ERode — Roleplayer Guild

Antonia certainly would not be able to get anything done today.

First off, her city was going to hell in a handbasket. The Canary's information was true - a helicopter, floating packages that disappeared, and bombs going off in Nickel. The Kario Mafia was far too powerful in that area - cops knew better than to even dare enter it. That meant the citizens in that area were on their own…

Secondly, Vincent's little brush with one of her high-security prisoners was suspicious on so many levels. However, the corrections officer that inspected his little ‘cake’ confirmed it was simply flour and icing, nothing hidden within it. But why would ‘The Boss' be interested in Prisoner 1-61891435? 

More questions, and less answers. Which was why she had half a mind to decline the zoom call which came unsolicited to her computer. That was, at least, until she saw the nickname on the zoom ID.

The Order of Enlightenment.

Antonia immediately narrowed her eyes. She pressed a button on her phone. ”Hey, Agent Malek? See if you can trace the call my system is about to connect with, tell me any information via texts.”

”On it, Ma'am.”

Antonia nodded, before she released her home on the phone's button. Then, she accepted the zoom call. It connected instantly.

A slight scoff, before she spoke. ”Give me one reason why I should entertain a call from a perp like you, Lodestar.”

“Of all the ‘rulers’ in Nocturnia, it always surprises me that I’m the one who gets the most attention.” The faceless man (headless, in this case) replied through the screen, leaning back on his chair. “I’ll cut to the chase then, Commissioner. The Order’s activities within Pauper Town has led to an altercation with a local drug pusher. While one of the cases was lost in the conflict, two remain.”

He paused. It was good that one couldn’t smell the stench of a liar through an audio-visual format. It was even better that he had no face.

“The shipment came from an individual that I believe has been a thorn in your side for a while now. I currently hold the remaining shipment of drugs, as well as the receipts leading to them. Seems like a new type to me, but I don’t know.” Matthias shrugged. “We deal with drug rehab, not drug replication. Make it worth my while, and I’ll have it sent over for whatever forensic shit you’ve got in mind.”

If not, well, mayhaps it’d be a situation of ‘return to sender’.

The Commissioner's shades glinted. A shipment mysteriously disappeared? Not likely, but it wasn't like she had any tells - man was as readable as a blank sheet of paper.

He mentioned a thorn… Did he seriously just make a pun on the Thorned Roses? Regardless, if that bastard Vincent was making a new drug to pump into the streets, it was something she and the rest of the police force needed to stay ahead of. The implications could spell doom for the citizens.

Well. Forensics would have a hay-day. If she cut a deal. Which was funny, seeing as she had the Lodestar's case file on her desk. The man was smart to contact her from a distance.

Speaking of which, Agent Malek would need more time. So she would stall, fish around. Her head tilted as she appeared to consider it. ”Cutting a deal, huh? What could the great and powerful Lodestar possibly want from this lowly Commissioner?”

There was no way he knew the force had him in their sights. Surely, he would suggest something else… Whatever killer cults desired these days…

Meanwhile, Agent Malek was accessing the connection from his own PC, watching the packets burst, and trying to decrypt the connection…

“$30,000 (3 Wealth) in cash seems reasonable. The cutthroats in your district would pay more for a lost pet, after all.” Not that he really knew what ‘proper’ businessmen did in the Jeweled Bank. Probably bet on the downfall of the economy and shorted stocks. He leaned in slightly. “Oh, and this is a separate matter from the current deal we’re hashing out, but I would advise you drop whatever case you’re building against me. Rather than being the head of a snake, I’d recommend you consider me more like a…collar.”

Matthias folded his hands together. Antonia's blood froze at the connotation, but fixed her face in a sharp scowl to hide it.

“The Order of Enlightenment, in its early stages, certainly possessed a more radical bend. But as evidenced by the stability in Waterfront Vale and Riverbend, it ought to be clear that something has made them more…tolerant of opposing opinions with regards to the faith.” God, if only he was lying in this case. Sure, there were more moderates amongst the Order now, but there were just as many who still possessed the sorta of crusading zeal that had oversaw their vicious takeover of Waterfront Vale back when they were under his father’s commands. “That something was me.”

Antonia shifted in her seat, running a palm over her mouth, fingers drawing to a stop at her chin. She stared over her shades at him, flickers of disbelief in her face.

”Mr. FitzClarence. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were threatening me.”

It didn't matter how he got the inside intel. At least, not yet. No, what was more important was that he thought he could come into her office, figuratively speaking, and tell her how to do her job. She was loath to think of going toe to toe with zealots, but she wouldn't be cowed into dropping the case.

”And if that so happened to be the case, then you can kiss my ass.” She said, smirking. ”I didn't get into this position just to be pansied around by criminals like you. So you know what? You can keep your drugs, and I'll keep my case. Knowing my luck, you and the drugs will land in my lap sooner rather than later.”

Agent Malek scrambled, listening to the conversation. He anticipated a hang-up, but he was just seconds away from cracking the decryption and exposing Matthias’ location…

“You’ve a good amount of confidence in your luck, Commissioner. And it’s a good thing that you do know better, yes?”

Matthias opened up his hands, spreading them off to either side of himself. Perhaps it was to show that he held no weapons, no ill intent. Perhaps it was to just make himself look bigger, like how one would be advised to do when facing a wild animal. Perhaps he was consoling her with a virtual hug. Whether in person or through teleconferencing, it was a difficult thing to do, reading the Lodestar.

“I’ve no interest in threatening you, and I’d rather these drugs be used to take down a dealer than be sold for profit. I only ask that you keep a clearer head than you currently are. After all, in the grand scheme of things, faith and authority go hand in hand, no?”

The decryption peeled away gradually. The seconds were bought, even when it appeared the Lodestar had no interest in hanging up to begin with.

“I’ll stay on the call. Take a breath and think on it.”

The location revealed itself to Agent Malek, and the coordinates laid right upon Nocturnia’s Prison.

Malek: Bastard is somewhere in the building. 

Antonia's eyes cast down to the phone in her peripherals, seeing Malek’s text. Impossible. But it had to be pursued. 

Antonia's face glanced back up at the Lodestar, and she was loathe to think that she couldn't tell if the man was smirking. He had to be, though, taking the high road and gaslighting her as he was.

”Oh, I assure you, Lodestar, my head could not be clearer.”

She sneakily pressed a button on her phone's intercom, ensuring Agent Malek would be able to hear what she said next.

”And here I thought you could at least give the pretense of peace… Why does my man say you're somewhere in my building, Lodestar? You know I have to sweep every floor now.”

Malek: On it.

And the emergency lights in the hallway flashed on, a silent alarm to indicate a type of lock down on the building. As she sat there in front of the Lodestar, entrances and exits were sealed off, and officers began searching each level at a jog, assault rifles held in a collapsed low ready position.

If the Lodestar, or the signature that was giving off the Lodestar's presence, was somewhere in the building, they'd find it in a matter of minutes.

Antonia took her finger off the intercom button, address the other statement the Lodestar had made.

”So what, if I don't cooperate with you, you plan on raiding my district? Is that it, Lodestar? You say you're no threat, but we both know you can mobilize your people with a snap of your fingers, and an agreement between that damn Vincent or the Canary can have you at my door with a plethora of ‘friends’ in a matter of days...”

“Yeah, 87 floors, was it? Figured that’d give plenty of time for you to finish your thinking. Give your prison guards a bit of a workout too.”

Antonia merely narrowed her eyes behind her shades.

He could imagine that pretty easily, at least. With the modernization of prison technology, and the general lack of human rights present in Nocturnia’s prison system, you could basically treat any prisoner as if they deserved 24/7 solitary confinement, after all. If they died in their cell, that meant more space for another perp. It was a nasty system, but it was the same system that allowed cults and gangs to flourish all the more.

“And please,” Matthias continued. “I’ve cut to the chase before, haven’t I? I’d like to exchange drugs and evidence for money, and I’d like you to stop pursuing me, for the good of Nocturnia. In that same vein, I’ve no interest in deposing you, regardless of your personal feuds with me. After all…”

The Borosi Incident remained on his mind. Surely, it remained on hers as well.

“Power vacuums have a way of spiralling out of control in this city of ours.”

Antonia grimaced at that. It was true. A bloodbath wrapped in a bow. The scars it left behind, even in her own district and the police body as a whole, ran deep.

She sighed, leaning back in her seat, staring at the Lodestar with a careful, shielded gaze. He was treating her like a child. How humiliating.

As the silence spanned out between them, his voice rattled around in her head. Evidence. If Leon knew she had turned down evidence on his case for the simple fact that she refused to cut a deal with scum, he'd have her head. He was ruthless, and in her position, he would devour Vincent, and then turn around and devour the Lodestar. No questions asked.

Malek: Searching floor 25.

Antonia gave a glance to her phone, before propping her elbows on her arm rests, steepling her fingers.

”Here's what I'm willing to do. $20,000 (2 Wealth) for the two crates and the evidence, and a one-week head-start before I come after you. 

“Sound fair?”

“Acceptable, but with one extra condition.”

Matthias raised a finger.

“Let’s keep Pauper Town out of this. I’d rather not see my work there go to waste.”

A slight pause, before Antonia nodded. ”...Very well. Pauper Town will not be touched.”

Meanwhile, the speedy lock down and sweep was concluding on the reception floor. That was when an out-of-place laptop was spotted, beside a cold cup of coffee, no less. The items had been abandoned on one of the benches off to the side. A quick look at the device confirmed this was where the signal had come from.

Malek: He's not here, just a dummy laptop. We've been played.

Antonia glanced at her phone in dismay, before turning her face towards the Lodestar.

”Well played, but I'm certain it's only a matter of time before we do meet face to face, and with you behind bars.”

“I don’t have a face, Commissioner. Literally.”

And with that, the call ended, leaving a black screen on both sides.

Antonia: W -2, Matthias: W +2
Subject: Del Guarde Deal
From: ooe.head@seekenlightenment.tv
To: sccontact@canarinofotos.io

Information on their connections to the Commissioner doesn’t matter anymore. Just need info on their exterior connections and what moves they’re making.

Came across something interesting in latest acquisition. Related to the Rose. Interested in handing over another discount for it?

Matt
Across the river, Adel wiped a hand down his face. So much for going into this with a leg up. After learning that the Order was already on the move though, he had sort of expected it.

Good, because there is no connection. That's a freebie.

Have some leads already. I'll confirm and let you know.

Vale access from agreement, ¼ original price on delivery if you tell me what you've found.

Figured. Commissioner wouldn’t have gone through the trouble otherwise.

Vale access, two weeks. $5000 on delivery, in exchange for immediate info on Rose activities, yes?

Sign here and send back for my records.

Attached: Silver-Canary-04.pdf

Still with the records huh

Attached: Silver-Canary-04s.pdf

Can’t shake hands virtually.

Send me a drop-off point. Vincent’s spreading a new drug around Nocturnia. May be Gyft-related.

Attached: pink-glowing-thing.jpg

Delightful.

I'll send a location when ready.

You're kicking a lot of hornets nests lately Matthias. Stay safe.
At least until I can collect

Matthias: W -0.5 & 6 vials of Sugarcrush, Adel: W +0.5

On one hand, it was a good thing that the Del Guarde wasn’t actually part of the police department. They were an outside force then, so there wouldn’t be too much interior backlash once the invasion started proper.

On the other hand though?

Ughhhhhhh. Cyrus’s information was good, but he definitely pushed things too far with the Commissioner. Matthias let out another groan as he recalled the conversation through the phone. The whole VPN thing had been an extra layer of security, but if he had simply approached things as something like ‘the Order is a willing collaborator of the Police’, and didn’t try to get some extra cash on the side, maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about her going for his dumb ass by next week? And to have spoken in such a pretentious manner too!

The cult leader palmed his back, hands shooting right through his big, smoky head and resting on his spine as he let out another audible groan. Sure, there was his ‘aura’ to worry about, because signs of weakness were just as likely to get him killed as a bullet through the chest, but he’d seriously have to stop watching thrillers in his off-time, if that was how he’d be speaking when things get spooky. Still gave him goosebumps, really. He cranked up the heating another couple of degrees and set his kettle to start boiling. Some tea and cookies ought to get his mind back on track. What’s done is done, after all.

Had to focus a touch more. Even if the Del Guarde wasn’t affiliated with Nocturnia’s Police, it wasn’t like that information was known to any of the mafias in the area. That’s just what happened when you pretended to be a cop, after all. If Asterion made good on his side of the deal, an invasion of 93rd Street ought to be imminent. A concurrent invasion of Merryland would split the attention further: either they focused on one district or the other; the Del Guarde wouldn’t have the resources to defend both, even if they somehow convinced the populace to fight for the cops.

Then, he could indirectly coordinate with the Commissioner to strike at Vincent’s own territories. The zealots have been pining for White Pine, after all. Something about how Christianity was a terrible faith filled with contradictions that did nothing except perpetually plunge civilizations into Dark Ages, and that even now threatened to undermine the scant amount of progress. Loony hijinks, on one hand, but on the other hand, Matthias didn’t have trust in government or religion to begin with.

All he could trust, in the end, was himself.

Gather faithful. Gather wealth. Gather weapons. Gather territory. Become great enough that the politicians pretending to be priests would never think to be anything more than his sycophants, that the other mafias would never entertain the thought of challenging the Order, that the police would learn to leave pointless cases alone lest he set their districts ablaze and turn their foundations to salt.

He hadn’t slept for a long while. He never needed to sleep to begin with.

Maybe when one half of Nocturnia was his, Matthias could afford to rest. But for now?

The command was given to those who had gathered in Pauper Town: advance and claim Merryland.
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