Realistic or Modern Fairweather Communications - Urban Fantasy

[CasualTea]

Charlie raised an eyebrow to the woman's chuckle. She stood, and Charlie backed them up, still apprehensive and protective, yet Yona simply placed down a hundred-dollar bill, a huge tip for just some tea, though maybe appropriate for the amount of trouble that was caused, and then began to leave. She told them to enjoy the tea and gave them one final piece of information. 'World's a lot more crazier than you know.'

Yeah, no kidding. They knew that for sure now.

As soon as the door closed, Charlie turned on their heels to make sure Skye was ok. They were both shaken by the chaos, but neither one of them had gotten injured, not even a scratch. The same could be said about everyone else in the cafe, though they didn't have the same direct contact with the girl that couldn't die. They determined that they'd wait for her to leave before walking out of the cafe. After all, they'd rather not stay here any longer after what happened. They sat down to wait, watching as the first of the patrons made their leave, a young man holding onto the handle of a seeing eye dog. He grabbed the door and went out with the pooch calmly.

The man walked out to the street, the only civilian walking on the pavement of the sidewalk. He approached a car with its door open, a woman right about to hop into the driver's seat. He passed her, grabbing her hand to deposit a small rectangle of paper in her hand, then let go.

"If you want it..." Came a murmur in Yona's ear. Pressed into her hand was a card. On the front, the logo for a P.M.C, the Mylan Institute. Underneath the logo was a phone number written in the ink of a pen. On the back the same ink read, 'Job and protection'. The man continued walking along the sidewalk, acting like nothing happened and letting the dog lead him on from the successful drop off.

Yona had noticed that the first patron to leave was the man and the dog. She always thought the pair was odd. Even more so when he grabbed her hand and dropped her something before letting go. Listening to the words, she couldn't tell if he spoke or that was just her hearing things. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the ladder and he had some sort of telepathy ability within him. To be involved with three non-humans on the same day. If it was before, she wouldn't have minded. Now she was in their world and felt like she had to make a spot for herself in it. She would not let what happened in that alley happen to her again. Her guard must be up at all times around these folk.

Going back to the object that was now in her hand, she looked down and saw the card. This was a business card. It shared the same nature as when Graves had found her. Another P.M.C., Mylan Institute. She turned the card around to see what other contents it contained other than the phone number before she was met with words with the aim of enticing her to call. A job and protection. If it were anyone else, they would call just for curiosity. But she already knows what it's like to be in a P.M.C. She was in one where their rules of engagement allowed them to cut a lot of red tape to get something done. Shadow Company were the ones who take on messes too dirty to clean and get the ones suits cannot touch. They were all sorts of illegal and shady operations that are too hot for normal military.

Learning of another P.M.C. that wished to recruit her and them know who she was and what she can do, she had second thoughts. She would want to take multiple precautions about this P.M.C. online. The first thing she wanted to find out was if they shared the same "covered in black ink" type of discreet as Shadow Company. If you tried, you wouldn't be able to find it directly. You'd have to get a direct link to acquire it and even then it was difficult to get in contact. If the Mylan Institute was easy to find, she'd have some of her other shadows look into it. They can find information on anyone. If you just ask them, they can pull it up no matter how hard someone removed themselves from the grid. They always find information. Finding another P.M.C. may not even be a problem at all. That or Graves already knows who Mylan Institute is.

She put the card away in her pocket and started to drive home, driving off in a calm manner and within the speed limit. She was in no rush. Even if she was, speeding would attract attention anyway. There wasn't any need to. As soon as she drove home, she was going to inform her handler that another P.M.C. reached out to her and what he thought of it. Shadow Company, as much as she shouldn't, trusts them and the many top brass members within it.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

The man turned a corner and vanished into an alleyway. Immediately, he was ambushed by a guy in a Japanese demon mask, except it looked to be mottled after a wolf. His skin was light brown, and he had a mop of dark colored hair that seemed to be tinted a dark blue over black. Yet the blind man simply smiled as he took off the mask. "Well, hello there, El Lobo."

"Don't call me that." He intoned, as if he'd said that a million times. "You make me sound like a wrestler. Did you give her the contact?"

"Of course. With any luck she'll contact us and agree to a contract. This is the angle we need for this case."

"Good. But we should get ready for a case where she says no to our offer or doesn't contact us at all. Isn't she already affiliated with a P.M.C.?"

"Yeah, Shadow Company. Saw them walk in, clean the place up, they had no idea I work for Ms. Mylan. Or that I was about to steal one of their mercenaries."

"Yeah, well, I don't know if she's suited for us if she's apart of Shadow Company."

"You say that because you've got bad blood with those guys."

"No, because they're too cutthroat for how we run things. For all we know, she'll completely disobey Charlotte's orders and start killing the targets."

As the two talked, they traversed alleys until they came to a building. It was elegant if not secretive, and huge on the inside. As they walked in, everyone was working. It was hustle and bustle for different cases and whatnot. And there was a plethora of different supernatural creatures. You name it, it'd probably be within the work environment, as well as humans peacefully coexisting with them. People said Fairweather Communications was known for their acceptance, well this place truly was it. The Mylan Institute was a P.M.C. known to take in supernatural mercenaries even when they were less accepted and there was more prejudice than current day. Currently, its head was a woman named Charlotte Mylan, who's family had created the P.M.C. and it had remained a family-owned directive for years.

Not much was currently known about it. Not as much as Shadow Company, as they liked to keep their operations even more secretive than other Companies. They never sent their mercenaries outside of the country, as they handled threats on the inside. About the only time they went outside of American soil was if one of their targets had escaped to a foreign country. Otherwise, they stayed inside and handled an array of different problems, most of which had something supernatural in origins. But that didn't mean they didn't have a history involving more natural matters involving human threats, because they were versed in that kind of work as well. It was hard to get a read on just what specifically they did without being one of them, but they did seem to do most of their work more discreetly than Shadow Company, staying out of the limelight and out of civilian eyes.

Though, the coworkers and mercenaries that rushed around the building couldn't be traced back to the Mylan Institute. No one had a list of names of the mercenaries employed by the P.M.C., and everyone who worked with them was given fake jobs and backgrounds, so even if you tried to guess you couldn't. It put the offer of protection into higher regards, as the Mylan Institue definitely had its ways of making sure no one found you. If you wanted to work, but needed to disappear, these were the guys to work for. And as the two men passed their coworkers, the friendlier of the two, the blonde with blind eyes smiled and waved at his coworkers, who waved back and shouted out to them. They were like a little, thriving village, working together in their pursuits of peace.

 

[CasualTea]

The man turned a corner and vanished into an alleyway. Immediately, he was ambushed by a guy in a Japanese demon mask, except it looked to be mottled after a wolf. His skin was light brown, and he had a mop of dark colored hair that seemed to be tinted a dark blue over black. Yet the blind man simply smiled as he took off the mask. "Well, hello there, El Lobo."

"Don't call me that." He intoned, as if he'd said that a million times. "You make me sound like a wrestler. Did you give her the contact?"

"Of course. With any luck she'll contact us and agree to a contract. This is the angle we need for this case."

"Good. But we should get ready for a case where she says no to our offer or doesn't contact us at all. Isn't she already affiliated with a P.M.C.?"

"Yeah, Shadow Company. Saw them walk in, clean the place up, they had no idea I work for Ms. Mylan. Or that I was about to steal one of their mercenaries."

"Yeah, well, I don't know if she's suited for us if she's apart of Shadow Company."

"You say that because you've got bad blood with those guys."

"No, because they're too cutthroat for how we run things. For all we know, she'll completely disobey Charlotte's orders and start killing the targets."

As the two talked, they traversed alleys until they came to a building. It was elegant if not secretive, and huge on the inside. As they walked in, everyone was working. It was hustle and bustle for different cases and whatnot. And there was a plethora of different supernatural creatures. You name it, it'd probably be within the work environment, as well as humans peacefully coexisting with them. People said Fairweather Communications was known for their acceptance, well this place truly was it. The Mylan Institute was a P.M.C. known to take in supernatural mercenaries even when they were less accepted and there was more prejudice than current day. Currently, its head was a woman named Charlotte Mylan, who's family had created the P.M.C. and it had remained a family-owned directive for years.

Not much was currently known about it. Not as much as Shadow Company, as they liked to keep their operations even more secretive than other Companies. They never sent their mercenaries outside of the country, as they handled threats on the inside. About the only time they went outside of American soil was if one of their targets had escaped to a foreign country. Otherwise, they stayed inside and handled an array of different problems, most of which had something supernatural in origins. But that didn't mean they didn't have a history involving more natural matters involving human threats, because they were versed in that kind of work as well. It was hard to get a read on just what specifically they did without being one of them, but they did seem to do most of their work more discreetly than Shadow Company, staying out of the limelight and out of civilian eyes.

Though, the coworkers and mercenaries that rushed around the building couldn't be traced back to the Mylan Institute. No one had a list of names of the mercenaries employed by the P.M.C., and everyone who worked with them was given fake jobs and backgrounds, so even if you tried to guess you couldn't. It put the offer of protection into higher regards, as the Mylan Institue definitely had its ways of making sure no one found you. If you wanted to work, but needed to disappear, these were the guys to work for. And as the two men passed their coworkers, the friendlier of the two, the blonde with blind eyes smiled and waved at his coworkers, who waved back and shouted out to them. They were like a little, thriving village, working together in their pursuits of peace.

​

As Yona was driving home, she called Graves on the phone on a secure network. Shortly after, he picked up. "An unusual call, what's the occasion? Dinner?" He joked. "I need you to look into something. During the event, there was a blind man and a dog. They were too calm for the shootout. He gave me a... card. Mylan Institute. Ever heard of it?" Graves chuckled. "Damn. What's your luck? You're getting conned. Either that, or he's recommending the same hos---" "Another P.M.C." A lower and darker voice interrupted. "Meet at Building 21." The voice said before the call was forcibly hung up. Presumably by the intruder. But Yona knew well who it was. She soon changed direction and started to head to another place, deterring her off the path home.

Soon, she arrived near an indoor stadium used for soccor. It was well frequented with competitive games, national teams and onlookers. She drove into the underground parking lot that was mostly vacant as there weren't any games going on so there was no reason for people to hang around. The ones who did, were just borrowing the parking to visit nearby places. Of course, there was a toll to pay. However, while others paid the toll in money, Yona pulled out a black card with Shadow Company's logo that was imprinted with seemingly gold on the left side, the right side being the words: Shadow Company, a chip bellow it and P. Graves. She inserted it into the toll machine and it let her through. She kept driving until she arrived at the lower level and went to a garage door that was embedded within one side of the room. There was another just like it on the other side, but she chose this one in particular as it was the one that actually functions. A group of guys were there as well who seemed to just be hanging out with alcohol. They almost look like husbands getting together just to take a break from their wives. They seemed to shoo away anyone who just loitered around. They watched Yona before the garage door opened up and she drove further down into the lower levels. The group didn't pay it any mind and went back to their business.

When she got through the garage, it closed behind her and she was met with another parking garage with black SUVs and vans. Some of them even up-armored. Black Humvees and pickup trucks were present too. There was even some black twenty six foot box trucks parked. She soon parked her car and got out of the seemingly lifeless parking lot before heading to some elevators. When she got in it, she went down a level before the doors opened up again. When she got out, she was met with a familiar feeling as there was personnel wearing black uniforms and casual clothes. All of them had one thing in common. They had the Shadow Company patch somewhere on their person to signify they were part of the organization. Yona had put on a lanyard and hang the card from it. That was her way of telling others she belonged there and went on with her business.

​

The interior looked well lit and the floor was shiny. There were multiple hallways and doors all leading to different areas. But the area Yona wanted to go to was at the room suspended at the top. She made her way over quickly before going inside and closing the door behind her. Inside, she saw her handler, Graves and the other voice on the phone: Lerch. "Have a seat Yona. It's going to be a long one." Lerch said, taking a seat at his desk. This was basically his office. He turned on a switch and the windows blackened out, leaving only the three of them to see what's outside but no one can't see what's inside. Yona took a seat in front of him, this being the first time she met him in person. "First time seeing you. Thought you'd be bigger." She said to the man who looked pretty muscular but not too much so. The only distinctive feature she could detect from him was his beard. It was... Impressive to be honest. He gave a soft chuckle. "An ice breaker. Glad you can get comfortable. Now I can tell you what you're about to do next." He said before graves protested, slamming his hand on the desk. The blue collared one obviously not in favor with whatever idea Lerch came up with. "You realize we are giving away our best asset?! She's not even on officially, we can't let her go like this! Here, put her with my boys and we can clean this up today!" Lerch only shook his head. "No. She's too hot now. We send her to Mexico and we'll actually start an international war. This is one where we need to call off for the better." Yona, confused as she was already, leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. "I'm not following. What's going on now?" She asked as Lerch gave her a more serious look. "Mylan Institute. That's where you're going for the time being." This game Yona a look of concern. "...I was not aware there was a branch company." "This isn't a branch company." He said before leaning back.

He stood up and picked up the group photo and put it in front of Yona. She looked at it before looking back up at Lerch. "This was... Operation Shipment. You're showing me this why?" Lerched let out a satisfied huff. "You know your stuff. You know of Velikan, right? Another non-human like you with even more black ink across his file. We picked him up after he voluntarily joined our side from that same P.M.C. Because of that, we got a lot of information about them." Graves soon sat down next to Yona giving a quizzical look. "So? What are they?" Lerch let out a breath. "They're a P.M.C. that operates strictly within the country's borders, led by Charlotte Mylan. They're actually benefitting us so we can operate passed the states' borders. They can take the mess from within while we deal with others outside. They also harbor and hide non-humans a plenty and keep them hidden. They're a lot more discreet than us. This would be a perfect position to be in for Yona in the meantime." "But the cartel are out there! Passed the border! We have enough men to take over the country so let's just flush out the sons of bitches!" "If we move now, then there will be risk of engaging Mexican police who are also cartel. The main goal is to avoid a reason for someone to leak information of our operations in Mexico and send it to American media. You think people here would support an American military hitting cartel estates as they pleased?" Graves just sat quiet but still pissed at the situation. "The only was to go about it is to let them in and take care of them in our turf. Letting Mylan Institute make use of Yona's skills would satisfy all parties involved."

"All in all, you see me as a potential trade off." She said with disdain. "Forget asking for my opinion, you're going on information by someone who used to work for another company? When we know very little about them?" Lerch soon sat down again shaking his head. "Orders are orders, Yona. You should know this. We're a company first and foremost. If I see the best benefit for the company, then I will take action on it. Plus, Velikan is extremely loyal to us despite leaving Mylan. I'm sure they know of his defection when he did but didn't act upon it. He's just too dangerous to confront directly and we'd like to keep it that way. Graves will keep in contact with you but you are now going to work for Mylan. Do what she wants and there'll be bonuses all around. Just know you are still one of our best assets. Wherever you go, you have a blank cheque. This transaction is too damn important." Lerch finished.

Graves and Yona both flinched at the mention of a blank cheque. Graves only looked at Yona seeing how much this situation weighed. Graves sighed before leaning back in his chair and throwing his head back, looking up at the ceiling closing his eyes while Yona was deep in thought. After a few moments, she spoke once again. "Fine. A blank cheque, right? I'll hold you to it." She said before she got up to leave. "Careful out there. Coyotes are always lurking." Graves said before Yona left the room, leaving behind Graves and Lerch to themselves. She soon made it back to her car and began to leave the site through the same way she came in. Once she was away from the stadium, she parked her car near a park and got out. She sighed before she sat against the hood and pulled out the card she received not long ago. She was hesitant at first but soon enough, she started dialing the number that was on the back of the card. "God dammit..."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

The two moved on their way, heading into a private room within the building. Sitting at one of the desks in the room was a woman with brunette hair darkening into a faded purple. Her hair was combed down, put into a short ponytail down her back. It smoothed down to frame pointed ears and a blue eye, her right eye covered with an eye patch as if it were missing. She wore a gray button-down shirt, frilled at the collar, with a neat black bow tied around the neck. Over the outfit was a dark brown overcoat.

"Ah, there you two are. I was wondering what held you up."

She smiled at them as they closed the door, drawing the blinds closed to cast shadows on the room. As the man with the mask went to hand over a flash drive to the woman, the blind man set to unleashing his dog and taking the bindings off her so that she could trot over to her bed in the corner and lay down, settling her sights on the conversation.

"Thank you, Dylan." The woman said as the flash drive was handed over. She inserted it into a laptop on the desk, and suddenly the display was taken up with footage from security cameras, footage that had shown the altercation between the cartel members and Yona, and her interaction with the two civilians moments before. "I'm glad you were able to get it before Shadow Company completely wiped it from the system."

"Did you really have doubts?" Dylan said, crossing his arms.

The woman disregarded his statements and turned to the blonde who was hanging up the dog's gear. "She seemed competent, yes?"

"Yeah, she took bullets that should've killed her without even being fazed. It was kind of amazing. She's definitely supernatural."

"Hm, I'm guessing the other Companies are finally seeing the use in Inhumans, after how many years?" She chuckled, "Well, she'll be ours soon enough. I don't think she'll be able to resist our offer. Normally, I'd rather not enlist those with alliances with other P.M.C.'s, but I think we can both benefit from each other, what with her current predicament. And ours."

"Well, we just need her for the one case and then she'll be back off to Shadow Company." Dylan said with scorn in his voice.

"Now, now Dylan." The woman placated. "If she wishes to stay with us after the case concludes then I'm sure we can continue our agreement." She watched the footage continue. Like the blind man said, Yona went down after a number of bullets. But she came right back up to tackle down the final cartel member. She folded her hands together, resting her chin on them with a smile. "She does interest me. It seems she has some form of immortality, though she could be some type of inhuman that carries rapid regeneration abilities. That would be more believable than complete immortality. Nevertheless, our job isn't to question the species of our mercenaries. She may very well be the key to the success of this operation."

"Well, that'll be your part to convince her." She said to the blind man before turning to a board up in the room, the whole kit and caboodle of detective work. Red string connecting pictures and post-it notes. There were photos of inhumans that could've possibly be linked to the big case. "I'll be counting on you to handle this. Show her the ropes and make her feel comfortable. You've been a good welcome committee so far."

"But how do you know she'll-" He cut himself off as a phone rang.

"Ah, there she is now. I trust you can handle it, Elijah. Give her the offer we discussed and do anything you can to get her on board." The woman said, bringing the man back to the quick conversation he'd had with her on the phone in the cafe, after the chaos had went down.

"Yes, Ms. Mylan." Elijah said, nodding.

"Good, now come along Dylan. Elijah has work to do." Charlotte and Dylan left the room as Elijah looked at the phone.

"Yes? Is this Ms. Park?" He answered.

 

[CasualTea]

The two moved on their way, heading into a private room within the building. Sitting at one of the desks in the room was a woman with brunette hair darkening into a faded purple. Her hair was combed down, put into a short ponytail down her back. It smoothed down to frame pointed ears and a blue eye, her right eye covered with an eye patch as if it were missing. She wore a gray button-down shirt, frilled at the collar, with a neat black bow tied around the neck. Over the outfit was a dark brown overcoat.

"Ah, there you two are. I was wondering what held you up."

She smiled at them as they closed the door, drawing the blinds closed to cast shadows on the room. As the man with the mask went to hand over a flash drive to the woman, the blind man set to unleashing his dog and taking the bindings off her so that she could trot over to her bed in the corner and lay down, settling her sights on the conversation.

"Thank you, Dylan." The woman said as the flash drive was handed over. She inserted it into a laptop on the desk, and suddenly the display was taken up with footage from security cameras, footage that had shown the altercation between the cartel members and Yona, and her interaction with the two civilians moments before. "I'm glad you were able to get it before Shadow Company completely wiped it from the system."

"Did you really have doubts?" Dylan said, crossing his arms.

The woman disregarded his statements and turned to the blonde who was hanging up the dog's gear. "She seemed competent, yes?"

"Yeah, she took bullets that should've killed her without even being fazed. It was kind of amazing. She's definitely supernatural."

"Hm, I'm guessing the other Companies are finally seeing the use in Inhumans, after how many years?" She chuckled, "Well, she'll be ours soon enough. I don't think she'll be able to resist our offer. Normally, I'd rather not enlist those with alliances with other P.M.C.'s, but I think we can both benefit from each other, what with her current predicament. And ours."

"Well, we just need her for the one case and then she'll be back off to Shadow Company." Dylan said with scorn in his voice.

"Now, now Dylan." The woman placated. "If she wishes to stay with us after the case concludes then I'm sure we can continue our agreement." She watched the footage continue. Like the blind man said, Yona went down after a number of bullets. But she came right back up to tackle down the final cartel member. She folded her hands together, resting her chin on them with a smile. "She does interest me. It seems she has some form of immortality, though she could be some type of inhuman that carries rapid regeneration abilities. That would be more believable than complete immortality. Nevertheless, our job isn't to question the species of our mercenaries. She may very well be the key to the success of this operation."

"Well, that'll be your part to convince her." She said to the blind man before turning to a board up in the room, the whole kit and caboodle of detective work. Red string connecting pictures and post-it notes. There were photos of inhumans that could've possibly be linked to the big case. "I'll be counting on you to handle this. Show her the ropes and make her feel comfortable. You've been a good welcome committee so far."

"But how do you know she'll-" He cut himself off as a phone rang.

"Ah, there she is now. I trust you can handle it, Elijah. Give her the offer we discussed and do anything you can to get her on board." The woman said, bringing the man back to the quick conversation he'd had with her on the phone in the cafe, after the chaos had went down.

"Yes, Ms. Mylan." Elijah said, nodding.

"Good, now come along Dylan. Elijah has work to do." Charlotte and Dylan left the room as Elijah looked at the phone.

"Yes? Is this Ms. Park?" He answered.

"...Yes. I suspect you were expecting me to call anyway, huh?" She said, letting out a sigh. "Where and when? Discussing a contract over the line isn't professional, I'm sure you know." She asked as it was always a habit she developed while working with Shadow Company. Anything confidential shouldn't be said over the line or else someone can tap into their comms and gain some information they're not supposed to. She learned that from reviewing a black bag operation that turned south. The operation was to transport ballistic missiles to an allied faction under request of a general. However, the enemy knew of the shipment and ambushed them, killing off the convoy detail and stealing the missiles. A simple milk run turned into a hunt against time. Luckily, the two parties were able to completely bury the op and regain control over the missiles. The last missile being captured on that oil rig that Yona was deployed to.

That's right. Yona was involved in such an op. Unfortunately, her identity was leaked. They didn't kill everyone. One thing always led to another is what Yona is starting to learn about this world. "How about this? There's a park nearby where the elderly sit around playing chess on its tables and children play in the sandbox and on the playground. Couples frequent there too just to hang out. Why not a game of chess, then?" She offered. "Come find me at Lincoln Park. I'll be here all day." She then hung up. She was already at the park anyway, and she went over to the area that she mentioned where there were small marble tables with a chess board engraved in them. There was already a set of chess pieces on the table as there were other elderly sitting nearby. She sat at the table, waiting patiently scrolling through her phone reading a webcomic. There were some who offered to join her but she refused saying she was waiting for her uncle.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Elijah smiled as the phone hung up. Right down to business. He didn't even get one word in. "Lincoln Park, eh? Doesn't she know its suspicious for a blind man to be playing chess." He chuckled to himself, then turned to his dog, currently preoccupied with a chew toy. "Come on, girl. You wanna go for a walk?"

"May I play a game with you?" Elijah asked with a grin, coming to sit down on the opposite side of Yona, on one of the marble tables around a half an hour after their little phone call. His unusual dog was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't seem to be having any problems finding his seat. He didn't need to wave his hands around to find the surface. He was completely sure of himself, almost as if he could see, but his eyes retained that clouded look that just confirmed he really was blind.

He surveyed his pieces, apparently trying to pretend like he wasn't blind so that he didn't arouse suspicion. Mylan Institute did things discreetly after all. "I suppose you'd like to know why we contacted you." He said, keeping his voice low as his hand crept to a pawn. "Well, it involves the business that happened earlier today. You've.. come into contact with certain people that we've been tracking, certain people that are involved in a much larger matter. They're elusive and we can't quite pin them down. We wish to make use of your position in this matter, to gain ground and information. The rest is, as you can probably guess, classified until we can get a formal contract with you. I can only give you the bare skeleton of what your duties will be." As he said this, he placed down the pawn two squares in front of its position and started the game. He set out an open bait that he used to lure a much better piece in for capture, then gestured to the play. A crow cawed in a nearby tree, almost as if cheering on the play.

"Now, your payment will be the same that you're used, the amount at least. However, instead of on completion, you'll be getting a standard two-week paycheck of smaller amounts. Since this is a long-term investigation, we cannot guarantee when it will end, or when your involvement in it will end. So, your payment will be a set check until the end of your service. And, as for your other situation, we have a way of making sure people aren't found. We'll just need a teensy tiny bit of your blood," He pinched his fingers around another chess piece while waving it in the air to signal the size of the vial they'd need, "and we'll have the ability to make sure those hooligans can't trace you. At all. And we don't use it for anything else, I promise. So, what do you think?"

 

[CasualTea]

Elijah smiled as the phone hung up. Right down to business. He didn't even get one word in. "Lincoln Park, eh? Doesn't she know its suspicious for a blind man to be playing chess." He chuckled to himself, then turned to his dog, currently preoccupied with a chew toy. "Come on, girl. You wanna go for a walk?"

"May I play a game with you?" Elijah asked with a grin, coming to sit down on the opposite side of Yona, on one of the marble tables around a half an hour after their little phone call. His unusual dog was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't seem to be having any problems finding his seat. He didn't need to wave his hands around to find the surface. He was completely sure of himself, almost as if he could see, but his eyes retained that clouded look that just confirmed he really was blind.

He surveyed his pieces, apparently trying to pretend like he wasn't blind so that he didn't arouse suspicion. Mylan Institute did things discreetly after all. "I suppose you'd like to know why we contacted you." He said, keeping his voice low as his hand crept to a pawn. "Well, it involves the business that happened earlier today. You've.. come into contact with certain people that we've been tracking, certain people that are involved in a much larger matter. They're elusive and we can't quite pin them down. We wish to make use of your position in this matter, to gain ground and information. The rest is, as you can probably guess, classified until we can get a formal contract with you. I can only give you the bare skeleton of what your duties will be." As he said this, he placed down the pawn two squares in front of its position and started the game. He set out an open bait that he used to lure a much better piece in for capture, then gestured to the play. A crow cawed in a nearby tree, almost as if cheering on the play.

"Now, your payment will be the same that you're used, the amount at least. However, instead of on completion, you'll be getting a standard two-week paycheck of smaller amounts. Since this is a long-term investigation, we cannot guarantee when it will end, or when your involvement in it will end. So, your payment will be a set check until the end of your service. And, as for your other situation, we have a way of making sure people aren't found. We'll just need a teensy tiny bit of your blood," He pinched his fingers around another chess piece while waving it in the air to signal the size of the vial they'd need, "and we'll have the ability to make sure those hooligans can't trace you. At all. And we don't use it for anything else, I promise. So, what do you think?"

Yona put out a pawn in front of Elijah's, to stop his advance and match their movement. Even if it was bait, she'll let it sit. "Although protection is something I can use, I already have enough when working with my company. Sure it's messy, but I just don't trust the need for a small blood donation." She said coldly, remembering fondly of that encounter in Korea which changed her life. "What I worry about more is the government finding me out. I'm not from here, my homeland is overseas. I am also not registered. My gift wasn't given at birth. It was acquired on pure chance. I was a regular human being before, y'know."

She leaned forward, resting her elbow on the table and propping her head up with her hand. She crossed a leg over the other under the table before she started speaking again. "Although my boss thinks of this as a transaction of sorts, I don't see it that way. I took up your offer to perhaps use your company to do what I want. To find those hidden cells and wipe them off the face of the Earth. And the way your company works, no one would be able to find the fuckin' stain." She soon took her free hand and traced the rim on top of the rook, which was used in the Shadow Company's logo. She appears to favor Shadow Company to the point of flaunting it in a recruiter of Mylan's face. "I came looking for targets, not to participate in a science project. You might as well tell me what you're planning up in that head of yours. You're talking to an enforcer after all."

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

"There's no plan. And I figured you'd be a little apprehensive of the blood process. Everyone is at first when she finds them. But I assure you there's nothing shady about it. Our process of hiding is a lot less messy than your company. You give us that vial, and all trace of you is eradicated. No one will be able to find you, and I mean no one. Not the little friends you made on your time overseas, not the government." He tapped a rook piece to symbolize Shadow Company, "Not even them. Only my boss handles it, and the process is through her as well. It's a unique sort of thing, y'know. Not natural to the, regular ol' human sorts. Not even to the unregular inhuman sorts, but I guess you know all about those abilities, huh?" Elijah smiled then waved his hand as though he was dismissing a topic, "Of course, you don't have to take it. It's simply an offer, but it's still on the table if you want it. That's one way she supposed we can benefit from each other, a transaction like you said. Complete protection for you, help on a case for us. It's simple really, that's all we want."

"Of course, you're still strictly under a contract. You can't just avoid doing the work we want you to do. But as an added benefit we can help you look into those matters that you need protection from and help you out there, as a side gig. We do have some assets on our team that would be great for that investigation. But you would still need to see the main mission through, as an employed mercenary." Elijah continued the game finally, as if he'd been deliberating on his move for a long time. In all honesty, that was because he was sweating bullets with Yona. He was trying to act cool, but she made him completely nervous. They couldn't afford messing up this chance. He settled on another pawn movement, just to keep the game going and to not arouse suspicion from outside view.

 

[CasualTea]

"There's no plan. And I figured you'd be a little apprehensive of the blood process. Everyone is at first when she finds them. But I assure you there's nothing shady about it. Our process of hiding is a lot less messy than your company. You give us that vial, and all trace of you is eradicated. No one will be able to find you, and I mean no one. Not the little friends you made on your time overseas, not the government." He tapped a rook piece to symbolize Shadow Company, "Not even them. Only my boss handles it, and the process is through her as well. It's a unique sort of thing, y'know. Not natural to the, regular ol' human sorts. Not even to the unregular inhuman sorts, but I guess you know all about those abilities, huh?" Elijah smiled then waved his hand as though he was dismissing a topic, "Of course, you don't have to take it. It's simply an offer, but it's still on the table if you want it. That's one way she supposed we can benefit from each other, a transaction like you said. Complete protection for you, help on a case for us. It's simple really, that's all we want."

"Of course, you're still strictly under a contract. You can't just avoid doing the work we want you to do. But as an added benefit we can help you look into those matters that you need protection from and help you out there, as a side gig. We do have some assets on our team that would be great for that investigation. But you would still need to see the main mission through, as an employed mercenary." Elijah continued the game finally, as if he'd been deliberating on his move for a long time. In all honesty, that was because he was sweating bullets with Yona. He was trying to act cool, but she made him completely nervous. They couldn't afford messing up this chance. He settled on another pawn movement, just to keep the game going and to not arouse suspicion from outside view.

Yona moved another pawn after giving some thought. She chose to move one at the far side of the board two paces up, giving an opening for her rook to move forward if she so wished in the next turn. "No matter how you say it, it still doesn't sound right." She said, taking in a breath and letting it out. "Why don't I go over a couple of things I think is off..."

"First and foremost, the benefit of being absolutely untraceable sounds reassuring. Just like when I get shot, I'll be fine. Right?" She then took her rook piece and fiddled with it in her hand. "But then, what are the implications? You saw me already. You just watched me get riddled to where death was whistling miles away." She put the rook down where it used to be before resting her hand. "All my traces being eradicated that even my own coworkers and friends can't find me. No one for that matter." She then looked at Elijah, her stare fixated on his eyes as if piercing daggers through that clouded blindness. "Why is it that anyone's hands can reach into the afterlife. Don't you think that's weirdly fucked up? I can't do it." She soon grinned and pointed at him. "But you can. No one will be able to find anything of my whereabouts. But she will." She soon rested her hand once more. "All I needed was the government not to come find me. I never said I wanted the world to forget me."

"Secondly, you now mention that you already have some assets that would be great for the investigation. Then I'm not needed. You already have sufficient and able operators, right?" She traced her finger over the pawns on the other side of the board that have not moved, the far side pawn still blocking movement for the rook behind it. "If they are already great assets, send them first. Putting me on would be overkill and a waste of resources. A waste of my time." She said coldly.

She shrugged before letting out a sigh. "My boss said that this transaction would be very important to him. But I am the one with all the chips it seems. If anything, this transaction is more like an offer to Mylan to make use of my capabilities. Shadow can easily just task me alone to comb through this country and leave it spotless. I've done it once before and I can do it again. All they need to do is turn me loose, which they are doing so again by letting me go. You won't even tell me what this mission is which would be the prime reason for me joining you. So why don't you take this exchange more seriously. I would've enjoyed this time relaxing at home." She said with annoyance due to how much in the dark she is about this so called mission Mylan's Institute has planned and the fact that she hasn't slept for awhile.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Elijah smiled, leaning back in his seat as he thought of a way to approach all of this. Ms. Mylan had been so sure about this that he thought it would be way easier, but it seemed Yona was putting up a fight about it. He got the impression that calling the number Elijah had given her hadn't exactly been her decision. "Ok, it seems I'm being a bit too discreet here." But he didn't flinch at Yona's staring daggers into him, possibly affirming that he was blind, or just that he had a lot of courage in this situation.

"To your first point, it's not as if all trace of you will be completely eradicated. What you put out into the world will remain. Say you make a post on Facebook, or contact a friend, that will still be out there. Your movements on security cameras, that will still be there, unless of course that footage is pulled. Your spending bills, your activity in the world, well, you get the idea. Anything physical you do will still be out there. We can't make you completely invisible to the world. We're mercenaries, not magicians." He gave a coy smile, as if he were sharing some kind of inside joke, then continued, "We can make you half invisible. The ability simply makes it so that you cannot be tracked by people that have the technology we do. We can conceal your movements to a certain degree from the people who wish to track you down and do you harm. And also, those you wish to hide from in general, the American government for example. Trackers don't work, and they won't be able to find you through the means they used to track you to that cafe. Of course, it's not permanent. You can disable it whenever you want, and the blood needs to be fresh for it to work. Eventually, the blood will become too old for it to be connected to the person any longer, and its ability to be used will be nonexistent. So say, if you left us and we wanted to use it for 'nefarious purposes'," He said the last bit in a funny voice, then continued regularly, "It would come to a certain point where we wouldn't be able to. The shelf life is higher than you expect, but it's not like we can keep it forever. That's why those who use the ability need to refresh the blood that's being used for every so often. Besides, Ms. Mylan is very particular about her contracts and the parameters of them. The fine print says she can't do anything else with the blood if she could, and she doesn't. Her deals are binding to her. I know you don't have any reason to trust that fact, but it's the truth. There's not even a point to lying about it, because we need you specifically for this mission. If you didn't have a special circumstance surrounding it, then we wouldn't have even contacted you."

"Which brings me right back to your second point, the mission. Rest assured that I am taking this very seriously. This is possibly the one of the most serious and important things I've done at Mylan, because your inclusion can make or break this case. But just like you have reasons to doubt me and her, I have reasons to doubt you. I have to keep the mission classified until you sign a contract with us. If you know the specialties, you could decline our offer and take it right to Shadow. We know you have other loyalties, it's simply a precaution we need to take. But I can tell you that what we mean to achieve is peace. We don't need you to leave it spotless. We don't want murder, we want order. That may be how you do things at Shadow, but not at Mylan. These people have their reasons for doing the things they do. They believe they work towards the same goal as us, but their means of doing it isn't right. Wrong thing for the right reason sort of a deal. We don't need a bloodbath, that's not order or peace. We mean to make use of your position and use it to gain information, then use that information to capture a gang we've been following, one that's mad on a power trip and needs to be snipped in the bud before their plans become a reality. You are a crucial part of this mission." Elijah started moving out one piece, to make sure they didn't get all blocked up for the taking. He looked towards Yona, then deployed a rook. If one of her pawns moved forward, the rook could easily snap it up.

"But that doesn't mean you're our only option. You aren't just offering your services to us. We're giving you ample reward and payment. Money, plus the blood offer, which most our mercenaries use, yours truly included," He said, gesturing to himself, "Besides that we can give you papers and cards to conceal your identity and give you a fake background. And, like I was trying to signal before, we can help you clean up the mess you left with that cartel. If you choose to go through with our blood offer, which you can always choose to use later once you gain some form of trust in us, that'll only last you so long, so to sweeten the deal we can help you track them down and get rid of them. Discreetly, while you're in our services so when you leave to go back to Shadow, they'll no longer be a thorn in your side. It seems they've already migrated to the U.S, and Mylan is better at handling threats here. The operatives I mentioned, they would be great at handling that investigation, tracking down the cartel and silencing the threat. We know your situation full well, and we know that we can benefit you as much as your services can benefit us. Like your boss said, a fair transaction. We help you cool down, lay low and clean up the threat, and in exchange we get to use your services. Does that clear it all up?"

 

[CasualTea]

Elijah smiled, leaning back in his seat as he thought of a way to approach all of this. Ms. Mylan had been so sure about this that he thought it would be way easier, but it seemed Yona was putting up a fight about it. He got the impression that calling the number Elijah had given her hadn't exactly been her decision. "Ok, it seems I'm being a bit too discreet here." But he didn't flinch at Yona's staring daggers into him, possibly affirming that he was blind, or just that he had a lot of courage in this situation.

"To your first point, it's not as if all trace of you will be completely eradicated. What you put out into the world will remain. Say you make a post on Facebook, or contact a friend, that will still be out there. Your movements on security cameras, that will still be there, unless of course that footage is pulled. Your spending bills, your activity in the world, well, you get the idea. Anything physical you do will still be out there. We can't make you completely invisible to the world. We're mercenaries, not magicians." He gave a coy smile, as if he were sharing some kind of inside joke, then continued, "We can make you half invisible. The ability simply makes it so that you cannot be tracked by people that have the technology we do. We can conceal your movements to a certain degree from the people who wish to track you down and do you harm. And also, those you wish to hide from in general, the American government for example. Trackers don't work, and they won't be able to find you through the means they used to track you to that cafe. Of course, it's not permanent. You can disable it whenever you want, and the blood needs to be fresh for it to work. Eventually, the blood will become too old for it to be connected to the person any longer, and its ability to be used will be nonexistent. So say, if you left us and we wanted to use it for 'nefarious purposes'," He said the last bit in a funny voice, then continued regularly, "It would come to a certain point where we wouldn't be able to. The shelf life is higher than you expect, but it's not like we can keep it forever. That's why those who use the ability need to refresh the blood that's being used for every so often. Besides, Ms. Mylan is very particular about her contracts and the parameters of them. The fine print says she can't do anything else with the blood if she could, and she doesn't. Her deals are binding to her. I know you don't have any reason to trust that fact, but it's the truth. There's not even a point to lying about it, because we need you specifically for this mission. If you didn't have a special circumstance surrounding it, then we wouldn't have even contacted you."

"Which brings me right back to your second point, the mission. Rest assured that I am taking this very seriously. This is possibly the one of the most serious and important things I've done at Mylan, because your inclusion can make or break this case. But just like you have reasons to doubt me and her, I have reasons to doubt you. I have to keep the mission classified until you sign a contract with us. If you know the specialties, you could decline our offer and take it right to Shadow. We know you have other loyalties, it's simply a precaution we need to take. But I can tell you that what we mean to achieve is peace. We don't need you to leave it spotless. We don't want murder, we want order. That may be how you do things at Shadow, but not at Mylan. These people have their reasons for doing the things they do. They believe they work towards the same goal as us, but their means of doing it isn't right. Wrong thing for the right reason sort of a deal. We don't need a bloodbath, that's not order or peace. We mean to make use of your position and use it to gain information, then use that information to capture a gang we've been following, one that's mad on a power trip and needs to be snipped in the bud before their plans become a reality. You are a crucial part of this mission." Elijah started moving out one piece, to make sure they didn't get all blocked up for the taking. He looked towards Yona, then deployed a rook. If one of her pawns moved forward, the rook could easily snap it up.

"But that doesn't mean you're our only option. You aren't just offering your services to us. We're giving you ample reward and payment. Money, plus the blood offer, which most our mercenaries use, yours truly included," He said, gesturing to himself, "Besides that we can give you papers and cards to conceal your identity and give you a fake background. And, like I was trying to signal before, we can help you clean up the mess you left with that cartel. If you choose to go through with our blood offer, which you can always choose to use later once you gain some form of trust in us, that'll only last you so long, so to sweeten the deal we can help you track them down and get rid of them. Discreetly, while you're in our services so when you leave to go back to Shadow, they'll no longer be a thorn in your side. It seems they've already migrated to the U.S, and Mylan is better at handling threats here. The operatives I mentioned, they would be great at handling that investigation, tracking down the cartel and silencing the threat. We know your situation full well, and we know that we can benefit you as much as your services can benefit us. Like your boss said, a fair transaction. We help you cool down, lay low and clean up the threat, and in exchange we get to use your services. Does that clear it all up?"

Taking all that information into account, Yona was now considering the offer. But she still just wasn't on board fully. She was in a sort of limbo. Eventually she sighed as she was going to close the deal since she couldn't make up her mind. "Fuck it... Let's just call it off. It's getting way too fucked up for me that I just can't trust your group with my safety. As you know, I trust Shadow enough that--" She stopped. Her expression soon turned into that of confusion and concern. Nothing was out of the ordinary, it was more of her own instincts. She looked to the side and saw a raven with a handful of crows with it perched on a tree. The crows were doing their own thing, playing around, fighting for food or just observing. The raven however, she could feel that it was only observing her. It grabbed her attention. She suddenly remembered that she was part of a deal before she started talking again. "Sorry, that was weird. Anyway, you--" She stopped again as the raven flew onto the table and picked up one of her rook pieces and placed it in the middle of the board.

Now it was just getting weird. Why did it just do that? It's too specific for it to be anything a curious animal would do. It wasn't until it picked up Elijah's queen piece and put it next to the rook. It now had Yona's full attention before it flew off again towards the direction of her car and landed on it. Almost like it wanted them to follow. "...Give me a second." She said before she got up and followed the bird almost in a trance, like the bird was calling to her and she was acting on instinct. She got to her car and saw her sword in the passenger seat emitting a sort of black smoke. Of course, she reactively thought the car was on fire and rushed over to the passenger side and open the door to inspect the source of the flame. But when she opened it, there was no flame. The smoke was coming directly from the sword. She touched it before collapsing immediately after. The sword then fully dispersed into a shadowy smoke and permeated her body. The bird soon emitted the same type of shadowy smoke but with an amethyst-like color before it disappeared completely.

Only after, Yona awoke taking in a large breath before getting up quickly and noticing something was off about her body. She looked at her hands and saw that the smoke she saw earlier was just finishing with entering her body wholly and then nothing. She also noticed that the sword was gone. She held her head as she was trying to process it all. Did she just get even more cursed than she already was? What did it do to her? She wanted to test something as she took out a pocket knife and slit her wrist. While it was still painful, she did saw that she was healing rapidly as she always did. So what was that smoke just now? All she knew now was that she felt lighter than before. Maybe even a little stronger.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Elijah was starting to sweat. How did he fuck it up this badly? He had to fix it or else he'd be disappointing Ms. Mylan. He'd be letting a perfectly good lead slip right through his fingers. But he was working with what he had. He didn't understand why this woman was pushing him so badly. It seemed like this was standard procedure for a lot of agencies, redacting the exact details of an operation before you were on board. They didn't know who they could trust until Yona gave her signature. And besides, it seemed like a pretty good deal on her end as well. She didn't have to lift a finger, nor did Shadow Company, in finding the cartel members and bringing them down so Yona could once again live a peaceful life. He was starting to wonder why Ms. Mylan chose him for this assignment, and just how he could fix it, before Yona stopped. He didn't notice the pause before, because he was in his own thoughts, but he noticed the second one. "Ms. Park?"

Suddenly, a raven flew onto the board. It scattered some of the crows on the tree it was on, to which one crow fluttered to perch on a closer tree, watching the scene intently. First, the raven advanced Yona's rook to the middle of the board, then it took Eljah's queen to stand next to it, as if it wanted to pay itself. "Hey, buddy, go to another table if you wanna play, this one's occupied." He said, half in casual, lighthearted jest, half like he was actually talking to the bird as if it could understand him.

Soon enough, it flew off, though at first Elijah just thought it had understood that it was being rude. But it flew to Yona's car and perched there, then turned to stare at them, beckoning them forward. It seemed they'd stopped in the middle of Yona's denial to play with some mysterious force, though Elijah wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing for him right now. Yona got up to follow the bird, to which Elijah got up in protest. "Ms. Park, I'm not sure that's a- ah hell, she's going for it anyways."

Yona was faster as she had a determination to investigate whatever black smoke was coming from what seemed to be her car, though Elijah was slower with apprehension. He was close enough to see the sword she carried around with narrowed eyes and an eyebrow raised, briefly wondering why she carried that around, but knowing he couldn't judge her with the things he and his group carried at times. But then, she collapsed. "Ms. Park!" He called, rushing forward towards her. At the same time, the crow lunged off its branch to fly overhead until it got to the car, to which it dived down onto Elijah's shoulders. Getting there, he saw that the smoking sword was gone, and the raven was starting to dissipate in a similar smoke, this one colored amethyst. He stared into the raven's eyes as it dissipated, almost as a challenge. "Her condition is worse than we thought. Possibly something to do with magic. A witch or a warlock, perhaps? Anyone's guess now." He muttered as Yona awoke.

He was rattled out of his thinking aloud when he heard Yona's gasps for air and began helping her up, still with a crow perched onto his shoulder. "Ms. Park! Are you alright? Hey!" He seemed startled as she took out a pocketknife and cut herself. He didn't seem startled to see her healing rapidly. Of course, he already knew of her condition. Her healing. He'd seen it to a bigger extent yesterday. The shock was that she just cut herself like that. For a second, he forgot there was no risk for. Something like cutting her wrist wouldn't be an issue for her, because it would heal over in a matter of seconds. Elijah would have to use other methods that took far longer to prepare to heal a slit wrist in that way.

Elijah took her wrists in his palms, the action entirely gentle with no malicious intent, and spread them apart so that she wouldn't begin testing another area with her pocketknife. "Ms, please. You just passed out with smoke going into your body. You should sit down, and not cut yourself to see if you heal or not." His voice was gentle, his glazed over eyes set on to her, but the crow's head darted from looking at Yona, to looking at where the raven had perched on her car, with a concern etched on Elijah's face the more times the crow's head darted from one scene to the next.

(Sorry! Did not mean for it to take this long.)