Deal with the Devil?

[shatteredservice]

It is still very early, though the reason that Dia is already up is not because he can't sleep, but because he knows it will be better to get his call to The Mage's Association done and over with by the time Set wakes up.  That way if he does end up upset, he will hopefully have time to bleed off the stress before either Set or The Beast can pick up on it.  The last thing Dia wants is to have to deal with bringing The Beast down after having had a stressful talk with The Association.

Because he knows this isn't going to go well.  He knows the kind of shit they are going to tell him and he knows they are probably not going to buy the geis story one bit.  It would be great if they did, but he isn't very confident they will.  It would mean showing some common sense and decency--two things he's pretty sure they don't have.

Dia turns the phone over in his hands for a few minutes working up the nerve to dial the number.  It is silly, really.  He's charged into armies in the past with no worries; he fought off Caster's monster without blinking, but this simple phone call is giving him pause.

Dia sighs and sets the phone down to take one last sip of tea from the mug sitting on the bar.  He runs his hand through his hair nervously, and then picks the phone back up dialing the number before he can find another reason to delay.

The phone rings for a few moments before there is a click on the line that Dia knows means he's being transferred.  When the Association let everyone go out to live their lives, they were all given a number that would directly connect them to those within The Association who dealt with servant affairs.

Of course, that doesn't mean that he still doesn't have to talk to a secretary before he is put through to someone who can actually do something for him.  Dia can't help but cringe at the fake cheer in her voice.

"Good morning, Cu Chulainn.  What can we do for you?"

Dia isn't surprised that she knows what house is calling.  He's always suspected that the number not only was a direct line, but also identified who they were.  He's also not surprised that they assume that it's Set calling.  After all, Set always said that they weren't going to talk to him if he could help it.

"Actually, this is Diarmuid.  Diarmuid Ua Duibhne.  He and I live together," Dia corrects her.

"Oh, Diarmuid, my apologies.  We were told that you wouldn't be talking with us so I just assumed..."

Dia waves off her concern.  It's just as fake as everything else, "It's fine and this is a different circumstance.  Could I talk to someone in Affairs, please?"

"Has something happened?" Her voice is suddenly too eager.  "You are fully aware of the details of your arrangement.  If we need to arrange a detain..."

"You do not,"  All the politeness evaperates from Dia's voice and is replaced with just a hint of anger.  "I just want to speak with someone in Servant Affairs."

"I would not advise trying to hide an incident, Diarmuid.  It could easily lead to a violation of your contract.  I'm sure you don't want that."

"I'm not hiding anything," Dia's voice is low and just a little dangerous, not that the secretary seems to notice.  "I merely wish to talk with someone in Servant Affairs.  Transfer me."

"Please understand, Diarmuid that there are many things The Association wants to talk to you about and haven't been able to since Cu Chulainn has insisted that we not talk to you."

"And you are not qualified to talk to me about any of them," Dia points out.  "Now do your job and transfer me."

The secretary starts to say something else, but seems to decide against it.  A moment later, Dia is relieved to hear a buzz as he is finally put through to Servant Affairs.

Comments

[actually54]

The message from her secretary comes the worst possible time for Nemesis Eskardos.

No, her secretary is doing, at most, her job. Nor can she fault the other caller for having an issue that needs to be dealt with.

Instead, she can only blame the family member already on the phone with her. In one morning, she had taken four calls from that person alone. Perhaps it would be more pardonable had it actually been related to her work. But this person's calls were always personal and never official. Unfortunately, current arrangements meant she had to prioritize this person's calls, even when it interfered with her official duties.

"Honey, honey, please. Mommy has work. Yes, Mommy will call you back. Just five minutes, honey. Watch TV, alright? Martha can answer your questions, alright? Bye-bye, honey. Love you too."

She sighs, puts down the phone, and rubs her temples for a second before picking up the receiver again to speak to the other caller. At 28, the dark-haired, no-nonsense career woman did not appear at first glance to be a working mother. Especially when one considered that she was the unmarried heir of the Eskardos family, placed into the position of Servant Affairs so as to cement her father's authority. For her to have a child out of wedlock would be ridiculous, but here she was, taking multiple calls from a person who addressed her as "Mother."

"Yes, hello? Cu Chulainn, is it? What do you need to discuss?"