Nexus, Part Four: "Credence"
It is generally said to be unwise to stand against a skilled opponent in their own territory. At the moment, Lizzy would be hard pressed to disagree. The woman opposite her was one of the most dangerous people she had faced since becoming the Queen's Watchdog, and was both exhilarating and daunting to combat. She skipped out of range of the assassin's mace-like weapons and Mey-Rin fell into step beside her, the former assassin having just caught up after taking out several other guards with knock-out darts. Now, Mey-Rin leveled her gun at the short Chinese woman in front of them, making her falter as she looked for a way to get to them without taking a hit.
At that moment a door opened at the back of the spacious opium den and a man stepped out. His hands were clasped behind the long sleeves of a changshan and his narrow eyes quickly took in the scene.
"Stand down, Ran-Mao," he ordered softly, causing the assassin to immediately retreat to his side.
"It was inevitable, I suppose," he mused aloud as he stepped further into the room to face the Watchdog and her attendant, "that it would come to this. I don't suppose that we could work out our differences?"
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed at the man.
"Not unless you begin to follow the laws of the underworld, and stop disrupting the lives of people uninvolved. Then, perhaps, and if you if you're willing to follow my directions, we can come to an arrangement."
The syndicate member's gaze was locked firmly on hers as he said, "Very well…So long as you can explain who you are and what those rules are?"
Lizzy and Mey-Rin shared a look.
"You don't know who we are?" Elizabeth asked skeptically, "Then was all that about inevitability?"
The man laughed.
a/n: Yes, I realize that knockout darts may seem a little tame. But obviously this is merely a scene without context. This incursion actually started out more as an investigation which then devolved into combat. (Also, Lizzy promised Mey-Rin that she wouldn't have to kill for a living. She keeps her word and altogether strives to be more honest than Ciel does in canon; although, as this is still pre-canon, we'll see how she might change as time goes on.)
"Credence," as relating to certainty, understanding, trust, or impression