24991116 | 0015
EVECorp Tower | EuroCorp CBD | City 03
48° 51' 52.9776'' N
2° 20' 56.4504'' E
“Shirley, a moment?” Morgana le Fay said, turning to the others, “you have your orders.”
The other three Agents filed out; Shirley waited until they closed the door.
A moment of silence passed between the two women.
“The mural on your wall is ugly,” Shirley spoke up, flicking her shades off as her lips curved into a slight smile.
“I knew you’ll say that.” Morgana beamed as she dropped her icy fa?ade, “come here, darling.”
The two women came close and embraced, they greeted each other faire la bise, a greeting reminiscent of the Old World they cherished.
“How is your Chateau?” the Executive asked as they headed to the lounge in her office. She turned to her butler, who dutifully attended the two ladies, “Walter, something from my reserves.”
“The restoration work is going very well, your contractors are most diligent,” Shirley replied as she seated herself upon the lounge chair.
Real leather, Shirley loved it feel of it, she can tell the difference between synthetic hide and the genuine article. There are some things nature had perfected that humanity have yet to replicate.
“They should, darling,” Morgana smiled, “they are paid very well.”
Walter returned with a chilled bottle and two crystal glasses.
“Milady,” the manservant said in greetings as he uncorked the bottle and poured a measure of the wine, “lovely as ever.”
“Good to see you too, Walter,” Shirley replied, she lifted the glass and took a sip, “Rosé? Thank you, Walter.”
“Ever the perfect gentleman, our dear Walter,” Morgana remarked as said as the butler filled her glass.
Walter smiled and left the two women to their conversation.
With a gesture, the holographic projector from upon the table hummed to life, displaying the three-dimensional wireframe of the abode in which Shirley currently resides.
“I took the Chateau de Fontainebleau off the slated auction block in Neo-Tokyo,” Morgana said as she gestured at the accurately depicted model, Shirley looked on patiently, “Muramasa Industries recently botched a transaction in City 34.” She smiled coldly, as a snake who ate her fill, “our London branch clinched the Tier 1 Prime Contract off the Japanese. They were slow and we were quicker to seize the opportunity.”
Seeing no reply forthcoming from her companion, the Executive took a sip from her glass before continuing with a smile, “Saito reached out to me, offering me an exclusive contract to offload the futures Muramasa purchased, to mitigate their losses. I asked him to throw in the Chateau de Fontainebleau that Muramasa procured two decades ago and to restore it to its ancestral site, at their cost.”
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“He agrees, naturally.” Shirley remarked, holding out her glass for a congratulatory toast.
Their glass clinked, “of course.” Morgana replied, “thanks to you. The Chateau de Fontainebleau has been liberated from the Japanese. They have no appreciation for neither its art, nor its history. I heard it sat, unattended, along with thousands of other treasures, in Saito’s personal storehouse.”
“Barbaric,” Shirley said, “to treat a relic of the Old World thus.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, darling. Saito fancies himself a patron of the arts, and I have no doubt he does appreciate its beauty and heritage.” Morgana said with a smile, brushing her hand affectionately and lightly over Shirley’s chin. She placed an arm over her companion’s shoulder, “but I think you would appreciate it more.”
Le Fay leaned in and the seated woman opened her lips invitingly.
When they broke, Morgana smiled, “It’s yours, my darling, you like what I’ve done to the place?”
Shirley smiled, her smile said it all.
The executive took a seat next to her.
The holographic wireframe model flickered as the manor was being updated in real-time, with numbers and estimates, along with a list of inventories of all the modifications, the scheduled time and the EVECorp-designated personnel currently overseeing the project.
Morgana wanted the Chateau restored as soon as possible, and her retinue of staff were on it.
The crew was working around the clock, as the EVECorp have demanded.
EVECorp Preservation & Heritage Branch is currently lobbying to have the Chateau listed as a EUNESCO Heritage Site, to prevent further corporate plundering or transactions.
Shirley smiled, “It is a lovely gift. Thank you, Executive.”
“Executive… so formal,” Morgana pouted.
“Thank you, dear.” Shirley grinned, teasingly.
Morgana laughed, “you earned it, you were instrumental in the raid, you should get something out of it.”
A light-hearted moment; one albeit all too rare for these two women.
One they intend to make the most out of.
Morgana bade Walter to keep the wine coming.
So the girls sip expensive wine, sift through the DreamWeb stores and popped into the InterEx to select furnishing and lighting selection for the Chateau and chatting about inconsequential things.
They did what every normal citizen of the world did, shopping for designer clothes, bejewelled ornaments and accessories, anything their hearts fancied.
24991116 | 0242
EVECorp Tower | EuroCorp CBD | City 03
48° 51' 52.9776'' N
2° 20' 56.4504'' E
Two hours and six bottles of Rosé later, Morgana was slightly tipsy with her slightly-puffy cheeks and carefree demeanour; a state any EVECorp executive would be caught dead in with the exception her current companion.
Meanwhile, Shirley coolly drained the last bit of wine from her glass, she looked as unblemished as she just walked in fresh.
If she was affected by the copious amount of alcohol, she did not show it.
The digital chrono flashed 2:42am, the wireframe model depicting the Chateau keep updating with every new changes.
Morgana has been sitting silent for the past eight minutes, letting her body work through the effects of the alcohol.
She stood up and stretched, before saying, “I got something for you.”
“Another construction project to oversee?” Shirley said teasingly.
“Not exactly,” Morgana replied, her casual demeanour evaporated, “Eve.”
Good evening, Executive le Fay, Enforcer Tempess. The digital A.I of EVECorp, codename EVE, came to life.
At a thought, the holographic projector shimmered, dismissing the wireframe model and in turn displaying thousands upon still and video footages.
Shirley sat up immediately, she flicked a few images and holo-video away and emphasized a selected few.
Pulled from the City’s Security and drone surveillance cam footages, authenticated and verified. EVE continued,
“What do you think?” Morgana spoke up.
“How old is this?” Shirley asked EVE, her expression grim.
“Some are days, some are mere hours,” saying so, Morgana brought up and highlighted the ones with the latest timestamps.
Shirley scanned the images for a moment, “it’s him.”
“You sure?”
Shirley reached out again, and amplified certain key footages and images, “EVE, authenticate.”
Authenticity 98.9% Digital Genetic match. Church Templar matched the profile: Codename X, AWOL Year 2429 March 15. Status: Rogue.
“It is him then?” Morgana asked rhetorically.
“Yes, visual confirmation,” she ascertained, it is him.”
“Receive, then, your directive,” the Executive said as her Enforcer look up to her, “Go get him, Tempess.”
Shirley stood up and departed without another word.
Morgana stared at the still image.
All of the footages show one man in Church regalia.
Harbinger 03.
