Board Thread:Role Play Discussion/@comment-5999656-20170619043145/@comment-5999656-20170627025834

Zanipher got into the classy vehicle without hesitation, noting the luxurious leather seats, polished wood dashboard, and bold color scheme. The choice of ride was telling of the Bluthardts' old money status, standing in subtle contrast to the Syndicate's preferred modern sports cars. Zan merely gave a small nod and smile at the chauffeur's greeting, settling into her seat as she glanced unthinkingly out the window.

Zanipher turned to look curiously at Basilia when the girl spoke again. Basilia's response was general and inoffensive, probably meant to provide a answer solely for the purpose of stymieing further discussion of the topic. That was fine, Zan thought, as Mona probably wanted to discuss the wranglier details of those matters among merely the two of them.

When Basilia brought up the conflict with another faction, Zanipher couldn't help but cock an eyebrow queryingly. The young lady could only be referring to one thing - the short-lived battle with the organized thieves guild known as The Patched. To date, her hasty overreaction to the challenge was the biggest smear on her otherwise impressive resume, and while she'd successfully patched (heh) things up afterwards, her burgeoning partnership with him was still a total secret from the other Heads.

"The Syndicate is secure," Zanipher said succinctly, "And while I'd like the details to remain confidential for the time being, I can assure you that I've insured that the probability of us entering into another conflict with the Patched is currently very, very low."

She looked at Basilia again, trying to discern how much the girl actually knew.

"That was months before your mother was offered a position among the Dragons. If there were any losses we'd failed to recoup from the incident, she would have been duly notified when she ascended to Seventh Head. I wouldn't worry about it. The Dragons have no longstanding enemies."

Zanipher looked back ahead. No need to inform the girl about the men and women she'd lost. Besides, her last sentence rang true - of the countless people who had threatened the network, none of them had maintained the enmity for long. In fact, several organizations had ended up forming alliances with the Dragons, effectively becoming extensions of the network. Not to say that they had no enemies -  every Head had to deal with individual challenges to their security, not notable enough to warrant telling the others, but requiring swift and decisive action nonetheless.

Right now, she had two such challenges of her own. Their names? Platinum Roads and Automne Reynard. Within a week, the former would be effectively silenced. For the latter, it was merely a matter of time until the same would be applied to her.

A question suddenly popped into her head. A simple curiosity. Zan leaned over the armrest and rested her chin on her fist as she finally made eye contact with Basilia since entering the car.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it like, being a celebrity? All the attention, scrutiny... as you may know, I've got a sister who could benefit from a few tips on handling the public eye."