The room had a dark atmosphere. Not necessarily dark as in there was a
lack of light, the lamps were blinding if anything, but the tension that
was in that room seemed thick and opaque. The shades were draw,
curtains pulled closed and the thickness of the fabrics was enough to
make the sunny morning seem like the pinnacle of twilight. There was no
splendor in the furniture sufficient enough to create a distraction
either. Simply wooden chairs and tables lined the walls and open spaces.
The occasional faded rug, worn from overuse and neglect covered the
hard wood floor. Being on the edge of the slums, the most this building
could sport as luxurious was a three piece set of Victorian style
couches, and matching marble topped coffee table in the center of it
all, but even that seemed misused for its quality.
The two that
sat upon these couches were, however, the complete opposite of worn and
faded. They dressed in top quality coats and boots. The man who was
seated on one side of the couches wore layers upon layers of majestic
coats and jackets, his uppermost coat sporting a series of lavish pins
and brooches giving his appearance a near military look. Frills and lace
seemed to sprout from his the ends of his sleeves and flowering at the
base of his neck. If it weren't the the multitude of layers, a tad too
overdone for a cool autumn morning, the man probably would've been
handsome. His figure was stocky, leaning a bit over towards the obese
side, and his bald crown seemed waxed to create an immaculate shine.
Of
course, never mind the haughty flashy clothes he wore, the man's face
held a pompous expression strong enough to stand on its own, complete
with a monocle, sharpened mustache and groomed goatee. A pipe was
balanced gingerly in his thick gloved fingers, the smoke winding to
explore the open room. His lips were drawn into a slight smile, creasing
in a hint of impatience yet full of confidence. His eyes were locked on
the woman on the other side of the table.
Her coat, though well
kept and clean, was only one layer. She wore pants and boots, something
no lady would admit to wearing openly though she seemed to wear them
with pride. No where near as extravagant as her guest, she still seemed
to hold an aura of strength and determination that far surpassed the
noble she was entertaining. And still, despite the commanding eyes she
was known to have, she could do nothing but keep them lowered to the tea
cups sitting on the table, quickly growing cold.
The two held
that position for a while, one staring, the other promptly avoiding
making eye contact. The man released a sigh, slipping the pipe back into
his lips before pulling out a pocket watch. "Clara--"
"Please address me as Finale while we're here."
The
man lifted his eyes, a circle of smoke winding its way around his nose.
The woman had only turned her head, but not to match eyes with the man.
He pulled the pipe from his lips, leaning back. "Clara, I can't leave
until I get a confirmation from you."
Finale didn't respond though she did finally lock eyes with the man. Her lips were pulled tight.
The man sighed again, shaking his head. "I need to know that you'll do it."
"You're asking the impossible from me."
"Listen,
if you can't do it we'll have a near civil war on our hands. Reeves is
already consolidating military power. No matter what the people of the
slums might say, it's more than obvious that you have control of almost
all the munitions in half of the city. Do you think we'll like having a
brainless brute holding any kind of weapons? Of course not."
Finale made a face but didn't reply. The man took another huff from his pipe, the smoke venting from his nose as he spoke again.
"You
can be assured that the Circle will be able to maintain its activities
as long as you don't get on his bad side. Hell, you might even be
allowed to join their military as a special force." He took another long
drag from his pipe, breathing out a funnel of smoke from his nostrils.
"And besides, if you can't do it then it really is impossible. No one
else is more capable than you." He eyed Finale with a frown. "You are
the second officer aren't you. Why don't you use some of that power for a
change?"
Finale leaned forward, a foreign and strange expression
of desperation painted on her face. "At least let me try to convince
Overture one more time!"
"You've been trying ever since you
joined the Circle. What makes you think he's going to give in at this
point? Why in the nine bloody hells are you so stubborn now?"
He held out his pipe, searching for an ash tray, but when he found none,
he simply dumped the remnants in his pipe onto the floor. "This is
precisely why we've been waiting for you to hit the top already.
Would've made all of our jobs much easier."
"Just give me a few more days, Ceraves. I'll convince him somehow--"
"We've given you so many days already. Quite frankly, even I'm
done waiting." He cleared his throat as he slipped his pipe into a coat
pocket. Before Finale could protest though, he produced a folder and
placed it on the table. Finale's eyes followed the folder, half dreading
its contents. Ceraves leaned back. "It just so happens that an
opportunity presents itself."
"What is..." She pulled the folder towards her, flipping it open.
"I'm
hiring the Circle again." He immediately rose to his feet as Finale
flipped through the pages. He then dropped a satchel onto the table, the
coins inside rattling through the satin cloth. The expression on
Finale's face was like stone, but the man knew too well what was going
through her head. "Here is the pay up front. Five hundred gold coins. I
don't expect to be declined so I suppose I'll just make my leave here."
He
slipped his way out between the tables and couches, his heavy boots
clinking with each step he took. Finale didn't even move to see the man
to the door. Her eyes were glued to the pages in her hands. She didn't
even look his way as he moved towards the doorway.Ceraves turned his
head over his shoulder. A wry grin was sprouting on his face.
"I do hope we'll work well together, Finale. Perhaps as well as we did with that incident with Mr. Renoir."
