“What happened then?” Aina asked.

“All I know is that Bautix asked Kohl to put together a group to spy on a worship service and take out some Inosen. I think Bautix wanted a favor from Kohl, for letting him out of prison, and after the war, all Bautix did was focus on getting rid of Inosen. I was part of the group Kohl put together.”

“That’s where he saw me and my parents,” Aina said in a low voice. “He killed them for that job.”

Tannis’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know that. You mean he still recruited you, after killing your parents?” When Aina nodded stiffly, Tannis said, “I’m sorry, Aina. I really didn’t know. But it doesn’t surprise me. Did you know, I had friends here that died during the war for being Inosen? So I hated doing that job with Kohl. I thought their partnership was temporary, just for that job. But this information I found a few weeks ago proves they’ve been working together all this time. Bautix lets Kohl get away with almost anything, and Kohl helps him launder money from weapons sales and takes care of his dirty work whenever Bautix asks. I sent Hirai copies of what I found. I thought he’d be rich enough to do something about it. But he’s dead now, and Bautix is still getting away with his plans.”

After a lull of silence, Aina asked slowly, “So, when you were telling me that going after Kouta was an easy way to get myself killed—?”

“I was trying to get you to stop, obviously,” Tannis said, letting out an exasperated breath. “Should have known you were too ambitious to read between the lines of your dream job. I knew you were loyal to Kohl for the most part, so I couldn’t say anything and risk you ratting me out to him.”

“If that’s true, then why did you try to kill me in the alley later? You said Kohl gave you the job instead.”

“That was a lie. I knew Kohl would hear about our fight if I confronted you in public, and that would prove my loyalty to him. It worked, since he never doubted me until last night. And I thought that if I fought you, maybe injured you and made you think Kohl didn’t want you on the job anymore, you would stop trying, but … I have to admit, I admire your stubbornness.” She flashed Aina a quick grin. “Mazir, on the other hand, he tried to play the game. But he failed.”

“What does Mazir have to do with Bautix’s plans?”

“He was Kohl’s Shadow, one of the best spies in the city, so I’m sure he figured out what our boss was up to a long time ago,” Tannis answered. “But he got greedy. He told that baker you killed what Kohl was up to and got the baker to sell the information to the Jackals. Mazir knew the Jackals might go to Bautix to try to steal the job from Kohl. He hoped the Jackals would pay him for this, but one of Kohl’s informants in the casino overheard the conversation and told me what was going on. I told Kohl, and he sent you to silence the baker.”