((Connects with Sanctuary Offered.))
"No word from the other security organizations you've contacted?"
Caroline looked up tiredly from her desk. She'd been in the office since far too early this morning, going over all the final details for the keeping of the new small village worth of people who had taken her offer to move into the grounds of Maple Grove for the foreseeable future. Her Chief of Security, Baden Fulco, only recently promoted following the retirement of his predecessor, had declared the entire scheme a nightmare, but had, thankfully, managed to call in a shedload of favors to get his own security teams on board. They were stretched to the limit right now, however, and desperately needed someone else to step in to look after the properties abandoned in the Old Temple District, at the very least.
"No, nothing yet," she agreed wearily with Baden, leaning back from the desk and rubbing her aching neck with a grimace. "I sent out a few enquiries on Saturday but I've had nothing back, so I sent a few more out as soon as I got in this morning. I'm hoping someone will be able to at least offer a few bodies to help us out, or you're going to have to go on a recruiting drive while we call in the Watch."
Baden frowned, not particularly happy with this. But what Caroline wants, Caroline gets, and knowing her powers of persuasion over the Board of Directors at GrangerGuild - a meeting of which was scheduled to begin within the next hour - she was going to have their backing by the beginning of the working day. He sighed, nodding reluctantly.
"All right, we'll do the best we can," he conceded. "The mages finished up the boundary last night, thankfully, so at least we won't have any creepies getting in."
Caroline nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Baden," she smiled a little. "Have you slept yet?"
"Not since Saturday," he offered up with absolute honesty. "And to be frank, I won't sleep decent until we have a little back up on this. It's not the grounds I'm worried about - it's the security detail in the Old Temple and the escorts. Opportunists abound when stuff like this happens."
She shook her head unhappily. "I wish I could have ignored all this, laughed it off the way G'nort is trying to," she admitted. "It would be a much healthier way of coping with the upset and violence. But if I'm moving Piper and Lyneth out of the district for their own safety, I can't do any less than offer the same protection to others in the same boat, can I?"
"To be frank, Miss Caroline, from a strictly business point of view, yes, you can," her Security Chief informed her, making her snort with laughter. It was his turn to smile then, knowing his employer pretty well by now. "We'll cope, though. You're just a soft touch, that's what you are."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence," she remarked wryly, groaning as she rose to her feet. "Is everyone pretty much settled down there? We have extra staff coming in to help with catering, and Rhy'Din General is offering to set up a clinic once a week, so the families can be sure that they have everything they need within the grounds. I would have asked Riverview, but I think they've been a little overwhelmed with the influx of injuries."
"As far as I can tell, most have settled in well enough," Baden told her confidently. "We had a few minor squabbles about housing, but those seem sorted out well enough. And there's still accommodation in the area if anyone else decides to take us up on your offer."
"Good. I'll go down today sometime and make myself known," she added, unwittingly making her Security Chief's day a whole lot more stressful. "Oh, and we need to make sure that no one goes near the big house. Jon's wired up enough about being a new dad without having to worry about strangers peering in through the windows at them."
She laughed. She'd dropped in to see her cousin yesterday evening, and spotted all the signs of a parent experiencing puppy love for his firstborn daughter. Baden nodded once again, stepping back as she moved across the room to pour herself a cup of coffee.
"Aye, we'll make sure," he promised. "Just get us those extra bodies. Soon."
"No word from the other security organizations you've contacted?"
Caroline looked up tiredly from her desk. She'd been in the office since far too early this morning, going over all the final details for the keeping of the new small village worth of people who had taken her offer to move into the grounds of Maple Grove for the foreseeable future. Her Chief of Security, Baden Fulco, only recently promoted following the retirement of his predecessor, had declared the entire scheme a nightmare, but had, thankfully, managed to call in a shedload of favors to get his own security teams on board. They were stretched to the limit right now, however, and desperately needed someone else to step in to look after the properties abandoned in the Old Temple District, at the very least.
"No, nothing yet," she agreed wearily with Baden, leaning back from the desk and rubbing her aching neck with a grimace. "I sent out a few enquiries on Saturday but I've had nothing back, so I sent a few more out as soon as I got in this morning. I'm hoping someone will be able to at least offer a few bodies to help us out, or you're going to have to go on a recruiting drive while we call in the Watch."
Baden frowned, not particularly happy with this. But what Caroline wants, Caroline gets, and knowing her powers of persuasion over the Board of Directors at GrangerGuild - a meeting of which was scheduled to begin within the next hour - she was going to have their backing by the beginning of the working day. He sighed, nodding reluctantly.
"All right, we'll do the best we can," he conceded. "The mages finished up the boundary last night, thankfully, so at least we won't have any creepies getting in."
Caroline nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Baden," she smiled a little. "Have you slept yet?"
"Not since Saturday," he offered up with absolute honesty. "And to be frank, I won't sleep decent until we have a little back up on this. It's not the grounds I'm worried about - it's the security detail in the Old Temple and the escorts. Opportunists abound when stuff like this happens."
She shook her head unhappily. "I wish I could have ignored all this, laughed it off the way G'nort is trying to," she admitted. "It would be a much healthier way of coping with the upset and violence. But if I'm moving Piper and Lyneth out of the district for their own safety, I can't do any less than offer the same protection to others in the same boat, can I?"
"To be frank, Miss Caroline, from a strictly business point of view, yes, you can," her Security Chief informed her, making her snort with laughter. It was his turn to smile then, knowing his employer pretty well by now. "We'll cope, though. You're just a soft touch, that's what you are."
"Thank you for the vote of confidence," she remarked wryly, groaning as she rose to her feet. "Is everyone pretty much settled down there? We have extra staff coming in to help with catering, and Rhy'Din General is offering to set up a clinic once a week, so the families can be sure that they have everything they need within the grounds. I would have asked Riverview, but I think they've been a little overwhelmed with the influx of injuries."
"As far as I can tell, most have settled in well enough," Baden told her confidently. "We had a few minor squabbles about housing, but those seem sorted out well enough. And there's still accommodation in the area if anyone else decides to take us up on your offer."
"Good. I'll go down today sometime and make myself known," she added, unwittingly making her Security Chief's day a whole lot more stressful. "Oh, and we need to make sure that no one goes near the big house. Jon's wired up enough about being a new dad without having to worry about strangers peering in through the windows at them."
She laughed. She'd dropped in to see her cousin yesterday evening, and spotted all the signs of a parent experiencing puppy love for his firstborn daughter. Baden nodded once again, stepping back as she moved across the room to pour herself a cup of coffee.
"Aye, we'll make sure," he promised. "Just get us those extra bodies. Soon."