Setepenre

Lesser Pride

Penny screwed up her mouth in discomfort at the offer of powerful magical protection for her descendants... for an as-yet unnamed price. These charismatic contractual types could be dangerous, feeding off the desperate and feeble-minded and other such negative traits that Setepenre would not stand to emulate.

Glancing through the files on these Innocent victims, however, gave further weight to the opposing argument. So many teenagers reduced to photos and words on a stack of paper. Just the age to possess that dangerous cocktail of believing they are old and wise enough to make their own choices, and really, really not being wise enough. Penny considered how tragically easy it could be for her beautiful talented 17-year-old to be led away by supernatural villains. Heck, Penny was a little surprised Marwa hadn't already started to date a vampire or some other attractive, definitely dangerous bad boy just to spite her.

No. Penny's children were obviously among the most precious and innocent of Innocents. If they hadn't been targeted yet, it was only a matter of time. They in particular needed protection at all costs.

Penny couldn't help shooting a momentary sharp glance toward Albert. 'Out of the goodness of his heart.' Mmmhm. Was that going to be the verbiage in his so-called contract?

"What I have to lose," Penny began with a soft growl entering her voice, "is the same thing that would be at risk if I did nothing. I have deep connections to Innocents - particularly kind and talented and thus at-risk Innocents, I might add - within the City. The thought of harvesting the souls of children, even those not of my own blood, makes it boil with rage. If I want to protect the Innocents I love, I will strive to stop this threat as soon as possible."

Penny paused for a second. She retracted the small bits of claws that had subconsciously begun to unsheath. Then her posture and voice softened a bit as she turned to the Detective.

"Of course, I don't intend to take part in this battle for a net zero at the end. I must admit I've been having some trouble with... ordinances, licenses, all that bureaucratic nonsense the law requires of me to care for my youngest son. I imagine someone as influential as The Detective may have some way to wave it all away."

The Detective clenched a hand into a tight fist as their gaze focused on wall above the door across from where they were sitting, “They’re dead. I just don’t have bodies to give families closure.”

If The Detective could find bodies to place in places where they could be found they would do so in a heartbeat. Some of the Innocents had families and friends that were desperate for any sign that their loved ones were safe and coming home. It might be cruel of The Detective to want to dash those hopes, but the people wouldn’t be able to start healing until they knew what had happened to their missing loved ones. The Detective didn’t want to be unkind, but they could fathom allowing people to live with false hopes. That being said right now they had no proof to give anyone that the Innocents were dead. The Detective knew when they had died. Or more importantly The City knew. That would have to be enough.

The Detective gave their head a shake and turned their gaze to mother across the table, “Of course. I will smooth things over before I begin my Sleep. After all, for some of us family is all we have.” They looked around the table, “In the past I discussed payment for this job with some of you. For others that is something we still need to discuss. Some of it I will be able to take care of before my Sleep as I can for the Lesser Pride. Some of it will have to wait until the situation is resolved, but you will all be paid. I keep my word.” Then The Detective said that it that might of seemed as if they let something slip but was deliberately planned, “Breaking my word is against The Rules.”

It was true. Breaking promises made meant breaking the Rules and The Detective tried to avoid that. For some of them it would be easy enough. Setepenre just wanted to be able to take care of her children no matter what form they might take. Calling in the right favors to make that happen was something they had already started and would finish up this afternoon. On the other hand, Juniper Murik wanted exclusive and first-person access to events, restaurants, museums, and other such things that would look good on her social media. That was also fairly easy but ongoing. It would have to wait. For others The Detective wasn’t sure exactly what they want or required but wasn’t too worried. They were all intrigued enough by the threat to the Innocents to come here to this meeting free of charge or bribe or threat. They might not be reasonable, but The Detective was willing to wager they wouldn’t be completely unreasonable either.

They nodded to the Lesser Sloth, “Thank you for the invitation, but I have already prepared a place for me to rest. It will be safer than most other places and I am comfortable with it.” Then they looked around the room and asked the question that would confirm either their fears or their hopes, “Will you all be working against these Outcasts?”

Argenti looked at the woman who mentioned avoided “net zero” and basically implied that she wouldn’t help without something in return. Well, that was fair, and it wasn’t even that ridiculous a price. She was right. Something like that should be easy enough for the so-called Detective. Rumor had it that they practically ran the town. Of course, that was just rumor. Still, it had to be easier than what the two of them discussed. Argenti had been about to kill The Detective when he had been summoned. Luckily, they had been a fast speaker. In the end Argenti had agreed to come to this meeting if the Detective had agreed to help find an eliminate all the ways to summon Argenti. In the succubus’s opinion that was a fair price for helping with these Outcasts as well. Though it sounded like he might have to wait until the problem was solved to be paid. That was alright. Argenti would be paid, one way or another.

He did claim another pastry, this one a plain glazed donut, “I’m in. I have no problem trying to figure out these Outcasts and their goals and then eliminating them.” He smirked at no one and nothing, “I don’t even have a problem with working with the others in this room.”

That was true enough. Argenti had worked with others in the past and figured that he would work with others in the future. Many supernatural types were loners and Argenti certainly fell into that category well enough, but he wasn’t such a loner that he refused to deal with others. Besides this was bigger than any personal preferences. This wasn’t even just about justice at this point. The sooner then figured out what was going on with these Outcasts the more Innocents would be protected from whatever this plan of theirs was. Though justice had a part of it as well. Argenti would have to figure out exactly what type of Fae Eris was as well as what type of demon Samael was. That would help him figure out how to make them suffer. Though more important, not that Argenti would ever say this bit out loud, was finding the bodies or proof that the Innocents were dead so their families could have closure. It may have been cruel, but the truth was that even too much hope could be poisonous. Hopefully it wouldn’t reach that point.

Argenti reached for another file. It wouldn’t hurt to look at more information. Perhaps he would see something that the investigators hadn’t. It wasn’t likely, but who knew. Right now, reading files was all he could do. After this meeting was over, he could try poking around for information on Samael and Eris, but even that would probably reveal next to nothing new. Still, he had a few sources that he knew for fact this Juniper didn’t have. He wasn’t sure about The Detective. It wouldn’t hurt to ask the other minor demons of The City. At the very least they would know that things in The City were changing and know how demons were reacting to the change. Any information would be valuable at this point. Right?

"Ah yes, payment," Cain had yet to discuss exactly what it was he had wanted from the Detective. "We can talk about it once this is all resolved. I suspect what I want would take too much out of you before you go in to this sleep, whatever it is exactly." Setepenre's concern for her family was admirable, the fact she had so many that she cared about was something Cain envied. Ever since he killed his brother he never had a family. There had been others he had met, some of whom he got very close with, but none that he would call family.

His payment from the Detective would hopefully close millennia old wounds and allow him the closure he so desperately wanted. "And if it wasn't obvious from me expecting payment, yes, I will join this crusade to take down these Outcasts. Killing Innocents is grotesque and they must be stopped."

Setepenre

Lesser Pride

"I'm in," Penny announced with a solemn nod. "It's been a long while since I had the opportunity to truly use my abilities for their intended purpose."

The golden-eyed woman turned to The Detective with a concerned frown.

"I trust when you say you're prepared for your Sleep, but are you certain there's nothing any of us can do to make it safer? Or at least a little more comfortable for you?"

“It goes without saying that I will indeed help,” Albert said with a nod. He didn’t really do it due to a strong moral compass or anything. Sure he did feel sorry for the lives that have been lost, but he wanted to experience what kind of story this would bring. He has always been a sucker for a good story.

“Oh before I forget, may I ask who would be moving into my bed and breakfast? I would like a headcount to prepare the rooms beforehand," Albert asked because he wanted to prepare the rooms. Currently, the B&B was nothing more than a small cottage. If more than 4 people were moving in he would need to make space and expand the building.

Some of the other folks began to grab folders, which was a relief. Juniper had no desire to be the ‘brains’ of this operation by herself. Cain suggested that they all stay at Albert’s B&B. Juniper nodded in agreement, though it might not have been obvious she was responding silently to him, as she was still staring at her phone. She definitely thought it would be best for them to set up a sort of HQ, and Albert’s was likely the comfiest and cutest of their options.

She glanced across the table at Albert, trying to recall if he had listed a name that she could look up, to check on the reviews for his place—but it might not be that sort of venue. Still, even other-worldy establishments needed the quality control that only patrons could provide. Albert spoke next, posing two main questions, the first was whether they were sure the Innocents were dead, (they were) and the second was what each of them were getting out of this arrangement.

Juniper wasn’t sure it mattered, since the deals were each made with the Detective and it wasn’t really her place to judge whatever guilty pleasure the rest of them were stoking with this arrangement. However, The Detective agreed that they should share their reasons, as noble or selfish as they might be. Perhaps it would help them to build trust.

Slowly, the other folks around the room brought up their own payment, and that they agreed to take on The Outcasts. Juniper fiddled with her phone. Some might think she was still researching, and she was…sort of. But she was also updating a status and adding some fire emojis to her response for a comment.

“Mhmmm.” She let out as more of a hum than an answer. Juniper looked up after a few more moments, realizing that probably wasn’t enough. “Sorry, uh yea, I’m in.”

“As far as payment, The Detective agreed to give me information when some of the shops drop new product lines, like drinks, holiday specials, that sort of thing. That way I can be first to try them, get pic and post it.” Juniper grinned, wiggling her phone a bit as proof—as if that was even necessary at this point—that she was a bit obsessed with social media.

“And yeah, Albert. I’d love to check out your bed and breakfast. I know it’s a bit private, but like… I can take pictures, right? And what kind of climate is it, so I know which outfits to pack. Do you have a pool?” Juniper was already trying to plan out which accessories she would bring for her pictures. She might need to buy more, just to make sure she had the right ones. And if he had a pool, she could do a Genie pool accessories buying spree then test out the gadgets for her viewers.

“Can I just get your number so I can text you my other questions?” They were all incredibly specific questions, and she didn’t think everyone else wanted to know. “Actually, can we set up a group text all around?” That would make more sense for communication. Just because a lot of them were old didn’t mean they needed to rely on carrier pigeons to pass information back and forth.

The Detective did their best to refrain from sighing as Aodh and Ivan just got up and walked out. The rest of them confirmed payment. Setepenre wanted to keep close to her family. That would be one phone call laced with Persuasion. Argenti wanted to destroy all the ways to summon him. That was less easy, but doable. The same was true for Juniper’s request for first access across The City. Albert said he was just helping for story which was the easiest payment of all. Cain was willing to help for a price to be discussed in the future. That was worrisome, but they could and would figure it out. The Detective stood and nodded. It was time for them to go.

They smiled, “It seems that you have things figured out.” They reached into their pocket to pull out an external hard drive and slid it across the table to the young Ms. Murik, “Here. This contains all my notes on the Outcasts and the Innocents they have killed.” Their smile was down right mysterious, “It also has some interesting information on The City. If you can find it.” Their smile widened, “Good luck!” They grew solemn again as they looked around the room again, “This room is reserved for the rest of the day. Feel free to stay, make plans, and enjoy the rest of the treats.” They nodded once, “I’m off to Sleep. Good Luck to all of you. And happy hunting.

With that The Detective put on their coat and was out of room. They had done all they could to help. Now all they could do was Sleep in order to maintain the barrier. Well, they could also make a few phone calls. The first was to smooth things over for the Lesser Pride to take care of her pride. She would have the required documents on the mail with in one to two weeks. She would have an email confirming things in a matter of moments. Persuasion was damn useful. The second phone call was to make sure that a VIP first access all-inclusive ticket for the upcoming fashion week was sent to the Lesser Gluttony’s email. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too distracted with shows to help with the Outcasts.

Then The Detective cheated just a little bit. They could walk to where their Sleep would take place, but instead they let The City carry them to the small grotto near the very foundations of The City. It was lined with comfortable blankets and pillows made of all natural materials. They had been asked if they needed help with their Sleep but the truth was they didn’t. They sealed the grotto off so it could only be reach via magic and then pulled of their shoes and switched to pajamas. That wasn’t strictly necessary since they wouldn’t exactly be aware during the Sleep but it would help them when and if they Woke. The Detective curled into the comfortable nest and was Sleeping in moments. The Barrier around The City pulsed as Magic swept over it making it stronger. Nothing with more magic than a hedge witch wouldn’t be getting out or in. The City was now an arena for the battle with the Outcasts. Hopefully that would give the Lessers a chance.

Argenti looked up from his current file as the group was asked about staying at the bed and breakfast. He knew that Cain had mentioned all of them staying there and that was a reason why the succubus shouldn’t. This Cain seemed to be attempting to take charge of the situation. Argenti was willing to work with these people. He didn’t need any of them trying to boss him around. Still, he didn’t have a place to stay right now. Since he had gotten to The City, he had been bouncing from place to place unless he was in the middle of taking care of monsters. It wouldn’t hurt to have a place to stay without having to worry about who would be trying to kill him. He didn’t trust anyone else in this group, not really, but he had a feeling he didn’t really have to worry about them until the Outcasts were gone and the Innocents were safe once again.

And it wouldn’t hurt for someone to take charge of their little group of five. At least Argenti thought it was five because two of them got up and left without saying a single word to anyone. Anyways the five of them had strong personalities they could either let someone take charge or spend all their time arguing and voting over what to do and then the odds of them getting anything done would be next to zero. It was just to deal with the Outcasts. Then Argenti could leave this City and never seen any of them every again. He could handle orders for that long as long as they were combat orders.

So Argenti grinned as he pointed at Cain, “Like the boss says, it would be wise to move this to someplace where we know we aren’t being watched.” He nodded at Albert, “I would be honored at pleased to spend time at your bed and breakfast. However,” Argenti stood and stretch his hands out to the ceiling, “Right now I have a few people I would like to talk to about the Outcasts and the Innocents. Does anyone want to come with me?”

Honestly Argenti made the invitation for two reasons. The first was that he didn’t want anybody thinking that he was hiding things. The second was that it wasn’t entirely safe to go alone. If the Outcasts realized that The Detective had brought in outside help the five of them were easily the biggest threat and it would be wise to eliminate them before they became and even bigger threat. However, that didn’t mean that Argenti thought anyone would take him up on his offer. He was prepared to go alone. That didn’t mean that he wanted to. He just could if he had to.

Then something happened that Argenti couldn’t describe. He had to grit his teeth to remain standing as what felt like a wave of magical energy crossed the city. The succubus knew that anyone with any real level of magic would feel it too. Something had happened, but he wasn’t sure what. He didn’t know enough about magic to know what. It felt almost like The Detective, so Argenti wasn’t too worried. Maybe it was some sort of prep for their Sleep. Maybe it was their Sleep itself. Whatever it was it marked the beginning of something, mostly likely the war between the Outcasts and the Lessers. Whatever it was it changed things.

Argenti laughed tightly, “I would appreciate it if someone came with me.”

Setepenre

Lesser Pride

Penny considered Argenti's request carefully. On the one hand, a demonic creature leading people away from their group sounded like... well, the tactics The Outcasts were using on their hapless victims right now, to be frank. On the other hand... Penny really didn't have any good leads. She had plenty of connections with ordinary humans, and perhaps her network could aid the team in areas like identifying Innocent targets. But her relationships with other supernaturals in The City were a bit lacking.

Then, the wave. Penny's pupils narrowed in cat-like focus as the barrier spread out. Penny could identify this magic quite well: a tether. Similar to the one that confined her to her family tomb for generations. The sensation felt oddly... nostalgic and unnerving at the same time. Like revisiting a favorite mall to find it long abandoned and covered in cobwebs.

In the end, pride made Penny's decision for her. She would need to prove herself somehow, and it was not going to be suggesting supernatural contacts.

"I'll go with you," Penny answered Argenti. "We can't have anyone going off on their own right at the starting gate. That would be a disrespectfully reckless act after all the work The Detective has done to set us up for success. If a third would like to join us, we would make quite a formidable group."

Penny really hoped a third would join them...

"Besides, I request aid in moving my family to Albert's place later today. Argenti and I, and whoever joins us, could take care of those tasks after we accomplish Argenti's."

Penny glanced toward the tech witch.

"Of course, before any of us leaves this room, we really should get each other's contact information, as Juniper noted."

Juniper happily accepted the small external drive from The Detective. This would be much easier to sift through than the files. She spent a moment appraising the male/female ports on the drive and thinking over which of her devices would be most easily compatible with it. She had a tablet in her bag that would probably work find, and then she wouldn’t have to stop anywhere else… especially if folks wanted to take the Detective up on the offer of staying in this room for the rest of the day.

Argenti spoke up soon after and suggested they go to Cain’s B&B instead, bringing up the possibility that they were being watched here. Juniper imagined that The Detective had used some of their abilities to put a sort of shroud over the place, but there was no guarantee that would hold once The Detective entered their sleep. Juniper didn’t fully understand their abilities, of course, but she imagined it was a bit like a witch’s spellcasting. Some spells were passive, and some required full concentration. If The Detective was going to sleep, they likely couldn’t cast spells that needed the latter—so any extra protection the group had might cease.

Juniper, too, felt the wave as The Detective went to sleep. It felt a little…oppressive, but not in any way that she could easily describe. She was sure the others in the room picked up on it too, each Lesser responding in their own way.

Soon it was decided that Argenti and Setepenre would be going to question some associates or contacts of Argenti’s. Juniper wasn’t exactly sure what kind of company the Succubus kept, but she imagined mostly attractive folks in aesthetic places, which was quite amenable to the younger witch. Setepenre brought up the more logical point that they shouldn’t be off on their own just yet.

”I think that sounds good. I’ll come.” Juniper said, standing up. She pushed the files that had been in front of her to the center of the table. “Y’all can look over these. I’ll check out the stuff on the drive and we can compare leads after talking to Argenti’s contacts.” Not only did she get to go somewhere else, but now she could get out of sitting around reading actual paper. This was the best-case scenario, at least for her.

She put the hard-drive in her bag, and looked off to the side, grabbing a pen from one of the side tables. “Here, I’ll write my number. Y’all can send me a text with your name. I’ll set up a group text so everyone can add their names to their numbers.” She wrote her cell number on a sticky note that was used as a page-marker for one of the folders. When she wrote her name, Juniper, she put a little heart as the dot above the i. After scribbling that down for the group, she told Setepenre and Argenti she would get their numbers while they were on the way, rather than standing around for excruciatingly slow minutes as everyone said their numbers aloud digit by digit.

Juniper may be a glutton, but she was not terribly interested in wasting time—at least, not her own time.

“My apology, but I do not own a phone. Perhaps you can help me find one but for now, I can give you the number for my Bed and Breakfast. Please call if you require anything,” Albert said as he scribbled down the number onto a piece of paper before giving it to Juniper. The number written down seemingly change every time you blink. Sometimes it would be a functional number, other times it is a collection of random runes and letters from a forgotten time.

“Once again, I am sorry if the number changes as you look at it. Just ask it nicely, and it should stay still for you,” Albert said with a chuckle. As an extension of the protection of the bed and breakfast, anything regarding his establishment is also censured to a certain extent. There was a possible fix, but he didn't want to do it.

“oh before I forget,” Albert took out 5 keys and placed them on the table. Each key is different, each decorated with a different type of flower serving as the bow. “Since we will be working together. Here are keys to my Bed and Breakfast. Just place them in any door, turn, and it should create a temporary portal to my establishment. Mind you it will only work if I am within my bed and breakfast. You can tell if I am Home by the flowers. It should bloom if I am home. Now they are for you to keep but please do not lose then,” Albert explained.

"On a side note, I would like to host a dinner party tonight to help us get acquainted, everyone is welcome, and it should be a good time to test the keys," Albert added.

"And Argenti, I hope you don't mind me coming along. I would love to see more of the city. and to pick up a few things for dinner," Albert said.

Cain was a bit distracted by the feeling of what could only be the Detective's magic as it washed over the City. By the time the sensation had faded it seemed nearly everyone would be joining Argenti to go speak with his contacts, and do whatever else they wanted to do. Cain accepted the key from Albert, the flower on his was a tulip. Key took out his key ring to loop it on as he spoke to the group. "As much as I would love to join the adventure with everyone, I suspect they type of people you'll be meeting might clam up if too many people approach at once." He got the key on the ring, it looked nice, a bit showy, but not too showy.

"I'll stay here and go through the victims, hopefully I can find some kind of connection between them other than them all being Innocents." Cain glanced at Ivan as he said this. The shape changer hadn't mentioned if he was staying or leaving. Cain looked to Argenti and the others who would be leaving, "unless, of course, you think it would simply be easier and safer if we all went together. In which case I'll gladly join the escapades." As Cain waited for the answer to his question he took out his phone to add Juniper. He sent her a text, simply saying "It's Cain".

Argenti didn’t really want a full party to go with him. Two was fine, but four others was not ideal at all. However, as Setepenre had said earlier, no one should be alone. Which meant they would either being doing things as a group or in two groups, one pair and one trio. They couldn’t leave Cain alone. That would not be ideal. And they couldn’t leave Albert alone. They really couldn’t leave Albert behind. He didn’t even have a phone! If Argenti had his way, it would be him, Cain, and Setepenre to hit up his contacts. Juniper and Albert could go get the angel a phone. However, Argenti wasn’t going to take charge of this group in any way shape or form. The mere idea made him shudder.

So, instead he shrugged, “Alright. Full party for the shady kink club.” He gathered a few files together, “We should clean up first if we are all leaving.”

It wasn’t really a shady kink club. No one here needed to know that. Amelia went to great lengths to make it seem like a shady kink club, and Argenti wasn’t going to be the one to ruin all her hard work. Besides, if people thought it was a shady kink club maybe they would back out of going with him. It was a kink club. It just wasn’t shady. Amelia used contracts, bouncers, and magic to ensure that it was the safest place in The City to explore kink. Consent was paramount. That was why it was Argenti’s favorite club in The City. It was fairly well known and spoke about in both the mundane and supernatural communities. Still, only members, and honorary members, like Argenti, knew that it was 100 percent consent based.

He finished gathering up the files and held them out, “I have no bag to carry these and no spatial magic to store them. Anyone have any ideas.”

They also needed to figure out what to do with the left-over pastries and coffee. There wasn’t an extreme amount of either. If the succubus had to guess The Detective had decided to buy enough that there were plenty of options so that way the seven guests wouldn’t need to fight over one specific pastries. Argenti supposed that they could offer the leftovers to the hotel staff but didn’t want to make assumptions about what the rest of the group might think. He did grab another one for himself, this one chocolate iced, but made no other moves towards them.

He also pulled out his phone to add Juniper’s number. He took a minute to go over the seven sins in his head. He couldn’t add her as JuniperG, G for gluttony, since Greed also started with a G. So, he added her as Juniper Gluttony. That was not her last name, but Argenti didn’t care. Eventually everyone would be added to his contacts with their first name and their sin. Argenti also took a key from Albert. His key had a lily on it. It probably didn’t mean anything. At least the succubus hoped it didn’t mean anything. He stuffed it in his pocket before he could think too much about it. There was no point.

Albert. Didn’t. Own. A. Phone.
How?
What?
Seriously?
Juniper blinked blankly, unable to process. How did he order food? How did he meet up with people? How did he shop? How did he market his B&B? Did he even market it?! She had a million questions. Despite the fact that the witch was born in an era without instant communication, she welcomed technology with open-arms. She loved that the things everyone could do now would only be attributed to witchcraft had it been a hundred years earlier.

She accepted Albert’s written number, and thought perhaps her being distracted was what made the characters on the paper change. She generally had to concentrate quite a bit to read, and her eyes were already worn out from looking over those papers. Albert explained, however, that she just had to be nice to the paper so she could read it. Juniper chuckled lightly, enjoying the trick quite a bit. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She replied. For now, she folded the paper and placed it in her pocket.

In addition to the number, Juniper happily accepted a key to the bed and breakfast. Her key was a dandelion. She thought the key going right to the building was delightful, and she looked forward to trying that out later. In the back of her mind, though, she heard the vignette about the Rings echoing in her mind, modified for these handy Keys of Power. ”Five Keys for the Sinners in their City.”

As Argenti began to talk, Juniper realized the flaw in her suggestion to jump in and go on a trip. It would make the team horribly imbalanced. She wasn’t terribly concerned about not trusting the others. Either they did the right thing, or they didn’t, and more people would die. But Argenti didn’t seem fond of the idea of leaving someone by themselves.

“Well, Cain wants to stay and look at files. I can stick around with him.” Juniper said, mostly to Argenti, since he said they should all go to the shady kink club. She didn’t particularly care. She could look at her phone whether she was here or there. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see a kinky club—she just agreed with Cain that it might be a bit much for them all to go.

“As long as you do the paper stuff, I’ll look on here, and we can compare what we notice.” She offered to Cain. Ohh, she could order them a DoorDash. That could be fun. And maybe she could order Albert a phone. She could even set up one for pick-up. While the last of the decisions were being made, she pulled up a tab with some local store information. They could even just get him a trac phone, if he wanted something simple. Then he could text and call, and receive both.

“We got this!” Juniper grinned at Argenti, sitting down on the edge of the table to show her willingness to stay.

“Oh, I can come up with a team name for us!” Juniper smiled, trying to come up with something punny about Cain and her working together with some papers.

#SinCity Nope, taken.
#TaintsOrSaints Heh.
#TaintedSaints Probably less Naughty.
#CainandLessAble Might offend Cain.
#NoCainNoGain See, that one was practically a compliment!

“I’ve got an idea if everyone is okay with it. Why don’t we make a stop at my Bed and Breakfast? Those who are not coming would have a comfortable place to rest and go over the files while those who are visiting the club, and freshen up and store anything they do not wish to bring with them,” Albert said as he stood up. He put on his hat and walked to the door that was the exit to the room. He took out a stop watched, looked at the time before stopping the second hand at the number 12. He then returned it to his coat before opening the door. Instead of the hallway that the door led to, it opened into a large cabin-like living room with an enormous hearth. Paintings and shelves with strange knick-knacks filled the walls. A sole armchair sat by the fire, which was the only light in the room giving it a strangely eerie but mystical feel.

“Welcome to the Bed and Breakfast. Please leave your shoe by the door. And close the door if you’re the last one through,” Albert said before entering. A wave of magic washed over him as all the lights suddenly flickered on. The entire place came alive as things began to move and rearrange themselves. Sofa from who knows where suddenly appeared and settle in front of the fire with enough space for all the Sins. The dining table to the side changed the number of seats as ascetically pleasing plats appeared on the table itself. The time outside the window switched from night to day to match the time outside.

Albert raised an eyebrow at his home. It wasn’t usually this active but then again, they will be housing several guests very soon so the first impression was everything. “Well don’t be a stranger and come in everyone,” Albert said with a chuckle.

Cain appreciated that Juniper offered to stay with him, going through files with another person was so much nicer than doing it alone. He didn't even mind that she wanted to come up with some hashtag for her social media thing. Cain didn't really understand the whole social media thing, it just never appealed to him, but he appreciated that it was something she enjoyed so he wouldn't rain on her parade.

More exciting though was Albert opening the door to his secret Bed and Breakfast. Cain nearly jumped out of his chair, there was bound to be much more comfortable seating than the room they were in now. His current seat was fine, but his bottom was starting to go numb, there was a reason he enjoyed his coffee beyond the taste. It gave him an excuse to get up every couple of hours and get a reprieve from sitting.

Cain gathered up the files and walked through the door. The B&B looked quite cozy, and it seemed to have a mind of it's own. "Fascinating," Cain made his way to the couch and sat himself down, setting the papers on the table in front. "I feel this will be a much better environment for working. As long as Juniper has internet access I'm sure we'll be fine."

Decision-making was taking way longer than Juniper was used to. She was generally a “have an idea then do it” kind of person. So once the plan was made for her to stay with Cain and go through the paperwork, Albert suggested they go to his B&B instead.

Penny’s phone rang, and she quickly checked the ID on her phone before excusing herself from the room to deal with whatever it was.

Juniper sighed. Would they ever get started with this?

Before she could complain too vocally, however, Albert blew her mind. He did some cool magic stuff, and opened the door to reveal…not the hallway, but his bed and breakfast. It was SO COOL. Juniper stood up from the table, in awe of the sight of the furniture and decorations beginning to shift and move around.

Cain was first to follow him in. Juniper wore an excited grin upon her face as she glanced over at Argenti, and then practically skipped through the portal into the B&B. It was… so aesthetic.

She almost forgot to take her shoes off, taking a few steps in before pausing and backtracking. She slipped off her shoes, and then trotted over to the big couch. It was cute, but it was more important for her to see how comfortable it was—how it handled a proper flop.

The couch did, in fact, handle a flop quite well. By the time Argenti was in and the door shut, Juniper was poised nearly inverted on the couch, her legs over the backrest and her head off of the seat cushions, looking at the room upside-down. Without thinking out exactly what she was going to say, Juniper addressed the group, “Well, Team Sloth, Envy, Lust, and Gluttony is on the case! Team JACA. Team AJAC? Team... GLES."

She trailed off for a moment as she continued to think through different team names. Then she rolled off of the couch and addressed the group from a seated position on the floor.

"I dunno, I'll figure out something. We are going to take care of these Ou— Oh, Albert, what’s your wifi password?” Juniper interrupted herself with what she perceived as the vastly more important question for the moment.

Apparently plans were falling apart left, right, center, and all over the place. It was no longer a group trip to the shady kink club. In fact, it didn’t even seem like much of a group at all. Yet another person had left. Who knew if she was coming back. Argenti certainly didn’t. He sighed exasperatedly as he ferried pastries, coffee, and files into the magical breakfast. Why was he even bothering? No matter. He had decided that ending the Outcasts was worth working with these people. So, he was going to be flexible and accommodating, even if it annoyed him to no end.

Argenti wasn’t even sure that Amelia’s club was even an option for him at this point. Juniper and Cain had both expressed an interest in looking over the files some more. And the succubus was willing to bet that Albert needed to stay and get his guests settled. It wasn’t like he could go alone. Well, he could, but it wasn’t wise. So, he was going to be stuck in this magical bed a breakfast that he was positive didn’t even have an address (Much less a Wi-Fi signal) for the foreseeable future. They wouldn’t get any freaking closer to killing the Outcasts by reading the files. Okay, maybe, but he doubted it.
He found himself asking, “Is this what we are doing for the rest of the day? Reading and eating pastries? Not that that is a bad plan. Not trying to judge or anything. Just want to know.

He was absolutely judging. Argenti was good at it, and he always liked playing to his strengths. He just thought waiting around reading things that The Detective had already read was not a completely smart move. He respected the fact that a different set of eyes attached to a different brain, might see something that another person might of missed, but he honestly didn’t think that it was going to be him seeing what had been missed. Though, and he had to be honest, the thought of placing different colored push pins into a giant map did seem kind of appealing. What was it called on all the crime drama shows? A geographical profile? Yeah! Argenti could do that. Though, again honesty time, The Detective had probably already done that.

He also found himself asking another question, [color=C0C0C0]“Do we need a team name? Or even a hashtag? It’s not like we can live tweet our actions. That would be a sure-fire way to let the Outcasts know that something is going on. Right now, since we know practically nothing, discretion is honestly our best bet. Yes?”

Argenti may not know if rereading the files would actually help, but he did know that. When he spotted someone with The Gift, he couldn’t just kill them. First, he had to find out all he could about them, their routines, their habits, their lives. And he couldn’t be seen or spotted or figured out until he finally took them away to kill them. The same thing applied here, with the Outcasts. This group of four need to figure out who the Outcasts were and how to dispose while remain undercover until it was time to strike. They wouldn’t be doing that if Juniper live tweeted the whole thing.