A Study in Blues

“Yeah, obviously I couldn’t give any sort of indication of that when we were walking,” I admitted, giving Rachel a sheepish smile. 

“Ahhhhh right, of course. I’m happy to help any way that I can - even if it’s doing a crap-tonne of paperwork,” I said pleasantly. I was well aware Dalton wouldn’t want me going out on missions with Cadenza, but I wasn’t angling for such a responsibility anyway. Paperwork was dull but it suited me just fine.

“All in all, things are improving. Things are looking up though,” I summed up, feeling rather hopeful about the future in general. “We can do this.”

“That sounds ideal,” Dalton responded, giving a smile to Danielle as he sat down next to her. “Indeed, it appears to be so. We will continue to go on, despite the pitfalls and obstacles that come our way. After all, there is a certain level of triumph that can only be gained after trials of hardship. Regardless of how many times we fall – it is in the act rising that we are defined.”

And they would continue to rise. In that, Dalton was certain – he would do all in his power to make that a reality. They would rise to greatness, and all would be witness to it. Looking at Danielle, he could see the familiar Soul Voice pulsing with hope, and after such a long time, beyond any reasonable doubt –

I nodded along as they spoke, quietly repeating the information that I’d need to remember. I was thankful that I wouldn’t need to lose my name though - it was one less thing I needed to lie about. It was one less thing that I could make a mistake with.

“That makes sense,” I agreed with Dalton, though I was glad Brian brought up his point. 

‘Urgent letter for Gregano Dorvil. Medical equipment. Sectors four, seven and eight. Confidence is key. No nerves, no apologies. Bring their attention back to the letter if they’re trying to pick at my background. Then get out of there.’  

“I think… I think that I’m ready, in that case,” I said. “I’m ready if the letter is.” 

Dalton nodded, “The key is to not panic. If something goes wrong, then just go with it until you get back. After all, there is nothing you can do should that happen.”

Brian resisted the urge to huff, annoyed that Dalton was right again. There was nothing to be done about it though, so they would simply have to go along with it. ‘So long as she doesn’t give any reason for them to be interested in her past then it should be fine,’ Brian reassured himself.

“Good,” Dalton spoke in response to her being ready. “I have, in fact, finished – so I will just prepare it for you and then you should be good to go.” He knew it was only going to be a moment that she would have to spend with a stranger, but Dalton couldn’t help feel concerned that she would not be able to control her nervousness well enough. ‘So long as the letter reaches them then it doesn’t matter,’ he thought, knowing that Brian would be watching carefully in case anything went wrong.

My heart fell through my stomach and I dropped the clothes I was holding as Brian rushed out, scared at the conclusion he might be drawing. I scurried after him, trying to work out some way that would calm him if all hell broke loose and he tried to attack Dalton. 

Moving quickly and carefully I positioned myself close to but slightly in front of Brian as he yelled. I made sure I could put myself between them if I had to. Stop things from escalating further. He’d likely try restrain himself from hurting me if anger turned to violence.

“Brian. Calm down, please.”

Dalton watched as the obviously upset Brian waved Diana’s dress at him. He leaned back from his desk as he spoke, “Indeed, calm down.”

“No!” Brian retorted, not bothering to suppress his disturbed Soul Voice. “I want to know what my mother’s dress is doing in Dani’s room!” He had recognised it easily enough, and with a shudder he realised that quite possible all of those clothes may have belonged to her.

“That sounds perfectly straightfoward. I’m sure I can do that.”

I gave a small smile, glad he was accepting it and more than happy to acquiesce to his condition. 

“Does it matter?” I asked Brian, eyebrow raised. “Even if the Rangos aren’t planning anything I will at the very least need help to get there. It’s not like I’m familiar with the city - it’d be stupid for me to pick the wrong bloody building after everything. That wouldn’t look good. Even if there’s no need for security, I’ll still need you.” 

“Oh yeah, I’ll definitely go with you regardless. No point sending you to navigate the city if you don’t know where the heck to go,” he responded with a grin. “I just think Dalton’s being a bit too paranoid on the chaos front.” At least, Brian could understand why – but he didn’t think the Rangos were going to jump them or anything ridiculous. ‘I doubt we will hear from them for a while, unless they are wanting us to hold up our end…’

I nodded, understanding where Dalton was coming from. If we showed up at the door requesting money it might seem little more than thuggish. 

I turned my attention back to Dalton and Brian. 

“For the Dorvils, we have most of what we need already,” Dalton began. “We have been clients with them in the past, we are aware of their connections and so can be tactful in our language. Now we need to arrange a meeting with them. We have some options – one is we could simply show up, however that may see too aggressive for them to be comfortable with. Sending a Pulse is too informal, at least for arranging this type of meeting. So we are left with delivering a request for a meeting by paper.”

I was essentially ready to start on that whenever we could - itching to get back to work on it all. 

“Thank you, Paris. We really appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck,” I said earnestly, though my eyes flicked briefly to Joreth. I hoped we were right to entrust Paris with such a thing - it was a means to tear us further down should his father get wind of it. “Which means we’ll see you later I suppose, Joreth. In case Paris gets bogged down with things from his father.” 

“There’s nothing else needed from me?” Joreth inquired, looking at Dalton to ensure he had understood correctly.

He knew the importance of swaying a family’s loyalty – if they could somehow manage that with the Dorvils then they would be rid of a problem.

Brian nodded at Danielle’s conclusion. “We will need to get it done as soon as possible, and then organise a time to pitch it to them. The sooner the better.”

It had to. Surely the Sharps had some honour, some sense of moral obligation to return favours where they were due. 

I paused as Paris mentioned the Trabens, glancing at Dalton briefly. I wasn’t sure what Rebecca had brought to the group prior to this apart from her mother’s influence, so I didn’t know how important it would be to bend over backwards to accommodate her. Hell, we didn’t even know if she’d want to come back at all. 

However, a family which ticked all the right boxes - if that was indeed what the Trabens were - was definitely a step in the right direction. 

Paris and Joreth looked at each other briefly, and Joreth shook his head. “No, not that I can recall. I doubt they will be brought into things any time soon.”

It was a relief that something seemed to be going our way for once. 

I shrugged. 

 “That’s good to know. Did they give any examples of who might meet their approval, or is that a bit much to hope for?” I asked. Likely they’d need to share religious beliefs for a start, or at least not be an outright denier like Dalton was. And we’d need to be careful about whether the other potential family had ever had any mishaps with Joreth’s family - or even had been connected to those who were looked down upon. 

Politics were awful how did anyone ever choose to delve into messes like this? 

Dalton nodded at Joreth’s words, “I am surprised to hear that they are willing to help, even if we require other support.” He wondered how Joreth had pitched it to them, because there would have needed to be a bit of coercion for them to even consider partnering up with the likes of himself.

“Indeed. They stole nothing, but we cannot afford to ignore it – that is why we decided it would be best to inform the Alto. Paris will contact her to ensure she pays us a visit.”

Joreth found it somewhat alarming that the cameras had been tampered yet they were unnoticed. He understood the urgency of the matter. “I see. I hope we are able to resolve this mystery soon then.”

“Speaking of resolutions,” Brian began, “have you managed to discuss things with your family? What are their thoughts on funding us?”

I was debating mentioning that the issues seemed to be driven from another family entirely and thus there could be hope if we could wrangle the culprits - they’d be indebted to us and very inclined on seeing our side - when Joreth showed up.

I smiled brightly at my friend, glad to see him arrive. 

“You came at a good time. As you’d expect, Bartolo was less than pleased about our refusal and… well, I probably ought to let you sum that bit up, Paris,” I said, not wanting to say something a bit off and make Paris feel insecure again. 

Joreth’s face fell, “I’m so sorry to hear that Paris.” He understood that Paris truly desired to be part of Cadenza, and while the news was not surprising it was extremely unfair to Paris.

Paris shook his head, “It’s ok – I have decided that I will still support Cadenza, even if I am restricted from making contact. We figured out that any information I receive I can simply pass on to you, and then you will be able to report back here in my place.”