Schuyler turned his wrist over to eye the watch face on the underside. With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, there remained plenty of foot traffic. It almost made him sick. Once he finally reached the café that Zev had mentioned, Schuyler broke free from the crowd and slipped right in. It seemed a bit odd to meet in Sootopolis, but in hindsight, it was the only way to openly speak of Rocket dealings. Schuyler took to maintaining a civilian persona quite well, he hoped not to tie his work into that. He approached the counter and ordered an iced matcha latte with a pump of french vanilla.

As he approached the table, his eyes immediately met the folder that Zev had sat out in front of him. A brow quirked as he met the Rocket Beast's eyes. A new mission? Or maybe something more. He didn't dawdle, rather immediately pulled up a seat and sat his drink down on the small table. Though he always seemed to have a touch of gruffness in his body language, it seemed amplified.

Maybe whatever was in that folder could explain why. Schuyler offered a hand out to Zev to accept the folder from him. He wasn't one to take things that weren't his own without some form of permission.

"Something from our last mission? Or something completely unrelated?"

He didn't seem to mind either way. Business was business, and he found that he seemed to enjoy working with Zev. It's why he didn't seem to mind meeting him during one of the busiest shopping seasons. At least someone had passerbys occupied with some pamphlets around for a man who called himself Father Winter the 2nd. Maybe that's why the café wasn't as active as it could have been.

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Zev Harcourt

With every bit of information offered, it dawned upon him. The name "Father Winter" stuck out the most. Without any hesitation, Schuyler pulled out one of the flyers he'd taken out of curiosity and unfolded it before he offered it out to Zev. The note that Father Winter the 2nd posted about. It was shocking to see that the same man who was supposed to come down families' chimneys also represented a member of the DRK Triad. Brows knit together as he looked up at Zev again.

"Familiar enough with the word 'triad' to know it doesn't tend to mean 'five or more'," he joked. "But otherwise, not much of anything. Unova's been broadcasting a lot of the stuff going on here, sure, but I'm pretty sure the news just grouped them in with Megalopolans."

The curse of relaying information rather than experiencing it, he supposed. Another glance back down at the file before him, notes of how Zev himself encountered one of the members and even went as far as to try and kill her. Credit was accrued to her Unown-A for survival but... Well, he didn't doubt Zev's resolve nor power in the slightest, but most folks with a plan always came prepared. Interesting. He'd like to meet this woman one day -- any of the DRK Triad actually. They posed an obvious threat, but what was truly their goal in coming here?

Schuyler took a sip of his drink and carefully perused the papers once more. Soon thereafter, he took a pen out and began to carefully circle dates marked on the documents. As he glanced at the circled dates, his brows furrowed in frustration. It appeared they had nothing in common, though plenty of the events gathered within the times of Fall and Winter -- likely just a coincidence. But as he glanced back down at the paper he'd offered out to Zev, he met the man's eyes once more.

"As juvenile as this is, this paper seems to be the best bet in seeing any of the DRK Triad members. I'll humor him and write a letter in my free time."

He'd advise Zev to do the same if he wanted to take on any of the names he mentioned in his report.

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Zev Harcourt

As Zev proposed the idea, the wheels and gears in Schuyler's mind began to turn. The Rocket Beast was right, he posed the perfect opportunity to infiltrate, especially given his work as a civilian and work as a member of Team Rocket remained starkly separated. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he finally dared to speak on the matter. It seemed he liked the idea well enough, and would be happy to oblige.

"Just give me some names and I'll see what I can do," he reasoned.

He'd have to play his hand carefully. It would be a long term game that would require him to tiptoe along the line that separated League and Rocket. With the constant news of people who left compared to the remaining connections some folks had with those who abandoned the cause, it left a weak support for the team. A hum of thought came to mind as he verbalized it.

"We have some people who fled the organization who would no doubt recognize you, so we might want to figure out a way to keep this information relay a secret. They'll suspect something when they see me shaking hands with higher ups in the League."

A breath in to steel his nerves. Despite all this talk about blending in with the league, there was still the matter that Zev seemed particularly interested in the DRK Triad. Did he have some sort of personal connection with them? The fact he was able to suspend their ship from the Kyogre incident in midair like he did seemed like a big enough clue. He didn't want to know too much on that matter, ergo he attempted to word himself a bit more carefully.

"Is there a sudden interest in the Triad on your end? Have you come across them recently? I say this assuming you've had plenty of opportunity to do research into them without my sudden appearance."

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Zev Harcourt

Seemed Zev had the right idea of how to go forward with this mission. Not that he had any doubt, of course. With the file of the unnamed woman pointed out, he scanned over the file and offered a low hum. Brows knit curiously as he read over the fact that Zev himself had tried to kill her. Why try to kill someone that offered him an extension of power? Did he not realize that working alongside the DRK Triad could put Rocket itself at an advantage? From what he'd read, the Triad seemed to focus on wiping out avatars. Imagine all the avatars within League's alliance that could be destroyed in one fell swoop. But it seemed the man focused on his alliance with Rocket. (Schuyler could only assume that if given the opportunity, the Rocket Beast would not be able to distinguish ally and enemy within the Triad's inner circle.)

"I see," he commented.

His traverse had been deeper into the Wilds. Reports referred to the area as Lesser Megalopolis. Schuyler kept the area tucked away in the back of his mind. Maybe it would be beneficial for him to search the premises. That meant procuring someone who was willing to traverse the danger deep in (what he assumed to be) a post-apocalyptic metropolitan city. A shift in his seat and a final sip of his latte.

"Curiosity has gotten the better of me. Maybe I'll see if there's someone willing to make the excursion with me to Lesser Megalopolis to see if we can uncover anything that may have been missed. It's better you don't go; they'll be looking for you and won't show mercy this time."

Not that he doubted Zev's ability to fend for himself. But the Triad were a mysterious group, and the fact that it seemed this unknown woman with an Unown-A had fell through the cracks. Who knew what other threats lay in their reserves? It seemed Schuyler fell unfamiliar with the proverb that 'curiosity killed the cat.' But as far as anyone or anything knew? He had no connection with the Rocket Beast other than pure mutual affiliation.

And it was better that way.

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Zev Harcourt