IV.
"Why her?" Though his confidence in Louise's planning was bolstered, Rider was still mildly concerned about the idea. His apprehension showed in the way he fiddled the diner's flatwear around on the table. "Surely there is also information on some of our other opponents. What about whoever attacked your sister and yourself on your first night in Paris?"
"They are worth chasing purely on the merit of the amount of collateral damage their methods caused, but I've only seen coverage of one other attack of the same style, so it would be harder to pin their location down." Louise continued on, ready to sell her whole strategy to Rider. "We can narrow the Berserker duo down to a much smaller area."
"And why not Archer? Certainly we owe them for causing us difficulty right from the beginning." Rider didn't want to admit his wounded pride was the only driving force behind the suggestion.
"Again, impossible to know where to start searching for them. We would expend far too much energy and resources in our pursuit. Also, I have a feeling they are the type who will come to us."
"And whoever attacked us last night is only just now starting to make their move." Rider vetoed the target as an option himself, not even needing Louise's input to know it would be a fruitless pursuit.
"They still worry me though. They so immediately knew where we were. A dangerous opponent who we've hopefully evaded for now."
"You have convinced me once more Master. We shall pursue Berserker and their Master. With any luck, our clashing with, and eventual defeat of them will draw out the next target." Rider was excited at the prospect of more combat. "Any idea of how to narrow down the location of our elusive prey? The police have been unable to catch her, and they have far more resources at their disposal than we do." Rider was sure he finally had Louise figured out. Aristocrat that she was, she still seemed more down to earth than the ones he remembered dealing with in life.
"More resources? Perhaps." Louise leaned back in her chair, feeling very confident about the current streak she had going, and was not concerned with how much it was showing on her face. With the new details about the killer, Louise had found a perfect place to use one of her recently concocted strategies that was a bit more reckless than her usual fare. "But we have access to certain types of resources they don't. We also operate on a more personal set of rules."
"What did you have in mind? I had you pinned as one of the lawful good sort." Rider was incredibly curious where Louise was going with this idea. While he had noted her disregard for more common folk and laws in her treatment of the Juge, he hadn't considered it a concerning trait.
"Judging by what I saw, and by what is covered in this article, our mystery woman has something against adult men. A search online of some other articles about the string of murders proves it. And a look at the pictures of the victims shows that while they had little in common, they all had some sort of facial hair."
"Master, while I'm flattered that you would want me to serve two different... integral parts of the plan, both as the decoy and as the assassin, her servant would surely sense me before anything could happen."
Louise gave Rider a very disapproving look before continuing. "I am aware of that Rider. You won't be the bait."
"That phrasing implies that there will be some sort of bait though." Rider was beginning to feel a little uneasy.
"Though it may not be full blown thought control or puppeteering magic, the Saint-Hermine family are capable practitioners of hypnosis." Louise had the look of someone considering something trivial like a math equation as she spoke.
"Master." Rider's unease increased as Louise spoke.
"We find a man on his own, the description is easy enough to fit, we don't even have to be that picky."
"Master..."
"Put him in a hypnotic state, use him to lure her into the attack. And then when she appears-"
"Master!" Rider was standing, slamming his hand on the table before he fully realized it. There was an awkward silence as he became aware of his outburst. He surveyed the quiet restaurant, making uncomfortable eye contact with the startled Maitre' d. Rider offered her an apologetic nod before slowly taking his seat.
"Rider, do you care to explain yourself?" Louise was completely in shock at what she considered her Servant's unwarranted outburst.
"Master. Do you understand what you are proposing?"
"I am finding a solution to our problem."
"You are suggesting that we put an innocent in harm's way. Did you not tell Grimaud that your goal was to not involve uninvolved bystanders? Just a minute ago you condemned one of our opponents for the wanton destruction and death that were the results of their own tactics."
"This is different than that." Louise took a defensive tone towards Rider's accusations.
"Different how? Because it is you?"
"Yes, because it is me! A Saint-Hermine is of different standing, and unlike them, my intention-"
"Your intention is irrelevant."
"Listen Rider. This is the quickest and most efficient manner for us to find our opponent." Louise remembered her father had always taught that in the world of magic, efficiency was of utmost importance. "If it is so important to you, your job will be to remain in spirit form and intercept our target before she can bring the decoy any harm. The moment combat commences I will free him from the hypnosis and he can flee the scene as he pleases. She will be so distracted fighting us she won't have time to pursue him." Louise realized that her apprehension about their current situation may have held greater sway over her decisions than she liked, but she wasn't about to admit that weakness to Rider now.
"Let me emphasize Master that I do not approve of this plan. However," Rider gave Louise what was becoming a familiar stern look as he pressed his finger into the table, "I know that we are low on both time and options right now. I shall proceed with your plan. But I do so under duress. If there is any mistake, the blood is on your hands Master." Rider had deferred to her already in regards to their next move, and as poorly as it sat with him, it was his job to follow and not to lead.
"Rider, I am very serious about both this plan and winning the war. I will not permit any mistakes."
Dropping her cigarette out of her window before rolling it up, she let out a long, exhausted sigh that was becoming far too common an occurrence as of late. She had left the crime scene several hours earlier, trusting the normal officers and CSI agents to handle things, and parked on a mostly empty side street in the northern Luxembourg neighborhood. Forgoing her department issued phone, and personal cell, she pulled out an older model cell phone, remarkable only for the fact that it was an ancient flip style phone. She pulled up the only contact in the phone's list and dialed the number. The other end rang only once before being answered. There was a noise, like wind blowing through a thin metal airway, that acted as a sort of answer.
"It's me. Put your Master on, I have an update." She was itching for another cigarette, but didn't want to roll the window down and chance someone walking by hearing the conversation.
There was a moment of silence before a voice was heard on the other end. A woman who's voice held a natural air of command and authority answered. No matter how unfamiliar her surroundings, or calm the moment, this clout was an inseparable part of her being. "I know you don't have good news Juge."
"Well you're correct there." Maria Badeaux pulled a smoke from the box, letting it sit unlit in her mouth as she spoke. "But I did still learn something."
"Something I couldn't have?"
"Well none of your man's men came back. So all you know is that they failed. But I actually talked to her."
There was a long moment of silence, tension boiling just beneath its surface. The woman on the phone regained her composure before speaking. "And? What did she say?"
"She's got some crazy story about staying with a business associate uptown. Its bullshit of course, but I had no way to call her on it."
"What's the new address?" She was growing uneasy.
"She's craftier than you give her credit for. Didn't give it to me. Again, couldn't call her out on it." Maria was enjoying how annoyed she was sure the Master was. Maria didn't know much about her, but she knew that this woman was not the type who took being outfoxed well.
"We have an agreement. You HAVE to find her. I have access to the information you need."
"I'm well aware of that my oh-so-benevolent benefactor. You're gonna have to give me time though. She's being cautious."
"I will widen the net. You keep searching on your end. I trust you won't let her slip away again."
The line fell silent signaling Maria's dismissal. Unperturbed by the lack of courtesy, the Juge shrugged to herself, threw the phone into her bag, rolled the window back down and lit a fresh cigarette.