Work Text:
Report #38
Regarding the loyalties of certain exorcists: Lee, Kanda, Bookman (Jr), Walker
In the vein of previous reports regarding the dispositions of the exorcists of the Black Order, I felt it relevant to examine certain arrangements of exorcists as units. In this: the teenage exorcists. (As an aside, records show it’s quite uncommon to have so many exorcists so near in age active at once- all the more so for them to be so skilled. These four have proven themselves many times over, even Walker.)
Lee (17)
(see also: report 6, 15, 37)
As noted in her individual report, Exorcist Lee has little love for the institution of the Black Order, though she refrains from saying as much to agents of Central directly. This isn’t unexpected, but is worth noting again here. She is close with the scientists of the European Branch, having grown up among them and worked with them as her brother’s assistant. She claims to consider all the Order here kin, but this has been rather less pronounced since the incident at the old Headquarters (heavy casualties, many new faces). This extends quite strongly, however, to the other exorcists.
Though General Sorrel, under whom she trained, is long dead, her placement in the Marian Unit seems to have engendered no particular loyalty to the man (heard to speak distastefully of his habits and attitude, particularly where they concern Walker)and her time with the other exorcists of the Marian Unit greatly strengthened their ties. She was already friendly with Walker and the Junior Bookman, though by all accounts they were much closer following the unit’s return from Edo. Lee was among the first exorcists to make contact with some of the newest Apostles- Lotto, Krory, and Han- along with the others of this unit. Given the breadth of their travels in pursuit of General Marian, this would not be so noteworthy or concerning were it not for the intensity of the bonds often forged between exorcists in combat and the timeframe in which these new accommodators were found. The past year’s upheaval has necessitated keeping a far closer watch on such things; too many newcomers are more quick to heed the young exorcists who found them than administrative orders.
Lee’s first loyalty is to her brother, this we know. For the time being, this has aligned with her loyalties to her friends and fellow exorcists and with her desire to combat the Millennium Earl, but the day may soon come when these come into conflict. This has already been strained- she is distrustful of my presence and has, I believe, kept things from her brother for fear that I would hear of it. She kept all comers from the Junior Bookman’s recovery rooms on his return, including, for a time, Chief Lee- though admittedly this may be owed chiefly to a fear of another Komlin incident. Following from this information, I recommend keeping Chief Lee on a short lead for as long as possible for the sake of both the direct and indirect reach he commands.
Though Exorcist Lee has strong ties to many of the Order’s personnel, the potential exists that Central may lose control of her- were anything to happen to her brother, for example, or were too egregious a move to be made against her friends. These four are peers in a way it is difficult for young exorcists to find, and they are close friends besides. Central’s treatment of Walker already tested this boundary- particularly coming as it did at the same time as Kanda and the Junior Bookman’s disappearances. Pushing too hard on the Bookmen will strain it farther still. This is a thing the Black Order can ill afford when we are already so short on fighting exorcists.
I have reason to suspect she had a hand in Walker’s escape, or at least allowed it. Worse might be done were she backed too deeply into a corner.
Risk of defection: medium-low
Kanda (19)
(see also: report 20, 28, 35)
Like Exorcist Lee, General Kanda has no affection for the Black Order. Unlike her, he has no compunctions at all about saying as much to us. While I was not present for the incident at the North American Branch, I fear that this may have been fairly earned. Nonetheless, he has remained with the Order for many years- and returned, even when given the opportunity to abandon it.
General Kanda must seem the odd one out in this report, but he is listed with the others for more than just age. He was not assigned to the Marian Unit, despite returning with them, and from all observation gets on terribly with both Walker and the Junior Bookman. He is generally antisocial and disagreeable, not to mention prone to ignoring anything like an order. (As earlier reports will attest, this is why I recommended against his promotion to general some months ago. One Cross Marian was more than enough; we had no need to court his successor.) This said, his disposition towards Exorcist Lee might almost be called agreeable and if he tolerates General Teidoll’s affection with poor grace, he does, in fact, tolerate it. His loyalties are not half so boldly declared as Exorcist Lee’s but they are not, I believe, the lesser for it.
Upon his return to the Order following the incident at the North American Branch (decidedly not dead, as report 20 correctly suggested), Kanda said nothing of what happened after he entered the Ark with Alma Karma, and nothing of what he might know of Walker. Following the Junior Bookman’s return, Kanda shared nothing he might have learned from Junior with the rest of the Order, despite staying nearby at Exorcist Lee’s request. The little he said even over the course of years of the Second Exorcist project would make this seem a pattern, the keeping of secrets- and may include far more dire ones like the progression of the Fourteenth.
Fighting ability and synchronization notwithstanding, I would not trust Kanda Yu with the secrets of the Order. He might keep them as he has many others, but he has already abandoned the Order once. When it no longer serves him to remain, what then will he do with that knowledge? We need not fear him joining the Millennium Earl directly, but he is not our only enemy in waiting.
Risk of defection: generally high. despite initial return. With respect to age-mate exorcists specifically: medium. Not overly or overtly protective, but unlikely to expose them.
Bookman Junior ("Lavi") (19)
(see also: report 17, 26, 37)
The Bookmen supposedly joined the Black Order in name in order to further their own recordkeeping mission and in exchange for their knowledge and the skills of two additional exorcists. Most likely this was a worthwhile trade.
Even with the Junior’s recent return to the Black Order, I have learned nothing that was not already in our initial briefings on their clan. He is even more tight-lipped than General Kanda. He hasn’t even said anything that might be used to persuade the Order to mount a rescue or retrieval for the elder Bookman, though Junior has at least confirmed that the elder lives.
For all the supposed impartiality the Bookmen affect, the Junior- Exorcist Lavi- gives every appearance of being quite attached indeed to his fellow exorcists and others of the Black Order. It’s difficult to tell how much is affectation; he is a superb actor, and if it is in greater part an act, it’s a very convincing one. Proper accounts of the Marian Unit’s activities from Dark’s betrayal onward are brief and, in my professional opinion, very carefully edited on the parts of most if not all involved parties. They were, however, rather less guarded upon their return from Edo and safely recovering in each other’s company. My knowledge of this time is secondhand, but some of that ease remained after the European Branch removed to this Headquarters and the unit’s teasing is easily overheard in these halls- as are the elder Bookman’s reprimands, if one knows where to stand.
Walker’s presumed death affected the Junior Bookman quite deeply, as did Exorcist Lee’s close call half a week afterward. He intervened on her behalf and crossed Inspector Lvellier directly, and soon after went to battle without his Innocence against akuma despite instructions from both his master and Chief Lee o keep back from the fighting. How far this affection for the Order extends is difficult to judge between his long absence and his distrust of me (even greater than and perhaps contributory to Ex. Lee’s). Harder still is speculating on how it compares to Bookman priorities or the extent to which his loyalty has ever been given to the Black Order.
Risk of defection: medium-high, weighted more towards Bookman motivations than personal attachments perhaps 70-30
Additional note: remain unable to locate Order’s personnel files on either of the Bookmen. Chief Lee unhelpful in this matter
Walker (16)
(see also: report 1, 12, 25, 37)
Former Exorcist Allen Walker has been something of an enigma since his arrival. As General Marian’s apprentice, he was naturally of great interest even before that. This was only expanded by his curious eye and his unorthodox philosophy of “saving” akuma. He has repeatedly shown himself willing to take absurd risks for the sake of those near to him- and also for strangers. The late Inspector Link’s reports contain a far more detailed assessment of Walker’s character, but of greatest relevance here are these: his reticence after the incident at the North American Branch and his actions in allowing the Second Exorcists to escape.
Despite Walker’s escape with the Noah and subsequent dismissal as an exorcist, I will maintain his relevance in this particular discussion.
Walker was treated with great scrutiny after Edo for fear of treachery within the Order, but I fear the greater threat was not so direct as a hidden enemy suddenly unmasked. Very little is known to our intelligence about the Fourteenth, save their presence in Walker and existence as a signifier of division among the Noah. Walker’s actions on behalf of the Second Exorcists is consistent with his earlier behavior when no whisper of this rogue Noah had been heard. A traitor is one thing, but one who twists allegiances is another entirely.
If this Fourteenth truly caused a schism among the Noah- a civil war rather than a simple rogue agent- the far greater danger now is that they will do the same here. Regardless of whether or not they are a part of Allen Walker, Walker entirely, or a thing stranger still, I urge caution anywhere Walker’s friends are concerned. These three- Lee, Kanda, and the young Bookman- all wield the new crystal-type Innocence that even Chief Lee and his scientists barely understand, and there were abnormalities with Walker’s Innocence that began at nearly the same time. Much of the detailed research on his Crown Clown was “lost” in the attack on the old Headquarters or the move, but I do not believe the timing of these things to be coincidence. Walker became beloved by the European Branch in no time at all and Central has been slowly losing its grip on many of the Order’s exorcists ever since.
It would require something drastic for Lenalee Lee to abandon the Order, but it’s not such a stretch to imagine what would suffice. General Kanda and the Junior Bookman’s loyalties have long been suspect at best. Whether they would actively choose to align with each other or Walker over- in opposition to- the Order is less certain, but they are bound together with ties other than just those of friendship.
I urge Central to take heed of this and secure the exorcists’ loyalty as best they can before we, too, are split from within.
Bridget Faye