Non-Governmental Organization do, then? Butt in whenever they see something like this happening?”
“It will make our resources available under the aegis of the state jurisdiction, if the local authorities want the help,” Mr. Chang said, “and most of them will, because you have a reputation—”
“For lighting tires and starting fires,” Augustus said, raising his glass to me before taking a drink.
“For raising ires and burning shires,” Kat burbled senselessly.
“I think that’s more Saruman’s territory,” Reed said, his brow furrowed in thought. “Or Sharkey, if you prefer—”
“So you want to hire me,” I said, spelling it back to Mr. Chang, “to do … basically my job right now, but without the federal government on my back?” He nodded, and I narrowed my eyes in practiced skepticism. “Who would I answer to?”
“The state authority on each job would be your employer,” Mr. Chang said, “but the NGO—the organization—would be run by you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ariadne said, frowning. “You said the money comes from somewhere. Who’s bankrolling this and why?”
“A concerned citizen of the world,” Mr. Chang said, inclining his head to look at Ariadne. He was wearing a suit under his fancy, fancy coat, and it didn’t look cheap either. “Someone worried about where things will go without Ms. Nealon at the helm.”
“Who is this concerned citizen?” Reed asked.
“Your benefactor would prefer to remain anonymous,” Mr. Chang said with a sniff.
“Oh, that’ll end well,” Reed said, slumping back in his seat. “This guy could be a megalomaniac wanting to use Sienna for world domination, for all we know—”
“Ms. Nealon will be in charge of this new organization,” Mr. Chang said. “Fully, completely. She can choose her own team—”
“Oooh,” Kat said, raising her hand in the air and waving it drunkenly. “Pick me!”
“—and I can assure you,” Mr. Chang said with a gleam in his eyes, “the salary pool will be considerably better than government scale. In addition, there is funding for research and development, a medical unit …” He looked at Ariadne. “Someone will, of course, need to manage the budget of this entity.”
“I told you finance was a hot sector right now,” I said to Ariadne.
“You also said there wasn’t much market for your skill set,” she said without looking at me.
“You’ll be able piece together your very own version of your old agency,” Mr. Chang said, “without the government breathing down your necks.”
“That is so very, very generous of some random stranger who’s concerned about the world,” Reed said, by now fully suspicious. “This guy is willing to throw away millions and millions of dollars to let Sienna run a meta fantasy camp. That’s damned decent. But what does he get out of it?”
“Your benefactor gets a sense of self-satisfaction,” Mr. Chang said, “knowing that the world is a better place with Ms. Nealon delivering aid to those who need it. In addition, there are some tasks you’ll be able to decline involvement in that you otherwise might have been forced to take while in government service, and also some things you’ll be able to investigate or consult on that you might not have been able to. Opportunities abound in the metahuman world.”
“Meaning we could hire ourselves out to be security guards if we wanted to,” Reed said, a cloud over his face.
“If you wanted to,” Mr. Chang said. “But you could also extend your talents into other arenas if you wished. Private investigation, for instance—”
“I’ll to need to switch to drinking whiskey if I’m going to become Jessica Jones,” I said, lifting my beer glass.
“You can do whatever you wish,” Mr. Chang said, nodding at me. “However you feel you would best serve the world at large, whether holding out until the world-ending sort of events require your attention, or getting involved in human
“It will make our resources available under the aegis of the state jurisdiction, if the local authorities want the help,” Mr. Chang said, “and most of them will, because you have a reputation—”
“For lighting tires and starting fires,” Augustus said, raising his glass to me before taking a drink.
“For raising ires and burning shires,” Kat burbled senselessly.
“I think that’s more Saruman’s territory,” Reed said, his brow furrowed in thought. “Or Sharkey, if you prefer—”
“So you want to hire me,” I said, spelling it back to Mr. Chang, “to do … basically my job right now, but without the federal government on my back?” He nodded, and I narrowed my eyes in practiced skepticism. “Who would I answer to?”
“The state authority on each job would be your employer,” Mr. Chang said, “but the NGO—the organization—would be run by you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ariadne said, frowning. “You said the money comes from somewhere. Who’s bankrolling this and why?”
“A concerned citizen of the world,” Mr. Chang said, inclining his head to look at Ariadne. He was wearing a suit under his fancy, fancy coat, and it didn’t look cheap either. “Someone worried about where things will go without Ms. Nealon at the helm.”
“Who is this concerned citizen?” Reed asked.
“Your benefactor would prefer to remain anonymous,” Mr. Chang said with a sniff.
“Oh, that’ll end well,” Reed said, slumping back in his seat. “This guy could be a megalomaniac wanting to use Sienna for world domination, for all we know—”
“Ms. Nealon will be in charge of this new organization,” Mr. Chang said. “Fully, completely. She can choose her own team—”
“Oooh,” Kat said, raising her hand in the air and waving it drunkenly. “Pick me!”
“—and I can assure you,” Mr. Chang said with a gleam in his eyes, “the salary pool will be considerably better than government scale. In addition, there is funding for research and development, a medical unit …” He looked at Ariadne. “Someone will, of course, need to manage the budget of this entity.”
“I told you finance was a hot sector right now,” I said to Ariadne.
“You also said there wasn’t much market for your skill set,” she said without looking at me.
“You’ll be able piece together your very own version of your old agency,” Mr. Chang said, “without the government breathing down your necks.”
“That is so very, very generous of some random stranger who’s concerned about the world,” Reed said, by now fully suspicious. “This guy is willing to throw away millions and millions of dollars to let Sienna run a meta fantasy camp. That’s damned decent. But what does he get out of it?”
“Your benefactor gets a sense of self-satisfaction,” Mr. Chang said, “knowing that the world is a better place with Ms. Nealon delivering aid to those who need it. In addition, there are some tasks you’ll be able to decline involvement in that you otherwise might have been forced to take while in government service, and also some things you’ll be able to investigate or consult on that you might not have been able to. Opportunities abound in the metahuman world.”
“Meaning we could hire ourselves out to be security guards if we wanted to,” Reed said, a cloud over his face.
“If you wanted to,” Mr. Chang said. “But you could also extend your talents into other arenas if you wished. Private investigation, for instance—”
“I’ll to need to switch to drinking whiskey if I’m going to become Jessica Jones,” I said, lifting my beer glass.
“You can do whatever you wish,” Mr. Chang said, nodding at me. “However you feel you would best serve the world at large, whether holding out until the world-ending sort of events require your attention, or getting involved in human