They’re fine. Going out.

  Jacob awoke the next morning to find his grandfather gone, and a cryptic addition to the note on the table. The cards were in a neat stack in the table’s center, each put into a clear card sleeve. Jacob thought they had run out with the shadow pack, but next to the cards there was a small box of enough to protect multiple decks. Jacob pondered for a moment sleeving some of the government or arrest cards he had gotten, then decided against it. Better to save them for something more valuable, especially since he had no idea how long the arrest deck would remain standard issue. Regardless, he slid the equip card into his equip deck and the rest into his battle deck, vowing to talk to the card shop owner at his next opportunity. The old man had an exhaustive knowledge of cards, if anyone had ideas for strategies it would be him.

  Jacob moved over to the kitchen, where he found the teapot washed and on the counter. Next to it was a box of Jasmine tea mix, which hadn’t been present the night before. While his grandfather going out wasn’t a surprise to Jacob - he did that a lot, usually to see old friends - the tea was. The mix looked fresh; had his grandfather been out to the edge of the city? When? And why the sudden increase in surprises?

  The elderly man seemed to move with new energy ever since the shadow pack had appeared, an energy last seen in his younger days. Jacob was happy to see him moving again. To see him excited again. He spent so much of his time trapped on that couch; bitter at the past, bitter at the limb he lost, refusing to show that to Jacob. He mourned when he thought he couldn’t be seen; moments when the sleep cards ran out and Jacob lay awake. His grandfather would never tell him what he mourned, but it was something severe. The old man lost himself in the silence, sighing and sobbing in secret. Muttering in frustration, while giving words of wisdom to his grandson. Mysteries upon mysteries, growing greater as the time passed. Jacob supposed this was true of all people who lived long enough to become old. They had full lives, achieving so much that time forgot. Losing battles that history left unwritten. Jacob’s grandfather was a victim of that now, but eventually all men reached that point.

  Today however, Jacob leaned against the kitchen counter to enjoy the calm. The mysteries of his grandfather were a problem he couldn’t solve in the moment, and it was his day off. He relished in the silence of the apartment, even if he knew it was only for a moment.

  There was a knock at the door, and he sighed. The moment was over. He walked over and checked the peephole, seeing four other Agency officers outside. He groaned a little as the one in front - Anderson from the looks of it - knocked again.

  “Come on you little introvert, open up.” Anderson’s voice was muffled through the door, but was still lighthearted. Jacob undid the lock and swung the door open.

  “You’re early-” Jacob was cut off as the four officers rushed in, three of them crowding onto the small couch. Thankfully his grandfather had thought to put away his sleep items that morning before leaving. The old man knew the guys always came over on their days off, and tried to make himself scarce on those days. One of the officers flicked on the TV, while Anderson headed into the kitchen. In his hands were several tote bags, which contained a variety of snacks for their weekly watch party. While Jacob’s salary was embarrassingly small, Anderson managed to make enough to provide for the parties - in exchange for good company of course. Anderson had been at the station several years longer than the rest of them, which had given him seniority pay. He was a career paper pusher, perfectly content in logging minor crimes with no aspirations for battling or leadership. In short, he was in exactly where he wanted to be, which the Agency rewarded heavily. The vast majority of officers were gunning for something more lucrative, leaving a constant under staffing in reports and booking. When the rare individual came along that enjoyed that, the Agency did whatever they could to keep them.

  “Clearly you haven’t heard yet.” Anderson pulled kale chips and salsa out of one of the bags“The fourth invite was found; they’re pushing the match back to report on it. You’re gonna to lose your mind when you learn who found it.”

  There was the sound of static as the three on the couch filtered through channels, searching for a reliable signal. The TV sputtered before locking in on a local 24 hours news network that was headquartered a few blocks from the archives. Their head reporter was manning the desk that morning, a rare sight at this hour. Usually the early morning was manned by rookie reporters; Jacob watched them frequently before the guys came over. Today however was different, as the most well known local newscaster presented the news of the latest card discovery.

  “..exciting news from the California Republic today, as the fourth Invite Card has been found.” The reporter spoke with a soothing baritone voice, perfect for daytime television. “The announcement came today via the official social media channels of famed actor Stan Wilcox, who found the card last night-”

  “Stan Wilcox?!” Jacob butted in, cutting off the reporter “The lunk?”

  “The very same.” Chris responded. Anderson brought over a large bowl of Kale chips and a smaller bowl of salsa, and returned to the kitchen to heat up the main meal. Jacob glanced over and saw a large casserole plate filled with what appeared to be vegetable pasta; processed flour and corn goods were hard to get this far north, but Cascadia had learned to make due with substitutes. Vegetable pasta had become readily available in most shapes, especially as the hydroponics facilities had gone fully online.

  “Both of you shut up.” Phillip piped in “They’re about to interview the idiot.”

  “…to our correspondant in Hollywood, California, Rebecca McCollough.” the reporter flashed a fake looking smile, before the camera cut to the same stereotypical shot of palm trees that was always used when reporting on Los Angeles. The shot panned down, focusing on a woman with an aggressively fake smile.

  “Thanks Bob.” Rebecca said in a saccharine voice. Behind her the Venice Lagoon was filled with tourists and vacationers, enjoying the calmer weather of a Southern California winter. The Lagoon had slowly appeared over the past few decades, rising with the tides to become one of Los Angeles’ favored recreational spaces. “I’m here at the Venice Lagoon, where we’ve managed to secure an interview with the man of the hour himself: Stan Wilcox. How does it feel to have found an Invite Card, Stan?”

  The camera zoomed out, showing the beaming face of famed Hollywood actor Stan Wilcox. Stan was a simple man, who had immigrated to the California Republic alongside his family at the age of eleven to pursue his dream of acting. Since then he had become famous for his “non-card roles”, taking on films set in the era before the cards appeared. He was most well known for his action films, but had reached critical acclaim over the past few years for a series of environmental dramas. Current rumors were that he was a front runner for the Best Foreign Actor Oscar, and that he was up for a Golden Bear at the California Film awards. Part of his marketing and appeal was his refusal to use cards in his acting; he followed the old styles of method acting, swearing it provided a more authentic experience for his audiences.

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  He was a skilled actor. He wasn’t known for his intelligence.

  “Well, you know, I just feel so blessed.” Stan’s soft voice flowed through the microphone, and Rebecca blushed a little “I don’t normally use the cards, so it’s cool that I was able to find an Invite. I only bought three packs.”

  “Only three?” Jacob could have sworn he heard Rebecca giggle slightly as she asked the question. Everyone on the couch rolled their eyes. “That seems almost impossible.”

  “Well its like my buddy Rocko always says. If you want something enough, the world makes it happen.” Stan winked at the camera. On the other end of the couch Connor groaned in annoyance.

  “And you really wanted this to happen?” Rebecca beamed at the actor, dropping all pretensions to shamelessly flirt with him. Stan smiled broadly back.

  “I thought it would be pretty cool. Like, they’re only taking five. I get to be one of those five. That’s super cool.”

  “That is pretty cool. Anything you want to say to the audience and to Wonder Corp. itself?”

  “Sure thing, yeah.” Stan looked directly into the camera, flashing a winning smile “Wonder Corp., I look forward to the tour. If it’s cool, maybe we could make a movie about it. Everyone else, go see my next film; it comes out in December and is going to be super fun. ”

  “I’m sure a Wonder Corp. film would be a great movie.”

  “Oh for sure, people would love it.”

  Jacob put his head in his hands as he listened to the two banter. Stan was the stereotypical Hollywood actor everyone hoped for: humble, kind to everyone, flirtatious, and utterly devoted to his craft. It had made him one of the most desirable male leads in the industry; it drove everyone outside the industry nuts.

  Stan waved off camera, and another famous actor - Jeremy Graham - appeared in frame. The two greeted each other with broad smiles and broader hugs as they began talking away from the reporter. Rebecca hesitated for a moment, then turned back at the camera to flash the same fake smile she had earlier. She clearly didn’t like being ignored, especially in the middle of an interview, but she was hiding it fairly well. For a reporter at least.

  “Well Bob, that was Stan Wilcox on his monumental discovery of the fourth invite card. Back to you in the studio.”

  “Thank you Rebecca.” The shot cut back to Bob, who’s expression and voice were both deadpan. Apparently the four officers on the couch weren’t the only ones frustrated with the shameless flirtation. “And with that, four invites are found. Let’s add this latest one to the map.”

  Bob got up from his desk and walked over to a large map of the world that had been projected on a massive screen. There were already markers on Germany, South Korea, and the city the officers were from. Bob pondered the map for a moment, building the suspense. He tapped Los Angeles in the California Republic, and a large red marker appeared. He turned towards the camera, and adopted a serious expression.

  “Four tickets found.” Bob folded his hands in front of him as he spoke, glancing at the map “Four lucky winners, experiencing the tour of a lifetime. The whole world now asks the same question: who will find the last invite? Where will it be found? And how long will the world have to wait?”

  Bob walked back to his desk, maintaining his expression of severity. He sat down, and Jacob reached forward to grab some Kale chips. Anderson appeared again to put down a bowl of pickles, which Chris immediately grabbed. Before the cards it would have been an odd assortment of snacks, but with the limitations of the hydroponic facilities the assortment of chips, pickles, and vegetable pasta was the best they could provide. Jacob noticed as he reached forward that the room had warmed slightly, heated by the oven preparing the baked pasta. Jacob dipped a chip in salsa before biting into it, savoring the seasoned flavors.

  “We’ll be reporting on this until the news breaks. For Cascadia Today I’m-”

  The reporter was cut off as Connor reached forward to snag the remote. He changed the channels rapidly, until the Cascadian Card Network filled the screen.

  “I see any more of that, and I’ll puke.” Connor declared “And the match is finally live.”

  “I’m sure well get more details than we ever wanted when we start our shifts tomorrow.” Anderson replied dryly, pulling a chair over from the table to join them by the television. In one hand he held the steaming casserole dish filled with vegetable pasta. A white sauce had been drizzled over it, as well as the rare sight of shredded cheese. Anderson had gone all out, and no one could blame him. Cascadia had a Competitive Caster in the international finals; everyone in the region was tuned in to see them. They were going against a caster from India that day, a notoriously difficult opponent known to rely on spirit cards.

  “Once this is over, I’ll be happy to never see a Wonder Corp. card again.” Phillip remarked, grabbing more Kale chips. Jacob got up and went to the kitchen to grab plates for the pasta, listening as his friends began talking about the match. The Casting hadn’t started yet, with the broadcast commentators discussing stats and prior match results. Jacob grabbed the plates and some forks from the cupboard, and paused. He reached to his deck box and tapped it. It sensed his thoughts, and dispensed his shadow and sacred cards. He tucked them away into a pocket of his jeans, before bringing the plates over to the couch. The four officers eagerly took them, and Anderson began distributing the pasta, using a large cooking spoon he had brought with him.

  “So Jacob, what’s the story?” Chris said through mouthfuls of pasta. The white sauce was excellent, a light butter alfredo that paired well with the zucchini noodles. It was a treat they couldn’t afford on a regular basis, and the five officers wolfed down their plates shamelessly. Anderson frowned slightly as he took his first bite; knowing him, he had some minute gripe about the spices he had added. Like most paper pushers he was a perfectionist, and never viewed his recipes as truly done.

  “Don’t think we didn’t notice those new deck boxes you’re wearing.” Chris continued “And the new equipper on your arm.”

  “And those RevGang enforcers you brought in a few days ago.” Anderson grunted through a face full of food “You’ve been full of surprises recently.”

  “You think I’m full of surprises,” Jacob reached over to load up his plate with pasta, kale chips, and salsa “You should hear about my grandfather. He’s where I got most of these cards…”

  The four other officers listened intently as Jacob described what had happened over the past few days. He left out all of his encounters with the Order of Aman’thea, the Sacred Cards, and the Shadow pack. He didn’t have much of a choice in hiding the shadow cards from his friends, but it still felt like lying not to include them. They talked well into the afternoon as the card matches continued on the television, the mood remaining jovial as they did. In the end the Indian Caster won, but it was a close match. Both had gotten down to the last few cards in their battle deck, having drawn out the match for far longer than expected. In the end a clever snare-spell combination gave the Indian caster the match, clearing the field at the last second for an attack against the Cascadian. The Cascadian would still return to a hero’s welcome; they were the furthest the nation had ever gotten in the international matches, and represented them well.

  Eventually the other officers filtered out of the apartment, leaving behind an extra few servings of pasta and a small mountain of dishes for Jacob to do. It had been a great afternoon, and they had all been supportive of Jacob’s recent deckbuilding efforts. They seemed impressed by his quick progress through the station, and the mood was jovial when they left.

  Eventually the other officers filtered out of the apartment, leaving behind an extra few servings of pasta and a small mountain of dishes for Jacob to do. It had been a great afternoon, and they had all been supportive of Jacob’s recent deckbuilding efforts. Jacob closed the door behind the last of them, and dropped his smile. He pulled the shadow cards out of his pocket and looked at them, as he exhaled heavily.

  The secret was getting harder to keep.

  southern territories by those who live in Cascadia, with the nation itself being considered a medium sized geopolitical player in international politics. It’s still dominated by it’s much larger national neighbors to the East, which begrudgingly participate in a larger North American security agreement. As I write more, more details are sure to emerge, so stay tuned for those!

  trust in the cards…

  What nation that's been mentioned so far do you want to learn more about?