Page 34 of Zachary

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ronan

I burstinto Zoe’s house, panting from running the three blocks over. The night air is sharp and cold and made my lungs burn, but I couldn’t handle any kind of delay. “Well?” I demand, slamming the front door and racing toward the living room. “Have you looked?”

My friends—because I think after tonight’s adventure, I can call them that—have pushed the coffee table aside and spread an assortment of paper on the floor.

“We’re looking,” Cam reports. “Though honestly, I’m not even sure what some of thisis.”

I drop to my knees beside him and peer at the papers. There are a lot of them. “Are we sure he won’t notice they’re missing?”

“Pretty sure,” Garrett says. “I took them out of the folders he was using and put blank paper in there instead. So unless he actually opens the folders to look before I can sneak everything back in on Monday, it should be fine.” He squints at the document he’s reading. “We might need longer than a few days. I’m going to start taking photos of everything. Do any of you know anything about site excavation and construction engineering?”

“No, but his business plan is pretty good.” Zoe’s tone is thoughtful as she turns a page. “He’s got a lot of details here, and cost projections…” She trails off as she looks up to find us staring at her. “What? I have friends who run their own businesses. I even helped with some research once. Cam, you’re a business owner—what do you think of this?”

We pore over the papers, putting aside the technical ones we’re going to need help with and focusing on the rest. Zoe’s right—the basic plan is a good one. From what information we can find on the internet, Zac’s cost projections and financial forecasting are pretty solid too.

“So it comes down to two things, then,” Garrett says finally, sitting back on his haunches. “Whether the land is fit for purpose, and whether people would even want to come here for skiing.”

“Absolutely yes to the second,” Zoe insists. “Trust me on this. A community-only ski resort with a long season, a quaint village, and a local site of historic interest? I could make a few calls to some friends in the winter sports arena and have the first season sold out within a month. You have no idea how many parents stress about letting their kids participate in sports in front of humans. The chances of something unusual being noticed are so much higher. Take that factor out of the equation, and this will become the family-friendly winter destination of choice.”

“What about storms?” Garrett counters. “You were here through most of the winter—people aren’t going to be happy about paying for skiing they can’t do because they’re trapped indoors.”

“Day trips?” Cam suggests. “You were trying to find an elf who’d open regular portals, right? The museum and definitely the resort won’t work if people can’t get here. But maybe we expand that service—on days when skiing and other outdoor activities aren’t possible, and people don’t want to stay indoors,they can take a day trip to Zurich. Or anywhere—find an events coordinator who can put together packages.”

“Hmm.” I think about that. I’m used to portal travel, myself, having grown up with it—though I never really went anywhere—but for species who rely on slower means of transportation, the idea of being able to have a multi-destination vacation with such little fuss would probably be a bonus. “Have you found an elf who can help? Because the whole idea lives or dies on that.”

Garrett nods. “Yeah, I think so. Alistair’s friend Caolan put me in touch with an elf who retired from the royal guard a few years back. She’s bored and seemed really interested in the idea. I could probably talk her into doing more than the twice-daily portals to Zurich we’d already discussed. Or she might know somebody else.”

The number of elves who can open portals is very limited, and most of them are in service to the King or the DEA. It’s not likely there will be many of them looking for a new job, but one might be enough—to start with, at least.

“So the only thing we’re really not sure about is the land, then.” Cam picks up the technical papers. “Could that be why Zac shelved it? He found out something that would make it impossible?”

We crowd around, trying to decipher things we know nothing about. “We need help,” I finally decide.

Zoe sits back with a sigh. “Yeah, but who can we ask? Micah would be ideal, but then Cam would lose the high ground in their argument.”

“Not happening,” Cam insists. “I don’t want to set that kind of precedent.”

I chew my lip. “Let me ask my friends. They know a lot of people.” If it comes right down to it, I can ask Steffen and Wil. They definitely have contacts who’d be able to help. But I’m pretty sure if I tell my paranoid conspiracy-theorist security-obsessed brother what I did tonight, he’ll have some kind of seizure.

Fabian, on the other hand, will probably be proud.

“Can we trust them?” Garrett asks, and I shrug.

“It’s not a security issue, so I think they’ll keep it secret.” I grab my phone and open the group chat… which still doesn’t have a name, though the suggestions are getting more and more outlandish.

I need some help! Does anyone know someone who can look at engineering and construction reports and tell if the land is fit for purpose?

I hope that makes sense. I’m not even sure if that’s what these reports are called. They’re just full of numbers and equations and words that make no sense to me.

I can see people typing immediately.

Dustin:

Hiiiiiii! You’re up late! Please tell me you’re at a party and not working.

Sophie:

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