Alright! So, welcome to Wednesday. I’m having a crappy one, hopefully yours is going better. A couple weeks back, before his disappearance, Arrens asked Lore if she’d be willing to participate in a little revenge ploy again SI:7. Lore being Lore, was all over that. A few short, hushed discussions with Bricu later and what you see is what you get. Ironic? Possibly. A HUGE thanks to both Arrens and Bricu who were my co-conspirators on this. Amazing writers, the both of them. Enjoy!
The Silver Mirror is the house of ill-repute in a neighborhood known for ill-repute. Women and men, in various stages of undress, serve women and men, in varying stages of dress, a variety of goods and services. Tables can be made private by screens of paper and silk; however, for more intimate encounters, there are passages that lead to rooms for a variety of purposes.
In one corner of the room, a chamber orchestra, shielded by screens, played just loud enough to keep most conversations private. Miriam sat alone at the small bar, close to the hidden orchestra. Her profile was to the barkeep–a human male barely dressed in linens–so she could see almost as much as the barkeep himself. Miriam wore practical clothing–trousers, blouse and a men’s sport coat tailored for her frame–and she appeared to be the patron with the most clothes on.
Loreli sat across the room from Miriam. Tonight the rogue had chosen a table farther from the door than nights previous. She had one of the prettier human girls in her lap, but that was the extent of their interaction. Loreli had been paying the girl–and well–for the last hour or so to keep her company. Slipping the girl another couple of coins, Loreli patted her on the thigh.
“Run along.” The rogue told her. The girl gave her a pout, obviously having hoped for more. Loreli sighed and handed her another coin. It won her a grin as the girl headed off the find other, more willing prey.
Loreli leaned back in her chair, eyeing the room. She knew the layout of the Mirror well by now. She’d spent the better part of her last two evenings here. Evening one had been surveillance; of the Mirrior itself, it’s patrons and employees. Evening two had been surveillance of Miriam. It hadn’t taken Loreli long to spot her. Miriam stood out for a number of reasons. As for evening three…
“Show time.” Loreli whispered to herself, lithely getting up out of the chair. The almost see-through dress slid down her body, falling in jade folds to the floor. She could be patron or employee, it didn’t matter. She spotted a serving girl carrying a tray laden with two goblets of wine and moved to intercept.
“Oh! Oh dear, I’m so sorry!” Loreli exclaimed as she bumpped into the girl and wine tray. The rogue deftly caught both goblets without spilling a drop and set them back on the tray, “My sincerest apologies, I’ll be more careful in the future.” Loreli sketched a deep bow and noticed, out if the corner of her eye, Miriam watching the small disturbance. All according to plan.
Loreli wended her way through the room and took a seat at the bar. She glanced over at Miriam with a wink and a smile, “Good evening.”
“Good evening.” Miriam replied. Her tone was too clipped and her smile too friendly. Miriam took a sip of her wine. Loreli noticed that there was a small puddle of wine near Miriam, and that her blazer was a bit damp. Her clothes smelled of wine. She did not.
“You caught those goblets.” Miriam stated.
Loreli gave her a coy smile, “I did. Pretty neat, huh? I had good training.” She nodded to the bartender as he handed her a glass. “So, what brings you here tonight, honey?”
“Training?” Miriam turned towards Loreli. “I mean, I’m here… I’m…” Miriam leaned towards Loreli, “I’m here to learn more about how the other half lives.”
Loreli’s smile broadened slightly and she leaned forward to meet her, “Well then, I think you’ve come to the right place.” She straightened up, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face. She turned her head to the side, giving Miriam a look from the corner of her eyes, “Seen anything interesting so far?”
Miriam shook her head. “Most of the ‘interesting’ things thus far have been… licentious. Except… Well, between us, I think that table,” Miriam nodded to a table on the far side of the bar, “I think there’s a weapons deal going on there.”
Loreli nodded, giving Miriam an impressed look. It was feigned, she’d been watching these two herself and the one was beyond obvious. “Good eye.” She took a sip of her drink, “The man on the left has been supplying weapons to the Alliance army for years. Recently they’ve had to offer him less coin for his services due to most of the tax funds going to the war in Northrend. Hard times calling for desperate measures, he’s had to go outside his usual clientele.”
Miriam’s jaw started to drop, but she managed to bring her goblet up in time to hide some of the surprise. “How do you know this?”
Loreli shrugged, taking another drink from her glass, “It’s what I do. So many of us today are so caught up in ourselves and what we want. Those two over there will never notice me, except maybe as another pretty face. Even then, they’d just pass me off as another whore. It’s amazing what you can hear, when people look right past you.”
“Do you work here or are you working?” Miriam asked. She swiveled directly toward Loreli.
Loreli raised an eyebrow at her, “What do you think?” She turned around, to lean back against the bar, scanning the small crowd. The two men at the far table were still deep in discussion. The seller looked extremely unhappy, the buyer appeared to be in a hurry. She wondered if the blacksmith was upset because he was being short-changed, or bothered by having to deal with black-market traders. She couldn’t see his face and so couldn’t be certain.
“I don’t know.” Miriam said. She set the goblet down. “I want to know. I want to do these things. But you’re clever. You knew more at a glance than I did in an hour of studying.”
“It merely takes time. No one comes by these things naturally. It may be easier for some than others, but all need to be trained to see what’s hidden in even the most simple turn of the head.” She inclined her head to a lone man at a table by the door. “That man over there, he’s madly in love with the woman over there.” She indicated a draenei employee sharing her attention between a draenei male and a human woman. “He’s afraid to tell her, though. You can see it in his face. Eyebrows knit in anxiety, mouth twisted slightly in a pain he’s trying to hide, if you get closer, his hands shake.”
Loreli took another sip from her drink, “It’d never work.” she glanced at Miriam, “In case you’re wondering. She enjoys her work too much and he’s the jealous type.”
“I was wondering. The draenei still… well, they disturb me. Its… never mind. This is what its like in the field, isn’t it? Always working?”
Loreli nodded, “But help is help, no matter what corner the aid comes from.” She adjusted the skirt of her dress, “Even when you’re not ‘on duty’ you’re on duty. You can never stop watching, listening, analyzing. You miss things, people who miss things… don’t last long.”
“And how long have you lasted miss?” Miriam asked. She gave the room a quick sweep before meeting Loreli’s eyes again.
“I’ve been in the business a number of years. 759 to be exact, though, not nearly as long with my current employer.” A young human male wandered over leaning towards Loreli and whispering in her ear. Loreli gave him a low, husky laugh, brushing a hand across his cheek. “Come see me later.” She whispered, just loud enough for Miriam to hear.
Miriam sipped at her wine as the young man loitered over Loreli. “Is that part of the job too?”
Loreli’s profile gave Miriam an amused grin, she nodded to the young man and he moved back into the crowd. “To make others believe, you play the part so well, you almost believe it yourself.” She was quoting her step-father, but Miriam didn’t need to know that. “Sometimes the part involves tasks that seem unsavory or beneath us. But it’s not a choice, it’s a necessity.”
“I made choices like that for my family. I could make choices like that for my country. I need to.”
Loreli nodded, “I’m glad you feel that way.” the rogue hesitated, feeling conflicted. Miriam wasn’t a bad person. She was just misguided. If Loreli used her in this fashion it would most likely end in Seven eliminating the compromised asset. Could she put a (mostly) innocent in that position? She had, many times before. For Lyas, for Shaw. There was so much blood on her hands. She would just have to ensure the trail didn’t lead back to Miriam.
“I need your help with something.”
“I… ” Miriam paused. “I would love to. But I need to know who you are and who you work for.”
Loreli mentally swore, Miriam was better at this than she let on. She wracked her brain, she didn’t want to drop Shaw’s name, no one ever did that that was smart. She needed someone high up that Miriam couldn’t easily access, but would also probably be known to her. Jaylen would fit that description, but which name would he use. She took a gamble and hoped her usual luck–made and otherwise–held. She leaned towards Miriam, “I’m Jaren’s current errand girl. We’re…” she shifted her eyes, looking to the side, “…we’re sniffing out traitors, but I’ve hit a wall and he’s unreachable on another assignment at the moment. But you, I think you can help me.”
Miriam’s eyes lit up. She took another sip of her wine — Loreli knew her goblet was empty — before speaking. “Then,” Miriam whispered, “I am at your service.”
“Good good.” She got up out of her chair, “Come with me, I don’t want to chance speaking too candidly out here.” She headed for one of the back passages.
Miriam started to ask a question, but stopped as Loreli walked away. She counted to fifteen, paid her tip and walked out towards the other woman.
Loreli stepped into the room and waited for Miriam to follow before closing the door. She gestured Miriam to a chair and went to sit on the edge of the small bed.
Miriam entered past Loreli and sat down in the chair. “Are you a finger of Seven?”
Loreli nodded. She adjusted one of her hair pins before continuing, “We’ve been working on routing a turn-coat. We know someone is redirecting funds but so far I haven’t been able to track it back to the source. That’s where you come in, I need a list of all the benefactors coming out of Stormwind. I could go through the top, but seeing as this is from the inside, we want as few people to know as possible.”
Miriam nodded. “From which institutions? All of them… Is this why you approached me?” Miriam’s excitement bubbled through her questions. “Did you come here targeting me?!”
“Anything you can get me that comes through your hands would be appreciated. It’s a starting point and I can back-track from there. I guess you could say I targeted you. I knew there would be someone here but I didn’t know for sure who it was.” She watched Miriam out of the corner of her eye, continuing to gauge her reaction.
Miriam sighed and her shoulders slumped. “Oh. Well. There are some records I see daily. Financial transactions. Inventory. I could find more accounts though…”
“Brilliant! Get me the names of anyone you know who is or you suspect of providing financial support. I can take it from there.” Loreli said.
“So far, everything I’ve seen is above board at The Grove. I do see most of it. What should I be looking for?”
“I’d stay away from anything too large in amount. Anything substantial but not too substantial that gets parceled out. Anything that makes extra transfer jumps after it leave your hands… anything that strikes you as a little out of the ordinary. Find what you can and meet me here tomorrow?”
Miriam nodded. “I stay late some nights anyway. I can go over the books closely and have information back to you then.”
“Perfect. Tomorrow then. Now, take off your jacket there and muss your hair a bit. It’ll look a tad off if we walk outta’ here in perfect condition.” She pulled the pins from her hair and gathered the whole thing, adeptly piling it on top of her had and pinning it back in place. It did exactly what it was meant to do. Made it appear as if she had put it up in haste after a tryst. She got up and twisted her dress just a hair, then put a hand on the door handle waiting for Miriam.
Miriam took off her jacket and started to mess her hair. She undid the top three buttons of her blouse and then redid them out of order. “Sloppy enough?” She asked.
Loreli chuckled and inclined her head, not having to feign being impressed this time. She found herself liking Miriam just a little bit. The other woman was quick and listened well. “Perfect.” She opened the door, “After you.”
Miriam pinched her cheeks and rubbed at her eyes. By the time she reached the door, her face was flush and she had a rather convincing out-of-breath sound going. “Tomorrow then?”
Loreli nodded, “Tomorrow around the same time.” She opened the door and ushered Miriam into the the hallway and back into the main room.
They got a few intrigued and amused looks from the less than discreet patrons. Loreli gave her smile, touching Miriam’s hair briefly before turning. The young man from earlier caught Loreli’s arm and she gave him a nod before they disappeared back into the passage again.
Make yourself believe… Loreli quoted to herself.
***
Jebediaeh stood outside The Silver Mirror staring at the door. He glanced over his shoulder but the street behind him was empty. He was nervous, a little anxious about this; but well, it’d been a while and he’d heard some pretty interesting stories about the ladies working at the Mirror. With a gulp and a deep breath, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
***
Loreli came out of one of the Mirror’s back passages a while later. Miriaim was gone and that was alright by her. She was planning her exit when she spotted a young man just coming in the door. He practically screamed SI:7. It was a tough transition from new recruit to operative. Part of being Seven was not announcing you were, with how you carried yourself. She could tell he had the potential to change that though. Changing course, Loreli intercepted him on his way towards the bar.
Jeb’s eyes wandered the full length of the the rather tall night elf standing before him. The dress she was wearing didn’t hide much and that was quite alright by him. He did manage to scan the room for anyone he knew before returning his attention to her.
Loreli gave him a smile and a quick wink from under the small brimmed decorative hat she’d pulled down low over one side of her face. It was an odd fashion trend the nobles had started adopting that one of the other girls had insisted she try. She said it made her look ‘mysterious’ and ‘exotic’. Loreli had laughed and let her have at it.
Jeb seemed to find his voice, “Hey, little lady. You Ilarra Stormrunner?”
Luckily for me, Ilarra is out today. Loreli took a step closer to him, giving only a moment for her body heat and the scent of her perfume to hit him. “I might be. What can I do for you?”
Jeb found himself slightly caught off guard by the questions. Why else would he be here? What else did they do here? He shook the thought from his head. He shouldn’t be gone too long. “I’m… uh… Well shucks, ma’am… I ain’t ever done nothin’ like this before…”
Loreli couldn’t help but find his awkward demeanor slightly endearing. Stay focused! Unacceptable! She told herself. She forced a slight chuckle, “It’s alright.” She said, watching as he began to turn crimson. “We inquire of everyone. Some patrons have very particular tastes.”
“So ya are her, aincha?” He asked, craning his neck to try and peer through the shadows the hat cast across her features.
Loreli nodded, flashing him another smile, “And anyone else you want me to be.”
Jeb’s grin threatened to split his entire face in twain, “Aw, hot damn! Is it true then? You can do things… like…” He brought his hands up wiggling his fingers at her. “Magic things?”
Loreli rolled her eyes, under the hat. If you only knew, farm boy. Yet, she managed to keep her smile in place and inviting. “Just one of my many talents.”
“Hoo boy! The boys ain’t never gonna believe this when I tell em…” he stopped abruptly, the blush reaching all the way to the tops of his ears. “I mean… beg your pardon, ma’am.”
Loreli almost felt sorry for the poor kid but business was business. “Oh, don’t you worry your adorable little head about it. Say whatever you like, I’m here to please.”
His coloring was beginning to resemble that of a very ripe apple or cherry. “So… uh… I mean…” He looked away from her, glanced back out of the corner of his eye, “How do we go about… I mean… Is there… like… a place? Or a payment kinda thingy I should be worryin’ about?”
Loreli waved a hand nonchalantly, “Oh! For you, because you’re so cute, first time’s at no charge.”
She’d thought his grin couldn’t get bigger but it did. He snapped his fingers in a celebratory gesture with a slight turn of his head, “Hot dog! Thank ya, ma’am!” He sobered slightly, “So, uh… right here?”
Loreli bit back a sigh. This was proving to be worse than the episode with the Lord’s son who’d gotten a bit overzealous and broken his nose against her shoulder. All she’d been after was the name of their ore supplier out of the Barrens and perhaps the key to their rather well stocked lock box. Instead, she’d ended up providing her ’services’ to the Lord and leaving empty handed. Neither had gone over well with Lyas.
“No no. We’ve got a couple of rooms in the back. We’ll choose one that suits your fancy.” Loreli said.
“My fancy ma’am? Hell, I don’t need nothin’ fancy.” He insisted.
Loreli laughed again, “Still, I’m sure you’d prefer not to be in view of the rest of the patrons.”
“Ma’am, if you were ta ask the boys down at headquarters, they’d prolly tell ya I ain’t got no shame.”
Loreli tilted her head with a slight shrug, “Oh, trust me. I can do things that’ll make you blush like a school girl.” She gave him a wicked grin.
Jeb slapped his knee enthusiastically, “Then let’s get started, ma’am! I gotta get back to work here before too long. Can’t have the boss man askin’ where I was all danged night.”
Loreli nodded, stepping forward and taking both his hands in hers. She gently pulled him along towards one of the back hallways.
He looked around with slightly wide eyes, “Hot dog, ma’am! You sure this ain’t gonna get me in trouble with my boss?”
Loreli shook her head, drawing him after her into one of the lavish rooms and closing the door. “Not at all.” She turned around to face him and he graced her with a conspiratorial grin. That was when Loreli grabbed the collar of his shirt and threw him onto the bed, placing a dagger to his throat. “Now, here’s how this is going to go…”
Jeb blinked up at her, “Whoa! This ain’t what I had in mind, ma’am!” He insisted, trying to shove her off him.
“I’d imagine not. But, honey, you’re on the inside and I need someone on the inside. So, we’re going to chat here for a little bit, I’m going to send you back to your boss and we’re going to meet up again tomorrow and you’re going to tell me what you can.” She said, not letting up on the dagger in the slightest. “And if you don’t show up, know I will find you. Also know that I can kill you in about thirty different ways and that’s just with my bare hands.”
Jeb’s eyes widened a little further and the resulting gulp was both audible and visible. “Wait one gosh-darned minute! Whatddya want from me? I’m a nobody! I ain’t even been out in the field yet.”
Loreli scowled at him, “Because right now, all I need is information. Anything that maybe be useful. They’ll never suspect you.” You seem to stupid to be a turncoat.
“Hang on, little lady…” He pulled an arm free and swiped it at her head, knocking her hat off. He stared at her, mouth agape, “Sweet jumpin’ jehosophat! You’re…”
Loreli blinked, surprised by the move and that she didn’t kill him for it.
“You’re that one that Jaylen’s been after! You ain’t Stormrunner!”
Loreli swore vehemently and pushed the dagger a little further into his throat, “That was a very bad idea.” She snarled.
“Now hang on a second? What kind of information do ya want?”
“Do you know where Jaylen is right now?”
Jeb started to shake his head, then thought better of it, “No. He kinda comes and goes when he wants. Or when the boss says so. And well…” He paused, “Truth be told, ma’am, he’s kinda a dick.”
Loreli couldn’t help but chuckle at that, “Yeah, tell me about it. Does ‘Channi’ mean anything to you?”
“Only heard it. Dunno who or what a Channi is.”
Loreli narrowed her eyes, “Can you remember anything specifically said in that regard?”
“Heard him tellin’ the boss about a Channi being up in Northrend. Can’t get more specific than that, ma’am.”
Loreli nodded, relaxing the pressure on the blade at his throat slightly, “Good. I’m going to let you up now. Go back, try and find out where Jaylen is. Meet me here tomorrow. Got it?”
Jeb eyed her incredulously, “Now you hang on there, missy. Look, I’ll help. I ain’t got no love for those bastards. I can be useful, ya see? But they don’t. And I’m riskin’ life and limb ta help ya out.” He waited a moment, making sure she was paying attention. “So, I want some kind of protection when this is all over. ‘Cause frankly ma’am, the idea of a six foot hole in the middle of the Tanaris desert don’t sound so appealin’ ta me.”
Loreli nodded slightly. Fair was fair. “That can be arranged.”
Jeb nodded, though slowly and mindful of the blade. “Good. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. Right?” He gave her another mischievous grin.
“As long as you keep your end of the bargain.” Loreli said, unamused this time.
“Oh, don’t worry about me, ma’am. I can get things for ya. But if they find out I’m the one that took ‘em… Well… You know how they operate.”
Loreli nodded appreciatively, “Good, I’d prefer you knew the risks.”
“Yeah, ’spose I do. But, before I go… Ya think… maybe… um… ” Despite his precarious position he blushed a deep crimson.
Loreli had to make no guesses as to what he was getting at. She leaned down, here face only inches from his, “If you show back up here tomorrow with something useful, yes.”
“Well slather me in pig sweat! You bet your ass I’ll be here tomorrow, ma’am.”
Loreli laughed softly, shaking her head. She got up, keeping close watch on him for any sudden moves. He sat up, watching her just as warily as she watched him.
“So… I can go, right? I ain’t gonna catch a dagger between the shoulder blades?”
Loreli nodded, “Not from me, at least.”
He’d made it to the door by that point, fumbling for the handle, refusing to turn his back to her.
“Alright. Thanks, ma’am. I’ll be here. Promise.”