Running Gun [Reida, Orion]

Boy, shit sure was busy lately. Reida didn't necessarily mind the work or anything like that, but she'd be lying if she said all of it was the kind of thing she really liked to do. Paperwork was pilin' up these days ever since she'd popped the last guy in the head, and she still didn't have a replacement on that one. Ugh...maybe she oughta put in for a promotion. Shrugging to herself as she took a swig from her flask, Reida returned her attention to the dossier she'd been looking over.

This Orion fellow seemed interesting. The sort of person she would have talked to even if she wasn't the one working to get him reoriented for work. Knocking on the door to the man's office, she offered a brief, professional call from outside.

"Heya, Mr. Freishutz? Name's Reida Ray Copeland, I'm here ta talk about a few upcomin' assignments."

Heya? An odd way to begin an introduction, but the tone of voice, drawl, and feminine vocals told him exactly who has come. Before he signals for her to enter however, he first rearranged the papers on his desk, placing his documents into sections based on their contents. Lacking sufficient work because of his starting position, it did not take him long at all, exactly five seconds to be exact. Now, he feels fit to let the other Coordinator into his office.

"Come in, Miss Copeland."

She'd discern nothing from his voice, no trace of worry, excitement, or accent. His appearance, on the other hand, is that of a busy individual. His eyes bore dark wrinkles under them, his chin shrubbed by a light coating of hair. His long black hair stayed tied behind his head, a messy bun barely kempt. He is a person used to being out in the wild for days without basic necessities. Dress up is somewhat foreign to him. However, he met Reida head-on, his eyes meeting her one, his expression lacking.

"Have a seat. Let us begin."

Right to business then, huh? Well, it wasn't like Reida'd just come here for a casual chat in the first place, so she wasn't too bothered by it. She took a seat opposite Orion, drinking once more from her flask before her attitude grew more serious, matching their conversation.

"Ain't no secret that we'll be seein' more work by that hole over in Africa, but that's not really the kinda work we focus on in the Todgestalten as much. Whatcha know about the Duvalier Group?"

After all, that was still one of the primary fields of interest for their particular branch of the Vandenreich. The roots of that corporation ran deep, but how deep? It was nearly impossible to know just at a glance, and she was at the point where it was certain her own squad of specialists wasn't gonna cut it.

"The hole is being handled by the Sternritter, yes. Their field training is better suited for widescale conflict. Our men have done their job of reconnaissance," He stated, making his thoughts on the matter known in a straightforward manner.

To him, their job is done. Now it is up to the other Divisions to do what they were created to do. Reida is right on one thing though. Their attention should be focused on what is to come from this fiasco, and the Duvalier Group will surely see the compromised planet as an excuse to spread their influence even further. Those rats are already populating too much of the planet in his opinion, but personal thoughts are best left out of official duty.

"You already know of Project Legion. They burned a lot of their files during the raid, but there were still records of their transactions with the Duvalier Group. None of it details what was bought, but knowing what they were up to, nothing good."

Surely, Reida already knows most of what he's rambling about. Orion has no feelings regarding the matter. To him, these transactions are normal. What reason would Claudia have to not sell to potential buyers, especially if she's clueless to what Legion was doing with that technology. However, the woman's clones tell a lot of their mother. It is clear she knows much about manipulating the world to her benefit, and maybe Legion was just another piece on her chess board at the time.

"I have yet to read the reports of your interviews. You may begin debriefing, if you wish."

Reida liked how professional this fella was. Not everyone in the Vandenreich could be so straightforward, and Orion was laying out all the facts without her needing to deal with inane smalltalk, or trying to pry stuff out of him. Fiddling with her braid for a moment as she thought through all her interviews, Reida decided to start with the most complicated of them.

"Eliane seems like the closest they've got to a leader, even if I'm not sure any of 'em'd say that. She's smart, seems like she's always hidin' somethin' or thinkin' a whole lot further ahead.The intel she brought was good, and she brought a hell of a lot of it. God knows it took a while for us to make sure it was all on the level. Can't tell what she even wants comin' here. She says she just wants to take down them Duvalier, but I dunno if it's quite that easy to believe 'er."

Shrugging, Reida took a sip from her flask, though her focus was clearly still on the conversation at hand. This was certainly one of the more complicated issues she'd handled as of late, so she needed to be at her best. That, unfortunately, meant she needed a little bit of mental lubrication. Get those stray thoughts out of the way.

"Push her. If she wants more out of us, we will have more out of her. Despite what we have against her, Miss Duvalier is still a leading supplier of countless nations. Toppling her means the world stands still. If our client cannot provide meaningful answers to the unavoidable recession, then our hands are tied."

Orion did not put it lightly. Even if he hated the facts, he cannot deny them. Going against Claudia meant going against the world. The Vandenreich, itself, is also reliant on the woman. The fact they are receiving supplies still despite what they've been up to is proof enough that Claudia feels little threat from them. Even with these clones, they have practically nothing but ignorable evidence. Hell. If push came to shove, revealing any of this to the public could just start another World War with how ingrained in society the Duvalier are.

"Now, onto why our client wants to topple her mother. Obviously, she seems the only one entirely willing to face the economic giant. Be it control over her life, control over the empire, or just a bout of disobedience you see in children make her tell you the details of the why and how. Again, without a suitable answer, this case is as good as closed. I'm not in the mood to replace one evil with another, especially of the same breed."

"Yeah, I've had the same thought. Don't quite make sense that the Duvalier Group's still working the same as always even with everything happenin' here. Dunno. Think either these girls are just doin' what their boss says, or they just don't have as much as they think they do. Could be either one, and both're bad enough that I ain't plannin' to discount either."

It didn't entirely add up, but this kind of thing wasn't what Reida usually handled. It was all very political, very corporate, with much bigger ramifications than she typically touched on. Her squad usually just handled that under the table sort of work, the kind of assignments that you needed to work alone for so you had plausible deniability on whatever your methods were. Something this public? Rubbed her the wrong way.

"Arlette seems like she's willin' to actually join the Vandenreich, and seein' as she's the first one to leave, I'm more inclined to believe her. By now she coulda done plenty of damage, probably more'n she'd be able to do by waiting til now. Eliane, I dunno. We'll have to run her through the ringer, but it's gonna bite us in the ass if we push a perfectly good asset into resentment. What a mess."

"Chess and checkers. Everyone's playing games, and we're forced to referee."

His mood clearly cascading as their conversation continued, Orion couldn't help but wonder the end of this. Claudia has made no major moves against them outside of a few splinter cell operations. If the woman really wished, she could easily campaign against the Vandenreich. Her web is vast and deep. Yet, here they are playing cat and mouse, no leads besides what a clone deems worth sharing.

"Make Eliane is actually an asset. Vermin are known for being impossible to remove once roosted. As it stands, everything we have has the possibility of blowing up in our faces. As much as it feels we have some headway, we're still 100 steps behind."

And, that's just the fact of the matter, but as it stands, there is little left to discuss. They are simply ruminating on almost uncontrollable things placed on their desks. In the end, only time will tell what comes and if they've done everything the could have to push the tides favorably in their direction.