It wasn't unusual for Hades to spend his breaks with Aaron or Charlotte on campus. Taking Charlotte out to a rather distant, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop was another matter entirely. Such occasions were reserved for little assignments. Though the one he hoped to embark on was on a significantly larger scale than any of his previous endeavors.
But such was his faith in Lethe's competence. He had been around her enough to know that she had the precision of a scalpel. She had to if she intended to continue living a stable life, after all. After the waiter scurried off to attend to their orders, Hades closed his eyes, running over the mental picture he had of Minos's schedule. Hacking into Minos's schedule had been more difficult than usual - riskier, too, and he'd taken every measure to prevent its being traced back to him. Hell, even to New York City. He'd used a proxy server from some obscure European country, but going over his methodology was hardly what mattered at the moment.
His skills were useless without connections. And while Hades had managed his fair share of small shots, Minos's network had the true heavy hitters. Minos was the most volatile of Hades's previous underlings. Hades knew that the former judge would not be so accepting of his human container than the others, so what better way to cultivate an image than with the very man's colleagues? A child his container was, yes, but on par with a man. His own insistence would seem like nothing but arrogance. Third party validation, on the other hand, was always taken with less salt.
"I doubt this is because you enjoy my company," Lethe broke the silence, not looking up from the napkin she had folded into a rather lopsided attempt of a butterfly. It didn't take much to guess that he wanted something from her to bring her out all this way when there was a dozen or more closer cafes, and though she wouldn't readily say so, it did fill her with some amount of pride that she was the one he was turning to no matter how small or large the favour. She had been aimless for too long, devoid of her singular yet important purpose, and yet if she could still be any use to Hades then she was more than obliged to carry through with whatever he wanted. There were very few that she'd allow to ask anything of her, and only to Hades so unquestionably and unfalteringly that she was prepared to say yes before he even asked.
For the record, he did enjoy her company, soothing as it was. But, of course, he did not add to her comment, delving straight into the heart of why he'd taken her so far out.
"Take this memory." Hades brought the memory of Minos's schedule for the week to the forefront of his mind. He had no idea if his focusing on it actually helped Lethe in any way, so he clarified, "It's the schedule of a man named Sándor Bíro."
While the clarification of what she was looking for helped, his focus on the information actually made the memory far more difficult to extract. Cleanly, at least, and Lethe doubted he'd take too kindly to her taking more than needed. "No," Lethe corrected with a whisper, reaching across the small table to gently cup Hades' chin, ready to do as instructed without voicing a single question as to why. If details were important, he'd provide them.
"Don't think about it," she instructed, voice slow and soothing as her fingers stroked the underside of his jaw, holding his gaze unblinkingly. The close proximity was usually enough to dull the senses of most she encountered, although Gods could be far trickier, their minds far sharper and less prone to careless distractions.
It was always easier when her victims were unsuspecting, ignorant of her ability and not knowing to fight it, like that rude but entertaining enough Egyptian that she'd been slowly leeching memories of prior reincarnations from. He'd yet to catch on. But Hades was well aware of what she was doing, inviting it even, and hopefully his willingness would make it easier for him to let go.
It wasn't easy for Hades to relinquish control. Control was so characteristic of him, after all. What differentiated him from his brothers, what made him rule the Underworld as effectively as he did. Her touch helped soothe him, but at the same time it was an irritant. He did not like contact in general, but...
It would be a testament to his control if he could push himself into relaxation now. So, holding Lethe's gaze, he let go of the memory, letting it fall back into the endless pool of memories. There were so many lives, so many memories... That carefully memorized schedule was simply a drop - Hades was not certain how his letting it be made the affair any easier for Lethe. But this was her realm of expertise, and he was not so arrogant as to insist on defying her.
With him plenty aware of the extent of what she was capable of, Lethe knew it was no small task for Hades to trust her with his mind or the necessary physical contact. Perhaps not now nor ever would be the right time to inform him that her powers had backfired before. Some things people were truly better off not knowing, any small amount of doubt and struggling on his part would make what she was about to do riskier. Fully leaning across the table now, holding his chin steady while brushing Hades' eyes closed with light fingertips, not questioning her permission to do so, Lethe waited until his attention was fully elsewhere before striking. She best navigated the parts of the memory that messily blurred together in the back of the mind, most prone to the dangers of being forgotten. Her realm.
And then just as quickly she pulled away, the slightest smile of success.
He'd forgotten the schedule. For a moment, Hades panicked (though without any outward indication). But, catching sight of her smile, he realized the first phase of what he'd meant to accomplish had been successful.