the "partner" in question is exactly on time. she doesn't look like much at first; she favors her father's side of the family, with his dark purple hair and blue eyes. anyone who's done business with the yukimuras in the past will recognize these traits, so there can be no doubt the girl approaching dorian's table is maki yukimura herself. her clothes are simple, but tailored to her measurements. it's likely they cost hundreds to manufacture.

"you must be dorian westcliff," she says. though she smiles at him, something seems missing in her gaze. maki extends a perfectly-manicured hand in greeting, and if he chooses to take that hand, he'll find her handshake business-like and strong, though not uncomfortable. clearly she's had some practice. "i am maki yukimura. i did some preliminary research and narrowed down their location to one particular area." she launches immediately into business, just like her handshake. "however, if you have any suggestions, i would be happy to hear them. i'll defer to your judgment today."

[ dorian westcliff ]

thankfully, maki's good at keeping things subtle. her plans never involve anything particularly grandiose. even in kanto, if it came out that her family gave rocket so much support, they'd likely lose business. the idea is to remain unseen, in the shadows, manipulating things like one might manipulate a marionette. to manipulate her like they might a marionette, with the understanding that everything she does must be for the greater good of their family.

maki brings up a map on her phone, zeroing in on a house nearby that's been abandoned for several years. "a recent satellite image showed one of the traitors entering this house at night," she explains. "after that, i set up a camera myself to watch the house. everyone should be inside right now. and if they're not, i'm certain we can convince them to give up their other locations."

she pockets her phone again. "we need to move fast to ensure we don't need to take any detours." it seems like she's ready to leave the coffee shop.

[ dorian westcliff ]

she does as dorian says, opening the panel under the drawer. she withdraws the handgun and checks it over with an expert eye, noting that it's fully loaded and silenced. she gives a nod of approval, and holds onto it with a practiced grip. it's comfortable in her hand, much like the ones she's used before. marksmanship is one of her stronger skills. one might even call it a hobby of hers, given that she's trained in archery as well, despite how little use the latter will have in real life.

"ready." once they're off, maki sits in silence, barely moving. she's turning over mission plans in her head, remembering the layout of the area. by the time they arrive, she's decided on the best course of action for getting in and out without anyone noticing.

as soon as they pull up at the house, maki points at the front door. it's likely locked, and it's in full view of the street. if they go in through the back, they run the risk of their quarry escaping through the front. the best thing to do now is seal it and any of the first floor windows so they can't be used as avenues of escape.

"i can have my froslass freeze the front door and the downstairs windows with frost breath," she explains to dorian. "that should hold them long enough for us to finish what we need to do without anyone slipping away." afterwards, they can burn away any evidence of their involvement.

[ dorian westcliff ]

once every possible exit except the back door has been sealed off, maki gives dorian the okay to bust the door down. if she wasn't so sure there was no avenue of escape, she'd have picked the lock; but they're not just here to kill everyone, they're here to squeeze information out of the traitors as well. scaring them is part of the deal. the more frightened they are, the more likely they'll be to talk.

thanks to their otherwise silent work, the people inside the house are unaware of what's going on. it's a quiet night overall, and they're not expecting it when their door is busted down and a large man and a girl with a cold look on her face enter the building. there's four people overall, and two immediately make a break for it. fearing for her life, a woman charges for a window and slams into it, the window cracking but not breaking thanks to the ice behind it. she immediately slumps down, knocked out by her escape attempt.

the other, a man, lets out a bellow and tries to charge past dorian and into maki to make his escape. he thinks that if he does the unexpected, he'll manage to make it past them... or maybe he's simply trying to save his friends by serving as a distraction.

maki simply sidesteps him and grabs him, holding a knife to his throat. the other two, still inside the kitchenette in the house, shake.

"no more foolishness," maki says. "we have questions. if you don't answer them, i'll make this one's death slow and painful."

[ dorian westcliff ]

subduing the man she grabbed isn't difficult. most people will bow when there's a blade at their throat, and this man is no exception. he allows maki to bind his hands behind his back, and she leads him back to the others. there, she ties his ankles, much like dorian is doing to the unconscious woman. if one doesn't know maki, they might mistake her careful gestures for gentleness, or the vacant smile on her face for sympathy.

now that they're all seated, maki crouches down. "very well." her eyes scan the four captives, ready for any sign of rebellion. dorian and his incineroar seem to have them cowed, for now. "it's my understanding that you have been involved with attempts to create a network of traitors." a barely noticeable twitch in their eyes confirms maki's suspicions. they'll try to hide it, but she's right on the money here.

"i have no idea what you're talking about," the man that maki caught grumbles. maki looks at dorian and gives a small shake of her head, indicating that he's lying. she'll allow him to make the next move. if it's necessary, they can play good cop bad cop.

[ dorian westcliff ]

maki doesn't flinch even once as dorian plays his game with their captive. not even when the blade comes down and severs the man's finger, screams of pain filling his throat but unable to escape due to the gag in his mouth. she goes to work on the other prisoners, crouching down by them with a small smile on her face. "if you tell us what's been going on, we'll be sure to show mercy," she says, kindness with no true intent behind her words. "i have no desire to harm you beyond what's necessary."

her lies are coated with fly-catching honey, and one of them takes the bait before dorian can sever another finger. "p-please!" the woman who charged into the window has woken up. "we meet in the basement of the lilycove department store! i-i can give you names and our next meeting date!"

maki stands back up. she pulls her phone out and looks to dorian, "very well. tell us everything you know." she prepares to take notes.

[ dorian westcliff ]

it's easy to trick people into believing you have good intentions when you have a pretty face and a sweet smile. this is something maki knows well; her mother has always told her to use her appearance as a weapon, one that causes others to lower their guard around her. people want so desperately to believe that there is nothing ugly behind the beauty, and that appearances are always as they seem.

maki leads their captives away, knowing full well they would not survive this night. but her touch is gentle and firm, belying her wicked intent under that mask of patience and generosity.

once everyone has been secured in the van, or at least exited the building, she releases her houndoom. "shall we burn it down?" she asks dorian, angling her head.

[ dorian westcliff ]