>>5271389“I’d like to know a bit more about your boss, if you’re willing to share.” You say, leaning on the bar and around the lush sitting between you and your source of info—at least, until Zuè slams her freshly emptied bottle down on the bar and harshly signs something to Sval.
“Hey now, she’s wasn’t-“ Sval weakly protests, giving a sharp yelp when the waif beside her socks her in the shoulder. “…okay, so she wasn’t the *best*, but she ran a tight ship, at least?”
Zuè levels a glare at her friend before sliding down from the stool to stalk around the bar and start rifling—loudly—through the liquors just out of sight, leaving her companion to continue her explanation.
“Carmen was…she made sure we were well-fed. Looked after. It was more than any of us had, and better than most of us deserved.” Sval tells you, each merit covering a multitude of regrets. “Her whole plan was to pick off the Daughters we could who were heading to the Cord, but clearly weren’t ready. She said we…we were giving them a better fate than what was waiting for them.”
The shorter girl looses a chilling sound, a high, screeching laugh from a throat that’s clearly not used with regularity. You must’ve shot her a startled look, given the guilty expression on her face as she stands back up with a pair of glasses in her hand and a bottle of amber liquid with a label that looks suitably imposing.
“This outfit of yours, did it have a name? And what other work did you do, besides?” You ask, shaking your head politely when Zuè thrusts a full glass your way. She shrugs, sliding it towards Sval instead as the larger Daughter takes a swig before answering your question.
“No, we never really had a name, not like some of the other companies that were out there. As for our work, it…we scraped by. We—or rather, Carmen—had been approached by Hassans because of her powers, and we’d scrapped with the Breakers once or twice when they tried to start stuff, but…” She trails off, staring into the depths of her glass. “…we mainly looked out for ourselves and tried to stay out of the greater politicking that we heard whispers of. At least, until Carmen made her deal.”
“Did you ever meet this benefactor in person, or did they interact via proxy?”
“Proxy…technically.” Sval corrects herself before finishing her drink, gently placing the glass back down on the counter before Zuè refills it. “There’d be a Daughter that came to our camp, and Carmen would tell us to stand down when she saw what they brought—it was always a Relic. Usually pretty small, and the rep would hand it over to Carmen and leave without a word. Then the boss would go to her room, stay in there a hot minute, and when she came out it was with a new plan or shipping schedule. We always assumed they were communicating via some sorta Relic-based system, probably to stay off the ’net.”
(Continued)
