To Rule In Shadow

Adrian awoke covered in sweat with a pounding headache. Fragments of half-remembered nightmares still echoed in his skull. The last thing he saw before opening his eyes was the outline of a door.

He sat up in his bed, gasping for breath.

After a few minutes he felt well enough to stand. Glancing at the time, he saw that it was nearly 7:00 am. He'd woken up before his alarm, something that had rarely happened before.

Doing his best to dismiss the strands of fear still coiling around his heart, he commenced his morning routine.

This consisted of showering, shaving, eating breakfast, and dressing in a tasteful set of clothes that was neither too provocative nor too conservative. The whole process took nearly 45 minutes, during which Adrian remained silent.

Just before leaving his room, backpack in hand, he paused in front of the hallway mirror. After briefly looking himself over, he concentrated on his eyes. Staring into those two cold pools of ice water, he began constructing his mask for the day, mentally and physically preparing himself.

Adrian left the front door of his apartment, a slight smile on his face. He paused to greet his elderly next door neighbor, who was in the process of walking her small black terrier.

"Good morning, Mrs. Robertson. How is the arthritis today? Do you need me to help with anything?" He asked with a warm smile.

"Good morning, Adrian. Lovely to see you. No, no I'm feeling quite alright today. You do too much for me as it is-"

Her usual morning routine was interrupted by a deep growl from her terrier, Fabio, named for Mrs. Robertson's favorite actor.

The dog was shaking, gaze fixed on Adrian, trying to back as far away from the man as his leash would let him.

"Fabio! You stop that this instant!" Mrs. Robertson cried ineffectually. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He's not normally like this."

"Its alright, I'm sure something just scared him." Adrian replied while making a quick getaway. "I'll see you later, Mrs. Robertson."

"Take care, now." She replied distractedly, while trying to get her pet under control.

[What was up with that dog? Normally, he would be all over me, but now he's acting like I'm the devil. It couldn't be that thing that happened last night, could it?]

The crisp, October air chilled him, so Adrian stuck his hands into the pockets of his coat. He felt a hard object on the right side.

Pulling it out, he saw the strange ankh shaped key.

[When did I put this in my pocket?]

A d.e.s.i.r.e to get rid of the thing nearly overpowered him. It faded quickly, but not before he had brought his arm back in preparation for a throw.

He stared at the key for a few moments, then pocketed it again, deciding to deal with it later. Using his metro pass, he boarded the next train heading downtown.

It was packed at this point in the morning, commuters taking up almost every available space. With effort he was able to force himself into a corner.

He only lived a few stops from his university, but the trip still took a while. On crowded mornings, it was almost unbearable.

Letting his thoughts drift, Adrian began mentally reviewing his tasks for the day.

He'd managed to avoid having too many extra curricular activities this semester by claiming that his studies required more of his time than in previous years. Luckily, his family considered his job at the student newspaper to be suitable enough, so that he didn't need to do anything else.

Soon enough, his stop had arrived.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice the woman in a grey hooded sweatshirt, that was watching him from another part of the train as he got off. He also didn't notice it when she started following him.

----------------------------

Adrian took his customary seat in his Constitutional Law class, a spot almost exactly in the center of the lecture hall. Stretching, he made himself comfortable, before setting up his laptop.

"Yo! Adrian! What's up, man?" An energetic voice broke him out of his reverie.

"The usual. Just living." Adrian favored his friend with a smile.

A short man, with shaggy brown hair, tanned skin, and mischievous eyes sat down next to him. A pair of high end headphones hung around his neck. Adrian could still hear faint music coming from them.

Martin dropped his bag on the floor nearby, before propping his feat on the table in front of him.

"I was getting tired, so I went home to sleep, that's all." Adrian answered with a sigh. He could already tell that his friend was in one of his moods.

"Oh, then why was it that a certain Caroline Murphy was seen walking back with you? You can't sit there and tell me nothing happened."

"Nothing happened." He replied without irony.

"Come on man! You know I survive on the vicarious details of your love life." Martin exclaimed in an exaggerated manner while throwing his hands into the air.

"Sorry, but I was only walking her home. Nothing interesting happened."

Martin fell back into his seat and crossed his arms. "Fine, spoilsport."

It didn't take long for him to forgive Adrian for the disappointment, and they were soon chatting again.

"Speaking of parties, isn't there a gala coming up soon? My parents have been harassing me about getting a date. I don't think they understand how difficult it is to find a regular girlfriend, let alone one that would be 'acceptable,' you know?"

Adrian chuckled, "What are you getting at?"

Sighing, Adrian reluctantly agreed. "I know a girl that might be willing to go with you, but you'll probably have to shell out for a limo, a nice dinner, and a few gifts."

"No problem." He answered while shrugging, "What's the point of having rich parents, if you can't use it to your advantage from time to time?"

Adrian smiled wryly. For all Martin's shallowness, he actually enjoyed hanging out with the exuberant guy.

That he was from a good enough family to be considered 'acceptable' by Adrian's step-father, but trashy enough to be a point of contrition, made him even better.

Class started in earnest soon afterwards. Since he had already completed most of his work for this particular subject, he didn't really pay attention.

Staring out the window at the cloudless sky, he found himself thinking.

[How peaceful.]

----------------------------

Vance cracked his knuckles, sighed, and resumed pacing. He had been waiting all night for answers from the family's best 'persuader,' but evidently the man was proving harder than he anticipated.

[Damn. I'll have to take this suit to the cleaners. Again. Why don't I ever remember to take one of my cheaper ones when I'm working?]

While he was thinking, he absentmindedly rubbed the scar on the upper portion of his lip. The one that twisted his mouth into a permanent smirk.

The door opened and a skinny, bald man wearing a pair of rimless glasses stepped into the small waiting room. He was in the process of removing a pair of bloody rubber gloves, when he started talking to Vance.

"Welp, he's dead."

The big man was stunned. "Dead? What do mean dead?! Why the hell did you kill him, McLean?!"

The skinny man adjusted his glasses carefully before answering. "Looks like poison. Since his actions have been somewhat limited since he arrived, I'm suspecting a slow acting dose. He probably took it himself before he was captured."

"Crap. What am I going to tell the boss? She's going to have my hide for this." He said while clutching his head. He could already imagine the kind of welcome he was going to get when he reported the news.

"Relax, I have some good news for you. Paul managed to track our guest from the auction site via security cam footage. He only made one stop before you got to him, an apartment building in midtown."

McLean was now fastidiously washing his hands in a nearby sink. "I had a few of my guys look into it, and guess what? There is only one person living in that building that has any connection with our buyer."

McLean in turn gave the file to Vance. "I suspect that the key is now in the possession of one, Adrian Veldt"

Vance examined the picture of the a black haired youth for a moment, "Why, though? What's so special about this kid?"

"You mean beyond being the stepson of Deputy Mayor Veldt?" McLean replied with small smile.

Vance started. This case had suddenly gotten a lot more complicated.

McLean continued, "If you were the buyer, but knew that you would be caught before you had a chance to stash the key somewhere safe, who would you trust to keep?"

"You mean...."

"You'd give it to your closest family, wouldn't you?" McLean laughed coldly. "Do be sure to give the boy the news about his biological father when you catch up to him. It would be cruel to do otherwise."