OPEN | prompt one | RAIN

[wrens]

prompt one | R A I N I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain - and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane.

 

Comments

[iou]

[ From bad to worse, just as he's about to make a break for it, Noah's phone begins to ring in his pocket. The number of the caller is blocked, though the connection does override the default screen settings of his mobile to alert him that it's coming from the Office.

Which means only one thing: higher clearance is calling. ]

[aynasiz]

[ the rain, the umbrella, it's forgotten in the blink of an eye. noah's priorities are ever--outwardly, at the least--in line with the requirements of his station. the office is ringing. everything else can be set on hold. ]

Miller here.

[ crisp, professional tone. not the tone of a man who was only moments ago cursing at his umbrella and thinking about the rain washing away the gel in his carefully combed-back here. ]

[iou]

[ In the confines of his office at the Bureau, August Dahl is standing at the window, peering out at the sidewalk before from between held-apart blinds. They give a metallic sort of snap before he's turning away from the window entirely, back towards his desk, where the paperwork is. ]

Miller, this is the Bureau of Trades. [ The simplicity of the language cannot be overlooked. August is not from the Bureau of Trades; he is it. ] Cancel your appointment, [ he says simply, not even bothering to introduce himself further. ] It can wait.

[aynasiz]

[ the snap travels over the line, raising the hairs on noah's neck. there's always a moment, when dealing with things like there, where his heart stops. it always feels dangerous, regardless of noah's standing. ]

Consider it cancelled.

[ there is no other answer. noah knows this. ]

What can I do for you?

[iou]

[ The situation has earned its sense of danger — there are only twelve indigos, after all, and each has been tasked by the Magistrate himself to carry out all of the 'good work' required to keep Constantinople strong and secure and safe. All of them have Traded to get where they are but only August knows what those Trades are. Despite the sprawling population of the city-state as a whole, not a single request or petition or transfer gets approval without passing through his hands and earning his final stamp of approval.

So arguably no one knows Noah best than the man on the opposite end of the line, save Noah himself. Arguably.

August clears his throat. ] I need you to come into the Office. There're some files here with your name on them that require a little bit of— [ He mulls over his next word carefully. ] —contextual commentary.

[aynasiz]

[ to his credit, noah manages not to show any outward signs of worry. the way his heart stops for a minute doesn't carry over into his tone, for which he is grateful. whatever this inquiry is, there's no need to start off on the wrong foot. ]

I can be there in fifteen minutes.

[ he's already hailing a cab.

stay calm, he tells himself. do what must be done and do it well, and nothing can touch you.

even noah knows that is a lie. ]

[iou]

Take the east lifts, [ is all August says before disconnecting, turning to drop the receiver back into the cradle of the phone. As he does so, his eyes move to the stack of papers on his desk, the ones that require the 'commentary' in question. There's a discrepancy between the official records (the official records being Noah's account) and the recanting of a former blue-level administration assistant who's only just found himself Traded. In an attempt at absolution or at least lessening of sentence, he offered a counter-Trade as a response, but that's when things had hit a snag.

August pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers and then decides what he needs is caffeine. Fifteen minutes is long enough to make it to the break room and back.

He takes his time. A small indulgence. ]

[aynasiz]

[ when he gets back, noah will be waiting for him.

calm. noah's face is utterly calm. his overcoat is still dripping, but other than that he is as impeccably outfitted as ever. it matters, the presentation. perhaps even more so in moments like this than he'd originally thought. ]

Sir.

[ the most formal of tones. he doesn't use anything else when dealing with trade-related anything. ]

[iou]

[ August has the coffee half-raised to his lips when he opens the door to his office to find Noah already standing there. He's dripping onto the carpet from the hem of that fancy coat of his, but August doesn't mind and he allows that to show. (Out of all of the twelve indigos, he's the most earnest, the most frank and the most moral. It's part of what keeps his job quasi-compassionate. At least, much more so than it could be were somebody else at the wheel.)

He gestures with a hand at Noah as if to brush aside that 'sir', but not after he's taken that first sip of coffee. ] Mr. Miller, [ he acknowledges, and manages to sound both matter-of-fact and vaguely welcoming. ] 'Dahl' works just fine for me.

Take a seat, will you?

[aynasiz]

[ dealing with august means this has a lesser chance of blowing up in his face. noah takes off his coat first, draping it carefully across the only other chair in the room before he sits. his heart is beating very face, but noah hides it well. ]

Dahl. What can I do for you?

[iou]

[ He makes his way around to his chair but doesn't sit, taking another sip of his coffee before setting the paper cup down onto a Post-It pad like it was a coaster. With a hand, he gathers up the file and quickly holds it out across the desk to Noah. ] Case reference number GF-2991b.7, August the 26th. Recall the file?

[aynasiz]

[ noah takes the file, but he doesn't open it. he keeps it perched on his knee, fingers brushing across the file. ]

I do. Is there something specific I should be turning my attention to?

[ he doesn't like being seated while dahl stands. it makes him feel at more of a disadvantage than he'd orginally expected to be at. but he can't rise. so instead he keeps his eyes trained steadily on dhal, unflinching. ]

[iou]

[ The file handed over, August circuits back to the front of his desk, finally leaning back against it with his arms crossed, hands tucked neatly in the crooks of his elbows. He nods to the file on Noah's knee with his chin before saying: ]

According to your report, you visited the complainant's brother-in-law for questioning at 7.23 in the evening of the incident. You knocked on the front door of their apartment and claimed to hear the television on inside but not other movement nor further sign that anyone was home. Correct?

[aynasiz]

I might be off by a minute or two on the estimation of time, but yes. That's what I claimed.

[ his fingers don't move on the file. to look through it is folly. know your lies, that's what he'd always told himself. know your lies and know them well, couch them in truth and make them flawless. make them indistinguishable from fact.

noah keeps his expression relaxed, politely interested. the picture of nonchalance. he's walking a very fine line here. make it through the meeting and he's safe. make it through the meeting and this is done. ]

Is there a contradiction in the testimony of the accused?

[iou]

[ August stares at Noah for a very long time, his expression yielding nothing by way of suspicion or confirmation. A lot of times he doesn't have to do anything at all, just look at them, and the truth manages to find its way out. Being an indigo (and the Broker on top of that) managed to do a lot of the legwork for him, though August's never been the type to rest on his struggled-for laurels.

Eventually: ] The brother-in-law in question's been mentioned in an unrelated case. Separate file, different investigative lead, but August 26th come up again. And according to what's being told to us now, Spinosa was at home between the hours of 6 and 10 that night.

[ August's eyebrows lift. Questioning. Implying. If Noah asserts his claim then it means the individuals in question will be brought before the Bureau of Actions and thrown to the star chamber system tribunal; they will be tried and most likely be found guilty, whether they are guilty or not. What happens to them after that — well.

That's on Noah. ]

This isn't a formal inquiry, Mr. Miller. [ It could be, though. And soon. ]

[aynasiz]

If he was, he did not answer the door. It wasn't within the parameters of my orders to kick down the door.

[ this was a stupid mistake and he should have checked. poor legwork, and noah could have kicked himself, if that action in and of itself weren't apallingly suspicious. the expression on dahl's face was less than promising. noah knew what would happen if this couldn't be resolved.

it wouldn't end well for any of them. ]

Surely it wouldn't merit one?