10-09-2023, 12:16 AM
Two days ago
Olivia Pierre woke suddenly, all her senses screaming that she was in danger. It took her a moment to ascertain where she was. She was in the Council of Kerlile Archive, where she’d fallen asleep after studying handwritten manuscripts created by her great-great-great-grandmother. And something was on fire.
Olivia jumped out from under the table where she’d slipped off her chair in her sleep. The position she’d ended up in was such that someone else entering the Archive would not have noticed her presence unless they had deliberately been looking. She made note of this fact even as she ran to the entranceway where the fire extinguisher was kept. At least, where it had been kept the night before. It was no longer there.
She coughed and crouched lower to the ground as she scanned the room. Many of these documents were irreplaceable; and the instinct of her higher brain functions was to try and put out the fire, even as her survival instinct screamed at her to run for her own life. The fire had clearly only started recently, in the aisles containing more recent documents. This meant a few things, that Olivia considered in a single second.
They were much more easily replaced as there were probably illicit copies in several families’ personal libraries. And the starter of the fire – for there was nothing present in this room that could possibly have started one accidentally – had probably not gotten far. This spurred Olivia into action as she turned to the exit, throwing the door open. Or, trying to, anyway. It was locked and bolted.
Olivia attempted to kick the lock, to no avail – even though she was certainly strong enough to break down most doors that way. Then she took out her emergency pistol and shot it, but it still didn’t break. She had no phone or communications device; they were not permitted in the Archive. And there was only one way out. Even if this had not been a targeted assassination attempt, it was looking likely to kill her. And if the fire-starter had taken the extinguisher, she may well have disabled the fire alarm somehow.
“How do I put out a fire?” Olivia whispered to herself, crouching down again. She remembered learning somewhere to stay low, reduce smoke inhalation. She glanced around, trying to work out anything she could use. Her tiny, half-empty water bottle would not do much.
“Water,” she muttered, and then crawled over to an aisle the fire had not yet spread to, with a section containing information about the building of the Council Chambers and their attached Archive. “Blueprints…”
She searched along the shelf, her eyes watering against the smoke until she found the blueprints of the building she was in. She wanted to know where the water pipes were located. Maybe the door was bulletproof but they probably weren’t. They’d damage things, but probably not as much as fire would, especially if she targeted pipes at the same side as the fire, near the modern section.
Of course, she’d have to go towards the flames. And nobody knew she was there, and she had no way of getting help or getting out. But she had no options that way, anyway, so she might as well save what she could. She looked over the blueprints, and realised she couldn’t see much through the wall nearest the flames regardless. So, she decided to just fire every bullet she had where she guessed the water pipes would be… and hope for the best.
*
Today
“Olivia!” Councillor Pierre burst into the hospital ward, shoving a nurse out of the way as she rushed to her daughter’s unconscious form. “What happened!?”
“She was found in the Archive by Councillor Arnott. There had been a fire, and burst pipes – the latter of which quenched the aforementioned fire,” a doctor said, matter-of-fact, as if she wasn’t speaking to someone who could have her killed in an instant. This doctor had dealt with much worse than angry Councillors. She’d been a field medic in the Kerlian Civil War.
“Why was she there? Why did the fire start? What made the pipes burst? What happened to Olivia?” Pierre demanded.
“Unknown, unknown, multiple punctures in the pipes caused by bullets fired from your daughter’s pistol, and a combination of burn wounds, smoke inhalation and severe dehydration. We estimate she was down there several days, likely unconscious. It is frankly a miracle that she survived, Councillor.”
“Who did this?” Councillor Pierre growled, though she did not expect an answer. She calmed herself and turned to the doctor. “When will she recover?”
“Again, unknown, but I would estimate approximately a week. Thankfully the burns are not too severe, and both the smoke inhalation and dehydration are easily treatable. There may be some scarring from the burns that last some months, but they’re unlikely to be permanent. She got very, very lucky,” the doctor said.
“Thank you,” Councillor Pierre said, then turned to the door where her two middle daughters, Eva and Gabrielle, hovered. “Eva, find out who did this, and bring them to me.”
“The locks weren’t forced,” Eva shook her head. “At the Archive. Whoever did this was… they must have been…”
“One of us,” Gabrielle filled in. “A Daughter of the Council. Or a Councillor herself. Not an easy target for us to drag back, and not an advisable one if you still wish to prevent a civil war, Mother.”
Pauline snarled, but to herself rather than targeted. She stood up, nodded to the doctor, and then left, her middle daughters following. The three Pierres left the hospital, walked to their car and drove to the Pierre’s Grapevale townhouse in silence. It was little-used, with the family preferring their larger estate and a commute to Council meetings, but time was of the essence, and work still had to be done in the city.
“Seven suspect families,” Pauline began after they were sat down inside, “because we can discount the Hales; Lauchenoirian reporters stick to Jennifer like glue, and I doubt it was the four-year-old. Thoughts?”
“I doubt it was the Arnotts,” Eva shook her head. “They have nothing against us, just the Patels.”
“You assume Gabrielle was the target rather than the Archive,” Gabrielle pointed out. “From the pictures I saw, I doubt that. I don’t think they knew she was there, or if they did I don’t think they cared. They were trying to destroy something in the 2015-2019 aisle. There’s a clear pattern from where the fire was set.”
“That changes things,” Pauline said. “I agree that the Arnotts would not try to kill Olivia, but Rebecca absolutely has lots to hide. What would the world think if the first Reformist President had, say, murdered a priestess in cold blood a year before her selection? Or any of the other dubious things in her history. Rosemary is too naïve to be involved, but her mother is far more of a snake than people think.”
“She’s not the only one though,” Gabrielle added. “Every one of our families has secrets better kept hidden, though I’d doubt it is either the Chiu or the Viallamandos.”
“What makes you say that?” Pauline asked.
“Councillor Chiu seems to legitimately believe in this transparency stuff she’s started advocating for at Council. I mean, she’s declassified things that do not make her look good, and I don’t think it’s just for image reasons. Whether she’s truly had a change in heart or is going senile, it seems genuine. I could see her leaking stuff; I couldn’t see her destroying it.”
“Also, the Harts; their secrets aren’t even in the Archive,” added Eva. “They’re in the churches and they’re probably boring.”
“As for the Viallamandos, they don’t seem to have too many secrets beyond dodgy financial dealings, and I doubt that stuff is on paper anywhere,” Gabrielle continued. “That, and their Founder’s love affair but nobody has a problem with that in the present day. Maybe some stuff about Aeluria, but that wouldn’t be in the target era.”
“Arnott, Georgiou, Greenwood or Patel,” Pauline listed. “You think we should focus on them?”
“Wouldn’t suspect Georgiou either,” Eva shrugged. “She’s just not interested in the internal drama and is way too focused on foreign affairs.”
“Good,” Pauline nodded. “That would have been my assessment if I had done this alone. Arnott, Greenwood, or Patel. I have taught you well. Now we just need to find out which one it was. And what they were trying to destroy.”
“What do we do then?” Eva asked.
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to start anything. Violence is not the answer here. No, the answer is leaking whatever they think is best kept secret. Why waste time bringing them down if their own secrets can do that themselves?”
Olivia Pierre woke suddenly, all her senses screaming that she was in danger. It took her a moment to ascertain where she was. She was in the Council of Kerlile Archive, where she’d fallen asleep after studying handwritten manuscripts created by her great-great-great-grandmother. And something was on fire.
Olivia jumped out from under the table where she’d slipped off her chair in her sleep. The position she’d ended up in was such that someone else entering the Archive would not have noticed her presence unless they had deliberately been looking. She made note of this fact even as she ran to the entranceway where the fire extinguisher was kept. At least, where it had been kept the night before. It was no longer there.
She coughed and crouched lower to the ground as she scanned the room. Many of these documents were irreplaceable; and the instinct of her higher brain functions was to try and put out the fire, even as her survival instinct screamed at her to run for her own life. The fire had clearly only started recently, in the aisles containing more recent documents. This meant a few things, that Olivia considered in a single second.
They were much more easily replaced as there were probably illicit copies in several families’ personal libraries. And the starter of the fire – for there was nothing present in this room that could possibly have started one accidentally – had probably not gotten far. This spurred Olivia into action as she turned to the exit, throwing the door open. Or, trying to, anyway. It was locked and bolted.
Olivia attempted to kick the lock, to no avail – even though she was certainly strong enough to break down most doors that way. Then she took out her emergency pistol and shot it, but it still didn’t break. She had no phone or communications device; they were not permitted in the Archive. And there was only one way out. Even if this had not been a targeted assassination attempt, it was looking likely to kill her. And if the fire-starter had taken the extinguisher, she may well have disabled the fire alarm somehow.
“How do I put out a fire?” Olivia whispered to herself, crouching down again. She remembered learning somewhere to stay low, reduce smoke inhalation. She glanced around, trying to work out anything she could use. Her tiny, half-empty water bottle would not do much.
“Water,” she muttered, and then crawled over to an aisle the fire had not yet spread to, with a section containing information about the building of the Council Chambers and their attached Archive. “Blueprints…”
She searched along the shelf, her eyes watering against the smoke until she found the blueprints of the building she was in. She wanted to know where the water pipes were located. Maybe the door was bulletproof but they probably weren’t. They’d damage things, but probably not as much as fire would, especially if she targeted pipes at the same side as the fire, near the modern section.
Of course, she’d have to go towards the flames. And nobody knew she was there, and she had no way of getting help or getting out. But she had no options that way, anyway, so she might as well save what she could. She looked over the blueprints, and realised she couldn’t see much through the wall nearest the flames regardless. So, she decided to just fire every bullet she had where she guessed the water pipes would be… and hope for the best.
*
Today
“Olivia!” Councillor Pierre burst into the hospital ward, shoving a nurse out of the way as she rushed to her daughter’s unconscious form. “What happened!?”
“She was found in the Archive by Councillor Arnott. There had been a fire, and burst pipes – the latter of which quenched the aforementioned fire,” a doctor said, matter-of-fact, as if she wasn’t speaking to someone who could have her killed in an instant. This doctor had dealt with much worse than angry Councillors. She’d been a field medic in the Kerlian Civil War.
“Why was she there? Why did the fire start? What made the pipes burst? What happened to Olivia?” Pierre demanded.
“Unknown, unknown, multiple punctures in the pipes caused by bullets fired from your daughter’s pistol, and a combination of burn wounds, smoke inhalation and severe dehydration. We estimate she was down there several days, likely unconscious. It is frankly a miracle that she survived, Councillor.”
“Who did this?” Councillor Pierre growled, though she did not expect an answer. She calmed herself and turned to the doctor. “When will she recover?”
“Again, unknown, but I would estimate approximately a week. Thankfully the burns are not too severe, and both the smoke inhalation and dehydration are easily treatable. There may be some scarring from the burns that last some months, but they’re unlikely to be permanent. She got very, very lucky,” the doctor said.
“Thank you,” Councillor Pierre said, then turned to the door where her two middle daughters, Eva and Gabrielle, hovered. “Eva, find out who did this, and bring them to me.”
“The locks weren’t forced,” Eva shook her head. “At the Archive. Whoever did this was… they must have been…”
“One of us,” Gabrielle filled in. “A Daughter of the Council. Or a Councillor herself. Not an easy target for us to drag back, and not an advisable one if you still wish to prevent a civil war, Mother.”
Pauline snarled, but to herself rather than targeted. She stood up, nodded to the doctor, and then left, her middle daughters following. The three Pierres left the hospital, walked to their car and drove to the Pierre’s Grapevale townhouse in silence. It was little-used, with the family preferring their larger estate and a commute to Council meetings, but time was of the essence, and work still had to be done in the city.
“Seven suspect families,” Pauline began after they were sat down inside, “because we can discount the Hales; Lauchenoirian reporters stick to Jennifer like glue, and I doubt it was the four-year-old. Thoughts?”
“I doubt it was the Arnotts,” Eva shook her head. “They have nothing against us, just the Patels.”
“You assume Gabrielle was the target rather than the Archive,” Gabrielle pointed out. “From the pictures I saw, I doubt that. I don’t think they knew she was there, or if they did I don’t think they cared. They were trying to destroy something in the 2015-2019 aisle. There’s a clear pattern from where the fire was set.”
“That changes things,” Pauline said. “I agree that the Arnotts would not try to kill Olivia, but Rebecca absolutely has lots to hide. What would the world think if the first Reformist President had, say, murdered a priestess in cold blood a year before her selection? Or any of the other dubious things in her history. Rosemary is too naïve to be involved, but her mother is far more of a snake than people think.”
“She’s not the only one though,” Gabrielle added. “Every one of our families has secrets better kept hidden, though I’d doubt it is either the Chiu or the Viallamandos.”
“What makes you say that?” Pauline asked.
“Councillor Chiu seems to legitimately believe in this transparency stuff she’s started advocating for at Council. I mean, she’s declassified things that do not make her look good, and I don’t think it’s just for image reasons. Whether she’s truly had a change in heart or is going senile, it seems genuine. I could see her leaking stuff; I couldn’t see her destroying it.”
“Also, the Harts; their secrets aren’t even in the Archive,” added Eva. “They’re in the churches and they’re probably boring.”
“As for the Viallamandos, they don’t seem to have too many secrets beyond dodgy financial dealings, and I doubt that stuff is on paper anywhere,” Gabrielle continued. “That, and their Founder’s love affair but nobody has a problem with that in the present day. Maybe some stuff about Aeluria, but that wouldn’t be in the target era.”
“Arnott, Georgiou, Greenwood or Patel,” Pauline listed. “You think we should focus on them?”
“Wouldn’t suspect Georgiou either,” Eva shrugged. “She’s just not interested in the internal drama and is way too focused on foreign affairs.”
“Good,” Pauline nodded. “That would have been my assessment if I had done this alone. Arnott, Greenwood, or Patel. I have taught you well. Now we just need to find out which one it was. And what they were trying to destroy.”
“What do we do then?” Eva asked.
“Don’t worry, I don’t intend to start anything. Violence is not the answer here. No, the answer is leaking whatever they think is best kept secret. Why waste time bringing them down if their own secrets can do that themselves?”
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax