Across the table, opposite Cassidy and Rebecca on the sofa, Crow sat on the floor with crossed legs and a tilt of his head, the picture of composure. Cassidy’s gaze, meanwhile, was anything but.
“What would you like to know?” Becca asked, her voice edged.
“Who the hell is Andrea Belmont to both of you?” Crow asked.
Cassidy’s heart skipped a beat before she jerked her head to Becca, who clenched her eyes shut.
“That is none of your concern!” Cassidy barked.
“It is when I’m responsible for your girlfriend’s wellbeing,” Crow said.
Cassidy’s hands morphed into fists.
“Andrea hails from a noble lineage…” Becca said, her voice laced with a cold hardness. “Her father is a key figure within Obsidian Financials, actually.”
Cassidy’s fists unclenched as she glanced at Becca, who had reopened her eyes.
“I know her stats, I looked her up.” Crow cranked his head towards Cassidy. “Funny how you glossed over her daddy’s ties to our latest gig.”
“It had no bearing on our actions,” Cassidy said before thinking, much like this is of no consequence to the mission.
Andrea was her concern, not his.
“I’ll figure out what matters.” Crow’s gaze swerved back to Becca. “Now, gimme the dirt that isn’t just a click away.”
“I’m getting there,” Becca said, “don’t rush me. Anyway, Andrea’s all prestigious, and I’m… well, not. Even so, I snagged a spot at Saint Delacroix’s Ladies Academy. It was a scholarship spot, but I was still in the mix.”
Becca paused, closed her eyes, and inhaled. When she reopened, they held a determined glint.
“I thought going there was going to be the time of my life. And it was, at first! I even met this beautiful genius girl in Drama Club.”
The title of ‘beautiful genius’ suits you far more than it does me, Cassidy thought as she bit back a smirk.
“But then,” Becca said, her voice laced with a hint of pain, “out of nowhere, rumors started popping up about me… Stuff about my scholarship and how I got to be Mr. Dante’s apprentice…”
A silent shudder coursed through Cassidy. The accusations thrown around were utterly despicable, beyond any decency… “I took it upon myself to track down the source of these rumors, but I only found dead ends.”
“I had to stay cheery while everyone was yapping about me and my loved ones, till someone decided to reach out incognito. Do you wanna take a guess about who they pointed the finger at?”
“Andrea,” Crow said nonchalantly.
“Bingo,” Becca said.
A heavy, leaden sensation settled in Cassidy’s chest. If Andrea hadn’t been in her circle, she probably wouldn’t have encountered Becca…
“They didn’t have any proof to show me,” Becca said, “but they knew the tricks to get it, and they were super helpful getting things ready for me. They hooked me up with a gizmo to bug her phone and tipped me off when to strike – tennis practice. She always left her phone behind in her locker, so all I’d have to do is pop in and upload the bug.”
“You serious?” Crow asked. “Don’t tell me you took that tip and—"
“I needed answers! The lies about Mr. Dante and my family were too much, and… I had to stop it. I had to do something…”
“You could’ve used my strength…” Cassidy murmured.
“And you could’ve used mine—”
Becca bit her lip, but Cassidy’s stomach twisted regardless. The words she had restrained were crystal clear: And you could’ve used mine sooner with this Grandmaster stuff.
“Sorry.” Becca’s chin dipped. “It’s just… You were pals with Andrea and… I was scared of being the one you didn’t pick. I mean, she’s the headliner while I’m nobody—”
“Stop that,” Cassidy said. “You were important to me even then. Don’t belittle yourself.”
A sheepish smile flickered across Rebecca’s face while her shoulders hunched.
“So,” Crow said, “the bug – did it do the job or…?”
“Yes,” Cassidy said, “but with a twist. She attempted to plant it, but I intercepted her.”
“Hang on. How did you find yourself in the right place at the right time?”
“Andrea herself alerted me. She received an anonymous message warning her of the break-in and asked for my assistance.”
“Why’d she pick you over alerting school security or just not using her locker?”
“I had the same reservations,” Cassidy said. “Her argument was that the tip-off might be a ploy. She insisted that my analytical skills could see through any trickery. I gave in, but not without a sense of something amiss nagging at me. I saw a fleeting look of smugness when I accepted – my grandfather’s training allows me to catch such nuances. Regardless, that, combined with everything else, struck me as odd.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that Andrea pulled the strings in all this to trap Rebecca?”
“She spread those awful rumors to wound me,” Becca said, “snuck in with ‘help’ when I was down, and then tried to use Cassidy to make the hurt even deeper… If Cassidy had turned me in, my scholarship would’ve been history.”
Cassidy grimaced. If she hadn’t given Becca the chance to explain herself, that would have occurred.
“I think I’m getting the gist of this.” Crow’s hand shot out and he pointed at Cassidy with a knowing gesture. “You busted Rebecca in the act…” His arm swung and his point landed on Rebecca. “…You squawked about the anonymous tip…” His hand swept back to Cassidy. “…And then it clicks for you that Andrea’s pulling strings.”
Cassidy nodded.
“Okay,” Crow said, “I understand the bad blood now. However, did you ever get any proof that she was the one behind the curtain?”
“Naturally,” Cassidy said. “I forced her to show her true colors.”
“How?”
“I reported back with the claim of apprehending the culprit. However, instead of naming Rebecca, I implicated her friend Susan, another scholarship student. This left Andrea disoriented. I then proposed we use the situation to our advantage by holding the secret over her head. Andrea was delighted by the idea. What’s more, she tried to implicate Becca as well by theorizing that Rebecca had Susan do her bidding. I pressed her for her reasoning, and she revealed her bias, remarking that ‘people of that ilk’ are all akin before branding them as leeches.”
In a quick, fluid movement, Cassidy brushed her lips against Rebecca’s cheek.
“For the record,” Cassidy said, “you’re nothing of the sort. Not even close.”
Rebecca’s cheeks warmed with a blush and her lips spread into a tender smile.
“Anyway,” Cassidy continued as she shifted back to Crow, “I confronted her about orchestrating events after her tirade. The quick flicker of shock and dread in her voice was affirmation enough. So, I revealed my trump card: I recorded our entire conversation on my phone.”
A mischievous laugh erupted from Crow as he clapped his knee. “You went and blackmailed her, didn’t you?!”
“She didn’t shy away from blackmail when it was in her favor.”
Crow’s eyes seemed to light up as he leaned forward. “What’d you get her to agree to?”
“I made it clear that she was to leave Becca be and aid me in eradicating those rumors. We ended up circulating a counter-narrative to influential peers. We sadly didn’t extinguish every last spark of the issue, but the flames were tamed.”
Without a word, Becca nestled her head against Cassidy’s shoulder. “Anyway, that’s the past now. Silver lining, I got Cassie out of it.”
Like a hearth’s fire on a cold night, a gradual warmth seeped into Cassidy’s core. Sablin… That night was supposed to be about unwinding before the mission, yet here she was, squandering it on nonsense.
“Is there anything else you’re desperate to dig into?” Cassidy asked, her voice edged with impatience.
“It wouldn’t hurt to have some info on why we’re singling out Andrea now.”
Cassidy heaved a sigh. “There’s a lot to explain…”
In a few well-chosen sentences, Cassidy explained how Naomi hiring Cassidy set them on the path that led them to a mystery that stretched from the grim walls of a prison to the upper echelons of society. Crow listened intently as she elaborated on Edan’s discoveries in the prison and their persons of interest: Andrea, Mariposa, and Andrea’s father, Edward Belmont.
“Let me make sure I heard that right…” Crow said after Cassidy explained the plan. “You suspect someone, yet you’re not bugging them?”
Cassidy’s eyebrows lifted ever so slightly. There could be an opportunity here worth exploring, she mused as she smoothed her expression into her usual poise.
It was evident that Crow cherished his independence. If she challenged his freedom, he was bound to act contrary to her request. Thus, she could nudge him into surveilling Edward for her.
It’s the ideal strategy, Cassidy concluded as a warm, puffed-up sensation inflated her chest. There were no downsides. If Crow confirmed her suspicions, great. If not, no harm done. No matter the result, nothing would trace back to her as she wouldn’t utter any explicit commands.
“We cannot strike until we have substantial evidence,” she said. “This is the standard we uphold as noble thieves.”
“Uh-huh… Hey, Blondie, what’s your take on whether Andrea’s guilt or not?”
“Oh, she’s guilty alright. Why wouldn’t she be?”
Cassidy pinched the bridge of her nose. “Leaping to conclusions won’t bring us closer to the truth.”
“The obvious leap was correct with—”
Cassidy’s hand darted out and her palm met Becca’s mouth, muffling her voice. Then she eyed Crow, who looked on with a raised eyebrow.
Kakaz! It was clear that Becca nearly compromised their intelligence on Vincent. A conversation about maintaining composure was long overdue.
“We need to approach this methodically,” Cassidy said as she removed her hand. “That’s why you’re meeting with Mariposa.”
An arch formed on Becca’s brow as a squint crept into her eyes. “How is it not crystal clear that Mari was Andrea’s go-between?”
“Perhaps she was. Or maybe Mari was someone else’s go-between. Or maybe she was investigating what happened herself. Or, another possibility, Sam and Mari had some sort of secret relationship with one another. Perhaps Mari is even the actual mastermind behind everything and has some connection to The Trus. Who knows?”
“I have serious doubts someone with a name like Mariposa has any links to The Trus,” Crow said.
Cassidy flicked her gaze towards the ceiling before returning to Crow. “My point is that we cannot be certain of anything yet, which is why we must follow investigative procedure.”
“Humor me for a sec. If Andrea were the one behind this, how do you think she’d go about it?”
“Through her father. I’m certain his position with the bank could connect him to someone that could link him to The Trus.”
Cassidy crossed her arms, sealed her eyes, and sank into a sea of introspection.
“If I were in his position,” she said, “I’d consider six possible solutions. First, there’s high-ranking corporate executives. Edward would naturally encounter other corporate leaders. They might possess some sort of connection he could use.”
Their reputations would be on the line though, she noted before deciding that the chance of that being correct was neither high nor low.
“A lobbyist could likewise serve the role,” Cassidy continued. “Their work is to discreetly create connections between various parties. And I imagine Edward knows such people.”
That scenario seemed more likely. However, the global scale at which lobbyists operated lessened the likelihood of them engaging with The Trus.
“I likewise imagine Edward is acquainted with the world of private security. Those sorts can play both sides of the law…”
“I doubt it’s them,” Crow said. “They come across as more muscle than savvy negotiators.”
Cassidy’s mind rewound to two months ago, to the diner where she made the deal with Vincent.
“If I go down, I’m taking as many people with me as possible. I will burn everything on my way out. As for how, well, I’ll leave it to your imagination. You know who I am, after all. You know what I have. I'll leave the world alone so long as you leave me alone. Our game ends here, in a stalemate.”
Vincent was in the world of private security, and he had his moments of cleverness. He certainly challenged her in a noteworthy manner…
“I agree,” Cassidy said. “A far more likely possibility is a lawyer. In fact, I’d argue they’re the most plausible. They could navigate both legal and illicit waters with ease. And their potential for discretion is stellar…”
“What are the other two possibilities?” Becca asked.
“A political figure or a cybersecurity expert. I doubt the former; the constant scrutiny would make it too risky.”
“A hacker seems fitting though,” Crow said. “Trust me, Obsidian Financials has some good cybersecurity in play. Cracking in wasn’t easy.”
“Let’s not forget that this is simply speculation. You asked me to humor you and so I did.”
“Fair enough. Last thing on my mind: Any previous run-ins with Mari for either of you?”
“I have some intel,” Cassidy said, “but it’s hardly worth mentioning. I’ll brief you on it later. For now, I wish to enjoy what’s left of my evening.”
“Gotcha.” Crow lifted himself from the carpet, stretched his arms high above his head and then, bending forward, touched his shoes. “Well, I’ll let you crazy kids have fun. Later.”
Crow pivoted to the door and began his unhurried journey with a confident stride.
“Wait,” Cassidy said.
Crow paused and glanced back. “What, want me to stick around and make this a trio?”
A shudder rippled through Cassidy and her body tensed. Teasing Wynn was one thing – he wouldn’t take her seriously. Crow, she wasn’t so certain about. “Forget everything you overheard.”
“That’s going to be tricky,” he said, scratching his temple, “but hey, I’ll give it a shot. No promises, though. Memories can be stubborn.”
The door opened and closed quietly behind Crow, sealing away his figure in the world beyond. A sudden stillness overtook the apartment as Cassidy and Becca sat in silence.
“Are you alright?” Cassidy asked after a moment passed.
“A little bit rattled, but I’ll shake it off. I don’t want to let him spoil our evening. Again.”
Cassidy gave a quick, concise nod. While the subsequent morning proved entertaining, the night that preceded was not worth repeating. “How about a change of scenery first? I’d rather not linger here for much longer.”
“I’m all for it.”
Cassidy retrieved her phone from a charger, and with a few taps on the screen, she ensured a luxury vehicle would be at Becca’s doorstop, promising a journey wrapped in comfort. Then she sent a message to Wynn.
Becca and I are headed to Cain Manor now. Leave us be, I need to lift her spirits. Also, there’s something we need to discuss, but it can wait until tomorrow.
A car arrived not too long after and whisked them through the illuminated streets of Himitus. They leaned back and let the city lights blur into a comforting glow.
It was a comfort that wouldn’t have existed if they knew about the future flames Cassidy had kindled.
Part 3 End
