From Fake Dreams

48.1

Lorelei sat at her desk and went over the paperwork she had to deal with. Despite the mess in Fuyuki and the public mess that holding Waver Velvet was causing here, it still did not excuse her from her duties as Vice-Director of the Clocktower.

It was incredibly dull work, and often times she'd put it to the side to hunt Apostle Ancestors, but she nonetheless was used to it. Having been raised to exemplify perfection within her home's confines, petty things such as boredom posed no risk to the quality and efficiency of her work.

She didn't so much as flinch when the bounded fields informed her that she was about to have an unscheduled guest. Normally she'd debate for a moment whether or not the fool should even be graced with her attention, but given the current circumstances it was likely important.

The door opened to reveal one of the men that kept regular contact with the Overseer and cleanup crews in Fuyuki. Thaumaturgy was all and good, but finances also needed to be taken into account for an operation this big.

"Well?" Her lone word was not a question but an absolute order. There was a reason for him being here outside of the three hour interval she had established ever since word of the War's instability reached their ears. She wasn't supposed to hear from anyone for another hour and thirteen minutes.

"Solomon has reported that your dog is moving tonight." The man stood straight at attention.

Her eyes narrowed. Not only has this idiot brought up the mistake working for the Church, but he dared assume that she didn't know of this already. "For your sake, I do hope that you did not come here just to tell me that."

He shifted on his feet just slightly. "No, that was merely what took priority on the report ma'am. We've also been losing contact with our sources on the ground that were part of the cleanup crew."

That had her attention. "Go on."

"It started a few days ago. Slowly. We've lost nearly half our people. At first we thought that it might have been Caster and Assassin's doing since they seem to be targeted in certain areas near them, and silenced before any word reached us. However, the past night or two the rate's accelerated tremendously. Caster should be preparing for Emiya, not wasting time on the help."

"All the Servants are either with the boy or enslaved to Caster. They're too preoccupied with one another to waste time on the rabble." Her eyes narrowed. The crews in Fuyuki had been ordered to stay away from the fighting. An all-out battle involving eight Servants would yield tremendous destruction everywhere. Trying to observe the fight was pointless and lead to wasted resources. Anyone that even glimpsed at the management of the Grail knew that.

Caster shouldn't even care about the cleanup. Shirou and the Servants with him would be her greatest priority.

Even if Shirou did turn against the Association, she knew that he had a soft spot for those living there to cause such trouble for everyone. Killing the crews there was counterproductive to his goals, and it took too much time and focus to do while Caster was still about.

By process of elimination... it could only be a third party. Either Solomon, or something else.

Either way, there was something going on in Fuyuki other than the War.

Someone didn't want something to be seen there.

o. o. o.

"You know, it would be a lot easier for everyone if you simply submitted."

Rider panted under the strain of having another layer of commands imposed onto her. Her mind was her own, but body more or less belonged to Caster.

The Witch stood over the helpless woman with a mixed expression, as though she didn't know what she was supposed to feel. "Why do you hold out, Rider? You don't truly believe that the boy is going to go out of his way for you, a monster of all things, do you?"