The week had gone by in a blur. A blur of excessive note-taking, staying up until the wee hours of the morning wasting away at computer screens, and a series of pleasant thoughts of Clovis smiling at her. Noel had volunteered to take on digging into more about shiny Pokemon, while he all but forced her to start looking into the LeClair family.
Sitting in the dressing room under the Lumiose Center, she was going through her ten pages of chicken scratch for the third time that morning. Rehearsal didn't start for another thirty minutes, Acadia hadn't gotten in yet, and Noel decided to neglect to tell her that he was leaving his flat early that morning. She'd texted him at every stoplight until she reached the center. No response.
Noel wasn't one to wake up before eleven, so she found it a little odd. However he was a late sleeper, but he was never late to work, no matter what. If he were in any trouble, she'd know at the start of rehearsal. For now, she decided to dedicate her working brain function to deciphering her findings again while trying to ward off the intrusive thoughts that ran laps in her mind whenever Clovis's name crossed her vision.
She wondered if her grandfather got worked up whenever he had to research a lead. Daydreamed about them, thought a lot about how pretty their eyes were, and-
Her grip on her papers tightened as a hard grimace crossed her face. She was damn glad there was nobody else in the dressing room-she'd been sure to check before sitting down-because she didn't need anybody to bear witness to how red her face was. The sweat forming on her brow caused her glasses to begin fogging, and she tore them off her face to wipe them clean on her jacket.
"You're stupid," she said as she pushed them back over her nose. She then jostled the packet as if alerting her whole body to the fact that it needed to focus.
Clovis LeClair, the son of billionaire Charles LeClair, owner of the Clair De Lune group, which was made up of more than four hundred different companies based in multiple regions around the world. Most of them were centered around humans and Pokemon working together humanely to get things done in an orderly and, as they put it, "the old-fashioned green and clean way." They dedicated their companies to making sure Pokemon were treated fairly and humanely. It was truly a noble cause.
Charles had a large family. He married once to the love of his life, and they had eleven fucking kids. Odette couldn't imagine one woman popping out that many babies. Likewise, she also couldn't imagine having that many human siblings. Growing up with Solene, Enora, Ange, and Isaur was plenty.
She'd gone out of her way to find all the LeClair siblings' names and ages. The youngest was about nine, and Clovis was twenty-four, about to be twenty-five. Odette was pleased that his and her age difference wasn't harsh.
Most of the LeClair kids, save for the youngster, were somehow involved in Clair De Lune. Clovis, however, was peculiar. He had the highest net worth out of all of them for his involvement in developing some algorithm that had a hand in optimizing and even revolutionizing data management. She didn't really understand what any of that meant because her brain could compute fuck all regarding numbers and business talk, but she supposed it was impressive.
But the weird part was that he'd never been seen in public until semi-recently. Over the past couple of years, more or less. That was the part that got her. He hardly seemed like a shut-in, flying under the radar and working behind the scenes for twenty-something years while daddy raked in big money.
She supposed she knew a thing or two about acting a part, but it seemed he knew it too well. She'd found him standing alone in the smoking section, sure. However, he was at least somewhat eager to start a conversation, if only to ask her an obnoxious question about her height. She didn't know any shut-in who'd have even attempted something like that. They'd have merely kept to themselves.
Plus, he pretty much admitted to gathering dirt on people, which meant he got around. He spoke to who he could, maybe eavesdropped here and there, maybe even asked point blank. He was blunt enough to question her height, so he must have been ballsy enough to ask somebody if they were hiring expensive hookers. And honestly, they'd probably answer him. The folks at her dinner table were ready to give up their seats for him, so it didn't seem far off to assume that much.
He had a pull in that room that she wouldn't expect a multi-year shut-in to possess, even after an extended time out and about.
Then again, she had to consider that perhaps that pull had something to do with his status. Clearly, the LeClair family wasn't anything to scoff at, so others were probably doing the same. Schmoozing the eldest son of one of Kalos's richest families seemed like an obviously good political maneuver to attempt.
However, none of that did anything to distract the big thing on her mind: how could he have skated competitively if he hadn't been seen in public for so long?
She'd scoured the internet, trying to find some record of his competitions-score sheets, videos, anything-and came up with nothing. So, was it a lie? Or, maybe it...had just been wiped? Cops could mess with public access case files, so maybe a billionaire could have information pulled from the world wide web. The question was, why?
She grazed her thumb over the notation she'd made in the margins regarding this information that didn't add up. If she ever met him again, she'd have to find a polite way to press. Was it something he wasn't proud of, or was it something more? Maybe he had the information pulled to keep it from coming up for people like her, who spent days trying to research him. Because surely he had his fair share of stalkers. Was he still trying to fly under the radar despite being so out in the open? Maybe he was part of a scandal and wanted to cover all traces of it from whoever went sleuthing on him?
If he wanted to hide it so badly, why bring it up?
She was starting to think it was a slip-up on his end. The fear she'd seen in his eyes after he said it suggested that he hadn't meant to bring it up. That, of course, posed more questions. But it made the most sense right now. Maybe it was a scandal...
Gods, her head hurt. Thinking about him, all the information, and how he'd so effortlessly switched faces. From his warning, cold stare to that fake-yet-real smile as he said goodbye. Even the way he looked aggravated when Jocelyn called before switching back to the smug smirk like it was nothing. He did it with such scary ease. Like he'd been trained to do it.
Was it like her case, where she was good at switching faces for a given situation? Or, on a scarier thought, he was more like Dorien? That wasn't something she initially considered, but it was a possibility, as much as she detested it. She didn't need another raging psycho in her life, especially one so pretty.
Speaking of Jocelyn and Dorien's quips about that call, Odette definitely didn't leave that stone unturned. As much as she wanted to. But her obnoxiously prevalent feelings got the best of her.
She'd tried to find something on a possible girlfriend or, even worse, a fiance or wife. Nothing came up. As far as these information sites were concerned, Clovis was a single man. So, Dorien really was blowing smoke. But she had to wonder why Clovis had a 'Jocelyn' calling him and why he was so annoyed by it. An aggravating secretary? A bodyguard? His old nanny? Did nannies even raise him?
She sighed deeply and leaned her head against the wall she was up against.
Is this how psycho-stalker girlfriends feel?
She needed to get a handle on all of these feelings she was having. They were best kept bottled up with the rest of her emotions because they had no business clouding her head when she tried so hard to think rationally.
Her bag began to buzz, and she could hear the muffled voice of RotomPhone trying to speak to her. The front pocket jostled, signaling it was trying to get out, so she reached over and unzipped it. It hovered out and flew up to her face.
"Bzzzt! Such a nice nap, ruined!" he complained. "I'm trying to recover here! I need my health sleeps!"
"I think you look wonderfully healthy, actually," she said. "Your rehab's going great. The techs at maman's lab will be stoked."
"Yes, bzzzzzzzt, but I am sleepy right now and would like to get back to that."
"Tell me what's up, and I'll oblige," she chuckled.
"Incoming texts from 'Lansat Twerk Team.' Bzzzt!" it replied.
Odette set down her notes next to her and grasped the phone, punching in her passcode and navigating to her texting app, where she found that her one and only group chat was indeed blowing up.
Noel Massé
DEE R U IN THE DRESSING ROOM? (づ ՞ਊ ՞ )づ SOS
Noel Massé
FUCK ME WRONG CHAT(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡
Basille Tremaux
Be Noel
Be good with tech
Still cant fucking read his phone
Noel Massé
i hope u get crabs ( ᴗ)
Basille Tremaux
I hope you find god /s
Claude Renaudin
mmm a crab dinner sounds great rn
Noemie Massé
Thank! You all! For waking me up! FROM MY DAMN NAP!
Odette took a moment to decide how she wanted to respond to this. She was momentarily thankful to hear from Noel but then supposed that some virtual shenanigans from her displaced friend group would temporarily distract her from her headache. Though, she was wondering what he was so frantic about. Probably whatever thing he'd gotten up so early for. Was it some new information?
She typed up a response and pressed send.
Odette Cinq-Mars
Yeah, in the dressing room Noel
Basille Tremaux
HEY DEE remember to smile at least once today
Claude Renaudin
smile dee
Noemie Massé
Smile Dee!
Basille Tremaux
Hey Nono if youre trying to take a nap theres this new thing called putting your phone on silent
Noemie Massé
STFU! I also hope you get crabs!
Acadia Vaugeois
Didn't know it was "Wish Pubic Lice on Your Friends" day. Also, smile Dee
Claude Renaudin
that can be every day if we really put our hearts to it.
After years of a close-knit group friendship, she could honestly say that she never knew what to expect when she opened the chat. It got a snicker out of her and even a sense of ease. It was a welcome feeling after the past few days.
Odette Cinq-Mars
You're all going to give me a cavity
Basille Tremaux
Brush your teeth then fivehead
She heard the door to the dressing room slam open. It echoed through the empty space, causing her to flinch. She scrambled to shove her notes back into her backpack but didn't get very far before Noel suddenly bounded in front of her.
"Found you," he said, panting. Sweat trickled down his red face, and he could barely get the words out.
She set RotomPhone back in her front pocket. "Back to your nap, drama 'mon."
"Bzzt! Don't mind if I do!"
She zipped the pocket, then turned to stare incredulously at Noel. "Dude, this is the girl's room," she said.
Noel threw his duffel bag down and doubled over, placing his hands on his knees as he leveled his breathing. "Who cares? Nobody's in here, right?" He lowered his voice to ask that
"Made sure of it."
"Well then. I've given every woman in this cast dating and sex advice; I have an honorary pass," Noel said, swatting his hand dismissively at her.
Odette scoffed. "Right, because we give out passes."
Noel was able to pull himself together before peering back up at her. His brow was raised, and he wore an accusing frown. "You're talking an awful lot for somebody I've seen naked like eighty fucking times."
"What's your problem? Where'd you sprint from?" she asked, ignoring the quip. There was really no use in arguing with him. "Thanks for telling me you were leaving early, by the way."
He straightened his posture and placed his hands against his lower back, leaning backward until a crack emanated from his spine. "Yeah, sorry," he said through a deep exhale. "Woke up earlier than usual to fly to the library when it opened. Phone's been on silent until about five minutes ago."
"Wow, you know how to read? I'd have never guessed from the way you can't seem to read your phone," she teased, feigning innocence by sticking out her lower lip. She snickered as he shot an unamused glance at her.
"I can read very well, actually," he said, pointing at her nose.
He abruptly fell to his knees, unzipped his bag, and began digging through it frantically. Curious, Odette hopped off the counter and stepped over to him, leaning over to get a better look at what he was looking for. She didn't see much before he whipped out a rather weathered-looking hardcover book. The sudden movement caused her to stumble back. Her eyes caught on the faded words on the front cover.
Pokemon of an Old Past
"A crusty book about the old times?" Odette asked sarcastically. "Case solved. We can stop now."
"Alright Miss Ma'am, I have no issue turning my ass around and bringing it back since you wanna be like that," Noel chastised as he stood up.
She rolled her eyes. "Show me what you found, please."
He started flipping through the book. She watched him intently, noting how careful he was with each turn of the page. From where she was standing, she could see the dated yellowish hue each of them had and even noticed that some were ripped and torn toward the edges. She grimaced at the sight.
"Did you take that out of the damn archives or something?"
"I sure did," Noel replied quickly. "This book was pulled from public checkout because of how decrepit it is. But, I put in a favor with my friend down there. She let me take it for the day because their copy machine wasn't working."
Already, she had so many questions. "Gals in different locales?" she started, earning a hearty laugh from him.
"Actually, Bernadette from choir. But sure, that mantra works too." As he spoke, he began frowning at the book, which he was still flipping through. "Gods, I should have used a damn bookmark...what page was it again?"
With another roll of her eyes, Odette sighed. "So why did you need Bernadette from choir to let you take home an old book because the copy machine wasn't working?"
Noel didn't respond that time. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he held the open book to his chest, pressing his lips together in what looked to be anticipation. The sheer excited look in his eye was enough to get her to drop her doubt. She cocked her head, arching a brow.
"Noel? What'd you find?"
"So, in my research this week, I wasn't coming up with much that wasn't damn obvious. Pretty much just wiki pages about shiny coloring variations and research notes that didn't provide anything interesting." He paused, apparently for dramatic effect. "But," he said, "I started searching for more analog sources and ended up in the library directory."
"Alright, that's why you were at the library," she said impatiently, snapping her fingers. "Where's this going?"
Noel inhaled deeply. "Shockingly or not, I thought the library didn't have jack shit either...until I found this."
He held the book out to her.
"There is a single page in this book that mentions shinies, and it's fucking damning. Read it."
Her gaze slowly traveled between the book and Noel's eager face. She carefully reached out and took it, slowly turning it in her hands so she could make out the words. Now that it was in her grasp, she could feel how aged it was. The bound leather cover, which surely used to feel smooth to the touch, now felt rough and almost dusty against her fingers. The words on the page were starting to fade in some areas, but she could still easily read them.
Nothing truly caught her eye until she'd made it down to the last paragraph, where she saw mention of oddly colored Pokemon. Surely, it meant shinies. That was where she actually started to read.
It was once said that these Pokemon of odd coloring had the ability to harbor and spawn Pokemon of a different power-grotesque creatures that found their abilities in the sanguinity of their hosts.
She frowned pensively.
"Put it together, smarty pants," Noel urged.
The gears were already turning. So much so that her ears started ringing. "Harbor and spawn Pokemon of a different power…" she read, talking under her breath. "Sanguinity means blood…"
Hiruition and lophious...those two Pokemon, never seen them before...Mr. and Mrs. Patenaude cut themselves when they brought them out...right? And they were grotesque, super grotesque...
She closed her eyes, trying to get further into the moments before, during, and after that damned battle.
The malamar and the scizor were shiny...people were talking about them 'holding another'? Those poor 'mon were tired, too...what'd their trainers say about that? Didn't seem to care...harbor and spawn...harbor and spawn...harbor and spawn...Dorien...saying things about getting his hands on 'very powerful Pokemon' for me. Dorien's in the shiny trade, they seemed to all somehow be in the shiny trade, they all had them…they all had shinies.
They were all there to watch whatever that malamar and scizor had harbored and spawned? To perhaps see...what their own shinies could harbor and spawn?
Her eyes snapped open, immediately meeting Noel's intense stare. She blinked a few times, trying to parse how she would say what she wanted to say out loud.
"The shiny trade probably exists because traders know shinies can...make those things, on top of the fact that they're fucking money machines," she finally said, eyes wide. She raised a hand to hook it into her hair. "Or, try...they're money machines in the first place because they can make those things? The bottom line is Dorien knows that. They all. Fucking. Know that."
"Ding, ding, ding!" Noel said in triumph, holding his hands above his head victoriously.
Odette slammed the book shut and set it down next to her backpack. She then brought both hands to cover her face, exhaling sharply as she gave her head a moment to calm down. Though, no way was happening.
"Does that play into Team Enigma, though? Does that play into sacrilege? What about Virtue Corp?"
"It definitely does," Noel said. Odette moved her hands down to her cheeks and peered over at him just as he began wiping some sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket.
"Think about it. Sacrilege is traveling around the top one percent, and the top one percent are engaging in the shiny trade." He peeled off his jacket as he spoke, letting it fall to the floor. He then started to pace back and forth, crossing his arms over his chest. His brows had furrowed, and Odette noticed that vein on his head starting to pop out, a telltale sign he was thinking hard.
"Then we have those public case file discrepancies specifically writing out shiny involvement in sacrilege-related problems, and we can be pretty confident those are tied into the cops warding off the press for Virtue Corp."
Odette considered his words, and when she was sure she agreed, she nodded. "Okay, yes." But she frowned as she thought more about it. "However, it doesn't fully explain the discrepancies. What does sacrilege have to do with those Pokemon we saw, and what's the point of covering shiny involvement up? Is sacrilege keeping them at bay? Or something?"
Noel pointed back toward her. "That's where I'm stumped. That answer has to lie in Virtue Corp, because they're driving that boat," he said. "But I think that an organization dedicated to abolishing the shiny trade would want to blow something like this out of the water, not cover it up...whatever it is they're trying to cover up by tweaking case files like they are. Shit, we don't even know their intentions. They could be just as fucked up as Enigma but much better at fronting as the good guys."
A heavy silence filled the space between them. Odette retreated back into her head to hopefully try to make better sense of these findings. She needed to get her thoughts in a line before she got too overwhelmed. She reached for her notes on the LeClair family and pulled out the last page of the packet, which had only been a quarter of the way filled. She dug into the front pocket of her bag, careful not to jostle RotomPhone, and retrieved a lone pen, which she uncapped with her teeth before beginning to scribble with it.
Shiny trade exists because traders know shinies can spawn the weird Pokemon. Hoarding from the public? Explains why it won't be abolished despite overwhelming support for it? Maybe.
Sacrilege going around top one percent, who engage in trade-connected to the case discrepancies, but we don't know why? Virtue Corp's wants it covered up. Still don't know why.
A thought suddenly occurred to her as she was writing. She remembered the note she'd found on Bernard's desk again and how J.L. Ménétries had mentioned something about being in their "prime suspect's circles" with "ties" to Team Enigma. If Virtue Corp were dedicated to abolishing the shiny trade, they'd surely know a thing or two about it and how it's navigated...
She wrote the words down before she even registered what she was thinking.
PRIME SUSPECT'S CIRCLES = SHINY TRADE? TEAM ENIGMA IN SHINY TRADE?
IF VIRTUE CORP BAD, THEY'RE WORKING TOGETHER? SOMEHOW?
"Yeah, I'm definitely with you on that," Noel suddenly spoke, causing her to flinch. She'd been so caught up in getting her thoughts down that she hadn't noticed that he was looking over her shoulder. She craned her neck to look at him.
Noel began to poke his lower lip quizzically. "The note you found pretty much confirmed Team Enigma's existence and outed Virtue Corp as the brains behind fudging records. They could definitely know Team Enigma is involved in the trade," he rationalized. "But I'm still stuck on the why. If Team Enigma is in on the shiny trade, an org like Virtue Corp would deeeeefintiely want that outed, right? Provided we are assuming they are the good guys and not, y'know, playing us like fools. 'Cause then, yeah. Maybe they are working together. Or they're rivals."
She nodded again. "You would think a good-aligned Virtue Corp would want all of this outed," she said tentatively. However, she had to look at this from all possible angles.
"If we're going on the good guy path, what if they're trying to keep all of this under wraps to lessen the possible reaction?" she asked. "There's so much negative press around the shiny trade and Team Enigma's possible whereabouts and involvement in the crisis. Putting the two together would cause a social explosion if people found out. Especially if my hypothesis that the wealthy are purposely hoarding those Pokemon is correct."
"Point taken," Noel said slowly. The more he considered it, the more he appeared to go along. "Something like this dropping on the general public would start a damn riot," he added. "But I imagine the riots would be even bigger if they found out that things were being hidden from them, you know? Is that a risk the police, or even a good-aligned Virtue Corp, would take? Having a conspiracy like this on their backs?"
She pressed her lips together. "I don't know. Can't put much past people with an obscene amount of money and positions of power," she muttered. "On the other hand, if they are just as bad as Enigma, I could see why there's no tattling. Keep it to themselves, so nobody is aware of what's actually going on. But if they're rivals, why not? Same reason?"
Noel nodded. "You know how, like...organized crime gangs won't go to the cops about each other? I imagine it's the same deal here if that is the case."
"Right," she agreed.
"I did want to say, steering back onto the good guy route," Noel continued, "we could also consider that they're keeping it under wraps because they're also clueless." He hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his leggings, turning on his heel to begin pacing again. He walked back and forth between her and a nearby bench a few times before talking again.
"Like, maybe they know Team Enigma's involved, but to what extent? And how does this drug play into everything? Rich humans and their Pokemon are dying, but how is that bridged to the trade? How is it bridged to those Pokemon?"
Odette could only shrug. "We don't know."
"And it's possible they don't either," Noel said. "Granted, we are running on a shit ton of hypotheticals here; we're not some big organization. So maybe I'm comparing bluk berries to cheri berries..."
"Even if they aren't good, that could still apply," Odette said. "Fronting as this good guy organization to get in with the cops to find out more about their rival. And shit."
She sincerely hoped her Bernard wasn't getting played. She also sincerely hoped he wasn't fully aware of what was happening. She wouldn't know how to respond if she learned her own grandfather was helping perpetuate criminal organizations just because they had money and weird Pokemon. If he even knew about the latter.
Suddenly her headache was back.
"Gods, I fucking hate this," Noel laughed bitterly.
Another round of silence swelled between them. It seemed that they were coming down from their frantic Q and A.
"In regards to your hypothesis," Noel spoke again, calmly this time, "that would explain why I had such a hard time finding information about shinies that wasn't glaringly obvious." He pointed to the book on the counter. "That was literally the only thing I read, both on the internet and in the library, that spoke of a legend like that."
"What did you search up to find the book, then?" Odette asked.
He chuckled for a moment. "Ancient Pokemon," Noel said. "I started getting this idea that they were some crazy old fossil 'mon and decided to go that route."
Odette turned her head and stared at the book for a long while. "Are you saying you think the rich tried to wipe knowledge of those things from public access?"
"I'm sure a bunch of millionaires banding together could make something like that happen," Noel said in a huff. "I'd bet that book's saving grace was referring to shinies as 'odd colored Pokemon' instead of just 'shiny.' Though, I think they'd at least be a little more thorough if they tried to wipe records."
"Nobody's perfect, not even rich people. Or weird, nefarious organizations," Odette said.
"Gods, and we're just talking about the organizations themselves," Noel added, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We haven't even touched on those fucking Pokemon. What they are, how they work, the types..."
"Those things were powered up with blood. Never seen that before in my fucking life."
"Would your mum know anything about that? Blood-powered Pokemon nobody's heard of before? Seems right up the alley of a magical-type professor's knowledge."
That had crossed her mind at some point while she looked for things about the LeClairs. She couldn't ask outright lest she let Vienna in on what they were up to, and that was still not something she was keen on doing, especially at the point they were at.
"If she did know anything about it, she never let me in on it," she said. "Spent that whole battle trying to remember if she had, but no."
"Anything specifically about shiny Pokemon? Surely anything weird would have come up after you brought Enora in."
Enora had been on Odette's mind all week, too. Aside from her still-standing reluctance to be involved, now that Odette had witnessed other shiny Pokemon seemingly being used to spawn those things, she was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of it. Enora hadn't said much when Odette told her about it. A couple of dubious looks and a comment or two, but she'd lost herself in thought not long after. She either didn't believe it or it bothered her too much to say much more. Either way, Odette hadn't wanted to press too much. It was a lot for anyone to chew on.
She could still vividly see how tired that malamar and that scizor had been and how their owners paraded them out and about anyway, not giving a single fuck about their well-being or what summoning those blood Pokemon might have done to them. It was haunting enough to witness, and it probably bothered a shiny like Enora to hear about it.
That had to go hand in hand with why they just let it happen to them. Something was keeping them from protesting the treatment. Something was keeping them from fighting back.
But, that wouldn't happen to Enora. However it happened. Odette wouldn't let it.
"She never told me anything we haven't already uncovered. Nothing about blood magic Pokemon ever came up."
Noel didn't respond to that. Instead, he wandered toward her and leaned against the counter next to her. He released a long yawn as he dipped his chin against his chest.
"I'm exhausted. I don't want to rehearse today," he said. And she didn't blame him. The day had barely started, and she wanted to nap. She wasn't sure how she could concentrate on calling cues and making sure props were where they were supposed to be when she had all of this nonsense swirling around in her head.
"Did you find anything interesting about your smoking buddy?"
She'd gotten so caught up in putting together the pieces around what Noel had found that she'd totally forgotten what she was looking for in her notes about the LeClair family. She reached back into her bag and pulled out the rest of the packet, and put it back together with the other sheet she'd just written on. Noel eyed it, and his brows raised.
"Look at you, detective," he said, impressed.
"I wouldn't go that far. This is just the research phase,'" she said, flipping through the pages. "I think I know everything there is to know about him, but I still have some-"
She cut herself off, immediately sinking into another frenzy of internal questioning. She'd been trying to figure out the connections between the shiny trade, Team Enigma, and Virtue Corp, that she had forgotten she had a whole lead here to factor in too. And now that she was looking at it again…
Pressing her lips together, she turned back to the page where she'd noted the figure skating disconnect. The marginal note and her excessive question marks. Cases could be rewritten, records about Pokemon could be pulled, and she had been certain that one billionaire could mess with records regarding their whereabouts in a sport. But she couldn't find the reason.
"What do ya have, Watson?" Noel pressed.
She began shaking her head. "I'm not sure yet...just some things not adding up. Everything I read had Clovis LeClair pegged as a shut-in, but he started telling me he was a competitive figure skater while I spoke to him."
Noel appeared taken aback by this. "Him? A shut-in? I'd never read him as an antisocial type."
Well, at the very least, she knew she wasn't nuts for thinking that herself. "That's what I said, too," she said. "The last thing an antisocial person is doing is competing in something. And even if he did, I couldn't find anything about it. I thought he might have been involved in something bad, but I'm not quite sure yet."
"Man, these rich people really like yanking their shit off the internet, huh?" Noel groused. "I wish things were that easy."
She ignored him to keep tunneling into this. Her eyes roved frantically over the papers as she mentally listed her observations.
She could conceivably believe that he was once a functioning, sociable person who partook in the activity. Then, something could have happened that drove him indoors, leading him to want to pull down all traces of his involvement in the activity. Again, a scandal.
Actually, that hit way too close to home. It rang eerily similar to the issues she was having with herself. Before she could allow herself to become bitter, she continued paving this mental path. She couldn't stop just yet and needed to keep this rational and not let her feelings get in the way.
"Hypothetically speaking," she spoke in a low voice, "if Virtue Corp is in their 'prime suspect's circle'-presumably the trade-that means they have undercover parties stationed around..." she trailed off.
Clovis had very clearly been upset by the battle. It showed in how he watched it and looked at her as he warned her to get up and leave. He'd done that in a manner that assured only she would hear, just to turn around and act as if nothing was wrong as he told everybody goodbye. Not to mention, Clair De Lune was set on the humane treatment of Pokemon, too.
That would align with an organization allegedly set on bringing down the trade, right?
That could also help explain the figure skating disconnect. Recluse or not, that was a slip-up.
She'd heard a couple of stories of the cops at the LCPD getting too comfortable in their roles while undercover and accidentally letting something slip. Nobody was perfect, not even a rich person. It would also be a jump, but she was at least finding more ground.
"I am fully grasping at straws here," she started, "but what are the chances Clovis could be an undercover party with Virtue Corp? Regardless of the alignment?"
Noel took a beat to mull it over before grimacing.
"No shot," he said, shaking his head. He reached over, took the papers out of her hand, and began to skim them himself. "If he was actually undercover, what reason would he have to warn you like he did? That seems risky as hell. You could tell Dorien what he said, and the next thing he knows, his cover's compromised. You might be reading too much into some misspoken words. I'd sooner believe he's some rich guy who fucked up over something and put his money toward making it all go away."
"He really panicked over those misspoken words," she said.
He began to rub his eyes tiredly. "Of course he did, but an undercover party could be anybody. It could have been our old classmates. It could have been the chick who asked if you had lip fillers." He cut himself off with a wheezing laugh. "Which was hysterical, by the way."
"Yeah, real comical," Odette sighed, a tinge of annoyance in her voice.
"Hell, if we really want to go deeper into that route, it could be Dorien."
She raised a concerned brow, her gaze on him becoming dubious. "Yeah, shiny trade Dorien just being a double agent for Enigma and Virtue Corp. I could see it," she said sarcastically.
"Not everything functions at face value, Dee. But, realistically, Clovis could be some pretty rich man who thought you were pretty and decided he didn't want to see you get involved in...whatever this is," he said. "You should also move the rose-colored glasses off your eyes and consider that maybe he did something really bad. Like, I'm not sure what goes on in the figure skating scene, but..." he trailed off.
Odette knew where Noel's head was going, and she grimaced. She'd been trying not to go that far, but if there was a chance Clovis was covering up a scandal, what was the probability that it was something of a-
Nope. Do not, she told herself. She'd cross that bridge if they found themselves there.
She thought her head hurt before, but now it was ridiculous. She understood where Noel was coming from, but she still had some contradictions biting at her.
"But him wanting to see me not get involved would most likely mean he doesn't like being involved himself," she said. "But he switched. He threw me the warning, then went back to acting like nothing was wrong. If you don't like it, why act?" She began to scratch her cheek. "Saving face?"
"He told you a thing or two about getting in with other powerful families," Noel said. "He could warn you, then pretend like nothing happened to cover his ass. And again, you're a hot girl. If he's previously gotten in trouble for-"
"Noel," Odette said loudly. "He doesn't...he doesn't..."
Her heartbeat rang in her ears. The force against her chest caused an ache that paired nicely with the panic drying out her mouth. The sudden cold sweat that broke out all over her body was just the cherry on top.
STOP.
"He doesn't give me Deschamps feelings." She strained herself to speak. That name burned to say. It poked the lasting mental wounds the owner had left behind. "I knew from the get-go Deschamps was a creep. Clovis doesn't hit those buttons."
Despite how hard it was to get out, she was firm. She knew "creep alarm bells" didn't always equate to someone capable of doing that to her again, but she trusted her gut well enough to believe her stance for now.
Noel nodded in understanding, holding his hands up defensively. "I get you, and that's promising. I trust your intuition, but I'm just trying to play it safe."
And he was right to be doing so. She knew that deep down.
"I'm watching out for you this time. The chances might be slim, but I want to be careful. And even if he isn't that bad, if he is with Virtue Corp, we don't know their overall alignment."
She sighed slowly and heavily, keeping her eyes trained on him as she brought herself back up. She couldn't fault him. As much as she was trying not to let her crush cloud her judgment, that seemed to be happening, gut feelings or not.
"I know. And you're right," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm just...trying to cover the bases myself."
"I hear you. And I'm here to help with that."
A single firm nod was the only answer he was getting. She wanted to keep going and stop dwelling on the past.
"Regardless of his reason or where Virtue Corps stands, you're right. It strikes me as a risky maneuver; I could whistleblow him either way," she said. She released a deep breath as she realized the counter to that. "But at least if he was just a regular rich person, he has the in to say 'what the hell is she talking about?' and make me look dumb for accusing him."
She let out another deep, loud breath. Noel did the same.
"I think two possible things are going on here," she said. "Clovis could have figure skated before he decided he wanted to be a shut-in, then somehow had all of his participation taken down so nobody could ever find out about it. Perhaps due to something really bad," she said. She closed her eyes to allow her apprehension to pass. "Or, he's undercover and absolutely slipped up. And in realizing he slipped up, he decided that shooting me a warning would be a route to go."
She turned to look Noel in the eye again. "I'm living by your line for this. Not everything functions at face value. At least not until we can stop leaning on hypotheticals."
"You got me there," he said.
The door to the dressing room swung open. Odette flinched again, and she saw Noel jolt as well. Nothing like a loud noise to break them out of their trance.
"Noel, I better not find you here. That's illegal," Acadia's voice echoed through the room.
They exchanged looks, and both began to giggle despite themselves. Odette figured she was so fried that she couldn't do much more than laugh.
"Busted," she said quietly.
"Hey," Noel said with a shrug. "If she kills me, at least I can say I helped put together the corner pieces before I died."