A middle aged man opened the door, motioning for him to enter. Mario knew the man, who was in his late fifties and wore what was arguably an old fashioned grey suit, which made the fact that he was answering the door even more unbelievable. Still, he stepped in and felt as the door closed behind him. He waited until the man gestured towards an empty chair, to one side of the table at the centre of the room, and he sat on it. A conversation was ongoing, seemingly undisturbed by his entrance, to the point that nobody had even looked at him as he took his seat, so he instead looked around the room, paying special attention to identifying who was also in the room. He knew some, all insanely powerful people, whose public reputations made it difficult to imagine they would be involved in the association, and yet here they were. Others were less known to him, but based on their interventions during the discussion, they were well aware of the issue at hand, and had clearly earned their right to be at the table.
"Let us move to the penultimate item on the agenda, then." Said the woman who apparently led the discussion. "You may have noticed that we have a new associate. He has been involved in our association for over ten years, displaying exceptional dedication to our cause in a variety of ways, and for that he was invited to join this table. I have no doubt that, in future meetings, he will prove just why that decision was right."
It was obvious that that last sentence was less of an encouragement and more of a threat, an invitation to even dare not prove his worth, a warning not to put her into ridicule for inviting an incompetent associate to the table. He took the threat for what it was, and discreetly nodded at her.
"I will brief our new associate on table protocol after our meeting concludes. Until then, let us discuss the last item on the agenda." She turned to the second woman on her right, a middle aged woman with sunglasses, in spite of the low illumination in the room. "What do we know of the criminal investigation?"
"There have been few developments since I distributed my last communication. My contact has confirmed that the investigations are at a loss as to the nature of the crimes, and of the five officials who were close to the truth, only one remains convinced of their original theory. If nothing changes, and my contact will ensure that nothing does, the investigation will be shelved within the next week at the most."
The leader looked to the immediate right of the woman who had just spoken, where a tall man, roughly the same age as Mario, but somewhat slimmer, sat in silence. "What of the impending publicity campaign?"
"All the flyers are ready, and I have spoken to my counterpart in charge of the criminal acts. He will ensure that the criminals leave the signals that were agreed upon on our earlier meeting. The first hints will be revealed on February 4, unless a new directive is issued."
"Does any associate have anything to contribute on the matter?" All remained silent, seemingly in agreement with what had already been explained. "Good. I am most encouraged by these developments. We shall meet on the afternoon of February 4, before the publicly campaign begins. We will assess its progress then, and issue further directives on the steps to take forward when we know how the public and the government react."
They then rose and performed a procedure. It was highly illegal, and nearly everyone in Sartoria would be horrified to see the people in that room perform it, but in the privacy that it offered, it was their way of signaling the end of the meeting. Mario approached the woman who had led the meeting, eager to know more about the topics that had been discussed.