Inside of their own living quarters, the two investigative agents turned on a tablet with an array engraved on its back. Shortly, the screen of the tablet flickered and the face of an old woman appeared on it - it was Lady Vyn, or Lucias Vyn, of either of the agents dared call her by her real name.
"Please feel free to share with me the good news, agents." the woman greeted the two agents with a smile: "How far along are we with the codex?"
"We're able to locate the key." the male agent said: "But we still need some time to retrieve the codex."
"Okay, so you have the key then? I would assume the actual fetching it from the library part would be a piece of cake?" Lucias Vyn asked.
"We...we do not have the key… yet." the male agent struggled to explain: "We've located it. As in, we know where it is."
"You know where it is." Lucia Vyn's smile seemed to darken slightly: "And you will get it, and then you will find the codex and bring it back."
"We understand it perfectly, Lady Vyn." the female agent said: "And we're working on it. The codex will be in your hand in no time."
"Good." Lucias Vyn nodded: "Because I'd hate for anything to happen. Just get the codex, everything will be fine. And your debts are gonna be paid with some added bonuses."
"Yes, I - I remember our deal, Lady Vyn." the male agent started sweating and started somewhat nervously wiping his face.
"Good, good. You see, it's a perfectly reasonably priced deal." Lady Vyn said: "Also, just a side note - you might already know this, but it bears repeating, Carol Summers and Soren Lupei are working together on this, and it would be just a matter of time before they find out about the codex and where it is. So, utilize the situation wisely, exacerbate it behind the scenes if necessary."
"Lady Vyn. You're sure this won't get back to you?" the female agent hesitated for a short moment and asked: "We have good reason to believe they are doing quite a bit of their own investigation aside from hiring us to do so. They tried to hide it, or at least that Professor from Hellbruck House tried to hide it, but we did notice."
"All the more reason to get the codex as soon as possible now, isn't it?" Lady Vyn chuckled and said: "Some people have been hunting me and my family for quite a while now. They've never been able to, because my family's smart, and careful. And we're ready to do whatever it takes. You should learn from that."
"Understood. Lady Vyn." the two agents nodded at the same time.
"Oh, by the way. One more thing before you're off to uphold your end of the deal. Be careful of new people coming into the academy. As you said, you're not the only one doing investigation. There's no reason Carol Summers and Soren Lupei wouldn't take advantage of that like I did with you. As long as you get it in time, that won't be an issue for anyone. Am I clear?"
"Clear, Lady Vyn." the male agent promised: "We will bring it back before anyone has an idea."
The tablet dimmed and the video stream disconnected.
"We probably need to talk to your contact." the female agent said: "We'd need her help tracking down those two audit students. They're audit students with civilian backgrounds, referred by Josephine Wong, which warrants way more caution than if they came from one of those well known families."
"I understand. I will meet up with her immediately." the male agent sighed: "But I can't push too hard - she's already reluctant as she is right now, not knowing exactly what we're after. We need more tact ..."
"Then get a better grip on her!" the female agent started to lose her patience: "If you've got a grip on her, then there must be more to find if you are willing to look! Find it and use it! Or if you're not willing, I will find it for you!"
"You wouldn't want to do that." the male agent also became agitated: "She's smart, and dangerous if you're not careful. You think I haven't tried? The situation with her is delicate. And we could not break the hold because we are in a hurry."
"Okay, if you say so." the female agent stared at the male agent, while he stared back, and finally she conceded: "I'll get in touch with my contact. From what we know about those two audit students, he'll be able to give me an in."
"Hm." the male agent stood up and was about to storm out of the room.
"All contacts are expendable, if need be." the female agent said: "Especially something as important as this."
"... but you wouldn't wanna get bit when you're letting them go, do you?"