[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ngXB6GX.png[/img][/center][color=gray][h3]Slateside Tower, Penny Stakes[/h3][i][b]Tuesday, November 1[sup]st[/sup][/b][/i][/color]
[sub][b]Mentions:[/b] Matthias, Del Guarde [color=gray]||[/color] [b]Interactions:[/b] Ezra ([@Estylwen])[/sub]
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Ah, being taken prisoner and having his life threatened in Penny Stakes. How nostalgic.

What Adel found funny was that they'd shoved his head into a bag presumably so that he wouldn't know where he was being taken or who he was dealing with, only to let him see everything once he'd arrived. Did they really think he wouldn't recognize the landscape from behind these windows? As an intimidation tactic it fell flat on him. Though to be fair, the reveal of his generous 'host' was far more effective.

[i]Fuck,[/i] was Adel's immediate thought, though he carefully kept his face as neutral as possible.

Out of all of the groups in the city, it just had to be them. Had to be [i]him.[/i] 

Since their one and only prior meeting -which had ended very poorly- Adel had gone well out of his way to steer clear of Blackheart and his Dark Aces. With the storm brewing within Nocturnia, Adel must have let his guard down. [i]Stupid,[/i] he berated himself. The Dark Aces were the kind of mafia that were the worst to deal with. They were illusive, destructive, and instead of money or influence their only goal seemed to be pure terrorization... at least, until now it seemed. 

Adel didn't react to the mobsters pulling the gag from his mouth besides to click his teeth shut once it was gone. And when invited to sit he did so, striding across the room towards the offered seat like he wasn't on edge. Unless he got really creative, he probably couldn't get out of here using his gyft alone. Ezra himself seemed a sadist who coveted said gyft, and the Canary knew he meant what he said.  

There were a few things Adel figured this could be about. If Blackheart was going to try 'recruit' him again the man was going to get a big fat [i]fuck no[/i] even if led to a fight. Thankfully he seemed to have other things in mind. Adel listened somewhat impatiently, wanting this whole thing to be over with as soon as possible. Once Blackheart finished saying his piece, Adel stared back at him in mild surprise.

[i]Matthias FitzClarence?[/i] It had barely been three days since Adel had met with the man, and the both of them had left each other empty handed. Adel could almost laugh - Ezra's timing could not have been worse. However, the request did pique his curiosity in spite of the way it was being forced upon him. First the police were planning to make a move on the Order, and now Ezra was interested in them as well. If the former had caught wind of Matthias' plans involving Del Guarde it wouldn't be a surprise that they'd take preemptive measures, if it turned out Del Guarde actually was some super police faction. But what the Dark Aces were after regarding the Order, Adel didn't have a clue. 

And he hated that. Information was his business, after all.

He pretended to consider Ezra's proposal to give himself more time to think. Silence dragged out long enough for the armed men at the back of the room to get antsy, and it wasn't until then that Adel finally spoke.

[color=silver]"You know, I do have office hours,"[/color] he said, despite both of them knowing Adel would turn the man away at any official attempts to meet. Hence the kidnapping. Unfortunately for Adel if he didn't want to end up losing a lot of blood anytime soon, he really only had one option.

The Silver Canary put on a show of masking his nerves with a long suffering sigh, like this whole ordeal was only an inconvenience to him. [color=silver]"Fine. Not like you're giving me much of a choice, right?"[/color]

For a long time now Adel's survival instincts were focused around making himself useful. The more useful meant the more valuable, and valuable meant indispensable. Ergo, his life would be safe. So that was what he would continue to do. If Ezra wanted information about the Order of Enlightment's leader, he'd get it - at least until Adel could dig up more about Ezra himself, something he could use to get the man out of his hair. 

But as usual, the present business would come first. Even under threat of violence, business always came first.

The underside of Ezra's single, glowing eye creased - a hint of a smirk.

[color=lightgray][b]"Then we have an accord. I'll expect a report in seven days, Mr. Dawson. I'm certain you will not disappoint me."[/b][/color]

And he gestured to the men, where one hauled Adel to his feet, the other placed the bag over his head again, and they escorted him from the room.

[hr][color=gray][h3]Back in Silverside[/h3][i][b]Tuesday, November 1[sup]st[/sup][/b][/i][/color]
[sub][b]Mentions:[/b] Order of Enlightenment, Omakase, Antonia [color=gray]||[/color] [b]Interactions:[/b] none[/sub]
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It wasn't long after that Adel found himself on the side of the road at the edge of the Penny Stakes district, his agency and mobility returned to him. The mafiosos had been gracious hosts, even returning his cellphone to him.

[color=silver]"And my piece?"[/color] Adel groused. Thankfully they returned that too before taking off.

The man sighed, running a hand through his hair. And again. And then more forcefully, roughly mussing up his locks. [i]I should get a body guard,[/i] he mused.

It was a long walk back to his unofficial, official office in Silverside. Not that he made it - he called a taxi. On paper it was a legitimate business, and truth be told in reality it was too, but Adel and his crew really relied on their information network to make money. They were small but effective, and once Adel walked in and made it past the lobby people were eager to tell him all kinds of things. Apparently this random Tuesday had been an exciting one for a lot of people, not just him. 

[color=silver]"Get into contact with Omakase,"[/color] he said, pointing to single out the first 'employee' he spotted. The short woman chirped an affirmative and scurried off to do so as Adel turned his sharp gaze to a man nearby. [color=silver]"Call the church, set up another meeting. In person preferably but doesn't matter, just for the love of God do not make us sound desperate."[/color]

"Right," the man replied, though after a moment's hesitation asked, "...what church?"

Small and effective most of the time, anyway. They did still have their share of new hands and even then sometimes Adel really felt like he was the only person with half a brain in his little organization. He closed his eyes, breathed in, and then out. To this day he preferred to do things himself, but at the moment he had other pressing matters. He opened his eyes and fixed the man with an unimpressed stare. [color=silver]"Never mind. Go find someone smarter than you and tell them what I told you instead."[/color]

While his people reached out to the groups in the districts adjacent to them, Adel himself swept into his private office. Minutes later he re-emerged in new clothes and combed hair, with a pair of glasses upon his nose. He rounded up a chauffeur and then was off to Jeweled Bank. He was going to try and meet with Commissioner Franchesca, appointments be damned. He needed to confirm a few things, and if he was going to have to go crawling back to the Order of Enlightenment so soon he might as well take a bargaining chip with him.