Why ?

Interlude : A Faculty Caper part 4

3rd Person POV

3 days had passed since Countess Cleo's arrival in India. On their return from their walk, Carmen had told the teachers that she had not been able to decode the riddle entirely. The anger and violence that usually followed her failures had been strangely absent. Bellum seemed disappointed but Cleo had told her that it didn't matter, that they had already placed too much hope in an ignorant animal. Since then, she had been kept locked in a cupboard, hydrated only in the evening. Once a day, she was allowed out to relieve her needs.

One afternoon, Cleo took her outside to put her things away and leave. She was forced to put her cape back on and pull out the Countess's suitcase, her bag slung over her shoulder. She deposited all the luggage in the carriage before crawling into her cage for the road, having never been allowed to leave before their arrival in Egypt.

Currently, she was making her way through the Cairo market, still hidden under her cape as she and Cleo set out to find Tigress. The feline-themed thief was admiring a cat figure when she spotted her former rival.

"What have we here ? Fedora the Exp-"

"That's enough, Tigress. Behave like an adult and leave Black Sheep alone."

"Yes, Countess."

Cleo turned back to head for the flat that was being used as a base for this operation and Tigress took the opportunity to jostle Carmen. The three women walk in silence until they arrive in front of a building. Cleo unlocks the door and enters.

Carmen POV

We are climbing the steps to enter the dwelling when the Countess stops and turns to face me.

"Since you were unable to translate the relic, we had to call in a specialist. Unfortunately she wasn't particularly... optimistic about working with us. What a disappointment..." She seems to be lost in thought as she plays with a lock of my hair. "To return to your role, you will assist this woman in her work and keep me informed of everything. Do you understand, my darling?"

"Yes Countess."

"Good girl."

I felt a sense of relief come over me at the thought of having pleased the Countess. She turns to open the door and I hear Tigress giggle. I ignore her as I enter. I see a woman tied to a chair, a bag over her head and surrounded by the Cleaners. A small part of me feels sick at the sight but I know I can't do anything about it anyway. The Countess puts her hand on my shoulder and pushes me to my knees at her feet.

Boris removes the bag and I can see that the woman can't be more than 25. She looks terrified as she stares at the faculty member and the feline-themed agent. When her gaze falls on me, I see even more terror fill her face as she observes my wounds and scars. I bow my head, feeling ashamed and disgusted under her gaze.

3rd Person POV

"Miss Turner. Thank you for being here. I need your services to translate an old relic. It appears to me that this is your speciality, no ?"

The woman nods and Cleo smiles at their victim's fear. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Carmen biting her lip, finding it hard to bear the gaze of the other captive. The Cleaners untie the woman's arms and lead her to a table. Black Sheep gets up to follow them and Cleo holds her by the arm.

"Don't let me down..."

"Never Countess."

All the members of VILE retreat to another room and Turner gasps as he hears the door close. Carmen takes out the relic and the advances she had already made before going to sit on one of the two chairs. Not seeing her companion in misfortune join her, she turns to see her trying to pry open the door with a hairpin.