Fletcher stuck out his hand. The demon's hand felt alien, not quite like the flesh of a human. Fletcher wrapped his nimble fingers around Angel's hand. Shaking vigorously, he spoke,
"What will one more murder on the streets of Sin City hurt, boss man? Hardly what I'd call exposure and oh so worth it for a little thrill. But hey, you're the fucking boss. Just let me know what I can do for ya," his eyes held a steely glint.
His outer glibness belied his inner calculations. Fletcher was hardly worried but he hated being in someone's debt. The idea of his own mortality or that harm could come to him never crossed his mind, so extreme was his personality disorder. He was the good guy and the good guy always won. He was the predator. The prey doesn't get to fight back. That's the way it is.
As their handshake ended, a sharp pain crawled up his arm. Fletcher never broke eye contact.
"Anything for the boss man,"
Isaiah looked on at the pissing match his partner was doomed to lose anxiously. He needed to distract Fletcher somehow. The mission was more important. The sudden outburst by a small girl in a violently pink dress gave him the opportunity.
"Fletcher, it appears another Asylum has found us. Why don't you allow her to speak with the Gem.."
Before he could finish the sentence, the twins disappeared in a wisp of black smoke, taking the corpse with them. Time had previously been moving slowly during the exchange between Angel and Fletcher but it now had resumed its normal pace. The twins' disappearance was only mildly surprising to Isaiah. He had done his share of reading on them and their flair for the theatrical was well-documented.
"Sorry, my dear, it appears as though they have other plans that have proven quite pressing. My name is Isaiah and this is my partner Fletcher. I doubt you have heard of us but we are the Raven Aegis. Forgive me but I'm unfamiliar with your name. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten me?"
Fletcher had spun around at this point and found himself looking at a petite Asian girl and a nervous looking teenager. His emotionless eyes sized them up while his face split into a warm grin.
"I'll be damned if you two aren't just the neatest pairing," his face turned steely, "How long you been in the field boy? Any reason why I shouldn't be able to count on you? Maybe I should just kill you right now and save me the guess work. No reason for me to take a knife in the back because some punk who's cherry hasn't been popped can't perform," Fletcher held on to the tension for a few more seconds before splitting another grin, "I'm just kidding! I'm sure we'll get along great!"
The breath Isaiah had been holding was slowly released and the thickness in the air lightened. Isaiah looked at the newcomers with anticipation.
Fletcher looked at them warmly but the murderous glare in his eye never faded.