Chapter 3: Avrias
Suite 303 of the Ledendecker Hotel, Vingolf, Earth. 10th June, PD 332
"I have to confess to more than a little curiosity at one of the Seven Families asking to see me, much less one so young."
Almiria lifted her chin and placed her arms behind her back. "Business, purely." She watched the small, wiry woman cross the ambiently-lit room shadowed by a broad bodyguard; as she got closer Almiria guessed she was maybe in her seventies and she had the weary expression to match it. Almiria didn't let her guard down. "I have no qualm with you or Avrias. I just have some questions, and I'd like this to be kept between us."
"I assumed as much, since you're not in uniform."
Madame Joy Ledendecker sat in one of the two chairs at the glass table, and the bodyguard poured ice water for her deftly and then stepped away. Finally the matron deigned to look at Almiria and, after a blinkless beat, gestured at the chair opposite her.
Almiria decided to refuse would cause unnecessary additional friction and perched on the edge of the seat. "Thank you for seeing me. I -"
"Much as I appreciate the years you spent being drilled in pleasantries, Miss Bauduin, your questions please. The less time you spend here the better, no?"
Almiria smiled thinly, cleared her throat. "I was hoping you could first confirm that you once employed one Artima Wei, an unusual mobile suit pilot?" She laced her fingers together and placed them on the table.
"'Employed' is inaccurate, but yes, she worked with us before."
"I would like to know her whereabouts."
Madame Ledendecker raised an eyebrow. "Have they sent you to track her down and kill her? Seems stupid and wasteful but then," she huffed a laugh, "I have seen plenty of stupid and wasteful things in my life." She crossed her legs.
"The opposite," Almiria said evenly. She took a deep breath. "I would like to employ her."
Madame Ledendecker hesitated; her eyebrows drew back down in confusion. She reached forward for her glass. "Is that so? An interesting development." She took a sip of water. "For?"
"That will be between her and I, if you don't mind."
An antiquated telephone rang in one corner of the room; the bodyguard took two strides to pick up the receiver. After a moment without speaking, he put it down and crossed the room again to whisper in the ear of the matron. She looked surprised for only a moment, nodded at him, and then put the expression away as she turned to Almiria with mild curiosity.
"Do you happen to know a Duncan Theodore?" Madame Ledendecker asked.
"I don't think so," Almiria said. She tried to hide her irritation at the early interruption to their conversation.
"I would have been surprised, frankly." She turned to the bodyguard, "Best ask for another glass and pitcher."
Almiria squinted ever so slightly.
To this squint, Madame Ledendecker responded, "Maybe I should have paid more attention to the position of the planets. Seems you're not the only one interested in the whereabouts of Artima Wei."
"I would rather our discussion be kept private," Almiria repeated despite her interest.
"Normally I would agree wholeheartedly, but in this case I'd recommend trusting the intuition of your elders."
Almiria's jaw worked itself but she said nothing. After all, the risk of being seen here was small - Duncan Theodore wasn't a name of importance and therefore, if she detected a risk she could have him dealt with. It was a small price to pay for finding out why someone else wanted to find the Gundam pilot now of all times and here of all places. She took a calming sip of her own ice water.
It hadn't taken much effort to determine the last known whereabouts and affiliations of Wei. She had to credit Rustal Elion for keeping a detailed file on her, and he had not deemed it necessary to put it behind too many security walls. Even her sister-in-law had been willing to divulge a little information without Almiria raising any suspicion, which was how she heard of Avrias. The fact that one of Avrias' chief officers could be accessed through a subsidiary business in the form of the Ledendecker Hotel was perhaps the organization's least-kept secret, though further research revealed little more than a vague, gray label of 'colony utility company' that suggested this hotel was merely the tip of an iceberg. Even Gjallarhorn hadn't been able to find - or at least, hadn't recorded - more information on them despite their blatant anti-establishment broadcast with the launch of Wei into the Mars orbital sortie above Tekkadan's base seven years ago. It wasn't Almiria's preference to go on so little, but it was all she had.
Rustal has to have known that if Wei was working with Avrias, even if temporarily, that Avrias is still a potential threat to Gjallarhorn as a whole. Why would he let them off without investigation? But now's not the time to think about that just yet, Almiria turned her attention to the door, where another glass was being delivered to the bodyguard and carried solemnly to the table. She's right that it's strange that another person would suddenly be interested in Wei. Who else could possibly -
Another knock. This time the door was opened to reveal a young man with red hair cut into a wavy mohawk. His shoulders underneath his leather jacket were slumped and he moved into the room with an animalistic sort of sway, his eyes casting about everything with a wary scowl. He looked like a street hooligan. Why on earth did someone like this even know about Wei much less know to come here to try to find her? Then the cold eyes focused on her and Almiria turned her attention from abstractions.
"Please join us, Mr Theodore," said Madame Ledendecker. "There's water here if you'd like it." If she was put off by his gruff aura she didn't show it. Then again, Almiria supposed she must have seen far worse in her time. "I was just remarking on the coincidence - you're not the only one interested in Artima Wei, it seems."
Duncan Theodore halted at this information. His piercing gaze hadn't left her but Almiria waited to be introduced - not simply out of decorum, but because she wanted to see more of this 'wisdom of your elders' Madame Ledendecker talked about before she, Almiria, determined how to handle herself.
"This is Miss Almiria Bauduin," Madame Ledendecker said, but before Almiria could regret using her real name the older woman leveled the playing field by adding, "But you knew that, didn't you, Mr Mass?"
Almiria blinked in surprise, rapidly reviewed her reading. "Ride Mass?" she said haltingly, quieter than she would have liked. One of the old Tekkadan crew. Maybe it shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did.
At last he looked away from her, continued his walk to the window. "Yeah," he said, and entered the silvery light cast there by the city outside. It was a guess, but Almiria thought his eyes were blue. He folded his arms, and his chin tucked down like a boxer.
After a pause, evidently not getting what she wanted, Madame Ledendecker sighed. "Of course it's not my job to prod you both into trusting the other, but intuition tells me you're after the same thing and so, my interests are now purely to save myself some time." She twisted her glass in its water ring on the table. "The last known location of Wei as of a week ago is Hong Kong. Avrias has arranged the alias 'Nightingale' with her, so you can use that to begin your search. Bear in mind," Madame Ledendecker rose, "that she may not choose to let you find her." She stepped away and her bodyguard tucked in her chair behind her. "Our own communication with her is frequently on her terms."
This surprised Almiria too - she'd been under the impression that Wei was in much closer collaboration with Avrias. Was there any particular significance to the United Municipality of Hong Kong? Her Earth Civics class had only touched on the most recent of its turbulant political and socio-economic history as the de-facto capital of the Eastern Pacific bloc and -
"Sounds like her," Mass said.
The tone in which he'd said it had an unprecentedly nostalgic tone to it, but Almiria did not let herself be distracted by it. She addressed the retreating Madame Ledendecker, desperate for concrete information, "What is the nature of Avrias' relationship with her?"
"I am not obligated to answer that, Miss Bauduin. Not until your own becomes clearer, at least. So. Thank you both for your visit." Madame Ledendecker's bodyguard opened the door to the suite and the two of them stood beside it implicitly, the gold carpet of light from outside barely touching the toes of their shoes.
Almiria bristled, and a glance told her Mass seemed to as well. Nonetheless, they both slowly left the room and were not followed. The elevator doors opened for them and, awkwardly, Almiria joined him. As the doors shut she settled naturally into her at-ease military poise, settling her gaze on their hazy reflections in the polished brass; the small space filled with tension before they'd descended two floors. This close she could smell oil on him, and reflexively ran her thumb over her cut-short nails. She remembered how long she'd had grease under them during the mechanics stints at the academy.
She felt she should say something, not so much to dissipate the tension here but to perhaps offset problems later. "I'm not here to get in your way. I'm not your enemy."
"All Gjallarhorn is my enemy," he said. He faced her. "Get this straight: the only reason you're gonna step out of this elevator at the bottom is because I don't feel like dealing with the mess of killing you right now."
Hardly a threat. What training did he have compared to her, after all? She looked at him. "Time's of the essence, right? Wei might have moved on before either of us get there." His eyes were indeed a hard blue, narrowed at her. Round face, diluted freckles just about visible across his nose that was a bit crooked, like it'd been broken once or even twice. A black cuff at the top of his right ear. Mouth not much more than a pale slit. Just your average delinquent on the surface.
"What?" he spat.
"If you'd stop being so angry for a minute, maybe you'd see that we can help each other." She said it for her own benefit, too. "Why do you think I'd risk myself looking for the enemy?"
"You have less to lose, you blue-blooded bitch."
Almiria couldn't remember the last time anyone had outright insulted her to her face, and before she could stop herself said, "I've already lost enough, thank you. I am risking everything else because I think she can help me even the score. That's what you want too, right?"
He looked at the rows of ivory floor buttons and didn't answer.
She narrowed her eyes and pressed on. "I think you're all bark. Do you have resources? A plan? No? I have those." At least, more than he did, she was sure. "So how about you put away that stupid bad boy act and consider what will get the job done faster and more efficiently."
"And why the fuck should I trust you?" he looked back at her with his chin raised, his eyes even narrower.
Almiria made her face as stony as she could. "You think you're the only one with a gun? You think I would have let you walk out of this elevator if working together wasn't our best option?" It was her turn to look away. There was silence for a few moments - the ride down seemed to take forever. Her palms were uncharacteristically sweaty. "Guess I'll be the one to say it: you want her to help you take down Gjallarhorn. Rustal Elion, if I had to guess." She hesitated only briefly before adding, "That's what I want. Someone has to do it." It felt strange to say it aloud to someone else for the first time.
"Someone has to do it," he murmured. Was it in agreement? She couldn't be sure.
The elevator sank to a stop with a ding; the doors parted and Mass stepped out first. She was running out of time - there wasn't that many people in the Ledendecker lobby but there were still people - and so she took steps quick enough to briefly fall into step with him and as she did so, said lowly, "There should be a direct shuttle to UMHK; I'll be taking the next one. Think hard about what you want." She passed him and deliberately left the hotel by a different door without looking back or waiting for a response; the night air outside was cool and damp and she took a deep breath of it.
