Cian (thebettingsort) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-09-10 20:10:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, cian wilde, loch lemach |
the fallen are the virtuous among us, walk among us, never judge us to be blessed
Who: Cian & Loch
What: Shady dealings
Where: Loch's secondary office at the Docks
When: Sometime last week, late night.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Status: Complete
If you wanted something done right, you did it yourself. Cian didn’t like just how true that statement was, but damn, sometimes, there was just no choice. Leo had been a nearly fatal error in judgment -- Cian had promoted the bastard after the former syndicate leader’s death, trusting that this would give him at least some measure of loyalty. It had lasted -- five years, which felt more like five minutes -- but now he was left with missing cargo, holes in his profits, and a dead overseer. When it rained, it poured. He’d replaced the guy, a few days after his demise. The new man in charge was young still, but scared shitless of Cian himself, which at this point seemed better insurance than pure competence could provide. He didn’t have time to hang around the docks, so he had to trust the fear would hold. Which was what brought him here tonight, striding purposefully through the darkness between quiet warehouses, the path no less familiar for how infrequently he traveled it these days. Some connections were too valuable to forget, after all. He saw the light of her cigarette first, before the rest of her came into view, propped with false languor against the wall. She was waiting for him, he knew, and just as she would expect, he was right on time. The power balance between them had always been complicated -- the old bastard had trusted her, a little, and Cian had known better in those days than to cross her, but now he was top dog, and she knew it, even if he had a notion she might not like the fact much -- but today, he was the one who needed something, so he wouldn’t make her wait. He still recognized her as someone not to be crossed. He approached her, nodded his head in silent greeting. No need for words until she let him in; there was nothing strictly illegal about meeting in the warehouse district after dark, of course, but the less attention drawn, the better. It would be preferable if no one ever saw him here, with her, at all. A quirk of the lips as she blew out a plume of smoke was all the acknowledgement Loch offered when she saw Cian approach. Like him, she preferred not to speak outside, where they could be overheard with ease, especially at this time of evening, when the only sound in the warehouse district was the distant lull of the waves lapping at the shore and even whispers carried. No doubt they were not the only ones meeting for business then. Half the warehouses in the area were owned by members of their guild, after all. She did not need to look at her watch to know Cian was perfectly on time. That, she could appreciate; he was the one who wanted something from her, and so tardiness would not have been a good start to the negotiations. Loch took a deep drag, marveling at the feeling of smoke filling her lungs, and exhaled before crushing the butt of the cigarette under her heel. She then ducked back inside her office-cum-workshop and closed the door behind her, trusting it had not been long enough since Cian's last visit that he'd forgotten he was supposed to wait outside. If he came in after her before she could finish disabling the network of traps that protected her office from unwanted guests, then he was stupid, and he deserved the electric shock he'd get the moment he crossed the threshold. It would be good amusement value, too, but she'd just have to do without. It took her only about half a minute to disable security. Once she did, she opened the door again and nodded at Cian to go in. "Welcome to my humble abode," she said with a smirk, and sat in the chair behind the desk in the middle of the room, keeping an eye on Cian as she moved and making sure never to show him her back. Her workshop was behind a door at the back of the room, but there would be no call to go in there, unless Cian required her to mix him something, which she doubted. The Wilde organisation had been an important source of revenues back when Tynan was in charge, but Cian rarely came to her for poisons unless he absolutely had to. The new boss would rather go to Nathaniel for such purchases, Loch knew, and why not? The boy was competent, and it was a badge of pride for her that she'd taught him as much as he'd needed to know: enough to know his toxicants, but not enough to rival her level of expertise. It had not been a wasted three years, against all odds. "Take a seat," she said to Cian, nodding at the single chair left open for visitors. "A tad uncomfortable to discuss business while standing around, innit?" When the door reopened, he entered the office without comment. After all, he had to do the same with his; his traps were deactivated only when he knew someone was coming shortly, and though he didn’t know Loch’s exact setup, he had to figure it wasn’t all that terribly different from his own. Sure, the kid had made some unique designs, but at the end of the day, you always saw a link between teacher and student if you looked close enough. Even when the student didn’t want to emulate the teacher -- but that wasn’t a thought for here and now. He and the kid had their share of things in common, even if he was the only one who knew it. “Thanks,” he said shortly, settled into the less than comfortable chair, stretched his legs out. His posture, like hers outside, was deceptively languid, but he was alert, as she no doubt was. He supposed putting two predators in one narrow cage might have a similar effect. “You’re looking... prosperous.” The sort of compliment she could appreciate, and carefully impersonal. “Guess I don’t need to ask how business is going.” And she in turn, wouldn’t need to lie or tell a half truth. Why waste time? Loch nodded. "Better now there ain't no damn sea serpent destroying my shipments." As long as the situation was normal and trade was in full swing, with dozens of ships docking every day, it was far easier to divert Philip's attention from a few crates here and there. "As for the rest, well. Always people around need poisoning." She shrugged and leaned back in her chair. Her hands were placed on her abdomen, an affectation of nonchalance. The perfect position to allow her to pull out the knives concealed in her clothes in the blink of an eye, if the need arose. "Let's skip the small talk." Loch had never liked the custom of discussing trivialities when both parties knew the purpose of the encounter lay elsewhere. "What can I do for you?" “I think we can all say good riddance to that damn thing.” It hadn’t done anyone any good, on the right side of the law or not. As he always did, he spared a thought to red, with her strange sayings and explosive prayers. “And some people are too fucking stupid to live.” Which was really all the segue he needed. “Anyway, I’ve had a… reduction in force.” A ghost of a smile would tell her that the technical term was not entirely accurate for what had occurred. “You won’t be hearing from Leo again. Put a new guy in his place. Name’s Sevrin. Some other changes coming in my docks team, as he gets to them.” There were rats to be rooted out yet, he was sure. Leo hadn’t been dumb, but he hadn’t executed the entire operation on his own, either. Now that he’d made an example of the ringleader, he’d leave Sevrin and his knives to finish up the rest. “I’ll send him by to pay his respects within the next couple days.” And respects, for her, were paid in gil, which was how shipments got in and out with the harbormaster none the wiser. Loch snorted at the euphemisms. “Ah, well, that’s how these things go.” Leo had never come off as particularly trustworthy to her, but she was getting paid to divert Philip’s attention from those shipments, not to question how Cian ran his organisation. “I’ll see Sevrin here, of course. If he comes to the office in the docks to pay his respects, I ain’t never met him, and won’t be pleased to make his acquaintance.” Philip was naive, sure, but he wasn’t stupid enough not to notice something was up if some guy sauntered into the office and handed Loch a purse full of gil for no apparent reason. And if Philip found out about such dealings, then she was in hot water, and she would make her displeasure very clear to this Sevrin. “Let’s see. I can see him here tomorrow evening, at this hour. Let me know if that works.” Every other aspect of their arrangement would stay as it had been up until then, she assumed; a new overseer was hardly a remarkable change. “I may be redirecting your shipments to a new warehouse starting next week, to switch things up a tad. Plenty accessible, and close to the old one. I can brief Sevrin on the details when he comes by, if you savvy.” “Yeah, I savvy. He’ll be here. Won’t show his face otherwise; like I said, some people are too stupid to live. Sevrin’s still alive.” He didn’t much tolerate stupid in management. Leo hadn’t been stupid, either. A bit too smart in some ways, even, though thinking he could branch out on his own without ever being caught was idiotic enough in its way. Sevrin… well, Cian would give Sevrin a very detailed account of what to say -- and not -- to the harbormaster’s assistant, and where. He wasn’t stupid, but insurance wasn’t a bad thing. “Make sure I get the warehouse number, too; otherwise, I couldn’t care less.” Around here, things usually moved around a fair amount before reaching their final destination. His own warehouse was stationary, but his goods went through a few holding locations before they got there. Nothing new -- business as usual. And this chair was so painful, he thought she’d probably paid good gil for it. No quicker way to make sure people didn’t linger. “That’s that, then,” he said, rising from it, taking care not to stretch or show his discomfort in any way. “He’ll be by tomorrow.” And it would be Sevrin’s job to pay her, now and for the foreseeable future. “I’ll just see myself out.” No formality here. Business concluded, he headed for the door, knowing she’d lock up and trap it behind him. But though he did not make a production of it, he stood somewhat sideways, and didn’t turn his back fully to her until the door was closed. He wasn’t stupid, either. |