The Bastille

Viddik arrived with The Godmother at The Bastille courtesy of Echoes. The time mage promptly disappeared and The Commandant hustle the criminal to an interrogation room. There she is roughly pushed into a chair and told to wait in silence. Then The Commandant leaves.

Perhaps an hour later the door to the interrogation chamber opens. Through the now open portal comes a prime example of propriety. Gaspar the kings butler shuts the door behind him. Being careful not to make a single sound. The older gentlemen eyes The Godmother dispassionately for a moment before moving to stand in front of her. His voice is absolutely firm and absolutely polite.

"Greetings Mademoiselle Elat. I am Gaspar the kings head of staff. I am here to ask you some questions on behalf of his majesty. I would recommend you answer truthfully the first time I ask. I will know you are lying and I can be quite persuasive. Am I understood?"

"Excellent."

Gaspar responds with his perfectly polite voice. He leaves the room and returns a moment later. This time he carries a tea set. This is set down on the table and a mug of tea poured out. The unmistakable odor of peppermint wafts from the cup. A lace doily is produced from no where and set before The Godmother. Then the tea is set before her. She would also find that her restraints have been removed. The tea is of course exquisite. Once The Godmother has sampled it Gaspar would begin.

"Now Mademoiselle Elat, we have long known of your involvement with the Lutin Cartel. What eludes us is your exact position within the hierarchy. We know you are high within the ranks. What is your exact position though?"

"You are dissembling Mademoiselle Elat. I would advise against it."

The butlers voice is absolutely calm and still perfectly polite. Yet there is something else in it now. A note that suggests that despite appearances he doesn't have a great well of patience. At least not for her. He waits to see if she is going to show more wisdom.

"I would say that well more straightforward you are still dissembling. You are however, one of several people we suspected of being the figure known as The Godmother. With that statement I am inclined to believe it. For the record though please state it formally."

Gaspar continues the discussion without revealing a hint of his true feelings. Beyond that sense of limited patience.

"Mademoiselle Elat, you are not in a position to ask questions. I have asked you twice now to be direct. This is your Last Chance to comply. Well I am not fond of torture, I am quite proficient in the art. But if that is what it takes to get you to listen than so be it."

Even as he delivers this threat Gaspar's voice doesn't change. He could be holding a conversation about the weather for all the feeling in his voice. Which should tell Sasha just how serious he was. This was not a man who tried to bully or cajole. He simply did whatever was needed to accomplish his task. If that meant torturing Sasha than he would do it without batting an eye. He would do it with the same methodical perfection he did everything.

"Thank you Mademoiselle Elat. Second question. Which do you value more. Your organization's integrity or your personal wealth, power, and freedom?"

Gaspar had nodded at her admission of guilt. As though she were simply confirming what he already knew. And in a way he had. Then he'd asked his second question without pausing to think.

"That is incorrect. The cartel has been in operations within Gauldin for approximately 240 years. Well that is an impressive number it is not as you put it, always. Additionally the Cartel might not even persist until the end of the week. If you are indeed the head of the cartel you will have all the information we require to to decimate it's numbers. Warehouses, fairy dust dens, lieutenants, book keepers, distributors. All caught imprisoned or executed. Well some straggling members may escape the purge, they will soon find themselves forced to join a new criminal organization. A far more affluent and powerful organization, than the ragged corpse of the Lutin Cartel."

Gaspar's of course maintains the exact same timber as it has for the entire conversation. He doesn't add any pointless threats. Doesn't imply that she might not talk. He knows and she knows that eventually she will break. He then continues to speak.

"Of course after we have everything we need from you, you will be stripped of rank and title then executed. That is option one. There is of course a second option, where you don't lose everything. Would you be inclined to hear that choice?"

Gaspar nods. This was what he expected. Most people wouldn't die for their ideals. Criminals in particular rarely had that kind of conviction. It was possible she'd turn down the offer, but he doubted it.

"The second option is slightly more pleasant for you. You still lose your title of course. That was forfeit the moment you told a foreign dignitary that you use fairy dust, never mind that you sell it. Well the king can't stop such degeneracy in his court, he can't let it slide either. However, you do get to keep your life. You will be released, permitted to keep your house and money. Though the rest of your official holdings will be confiscated. From what I can guess, this won't be too large a setback. I imagine most of what you own is off the books. You can resume control of your cartel and run it, with a few small changes. You will be working for the crown."

Gaspar raises a hand to forestall any possible interjections.

"You will be working for the crown, but not to destroy the cartel. The king is not an idiot. He understands that no matter how much he might wish it so, it is impossible to have country free of crime. As crime is an inevitability it is better that it be organized. Your cartel provides a measure of order and stability to the criminal underworld. Stability is good for the kingdom. However, there needs to be some changes to how you conduct business. You institute new policies for your employees. No selling drugs to, or recruiting of children, no killing of innocent civilians if it can be helped, no burglaries in the poorer districts. Among others there is a list."

Gaspar reaches into a pocket and produces an envelope. This he slides across the table to Sasha.

"You can introduce these policies slowly, to make it seem more natural. But they all must be in effect within two years. Additionally you will be expected to provide information on members of your cartel. Those who break these rules, kill guards, as well as any magistrates on your payroll. That will start now and will continue going forward. Of course this agreement won't be all one way. We will give forewarning on raids that you can pass along. If you need to get ride of a rival from another organization, well remaining seemingly un-involved you can contact us. We will orchestrate to have charges dropped against key lieutenants if their crimes aren't too heinous. In short we will make you more powerful and wealthy than you are among the criminal class. Well at the same time limiting the damage your cartel does. This is option two."