Daud was supervising the novices as they were put through their paces when the news broke. Thomas had hastily Transversed into the room, panting as though he'd run a great distance, a rumpled newspaper clutched in his hand. Lurk wasn't far behind him. Thomas wore a look of stunned disbelief while the corners of Lurk's mouth were curled into a viciously satisfied smirk. The room went unnaturally still at their abrupt entrance.
Daud shot the gawking novices a stern glare. "Did I say you could stop?" He growled warningly. They quailed under his formidable gaze and immediately jumped back to their exercises. Daud turned his back on them as he approached his lieutenants and rolled his eyes in longsuffering fondness. The novices were practicing much quieter than they had before, no doubt straining to hear whatever Lurk and Thomas had to say. He'd yet to meet worse gossips than assassins. It was ridiculous.
"Report," he rumbled intently, eyes narrowed and focused.
Thomas turned to Billie first, still slightly breathless, and shot her a sly grin. "You remember when his face used to be terrifying?" He motioned to Daud limply.
Billie mirrored his humor, bloodthirsty smirk gentling to something softer and almost warm. "Felt like the Outsider himself was staring right into your soul," she echoed mock-solemnly, eyes crinkling at Daud's expense.
Daud crossed his arms and lifted his face to the ceiling in supplication before turning a markedly less amused expression to his subordinates. "Report. Today," he insisted, vaguely threatening. One of the novices let out a quiet 'eep,' of alarm at his displeased tone. Lurk just snickered, the traitor.
Luckily, Daud's darkening expression was enough to convince Thomas to get his act together and get down to business. The man straightened, face adopting a more serious expression. "Got a tipoff from an informant who works for the Dunwall Courier. Gave me an early copy of tomorrow's edition, thought I'd appreciate the heads up. Take a look at the headlines." Thomas clumsily unfolded the rumpled newspaper and held it out to Daud.
The paper crinkled noisily as the assassin grabbed it with his gloved hands. His brow furrowed in genuine surprise at what he saw. 'High Overseer Arrested: Abbey Scrambling in the Aftermath.' He felt the scar on his face pull taut as his face went rigid in disbelief. Quickly skimming down the front page revealed another unexpected headline, 'Abbey of the Everyman: Moral Pillar of Society?' Both articles contained scathing critiques of the Overseers and their moral hypocrisy, something that normally never would have made it past the publishing desk, let alone the fucking front page.
Still, the Abbey's loss was their gain and Daud wasn't a man to disregard an advantage when he saw one. The Abbey had been dogging his footsteps for years just waiting for the day the Whalers would slip up so they could swoop in for the kill. Iit left a bitter taste in his mouth to think of all of the Whalers he'd lost to the Order over the years. It was nothing but good news to see the Overseers' reputation dragged through the mud so thoroughly and publicly, they'd be too worried about damage control to go after him properly for months. But Daud couldn't help but be suspicious. There was always a catch, the glint of a blade in the dark waiting to stab him in the back – it was just how life worked for him. Idly skimming through rest of the paper, Daud felt a paranoid suspicion nagging at the back of his head.
"Good work Thomas, we should have a couple months grace period before the Abbey is back on their feet again. One less thing to worry about while on jobs for a while. Any word on how the High Bastard got himself arrested? Or any other notable activity in the past couple weeks?" He directed the questions at both of his lieutenants as he folded the paper and tucked it into his belt to browse carefully later.
Here Billie and Thomas shared a look before turning to Daud cautiously. "We think there might be some new competition in town," Lurk confided in a low voice.
Thomas chimed in as Daud's brows descended thunderously. "They've been keepin' it pretty hush-hush what with all the shit they're dealing with now, but the Abbey was apparently robbed two weeks back. It'd be all over the news now if it weren't for Campbell."
Billie nodded minutely. "No one saw anything and no one was killed, but whoever it was apparently took everything that wasn't nailed down, including the Abbey's stash of heretical artifacts." Lurk's eyes began to glint dangerously. "But the bastard had to make a profit somehow. I asked around and the thief's apparently been pawning his goods off to the usual fences, and I got a description from a few of them. He's a smart guy whoever he is, wears a mask to hide his face so that won't get us anywhere."
"And there's been no other word on him?" Daud asked.
Thomas shook his head in frustration. "Nothing but rumors. But you have to admit, it's pretty suspicious for the High Overseer to be arrested barely a week after that mass robbery."
Daud folded his arms and frowned, but Lurk had known him long enough by now not to miss the contemplative gleam in his eye. "No – don't even think about it, Daud," she warned him off sternly.
"Think about what?" His mouth twisted in petulant irritation, his scar pulling his mouth into a half-snarl.
"I know you, old man, and I've seen that face before. Every time you get that look you come back with another stray to take in. And you can't recruit this one, I don't care how impressive he seems."
Something in her tone had Daud standing straighter as he brought the brunt of his attention to bear on his apprentice. "And why's that, Lurk? What else do you know?"
Billie's lips thinned. "I told you he's been selling his goods off to the fences, and that's half true. But there haven't been any black magic artifacts flooding the markets lately, and no one else has been talking about any popping up."
"Which means our thief is keeping them, probably using them," Thomas concluded grimly.
"And if he's actually using them, he probably has the Mark." Daud's face went carefully blank, scar stark on his face.
"Hey, we don't know that for sure. Maybe he's just an idiot. In a couple weeks, we'll probably find him raving and writing on the walls in his own blood. It doesn't have to mean anything." Thomas argued weakly.
Daud pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed noisily. "You're right. We don't know for certain whether or not he has the Mark. But I still don't like him stirring up so much trouble. It'll only bring more attention to the criminal faction of Dunwall, which will bring more attention to us. Something I'd like to avoid while the Overseers are temporarily out of the picture. Void, is it too much to ask for one fucking break?"
"What do you have in mind, then?" Billie asked curiously.
Daud exhaled and let his arms fall to sides, one resting comfortably on the hilt of his sword. "See if you and the others can't bring him in – not to recruit him," Daud shot a pointed look at Billie who'd been about to speak up, "not yet anyway, not until we know more about him. I want to ask him his motivations, why he's come to Dunwall all of a sudden. See if he visits the Void in his dreams. We'll see where it goes from there."
"What if he isn't friendly?" Thomas asked with suspiciously innocent eyes.
Daud went to cuff the man by the back of the head for impertinence, only for Thomas to skip out of reach with a quiet laugh, eyes dancing wickedly. Daud's narrowed gaze promised retribution at a later date, as he relaxed back into an easy stance. "Our friend has pissed off a lot of people in a very short amount of time, Thomas. If he's not agreeable to our terms, we'll just turn him over for his bounty, which I'm sure the Abbey has already posted?"
Lurk nodded in affirmation at his inquiry. "The Abbey's been doing their own digging on our thief. They know about as much as we do and have offered a significant sum for information leading to his identification and capture."
Daud nodded decisively. "Have Misha draw up his mask based on the descriptions you've collected and spread word to the rest of the Whalers to be on the lookout for him. I'd like to have a talk with our new resident thief. What's the name listed on the bounty?"
Lurk's lips pursed unhappily while Thomas tried and failed to suppress a small smirk. Billie murmured something unintelligible, causing Thomas' shoulders to begin shaking with badly suppressed laughter. Daud could feel his temper beginning to fray.
"Louder, Lurk." Daud's grip on the hilt of his sword tightened in irritation. The leather grip creaked ominously in his hand.
"They're calling him the Masked Felon," Lurk sighed mutinously.
"So original!" Thomas choked at Daud's now deadpan expression.
Dismissing his lieutenants and their antics with a wave, Daud turned on his heel and strode back to the novices who were desperately trying to pretend they hadn't been listening in on the whole conversation. "I fucking hate journalists," The Knife muttered bitterly under his breath.
Corvo perused the day's headlines with relish, a grin slashing across his grizzled face at the petty jabs the Courier made at the Abbey. Looked like his hunch had been correct. Jessamine certainly hadn't wasted any time going after Campbell.
However, Jessamine's unhesitating pursuit of conviction did add a slight wrinkle to Corvo's plans. He remembered how eager the public had been to crucify Emily with the emergence of the Crown Killer – how quick they'd been to place the blame on her shoulders when her high profile opponents began falling like dominoes. True, Jessamine wasn't killing or horrifically desecrating any bodies, but it didn't change the fact that all of the people Corvo planned to expose were well known for their outspoken dislike of the Empress. And if he and Jessamine went after them all at the same time, Corvo had no doubt her remaining critics would paint the Empress' efforts at cleaning house as a tyrannical coup of the court. No, Corvo would have to wait to go after his next target, at least until the scandal of the High Overseer's abrupt arrest had died down. He was not going to risk bringing down the formidable and fickle wrath of the public on Jessamine because of his impatience.
Taking time between targets did have the unfortunate consequence of stalling Corvo's plans regarding the Outsider's Marked, but until either the Whalers or Delilah's coven decided to make themselves a more immediate threat to the Empress and her family, the Serkonan was willing to wait before acting. Much as his instincts screamed at him otherwise, Corvo had time on his side. For once.
However, there was nothing to stop him from paying another quick visit to Dunwall Tower to check in on his unofficial charges. If Jessamine really was willing to work with him, and Campbell's speedy arrest certainly seemed to indicate yes. then it would only help to try and collaborate their efforts. Maybe he'd even get the chance to see the Royal Protector get his hackles up again. Corvo was surprised at how easy and fun it was to rile up his younger self, he could see why Jessamine had enjoyed it so much now.
Decision made, Corvo cautiously made his way from the inaccessible apartment floor he'd made his home and donned his mask before Blinking his across the rooftops to Dunwall Tower. Most of the City Watch appeared especially distracted today, considering a full half of the conversation he managed to overhear seemed to be focused on the High Overseer's corruption and other associated gossip. It irked him to see the city's security so lax – sure, it made Corvo's job easier, but the same could be said for any other sneak with a measure of skill and very few would have intentions as benign as his own.
Regardless of his own personal misgivings, Corvo made it to the Tower unmolested and quickly navigated his way to where he remembered Jessamine kept her private offices where she reviewed important information passed on to her by advisors and informants alike. If he was right, she'd be there now and most likely alone aside from the Royal Protector.
Upon Blinking into an adjacent room and activating his Dark Vision, Corvo was irritated to note four figures in the room instead of his anticipated two. Said frustration bled away like water through a sieve when he took the time to notice a distinctly childlike figure among the taller adults.
Emily.
Corvo crouched on top of a tall shelf, staring down at the small yellow figure through the wall for what felt like hours as she puttered around the room, flitting between the three others intermittently. His heart nearly stopped when she briefly paused below where he was perched, idly perusing what appeared to be books on her side of the wall. So close, Corvo thought with wistfulness so strong it burned. He could almost reach out and touch her if the wall wasn't there between them.
But the moment broke as she was called away by the guards at the door. It must have been time for her lessons then. Corvo tracked her with his Vision until he couldn't see her anymore, then reigned himself in with a tired sigh.
Right, he came here for a reason.
Carefully making his way to the open arched window on top of the door to Jessamine's office - he really ought to warn her to bar them shut - Corvo peered over the edge to gauge the identity of the third person in the room. Despite the now clean and well-made clothes plus the much more well-groomed appearance, Corvo was pleased to recognize the girl he'd stolen from Campbell's clutches. Based on her uniform and rigidly attentive stance, it looked like they'd hired the girl on to be trained as an imperial guard. She must have been apprenticing under the younger Corvo, if she was actually allowed into the room with Jessamine herself.
Corvo couldn't help it as he felt a helplessly fond smile steal over his face under the mask. That was definitely something his Jess would do. If the courts wouldn't accept the testimony of a common girl, well, then Jess would just have to make sure that the girl was someone worth listening to. An imperial guard's testimony would certainly carry more weight than that of a commoner's, much as it rankled him to admit.
And if keeping the girl close to the younger Corvo had the added bonus of protecting her from any of Campbell's lingering agents, well, that was just an unexpected bonus.
Satisfied with the identity of his audience, Corvo took the opportunity to Blink into the room and immediately found himself at the business end of two pistols and a sword.
He barked a shameless laugh and ruefully put his hands in the air. Shallowly dipping his head he addressed the three. "Empress, Lord Protector – brat," he shot the last one at the scowling girl over Jessamine's shoulder, "I hear you've all been busy."