Emil held his rebuttal, never one to interrupt Charlie in a train of thought, regardless of his own. He wasnât worried about competition, not really. His goal wasnât to be the only seller to interest the Institute, just one of them, posing as a middleman between some hospital or crooked Red Cross worker as the Head suggested. Just one more reliable source amidst a shortlist of options. Black markets tended to be much bigger than the naive assumed and much smaller than the savvy expected. But that was for him to know and for Charlie not to worry about.
It was his next suggestion, however, that surprised him. Emil had expected Charlie to ask him to scale back the plan; offer less, minimize the risk, scrap it entirely. Instead, he was raising the stakes, and probably rightly so, but it wasnât the conversation heâd necessarily prepared for. âI had planned to leave that decision up to you. Itâs your House, your members,â he answered, honestly albeit cautiously. He had ideas, of course, he always did. But he hadnât expected to get final say on that part of the deal should Charlie even agree to the rest of it. However, he wouldnât punt on the decision entirely, knowing if the man asked his advice, he was interested in hearing it.
âIf the Institute was involved in the break in, they seemed willing to put in a good amount of effort to attempt to take someone of Songâs standing. While I agree we could all but guarantee their attention with a Prime, I donât think itâs our only option.â He suspected a Significant would do the trick, perhaps even a Notable, but Primes brought their own host of possibilities and problems. âIf you think a Prime would be best, I would suggest one of your Advisors. The Sol lineâmedical mysteries and allâseems too valuable to risk on a play neither of us can guarantee the results on. It may also appear too good to be true.â It was already going to be complicated enough to be involved, even as a supposed middleman, selling Oleander blood as an Oleander Affiliate. That was the final topic theyâd need to discuss though.
âAll in all, Iâd say it boils down to how far youâre interested in taking my plan, if youâre interested in taking it at all,â he continued. âThereâs a version of this where nothing real actually hits the market. The rumor game is harder to play: you get less tangible results when you have less tangible products. I could offer you maybe a forty-fifty percent success rate, and thatâs not underselling myself.â Most people wouldnât have a chance in hell, Emil was sure of it. But there was no point in being cocky or humble with Charlie, he just needed to know what you could and couldnât do. âThereâs a version where we oversell it. Put a Notableâs blood on the market, claim itâs a Prime. People pull plenty of stunts like that. We lose the chance for long term communication, but we get the basic information.â Doing his best to spare the man more details than he needed, Emil opted to offer only three basic points on the spectrum, a Goldilocks array of sorts. âOr we go all in. Put something real on the market, something of value, and actually sell it. You give up real information, but you get more in return. Potentially a consistent relationship. Potentially requests. And if we know what they want, we know what and who theyâre targeting.â
That thought had a long and dangerous train, of course, one that got complicated quickly, and one that continued to require Charlieâs attention. However, Emil continued to peel back the layers of his thoughts only as they became relevant. âItâs the same as always. Higher risk, higher reward, no guarantee on any of it. But I can work within the parameters you need.â It was how he got his job and how he kept it; he was adaptable. âSo you let me know what you want, and Iâll see what I can do.â
Charlie appreciated the logic. He appreciated the manâs weighing of the pros and cons and he agreed with almost all of it. He wasnât disappointed in knowing that the man had already thought through a lot of it, left it open for options and left it up for Charlie to decide what they actually put out there.Â
The problem was that even a primeâs blood, even a notableâs blood, was not something Charlie was willing to risk. He could see the value in a long term contact, in making sure that whoever came biting at their bait might come back for more, if they gave them something real. But if left him with the reality that it could potentially put someone into a significant amount of danger. And nothing he wanted for house Oleander. Heâd be a liar if he said the thought didnât cross his mind that it could potentially be from another house, but that thought was erased almost immediately. Not a betrayal he wanted to initiate.Â
Thereâs another thought that crosses his mind. The threads of a bigger scheme years in the making and while Emil had glossed over the idea that the Sol line was too valuable of an asset to truly put out there on the market, there were no better guarded individuals in all of their house. And he wouldnât have entertained the idea at all if he thought it would put his children at risk. And if it seemed unrealistic to get one of the heirs or the current head of houses blood, there was another candidate that might draw the right kind of attention.Â
âThank you for entrusting me with this plan of yours and the many details youâve clearly put thought into,â Charlie says and itâs more of a placating statement than anything else, something to potentially put Emilâs mind at ease if he thought Charlie would call him a traitor or loose canon. They hadnât operated together on this large of a scale when it came to information and the more covert type of dealings. Usually smaller things that would allow plausible deniability.Â
This was different. Dangerous. If he wasnât confident in Emilâs capability for carrying it out, heâd have told him it was too risky. Told him it was far too much to deal with and could be the downfall of them all if not carried out properly. But as it was, there were still the words from the Concord ringing in his ears, the words of his ancestors plaguing his thoughts late at night and very few answers for any of it. Tainted Oleander magic. He needed more than to just know whether the Institute was still out there. He needed to know what it all meant.Â
âIâm about to ask something very difficult of you,â he prefaces his statements. âI will support your plan and will offer you our resources and aid should you have the need for it if it goes astray. You are one of my strongest assets when it comes to House business, I do not easily forget that.âÂ
He takes a breath. âThe only thing I ask in return, is you donât inquire as to my motivation behind giving you the following information.â As he says the words he stands up, pulling his keys out of his pocket and heading towards a filing cabinet in the back of his office. He starts sifting through it, before pulling out a business card and locking the cabinet back up. He leans across the desk, handing the business card over to Emil. Itâs for a Dr. Gretchen Wood, family medicine, out in Sedona, Arizona.Â
âThis doctor receives assistance from us in keeping some bad business practices out of the Medical Boardâs attention. Sheâll be happy to assist you in acquiring the samples youâll need.â He pauses, sitting down and leaning back in his chair.Â
âTell her you specifically want them from Thomas Sol.âÂ