The clock kept ticking on the wall, the room otherwise silent. Mordred slowly paced from one side to the other, then back, rubbing his eyes. Marvin watched him from behind his desk, Beige resting against the windowsill with her arms crossed over her stomach and her gaze averted.
“Could you sit down, Mordred? You’re going to give me a migraine like that.” Marvin finally spoke in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“Sorry, bro, but I think being a little bit on edge is justified,” the man responded. “We have a mole in our company. Said mole knew everything about our plans that night, and has been funneling cash into a massive criminal enterprise. Whitaker is still out and about, and with every day it becomes more likely our company - our family will be framed as crooks.”
“...I understand that, but…”
“You already have something planned, right?” Mordred said, finally stopping and rolling his shoulders. “I’m guessing you already have some suspects.”
Marvin simply nodded.
“Right. And I’m guessing I’m among them.” He crossed his arms at Marvin and shook his head as he saw his brother about to speak up. “No need to say it, bro, I get it. Few people knew about our mission that night. I was one of them.”
Mordred then turned on his heal, raising a hand in a half-hearted wave. “Just do whatever you gotta do to figure this shit out.”
And with that, he was gone.
The room fell silent once more. It was Beige who spoke up next.
“...Mordred isn’t the only option, is he?” she asked.
Marvin shook his head. “There are two others, discounting the two of us and Silica. Mordred was the only one who knew the details of our plan, but two others knew that we were beginning to investigate those shady dealings. Fortune is one of them.”
Beige grimaced. “I’ve always hated that man. He’s a self-serving bastard, and would stop at nothing to gain power. You should never have gotten involved with him. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was the one behind all of this.”
Marvin leaned back in his seat, tapping his desk. “It would surprise me, however. He’s still a valid suspect, but he’s not an idiot. If word gets out that the Royale Foundation is taking part in these underground dealings, right after a merger with Fortune Enterprise, his own reputation would be ruined. That’s not to say we should discount him - just that if he’s behind all this, he’s already planned much further ahead than I could myself. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
Beige nodded. “And the other suspect?”
“...Trunce.”
Beige blinked, then let out an awkward laugh. “Elivian? You’re joking.”
Marvin shook his head again. “I’m entirely serious. He knew about my intentions to investigate this whole thing. I don’t believe he’s an intentional mole, if he is - but he’s hopelessly naive. It’s entirely believable someone is leading him along.”
After a lull, Beige spoke again. “So, what now?”
“Now… We make some arrangements.”
The Royales had been far more discrete this time around. No posters, no series of interviews. The process was instead painfully simple - if a trusted huntsman-in-training happened to be looking for a job, Silica would approach them with an offer.
Solid pay, a simple task, one request.
Keep it all a secret.
These missions were assigned to huntsmen in training rather than any of Royale's own men, as there was no way to tell who was and wasn't in on the shady dealings the Royale Foundation had found itself a part of. With Mordred and Fortune having their own web of connections among professional huntsmen in Vale, students became the only option for Marvin. It was a risky move, and yet it was the only move he could make.
Mordred Royale. Marvin Royale's brother and former teammate, still a close associate to the Royale Foundation and an active huntsman. Quite well-known at that - renowned for his skill with a blade, especially against other fighters despite never taking part in any official contest.
Mordred was the one who led the team on the previous mission and was the only person besides Marvin to have access to every detail regarding it. This has made him a prime suspect for being the mole within the Royale Foundation.
Mordred already know he's a suspect and has supposedly begun his own investigation. You'll have to keep an eye on him until further notice and report anything strange back to me.
Good luck, Juno.
- Silica
Mordred had left his home that evening at 8:15 PM. He had dug through his pockets, produced a stick of gum, and checked the messages on his scroll. He had then started walking.
He kept walking until he found himself in, quite possibly, the shadiest part of town. It was well past 9 PM now, and the streetlights had replaced the last rays of sunlight. The streets stood empty with the exception of a few vagrants wandering about, most of them faunus. Mordred seemed to pay them no mind at all, passing by the serious of alleyways and rundown apartment complexes without so much as a glance towards them.
It was clear that he was heading somewhere with a purpose, but it remained unclear what that was. How Juno went about trailing him was at his discretion - so long as he could remain unseen.