She had paused again after her last question to listen and was about to speak once more when the reply came. As the man began to list off his demands in as few words as possible, she leaned forward to grab her quick and begin jotting notes on whatever parchment was in easy reach. There was a brief pause when he demanded Jameson's head, but no outburst of emotion which would signal the touching of a nerve.
"What will you do when there is an evil you cannot defeat by just means..."
She sat back in her chair while gripping the arm rests. There was another muffled thump over the pearl and she quickly touched her ear once more.
"Mister Lazarov?"
"Nero? You cannot leave her to him! Nero?!"
Her exclamation was accentuated by leaning forward again abruptly. There was no response. Silence, followed by the rushing sound of water, then nothing. Coatleque waited a good while with bated breath before slowly removing the pearl and setting down upon her desk. She exhaled through her nose and ran her hands down her face.
"I thought we could still do this without needless bloodshed...
... People are coming after Taeros. Do not be in their way"
Sitting in the dim light of a single lantern, her thoughts grew increasingly darker the more she brooded on them. The gall of that man requesting pardon to right his own wrongs, of demanding blood to stem the flow of more blood. She did not overly care that it was Jameson's head in particular the man wanted. She had grown used to her lover's day-to-day business. There was always someone around the corner plotting his demise it seemed to her. She was becoming confident he could handle himself. He survived this long, after all.
"Roen knows." she told herself. "She has to talk."
And if she didn't, Coatleque told herself, Shaelen would. This was no longer about profit margins, power-plays, or cleansing corruption. This was about prevent wholesale slaughter in Pearl Lane. Rising from her chair she made for the door only to stop and look back at the pearl laying atop her desk. Rushing back to the desk she gripped the edges, knuckles flushing white, and leaned over the linkpearl.
"I WILL NOT PLAY THESE GAMES!" she screamed to it before swiping it off the desk into the wall with the back of her hand causing a satisfying crack as they connected. Taking her sword she stormed out of the office, leaving the pieces where they fell.
"What will you do when there is an evil you cannot defeat by just means..."
She sat back in her chair while gripping the arm rests. There was another muffled thump over the pearl and she quickly touched her ear once more.
"Mister Lazarov?"
"Nero? You cannot leave her to him! Nero?!"
Her exclamation was accentuated by leaning forward again abruptly. There was no response. Silence, followed by the rushing sound of water, then nothing. Coatleque waited a good while with bated breath before slowly removing the pearl and setting down upon her desk. She exhaled through her nose and ran her hands down her face.
"I thought we could still do this without needless bloodshed...
... People are coming after Taeros. Do not be in their way"
Sitting in the dim light of a single lantern, her thoughts grew increasingly darker the more she brooded on them. The gall of that man requesting pardon to right his own wrongs, of demanding blood to stem the flow of more blood. She did not overly care that it was Jameson's head in particular the man wanted. She had grown used to her lover's day-to-day business. There was always someone around the corner plotting his demise it seemed to her. She was becoming confident he could handle himself. He survived this long, after all.
"Roen knows." she told herself. "She has to talk."
And if she didn't, Coatleque told herself, Shaelen would. This was no longer about profit margins, power-plays, or cleansing corruption. This was about prevent wholesale slaughter in Pearl Lane. Rising from her chair she made for the door only to stop and look back at the pearl laying atop her desk. Rushing back to the desk she gripped the edges, knuckles flushing white, and leaned over the linkpearl.
"I WILL NOT PLAY THESE GAMES!" she screamed to it before swiping it off the desk into the wall with the back of her hand causing a satisfying crack as they connected. Taking her sword she stormed out of the office, leaving the pieces where they fell.
