Nexus, Part Five: "Astray"
If there is a god, Lizzy thinks, then he isn't the god that people want. He's not the type to grant miracles or to prove his presence. And he certainly isn't one to step in at the end of a story and save the day.
There's a man standing in front of her now, and she thinks that there was a time when he needed a miracle, but it has passed. It never came. And instead of whatever future he might have had, in spite what kind of person he was, he had ended up working on the docks of Great Britain as part of a crew of smugglers.
As usually seems to happen with interesting people, they had crossed paths because of a case from the queen. Several weeks ago, Her Majesty had requested that Lizzy look into the rash of weapons that were being smuggled into the country from foreign locales. She'd then been on the hunt for some time without catching a break since the smugglers were clean. They didn't deal in anything but weapons and they were careful. In fact, Lizzy had been thinking that she'd have to set up a network to catch them when she'd received an anonymous tip. The smugglers had gotten wind that she was on their tail, and someone on the inside had given them up: this man. The twitchy blond, wearing an old army cap and clenching a cigarette in his teeth.
And now, having rounded up the others who were part of the smuggling operation, only he is left. And the question is:
"Why?"
"Why, what?" the man asks.
"Why did you give up your crew? No—why were you a part of it if you obviously hated it?"
The man sighs, scrubbing a hand over his face as they stand on a shabby little street corner in London. They appear to be alone, but Lizzy knows that Mey-Rin is keeping an eye out from a high perch somewhere.
"There's not much work out there," the man finally says, "when you're dishonorably discharged from the army. But I still had some friends, and they set me up. So, here I am. That what you wanted to hear? It's shitty work, and I hate it, but I've got no other options. And I just doubly screwed myself over by turning my only source of employment over to some British kid on a power trip. Damn me and my fucked up morals."
Elizabeth can't help but laugh; she thinks that she's found, here, a gem in the rough.
"I'm Elizabeth," she says, and holds out her hand.
"Baldroy. I go by Bard."
a/n: And that's it for "Nexus."
Anyway, out of all of them, I think Bard is the most affected by the fact that Sebby isn't here. He was in war, and this time there was no deus ex machina to get him out. So...he's going to be the most radically changed out of the servants, as you'll come to see. Also...where is Tanaka...? Hmmm...
"Astray," as in being lost, off course, or missing.