Dupe Alias

Chapter Nine

It was well into the night. The high-class, Italian restaurant was barely occupied. Only a few small groups scattered around. A woman in her early thirties sat at one end of a clothed table, her long, blonde, stringy hair reaching about halfway down her back. She wore a red, satin, spaghetti-strapped dress. At the other end of the table sat a man, about her same age. A brown-haired, cleanly-shaved man wearing a tuxdeo.

"When we're done here, wanna come to my hotel? I keep a room there. We can watch a movie or something," the man, Marius, asked.

"A hotel? ...how suspicious. What's wrong with your house?" the woman, Amber, playfully teased.

"It's a surprise. I can't tell you why. The surprise would be spoiled."

"And which hotel would that be?"

Marius paused. He didn't want to answer. He knew it would raise all kinds of questions, but he didn't have a choice. "It's called 'The CrimINNal', with 2 'N's. I assume the misspelling is deliberate."

"The CrimINNal, huh? Never heard of it. What kind of name is that?" Amber asked with amusement.

"...weeeell, it's kind of marketed as a place where criminals can stay at, hence the name."

"Sounds sketchy to me. Why not check into somewhere nicer? Are you up to something illegal? You're not trying to traffick me, are you?" Amber joked.

"No, no, no! Trust me, I have a completely appropriate and decent, non-evil reason for it," Marius answered.

"Hmmm..."

A few seconds passed, as the two of them continued biting into their food. While Marius' mind was occupied on his food, Amber stared cynically at him. She couldn't tell what, but she knew he was up to something.

***

Leo sat in the break room, devouring his ramen noodles. The door to the break room swung open, and Azure walked inside, rapidly approaching Leo. Leo stopped eating and dropped his fork into the dish. He knew he was in trouble. By her fast approach, he could tell she was angry. It had been the first time since Leo saw Azure, ever since her failed attempt at capturing The Vermillion Reaper, a few days ago. Indubitably, she would be angry that Leo had sabotaged her plans.

"Hey, Leo, I have a question," she began in a calm yet malevolent tone.

"Yes?" Leo asked, nervously.

"I'm wondering what to do. One of my Dupes started rebelling against me a while ago. He's always trying to find ways to overthrow me. I've always known about it, but he doesn't know I know. Anyways, his most recent attempt at rebellion really went over the top. He really put me and others at risk. It's getting beyond what I can allow. What should I do?"

Leo paused, fearfully swallowing his adam's apple.

Azure continued speaking. "How should I make sure he's no longer a threat? And should I punish him? And how? ...Should I cut off his finances and leave him homeless? Or maybe I should just have him roughed up a little. What do you think should be done to him?"

Leo took a few quick breaths. "I think, if he knows that you know, and you give him a subtle verbal warning, he'll get the message. Then he won't try anything like it again, so you can just leave him be. I'm sure he'll be very sorry and won't try it again," Leo answered, feeling like he was making a fool of himself.

"...Hmm...letting him off the hook, one last time, huh?..." Azure pondered.

"Yes, but if he does it even once more, then you can totally whoop his ass!" Leo exclaimed.