Beautiful Lies

The harbor was dark now and most of the dockworkers had gone home for the evening. That didn't mean that activity came to an end however; there were quite a few taverns open for the sailors that had returned from sea and these establishments were doing a lively business.

Rosellina watched the entrance to one particular tavern keenly from her spot across the street. The little stone building had light glowing from its windows onto the dirty, poorly maintained cobblestones outside and she could hear the roar of laughter rising from within the building. It was no wonder the crowd was so boisterous however; she had paid the tavern-keeper a significant sum of gold to keep the rum flowing long and strong amongst the crowd that evening.

She shifted in place, feeling somewhat ridiculous for a moment before focusing her mind once more. She looked down at the source of her discomfort; the outfit she was wearing. Seven inch high heels that were mostly a polished wooden platform with straps that went to mid-calf were only the beginning. Fishnet stockings rode up her legs to mid-thigh where they were held in place with lacy garters; she was reminded of this fact because the side of the black silk dress she wore was slit from ankle to hip, revealing most of her shapely legs to anyone who happened to wander by and take a peek. All in all, the 'dress' she was wearing could hardly be called such, the garment not even entirely covering her back and the plunging neckline leaving only the slightest bit to the imagination. Her attire was finished off with an over-abundance of cosmetics that painted her lips a bright red and spread a blush across her naturally dark cheeks.

She normally wouldn't be caught dead in such a thing. Actually, even if she was dead she swore she'd likely rise from her grave just to rip the ridiculous clothes off. She had a job to do however, and even as that thought crossed her mind the door to the tavern opened and three sailors stumbled out.

The men were exactly the ones she was waiting for; they were the same men that had departed from the recently returned House Falconoak vessel. The ship had docked earlier in the day, much lighter in the water than it had been when it set out. Given the fact that it had only been gone for a short while, Rosellina knew that it must have unloaded its cargo not too far from Stormwind. But where? She'd had agents alerted in Menethil and even Booty Bay, and no word had come back of any sightings of the ship. It had unloaded its cargo of weapons somewhere though and she needed to discover where that was, and so she stood and waited for the three drunken men to get closer.

As they neared, she stepped from the shadows, posing herself just so, with one foot out in front and her hands on her hips, "Hey there boys, wanna have a little fun tonight?"

The drunken sailors immediately paused and began to ogle her. She managed to maintain her poise, shifting in place in just the right way to keep their eyes on her body, "Come on now, one of you must have some coin hmmm? It's not too much honeys."

The sailors began to elbow each other, grins across their faces. No one volunteered and Rosellina knew she had to try harder lest they get away. She stepped closer, an arm wrapping around the shoulder of one of the men that had been staring the most. The cheap perfume she had doused herself in permeated the air around them as she pressed against him, "How about you sugar? Wanna have a good time? I can make this the best night of your life honey."

She almost laughed at the way his eyes bugged out as she leaned on him, but she could see by the grins of his friends and the way they were egging him on that she would be successful. She leaned closer, whispering her offer in his ear again, knowing it was going to be very hard to refuse with her hand sliding down the front of his breeches.

With a nod and a cheer from his buddies, the sailor allowed Rosellina to lead him down the block, her arm still draped around him and her body pressed close. The pair walked around a bend in the road, passing the narrow opening to an alley.

Although she knew it was going to happen, Rosellina was still surprised when the Stormwind Guards burst from the alley's mouth, their plate armored forms moving quickly to surround the pair. "You two! You're under arrest for prostitution!"

Rough hands seized her and Rosellina felt her arms being wrenched behind her back. The cold feeling of fetters being clasped in place was surreal, and she could see the drunken sailor protesting his innocence as he was trussed up by the guards as well. Rosellina played along, also protesting her innocence as the guards began to march them off towards a waiting cart. The two prisoners were dumped in the back and the guards began to haul them off towards the Stockades.

********************************

They arrived at the ominous fortification a few minutes later, both Rosellina and the sailor dragged from the back and roughly shoved into the open gate. The two were quickly separated once inside, the guards making snide remarks about them both as they lead Rosellina off through a nearby door. Once she was pushed inside, the guards exited through the same door and a second door on the other side of the room opened, Lord Warten stepping through with another SI:7 agent behind him. He smiled at Rosellina and quickly moved to undo her fetters, gesturing for her to follow once she was freed.

High heels clicking on the stones, Rosellina followed the other agents through the door and into a room that contained a false mirror, allowing them to see into the neighboring cell. Behind the glass the drunken sailor sat, holding his head in his fettered hands. The door to his cell banged open, a detective walking in.

"So...hiring a prostitute eh sailor?" the detective said with a displeased tone. "That's a serious offense there son. You're going to be in a lot of trouble. It'll go easier on you if you answer some questions though."

The sailor shook his head, his tone whining, "I didn't do nothin'! She offered it up! Whatcha want me to do eh? Say no? Light!"

The detective smiled, taking a seat across from the man at the table, shaking his head, "I don't think you understand the seriousness of your crime. You're gonna be in the Stocks for a long time son. A long time indeed. You want to run your mouth and you'll be in the part that's still a bit...unruly. Maybe in a cell next to the gnolls. Maybe WITH the gnolls if you know what I'm saying. You don't need all your limbs do you son?"

The sailor paled, groaning and holding his head, "W-what do you want? Ask your questions then. I-I'll tell you whatever j-just...i-is there any way we can forget about this whole thing?"

The detective smiled, hands steepled before him, "Depends on your answer son. Just want to know a few simple things. How much you getting paid to work on that ship you came in on? How many days were you at sea?"

"I-I get ten gold a w-week. Been at sea only for t-two days sir," the sailor said, his words still somewhat slurred from drink. "T-that's easy. That all you want to know?"

The detective had taken out a small notebook and seemed to be writing notes down, "That's good for a start. One more thing. Where'd you unload your cargo? Your ship came back without merchandise."

The sailor swallowed hard, getting more pale, "D-didn't have no cargo. D-don't know what your talkin' bout."

The detective sighed, shaking his head, "Son...see, this is the type of answer that's going to get you put in with the gnolls. I know you dropped cargo off. Tell me where and maybe, just maybe, you'll walk out of here tonight. Disappoint me and, well...it is very expensive to feed gnoll prisoners you know? We never have enough food for them."

The sailor looked down at his hands, saying nothing. After a few moments of silence the detective threw his notebook on the table, the boom of it landing echoing in the room, "Dammit son, tell me now before this gets ugly. I don't have time to be gentle with you here." He rose from his seat, beginning to unbutton and roll up his cuffs.

The sailor's eyes widened and he swallowed again, shaking his head, "O-Okay okay! J-just...just take it easy! W-we didn't deliver the cargo to a p-port. W-we were met by another ship t-two days out. W-was a strange little s-speed barge. One of those ones with engines instead 'o sails. G-goblins on it. Didn't see nothing else. Just pulled up next to use and we set up a ramp and unloaded the b-boxes. D-don't know nothing else, I swear!"

The detective nodded, returning to his seat and taking up his notebook again, smiling, "I knew you'd see things my way. Now then, a few more questions...."

*********************************

On the other side of the mirror Lord Warten turned, nodding at Rosellina and smiling, "Good work Rose. Now we know that those weapons were not delivered back on this continent. There's only a few places a goblin ship is going to make landfall and given that it was a speed barge we will be able to identify it more easily. I'll send out word to the other agents to keep an eye out for it right away. Once we know where it's landed, we can pursue the shipment then."

Rosellina smiled, nodding, "I'm glad I could help sir. I'll keep my eyes peeled here to see if I can find any more information about House Falconoak. There's got to be someone amongst them who is responsible for the shipments and knows more. We'll figure this out before it gets out of control."

Lord Warten nodded, looking back towards the glass, "We have to. Those weapons could be going to the Kor'kron if the goblins are getting their hands on them. It could undermine all of our work out there, and get Alliance soldiers killed. Keep up the good work Rose. I know we can count on you."

Rosellina smiled, turning and walking from the room, her ridiculous heels clicking again as she left. Lord Warten turned in time to catch the other SI:7 agent in the room staring at Rosellina as she left, and he was amused to feel a surge of almost fatherly anger well up within him.

We can't afford to get attached in this line of work. She's not really your daughter there Gregory.

"You lose something there Agent?" he said sarcastically. The other man's eyes immediately snapped away from the departing woman and back to Lord Warten. The door closed behind Rosellina and the two looked through the glass at the ongoing interrogation.

"See to it that this is wrapped up while the sailor is still drunk," Lord Warten said.

The other agent tilted his head, looking puzzled, "Sir?"

"Once it's done, see to it that he's released back to the harbor. The poor lad is very drunk though, I think he might fall off one of the retaining walls around the harbor. Such a waste," Lord Warten said, his eyes never leaving the interrogation on the other side of the glass.

"Understood sir, I'll take care of it," the agent replied before turning to leave.

Lord Gregory Warten said nothing, watching and listening to the interrogation as it was wrapped up. That he'd ordered a life taken was nothing new; it was part of the life of being in SI:7. He'd ordered many deaths in the past and would do so well into the future. The man in the other room had seen Rosellina. Warten knew that he couldn't afford to risk the chance that he might identify her again. She was a valuable tool, even if her morals would likely cause her to object to the death of an innocent target just to glean some information.

Fortunately she never had to know. That too was part of life in SI:7. Lord Warten nodded to himself before turning to leave, his mind already engaged with other topics.