Chapter 4 #2
“Neither are a problem, just like Citrine isn’t.
We view carbunclo as assets, even though we do have to make concessions for them, especially when they’re kittens.
If anything, Citrine has strengthened Erik’s position here, as have you.
Honestly, we don’t usually elevate officers to the rank of captain without their household situation being stable.
Among dragons, single males, in particular, are a little more reckless and worrisome than we want, so we prefer mated dragons for the position.
We’re more inclined to elevate a female than a male should she be single, as the worst that will happen is she selects a male, has a clutch, and brings the clutch to work during early infancy.
Males are often peacocks, displaying for their potential partner.
So, thank you for sparing us from such displays. We appreciate it.”
I snickered at the thought of Erik getting in trouble at work trying to convince me I should pay attention to him.
When I thought about it, he had done just that, although he’d kept his disruptions to rearranging his schedule so he could go to the range at the same time I did.
“He was mostly tolerable when he bothered me in Miami.”
“He’s wise for his age. I trust you’ve made a full recovery?”
I nodded. “The purple dragons saw to it. They didn’t want to find out what Mrs. Millson would do.”
Had they been wise, they would have feared what my parents would do over the commissioner’s wife, however intimidating her decision to spread mercury dragon body parts across Death Mile had been. I gave Erik’s mother credit: she didn’t screw around when it came to her family.
“Mrs. Millson only looks meek and docile, but she’s an old yellow with zero tolerance for such things.
I would rather get into a fight with the Ramonses than face off against Mrs. Millson when she’s in a mood to shed blood.
Of course, Mrs. Millson is more likely to leave you alive than those old Ramons snakes, but she’s going to make it hurt unless you crossed her last line like that mercury dragon had.
” Captain Andretti shook his head, opened a door, and revealed a conference room.
“For the record, Erik’s father has been feeding him bucket after bucket of lies so you have the opportunity to make a few key decisions without his interference.
First, Dragon Heights absolutely does partner captains with the appropriate people.
Right now, no captains are partnered because there are no partnerships that would be beneficial to the force.
You and Erik would be an exception due to your circumstances.
Take a seat, and we’ll go over that before I dump a mountain of financials on you. ”
“Personally, I prefer when the financials are dumped on the table, floor, or really anywhere other than on me directly.” I grinned, sat down, and went to work setting up a space for Tourmaline and Garnet.
The instant I put Tourmaline’s nest down, the hummingbird flitted inside and settled in for a nap. Garnet waited for me to set up her bed and put her favorite blanket in it before she wiggled underneath to join her feathered sidekick in sleeping.
“I see you managed to tire them both out on your jaunt to Cheyenne. Is your familiar settling well?”
“He’s doing okay, but he tires easily. I’ve been told that will be the case for a month or two.
Garnet spent all morning playing on her wheel, as Erik gave them some catnip this morning.
Citrine opted to speed around the apartment like a little demon.
Garnet made use of her wheel until she drained her battery.
After the kittens were sufficiently exercised, they got a treat of milk and mashed potatoes. ”
Captain Andretti laughed. “I’d be tired after that, too.
All right, here is the current situation: Commissioner Millson took advantage of you two being out of town to call together all the captains and above to discuss your resume and status as a private investigator.
Here, there are no laws barring people from working as both a detective and a private investigator.
In fact, we’d like you to become an undercover cop for us—and the only people who would know you’re undercover would be the captains, chief, upper administrative staff, and the commissioner.
Everyone else will think you’re a private investigator helping law enforcement with financials.
In reality, you will be doing that, but you’ll also be badged and able to take your investigation a little further.
Your parents are confident you’ll be able to master crafting illusions with time.
Your parents being who they are is also a boon. ”
“As long as nobody scuffs a single one of my scales, scratches me, or even tangles my hair at this point,” I muttered.
The yellow dragon snickered. “As very few are aware that they’re your biological parents, the situation is even worse than you’re surely imagining.
Your father’s family loves large clutches, and your mother’s family is known for moderate clutches with the rare singlet.
Everyone thinks your mother is brooding, and you have been chosen as the hatchling she would never possibly have with your father. ”
I pressed my lips together in an effort to keep from guffawing at the captain’s commentary.
“I would not be surprised if my father is currently making offers of productive seduction to my mother, who will accept now that I’m a proper hatchling.
She’s sworn singlets, but I would not be surprised if my mother is talked into a small clutch of two or three.
However, knowing what I do of my parents, a singlet is likely; they are attentive and focused as parents.
They’re also very proactive. If they were to have another child, I don’t see them having one here.
The probability of being spoiled is too high for their liking.
I am many things, but I was raised to be humble and kind. ”
“It shows, and I think that’s why everyone is convinced you can’t possibly be their daughter.
Of course, I’ve known your parents for many years, and I had my suspicions the moment I saw your picture.
However, I grew up with your father and have met his mother numerous times.
You’re a prettier version of her, and the traits from your mother are what make you prettier.
It’s in the shape of your face and eyes; those are from your mother.
Otherwise? Your father seems to have produced a feminine version of himself. ”
“Obviously, if my father were an elf, he would be a handsome prince of an elf.”
“It pains me to admit that you’re right. If he were a lithe elf, he’d be mistaken as a woman most of the time.”
“We should get one of the profilers to draw him as a woman.”
“They would assume we were drawing you, Kinsley. We’d have to do a transitional sketch.”
I snickered at the thought of making one of the profilers do multiple sketches of my father, gradually transforming him from a burly hunk of a man to someone a lot like me.
“One of the sketches could be in a slinky cocktail dress, though. That would make it worth the effort. How would you want me to work undercover?”
“For the most part, you’d do the exact same work you’d do as a private investigator, but you would have advanced access to law enforcement materials and staff; you’d be able to put in requests for prints, gain access to our labs, and things like that.
We’d give you a code name to disguise your activities.
The difficulty would be keeping your role secret from Erik. ”
“I’m not worried about that; I’ll just use my private investigation front to cover my activities. Erik’s father would know my code name?”
“Yes. The family rules would apply to you in terms of disciplinary action, but your Miami record was so clean we were shocked it didn’t start squeaking of its own volition.
I have no idea how you managed to have a career for that long without something on your record.
That they were fussing at you over necromancy with a record as good as yours is astounding.
” Captain Andretti went to a side table, picked up a folder, and brought it to me.
“Your private investigation contract will remain as is, so you can accept offers of investigation outside of your work with us without issue. As you’ll be riding both horses, you’ll need to have every inquiry verified by black dragons. ”
“I’d ask for that by default anyway,” I admitted.
“If I do something, I want to be fairly disciplined for it, and the black dragons are good at that. It does mean I won’t get off lightly if I do something, but it’ll always be fair.
” I regarded the captain with wide eyes.
“Please don’t punish me. I don’t like being punished. ”
“I am still trying to wrap my head around how your parents produced you,” he admitted, and then he laughed. “You couldn’t be more selfless even if you tried. They couldn’t be more selfish even if they tried.”
I raised a brow at that. “My parents are not selfish.”
“Kinsley, when they are in Dragon Heights, they are the definition of what it means to be selfish dragons. Take you, for example. They’re so selfish they hoarded your entire existence to themselves.”
When he put it that way, I could see his point.
“They didn’t want the other selfish dragons to corrupt me, obviously.
Dragons are spoiled. Some dragons are more spoiled than others, though.
I’m probably the least spoiled dragon in the city, and my parents are targeting my carbunclo and hummingbird because I refuse to be spoiled.
But my pets are to be spoiled. That is their job. ”
Snickering, he shook his head. “I wish I could say you’re wrong, but you’re really not.
But your open and honest nature is what makes you ideal for undercover work.
We’ll have to come clean with some of the black dragons in the station and around, including Enzo, but they’re able to keep secrets as well as they can ferret them out.
As none of them would willingly endanger another, they’re trustworthy.
For the most part, you’ll be a private investigator with benefits. ”
“And as long as I disclose I’m working the other side of a case, this is fine?”
“We have accepted there will be cases that we won’t be able to access you for; if someone gets to you first and it adheres to the terms of the private investigation contract, your hire gets priority access to you.
In some cases, we might benefit from this, as if you’re working for the defense, and you can prove the defendant’s innocence, then you have done your job as an officer to the spirit and letter of the law.
We care about finding the truth, and sometimes, finding the truth means being proven wrong. ”
I could work with that. “How will the payment structure work for this?”
“We will increase your salary as a private investigator working with us the appropriate amount; when asked about the increase, your experience in Miami, your skill with financials, and your ability to bounce between any ward needing assistance will be referenced. Most of our analysts and financial investigators work out of one station. That we can make you travel to any ward in the city warrants the increase in pay. We will also issue payments we’ll disguise as performance bonuses whenever you wrap an undercover case.
We will issue the bonus with the next financial evaluation you do for us following the case’s wrap. ”
I could see that arrangement bearing many fiscal rewards, especially if I could wrap cases in a hurry. “Health insurance?”
“We will give you access to the same health insurance as the regular cops, and we’ll justify it because you’ll be salaried and accessible for a set number of hours each week.
We’re using travel time and on call status to justify the full hour benefits.
In reality, you’ll be on lighter hours than standard officers, but we’ll also be asking a great deal more of you when you are working undercover for us. ”
Life would be good until I was working an undercover case.
During those cases? My hands would be full and I would be living two lives.
There would be times I would need to leave Garnet and Tourmaline with Erik, but we would cross that bridge when we reached it.
“Will I be undercover for the mercury dragon case?”
“No. Ideally, we’ll keep you safely nestled in the station as often as possible so your parents settle down and go home.”
“I have bad news for you. They’re settling down at home. In this ward.”
The yellow dragon bowed his head. “I had heard rumors of that, but I had hoped they weren’t true.”
“I’ll ask them to behave.”
“Don’t ask for miracles, Kinsley. If you don’t ask, you won’t be disappointed. We’ll just brace for their presence. We survived them once, we will survive them again.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the despair in the man’s voice. “If I’m exposed as undercover, what happens?”
“We’ll convert you to a detective with jurisdiction over the entire city, and we’ll partner you with Erik.
We’ll have to fiddle with jurisdiction issues whenever he becomes involved in a case, but for the most part, you can handle all the touchy jurisdiction issues while you crack the financials that baffle even our seasoned analysts.
You’ll like it, and it’ll benefit the force as a whole.
Your pay will remain the same at time of transition, and you’ll be slid into the same raise system as everybody else.
Ultimately, you’ll end up in the top paid brackets for detectives. Ideally, you won’t be exposed.”
“The odds of exposure?”
“Right now, they’re pretty low, but that could change depending on what cases we need to assign you to. The tricky part will be hiding it from Erik, but even if he does figure it out, he’s smart and can keep his mouth shut.”
He could. “All right. I have a caveat. If I am asked to handle a particularly dangerous undercover case, Erik will get disclosure on my status. We’ll discuss how dangerous we think each case will be before starting it.”
“That’s fair. Go over the contract, see if there’s anything else you want added, and take some time to think about it. While you do that, I’ll go get the papers so you can get to work.”