[He misses her. He misses everyone from the bad old days, really, and he knows the whereabouts of only Adéwalé, his first quartermaster—Anne is in the wind, has been for years. He supposes he may never know where she's gone.
He takes a sip.]
Good plan. With many of their targets in hiding, I'm worried the zealots'll strike at civilians and loved ones to draw them out. We know there's three of them—this Shay Cormac's dead, and good riddance to him, but Cu's still alive and no one's been able to confirm any details at all about the third.
[Which makes Edward more than a little nervous.]
When I was still a pirate and I had a habit of raiding warehouses and the like, I'd find a way to draw out the guards while I snuck in through some back way and took what I wanted. It's a tactic that works wonders, in my experience. I wouldn't be surprised if they adopted a similar strategy.
[But there's more important things to focus on right now.]
Striking at civilians and loved ones does seem on the mark for their MO, from how they sound. [Thanks, she hates it.] Shay Cormac, that was the other one on Libra, then? ... I really didn't like what I saw of him. He set me more on edge than Cu did. But to not have any details at all on the third... I don't like that. While I don't doubt any capabilities Cu or Shay have or had, with those two, it would have been easier to grab an idea of what to expect.
[There's no way for that to happen with the third. A complete unknown in a chaotic situation...]
It's certainly an effective tactic. Makes it all the more important for some of us to stay behind.
They've done it before. Not even just here—they've a habit, from what I hear, of using loved ones as leverage against their agents.
[So fuck them.]
From what I've been told, he was a Templar. [He won't talk about Assassins but he's willing to freely give up information on the Templars. Fuck them. The more people know about their MO the better, in his opinion.] I'm familiar with his lot, they like to harp on about the evils of freedom and how if you'd only give up freedom, you'd achieve peace in the world. [Taking a sip of coffee while rolling his eyes toward the ceiling.] Daft idea, if you ask me.
[Said with the tone of a man who has heard enough villain monologues by now to be thoroughly sick of it.]
But you're right, that not having any details on the third puts us at a heavy disadvantage. All we can do against an enemy we know nothing about is shore up our defenses and pray they don't bring something that can break them in one shot.
...if this third zealot comes after you, be careful. Don't get yourself killed.
She listens quietly about the Templars and frowns.] That's stupid. Security and peace shouldn't come at the cost of one's freedom. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly hasn't looked at history and isn't facing reality.
[Freedom is one of those things where trying to take it away never ends well.]
If the third zealot comes after me, I won't engage if I'm not with a group. [...] But beyond that, I'll be careful.
Some people will latch onto any excuse to justify grabbing at power they shouldn’t have.
[Edward ought to know.]
Good. [A breath.] I’m…truly sorry, lass, that this has dropped into your lap right out of the blue. I ought to have warned you and the other two, but it had been a while since they’d last made a move.
[It's said a bit distantly as a memory flickers across her mind.
... She'll unpack that later.
She takes a sip of her coffee and shrugs.]
I mean, apparently all of this took everyone else as off-guard as it did us. If anything, this was dropped on everyone. [Even those familiar with the Black Order were taken off-guard...] And it makes sense that people like this exist, as much as I dislike the thought.
You're right, seems like this caught everyone unawares at the worst time. Still—it feels as if we let our guard down too far, just because they hadn't done anything for a month. [He leans against the edge of the counter and pulls himself up so he's perched on it, heels absently knocking against the cabinets.] People like this have always existed, lass. They just get better at hiding what they are.
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no subject
[He misses her. He misses everyone from the bad old days, really, and he knows the whereabouts of only Adéwalé, his first quartermaster—Anne is in the wind, has been for years. He supposes he may never know where she's gone.
He takes a sip.]
Good plan. With many of their targets in hiding, I'm worried the zealots'll strike at civilians and loved ones to draw them out. We know there's three of them—this Shay Cormac's dead, and good riddance to him, but Cu's still alive and no one's been able to confirm any details at all about the third.
[Which makes Edward more than a little nervous.]
When I was still a pirate and I had a habit of raiding warehouses and the like, I'd find a way to draw out the guards while I snuck in through some back way and took what I wanted. It's a tactic that works wonders, in my experience. I wouldn't be surprised if they adopted a similar strategy.
no subject
[But there's more important things to focus on right now.]
Striking at civilians and loved ones does seem on the mark for their MO, from how they sound. [Thanks, she hates it.] Shay Cormac, that was the other one on Libra, then? ... I really didn't like what I saw of him. He set me more on edge than Cu did. But to not have any details at all on the third... I don't like that. While I don't doubt any capabilities Cu or Shay have or had, with those two, it would have been easier to grab an idea of what to expect.
[There's no way for that to happen with the third. A complete unknown in a chaotic situation...]
It's certainly an effective tactic. Makes it all the more important for some of us to stay behind.
no subject
[So fuck them.]
From what I've been told, he was a Templar. [He won't talk about Assassins but he's willing to freely give up information on the Templars. Fuck them. The more people know about their MO the better, in his opinion.] I'm familiar with his lot, they like to harp on about the evils of freedom and how if you'd only give up freedom, you'd achieve peace in the world. [Taking a sip of coffee while rolling his eyes toward the ceiling.] Daft idea, if you ask me.
[Said with the tone of a man who has heard enough villain monologues by now to be thoroughly sick of it.]
But you're right, that not having any details on the third puts us at a heavy disadvantage. All we can do against an enemy we know nothing about is shore up our defenses and pray they don't bring something that can break them in one shot.
...if this third zealot comes after you, be careful. Don't get yourself killed.
no subject
[Fuck them!!
She listens quietly about the Templars and frowns.] That's stupid. Security and peace shouldn't come at the cost of one's freedom. Anyone who thinks otherwise clearly hasn't looked at history and isn't facing reality.
[Freedom is one of those things where trying to take it away never ends well.]
If the third zealot comes after me, I won't engage if I'm not with a group. [...] But beyond that, I'll be careful.
no subject
[Edward ought to know.]
Good. [A breath.] I’m…truly sorry, lass, that this has dropped into your lap right out of the blue. I ought to have warned you and the other two, but it had been a while since they’d last made a move.
no subject
[It's said a bit distantly as a memory flickers across her mind.
... She'll unpack that later.
She takes a sip of her coffee and shrugs.]
I mean, apparently all of this took everyone else as off-guard as it did us. If anything, this was dropped on everyone. [Even those familiar with the Black Order were taken off-guard...] And it makes sense that people like this exist, as much as I dislike the thought.
no subject
[He's including himself in this count.]
You're right, seems like this caught everyone unawares at the worst time. Still—it feels as if we let our guard down too far, just because they hadn't done anything for a month. [He leans against the edge of the counter and pulls himself up so he's perched on it, heels absently knocking against the cabinets.] People like this have always existed, lass. They just get better at hiding what they are.