Chapter 7:

Chapter Seven

Ivy's Bitter Poison


FOX

I stroll over to Secretary's office, room 1201. Obviously, something's off if she called me over by my alias, Erin Chlades, over the phone. I wasn't expecting action to be taken so quickly, but if John Garner was as big of a target as we thought, it makes sense for a move to be made so quickly. How exciting. As I make it in front of the door, I smooth out the surface of my black slacks and a gray button-down shirt. As I do so, I hear the elevator's ding go off, and Ivy exits the metal container, nodding at the security guard and making eye contact with me. My dark eyes stare into her curious artificial green ones. At least she put in the contacts she was wearing that night. I myself am wearing the short wig I had on, quickly putting it on before heading over.

"Do you–"

"I have no idea, Claire," I respond quickly, cutting her off before she can ask. We'll find out for sure what we're in for in a second anyway. I knock on the door for the both of us, and a quick response from Secretary lets us know it's okay to walk in.

As soon as I open the door, Ivy and I are greeted by a fine-looking gentleman. Undoubtedly, from his pressed suit and identifying sapphire brooch, he's not a police officer but a government agent. "Hello ladies, I'm agent Case from the Lynti Private Investigation sector. I have some questions about your activities from last night." He's very tall and fair-skinned, with dark hair and gray eyes. His voice is soothing but profound, and he's got a lovely face. If it weren't for the fact that I don't care to get involved in serious relationships, he'd be a promising prospect.

"Can I ask why? Did we do something?" Ivy questions the man with her innocent voice. He gives her a curious stare before continuing.

"I'd like to get your answers in private." He looks over at Secretary, who wears a concerned face. It's fake, her sympathy, and I can see through that right away; she knows there's nothing to be worried about. It would look weird if we didn't seem distressed, though. "Don't worry, you're not in any trouble. Yet."

"Is it better if we head to a conference room then–" I try to get him away from our designated work floor since if he barges into our private workspaces, he could stumble into a hidden area he shouldn't access. Not that it would be easy to do unless he had my retina scan and the secret panel's location.

"No, one of your offices will be fine." Of course. He sticks to his gut, which is annoying, but I like that. Something that annoys me about half the agents here is their incapacity to make a decision and stick with it. Ivy sometimes gets on my nerves for that. On the other hand, Raven doesn't hesitate, which is admirable for someone her age and how young she is in the agency.

We walk out of Secretary's space, and Ivy keeps pace with Agent Case, asking him if he has any questions about the company and our practices. She's much better at playing the cute little and loyal employee, ready to answer any questions. "Shall we start with my office?" I interject. The agent takes a second to break his glance away from Ivy before addressing me. If he's falling for this act of hers, maybe he'll be a lot easier to deal with than I thought. How boring.

"Yes, that sounds fine." He responds to my inquiry. He looks back at Ivy again, "Both of you. I'm not going to question you one at a time. I'm sure if you did do anything, you'd both have the same story to give anyway." Ivy pretends to look confused, and so do I. "Please," He motions for me to direct him to my designated office space.

We walk down the hallway of floor 12, and Ivy continues to tell him more about the company as I escort the group to my space. Reaching the door, I grab my set of keys from my pocket and insert the correct key into the lock. "Make yourselves comfortable." I extend my arm out, showing them into the smaller space. There's barely enough room for my desk and a couple of chairs. The rest of the area is taken up by several filing cabinets– mainly for show, they do have actual clients of the art firm in them, but not any I've actually dealt with personally. If I am to be questioned on any of them and the authenticity behind the clients, I'm trained to. Of course, I'd ask for a warrant first. Agent Case doesn't waver and takes the chair behind my desk, setting his authority straight. He wants to be in control, facing both of us as he questions the two of us. Ivy takes the seat to the left when entering, and I take the only chair left on the right.

"Please state your legal names." He gets straight to business, pulling out a small notepad from his suit pocket.

"Erin Chlades."

"Claire Jones."

"Age." He doesn't blink as he asks his questions, jotting down information on his notepad.

"27." My actual age, but if he thinks we're lying, it's not likely he'll believe anything we tell him anyway.

"22." Ivy's actual age; She must be going through the same thought process.

"Pretty young in your career. Congratulations to you; I'm sure you're living a nice lifestyle because of it." He pinpoints Ivy's age; she is pretty young to be far in any career.

"Yeah." Ivy awkwardly responds, scratching her head.

"Gender?"

"Yes, we're both women," I interject. "Is there a point to all of this? We have a lot of work to do." I fold my arms over one another.

"I'm just confirming your answers with what I have here." He refers to the small pad of paper he holds in his hands. How dull; he's just trying to see if we have any ticks that give us away. Like we aren't trained for that– we have false giveaways prepared.

"Where were the two of you last night, September 8th of this year, 2032?" He leans back in the chair, playing with the pen in his left hand. He stares at me intently, so I assume he wants me to answer.

"We were attending a social event for John Garner's take over of the hotel chain Edens," I reply dryly. "It took place at Eden's location about half an hour from here heading west."

"Walk me through your actions for that entire evening." He motions back to Ivy.

"We arrived at the hotel, maybe around six in the evening? We were greeted by a host and escorted up to the fifth floor. As soon as we got there, we were offered drinks, and I, unfortunately, can't handle my alcohol very well, so I got sick almost immediately."

"That sounds awful." He writes down everything with his left hand dragging across the ink.

"A nice waitress helped me out… I can't seem to recall her name, though… but I guess I ended up passing out shortly after. The rest of the night is kind of a blur for me; I just remember eventually getting back to John Garner's dinner, listening to his public conference, and then leaving, maybe around nine at night?." Ivy looks over to me for confirmation on this, and I nod to agree with the timeline.

"Did you have any other interactions with this waitress between waking up and heading to dinner?"

"Yes, one that I can think of. She came back to check on me, but the poor thing ended up passing out from exhaustion or something. She woke up again quickly after but seemed very out of it. I talked to the nearest guard, and he said he would take care of things and for me not to worry."

"I see. And you miss?" He directs the questions toward me, his eyes fixed on my face but not looking into my eyes.

"Well, we walked in together, then she walked away from the table, not feeling well. I talked to the other attendees at my table, but I wanted to speak with John to talk more about the type of clients our agency may be able to take on. In fact, he's supposed to contact me later to discuss them, but he hasn't sent anything to me yet. I'm sure he's busy with everything happening." I speak as if John Garner is still around, hoping this introductory tactic will throw him off.

"I see. Did you two talk about anything else?" Case is beginning to sound more distant with every word that comes from his mouth.

"No, just about the other people attending."

"And after?"

"I went back to my own table after to eat dinner. Then Claire joined me once she got better. We listened to the public conference and then went home after." I state, one of the artificial hairs from my wig tickling my face.

Agent Case adjusts himself in the small office chair, leaning forward and tilting his chin up as he asks his next question. "You had a different ride for your drop-off and pick-up; why was that?"

"I don't see–" But I'm cut off.

"Please just answer the question."

"Look, I don't know why. Aquinnah told us she had rides prepared for both of us and told us what to look for." I firmly state, not allowing him to interpose himself. "We were following company protocol to attend the event as representatives of the company. Claire and myself are the ones who personally have been in talks with the Eden hotel chain for the type of atmosphere they would like to bring forth with the artwork they purchase from us."

"We don't exactly control transportation to these kinds of events," Ivy adds to my statement.

"Aquinnah is referring to your boss, I'm assuming." Case shifts his attention back to his notepad.

"Yes, that's correct," I affirm.

"Would I be able to speak with both drivers?" He turns back to question Ivy, his gray eyes piercing, but not into her eyes. Just like when he was staring at me earlier, he doesn't look into our returning gaze. He's analyzing our faces.

"W-Well, like we said, we don't have much control over our transportation. But, if it's that urgent, I'm sure our boss can help direct you." Ivy stutters out.

"I'll be sure to ask Aquinnah about it later." He emphasizes Secretary's alias. "Well then, where did you go after the event?"

"We came back to the office to finish up some work." I'm not lying; we did return to the office to finish cleaning up afterward.

"What kind of work?"

"Paperwork for our clients. Proper ownership transfers, inventory, shipment details, etcetera." Ivy chimes in, her voice still upholding the cutesy persona.

"Can I see this work?" He scribbles the pen across the paper a few times– it must have an air bubble in the tube.

"No, out of the confidentiality for our clients, you can't see any documents that may contain their information." Ivy readjusts herself in the inadequate chair she sits uncomfortably in as she verbalizes company policy.

"Very well. How about after the office? Where did you go?"

"I stayed overnight," I pronounce as I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Can I take a look around?" Case pushes the seat away from the desk, ready to stand up.

"With all due respect, I would like to see a warrant explaining why you would want to look around first." I stand up before he has the chance.

The agent relaxes back into the chair, clasping his hands together, and sighs. "Well, I don't have a warrant at the moment, but I can tell you that you're both suspected of being accomplices in the murder of John Garner."

We both try our best to put on shocked faces, but not too much. We don't want to oversell it. I hear Ivy fail to whisper the words back to him as she pretends to process the information. I go lightly, stumbling back into my chair after standing up dramatically earlier. It must be convincing enough since he seems to change his tone of voice. Or maybe, he's just acting, too.

"I'm just trying to clear every possible person who may have been involved. To get down to the true culprit. You two aren't the only ones going through this interrogation– anyone who talked directly to John, which is almost everyone, or those who interacted with the staff in any suspicious manners, are under suspicion."

"How did he…?" Ivy mumbles, just audibly enough.

"I can't reveal those details, unfortunately. I'm sorry."

"I see." I pretend to have a pained look crossing my countenance.

"I'll tell you what I can, but it isn't much. We can deduce any suspicious actions for ourselves that evening and if it has anything to do with Garner's cause of death. In fact, that's why I'm questioning you two. It's possible that the staff is involved, and you," He returns his gaze to Ivy, "had several interactions with one of the waitresses from that evening. The waitress who so happened to serve John Garner's table." He pauses for a second before continuing, "Which is why I'd like to question you further on your exchanges with the waitress you were escorted with. Did she act unusual at all that evening? Ask you to do anything, or?"

"I'm not sure. She seemed very nice when she was talking to me. I couldn't see her as anything other than a normal girl, and she was accommodating that night." Ivy talks positively of the waitress. It would seem like she's trying to shift the blame if she didn't.

"Was there anyone you saw her interact with more so than anyone else? Aside from yourself, of course." He bitterly adds the last statement.

Ivy looks downcast at his statement but perseveres. "She did have a friend who seemed very fond of her, another staff member."

"Who would this be?"

"A man… he had blonde hair? I couldn't keep up too much with the conversation. I'm so sorry; I'm not trying to hide any information from you. If you have a profile of the staff there, maybe I could point him out?" Ivy tries her best to comply with the investigation.

"I'm sure with other testimonies, we will figure out who it is. I understand you're trying your best. When she came back to check up on you, did you feel any weird symptoms?" He didn't bring any profiles for us to identify with him? That's… a bit weird.

"I was dizzy, but I felt fine overall… although my memory is a little foggy."

"Did you consume anything else? Particularly from this waitress."

"No… not that I can remember. Are you suggesting I was spiked?" Ivy looks appalled at the idea of being spiked herself.

"A man was murdered last night at the same event. I think being spiked is a lot better than being dead." Case scoffs. I scan my dark eyes up and down his figure, trying to gauge his actions. He's not… acting right? But I can't show my concern; however, he's not acting like the typical government agents I've run into before. He's a bit all over the place, like he hasn't interrogated anyone before today. Even though he's asking the right questions, his responses to us seem off. Is he just new? Intriguing. The agent continues, "The waitress you were talking to reported feeling like she had blacked out the entire time you were blacked out."

"I don't know what you want me to say to that…" Ivy plasters a perplexed look on her face.

A knock echoes through the door, and a familiar voice rings out. "Erin? It's me, Stephan." I look into Case's gray eyes, waiting for permission, and he nods for me to open the door. Shadow's pale demeanor is unveiled once I open the dull, heavy office door. "Hey! Can you look over some papers for me? I was– oh, am I interrupting something?" He peers over. His distinctive scar is hidden behind concealer, and his ocean eyes observe the people in the room.

"Yes, but it's my fault for forgetting to put up a do not disturb sign. If you can just give us–"

"No, that's fine." The agent looks down at his watch, then proceeds to brush himself off as he stands up from the small office chair. "I should get going, I think I've heard enough from you two at the moment, and I have other places I need to be. If you think of anything else, please, give me a call." He hands both of us his business card, with just his name and number, along with the logo for his division, a bear claw. As he passes by Shadow, he makes one last comment. "I must say you two are both beautiful ladies. Maybe it's just the security camera quality, but you look a little different... like your noses are misshapen." Ivy instinctively puts a hand to her nose, and I fight my efforts to do the same. Ivy rebounds, looking insulted rather than startled by the comment. Unfortunately, the fake molds last only one or two applications, and Fog only makes them on demand.

"I think it's very rude of you to not only accuse us of being accomplices in murder, but also to ridicule our facial features," I say, slighted. Shadow pretends to look baffled at the conversation happening.

"I'm sorry to leave you with that impression." He's evidently not sorry and starts to walk off on his own, but I don't want him wandering off anywhere else alone.

"Let me escort you out." I handle the rest of the situation, leaving Ivy alone with Shadow in my office with an expressionless face as Shadow watches us disappear into the rest of the hall.

***

The elevator ride down is quiet; Agent Case doesn't bother to talk or look at me, and I'm unsure if I want to ask him anything myself without giving away any information. His professionalism and high-profile job remind me of my father, except much younger. Still, the reminder isn't the most excellent memory. It's not like I didn't love my family, but I hated my past life. It was… mechanical. Every day felt the same. Every person I met was identical– The studies they had me do, the events they made me attend. I guess I have to hand it to my family for providing me with the skills to succeed as a social assassin, but I couldn't mindlessly talk to selfish, gluttonous people anymore.

At least now, when I attend these mindless events, I go as my own person and for something more exciting. I try not to show just how animated I actually am on these missions. I'm sure they see it as nervousness if any of it peeks through my stonewall persona. But I'm never really nervous. The thought of getting caught… It's thrilling. Even now, the feelings are so intense that it's taking everything in me not to smile manically. I'm delighted, that even though there's only one year left of my contract, I left Niastein to come to Lynti. There's so much more to my life here than Niastein ever gave me.

I would renew my contract, but even with how much this place has given me, I want to see what the rest of the world has to offer. I was born in Tirea, but I wonder what America is like, Germany, or China, where my grandparents were from before they immigrated here. With all the useless money I have from this job, I should be able to travel as much as I want. I do have a lot of money. I don't have a family to support like Ivy. I ditched my family behind with my past life, and with five other kids, it's not like my parents cared if one was gone. They haven't bothered to try and find me, actually.

I don't have my own place to call home; I wasn't lying to the agent earlier. I did stay overnight. One of the extra storage doors opens up to a small room with a bed. The other closet holds my wardrobe and all my weapons behind the cabinet. I love wielding a blade in my hands, but it's nice to switch up the missions occasionally. Last night was a good break from mindlessly killing a target; however, I wish I were the one to make the kill. If only the mission wasn't delayed by a week and Tech and Fog were still here, the plan wouldn't have changed. I would've gotten to kill our target with my own hands. Not before getting all the information I needed out of him; The true loss of that night, not obtaining information. I let out a quiet sigh and look at the man next to me as the elevator doors open.

"Thank you, I'll be fine from here." His dress shoes click as they make contact with the marble floor on the ground level.

"Of course, sir. I hope you find the answers you're looking for."

With that, he walks away and out the building's doors. I lean against the elevator walls, observing all the people walking by. As the metal box closes, I can't help but mutter audibly under my breath. "This is gonna be fun."