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Isabella was proving to be full of surprises. Apparently she wasn't just a mental case, but actually had a functioning brain in there. Not only that, but she was cautious with her job, overly cautious. "While you raise a valid point, I never said the person was planning to get out alive. There are terrorist attacks, which more often than not end with the death of the terrorist themselves. They may have obtained key cards from personnel and used them to sneak inside. With so many people working here, the guards can't be expected to know everyone. It would take many weeks of planning, but it could be pulled off with minor difficulties. To defeat the enemy, the easiest way is to think as they do" Lucas said.

As for Isabella going along with him, well that was the next point he was going to address. "I was going to suggest you come along even if you hadn't asked. Abducting a telepath or telekinetic is no small task. Many people are aware of the anti-power movements going on, and keep to themselves. To find one, you must flush them out or wait until they make a mistake. That is why we will each have a role to play. Mister Ulysses, you will be monitoring communication. If something is put on any form of media that could prove useful, I want to know about it at a moment's notice. Mister Dubois, you'll be watching surveillance cameras. If have a rough idea of where we should be searching, as I'll explain in just a minute. When myself and miss Terros are searching, I'll need you to give us a heads up if something happens we need to be aware of" the investigator said. The way he spoke was still relatively neutral, though he was talking a little quicker than usual as he explained things. He wasn't inexperienced with plans like that one, and it wasn't the first time he had had to capture someone that may know something that would help them.

He stepped over to a drawer and pulled it open, revealing plenty of sheets of paper inside. How he'd known they were there was anybody's guess, all they could see was that he did know. He grabbed one of the sheets and closed the drawer, before turning around and spreading the paper across a desk, pushing things to the side to make room. Taking a pen from his coat, he then began drawing a very, very rough drawing of part of Reno. Once he'd finished, he began to explain. "I'm not going to lie to you. The government has, as you probably already knew, been monitoring those with powers closely. In particular, I've been watching those who exhibit them in public. The area, as you can see by my horribly drawn map, is Reno, Nevada. There are multiple reasons I have chosen this place. For one thing, there have been public disturbances by some individuals in that area showing powers, with only half of them being captured. That is reasonably common among places, though the amount there is slightly higher than average. We could choose many locations and probably find someone, but the more instances there are the more likely it is we get them quickly. The second reason is slightly more of a hunch, but my hunches prove to be reliable" Lucas explained.

"People have gone missing for quite some time from many places, including Reno. However, what causes Reno to stand out is that the cases there are solved quickly. I've been working in this field for many years, and even I usually take around a week to find a person missing. In Reno particularly though, cases are quite often advertised and reported solved in a matter of days. It is possible that someone is simply better than I am, but if a telepath were to become involved...well, I would imagine they would have it solved much quicker than any regular person" the investigator said. He then circled a few areas on his badly-drawn map. Before putting the pen away. "These are the areas it's most common. I would suggest starting in these ones. As I said, it's just a hunch, but I believe it's one worth following up. I'm 64% sure we'll find someone there" the man finished, before stepping away from the map.

He pulled out a phone and dialed Kye's number. It rang for a few times, before he heard Kye pick up. "Kye, this is Lucas. If you were looking for something to do, I just found something. After talking with the scientists here, we have deducted the best way to move forward would be to study on a live specimen. So, me and one of them are going to track a telepath or telekinetic down and bring them in while the others keep an eye on things for us. Would you like to assist?" he asked.

"Baby-sitting, but not for long. Bringing a new friend? Jelly" was the response he heard.

Lucas sighed. "She's a telepath herself. I believe it will be far more effective to find someone with powers if we have someone that can read minds. Once you've finished baby-sitting, meet me at the private airport in Reno in about an hour and a half. If you're there then, I will explain things more, and if not then I will have to assume you're not coming. Be there" Lucas instructed before hanging up. Usually he wouldn't outright tell Kye to do something, but this time was different; this time, he was going to catch someone with powers. He then looked back at the scientists in the room. "I will call the office and arrange a private jet to fly me and miss Terros to a private airport in Reno. We should arrive in about an hour from now, assuming one is ready shortly. Then we will begin our search and, assuming we get results, can achieve our goal" he explained, ending his conversation and waiting to hear their reactions.​

 

Footsteps echoed in the hallways of the Academy as Jean made his way to the first floor. The building's walls were beige in color and marble floor was that of a burgundy color; and no shocker that it was clean enough to be able to show reflections. Five whole years had Jean been attending this school after his high school graduation. He had been living in this academy for that long, learning and always discovering new ways to apply himself. All that was thanks to the Head Master, for the man knew how to teach and encourage his students. To think, him, Jean Annuziato was actually deeply involved with the Academy. A huge sigh escaped him as feet took the final steps down the stairs, touching the first floor in order to lead him on towards the Academy's main entrance. Ahead of him he could see the sunlight pouring in through the glass doors that divided the inside to the outside world. Pressing hands against the door, he pushed in order to swing the doors open. Arms could feel just how heavy the doors were, and to be frank, they were heavier than they looked. The reason behind that was that it was akin to bullet proof glass, however there was more to it. Mr. Ingrao was a smart man, and he always took precautions when it came to the safety of his students. The glass doors were reinforced with zirconium, plastic fibers, and some metallic alloy that was thin layered onto it. When Jean first found out, he was merely baffled by the ingenuity. The doors were made like that in order to nullify bullets and the use of psionic energy to break it; because the see through doors totally did not look safe. It came to further surprise him that the windows in the school were made of the same material.

Jean walked down the small flight of stairs leading to the building and commenced to walk towards the barred gates with hands in Black blazer Jacket pockets. Once he was past the gates, he stood on the very side walk with head turning to both directions to see whether the coast was clear. It was. Taking a deep breath, he clasped hands together and gave them a good rub as he readied himself. He shook his legs as to get them relaxed, go so far as to utter a few words of encouragment i order to get himself excited. After a nice stretch, he got into an Olympic runners starter position. However, something occurred to him. Eyes blinked as he stood there, realizing something.

"Oh shoot... I have to talk to a mother..." he muttered in realization. He knew how dull he could be around women. The conversations were always so stale, and not generating any spark or excitement; primarily because he would get timid and start to stutter. He was too formal, and business oriented with women he didn't know or understand. Since it was Nicole Justice whom he would have to speak to, he definitely would blend well with the conversation. Yet, he found himself with the horror of potentially having to comfort this female who had lost a son, and that was a no no for him. "Tch... Twenty three years old, and I still have this problem..." he said in disappointment.

Shoulders hunched as he lost the groove he was building. Raising himself back up, he placed hands into jacket pockets with a pout as he turned back to walk back into the academy. It was a minor set back, and it was something that he was about to fix. He toured through the academy once more, steps echoing in the hallways as he made his way to testing grounds where the students were having their exams. Surely one of these squirts would prove useful to his cause. He had no one in particular in mind, just the idea that he needed assistance. A Watson to his Sherlock Holmes. Eyes stared dead ahead into the hall as a form came into view. Jean walked past the infirmary as he locked onto the growing form. Eyelids suddenly pulled themselves to widen the eyes that were staring at the student.

It was Colton Sharleton.

Jean and pretty much EVERYONE in the school knew who this boy was. A charming fellow with a bit of a reputation that truly preceded him. Heck, even the Head Master was aware of this. Would this child really suffice as the needed assistance? The fact that they would be talking to a grieving mother did cross his mind along with the little girl that would most likely be in the house. Eyes began to wane as he was already losing interesting in the boy as his assistant. He needed someone that could sympathize with the family, someone who could have his back when he needed it, and not stir trouble. He wasn't thinking of Colton as a bad person or anything, but his reputation DID precede him. It all came down to trust really. Shaking his head slightly, Jean decided against it. Perhaps someone else. He was about to continue walking when he saw a purple haired girl around their age walking just behind him as if to catch up. Eyes widened again with renewed hope. This person was familiar to him, and most definitely would make for easier assistance. Heck, despite his shyness towards girls, he'd rather take her over Colton and his reputation.

"Chrissy? Christina? Christine? Chris something.." he murmured under his breath while he tried to recall the girls name. Mind raced to remember the girls name, so much so that he was beginning to get a little nervous. Right hand curled into a tight fist within the jacket's pocket. Oh how he loathed this benign phobia. Clearing his throat, Jean stopped right in Colton's and the girls path. He gave the kids a simple smile and waved at them. "Hey there!" he initiated as he looked at the two.

When they came within proper talking distance, he would commence with the usual small talk. Greeting them, asking how they were doing, and the usual polite things to say.

"So listen... I was on my way to do a job involving a missing persons case. I'm assuming you two are done with your exams?" he queried the obvious. "If so, I'd like it if you guys would tag along." he said, regretting what he was saying. "Uugh... I just know they'd look at me like a creep if I only invited the Chris chick." he thought to himself as he looked at the two. "I could really use the help. Besides, it beats hanging around the school, am I right?"

 

As Christie nodded and began walking with Colton, he asked how long it would take Danni to rat him out to Uncle Errol. Looking at him with a slightly confused look on her face, she opened her mouth to speak. "Dunno. I don't know if she'll even tell him. It's a serious thing but, like, hasn't he got enough on his plate without having to worry more about us? If she does tell him, I'm gonna guess it's about 10, maybe 15 minutes? If you want him to know I could always text him myself" the girl responded, grabbing out her phone as if she was actually going to call him.

A couple of minutes later and they ran into Jean. She hadn't spoken to Jean much really, but he'd never given her a reason to not want to talk to her. Going along with him could be interesting, could be a lot of fun too. He did have a point; it really did beat hanging around at school. Although, they hadn't visited the infirmary and even if they had, was Colton the kind of guy you wanted to be stuck around? She decided to give him another chance (if only she had a dollar for everytime someone thought that). "Danni told me to take Colton to the infirmary...but once we've done that I can go, sure" she responded.


Well, Cynthia had tried to kill him. That wasn't too surprising, in fact he had kind of been expecting it. It probably should've phased him, but it didn't. In fact, it excited him. She was going to be a lot of fun to work with, he was liking this mission already. "Hey next time you might want to act a bit faster, at least make it look like you're actually trying to kill me when you attack. I mean come on, with a swing like that I'm pretty sure an elderly snail on crutches could've gotten out of the way, and you expect me to fall behind? Man you're delusional" Tobias said with a laugh. They needed somewhere to go and get information, but where? Ah, of course. The idea came to him in just a minute. They were in vegas, a place well-known for its casinos. Chances are this silent killer guy had been to at least one of them. "Gambling time" the boy said as he rounded a corner and walked to the doors of a casino.

He was stopped by a security guard with a menacing look in his eye. Again, probably should've phased him but it didn't. Very casually, as though he'd done it a thousand times before, Tobias reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He flipped it open and inside was a fake ID. "Turned 21 just today. Suck it fat boy" Tobias lied, pushing past the guard and entering the casino.​

 

Jean stared at the two as words were exchanged. A huge relief fell over him when the two had decided to tag along, and it came as a huge surprise when Colton agreed to do whatever Jean wished him to do. From the sound of it, Colton REALLY did not want to go to the infirmary, but it seemed Christina or what's her name was insisting he go. Placing hands in jacket pocket, the brown haired academic smirked. Now the question was, would the girl go along with Colton's idea regardless if it was a vote of 2 against 1? He decided to take the chance. "Alright. Sounds like a fine deal to me. Besides, you look quite alright to me. No need to go to the Infirmary. Yeah, definitely. You're tough. " he commented as he made a quick inspection of the two. They genuinely looked fine; physically anyway, and that's all that mattered really. Besides, he didn't want to waste enough time as he had already done by returning back to the academy for this specific purpose. Taking a few steps backward, the young man took a hand out of pockets and waved for them to follow, turning around to lead the ducklings to the nearest bus stop. As they walked down the hall, brown eyes settled on the infirmary that was steadily approaching their proximity which immediately rang those responsible adult bells in his mind. Guilt waved over him as he started to doubt it. When he thought about it, last thing he needed was for either of them to collapse or endure something during the case. Worst case scenario it could hold them back. Then there was the girl. Why else would she have insisted at first that Colton go to the infirmary. Could it be Colton was actually hiding something?

"Tch.." he uttered with a sigh.

Jean came to halt near the infirmary's door. Head hung low as he dealt with the weight of the responsibility. It would definitely look bad on Jean if he were to bring a student outside of the academy, and then for them to get injured. Hands removed themselves from jacket pockets and they raised themselves in surrender. "I hate to do this, Colton....but I think Christina over here is right. You should probably just get the check up done and over with. That way no doubts will be holding us back when we go outside... I need you two at the top of your game because... who knows what we'll uncover in this case." he explained, turning around to face the two. Jean completely got Christie's name wrong.

"Just get the check up so we can get out of here already. I'm already late as it is." he said with small benign disappointment.

 

Ah testing day, a wonderful day, a day to just test your limits, something that almost all the students should have gone through. Noah was the very man to go through with it. He had to upstage everyone after all. Not even the level 4's could truly understand his swagger. However, sleeping in probably wasn't the best idea today. It didn't matter, though. Noah casually walked over to the testing area, going in with his hands behind his head. He was listening to Remember the Name by Fort Minor. This song defined him!

"Settle down everyone, I've arrived." He spoke out loudly. "Danni! What in the world have you done with your hair? That is not a very good way to pick up guys. Just treat your hair and body like mine and I'm sure you'll get them all. You've got all the other features just right. Put some effort into it!" He stood there with a small smile, his face not appearing to be joking in the slightest.

He walked in at a good time, seeing Colton on the ground. "Colton? Face down on the ground with a woman over your shoulder? Is it Tuesday already?" He gave a laugh and watched Christie take him away. "See what I mean, Danni. THAT is how you are supposed to dress, just like purple hair over there whose name I totally did not forget. Oh right now its that other guys turn. Good luck other guy! I'm sure your still married parents would be- Oh right... Well how about you're father will be prou- Hmm, I believe in you."

 

Danni's shoulders were even more rigid when Noah walked in. That loud mouth, son of a troll under the bridge... Vivid green eyes stared at him with a burning anger that was just kindling every time he opened his mouth to speak. Soon, a few pencils floated up from a pencil holder container close by as if gravity didn't have much of a hold on them anymore. Ten to thirteen pencils were then turned towards Noah, their sharp, pointed edges menacing directing at the arrogant boy. Danni's eyebrows were furrowed as she gradually raised her hands, the wooden utensils beginning to quiver as if threatening to projectile at the target they were pointed to. Suddenly, she clenched her hand and-

BOOM!

The wooden pencils exploded, wood, erasers, bits of metal, and lead flying all around the room. Danni hardly blinked when the debris pelted her, keeping a steady eye on Noah. Pressing her lips together, she swiveled away from him, pulling up her pen and clipboard in her hands. "Lief, show Noah how it's done," was all she said.

She was too pissed to make any combats or worry too much about her hair. She didn't care about that, she didn't care about him. Noah was just an annoying fly hitting his head against the window over and over again. If she had molecular manipulation like Jean did, she probably would have made a pencil look like Noah's face before exploding it. That would have been more satisfying to her, but for now, she felt content with what she did. She even brushed off the wooden pieces off her shoulder like what she did was nothing. For once, she mastered passive aggressive. She was happy with that.

Kytheria watched the pair from the shadows, resisting the urge to pull out her blade and give it a good lick. She was out in public, she needed to keep a good image. But these kids, whew. They were really making her head spin. "Whatcha gonna find there, kiddies? Besides empty bottles and false pockets." She smirked when she saw Cynthia brandish a weapon at a guard, and Tobias paid no mind to that. "Ooooo, such a feisty cracker snapper." She received the call from Lucas earlier, but she pulled out her phone anyways, calling back to home. "The Eye has been summoned by Man in Suit. So far, they wandered into a Game of Chance, and the girl pressed a shiny to someone's beatings. No worries, no red ink yet... Who will cast now in my role, hm?" Kytheria hated to be pulled away from this fun, but she knew she had some other obligations to live up to. She was told she was one of the best, and she took that seriously... Somewhat.

 

"It's Christie, but thanks for seeing reason. I was asked to take him to the infirmary, so Danni has to have a reason for that. Probably just a routine checkup, nothing to worry about, but he should get looked at anyway" Christie said, correcting Jean. She looked at the door of the infirmary in front of them. Was it just a routine checkup? Christie hadn't seen what was going on in the simulation, but she'd seen the pain on Colton's face pretty quickly and it didn't look good. Was there a chance something was wrong? Nah, she was just worrying too much. "In you go" the girl encouraged, pushing open the door for Colton to go through. After a moment of no respond from the boy, the smile faded from Christie's face and was replaced by a look of complete seriousness. "In. You. Go" she said, stepping behind Colton and putting her body weight against the rebellious teen and doing her best to push him inside of the room.


As soon as Cynthia had mentioned the boyfriend thing, Tobias felt the urge to say something. He couldn't pass up the opportunity to poke fun at her, especially when he knew it bothered her. However, just as he opened his mouth to say something, words refused to leave his mouth for he could see what Cynthia was doing to the guard. The way she threatened the guard and his family, made sure to get her way and looking damn intimidating in the process, there was only one word that came to mind as Tobias watched. "Hot" he said, gawking like an idiot. He closed his mouth immediately and regained his composure.

Walking straight past Cynthia, he made his way over to one of the tables that had people playing blackjack at and took a seat. He ignored the irritated looks of the people there, they probably didn't want some kid playing with them. Tobias wasn't just some kid though. Reaching into his pocket, he grabbed a wad of money and placed it on the table before them. "Would you kind people fancy a game? You will have to forgive me though, I've never gambled before. Can you show me the rules too?" he asked, lying through his teeth as he spoke. Bait them in then reap the rewards, then he could just outright buy the information he needed. Tobias had played this game many times. And damn was he good at it.​

 

Tobias was a little annoyed at Cynthia's comment of him being a child. Everyone else treated him like that. They didn't see him as a competent assassin, and they never would no matter how many successful jobs he made, they just saw him as a child. A kid, like he needed babysitting all the time. Most people in Raven Sun did it, everyone he'd known before Raven Sun had, and even now at this table people had looked down on him because of him simply because of his age. *******s, all of them. He'd show them all, and then he'd kill them all. Well, maybe not kill Cynthia, just cut out her tongue so she could never comment on his age again. But first, he had to prove he was competent here. He was dealt his first hand, and it wasn't a bad one. He asked for another card, and another, and finally a third before he went over. He'd meant to go over though. Pulling out more money, he saw the greed in the other players' eyes. They thought they were in on something good, they didn't realize that it was them who was getting played.

About seven hands later, people there were pissed. Tobias was very good at the game, and it showed just how good he was at that point. Among the table of five people, only one of them had any money left at all; and that one was Tobias. A smirk appeared on the boy's face. "Out of money? I guess you'll have to bail then" he said. He stopped as he saw the menacing glares he was getting. "Ooooor I can figure something out with my banker" he stated, before leaning over to Cynthia. "Cynthia, I need you to listen very carefully. I need you to trust me now, if you do it could easily result in the silent killer. I picked this casino because it has some very nasty people here, I've been here plenty before, and one of them knows something. Now, I'm about to cause trouble, and I don't want you to kill any of them until they've cornered me in the alleyway around here. It's all part of the plan, but I'm sure you knew this plan already if you're as good as you think. I mean, surely you're not going to be outsmarted by some child?" Tobias whispered, a sadistic grin appearing on his face.

"Well fellas, unfortunately I can't do anything to help you. I'll just be taking my funds and leaving. I bid you adieu" the assassin said, before turning and standing up with a mock salute. As he did so, however, several cards fell out of his jacket and landed on the ground. Slowly but surely, the smirk widened on Tobias' face.

"He's a cheat!"
"He stole our money!"
"Get him!"

The shouting was like music to his ears. He gave a sly wink to Cynthia. "See ya in a couple of minutes babe, try not to fall too far behind now" Tobias said casually. He took off, jumping over tables and getting out of the way of the other people playing poker. He could have gone much faster, but he had to make sure the other players could keep up. As he got to the door, he kicked it open and then dashed through it. He kept running, making sure to glance behind him every so often. He did his best to look panicked before turning into a nearby alleyway that he knew had a dead end. He raced over to the wall and made it look as though he was attempting and failing to get to the top of it. Slowly, he turned around with his hands up. This was where his plan got super fun.

"Now now, I'm sure we can come to some agreement? We're all honourable men here aren't we? I'll tell you what. I give an eighth of my winnings to whoever can give me the information I want. I'm looking for someone called the silent killer, and you lot seem like the kind of guys who would know him, or at least know of him. If not, then at least you have the money to get contacts who do know of him. Or at least, you had it" the boy said with a snicker. Amidst the angry group of people, he couldn't see Cynthia, but he hoped she was there. He pressed a button on his gloves with his thumbs, and immediately claws stuck out of his gloves. "Now, I'm going to kill whoever won't talk. Who wants to speak first?" he asked, cocky tone to his voice as the sadistic grin spread across his entire face. ​

 

Witnessing Christie fall over as Colton's side step caused her to lose her balance, the adolescent took his step into the doctors office, followed by the Jean.

"So Danni put you up to this, Christine? Jeez I guess it's a good thing we're doing this. I'd hate for anyone to rat us out had we not done so..." he said, giving Christie a smart ass remark; or sarcastic. You choose. Christie would know Jean was referring to her as the rat. That, and he really didn't want to get on Danni's bad side. It was truly the epitomy of a woman's fury. Shaking the thought of his head, the check up was surprisingly smooth, and went by pretty fast which was to the young mans relief. Receiving the Nurses thumbs up, Jean gave a nonchalant nod while waiting by the door frame. At least now he would have no doubts and whatnot; which was good because now they could all focus on the investigation. After given the ok, Colton was rather quick to get out of the nurses office, accidentally pushing past Jean. Even it was meant on purpose; although Jean wouldn't understand why it would be done on purpose, it was that small clash of shoulders that created small tiny vibrations within their bodies; which was capable of giving Jean his own read on Colton's physical being. Think of it as a form of scan. It was in that small fraction of a second where the two touched that the young scholar could get a sonar like read through the molecules in the boys body. Now granted, Jean could do this even if they were distance away, because vibrations is merely molecules oscillating; vibrating at specific frequencies. By using the floor a person was standing, Jean could easily get a read on someone's physical status or whereabouts; however it wouldn't be as accurate as if he was in direct contact with someone like now. At any rate, it seemed like Colton really did check out as fine, although there was one thing that didn't sit right with Jean. It felt like the calcium structures were abnormally thin for someone his Colton's age.

"That boy should seriously drink more milk... Or some Calcium tablets..." the thought spirited through.

It was better to be safe than sorry with a second opinion since he was not a certified doctor; even though a physician is basically someone with extensive knowledge of the human anatomy as well as understanding of medicine (A.K.A. Toxicology/chemistry)

Jean pushed off the door frame and gave the nurse a wave good bye before walking away, only stopping for a moment to look at Christie. "You coming Christina?" he asked for a brief moment before heading out towards the main entrance.

Taking the lead, the group moved past the main entrance, and out the front gates. "I hope you guys have bus money." he commented as feet guided the man down the sidewalk. On the other side of the street was a small forest. Up ahead was a bench with a large pole that read, "Bus Stop." It seemed they had gotten out of the building just in time as the roar of a large vehicle echoed from down the street. Jean stopped by the bench, and stood there in order to wait. Eyes widened briefly as he realized that this bus might be a bus, and it might not. On top of that, even if it was a bus there was no telling if it was scheduled to stop HERE. It took only a few seconds for the bus to turn a corner and make its way to their stop. The wheels squeaked the vehicle to a halt right before them, allow Jean to catch his breath. It seemed probability was on their side today. With a small sigh, he took his first step into the bus when the doors were opened. Hands reached into pockets for the bus fare, and placed it inside the box like contraption that held everyone's fare. Assuming everyone was following right behind him, Jean took a seat all the way to the back where there was only one other person sitting there. It was an old lady. He gave her a quick courteous smile before minding his own business. The Bus roared as it went into motion after the last person entered the vehicle.

A moan escaped Jean as body went on to relax. Every bone, tendon, and muscle in him was feeling stiff. Perhaps it was a side affect of having stayed up all of last night, and then merging with his clones. It made some sense; although he thought he might have been used to it by now. Eyes veered to gaze down at palms. Clones didn't just spawn without some kind of resource. It took some small portion from Jean's actual body to make these guys. The beings were a collective hive mind, and even though Jean was resting he was still aware of each and every one of them and what they were doing. So it felt a kin to dreaming, but without the actual REM sleep.

Peripherals caught sight of a diner the bus just passed, reminding Jean of breakfast.

"Shoot... I forgot about breakfast..." he thought to himself. If there was anything more important to him, it was food. The nutrients one could attain from a simple meal was just amazing, and the calories were needed to aid the body in energy; as it would metabolize those calories into the very energy a body needs to function. Mind was thinking about many things EXCEPT the missing persons case to which he soon realized after some time had passed. He had no idea where they were heading on the bus. Quickly taking a piece of paper out of his pocket, he read the address. With a quick look out the window, it was to his relief that they had not passed their destination. The last thing he wanted was to waste more time. From there on out, he remained ever vigilant as to where they were going, not really paying much attention to his "Assistants" on board.

 

​

Benjamin growled under his breath, gripping the handle of his cane tightly. He loathed this kind of news. Things were going down the pipes already. "Don't apologize for things you can't control," Benjamin flatly said, moving away to look at the mission board. "Where did I go wrong..." He massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the headache that was coming on. If he had a strong say-so, he probably would have banned Cynthia and Tobias long ago from the Raven Sun. But it was good to keep his enemies close. After all, banned members always had a way of coming back to haunt him. The world needed to keep in balance, and sometimes one didn't get what he wanted in life. Benjamin was one of those people. When Jason announced the mission, Benjamin cringed. Jason should have kept it under tighter wraps. Oh well, one more wave to ride out. This was just a bad day for Raven Sun.

 

India listened intently to the man as he spoke. He didn't seem too enthusiastic about it, but he did end up agreeing to go along with their goal. That implied he was willing to go against the law to achieve his goals. In addition, it was evidence supportive toward his disdain for psychics, though didn't outright prove it. He listened to him explain why they shouldn't have given their names and titles. First off, it was clear he already knew who they were, so lying to him would be a moot point. Second, unless he was in league with one of the greatest information brokers in the world, he wouldn't be able to find out anything about him, no matter how hard he searched. He'd made sure of that. He didn't need to argue the point, as Isabella had already done so rather well. He gave a slight smirk, and a mental applaud.

Lucas had instructed him to stay behind and monitor communications. He saw no reason in arguing. Why not let him think he was in control for a while? "As you wish. I will stay in constant contact with you, as well as monitor any and all frequencies. Your eyes from afar, if you will." India said, walking over to a computer in the room. "Though, you're well aware of the risks. If you alert anyone while undergoing the abduction, you may be killed. I will make sure that doesn't happen. If danger approaches, or the operation is about to be compromised, i will detect it and alert you with enough to to withdraw. Try to avoid any over the top fighting if possible. It's difficult to monitor someone hearing a commotion and coming to see what's wrong."

 

While he didn't look like it, Lucas had been paying a good amount of attention to what the other Lucas was saying as he continued to make adjustments to his weapons. While he often wasn't the type to actually go out and get his hands dirty for the sake of an experiment, he wouldn't have to worry about that since he was tasked with watching the surveillance cameras. It was a simple task and thus wouldn't require much effort on his part. That was perfectly fine by him.

He turned around on his chair to actually face the others, something he hadn't done since well since he got here today. His own private work was finished so there was no further need for him to be on it. "I take it that since I'm on camera duty you want for me to keep an eye out for anything that could compromise us. Sounds easy enough." If not for the tone in his voice and how he said those words, one could assume that he was getting cocky about a simple task, but Lucas knew better. One little slip up was all it took to mess everything up.

 

A boy in a insipid alleyway laid asleep on a grey trashcan like a lifeless body, lacking in energy and almost still. His clothes were dirty with grime, scars were marked across his hand from falling over and over again in the dark alleyways of the city, and sweat was pouring down his face. An ear-splitting sound of police sirens wailing sharply woke the boy. His eyes were welcomed to an environment he was never accustomed to from his cherished life. The graffiti in blood red on the walls with a gang's name, Rage. It looked ominous, and spooked the boy a little. He then saw on the ground ahead of him a chasm of syringes and cigarette buds on the floor. Immediately afterwards, the stench of rotten Chinese food, and ganga filled his nose, and he immediately wanted to throw up. Was this really the life of someone who was impoverished? Then...he heard two men shouting at each other.
"How could you let that brat get away!?"
The boy immediately jumped into the large trash dispenser to hide, not caring how revolting it would be. He needed to avoid them at all costs. His heart was pounding, racing, beating his chest.
"The next time I see him, he's dead. You hear me? Dead!"
It seems that the two men have been looking for him throughout the night. They must be exterminators of a sort.
"There is no place for scum like him. I hope his family gets what they deserve, bringing up a child like that..."
The boy gasped, eyes open, in terror. Thoughts rushed to his mind.

No...no...
Why?
Please no...
Where are they?
What is going on!?
Are they hurt?
Are they dead?
God please...help me...
Why is this happening to me?

In the corner of his eye, he saw the men's black coats brush across the trashcan's slit. He held his breath, thinking all these thoughts over and over again. He did not have long. Tears began to flow down his ice cold face.

I don't want to die...
Please...

 

Christie's eyes lit up as she felt Colton's body weight shift. Maybe he was listening to her at last, maybe this was where his life started turning around, maybe-

Nope.

The girl let out a cry as she fell straight forward and landed on her face. She lay there for just a moment. "It's Christie you asshole" she retorted, her words muffled due to the way she was laying. Getting up and dusting herself off, Christie looked at Jean. "I don't rat people out, that's a fast way to make people hate you" she added. It was then the door opened and Colton emerged, telling them all about how he was fine. "Maybe if you let people help you they wouldn't be so worried about you" she suggested, doing her bit to help.

She kept fairly quiet during the trip to the bus stop, not really making any comments at all. It was a little awkward around Colton, truth be told, but eventually she was sure they would all get over it and actually talk to one another without hostility. At least, that's what she hoped. She got her chance as she got onto the bus. When the bus driver asked for a fare, she stopped and glanced behind her. She hadn't ever seen Colton finish a job, did he have money for the bus? Well, he did now. The girl reached into her pocket and got double the fare out, before placing it in the correct spot. "I'm paying for him" she said, gesturing in the direction of Colton. She then got on and walked to the back before sitting down next to Jean.


Lucas blinked twice, simply staring at the other Lucas. Doing his best to imitate a strong southern accent, he opened his mouth to respond. "Naw, course not. I asked ya to keep an eye on the surveillance for any strippers doin' their thang, daddy needs somethin to jerk off to when he's on the moonshine" he stated. He then sighed quietly. "Mister Dubois, please do pay attention next time. I already told you what you had to do, you don't need to repeat it to me. I do have a sense of humour, but in a situation like this making pointless statements does nothing but waste time, really" Lucas said, before turning to face Isabella. "Which brings me to my next point. Yes, you have name tags, and I will admit I overlooked such a simple fact. That being said, India and Lucas have their names displayed clearly on their name tags, but you" the investigator explained, pointing to the scribble that had obviously been put on hers via permanent marker, "don't. Your name is most certainly not 'Bella the awsum", no matter how much you probably wish it was" the man finished. He then turned and began walking towards the back of the lab, towards the exit. "Now if you would kindly come along miss Terros, we have a criminal to catch"

Lucas walked through the facility with Isabella following. He didn't say a word to her as they left, only stopping once they got to his car. He opened the door like a gentleman, waited for the psycho scientist to enter, then got into the driver's seat himself. It was a fairly short drive, and no matter how much Isabella may or may not have said he didn't hear a word of it; he was much too focused on the job at hand. Once they arrived at the private airport, he met with the officials and explained the situation to them, before he was granted access to the jet. He climbed onto the jet and took a seat near one of the windows as it took off into the air and began making its way to Reno. Soon, he thought to himself.​

 

"What a pity, if you really wanted to find a stripper then going outside and looking on the curb would be your best chance." Lucas started, a smirk appearing on his face. "But please, no need to lower your questionable IQ just for the sake of telling me I've done something wrong. "We're all big boys and girls here, most of us anyway." With that he finished his response to the other Lucas, part of which wasn't intended to be insulting, but easily could've been taken that way. Seeing as the man had already left through, the blue haired doctor just turned back towards his laptop and started working on another project of his.

 

Tobias rolled his eyes as he saw the look of the eyes of one of the men. It was a look of hope. In this situation, it was almost inevitable that one of them thought they could escape; they were all rich people that probably didn't have to do much for themselves unless it was abusing their servants, but nonetheless they were used to getting what they want. The man with hope in his eyes stepped forward, which intrigued Tobias a little.
"I dare you to let us go!"
Well, he couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming. Didn't matter how many people were brought together, there was always someone that thought they could get away, someone that thought they were invincible. Tobias stepped forward and in one quick motion he stabbed the man straight through the eyes with his claws with one hand, while the other hand stabbed through the heart. He pulled his claws out of the corpse and stepped back again with a sigh. "Anyone else makes a lame-ass suggestion like that, tries to play the hero, and they'll get the same treatment as him" he stated, a cold tone to his voice.

The next man to step forward was the one next to the recently deceased.
"What do you want? Money? I can give you plenty of money, I can give you enough money that you never have to work a day in your life! I can-" the man began before he, too, found claws impaling him.

Tobias removed his weapons from the dead man and stepped back once more. Damn these guys were stupid. "I told you before. We need information. We aren't after money, we need information, do you speak English? You know what, screw it, this is pointless" Tobias said, clearly frustrated. This sent the man furthest to the back running. While that guy ran, the last remaining one tried to use the distraction to run over to a bin and hide behind it, as though he was some ninja or something. Tobias pointed at the guy running away, the one running straight towards Cynthia. "Hey Cynth, how about you show me that swing you so desperately wanted to use on me before?" he asked, teasing Cynthia. While he left her to that, he stepped over towards the last man, the coward. The assassin grabbed him by the back of his rather expensive shirt and pulled him back, away from the bin.

"Please! Don't kill me! I can tell you about the silent killer, I can I swear!"

A smirk appeared on Tobias' face as he heard the words. Now they were getting somewhere. The man didn't appear to be armed, and he seemed pretty harmless with his attitude, so Tobias turned to watch the show with Cynthia and the fleeing man.​