Savoir-faire – To Know and To Do
XXVIII: Savoir – To Know
Day 64 (cont.): This is the most reckless plan I shall ever do, I would have liked to say. Taking on the Morelle, even with the backing of Elite Four members, was just asking for a media backlash.
It would undermine everything.
Why am I doing this?
"You want me to rescue your friend when a Gym Leader refused," Dr du Bois eyed each and every one of us. Disbelief clouded her rather regular features, remote as a Xatu with the certainty of an oracle.
"Donar said that you could do it," Shauna pleaded.
"If you're a decent person, surely you'd try," Noël added sarcastically. "Wait, you're not nice at all."
"And what did Ramos say?" she questioned, ignoring the barb.
"Leader Ramos said... he called the police, but it's a while," Serena related, somewhat civil in the presence of Dr du Bois's apparent interest in Léa's case. "We can't search the Morelle villa, and Morelle himself denied knowing anything... who knows where Léa is...? Why would Léa be kidnapped?"
"Money," Dr du Bois simply replied. "Since the Warring Ages of the X century, Kalosian inheritance law traditionally favours the chatelaines, or heiresses, to keep the stability of various noble posts within families. From the time of Kalos's transition to industrialisation, females have also been favours for inheritance due to the presumption of legitimacy. Various other factors come into play as well, but absolute female primogeniture is still within the Inheritance Statute of Kalos, due to be revised in a year's time. In any other region and family, Léa Morelle would have been grudgingly accepted, but the Morelle are a cruel family. Achillée Morelle might do anything to protect his position within the family, especially since the burden of inheritance would fall to Léa Morelle once her family bloodline has been conclusively proven."
"We have to find Léa," I quickly took over once it seemed that her patience was fraying. "Please, Doctor."
"What are you expecting of me?" she sighed. "Léa Morelle is gone, under the supervision of the Coumarine Gym, and presumably with the Morelle family. We are talking about one of the old, powerful families of Kalos."
"But you can stage a rescue, right?" I begged desperately. "I mean, the house is permanently under surveillance at the moment..."
Dr du Bois considered. "If it is, then all Achillée Morelle has to do is lay low until the furore disappears. None of us can remain in Coumarine indefinitely, and police presence would decrease after a month, perhaps more. Presuming that Léa Morelle is not already pushing up daisies, that means that she is at an unknown location within the Morelle villa, presumably safe and unharmed."
I nodded quickly. "Yeah, the villa is under watch."
"Were that so, there are two typical answers, on a hypothetical basis, to start," Dr du Bois continued. "One is to bribe someone to keep in contact with Léa Morelle, bring us proof of life, and to convince Achillée Morelle that Léa Morelle alive is better than dead, at least for the moment. An impossible feat, since that would require bribing one of the security guards, and they already know that all of you are with the police. We might hasten her death instead."
That... didn't sound good. "The second option?"
"A sting operation, to push Léa Morelle into the public sphere for retrieval," Dr du Bois elaborated. "This can only happen under the given conditions."
" Merci beaucoup pour téléphoner au Gym à Port Tempères, " a soft, human female voice answered. " Comment pourrons-nous vous aider? Notre horaires d'ouverture sont de huit heures jusqu'à vingt heures. "
" Bonjour. C'est Marguerite Linden du Bois. Il me faut dire au Champion Ramos Amaro, immédiatement, " I retorted in Kalosian.
" C'est de la part de qui? "
" Je suis une professeur de sociologie au Laboratoire Platane à Illumis. C'est urgent. Où est Champion Amaro ? "
" Ne quittez pas, s'il vous plaît. Je vous le passe. "
I waited until I could hear Ramos's gravelly voice. " Allô? "
" Bonjour, Champion Amaro, " I answered. " C'est Marguerite Linden du Bois. J'ai une proposition au sujet de Léa Morelle. "
Noël Duval walked in once I had finished the call, shaking snow from his jacket. "Well, the Coumarine Hill is covered in snow. This had better be worth Officer Jenny yelling at me."
The conditions upon which a rescue can be established: First, that the ground be rendered hard enough the digging through would be impossible. "You have just saved Léa from a shallow grave."
Serena and Shauna called my Holo Caster next. "Shauna just called, no one's buying lye. And, I just checked with all of Coumarine's motor shops, no sulphuric acid on demand."
Second: that there are no large supplies of sulphuric acid, lye or cement anywhere near the Morelle villa. Check.
Donar called next. "All passage from the house is being monitored, Doctor. Thanks, Fletchinder!"
"Fletchinder!"
Third: that there is no way of easily getting rid of a body out to the Azure Bay or Route 13 from the Morelle villa without notice.
Ramos had coughed delicately when I laid out the plan. "You want me to call Morelle?"
"With a very indelicate warning, yes," I answered. "I trust that you can concoct something."
"That I can do, madame, if this will save Mademoiselle Morelle. Merci."
" Merci. À bientôt. "
Last: that Achillée Morelle is extremely aware of all the surveillance, legal or otherwise, upon him and his men.
I set the Holo Caster down, and waited for most of the players at hand to arrive. With all conditions fulfilled, then our plan can proceed.
"The Morelle family," Dr du Bois produced a document headed by a blazon. "Coat of arms: A saltire sanguine on argent, three leaves of nightshade arranged like a fleur-de-lys. The motto: Chacun sa part ; to each their own. Its formation dates back to the original dukedom of Coumarine, the city itself consolidated between the now-defunct Maison Mandragora, the Maison Goutte-de-Sang who's still around, and the Morelle. Since the Age of Exploration from the XV to XVII century, the Morelle has held a partial monopoly over the shipping done in Coumarine, as well as in the maintenance of order within the city limits. Its current head, Achillée Morelle, is living within the ancestral villa, some distance from the Azure Bay. Léa Morelle, the girl he kidnapped, is presumably within the house. The villa is currently under surveillance by both police and Ramos's very dedicated Rangers as of three hours ago. It is guarded by Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon. Our plan is to get him to bring Léa Morelle into the open, and thus stage a rescue."
"Question!" Shauna raised her hand. "Erm... how are we going to do that?"
"We stage an infiltration," she answered.
"Erm..." Serena gulped. "If we can break in, why don't we just rescue Léa?"
"Because, afterwards, all of us would be hunted and killed by the family, since a rescue via breaking and entering is inadmissible in court as evidence," Dr du Bois replied coldly. "Every crime has two parts; actus reus, the act itself, and mens rea, the guilty mind. If Léa Morelle is rescued, the evidence of actus reus disappears. In both short- and long-term, we must lure Morelle with Léa Morelle out to a place of our choosing at which the extraction attempt shall take place."
Serena grumbled, but subsided.
"Our plan," Dr du Bois produced a leaflet, "is to lure Morelle to place Léa Morelle up on this cruise ship, the S.S. Azur. It is owned by Morelle Shipping; that is, Morelle's own cruise ship, commissioned to sail through the Azure Bay, turn around the Sea Spirit's Den, up and down the Kalosian coast and then go up the Vin River to dock at Lumiose. There is a window of time during which the Azur will be in international waters, which is the most likely time that Achillée Morelle can-" she made a motion, "-pitch Léa Morelle overboard. A drowning girl in the middle of the ocean... quite perfect."
"So how are we going to make sure that Léa gets there alive?" I asked.
Dr du Bois smiled. It looked way creepier than it should. "We won't be. Monsieur Morelle will deliver her himself."
I looked at my full retinue of Pokémon. Not counting the missing Pumpkaboo presumably within the Morelle villa, and Darkrai, I had six Pokémon. I was going to have to choose something appropriately strong and non-threatening, rare yet not so rare as to be near-mythological. Discounting Aegis, Crystal, Altair and Phantump, that left Jelly and Liz. Jelly was unwieldy; Liz it was.
"We're going to have to do this," I told the Single Bloom Pokémon, who nodded in answer.
"Flo!"
Why can I not go? Altair questioned, lingering behind me.
"You're the trump," I replied, studying the outlay of Pawniard at guard outside the Morelle villa. "There are Trainer-Pokémon stereotypes we can use to our advantage. Lucario Trainers are traditionally shown as perceptive, and I need Morelle to underestimate us. Plus, if Morelle is distracted by my presence, he won't think that I have an agent searching his house for Léa Morelle, much less a Pokémon. This gives you the chance to break in with Darkrai to check for signs of Léa Morelle or Pumpkaboo."
You won five million Poké off of him. I believe Morelle already knows your capabilities.
"In a casino, guaranteed by a member of the Elite Four and the Kalos Bankers' Guild," I corrected, smoothing out my skirt. "Not on his turf. I could have been lucky. Okay, what do we know about their security?"
Altair closed his eyes. Even partway downwind of the fancy villa, his range of aura was far more encompassing than a hacker would be able to reach. Four Pawniard; the two sentries and two guards on the ground floor. Two Houndoom, patrolling in a twenty-minute cycle, one human minder per Houndoom.
"Their boss," I noted. "Carry on."
Achillée Morelle on the first floor. Two more Pawniard, one Bisharp. Aerial defences, two Murkrow. No minder in sight; possibly wild Murkrow offering a service.
"If you can, see if you can bargain with them," I commented. "We have a connection to Capo on Mélancholie Path, after all."
Noted. Basement: two more Pawniard, one Pumpkaboo, and... Léa Morelle.
Eh, good enough. "Excellent. Are you ready, Altair?"
Yes.
"Darkrai?"
I will be lying in wait to drive Morelle mad? Darkrai questioned.
"Not in slumber," I corrected. "This works only when the mark is conscious and unaware; that is, at night. We need suggestions, not objective arguments. An entire house having nightmares is the presence of a Darkrai; one person in a nightmare is paranoia overdrive. In short, as long as the mark does not fall asleep, you have free reign of the house. Once the household is asleep, get out. Understood?"
Of course. What about the smiling shadow?
I looked down towards Haunter, who grinned to show its blue tongue.
A shiny Haunter.
Of course. My life could not get any more interesting.
I gave Haunter a Sitrus Berry that he enjoyed, floating alongside Liz as I walked up to the gates and requested entrance. It took only a while before I was shown into a drawing room. Dark red curtains, dark red bergères and matching ottomans, blazons on the walls fitted with spackling... a literal Red Room, and within it a dark bishop.
"Dr du Bois," Achillée Morelle rose in greeting. "I did not anticipate your... visit. What beautiful specimens, and a shiny Haunter at that! I salute you, madame."
"Bonjour, Monsieur Morelle. Wikstrom was very forthcoming when I expressed a desire to expand my horizons," I replied, faking the demure lady persona. "Academia is not confined to the walls of the École Normale Supérieure. Neither is training. I like to think that they... chose me."
"Neither are nerves," Achillée bowed his head, smirking. "Madame is possessed of both. Bisharp, the lady is our guest."
"In-house guards?" I asked, feeling the Sword Blade Pokémon retreat behind me. "Quite the sentinel you have, monsieur. Equivalent to the royal guard of the Court during pre-Revolution times."
"My family has trained Pawniard and Bisharp for generations," Morelle admitted. "The infamous Bisharp general at Parfum Palace was one of ours. Came to work for our house after the Revolution, left his pawns here. If there was a market other than the Agavé, but..."
"Yes, having those with trained Watchog monopolise the security industry must be so hard," I sighed theatrically.
"Can't even get any Watchog trainers with me, not when they all go to the Agavé or Alternate Community Executives," Morelle agreed. "Did you know, that Team Rocket was created right after ACE set up their little contract with the Pokémon League? Exclusive security rights to all League events, and League sponsorship for outstanding Trainers to enter."
I was very well acquainted with ACE Trainer executives when Kalos was sending aid and assistance to the Orre region. Scholars do not exactly discuss that segment of League history and sociology, about how some companies do manage to clinch a large segment of the global market in a given industry despite the League's mandate of meritocracy. Morelle did not need to know that. "Part of my research concerns the career paths of a Trainer, and ACE is a prominent part of that research. But, Watchog are the standard for security. I remember, a little girl drowned on the SS Aqua and a Watchog caught her just barely in time."
"Hmm," Achillée paused. "Another person, merely a footnote in history."
"So glad that it was passing through Indigo waters instead of the Decolore Straits," I continued. He was on the hook. "International waters would have become incredible amounts of red tape. Tentacruel are truly cruel, but they are also part of the natural habitat."
Achillée tutted. "Compared to us, the Tentacruel and Honchkrow of the world have truly carved their niches."
"The Tyranitar have done a better job," I pointed out. "Every region in the word has them classed at Class A in tradeable cross-region trade. It's a tyrant for a reason. Though I do admit that Honchkrow have their uses."
"Sadly I don't have a Honchkrow," Morelle admitted gently as a butler served a carafe of iced tea, the ice gently clinking in sway. "I di have a Honchkrow contact who has a human agent in some Lumiose bureau, though. Iced tea, madame?"
"Oh, yes," I laughed as a glass was delicately served to a small table by my bergère. "S'il vous plaît. I'm just... so nervous. It would be my first cruise on the Azur."
"You're taking the Azur cruise?" Morelle sounded interested. Line.
"Wikstrom is taking me to view his newest donation in private first," I delicately replied. I realised that it sounded like the Baron de Rais was in the midst of courting an academic, but it was believable. "Letters from Gilles de Rais, to Jeanne la Pucelle. He is... quite the romantic. The other day he took me out for a walk in the snow- oh! I'm digressing, monsieur."
"Well," Morelle smirked. "Perhaps there might be a Dame de Rais in the future?"
I felt my face getting hot. "I'm sure... Wikstrom prefers the company of the likes of Maîtresse Carnet. Even though cruises are so isolated. On a ship, the world is completely excluded to the denizens upon a ship... monsieur, anything can happen out at sea."
"Yet it shall be romantic," Morelle commented. "There will be a tournament of poker, madame. If your nerves are as good as in chemmy..."
"I thought about turning tricks in bridge," I smiled inwardly as Morelle's smirk deepened. "But there's only so many games Wikstrom is willing to play. Perhaps I could convince him after our little victory five days ago at the casino."
"Why, yes, you must," Morelle indelicately flashed an incisor, and some... force about him reminded me of a Sableye poised to strike. Or Grimsley Pieris Giima at the poker table. "Do bring Lord de Rais out, he's always been cooped at home."
Sinker.
I started the walk away soon after, and found myself milling in the snow-covered gardens for a spell. Noël Duval had truly made thorough work of the gardens.
"I'm assuming that it went very well, or very badly," I commented once I judged myself a safe distance away.
Altair dropped from his perch on a telephone pole. We found Pumpkaboo. The little pumpkin knew Shadow Sneak. I wrote a note and left it for Miss Morelle, explaining how to destroy it.
"Very good-" I paused. "I didn't give you a writing instrument. Or paper."
Darkrai filched some from the human minders. Altair paused. The Houndoom have Early Bird as their Ability, and the Murkrow have Insomnia. Fortunately for us, our avian and canine security are controlled by or report to humans, who are useless when they are asleep.
I groaned as Darkrai appeared from the shadows underfoot. "Sit rep."
I have rearranged materials within our target's offices, rooms and laid simple traps throughout his suites, Darkrai triumphantly declared. The humans fell asleep via the chemical means your kind calls alcohol.
"They were drunk on duty?" I blinked.
No. I drugged their canteens.
I pondered. "Well, in a normal social situation, that is wrong. This is not a normal situation. Do you understand that?"
You have explained that distinction, Marguerite. Darkrai replied, with perhaps a touch of asperity.
"As long as your understand," I shrugged, motioning to Haunter to give him a hug. "Haunter, meet Darkrai. He's your fellow stalker, cum companion, cum hanger-on I drag along for the ride. Now, I believe L'Étape has a dinner special."
The entire team was assembled there, and I took the chance to think over an excellent soupe au pistou at the four Mareep chewing their food. Donar was perhaps the only one to recognise this.
"Doctor...?" He asked, rather timidly.
"Thinking." I pondered. "Out of the five of us, mine is the only face he would not immediately associate with Léa Morelle. Achillée Morelle already knows all of your faces; none of you can be deployed immediately. To that end, I called Augustine and made him hand over some cruise tickets."
"Made him...?" Serena commented quietly.
"M. Duval, Serena and you shall be aboard the Azur as representatives of the Sycamore Laboratory," I explained, pulling out an envelope from my jacket pocket. "Donar, Shauna, the two of you will be mingling with the crowd first thing to get aboard the ship with the main crowd. Shauna, I need you to stage a confrontation with Morelle right before the ship casts off, and directly after, you will go to the Coumarine Gym and inform Ramos, before going through Route 13 towards Lumiose City to await us. If I do not send a signal, you will call the Lumiose authorities. You will not be aboard the ship. Donar, Serena, your task will be to distract the two Elite Four, one Champion Emeritus and one Champion aboard the ship."
Donar nearly spat out his soup. "What?!"
Serena just stared. "Champion... emeritus?"
"I just received a passenger list," I commented vaguely. It was slightly illegal, but illegal was usually faster. "Siebold is catering his grandfather's birthday party, hence only Grimsley and Wikstrom should be aboard the ship, along with Steven Stone and Cynthia Shirona. It is essential that none of them approach Morelle when I am with him."
Guillaume Gagné was aboard, but no matter. He would probably be distracted with keeping tabs on Morelle and I, to note his son's presence.
"Why?" Serena asked.
"They will recognise that I am interrogating him," I looked at Serena as the main dishes came in. "And that is the plan. We will keep in touch using our Holo Casters. No direct contact, unless to fit the role. I will be buying hands-free sets for all of us. Our individual preparations shall begin after dessert. Now, what shall we eat?"
I imagine, if I did not have my studies to occupy me, I would have become a criminal mastermind. A functioning, alcoholic criminal mastermind.
– Marguerite Linden du Bois
Kalosian law itself might be more complicated than what Marguerite is depicting, but the main point is that they need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Achillée Morelle had both intent and had taken action to kidnap Léa. There can be no ambiguities, otherwise Morelle could escape and come after them.
Also, note that the floors refer to the British scheme, which is what France follows. So, first floor is the storey above ground level.
Critiquez, s'il vous plaît!