Lachlan was no stranger to these clandestine meetings, and over the years he had been to more than he could count. That familiarity did not breed complacency though; time had proven just how quickly things could go wrong if due care was not given. He arrived at the meeting place at the time Fiona had appointed, no earlier or later, and exchanged a significant look with her as he emerged from the darkness and slipped into the light. There would be more for them to discuss after the group dispersed, but for now he was present to discuss Swallowtail’s latest message.
He too had anticipated opposition to the directive they had been given, and his gaze honed in on Bryn when he broke the silence following Fiona’s statement. “A experiment on innocent people? Well, there is a first time for everything,” Lachlan drawled, not yet combative but his voice still dripped with sarcasm. How could he take that point seriously when his arm still felt the occasional aching twinge from the last injection of poison?
The back of his neck prickled from the sense that he was being watched, he had felt Reagan’s eyes on him before but only glanced her way before looking to Morrie when she spoke up. No irritation sparked at her argument, Lachlan had never known his sister to mutely nod along with the crowd. And as proud as he was of her for that, particularly when this was her first meeting, he couldn't just stand back and leave Fiona to make them see that the plan was right and justified.
“If the Cloves see that no Aurellians suffer, their suspicions will immediately be roused.” They were a people suspicious to their cores, likely not even trusting the sun to rise in the mornings. “If they are the only ones to fall sick, and none of our unwashed, unvaccinated mass do the same, it will look peculiar.”
He folded his arms across his chest and shrugged at the second part of Morrie’s question, not having the answer. “Swallowtail would not have ordered this if he did not have good reason. Time will tell what is to be gained from this.”
Circling back to Bryn’s earlier point, Lachlan continued with no reservation as he flicked a glance Will’s way. “The Palace is the obvious choice. Less truly innocent people there, and far more people who deserve what is coming to them.”