Sitting on a plush red couch in an opulent room with no windows, a single woman was drinking an amber liquid from a glittering crystal glass.
With shoulder length blue hair and striking gray eyes, she normally would have cut a striking figure. Yet the deep scowl on her face detracted from her usual beauty.
Sitting in front of her was a report she had just received from one of her spies planted on the major Alliance Police base on Azade.
The assassination attempt that she had painstakingly set up to eliminate a single Baccigan had failed.
Not only that, but several other spies, both hers and her allies', had been taken into custody. Sneaking people into the Alliance Police's midst was not terribly difficult, but once they learned about a single mole, the organization beca aggravatingly adept at digging up others.
Years of hard work was being unraveled at an alarming pace. And it was all because of a single individual.
"Fargus, get in here." The woman said as she downed the highly alcoholic drink she had been sipping on to calm her nerves.
Not but a mont later, a young man wearing a sleek black suit entered the room.
"You called for , ma'am."
"Yes, I need you to use every asset that we have in place to make sure that traitor dies. The cost and ssiness do not matter. We can no longer be choosy about our thods."
For a mont, Fargus remained silent, before shaking his head.
"I'm sorry to have to report this to you, ma'am. But I just received an encoded ssage. All but one of our spies have now been captured and all of the items we had smuggled onto the base have been found and confiscated. We don't have any assets left on the base. So long as Grito remains there, we simply have no way to reach him."
Hearing this most unpleasant news, the woman threw the obviously expensive glass she was drinking out of against a wall in a fit of rage.
It did not shatter though, as it was made out a sturdy material, and rely cracked instead. Despite its appearance being ruined, it could still hold liquid.
"You said that we still have one agent left. Send them an order. They are to kill the traitor even if it costs them their life. Promise whatever they want to their family in return."
However, Fargus could only give his mistress more bad news.
"The spy in question has cut off ties with us. Apparently, no amount of money is worth it anymore. It seems they are hoping to stay hidden and maintain their position within the Alliance Police. They sent one last transmission as a courtesy, but the line of communication is dead now. I could not reach them again."
All the anger and frustration appeared to leave the woman all at once when she heard this.
Like a puppet's whose strings had been cut, she slumped unmoving against the back of the couch she was sitting on.
Her entire life was falling apart all around her. Everything she had built would disappear once her connection to the Odium Syndicate was brought to light.
"I hate to suggest this ma'am, but it might be ti to cut our losses. Should we leave now, we might be able to escape being caught." Fargus said, offering the person her served a way out.
Except, this only brought her rage flaring back up.
"No! I will not abandon my position here. Do you know how hard I worked to beco a senator. I finally have the power I always wanted. I'm not just going to throw it all away."
Like so many on the verge of losing their status, Fargus' mistress desperately wanted to maintain the power she had managed to obtain.
Of course, she had only gotten to where she was thanks to the backing of the Odium Syndicate and very generous donations from them.
In return, she had used her position to assist them with their business.
"If that is what you wish, then there might be a way. It will at least stall for more ti."
Fargus gave his advice, and the senator that he served beca keenly interested in the idea.
Soon a solid plan was forming in her mind, and the uncontrollable panic that had been building up inside her had cald down to now rely being a bit anxious.
"Yes, that should do. You've served well once again, Fargus. Now if you wouldn't mind helping calm down a bit more."
The woman then stood up and turned her back to her devoted servant.
Without needing any further instruction, he walked up behind her and began taking off her dress.
…
"Madam, you have a visitor."
A maid entered the ho office of her employer and found her boss working despite this supposed to be a day off for her.
The woman busy signing docunts looked up and locked her piecing purple eyes on the maid.
"Who is it? I thought I made it clear that I was not to be disturbed today. If it's Weston again, I'm going to have him sent off to inspect the capital's sewers for a week."
"No, it's soone else. She had an Alliance Police captain's badge and said that she had information that you would surely wish to hear. Oh, and she gave this to pass along to you as well." The maid said, walking up to her employer's desk and passing over a sealed letter.
A look of surprise ca over the woman's face. Physical letters were rarely utilized anymore. Their only purpose was really to avoid any electronic trail of the information being shared.
His interest piqued, she opened the letter and read its contents.
Once she had finished, she imdiately instructed the maid to bring the person that had brought it to her.
When the maid returned, she had with her a young woman that was as plain as they ca. Her appearance almost seed to be deliberate so that she was neither noticeable nor morable.
And while she was most certainly a captain in the Alliance Police, she was not wearing her uniform and instead plain clothing that was not appealing or repulsive.
"You may leave now. I wish to speak with her alone."
"But madam. I cannot possibly leave you unattended with a stranger." The maid protested.
"It is fine. Security has undoubtably vetted her already, and I doubt that an unard woman, even one that is a mber of the Alliance Police, could harm . Or do you think my protections are insufficient for to speak with a single unard person alone?"
Seeing that her boss was not going to budge, the maid bowed her head and left the room.
Now that it was just the two of them, Jasmine's mother beckoned Captain Helstalia to co closer.
"Why now? The Alliance Police have vehently prevented from reclaiming my daughter all of this ti and blocked any of my inquiries into her current location. What could have happened to change your minds?"
"Jasmine Iralus is no longer a mber of the Alliance Police. She resigned a couple of months ago." Captain Helstalia responded curtly.
"You think I don't already know that. It took three years to track her down to the Yuson System where you shipped her off to. Obviously, I found out when she left your organization. But she went and joined that rcenary before my people could reach out to her." Jasmine's mother said with a frown.
"Still, even after she left, the Alliance Police would not tell anything. So I ask again, why the sudden change of heart. Is my daughter in so kind of trouble?"
Captain Helstalia reined quiet for a mont before answering.
She still had her misgivings about this, but she knew that she needed to follow the orders of her superior.
"I cannot say that she is not, but that is not why I am here. My commander does not wish for you to cause us any trouble. That is why he sent to tell you where your daughter is."
Hearing this, Jasmine's mother stood up from her desk in a hurry.
Several emotions were filling her mind all at once. Relief, worry, and anticipation. She was nearly overwheld and lost her composure more than she already had.
"Enough with the preamble. Just tell where she is. I lost track of her whereabouts after she left the Phregon System." Jasmine's mother demanded.
"She is currently on the planet. At the base I am stationed at to be precise. The rcenary group she had joined is currently collaborating with the Alliance Police on an important matter. We will help you facilitate a eting, so long as you promise not to wield your influence to make problems for us, and you keep the fact that the Alliance Police were the ones that gave you this information. We don't want to garner any animosity with the rcenaries she had joined."
"Very well. You have my word that I will not divulge this to anyone. If asked, I will simply say that my sources inford . Now, when can I see my daughter?"
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