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It was a dark and stormy night.
Okay, maybe not a *stormy* night per sé, but definitely dark. The streets shone with light off whale oil lamps from an early evening rain. Luckily, High Cold in Dunwall doesn't produce much snow or ice like it does in Morley or Tyvia. Still cold as shit, though.
At least tonight's patrol will be more entertaining than normal. Seems *someone* set the late Empress Jessamine's murderer free, and despite being imprisoned for six months he managed to escape Coldridge without anyone seeing. Campbell is frothing at the mouth that the Outsider is involved, so to avoid more break-outs a group of us are being stationed there until he's satisfied.
Which is fine by me. Less work, since everyone we're watching are behind bars most of the time. Less biting wind, since I planned to spend most of my time here indoors. More time to poke around; one of the perks to being brought in as added security was access to all areas, and I fully intended to take advantage.
As I'm making my rounds along the cells to the left of the yard, I catch sight of two of my brothers standing close in conversation. Judging by height and shape, they're Brothers Timothy and Reilly. The former spent more time in the library then anything else(he exuded the scent of old books and ink) and the latter exercises heavily, leaving him with massive arms and legs. It would appear I came upon them at an...intimate moment. Violating both Wanton Flesh and Restless Hands if I'm any judge, based in where Reilly's hand was. Best to act like I didn't see anything, though it may come in useful later.
I head back through toward the interrogation room, aiming for the covered walkway above the yard. As I climb the stairs I catch sight of another Brother in the small cell control room. He doesn't appear familiar at first glance, but that's never stopped me before. I finish climbing the stairs and enter the walkway. The other overseer is staring intently at the control console, and doesn't acknowledge when I step into the room with him.
"Hello bro-DAUD?!?" What in the Void is he doing here?? And wearing an overseers uniform? Oh, but the way it stretches across his chest...looks like I'm guilty of Wandering Gaze, but I mean, who can blame me? Daud's head jerks up sharply at the yell and he spins to face me.
"Martin!" He hisses sharply, glancing around the tiny room for anyone who could hear us, "How the fuck do you know it's me? I'm in the full damn getup and wearing a mask!" I shake my head a little, "My dear Daud, no other overseer in the entire Abbey has tits that big or an ass that flat. Them's just the facts."
Daud stared at me for a long moment, and as we stood there I could smell the smoke from his cigarettes that clung like a second skin to him. Still smoking that Tyvian garbage, despite trying to get him to smoke the superior tasting Carroll's from Morley. Finally, the assassin shook his head a little and gave me what I can only guess was a look of deep admiration at my skills of deduction.
"Martin, you're full of shit." Oh. Okay, rude but not unexpected. "But you've always been full of shit, so I can't say I'm surprised. Anyway, I don't have time to deal with you and your weird way of telling people apart." He turned back the control panel, muttering, "You all look the same in this outfit..."
Sighing, I leaned against the doorframe, checking that I was out of clear sight before sliding my mask up and digging into a pocket for my cigarettes. The Abbey certainly helped me in a lot of ways, but there are some habits you just can't shake. Taking a deep drag, I watched Daud fiddle with the dials on the panel, like he's trying to open one particular cell or something.
"Do you need a hand with this?" I ask, though it's clear to me he does. I'm given another long look, this one clearly of relief that he can make use of my amazing skillset to get him out of here faster. I don't know who would pay to send an assassin *into* Coldridge to kill them, rather than to let the sod suffer and die here on his own, but it's not my business. Daud shakes his head, messing with the dials a couple more times before finally turning the switch. There's the harsh sound of a celldoor sliding open, then Daud is moving toward the door I came in though.
I stub out my cigarette and turn to follow, slipping my mask back over my face as we walk. Whatever is about to happen, it's bound to be the most entertaining thing to happen on my shift. Plus staring at Daud's lack of ass is always entertaining. He marches down the stairs and turns right, striding through like he owns the place. I follow at a more casual pace. Really, I should be stopping him from whatever he's about to do, but as long as he doesn't murder a member of the Abbey I don't really care.
Daud disappears into an open cell, and there's a loud clank of something heavy hitting stone. The noise is going to attract attention, especially since we're all supposed to be on high alert for any Void-related activity. I get a brief glimpse of the assassin, a body slung over his shoulder, before I turn and move to the center of the block. Time to start some shit.
I won't go into the dirty details, but I was placed in the stocks on my immediate return to Holger Square. I hope Havelock told Corvo to get me out of here...