[Normally such respect shown to him merely for his undesired position in the Church rankles but here, it is all he has. And so he will take all of the power it lends him for now, until he can make something more of himself.
And just like that a lovely plot begins to plan and plant itself in his mind. This man, the Inspector of the City? If he can use this man's evident respect for clergy as well as his growing relationship with the Inspector's wife, he might just be able to affect himself some political power yet.]
Oh I agree, it is attention gathering but we must remember it is simply a dream. Such sin may weigh on the mind and God may judge us for our sinful thoughts, but pray we are not punished until it is an actual trespass we commit.
I have told no other this but you, Inspector, I will admit that I believe it has something to do with an incident that happened a few years ago. One of my fellow Cardinals was poisoned and the culprit fled to France.
[Which is... almost how it happened. It's close enough to the truth to be told very convincingly.]
[Javert examines the young Cardinal searchingly. A healthy dose of immediate respect for the clergy is ingrained deeply in his person, but that does not mean he is not just the slightest bit wary of a newcomer claiming to be a cleric in Somarium. Experience erodes naivete, and though the Inspector possesses a special kind of blindness when it comes to authority, the late Prosecutor Franziska von Karma certainly dampened and damaged that resolved and determined subservience.
Still, a scrutinizing, hawkish stare from the Chief Inspector of Police is nothing unusual, even if it is an offense of insolence. He treats most people with the same calm authority. It is the humbleness and respect that few men are privy to.]
To France! [The Inspector murmurs half to himself, the words tumbling swiftly through his teeth,] It must have been at the Cote d'Azur, the devil! It is far too easy to slip past the old provincial towns down there. I knew those paths well. I once served as a prison-guard in the South of France.
[Clearly this explanation of Cesare's seems perfectly sensible to the Inspector, though that stare is still studying the younger man very, very closely. He lifts his voice, measuring each word carefully.]
Well. He will not have gotten away for very long. Or much longer. Assassins cannot hide in the shadows forever.
[The scrutiny does not bother him much. He has many secrets to keep from someone, especially if that someone is a representative of the police force here, but Cesare is arrogant enough he doesn't think the Inspector will find out any of them.]
Indeed I should hope not! Patience and virtue win out over lawlessness, whose temperance is most often one of haste and thoughtlessness.
Though I would not blame the French entirely, Javert. The Italy of my day is disorganized and ruled by petty men in city states whose greed is only outdone by the other and usually conflicting or causing conflict.
[Cesare at least is telling the truth there. If he had his way he would see Italy united, as a whole and powerful country... preferably with himself or his father at the head.]
Ah but I have been neglectful myself in not giving you my own name. I am Cardinal Cesare Borgia.
I do not blame France. I blame the idiots who are meant to check papers at town centers. Many... problems and wasted resources are avoidable if passports are checked properly when they are meant to. A system like that is a mess in this place; it would not work; but at the time it organized society well enough.
[Not that Javert knows this from personal experience, such as in the case of a very peculiar ex-convict whose papers were never read. That man had managed to create a whole fraudulent identify for himself--and become mayor of the village he infiltrated.
Yes, it was to the village's great benefit. That is besides the point.
Javert removes his hat and issues the young Cardinal a stiff bow.]
Should you have need of the police, Monseigneur Cardinal, you will send for me at the District Five Police Station. [Javer again straightens, his piercing stare drawing back to Cesare like a steel magnet.] Or call me with your device.
[Cesare bows his head in return once Javert is straightened out enough to see. Now this is more to his appreciation. Everyone here is so abrupt, disrespectful and even confrontational. Here was a man who spoke with more elegance and knew his betters when he addressed them. Yes Cesare was planning on exploiting him as much as possible but that did not mean he did not appreciate the man, not at all.]
Thank you, signore. It is good to know that despite the odd circumstance of our unwanted transportation here that good citizens such as yourself have brought some order to the rest of us.
[A little flattery never hurt did it?]
And of course should I ever be of any use to you or the police, I would be happy to support you. With as many odd people as there are here I am sure it can be tasking.
Don't be so kind! We only do the duty that is expected of us. [Javert adds through his teeth, in an odd aside,] Yet often the Service struggles to keep some imitation of organization.
[Javert tosses the young cleric such a dry, skeptical, rueful glance as if to say, You haven't the slightest idea how tasking that is. There is a minute, almost imperceptible shake of his head and a pinch in his jaw.]
People are easier to predict. The criminals act the same. It does not much matter what color, sex or species they are. I have seen enough of them to know it well. It is the ... [he selects his words carefully] properties specific to Somarium that present a challenge.
[VIDEO] that icon <3unholydecreeAugust 28 2011, 04:16:46 UTC
[Organization. Cesare can use that, he did so much organizational work for his father who was in turn the organizational mastermind behind the former Pope. The plan in his mind is already shaping up very nicely.
Javert is directly at the center of it.]
I am still trying to come to terms with all of these species and, oddities. [Cesare looks both concerned and curious.]
Inspector, what do you mean by properties specific to this city? I know of the shared dreams but little else.
[VIDEO] It is one of my favorites *_*chose_deathAugust 28 2011, 05:00:59 UTC
You will notice it as well. In time, [Javert again mutters in his abrupt and clouded manner. He knows what he's talking about; it does not seem to matter to him exactly if others understand it. He watches Cesare closely and grimaces.]
I do not know when you entered. I am sorry, but your face isn't familiar, [he says curtly at last. Javert's head tilts thoughtfully, and it seems the longer he considers the man in front of him the more his grimace expands. Eventually, he asks,] Were you here for the Flood?
[Cesare opens his mouth to make a quip about ruined boots upon his arrival on the "golf course" (what this golf is he still is unsure). But this man seems not terribly inclined toward the comedic.
Instead he clears his throat and sits up straighter in bed, petting back his messy hair to something more presentable.]
I was not, Inspector, but believe I arrived very shortly afterward. I have been here for a good half of the repairs by my estimation. Terrible business for everyone, I imagine?
[No, Javert does not seem to be a man that appreciates a good joke, does he? But he does have a sense of humor in there, and a very dry, wry, witty one, at that. Of course, that side of the good Inspector rarely comes out around the high authority figures in his life, master of himself that he is.]
Oh, yes, a very bad business. But as you can see, [he drawls rather coldly,] it has cleaned up.
Listen, this here is my point: Don't forget that monthly events are normal. What it has come to is a special service used for emergency help only. For disasters, I mean. [His eyes roll to the sky, and he mutters dismissively and indifferently,] Yes, disasters, if that is what they are called when they happen every month!
[The perfect opportunity to start planting the seeds of his grand plan. Cesare looks very thoughtful and so very concerned, he even makes a small hum.]
Forgive me, but I do not understand being so new here. Doesn't Somarium have a body of government to prepare for these things? Some manner of magistrate or council body to assist the police and make the city run as efficiently as possible?
Of course there is. [Javert's eyes glimmer.] Somarium is not lawless.
--But we are not fortune-tellers. [Even if Javert's mother is one, but that is an entirely different shell to crack.] It is not the efficiency or the magistrates that is lacking. It is the limited foresight. We guess and prepare, and we offer incentives to report anything they know. We equip the service, and we enforce the law, and we recognize the signs of another event. That is our affair.
Indeed I can see that you and your law enforcement are doing everything that they can.
...still, I cannot help but be confused about why others have been telling me there is no governing body here. Are they that remote from the citizens of Somarium? That is peculiar.
[He hopes he's not moving too fast but he quietly adds--]
A political figure that assisted your police force would be preferable I would think.
[Javert's nose crimps in disgust, his lower lip pushing upwards to almost meet his large, cavernous nostrils.]
Ah! No governing body! Who the Devil did you speak to? They must be new Visitors. Those idiots feel they have learned the city in a matter of days. Ha!
Monseigneur, I have worked this city for two years. I tell you that there once was not much of a monarchy or magisterial council. But there is now, and it has been here for a long time. It is a republic; [and that he says with a slight slip of distaste in that mask of self-control. Javert was very much a monarchist in his native France.] the citizens vote their rulers to power.
[He regards Cesare unblinkingly. He continues very slowly, as if he were carefully considering every word,] The police are guided by the Law and whatever government money we are given. I do not know what assistance you mean. I am only a public servant. The mayor is better to speak to about that. You will find the Mayoral Office at City Hall. Government District.
[Mayor was it? Not as prestigious a title as he would like but it was a place to start. Cesare quiets a moment to clear his head and think about the situation.]
What I mean to say is, if there were a man supported by the populace who could legitimize and further fund the police, the whole city would work more efficiently and pave the way for more lawful, binding ordinances.
Who sits in the Mayoral Office? I would be happy to meet with him, as I do have some business in the city I have been considering.
[Von Karma, when she was alive, had always harped on the importance of fundraising, after all. To Javert, though, that sounds like a very fine line between 'buying' the police and supporting them. Still, he does not voice any opinion either way. His tone remains neutral, abrupt and calm, his gaze fixed on Cesare the Cleric. He is an interesting sort of clergyman, isn't he, with these questions?]
The current Monsieur le Maire is Monsieur von Drimhelm. You must call on his secretary to schedule a meeting. She will greet you at his office.
And just like that a lovely plot begins to plan and plant itself in his mind. This man, the Inspector of the City? If he can use this man's evident respect for clergy as well as his growing relationship with the Inspector's wife, he might just be able to affect himself some political power yet.]
Oh I agree, it is attention gathering but we must remember it is simply a dream. Such sin may weigh on the mind and God may judge us for our sinful thoughts, but pray we are not punished until it is an actual trespass we commit.
I have told no other this but you, Inspector, I will admit that I believe it has something to do with an incident that happened a few years ago. One of my fellow Cardinals was poisoned and the culprit fled to France.
[Which is... almost how it happened. It's close enough to the truth to be told very convincingly.]
Reply
Still, a scrutinizing, hawkish stare from the Chief Inspector of Police is nothing unusual, even if it is an offense of insolence. He treats most people with the same calm authority. It is the humbleness and respect that few men are privy to.]
To France! [The Inspector murmurs half to himself, the words tumbling swiftly through his teeth,] It must have been at the Cote d'Azur, the devil! It is far too easy to slip past the old provincial towns down there. I knew those paths well. I once served as a prison-guard in the South of France.
[Clearly this explanation of Cesare's seems perfectly sensible to the Inspector, though that stare is still studying the younger man very, very closely. He lifts his voice, measuring each word carefully.]
Well. He will not have gotten away for very long. Or much longer. Assassins cannot hide in the shadows forever.
Reply
Indeed I should hope not! Patience and virtue win out over lawlessness, whose temperance is most often one of haste and thoughtlessness.
Though I would not blame the French entirely, Javert. The Italy of my day is disorganized and ruled by petty men in city states whose greed is only outdone by the other and usually conflicting or causing conflict.
[Cesare at least is telling the truth there. If he had his way he would see Italy united, as a whole and powerful country... preferably with himself or his father at the head.]
Ah but I have been neglectful myself in not giving you my own name. I am Cardinal Cesare Borgia.
Reply
[Not that Javert knows this from personal experience, such as in the case of a very peculiar ex-convict whose papers were never read. That man had managed to create a whole fraudulent identify for himself--and become mayor of the village he infiltrated.
Yes, it was to the village's great benefit. That is besides the point.
Javert removes his hat and issues the young Cardinal a stiff bow.]
Should you have need of the police, Monseigneur Cardinal, you will send for me at the District Five Police Station. [Javer again straightens, his piercing stare drawing back to Cesare like a steel magnet.] Or call me with your device.
Reply
Thank you, signore. It is good to know that despite the odd circumstance of our unwanted transportation here that good citizens such as yourself have brought some order to the rest of us.
[A little flattery never hurt did it?]
And of course should I ever be of any use to you or the police, I would be happy to support you. With as many odd people as there are here I am sure it can be tasking.
Reply
[Javert tosses the young cleric such a dry, skeptical, rueful glance as if to say, You haven't the slightest idea how tasking that is. There is a minute, almost imperceptible shake of his head and a pinch in his jaw.]
People are easier to predict. The criminals act the same. It does not much matter what color, sex or species they are. I have seen enough of them to know it well. It is the ... [he selects his words carefully] properties specific to Somarium that present a challenge.
Reply
Javert is directly at the center of it.]
I am still trying to come to terms with all of these species and, oddities. [Cesare looks both concerned and curious.]
Inspector, what do you mean by properties specific to this city? I know of the shared dreams but little else.
Reply
I do not know when you entered. I am sorry, but your face isn't familiar, [he says curtly at last. Javert's head tilts thoughtfully, and it seems the longer he considers the man in front of him the more his grimace expands. Eventually, he asks,] Were you here for the Flood?
Reply
Instead he clears his throat and sits up straighter in bed, petting back his messy hair to something more presentable.]
I was not, Inspector, but believe I arrived very shortly afterward. I have been here for a good half of the repairs by my estimation. Terrible business for everyone, I imagine?
Reply
Oh, yes, a very bad business. But as you can see, [he drawls rather coldly,] it has cleaned up.
Listen, this here is my point: Don't forget that monthly events are normal. What it has come to is a special service used for emergency help only. For disasters, I mean. [His eyes roll to the sky, and he mutters dismissively and indifferently,] Yes, disasters, if that is what they are called when they happen every month!
Reply
Forgive me, but I do not understand being so new here. Doesn't Somarium have a body of government to prepare for these things? Some manner of magistrate or council body to assist the police and make the city run as efficiently as possible?
Reply
--But we are not fortune-tellers. [Even if Javert's mother is one, but that is an entirely different shell to crack.] It is not the efficiency or the magistrates that is lacking. It is the limited foresight. We guess and prepare, and we offer incentives to report anything they know. We equip the service, and we enforce the law, and we recognize the signs of another event. That is our affair.
Reply
...still, I cannot help but be confused about why others have been telling me there is no governing body here. Are they that remote from the citizens of Somarium? That is peculiar.
[He hopes he's not moving too fast but he quietly adds--]
A political figure that assisted your police force would be preferable I would think.
Reply
Ah! No governing body! Who the Devil did you speak to? They must be new Visitors. Those idiots feel they have learned the city in a matter of days. Ha!
Monseigneur, I have worked this city for two years. I tell you that there once was not much of a monarchy or magisterial council. But there is now, and it has been here for a long time. It is a republic; [and that he says with a slight slip of distaste in that mask of self-control. Javert was very much a monarchist in his native France.] the citizens vote their rulers to power.
[He regards Cesare unblinkingly. He continues very slowly, as if he were carefully considering every word,] The police are guided by the Law and whatever government money we are given. I do not know what assistance you mean. I am only a public servant. The mayor is better to speak to about that. You will find the Mayoral Office at City Hall. Government District.
It is not hard to find.
Reply
What I mean to say is, if there were a man supported by the populace who could legitimize and further fund the police, the whole city would work more efficiently and pave the way for more lawful, binding ordinances.
Who sits in the Mayoral Office? I would be happy to meet with him, as I do have some business in the city I have been considering.
Reply
I suppose that would interest my superiors.
[Von Karma, when she was alive, had always harped on the importance of fundraising, after all. To Javert, though, that sounds like a very fine line between 'buying' the police and supporting them. Still, he does not voice any opinion either way. His tone remains neutral, abrupt and calm, his gaze fixed on Cesare the Cleric. He is an interesting sort of clergyman, isn't he, with these questions?]
The current Monsieur le Maire is Monsieur von Drimhelm. You must call on his secretary to schedule a meeting. She will greet you at his office.
Reply
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