NewU Pt. 29

Nevertheless, the question remained unasked.

What was most surprising, however, was Bob's reaction to the revelation that it was his skull that was stopping us from reading his as he sat there.

"We always suspected that there was a physiological explanation for why we are immune to your powers," he said in shock, "rather than a psychic one. But as you can imagine, willing volunteers have been hard to come by, and even then, we haven't had a willing Evo to help us experiment."

"You don't seem particularly concerned with what Pete did to Toussant," Jerry said carefully.

"I'm not," Bob shrugged. "The man was a coward, a murderer, and a traitor. He deserved all of it. If anything, I am relieved to hear it was as painful as it sounded. I know my superiors will not be displeased."

"And how is Isabelle?" I asked with a smile, finally sitting back into the chair to be instantly cuddled into by Fiona. Bob seemed to be the only one to notice.

"The Lady Bernhardt is well," Bob replied, matching my smile. "She is obviously very concerned about events here, more so that one of our own was involved, but otherwise, she is as well as can be expected. She sends her regards."

I nodded. I hadn't had the chance to report in to Isabelle since Boxing day. Well, to be fair, I'd had plenty of chances, but my mind was occupied with other matters. "I will make time to call her soon," I promised.

"I'm sure she would love to hear from you," Bob said with another nod. "She liked you. Now, you said something about a mission to Ukraine?"

Uri cleared his throat. "Yes, we were. We were wondering what sort of assets or support you have in the Donetsk area."

"Assets, I'm not sure about," Bob replied after a few seconds of thought. "I would need to make a call to check what is currently there. But as for our support, I am authorized to offer you the full support of the Inquisition. Anything you may need will be offered to you."

Uri's eyes widened. "Anything? I... I wasn't expecting that."

Bob nodded. "Yeah," he drew out the first word. "Pete has made us aware that you are working under the impression that we are at war. I can assure you, the real inquisition bears no ill will to any Evo. We do, however, take extreme exception to acts of violence being carried out in our name. These traitors are threatening to disrupt a peace that, for us at least, has held for more than two centuries. Whatever support you need to destroy them is yours. No questions asked."

Uri, Marco, and Jerry shared a surprised but relieved-looking glance between them. "We appreciate that, and we hope that this becomes a peace that Evos can enjoy too." The most senior of them said with a respectful bow.

"Is there anything you can think of off the top of your head that you will need?" Bob asked. "We will get anything you want, but actually transporting it there will take a little time, so the earlier you request it, the better."

Uri nodded. "I can get a list for you by the end of the day, but weaponry will be the biggest thing, and transport. Both to get there and local transport. Oh, actually, there is one thing. Do you think you would be able to give us a comprehensive list of all Inquisitor activities in the Eastern Ukraine area? I have a contact on the ground who has been watching them."

Bob frowned for a second before raising his eyebrows and nodding with a smile. "And you are thinking that by cross-referencing known inquisitor activities with the ones your contact has seen, you will be able to identify the Royals."

"Yes, any discrepancies between what you know about and what is actually happening may not be guaranteed to be Royal activity, but some of it will be. If we can find that, we can start to track them."

Bob nodded. "That won't be a problem, I can make a call, and Lady Bernhardt should be able to get that information for me by the end of today or tomorrow at the latest. When are you thinking of leaving?"

Uri looked around the group. "However long it takes everyone to pack."

"Good thing we're not coming then," Fiona joked. Charlotte giggled and nodded on the other side of me.

"Can you imagine," she laughed. "They would be ready to go, and we would still be picking out which suitcase to use."

Jerry snorted a laugh, but Uri and Marco were now whispering between themselves.

"Care to share with the group?" I called over to them.

"Marco is expressing reservations about using an Inquisitor safe house," Uri said with a huff.

"I understand you are the organizer of the party that was attacked," Bob chirped up. Marco nodded. "Then your hesitancy is understandable, expected even. We are here to back you up. You are under no obligation to use anything we offer."

"Please forgive me," Marco said quietly. "I have spent my life being scared of you. Inquisitors were the enemy. They were dangerous. It was as simple as that. I have lost friends to people like you, a lot of them. We have always known to avoid doing anything that could attract the attention of the inquisition, and now, not only are we using your transport to go to war, but we are using your guns, your information, and your safe houses. I am incredibly grateful for your help, I truly am, but this new reality is going to take time to get used to."

"I understand," Bob nodded with a smile.

Uri looked around the group again. "If there is nothing else, Can we meet back here in a few hours, packed and ready to go?"

I nodded, standing with everyone else. "I will take Evie back home. Fiona can watch her there. Bob, the place is yours until we come back. Feel free to raid the fridge."

********

An hour later, I was back in my apartment, pushing the door through the surprising amount of mail that had been delivered over the past two weeks. Evie and Fiona had been safely stashed back at her place and I had double-checked that Jeeves was watching the area like a hawk. It didn't take me long to pack my things, less than half an hour once I had found my suitcase.

Charlotte came with me and quietly helped. I pulled the needed clothes out of the wardrobe, she folded and packed them.

"I need you to be careful," She finally said, breaking the silence.

"I know, Charl, I will be, I promise."

"I'm serious. You don't need to be a hero. You don't need to save everybody. I just need you back here safe. Okay?"

"Okay," I smiled reassuringly and pulled her into a hug.

We stayed that way for a while, several minutes passing in comfortable, contented silence.

"So, what you were saying earlier about friends who fuck..." I joked, trying to ease the tension.

Charlotte looked up at me with a smile and a soft giggle. "Okay, get your kit off."