Pay Attention, Gentleman [Alastair, Jones]

Typically, "Hot" Chocolate Jones was not the sort of man who made any waves in the City of Lights. He liked to live a quiet life, doing his job and then retreating home to enjoy a glass of cognac and a book. But he'd come back from this particular fieldwork with intel that needed sharing, and he wasn't going to waste his time dealing with red tape. He'd been firm, insistent that a meeting with the Grandmaster was incredibly pressing, though he knew that things were likely dicey on that matter given recent events.

Even so, he pressed on. He made it clear that he'd just returned from Africa on a recovery mission for his MIA coordinator, and that there was information regarding her that he felt could only reasonably be shared with the Grandmaster.

That much was true, in a sense. He did think that the things he was going to say should only be heard by Alastair Eisfluch, though perhaps not for any formal security reasons. He considered Reida a dear friend, and when he'd gone to Africa, it hadn't been solely for the purpose of finding out whether or not she was dead. He'd made a promise to her that he'd gone fully intending to see through, after all, but he didn't need to think too much on that given what he'd found. He raised a single gloved hand up to knock on the door to the office, and waited to be allowed inside.

Alastair would not be so bold as to consider himself familiar with Chocolate Jones. Each and every person was entitled to keep to themselves in their own way, as long as it was benign enough, and Jones embodied that to a level that the Grandmaster found entirely respectable. He had also held Reida’s trust too, which was a far higher sign of approval than most within the City had earned.

Still, when the good man had insisted on carrying out search and rescue missions for his senior’s sake, Alastair had grown a little concerned. Reida would not have wanted either of them to stick their necks out on her behalf, and yet still Alastair had not put a stop to it. Clinging onto a forlorn hope was something he would have cautioned others against in a heartbeat, such was his typical rationality, but even he was capable of being a hypocrite. So, when Jones had pushed for an urgent meeting, he could not help but feel a little relieved.

Perhaps that was the reason why, for the first time since he had taken up the Grandmaster’s office, he had moved the location of their meeting to a place other than the usual austere penthouse. A smaller drawing room would suffice, still within the main tower of course, but certainly more intimate. Just a few chairs and a modest wooden desk, no windows. He had arrived ahead of the arranged time, of course, and opened the door at the sound of that light wrapping.

“Mister Jones, please, take a seat. I have made the journey to Africa and back several times in the past months, it does not make the journey any less tiresome.”

"Thank you, sir."

Jones naturally took the offered seat, his general attitude as cool and composed as it ever was. Whether this had been good or bad news, he would have had much the same demeanor, but that was fairly typical within his squad in the Vandenreich. If he'd had any actual paperwork to provide to the Grandmaster, any formal reports that would have needed making, he would have put them onto the desk. Instead, however, he simply looked to Alastair and spoke confidently, knowing that perhaps this was a bold claim to make.

"I've spent the better part of the past few weeks going through every space around the hole that Reida would have been likely to go by. Every former urban center, every old battlefield. I know the kind of fighter she is. If we'd lost her, she wouldn't have gone out easy. There'd be a crater a mile wide, but that's not what I found."

He could have simply chalked that up to him missing it, but anyone who was familiar enough with Reida knew how destructive she was. Reaching into his jacket pocket, Jones pulled out the charred communicator that he'd found, the one he'd already ID'd as hers. After all, their little squad might have been off the radar by and large, but they still kept things accountable enough.

"This is the only thing I found of her, and no other signs of a struggle. At least, not one on her end. There was a squad of dead shinigami nearby, but her? Not a trace. I don't think it's likely she's dead, sir."

Alastair had already come to terms with the fact that he might never see Reida again. Neither was the type to make a fuss of saying goodbye before they went on a dangerous mission, that would only make the worst case scenario more painful for the other party. Loss was simply a part of this job, whether it was the person you were closest to or a distant colleague you had once shared a bunk with during training, no one was safe whilst in active duty. He took no comfort in the fact that he could accept that Reida was gone, but she was far from the first soldier to be killed in action.

Still, his gaze softened ever so slightly at Jones’ words. A tell that he would only give away in the privacy of such quarters, even as the possibility of Reida’s survival was suggested. He did not yet sit, as Jones did, instead picking up the communicator and turning it over in one hand. There was no doubt that this could have been Reida’s, and he had no reason to dissuade the analysis from someone even more familiar with her gear than himself.

“If that were the case, then why would she have not returned to base camp? We have no reports of prisoners being taken, nor can I think of a reason for those monstrosities to even do such a thing.”

Slowly settling into his seat, device still in hand, Alastair met Jones’ stare evenly.

“The possibility remains, given the scale of devastation some of the hollows encountered were capable of, that something ended things quicker than she could react. And now the alternative is that she was taken by the enemy even as we put them to rout and took out their leader? It does not sit right with me.”

"I don't think what happened to her involved those particular monsters in the first place, sir. If it had, I'd have found more widespread destruction. Not one of those hollows ever showed any kind of intelligence or restraint, and we've kept abreast of their appearance well. If it were one of them, it would be more obvious."

Of course, maybe he was wrong. It was possible, certainly, that Jones was overestimating his superior and friend. That a hope she was still alive was clouding his better judgement. But Jones had dealt with ample loss in his time, and he was far from the sort to let it get in his way. No, if anything, the avoidance of any idea that might have been emotionally uplifting was in itself an issue he had to sidestep.

"It's possible that she was taken out by one of those massive hollows, certainly. But if that did happen on such an untouched battlefield, we're dealing with a hollow that's far more efficient in its methods than what we've seen prior to this. When they act, we notice. This, on the other hand, is a kind of subtlety that suggests higher thinking. Planning."

He could have simply left it at that, if he'd wanted. An obviously farfetched idea that made his own theory seem apparent. But Jones was not the sort to play coy or political, least of all with matters like this.

"I don't think that whatever, or whoever, is behind this is one of the hollows from that hole. It's possible that the dead shinigami are related. I'm not inclined to blame the Gotei, but I will say that their injuries didn't look particularly different from how Reida fights in a pinch. And, with all due respect sir, we both know how she feels about them. The alternative is that this is a third party. Whether they want to get intelligence on the Vandenreich, or some other motives, I couldn't tell you. But based on what I found in Africa, I think that attributing her disappearance to being killed in action by one of those hollows from the hole is an unlikely reality."

As more information came to light, Alastair's gaze darkened and returned to its natural sincerity. Turning the device over with no particular fixation he focused on Jones again. He had never had the experience of fighting at Reida’s side, whereas this man was the expert, but this was still a lot of optimism for a dire situation. Yet therein lay the hope, the fact that he had not dismissed this for the folly it was, and yet that hope was akin to a poisoned chalice.

"I do not like what you are suggesting here. You said it yourself, there was no indication that Ms Copeland put up a fight so does that mean you think she went with this third party willingly? Who could they be to have taken her quietly in an active warzone, and likely had the means to take out a contingent of Shinigami as they were going about it?"

It might have shaken another man to consider that someone they had thought to know so well could have been turned, but Alastair didn't so much as flinch. There was the possibility that she had been manipulated or coerced, certainly, but Reida was also not the type to let herself get taken in by such things when fighting her way out was likely still an option.

"Regardless, open an investigation. Put together a team, reporting directly to me. If there was another party that got to her then I want to find out who and why. If she is out there somewhere then we will find her."

"I don't necessarily like it either, sir, but I can't ignore it, either."

If this were someone else, Jones might have stood and made to leave. After all, he had his orders, and he understood that time was relatively of the essence. He liked to get things done as quickly as possible, and idling around wasn't much his forte. This, however, was the Grandmaster of the Vandenreich, and perhaps just as importantly, it was someone that mattered deeply to a dear friend.

"She and I have an agreement to bury the other at home if something happens. Reida wouldn't forget something like that. I have to imagine she knew that this would come to light eventually. Before I start planning this, sir, I want to know the scope of this team I'm putting together. Do I have your authority to reach across to other branches?"

Jones was hardly the kind of man who wanted to flex any authority over others, but he was absolutely the kind of man who would apply every possible resource he had to his job. This particular assignment was one he was all too willing to maximize resources for.

“Any resources that you require will be made available to you, across all divisions. Whether she’s been taken or turned, we cannot let such a violation pass by without answer. Failing in that, we will find out what happened to her and do what we can to honour her memory.”

There was certainly a consideration at the back of his mind that this was Reida, but Alastair would have done the same for anyone else under his command given similar circumstances and that thought steeled his heart. Despite his usually cold exterior, the Grandmaster’s eyes burned hot with the flame of justice. That unshakeable belief that every single person that stood by his side was worth everything to him.

“And you may consider this a promotion to Acting-Administrator. The investigation is your top priority, I will inform the inner circle of this development today.”