[h1][img]http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah281/Q-C0ntinuum/BlessedWraith%20Weaver%20-%20Copy_zps7aq7ebmi.jpg[/img] BlessedWrath (Weaver)[/h1]
[h2]Josiah and Masaru - Kurosawa Dojo, Corner of Ninth and Pine[/h2]
Josiah paused outside, mentally rehearsing what he was going to say. Masaru had been there for the previous run of supers, and it hadn't gone well. Part of why the program had been discontinued had been the unpredictability of some supers' behavior; both before and after the change. Masaru had been no exception.

Before the end, Masaru had shown a deep contempt for the program's administration and policies. He had disobeyed orders, had interfered with investigations and pursuit of targets... Ironically, this was precisely what the Reformers needed. It was not fear that kept him beneath the decorative awnings outside his dojo; it was worry.

[i]"Ok,"[/i] he told himself. [i]"Let's not screw this up."[/i]

He got as far as the front counter before he noticed the kneeling form of a man in the center of the practice mats, facing away from him. As Josiah had already had his fill of surprises this week, he decided that discretion was the better part of valor and resolved to sneak up on the man. After all, TSP forces had already blackbagged an entire generation of supers; what was to stop them laying a trap here?

"We agreed you would not come back."

Josiah immediately recognized the voice as belonging to his old colleague. It was not a hostile tone, but there was still a little ice hanging from his words. He wondered if that meant Masaru would be unwilling to help.

"How'd you know it was me?" he inquired, instantly regretting the commission of a movie cliché.

The kneeling man rose, bowed to the room, and calmly returned to the counter. Here, he indicated several recent newspaper clippings relating to the bus crash.

[i]-Bus Crash Kills Twelve
-Several Still Missing from Downtown Bus Crash
-Mysterious Incidents Plague New York. Police Baffled.[/i]

"Let me think," Masaru said quietly, leaning on the wall next to the counter. He put a finger to his lips, parroting Wilson's favorite musing. "There is a large accident, several people go missing from the scene, and a week of abnormal incidents later, I get a visitor too nervous to enter my dojo."

"Yeah, I get it." Josiah grumbled. "Fine, Sherlock. If you're so smart, then you tell me why I'm here."

"If I had to guess, I would say Wilson has finally run into an enemy who will not settle for words and promises."

"You're half right. We've got two missing, and we're not sure who's got 'em. Could be TSP, could be street thugs. We've got an idea of where they might be, but things could get..."

Josiah trailed off. He didn't like the look in Masaru's eye.

"...messy?" Masaru finished the thought for him. Josiah nodded.

Without a word, Masaru took the keys to the front door and locked it. He emptied the till into the drop safe and shut down the main power to his dojo. When he returned to Josiah's side, he simply held out his arm.

"We're wasting time."