Trade Agreements? [Kasha, Ovide #1]

The first few days had been spent assessing the list. It was smaller than he expected but it made sense. The Gotei's primary interest in exchange with the living world was economic freedom from the aristocracy. The only groups that he determined trade with was the Duvalier Group, established by Captain-Commander Kyoraku. He imagined Lady Kyoraku had done so due to trusting the Vastime-based conglomerate and the African country was one of the few that had a technological level that was mutually beneficial beyond funding.

Japan was the other with the growth that happened being the centre of so many conflicts. Much of Asia was too unstable except Russia but the country did not engage as much in trade as much as being allied. South America and Australia had very little to offer and North America was too unstable after World War Four to be considered. That made the Vandenreich the representative but they seemed to benefit more from exporting to the Vandenreich, not importing.

He had opted take it upon himself to tackle that matter though. Specifically the Duvalier Group. They did have import and export agreements which had not been followed up since Ms. Duvalier's death. It still operated but Kasha couldn't determine who was at the helm. It posed a security risk in the future regardless of whether it was a present or past one. So he was seeking Ms. Duvalier's children. The four young women who were apparently her daughters.

Meeting with people was, in theory, something that Arlette probably would have been expected to do. However, the reality was that Eliane was simply more suited to this sort of public relations work. She knew people better, understood how they ticked. Besides, she wanted the experience of dealing with other people, and this would be as good as any. Walking into the front office with a clipboard in hand, looking for all the world like a typical office lady, Eliane greeted their visitor with a smile that she sincerely hoped looked genuine.

"Mr. Koizumi? I'm Eliane Ovide, I'm here to answer your questions today. We can step into my office, if that's alright?"

By all accounts, it was the sort of friendly personality that anyone would like to see. Was it genuine? Not really. She didn't quite feel any of it, but it was better than acting the way she normally might.

Excellent. He was happy to wait as long as necessary. Patience was one of his strengths in matters such as this. No sooner did she appear were his eyes assessing her. This was one of the women of interest that Kasha wanted to meet with, not just in regards to this investigation but also for the broader benefits of the Gotei United's trade agreements.

"Of course and I'm glad to hear! You can just call me Kasha, it's nice to meet you. I don't often get to come down to Earth, it's really pretty down here."

He said with a much chirpier voice than he carried, if he reduced the formality he hoped that she might lower her guard a bit by the way he came off more naïve than the extent of his awareness. So he stood up and followed the woman. Those were some peculiar scars. He might want to keep his eye on those but he had plenty of time for that. Once he got seated with her, Kasha was going to get right into business.

Now that was much more cheerful than Eliane would have expected any visitor to be. She supposed that was just one more example of her expecting too little of others, though. Inviting Kasha into her office, Eliane gestured to the seat opposite her own, settling behind the desk with steepled fingers, a gesture she knew was a little displeasingly similar to her 'mother.' The office itself was decorated simply, without much in the way of any real 'personal' touches.

"So, what can we do for you, Kasha?"

She understood, of course, that a visitor from the Gotei would probably have some pretty specific interests. But the specifics were something Eliane had no intention of trying to assume.

"Uh huh. Well, it's about your mum. I'm really sorry to have to bring it up since I know it's pretty recent but the bosses have some concerns regarding what is happening with the Duvalier Group. They do have an outstanding trade agreement and deal with exports and imports - so they're in a bit of a frizz about who's running the show there."

He said it from the comfortable seat. His own posture very relaxed and sincere in trying to convey some sympathies for her dead parent but they were questions designed to needle as well. Who was in charge, what was the Duvalier Group's main products of trade.

A less composed woman might have frozen at such a mention, but Eliane just took the mention of Claudia in stride. Wait, no, that wasn't the right reaction. Her smile lowered, her expression showing a bit of disappointment. Not that she really cared, but it was the right thing to feel, she was pretty sure.

"Well, until her death my mother was running everything herself. She was a very dedicated woman, you know. Now that she's passed, most of her business was left to us and was incorporated into our holdings here at SPLI. A few of the others were given to dear friend of hers, though, and they aren't under our purview."

Of course, there was certainly more to it than that. Eliane was all too willing to elaborate, but that would require this visitor ask. After all, she was in a delicate situation here in the City of Lights. But, at the same time, that didn't mean she'd completely comply with the idea of protecting her dead creator's image.

Apathy.

"Right, and could you expand on how "us" entails? You and your sisters I imagine, and this dear friend? I'm really sorry to pry, Miss Ovide. My bosses would really like to know who is running what parts of the show though."

Kasha probed for more information, this was a very fortunate situation for him. If the group hadn't fractured after her death then it would be a bit harder to figure out what parts had gone where. By splitting apart it let him force a few lights onto specific domains of the conglomerate without raising suspicions by his inquiries. What did they make, who were the players, what motives did they have.

All things he wanted to know while he continued to think about something bothering him as a very confident physician. There was something peculiar about her that lingered in the back of his head.

"Of course, yes, it's me and my sisters. Apart from that... Well, I don't know if I'm entirely at liberty to say..."

Of course, this was all profoundly messy to say the least. Eliane didn't want to seem unwilling to share that information, of course, because the truth was that she wasn't. She was all too happy to make sure the world knew that her creator had been a blight on the world, even if it was, by and large, for selfish and petty reasons.

"Well, I guess it is all public record, technically... I don't want you to go running around for information you'd get eventually anyway, so, the military contracting and manufacturing was given to the Grandmaster of the Vandenreich. Most of the other civilian industry went to me and my sisters, for example I inherited her medical businesses and hospitals."

Fascinating, Kasha was sure that the Gotei would be interested to hear about the Duvalier and Vandenreich's connection, but he wasn't presumptuous enough to believe that Vandenreich decided to exploit this to attack the Seireitei. Something to tuck away though, the same way she hesitated to say who was this dear friend even if it was easy to learn.

"Uh huh, I see. So there's lots of things you guys worked on, huh? Military, manufacturing, medical, boy, you guys must've been really ahead of your competition for R&D. I wonder what motivates someone to reach into so many pots. Even if you're a philanthropist, that's a whole lot to try and manage - and she did all this by herself? You must've been real close to her to inherit a part of it."

Kasha built off that apathy he detected and excitedly continued with the discussion like an overactive talker who didn't think before he spoke.

"Well, if you look into her history, the philanthropy was only something she started later in her life. I couldn't say what it was that drove her to look into all those business avenues, and then to make them such untouchable household names. Maybe it was just a passion for success."

But Eliane didn't believe that, of course. From her tone of voice, it was clear she didn't really want Kasha to believe it, either. She simply understood that she had to maintain some pretense of protecting the good name of her creator. Maybe that was the real reason Arlette had sent her to this little meeting.

"She and I were close, yes. She told me sometimes that she saw a lot of herself in me, so I understand why she handed us each these different pieces of her legacy."