The Law of Averages - Book 2: Chapter 181: Blind Spot

Anastasia had chosen an entirely different office building for their meeting. Instead of another Summerset subsidiary, it was the DC headquarters itself. Dan would’ve liked to take a look around, but Anastasia’s instructions lead him down into the parking garage, where a service elevator brought him into the employee levels unobserved. He didn’t bother with subtlety after stepping out, walking through the office corridors like he belonged there. In a way, he did. This was Anastasia’s domain, and so far as she was concerned, he was now an asset. Though, this sense of security did not stop Dan from sweeping the place with his veil, as he moved towards the safety stairwell that would take him to Anastasia’s office. He could’ve teleported, but he really was curious about the building.

Dan passed a handful of people roaming the hallways, but none of them gave him a second look. He was dressed casually, but so were they. It seemed that a dress code was reserved only for Anastasia’s security personnel, and not her techies. Speaking of security, every now and then, he’d run across a door that was electronically locked, and his veil could pick up armed guards posted within. These were mostly research labs and other high-risk areas, meaning any enterprising thief who made it past the outer doors would quickly find themselves facing men with guns.

There were quite a few unguarded office spaces scattered across the building’s many floors. These were your standard cubicle-with-desk setup, and some floors were made up entirely of these walled segments. It seemed odd to Dan, to come work at a company known for its cutting-edge technology and open-ended innovation, only to be locked up all day inside an eight foot square. He supposed everyone needed an accounting department. Budgets didn’t make themselves.

Dan’s ambling pace eventually brought him to the safety stairwell Anastasia had mentioned. His veil darted up the concrete steps, ascending a dozen floors until it found the proper landing. A quick sweep of the walls found the hidden access panel that would unlock a secret corridor to the back of the CEO’s office. Dan did not have the code, but he didn’t need it. He willed himself directly inside the corridor—finding it pitch black—and casually strolled to its end. Here, he found another false wall, exiting from an electric fireplace. There was a thumbprint-activated panel to open the door, but Dan simply swept the room beyond for witnesses, then teleported past the obstruction.

The room was a sitting area of some kind, complete with couches and a bar. There was a whisky bottle sitting open on the countertop, with a small glass beside it, half-filled with melting ice. The room was well-lit, almost cozy, and decorated with a restrained taste that lacked the artistic chaos of Dimension A’s most popular architecture. This, Dan presumed, was where the most important of guests were wooed.

It was not where Dan had been directed to stop. He scanned the next room over, noting that it was a more traditional office setting, and found two people waiting inside. Or, rather, one person waiting while another paced anxiously, back and forth. He recognized the patient one; it was clearly Anastasia, and she clearly had felt his arrival. Judging by the turn of her blouse, her head was pointing directly at him, stoically ignoring her guest. This second person was someone who felt familiar to Dan, but in a distant sort of way, kind of like vaguely recognizing a face that might have sat on the opposite end of a college lecture hall, once upon a time.

Seeing as Anastasia hadn’t sent the familiar stranger away, Dan shrugged his shoulders and pushed open the office doors. Within, he found a deeply irritated Anastasia, and an equally angry Jason Summers. The man was Abby’s older brother, and supposedly ran Summerset, now that his grandmother was retired. The seat Anastasia occupied, the one parked at the CEO’s desk, was meant to be his. Dan suddenly understood the man’s anxiety. He was probably worried Anastasia was going to take away his position, or otherwise curtail what little influence he had.

Because, while Jason Summers held the title, everyone knew who was really in charge. And she did not share power.

Jason spun around as Dan opened the door. His brow furrowed for a moment, before recognition crossed his face. His pacing steps finally found a destination, and he headed towards Dan at once.

“Daniel!” he exclaimed, partly in relief, partly in annoyance. “Are you the reason why grandmother has commandeered my office?”

Dan was genuinely surprised Jason remembered his name. The other man seemed absent-minded at the best of times, and he’d barely spoken to Dan before. Abby’s relationship with her brother, much like the rest of her family, was a distant one. But he was still Abby’s blood, so Dan was cordial.

“It was definitely not my idea, Jason, sorry for the imposition. How’s life treating you?” Dan extended his hand, and the other man shook it energetically.

“Well, well, of course. You know how it is. Busy-busy, as always. It would help to have access to my desk.” This last bit was added with a slight plaintiveness, and his eyes flicked backwards to Anastasia. Then, they narrowed in suspicion. “Grandmother, what is it you’re speaking to Daniel about that requires my offices?”

“Never you mind,” Anastasia ordered. “Jason, give us the room.”

“Grandmother!” Jason exclaimed, his voice going high and shrill. “I’m the—! This is my—! You can’t just order me out of my own room!” He spun to Dan. “Daniel, I demand to know why you’re here!”

Dan looked between the two family members. He could see plainly that this argument had been going on for some time. Anastasia was clearly out of patience. Her eye was twitching in a way that generally signaled impending violence. Dan decided it was time to step in. He clapped Jason on the shoulder and brought him in close. He leaned forward, conspiratorially, and whispered, “I need to speak to your grandmother about Abby. When she heard the subject, she decided a certain amount of pomp and ceremony was necessary, you get me?”

He pulled back with a wink, leaving Jason confused and reeling.

“About Abby?” he muttered, squinting. “What about— Oh. Oh! I see!” He nodded vigorously, making to step aside, but stopped and frowned. “But I am the eldest male in her immediate family. Shouldn’t you be coming to me? After all, it should be my responsibility to, to…”

He trailed off as Dan looked pointedly between him and Anastasia, trying to say, “Really?” with just his eyes. Jason, with his tiny shred of self-awareness working double overtime, got the picture and shut up.

He spun on his heel to face his grandmother, and straightened his tie. “Grandmother, Daniel, I’ll leave you two to your negotiations.” He turned to the door, took another half-step, and paused. He looked at Dan, jabbing a finger in his direction. “I expect you to treat her as she deserves, or there will be consequences!” He nodded sharply, and swept out of the room.

Despite being a pompous blowhard, Dan thought, Jason Summers wasn’t half bad.

Anastasia had a look of comical bemusement on her face that didn’t change until her grandson was long gone. She finally turned to Dan, expression settling into something just shy of hostile. “I do hope, for your sake, that’s not really why you’re here.”

“Well, one day, certainly,” Dan said without thinking. Anastasia’s face spasmed violently, so he hurriedly added, “But no. I’ve got an update for you on the, uh…” Dan glanced around the office. Secure as it was, he was starting to believe in Madison’s method of constantly talking around the subject. “On the monitoring situation.”

Anastasia rolled her eyes. “Speak freely, Newman, the room is secure.”

“Yeah,” Dan muttered, “I think Madison said the exact same thing.”

Anastasia scowled, and actually seemed to consider it. She cocked her head, listening to some invisible sense, and said, “I don’t believe there is an exotic surveillance method that could escape both of our notice. It’s possible, but if my enemies have someone like you on hand, then they would not be in such dire straits. I am comfortable in the measures I’ve taken, so long as we are both on guard.”

That actually seemed reasonable to Dan. He flexed his veil, making sure it filled every nook and cranny of the room, and kept more attention than he would normally spare on it. He nodded his acceptance to Anastasia and started to fill her in on the day’s events. It was brief, for all that it was important. He highlighted Abby’s vigilante theory, and spoke about the electronic disruption device that the Andenos apparently kept in their house.

To Dan’s surprise, Anastasia simply nodded at the news that a new vigilante might soon be appearing in D.C. Instead, she focused on the jammer. Apparently, and somewhat predictably, civilians were not really meant to own jammers without very specific permits. Turns out the federal government didn’t like portable EMP devices to be housed in civilian neighborhoods. Big surprise.

“So, you can scoop him up?” Dan asked. “I mean, you’ll need a reason to search the house, but we know exactly where the thing is. It shouldn’t be that hard to arrest these two and kill whatever plans they’ve got.”

“I could,” Anastasia mused. “Or… we could let things play out for a while, and see if they make any progress.”

Dan blinked. “I’m sorry. What?”

Anastasia leaned forward, eyes glittering. “They are trying to make contact with the People, Daniel. The entire reason we started this operation was to find them, and now we have our way in. The boy will lead us right to them.”

Dan shook his head. “He’s gonna run around doing vigilante shit in the hopes of drawing their attention. Who knows how long it’ll take, if it works at all, and who knows what kind of chaos he’ll cause in the meantime. Don’t you remember Galeforce? Because I do. I was in the fucking city at the time, and I saw the aftermath. We can’t fuck around here, Anastasia! Just bring the kid in, and interrogate them!”

“If they knew where the People were hiding, they’d have already approached them,” Anastasia dismissed. “The Andenos are more useful out in the wild.”

“I’m not talking about the People,” Dan exclaimed. “What about the Evo Church! What about Madison? They’re obviously up to something shady, and the Andenos are involved!”

Anastasia flicked her wrist. “They can wait. The People are the priority.”

Dan stared at her. He was furious, but at himself. He shouldn’t have been surprised—he wasn’t surprised, not really—but he’d been so caught up in this new conspiracy, that he hadn’t given any thought to the old one. The People were still out there, and Anastasia wanted them above all else; no price too high, no consequences too dire. It was pointless to argue. He wasn’t even sure he had an argument to present.

Anastasia might genuinely be right. The People were actively, demonstrably malevolent. The Evo Church had been quiet for decades. Madison, too, had remained in the shadows for his entire career. Whatever scheme he had going, could likely wait. Creating a new vigilante for the public to focus on was obviously both a stalling tactic and a diversion. His plans were not yet in motion. And at least they knew, roughly, what he was up to, and could monitor him. The People were out of sight, and getting any kind of insight on their actions might be invaluable.

All of these were perfectly reasonable arguments, and none of them were why Anastasia was so focused on the People. She was blind to all else, plain and simple. And that, more than anything, cemented Dan’s decision.

“Fine,” Dan said. “The People are the priority. I’ll keep you updated.”

“Do that,” Anastasia nodded, lost in her own thoughts. Her gaze was far, far away. It had gone distant and scheming. Dan didn’t wait for her to come back. He pulled himself into the Gap, and far away.

Anastasia was deeply compromised when it came to the People. It was an inescapable conclusion. Because he’d just lied to her, and she hadn’t even noticed. Dan wasn’t going to wait around for Nikolos Andeno to get someone killed. He’d already seen how that ends. No. He’d give the kid just enough rope to hang himself, then he’d step in, and end it.