Belle
After the three-armed doctor pronounced Belle able to safely walk, soldiers in full-suit body armor escorted her out of the laboratory. The PubSec officer Qingyi quickly intercepted Belle's rescuer, the wolf thiren Von Lycaon, halting him with a placating gesture. Qingyi seemed to be talking to the towering wolfman with urgent whispers. Lycaon's single crimson eye focused on Belle and he somewhat grimly watched her be led away.
Belle thought he clearly seemed interested in her, still, but Belle was not entirely sure why. She was curious of him, as well, of course. She needed to thank him properly, for one, for getting her out of the Hollow. But she also found that she felt decidedly more uneasy in this strange facility when Lycaon was cut off from her line of sight. He was the only person here that she'd already met.
And she'd also had the strangest dream of a giant wolf…
Belle soon found herself alone in a small room that had a one-way window on one wall and a table in the middle of it. The kind of room that seemed to come standard issue with any government structure- as standard issue as the haircuts.
After a moderately boring wait, Qingyi entered- one of her arms casually dragging forward one of her own pigtails to avoid it being caught in the door as she closed it behind herself. She held a clipboard in one hand and she tossed it to the tabletop theatrically, letting it spin and slide to a stop in front of Belle. The clipboard held a stack of printed images of Belle hooking up her laptop HDD to the server stack in the Hollow.
"Twenty years and six months," said Qingyi, without preamble. "The six months for the trespassing. The twenty years for your botched hack job."
Qingyi sat down at the chair opposite Belle, her expression somewhat bored. Meanwhile, Belle had very little experience dealing with police or other forms of law enforcement, but she'd seen lots of movies with this exact scene in them. She owned a video store, after all.
"I want a lawyer," said Belle.
"Lawyers aren't allowed in Scott Outpost," said Qingyi, waving off the request.
"PubSec is required to provide me with a lawyer," said Belle, already expecting a delaying tactic from Qingyi. That was always in the movies, too.
Qingyi tapped her fingers on the table. "I'm not with PubSec and this isn't a PubSec facility. I just wear their clothes sometimes."
Belle blinked in confusion. That was a strange statement that she had no idea how to handle. The crime dramas didn't cover that.
"You seem confused, Miss Belle" said Qingyi, still tapping her fingers and looking mildly amused. "In case you don't find me a reliable source of information, I will simply point out facts that you yourself have observed: you are in Scott Outpost, yes? I'm sure you know that Scott Outpost is of a few degrees higher authority than PubSec. And then you saw that I ordered the doctors and they obeyed. And I ordered the soldiers- and they obeyed. Are you with me so far?"
If Belle assumed that she indeed was in Scott Outpost, then yes, all of those things she had seen herself and that did seem to indicate that this Qingyi woman was someone of significant authority. High government authority.
But if that was the case, why did this all feel so damn shady?
"What do you want, then?" said Belle. She could learn more without needing to make any decisions about anything. And if the movies were right: there was always an ultimatum.
"Quite simply, I want what is in your head, Ms. Belle," said Qingyi as she reached over and took back the clipboard with all of Belle's hacking photos. She plucked out one of the photos and tore it slowly in half while looking Belle in the eyes. "Your cooperation would make things much easier. For both of us."
"What's in my head?"
"You obviously know a bit about the OldKnott, Miss Belle. I presume you are familiar with 'escape pod' files?"
"Yes…" said Belle.
"That server you hacked put one in your brain. I want the data it contains."
Belle thought that idea immediately ridiculous. VR user interfaces did not allow data upload to the user. That safeguard had been foundational in computer science since… Belle felt a wave of dread. …Since after that server stack had already been in operation and Base Eleven had been phased out for the modern VR HDD structure everyone used today. That stack in the Hollow didn't have the upload safeguards, so it theoretically could have uploaded the data into her brain, and using the Five-Senses-Perception bridge protocol…
Belle's mouth went slightly dry.
"That's why I passed out," said Belle, more to herself than to Qinqyi. "The file was installing its BIOS."
"I'm sure you are right," said Qinqyi with a vague wave of her hand. "Dr. Ray says you are safely partitioned now. Whatever that means. And the escape pod is safely unpacking itself inside that partition. But you need to come back here to Scott Outpost to offload data periodically. For two reasons. One: I need that data. Two: If you don't, you will die. And again: your cooperation will make that much easier."
Qingyi took out another photo of Belle's hacking expedition and tore it.
Belle watched the two halves of torn photo flutter to the tabletop, the literal stack of evidence against her shrinking page by page. "So, you just want me to show up at Scott Outpost occasionally. Wear a VR headset. And go back home."
Qingyi tore another photo. "Yup."
That seemed far too easy to Belle. "What's the catch? Why not just keep me here? Wouldn't that be easier?"
Qingyi raised her eyebrows at Belle. It was the first mildly approving expression that Qingyi had offered. She took two photos out and tore them both.
"I also want to use you as bait."
"Bait?" said Belle, "For what?"
Qingyi steepled her fingers together. "For who, you mean. And I don't know. But have you wondered why the server blew up in your face? It's because someone pushed the button. And I want to know who that is."
"And how am I bait for that?" said Belle.
"Because whoever it is will not want you coming to Scott Outpost to upload data. Whoever it is.. Is going to want that data destroyed. And human heads are just so alarmingly fragile."
Belle wasn't sure she wanted to follow that leap of logic. "You mean someone is going to try and kill me? Because I have this file in my head?"
"Someones," said Qingyi. "Yes."
Belle thought this was entirely farfetched, but how could she dispute what she was being told? It was absurd. And she was supposed to just believe it? But why would Qingyi offer such a complex lie? Whether she was really PubSec or not, the photos were obvious proof that Belle was caught, dead to rights. Belle could go to prison for a long time and Qingyi just needed to hand her over to PubSec for it to happen. So why would Qingyi make this fantastical offer of leniency if it were not true? That wouldn't make any sense.
"And if say no?"
"Then I would be forced to hold you here at Scott Outpost" said Qingyi plainly. "And soon my duties will take me elsewhere. And then- you'll just be here by yourself in a room."
Qingyi took out another picture of Belle, wrote something on the back of it with a pen, and then slid it towards Belle, face up on the table. Qingyi lifted up the edge of it so Belle could read the hidden writing:
The people who will want to kill you may also be in the government, too. This place is not safe.
Belle stared at Qingyi with wide eyes as the pigtailed woman took back the photo. Folded it up. And stared as she tore the folded photo up into very small pieces.
Belle felt trapped. She thought she might be getting tricked. Everyone she trusted was currently out of her reach. But if she said yes…
"If I agree. I just walk out of here and go home? I just have to come back sometimes? No charges?"
Qingyi sat back in her seat with a confident smile on her face. "That's right."
"What about the people who want to kill me? Won't they just try and kill me at home?" That would be a serious threat to my family's safety…"
"They probably will," agreed Qingyi, and she turned to look at the one-way window on the wall. She made a beckoning gesture at it. "So I've arranged for you to have around-the-clock protection. The very best."
The door to the interview room soon opened and Belle's wolf-thrien rescuer stepped through the doorway. His single crimson eye focused on Belle from a high point, evoking a half-remembered dream and sending goosebumps over Belle's entire body. She then looked at Qingyi who was grinning broadly.
"I think you have already met Von Lycaon of Victoria Housekeeping?"
Belle's eyes wavered between Lycaon's calm gaze and Qingyi's amused glance. When Belle didn't immediately respond, Qingyi confidently patted Lycaon on the forearm, which drew a tiny little grimace in the corner of Lycaon's mouth. Belle realized that he didn't much like Qingyi either. That made it seem even more like he was on Belle's team in all of this.
"Well, in case you forgot him somehow, Lycaon here saved your life twice today already, Miss Belle. Purely because he's just such a great guy!" Qingyi's voice didn't sound like it was in mockery, but her word choice….
"Miss Belle," said Qingyi. "Talk with Lycaon a bit and see what he thinks about my offer to you. And keep in mind, I will be on the other side of that window listening to every word."
Qingyi tossed over a ballpoint pin which a startled Belle barely caught, and then Qingyi left and the door shut behind her. Belle and Lycaon looked at each other.
Lycaon stiffened slightly and then bowed formally to her. "Miss Belle, I do apologize for our pattern of unfortunate meetings today."
Belle blinked up at him, Qingyi's words echoing in her mind, calling up visions of numbers and titans and massive wolves with single, crimson eyes. "Lycaon. She said you saved me twice today. Was that you-? That fished me out of the ocean?"
Lycaon stood slightly awkwardly and adjusted his neck scarf (which was already perfect).
"Yes, but I merely followed instructions. VR is not my preferred medium of action. And anyone would have shown you the same courtesy in my place, I'm sure. Pray think nothing of it, Lady Belle."
Belle wasn't sure what to do in the face of such oppressive modesty. She felt a sincere warmth for the wolf thiren. She'd witnessed him rescuing her from the Hollow. And then he'd fallen from heaven and rescued her from a literal ocean of suffering. If that didn't earn the man some of her trust, well, then there was no hope for anyone. Also, Lycaon didn't seem to be exactly friendly with Qingyi. A different perspective from someone she could trust was more than welcome at this moment.
"Please sit, Mr. Lycaon," said Belle, indicating the chair. "Qingyi is right. I would like to hear your opinion on my current situation."
Lycaon looked at her seriously for a moment.
"While I do not advocate the superiority of my opinions, if you desire them Lady Belle, I will gladly provide them," said Lycaon as he sat in the chair left by Qingyi, his hands coming together primly in front of him, as if he were at an official interview.
"C- could I ask you some questions first?" said Belle, wanting to know more about him so she could judge his stakes in whatever was happening here.
"By all means," said Lycaon.
"What is your relationship with Qingyi?"
"She is the liaison agent of a very high-profile client for my organization: Victoria Housekeeping," said Lycaon. "And while there is strict confidentiality in such things, Lady Qingyi has permitted me to advise you that my original commission was to retrieve data from the same servers that you attempted to access today."
"What happened there? From your perspective?"
Lycaon related the events of the hollow in his overly formal style. Belle took in a slow breath and wondered at the timing of it all. If Lycaon had not happened to be nearby, she would have died, 100%.
"Qingyi and her forces here in Scott Outpost, I have since discovered," said Lycaon with a glance at the one-way window, "Were equipped with a video feed from those servers and so they arrived shortly after you lost consciousness in that parking lot, Lady Belle. It was they who already knew of your medical situation and they hastily brought you here for treatment. Without them, I would have taken you to a hospital, and it seems there you would not have found adequate care and could have suffered the very worst. So, I am very grateful for Qingyi's intercession in this case."
Belle thought Lycaon was somewhat silly to be judging himself by what he might have done in entirely reasonable ignorance, but she wasn't interested in arguing the point with him. Belle was considering what to say next when Qingyi's voice erupted out of a ceiling intercom:
"I just wanted to take you, Miss Belle," said Qingyi's slightly crackled voice. "But Lycaon here wouldn't surrender you to me. He escorted you every step of the way."
Lycaon and Belle looked at the ceiling. Lycaon made a sort of disapproving grunting noise and crossed his arms, looking darkly at the opaque window which hid their overt voyeur, Qingyi. Belle looked at Lycaon and he seemed eager to avoid her gaze for the moment.
"Why did you do that, Mr. Lycaon?" said Belle, forcing him to look at her.
"You were in distress, Lady Belle," said Lycaon. "It would have been entirely improper to hand you over to strangers without your consent."
Well, that was an obvious thing to say, but Belle wondered if very many people in Lycaon's position would have acted on it. Her rapidly growing esteem for this elegant thiren increased another notch. How did one repay such acts? Somehow the usual dinner at the Hot Pot seemed entirely inadequate.
Belle reached forward and lightly touched Lycaon's folded hands, feeling his silky white fur on her fingers. Lycaon's single eye opened slightly wider and his maw opened narrowly in surprise, the white tips of his canines showing along the length of his snout.
"Thank you, Lycaon, truely," said Belle, looking at him earnestly.
Lycaon blinked at her, somewhat awed by the blue-green glimmer of Belle's eyes. They were like gemstones. Lycaon gently withdrew his hands from her reach, and adjusted his vest in a very obvious nervous tick- his suave facade faltering slightly in the face of Belle's pure sincerity.
"You honor me with far too much credit, Lady Belle. Pray do not mention it."
A brief silence stretched between them.
"Awww!" said the intercom, drawing a ceiling-ward glare from both Lycaon and Belle.
"And what do you think of her?" said Belle, jerking a thumb at the window hiding Qingyi from view.
Lycaon's gaze briefly followed the indicated direction of Belle's thumb, then he looked at her seriously. "Lady Qingyi is a highly formidable individual, Lady Belle. I do not know her true position in the government, but she clearly wields systemic power. And I remind you, she is the agent of my True client… but all the same, I think she is sly. And rude. But not malicious."
"What a glowing review," said the intercom. They ignored it.
Sly but not malicious. Belle thought about Qingyi's offer and considered the ballpoint pen that had been thrown at her. Qingyi was government, but she had secretly informed Belle that other people in the government might want to kill her to eliminate the data slowly decrypting itself in Belle's brain. Which meant that the government contained factions of its own, and Qingyi was attempting to maneuver to beat the rival faction. Belle didn't care much for Qingyi at the moment, but the woman wanted to keep Belle alive, and that was a goal definitely in Belle's best interest.
Belle suddenly realized Qingyi had offered the pen as a means for Belle to speak with Lycaon off the record. She snatched one of the remaining pictures of herself and wrote a brief explanation of Qingyi's subtle on-paper warning, that someone in the government might want to kill her, and it could even happen here in Scott Outpost.
Lycaon waited patiently and then accepted the folded note from Belle. He flicked an ear idly as he opened it within a closed paw and frowned, reading. Then he looked up at Belle with a serious, crimson gaze.
"I trust you overheard my talk with Qingyi earlier?" said Belle, and Lycaon nodded. Belle silently pointed at the note. "And what do you think of her offer?"
Lycaon was quiet for a moment. "Lady Belle, before I answer you, I should advise you of what Lady Qingyi said to me outside your presence: Since the information I was commissioned to acquire is currently in your mind, my commission is not finished until the last bit of data is safely siphoned from you to my client's satisfaction. There is a strange sort of logic to that argument, and I have accepted it. So if you accept Lady Qingyi's deal, then it will be my honor to see you safe and cared for during your ordeal."
Lycaon offered a small, seated bow. Then he looked at her with a bland sort of expression.
"Now then. Forgive my vulgar language, but you would be quite the fool to reject Lady Qingyi's offer, Lady Belle. In light of all I know and all that you have shared, I wholeheartedly recommend that you accept."
