I went to Penguin and picked him up, trying to calm him down.
However, instead of panicking, Penguin suddenly went into a full-on tantrum, chirping madly from my arms and flapping his flippers, looking like a tiny angry Donald Duck.
I let him rage. I was pissed off too.
I'd been unsure how I felt about Baugh's death, but now that I'd found out he was alive, I was definitely furious.
I swear if that asshole got anywhere near Penguin, I was going to incinerate him myself.
Meanwhile, Tiernan had turned the volume up.
It looked like the reporter had stopped Baugh outside a building, but I couldn't tell where that was exactly.
"—a lot of public interest in the Alliance's work lately," the reporter was saying. "Could you give our viewers a sense of what you're trying to achieve?"
"Of course," Baugh replied, "and thank you for asking. The Alliance's position is really very simple. The System has changed the world, yet only a small fraction of people are allowed to benefit from it. We don't think that's fair. Our work is about closing that gap."
There was a scoff coming from Tiernan, just as Shea muttered, "Yeah, sure it is."
"Closing the gap how, specifically?"
"In several ways. We've been working with researchers to better understand how System access is granted, what determines it, and whether the criteria the System uses are reasonable or simply arbitrary. We've been funding studies into safe, supervised access pathways for non-awakened individuals. Frankly, it's the kind of work governments should be doing—but they aren't, so we are." He smiled warmly.
"He's smooth as hell, you have to admit that," Ejay muttered with distaste.
"He looks like he's ready to get into politics," Tiernan said, "with that suit and the way he's speaking."
"Critics have suggested the Alliance is mostly made up of wealthy individuals who simply want System access for themselves. How do you respond to that?"
"I'd say two things. First, I understand the criticism. Yes, many of our donors and members are people of means. But that's because building this kind of infrastructure costs money. Research, legal advocacy, public education… We need sponsors and resources. We've always been transparent about that. Second, the people we're advocating for aren't the wealthy. They're the commuter who spends three hours a day on a train. The mother working two jobs because she can't get to a better one two cities away. The small business owner whose competitors with System contracts can move stock in seconds. These are the people being left behind, and they're who we're fighting for."
"What do you say to those who argue that the System has good reasons for limiting access," the reporter went on, "that the people granted it carry real responsibilities, real risks?"
"We have enormous respect for people like Llewellyn, who put their lives on the line—"
This fucking asshole. Enormous respect my ass! They'd literally tried to kill Llewellyn!!!
"—What we're asking is a different question: why is useful access—the practical, daily applications—restricted to a small group of people? You can be grateful for what frontline awakened do and still believe that ordinary people deserve a seat at the table. Those two things aren't in conflict."
"There have been reports of Alliance members being involved in incidents at recent events—at the Hyunshore Hotel auction, for instance."
"There have been allegations. I'd encourage your viewers to remember that being accused of something and being guilty of something are very different things. We're a large organization. People claim to act in our name all the time. We don't endorse violence, we don't endorse illegal activity, and where we have evidence of wrongdoing by individuals associated with us, we cooperate fully with the authorities. I'd add that the Alliance has been on the receiving end of more than one smear campaign by parties who'd prefer the public not ask difficult questions. I'll let your viewers draw their own conclusions about why."
"Unbelievable," Shea said.
"That fucker," Jihoon added from behind me. I jumped. I hadn't seen him come in. "He was literally there, coordinating the attack!"
"A final question. What would you say to someone watching at home who's never thought much about System access either way?"
"I'd ask them to think about it now. Ask yourself who decided that you don't deserve access. Why has no one ever explained the criteria? Would you accept that from any other institution? We're not asking anyone to take a side today. We're asking them to start asking questions. That's all. We'll still be working tirelessly to lessen the gap. Thank you."
I was fuming. Where Hoverhasset appeared posh and slimy, usually drawing distrust with his exaggerated Oxbridge inflection even before people actually listened to what he was saying, this guy didn't. He looked elegant, reasonable, and genuinely concerned. Even I would have believed him, if I hadn't seen him attack us with my own eyes.
"Well, that isn't what I had in mind when I said we should start gathering info on the Alliance here," Llewellyn said, glowering at the TV. "Still, that was well timed."
Penguin was still agitated and flailing in my arms.
"What is it?" I asked. "You want to go with Llewellyn a bit?"
Penguin hid his face in my chest for a moment, letting out another chirp, before turning around and raising his flippers toward Llewellyn who came closer to pick him up.
"Wow," Ejay said, grinning. "You two really look like a married couple now."
What?!
"Oh, oh!" Jihoon said. "By the way, what was that thing with the dragon?! Was that AI? Can Penguin turn into a dragon too? Also we heard your flat blew up?!"
Ah, damn.
"Llewellyn told us you were okay, but— Wait a moment. Was the flat bombing the Alliance's doing too?!"
I mean… If Baugh was really alive, then that was likely, right? Any of the others Gilded had relocated to a dumpster could have done that too.
I filled them in as much as I could, managing to leave Gléonwon out of it somehow.
"What else can you tell us?" I asked Tiernan, trying to distract them from asking more questions. "Did you hear anything about those Alliance members you handed over to the police? Is the artifact safe? Did the Seon-jeong's office get in touch after the auction?"
"Not much," Tiernan said with a sigh, leaning against the table. "Some of them paid bail, others had lawyers waiting. Basically, the police released most of them within forty-eight hours."
So they'd all just walked free?! Great. What the fuck.
"As for the Seon-jeong's office," Tiernan went on, "they paid as agreed and asked us to stabilize the artifact, if we can. We're still working on it."
"We also tracked the seller afterward," Shea said. "But it was a dead end. The name was fake, as were the documents."
Roan wandered over with mugs of tea, passing them around.
"We've been tracking more artifacts," Tiernan said, cradling his mug. "There's been quite a lot going on. Whoever has been flooding the market is still active."
"To what end?" Llewellyn asked, frowning.
"Who knows? Money, power, destabilization… Take your pick. We know that the Alliance wants System access, and that they can't hack the System. My theory is that they're doing everything they can to force the System to recruit more people. Create chaos using artifacts, make awakened users look incompetent, make sure the System needs more support."
That seemed to track with what that guy in the Distorted Realm in France had said.
"I've also seen more awakened people posting online that someone tried to kidnap them but they managed to teleport away. Whether those posts are true or not, we can't tell, but… we know people are being kidnapped, and we don't really know how many."
Fucking hell. How do we even tackle something like this?
Somewhere behind us, there was suddenly a whooping noise. We all turned just in time to see the floating artifact flare with light.
"I got it!" Gilded said, sounding ecstatic. "It's done!"
Penguin chirped, flailing until Llewellyn put him down, and he waddled over to Gilded, staring at the artifact with wide eyes.
"You did it?" Tiernan asked, looking genuinely shocked.
"Obviously," Gilded said with a huge grin, before slumping back onto the floor. "Now someone get me a drink before I pass out."