XXIII.

F I N G E R S  C R O S S E D

—aka, the players at the chessboard

INT— A HOTEL.

PARIS, FRANCE — AFTERNOON.

SCENE I.

IT TOOK THREE days.

Three days for Archie's subdued smirk to appear before me, tapping his fingers on the table as he scorched me with his gaze. I still had bedhead, still wearing my sleepwear, and if I hadn't checked a mirror before getting out of my room, I would also be subjected to an intense patting down with dried drool on my face with the envelope he had plopped over my lap.

It was weighty, just feeling it in my hands. The back was blank, unaddressed.

At his expectant stare, I yawned.

"Where's Kristoff?"

His gaze sharpened into a deadpan. "Business."

"He's always away on business," I muttered to myself, sighing as I felt the paper, carefully breaking the seal.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why should it matter to you? He's not here for pleasure."

"A woman's got needs, Mr. Noh. Especially when your boss is such a ball buster." It wasn't as if I was waiting for Kristoff since that night he chose to disturb the lines we've set and then leave me high and dry because he's been busy. But it was hard to see him at all recently, and with keeping distance with Louis for now as not to alert both Archie's men and Agent Baudelaire's nosy plans, a girl is bored. Bored and in need of reprieve.

"Please don't think of whatever Kristoff said in the plane." He made a truly affronted face that if I didn't find it so hilariously insulting, I laughed. Alluding to the 'permission' his master had granted of my 'needs' was a funny memory.

"Don't worry, I don't like you like that."

"Ditto."

God, he's so offensive, the bastard.

I pulled the paper and began reading the simple black and white lettering, choosing to ignore him as it is too early for him to piss me off like this. I licked my thumb and pressed at the ink. It bled. Handwritten then. I blinked as the words registered in my brain. "Am I reading this right?"

"If your brain is functioning correctly this fine morning, then yes, I would assume so."

"No need to be so prickly. Did you do this?"

He notched an eyebrow. "You said you needed a party."

A party was being hosted by Natasha Kim in honour of Countess Audreyena Thorbatten. The names are in elaborate cursives, with the countess' in gold to really dig into the honour of things. The rest tells nothing else but a location, a time, and a dress code. Cut, to the point, and concise.

The why of the event was something along the lines of a budding friendship.

"Why do I have this terrible feeling that this isn't just about the party that I needed?"

"Of course it isn't. Kristoff said I shouldn't ask you about what you're planning, but if there's anything you need of me, anything I need to know beforehand, I need to know now." He braced his hands over his knee, watching me with the same calculation as a chess player who is sure of his hand but isn't so sure of his opponent.

He sighed, long and arduous like all the air he wasted using in my presence was begrudgingly given. "In exchange, I can tell you that this party has a different guests of honours. The countess held prestige because of you. The real reason is that things are moving on our side of the fence and you need to be ready for the tidal wave."

"... Tidal wave. Have I ever told you, Archie darling, that you're quite good at being poetic? Ever thought of giving up this job?"

"I'm being serious, Antonina."

"I know." I sighed. "The seriousness in your voice is getting to me."

"As it should. The guests of honours are Kristoff's sister and cousins."

"...What?"

"The race shows itself." He frowned. "I don't know what his grandfather is thinking, but the party is only a farce. Natasha had told us that the patriarch had given her orders to get all the' children together', so to speak. Without the rest of the adults knowing. Yuna has been on our tail, so she'll arrive early, but soon, Kristoff's cousins will be coming. And since you're the proverbial apple of his eye, the woman who had managed to keep the gaze of the favoured grandchild, you will have to keep your wits about you."

"Okay... so his power-hungry cousins are going to gather, alongside his crazy sister... That's not a terrifying ordeal at all."

"You'll like Tae Yang though. He's normal."

I snorted. "What are they like, Kristoff's cousins?"

"Well. Hm. Tae Yang was brought up with a branch family after his parents and brother died. I've told you this already, back in Italy."

I nodded, turning to my plate and thought best what to eat in a nervous stomach. "Yes, yes. He has no ambition to strike out for the highest position in the family unlike the ever so lovely Park siblings."

"No ambition but still a great threat," he corrected. "He's brilliant in terms of business, and people like him. In particular, he's managed to keep investors and the board happy with his initiatives and propositions. Yuna despises him almost as much as she despises her brother."

"So he's got a chance then?"

"Almost as good as Kristoff's."

I hummed. Interesting. "Isn't he six years older than Kristoff?"

"Yes, and Phillip, Nam Seok's child, is two years younger than Kristoff."

"He's the one with the paralyzed father?"

Archie made a noise that signalled he was impressed. I smirked.

"What? I can remember things I need to."

"And yet, you never remember when I tell you not to buy too much every time you go out."

"That's potato tomato, Archie dear. Not tomato, toma-toh."

He made a disgruntled noise at the back of his throat. I laughed.

"And the other one again, Eric?"

"Phillip."

"Yes him, the partier."

"That's what's wrong with him. He's got no personal ambition of his own but follows his mother's orders. Soo Yang is the one with the ambitions."

"And of course, Yuna. That crazy... bitch."

Archie smirked. "Yes, her. She's quite competent and she's vicious, as you are already aware. She doesn't care who she steps on to get her way. Park Baek Je is particularly fond of her."

I sighed. "He's her only granddaughter, daughter to his favourite child too, so I'm not shocked at all. So all of them will be at this party for the ages?"

"Yes?"

"And may I ask why?"

"Business. He's rounding up his grandchildren, seeing where they are in the scheme of things, and who is getting ahead thus far." Archie looked away. Paris in the lazy afternoon was a sight to behold. Noisy and grounding. It's a city that keeps on giving. "He may be planning to formally choose a successor soon."

"Oh."

My plans wouldn't necessarily be disrupted by this new cache of players, but it does put me in a difficult spot with little wiggle room to move around. As Kristoff's miraculous lover, there were certain chains that kept me held. String that keeps me aloft and at the same time, restricted.

"Just..." The hesitancy in his voice made me look up, curious. There was a scowl on his face as he glared at a point not quite on me. "Make sure to keep by Kristoff's side. And you're smart as it is. Kristoff wouldn't have hired you in this position if he didn't think you were incapable."

"Are you... are you giving me a pep talk, Mr. Noh?"

"No."

I smiled. "Thank you. I'm touched."

He turned to me, glare sharpening. "I said I wasn't."

"But you don't have to worry about me. I can take a punch. But I do feel quite sweet from the worry."

"You're incorrigible."

I laughed like I had no care in the world.

And for the most part, I did.

Now all I have to do is make sure all my players are in the right order, no?

"Do you mind if I see the Interpol agent today?"

"No... but what are you planning?"

"One to make sure the bullheaded agent is at the party, of course. Oh, and can I take KC?"

"KC is protecting Kristoff."

"Boo."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to meet the one in charge of you right now?"

"No, it's fine. Thought I could make do with getting him a new outfit as well today. I can feel like he's still wearing those godforsaken camo pants and it's ruining my appetite."

"You are... unbelievable. Just when I was starting to respect you too."

I laughed.

INT— MUSÉE DU LOUVRE.

PARIS, FRANCE — AFTERNOON.

SCENE II.

"YOU'VE GOT SOME massive balls."

Antonina La Verne, as she goes by right now, perked up at the agent's entrance. Beside her, the French aristocrat with the spine of a souffle, shifted uncomfortably.

"Ashley! So glad you could come!"

"You called for me from the wiretap under his shirt." She stuck a thumb at Louis Moreau-Fournier's body before looking up at the enormous statue of Nike, goddess of victory. "You could at least pretend you don't know."

"That he's in cahoots with Interpol?" The con woman raised her eyebrow, her smile just as mischievous and sweet as if all she had done so far were in the name of harmless fun. 200 million worth of harmless fun. "Isn't that doing you a bit of disservice? And I have missed you, you know. It's been a while since London."

Agent Baudelaire shook her head, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "You're incorrigible."

Antonina laughed particularly hard at that. When the two of them looked at her, she only waved a hand.

"So why did you want to meet us?"

"A confirmation. And perhaps a persuasion?"

The agent's eyes narrowed, her hidden fists curling tightly. "Charges will not be dropped in your name no matter what you put to the table."

"Oh, not that, no. For all intents and purposes, pursue me with all your might." She tucked her hair behind her ear, turning to Louis in that expression that Ashley just knew made him into a puddle at her feet. Fucking pathetic. "Both of you are coming to the party that Natasha Kim is holding for the countess, yes?"

Both of them stilled, Louis much more obvious than Ashley. The agent narrowed her eyes.

"... Yes. We wouldn't miss it for the world."

Shit, the agent thought, heart hammering a mile a minute.

Louis hadn't told them about the party until one of the agents Ashley had assigned to keep the affairs of the Danish countess in an updated memo had remarked about the familiarity of the name Natasha Kim. And even Louis himself didn't know there was a connection between Natasha and Kristoff, only that it was Natasha who had wanted to make acquaintances with his aunt through a mutual baron they both knew. His aunt had apparently only heard the words 'unlimited wealth' and 'strong ties to Korean monarchy' and was put under a spell.

Ashley herself had wrung her head out trying to remember why that name was familiar until Moulin had pointed out that it was Kristoff Park's aunt, the one who lived in Paris.

From there, she took a deep dive into the background of Miss Kim, finding out she was Kristoff Park's aunt through marriage, and that her husband, Park Baek Young, had died of syphilis. Apparently, he had a lot of lovers and bred a lot of children, but none of them were integrated into the Park clan.

There was exclusivity into that family, a spider's web of shady deals, political trifling, and businesses that spread farther and wider than the P Group that nestled as their main source of power.

Ashley's deep dive resulted in several caffeinated nights that lacked sleep and sense. A lot of the files had been kept in higher positions, and even through requests of her own personal connections within the bureau she had been severely shut down.

One even reported her to Chief Ghost, who gave her a stern warning.

"Remember how we talked about waters we can't swim into?"

"Refresh me," Ashley had said, running a hand down her face as her stomach plummeted. She knew what it meant because she could hear the fear in her boss' voice hidden under a thin layer of her usual administrative voice.

"There are waters where humans can't swim in. These fucking waters concerning the Park clan are waters not even the biggest beasts in our world are allowed to swim in." Chief Ghost inhaled. Deep and wrung out. "Leave it alone, Ashley. If you wanna continue pursuing La Verne—"

Ashley had bolted upright from her desk chair. "— Of course I have to—"

"Then focus on her and leave her fucking lover alone. This is troubling infested waters that even I was warned against. I like you, Ashley, that's why I'm telling you to pursue La Verne and La Verne alone instead of giving up altogether. She's too tied up with him, and it is terrifying."

She wanted to follow her chief's advice. Ashley Baudelaire of twenty seven years of age tried to heed the warning of her own usually fearless superior.

But how was she to do that, when Natasha Kim had involved herself with the countess? How could she, when it seemed as if there was a bigger play involved, and the woman she was trying to hunt to no avail, was in front of her and her sorta former flame, talking about a goddamn party that involved her former victim and the Park clan?

Looking at her white whale now, Antonina La Verne with her curious gaze and carefree smile, conversing with Louis as if she hadn't used him to get to the pearls his aunt had in their family for generations— Ashley's fists clenched.

She needed to know.

Damn it all.

"D'you know what you're getting into, La Verne?" she blurted out, suddenly conscious of both of their surprised faces turning to her before Antonina's face melted into one of warmth roguishness. The confidence in her gaze had not stuttered. Not even once.

She was sincere the time she said the family she was most likely marrying into was dangerous, and this wasn't part of her plans at all. That Ashley was sure of. Her affections for Louis are sincere too, she was sure of that as well.

Even the danger that this party was about to present. She knew it so strongly in her bones.

Just as strongly as she knows how much she can't miss it.

"Yes," Antonina said with confidence that can stutter a man mute. "I know what I'm doing."

Massively unedited.

Gentle reminder that though TCT will have peeks of romance (or sexy shit let's be honest), the main genre as it always has been, is Mystery/Thriller. Specifically on the thriller.

Thank you for reading so far!

On to the next ACT—