The few times Delphi had requested Chesca check into something, it was taken care of within hours. She knew from the intake process the types of information she would potentially be handling, but until now she had never been assigned a full case. No matter how long it took, or what the case required of her, Francesca swore this assignment deserved her full and immediate attention.
Before agreeing to send the initial case file, Delphi confirmed with Chesca that she would be able to step away from her regular duties at the FBI for a few days, if not more.
There was no question.
Even if Chesca didn’t have a lengthy stockpile of comp days to her credit, there was no way she’d turn down a full assignment from Oracle. Especially one pertaining to the ongoing battle between Arachne and the Athena Academy. Between her curiosity and her thirst to handle something unique and pressing to the intel organization, this elite opportunity was what she craved. What she had trained for. And despite not knowing the full details of where it would take her yet, for now, Francesca knew her help was needed.
Oracle needed her. The Athena Academy needed her.
She was proud of her experience at the Academy. Grateful for the opportunity afforded her, providing for her the chance to truly work to be the best she could be, both as a young, eager student in her younger days and all the way into her blossoming career.
Thinking back on what an incredible gift the education at Athena Academy was to her, and countless other talented and uniquely gifted young women, Francesca couldn’t help but smile over the memories. They also gave her opportunity to think fondly of her time spent long ago, growing up in the company of others who had as much drive, as much conviction, as she herself possessed. Others she considered dear friends.
Despite having years of positive memories to reflect on, Francesca knew all too well the serious and unfortunate occurrences Athena and her graduates had been subjected to recently, not the least of them happening during the past year or so.
Athena Academy may have been regarded as home to many, but to some…it was something to fight against. Maybe there was something to that old cliché, about people fearing the unknown or the simple things that just weren’t understood by the masses.
The Athena Academy for the Advancement of Women had been born to create opportunities, and contribute something positive to society, and yet there were those who couldn’t help but try to destroy what others helped build.
It saddened Chesca. How a handful of unscrupulous individuals had worked to tarnish the very place she called home, the respectable names she considered family.
Thinking of that home, the place where she’d felt most at ease in her childhood, and in becoming the woman she was today, Francesca had the urge to touch base with the one Athena sister for whom this assignment held the most urgency.
“Allison. It’s been a long time,” she said, grateful to hear the familiar voice over the phone.
Though she wouldn’t confess to the Oracle assignment, and knew very little of what it entailed as of yet, Francesca wanted to speak to the daughter of Marion Gracelyn, founder of Athena Academy.
More than a decade had passed since Marion’s death, but it was only last year that her daughter Allison, along with forensic scientist Alex Forsythe, had discovered Marion was being blackmailed at the time of her murder. Allison had already been through so much with the murder of her best friend Rainy, that Francesca felt the need to reach out to her fellow Athenian.
“Chesca? Don’t tell me you’re actually at home for once.”
She smiled at Allison’s friendly tone and good spirits. With what she’d gone through, well…some wouldn’t be able to handle such tragedies with Allison’s grace and courage. She was truly someone to admire.
“Not home for long, I’m afraid. But I had to hear your voice. See how you are.”
“I know with you it won’t be what I say, but how I say it, so let me make sure I get my intonation correct when I tell you it’s nice to hear your voice, too,” Allison said. “Do I pass?”
“Flying colors,” she said, though already fast-forwarding her thoughts to less amusing concerns.
Not knowing completely what Allison knew about the full assignment given to Chesca, she had to tread lightly on the subject. Thus, she approached her question at an angle. “I understand you’ve been in contact with Beth. Any chance you reclaimed my books for me?”
Allison laughed. The more recent reputation of Bethany James might have been one of professional gambler, but even back in the days at Athena Academy, young Beth knew how to run a poker table. A natural loner, likely due to her upbringing on the streets by a hustling—but loving—father whose lifespan was cut short by an enraged murderer, poker was one of the few social activities Beth would participate in at the Academy.
While Francesca, too, was one who preferred to keep to herself most of the time, the opportunity to play alongside Beth offered up a glimpse into her character, where her true personality was most revealed, and for this Francesca took every chance to get to know her elusive classmate. Even if it meant losing several coveted books to the power player, such as one of Chesca’s favorites on quantum physics.
They were the same age, challenged by the same rigorous program at Athena, but Francesca Thorne and Bethany James were very different, at least to outside eyes.
Beth came from the high-risk life of street gambling, and Francesca emerged from a blue-blood battlefield where money was the root of anything worth caring about. Well, at least in the eyes of her parents. Francesca never fit the mold when it came to that, and she still felt the ramifications to this day from her disappointed mother and father.
Yet on some level, there was a common denominator between those two teenage girls. Both highly intelligent, both focused on striving for their personal best, there was something more that bonded the two of them. They had lost someone dear to them at an early age. And now, they had experienced the same feeling of loss again with the continued revelations surrounding the murder of Senator Marion Gracelyn, a mentor with a passion for the empowerment of women who was sadly removed from this earth, all too soon. And for all the wrong reasons.
“That Beth. She nailed you a few times, didn’t she? Good thing we put an end to that,” Allison said, reminding Chesca of the many times Beth had been busted for her poker nights.
“You think you put an end to it,” Chesca clarified, “but you know she’s an unstoppable force.”
“Aren’t we all?” Allison asked, her tone letting Chesca know she spoke through a smile.
It was true. A force to be reckoned with. That was how graduates were now proudly referring to themselves amongst one another, pleased with the many varied accomplishments each individual class had to offer the world.
Of course, not all Athena grads turned to a profession of law enforcement or politics, as evident with the gambler Bethany James and reporter Tory Patton, to name a few.
One thing all graduates had in common, though, was their intent to fight for justice in one way or another, and when it came to vindicating one of their own, there was no force like that of the Athena Force.
“Then let me ask you,” Francesca said, refocused on the original intent of the phone call. “Do you think the person blackmailing Giambi is the same person who was blackmailing your mother?”
Through her quick glance at the files Delphi had sent over for Francesca’s return to Richmond, she’d already pinpointed a few flags to follow up on.
Salvatore Giambi, owner of the Sapphire Star Casino in Monaco, had recently come forward to the FBI citing his involvement with the Queen of Hearts. While she had plenty of information from Delphi, and could obviously follow up on this incident through files at the Richmond office, she needed to hear the opinion of Marion’s daughter.
“It seems worth pursuing. Beth did some snooping while at