S a l e t é I V

XXXVIII - Nichoir - Cinq

The other Sabre officers moved to stand nearby now that the woman who was supposedly their boss had begun to address the crowd, all four of them falling quiet in turn as she prepared to begin properly. 

Looking around at the crowd again, Cassia tried to determine what kind of reactions were present amongst those who had been able to attend. 

Some were waiting with baited breath, some seemed to be on edge, some seemed to be like Spears - somewhere between annoyed and angry. One girl towards the back, most likely only a little older than Sunshine, looked upset. A lad nearer the front looked as if he wanted to say something, his demeanour suggesting that he was barely able to refrain from doing so.

Any questions that people had must have been burning by that point. Cassia had plenty of her own, the thought of asking that lady from Sabre anything directly an unnerving one, that strictly professional gaze of hers sharp to the degree that it might have been able to cut clean through her.

"My name is Eulalie, and I am an inspector working on behalf of the Sabre establishment here in Lower Merveille. I have been chosen as the individual to speak to you today because the boss is currently occupied with an important aspect of the investigation, which I shall discuss momentarily."

"The boss...?" Cassia muttered, hoping that one of her older companions could explain.

"She must be talking about the fellow in charge of the depot. I've never seen him, he spends a lot of time in the city, apparently." Chief replied, earning an appreciative nod from her in thanks. The analysis that Spears gave was somewhat more...

"The big twonk in charge of all the little twonks."

Informal...?

"I will try to keep things concise, and I'll remind you that questions should wait until the end. Many queries you might have may be answered by the explanation I have to give." The inspector continued, her tone never changing from that one note professionalism, her eyes moving between those before her and the tablet she had on hand quickly. 

"Several days ago, during an occasion akin to a giveaway of sorts, the Lower Merveille Brisbois complex was attacked in an act of arson. The site has been rendered unusable by the damage inflicted. As of this moment in time, there are no plans to repair or reopen the facility, as Monsieur Brisbois is currently assisting with our investigation."

Quite a few people in the crowd were clearly disillusioned by this news, a ripple of disappointment passing over them that was felt by many, the rise enough to prompt the inspector to raise a hand in a gesture that called for quiet. 

Cassia didn't experience that ripple for herself, however, as she was too busy dwelling on the knowledge that Brisbois was safe and well. He must have been, if he was helping Sabre with the investigation, mustn't he?

"The big man's alright." Spears said as he took notice of that same point, turning to his companions to get a feel for how they were feeling as the crowd continued to murmur.

"What about everyone else? Can we ask about Sabine, and the others?" Klavdiya asked, the news not doing much to settle her own apprehension.

Before they could come to any decisions or say anything else, the inspector earned the attention of the crowd again by sharply tapping at the top of her tablet's case with a pen, the woman quick to continue once she had it.

"An effort to rebuild has not been ruled out. When our investigation has concluded, Monsieur Brisbois will be free to apply for permission to make the necessary repairs, if he so desires."

That additional news served to amend some of the earlier strife that had washed over the group, and this time Cassia could share in the feeling. Given the chance, she was quite sure that he would take the opportunity to get everything back on track, given his personal stakes in the project he'd enacted.