"She wants you to do what?" Demi was entirely too amused and completely unwilling to hide it--which was why his friend kept trying to walk even faster, apparently unaware that the captain ran several miles every morning.
Rean was not amused enough to keep a certain amount of murder out of his voice. "I already told you." That ought to be that. He'd thought his friend might be able to lend a hand, to actually want to help, but apparently...
"It's pretty clear that she wants you dead, I've got to say." And for such a terrible thought to declare, Captain Dulce seemed awfully amused by it.
"Thank you." The brunet's tone was just flat enough to be sharpened to a fine point. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get myself killed, now."
"I mean... wow." Demi just kept going on, keeping up far too easily with a sharp turn down another hall. "It'd be less cruel if she just broke your neck in her office..."
"Thank you." Rean repeated, coming to terms with the idea that he simply wasn't going to get away. "Are you coming in with me?"
That snort was not reassuring. "Are you insane? No way I'm going in there. Good luck, man. Call me if you get out."
Well. Fantastic.
------------------------
There were certainly rumors about "Old Woman Keller" who ran the Tower archives. The problem was that the rumors had never been disputed. When even Demi had decided to step away, Rean knew the matter was serious. What the hell was Rakashi thinking to send him into this lowest reach of ill-lit hell that smelled of old paper and felt like the dead of winter...
Oh. Movement. Great. Taking a deep breath, he made some attempt at pretending that he wanted to be there. "Pardon me, ma'am..."
A very gruff, rather to the point question answered. "What do you want?"
Charmed, I'm sure. "I'd actually like to inquire about some archival photographs taken around Bailen. Roughly three years ago, where there'd been a dig..."
It really was a little like an ogre emerging from its cave. Rean almost felt badly about thinking that, but the old woman's stature combined with the hunch and the limp, emerging into the dim light surrounding the desk, made it impossible to think otherwise. "Old Woman Keller" indeed. She regarded him with extreme suspicion for a long period of time, lips almost drawn into a sneer. "Bailen, hm?"
He was pretty sure that he didn't stand a chance. He was but a mere mortal. "Yes, ma'am. It's an important matter for General Vrunai."
The smile was so fake and full of venom that Rean wouldn't have been surprised if some of the pages on her desk began curling. "Oh, is that so. You can tell her exactly where to shove her important matter, then. Good day, son."
That was... unexpected. Remarkably so. "I... don't think she would appreciate that, ma'am."
To Rean's surprise, the old bat laughed. "No, I don't suppose so. You must be new."
He prayed that meant he could get away with this. "Yes, ma'am. New and trying to prove myself."
"You picked the wrong person to prove yourself to, Mr..." Even as she trailed off, she'd turned. She was reaching for something, for a file...
"Coi." The brunet offered immediately. "I'm not an officer here, just..."
"Ah." She responded, as though he'd just explained everything. "Well, then. What's an old woman to do but indulge the stupidity of youth?"
There didn't really seem to be an answer he could offer. Instead, Rean accepted a large file folder slapped into his hands. "Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate it."
"You can still tell her exactly where she can shove it." The archivist assured. "Now that you got what she's looking for, she'll be more forgiving."
This really hadn't been one of those moments on his list of life experiences that he felt should be highlighted, to say the least. "Of course, ma'am. Than you again." He gave absolutely no concern to the fact that he walked out of there far faster than any human being would call "walking."
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"Well?" Captain Dulce asked immediately upon the closing of the door.
Holding up the folder, he showed off his accomplishment--but his answer was about Ms. Keller. "Everything is true, Demi."
"Of course it is. You think I'd lie to you?"
Rean was determined to stare in absolute silence for as long as it took for his friend to get his point. He had no idea how long it actually took, but the man finally held his hands up in surrender. That much accomplished, he set off on the journey back to Rakashi's office.
"Why did she want them, anyway?" the captain asked, once again keeping up remarkably well.
"No idea." She hadn't told him, and he hadn't asked. Things were easier that way, to be sure. "But I'd better get something out of this."
Demi grinned. "You just wait for her to ask you to bring dinner, then--" He was silenced by the heavy slap of the folder against the top of his head. "I feel so abused."
"Not enough." The brunet responded with certainty.
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There was a hint of pride as he laid the folder on the corner of Rakashi's desk. "The file, General."
She looked a bit surprised. He hoped that wasn't a bad sign. "Really?" The general asked conversationally. "Is she still alive? She didn't have a heart attack in her chair, allowing you to reach behind her and grab this?"
Rean blinked. "No. But she did want you to know where you can shove it."
"Ah, okay then. Good to know the old bat's still breathing." And with that, Rakashi opened the bottom desk drawer and tossed the file inside, closing it right after without ever having looked at the contents.
This was all... very odd. "Is there... anything else that you wanted, General?"
"Not as such." She went right back to her messy pile of papers. "Considering what you have survived, however, Mr. Coi, I think you can take off early today."
The acknowledgment that this was all still very odd did not for a second distract Rean from the knowledge that this was a golden opportunity. "Thank you, General."
It was as he turned that she assured, "'Sir' will do just fine, Mr. Coi. There's no need to constantly remind me of my rank."
Once again the woman was successful in making him pause with a slightly loose jaw. "Yes... sir. Thank you." Waiting just for a handful of seconds for a response, he got none. That was assurance enough that he could actually leave, he supposed.
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Being off duty early was an entirely new experience. It wasn't so much that he didn't know what to do with himself; more, there was so much to do and so little time to do it in that it was hard to choose. Why the hell he'd ultimately chosen to go find the idiot captain, he really couldn't say.
As predicted, Demi was once again in the mostly deserted galley. He wasn't alone, however, conversing with another man who looked to be a janitor. Rean quite hoped that Demi hadn't gotten himself into yet another prank that pissed off the clean-up crew. By the sound of the conversation, though...
"There are cracks showing." The janitor sounded insistent, and possibly a little rushed.
"There aren't." Captain Dulce assured softly. "It's always been that way."
"Moreso, lately." The other man argued, finally seeing Rean approaching and started to take his leave with a polite nod.
"It shows comfort though, right?" Demi's smile seemed the slightest bit forced at first--but it was purely honest when he greeted his friend. "Well well, look who survived two legendary bitches today."
The janitor snorted as he walked away, leaving the two in privacy. It was probably best for the sake of his job not to stick around for that conversation, really.
Rean shook his head, sitting across from his friend. "Seriously. Demi."
"She's not here." He reiterated. "So?"
"So... what?"
"So did you get a reward? Wink wink, nudge nudge?" the raven-haired man grinned like a madman.
To which Rean just sighed. "This is my reward. I'm off duty."
Demi laughed. "Well, that's good enough. Maybe you'll finally see fit to get a drink with me later, hm?"
He scoffed, as he normally did. Even so, despite his friend seeming just like his casual self... there had been something in that overheard conversation that had gotten to Rean. It was probably just misheard, or the fact that he'd been made paranoid by Old Woman Keller, but he decided to ask anyway. "Just then... what were you two arguing about?"
The captain gestured casually above them. "Ah, the ceiling panels. I don't see any cracks, do you?" He looked up, squinting.
Rean gave his friend a very long stare. "The ceilings in here are kind of high, Demi."
"Well, yeah, but... no cracks, right?" He just kept on squinting.
