As impatient as you feel, as much as you'd like to quickly get one of these Stellae assholes and turn them into your new vehicle you realize that impatience could quite possibly be the death of you. If you tried to jump Kali right here or at least as soon as possible, then you could very well be picking the wrong fight. As one of the most senior of the organization, you know that in spite of her age she is not someone to take lightly. You have not done what you've done for as long as you have or been as successful by underestimating a target or taking the risks lightly.
No, to get Kali would still require a degree of patience, observation and earning of her trust. It's that, then, which dissuades you from calling an audible. It will take a bit of time -- you're not sure how long -- to do what needs to be done.
You get to work. Two weeks alone is spent on simply keeping up the charade of a normal, married young couple and friendly neighbors while you normalize your presence with Kali and ingratiate yourself to her. It draws some impatience from your "husband", from Plante (who requests a replacement so he can book it back to England) and from Hyde-White himself. You have to massage quite a number of egos while also making sure you keep tabs on your targets.
Especially, you keep an eye on Vidya and a few things begin to standout. Her personality is bright and charming. She's outgoing and energetic and even more than Kali likes to chat you up in the halls outside your doors. She's intelligent and despite yourself, when she talks about how pretty or stylish you are you can't help but to feel a little bit pride shoot through you.
She can also be a bit bossy. She tries, you've seen, to act as something of a big sister to Kali's other student, Punthali, and while that is often good you've noticed that it also manifests in a sort of know-it-allism and at times you've watched her get pissy or pouty when Punthali, who herself seems to be a bit of a quiet introvert, doesn't do what she wants or argues back. Not all the time, of course, but enough to where you feel safe in marking it as a thing with Vidya.
Yet you're still at a loss for what you could possibly do to get Vidya out from under Kali's eye in order to make this switch until one afternoon when you notice the girl, looking rather moody, sulk into Kali's apartment.
"A fight with a school friend over something silly," answers Kali when you ask her what's wrong. "You know how she can be when she doesn't get her way and she's at the age where everything is some sort of major, world ending crisis."
That is the moment that seals for you what needs to be done in order to get Vidya. But it's the type of plan that's going to require a bit of help.
* * * * *
"So how do I look?" asks Liu as he gives an exaggerated twirl.
"Like me," you answer dryly. It's true, too. You'd called in Liu to play the part of Ashley McMillan, telling the elf that's replaced Plante to copy that tattoo onto him.
"Still," cuts in Cox, "you think this is gonna work?"
"Not like we really have a choice," you reply. "Everyone's getting antsy sure but you know as well as I do that patience and, on occasion, a little unorthodox thinking are what ensures a job's done right."
"Dey was pissy about losing another one of us for who knows how long," says Liu.
"Dey can shove it up his ass," you growl. "This is bigger than him. Bigger than any of us."
"The fuck is all of this anyway, really?" asks Cox. "You've still been cagey on just how we're going to really fool those fuckers and perform their little magic tricks."
You sigh. "It's the kind of thing where if this shit goes south then you're effectively fucked five ways from Sunday and after Kips..." You pause and take a moment to compose yourself. "We know the risks but I'm the one in charge and I'm the one that's determined it's all on a need to know basis. I don't want to burden any of you with the true weight of what we're doing until after we know it works."
"Why?"
You look at Cox, then at Liu. "Because if this works," you state, "it'll be a fucking revolution."
* * * * *
"Oh my," Kali says as you walk behind the McMillans, the wheels of your rolling suitcase clacking on the floor. She looks at them and smiles. "You hadn't mentioned anything about a child."
"Ah..." you try to say but find yourself freezing up. You grip the handle of your suitcase tightly.
"Oh dear..." says Kali with amusement.
"Sorry," Anthony says with a laugh, "my niece is incredibly shy."
"Oh no, I understan--"
"Hey Kali," comes Vidya's voice as the front door opens, "what are you taking so lo--" She stops herself when she sees you. She eyes you for a moment and then very quickly approaches you. "Hey! So what's your name?" she asks excitedly.
You can't help but to shrink back in response. "Um... i-it's... it's Megan," you stutter.
"Vidya, please, you can see that she's quite--"
"Megan, huh? I'm Vidya," she says as she grabs your hand. "There's only lame old people around here so it's soooo good to see someone like you! Um, you're my age, right?"
"I'm thirteen," you say quietly.
"Older, wow!" she exclaims with a smile "We should definitely hang out then 'cause my friends are all being, pfft, stupid," she says while rolling her eyes.
"I'm sorry," Kali apologizes as she grasps Vidya's shoulder and pulls her back. "I know that she can be a little firecracker."
"It's fine," Ashley says with a laugh.
"We're starting to get used to it," says Anthony as he places a hand on your back and directs you into the condo. "Come on Megan, let's get you settled in."
"Bye!" Vidya calls out. "We should totally hang out!"
You do nothing more than look back and wave weakly before you cross through the threshold into the McMillan's condo. Once you do and the door is closed you let out a loud sigh and flop onto the couch. "Holy shit!" you exclaim. "I feel exhausted just from that."
"She has a lot of energy for sure," says Ashley.
"Yeah, well, so will I," you say, "if this all goes as it should."
* * * * *
Typically in your line of work you try not to wear the faces of kids. While they might seem advantageous, they can have their own problems and restrictions. To be sure they can make for a great, short impersonation. After all, if a kid wanders somewhere they're not supposed to be then that's just their natural curiosity getting the better of them. They're still learning, and it's not as if they know any better.
But for the most part you try to avoid it, especially if a job is going to take longer. Bethany Stephenson is one of the few exceptions to that unofficial rule. The daughter of a man working for a Fane subsidiary accused of selling corporate secrets, you'd spent two weeks as her as you gathered as much information as you could and got a few other members into place as part of the household staff. In the end, when you'd gotten what you'd needed, it was Cox, in the guise of the man's P.A., who put him on ice.
That was four years back and once more you're using Bethany's bespectacled, mousey appearance for another long term play, this time as Megan Kinsey, the daughter of Anthony's sister whose parents pulled her from a respected private school over a particularly bad incident of bullying and feeling that a stay across the country with her uncle would be the thing she needed to de-stress from it.
Over the period of around three weeks, "Megan" has begun to let Vidya break down the barriers she'd put up in response to the bullying. Sure, Vidya can at times be pushy but she's so bright and personable and knows how to say things which make Megan feel as if she's finding someone who could become a true friend to her.
In spite of yourself, you find that Vidya's own treatment of you causes you to at times lose yourself in the identity of this character you've created. You can't help but to feel that it's becoming a bit dangerous and so, feeling as if you've ingratiated yourself well enough, you decide the time is right to do what you came to L.A. over a month ago now to do.
You put in the call to have Plante returned to the United States. The van with the machine is set up in an rarely trafficked area of the underground parking garage. That weekend, "Megan" drops the bombshell that she'll be returning to her family the next day and has a very early flight. However, that night while hanging out with Vidya she decides to show her something "cool" she found before she leaves. The two girls head into the parking garage.
Right to where the van and the McMillans are waiting,
"What's this?" Vidya asks in surprise.
"Vidya," you say. She turns to you in confusion. "I'm sorry," you say with, to your own surprise, genuine remorse.
She doesn't have any time to react before Anthony jabs the injector gun into her neck. He's able to catch her before she hits the ground. Ashley's opened the van doors and he takes her over where he and Plante strap her into the device. Plante shoves all of you away.
"Five minutes," he simply says before shutting the doors.
Five minutes. In five minutes you'll no longer be Will Prescott or Paige Knotts or "Megan Kinsey". No, in five minutes you'll be Vidya Mukhopadhyay, apprentice Stellae and the newest, and youngest, Dark Star. You have the following choice: 1. Continue |
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