‘If he’s saying nothing,’ Leland Harlow said, ‘I assume there’s no way of knowing why he started.’
‘Not for sure, but we can make some assumptions, given the timing. On Saturday afternoon, he suffered a humiliating defeat in a MagiTag game. He’s expressed a desire to go forward to the war games in the summer and it’s likely that this defeat pushed him to try to increase his power and talent.’
‘Ah, yes. I heard about that from Naomi Himura.’ Leland looked amused. Courtney did not.
‘Nava Ward thrashed a group of club members in a game of Fox and Hounds which Siegmar organised. Siegmar accused her of cheating–’
‘And Naomi shot him down,’ Leland said before Mitsuko could respond. ‘According to Naomi, Siegmar barely got away with his club membership intact. Whatever Siegmar wanted, he wouldn’t have been selected for the war games. Frankly, this business with the drug just confirms Naomi’s belief that Siegmar was willing to do more or less anything to win.’
‘Siegmar hasn’t been told that, has he? His defeat by Nava Ward–’
‘Captain,’ Mitsuko said, ‘what is this vendetta you seem to have against Nava Ward?’
‘I don’t have…’ Courtney trailed off under Mitsuko’s gaze.
‘Is it because she refused a position on the SSF? Is it because she’s support stream and capable of taking down more or less anyone on the combat stream?’
‘No!’ After the sharp rebuttal, Courtney dropped back into her seat, shoulder’s slouched. She still looked annoyed though. ‘It’s not a vendetta. She just seems to be there whenever anything bad happens. She admits that she’s basically a walking murder case waiting to happen. That’s the reason she gave for refusing the SSF position.’
‘That’s just stupid.’ Pretty much everyone turned at the sound of Melissa’s voice. Generally, they heard it answering questions about scheduling and agendas and such. She hardly ever spoke up during meetings. It was like having an animated calendar application in the secretary’s chair. ‘Nava just wants to learn. So long as no one tries to kill her, she won’t hurt them. Siegmar Tate called her a cheat, in front of witnesses. If he’d said that to any of you, you’d have been in a duelling arena before sunset. She only killed Devin Girard because he tried to kill her.’ Melissa leaned forward to look down the table at Courtney. ‘I’m shy, I faint at the sight of blood, and I’m a bit of a coward. I was Nava’s second in that duel and I saw what she did to Devin. Do you really think I’d still be friends with her if I thought she was dangerous?’ She sat back in her seat, shrinking again. Her cheeks were flaming red. ‘Get to know her before you throw around allegations like that,’ she added in a mumble.
Silence.
‘We searched Siegmar’s apartment,’ Courtney said after what seemed like a couple of decades. ‘He hid his stash under his mattress.’ There were a couple of snorts of derision at that. ‘One worrying thing: Crystal Mana is expensive. The street price is around two hundred and fifty dollars per dose. We found what was left of three thirty-dose packs. That should have cost him almost three months of his allowance and his finances are not looking that depleted.’
‘You’re suggesting someone is supplying Crystal Mana in the school for cheap?’ Darius Miller said.
‘We found a large cash transfer made via an anonymising escrow system, but that was for eighteen hundred dollars. That was set up on Sunday night. I can’t prove that was for the Crystal Mana, but it’s the only thing that comes close and it would mean someone was selling the stuff for less than a tenth of its street price.’
‘Why would anyone do that?!’
‘I have no idea. When I find out who’s doing it, I’ll be sure to ask.’
235/3/31.
The MagiTag Club was indoors today, principally because the spring weather had decided to dump a considerable amount of water on the campus. It was something of a pain getting to the practical building where the combat simulators were housed, but even people with effectively zero talent for sorcery could manage an Umbrella cantrip. Courtney and Kyle were – mostly anyway – dry when they walked into the operations room to check on things.
Naomi Himura spotted them immediately and walked to the door to meet them. And he clearly suspected an ulterior motive. ‘What brings the captain of the SSF and one of her trusted officers to my humble club, Courtney?’
‘And a warm hello to you too, Naomi,’ Courtney replied.
‘Huh. Welcome to the MagiTag Club. You too, Kyle.’
‘Thanks,’ Kyle said. ‘I haven’t been for a couple of years.’
Naomi nodded. ‘I know. The same is true of your boss. But this isn’t a nostalgic visit, is it? This is about Siegmar Tate.’
‘Yes and no,’ Courtney replied. ‘All the evidence we have says that he started using after your last meeting, so you wouldn’t have seen any signs of it.’
‘I’ve seen no signs of sudden improvements in any of the members.’ Naomi paused briefly. ‘But that means nothing. People who use Crystal Mana are generally in it for the long haul. Sustained use is not a guarantee of increased power, but most people will see some improvement. Using it to enhance control is something that’s usually kept for when it’s needed.’
‘You… have a point. It’s possible that Siegmar got his drugs from someone outside the club but checking things out here is really the only lead we have currently. I’d like to interview some of your members. Especially the ones closest to Siegmar.’
Naomi gave a slight sigh. ‘It’s not like I can stop you. Thank you for asking.’
Courtney gave a crooked sort of smile. ‘I may have the powers of a cop while on campus, Naomi, but even the ASF’s policing officers are polite until they lock on the cuffs.’
235/3/32.
There was still cloud in the sky, but the rain had let up during the night. Nava did not consider it perfect weather
