Anna’s car stopped in a Manhattan alley. Taika got out first, panning the area with his gold-rank perception. He was wearing a dark suit, unlike the big, loose clothes he generally preferred. He tapped his earpiece.“I’m seeing them two blocks away,” he said. “The Secretary, a bronze-rank driver and a gold ranker. Parked, probably waiting for us.”“The gold is a Secret Service agent,” Nik’s voice came through the earpiece. “Her name is Camilla.”“How do you know that?”“I have a tap into their personnel database. The cybersecurity is decent against vanilla magitech, but it’s still not up to stopping essence abilities. Not gold-rank ones, anyway. Also, I have a drone listening in. They know you’re there, but they’re not going to move until they sense Anna go inside.”“Did they stick to the terms of the meeting?”“So far as I can see. They have backup, but nothing closer than two klicks out, as agreed.” Nik’s voice came through the earpiece. “Two more golds and a small army of silvers. Probably too far for any but the golds to react fast enough if something happens.”“Keep an eye out,” Taika said.“That’s literally the entire point of having me here.”“Oh, yeah. Where are you, exactly?”“I’m in the bakery.”“Bro, I can’t sense you at all. Your stealth power is pro, now that it’s gold-rank. How many powers to you have left to go?”“Eleven that are still silver. I’m hoping to hit gold-rank by the end of the year. Hang on, someone else wants a photo with me.”“Bro, selfies? You’re on the job.”“Oh, I have custard on my fur? Sure, you can wipe it off. Grab one of those moist towelettes.”“What?” Taika asked.“Yeah, I know Hawthorne Wipes has had some ethical problems with their CEOs, but their towelettes really are the best.”“Bro, your mike is still on.”“That is so sweet. I think you’re cute too.”“Do we have to go over the ‘no furries’ (...)