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Cleaning his equipment while he waited for a job was something of a routine at this point and something he was grateful the other older Variants in the Underground had inculcated in him when he was just starting. It didn't completely erase the boredom that crept up every time he was in this position but it at least helped him calm his mind.

The sudden ringing of one of his phones was not loud but the small space of his ´secret base´ still made it sound like it was something more urgent, letting his tools on the table he answered the same sentence he had been using the last 3 years.

[color=a0410d]"This is Dianus speaking"[/color]

Simple and without any fanfare, the best to let the other person try to take the lead in the conversation which in his experience helped people in explaining their desired contracts better and left a lot more room for negotiation down the line. 

His rates were known to be fair and he could just refuse if he wanted.

"I got a job for you"

A crisp voice answered, male and somewhat rushed like the speaker was trying to get this call finished as soon as possible.

[color=a0410d]"I am listening"[/color]

"An... employee of a collaborator has recently come across a new skill in his field that makes him valuable to us, sadly, being as young as he is he got into his head that he had to take a vacation as quickly as he could and I and my collaborator would like to speak with him again as fast as possible, [b]face to face[/b]"

Ah so they are Syndicate then, only they would be this brazen as to ask for a runaway in such a way

Still, better make sure they knew he was not willing to take the job in a way that didn't make him look weak or dismissive of them, Syndicate is always nasty business and he would rather not interact with them more than necessary.

[color=a0410d]"I am afraid I can't take this contract, I transport uniquely merchandise and contraband, not people."[/color]

Don't say sorry, that will make it sound like you owe them something and that is the last thing he wanted. But he would throw them a bone anyway to make things smoother on his end.

[color=a0410d]"I have a gentleman agreement with a fellow businessman called Murder Express and he is the one you seek if you desire to transport people."[/color]

He will refuse of course.

He had interacted enough with the man(?) to get a measure of him and the occasional times they had interacted it was obvious he feels nothing but contempt for those on the more illegal side of Variant activity.

"I see"

The line goes dead after those words and he could feel the stiffness on his shoulder relax, he had stopped dealing with Syndicate a while ago so for them to contact him was unexpected, they were either desperate or were hoping to cast a wide web to catch their runaway Variant.

Still a new variant and a young one at that... this was actually pretty fucked up wasn't it?

Shit, he couldn't just let it pass and do nothing can could he? But what could he do? Coming into conflict with them would only cause them to sic one of their attack dogs on him and that would suck.

He needed to divert their attention away from him somehow, but for that to happen he would need something that pulled more of their attention, something they couldn't ignore.

Or [i]someone[/i]

At once a plan started to form in his head, a plan that hinged on the cooperation of someone he was almost sure would be willing to help if he explained the situation considering their reputation.

[color=a0410d]"There was a fire going on wasn't there? If there is one place [i]he[/i] would be it would be there"[/color]

Opening a portal he started making his way across the city.

It was finally time to meet the Vanguard.