Veronica's Fallacy

1.

-HER-

I kept glancing at my watch to pass the time, but the more I did that, the more time seemed to slow down. This made me fidget in my seat, making me more anxious about the meeting.

Today, I had been summoned by my Superior. Even though she had done her best to make her email seem casual, I knew this meeting would be anything but casual.

It was serious. This was about Victor Stein's disappearance—an important Council of Ergon member. And of all the people, I had been chosen to find him, and so far, I hadn't had any luck.

My heart was in my throat when I got called into my Superior's office. I clutched the tab— my only support and walked into her office. It took me immense focus to walk without tripping.

As soon as I stepped inside, I saw my Superior, Fiona, sitting at the centre of the giant room full of books. She was leaning back in her tall chair, a composed look shrouding her face.

I didn't miss how her eyes followed me like a hawk as I approached her table. She nodded at me to sit. I muttered a thank you and sat down when all I wanted to do was bolt out of that room and never see her again.

I wish I had that option.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Fiona said, offering me a gentle smile, but I knew better than to fall for that. "Glad to see you in great shape," I could tell how un-glad she was to see me. It was written all over her face despite the professional smile.  

"Thank you, Fiona," I answered curtly, not trusting myself to say anything more than that in this uneasy state. 

"So, what have you been up to lately?" She asked casually, but the question was as loaded as a warship.

"I've been searching for more leads," I answered after choosing my words carefully. She tilted her head to the side and offered me a curious look. She knew about everything, yet she played with me. I could tell she derived pleasure from it. It was like foreplay for her. 

"Ah, I see. Have you made any advancements? I'd love to hear what you've found so far," She urged, leaning back again slowly, but her calculating eyes remained on me unwaveringly.

"There are no updates," I decided to be direct with her. There was no use beating around the bush with Fiona. I had done that in the past, and she had always made me regret it.

She arched an eyebrow at me, and finally, the polite expression she had been wearing all this time slowly slipped away.

"It's been six months," She reminded me.

"I know," I admitted, clutching the tab with crushing strength, "But there are no leads on him. I have done everything imaginable, but there's just nothing. It's as if he disappeared into thin air,"

A bone-chilling silence followed my words as Fiona stared at me intensely with contempt. I didn't miss how her body looked tense. She looked ready to jump across the desk and shift midair before tearing my throat out.

This made me regret my words immediately. I should've been more careful. After all, the missing person in question was Fiona's brother. It was one of the reasons why she was so fiercely determined to find out Victor.

Almost all of the Council had given up on Vitor by now, but not Fiona. She was adamant about finding him, and this process included berating me wherever we met. 

"You know who Victor is to me?" She asked coldly, silent anger in her eyes. 

"He's your brother, I know," I answered. It took everything in me to keep my voice from wavering. "I'm trying my best," I tried to assure her, even though I knew she wouldn't be assured until and unless she saw Victor alive and in one piece.

"Your best?" She questioned, "What does that include?"

I swallowed hard and answered, "I've searched all the crime records of the past year, visited every morgue in the area to see unidentified dead people, talked to all the people he knew, went everywhere he went, searched through all his records. Everything—"

"— what about the Underlords?" She cut, her voice sharper than a knife. I straightened up at her suggestion.

"The Underlords?" I asked, unable to believe that of all the people, she would suggest that. The Underlords were the rogues, the scorned, the rejects of the society that banded together for nothing good. Associating with them in any form or manner was not only looked down upon but wasn't anything safe or sane to do.

"The Underlords," Fiona scowled, "Did you go to the Underlords? Did you see if any one of them had done something to Victor? They hate us the most, after all,"

My heart was throbbing in my chest painfully at the suggestion. It could be a possibility, but I didn't want to get involved with the Underlords in any form or manner. I usually avoided taking any case that might even involve them. 

"No. They might hate us, but I don't think they'd go as far as kidnapping a Council member of Victor's rank," I tried to reason. However, I knew Fiona wouldn't consider this. She had her mind set on finding her brother and was willing to push me to any extent. 

"Still," She urged, leaning forward while her eyes dug into me. "One of them must know something. They are the only ones left. Don't you think?"

"It might be," She could be right, but I didn't want to entertain the idea. I wanted this to end already. At best, I could shift the case to someone else, but Fiona wouldn't allow that. No. She was a sadist. She liked to see me suffer, and I was suffering well enough. 

"You say you did your best yet haven't done anything significant," she snapped. "I'm not going to tolerate this anymore. You'll go to the Underlords and find Victor anyhow, or I'll make sure you join their ranks," She spat, her voice laced with venom. If it had been anyone other than Fiona, I wouldn't have taken such a threat seriously, but this was Fiona.

Fiona always said what she meant and did what she said. It was one of the reasons why I hated her, yet I couldn't do anything to stop her. She was my Superior, and the council, which was just like any other organisation with a hint of corruption here and there, worked like clockwork as long as the Superiors could treat their subordinates like slaves. In that manner, I was Fiona's favourite slave because she knew I depended on my position. Despite being demeaned and berated, I wouldn't walk away, not after all those years of working my ass off to get where I was today. I could quit and end it all at once, but I wouldn't have anything. At all. 

 So I had to do what I had to: go to the Underlords or become one of them.