Chiron Academy

Interlude 2

But what had the name of the village been? Vai asked herself again, massaging her forehead.

"Vai?" Griff asked poking his head around the corner. "Are you ready? It's almost time."

"Yeah, just one more minute, babe." She said.

She quickly finished the rest of the soup and grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair. Not that she would actually need it, but there had been snow outside this morning and it would seem out of place if she went out in just her blouse.

"You look beautiful," Griff said as she joined him by the door.

"You always say that," she responded, rolling her eyes.

"That is because it is always true," he said grinning.

"You always know what to say to the corpse girls' to make their gray cheeks stay a lifeless gray," she said with a laugh. But she did appreciate it.

They made their way outside. The doorman pointed them towards the cab they had asked the desk to call them. The climbed in and Griff told the address to the driver.

"Are you sure about this?" Griff asked. "It's a bit galling to accept a job from someone who is the reason you need the job. Especially when that person is the Caipora."

"No kidding," Vai said. "But until we have anyone else knocking on our door, we'll have to take it. Caipora said the payout would be very large."

"That's what worries me most. This feels a bit too much like he's offering us charity." he said darkly. "And we both know the Caipora doesn't do charity."

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The elevator door opened and Griff and Vai emerged into the hallway. Standing by the wall was the Caipora. It was hard to not recognize him; a short man with long greasy hair as well as his characteristic smell: a healthy dose of cheap cologne doing its best to cover the smell of sweat. His dark brown skin was covered in its usual layer of dirt. As if in honor of the occasion, he wore a black suit coat over his usual unkempt floral shirt and shorts.

As was usual, he was girded on on either side by two large bodyguards. The two men towered over the little man between them. Caipora had a habit of making enemies and he didn't like to leave himself defenseless looking. Though knowing what Vai knew about the dirty little man's otherworldly skills, she knew the Caipora was vastly more dangerous than either of the the two mountains next to him.

He had been talking with two men in suits, but when he noticed Griff and Vai enter the hallway, he turned to them, raising his arms wide in welcome.

"Ahh, senhora! Corpo Seco! I hope you two are well. How was your flight?"

"Yes, Caipora. Our flight was very comfortable," Vai said forcing a smile.

"Excellent! Come, come," he said gesturing towards a double door at the end of the hall. "They are ready for you."

"I must admit, Caipora," Griff said," it caught us by surprise when we heard from you so soon after our last conversation. And to get such a lucrative offer from you."

"What can I say?" Caipora asked. "On the one hand, I knew people who had a great deal of money and and on the other, I knew people who needed a great deal of money. I felt it was my civic duty to introduce them to each other."

"Besides," he said grinning. "How are you supposed to pay me if you don't have the money to do so? A man can wait for a long time for a call that will not come.

He tapped the side of his forehead, knowingly.

"No need to thank me. The money you will be giving me will suffice."