thebookbones - Tumblr blog

thebookbones · 1 day ago

Text

Blood Will Out Ch 36: The Reassignment of Madam Von Pinn

< Prev | AO3

"Uh, uh, uh," Gil said.

Agatha noted that, beside her, Tarvek had gone even more motionless than when they'd been attacked by the steam cat. He appeared to have stopped breathing. Gil, too, had not moved a muscle, although it was far too late for him. Von Pinn looked more terrifying than she had when she'd been yelling at Teodora.

"Master Gilgamesh!"

"I was looking for Tarvek! And I found him!" Gil gestured to Tarvek. "Ta-daaa," he said, weakly.

"Gil got here last night," Agatha said. "And, and he was so tired he stayed the night."

Von Pinn's eyes narrowed.

"Really," she said.

"Yes," Gil said.

"Then to whom was I speaking last evening at dinner?"

Gil froze.

"I…I, uh…"

Von Pinn's arms flexed and the shackles snapped. Slowly, she rose until she seemed to tower over Gil, despite being only a few inches taller.

"Do. Not. Lie to me."

"IgotTheoandSleipnirtocoverformesoIcouldsneakontothequestor'sshiptoMechanicsburgandstopTarvek'sevilplanbuthewasn'tactuallyevilsoIstayedtohelphimandAgathafixthecastle."

"You were in Castle Heterodyne?" Von Pinn howled.

"I'm fine!" Gil exclaimed. "Tarvek's the one that got poisoned!"

Tarvek had a brief moment to give Gil a look of outraged betrayal before Von Pinn's head snapped around to level that laser-like fury on her new target.

"It wasn't the castle that did it! My father sent Smoke Knights after me! And I was going in with the heir to the town; Gil 's the one who went charging in by himself!"

“I was going to go back the second this was fixed!" Gil insisted. "No one was even supposed to know I was gone! Please don’t tell– Don't tell the Baron.”

Von Pinn did not relax, but shifted into a slightly different kind of tense.

“I will not tell the Baron. You are no longer my charge.”

Gil flinched. He seemed to shrink in on himself, his eyes wide and almost childishly pained.

“But…but I was going to go back,” he said weakly.

“It has nothing to do with you,” Von Pinn said, in a voice somehow stern and gentle at the same time. “There is a Heterodyne now. I have orders to fulfill.”

Von Pinn was very fixedly not looking at Gil, who looked like the world was being torn out from under him. Agatha remembered her conversation with Gil their first night in the castle, and the one she’d had with him and Tarvek, after Tarvek was no longer dying and they needed the kind of trust only truth could bring.

Even if the Baron kept Gil at arm’s length out of necessity, Gil was just as lonely as if he had no father at all. Von Pinn had been responsible for the protection of the children on Castle Wulfenbach; it would make her about the closest thing to a mother Gil had. He’d wanted to be important only so people would care about him. So someone would want him. Agatha had Teodora and Saturnus and an entire town full of people who cared about her. She couldn’t be responsible for Gil losing one of the few connections he had.

"If you were in such a rush to keep me safe, why didn't you come down here as soon as the Doom Bell rang?" Agatha asked.

Von Pinn was startled by the question. Her eyes flicked around the room for a moment before resettling on Agatha.

"I…Castle Wulfenbach was entering a potential combat zone. I had orders to protect the children. The Baron did not have the chance to release me from that order until this morning."

"And an order from the Baron overrides an order from the Storm King?" Tarvek asked. Von Pinn said nothing. She had no expression on her face at all.

“Do you want to stay and keep me safe?” Agatha asked.

“I wish to fulfill my duty to my king," Von Pinn said instantly.

"That's not what I asked," Agatha said softly.

Von Pinn's jaw worked back and forth. "No," she said at last, quietly. "I have…better things to do with my time."

"What if you got a different order? From, say, a different Storm King?"

Everyone turned to look at Tarvek, who gazed back with a wide-eyed innocence so genuine, Agatha realized she would never be able to tell when he was lying, even if she knew him for the rest of their lives.

"There is no Storm King," Von Pinn said.

"But there will be, someday. There are...pieces moving. Plans. I have a big family, and lots of them want to be on the Lightning Throne. Some of us have better claims than others." He started to blush again and glanced at Agatha. "You're...probably going to be getting a lot of marriage proposals from the ones with weaker ties.”

Agatha turned bright red.

"Over my dead body," Saturnus growled. Teodora's face suggested that she might be willing to allow Saturnus to launch a few minor incursions against specific members of the Valois bloodline, should the need arise.

“On paper, I have one of the stronger claims to the throne, maybe even the strongest. I just need the political strength to back it up. I might need a few years, but like I said, I have plans."

"It takes more than a strong claim to be the Storm King," Von Pinn said. "You are not my king simply because you intend to be."

"What if it's a really, really good bet?" Agatha asked. "Like, say, if he had the best claim on paper, and the support of the Heterodyne? Not! Not like marriage, just, you know. Recognizing him officially.”

"And the Baron, too," Gil said.

"The Baron hates me."

"But if he had to pick a Storm King, he'd hate you being Storm King the least, probably. I 'd back you, if I was the Baron," he added.

Von Pinn’s lips twitched, and Agatha knew that Von Pinn understood if meant when.

"And what would my new orders be, from this Storm King?"

“Well…first I would tell you that you can be sure that Agatha isn’t a threat, and you shouldn’t hurt her or anything.”

"Hurt her?" Teodora said, her hand inching towards the kettle again. "You said you were here to keep her safe."

"There are a few different ways someone could interpret 'keep the Heterodyne safe'," Tarvek said. "One of them is 'protect the Heterodyne', and one of them is 'make the Heterodyne be safe for other people to be around'. I'm just being conscientious."

Von Pinn's mouth twitched again.

"I will not say the interpretation has not occurred to me, over the centuries," she admitted. "But times have changed, and I have seen too much of what teenagers are like in this day and age to expect one to be a legitimate threat to Europa, Heterodyne or no."

Saturnus, looking offended, opened his mouth.

“She’s not an active threat to anyone who doesn’t threaten Mechanicsburg or its people,” Tarvek corrected quickly, which mollified Saturnus…enough. “Anyway, my second order would be to protect the children on Castle Wulfenbach."

A very strange look crossed the construct’s face, and Agatha thought that Von P–Otilia's love for her Storm King might not be so very different from Mechanicsburg’s love for the Heterodynes.

"Does that work?" Tarvek asked.

"Yes, it does," Otilia said, "your majesty."

"Then that's settled," Tarvek said, pleased. “We’ll repair the clank, put you back where you belong, and you can go back to Castle Wulfenbach.”

"That ," Teodora said to Saturnus, in a voice that Agatha knew meant this was the continuation of a previously on-hold argument, "was politics."

"It was boring as hell is what it was," Saturnus said.

“However,” Otilia said. “If that is my new order, it means Master Gilgamesh is once more in my charge, and my concern.”

She turned a look like a death ray on Gil, who quailed.

“How much trouble am I in?” he asked weakly.

“All. Of. It.” Her hand shot out and grabbed Gil by the collar. “Come, Master Gilgamesh. We shall return to Castle Wulfenbach, where you may explain yourself to the Baron."

Gil went even paler.

“Wait!” Agatha cried. “You can’t tell the Baron because…because, um—”

“We need Gil’s help with fixing your body!” Tarvek said quickly. Otilia’s eyes narrowed.

“How damaged is my true form?”

“Uhh…Not unfixably so?” Tarvek said.

All three teenagers gave her winning smiles. Otilia’s eyes flicked to each of their faces, a deep suspicion creasing her face.

“Very well,” she said at last. “I will speak on your behalf to the Baron, and recommend that you are permitted to stay long enough to assist – but,” she said, when Gilgamesh let out a great sigh of relief, “to ensure that you are safe while you are in the lair of the Heterodyne, you will remain in my custody whenever you are not on Castle Wulfenbach – including now. ”

Gil groaned, but did not argue.

“Know, too, that Master DuMedd and Miss O’Hara will face the consequences for aiding you.”

“DuMedd?” Teodora said, and her eyes brightened. “Oh! That would be Serpentina’s boy! Lucrezia’s nephew – your cousin, Agatha.”

Agatha gave her a wary look, but Gil put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Otilia immediately pulled him back a few steps, out of reach. Gil ignored this.

“I’ve known Theo for years. He’s a good friend. I barely believed him when he told me who his mother was. And I know he’d love to meet you – he had a rough time adjusting when his parents disappeared.”

“Maybe we should invite him for a visit?” Agatha said. She liked the idea of having more family who weren’t morally corrupt, heinous murderers – present company excluded, as always.

“You may seek to visit him ,” Otilia said dryly. “He shall be confined to the castle for the foreseeable future. As will you, Master Gilgamesh.”

“But—but you said—!”

“I said I will accompany you when you are off the ship. I did not say how often such an event would occur. Come. The Baron must be told.”

“Wait!” Agatha said again. She hurried over and flung her arms around Gil in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she said to him. “I couldn’t have done it without your help.”

“Yeah, you could,” Gil said, grinning, cheeks slightly pink. “Just would have taken a little longer.”

Once more, Otilia began to drag her charge towards the exit. Gil gave Tarvek a sideways grin as he was hauled past.

“Worth it,” he said. Tarvek punched him on the shoulder.

“Idiot,” he grumbled, but when Gil was out of sight, he smiled.

“Shouldn’t I be meeting with the Baron, too?” Agatha asked. She was not looking forward to it. She would have much preferred to put it off for a few days, until she’d gotten settled in and used to being Lady of Mechanicsburg.

“As soon as possible, yes,” Teodora said. “But I don’t want to rush you. We can tell him to come back tomorrow, if that’s what you need.”

“No,” Agatha said with a sigh. “Better to just get this over with. Then I can focus on Mechanicsburg without having to worry about whether I’m about to start a war with the Empire.”

“A wise decision,” Teodora said. Saturnus reached out and tapped Agatha's elbow.

“If you’re not too tired and we’re not at war after you meet with the Baron, there are still a few things the Heterodyne has to do to prevent reality from tearing itself apart."

"What?" Agatha exclaimed. Saturnus shrugged.

"I don't know if they actually do, but I'd just as soon not find out the hard way. There are ceremonies to attend, then you have to meet the generals formally, and the heads of the guild halls – not to mention the backlog of paperwork.”

"Paperwork? " Agatha cried in horror. Teodora patted her shoulder, kindly.

"You rule a city-state, dear. There is paperwork."

Agatha rounded on her grandfather. "You never told me there was paperwork!"

"Because it's boring! I was telling you stories! Why would I tell you a story about the time I had to spend four hours reading guild charters?”

“You were the scourge of Europa! Feared by your own people! You expect me to believe the Heterodynes allowed themselves to be buried in administrative red tape?”

“Nobody ever said being a Heterodyne was fun and games all the time."

"You did! Repeatedly!"

"Oh. Well. It's not."

Agatha’s shoulders slumped.

“But what about science?” she whined.

“I’m sure we can find some time after school this week.”

“No school,” Agatha said promptly. “As Heterodyne, I declare no school for the rest of the week.”

Teodora put her hands on her hips and gave Agatha an unimpressed look.

“Oh, come now, Teodora, you have to let her abuse her power at least a little.”

Agatha gave Teodora the biggest, saddest eyes she possibly could. Teodora sighed and threw her hands up.

“Alright, alright. Heaven knows you could use the break.”

“Um,” Tarvek said quietly. “Not to interrupt, but…what about me?”

“You stay here,” Agatha said firmly. “Whatever else happens, you have me.”

She went red.

“I mean. Mechanicsburg. As a safe place to be. Um. Anyway we should get going, I think we should go, let’s go.”

11 notes · View notes

thebookbones · 1 day ago

Text

Andrea Velez, a US citizen, was arrested in the time it took her mother to drive less than a block. She was on her way to work. She’s Latina. It appears that was enough. Tuesday morning, Andrea Velez’s mom and sister dropped her off near her workplace. She’s a production coordinator at Top Pick Global. Andrea graduated with a degree in fashion from Cal Poly Pomona. Near Andrea’s work, an ICE raid was taking place. In fact, someone had called the LAPD to say a “kidnapping” was taking place. The LAPD showed up, saw it was an immigration raid — LAPD is not permitted to assist ICE in immigration raids — and immediately switched to crowd control, making sure people weren’t in the street and so on. As Andrea walked toward her place of employment, she says she looked up and saw an ICE agent barreling toward her. In the flash of thoughts that went through her mind, she thought maybe she was being targeted for the color of her skin, that maybe he thought she was not a US citizen. She instinctively held up her bag and the agent bowled into her. Her mother — they hadn’t even made it a block away yet — looked in the rear view mirror and saw the plainclothes ICE agents standing over her daughter and putting her in cuffs. “They’re kidnapping your sister,” she said. Andrea tried to get the LAPD to help, and so did her mother and sister. According to her mother and other witnesses, no one ever asked Andrea for ID or asked about her status. The police didn’t help, even when Andrea’s mother was screaming she was a US citizen. In fact, according to some witnesses, they moved to stand around Andrea to make it more difficult to film what was happening. For the first 24 hours, her family couldn’t find Andrea. They didn’t know where she had been taken or what was happening. They hired lawyers who managed to find her, but no one would tell them what she was being charged with, only that she would likely face federal charges. DHS publicly said she would be charged with “assaulting an officer.” When they got to court yesterday, ICE lawyers downgraded that to “obstructing” an officer. An ICE officer claimed that Andrea purposely stepped in his way and raised both of her arms to stop him from going after someone he was trying to arrest. Witnesses tell the story the way Andrea does: an ICE agent approached her, knocked her down, then arrested her without asking any questions about her status or identity. Andrea, her lawyer, her mother and sister all have the same theory: during an ICE raid an ICE agent saw a Latina and scooped her up because of the color of her skin, and had to invent another reason once it was discovered she was a US citizen, born and raised in Los Angeles. Andrea was released on a 5k bond yesterday.

Immigration officers have recently taken to arresting Latino and Hispanic US citizens on raids and claiming obstruction or assault, only to release them a few days later, sometimes without charges. On June 12th, for instance, Brian Gavidia walked outside his work and saw immigration officers. He told them he was a US citizen and showed them his Real ID. They pushed him up against a fence and started asking him questions like “What hospital were you born in.” DHS later said he had “assaulted an officer” -- video evidence does not back this up -- but they didn’t charge him. Or return his ID. (A common pattern: DHS will say something like this on social media, but not in court. It appears to be a PR stunt, not any attempt at communicating something true or legally actionable.) When CNN reached out to DHS on this one they added that Brian “attempted to flee” as well, which is remarkable given that he’s a US citizen who literally just stepped outside his place of work. Adrian Martinez, 20, had a run-in with Border Patrol on his break at WalMart. It sounds like — this is unclear — he tried to obstruct a BP vehicle that held one of his friends from work. Border Patrol agents grabbed him and claim that he punched one of them. Of course, a nearby bystander was recording and there is no evidence of a punch. And Border Patrol went on to say that Adrian was a “hostile group” of men, which is weird because he’s one guy… unless they are counting Oscar Preciado, the delivery driver who stood nearby and videoed the whole thing. Neither Oscar’s video nor surveillance cameras that caught the entire event show a punch. Border Patrol says that the complete videos “are missing critical moments and don’t tell the whole story.” But after holding Adrian for THREE DAYS they also dropped the assault charge. Because, as Adrian’s lawyer said, “He didn’t assault anyone.” They’re now charging him with “conspiracy to impede or injure an officer” which his lawyer calls “trumped up” charges. ICE has claimed that upwards of 70% of those they arrest are “serious criminals” but their own statistics tell a different story. In the most recent ICE stats publicly released:

75% of people in ICE private prisons have nothing more than an immigration related issue or a traffic violation

47% of those being held by ICE have no criminal conviction at all… no criminal immigration violation, traffic violation, or criminal charge of any kind.

Would you like to guess the percentage of “serious criminals” who are being held by ICE? We’ve been told over and over that we’re after the “worst of the worst” so I suspect it must be an impressive number. And that number is: NINE PERCENT. It certainly appears that the enormous daily quota for arrests is encouraging quantity arrests rather than quality arrests. Arresting a US citizen, even if you have to release them a few days later, counts toward the arrest. Arresting a tourist at the border rather than refusing them entry counts toward the quota. Arresting people at their green card interviews, tricking immigrants without lawyers into giving up their asylum claims and immediately arresting them once they agree, these all count toward the quota. Some key takeaways:

Don’t call the police expecting help during an immigration raid. Even in states like California, where they are not legally allow to assist federal immigration forces, they also are unlikely to step in and help US citizens or others being abused. Best case scenario: they do some crowd control.

ICE and other immigration forces are not afraid to arrest US citizens (and others) on trumped up charges, hold people, and release them later. There’s literally no consequences for them as individuals or corporately.

It is ICE policy to lie. This is not an exaggeration. They call it a “ruse.” ICE agents aren’t just allowed to lie, they are encouraged to do so and trained to do so. ICE agents are trained to trick and confuse people. Andrea Velez, a US citizen, was arrested in the time it took her mother to drive less than a block. She was on her way to work. She’s Latina. It appears that was enough. (x)

2K notes · View notes