Billie was deep in discussion with Thomas and Rulfio about an upcoming job when one of the novices approached and said, "The boss wants to see you, ma'am."
Rulfio managed to turn his laugh into a cough quick enough that she only punched him once. She fixed the poor, confused novice with a glare and watched him flinch and cower for a moment before taking pity on him and relenting with a sigh. "Just 'Lurk' or even 'Billie' is fine, all right? Daud's the only one with any kind of title around here."
The novice nodded and scurried off, and Billie shook her head after him. "I think our recruiting standards have slipped."
"Because they don't know how to deal with you?" Thomas asked drily. "That's a rather specialized skill, I think."
"Don't make me hit you, too," she warned half-heartedly. She shoved her notes into Thomas's hands, as Rulfio was now gingerly rubbing his shoulder in addition to trying to stifle his sudden coughing fit, and made for the hallway. "I'll be back soon. Don't make any big plans without me."
The door to Daud's chambers was open when she got there, and he was standing over his desk, studying the large map that was unrolled in front of him. She waited patiently while he leaned forward to circle something and jot down a few words beside the indicated area. She couldn't read his writing from this angle, but she recognized the building on the map as one of the big Estate District homes. She hoped she would be on that job; breaking into mansions and terrorizing nobles was always fun.
When he set the pen down, she said, "You sent for me, sir?"
He nodded without looking up. "I have something for you," he said, pointing to a paper-wrapped bundle that Billie had initially taken to be merely a makeshift paperweight holding the map open.
She moved a little closer to look at the package, her eyebrow raised curiously. "But it's not even my birthday."
Daud let out a deep, weary sigh, as though Billie's tongue were somehow the cause of all of his problems. "I don't need your cheek today, Lurk. Just open it."
She smiled to herself. So he was in a mood again. She resisted the urge to push him a little further and picked up the bundle to weigh it in her hands. It had some heft to it, but it wasn't solid, giving easily under her probing fingers. She shrugged and carefully pulled back the paper.
Inside was one of the thick, leather coats of the Whaler uniform, this one the same deep red that Daud wore. Billie's eyes went wide.
There had been talk for a while that Daud was looking to name a second in command. He'd been grumbling about needing better help for months now, and most of his longest-serving lieutenants were either dead or no longer up to the task. Ivan was all but retired since a wolfhound had mangled his leg last year, and they'd lost Lucas to a watchman's bullet just two weeks ago. Billie knew she would be considered for the position – it was not overconfidence to say she was easily one of Daud's best – but if she were the type to gamble, she would have put her coin on Thomas being chosen over herself. He wasn't quite as good as her, but he was decently skilled, and more importantly, he was calm and steady and reliable, a list of traits Billie knew she couldn't always apply to herself.
And honestly, she would have been fine with that. She couldn't exactly call Thomas a friend, but they got along well enough, especially considering the fact that she nearly broke his nose the first day they met. He would be an all right man to follow, if it came to that.
Apparently, it was a good thing she didn't tend to gamble.
She shook the coat out and held it up in front of her at arm's length. When she lowered it again, Daud had looked up from his map and was watching her.
"I assume you understand why I'm giving that to you," he said.
"Yeah, I get it" she replied, and then, because a part of her mind was still on her hypothetical bet, she asked, "You're sure?"
Daud raised an eyebrow and picked up his pen again. "You once swore to me you'd become the best assassin I had if I gave you the chance. You've had your chance; do you think you kept that promise?"
"I…" She knew she was the best. She was smarter and quicker and more ruthless than any of the others, and she wouldn't be holding this if Daud didn't agree. "Yes. I have."
He nodded and bent his head to add another note to the map. "Then I've made a good choice."
That seemed to be his final word on the matter. Billie considered the coat in her hands for a moment, then carefully set it back down on the edge of Daud's desk. She swiftly undid the belts and buckles holding her uniform in place so she could slide the old, dark-colored master's coat from her shoulders and replace it with the red one. It felt good, maybe a little stiff around the shoulders until she could break it in, but… really good.
Daud looked up again as she fastened her belts back into place. "It suits you," he said quietly, his voice tinged with something she might dare to call warmth.
She ducked her head at such a direct compliment, turning the motion into something deliberate by bending down to pick up her old coat. She cleared her throat and said, "Looks like we have a spare uniform now, if anyone else is up for promotion."
"So we do." He leaned back, crossing his arms as he considered her. "Did you have anyone in mind?"
The question startled her at first, but she supposed it was the sort of thing one asked their second in command. She would need to start paying closer attention to more than just her own business, make sure she could provide good advice on anything Daud might ask. She paused to give it some thought, reflecting on what she knew about the novices who had been with them the longest. "Sonja," she finally said. "Her tethering still needs work, but she fights hard and always gets the job done. I think some more challenge would be good for her."
Daud was silent for long enough that she almost thought he was going to take back his decision to promote her. Then he gave a short nod. "A good choice. We'll see if she can handle it." He returned his attention back to the map with a final gesture of dismissal. "That's all I needed you for. You can go and show off now."
He was making fun of her, but the idea was appealing. There were definitely a few faces in particular she'd like to see go slack with shock at the news of her new position.
Of course, she realized as she left the room with her head held high, this was going to make it near impossible to keep any of the novices from calling her 'ma'am' again.
She supposed she could learn to deal with that.
