Mae-Ying Allen ~ 3-29-2029, 5:48 AM GMT
Niva arrives at Cockburn House before sunrise the next morning. Regina escorts her into the kitchen, where Mae-Ying is sitting at the table, eating.
"Would you like anything to eat, Niva?" Regina asks.
"Oh, no, I am fine, thank you." She sits down next to Mae-Ying, pulling off her grey canvas backpack and placing it on her lap.
"How's it going?" Mae-Ying asks.
"I was unable to get your dossier,” Niva says. “They said I was being nosey."
Mae-Ying shrugs. "Oh well. It was worth a shot."
"What d'you want your dossier for now?" Regina asks.
"To see what the Knights know about me,” Mae-Ying says.
“Curiosity like that will lead to narcissism, if you want my opinion,” Regina says.
"That ship has long since sailed,” Mae-Ying says. "But it’s okay. When you're a narcissist, at least you know you'll always be loved!"
Regina snorts a laugh.
Niva says, "I have been thinking about some of what we talked about--"
“I hope it was in regards to Throwing.” Daisy steps into the room. She sets her gloves on the edge of the table and goes to get herself some orange juice.
"I have been training her as quickly as is safe, Miss Cockburn, but I am concerned about the risk,” Niva says. “If she uses too much of the Light--"
Daisy sits down. "Call it Logos, Avraham, it will be easier on my head if you do."
"If she uses too much Logos--" Niva chokes out the word-- "I am afraid she is still too new at this not to Backlash!"
“If she can Cloak, she can Throw. Besides, you can carry her with you without her channelling at all.” Daisy’s tone is firm.
Niva concedes the point with a bob of her head.
"Is there anything new we should know about Garibaldi?" Mae-Ying asks.
"Less than I'd like,” Daisy says. "He's not an avowed agent of any faction, so far as I've been able to tell. He’s been seen a handful of times in situations that make his allegiances difficult to determine. The Cairo office provided some evidence that he was at an Invictus meeting in the city, but he’s been seen in the company of known Keeper agents, as well."
"Do we know for sure that he’s involved with Synesis?” Mae-Ying asks.
“No,” Daisy says. “We are making a very strong assumption that he murdered Walsh, but we can’t access the forensics data on the murder without tripping alarms. Not from here.”
Mae-Ying nods thoughtfully.
“Don’t go looking for him directly when you get to Washington,” Daisy says, “but if you see him, inform me immediately.”
“Do we know of his Initiation, Miss Cockburn?” Niva asks.
"I'm not certain he's even an Initiate,” Daisy says. “He could simply be an eccentric mortal."
Regina walks over to the table with a plate of rolls. "You don't think that's likely, though, do you?"
Daisy glances up at her sister. "No."
“If we’re going to be heading to DC by ourselves, we’re going to need some kind of stipend. I currently have--” Mae-Ying checks in her wallet-- “three pounds to my name.”
“Of course. I actually have a few things for you...” Daisy produces an unsealed envelope, which she hands to Mae-Ying. She also places a small box on the table. She opens it, pulling out a thin laptop computer and four basic flip phones, the sort that come prepaid. Mae-Ying associates them with television shows about drug dealers.
“Burner phones. Hopefully you won’t need more than the four,” Daisy says, then adds: “Strict protocol, though, Avraham: don’t mix activities on the same number if it could leave a pattern to be followed, dispose after ten uses or if you’re changing geographical areas, et cetera.”
Niva nods smartly.
“The laptop’s fairly secure from a hardware perspective, but exercise appropriate caution.” Daisy nods at the envelope, which Mae-Ying opens; inside are four Visa cards. Daisy says, “I’ll be taking care of your expenses for this mission. I’ve put twenty-five thousand dollars on those. Ten thousand on the blue, eight on the red, five on the green, two on the silver.”
“That is a lot of money for a brief operation and only two agents…” Niva murmurs.
“Avraham, these are exceptional circumstances.” Daisy finishes her juice. "I have a meeting. You two try to keep a low profile before you leave.”
"Is there likely to be trouble over this, ma'am?" Niva asks.
"The less anyone knows, the less trouble there will be." Daisy stands up. "I'm off."
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