After that, I did four more county spawns. With all the people pouring into town, a lot of those spawns were getting cleared by others before I could reach them. We might have to send some of the military guys…or even some townies…into surrounding counties to handle the overflow.

  By the time I wrapped up, I figured I was only one or two more spawn fights away from leveling again. If I waited until tomorrow, I could get more editing work done at home tonight. Tomorrow night wasn’t going to be possible to work on it.

  When I got back, an Amazon box sat on the front porch in the late-afternoon sunlight, the cardboard a little warm from the sun. I picked it up on my way inside and set it on the kitchen table.

  Inside were more supplies for making wands and batteries. Dowl rods, wooden handles, and several bags of wooden beads of different colors and sizes.

  It was an order I’d placed the second afternoon after all this started. That’d give me something to work on tonight or tomorrow morning, depending on how things went.

  The problem was, I knew what I wanted to do…but probably shouldn’t. Phillips’ and my plans from the meeting would look staged…because they would be. My idea was riskier, but I hoped it wouldn’t come across as staged. Well, not toostaged. That was why I’d talked to the Whitfords earlier.

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [Got a minute? I’ve got a question for you.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [If its quick. Why?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [How much do you trust Bledsoe?]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [I trust him. Why? What are you thinking of?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [I’ve been thinking about the video shoot coming up. There’s no way people won’t think it's fake or staged. Even if the fights are real, they’ll know there’s no way you know who could get hurt. That’s true. They wouldn’t allow it.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [You aren’t thinking of doing anything that will endanger her? Are you? Please tell me you aren’t.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [The only way it’s going to look real is if she’s partied with people her level, not ours.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [OK. That’s not so bad. It makes sense. I don’t think they’ll go for it.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [I’ve got a tentative yes from GunnySedrick. We’ll need the Irregulars to provide backup.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [If something goes wrong, they might not do much to you, but what about the rest of us? And what’s Matt got to do with this?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [If everything goes right, we’re golden. If not, I’ll take all the blame. I know. It might not help you; I know that. I’ll do whatever I can to make it right if it doesn’t work, but I need your help to do this. Together we can make it work.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [What do you need from Matt?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [I need to know when they talk to the reporter and if she agrees. Also, it would be best if she can come down the night before. If nothing else, so we can start early the next morning. She can also film ordinary people fighting a spawn.]

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [That makes sense. We were talking about an early start.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [OK. Let me know when you find out.]

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  [Blaze:] [William of Brinsford] [I will. And I made dinner last night. It’s your turn tonight. I don’t know if I trust you to do it tomorrow night or we should just get takeout.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [Blaze] [My cooking isn’t that bad, just limited. I’ll have something ready.]

  While I had plenty of dinner ideas, I had other calls to make first.

  [William of Brinsford:] [GunnySedrick] [I have another question and idea for you know what. You’re my only contact, so I have to ask you. If you want someone else to handle it, let me know who.]

  It took a few minutes before his reply came in. While waiting, I pulled up a browser and started checking for a local supplier.

  [GunnySedrick:] [William of Brinsford] [I’ll see about that. Right now, it’s need to know.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [GunnySedrick] [A couple of thoughts. Does the clothing she’ll be wearing have those Velcro patches where you can stick on flag or unit patches? A US flag on one shoulder and her seal on the other would stand out, and be very photogenic. Also, I know presidents sometimes pass things out to people for some event. A patch of her seal for the people involved and the other big shots would be a simple thing to bring. Maybe even put some in a belt pouch so she can pass them out to whomever she wants. Good PR and photo op if you don’t show her seal first.]

  This time I got a fast reply.

  [GunnySedrick:] [William of Brinsford] [I’ll check. They do. I know there are some. How many you think will be needed?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [GunnySedrick] [Don’t know. Bring a lot and you can always take them home.]

  [GunnySedrick:] [William of Brinsford] [By a lot, what are you thinking of?]

  [William of Brinsford:] [GunnySedrick] [100. If we have my guild and the local guild that fights the spawns across the street, and maybe others helping, plus the soldiers, maybe twice that. Plus, the politicians who want to say they were there.]

  [William of Brinsford:] [GunnySedrick] [I know a local guy who runs a t-shirt shop that makes patches too. If it’s a go, I’ll cover getting it done. I just need to know the size. It’s all done by computer.]

  [GunnySedrick:] [William of Brinsford] [Ask him. Don’t say what’s on it. Talk later.]

  I dug up the shop’s number and called Casey. He’s a guy I sort of knew from around town. After a few minutes of catching up, I told him what I needed. The deadline was the part that made him whistle. Making them wasn’t a problem, even in full color, but turning out one hundred… maybe two hundred…by tomorrow evening was pushing it.

  His biggest hang-up was that I couldn’t tell him what would be on the patch. He had a lot of three-inch rounds in stock, which would work. The price was higher than I’d guessed, but I could swing it. There was still a lot left from the settlement after the accident. I told him I’d call back as soon as I knew.

  I still had other things to do. Like shopping for dinner.

  By six o’clock, Sedrick messaged back. He had a green light on the patch idea. “You know who” liked the thought of her fellow adventurers having one. I mentioned the price. He brushed it off.

  He said it should be the Presidential Service Badge, which is normally only given to military and other people who work for the White House or the President. I asked about adding the number 46 to it and whether fighting alongside the President counted as “service.”

  “Do it,” he said. They had a few jacket and cap seals she could wear. If I could get the patches made, they’d cover the cost and make it official. He’d be back in town tomorrow to pay for it, adding that it was still cheaper than one presidential trip meal.

  I called Casey again. When I told him what to put on the patches and that I needed 200. Plus the small “46” at the bottom…he literally dropped his phone. I stressed that no one outside his shop could know. He agreed, though reluctantly, and said he’d start tonight.

  After a quick shopping run, dinner prep was quick. The kitchen smelled of simmering chicken broth by the time I’d finished chopping vegetables. I made chicken and dumplings, adding some of Blaze’s garlic for an extra kick.

  At maybe ten past six, her SUV pulled up outside. The evening air carried the faint scent of cut grass from somewhere up the street.

  “Will? What’s that I smell?” she called, stepping inside. She shrugged off her coat and vest, hanging them next to my gear on the coatrack.

  “Chicken and dumplings. Sort of. Hope you like it. I don’t make it too often.”

  “Let me clean up first, but it smells good,” she said, heading toward the bathroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, after a few bites, she said, “It’s good. Maybe it would be better if it was fall, not early summer, but you can cook. Thank you.” She followed it with a big bite of dumpling.

  We traded stories about our day. Hers about work, mine about the patch order. The whole thing felt easy, like we’d been doing this for years instead of just a few days. Like a family dinner.

  We finished eating just before spawn time.

  We are on Rising Stars, Contemporary List. As long as we stay on it, chapters will be released daily. Please Follow, Favorite, and Rate how much you like it. And tell your friends about Mana Mage. That will keep it on the list and new chapters coming to you sooner. With your help, we can make the main list too.

  We are on Rising Stars, Contemporary List. As long as we stay on it, chapters will be released daily. Please Follow, Favorite, and Rate how much you like it. And tell your friends about Mana Mage. That will keep it on the list and new chapters coming to you sooner. With your help, we can make the main list too.

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