play the character; break the bad habits. fernando refuses to narrow his eyes at the lone coordinator. she's too soft. it almost makes him want to scowl. to imagine her of all people in rocket—it baffles him. the mix of confusion allows him to hide his facial tendencies, brandishing a wide smirk that hints at his menacing intent.

"you don't but you will."

he pulls out a carton of cigarettes from his breast pocket, pulling one from the fresh pack and lighting it before placing it between his lips. fernando takes a long drag, embracing the thick smog before continuing. "i wonder what your adoring fans will think when they find out that the grimaldi family has been funding rocket for years on end."

is she playing dumb or does she truly not know? he can't be sure but the fleeting memories of their previous encounter reinforce the one thing fernando knows is true. no one is that nice, not even dahlia goode . he still suspects her of playing the same game as him but he's leery of committing his suspicions on one side too heavily. so, that leaves him with little choice but to double down. play her bluff with his own and wait until she cracks.

because no matter how much she fakes it fernando has a tool that no one else can deny: his under bosses dominic sinclair and Desmond Kelley . when utilized as the underappreciated resource that they are, they become something more— they become rocket.

"my name is alexander redwall and i'm the head accountant for team rocket. all the funding for team rocket used to go through me and was reallocated to wherever boss man silas told me to put it. unfortunately, ole' boss man croaked."

how much of this is a lie and how much of it is true? only fernando knows. as for how much she'll buy? he wagers the bluff on the only ace he has in his hand—information straight for the under bosses. unless silas kept secrets with lenora that he didn't privy to either of them, he should get away scott free. naturally, he doubts someone such as lenora dealt with any sort of financials personally but that's also a presumption that may bite him in the ass. that's the thing about risk assessment, he analyzes what information he has, what his opponent likely knows, and weighs the practicality versus the loss aversion of employing such a tactic.

all he has to do is execute it and for fernando silph, the fakest scum of the earth, the man of a million practiced faces, this is nothing more then reflecting back on years of mental abuse in the form of being molded into a social caste against his will.

another exhale and the smoke plumes from his flared nostrils.

"the only weight you gained is an extra burden on your shoulders, cheery. now let's quit the small talk and get down to business, love."

alexander frowns. the glare he bestows upon her speaks volumes about his opinion but internally his mental gymnastics are calculating the likeliness of her story. on one hand, lenora could be telling the truth. maybe she truly is the golden girl of the grimaldi family. in that case, she's useless to him. but, if that's the truth, she should play the role to the tee, immensely caring for her family and ready to defend them no matter the cost.

and, on the chance that he's right, that there's something beneath the surface that he hasn't quite breached, then the best route is to stick to his guns. she will break. all he has to do is chip at her. play the cards and double down further. if she won't admit it then he'll strike from another angle. a stronger one.

"shit. you really don't know shit, huh, love?"

he flicks the end of his cigarette, a pitiful amount of burnt ashes crumbling from the tip. "welp. what a fucking waste of time. i guess dom was right. ain't no one would've trusted a pretty lil' lass like you."

the frown grows into a look of disgust as he removes the cigarette from his mouth. it sits nestled between his fingers as he wagers leaving altogether, "you can forget this ever happened, lil lady. i'll be visiting your dad instead. figured he'd be the one pulling the strings."

it's a layered bait aimed both eventualities but how she bites is a toss up entirely.

"the only thing that disappoints me are dead men and incarcerated colleagues."

fernando keeps an eye on her pokeball. all it takes is a second to push the button and bring out her pokemon of choice. he makes a conscious effort to avoid playing with his own, unwilling to escalate the situation further. he's here for information not a battle. handling her is no question but that'll be messy.

that can wait until he's done with the head of the grimaldi.

"you look lovely though lassie. i'm sure you'll keep that beaut' in a funeral gown."

she's too close for comfort and fernando answers blowing her away with a puff of smoke. proximity itself is no problem. between his ditto and smeargle, he has no doubt that his disguise is infallible. the amount of time allotted to his smeargle has made the work of art come to life. even fernando's cheek bones look different, providing a more angular face.

"well, ta ta now. gotta tie up some loose ends." fernando never turns away from her. diverting his vision from her body for a moment, at this distance, without his own pokeball ready can prove disastrous. what's important is widening his reaction timing window and he does so with a large stride backwards.

pull away and slip into the night. that's the plan but should lenora try to upstage him then he has no choice but to show her a true contest—one where power triumph over all.