The weather was not inclined to make things any easier for the city that was so under siege as it was. The rain started driving harder, making visibility from vehicle or on foot progressively worse, making it dangerous to drive and far more unpleasant to walk anywhere. The lightning got thicker, and far worse, purple lightning striking the tallest buildings while shorter buildings started seeing more strikes against their buildings by more regular lightning. The outdoor markets were driven inside, while people who didn't have outdoor weather gear fled indoors, soaked from mere seconds being outside. Those already inside felt no desire to go outside unless dire need was calling, and only a handful of the most determined, hardy folks would still be out and about, in the driving rain and terrifying lightning storm, only the insane or the brave still had reason to be out and about at this point, as most folks were wondering how they would be able to deal with this storm interfering with their daily lives.

The police fared no better, their vehicle fleet all but shut down by the weather. After the first police cruiser wrecked, the department sent out an order for the police to bunker down where they could, just hiding out and waiting for the rain to lessen, or the storm to lighten up. At the Police HQ, calls were received on a regular basis on the updates, how the storm was causing more and more trouble whilst troopers, clean and dirty, were trapped just about anywhere in the city by the storm. Police could still walk somewhere, but they had no interest in really doing so, they weren't paid enough, and withdrew when they could to Police HQ, rallying and getting ready to rush out wherever they needed to go, to help people or con them out of money for the sake of helping them, and then abandon them. Such was the duality of corruption and honor in the police department.

The PMC's were made of sterner stuff than the police, but even their presence lightened up considerably. They were recalled in mass back to their training positions and company holdings, the commanders had a bad feeling about this weather, and wanted their troops and vehicles on standby. Sure, their vehicles could easily function in this weather and fare far better than anyone else, but why risk their vehicles unnecessarily when only the foolish or brave would be out in this weather right now? Their aircraft were grounded while progress was made predicting if safe pockets could be found that the aircraft could operate in, but until then they were totally grounded. PMC's that were at corporate holdings remained there, but didn't patrol outdoors, while their brothers out on patrol and guarding the bases were indoors as well, or under cover, watching for anyone trying to take advantage of the bad weather.

Criminals were out in droves now, which was hardly surprising. Looting, hawking their goods while the police and PMC's hid, and getting set up for when the rain was driven away, it was the criminals that planned to benefit the most from this freak weather, after it cleared of course. They planted outposts of equipment, for pick ups and set ups all across the city in heavily patrolled areas originally, while other folks just took advantage of the situation, all eyes up to the sky in an almost worrying manner, wondering what is summoning this storm, as few believe its natural anymore, and no one knows what to expect, only that the air itself feels alive, and it was trouble, sure as sure.

Serenity was glad they made it to the shop before the rain hit. It was pouring down hard and there was no telling when it was going to clear up. But on the bright side, she was with Sloan and they were both off of work as far as she knew. Together they hurried inside the shop to escape the rain, Serenity holding the door open for Sloan as they entered. The pleasantries didn't stopped their as she also pulled out a chair for Sloan and gently pushed in her chair as she sat down. Serenity took the seat next to Sloan and pulled out her small glass of wine. "You can go ahead and order. Get anything you like, my treat" Serenity said with a smile as she started sipping on her wine. She no longer cared if they shop had wine or not and she decided that food could wait for later. She could always have a bowl of cereal back at the apartment.

Serenity's wine magically disappeared after only a second. The glass remained, but the wine was gone. She tried to only sip it, but it she gave in way too fast. Now she was asleep, resting on Sloan's shoulder. She was quite comfortable. With Sloan there she felt safe, and the rest of the world no longer existed in her mind. If needed she could be woken up, but she was still as drunk as an Irish sailor.

Luci Cobbs / Akira Takizawa collaboration post

Luci would have thought that the mere sight of her would have...at least scared the man. they both agreed to leave and follow the guy's ambition to discovering some truth having to do with Operation Freedom. She had gathered that he wasn't supposed to be in that room or have the notes on it but she went along with it anyway. Luci made sure to keep that in the back of her mind. She suggested that they separate and he get his vehicle together and do whatever else he needed, and she go to the change quarters and grab her clothes and satchel. Luci took off down the hall not without tripping over those ridiculous heels, so she kicked them off and chose to carry them in the fold of her cape as she went towards the change room.

She opened the door and shreiked seeing Margaret standing right behind it. Margaret's facial expression changed almost instantly as she reached out and grasps Luci by the hair, releasing her hair from its tight bun. Luci crys out but Margaret is seeing only red as she throws Luci down to the floor, "Where the hell have you been! I sent you up here 20 minutes ago and what where you doing leaving the masters office hm?" She hits Luci on the back with her fan angry whispering, "I outta put you down there in that basement and make you wash it from top to bottom! Is that what you want?" Luci could not respond for fear of the basement brought her shock back full force.

"I suggest you leave her be Margaret." Akira said, casually leaning on the door. Margaret turned to him still furious with the girl, and spoke in a loud, angry tone. "WHO ARE YOU TO- Oh!" She jumped back at the sight of the oyabun's son. "Akira! I mean, um, Mr. Takizawa. I apologize; I didn't know it was you." Margaret laughed quite nervously as she spoke. Akira gave the Maid a cold stare. Watching her treat the girl in such a way, especially considering her current position, it was disgusting, and made him angry. What excuse is there for such violence? Akira spent his entire life among the Yakuza but he could never understand or comply with their methods, but it was after all what they were known, and feared for. He walked up, and bent over to pull the girl up from the floor. "Get me her stuff." Akira said in a serious manner.

Madame Margaret bowed to him. "Yes, Mr. Takizawa!" and walked over to a bucket that seemed to be filled with a pair of clothes and a shoulder bag. Margaret immediately began to neatly fold the clothing, and handed it to Akira. "I'm taking this girl with me. She reports to me now, never speak to her again." Akira grabbed the girl by the wrist and quicly lead her out of the changing room, through the hallways and into the elevator. Pressing a button that lead to the Palace's parking lot, the elevator doors shut and the pair stood there. It was silent for a moment, Akira was still angry with Madame Margaret, and how his family could allow her to treat the girl in such a way. There was no reason. No consideration or thought. Pointless violence. His mind was racing now, mostly with confusion. Curiously he turned to the girl, and tried to lighten the mood with a smile. "I guess you work for me now."

Luci could not respond to him at all. Her heart would not stop its incessant...fluttering. It fluttered very quickly and it made her dizzy and sick to her stomach. Her face burned and she was sure underneath all the blood she was bright red from the face down. She opened her mouth only to close it and gulp again. Slowly she turned to him and looked him in the eyes shyly, "No one's ever done that for me before. Thank you for that A-um ah um..." 'Fuck I knew it was something with an A...'

"Is something wrong? Oh, hey, haha. We don't know each others names!" Akira couldn't help but start laughing for a moment. "I'm Akira Takizawa!" He said proudly.

He was right. They had been interacting all this time and still did not know each others names. Still feeling really shy and nervous for some reason, Luci giggled quietly beside him for the first time in a week. "My name is Lucina Cobbs. But my names a mouthful so everyone calls me Luci." She admitted with a smile.

"Lucina? That's not a mouthful, it's a nice name!" Akira cleared his throat, and gave a gentlemanly bow. "Good evening, Lucina, may I offer you a towel to go with the blood that seems to be all over your body?"

Luci giggled and felt her blush deepen as she lifted her cape as if it were a long ball gown and curtsied. She cleared her throat and spoke with the most convincing proper British accent she could muster, "Why yes thank you Sir. And while you’re at it fetch a maid to comb the flesh from my hair." Her hand flew to her mouth when she realized what she said. She actually mocked a man that was murdered in cold blood. She grew terribly silent as she lowered her head letting the hair cover her face before she uttered a whispered question, "Hey...why was Margaret so flustered when she saw you? She was never like that with other guests...what makes you different?"

Akira laughed and looked at Luci curiously with a smile as she grew silent, expecting her to tell another joke. But her question made him grow silent as well. He stood up from his gentlemanly bow and remained quiet for a brief moment. Akira hesitated to opened his mouth, and was about to speak when a small jingle could be heard, and the elevator doors slowly opened. Avoiding the question, Akira once again grabbed Luci by the wrist and quickly lead her out the window and to his motorcycle. Akira grabbed a white helmet that was hanging on the handle, handing it to Luci, he happily said "Safety first,"

Luci glanced down at the helmet again before shooting her piercing vision back at Akira. She looked him dead in the eyes, and for a moment she felt like melting in them, but she propped that up to the fact that he rescued her. 'Damn female hormonal shit.' Though he didn't seem evil. He didn't seem crooked at all, so many words came to mind but she stuffed them down and held her gaze as she spoke in a toneless voice. "Your affiliation with the Yakuza does not matter to me. If I knew then I probably wouldn't be able to go on with you is that right?" She did not wait for an answer. "So, lets make a deal. I go with you where ever whenever doing anything you ask until you finish your 'project' Then my father's debt to your sick organization is fulfilled." She strapped on the helmet and tighten the collar of her cape as she hopped onto the motorcycle. "Are we in agreement?"

Akira had never once felt guilty for the work he was involved in. All the role models and adults in his life were criminals, he saw his line of work and his family as normal, but Luci's words changed that. He felt somewhat ashamed but kept it to himself. "Agreed." He said. Akira mounted the motorcycle, turned on the engine, and they sped off, up the ramp, out of the parking lot and into the catastrophic weather that rained down on Houston.

Halfway through the second broadcast, the television screen turned black. Lillium held the remote in her hand and looked at her empty tables. At least she knew why no one was here. Hiding from the police and PMC. Maybe she should just close down for the day. If she wasn't going to get any custom, it was probably best. She looked out the window. Didnt seem like anyone would be wanting to spend their money today.
Maybe she would go and visit Aussir. That dragon always had some interesting clothes for sale. She did need a new apron.. this one had gotten fairly dirty. Lillium loved her apron. There was almost nothing better than salami. Plus it hurt when you threw it at someone.
"I should clean up first." She mumbled and took out a wash cloth to wipe down the tables.
Just as Lillium was about to start putting up the chairs, two women came in and sat down. Silently cursing her luck, Lillium walked over and greeted them.
"What can I get you two today?" She asked as politely as she could. She noticed they, or at the very least, one of them was drinking wine. Normally, she wouldn't allow allow alcohol in her shop but, today was a particularly crappy day so she would this one time. Looks like her new apron would have to wait.

It wasn't long into the storm that Aussir had been jolted awake by the sound of thunder, instantly jumping off his bed and bolting out of the back room, "Miyu, lock up the register!" he shouted, peering through the glass door. He saw movement outside, however, it appeared the individuals weren't interested in his shop this time around. Regardless, he still wanted the place locked up before someone had a change of heart. "It's locked, Aussir. Is anyone coming?" she asked, concerned. The male looked at her and shook his head, "No, but we can't let our guard down, remember what happened last time?" he reminded her. She nodded in response, of course she remembered, she nearly lost her life during the last storm. It had come just as unexpectedly as this one had, and several groups of thugs had broken through the door, attempting to loot the place. That was also the day she lost her old job, so she had been wandering the streets and saw the thugs. She started shouting at them, but they only turned on her with weapons, intending to silence the witness to their crime. She wouldn't go down without a fight. She had taken a group out alone when they finally brought her to her knees, only to be saved by Aussir, who had emerged from the partially looted store in a rage. It wasn't long after, that she was hired, and taught how to use the shotgun behind the counter. Aussir looked outside again, "Worried about Lillium?" Miyu asked, sitting back down behind the counter. He remained silent, "It's alright, Aussir, go. I can handle the store by myself." she added. He looked at her again and nodded, "Lock the door after I leave, alright?" he instructed her. She giggled and waved him off, walking to the door as he left, locking it.

Outside, the cool rain hit Aussir's human skin, something he enjoyed. Storms were his favorite thing in the world, he had no idea why that was, he just knew he did. As he walked in the direction of the sandwich shop, he began to wonder if Lillium and her shop were alright. It had been quite some time since he fought off those thugs, he wondered if they ever came back to try again? Maybe they had decided to leave the store alone? He didn't know. The sound of footsteps near him brought his attention back to reality, his cybernetic eye scanning ahead of him for anyone, though it showed nothing. Looking over his shoulder, he noticed a figure following him. No, they just happened to be going in the same direction, right? Coincidence. He turned forward and spotted The Lotuswich Shop just ahead of him, across the street. He quickened his pace, not liking who was behind him, then hearing the person do the same. They really were following him! Just as he was about to break into a run, he was snatched from the corner and slammed against the wall of the building there. "Ha! Look who we have here, fellas, that guy from months ago! I think we should teach him not to mess with us!" a familiar voice said. Turning his head enough to see, he recognized the the now group of men as the ones he fought protecting Lillium's store. A bad feeling came from the pit of his stomach, he knew there was no way he would survive this fight, there were far too many thugs this time around. "Look, you want money? Take it, just don't kill me, alright?" he pleaded. The men laughed, then their leader came up from behind and whispered into his ear, "We don't want your money, we want your life."

Aussir felt a sense of dread, he knew these guys were being serious. He couldn't die here, but the odds were clearly stacked against him. Being let go so he could fight, he turned around to face the men. He had two spells he could use, one would be pointless as he had nobody around to protect him afterwards. The second, he swore never to use. He made a promise, and he was going to keep it. He avoided the first attack with ease, though felt a fist slam into his ribs from beside him, a large man having thrown his fist into him. Following the hit, he felt searing pain in his arm, finding a knife in it being pulled out. He used his own good fist to slam the man with the knife away from him, turning and using his left foot to side kick an attacker. He suddenly found himself on his back, his head hitting the pavement, causing him to become dizzy. He slowly stood as the men chuckled and mocked him, if things continued like this, they'd kill him. He thought about the spell, he could use it since his life was at risk, right? Surely that would be an exception? No. He couldn't. A promise was a promise...yet for some reason, his hands were glowing. There was no choice now, the spell was already underway. Aussir used his good hand to point at the leader, "Run while you have the chance." he said calmly. The men all laughed, though their laughing stopped when Aussir started to grow, eventually his human body tearing itself apart by sheer force. What emerged was a large white dragon, which roared at the group, it's tail sweeping away most of them. The remainder stared up in horror, clearly unaware that the human they had picked on was clearly a dragon. Before they could react, Aussir lowered his head and let loose a breath of flame, burning the now fleeing men to a crisp. The remaining men all fled, some on fire, despite the downpour occurring. Roaring once more, he let another round of flames shoot into the sky, his body glowing and shrinking. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath before finally standing. He looked at an unconscious thug and decided to take his clothing, considering his own had been torn apart. He then made his way towards the shop's doors, entering through it and taking a seat in one of the corners like he usually did. "Bad weather we're having, eh Lillium?" he commented, pushing the thoughts of what just happened from his mind.

Alyssa was still hiding in an alleyway, when she noticed the man she had identified as Victor crossing the street. She backed behind the corner of the alleyway, hoping he wouldn't notice her, as he calmly made his way into the library. She thought of sneaking in the back, but if Arkayem was right about the PMC presence there and she was found out, she could be shot on sight. Not today, she thought to herself, letting out a mild sigh. Can't things ever be easy? The plain-looking girl wondered, before stuffing her hands into her pockets. I could wait for him. She considered, before looking up, seeing the dark, looming clouds over the city. While Alyssa's equipment is water-proofed, she can't do much being soaked herself.

Sighing, Alyssa conceded defeat for now, trudging off in the direction of Elf Haven once again. However as soon as she started her trek, the skies let loose their fury; lightening striking the tallest buildings in the city, while the torrential downpour began. "Shit, just my luck!" She complained, as she began a quick jog. Along her journey to Elf Haven, she noticed most police and PMC vehicles in a hurry to retreat back to their headquarters. The woman didn't have much time to consider the implications of this, each raindrop that hit her arms felt like a small needle dropped from a sky scraper. Alyssa quickly began to hurry back to Elf Haven, knowing that a decent trek was ahead of her. I really should purchase a car, she thought to herself, before grimly adding with what cash?

Due to the intensity of the rain however, Alyssa knew she was unable to continue her journey, shuffling into a nearby alleyway, and under a small nook in the side of a building, sighing with relief. "Well.. looks like I'll be here for a while." She grumbled, crossing her arms, and settling down as the rough weather continued.

((Unfortunately that's all I can post right now while my friend is still in the Hospital. I hope to become more active in the next couple of days.))

Sloan sat down, the place was a bit more empty than she'd expected it to be, but with the rain and the violence, she shouldnt have expected anyone. As Serenity quickly drank her wine she became more and more drowsy and fell asleep on Sloan's shoulder. Sloan let out a quiet sigh and propped Serenity up in the nook of the booth so she didn't look quite so silly being leaned on. "So much for dinner together." She let out, half agitated and half amused. She was going to start muttering to herself like she did at her computer, only to have her attention caught by Lillium. She let out a soft, almost startled, gasp. "Oh, you uh.. spooked me." She glanced over to Serenity. "I guess she's not hungry. I'll have an Italian Panini, take your time." She tells her, motioning to the elf who's gone and dozed off in the shop.

Whenever Lillium gets her order and goes off, Sloan's gaze shifts to the rain the the scarce streets. Her mind shifts from thoughts about how airstream currents function, to how raindrops get larger or smaller. Eventually, she wonders when it'll lighten up. Getting home would, no doubt, be a hassle. The weather was slowly worsening, and even the PMC patrols were becoming few and far between. Serry was drunk, of course, and she wasn't comfortable driving. Let alone with such a strong downpour. Of course, the normal route would still be clogged, even if by vehicles that were abandoned for the sake of more reliable shelter.

Perhaps she was overestimating the weather, perhaps not. Either way, it was more than she wanted to deal with.

How pitiful. She thought. Five minutes in a sandwich shop, and I'm already thinking about how to get home.

Serenity woke up nuzzling the corner of the booth. She didn't stay asleep long, maybe two or five mins tops, but she was still as drunk as she could be. She looked around lazily at the shop, noticing that there was another person or two in there with them and that Sloan didn't have any food in front of her. She wasn't sure if she hasn't ordered or just not received her food yet. Sloan appeared deep in thought with a gloom look on her face, but Serenity couldn't let that be. She quickly pounced on the woman, wrapping her arms around Sloan and nibbling her ear. "Hello love~" Serenity whispered into her ear. "You pick something to eat yet? Serenity stopped nibbling and slouched into resting her head onto Sloan's shoulders, arms still wrapped.

Serenity was in a complete bliss, she wasn't hungry though her stomach was growling. She was off in her own little world in which nothing existed except Sloan, this table, and herself.

Vic was busy writing down what Sloan had to offer on the information front, including some company name he had never heard of, or at least recognized. Which was most of it, though he wasn't surprised the face recognition and stuff didn't come up with anything positive. Sloan usually proved good, to say the least, and provided more than he had expected to get so soon after the attack happened. But speed was key here, since people were continuing to pester him about it, having left voicemails on his phone while he had been using it. "Algera Corp? I know a few things about them, for a corp, they never gave any overt indications they were shady dealers, probably meant they were good at it. Luminescence, dunno about them though, I'll have to do some digging on them too then. I'll help out then, sure thing. Keep your head down, the weather's turned to shit, sure as sure."

Vic looked at the history books, newspaper articles of the past, all sorts of forgotten articles that often times slipped the minds of many. The harsh, stormy weather meant he would be stuck here for a while, as he glanced at Lilin and smirked, commenting. "Lovely weather front we had move in, eh?" He kept digging, looking through the patterns and mysteries of the past that was so often forgotten. He could see the paths, patterns, trails, and hints of this group, and others that he had crossed paths with, heard about, and only knew the scantest bit of info about. Yet, this Our Father's Fathers might prove elusive, but no one was undocumented, let alone a group such as theirs. His focus was almost palpable, papers and books shuffled and paged through, bookmarks holding the spots of items of note, while keeping an ear on the weather. Ill omen that was, he could feel it in his blood.

Ethan was in the library when the lockdown started. He had articles to write and the library was a quiet place, but also nice change of scenery from his office or his own home, but he picked the wrong day to break the monotony of his job. He was kicked out of the library since he didn't have a high enough pay grade to stay. He also picked the wrong day to leave his car and save on gas.

There was something cathartic about walking in the rain with his briefcase over his head and the water seeping through his clothes, soaking his socks and making his hair cling to his face. It was nice until it got even harder, anyway. Then he abandoned all hope of getting home and hailed a stray taxi to take him somewhere to wait for the lockdown event to blow over. If it blew over. No one had contacted him yet and that was both concerning and a relief. No news was good news, right? He wasn't the only reporter for the local government and certainly not the first one to hear about anything events. The TV reporters were usually the first. Then radio. Then him, the old fashioned, outdated paper news outlet reporter.

Ahead of him, he saw some people walk into a store and told the cab to pull over in front of it.

After relieving the cab driver with a hefty tip, he hurried inside Lotuswich Shoppe before the rain soaked him further. Once inside, he brushed his sleeve on the sides of his briefcase to dry it and looked around at the occupants. No one he really recognized, at least not immediately.

Akira quickly searched for the house keys in his coat pocket as he and Luci stood outside and the severe rainstorm fiercely poured down on them both. He didn't live in some big, rich two story home, like most people would expect, but rather a normal sized, two bedroom, one story house just outside of Yakuza territory. The neighborhood was rather ghetto as well, his house had been shot up several times, mostly being caught in the crossfire, but on some occasions the place was sprayed with bullets on purpose. Akira liked his house though, and avoided moving despite protests from his family. He lived here for five years, the place was cozy and felt like home to him. "Finally!" He shouted as he pulled out the house key and jammed it into the lock. Akira practically fell through the door as it unlocked, eager to get out of the rain. He held the door open as Luci ran inside and looked up to the terrible sky once more before shutting the door.

"Geez, next thing you know frogs are going to fall from the sky." He remarked sarcastically, and looked towards Luci, observing her. She looked soaked, but so was he. The rain didn't really seem to wash the blood away though, rather cause it to run down Luci's face and arms. "Haha, you look like you- er" Akira stopped himself, recalling what happened in the elevator when he attempted to joke about the blood. "Um, you look like you could use a hot shower, heh. The bathrooms over there." As the words left his mouth a wave of fear overcame Akira as he frantically reached in his coat pockets searching for the paper with all the client's names and information, hoping it wasn't smeared or illegible. He let out a sigh of relief and a laugh as it wasn't, only a bit wet. He set the clients list on the counter.

Akira removed his tie and coat, placing them on the couch, and walked towards his room as he unbuttoned his shirt. He hated wearing suits but his father demanded he do so when around him. Thankfully he was drenched and had an excuse to change. As he entered his room he tossed his shirt on the bed and was about to remove his slacks when he noticed a file lay on his desk. The moment he laid his eyes on the file he knew who placed it there; Takiko, his parental guardian and supervisor whenever his father was out on business. She was so uptight! Constantly intruding his home and privacy unexpectedly and without permission. The type of person that would ask an ungodly amount of questions whenever he wasn't home. Thankfully he missed her, it would be difficult to explain why he brought home a blood soaked maid.

Walking up to the desk Akira picked up the file and skimmed through it, water dripped down from his face and hair, landing on the papers contained in the file. It seemed the council had come to a decision and decided to keep tabs on the Underhill MC in case they were prepping for retaliation. "Great" He muttered to himself. His father had given him an assignment. He very much wanted to get started on researching Operation Freedom, but he couldn't raise suspicion and ignore his families orders. It was the last thing he needed. Quickly changing into his street clothes, Akira put on a pair of tight light blue jeans and a pair of black combat boots, threw on a white long sleeve shirt and an army green jacket. Walking up to a cabinet in the corner of his room, he opened both doors to reveal an assortment of weapons, guns and ammunition, but he only grabbed a pistol along with a few mags, and stuffed them in his jacket. Akira locked the door behind him as he left his room. Walking up to the front door, he grabbed an umbrella and placed his hand on the doorknob, when he stopped, and hesitated to leave at the sound of the bathroom shower turn on. "Sorry, Luci" He whispered to himself before walking out the door and regrettably back into the storm.

A good 20 minutes had passed before Luci felt as though she was clean enough to come out of the shower. She had used all the hot water, most of his soap, and all of his shampoo but, she was still a bit mad at him so she thought he deserved it. As the door to the bathroom opened steam rushed out and out came Luci dressed in her black skinny jeans and white tank. The clothes she had on this morning. She smelled exactly like a guy and her hair was not as soft and curly as it would if she used conditioner, ‘Who doesn’t use conditioner?!’ is what went through her head at the discovery, but she was clean now. She really did smell like a man and his deodorant was making it worse. Hey she wasn’t about to start smelling later on OK?

Stepping out into the hall running a towel through her hair she looked around for any sign of the man, “Akira!” No response. Turning around she noticed a note on his bedroom door,
"Had to go take care of something, sorry! Can you head to the library and do some research on Operation Freedom? There's a list of clients on the kitchen counter along with some cash, Much Thanks!"

For a moment she just blankly stared at the note. ‘That idiot left a complete stranger in his house…alone.’ Chuckling darkly she turned around and headed to the front of the house seeing the kitchen counter with indeed the list of clients and her satchel and boots. Continuing to laugh at the man’s stupidity she slipped on her boots and placed her shades on the top of her hair which was now pulled in a high ponytail. Glancing at the list, a wave of sadness pasted over her. The fact that he left her alone upset her a little. Luci brushed it off taking the list and shoving it into her bag getting up and opening the front door. It was raining. ‘This fucker right here…’ To her right she noticed a coat rack with a leather jacket on it. Smirking she slipped it on and opened her her iphone punching in the GPS. “He better live near this place.” She mumbled as she stepped into the heavy downpour.

Lilin nodded to Victor, ignoring his compliment, and began tapping her tablet. She had been looking up things about Our Father's Fathers since she had a moment's peace, and she had found a few obscure mentions in old periodicals and books. She roamed the library until she found what she was looking for, stacking things up and carrying it with her ever-so-helpful power of telekinesis. There were copies of old American magazines and newspapers, along with random, obscure references to 'Our Father's Fathers' in books that were probably as old as the library.

"This is what I found. A bit, but most of it is short and bare of any actual information." She paused, listening to Victor. "Luminescence? I've heard of them. And yes, the weather is pretty lovely." Lilin smirked. "If I sneeze I'd probably electrocute half the population." The horde of feds residing in the library had lightened up considerably, and a few pedestrian stragglers out in the rain had come in to wait out the weather and stay dry. A few even peeked at the books, but the majority just got the most comfortable chairs wet or dripped water onto the floor.

Victor nodded, chuckling at the thought of half of Houston getting shocked if she let a sneeze loose. "Well, give me time to get clear of the backlash zone if you feel a sneeze coming on, yea?" Looking over the old paper articles that Lilin brought forward, he was starting to form a mental profile for these guys. Old roots, very, very secretive and well used to keeping what they want private, private, and leaving very little in the way of a trail behind. Problem with an organization, is that it always leaves a trail of some sort. No matter how small, miniscule, or disjointed, everything in the world leaves marks of where its been, where it is, and where it will be going. No matter how much effort is put into making that different, nothing is untraceable. One just needs the determination to do it.

Glancing at Lilin, and raised an eyebrow at her knowledge of Luminescence. "Perhaps you'd be willing to share over a couple sandwiches, if your hungry? Figure I know a place that might deliver in this mess, not too far from the library anyhow. I'll ring em one, see what they have to say." Said place happened to be Lotuswich Shoppe, a sandwich place right on the border of Elf Territory, and he had their number for when he was too swamped with work to go out and wait in line, or even leave his apartment or the library, for that matter. But he rung them up, and once they answered, he sounded off in a warm and friendly tone. "Evening Lily, its Vic, how's the weather treating you?" Once she had a chance to respond, he continued. "When a lull hits, could you send one of those 6in salami melts you make and, hey Lilin you want anything?" If she did, he would pass the order along, if not, well, he would wrap up. "When a lull hits, or not, your call, could you get that to the library? I'm working on something again, you can probably guess what."

Lillium

As soon as she had started making the womans sandwich, another perrson came in. Lillium didnt recognize him right away as he was wearing clothes unusual for him, but she could see it was Aussir. He sat in the corner like he always did. Poor guy. Maybe he brought her the aprons! The thought of new aprons for her and her employee made her smile. She quickened her pace, but was disheartened when two more people came in.
"Oh well." She mumbled to herself. She couldn't help it if she was short staffed. Finishing the sandwich, she walked over to the woman who ordered it and placed it in front of her. It looked like her friend had woken, maybe she would be hungry as well? She lingered for a moment then walked over to the other men, taking their orders before going to chat with Aussir. The first had some sort of armor on. The other looked like some normal kid. The door dinged again as another person entered her shop. Lillium sighed and turned toward the door to greet whomever entered.

Alistair

Rain.
What an amazing act of nature. It cleans the air and nurtures the earth. This rain felt different though. Alistair couldn't put his finger on it. He ran his fingers through his now soaked hair and quickened his pace. It was probably not a good idea to take his time, Lillium was probably already swamped with customers knowing his luck. Every time he was late, it was an extremely busy day that lasted well into the night. He had no idea why.
It wasn't long before he made it to the shop. He wouldn't have time to smoke before going in he decided, seeing customers sitting down. This was less than he expected in this torrent but it was enough. Alistair pushed open the door and walked in, nice and wet.

The Shop(Lillium)

Lillium had turned toward the door and saw her missing employee. He was rarely late and usually had a decent explanation. She knew this time it was the rain. He loved it. She sighed with relief and handed him the new orders to work on once he was ready. She walked over to Aussir. He looked horrible.
"The weather is about as awful as one could expect." She replied to his earlier question and looked out the window. The downpour was so harsh, she couldn't see the building across the way. "Are you here to eat or check up on me?" Lillium asked after a moment.

The Shop(Alistair)

As soon as he had walked in the door, Lillium had put orders into his hands. Alistair had seen Aussir in the corner and knew she would be talking to him for a while. Quickly, he changed into some dry work clothes and donned a pair of gloves that Lillium held sacred. She had several pairs of leather gloves that were enchanted to stay sterile.. through anything. He had always wanted to test them but Lillium kept the gloves locked away, pulling them out at the start of the work day.
Before he distracted himself further, he started working on the sandwiches. It didn't help that the phone was now ringing. Alistair answered, and continued to make dinner for their guests.
"Evening Lily, its Vic, how's the weather treating you?" came the voice on the line and Alistair smiled.
"This is actually Alistair, Lillium is otherwise engaged at the moment. I don't think she likes the weather too much. Good and bad for business."
"When a lull hits, could you send one of those 6in salami melts you make and, hey Lilin you want anything?" Alistair quickly jotted down the order and said,
"Sure thing, I will head over when its done." The library, huh? He loved chatting with Lilin. He looked over at Lillium, who was now talking to Aussir. She would send him out anyway.
Alistair finished up the orders and Lillium placed them before the customers. He told her he would be heading to the library for a delivery to Vic and Lilin and she nodded to him as he left the shop.

Out and about

Alistair couldn't stand the rain at this point. He could hardly see where he going. He was glad to be wearing a poncho with an umbrella over his head, but it didn't seem to help much. The journey to the library took much longer than he had wanted to and decided to let Vic know he was almost there. However he would probably need a new phone if he took it out in this, and stopped himself.
It wasn't much longer before he found himself inside the massive building. The security was awe inspiring to say the least. There must be something important here. Alistair made a note to mention it in his next report. He spotted Vic and Lilin talking amongst themselves and walked over.
"Hey guys, sorry I took so long. That rain is something else." Alistair gave the sandwiches to Vic, they were still toasty warm despite the distance and chill water from the sky.

Upon the arrival of the man after him, his mechanical eye automatically scanned him, unable to detect any weaponry. The next ones to enter were also scanned, along with the two women that were there ahead of him, finally his eye fell to Lillium's new help, Alistair. While none of the patrons seemed to be a threat to the store itself, there was always the chance someone could act without warning. The man across from him had stared at him for too long, Aussir didn't like him, he gave of the vibe of criminal. Before he returned to his own thoughts, Lillium responded to him and stopped to chat with him. He turned his eyes from the man across the room, to her, "A bit of both, I suppose. You know what it's like during a storm, criminals take whatever they want, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Also, your sandwiches are the only thing I eat when I'm not at my shop, and it's been awhile since I had one. A turkey club and something strong to drink, if you please, Lily." he ordered, giving the woman a smile. He had to act like nothing had happened earlier, he didn't want her to worry about him, it was his job to worry about her and her shop. He turned his attention back to the man across the room, closing his real eye and letting his robotic one remain focused on him as he waited for his order. The optical device had been quite expensive, but it was state-of-the-art, capable of scanning multiple targets in a matter of seconds. It came in handy when he had to fight groups of criminals, or even small menial tasks such as reorganizing his store. However, it had a flaw. While it couldn't be fooled by illusions, it could potentially be hacked into and have the optical sensors fooled. Despite this risk, Aussir had gone through with the operation to have it implanted.

***

Miyu stared at the television, which was on and still reporting about the terrorist attack, along with several debates about the topic. Her mind began to wander to the back room, why did Aussir sleep there and not have a house of his own? She had asked him that once, only to receive his usual, 'it's more convenient' answer. Why was it convenient? Was there something in there that he didn't want anyone to see? Her curiosity got the better of her, and after making a double-check that nobody was coming, she placed her hand on the back room's doorknob. Turning it, she pushed it open just enough for her to slip in, just in case Aussir had set traps that would reveal someone had been in there. Once she was inside, she fumbled around for the light switch, finally clicking it on. The first thing her eyes landed on was the large war sword in the corner of the room, the light reflecting of it's white blade. She moved to it and crouched down, seeing her face reflected in the blade. She stood up and carefully took the handle, regretting having done so when the blade hummed violently and threw her across the room, causing her to crash to the floor. Groaning as she got back up, she stared at the weapon, "What is that thing?" she asked out loud. She approached it again, this time placing her hand on the blade's surface, frowning as nothing happened. As she tried to pull it away, the blade suddenly turned red and her mind flooded with images, none of them her own. She wasn't able to understand the images, as they went too fast for her, but she had a feeling they were important. When the images stopped, she fell backwards, her hand becoming freed from the blade, which returned back to it's original color. Deciding she wanted nothing more to do with the weapon, and having learned her lesson, she quickly left the room and sat back behind the counter. What just happened? What were all those images? And why did she get this terrible feeling something bad was going to happen with Aussir?

Luci strutted into the library with as much confidence as she could muster under the circumstances. It was all about not looking completely guilty or suspicious. She was just going to look up a group....of potential terrorists to the government and was going to report her findings to a gangster to the most powerful mafia in the city! No pressure. As she walked across the lobby she busied herself with her iphone as if to get attention off of herself. While just scrolling through her contacts she noticed Akira was programmed in with a home and cell number. It pissed her off that he actually hacked into her phone but, made her want to blush and giggle like a little girl. Luci sighed at her confusing emotions trying to ward off another headache.

Shaking her head, she pocketed her phone and started for the section of the library that hopefully had information about the organization. Reaching into her bag she pulled out the list and looked at the first name. “Ozy? The fuck...” She whispered as she scanned the books. About five minutes later she sat on the ground about to bang her head against the wall. ‘How does he expect me to find out information on this thing in a damn library? Did he forget the internet existed?’ Another ten minutes passed and Luci contemplated about throwing the tablet at her feet against the wall. ‘Nothing. Absolutely nothing. ' She packed up her tablet and was faced with true desperation. She couldn’t return empty handed. She walked to the front and scanned the room. ‘All these people look completely human…never know they could be some sort of psychic or whatever and could know I’m coming. Oh well.’ She saw a woman who was telling a man something and, seemed like she worked there. The man began speaking on the phone and Luci saw her chance. She walked up behind the woman and put on her best polite smile she could give, “Excuse me ma’am. I am completely lost here, I was wondering if you could tell me where I find any information on an Operation Freedom?