Svetlana of such a thing in order to lower your guard."

"Then I need to know about Ursha-san in order to try and win over Svetlana."

"Very well. I only encountered her once. It was when I was traveling with Peter through Siberia."

"You went to Siberia?"

"Yes, to look for secret puzzle cafes. It was a bit of a risk, but this was before Tsar Grigori started to consider me a threat to him and the league. Still, it was still Russia, so I had to be careful..."

...

2 years ago, Novosibirsk, Russia...

Okisato stared out at the town before him. "You think there's an SPCM here?"

"This is the population center of Siberia. I doubt Ian wouldn't put a secret puzzle cafe here," Peter replied.

"Aside from assigning one to the capitol city and cities with storied chess histories and prestige, if applicable, maestros can choose to have their secret puzzle cafes be anywhere within their country of residence. Obviously, that means Moscow's got one, but I don't know if I should be going to Moscow given I still don't know how the tsar is."

"From what I can tell, he has interest in you, but he hasn't made any drastic proposals. Remember, he just came to power a few months ago. He needs to focus more on solidifying his grip on the country and painting a pragmatic picture of himself for the world."

"Making it a good time for me to try and knock off some secret puzzle cafes."

"Thus, we'll be focusing first on eastern Russian, before we make our way to Moscow and St. Petersburg, which I'm positive will have a secret puzzle cafe given it's population. Ian is one that will generally stick to WWCF policy when choosing locations for secret puzzle cafes, so I'm not expecting them to be placed in obscure locations. That said, it probably means Kaliningrad and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast might have secret puzzle cafes due to geography and autonomous status, respectively."

"So let's see. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, the JAO, and Novosibirsk makes 5 cities. Any clue for the other 2?"

"Sochi, possibly. After that, I'm unsure."

"Then let's begin our search here."

As the two walked, two young girls secretly watched them from afar.

"Heh? So that's the guy everyone's making a fuss about?" a girl with a dyed silver mullet clad in a black tracksuit, white t-shirt, and white running shoes grinned.

"Which one? Both are the talk of the town," Svetlana sighed.

"Come on, girl. The guy. The young guy."

"Peter is only 20, you know."

"Wait, what!? I pegged him for 30 or something! Well, guess I'll rephrase it. I mean the kid with him. Apparently Peter's been training the kid for years, and despite the fact that the kid has waged war against the league, he's still cozying up to him."

"Peter isn't exactly a devout Desperado. In fact, he's more so part of the league as part of a mutual benefit for both of us. We would not want him as our enemy."

"Eh, I'd swing one at him."

"You'd fall flat on your back. He keeps fit by chess boxing and is rivaled only by my father there."

"Yeah, not good enough for me. I got no respect for heads n' oligarchs. Just cuz they say they're good at something, doesn't mean I ain't gonna beat em at it. And you know me. I wanna flip the world upside down, flip off everything from the clergy to the oligarchs, to every other leader in the world. Then embrace the chaos that follows," the girl grinned as she jostled a DESPER in her hands.