Case No. 4
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: EARLY DECEMBER
RECEIPT ID: CAD-05
I have a bit of an older case that predates my employment by a few weeks. I am fairly certain other such cases exist, but considering the Cafe and Diner Network's 20 year history, it'd be an awful lot of trouble to dredge through all that came before me. And besides, I fear if I spend too much time unearthing the Cafe's past I would never have a chance to live truly in the present. However, I'll make an exception for these edge cases and for the handful of truly important cases from the Cafe's past.
As for what this case was, Jack had been toying with the idea for a public repository of the Cafe and Diner's work for some time now. He said it was like a calling from deep within him that he couldn't quite shake—A dormant memory of a life unlived by him. Sure, Jack. Whatever you say. Though, Jack failed to consider that his employees, shall we say, "struggle" with keeping a public record of their work. Both in terms of consistency and secrecy. This is one of the few cases that ever came to light and only because it was directly ordered by Jack himself.
The Cafe and Diner Network on paper exists to maintain a balance between our world—let's call it… The States… and the different but not entirely unrelated northern country of Canada. Most customers come from Canada, and now more than ever Canadians and Americans don't seem to get along, do they? Regardless, that's the stated goal of the organization. In truth, the Cafe and Diner Network exists to protect and safeguard the eight known Pieces of Fate: the 8-Ball, the Pocket Watch, the Cane, the Spoon, the Lens, the Bell, the Ledger, and the Locket. Though we protect these items, we don't entirely know what they do, and so Jack ordered a thorough investigation into them, starting with his very own Piece of Fate, the 8-Ball. Here's what Midnight put together.
Caffeinated Report: C-POF-01
"Dear… oh bugger! How did it go again? Gus? Hazel? No…"
Shakespeare Trivia | 1 Word
Caffeinated Report: C-POF-02
"Absinthe, Raki, Anis, Killepitsch…"
Alcohol Trivia | 1 Word
Caffeinated Report: C-POF-03
"What luck, Frank, Danny, and Jamie are all here."
Animal Trivia | 2 Words
Caffeinated Report: CD-POF-04
"Greenest, yellow, in the purple, pearl and ruby, black, and pale."
Association | 3 Words
Caffeinated Report: CD-POF-05
"From a Chrisitan perspective to the coming Dawn, 29.975260, 31.137280"
Research | 4 Words
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: EARLY DECEMBER
RECEIPT ID: CAD-06
And there you have it. The 8-Ball. An 8-Ball, more precisely but that devious distinction… will have to wait for another time and another place. I don't exactly have time to add to the case myself as an international incident is brewing at Requiem as I type this.
Great.
I leave them for a few months and somehow, someway, they've gone and bungled it all up to hell and back. A week ago I heard that things were progressing well with their whole vile business beneath the lake. And now? Now everyone, EVERYONE, is swarming around trying to place blame on the Cafe and Diner… and I can't say I totally believe in their innocence yet. They couldn't help themselves from smacking ANOTHER hornet's nest with that damned Cane of theirs. Though this time, I don't think the Cane was even involved. What a mess. It's funny, in a way, the best case scenario in this matter is still high on my list of worst possible cases. The last thing the Coffee Trade needed was the sword of mutually assured destruction looming over all of our heads bigger than Behram's deadly double shot.
My mind is racing, trying to figure out how this could have happened. I mean, I know how it could have happened… but I, I really hope that it's not what I fear. Again, the best case scenario is still quite awful no matter how we untangle this mess. I'm almost tempted to ask Jack's 8-Ball myself. Almost. But before I sink to that low, I'll go audit the situation as best as I can.
I can't say enough, the Requiem Cafe is in CODE RED now. Gah! This is a problem even for IRIS, Astorians, and Ozhogs! Oh, for Pete's sake, this is a total disaster. I'll write later about my other thoughts, time permitting, of course.
…Now, let's see if I can help sort this mess out before all of our doors end up slammed shut.