Draining another glass of whiskey, Valente replied.
"As anybody could probably tell, I have lived through a lot. I am not that young and I know how the world works. There is rarely a place in the Edge worlds that I have not visited in my long career, and I have seen and experienced a lot of different things. There is only one life, and I prefer not to care about pointless things."
Valente turned around and pointed at one man with his clothes torn apart, sitting alone in the corner of the bar, with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.
"See that man? Obviously, his entire life has been a complete waste of time. Instead of finding a job and something to live for, he prefers spending his days on the station, begging for money, and spending his nights in a bar, wasting the money he was given just so he can get drunk and forget how miserable his life is. Alcohol is a legitimate solution for forgetting things like that, but not on a daily basis."
Already getting tired of his speech as the alcohol started kicking in, Rossi took a deep breath and started talking again.
"There are things like family. Family is worth fighting for, however, I failed that task. Now, the only thing that I care about is sorting out the mess that Casta and her AI pet are responsible for, and so far, it proved to be a difficult task. Anyways, enough about me. Tell me something about you."
A Ghost admitting they've actually messed up. Now that's a first I didn't think I'd ever see... And he wants to know about me even though he already does. Fortunate how people rarely recognize the face.
Pulling out a Cardamine inhaler from his pocket, Saerieve puts it on the bar for Rossi to see. "Gets unpleasant without it, but oh well, having a pleasant drink comes at a price." Then putting the inhaler on, he continues, "Been around the place myself, seen more than I would've liked to, so I do know what you're talking about. It's purpose that defines the man, and without it wealth or fame matters little. I like a man who's been there and realized that... The last couple people I met wearing spectre suits hadn't." Then briefly looking at the man's uniform, he added, "But what makes you think you're doing the right thing now, 'fighting for the right cause', so to say?"
As Saerive pulled out his inhaler, Valente seemed a bit surprised. However, he kept his cold-blooded expression and listened to Saerive talking, even if it proved kind of hard with all that alcohol running through his bloodstream.
"Well, one of the biggest mistakes most of our administrators do is pick a successor with little to no experience. Most of them like to think they have seen everything, and that they understand it, but in reality, they are wrong."
After taking a short pause to finish his drink, Valente continued.
"The 'right cause' is a very vast concept. Frankly, everyone believes they are fighting for the right cause. What I see as a right cause, most people do not, and vice versa. It depends on your origins and your beliefs among other things. I believe I fight for the right cause because I fight for my people - simply put."
"Indeed everyone think they're right. Human nature after all. Tell me one thing though..." Taking off the inhaler and putting it in his pocket again, Saerieve lightly taps twice on the bar to attract the bartender's attention, and then points at his empty glass. Waiting for the bartender to fill his glass and then picking it up without drinking, he continues in a lower voice closer to muttering than having an actual conversation, "Everyone's right from their own perspective, and no one really has the right to argue with that. What does make the difference is whether they're right from other perspectives as well. Another piece of human nature, of course, their need..." pausing for a second and taking a sip from the glass he's holding close to his mouth, as if he needed a second to collect his thoughts, he corrects himself, "Our need, for acceptance, for approval - Ironically even from people whom we don't approve of. So as subjective as the very concept of 'right' and 'wrong' can be, no one's really right unless they're considered right by, lets say, a sufficient quantity of standards which inevitably overcome their quality."
Damn alcohol's not letting me think straight. Violently shaking his head in one sudden movement, he pauses again for a few short seconds and starts over, "Tell me one thing though... What makes you think you have the right to consider yourself right, and claim what you think is right is worth fighting for."
Valente seemed confused with Saerive's question, but he tried answering it as best as he could.
"I think I have already answered that question before you even asked it. I believe everyone has the right to think what they want. The human psychology is complex, and is not really what I am into. How would you answer to that kind of question?"
Rossi raised his eyebrow, briefly looking at Saerive before signalizing the bartender that his glass is empty.
"That may work for an average Cast, a random pirate, or even that homeless sod in the corner," Pointing at the beggar with his head, he continues, "but not for someone running a group which happens to be the main body of a nation." Saerieve points at the badge on Rossi's suit, "When you look at the bigger picture, you'd need to be able to convince others - those not on your side - that you're not horribly wrong... Otherwise, you'd simply be going on a war against the whole world, and trust me, that only works out in fictional stories." Then studying the man's facial expression for a brief moment, he adds, "Just pointing something out that may some day save your seat on your 'consul' or whatever you're calling it these days."
"Does a name Casta ring any bells?" Valente briefly looked at Saerive, raised his glass and continued talking. "She used to be the administrator of the Ghosts. The mess she and her pet caused is almost unbelievable. The Ghosts lost so many trusted people because of her irresponsibility. She started a research project with one of our trusted groups, only to make them travel a pretty long distance and then leave without contacting them for several months. Once she decided to scram with her pet, she erased all the data on the project."
Rossi took a short pause, furiously draining yet another glass of whiskey, before smashing it against a wall.
"Pardon me. Sometimes I find it hard to control myself, although it happens rarely. I am basically in the process of reforming Maltese Spectres and sorting out the mess Casta caused. I have been on a long search for an experienced assassin which is not part of Maltese society, since I need the last part of Casta's administration gone, and that would be a persona known as Emilia Zito. Feel free to recommend me a reliable assassin."
Already realizing he was saying way more than he should have, Valente signalized the bartender to get him another glass of whiskey.
"Looking for a reliable assassin you say..." Shaking his head with a bitter chuckle, he adds before finishing his drink and nodding at the bartender for another round, "Well who isn't these days".
"Sorry fellas, but y'killed a bottle each already." The bartender started in a hesitant tone while holding an empty bottle in his hand for them to see, "An' don' mean t'be rude or anythin', but had this guy here last night, y'see, he had too much to drink an' made a mess o' the bar. Was a damn pain in th' ass cleanin' it up this mornin'... So why don' I go grab you a bottle each but you move your lil chat over to one o' the tables, right?" Then disappearing through the door behind the bar without waiting for their answer, the bartender comes back with a bottle in each hand.
Putting the bottle of whiskey in front of Saerieve, he puts a glass in front of Rossi and tells him before handing him the other bottle "Now am used to this guy drainin' my stash dry every damn time he drops by," and continues after pointing at Saerieve, "but y'sure can drink too. So this bottle am givin' ya is damn fine stuff we ain't be handin' out t' everyone. Is of course on th' house, but feel free t' tip if ya enjoy it." then hands Rossi the bottle which has a piece of paper covering the label, with a line written on it in the same nearly-unreadable handwriting that reads 'That lancer is Saerieve'.
Raising an eyebrow, Rossi mumbled:"So much discretion, I like that."
With those words spoken, Saerive and Rossi took the bottles and moved to a table in a corner. The bar was already getting empty, allowing them to start a more serious conversation. As both of them took the seat, Valente took a sip from his bottle, before continuing the conversation.
"Now, I think it is time we stopped the chit-chat and have a serious talk."
Rossi took the bottle, reading the line again before briefly glancing at Saerive.