Page 8 of A Blade of Air and Darkness

“This is President Cohen, Alys. Here’s your mission brief. You’re late; go.” While Silver projected his unusual calm neutrality, the faint compression of his mouth told Walker Silver was as unhappy as he was,

Silver tossed Alys a preloaded reader.

A flash of anger crossed her face as she walked out hastily, her geas activated, and the door shut behind her, now safe from Cohen. It wasn’t polite of Silver, but it was effective.

“How may we assist you, Mr. President?” Silver asked with cool civility as the door shut behind her. Walker rose and walked back over to the window to avoid remaining in proximity to Cohen. Neither of them liked the man, but he did wield a great deal of power in a narrow focus, so it was best to be polite.

Those bound to the tree were required to follow lawful orders of the rulers of the Guild, and Cohen as President ranked everyone else. Various presidents had tried to force the Judges to do less than savory actions, the results varying according to how well they phrased their orders.

It looked like Cohen might be about to give it a try. He’d been in office for a decade, so it was about time.

Cohen gazed at Silver his expression assessing him, before responding, "Just some routine check-ins. Nothing too exciting, I assure you." He let his eyes wander around the sleek, high-tech office, taking in the holographic slide projections and the pristine white walls.

Walker glanced at the slide projection. Violence versus results. Oh dear, Silver had forced the poor woman to sit through a presentation on workplace violence? That couldn’t have been fun.

Walker waited silently by the window, his gaze moving from Silver to Cohen and back again. In a situation like this, attracting as little notice as possible gave a tactical advantage.He wasn’t above seeking it.

Cohen smiled at Silver, showing lots of excellent dental work. He turned to his bodyguards. “Wait in the hall. Is your pet accountant discreet?”

“More than you can possibly imagine,” Silver replied drily.

Walker tucked away a smile. What Cohen didn’t know could and probably would bite him in the ass someday. Like Silver, Walker liked his secrets, and the contempt of people like Cohen for those who had honest employment only made the endgame more fun.

When the door shut, Silver asked, “What is it you want, Mr. President?”

Cohen seated himself in the chair Alys had used, inhaling appreciatively. Walker stirred irritably. He liked the faint perfume of her too, though he was pretty sure it was simply leather and her natural scent.

Silver's quiet expression never changed as Cohen continued speaking. "I’m going to cut to the chase. I've been hearing some rumors about a new investigation, Silver. Something about financial shenanigans in Administrator Greene’s territory."

Well, that was fast, since the assignment had only just shown up in his mail.

Silver's expression became even blander, and he steepled his hands together in front of him. "I can assure you, Mr. President, that all investigations are confidential and neutral. I have no idea where these rumors are coming from, and will do my utmost to see you aren’t disturbed by any more of them."

"Silver. I’m the President. You’re a Judge. You follow my orders, as per your agreement with the tree. So I’m ordering you. Back off the investigation.”

The words hung in the air.

“Is that all?” Silver asked.

Cohen flushed. “No. I have a task for your minion." He gestured towards Walker, who resisted the impulse to look over his shoulder as if there were someone behind him. The sarcasm would probably have been lost on Cohen, and it would have caused trouble.

Silver’s response was smooth and civil. "Walker is not my minion, Mr. President. He's a respected forensic accountant who has conducted many investigations."

Cohen waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, of course. But let's not pretend that he's anything important, other than a professional.” He air-quoted the word.

The relationship between Judges and the Presidency was complex and depending on the personality of the President, adversarial. Silver was the Judge whose face everyone knew, who had an office and could easily be contacted. In contrast, Frost took on a new identity once or twice a generation and observed the population and its needs, reporting problems to Silver before they had a chance to get too large. Rue took advantage of bias in Capitol; she looked of southern heritage, so she let people assume her job and status was a domestic or laborer since she wore no gem.

Rope always went hooded, his appearance unknown and Flint took care to never show where the politicians could interact with him. An elusive man, that one.

Right now, Cohen was going out of his way to provoke Silver. Why? To see if Silver would refuse so he could double down on the order? Or to verify Silver had to follow the order?

The president knew the rules that bound the judges- the binding between the Guild and the Tree. Some tested the limits, some didn’t. It looked like Cohen was one who’d decided to see how far he could push.

After a slight pause, as Silver simply waited, Cohen continued, “In any case, I want him to focus his attention on Books and Bones. I want to make sure they're not up to any shady business."

Books and Bones was an educational charity to provide education for people living Outside. It was a pet project of one of Cohen’s main rivals for the next election. He wasn’t making any bones about trying to weaponize Silver’s status as Judge.

Silver was frowning, fingers drumming on the table.

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