Well, here it is, after six months of hemming and hawwing, complete with changing job locations to escape an abusive boss, surgeries on both my hands, and just generalized failure on my part. I'll not make any excuses, I just didn't care to write for the most part.
What I have here is literally six months of stops, starts, and failures, this is honestly the fifth iteration of what I was trying to write, and like I constantly say, I am not happy with it, but it's reached the point of critical mass that I just want to get to the next chapter for my own sanity's sake.
I'll just be upfront here, a lot of my issue stemmed from how I wanted to present Piggot. Part of that stemmed from the fact that Piggot really isn't a good person in Worm, she's a bigot who is willing to go to lengths to achieve her objectives to the point of being detrimental to the larger cause. I've jokingly called her Diet Tagg in my head, but honestly, it does fit her.
So a lot of what I spent doing was instead of making it a bit more nuanced, how it isn't just Ellisburg that drives her bigotry, but also the failures within Brockton Bay. Imagine being stuck in a state of not-war with a group of capes that in any sane society would have been stomped out with extreme prejudice, and being left to rot because your leadership just doesn't seem to give a damn. That bigotry would be like a cancer that would grow to the point of it driving the woman who we see in canon.
But the stark difference here is that she is cognizant of that bigotry and isn't allowing it to consume her to the point that it seems to be her only point of character in the canon. She's a commander under siege, and she's trying to find a way out in which she can fulfill her directive and charter, and win.
So she is willing to take risks that you and I may balk at, because that is what she has been left to do in the years since she's taken over.
I'd like to thank Geas and bms111 over on SB and SV, and Byakugan789 for the assistance in this running nightmare of a chapter to the publish point. It's probably still going to be a bust, but meh, I've reached the point where any work is better than no work on this chapter.
Adjustments 2.x Emily
She paused to collect her thoughts as the doors to the elevator doors opened to reveal the hallway that would lead out into the helipad. Putting her weight upon her cane, she strode forward, approaching the glass sliding doors and the pair of uniformed PRT officers stationed there.
"Is she out there, Sergeant?"
"No sign of her yet, ma'am. Speaking plainly though, Director, if the scuttlebutt about her is true, then she could be out there and we would be none the wiser."
There is truth to that, she found herself in agreement with Sergeant Foley's summation of the difficulty of dealing with a cape like Tenshi. Until they had more concrete information all they were left with was observations and guesswork. Which, in certain circumstances, could lead to mistakes because they were overestimating her.
But if her read on Tenshi was correct… Taking a deep breath, she stepped past Foley and the other officer, the sliding doors opening and permitting her exit out onto the helipad. Foley followed her out, but kept by the door, his service rifle at rest but ready.
Slowly, but surely, she reached the center of the helipad, her own eyes slowly roving over her surroundings.
Her eyes were drawn into the air at the soft sound of a flutter of wings, as Tenshi came out of the sky, paper wings outstretched behind her, like her namesake. Landing, the paper wings then folded themselves into the back of the cape as she slowly strode forward, allowing Emily to get her first good look at the independent.
If she were honest with herself, seeing Tenshi with her own two eyes, she found that many of her observations about the cape were likely to be true. Despite the ridiculousness of her look and attire, there was every bit of the bearing she would accredit to that of a soldier. It was in how she carried herself, the way her eyes were scanning the area for threats even as she kept her body posture appearing relatively relaxed, when in actuality she was coiled to spring into action in a heartbeat
The knowledge that she was dealing with someone who seemed to have military training was honestly a relief for her. In the grand scheme of her plans, having someone who would likely understand what she was doing made it important to get Tenshi on board with her plans. Not only could they be reasoned with, but they were most certainly more productive when utilized correctly.
While Tenshi's military skills and training were not necessarily useful for keeping the peace, they were the sort of thing that Emily could make use of, in order for her to succeed against the gangs once things were in place to actually make a move. The fact that Tenshi was moving plans years ahead of others, setting things askew only added to the dire necessity to at least to get her on the same page.
"Tenshi," she greeted, leaning just a bit more on her cane as the parahuman came to a stop just far enough away as to not present a clear and present threat (and make Emily's protection nervous), but close enough that they would be able to speak normally without having to worry about the occasional gust of wind drowning them out.
"Director Piggot," the parahuman greeted neutrally. Her tone and body language told Emily nothing of what Tenshi was thinking, like the ungodliness of the hour in which they were meeting, "you wished to speak with me?"
Straight and to the point, Emily thought to herself, I like it already. Yes, it was a bit hypocritical, considering she worked with Armsmaster, but there was a stark difference between the two. When Armsmaster dealt with others, he was blunt, and borderline impertinent. Tenshi, as far as she could tell, simply didn't want to draw things out.
In that case, it would just be best to rip the bandage off and ask the question on her mind instead of dancing around the issue.
"Were you involved in the death of Shadow Stalker?"
The only indication that Tenshi might have been taken aback by the blunt question was a slow blink, as if she were processing just exactly what was said.
It was in that silence, the wind choosing to pick up slightly, that she considered that there may be some truth to what Armsmaster had suggested.
"Would it really matter," came the answer, finding herself taken aback by the answer, and the veiled insinuation laid within, "Director, Shadow Stalker entered Taylor Hebert's household with the intent to harm. It is quite possible she meant to kill. Regardless of whether I was involved or not, it doesn't take away from what Shadow Stalker did. Putting her down, in my personal estimation, would have been a mercy."
Before she could offer a retort, Tenshi then shook her head, offering a soft sigh, "While I was not physically there, I was there in spirit. I saw to it that Taylor would not be helpless, that she would have the means to survive her encounter."
Judging by what was implied, she had a feeling just what Tenshi had provided Miss Hebert. It would explain what had happened in the room. Still, it begged a question on just who provided the training, if Tenshi seemed to suggest that she wasn't involved in it.
But that was a thought for later.
"And where were you, if you were not there?"
"I was on the other side of the city, adjusting my surveillance of the Empire's activities due to recent changes in their operational security when Miss Militia contacted me. By the time I was able to make it to the Heberts, it was already over.
While she certainly wanted to pursue more on the subject, the fact remained that there were other things they needed to discuss. Pushing too hard this early might break Tenshi's patience. Until Armsmaster finished his investigation, if he finished his investigation, the matter could wait, Emily's priority was to prevent the powder keg from going up as long as possible.
It was nonetheless galling to her own sensibilities, because even with her own personal feelings on the cape, the professional side of her did not like blindly putting faith in a cape. She had done that once, and it was why she was where she was now.
If only Tenshi had done something that they could legitimately detain her over. Mere suspicion wasn't enough considering that up until now, Tenshi had shown herself to be on the side of the heroes. The public would not take kindly to such a reach without requisite proof.
It was best to get to the heart of the matter on why she sought out the cape.
"What are you planning, Tenshi?"
It was a demand without any teeth behind it, but one that needed an answer nonetheless. All of the evidence pointed to Tenshi operating under some sort of plan. There was simply too much to what she was doing to suggest otherwise.
If Emily were a betting woman, she'd put money on Tenshi using her surveillance network to amass information upon the gangs in order to identify points of attack. It made sense, considering outside of the targets of opportunity of the other gangs, she had been spending a lot of her time targeting the Merchants, leading up to last night's crippling strike.
But now that the Merchants were out of the way, Kaiser and Lung were not going to let an easy acquisition out of their hands.
"That depends upon you, Director. Just how far are you willing to go?"
Her hackles raised at the insinuation leveled in the question, but held off biting back. There was a reason Tenshi would be asking this, it made no sense otherwise. So what exactly was she aiming at with the question?
"Where are you going with this, Tenshi?"
Again, Tenshi paused, keeping her underneath her piercing gaze, as if the cape were looking for something. What that was, she didn't know. But before she could ask, Tenshi began speaking again.
"The reason I was successful against the Merchants was because they were an organization in name only. They had almost no security in place to prevent me from surveilling them and forcing them into the mistakes they made. The Empire Eighty-Eight and the Azn Bad Boys, on the other hand, are a completely different breed of animal. The Azn Bad Boys run on a model of the Yakuza cell structure which, if it was on its own, I would have no problem with outside of Lung and maybe Oni-Lee, but I have to balance it with the knowledge that any success against them would bring the Empire Eighty-Eight an opportunity to move."
There was a soft fluttering of paper, almost like a buzzing, "The Empire uses the unwritten rules as a shield. It's the reason they've structured themselves as they have. The rules that stipulate the separation of civilian and cape identities allows them to simply take off the mask and disappear into the crowd, leaving you chasing ghosts until they don it again."
And any attempt to investigate in-depth would likewise tread into the unwritten rules, Piggot finished. It was an old argument within the halls of the PRT, how exactly could they prosecute an investigation into a cape-led organization if the unwritten rules served to frustrate conventional tactics of law enforcement. An answer had yet to truly be found in that regard, only further highlighting a system broken, quite possibly beyond repair.
Is that why you don't wear a mask, in protest of it, or is it something else, Emily mused, considering her next words. She also didn't care for the so-called unwritten rules, it went against almost every opinion she had on what law enforcement was. A select class of individuals exempt from the rules simply because they had won the lottery via traumatic event.
"And you know what will happen if you violate those rules. The entire cape community will hunt you down, you'll be destined for the Birdcage or an unmarked grave."
What she got in return was certainly telling as to how much of a deterrence the idea of a lifetime in an inescapable prison or death was to the cape, as Tenshi merely raised an eyebrow, "Isn't it revealing when the people who swear to protect the innocent and uphold the law are more interested in some sort of twisted gentlemen's agreement that one side benefits more out of?"
It was a thought that she had herself, not that she was going to admit it. But it grated on her nerves the fact that despite the bodycount accrued by several criminal capes in Brockton Bay, they were still able to walk in broad daylight with barely any repercussions.
Nonetheless…
"That's a pretty good stump speech, Tenshi, but neither of us are running for political office," even if I agree with you, "let's stop beating around the bush, I'll ask again, what are your intentions?"
"That depends largely upon you, Director. I know how Lung and Kaiser will react, they won't be able to resist the temptation of rolling up what's left of the Merchants. There's too much territory and money involved to ignore doing so. When they do that, they will engage one another, which will force them to mobilize. When they do, they'll be too busy playing offense in the land grab to adequately defend themselves from a concerted attack. The question you should ask yourself is whether you want to continue abiding by the playbook they have forced upon you and play the same old game of containment; hoping you maybe get lucky and capture a few of them…
She bristled at the criticism, but couldn't fault it, a large part of both the Protectorate and PRT was about containment, reacting to the situation instead of taking initiative, but it was still vexing for an individual who wasn't part of the process to critique it.
Yet she could sense that this wasn't some blind attempt at manipulating her, there was a conviction in Tenshi, this entire time she hadn't wavered in it, instead using her opinions to build toward whatever she was planning to suggest. That meant this wasn't just a flash in the pan and it only indicated a level of in-depth planning that was telling.
So she couldn't help but take the opportunity offered in the open-ended statement.
"Or...?"
"Or do you want to take the fight to them, for once?"
AND
After meeting with Tenshi, she hadn't gone home, nor had she written a report on the meeting itself. Instead, she sat in her office, going over her conversation with the independent cape with a fine-toothed comb.
What Tenshi was suggesting was elegant in its simplicity. Instead of expending the strength of both the Protectorate and PRT in containing the powered elements of the E88 and ABB when they inevitably clashed over the Merchants territory, they would target the lifeblood of both of these organizations: their ability to make money and supply themselves.
At first, she dismissed the cape's suggestion. They had tried the strategy nearly two years ago on the Empire 88 with no success. A mixture of intelligence failures and infiltration of the police department had tipped off their operation and the E88 had deployed several of their capes to protect the supposedly 'vulnerable' store houses. If it hadn't been for the individual heroics of Miss Militia, Armsmaster, and several PRT officers, it would have been a disaster.
After that near-catastrophe, however, the decision had been made not to make such a risky gamble again in the future. There were just too many points of failure, especially within the local law enforcement, to be able to execute successfully.
Then Tenshi had revealed a facet of her abilities that, quite frankly, was rather terrifying in its implications while also serving to retract her outright dismissal.
The destruction of the Merchants last night had indicated that Tenshi maintained a surveillance network of some type. This was only furthered by her own admission of monitoring the Empire 88.
However, that admission paled to the hinted indication that if necessary, Tenshi could maintain a physical surveillance network that could span the entirety of the city with just her abilities. She hadn't outright stated it, much to Emily's relief, but the insinuation couldn't have been any more blatant without being outright said.
Emily still wasn't sure what to think of it. The part of her scarred both physically and mentally by the events of Ellisburg wanted to immediately crack down upon the cape, to contain or eliminate them before the threat could reach the point of no return.
But then there was the part of her that had taken over Brockton Bay, who over the years had compromised too much and suffered too many setbacks. The part of her that was desperately trying to find a line to draw in the sand and declare this far and no farther. That was hinging too much of her strategy upon a new generation of capes to possibly stem the tide.
And here was an opportunity, provided by someone outside of her chain of command, that could be that silver bullet. All it would require for her was to make a compromise to the very core of her beliefs.
To put her faith in a cape that she didn't have control over.
Maybe it was oversimplifying things. There were still several hurdles to overcome before anything Tenshi was suggesting could actually become concrete. Nonetheless, it was still an investment of trust into a cape that had only come onto the scene a couple of months ago. A cape that up until this evening she had never even met in the first place.
It all came back to trust. Could she trust Tenshi in spite of the ongoing Shadow Stalker situation?
Releasing a sigh, she reached up to massage her brow, the events of the past twenty-four hours catching up to her. She then brought her hand down and looked at the email that sat on her screen, waiting for her decision.
And this was the decision. If she chose to send this, she was committing to a course of action that would tie her fate to a cape that she could only hope that her read on was accurate. Because if it wasn't, if she was wrong, then the damage could be untold.
But if she was right. If Tenshi was worth her word and promise and they were even halfway successful in what the cape had outlined, then the gangs that had plagued the Bay for years now would find the game changed overnight.
Without the money that was the lifeblood of their organizations…
It was a start, she agreed, it wouldn't necessarily be the killing blow. But a gang without the ability to pay the rank and file was a criminal enterprise that was no longer worth the risk. If they could cause an exodus, it would be a step in the right direction.
It may not be the beginning of the end, but it could be the end of the beginning.
But none of it could happen unless she decided to send her report and request for support to Director Costa-Brown.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, she finally thought to herself, and hit the send button.