Rook

television that night.

14
     
     
Bishop Conrad Grantchester
    If Gestalt rose to the Court on the strength of its abilities as a soldier and Eckhart because of his genius as a tactician, then Grantchester rose to power based on his skills as a financier and diplomat. After all, the Checquy Group is not just an army, a school, a prison, or a research facility—it is all of these things, and more. Someone has to keep track of everything, make sure it’s all working right and that the bills are paid.
    That’s where people like Grantchester and me come in.
    Conrad Grantchester did not join the Checquy until he was well into his thirties. He was born to an upper-middle-class family in London and attended Eton before going on to the University of Geneva. He was popular, although he did not take part in any extracurricular activities other than cutting a rather broad swath through his female peers. At university, he distinguished himself in his studies of law and finance.
    After he graduated, various intelligence agencies (including the Checquy) tried to recruit him into their service, but Grantchester was not interested. All reports agreed that he was quite ambitious but did not hold any political ideologies to which anyone could appeal. Instead, Grantchester entered the world of money and profit.
    His work with an investment firm proved that when he wasn’t shagging girls with long hair and short skirts, Grantchester had picked up a very good education. His employers sent him all over the world, where he made large amounts of money and lots of useful contacts. He was focused and driven, and worth several million by the time he was thirty. Though he was still popular with the ladies, at age thirty-two he married Caroline Marsh, who came from a very good family and moved in all the right circles.
    At the age of thirty-three, Grantchester began experiencing stinging sensations at specific points on his skin. Naturally, he went to the best doctors in the country, whose thorough examination of him yielded some very interesting findings, which were passed along to us.
    Conrad is able to manufacture a variety of chemical compounds inside his body and then vent them through his pores in the form of a fine mist. The properties of these compounds range from a deadly toxin to a nonlethal lachrymatory (tear gas) to a spray that has no effect at all. All of these gases, however, emerge as a dark cloud that blacks out the area it covers.
    But in spite of his obvious suitability for the Checquy, Grantchester still proved to be extremely difficult to recruit. As I mentioned, he had been courted after he finished university, and he had developed a sort of immunity to government recruiters. He was already making a tremendous amount of money. It was going to be tough to buy him.
    Eventually, however, the opportunity for adventure, intellectual stimulation, and genuine power persuaded him, and he joined us.
    He also received a massive pay package.
    Grantchester went through a few courses at the Estate, receiving some acclimatization to the world as it actually was, and then he was moved into our foreign affairs section. He traveled everywhere, demonstrating that not every supernatural problem needs to be solved with a cross, stake, or shotgun. Many of them can be solved with some discreet diplomatic maneuvering and a few minor concessions. Also some judicious wining and dining—it wasn’t just Grantchester’s language skills and business acumen that made him valuable. As it turned out, his handsome face and excellent manners proved useful as well.
    He brokered a treaty with the Sirens of the Mediterranean Sea (some of the diplomacy even took place standing up), oversaw the tactful deposition of a dictator in Antarctica, and facilitated the installation of a tyrant in a small African nation. It was automatically assumed that he would rise to the Court, but everyone was fairly surprised when he was given the position of Rook rather than Chevalier.
    As Rook, he did a great deal of consolidating and streamlining of the Checquy’s domestic finances. I’ve had the opportunity to review what the situation was like before he took it in hand, and it was a veritable Gordian knotof trusts, accounts, inheritances, discretionary funds, and properties. We weren’t exactly hemorrhaging money, but there was some gradual seepage. Grantchester tidied that up.
    Grantchester has also proven very, very good at assigning people to the tasks they’re