Collinsport. Night having fallen over Collinsport and Rhyaad deAnnar, who having been contacted by the chairman of the Diogenes Club as begun attempting to fulfill Vanessa Coats request. But his visit with a woman he trusts, Jamison St. Clair, who is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds in St, Marys hospital, has only served to renew is his misgivings and suspicions of Vanessa Coats. Before proceeding to see Dr. Praetorius, a gentleman he finds infinitely untrustworthy and eventually Catriona Kaye, he decides to make a call to the chairman.
Ring
Vanessa Coats puts down the file and reaches for the phone on her desk, “Coats.”
Her voice is cool, efficient.
“Hello Mz. Coats. This is Rhyaad de’Annar. I’m sure you remember me.” Rhyaad says standing in the kitchen of the Nightingale pouring himself a glass of warmed blood.
Coats points to a folder, across the room from her large desk, upon a smaller conference table set just before the windows that look out upon Pall Mall, “No, Manon, the other one. Mr. de’Annar, and how is the Maine summer coming along?”
“Summer? It’s been mostly storms, wet, rainy, cloudy, so . . . excellent! For me, anyway. But, I am calling, as I need your assistance. You have tasked me, and so far I have made little progress. I require some things from you.
“I see. What in particular?”
“First, I require the services of Agent Nine. At least for a few missions. I need her talents. And let’s be quite frank, Mz Coats: you and I both know that if Kaye has become what you think she has, nobody could prevent her from leaving. She stays of her own volition. Surely you could send a lesser agent to watch her while I borrow Agent Nine, yes?”
“Borrow? And what precisely does that mean? She is assigned not only to watch Miss Kaye, but as well to protect a rather valuable asset this borrowing, She takes the folder from her personal assistant Manon Trueblood, Would it leave Kaye unprotected?”
“As I said, you could send anybody else to protect her, if she needs protecting. The mail boy would do as well as anyone else. If Kaye wished to leave, not all of us together could prevent her from doing so. And I would like to know what other valuable asset she is guarding. I thought the clock was my objective, and to obtain that, I want backup: and backup of Agent Nine’s caliber.”
“Your primary objective Mr. de’Annar is to ascertain the disposition of Miss Collins.” She says, “Now as to Catriona Kaye, yes, any assistance you may be able to offer in regards to our endeavors in attempting to determine precisely who and what Miss Kaye is, would of course be gratifying but that sir is entirely secondary and as for the clock. That object is beyond our realm of expertise. If that object is even in this dimension. Coats replies dispassionately, almost as if ordering a late lunch from a menu, as she opens the folder and glances at the cover page. I also, want you, more so that Kaye, to determine the whereabouts of Victoria Wren. As you indicated earlier, there is an imposter in Collinsport. It would be of paramount importance to discover just who this imposter is and why they are posing as Wren. No, Manon, this not the correct report.”
“If it is, I could really use Nine and her very special visor to search for this clock. But if you don’t think it’s important, I can delay.
Never said the clock is not of importance. She tells him coldly. “It’s not your mission. Miss Collins is your mission.”
I just don’t want to go into that house alone. And Nikki Collins . . . presents a problem at this point. I’m afraid I have angered her and shall not be able to speak to her for a while. And yes, the so-called Wren here is an imposter. I shall have to visit Dr. Praetorius about that, and soon. I’ve put it off because I loathe the man. But the main of my two points is Agent Nine. I want to be able to work with her, at least once or twice.” He takes a sip of blood. “And, yes, there are reasons why I should see my least favorite Doctor before attempting to confront the false Wren. So if you can, I would really appreciate it if you could send a second agent who could relieve Nine’s position for a night or two.”
“Agent Nine’s primary assignment is to protect Catriona Kaye, as along as there are assurances that she is secured then yes, her services are available. Coats voice now sounds a trifle irritated, I am concerned about this news regarding Collins. As I told you, this inquiry must be discrete. Miss Collins is a very valuable weapon that must not be compromised or endangered. This needs a velvet glove Mr. deAnnar.
“Exactly – and that is why I can’t approach her directly now. She needs time to – cool off – as it were. Nor do I have any real way yet of determining if she is influenced by our Dark friend.” Rhyaad taking note her reference to Nichole as a weapon – a thing to be used – but lets no hint of his distaste slip into his intonations.
“Yes, rather a ruddy bad assignment I knowbut that is why I chose you. You know her better than anyone at the moment our information is that you served as a mentor to her when she first arrived there in Collinsport. Coats tells him, Observe, Mr. deAnnar observe. You know her best and the only way to deduce whether or not our friend has gotten to her is to determine whether she has changed. Is she the same as when you first meet her. She takes another folder and opens it, smiles, Yes, Manon that is the one. You see, our friend corrupts and seduces, that is how he works, how he influences. He will not come right out and seek her affiliation but rather, he will do so in some rather remarkable way. She wont see it coming. Now the question is, Mr. deAnnar has that day arrived? Is she aligned with him?
“Right now she is so angry with me that it would be unwise to try and quite impossible to tell. She is more . . . impulsive, for what that’s worth. But give her a few days. It could just be her maturing into her vampiric nature He says, wondering just how far he has strained their relationship although he had felt the orb where she had hidden it. “And that is precisely why it’s so hard to tell. He does not bewitch or hypnotize his victims. He corrupts them slowly, over years of time, until they truly wish to serve him.”
“One must handle this situation with care, Mr. de’Annar. Her voice not quite scolding, but certainly reproachful, Considerable effort was put into her creation. She said was not about to tell him that should Nicole Collins fall into the wrong hands, become corrupted, it could be devastating.”
“Yes, if you are correct in your suspicions, she could be extremely dangerous.”
“Yes, quite. Even she is unawarewhich is why I am so concerned that our dark friend has taken such an interest. I am more than sure he knows what she is.”
“But . . . I see an order now in which I must proceedand for a few days, it is wise to observe Nikki and Esther from a distance. As for our friend, I already told you we, all of us, have done his bidding. There is no doubt he knows what she is. And myself for that matter.” He looks at the warm blood in his glass, But you still have not answered the question: may I borrow Agent Nine’s services for a short time?
“As I said, as long as Kaye is protected. And I can assure you Mr. deAnnar no ordinary mailboy should be assigned to protect her. Nine is assigned specifically because of who she is.”
“Then you will assign another relief agent who can protect Kaye for a night or two?”
Vanessa Coats falls quiet for a second, either thinking or looking at the file she had been asking this Manon for, “I shall discuss this with Nine. But I dont have another Extraordinary Member available at the moment.”
“As the saying goes, if you wish to make mayonnaise, you must break some eggs. So Nine is an Extrordinary Member? Though I detest saying that after I found out it was Hermann Goering who invented it. Suffice it to say, I am of the opinion that I need a bit more help here, and Agent Nine is highly qualified to provide that help. Please have her call me, or you call me, when you have discussed this.”
Coats raises an eyebrow she was of the understanding that mayonnaise was a creation of the French, sometime in the 1750s, by the Duke de Richelieus chef, and was named for the Port of Mahon and she makes a note to herself. Cant be wrong about the little things, “Yes. As I said, I shall discuss this with her. Now, I it is of primary importance that you re-establish your relationship with Miss Collins. I need someone close to hersomeone who knows her well. Someone who determine if the has had contact with our friend.”
“I shall. But rushing things with her is dangerous.” There is a silence on the line and he gathers she is waiting for him to continue, “Recently, you mean?”
“Yes.”
He sighs. “That’s what I thought you meant . . . I will find some way. Now on to the second request, which you shall also dislike . . . ”
“I chose you Mr. de’Annar as Miss Collins has not had a wealth of friends. It imperative that I have some I close to her who knows her, that she confines in, who can detect whether she has been influenced by evil.”
“I will do my best, Mz. Coats. Esther is close to her also; I shall have to find a way to discretely question her. There’s also the danger that she may tell Nikki about my asking. It’s touchy. Now . . . ” he pauses “I want to know a secret. I need to know a big secret, a little secret, or both like the combination to a safe, or where the hole is on the coffee machine, I don’t care. I don’t care about your secrets anyway. Just as long as it is something the Chairman would know. That Kaye – if she still is Kaye – would know the correct answer to.”
Another brief moment of silence, as she looks at another page in the file before here, “Yes, ask her whom Mycroft Holmes trusted the most in 1901. The answer should be Beauregard.”
He nods, even though she cannot see it. “Good. Thank you Mz Coats.”
“Only two people alive have read the file, Kaye and myself.”
“Excellent.”
“Now, as for to your first request, I need to ascertain from Nine precisely what the current situation is with Kayeas I said, she is there to protect her at all costs. Perhaps now more so than when I sent her.”
He wonders what she could possibly mean, since Kaye is way more powerful that Agent Nine. Her reluctance to admit this is cause for suspicion. But he merely replies with an emotionless “Very well.”
“Is that all you need at the moment Mr. de’Annar?”
“Yes, Mz Coats. It seems our conversation is done for now. But I will await your call about Nine, and call you when I have something significant to report.”
“Oh — one other thing before I ring off. Recent occult back channel chatter we have come into possession of indicates that Louis Castaigne has purchased an old dinner theater in Collinsport and intends to refurbish it. Do take a look into that.”
“I shall.”
“And be wary of an American organization. They are known to have an agent there in Collinsport. Thought they were a bit of a fringe groupofficially disbanded for indiscretions in Cambodia in 1969. Theyve remained active mostly as a fraternity of ex-officers and recruited members of law enforcement, all rather unofficially, you see, until recently. They have been reinstated to official status again by the current administration. This agent of theirs has been assigned to watch Miss Collins alsofor their own agenda. So do be a bit circumspect when dealing with them.”
A smile comes to his lips. “Oh, you mean those over excitable fools from Delta Green?”
“Yes. Quite. Can be a bit of a bother at times.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve dealt with them before, in the Blair murders. They won’t be a problem.”
“So, do enjoy the rainy weather there in Maine, Mr. de’Annar.”
“Thank you. And may you have many dull, leaden cloud days also, Mz. Coats” he allows just a little humor to creep into his voice. “Good evening”.
“Good evening.” And she rings off.
He hopes his mention of Delta Green will further gain her trust, rather than do the opposite. But he is already more and more convinced that Coats is hiding something. Her dishonesty about Kaye is obvious. He already feels which side he is pulled to in this political contest. Well, if Coats doesn’t like Praetorius, then perhaps there is something good about the old mad scientist.
Cue Music End of Episode