Good to See You Too [Maevia]

[attr="class","textie"]


Obsidian was not her sort of place. She’d never come here for entertainment by herself; the club scene was the opposite of an introvert’s comfort zone, though there certain was a share of unscrupulous and unsocial individuals. What else could you expect from Dagos? Wherever she or the sisters went, there were people looking to do business. And that was, of course, the reason for her visit.

She nodded to the worker and followed along the familiar path. She thanked them once she reached the door, and stepped inside that familiar office. There was Clarisse, busy as ever.

“Neither of us are,” she replied as she took a seat. “Perhaps I’m picking up bad habits from our mutual friend?” She pushed her hood down and shook her head, freeing up some of the hair it pulled down with it. She put a palm up at the offer. “Nothing for me, thank you. I was wondering if she was out today; normally I can’t get within view of Obsidian without hearing from her.”

Oblivious to romantic intentions and flirtations, Maevia wasn’t really sure why her sister seemed so focused on her. She knew the Diacha’s were trustworthy so it wasn’t suspicion… more like confusion. But she was nice and intelligent and capable so Mae just learned to accept it. “Does she do that with everyone? It might just be my imagination but I swear she’s always looking for me.”

Oh well. In any case, there were things to get to, after a little bit of catching up. The Diachas were people she genuinely thought of as friends, as much as someone in this business can have a friend. If things were well, she was happy to hear it, and if things weren’t, she actually cared. They were business associates first, but they were the kind that proved themselves over years and years to be good and trustworthy, and so even Maevia didn’t mind getting a little closer to the family.

“I trust business is well?” She asked, and crossed one leg over the other. Once she received an answer, she tapped on the screen of her cybernetic arm, a thought occurring to her. “Mm, speaking of, I wouldn’t use warehouse 13-A or 13-B for the next three weeks. District police lieutenant is looking for scapegoats to prove their newest crime initiative is producing results. Election season for the councilman holding her leash, and all that.”

=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: Evening, partner

[attr="class","iconie"]

[attr="class","textie"]


Maevia thought about it for a moment. Of course she could ask her, but what were the chances she’d get a straight answer? Kat seemed to enjoy make vague suggestions at her, which might end up just making the whole thing more nagging. “Maybe I will sometime,” was all she said.

She looked up from her work at the mention of a troublemaker. “Oh, is that so? How interesting.” It wasn’t usual for the Diachas to have troublemakers; those who knew what they really did were also aware of their reputation. But there were also problems, weren’t there? Mae wasn’t a stranger to doing these favors for them. “Of course.”

Mae only had a hint of what Claire was looking at when the arms appeared on either side of her, making her jolt up from surprise. Gods, Kat was quiet when she wanted to be. She tilted her head up. “Hello, Kat. I didn’t see you downstairs. I thought you may have been out.”

Which was true. But now that she saw her, that nagging feeling entered her head again. Ech, maybe one day she would have to ask Kat what the deal was. Maybe it was just her personality? Still, she couldn’t hide her smirk at the siblings’ back and forth. It reminded her of her and Elijah, or her and her father. Sassy but full of care.

She only shrugged to the pairs of eyes on her. “Aren’t I always? Such is the life, I’m afraid. Things have been a bit busy lately, so I’m afraid I’ve hardly had time to step away from my work.” That, and she never really sought out people for fun. Work WAS her entertainment, after all, as well as her obsession. Socializing as herself and for entertainment wasn’t exactly her forte; it wasn’t the same as putting on a mask to get someone to spill useful information.

She pulled up a list on her cybernetic arm, and transferred it to both sisters’ phones on their private business line. “No exciting business, sorry to say; the shopping list this time is rather civilian, but I can’t have a purchase trail, and I need a subtle delivery of the goods to a point in the Arecia woods.” Which would explain why she couldn’t buy all this with her own network; Mae and her people were good, but the Diachas were experts. Specialists. This was their bread and butter and they were second to none. And for this project, she needed the best.

It was, as she said, a rather civilian list. No real weapons, except for things known to fend off spirits. Everything else seemed to be basics. Specialty medicines. Beds. Cleaning supplies. Construction materials. Clothes. Crops imported from Wuld, where they are known to survive in hardy climates. Not much on the list was technically illegal or particularly rare, save that some things were only found outside of Ethea.

“It’s doable, I presume?”

=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: Oh. Hi, Kat.

[attr="class","iconie"]

[attr="class","textie"]


She tilted her head and shrugged. “Not much time for the latter,” she said. Not that she even knew how to relax beyond a cigarette break. Even her breakfast indulgences were interrupted by Ku; on one hand, He tells her to take better care of herself, and to relax, and yet shows up the second she decides to do that. Hypocrite.

Mae simply smiled at Claire as she did her mental calculations. A look that said “Yep, I’m up to something interesting again, and yep, I know you can tell.” She was no stranger to either sister’s piercing gaze; they could interrogate a target with a stern glare if they wanted to. She saw no reason to volunteer her plans at the moment, and so as long as they didn’t question it, she wouldn’t answer. Perhaps in the future she’d have to let them in, but for now secrecy was important.

“Well, you don’t enjoy working with me because I’m predictable, Claire,” was all she offered on the matter. She took the notebook, somewhat amused by Claire’s insistent need to make ‘paperwork’ as literal as possible, and looked it over. It was about what she expected, which was unfortunate, but hardly surprising. Her eyes flicked up for a moment at the mention of the favor. She took a picture of the scrawling with her phone and slid the notebook back.

“As a matter of fact, no, this isn’t a rush job,” she said. “Strange, I know. Secrecy is more important than it’s ever been with this delivery, don’t let the legal goods fool you.” Not that it would; Claire was too careful to make an amateur mistake. But she had to drive it home that this was very, very important to her project. “If you suspect any mistakes occurred with your contacts that may have left even the slightest trail, scrap it and get another batch; I’ll cover the cost of both.”

She switched which leg crossed the other and folded her hands. “Do tell me about this favor you need,” she said. Briefly her eyes flicked to Kat, and hoped she wasn’t the one who needed the ‘favor.’ Mae expected that would not exactly end well for her.


=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: Sense of looming dread

[attr="class","iconie"]

[attr="class","textie"]


Maevia could see the gears turning in Clarisse’s head; she’d be doing the same, after all; she was always analyzing everything (which made Kat’s behavior around her even more of a frustrating enigma), and how could she blame her? It was the strangest request she’d made to date. Normally she found it amusing, if vaguely threatening, when people made calculations about her; with Clarisse, it was simply expected, and not at all threatening. While she fully trusted no one, the Diacha family was not a threat, because they needed each other (and she expected even if the day came they didn’t need her, they still would not turn on her).

She leaned in with her hands folded and lips pressed against them as Clarisse explained the situation. One part of her brain paid full attention while the other was pulling up facts that may be related. Nothing was coming to mind immediately, but when she mentioned they had taught a certain someone a lesson, well, she at least knew the face and name of that fool. The only thing dumber than crossing someone in the market was crossing someone with a reputation in the market, which included a powerful few such as The Family and Anansi (and herself, by extension).

When the details were done she leaned back and began to get to work on her embedded arm-computer. “Well, I don’t like to brag,” she said slyly. Her face contorted into a growing frown as it was apparent the missing supplies would be harder to find than initially expected. “But yes, I’m sure I can help. Unfortunately it’s not ringing any bells, so I may have to do a fair bit of digging.” Which meant she’d have to wait a few days instead of a few hours for an answer. Agh, Mae hated when she didn’t have all the dots connected right away! It meant there were gaps in her intel network; even ones as small and recent as this bugged her.

“Consider it done,” she said, nodding at both of them. “And as usual, I won’t pry, but the more details you give me to work from, the faster you’ll have them back.” Despite her narrative, there were quite a few details missing: where did it come from? What was the shipment? How big was it? Any leads? Some things she may not want to disclose, some she may later on. She always respected the privacy of the Diacha’s business dealings, and wouldn’t press beyond that reminder.

=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: eyes Kat suspiciously.

[attr="class","iconie"]

[attr="class","textie"]


She turned to Kat, and the second she gave that toothy smile, the hairs on her neck stood up. As always. A little stiff, she offered her a smile and a shrug. “Sure, let’s take a look at it. And hey, perhaps one day I’ll stop by just to say hello, but that’s far less exciting than business. I know you enjoy when I come in to mix things up, Kat, no matter how much you pretend to pout.” She gave her a little wave as she went off to grab the drive. Between them, herself, and Orbweaver, decryption should only be a matter of time, not chance.

She gave Clarisse her full attention once more, making mental notes about everything she said. She nodded at the end of it and relaxed her posture.

“Deal,” she said. “That’s plenty, thank you. I can put someone on the trail as soon as we decrypt the drive; given that your former associate has been dealt with, we should be able to recover most, if not all, of it with little trouble. If it’s been moved, perhaps a little longer, but nothing beyond my capabilities. You’ll get any names and a location as soon as I do.”

Nothing to do now but wait for Kat to get back with that drive. Mae busied herself with work on her phone and cyberarm. “Aside from your little troublemaker, I trust your business is doing well? The market has been quite lively lately.” She gave her a quick, knowing look. If the market was busy, Clarisse had her hand in it. As if Maevia was one to speak. “Did either of you make it up to Haven for the festival? I heard it was the best year for it yet.”


=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: Sassy as a person is nervous about that look between the sisters >_>

[attr="class","iconie"]

[attr="class","textie"]


Maevia laughed. “Clearly. It’s hard to keep her spirits down for long.” Data came and went at the command of her tapping fingers. A client here, a report there… A neverending dance that kept her business booming. Information was the blood of Dagos, if not the world, and she was the heart that kept it going. “Speaking of, I noticed the new bar counter. Kat really liked that other one, so I assume it wasn’t just to keep things fresh in Obsidian.” She smiled. “And I see you have a new employee wandering about. Related?”

As in, related to the incident, as there was little doubt this was the case. Few huge fights broke out in Obsidian, and compared to the rest of Dagos, it might even be the most peaceful bar around. It was certainly the one with the lowest casualty rate in recent years.

“No more than usual, thank the gods,” she said. There were always troublemakers in her business, but they never got very far. With a reputation like hers and Anansi’s, people willing to double-cross her were in short supply. No, the trouble was more dealing with conflicting arrangements; what to do when one person pays for protection while another pays to find them? Nothing was clear-cut in this work. “As long as people keep needing to know things, I don’t suspect I’ll run low on work anytime soon. Unfortunately for Kat, I suppose.”

She gave a little laugh, but a little hint of nerves snuck in there. What about her did the magi find so dang interesting? She shook her head a little. If there was one thing she knew, answers always came in time.

=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: Troublemakers errywhere

[attr="class","iconie"]

[attr="class","textie"]


Mae laughed at the little backstory. “How merciful. She should count herself lucky; most of the time when someone can’t pay in the market, they’ll just take whatever they can turn a profit on. Mostly organs, cybernetics, or magi extras… but I’ve seen more ‘creative’ solutions.” She looked skyward and counted on her fingers. “Then there’s always selling them to slavers, or ransom, or bounty, or… well, you know as well as I do. I only hope your new worker appreciates her situation. If not, well, I can always put you in contact with someone who will be grateful to pay her dues.”

And Dagos was definitely not a place where you wanted to have someone buy ownership of your debt.

As if on cue, a pair of arms wrapped around the cyborg; if her grip wasn’t so strong, she would have jumped out of the chair right through the ceiling. Meekly, she took the hard drive from Kat, and stewed in stunned silence for a little longer. Oh. She wasn’t going to just let go, was she? She stiffened as the Cheshire troublemaker appeared to her side.

“Er,” was the first thing she managed to say. She felt warm. Oh gods, was she blushing? She coughed to clear her throat of an imaginary frog. “If I could please have my arms back, I’d like to, ah, look at the drive.”

Not many heard Mae’s voice without the confident tone, but this was one such instance. It was half a request, half a question. Assuming Kat did free her, she would examine the drive. She pulled on a cord hidden within her cybernetic arm and connected it to the hard drive.

“Scanning,” said her VI, Orbweaver, in his cheery butler-like tone. “No malicious programs detected.”

Well, that was a relief. “Alright, let’s see what your little ambitious troublemaker has going on here…” She said. Her confidence was back, now that she was doing something familiar. “Orbweaver, cross-reference encryption with masterlist.”

“Yes, sir!”

She had her screen display the process as a holographic projection, so the sisters could watch the exciting process of… many words popping up, and the word “scanning…” Okay, decryption wasn’t exactly the most exciting thing, but it was necessary. Soon a word from a large list would highlight and zoom in. And another. And not long later, another. Maevia’s face, furrowed with concentration, intensified.

“Hm. Interesting,” she mused. “Well. I can tell you this; if they weren’t dumb enough to try screwing you over, I’d have said they were a clever employee. These are uncommon, to say the least, and modified to make its own custom language. Clearly they thought they were going to score big; these could not have been cheap to acquire.”

And it would be a huge pain in the ass to undo. Gods, it could take weeks; she hadn’t expected this level of security. But then her face lit up with a sly grin.

“Fortunately for us, the encryption they used serves as an excellent lead in itself. Not many people know this one,” she said, zooming in on the phrase ‘A-3SCEL-L0.v.446.’ “3rd Surajan 446 is more illegal than distributing uppers to magi kids. The programmers owe me a few favors.”

Yes, she knew that obscure fact just off the top of her head. The holo-display shrunk down and the screen turned black. She unplugged the hard-drive and pocketed it in her hoodie. “I may not have this decrypted for weeks, but I can get a fine lead without it. You’ll have your supplies after a bit of legwork. Once I crack this, you’ll get a full copy of its contents, to boot. Thanks for this; I was looking for a new puzzle to play with.”


=====
Tags: Clarisse Diacha
Notes: making up tech terms hell yes. go nerd go.

[attr="class","iconie"]