Ohhh she better have brought something good. “You owe me” came the seething demand of a very upset cat. Right about now the only thing she wanted to do was go home and lay on the floor heater, never mind how humid it was already; this… this was so not alright.
“I know.” Though outwardly Kazenite remained rather unamused and seemingly uncaring to the felines predicament. Inside… well that was a whole other story. How in the bloody hell was she to know the awning was faulty at the seams and would rip open right above where Xyla was standing? It wasn’t like she stabbed at it with her sword or anything jeze.
Reaching up to rake her fingers through her teal hair rather sharply to ebb the near undeniable urge to laugh, Kazenite merely picked a cloth napkin up off of the cafe table and began drying the cat to temper that anger of hers. “We’ll know soon enough if she brings us anything worth while; then we’ll leave.” The general still had plenty of time to show up and once it was all said and done she would get Xyla something to appease her otherwise temporary foul mood; she has been working harder than the General Queen had yet to admit out loud; indeed she deserved some sort of reward and praise.
Sherwood appeared when summoned, having a lot to report from her evening as a spy. Staying invisible hadn’t been too difficult, aside from a few select problems, but overall she hadn’t learned anything of real interest except that this Deman, whoever he really was, was definitely a traitor. He’d lost the faith and would probably require re-education or elimination.
Thankfully she didn’t come alone. She had photographs and audio to support her claims.
“Kazenite,” she inclined her head.“Xyla.”
Since she assumed Kaz was still her equal she did not afford her the respect she would have if she knew the woman to be a General Queen. She was starting to fit into her role in the Negaverse, feeling somewhat useful to the cause. If she had questions, well, that was for another time. She was still meeting Newgrange at night sometimes in what he continued to call their spot. She was starting to believe him and that was causing a rift in her tenuous grasp of her place in the world.
“I brought you a few things you might find interesting.”
She laid out the pictures she’d taken of the woman he was with and laid out the recorder she’d used to capture their conversation and...other things. She was fairly certain what she’d managed to catch made her report for her so that she didn’t have to go into details. She did make mention of one thing, though.
“I wanted to kill the woman. He was just about to divulge the identity of his Knight contact and this stupid slut decided she couldn’t wait any longer. They never got back to the topic.”
Xyla was clearly far more displeased by this bit of information, if only by the way her claws dug themselves through thick layers of Kazenite’s pants and into her flesh. If it wasn’t that the little feline was already in a piss poor mood Kaze would have flicked her ear as a warning. Instead she dared to carefully take ahold of those fuzzy yet dangerous paws and remove them for her.
With her other hand the ‘general’ motioned for the new recruit to take a seat. “Please.” She had a feeling if names were about to be dropped that Phact would do something to avoid her own side from being hunted more freverently than they already were; she was still an Order after all.
Leaning forward she slid a menu across the table and continued to dry the cat off, “I did promise you lunch.” Seconds later a waitress walked by and asked if they were ready. “We’ll be ready to order in a few moments, however I would like a half green tea half lemonade and a few more napkins.” The young woman smiled and jotted down the notes then turned to Sherwood expectantly.
Sherwood didn’t want to get into too many specifics out in the open but she did cue the recorder to the point in the conversation where Deman talked about how much of a travesty being in the Negaverse was. She let his confession play, how he took new recruits and began to turn them to the other side. “Saving them” is what he called it.
Which inadvertently let her know there was a possibility of being saved. Hearing that from Newgrange had been on thing. Hearing it from her own side was a confirmation. Maybe there was a chance to become Caydence again…
But even as she struggled with the ideas of right and wrong within herself a sick part of her wanted to please her Negaverse brethren. She wanted Kaz to be pleased with her abilities and her progress. She wanted them to be proud of her. It was all completely hollow, how many of them could truly mean their praise, but she craved it. She felt a need to serve and be useful to her faction. That was the seed Chaos planted.
She shook off the waitress, not very hungry but too polite to refuse lunch outright. It was the sort of thing colleagues did, right?
“What do you want now?”
Approval was what the young general sought and that is what was delivered. Once the waitress left a pleased smile graced Kazenite’s features as she leaned forward and picked up the piece of equipment. “At the moment this will be good enough. I need to take some time and listen over this before I present it to the Chief of Police. We will see what he says before any further action is taken.” With or without his blessing, this problem would be solved by weeks end.
“You’re actually going to listen to what he has to say?”
How was he supposed to defend against solid evidence? She’d done a good job in collecting it, spending nearly twenty four hours on his tail just to make sure she didn’t miss anything. That all seemed concrete to her and though she was a hypocrite for judging him so harshly considering her own sins against the Negaverse. Of course, she hadn’t asked for this, either.
“No not Deman, General King Kadavadite. The officer in question I had you follow has no say in what’s to come. If the information you have on this tape is as damning as I hope it is, he won’t have room to debate anything.” Kazenite nodded her head in thanks when the waitress returned with her drink and a tiny mountain of napkins. When asked if they had time to look the menu over the teal haired woman nodded her head.
Just because Sherwood seemed disinclined to order anything didn’t mean Kaze had to. “I’ll take a BLT panini on sour dough bread and a side of king salmon chowder.” So much better than traditional clam chowder and it would quiet xyla’s mood; or so she hoped.
As a courtesy the waitress then turned to the brunet and asked if she had changed her mind or would at least like a glass of water.
“Oh.”
General Kings meant this was a very serious matter. She was sort of happy about that, though that only meant if she was ever discovered her life was likely forfeit. Sherwood knew that if she was going to play this game she needed to play it quickly, quietly, and well.
“That makes more sense.”
When the waitress addressed her she started to shake her head politely but then thought better of it. She needed to stay on good sides until she decided where she belonged. Maybe it shouldn’t have been this hard but it was.
“I’d like a small salad, please, with grilled chicken.”
So at least Kazenite wouldn’t think she was rejecting her offer of kindness.
lWith a promise that she would get right on it, the petite girl hustled back inside to put their order in queue ASAP.
With Xlya as dry as she was going to get Kazenite wrapped a clean, dry, napkin around her like a blanket and made a ‘heh’ sound cat in a blanket… Hands now free, the ‘general’ leaned forward, picked up the file of pictures and began to thumb through them one by one. “Seems I should be calling you Peter Parker.” she mused admiring the closeness and clarity of each image. It left little to no room for interpretation.
“Thank the information department.” She couldn’t take credit for that. “They lent me the equipment.”
But that was her camping out on Delilah’s balcony. She supposed she could take a little credit. No one had seen her foibles, after all. Sherwood smile. But this felt good. She could get used to this place in the Negaverse, being the person that finds things out. She felt she had a nose for it and whether that was true or not she chose to take confidence in the belief.
“It’s not like he made it very hard to catch him. That sort of sloppiness is fortunate for us.”
“He’s cocky, plain and simple. He’s gotten away with converting how many of our officers… six I believe; and just handing them over to the resistance.” He thinks he’s so sneaking and that nobody would eventually catch on. If he were smart about it he would be trying to convert anyone but his own partners. Heh, guys like him even with two heads he only had half a brain. He made things too easy, it’s just a shame it took this long to finally catch on.
True to her words the waitress returned once more and placed a small salad before General Sherwood and a small bowl of salmon chowder in front of Kazenite. Xyla’s ears perked when the smell of salmon wafted through the air making her stomach growl. “Go on” Kaze instructed considering the chowder was for the feline anyway.
Standing up, the graceful feline stretched then head bumped her Queens jaw in thanks before lapping away at the creamy goodness. “Everything should be taken care of in the few days or two. I have one scheduled meeting and some digging around of my own to do before I present this to the head of his department.”
“If he’s gotten this cocky that means others have, too. Maybe we’re not looking hard enough.”
Strangely enough it seemed like Sherwood was sinking into her seed of Chaos. Now that they’d brought down one conspirator she wanted others. She wanted to continue to strive and put away more of these people that betrayed their family. If they were like her they forgot the old and she felt should embrace the new.
She picked at her salad and managed to actually eat two bites of it. The whole time her mind was turning, thinking of new ways they could rid the city of traitors. She was already converting to their way of thinking which did not coincide with what Newgrange was telling her.
Finally the waitress returned with the sandwich and with a nod of gratitude and a ‘thanks’ Kazenite took a bite of the warm meal. Only after she had finished her first bite did she speak again. “I would not be surprised in the least. Don’t worry though, there are several others being looked into.” It pleased the General Queen immensely at how eager Sherwood sounded to get back out there and find more traitors like Deman. Perhaps there was hope for this new recruit. “Believe me when I say his immediate supervisor will be looked into next.” How he or she did not find it odd that none of Deman’s partners could ‘cut it’ or that they went missing was beyond her. The only logical explanation for this particular conundrum was that they were somehow involved in this scheme as well.
Sherwood cocked her head slightly to the side. Sure, looking into the supervisor was a good idea, too, but what about the girl? From the conversation she was just as guilty as Deman and would require investigation, too. Why wasn’t she being mentioned in this conversation? That didn’t sit right with the General and she frowned, looking thoughtful.
“The girl, of course, will need to be dealt with.”
If no one else was going to mention it she would. The girl was a sympathizer and conspirator. It was hypocritical to address one such person and not the other. She sincerely hoped that was not the case and that this was not the organization she’d crossed over into.
“Ms. White will be dealt with accordingly when the time comes. But for now I caution you on taking action against her on your own. Least of all she become privy to the fact she had been watched.” Kazenite took another bite of her sandwich allowing her time to think for a moment.
“However…” She paused to take a drink of her sweet tea lemonade. “If you wish to try and find out who this knight is you have less than a week to do so. Perhaps sometime between now and when I get a chance to speak to Kadavadite he will meet with his correspondence.” Oh wouldn’t that be delicious. Two birds one stone, give me a name and I will put a kill order out on that Templar.
“I don’t know why you think I could find a Royal Knight.”
Sherwood had shown she had some sort of knack for spying but finding a royal knight was like trying to find a General King. Unless they want to be seen or drawn out you won’t know they’re there. Kaz would know that very well considering that was the trick she was using with Xyla. Sherwood had no idea she was not addressing her equal but a superior when they spoke.
Kazenite merely shrugged her shoulders, aside from the fact they have power signatures like a lighthouse beacon, much like her own when Xyla wasn’t around, she had figured if the general wanted to, she could find the contact with some creative ingenuity. “It was only a suggestion since you seemed so gung ho about being more proactive. If you would prefer to not be any more involved that's completely up to you. You performed your task well and for that I am thankful.” And indeed she was thankful, the key to one puzzle had finally been found and with that she intended to unlock even more carefully hidden secrets of her ruby eyed dove.
Completely done with the small bowl of chowder Xyla, now mostly dry and a little less pissy, laid back down in Kazenite’s lap with a smile of contempt before letting out a rather big yawn and closing her eyes for the time being.
Finishing off the last of the first half of her sandwich the teal haired woman brushed the crumbs off her fingers and sat back in the wire framed seat steepling her fingertips with her elbows perched on the arm rests. Eyes now focused on the brunet that sat across from her she shifted the focus from Deman and Ms. Delilah back onto the general “What do you think about Information Gathering Division as opposed to the Science Division? Does it seem more your pace?” Are you someone I can call on again my dear?
If the suggestion was a test she had failed Sherwood didn’t know it but would probably fret on it later. It seemed her introspective tendencies had not abated simply because she was corrupted. If anything it made her more withdrawn and likely to be quiet.
“I would prefer the Information Department.”
That was honest, at least. She’d prefer to spend as little time as possible near all of the science minded and their experiments. She was willing to be someone Kazenite could call on if she wanted to.
Fantastic! There was a twinkle in those teal-blue eyes as the General-Queen leaned across the table with an outstretched hand. “Then may I formally welcome you into the Information Division of the Negaverse!” If she felt bad sniping Sherwood from the science department she didn’t show it. Nope, no remorse here. “Should a time come where you find yourself in need of aid don’t hesitate to call on me.” Leave the door open as to gain some level of trust and confidence in one another then see how far that loyalty stretches. Will you betray me or run away and disappear like Demans partners once an opportunity presents itself? Both possible scenarios should she decide that she’s not cut out for this division either. With her memory completely wiped, at least that’s what her file said, Sherwood was a bit of a wild card, a blank slate, at the moment there really was no telling with her.
“Thank you Kazenite.”
She didn’t know the other General was high up in the Information faction but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. It sure beat delivering people to Sakuradite. She didn’t feel remorse for it but the whole experience made her uneasy. Sherwood nodded her head and smiled politely, turning over these events in her head. Maybe Deman had just been an audition.
“I would like to be there when the girl and Deman are punished.”
That was all she was going to say on that matter and hope that her request was honored.
“Lunch has been very nice but I think there are other things I need to do. I will call you if I need you.”
With all said and done Kazenite nodded her head in agreement, indeed it was time to break away from this whole tete a tat. After paying the waitress the General Queen, with her little ‘bundle of joy’ teleported back home to their own personal sanctuary for the day was only half over and there was still work to be done.
