The Devil You Still Know [Alastair, Eliane]

The matter of the Ovide siblings was not one that could simply be unthreaded in a single afternoon if it could ever truly be solved. They had been used like Claudia much as he had, pawns upon a far greater chessboard, and, though he had reclaimed his agency, he could not fully believe that her hold upon the women would simply vanish along with Lady Duvalier herself. Two of them were prisoners, another only avoided that treatment on the merit of an uncharacteristic bout of good behaviour, and even the best of the bunch was not free of bloodstained hands.

Still, Alastair felt no small amount of responsibility for them now that Claudia was gone. Not that he expected any of them to turn to him as their newfound salvation, but they were a part of her legacy and he would not let it all fall to ruin if he could avoid it. His better judgment called for caution, to let the dust settle and then sweep in to take care of what was left without any risk of falling into some kind of trap, but he did not have the luxury of time. That meant he would have to talk to her.

Sitting alone in the meeting room, a small corner office without much of a view into the city due to the surrounding buildings, he waited for Eliane to arrive as he whittled away at some paperwork. Nothing important enough that he wouldn't mind her catching a glance, but the operation in Africa had given him a small mountain of the stuff. The building was quiet now, the sun setting off beyond the horizon, so she would have to make do without an audience if she had any wish for one, but he had made sure that her security detail was at full strength just in case. The last thing he needed was a second Castello Aragonese.

The notion of being asked to meet with Alastair certainly elucidated all manner of ways to toy with him in Eliane's head. How she might dress, how she might act, what choice of words there was to use–all thoughts that she simply endured, and pushed to the back of her mind, unaddressed and unfulfilled. She certainly would have been happier to indulge in all that, particularly with Alastair of all people, but it would have been for nothing, the briefest entertainment in exchange for the trust being built in her and her sisters, for the possibility of becoming something that even Arlette seemed to think she could be.

But Eliane, at the end of the day, was no optimist. She wasn't exactly a pessimist either, because she lived far too in the here and now to put much thought into how things would turn out. In these circumstances, maybe that was for the best. She knocked lightly, almost playfully, on the door to Alastair's office, and entered with the same ethereal smile that always graced her lips.

"Good evening, Mr. Eisfluch. You called?"

Alastair knew little of this Eliane's newfound bid for self-improvement, and yet it would have changed little in how he thought of her. What else was there to think when it came to her? He knew what had made her, how it shaped her into something that could well be called monstrous, yet he strove to see that spark of goodness as he did in everyone. That deep-set belief in the propensity for defying one's nature. Not that Eliane had shown him anything of the sort yet, beyond choosing to leave Duvalier's employ on her own terms, but his resolve was not shaken.

"I did, Ms. Eliane, because enough time has passed since the events in Italy and Africa that we should talk about where we stand."

He began to file away the paperwork, neatly tidying it into a folder before sliding it into a briefcase and out of sight. There was no need for formalities between them, the illusion of building any further rapport was hardly necessary in their positions, so it was brushed past without much of a passing thought. This was a business meeting, after all, not an interrogation.

"Claudia Duvalier is dead, the Duvalier Group and its subsidiaries fragmented into a dozen lesser entities, and most of the insanity that it harbored now scattered to the wind. I know that you - alongside Ms. Antonetta, Arlette, and Wolfina - have been given sizable pieces of this but communities were relying on infrastructure that now exists solely on paper. Forgive me for being heavyhanded, but I want to bring everything I can under the Vandenreich umbrella and avoid losing the progress that was hard fought for these past few years."

"Indeed we should."

Eliane knew it would have been perfectly within reason for her to be forgotten after what had happened. Given what had been given to her after Claudia's death, however, she supposed there was no ignoring it. The statement of Alastair's intention gave her the briefest pause, and after a moment, her smile grew just the faintest touch. She found it almost endearing to hear such a thing, that he was so willing to transparently state what he wanted.

"There are probably a lot of people mourning the loss, if I had to guess. She did a lot to keep up appearances. Some people might even say she was ultimately a good person because of all that, but that seems like it might be a bit too consequentialist of a viewpoint for you to agree with. Regardless, you'd like me to give up my inheritance? That's fine."

She had no use for any of what Claudia had given her. Giving it up to make this process go more smoothly was a perfectly acceptable price to pay. Of course, she couldn't, and wouldn't, make her sisters do the same.

It did not particularly surprise Alastair that Eliane was prepared to yield that which had been left to her by Claudia, she had made quite clear her opinions of the woman and her desire to stand separately was understandable. Still, no smile came to his features as it did hers.

"Would that I had the time to mourn alongside them, but that is a luxury that we do not have. All the public work that Ms. Duvalier did is what I intend to carry on and expand, so perhaps many will only ever see her through that lens. I certainly have no reason to take that away from her, for it would only harm innocent people's lives. So, thank you."

The concept of the quality of Claudia's character was certainly one that he expected her to mention, it was certainly true that in actuality she could not be viewed as a good person but that did not mean that the scales tipped entirely the other way. He did wonder if Claudia had told anyone about her final decision, that at least some part of her had agreed to work with him as directly as he had offered Eliane, and if that had played any part in what had happened. Another burden better for him to bear alone.

"I will be asking the same of the others, but do you know of any stumbling blocks that I might find along the way?"

"There will be plenty. I don't think Arlette is willing to hand off control to anyone, not even you. That's just how she is, you know. Very self-assured. Wolfina and Antonetta were more in her claws than Arlette and I ever were, Antonetta especially. They might have some attachment to what was left to them by their 'mother,' and forcing them to give it up is only going to breed resentment. Cause bad blood. Which brings me to a second point."

Eliane's posture shifted to one a bit more relaxed, though the way she angled her body seemed to come across as almost naturally alluring. The reality was that she simply naturally acted that way, one more consequence of her creation. Her smile didn't falter, regardless of the topic, and she rested her fingers gently against her chin as she continued.

"These companies won't be so easily brought to heel as you might like. Their sins weren't just Claudia making them dance to her tune, you know. She used them because she knew they would do the job. Her death might have taken away the one pulling all the strings, but the puppets would have danced like that no matter what. Do you think you can keep those sorts around without consequence?"

She'd dealt with countless pieces of the Duvalier Group in her time, after all. Some were simply diehard capitalists unconcerned with ethics, who would have done nearly anything for the bottom line. Others were simply willing to pursue their work out of passion, and had no regard for the lives of others. And, of course, there were those few truly dangerous ones, the researchers and overseers who went along with Claudia's plans for love of the job.

They were all still around, and Eliane was remarkably intrigued how he thought to deal with them.

“Antonetta and Wolfina resent me already, I cannot imagine they have gained any particular care for me since. Both planned to eliminate me, whether on Lady Duvalier’s order or not, and are criminals now more than simply political prisoners.”

Alastair was all too used to Eliane’s tactile positioning, her natural predilection towards using her body to get what she wanted. Perhaps it was this level of familiarity that he know held her in that meant it also washed over him without comment or change. He continued as he had before, a neutral expression given energy only by his pointed stare.

“There will be consequences and complications, I am under no illusion that it will be a seamless process, but that is hardly reason alone not to try. The Vandenreich will change, these companies will change, and people will always stand in my way. Not everyone can be appeased, but I will do what it takes.”

He had spent enough time researching various wings of the Duvalier Group in the past few years to understand how entirely capitalist it was. Those were the people he could likely deal with, for they would fall in line if he continued to represent his goals as the profitable angle. It was everything else that was being dragged to the surface now that would take a firmer hand. The scope of Claudia’s machinations were no doubt broader than he could even imagine, but Alastair’s purpose was righteous. It was a desire that burned within him like an inferno now, the flames of ambition thoroughly stoked.

The descriptor of her sisters was enough for even Eliane's constant smile to fall visibly, the corners of her mouth still upturned, but markedly less so. She knew that much, of course. She was under no illusions otherwise. But she also understood the weight that was on all of their shoulders, and what it was that both she and Arlette had done to try and ease that tension.

"It isn't really about resentment. I don't know how your talks with Arlette have gone, and I'm sure you won't tell me if it's a major problem that I know, but surely there's some merit to bringing their holdings in under South Pacific Logistics, yes? There are ways to get this under your oversight that don't demand it be taken completely away. Arlette might have her own problems when it comes to those two, but... Well, you know how she is. She isn't going to give up on them any more than I am."

Sighing melodramatically, Eliane studied Alastair's expression without much intensity, curiosity behind her eyes more than anything. This wasn't the same man she'd picked on in the elevator in Vastime.

"Well, of course we at South Pacific Logistics are here to help facilitate all of that. Whether that means handling the dull minutiae of the corporate side, or dealing with the parts of any corporate takeover that might not look good on the Vandenreich's public record. Not that we would do anything you'd disapprove of."

After all, that was what she had transparently offered when she agreed to help the Vandenreich. She understood what she was, and so did Alastair. No one was more qualified to get their hands dirty to prevent others from needing to.

There it was, the darker underbelly that Alastair had expected her to reveal eventually. It was not like the revelation shocked him, he had guided the conversation here knowing that this was a likely outcome, but he almost found her openness about it satisfying. That they shared some mutual understanding, despite who they were, and understood what roles to play.

"If you can convince them to agree to collaborate with us, then I think that will be an agreeable compromise. Else I will have to tie down those assets in an arduous legal battle that will truly do no one any good. Cooperation now, even after all that has come before it, could also be beneficial when the time comes to pass judgment on their actions. Regardless, I will not tip the scales and will endeavor to see that they are tried fairly."

He was hardly a trained lawyer, but it did not take a genius to know that both Antonetta and Wolfina would need any help they could get if they ever expected to be free again. Such was the degree of punishment when the charges amounted to terrorism.

"Those companies that would tarnish the Vandenreich's reputation are those that will have to be eliminated. Though it would undoubtedly be easier to hand them over to you, please understand that is something I would be unwilling to compromise on even if I had a deeper trust in you. We will remove the Duvalier Group's malignant tumors, and fold the rest in legitimately. If you deem it beneficial for South Pacific Logistics to involve itself then we can make the necessary arrangements, but I will tolerate no deception."

"I'll see what I can do. Not that I can necessarily make any promises, but I like to think Arlette and I have been making headway. I'm sure you heard about Arlette's insistence she be put back into captivity until she could have her home made into a suitable holding facility. She's very insistent on making the closest thing to a home for the three of them. If I know the two of them, that should help."

There was a faint lie in that statement, but not one that Eliane felt mattered for this particular conversation. Arlette's actual intention was for the four of them, but Eliane didn't think she quite fit in there, or that she belonged there even if she could fit in. Solitary was better for her.

"But if you look at these companies in such a black and white way, Alastair, you're going to find yourself disappointed. The Duvalier Group is a web, and every company, one way or another, ties back into that evil. And, in the same way, you're going to find a lot of good people and good work being done even in a place like Carrington. Some of the brightest and most good-natured people I've ever dealt with were working in the medical research facilities."