The corpse was discovered in the rain-dampened alley behind an abandoned printer's shop in Leith close, to the looming presence of Arthur's Seat. This spot, filled with shattered pallets and the sweet smell of spoiled fruit was utterly detached from the pristine confines of Edinburgh Castle.
Alexa Solara remained beneath a tent set up by her agents the pink satin on her lapels a gaudy flower, amid the bleak setting. The area was illuminated by mobile lights that drained every hue from the darkness revealing only sharp contrasts: the dark puddle extending from the body the pale frightened visage, the shining data-drive grasped in a stiff hand.
The deceased was Colin Drury. A Level-Two Bio-Metric Analyst working in her O.R.C. Resource allocation unit. A mere cog. Someone whose security clearance shouldn't have permitted him to view the weather updates, from Windsor, less anything important.
Nonetheless the data-drive currently secured in an evidence bag by Magnus was encrypted using E.L.F. Protocols. Initial analyses revealed it held portions of the "Aurora Weave" calibration patterns—particularly, the subtle harmonics, for psychic suppression. Not the combat-ready elements,. The basic stabilizing ones. The ones that prevented an elf's mind from disintegrating.
"He didn't die here " Magnus muttered, crouching beside the corpse. "No blood splashes. No signs of struggle. Just fell down. A sudden cardiac arrest triggered by interference. E.L.F. Technology. Quiet exact." He glanced up his visage stern. ". Poorly positioned. This is a warning."
"A message intended for whom?" Alexa's tone was icier, than the North Sea breeze slicing through the alley. "For myself?. For those others?"
She gazed at the drive. The reasoning was disturbingly obvious. An O.R.C. Scientist, deceased while clutching purloined E.L.F. Information. To an outsider—, to the chairs—it signaled corporate spying turned deadly. An O.R.C. Effort to pilfer Felicya's data, blocked by E.L.F. Security with lethal force. It formed a toxic origin.
"Investigate his life " she ordered, keeping her gaze fixed on Drury's eyes. "His money, his communications, his weaknesses. Someone. Manipulated him or set him up."
"Walker " Magnus whispered harshly. "This reeks of him. Sow discord, between you and Aurora. Allow the two 'idealists' to clash while he operates behind the scenes."
"Or Cooper " Alexa responded quickly her thoughts spinning. "A.G.L. Is exposed. A controversy involving us and E.L.F. Shifts focus from his Progenitor advance.. Possibly Felicya herself creating a harsh awkward example following the stress, from her Conservancy Board." She at last faced him her eyes keen. "The key Magnus, is that we don't know.. That's the advantage."
Within the Iron Gallery the mood was strained. The Iron Circle, her council of advisors existed in a yet anxious turmoil.
"This constitutes an act of war Chairwoman!" shouted one of them a hawk- tactician named Kray pounding a fist on the steel table. "E.L.F. Has carried out an execution of one of our operatives on territory. The pact of operations is broken! We need to retaliate. A precise strike, against their Grand Willow. Prove that our strength extends beyond the physical!"
Alexa leaned against the window observing the pale light of morning spread across the city. "What if it's not E.L.F.?" she murmured softly.
"The evidence is unequivocal!"
"The proof is merely a stage prop " she retorted, spinning around. "A deceased. A data drive. The straightforward narrative imaginable. We are not beings. We handle genomes and multi-phase hostility. This… this is a falsehood."
"What do you suggest then?" Kray insisted. "If we do nothing it's a sign of frailty!"
"To act without caution is to display foolishness " she amended. "Magnus. Compile a file on Drury. Every detail. Cover the ten years. I need to understand who he cherished, what frightened him and what desire was intense enough to make him dive into a hornet's nest. Also set up a direct link, to Warwick."
The room fell quiet.
"You're reaching out, to Aurora? Following this?"
"Particularly following this " Alexa murmured, a hint of a smile touching her mouth. "If Felicya authorized this she will anticipate my fury. She'll have her defenses raised her reasons lined up. If she didn't… she will be just as unsettled as I am.. A disturbed Felicya Aurora, with her keen instincts is a useful asset."
Two hours afterwards within an environment protected by a complex set of encryption methods Felicya Aurora's visage appeared on the display. She was seated in her study, her brass-framed glasses resting low on her nose yet her flawless calm was fractured. A strain gathered around her eyes that Alexa had never witnessed before.
"Alexa " Felicya stated, skipping the formalities. "I have noticed the warning. You think I was responsible, for this."
"I think a man is deceased " Alexa responded, folding her arms. "I think he holds your data. Persuade me that you didn't place it there."
Felicya's slender jaw clenched firmly. "The Aurora Weave patterns stored on that device are outdated. They belong to Phase Two than five years ago. They serve as the basis, not the implementation. If I were to create a sample or to pilfer it wouldn't involve publicly-available designs. It would involve the enhancements that enable Sylvan-9 to sense the makeup of limestone." She leaned in her figure flickering briefly. "Someone is trying to set us against one another. They breached my archive's defenses—a difficult task, in itself—to steal an innocuous blueprint, which they then employed as a weapon to provoke a war."
Alexa observed her closely. The annoyance was authentic. The fear, understated evident was not about punishment but, about the brutal nature of the deed. It disturbed her sensibilities.
"Your board " Alexa remarked. "Would they perceive a benefit, in portraying O.R.C. As the attacker? A justification to advocate for … forceful tactics?"
Felicya remained quiet for a pause. "Certain people might. The Conservancy is anxious. The fresh Quadrumvirate setup has them pushing for measures.. This? This isn't a measure. This is an explosion. They wouldn't gamble with the project. Not, in this manner." She looked Alexa directly in the eye. "I did not approve this Alexa. I give you my assurance."
In the language of their world, such a word was a significant currency.
"Then it seems we face a shared issue " Alexa remarked. "An outside player.. Perhaps one of the other two involved in a more complex scheme."
"Walker " Felicya whispered, to herself. "He prospers on conflict. It is his sustenance."
"Or Cooper " Alexa remarked, observing Felicya's response. "He stands to benefit the most from harmony, between us also from diversion."
Felicya gently shook her head. "Arthur may have traits but subtlety, in his violence is not one of them. This… this feels like a performance. Like a rehearsed act." She readjusted her glasses. "I will carry out my internal investigation. The security breach strikes me as an affront. We ought to exchange our conclusions. Quietly."
A coalition. Delicate, formed from a danger yet a coalition all the same. Alexa responded with a decisive nod. "Proceed with that.. Felicya… if it turns out to be one of your own even unofficially you will bring them to me. Not your judgment. Mine."
The screen turned black. Alexa reclined, the satin of her collar grazing her jawline. The leak wasn't concerning the data itself. It was a matter of trust. Someone had just doused the delicate bonds linking the four thrones with acid. Colin Drury was a pawn offered up to make the kings and queens regard one another with distrust.
She gazed at the scene of the alley on a different monitor at the tragic last grasp of the deceased man's hand. Endurance she reflected, wasn't merely surviving an assault. It was recognizing the snare within the presented reality the blade, in the hand. The conflict was no longer abstract. It had just taken on a form.. Its initial casualty was a man who likely never comprehended what he held or why his death was required for it.
"Find the puppeteer, Magnus," she said, her voice quiet and deadly in the steel-lined room. "Before they decide to cut all our strings."