Scene #8063: The Treasurer's Still Alive

Owner	Pose
Cantio	LAST TIME The Treasurer, having seen an opportunity to finally wrest control of the city, launched an attack to push out the Elites and Desperado Enforcement's forces from the General's home and the staging area that had turned into a joint medical station/supply distribution center/defense tower. A grueling battle ensued spanning three main hot zones around the city, taking the combined efforts of Arcadia's elemental weaponry, Ishirou's technological and hacking mastery, Tamamo's debilitating curses, Cantio's physical might, and Mistral's bizarre hand things to push them back. Eventually, Tamamo and Arcadia managed to break through to the Treasurer's home just in time for an unidentified voice to request that the Elites stall until they completed the mission. Instead of doing that, the former was able to 'convince' the guards to lead her to the ringleader herself. NOW Predictably, the Treasurer is in the biggest room of the house, a proper office with its own bathroom and bedroom along with huge central air vents and even a big, fancy, and reinforced window overlooking the front lawn where there's a clear view of all that freaking fire from before. She looks and sounds terrified as Tamamo comes in, drawing a heavy pistol and aiming it shakily at her. "What the hell did you do?! Get out before... What're all of you doing just standing there?!" She snaps at her bodyguards that are still present in the room and doing a whole lot of nothing after leading Tamamo inside. Aside from a small blackish-gray metal patch on the side of her head, the Treasurer doesn't look like she's otherwise augmented. 99% human, and definitely not some sweaty dude for once. Cantio might want to know about this for less important reasons. The source of the mysterious voice, meanwhile, has not yet appeared.
Arcadia	And Arcadia, well, Arcadia does what sphinx are known for doing -- guarding. She remains hovering at the entrance to the Treasurer's house/stronghold, elemental magitek still engaged and ready to chase off any lingering enemies that attempt to get inside and disrupt whatever it is Tamamo is doing, or that strange voice is doing. That and waiting for the rest of their merry little intervention to catch up. Though most of the fighting seems to be over at this point and most of the enemy cyborgs dead, so it's mostly just a bit of defensive posturing of 'yeah we hold the spot now, wanna make something of it' because she really doesn't have anything else to do at the moment. Politics and negotiations are something she leaves for smarter and more etiquettely able people to deal with.
Lilian Rook	"Try it and I'll make sure you can't so much as hold a smartphone ever again." Lilian simply appears in the office, between and to the side of the treasurer and Tamamo, the instant a gun is aimed from one at the other in the wrong configuration. "Come on now Tamamo, you've had your fun with this, right? This seems to be just about the perfect time to drag her out of here in chains and search her records before whoever else gets to them first." She sighs. "Or before someone gets some idiot idea because this one is a woman and not a big gruff cyborg man."
The Kid	Kid had hung back to protect their initial landing zone during the clashes. Wouldn't do to abandon the people still hiding out there. But once the fighting is over, he makes his way to the Treasurer. Immediately, upon entering her office, he attends the windows. Curtains are drawn, and if there are none, her desk is abruptly picked up and braced against the largest one in there. "Can't have her getting shot," he explains brusquely. And with that done, he takes a position beside the door, a strange SMG made of bones at his side as he monitors the halls.
Tamamo	"There is no need for alarm, though of urgency, there may be. For that reason, please pardon my forceful approach. I am Tamamo-no-mae, presently representing the Paladins, as unexpected a circumstance as that may be." Tamamo's apparent fearlessness in the face of the firearm has more to do with her excellent facial control than her confidence in her wards. It could very well be the sort of thing made to pierce defenses like hers. It almost certainly isn't, but even tiny chances of things going wrong spark nervousness, when it comes to guns pointed at someone. There are those mercs, as well, but they're still under the effects of her personal magnetism. Lilian's sudden appearance is both rationally and emotionally more calming, and makes Tamamo's breath catch. "'Fun'? Ah, no, I had thought we might take steps along the same path as had been previously sought. If the general can assist in ensuring this nation's independence, is it not most likely for the treasurer to have similar skills to offer? To have a ministry staffed only with those most successful in war does not, in the history I recall, tend toward excellent outcomes. Civil ministers are ever necessary." She's thinking about ancient China, but it doesn't feel any less relevant, now. "Yet, perhaps you are right, in regards to our urgency. That discussion may take place elsewhere. I shall apologize for giving no choice of refusal in hearing us out, yet I shall continue to act willfully." With this seemingly polite and sincere, yet ultimately pointless apology, she holds her hands together in front of her and inclines her head. To the mercs who had guided her, "This strategic position has become untenable. Retreat is your only option, as unfortunate as it is. Please take good care of your health." Past them, she gives the Kid a nod, agreeing, regardless of which 'she' was meant.
Cantio	Arcadia's arrival at the gates is met by... Not gunfire for once! Or even anyone taking swings at her. The Treasurer's guards have already seen what the Elites here are capable of, and they're far too aware of the Treasurer being held up by the Elites that have either barged their way in or slipped in without anyone the wiser. The smart move would be to rush to their bonus paycheck's aid. The smarter move is to stay put, collect their guaranteed pay, and wait for further orders. That doesn't mean some of the younger or more confident ones aren't bristling for a brawl with Arcadia outside, but they're content to settle for just making challenging gestures from behind those face-obscuring masks for the time being. They're clearly angling for something despite not actually swinging themselves. Arcadia's also the first to see Cantio, Mistral, and more Desperado APCs rolling in, but only the first two approach the building while the rest keep their distance and their weapons lowered (but not holstered). Lilian's sudden appearance gets the Treasurer jumping in place while she turns her gun towards Lilian, perhaps realizing the futility of attempting to shoot her, Tamamo, or the Kid when he starts setting up defenses around the windows (and possibly seeing what's going on outside). "How the hell did you all...? Nn. The Paladins, huh? So that's two of your groups in bed, then... Lovely." She scoffs briefly, then lowers the handgun while moving over to a wall out of the line of sight of the closed windows. "So what do you want, anyway? Money? Property? No... You'd have answered the call for PMCs if it was that straightforward." She reasons, then glances over at Kid. " Good thinking on the cover, by the way." She speaks quickly, giving him a brief nod of acknowledgment before looking towards the window again as something starts tapping against it rhythmically. "The General...? Hmph. That damn relic's just in this to push us back into another war with our neighbors. If he had his way, we'd be lining them all up at our doorstep and dragging..." She gestures at the outside window. "... A shitshow like this. So what are you really here for, anyway? Or are you just following that weird purple girl and those Americans?" Tamamo's command to the mercenaries gets them to do that fingers-to-the-head thing as they issue their commands on the way out. "We're out. No bonuses today." That draws a collective and audible grumbling from throughout the building and the outside as well before they and most of the mercenaries outside start to withdraw. The tapping at the window, meanwhile, gets a little louder. "Hey.. Uh. Do you mind opening this?" "I'm just going in from the front. You can keep waiting here if you like." "Ah... Alright, fine. Would've been more..." Arcadia can see Cantio and Mistral muttering to each other in vague annoyance as they take the long way around. There's still some more time to talk or dig around before they arrive.
Arcadia	The posturing goes back and forth and back again. Mercs make their rude gestures. Arcadia flares her wings, magitek thrusters humming just enough to remind people that she's more than fast enough to take any one of them down before they could finish anything hostile, but simply chooses not to because posturing for dominance is just as important. Eventually it's a moot point as the mercs get word there's nothing left to be had and to start pulling back. Looks like most of them were just in it for the money after all. Arcadia scoffed, folding her arms... but was still warily watching until they're actually leaving and this isn't some trick, her tail giving an occasional flick of amusement. Then she unfolds an arm to wave to Cantio and Mistral as they're approaching. "Hey, about time you caught up! Others already went inside."
Lilian Rook	"Please don't insult me Miss Treasurer." says Lilian. "Even my minimum standards are well beyond clinging to the Concord's skirts in hopes of splitting a payout. The only bed I'm in is . . ." Her eyes visibly drift towards Tamamo, but she eventually thinks better of completing the second half of the unnecessarily British humour lined up in her head, and focuses back on the Treasurer again. "Indeed, I have no need whatsoever for a payout in the sense you're expecting at all. I could probably buy your country, given what a kleptocratic sham it's turning out to be." she says, taking on a modestly displeased squint afterwards. "And I'd sooner follow a dowsing rod than Cantio or an American." A beat goes by. "Ah, would that solve the mystery of who exactly 'the Americans' are? Her new minions?" But that tapping is starting to bother her. "Excuse me a moment." says Lilian. She turns her back and motions as if she's taking a call, but the device is off and actually she's just closing her eyes to focus on some five dimensional math. Specifically, the immediate future of throwing open those blinds and seeing what's on the other side herself, and alternately, not opening the blinds but simply surprise appearing out there with no warning.
Tamamo	"'In bed' is a bit much, I should say," Tamamo does say, surreptitiously eyeing the Kid. She's able to recognize a number of elites from pictures, but that's a far cry from familiarity with their goals and personalities. "I have yet to see any good reason to refuse..." There's a tapping at the window. Why the window? She's uncertain. There was a perfectly good door. "...that one's efforts in this area." Recalling the earlier, unidentified voice, Tamamo quietly says to Lilian, "There was another with some other mission, I suspect, that might limit the time still available to us, here, having divulged not their aim, but only the location of their target. I concluded it necessary to move ahead for that reason." Unfortunately, Tamamo's not all that good at rooting around for useful information in either paper or electronic records, nor in people's heads. The applicability of her methods is questionable, here. Instead, she follows up on that 'not getting shot' angle, two-fold. First, she approaches the treasurer, and holds out a hand for her gun. "Please, you shall not be needing that, and thus, it is better the possibility remain beyond sight that it be used." Second, she offers a piece of hardened clay, wrapped in a ribbon, very vaguely resembling a finger-high person. "In place of that, for your protection, please accept this, that it keep you presently safe." It's a protection charm, one made to absorb a great deal of misfortune in a very short time, and thereafter crack, breaking in place of something that would break its bearer. Tamamo doesn't even seem to register Lilian's very British humor, as she continues, "Please know that I have little desire to rule over your people. The argument was made to the general that it would be best that this nation be self-reliant, however hard the road to that goal might be. I do agree with the same. The particulars of this may be argued at leisure, yet for now, please accept merely that it is the wish I hold. Of course, this does not mean I would approve of plans to embroil oneself in a series of wars over past feuds."
The Kid	"Weird purple girl is Concord. So am I. That's why I'm here." Kid's reply isn't really a rebuke, he's not disagreeing with 'weird' or 'purple.' It's just a statement of fact. The Concord works together. He looks at the back of Lilian's head as she rags on both of those things, but holds his tongue. These two are Talkers, and he needs those in absence of Cantio. "But personally, I'm here for the people. They lost a leader, and the people who are supposed to step in are at each other's throats." Now a bit of malice is creeping into his voice. "You played your cards and lost. You're at our combined mercy here. An' Cantio might be a bleeding heart, but I'm the only Concord here, not her."
Cantio	OUTSIDE Hearing Arcadia, Cantio turns briefly to wave in return while Mistral just keeps on walking. "Thought so... Alright, come on! Things should be okay out here once..." She gestures at the mercenaries that are leaving, followed relatively shortly afterwards by the cyborgs from Desperado moving into position to start sweeping the area. A few of them head in from side and rear entrances to make sure the place is secured, too, leaving the front doors for Mistral, Cantio, and Arcadia (if she wants) to enter as they please. Thankfully, the mercenaries hired by the Treasurer are in fact leaving, as they're pretty sure they won't be collecting any bonuses after being given the direct order to bail. The Treasurer might not be too happy about it after the fact, but... INSIDE The Treasurer isn't in any position to contest what the gathered Elites are doing. She doesn't have Tamamo's mental influence, Lilian's weird 'teleporting', or the Kid's personal armory in her pockets. She'll just have to keep listening for now if she wants to get out of this whole mess alive, and there's already a slight hiccup there when Lilian takes the comment about following the Concord as an insult. She maintains a complete poker face as she sees that incredibly specific eye drift, although there is a moment where she has to look over at the window (it's to make sure the tapping stopped, really). "Desperado Enforcement. They're a PMC based in the US. Been making quite a name for themselves, too." She answers, raising an eyebrow when Lilian takes a call that is totally happening. Instead, she turns her attention back to Tamamo, barely even flinching as that rooting around in her head is enough to get her to turn over that pistol. "Right, that'd be... Someone that really wanted me dead would have a field day. They could call it self-defense just like..." The Treasurer gestures outside, then lets out another light scoff. "You know how they are." She eyes the wrapped thing and turns it around in her hand a few times while the gray patch on the side of her head flickers a few times followed by her eye lighting up slightly. "Looks a little strange, but... Okay. I don't know how much protection something this small could offer, but today's already a mess." She grimaces slightly, then leans against the wall while keeping her eye on the door. She notices the Kid's lack of protest against her description of Cantio, but whatever amusement she might have at that is nicely suppressed by that poker face. As he speaks, though, there's something almost resembling an incredibly slight softening. "... Of course nobody that lives here wants this country to fail. N'mani's legacy was bringing peace to this place for once, and keeping it that way." The Treasurer pushes off the wall to maintain eye contact with the Kid as he brings up just how dire her situation is at the moment. "I know. Even PMCs are going to have trouble with superpowered Elites if enough of you get together." She sighs lightly, then glances at the ceiling. Those with keener ears might notice a metallic scratching sound for a brief moment. Afterwards, she looks forward at the group again. "... So what'd he have to say about your argument? I noticed you beat the crap out of him, and he's still alive. Is he too stubborn to die, too?" Another moment, and she continues. "... And what of your flags? I saw plenty of them out there, but who's going to be taking credit for all this?"
Cantio	FUTURE VISION What Lilian sees in the future of what she would see, meanwhile, is... The front and outside of the building! Desperado's cyborgs are still doing their sweep to make sure nobody's hiding somewhere, and Cantio and Mistral (and possibly Arcadia, if she joins them) are nowhere to be seen as they've already started heading for the front doors instead of loitering outside. Bursting out there, meanwhile, would mostly just get some really confused looks from the mercenaries despite the fact that they all have face-obscuring plates on. Cantio and Mistral would be visible in mid-conversation, with the latter looking incredibly bored and almost looking like she's talking to someone else entirely.
Arcadia	Once it's clear the mercenaries really are withdrawing and Desperado is moving in to secure the area as a whole Arcadia folds her wings, deactivates her visor and turns to follow Cantio following Mistral inside. Though as per usual the sphinx remains hovering just slightly off the ground instead of walking, because that's just the way she is. It's so she can easily take off at full speed should she need to, and by this point it's just a natural state to be in for her. Likewise the traceline channels in her armor dim, but also don't entirely turn off. Just in case. There's always the chance of a just in case and she'd be a poor Guardian if not ready for them. "So, with the Treasurer retained inside and the mercs leaving," she asks Cantio, "who's actually in charge of the country now?" She came just for the need of fighting to be done, so now she's got to catch up on some of the other aspects of the matter.
The Kid	"Cantio," Kid says in response to the question of 'who takes credit here?' Without even looking at the Paladins in the room, he continues. "She's the one who organized the initial foray and ongoing efforts. Whether she intends to rule in N'mani's place, appoint a vassal or what I don't know. But it's her plan." Tapping the side of that gun with his index finger (trigger discipline is important!) he continues. "How far do your finances stretch anyway? Can't imagine the country is making much during a civil war. Might be time to start cuttin' deals, might ensure you a place in whatever comes next. My nation, Caelondia, has expert craftsmen you know. Wouldn't even know a war happened once they're done. But what can you offer for them?"
Tamamo	"Oh, yes, the name of Desperado was given together with Cadenza," Tamamo says, while accepting the gun. She places it, gingerly, up her sleeve, where it neatly disappears. She won't try something as risky as first unloading it with her level of skill. "An American term, was it not? I am not terribly familiar with such things." 'Is he too stubborn to die, too?' "He was given the utmost care on being removed from his fighting machine, the stresses of which were unkind to his body. He recuperates, now, with our discussion of the future left unfinished."
Lilian Rook	When Tamamo is handed the gun, Lilian holds out her hand to be obliged, given that she is the one of the two who knows how to operate one. All she does is pull the slide several times until it stops ejecting rounds, then hand it back to Tamamo, though. She's not about to dick around with 'cyber safeties' or whatever. A barely restrained grimace captures her lips for a moment at the name. "It's typically understood to be a historical American term for a criminal on the run, usually from 'frontier justice'. Why a PMC chose the name is beyond me." "Your brain is blinking, Treasurer." says Lilian, done with her 'call'. "Pack up. We're leaving the room." She is definitely just reading the Treasurer's mind now, without telling her, because she really doesn't like those sounds and no visuals, not to mention all the sussy signs the woman keeps letting on herself. The Treasurer attempting to stall will be taken as a sign in of itself to grab her and take her out front. "The General seems to believe very strongly that Desperado is not only to blame for the assassination, but for the resulting tipoff into civil war as well. He was most unkind to us, under the suspicion that we were in league with them, and willing to put his life on the line over it. Would you care to offer your opinion about that?" says Lilian, still respecting mental privacy rights precisely zero percent right now. "Credit? For what? A slapdash facade of a small-time humanitarian mission that mostly serves as a cover for picking fights and extracting wealth?" "Please make no mistake, Miss Treasurer, my presence here is as a reluctant safeguard against the Concord either screwing things so royally, or being screwed so royally, as to plunge this situation into even further chaos. Cantio can have the dubious credit of not making things worse if she can claim it." She waves vaguely in the Kid's direction. "I'm no diplomatic liaison on behalf of a country, nor am I a princess. If you're looking for anything that involves the words 'economy' or 'alliance', by all means, try to sit at the table with their lawyers. Now I'm afraid our time in your lovely little estate is up. Your statistical odds of grievous injury have exceeded my tolerance for pleasant chat."
Cantio	Kid gives a pretty succinct reply to the Treasurer's question about credit, and the Treasurer seems pretty content with that answer. His followup question, though, has her frowning again. "After all this? Not a lot." She admits after a few long moments, then pauses to glance towards where the mercenaries had once stood. "... Actually. They never did technically succeed, so if there's only the base pay to consider..." She trails off while looking up at the ceiling again, but to do rapid calculations in her head rather than noticing whatever sounds there may or may not be coming from the vents this time. "We're still doing well enough financially. Enough to hire plenty of repairmen and laborers from... Caelondia, was it?" Her tone takes on a slightly more skeptical note, but it's probably more for show than anything else. "If they're as good as you say. What more do they need than money? We've got plentiful water and fertile land for growing all sorts of local specialties, but we don't have the same kinds of schools that the big names do." "Desperado is..." The Treasurer's plate flickers again briefly. "A Spanish word, I think. Or Latin. Desperation, despair, something like that." She explains to Tamamo, her expression softening again after being told of the General's treatment. "Really now...? Hn. Maybe you really are bleeding hearts, then. Or..." She glances over at Kid. "... Some of you are, anyway." As the Treasurer is ushered out of main room, she doesn't bother protesting and almost seems to welcome the change of scenery (and movement away from whatever those sounds are). She really doesn't know what those sounds are, but she keeps chalking it up to bad ventilation or rats or something. She is, however, still intensely suspicious about Desperado's presence here, especially when Lilian relays the General's initial impressions of this crew. "That's what I was able to gather, too. Nothing concrete, but I've heard through some reliable channels that they had their fingers all over it." All informants, but trusted informants nonetheless. "They took a lot of care to remove any concrete evidence that could link it to them, though. Security footage, audio recordings, even CCTV in the streets. It was planned too well, even for a PMC." There's definitely a lot of suspicion to go around, and she nods slowly once Lilian makes her own intentions about the negotiating table and actually being here clear. "That's fine. The immediate... Danger, I guess, is... Well, if you wanted me dead, I'd already be." She glances at the ceiling once more, her suspicions rising even further when she sees...
Cantio	<J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "Hm... did anyone else hear that...?" <J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "A scraping -- but, perhaps, it is nothing." <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "The entire time. The window too. They've moved on or they're stealthed. We're not staying." "Right now? I.. Don't know, actually." Cantio answers with a light shrug while heading up the flight of stairs leading towards the office where everyone else is. "Ideally, we'd be able to get the Treasurer and the General to stop trying to claw each other's throats out, and then they can work it out with whatever heads of state there are. If that doesn't work..." She pauses, glancing over at Mistral a little further ahead. "We take the reins until the country gets its act together. Cadenza, the Concord, Desperado. We leave once the country's stabilized and after..." She trails off. That's definitely not ominous, but maybe it's just because she's heading towards the room to join up with everyone inside. With Mistral and Arcadia in tow, Cantio jumps a bit in surprise when she just sees everyone coming out of that room outright. "Oh! Er... Ahem." She clears her throat, trying to put on her GAME FACE instead of letting the surprise show much longer. "Good job, everyone. I assume things have been cleared up here, then?" She gets a long, dead-eyed stare from the Treasurer, and she clears her throat before nodding once slowly. "... Right. Now we can just focus on getting things fixed up and sort-" The low, metallic scraping noises continue coming from the vents at the top of the stairway, drawing both the Treasurer's and Cantio's gaze upwards while Mistral continues looking on in vague disinterest. It continues for a while longer before Mistral finally lets out a low, vaguely disappointed sigh before looking up as well. "You can come out now, Fido." She mutters shortly before the vents are pried open by a large mechanical saw. A similarly large mechanical wolf-like creature drops out of it, getting both the Treasurer and Cantio to jerk back in surprise while Mistral just gestures at the front door. It looks back at the Treasurer (who's once again looking freaked out), then back at Mistral (who just looks thoroughly unimpressed). "Go on. Mission's done. No more prowling around to keep tabs on things." The robotic wolf folds its chainsaw tail against its back, turning to stare at the group with its red face mask before heading for the door as directed, apparently finding no reason to linger further.
Arcadia	Arcadia stops as everyone else is trucking out of the room, and looks up as everyone else does... and then the robot(?) dog eventually drops down. Being part cat, she flares hackles and hisses out of reflex... but there's nothing else as Fido or whatever it's called just turns to leave. Arcadia calms down. "Had an observer on the inside the whole time. Very clever."
The Kid	Lilian would rather not linger, and Kid is inclined to agree. He pulls up the back, swapping that weird bone gun for a more sensible blunderbuss, well-suited for clearing halls. But in the end, they make it outside without issue. Kid produces his tower shield to cover the Treasurer from the most obvious sightlines, when the source of the noise is revealed. A big metal dog leaps from the vents, and Kid stares at it dully for a long time. Eventually, he looks to Mistral, and asks... "Wouldn't your arm drones be better for monitoring the vents? Seems cruel to send that in instead. Poor fella barely fit."
Tamamo	Tamamo may or may not be fully buying the claims from the present Concord elites regarding the country's fate in the event of overdue loans, but after Lilian's statement to Cantio, and the response, she considers it fine to leave alone. If all that's been said, it'll be difficult to go back on it, and it's not as if she's in a position to offer a country-sized trade partner, herself. She startles when the robo-wolf drops down (more visible in her fur than on her face), and glances toward Mistral, but that's... tactical things, probably. She won't poke too hard at the 'Desperado' naming choice today, either, even if the shared opinion of the general and treasurer regarding the assassination is beginning to weigh more heavily on her. Getting them out, seeing to the general's recovery, and having everyone talk through their next steps, together, is the more productive path. Leaving the rest alone will surely be fine.
Lilian Rook	"I'd assume so." Lilian says to the Treasurer; specifically her synopsis of the Desperado situation. "This is actually sort of a classic modus operandi for ambitious and well-organized independent militant organizations. More likely than not, they already have a primary employer overseas who currently owns their highest-paying contract, and they're taking care all of this on enormous amounts of intel subsidy; probably someone well-connected, well-informed, rich, but not powerful enough to do this all himself. Someone with the resources to feed them endless information of high enough quality that he can use it to backseat drive." "And since they're not paying for the intel locally or from subsidiaries, they're free to take on a chunk of other contracts at the same time. The left hand gets paid by the people the right hand is being paid to screw over. It's the sort of win-win game that a faction either tries to play once, or gets very good at; nothing between." Lilian shrugs, and stares upward as if to say it on purpose. "Of course, without proof, there's nothing to act on. But probable cause is enough to investigate. If you wouldn't mind, Miss Treasurer, I think Paladins protective custody may be a safer option for you than Cantio's, until we can clear the air." <J-IC-Scene> Tamamo says, "While all might be made easier should this nation have something to trade for their reconstruction and survival, what shall occur in the event they do not? To borrow some enormous amount of favor seems a likely occurrence, yet this would fare them little better than a reliance upon foreign mercenaries." <J-IC-Scene> Cantio says, "If they don't have much? That doesn't change things for me. I came here planning to fix things in the first place, so getting them back on their feet is... Enough." <J-IC-Scene> The Kid says, "Jus' sowing seeds. Maybe they'll bare fruit, maybe not." <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "I'll be holding you to those words, Cantio." <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "I'm willing to help as long as your aim is sincerely within the realm of clearing your name and doing good for a change." <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "I'm willing to support that much in faith." <J-IC-Scene> Lilian Rook says, "If I see this going in the direction of another Bugster army, well." <J-IC-Scene> Cantio says, "R.. Really? Wow, I wasn't expecting.. Oh, yeah. No. Don't worry. I've learned my mistakes from last time. I've had enough fights over figuring this out, too." <J-IC-Scene> Cantio says, "I'm going to make sure things are much more different from then this time around." Beat "... In a good way!" Lilian catches sight of Arcadia on the wya out. "Huh. You were here the whole time?" Really though, she's paying more attention to Mistral and the dog drone. Her hand lifts slowly to her throat, finger tapping at her collarbone in restless thought, as if hovering around the holster of a revolver on a main street at high noon, but she thinks better of it once Mistral indicates the robot is communicating with her in real time. That works too. "You're far too easy to impress. That's 101 for secret services, special forces, spies, saboteurs, and assassins." says Lilian, contemplatively chewing her lip watching Mistral leave.
Cantio	"Just in case. You never know if things could go bad, but I think your friends wrapped things up with a nice little bow there." Mistral replies to Arcadia, somehow sounding like she's praising the group and patronizing as hell at the same time. "For monitoring? Oh, sure. But what's the fun in that?" She replies to Kid next, letting one of her hand things crawls along the ground to grab onto Cantio's leg (and forcing a startled jump out of her in the process). "Besides... This is part of its training, too. An obedient dog is a good dog." Lilian's assessment of the situation has the Treasurer furrowing her brow again, but she's noticeably more cautious with her words now that Mistral is around at all. She's not completely clamming up, but her words are certainly more measured compared to before. "It wouldn't be the first time I've heard of such a thing happening. I.. Suppose that the General has that much going for him, at least." "He wouldn't do something like that." She admits after a longer pause, although she doesn't sound happy about it. "Look into whatever you like, and I'll comply as necessary. It's not as if I have a choice in the matter." The Treasurer says a little more loudly, drawing a brief glance from Cantio and Mistral up ahead. They seem to buy the act! "I don't have any objections, either. I'd prefer if the Treasurer felt safe on returning and the Paladins are confident enough to leave governance of this area to Cadenza, anyway, so this works out perfectly." Cantio answers afterwards, her own promise still fresh in her mind. Thankfully, with so much care shown in actually getting the General and Treasurer subdued without outright killing them, this region is sure to recover in due time. Even without the Treasurer balancing the books, having physical security from Desperado's forces stationed around the city will (eventually) become something more normal for the people living here, especially with Cantio acting as the public face bankrolling them. Medical aid and food distribution will continue in that built-up staging area as well, ensuring that the locals (generally) won't go without proper health care and enough nutritious food to fill their bellies. Once the General recovers and the Treasurer return, their egos will absolutely clash again, but this time with someone (new) around to actually keep them in check until they settle down. With any luck, that should be enough to get much needed work done from local faces to offset the need for the heavy Desperado presence. In time, the people here might even start to get access to those flying tubes Cantio brought, still piled high in that corner of the tower.