Chapter 8: The Power of Information
Western Karanese District: Madrick Guild Hall
Commander Irvin Smith's eyes slightly widened with surprise, "The first Crime Lord?" He asked out of subtle confusion.
"Yes, the first Crime Lord, Lord of the Karanese District. Master of information, and intelligence." Irene replied, approaching Irvin slowly, stepping down the small ledges. "That is I" Her complexion was calm and soothing to look at as her dark long violet tinted brown hair contrasted her neutral light skin.
"Then I suppose I should ask Irene…" Irvin began to say, standing there with his unshaken composed demeanor, "What shall you do with me now that I know?" he was sure that a Crime Lord would not allow him to live lest their identity had been found out, but he had a few trinkets on him to help him in his escape.
The first Crime Lord Irene simply grinned before turning slightly, "Why would I do something to you? You are a guest, and where were my manners? This is no way to treat a guest, especially the leader of the Scouting Legion Irvin Smith himself. Please, follow and join me for a cup of tea."
Irvin was still quite suspicious, so he kept his guard up just in case. "What are her intentions…?" He wondered to himself, scanning the situation in his mind. He figured that he should just go with it for now, as there were no other viable options of action that he could take.
From the depths of the dimly lit hall Irene had led Irvin through, there was a door at the end. From opening it, they entered a brightly lit office room, just like any other. Nothing lavish stood out. Book shelves filled to the brim with papers strewn about on an unkempt desk. Near her desk was a large cage, a cage with about four white birds, pigeons to be exact. They fluttered about, all staring at Irvin with their orange colored eyes. He had heard that Pigeons had the ability to fly home no matter where they are. "A suitable animal for an organization such as this"
"Please, have a seat." The First Crime Lord implored as she began pouring the tea.
Strangely enough to Irvin, this was an unusual display of hospitality for someone who seemingly is associated with such a hostile environment. "Thank you…" He replied, taking further precautions of switching his and Irene's tea cups to make sure one was not poisoned.
As he sat down, he glared at her as if nothing had occurred.
Irene was somewhat amused, understanding of Irvin's precautions and superstitions as she took a sip to ensure that the tea was not laced. Her intentions were not hostile at all.
Watching as the Crime Lord took a sip of her own tea, Irvine did the same as a sign of respect. He slightly overthought for a moment, thinking that Irene was using reverse psychology on him, knowing that he would take extra precautions. After a few moments, he soon realized that there was nothing wrong with the tea, it was delicious in fact. One of the finest he had ever tasted, only something that could be bought from within the inner wall at a high price.
Closing her eyes for a moment while crossing her legs again, the First Crime Lord spoke up from the silence, "You must have many questions that you want me to answer Commander"
Nodding soundly as he set his cup down, he took the moment to ask the one question that was bugging him from the beginning of this investigation, "What do you want with Liette?"
"It's not, per say, what I want with Liette. She does not have anything I desire. It is, rather, what the Paramount Crime Lord wants from Liette" She replied, folding her hands and planting them on her lap.
"Then what does this Paramount Crime Lord want from her?"
"I cannot tell you at the moment" Irene replied, shaking her head.
Irvin was quite intrigued by her oath of secrecy, "Might I inquire as to why?"
"Those are one of the rules of the game"
"The game?"
"Yes. This is a game devised by the Paramount." Irene shortened.
Irvin was quite shocked that one of the most powerful people alive would be playing a game such as this, "What does she gain if she wins?"
"She gains a piece of information"
"Information?"
"Information pertaining to the Paramount" The enigmatic woman replied, "In order to achieve such reward, she must first pass a series of tests given by each of the crime lords, including me."
Irvin leaned forward a bit to listen a bit more seriously, "And if she loses?"
"Who knows?" Irene shrugged, "She may lose the only chance of getting the information and direction she needs, or even more. Her own life or the life of her comrades. It depends on the Lord, and it depends on the task" Irene stood up from her seat, and slowly paced her way towards the large cage.
"What, shall you task her to do?" Irvin questioned, in an attempt to alert Liette as soon as possible in case something malicious came up.
"Fortunately for her, my task is simple. I shall ask her to solve a riddle within two days. If she fails, I shall ask another riddle, and another, until she gets it right. If she succeeds, I shall grant her the knowledge about the Paramount, and which district she must head to next." As she was explaining, she opened the cage and allowed one of the pigeons to rest on her index finger.
Irvin rubbed his chin in momentary thought, "That sound very reasonable"
"But wait, there's more. If she manages to solve my riddle, I shall join her side in this game"
This statement somewhat shocked Irvin as he turned his head to look at her, "For what purpose?" He was very doubtful that Irene was to be trusted.
Irene said nothing for a moment before sitting down at her desk, letting the pigeon wander about for a few moments while she wrote something down on some parchment. "Irvin, do you know what the term Crime Lord actually means?" Without giving him a chance to answer, she continued as she tied the message she was writing onto the leg of the bird, "The title Crime Lord is given to someone with a very valuable power that possesses the capacity to be involved with crime. They are not necessarily deeply involved with the world of crime itself. For me, it is the power of information. For others, it might be money, or lust, or coercion."
Irene sighed as she walked toward her window, opening it and releasing the pigeon, "I formed this guild with the intention that it might benefit mankind. But for it to turn to this, using tainted money, supplying tainted information, a guild loses its pride. I suppose it was inevitable, but I still want to have a little pride in my work"
She rested on the ledge of the window, dragging her fingers softly on the wood frame. Turning her gaze to Irvin, she began to finish, "That is why I shall join your side. The Paramount is a dangerous man, and I cannot do anything against him lest the lives of my guild mates are at stake. But that Liette Herrman is the key to his downfall."
Irvin somewhat felt a bit sympathetic about Irene's situation, but he was still suspicious about one thing, "You said that Liette was the key to the Paramount's downfall. Do you by chance know her relationship with him?"
Irene realized the error of her mistake as she slightly chuckled at herself, "Of course I know. What kind of information broker would I be if I didn't know?" she joked as she stood up once more to take her seat again, "Unfortunately Commander, I cannot tell you that bit of information, as it is against the rules"
Irvin himself also grinned, "I figured as much" he replied, "Thank you for the tea. It was delicious."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. But before you leave, shall we discuss the payment for my services?"
The Commander folded his hands as he rested his head back a bit, "What shall it be?"
"Bring Liette here in two days' time. From there, I shall bring forth my task for her"
Central Karanese District – Café Beaujolais
The small bar in the center of the District of Information, the Karanese District, was somewhat quiet except for the constant sighing and moping of Liette.
"Hah….." She sighed after gulping a hard bit of wine.
"You don't sound much better than before" Rivaille commented, taking careful sips of his own alcohol. In contrast with Liette, he was drinking from the cup rather than straight out of the wine bottle.
"No… no I'm fine, doin', hic! Much better now." Liette replied resting her chin on her hands on the table, her cheeks were red as her eyes drooped with her sad mood, "It's just, I really don't know who I am anymore. I don't know my parents, I don't even know my last name! Herrman was Nelson's last name…. hic!... and I just decided to use it since I considered him family."
Rivaille watched her out of pity, "Hey, don't talk like that. You shouldn't focus on the past unless it will affect your future."
"I know, I know!" Liette said rather loudly in the empty bar, "I just… I just wished that these questions could somehow… be… answerddd…." She slurred slightly, and drowsily going into a light nap.
The Lance Corporal sighed deeply as he finished off his beverage, "What am I going to do with you?" he asked himself before hearing someone take a seat beside him.
"It seems that you two have been using your time productively" The stoic, but relaxed voice of Irvin said as he began pouring himself a glass of wine.
"Commander…" Rivaille was rather surprised at his arrival.
"Has Liette's condition improved?"
Eying Liette while nodding his head towards the sleeping drunk, "Much better than before I guess. But still, not what I would have preferred"
Irvin chuckled slightly before sliding a cigar into his mouth, "She's been through a lot, so don't bash on her too hard" Rather than sinking into a relaxed mood, Irvin maintained a somewhat serious tone as he leaned forward closer to Rivaille, "Rivaille, I must discuss something important with you"
The Lance Corporal also leaned forward to express his intent to listen. "What did you discover?"
"Listen carefully. By coincidence, I managed to cross paths with the first Crime Lord"
Rivaille gasped out of shock, "Irene…?!"
"You know her? Don't you?" Commander Irvin replied as he continued, "She requested that Liette see her in two days' time."
"I see…." Rivaille leaned in his chair, remembering back on some of his former days in the crime world. "Irene… what do you plan to achieve?"
"But that's not the only thing that I wanted to talk about to you here" Irvin added, sliding two envelopes toward Rivaille, "One contains a letter that details what I learned from the first Crime Lord. The second is a letter from Generalissimo Dallis Zacklay"
"A letter from the head of all three Military divisions himself huh?" Rivaille asked, examining the broken seal on the government document, uninterestingly returning it to his commander. "What does he want this time?"
Irvin crossed his arms, occasionally tapping the ashes off his cigar, "He requests my presence within the Wall Sina to discuss further plans for the Scouting Legion."
The clean-freak raised an eyebrow in slight interest as he asked, "What of the investigation? Will you just drop it?"
"Of course not" He replied exhaling the black smoke, "I will entrust this operation to someone else"
"And who would that be…?" Rivaille asked before his gaze turned to the sleeping Liette, "You mean….?"
Pointing at the letter he had given earlier, Irvin began to explain, "Enclosed in that letter is everything she needs to know. I am giving her the duty of creating a task force to aid her in this operation." Standing up as he put out his cigar in the ash tray, Irvin began to depart. "This incident pertains to Liette, and I intend for her to find the answers herself"
"Wait Commander!" Rivaille wanted to ask, "What time are we leaving tomorrow?"
Looking back at him, Irvin replied with a hint of wit, "What do you mean we? Zacklay did not request your appearance, so I am putting you on this task force under Liette's leadership. Ensure that your mission is successful, find this Paramount Crime Lord, and make sure that his interference with the goals of the Scouting Legion are never to happen again." With that, Irvin took his leave.
In his slightly surprised expression, Rivaille watched Irvin leave the bar. "Under… her leadership?" he asked himself as he watched Liette, stirring in her sleep. "Can she really do it…? Even after what happened the last time she was head of a squad?"
Despite these thoughts of doubt rolling through his mind, he shook them off as he stuffed the letters in his back pocket. Afterward, he helped Liette up even though she was still dead asleep, and lifted her on his back. Even though Liette was taller than him, he didn't have too many problems carrying Liette back to her room. Surprisingly, she was very light. Most of the soldiers would gain weight because of the upper muscle they built during training, but it seemed that Liette had already built the tones of her muscles already, mostly concentrated in her legs. She was an acrobat after all.
Rivaille even remembered those nights back in the Scouting Legion expeditions, Liette would always tell stories about her life when she was younger. It occurred to him that being in the air was somewhat special to Liette. He couldn't blame her, rather, he related. In the air, felt like something else, something that humanity never experienced ever since the titans appeared.
As he carried her down the empty moonlit street, Liette's snoring had quieted down a bit.
"Are you finally awake?" He asked looking to his side to see if she indeed was, "Eh, it doesn't matter." Shaking off the criticism, he reoriented Liette and began to empathize, "I guess you do have it tough either way. My job isn't simply to observe anymore…. It's to help you now. We've been through a lot together. I guess I can stick with you for a bit longer…" He was partially talking to himself, but also to Liette, as he glared up at the lonesome moon in a somewhat content mood.
His silence was broken by a warm wet feeling on the back of his neck, "H-hey! Stop drooling on me!" If it was one thing Rivaille hated, it was saliva, and other people's saliva especially.
In a desperate attempt to try to move Liette's head, he began to hear whimpering, followed by crying. He realized that it was not spit he was feeling, it was tears. Wet, and salty tears. "Liette…"
Liette began to cry, only murmuring the words, "Thank….you…."
Rivaille slight grinned as he turned forward, "Don't thank me. Isn't that what friends are for?" He replied quietly.
ooo
Strum…strum…. Echo….. strum….. strum….echo….
The sound of an eerie ploy of mandolin strings echoed through the hollow stone cold hall. It was creepy, it was bone chilling, hair raising, but most of all, it was so enigmatic, as if all that was known and unknown, all the answers seeped into the wood of the neck and resonated from the strings.
The First Crime Lord, the Lord of the Answers sat there at the window of her office, playing that tone, that piece, all to herself, and for all her guild mates to hear. Bit by bit, the echoing notes ceased as she sat there, her fingers still on the strings. Her eyes were glaring at the figure approaching her from the darkness of the hallway, the person all too familiar with her.
"Sister…. Do you honestly think the Paramount would approve…?" Alas, Irene's most trusted spy had appeared.
"Why dearest Elsa" Irene ignored her question for a few moments before continuing to play her song.
Elsa was quite concerned, "Don't you believe that he would take this as an act of betrayal and kill us?"
Again, Irene ignored her for a moment while strumming her notes. A while after, she stopped again, "You and I know that he won't take action against us."
"How would you know he won't take action against us?"
Irene began to chuckle, "Do not worry. Everything is going according to plan"
"Caw!" The heart stopping echo of a crow's cry emanated from near the window as a black feathered crow perched itself by the window next to Irene. It was as if it were a sign from death itself. In its beak, a string with a letter wrapped in it. How it managed to carry it all the way here, no one will know.
Unmoved by the horrid creature before her, Irene took the string from it. Cawing once more before taking flight again, she opened the letter to a slight surprise.
A grin kept across Irene's face as she began to laugh and said again, "All according to plan" Thus, the strings echoed through the hall once more. It was unknown whether there was a malicious aura about her, but one thing was for certain, she was planning something.
Strum…strum…. Pluck…echo…strum….
Upon the letter set on the windowsill was a feather. The feather of a pigeon.
A/N: Shorter chapter today, but hopefully that won't disappoint too much. As you all know, or should have known, I changed the description of my story since I wasn't centering on titan killing for now. I wanted to work a bit more on Liette's and Rivaille's relationship a bit more, but I don't think it'll turn into romance just yet, but I do have it planned down the road.
Otherwise, not much else to talk about it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review! I'm getting a whole bunch of guest reviews, I appreciate that, but I want to know who to thank!
