❖ THE INCRIMINATION OF J&G ❖ (D/aeluri)

”Shortly, Jerry,” Aeluri whispered back, her voice low enough that the stocky man at the desk couldn’t hear. Jericho’s shyness around clients amused her greatly. The man was much taller than her and yet here he was, lurking behind the smaller woman as if she was some sort of shield. It looked like a giraffe using a cat as a shield, a true testament to how different their personalities were.

The darkness of the office was quite pleasing to her. It was where she belonged, the home she had chosen for herself. She felt comfort in its anonymity. Not to mention that it helped herself and Jericho hide their cloaked bodies from prying eyes. Even though the only other presence in the vicinity was Mr. Richmond - which Aeluri was constantly checking - they had to be faceless. The job and their guild required it.

She observed the piggy man before them looking through the photos. An expression of glee covered his chubby face. Aeluri was disgusted by him. His rotund body showed years of neglect, amplified by the blubbery laugh that came from his mouth. A receding hairline of gray sat atop his head. Sausage fingers sifted through the photos she and Jericho had obtained. He was truly a disgusting pig of a man, and she felt no remorse for thinking so despite his position as a client. Money was money. She didn’t have to like their clients as long as business got done.

“To my organization I am The Black Cat,” she replied to Mr. Richmond’s query monotonously. The Cat was not going to give attention nor detail to this pig. Who knew what connection he really had to the guild, or if he could even “put in a good word”. What could he possibly do to benefit her that she didn’t already receive from Hidden Blades?

“Ha! An interesting title.” Mr. Richmond shuffled the photos and returned them neatly to their manila folder. “I appreciate your organization’s help. I’m sure we’ll need it in the future too!” He said with another hearty laugh. “Now we’ve got J&G right where we want them. Did you witness anything else?”

From her cloak, Aeluri drew another smaller folder labeled Money. She tossed it on the desk of Mr. Richmond amongst all the other messy papers. Greedily he pried it open and scoured the documents. “Embezzlement,” the Cat explained shortly. Jameson had been setting aside company money in a private account, unbeknownst to Gold. The folder contained bank records, transaction information, and mail tracked from Jameson’s house and office.

“Fantastic work! This will get them for sure. You two can go now,” Mr. Richmond added with a dismissive wave of his meaty hand towards the two figures in the darkness. Aeluri let off a snort of dry amusement and turned her heel. The door was barely cracked as she slipped out, not waiting for her companion. She’d had enough of their client for a while. A drink was much needed.