Veronica's Fallacy

2.

-HER-

"She asked you to do what?" Matt asked, shocked after I told him about my meeting with Fiona. I pursed my lips and glanced around the seating area to ensure no one was listening.

"You cannot talk to anyone else about this," I warned him. "She asked me to check with the Underlords. She's serious this time," I told him grimly. At the mention of the Underlords, I could see the blood draining from his face.

"She must have lost her mind—"

"It's her brother, Matt," I reminded him, and he slumped back, running his fingers through his hair. I stared at the white ceiling, hoping it would cave in on me and somehow kill me so I wouldn't have to work on this case anymore. Alas, the ceiling remained in its place instead.

"I have to do something, or else she'll take away my ranks," I gritted. I had worked hard, too fvcking hard, to get to the level I was, and I wasn't going to let a single case destroy my years of handwork and countless sacrifices. That'd be too much for me to take. I'd never be able to handle it.

I had made my work the centre of my life until my work became my life. I didn't know anything else, and I didn't have anything else. If she took it away from me, I'd crumble. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I pushed the dark thoughts out before they could consume me and focused on the present. Or at least, I tried to.

"That's not possible. She cannot dismiss you just because you couldn't crack this case. Especially when Fiona herself holds the record of most unsolved cases. She's the biggest hypocrite,"

"It's her brother, Matt," I reminded him again. "She has her feelings involved in it. She's not going to stop until he's found. She doesn't give a damn about my ranks. She's simply using me as a punching bag to take out her frustration right now," I told him, but I left out the part where she threatened to make me one of the Underlords.

A shiver ran down my spine. My head snapped to Matt, and for once, I was glad he wasn't paying attention to me. Instead, he was rubbing his face in frustration, thinking.

He was one of my entry-mates. We joined the council together and rose to the ranks together, while the rest of our batchmates either left or didn't rise as much as we did.

Matt and I always shared details about our cases and sought each other's expertise on matters. That was one of the reasons I told him about this case, but I didn't tell him everything- I couldn't.

"Matt," I stared at him, "You know a lot of people," I started. It was one of the reasons why I approached him.

"So do you,"

"But you have connections in places I don't," I suggested slowly. "Do you know someone who could..." I trailed off, unable to complete the sentence, but he understood what I was asking.

Something in his eyes flickered, and he looked away. I kept my eyes glued to his face, watching him. He scanned the room again before turning to me.

"Look, Veronica, I—"

"Please, Matt. You must have something. You dealt with a case once. I know you can help me. You always do," I reminded him. He swallowed.

"It's dangerous," He shook his head.

"This is a dangerous job," I shrugged.

"You don't understand," He whispered, leaning in. "And it's kinda hard to reach out to an Underlord, and only the moon goddess could save you if they ever got to know that you have some connection with the Council,"

"Then how did you do it back then?" I asked.

"A middleman mostly, but even then, it was hard,"

"It's my last hope, Matt," I told him, "I have to do something or else Fiona's going to eat me alive. I know she will," I sighed deeply.

"Look, I can take over the case—" Matt offered, but I wasn't going to have it. I needed to solve this case. If I transferred it, it wouldn't look good on my profile. Due to my gender and my background, I was already at a disadvantage. I always had to work twice as hard, but never let this falter me.

I was proud of how far I had come on my own, and that pride was too big for me to do something like this, even though a part of me was tempted to wash my hands off of this case.

"Just this case, Matt. Tell me how to proceed. I'll take care of the rest. I know you have a lot on your plate right now. I don't wish to burden you," I said, and he sighed deeply, sitting back.

There was a tense silence between us as I waited for him to tell me something, anything. I didn't take my eyes off of him. I stared at him as seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into almost an hour.

"I will set you up with a middleman," He finally broke the silence.

"Thank you, Matt—"

"— but you need to be careful, Veronica. The Underlords are unpredictable. You cannot get your hopes high and your guard down around them," He warned.

"I get it," I muttered.

"The middleman is one of them, but he's not as high-ranking, so I'm not sure how much he'd be able to help. But never underestimate an Underlord by his rank. They're all to be dealt with the same cautions regardless of their ranks because they're all equally dangerous, if not more. I'll see if he gets back to me," Matt muttered.

"Thank you, Matt," I couldn't say that enough.

"But here's the thing," He spoke, his voice dropped lower while a dark look shrouded his face. "They might want something in return,"

"Money—"

"No," He snapped before I could begin. "You might think convincing them to work for you would be the trickiest part, but trust me. That's not the case. In fact, it'd be the price they'd ask because an Underlord doesn't care about the job. They care more about what they get in return, and money is not enough for them. If they could, they'd bargain with the devil for his horns,"

I swallowed hard, thinking about what he had told me, but I couldn't help my curiosity.

"What did they ask from you, Matt?" I asked.

"I'll see you later," He dismissed abruptly and left.

~

What do you think the Underlord's going to ask Veronica in return?

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