Alice Barrett & Lynette Dominguez
Lynette, though older than Alice, was a rookie, she’d been in training only yesterday. Not that Alice was exactly a veteran. She’d been a member of NEST for the last three years, but her previous job as a cop had seen her fast-tracked through most of the training process, spending extra time on mastering her ability rather than learning the basics of policing metahumans. Most of her skills were transferable, it simply took a refresher to update her instincts and training to that more adapted to dealing with metas rather than normal humans.
Not that the few years of experience made Alice that much of a veteran, she still had the instincts that Lynette had yet to learn about policing, because that was really all that NEST was a police force for metahumans. Sure there were other responsibilities, they had to assist with training, and with adapting people with amazing powers and inhuman responsibilities to their lives as normal people, or at least as much as they could.
Lynette seemed ok though, a little uptight, which was a lot coming from a strict Roman Catholic, but then Alice was fairly relaxed outside of her religious views. Lynette just seemed uncomfortable, out of her element. Alice mulled it over as she chewed her way through her third donut.
“You sure? I gotta burn off these calories somehow.”
"Yeah..." Lynette said, reassuring the younger NEST Agent. "I need to get out of this car anyway... I've been sitting in here for ages now."
Alice nodded in acquiesence, and somehow managed to avoid spraying crumbs everywhere as she spoke, though only with the ease born of three years of practice. At least the muffling effect dulled the damage done to her vocal cords those three and a half years ago. She’d had to relearn how to speak thanks to the injury to her throat, the cut had been so vicious, even now when she spoke her voice sounded perpetually hoarse, and she was unable to raise her voice properly.
She glanced out of the window again, shrugging, "honestly... it looks ok, for now anyway."
Lynette did her best impression of a shrug in response to that. "Good. We should keep it that way." She was quick to answer.
Another donut somehow disappeared into Alice's petite frame, "probably get hairy once the booze starts flowing, but we've got no one registered in this area."
Funny... Given all the NEST training, their biggest threat right now was a drunken Metahuman spraying fire all over the place. Lynette grinned. NEST was on top of it, but she couldn't shrug off the feeling that the real threats are moving somewhere else. Lynette merely nodded her head.
Metahumans weren't common in New Rivière, well, not compared to Blackfall or Verthaven, but there were enough that a NEST presence was needed on the streets for this festival of celebration and booze. Mostly booze, if what Alice had heard about the night to come was true. She was disappointed that she was on duty, but alcohol and superhuman abilities didn't mix well. There would be fights aplenty before the night was out, it was their job to make sure that those fights didn't involve any metahumans.
"Probably a good idea to start moving on, I got fuel enough for a while, want to head in the direction of the nearest Meta?"
"Sure." Lynette said. "Maybe something to keep us occupied."
Alice leaned forwards to tap on the screen of what looked like a large tablet. A pop up menu hovered on the surface of the device and she selected an option before it disappeared, revealing a detailed map of New Rivière City. Scattered across it were a number of points of interest, each one marked clearly and with a small pop-up containing pertinent information should they be selected. Alice did so, jabbing her finger out at random.
Lynette leaned in, and looked at the device... She was glad that Alice was using it, because the last time she used one of these thingamabobs; she broke the screen (Same with the other several times - up until she was politely asked not to handle electronics anymore). There were a few areas in particular that were of interest... and Alice just picked one at random. Nice. Despite that, Lynette was going to go along with it. Other NEST Agents should be .
"That look good?"
"Yeah." Lynette said, shrugging. "Let's get a move on... these Metas won't police themselves, you know?"
Veronica Davis, & Seraphine Campbell.
When a man walked out the club, Veronica merely raised an eyebrow.
She was leaning up against a street post across the street, with her foot up against it. With her arms crossed (Well, one arm was being used to browse the internet, to keep suspicion off herself). Instead of dressing nicely, she chose to dress up like a tourist (Which, in a way, was true). She had no interest in dancing with these nasty peasants. She was after something else. Veronica
was staking out the place. According to her sources, someone very influential is currently here. The kind of person Veronica will want to talk to.
Only problem was this club was rather... exclusive. And to them, Veronica was nothing but a stranger. It was better than them knowing that she was a
Changeling, but it means they won't exactly to receptive to her walking right on in.
Veronica herself would be hard to spot unless someone had unreal amounts of observation. In all the crowds... she just took the appearance of someone
waiting. Waiting for what? To an outsider, she could be waiting for a friend to arrive so she could enjoy the real party, or any number of other possibilities that weren't linked to the criminal underworld. Veronica, of course, took advantage of this to watch.
For a moment, Veronica thought about using her "charms" to get the man to let her in, but she didn't know who he was
exactly (He certainly wasn't the bouncer type). Plus, she didn't want to give herself away.
So, time to do the next best thing, and slip herself inside. Veronica fliped the phone closed, putting on the facade of someone who got tired of waiting by shaking her head and rolling her eyes, then walking off in a random direction. Though, that direction wasn't that random. Veronica slipped down an alleyway - the one behind the Night House. Those morons were dumb enough to leave their back door unguarded. They're just begging for trouble. Veronica walked up to the metal handle, and focused.
She channeled her electromagnetic field around herself. It was invisible to everyone but Veronica - who had a limited ability to see inside the electromagnetic spectrum herself - and looked like a field of electricity. Except far thinner, and far more pure. She merely put one finger on the handle, and it was surrounded with electricity. The locking mechanism was manipulated until it was unlocked. Veronica promptly dropped the field, and opened it slowly.
Like she suspected, it was unguarded. Veronica quickly closed the door behind her so no one would notice (Locking it back). This was probably the way they go to throw trash out. Hmph. They should learn to check all their exits.
The Changeling started walking through the halls, making as little noise as possible-
Two people were walking by, and Veronica quickly dipped into another room before they disappeared.
She'd have to be careful. If anyone spots her... they're going to throw her out. Veronica looked down.
Maybe she should have wore the fancy clothes so she'd blend into here. She didn't know what sort of people came into this place - but if they were like that scrawny fuck, maybe she wouldn't be too out of place.
Veronica stepped up... and saw an elevator at the end of the hallway. Using those eyes of hers she scanned each possible hallway, and saw that nobody was in the area. This was a brothel after all. Everyone's too busy having sex with each other. She pressed the button, then stepped off to the side. Veronica had no idea what was going to be on the other side of those doors when they opened. Fortunately, it was empty. Veronica stepped in, and pressed the bottom for the topmost floor. She leaned up against the wall, then sighed as this slow ass elevator transported her to the top.
When it stopped, Veronica got off - but when the doors opened, it revealed a burly guard.
"Hey, who the hell are-" He didn't even finish getting the words out before Veronica closed the distance, grabbing him with both hands, and transferring a nonlethal amount of electricity into his system. She had covered his mouth to mask the screaming... but she couldn't mask the crackling of the electricity. The man passed out, and hit the ground...
... Which meant Veronica has to hide a body.
"Ugh, this is going to be a pain in the ass...." She muttered to herself. Veronica knelt down, then grabbed the guard by the foot, and dragged him with all of her strength to the supply closet. Why couldn't the bastard be made of metal or something? Even when she dragged him into the closet, his head was still sticking out. Kicking the poor bastard in the head, and closing the door on it... Veronica had nothing in the way of her goal.
She had expected some resistence... which is why she preemptively deployed her electromagnetic field. The door unlocked itself, and Veronica sighed. She focused a bit and activated her shield. In case she's waiting to see a wall of mooks on the other side, she'll be prepared to hit them right back with it. Veronica opened the door... and was - surprisingly - not met with gunfire. Or even a firing squad.
Must be my lucky day.Seraphine heard the thump outside the door, she looked up sharply. There was no other noise, no sound from the guard who was stationed there. Her eyes narrowed and her hand went for the phone, hitting the first number on speed dial. She didn't move from the chair however, if she was to die then it was already too late. She wondered who was stupid enough to try and kill her. She held no political office, wielded no political power, but her death would see a political scandal the likes of which this city had never seen. She had systems put in place, insurance that made sure people were invested in her survival. It had taken a long time, but she was more untouchable than anyone else in the city, through guile and entrapment and blackmail she would survive, or that was she had planned.
The woman who walked through the door however, did not seem to be the hired killer she had feared, although looks could be deceiving. Seraphine couldn't help but evaluate her looks as she would any of the girls under her roof, she was after all, a Madame, for want of a better word. Somehow though, judging by the manner of the girl's entrace, and that's what she was, a girl, it seemed unlikely that she was here to ask for a job. She affected the air that this was nothing out of the ordinary, that this girl was simply a brief interruption.
"Can I help you?"
The woman fit the description of just
who she's looking for. Veronica stepped into the room, and closed the door behind her. Calm and professional above all else, Veronica like that. She dropped her shield (Because it was such a pain in the ass to keep up), but she remained on guard. She didn't know how fast Seraphine's hand was, she'd have to rely on her own reflexes.
"Sorry for the intrusion, but I didn't know of any other way to get ahold of you." Veronica said as she took a few steps forward. "I'm not here to kill you, nor do I want a fight... but I can certainly use some help finding some people if you're interested. I'm willing to pay."
Veronica put her hands on her hips as she stared down the woman.
Seraphine raised an eyebrow, "that is nice to know, you know, most people just ask for an appointment."
She didn't ask about the guard, he'd been caught out, and though this woman was clearly a meta Seraphine didn't have a great deal of sympathy for people who failed in their duties.
"Oh I'm always interested in people, miss..?"
She let the sentence hang, waiting for the young woman to fill in her name. It would be a useful piece of information, even a fake one would give away some fragments of information about it's bearer. If she gave Seraphine her true name then she was either very stupid, or powerful enough and clever enough that it really didn't matter.
"Davis," Veronica answered. She wasn't giving her real name... now that she's a Changeling, she can't afford to let people know who she
really is. Especially if she gets exposed. "Veronica Davis." She took steps forward.
Seraphine didn't seem like she was going out of her way to antagonize Veronica.... or she was just buying time for her goons to show up. She was tempted to lock the door behind her, but that'd betray the whole "not here to kill you" message she told her earlier. She should be friendly. Friendly, friendly, friendly.
"I heard this is
your city. Well, there are two persons of interest I've heard entered, and on behalf of my employer...." Veronica said as she walked over to the desk and leaned on it. "... I'd like to have a word with them, and you sound like the person who'd point me in the right direction."
"I wouldn't say it was my city, I merely play the game."
It was true, mostly, Seraphine didn't exactly own New Rivière City, though it was true that those in power would hesitate before carrying out any action that might inconvenience her. There were some who were making their own plays though, and perhaps this newcomer could prove to be useful in her own way.
She let the words hang in the air. Veronica was closely observing Seraphine's body language. Then she quickly raised a finger up into the air.
"First... I heard that the criminal known as Amethyst is in New Rivière City... you may have heard of her as being the one who attacked an Academy a little while back." Veronica first mentioned her. "... My boss is interested in her."
Seraphine didn't give anything away, she was good at concealing her reactions to surprising, or unsurprising information. Knowledge was power, and something as small as surprise could give away more power than you could possibly imagine.
Then, she had to explain her other target. "The other man is someone known as the Black Hound... you might not have heard of him, because he's the real secretive type. Here's a picture I have,"
She reached into her shirt, and presented a picture of her target. It was the picture of a strange man in black armor with his back to the picture taker. He was tall, and wore an outfit - a leather longcoat that looked like a cape, gloves, large heavy boots, and a smooth, fierce looking, helmet that had two red lights that were apparently his eyes, all black - that concealed his entire appearance.
"I'm not entirely sure who he is... but my boss has a feeling he's up to something." Veronica narrowed her eyes. "Which is why he sent me."
"A feeling?"
The elegant woman seated behind the desk held out a hand expectantly, clearly for the photograph. This...Veronica had been smart enough to work out that she was the one you came to when you needed somebody found, there was no point in concealing that now.
"I hope you are aware that information, particularly information such as this, is not cheap."
Veronica stood there for a moment, staring at Seraphine.
"... I am aware, and I have plenty to compensate for your help." Veronica was quick to answer. "But, I'll only pay half up front, and if your information is correct;
then I'll pay the other half."
As Veronica examined Seraphine, so Seraphine examined Veronica. Except Seraphine was better at it, she had ten years of experience in some of the most cut-throat politics in the world, and she had the reading of people down to a fine art. What remained now was to test the waters of this business relationship. She didn't like being caught off-guard, and this woman would have to learn who she was messing with.
"Twenty-five for Amethyst, you aren't the only one who is interested in her, and you understand that inquiries like this will put a target on my chest."
She inspected the image again. "Fifteen for this one."
Hmph, I don't care who gets the target put on them - long as it isn't me. Veronica thought to herself as she had to resist the urge to sneer at her. It was a hefty price, per-se. It almost made Veronica want to torture the answers out this broad instead - but who knows what contacts she has. It'll make her time here in the city
very difficult... though, Veronica knew that the long term reward would be much, much, better than the short term set back. Especially when it was Luis on the line.
She made a note on the expensive notepaper upon the desk. "Paid in used twenties, I'll make arrangements for the collection. How can I contact you?"
The last thing that Veronica wanted to do was make it easy for Seraphine to track her. She was with the Changeling Unit... and now that they're exposed to the world (Along with their Hands of Science buddies), that means there's a big target on
her head. Hell, anyone who's pissed their baby got stolen would just
love to take it out on her. That wouldn't be constructive if Veronica goes out of her way to hide herself, though. Seraphine will likely figure
something out about Veronica. She rather not it be the fact she's with the Changeling Unit.
Veronica reached into her pockets, then pulled out a yellow sticky paper with a number written on it (She came prepared). "This is my number." Veronica said. It was actually the number to a prepaid phone. "I'll arrange for my boss to get you the money... call me when you're ready."
The number was added alongside the note, though Seraphine was no fool, if this girl was smart enough to come with the number already, then it had to be for a burn phone, to be used a handful of times then thrown away. Virtually untraceable.
She added.
"... And sorry about the guard." Veronica pointed outside. "I
hope he doesn't have a weak heart."
"He'll wish he did. He really shouldn't allow just anyone to wander in off the street."
Seraphine tapped a button on the phone on her desk, and a minute later a young woman, about Veronica's age, walked into the room. She was dressed smartly, in a pencil skirt and a well-fitted blouse, she was extremely pretty, and the outfit left precisely everything to the imagination, which was perhaps more inflammatory than leaving nothing.
Seraphine smiled brusquely at her, then looked back to her new client.
"I'll be in touch in a few days, now, Jasmine will show you out."
"Glad to hear that," Veronica said, crossing her arms. "I'll be leaving now."
She nodded her head at the woman.
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