Less craned his neck forward and scratched at the back of his neck, massaging fruitlessly at the kinks. The room was lit dimly except for the bright cone of light that illuminated the table at which he sat. The other chairs were empty now. Claire sat cross-legged on a reed mat in the corner with her hood up. She was meditating and mumbling a chant to herself but he couldn’t hear the words over Septimus’ light snoring from the armchair. Worm was present but he couldn’t tell her apart from the shadows. Saya had left after the initial planning session, citing ‘feeding time’ as her excuse. Only the Almoner had been entirely absent, who had to keep a meeting with one of the witches back on the Mainland.

He turned his attention back to the map on the table. It was folded over so that all of East Mythic City would be displayed. He tapped at a pencil that was obscuring one of the many notes scrawled along the roads and across empty spaces. It was still early days in the planning of this operation, codenamed WATER WINGS, but he hated not having all the information in hand. The Wardens of the Bleak Seal were stretched thin across both the Summer and Winter courts, but the cold war with the Brimstone Barony was dangerously close to becoming hot and the Mesa needed to be ready.

Less also had a personal stake in the op. They were planning for embedding Mira into the Barony. If he made a mistake, it would cost Mira her life. Perhaps more.
He went over their assets again. He had long secured the cooperation of one of the bus drivers between Santa Fe and Mythic City. The man had crashed an 18-wheeler outside of Atlanta while under the influence. He knew Less knew, so anything Mira left between the seat cushions would be delivered. That was only useful if Mira was going to be commuting back to Santa Fe while working for the Baron.

Where would Mira be allowed to go? That was one of the big unknowns. Bria had a lot of free run while she was spying on Lady Ishtar but Mira would be under heavy surveillance until she earned his trust. She wouldn’t dare visit the secret entrance to the Hollow in Otowi Pond while the Barony might be watching. The problem was they didn’t really know where the Barony operated from, or where Mira would be, at least.

Less wanted to have a flexible dead drop for Mira to leave intelligence . Something that she would recognize but others would consider mundane. He also wanted the pick up to be done by his mortal agents. They would not be able to defend themselves very well against Brimstone fae magics, but they were less likely to be noticed. He would have to have Warden oversight, of course, someone with an unshakable Mask and powerful Glamours, but there was too much of a chance that another fae would recognize the agent for what they really were.

He liked the idea of using their own Glymjacks symbol. He could probably use his back-channels influence at City Hall to start a neighbourhood beautifying campaign that would install old-timey street lanterns. Mira could drop her notes into the garbage can beneath any of the lanterns. Less shook his head and scratched out the notes he had written. Council didn’t meet for weeks yet and how long before the city crews could erect new lamp posts? Besides, they weren’t mobile. If Mira never walked along a street with a drop, having a new lantern show up on her route would not be subtle.

Graffiti tagging. GJ? gj? Would it be enough to tag the garbage cans, mail boxes, and dusty door alcoves to tip Mira off? He hoped so. It was certainly flexible, and in a lot of places in East Mythic a new tag would not attract very much attention. He could secure a street ‘artist’ easily with various possible promises. Who would pick up? He would need several. A homeless garbage picker. A letter-carrier or a bicycle courier. One of those clipboard charity folks who stand around on street corners. Gas meter checker. None of these would attract attention wandering around. He would lean on his contact at the Post Office so that any improperly posted materials would end up at the Lost and Found. He jotted these down as things to do.

Code phrases. He planned to instruct her in the book cipher so she could encrypt her messages but he wanted some basic instructions coded in case she didn’t have time to flip through her book and count words. Less leaned back in his chair and tapped his pencil on the edge of the table as his mind wandered, hunting for likely phrases and corresponding code phrases.

• Get me out of here!: Take the No. 4 bus and transfer to the 9.

• Cover may be compromised: Locker combo 3-6-9

• Being watched. Must delay communication by X days: Tomatoes, onions, X oranges

• Baron will attack in X days: Pour boiling water over herbs. Let steep for X minutes.

• There is a spy operating in Summer/Winter court: Return library book

• Meet me in person [X=when], [Y=where]: Sparring practice – X reps, Y sets

He would type all the instructions into a proper dossier for the official briefing. Task assignments would go in separate dossiers for each Warden. He tossed his pencil onto the map and watched it skip over a folded ridge and roll to a stop over the industrial park. Pausing for a moment to plan his route home, he collected his papers, folded the map, and locked it all into a case. It was Septimus’ turn to ensure its safety until their next meeting.
When he got up, Claire stirred and her eyes opened to meet his. He gestured to her that all was in order, not to trouble herself. Her brow wrinkled but Less was already marching to the Shadowgate back to the Mainland.