Louis Reveur told Leander to trust no one but Ilan Potestas, and here was this stranger who had stolen the gun from Leander claiming that Louis had sent both of them. The man was bold.

Leander wasn't about to make it easy for him.

Instinct made him jump in when Cristo continued to lie.

"Louis changed his mind," he told Cristo. "His last words to me tonight were to deliver a message to Mr. Potestas. Tell the boss the motive for the assassination attempt."

Louis had sent Leander to warn Ilan of the takeover. Leander wanted to see whether Cristo had come for some other purpose, to twist the attempted assassination into another story. Was he going to lie about that too? It would be interesting if he pinned the assassination on something other than the company takeover. He could be trying to manipulate the boss for some other scheme.

It seemed like a pretty good test.

Cristo hesitated as if the answer were being dragged out of him, as if his strategy wasn't to use the assassination attempt to persuade the boss to do what he wanted, as if it hadn't been his idea to tell them what he was about to tell them. Potestas stared at Cristo, drummed his fingers threateningly on the desk top, and waited.

Cristo gave a worried exhale. "The truth is, a large faction of the Constellation executive board is against you. More than half."

His audience blinked at him without a word. Seconds ticked by. Nobody argued, but that didn't mean anybody believed him.

"Half the — you're talking about a takeover," said the boss.

Cristo did pass that test. "It's true," said Leander. "Louis Reveur asked me to warn you. Constellation will be taken over. He said tomorrow."

"Constellation leadership is about to be overthrown? At gunpoint?" said Ilan.

"I know how it sounds—" said Cristo.

The boss talked right over him. "How did Louis know about any of this?"

"What do you think he wanted the gun for?" Cristo gave Leander a look. Playing the supposed accomplice, Leander placed the Constellation weapon down on the desk between them. Cristo said, "Louis needed magic to investigate Constellation. He needed to be connected to the downtown Soliara router to get in and out of the building. You connected him, and provided him with a firearm."

"Louis worked for me for decades," Potestas explained. "Private investigation. No, he wasn't only a therapist. The price for his information was always low. It occurs to me that he worked me into a position where I became so indebted to him that when he asked me a favor one day, I wouldn't be able to refuse. And I didn't."

Cristo paced, hands behind his back. "He didn't have a license, and when his illegal magic created a pattern for the guardia to read, as Stephen put it, Louis paid with his life. Had he only used the connection to link inside Constellation, he might have been impossible to trace. He may have needed more than one link, a link to teleport to safety, and he may have fired the weapon at some point to escape with his intel, only to be executed for it hours later."

Leander added, "Mr. Potestas, my orders were to bring you the weapon back. I believe Doctor Reveur's intention was to protect you from incrimination." To Cristo, he said, "I still need to be filled in on everything Doctor Reveur knew." The subtext better be clear: he was well aware that every word out of Cristo's mouth was a lie, and he expected Cristo to fess up the second they were alone. A glint in Cristo's eyes indicated the message was received. But he looked a bit dodgy when he moved his eyes away. Like he wanted to run somewhere.

"Why don't you tell all of us?" Nova said. "Now."

Cristo shrugged and dropped his gaze. As if relenting, he delivered more of what sounded like a scripted speech.

"Only a few dozen people get a say in who runs the company that runs the empire that runs the world. I'm surprised it hasn't turned to bloodshed before now. Someone who wants to overthrow the company president can't get away with murdering all the electors on the board, but he or she would be capable of uncovering what motivates more than half. You couldn't be bribed or coerced, Boss."

"Even so, murder would be extreme," said Nova.

Cristo again pretended to hesitate, as if he didn't want to disclose the following information. "It's not that crazy. The other contenders for the presidency can smell weakness. Exequi Potestas, your successor definitely will not vote for President Gaia Solin. If Stephen took a seat on the executive board tomorrow, he would vote for Sunyin Aura. He's been public about that. Which makes you an appealing target, Exequi. All of the candidates can be certain that you would vote for President Solin tomorrow, but if Stephen were to succeed you, he would not.

"If any of the candidates now, the night before the election, only needs to gain one or two more votes, the Potestas vote may be the simplest to acquire. Which makes Sunyin Aura herself the least likely to be behind this play. She wouldn't win the election even with Stephen's vote. If one of the other candidates were close to beating Solin, perhaps even tied, a vote for Sunyin Aura could cost Gaia Solin the election."

Stephen cleared his throat, hands in his pockets. "I heard a rumor that Sunyin Aura has more momentum than you might think."

The boss laughed at that. "No one wants Sunyin Aura to direct the company." As if assuring Cristo, he said, "My son doesn't understand the board's political culture. Sunyin Aura may attract enthusiasm from a handful of us — but not to become president. A few voters may cast dissenting votes from Solin. These are highly coordinated so as not to upset the balance of power or actually effect a change in leadership. Electors mean to influence Solin, not overthrow her. Solin's level of restriction keeps us safe. Her restrictions are reasonable. Magic is dangerous, which is why we need her."

Stephen's head snapped toward his father. "There's nothing dangerous about research. That's how we come up with safeguards, and greater understanding decreases magic's volatility—"

"That's not a fact," his father interrupted.

"It's based on studies of magical accidents, magic related fatalities and failed experiments. The numbers show a trend toward fewer fatalities as our fundamental knowledge increases."

"Those numbers don't take into account all that we still don't know — which is a lot. There may be completely unseen problems. One misstep with unknown factors could have devastating consequences." Leander leaned forward to hear better. There were so many questions. So many names to hold on to and the question of what Stepen's candidate stood for or why it mattered who ran one corporation — but Ilan was talking some sense, and a leader who slowed down the advancement of potentially dangerous power sounded like the right man for the job.

Stephen shook his head and his voice took on a snarl. "We're moving at a snail's pace despite all evidence against the kind of volatility you describe and despite everything we could accomplish with faster expansion. It's not all dangerous weapons and unexpected consequences. What about food production, heat, shelter, transportation and communication? And those party tricks you pull out to impress your guests."

"What about weapons of mass destruction, mind control, restoring the dead to life? Sunyin Aura wants to research some dangerous facets of magic—"

"Who said anything about mind control? Solin limits the development of important improvements of the quality of—"

"Solin is the only reason the world continues to turn and we haven't blown ourselves out of existence — we're still a civilization and not a crater in the ground where one used to be," said the boss.

"I couldn't agree more," said Cristo, to squash the shouting match. Stephen, outnumbered, crossed his arms and sulked. "That's why I'm concerned that the power struggle will result in a leadership change.'

"I don't think so. The votes for Sunyin Aura are a mere counterforce to the pressure at the other end of the spectrum, the faction demanding slower development and more restricted access to the people of Soliara. Fewer licenses. High barriers to entry in magic related fields. A handful of electors signalled agreement with Justin Marius last year in that regard. But Gaia Solin has unprecedented support from the board and company. And most of the general population."

"That's not as certain as you think it is. If you don't do anything, President Solin will lose the company tomorrow — possibly over your dead body."

"To whom?" said Nova. "Not Sunyin Aura. The only other candidate who wants outrageous magical expansion is Alma Valerian. The vote of those radicals will be split between her and Aura, so she can't be close to a tie with the president. Actually, Valerian is slightly more moderate, enough so that resorting to assassination to take the presidency would be — to say the least — out of proportion with what she wants to accomplish. Solin's not that far from her views."

"Excuse me, but Alma Valerian isn't the only opponent left — the culprit might not be aiming for magical advancement. Justin Marius is a suspect as well. You may not think his ideas are dangerous, but the boss pointed out how hard it can be to predict consequences. Don't laugh as if so little would change if Constellation halted all further advancement, or if magic belonged only to Constellation employees."

"That's a bold accusation to make against Justin Marius with no proof but the words of a dead man," said Nova. "We have no idea who you are or what you want, but it's obvious now you're trying to pin Justin Marius for a crime with zero evidence."

If you're enjoying the party so far, assassination attempt notwithstanding, please leave me a star. Thanks for reading!