#fenixtj

"Aye, then."

And Clem nods to Jessica, grab's Earl's arm and drags him off.

Leaving Jessica and Zara to talk.

"Let's sit. Um. Tea?"

"Yes, please!"

"You look well."

"I do? Well, that's good news....." She sticks her head in the kitchen and asks for a tea service and names a conference room. She leads Zara there and refreshments are quickly provided.

A murmur of thanks to the servers.

Jessica gestures for Zara to help herself. "I'm interested in what you said on the phone."

"Well... I do not know nearly enough, shamefully, on the trafficking. But.... I spotted something, some activity, in Mexico... I think, mayhaps, in Tijuana."

"Moving of women and children to forced labor. Some for... other forms of slavery."

"Neither of which can I allow to abide, nu?"

"We stopped the train, when we learned of it. I don't know if there were others, but now that we -are- aware, we will be watching. Mortal authorities are also aware."

"So... aye, you have seen some of it. And they are winding UP somewhere..."

"The hand behind it - remember you Tantalus?"

A faint frown. "Vaguely?"

"He has enslaved mortal women before - we had stopped him, but he was released."

"And seems to have only have gotten worse."

"You think this Tantalus is responsible for what happened here?"

"I know it."

"You -know- it?" Not doubting, confirming.

She nods.

"I witnessed him dealing."

"How?"

"Soothsay."

She nods. "Ok. Can you describe him? We can take some notes, see if we can get an illustration up and ... well, maybe some old school chimerical posters?"

"Oh, he embraces every stereotype of the beguiler, of the he-goat devil, of the incubus..."

"Does he embrace every image of them too? 'Cause that's a lot of posters."

"Feh, allow a girl some poetry."

But.. she describes him, from oily hooves to crooked horn.

"Hold on, hold on... I'm not an artist, let me get some paper and pen...." She finds some, returns, and takes the notes Zara gives her.

"Hey, for that matter, could Earl do a solid picture of him? No embelishments?"

"He could, aye."

"That would help. We can make copies after that, I think."

"He has swathed himself in deniability, he uses catspaws... deals with venal mortals who would sell others for profit, and laps up the suffering with perverse pleasure."

"He enslaves children."

"I know." Grimly. "We freed one of our own from the train."

"What I do not see is how a Paler-spawn is connected to this..."

"I'm not sure she is."

"No?"

"After we brought the childling here from the train, she became quick friends with a recently-arrived satyr from the DeBuke farm. And together, somehow, they found this... kinain -in- Fenix." She looks upset at this. "They brought her to me."

Eyebrow. "Kinian?"

She nods.

"She is pretty.... um.... unassuming. Seems... meek and mild."

"Paler had no use for kinain. They did not serve his madness. She would have been, at best, a thrall."

"Perhaps used for breeding."

"But... Balor can be deceiving. I could omen her, and suss out what I may."

"What about meeting her?"

"That would be best, I think."

"We have a Liam in the County, Father V. I had him come and take her to a safe house to stay, until we got more information."