"I've heard, rumors. Through, sources."
"Sources? You're holding back on me too, now." Moone, with his ability to weaponize the truth, was used to people not trusting him, but not Himsters Keepses of all people.
Keepses shook his head. "I just need independent verification from you. See how your story lines up with the facts and the alleged facts. They say you managed to strip yourself of your [bane and boon aura], and I can see now why they'd think that. How does that work? It involve your boyfriend over there?" he said, referring to the Pontifex, who at the moment was playing a solitary game of billiards at the table in the corner.
Moon's stomach sank at the nickname Keepses applied to the Pontifex, but swallowed and confirmed. [he explains, explains their time on the run, and runs down the idea that the boon is enhanced so much that he managed to escape his servitude to Tetragrammaton.] "I can't always choose the way in which salvation will come, and I can't always choose not to escape. I wonder sometimes- can't help feeling it- that what happened escaping in the first place was my fault, or my fate's fault, or something. I can't shake the guilt."
"How's that?"
Moone exhaled a breath he hadn't realized had been caught in his throat. "Cloud's dead."
Keepses tilted his head.
"Mushroom Cloud?" said Moone. "I'm sure I must have told you about her once."
"There was mention of a collaborator being taken out. Mushroom Cloud, was it? Damn, that name is almost as cool as mine. But, no, [bro], we haven't spoken in years, so tell me when you'd have the opportunity to do that."
"I guess never," Moone admitted, frowning, and realizing that he hadn't told Keepses his viewpoint from the assassination yet. He started off by briefly rehearsing the list of the members of his current team, Keepses narrowing his eyes at the mention of Gef the Mongoose.
"Gef, I've heard of. He's the one in charge of the taskforce to track you down. They came here a few days back, told me to contact them if you came to me...
"Gef knew you, Moone. Knows you," Keepses continued, pausing briefly. "What makes you think that if he no longer trusts you, I would?"
Moone shifted on his stool. "It's not a matter of him distrusting me. It's the opposite, in fact. Because Gef's the one who actually did it."
Keepses regarded Moone flatly. "And I'm the first person who you brought your suspicions to."
Moone gestured widely with his left hand, his right hand half-gripping the countertop. "First of all, you do trust me. Second of all, it's not a suspicion. I saw him do it. Or, well, practically. Practically. There's more to it then that, there's [bombs. with Gef's aura as the trigger.] Only the bombs were all detonated in the same attack that killed the Secretary, of course."
"So there's absolutely no evidence left." Keepses took a long drag off of his cigarette. "Didn't you mention having a psychic on your team?"
"MacBeth. He and I go back almost as far as we do. Um, 'you and I' we, do."
"MacBeth. Who would also know Gef."
"Yes. But."
"You can't just have MacBeth read the little weasel's mind?"
"That little weasel is already in a [psychic pair,]" Moone explained. "He's twinned to a woman, a lot like me, by the name of Lovecraft. Even if I could convince MacBeth to hear me out, which, he won't, well let's face it he's a powerful and well-seasoned psychic, but you'd need to be at least [the fifth heightening] in order to untangle that web."
Keepses nodded thoughtfully, and extinguished the smoldering butt of his cigarette into the dregs of his teacup. [Psychic pairs] were [explain science.] He studied the now-smoldering tea leaves, and frowned, glancing back up at Moone from beneath heavy eyebrows. "And how many [heightenings] would MacBeth be able to achieve if he had that shiny aura boon of yours?"
Moone felt something akin to the sudden bursting clearing of the sinuses upon eating a whole spoon of wasabi paste. He swallowed, and cleared his throat in an understatedly genteel manner. "Enough." Moone gritted his teeth. "But there's still no way we're going to get at him; the Pontifex has been implicated in this as well."
"Well, I wouldn't say no way you could get close to him," Keepses said, swiveling on his stool. "Here comes the part where your problem crosses over into my jurisdiction. There's going to be an interagency summit [this? next?] weekend." [though wouldn't gef's goon squad be enough to explain the lack of suspicion over shakeup in drop point protocol? how did the goon squad get into contact with Keepses in the first place?] AND I'M SUPER TIRED AND SO GOING TO BED WITH ONLY HALF MY WORDCOUNT IN FOR THE NIGHT, OH WELL
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