[Relationship] The Rosenhof Residence

[Chase Delacroix]

"We should definitely get the school involved. But I have at least one idea for who might have seen him last."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Yes, absolutely. If we call Basil's grandparents, and zey do not know he is missing, it could send zem into a panic. But ze school, it is easier for zem to claim zat it was a mistake wiz zeir records." Colette looked to Chase expectantly. "Oh? Who might zat be?"

[Chase Delacroix]

"I can't tell you why, but Chisaki. Not that I think she's involved in whatever happened."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette furrowed her brow. "Really? Zat is funny, she had not mentioned zat to me... but zen again I suppose she would not know zat she was ze last to see him, yes? Perhaps I should send her a text."

[Chase Delacroix]

"I'd rather talk to her myself."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Oh, yes, alright." Colette looked at the clock on the wall, trying to do the mental math of what time it would be on the other side of the planet.

[Chase Delacroix]

"That's what... nine hours ahead? So, it's late but not too late."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"No, I zink it would be okay. Please, come and have a seat, I will make us some... tea? Coffee? While you are on ze phone, yes?" Even though Chase had declined her offer earlier, a gracious hostess seldom takes no for an answer.

[Chase Delacroix]

"Maybe coffee would be nice after all," he answered, "And I need her number."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Oh yes, of course! One moment..." Colette let Chase seat himself as she dug around in the kitchen, many appliances having been packed away already but the coffeemaker wasn't one of them. It wasn't too long before he'd receive a text from the girl sharing Chisaki's contact information.

[Chase Delacroix]

He wasted no time in texting Basil's pastel stalker.

Code: Select all

It's Chase. We need to talk. It's important.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Nearly immediately after he sent it, Chase got a call back from the number in question.

"Hello Chase-senpai." The voice greeted, though not in the bubbly sort of fashion one would expect from the candy coated creature.

[Chase Delacroix]

"I need to know where you last saw Basil," he said, cutting straight to the point, "And I'm not in the mood to beat around the bush about you spying on him."

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Chisaki didn't.

"Harold and Howard Ealdwine are in charge of watching him off campus, unless he wanders somewhere they are likely to be spotted.

You can try talking to them, but they have yet to provide me any information about his disappearance. They seem to be as stumped as we are."

[Chase Delacroix]

"And none of you thought to let anyone at the school know he was missing and not just being dramatic?" he asked somewhat angrily, though truth be told he was mostly just mad at himself for not putting things together sooner.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

There was a very long pause before Chisaki continued.

"The X-Men are not personal security and there are other entities that do not want them involved."

[Chase Delacroix]

"Everyone at Xavier's is under X-Men protection. Besides, he's my best friend. Why should I care what these other entities want?"

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"Yes, I know. That fact made things a lot easier.

But Benson-sama did not see it that way, so he moved off the premises.

Things got much more complicated then."

So far as Chase could remember, she'd never used that honorific before. Not for Basil, or anyone.

[Chase Delacroix]

"Complicated how?"

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"I cannot tell you that this way." She replies.

The response seems cryptic, like she's implying something.

[Chase Delacroix]

He understood both the surface implication that someone could be listening and that she might otherwise be willing to say, or that she had a backchannel for just such an occasion.

"I get it, it's too sensitive to say over the phone. But that at least reinforces that there's more to this than I thought."

"Is there anything you can tell me?"

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"Not like this." She reiterated.

[Chase Delacroix]

"In that case, I guess I'll just have to trust you," he responded vaguely.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"I suppose." She replied awkwardly, incapable of saying more.

"Method and location make things difficult." She elaborated, hoping Chase would pick up on the subtle hint.

[Chase Delacroix]

"We'll talk again soon," he answered, hanging up.

Who are Harold and Howard Ealdwine? And what the hell have you gotten yourself into Basil?

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette returned with a couple of cups of coffee as well as some sugar packets and a small carton of cream. Normally she'd have put a little more into the presentation, a proper sugar dish and pitcher, but most of such things she had already packed away in her preparations.

"I am sorry, but... did I hear zis correctly? Did you say zat Madame Watanabe was spying on Basil?" The very idea seemed to perplex her immensely.

[Chase Delacroix]

Chase cringed. She wasn't supposed to hear that.

"You heard that, huh?" he sighed, "Yeah, she's... been keeping an eye on him. But I'm pretty sure she's on his side. She wants to help, at least. Unfortunately, she couldn't say much over the phone."

"That said, she alluded to seeing me in person. I think. And she gave me the name of someone to talk to. Do the names Harold and Howard Ealdwine mean anything to you?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette furrowed her brow further. "Chisaki and Harold and Howard... how many people does one man need to look after him? Is Basil really so important zat ze risk of kidnapping is so great?" Well, yeah, kind of obviously, as she currently believes him to have been kidnapped.

"Yes, I do know zem. One more so zan ze ozer, but both work for Basil's fazer I believe."

[Chase Delacroix]

If they were simple bodyguards, there wouldn't be a need for them to be so cloak and dagger about it.

"Do you have a way to contact them?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I have Howard's number..." Colette tapped on her phone a few times to bring the man up in her contacts and engage the call, holding her phone out in her palm instead of to her ear so that Chase would be able to clearly hear it.

[Chase Delacroix]

"Try to bring him here. Easier to gauge truthfulness in person."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette nodded in acknowledgement, already knowing what she would say.

[Narrator]

Howard answered quickly enough.

"Good day Ms.Rosenhof." He greeted in a fashion that was clearly going through the motions. His tone did not indicate anything particularly good was happening on this day.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Bonjour Howard. I hope zat you are well." The girl tried to keep up bit of a flowery tone to her voice, though it was a bit difficult given what she'd been going through.

"I have been doing some packing, and I am not certain what to do wiz Basil's zings. Would you and Harold be able to come and pick zem up?"

[Narrator]

"Harold is out now, but I believe I can make a trip by.

See you soon."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Aurevoir à bientot." Colette said with forced cheerfulness, trying too hard to be normal. She looked to Chase once she hung up.

"He will be arriving soon. I... should make preparations."

[Chase Delacroix]

"And I'll find a place to keep out of sight when he gets here."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette gestured to the back door that led out to the garden. "I will see about getting him to follow me into ze study. Zat is perhaps ze best place for you to come and see him, yes?"

[Chase Delacroix]

He nodded, "That'll work. We need a signal too. Just... open the window and I'll come in."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Ooh, zis is sounding like Ze Five Orange Pips." Colette got a little excited despite herself. She began grabbing some of the boxes from the living room and moving them into the study, a room she'd left largely untouched until now. Because if Howard came into the room and didn't see anything to carry, he might get suspicious.