Year 1104, three years ago.
Eve couldn't believe her eyes. The world fell still, and for a moment, she was convinced she was seeing a ghost.
A ghost of Jordan.
"Wh--" was all she managed to sputter out as she stared at him wide-eyed, unable to move. Barely able to comprehend that he was tangible. [i]Tangible. Because he was able to pull her aside.
Real. This was real.
"Shh!" Jordan said, raising up his hands from under his hooded cloak. "I'm sorry! Listen, just-- follow me. We can't talk here."
"You're--" Eve managed to spit out, feeling another knot lodged in her throat. She felt her hands shaking as the dam of emotions she walled up so well the past few years began to crack.
He was supposed to be dead.
Gently, Jordan put his hands over hers, and with a tug on her arms, he pulled her into the alleyway behind them, covering them in shadows. Eve let herself be pulled along, mostly out of shock, partly out of detachment, and a smidge out of curiosity. When he let her go, he looked out into the bustling crowds, and then turned to meet her eyes. In them, she could see a storm brewing as he pressed his lips together and then took in a shuddering breath.
"I know this is a lot to take in," he said quietly.
"Who are you?" Eve hissed, feeling the shock wear off. She snatched her hand away from his, taking a skeptical step back. "You're-- And why are you--"
She couldn't even say his name.
The man blinked. This time, it was his turn to be shocked.
"You really don't recognize me?" he asked faintly, sounding pained. "I-- sorry, I didn't think it'd been--"
"I know who you are!" she hissed back in a loud whisper, biting down her teeth to keep her rising emotions at bay. "But you're supposed to be-- you're--" She faltered once more, staring at him wide-eyed, unable to say the last word.
Dead. He was supposed to be dead.
Jordan stared at her for a moment, his expression falling into something desperate. Helpless, even. He let out a sigh.
"I survived," he said weakly. "And escaped. I... held my breath."
Eve steadied herself against the brick wall, feeling the world spinning around her. She had so many questions. Why did she receive a letter from Ray saying he was dead? Did they know? Who else knew? How did he escape?
What was he doing here?
"I can get into the details later," Jordan continued. "But I -- I had to see you. I heard about what you did in the Lowell case."
The Lowell case. The case Eve had recently won. Her mage-sympathizing client that she defended. Jordan knew about this. How did he know about this? How long had he been here?
"What are you doing here, Jordan?" she asked, unable to stop her voice from sounding like a pained whimper.
Jordan closed his eyes for a moment and then bowed his head, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"How much do you know about the resistance?" he asked.[/i]
Eve drew a few last finishing strokes on her sketchpad, setting down her pencil to admire the drawing. It was another sketch of the four of them together again, back when times were simpler and more innocent. Eve frowned, not completely happy with how this drawing turned out. Something didn't feel right. It was missing something. It wasn't her best work.
Glancing at the clock, Eve noted when the minute hand almost coincided to the top of the hour. The meeting was about to start in five minutes, so she closed her sketchpad and slid it across the wooden table to the corner where it always sat, along with the assortment of pens and pencils, neatly arranged to grab whenever she wanted.
She opened the desk drawer, pulling out the notepad and pencil on top. Just as she flipped to a new page, there was a knock on the door. Eve knew from the knock and the somewhat early timing that this was Jordan.
"Come in," Eve welcomed after glancing to make sure for the third time that there were enough chairs and that they were in place.
The door opened gently, and Jordan poked his head in first, looking to her with a small smile of greeting. "Hey," he said. "Mind if I come in early?"
"Not at all." She motioned for him to come in. "Please do."
Closing the door behind him, Jordan pulled up a seat from the edge of the room and brought it close to her desk, sitting down.
"What're you drawing?" Jordan asked, peeking over her desk.
"Um..." Eve leaned away, instinctively wrapping her arms over her notepad, even though there were no drawings over it. She had already put away her sketchpad, after all. "Nothing," she answered indignantly. "I was taking preliminary notes for the meeting report."
Jordan squinted at her, a small smile creeping on his face. "Suuuure, sure," he said. "Notes in your sketchbook."
"This isn't my sketchbook," she answered flatly, but she immediately regretted divulging this information.
Raising his brows, Jordan let out a little laugh.
Regardless, Eve ignored his smug look and furiously wrote down the date and everyone's names at the top of the page, trying not to frown.
"You were drawing Cyrin, weren't you," Jordan said teasingly.
"No," Eve said with a pointed look, offended that he'd suggest this. Even though she admittedly did have numerous drawings of him.
"Hey, they're a really good looking person," Jordan said innocently with a shrug. "I'm sure they're really fun to draw!"
"Yes. I'm sure they are," she echoed, jotting down more notes to add to her report.
"Not that I ever draw Cyrin," Jordan said. "Because the dating pool out here is so slim. Sure, I could go out and meet people in Ruddlan. But who's to say they won't rat me out, you know? Sucks. All this beauty and no one to appreciate me for who I really am."
Eve stared at him with even flatter look, frankly unsure what to say to this.
Jordan let out a laugh. "Come on," Jordan said. "I know you like somebody, you just won't tell me."
Eve sighed, shaking her head and resuming her writing. "Yes," she said blankly. "I do like someone. Want to know who?"
And finally, the positions were switched as Jordan visibly took the bait and his eyes widened with curiosity. He leaned forward in his seat, waiting for her answer.
"He's strong. Dependable. Never late, always there. Steady and consistent." Keeping her face neutral, Eve pointed the pencil at him. "Would you like to know his name?"
"Well now I have to," Jordan said.
"Work," Eve answered matter-of-factly, returning to her writing.
Jordan let out a disappointed scoff, but he didn't look surprised as he leaned back in his seat and rolled his eyes.
"You're so boring," he said.
"Thank you," Eve said with a slight smile, noting the time once more. It was the top of the hour, and since most of the others were punctual, they would come in any minute now.
Eve was expecting a knock, but she heard the entrance first. Hendrik's booming voice was hard to miss, especially in the narrow underground walls.
"Serves that fucker right! It's about time someone knocks out that smug, murderous face of his. Who does he think he is, stepping into our city, paraded as a fuckin' war hero? It's a fuckin' insult!"
His words were growing in volume. Sobering, Eve exchanged a wary glance with Jordan, who sat up straighter, just as confused.
"What is he talking about?" Jordan asked, though Eve knew just as much as he did. Which was, nothing. But with Hendrik, this seemed to be the norm. He was hardly ever on the same page as others.
To be frank, Eve questioned where he obtained most of his questionable information most of the time. Likely from unreliable, random sources.
"You don't need to knock, phantom. It's just a meeting," Hendrik's voice boomed outside the door again before the door burst open. Hendrik was the only one on the other side, frowning deeply as he marched right in, flask in hand.
"We're here. Now the party's started," he said with a threatening tone, sinking into the smalled wooden chair that seemed to be on the verge of giving out from his weight. He reeked of alcohol, and the scent only worsened as he glugged down another long sip from the flask.
Eve didn't hear Cyrin, but she saw them popping up over Jordan's shoulder with a faint teasing smirk. Jordan didn't notice. Cyrin leaned over beside his ear and suddenly whispered, "Boo!"
Jordan nearly jumped out of his seat. Catching himself on the chair by holding onto both sides, Jordan sank down with a bark of a laugh.
"Cyrin!" he said with a huff, twinged with equal amusement and surprise. Cyrin merely grinned and laughed good-naturedly.
"I warned you that phantom was here," Hendrik said with a wave of his hand, then leaned towards Jordan, offering the flask. The chair groaned under the shift of his weight. "Drink?"
"Not now, Hendrik," Jordan said, waving it off.
"More for me," Hendrik said with a shrug, shooting his the flask back with a loud, breathy, "Ah." He leaned back in his chair, wiggling in place and causing the chair's legs to nearly buckle. "Can we get started or what?"
"We're waiting for Tula," Eve said evenly.
"She's always late," Jordan said with a sigh, leaning back into his chair.
"Sure, but always fashionably so," Cyrin said, taking a seat as well.
"Hmph! Very disrespectful." Hendrik nodded eagerly, still frowning. "Gothic also needs to adhere to dress code. Has someone taken disciplinary action on her? Boss man?"
Jordan gave Hendrik a very flat look.
"There's not dress code against wearing black," he said.
"No, but there should be a dress code if your lady bits are hanging out," Hendrik snapped back, banging his fist against his chest. To what reason he did this, Eve could not fathom. Perhaps he was mimicking the actions of a giant ape.
"Oh my gods," Jordan sputtered. "You couldn't show up to one meeting sober?"
"You'd be drunk off your ass if you were there, water boy!" Hendrik scoffed, pointing the flask at him. "You weren't there to slap the soulless ginger yourself. I know you would. Don't lie to yourself."
"Who exactly did you slap?" Jordan asked.
"None other than Tiberius Hemming," Cyrin said, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. "Yes, that Tiberius Hemming."
Eve froze, openly staring at them, the name repeating in her head. She had read the papers countless of times. Every bit of news, every bit of propaganda she could get her hands on, she consumed. The man's cold gaze burned an image through her very mind.
He was the reason why the resistance weakened last year. Tiberius Hemming killed Verna.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Cyrin continued, "Also, that wasn't a slap. That was a glass bottle to the head."
"Oh, shit," Jordan said, eyes widening. "You're serious?"
Cyrin sighed. "Yeah. And I had to apologize to him afterwards on Hendrik's behalf for the attack instead of making it two."
"Gods, that's even worse," Jordan empathized.
"You shouldn't have apologized, phantom," Hendrik sneered coldly, pointing the flask at him. "Those murderers don't deserve it."
"Tiberius Hemming is here?" Eve repeated with raised brows, cutting into the conversation to steer the topic to more productive ground. She directed her questions to Cyrin, catching his attention since he was the more reliable one between the two. "In Ruddlan? When? Why? Who?"
Unfortunately for productivity, Cyrin looked to Hendrik, which caused Eve to sigh. "You want to share this, since the visitors are your report? I don't want to take credit for it."
With a sobering expression, Hendrik set his flask in his front pocket, sitting up straighter. "Yes, ma'am," he said gruffly with a nod towards Eve. She readied her pencil, ready to take extensive notes since Hendrik often laid out everything all at once like a true soldier, despite already having taken extensive notes. He continued on, sliding his folder of notes across her desk.
"I've done a thorough account of all visitors of status and troublemakers that have come through the city gates in preparation for the coming festival. The most official names to note are Gwen and Ray Hawking, ambassadors of Lettera, who have come to visit their son for the duration of the festival and the games."
Eve only took half a second to let this realization sink deeper as she quickly wrote down the summarized version. She was glad that Jordan already told her that Shane's parents had arrived. Had he not, she wasn't sure she could maintain her composure.
Hearing Hendrik of all people say their names, however, completely sealed the truth, grounding her reality.
"The King's Hand arrived shortly after and are representing King Blackfield as the king's proxy. They are going on a political tour around the kingdoms to establish relations with world leaders and this is their last stop before they return to the Moonlight Kingdom.
"In addition, Counselor Friar from Goulon arrived three days ago on business, and it appears three representatives from the Isles have come to partake in the festivities. They include Representatives Penn, Hardy, and Lima. All above parties are staying in the manors of Barlowe's estate."
Hendrik paused, which Eve was grateful for since she was furiosly jotting fast notes. From her quick glance up at him, however, she knew that his contemplative frown triggered a nonsensical opinion. As Hendrik often vocalized.
And so he went on to predictably say, "The only other people of note are all the fuckin' monster hunters bleeding into the city for the griffin games." He scoffed. "The fuckin' sadists. Treating the poor animals like cattle. If the griffins roamed free, they'd claw 'em to death."
Eve made a mental note to add to her real notes that this statement affirmed that Hendrik considered monsters as animals. Unsurprising, given that he treated all life with respect and dignity. Which Eve greatly respected as well.
Cyrin hummed thoughtfully. "At least one of those parties isn't hostile. That's better than the usual assortment of enemies."
"Yeah," Jordan said, flicking a brief glance Eve's way. She didn't return the glance. Thankfully, he plopped a piece of paper on Eve's desk, pulling it out of his vest pocket. "I've got a list of mage hunters for you as well. Just since there's more than usual that will be littering the streets because of the festival. We'll have to be careful. Some of them are pretty ambitious."
"Thank you, Jordan," Eve said with a grateful nod, daintily picking one end of the paper to angle it towards her eyes. She quickly skimmed the list, eyes landing on one name that instantly brought dread to her stomach.
Alexander Kingsman. He came in and out of Ruddlan because he was based there, but he'd been a pain in their side for years. Somehow, he'd always get to mages before they could find them and pull them out.
"What's wrong, chief?" Hendrik prodded, leaning towards her desk to peek at the list. She angled it farther away from him. "Who should we watch out for?"
"Alexander Kingsman," Eve answered, glancing at each at one of them individually with a serious expression. "One of Moonlight Kingdom's best mage hunters. Please be careful when you are performing field work."
She heard a quiet, tired sigh from Cyrin, who pressed his lips together and pinched the bridge of his nose like he'd just gotten a headache.
"I hate that guy," Jordan muttered.
"Join the club," Cyrin said. "The summer's ruined."
Hendrik angrily smashed his fists against Eve's desk, sending her neat array of pens to roll down unevenly. Irritated, she slid them back in place.
"That damn silver fox finds mages before we even have time to leave the damn base!" he barked, slumping back into his chair. "We need to have less meetings. We're wasting time here. The fox is going to hunt them all down, gods be damned."
"Maybe if we found a way to track him, we could just follow him to the mages instead of trying to beat him there," Jordan said.
"That would take an entire agent just for Kingsman," Cyrin said. "And recruiting hasn't been that great."
"Put me on the job, chief," Hendrik boomed, thudding his fist against his chest. "Let me hunt the silver fox."
"Then again," Jordan murmured. "Hunting a mage hunter might be counter-productive..."
Suddenly, Cyrin slid out of his seat, hitting the floor and ducking under the table without warning. Not a moment later, a knife sailed through the air where he'd been sitting, sinking into the wall and embedding between the bricks.
"Holy shit!" Hendrik yelped, diving back with his chair. And with that, the flimsy chair finally broke, buckling under his weight. He landed on the floor with a thud, sprawled on his back.
"Dammit, Tula, I lost my train of thought," Cyrin groused from under the table.
Jordan sat still, looking around at the chaos with a wide-eyed look before meeting Eve's eyes. Eve facepalmed with both hands, already feeling a headache coming in.
"Tula," she said evenly, knowing she was hiding behind the door. "Please refrain from throwing any more knives." Eve frowned, pressing her lips together. "I amend: refrain from throwing knives in meetings, period."
At that, the door fully opened, revealing Tula with a smug grin, holding two knives that she proudly held out to display. And as usual, she wore her gothic attire, which often consisted of black corset, fishnets, and boots. If Hendrik were not moaning on the floor, Eve knew he would have made another snide comment about her appearance.
Tula strut in, sheathing her daggers in her corset as she plopped in the chair next to Cyrin, crossing her legs.
"What did I miss, losers?" she greeted.
"Fuck you, gothic, you nearly stabbed me!" Hendrik spat out, finally getting up on his feet, huffing and puffing. He stayed standing, likely because he no longer trusted any more chairs.
"Oh no," she said unenthusiastically, holding her hand out to admire her fingernails, painted black. "The local drunk is drunk again. What else is new?"
"Hendrik punched Tiberius Hemming last night," Jordan said. "Or uh. Wait, you said it was a glass bottle, right?"
"Glass bottle," Cyrin confirmed, getting back into their seat. "If it were anyone else, I'd call it a waste of beer."
Tula grinned, a sly glint in her eyes. "The local drunk can also be a hero." Her grin broadened, turning sinister. "Did he bleed? How much blood?"
"I will talk to Bo about Alexander," Eve cut in, redirecting conversation back to more productive topics. She straightened up, looking at Tula squarely. "Do you have a new status report?"
Bored, Tula crossed her other leg, twirling a strand of her curly hair. "Not since last time we talked. However..." She smirked. "I discovered that Mister Guildman likes to be spanked. He loves to give me extensive information then."
"Dear gods, gothic," Hendrik groaned. "Can you shut up? No one wants to hear your hanky spanky stories."
Jordan and Cyrin exchanged weary expressions, but said nothing. Tula rolled her eyes and merely uttered, "Prudes."
Eve silently sighed, noting that Tula had nothing more to report on the Defense Against Magic Guilds. The last helpful information that Tula reported to her was that the head staff seemed unaware of captured mages going missing, which at least told them that it was a smaller group of hunters within their organization who was working with the Blue Suns. The problem was, they were still trying to identify who they were. Tula was, apparently, still cycling through all of the ones that were useless.
Eve had a suspicion that the hunters they needed weren't the consistent locals, which meant they could be some of the notable ones coming in town. Potentially Kingsman - but there were two other names on the list of interest: Aksel Hansen and Conway Balfour.
Aksel was known more for his father's reputation than his own. Ivar Hansen had a successful trade business off the coast of Goulon, but was best known for his public endorsement of DAMG and anti-magic policies. Aksel, his son, was a mage hunter for the guilds and practically a puppet for his father.
Conway, on the other hand, was an elusive mage hunter known for being cruel with every mage he caught. Highly unethical, and potentially compromised in his loyalties to DAMG. He could be connected to the kidnappings.
As Hendrik bickered with Tula, Eve set the mage hunter paper flat on her desk, underlining a few names. "Tula," she interrupted plainly, catching her attention. "Please seek information from Alexander Kingsman, Aksel Hansen, and Conway Balfour. Do you require further instructions?"
"Please," Tula said with a roll of her eyes. "I'm a professional. I'll find out what makes them scream."
Eve did not doubt that.
"Cyrin," she called before Hendrik could get another snide remark in. "Do you have an update on the Blue Suns?"
"Yes." Cyrin straightened, clearing his throat. "I'm sure things have felt calmer with the last few weeks. They're keeping to themselves lately. Of course, that's just as suspicious as them suddenly becoming very active." They spread their hands. "I spied on Pia and Wilson from a park tree early this morning. They seemed to meet for two reasons. One, for Wilson to provide Pia with poison-- I don't know what her plan is with it, and I don't expect to find out. But the second reason is more concerning. The Blue Suns have been, among other things, holding off on their lumshade distribution, but Pia informed Wilson that in two days from today, Sparrow will have her resume the circulation on a large scale."
Cyrin paused, pursing their lips for a moment. Eve underlined the two main points: mysterious poison and excessive lumshade distribution expected in two days.
"I suspect he's going to use the distracting backdrop of the festival and the incoming visitors to traffic more mages than ever before," they continued. "We need to find out where they're being kept. With an operation on this scale, we could be talking about a couple dozen healing mages in secret captivity."
Eve agreed. This was concerning and required thorough investigation. She nodded, pointing the end of her pencil towards Cyrin. "I'm putting you on this assignment. Considering the gravity of the situation, I will be assigning another agent to work with you. I will let you know by tomorrow."
Likely Raj, though she didn't want to name-drop him without knowing his schedule yet. Raj reported directly to Bo, so she would have to ask Bo or Raj about his availability first.
"Any questions?" she finished.
"There is another thing," Cyrin said, a little reluctantly. "I got spotted this morning. By a random bystander."
Eve raised a brow. "Did anything happen?"
"He caught me by surprise, and I tackled him out of the tree," Cyrin said. "But he only seemed confused and alarmed. I think he's just some farmer, judging by the outfit, and he claimed his name was Elias. I told him mine was Terrence. He said he went up in the tree for an apple." They shrugged, appearing almost embarrassed. "I have no idea how he got past me, but I decided to believe him."
"Hah!" Hendrik bellowed, sloshing his flask in the air. "You just got bested by a farmer, phantom. That's a first. I want to find this man to personally congratulate him."
"You better savor it," Cyrin huffed. "It'll take another twenty-four years to happen again."
Tula swiped out another one of her daggers, admiring the blade. "The farmer is a liability. I vote we kill him."
"We are not killing civilians," Eve said sternly, tired that she had to keep repeating this to Tula. She sighed, briefly closing her eyes as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Do you have your report, Cyrin? I'll review the details. Please leave this issue to me."
"I do. Everything's in there," Cyrin said, reaching into their jacket to take out an envelope and slide it across the table.
"That all, chief? We dismissed?" Hendrik said eagerly, ready to leave. He was clearly still irritated that his chair collapsed on him.
Eve sternly pointed her pencil at him. "Yes. Do not punch any more people. Not even Tiberius Hemming."
"Hmph." Hendrik crossed his arms, his frown deepening. "Or else what? I have no regrets."
Eve met his threatening stare, unrelenting. She was in charge of all disciplinary action, acting as a judiciary judge of sorts, given her law background. She weighed the options in her head.
"Or else I take away your cat," she said seriously.
Hendrik tensed up, offense in his eyes. "You wouldn't. Ham needs me and you know it."
"I'm taking your cat for three days," Eve said plainly, writing this in her notes. "Do not do this again."
Hendrik was about to protest, but then a knock tapped on the door five times in quick succession. Everyone's eyes darted to the door, because Bo always used the same knock whenever he stopped by.
"Come in, Bo," Eve called.
The door opened to reveal the tall, one-eyed, bearded man, and he entered the room with a warm smile.
"Hello, everybody," he said, closing the door behind him. "Good to see you all."
Jordan sat up straighter the moment Bo entered, bowing his head in deep respect. Eve simply nodded as a greeting. Tula crossed her arms and sunk back in her chair, looking bored. Cyrin smiled and gave him a quick, relaxed finger salute.
"Boss man!" Hendrik called with sudden glee, clumsily saluting him with a drunken grin. "Welcome back."
Bo walked in, patting Hendrik on the shoulder as he glanced at the broken chair on the floor.
"That thing finally gave out on you, didn't it?" Bo asked.
"Hah!" Hendrik patted Bo back, but it was more of a weighty, threatening slap against his back. "Funny, boss man. You do need stronger chairs, though. You'd have fallen on your ass if I didn't go down first."
"Probably so," Bo laughed lightly. "Thanks for taking a hit for the both of us."
"You've got it, comrade," Hendrik said proudly.
Bo turned to Eve. "Sorry if I interrupted," he said. "Do you need more time?"
"No. We're done anyways," Tula answered, boredly skidding her chair back and turning to head out the door. "Bye."
"Good to see you too, Tula," Bo said with a small grin.
Tula only offered her middle finger as a greeting and a goodbye as she left the room.
Shaking his head with a small laugh, Bo turned to Jordan, who got to his feet.
"How're you doing?" Bo asked, going in for a handshake. "Hanging in there?"
Jordan shook his hand firmly, but Bo pulled him in for a quick hug, patting his back. To which, Jordan returned with a faint smile.
"Yeah, yeah," Jordan said with a nod. "I'm doing good, boss."
"Good to hear it," Bo said, giving Jordan one last pat before he pulled away. "I'll catch you later."
Jordan gave a small salute, and then followed out after Tula.
"How's it been, Bo?" Cyrin asked, smiling warmly as they got to their feet. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
Bo opened his arms and pulled Cyrin into a tight hug. Cyrin grinned a little wider, patting Bo's back as he hugged him back.
"Always good to see you, Cyrin," Bo said, pulling away. "Things have been busy, of late. Not bad, but, I've had my hands full. Though," he shrugged a bit. "Can't say that's likely to change anytime soon. The resistance never sleeps. How about you? Tula hasn't stabbed you yet, has she?"
"Not yet," Cyrin confirmed. "She hasn't given up, though, so I'll get back to you on that."
Bo laughed lightly. "Well, you're still the best spy we've got around," Bo said, then leaned in to whisper loudly. "But don't tell her I said that. Wink."
It was something Bo did sometimes. Saying the word wink instead of winking, since he couldn't actually wink. The result of only having one eye.
Cyrin chuckled, actually winking. "My lips are sealed."
"Wonderful," Bo said, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Cyrin. "This is for you. Read it later."
Cyrin nodded, slipping it up their sleeve as they gave Bo another playful finger salute. "You got it, Bo."
"See you later, super-spy," Bo said, mimicking the salute.
"You too, big guy," Cyrin said, leaving silently with a wave and a smile over their shoulder as they slipped out the door.
When Bo turned back around, he looked down at Hendrik, still standing with a fond grin since he practically idolized Bo.
Hendrik never could pick up a nonverbal hint to save his life. Fortunately, when Bo was around, Eve didn't have to be the one to spell it out for him, especially since Hendrik almost never questioned authority with Bo, which he sometimes did with her.
"I've been hearing rumors," Bo said. "You managed to beat up Tiberius Hemming pretty bad, didn't you?"
"That's right, boss man," Hendrik said more neutrally, standing up straighter as if he were a soldier in front of a lieutenant.
Bo held out his hand for Hendrik to shake. Pleased, Hendrik firmly grabbed his hand, giving him three firm shakes.
"Don't let it happen again, though," Bo said firmly, meeting Hendrik's eyes with raised brows.
"Yes, sir," Hendrik said with another salute. "I wouldn't want my cat to be taken away."
Bo flicked a glance at Eve with a subtle smile in his eye, but nodded to Hendrik seriously.
"We certainly wouldn't want that," he said. "I'm glad that's been settled. You're dismissed for now, Hendrik. I'll catch up with you later. Eve and I need to talk in private."
"Boss. Chief." Hendrik nodded between the two of them. "You know where to find me," he said as a goodbye, giving one last salute before finally leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
Eve sighed, glad that the noisy part of this meeting concluded. There were a number of topics to discuss, namely about the mid Blue Suns and mage trafficking dilemma. It was best to start with the easy topic first: new placements for the agents.
"I assigned Tula to the new hunters in town," Eve began, giving straight to business. She offered Bo the list of new mage hunters with the few names that were highlighted and underlined. "She's a very capable spy, Bo. I know she can be unstable, but with her skills and assets, she has great potential to obtain information from the most threatening mage hunters."
Bo slowly took a seat in the most stable chair in Eve's office as he looked the list over.
"It's unusual for all of these hunters to converge in the same city," Bo murmured. "I know about the Hansens. Tula will probably have the best luck with Aksel. Potentially Conway, slimy as he is. Kingsman, though - they might be too alike for her to sniff him out."
Eve jot down quick notes so that she could relay this information to Tula later, should she need to better prioritize. She nodded along. "Hendrik could use another case. He already pulls his weight and more, but it seems he uses work as a distraction from drinking and other impulsive decisions."
"Like bar fights," Bo said, more to himself.
"Yes. Like bar fights," Eve sighed.
"Well, if you think he could make good headway investigating Kingsman, you can give it to him," Bo said. "I trust your judgement. Hendrik is a hard worker, and he does his best work when he's invested. I know he's had some personal run-ins with Kingsman, so he'll be motivated to say the least."
"I agree." Eve circled her bulleted note from earlier that confirmed the same point. "I recommend he and Tula work together. He wants stop Kingsman and volunteered to do so in the meeting. He will be glad to hear this, though may not be thrilled about working together with Tula."
Bo huffed. "Tula and Hendrik. Well, they won't be working together, but, adjacent to one another," he said. "I don't know if they could handle being a team with just the two of them."
Eve hummed. "Fair point. It's more likely that they will have more unproductive times than productive ones."
"Just tell them to report to you separately," Bo said. "And communicate with each other only if necessary."
Eve nodded. "I will."
"Also," Bo said. "I'm going to have Raj help Cyrin out with recon work. They've worked together well in the past and I know Cyrin could use another set of eyes to watch the Suns in the coming weeks. Raj will let Cyrin know personally, but you can put it on record."
Which Eve did. She jotted down more notes, making a mental note to check in on Raj as well, since he will now be connected to her. She decided to not comment that she already had notes to recommend that Cyrin work with Raj.
"Mel will be around on base as well," Bo added. "If you need any assistance with paperwork, she's a resource. She'll be working the clinic, mostly. And Robin's back in town as well, so hopefully he'll help rope Tula in a bit if you're having any trouble with her. I know she can be a handful."
"Her work load is increasing in scope and impact. Let's assign Robin to be her direct supervisor, and then he can report to me," Eve said plainly, not hesitating to take this opportunity.
"Alright," Bo said. "Done."
Though, she could tell Bo was suppressing a smirk at that. Robin would not be thrilled. But at least it was him and not Eve.
"About Jordan..." She set her pencil down, meeting Bo's gentle eye. "He worked hard to obtain the list of mage hunters, but now he is on the bench. I'd like to run a new proposal by you for his next mission, if you don't mind."
"What do you have in mind?" Bo asked.
"I'd like him to protect the Hawkings," Eve answered neutrally, pulling out a false report she had typed out yesterday, offering the paper to Bo. "Given their belief in mage equality, reconnaissance reports point that there is increased danger with the Hawkings. There may be an organized attack. I'm sure they have their own security, but we ought to also supply our own, even if from the shadows. They are a voice we must protect."
"Are you sure that's a good idea given Jordan's history with the Hawkings?" Bo asked, carefully looking over the report.
Eve nodded, still keeping her composure steady and neutral. "Yes. I've already discussed this proposal with him. He does not mind."
Bo hummed in thought, flipping the paper over, and then setting it back on Eve's desk.
"The Hawkings are some of the few people in positions of power who've helped our cause without our asking, so I'm for it," Bo said. "Just... keep an eye out for how Jordan's doing. Emotionally. I know it could bring things up for him, seeing them again."
"I will," Eve said, and that was a promise. Though, hearing Bo say all this still stung, its intentions ringing deep in the recesses of her heart.
"And take care of your heart, too, Eve," Bo said, softer. "I know they still mean a lot to you too."
Eve bit her lip, deciding to change the subject else she completely lose her composure. "There's one last thing," she began, and she had to flip back on her notepad since she talked faster than she could think, and so she had to recall what she wrote down in her notes. It only took two seconds. "About Cyrin. He mentioned that they pushed a random bystander off a tree when spying on the Blue Suns."
Bo raised a brow. "Did he get a name?" Bo asked.
"Elias," Eve answered. "They said he dressed like a farmer. Could be from the lumshade farm, but there are quite a few farms of different produce on the South End."
Bo hummed, leaning back in his chair as he looked up in thought for a moment. There was a short silence before he spoke.
"Cyrin's going to have their hands full, even with Raj's help, keeping track of what the Blue Suns are up to this month. I don't want to burden him with something that could potentially be a waste of time, if this guy really is just some guy," Bo said. "But, these days, we can never be too careful."
Bo pursed his lips, glancing back at the door, then looking to Eve.
"I could assign Mel to it," he said. "But... if she helps take care of paperwork for you. How would you feel following up on this 'Elias' character? Just to make sure he's a nobody like Cyrin suspects."
Eve stared blankly at him, slow blinking. "You want me to do field work," she stated slowly. "To check in on a farmer?"
"It's likely very low stakes," Bo said with a shrug. "But if he is a lumshade farmer, there could be more to it than it seems. What do you think? Do you think it'd be a waste of time? I have yet to find anyone who's gotten a jump on Cyrin sincerely. The fact Elias managed to do that surprises me."
"I..." Eve furrowed her brows, fiercely staring down at the margins of her notes. "What do you want me to do? To waltz into the lumshade farm and ask the landowner if I could interview one of their workers? What if this arouses more suspicion? I don't even look like I belong, and..." Eve sighed, closing her eyes for a brief moment. She was letting her emotions run high again. "Sorry," she murmured. "It's been a long day. I can do it."
"Are you sure?" Bo asked. "Like I said, if you don't want to, I can always ask Mel to take it up. There is that option."
"I can do it," Eve reaffirmed. Not that she wanted to, but because she wanted to challenge herself. She wanted to prove that she could do more than admin items.
She vowed to one day help lead the resistance. How was she to do this if she always stayed at her desk?
"Alright, then," Bo said with a small smile. "I guess that settles it. How about we talk about ways to start, then? I have a few ideas for you."
I look forward to seeing you. Take care 'til then.
