To Rule In Shadow

Adrian took a moment to compose himself. He also made a mental note to be more careful about slipping out of character in public. By the time he'd turned around, his usual smile was in its rightful place. "I'm surprised to see you here too, Ethan. I didn't think this was your kind of event."

His older half-brother scowled, as if annoyed that he didn't get a rise out of Adrian. "Hmph. Normally, you'd be right, but Charlotte insisted that I attend as her escort, and you know how obnoxious she can be when she wants something. I'd much rather put up with a few hours of pointless gossiping than listen to her nag me about it for weeks on end."

Despite being rude and annoying, Ethan was actually one of the most palatable members of Adrian's family, and one of the few he'd willing speak with. That said, he liked to keep their interactions to a minimum, since there was no such thing as trust amongst the Veldt siblings.

Standing next to each other, few could easily guess that they were related. Where Adrian was the typical tall, dark, and handsome type, with pale skin, straight black hair, and cold blue eyes, Ethan was an almost polar opposite. His dirty blonde hair was cut short, and his bronzed skin suggested a lifetime spent out in the sun. Put him in a wetsuit or a pair of swim trunks, and he could easily be mistaken for a professional surfer or beach bum.

Ethan's appearance often put people off guard. Just going by looks, he seemed both incredibly approachable, and distinctly harmless. Which was precisely the intended effect. It was quite amazing to see it in action.

"Speaking of which, where is your fiance? I haven't seen Charlotte since the last family picnic." Adrian asked with as much sincerity as he could manage while mentally planning his next move. He couldn't afford to be tied down in conversation at this juncture.

Ethan sighed dramatically, "Who knows? Whenever we go to these sorts of things, she always gets so wrapped up in talking to these pretentious bastards that she disappears into the crowd before I even realize it. Kinda makes me wonder why she's so adamant that I go with her."

He shook his head with a long suffering expression, before turning towards Miranda,"Anyway, how long are you going to make me wait for introductions? While I doubt she's anything special if she's willing to spend time around you, the very least you could do is show her off to your family."

"You and I both know that would be a terrible idea." Adrian replied seriously. "Miranda, this is my brother Ethan. Ethan this is my girlfriend Miranda."

"So good to meet you!" Miranda exclaimed with her usual bubbly excitement, earning a c.o.c.ked eyebrow and a sneer from Ethan.

"Take it down a notch." Adrian muttered in her ear. "He dislikes unreserved types."

She maintained her smile, but subtly altered her body posture, changing her demeanor in the process. "We've only been together a couple of weeks, and I haven't had the chance to meet any other members of Adrian's family yet. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all."

Adrian had to admit, the effect was impressive. With something as simple as changing the way she stood and talked, she came across as someone completely different. If he were in Ethan's shoes, it would be easy to miss her momentary over-enthusiasm. Any ordinary person would be completely oblivious. Unfortunately for Miranda, the Veldts weren't an ordinary family.

Ethan closed his eyes and shook his head. "That's enough of that. You clearly don't understand your position, or how dearly you should hope that I am the last member of Adrian's family that you actually meet."

He opened his eyes and focused his imperious gaze on her before continuing. "Listen well, girl. I don't care who you are or where you came from, but Adrian here is something like family, so I'll give you a bit of advice for his sake. When dealing with our siblings, don't draw attention to yourself and pray they don't see you as anything more than a passing fling. If you appear to have any real value to Adrian, you'll be wrapped up in family politics faster than you can blink. Judging from what I've seen of you so far, I doubt you'd come out of it in one piece."

Miranda's mouth hung open slightly, a little too stunned by the sudden hostility to react. After a few moments, she looked down, made a quick excuse about freshening up, and headed off in the direction of the restrooms.

"That was a bit much." Adrian commented while watching her go. A small part of him was feeling a bit guilty.

Ethan threw up his hands in response. "Feh! I didn't say anything untrue. A girl like that, even with her training, would be like fresh meat to the others. Hell, I had to resist the urge to screw with her myself. You only have to look at her to know that she's a mess of insecurities that can be exploited."

"She's tougher than you'd think. I know from personal experience that she's far more resilient than most." He said with a smile. "However, I think I'll play the gentleman anyway, and go check on her. Do tell Charlotte I said hello."

Adrian was turning to leave, when Ethan caught his shoulder. "Leaving so soon? That's a shame, I was going to give you some good info, but I guess I'll keep it to myself now."

[Ah, this old game. At least he never changes.]

"Sorry, what did you want to tell me?" He asked sincerely, starting the usual exchange.

"Eh, I don't really feel like it now." Ethan said with a shrug. "Maybe some other time."

"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"

Adrian noted a brief smile on his brother's face, a sure sign that he fully intended on making a trade in the first place.

"I'm not sure...maybe, if you agreed to take over Great-Grandfather duties during the next family gathering, I might be willing to part with what I know."

"...Fine, I'll cover for you." Adrian said with a grimace. After all, it was Ethan's turn to take on the onerous task of attending to the great patriarch. A job made more difficult by the man's advanced age and recent decent into senility. "Now what is this information that you're holding onto so dearly."

For the first time since they'd bumped into each other, Ethan's face became serious. "I don't know what you got going on in this city, but a little birdie told me that Sandra picked up on something you've been doing, and she's apparently very interested in it. From what I can gather, she seems to be planning to make a trip here at some point in the near future."

Adrian frowned as he thought of his oldest half-sister. Of all his siblings, she was the hardest to deal with in a number of ways. If she was coming here, he'd need to be prepared for the worst. "Thanks for the warning."

Ethan gave him a wide and slightly malicious grin. "Hey, us brothers need to stick together. Its just the two of us against the entire female side of the family."

"You're forgetting about Peter again."

"Meh. He barely counts. You and me though, we make a good team. Just something to think about in the future."

[Ho...So that's what he was after. He must be in worse shape than I thought. I suspect I'll be hearing from him in the near future. Probably something about an amazing business opportunity...]

Adrian shrugged his brother's arm off. "I'll keep that in mind, but I really do need to check on Miranda."

"Fine, fine, go." He replied sarcastically. "I'm not one to interfere with young love."

Adrian left quickly, not willing to risk being drawn into whatever scheme Ethan had planned. He wandered the party for awhile, trying to find a sufficiently isolated spot. The social hour was drawing to a close, and the venue was beginning to get a little crowded. Eventually, he found a corner in the entry foyer, which allowed him to call his servant.

"Pavuk, report."

A voice issued forth from his shadow. "My lord, I have located the gathering site for the celebration. Although I approached them in regards to obtaining entry, they were quite hostile, and I was forced to leave, lest I violate your order to avoid alteractions. Instead, I found an alternate pathway into the event."

"Explain." Adrian commanded with a frown, not liking the sound of this.

"I encountered a pair of individuals who are attending as representatives of their organization. They are willing to bring you along as a guest."

[Yep, I definitely don't like the sound of that.]

"What is the organization?"

His shadow gurgled for a moment, before vomiting for a familiar looking business card. "They call themselves The Bureau, and they claimed to have had interactions with you prior to this point."

Adrian thought of the woman in the hooded sweatshirt, before dismissing the idea. Surely, they had more than just her working for them. Finally he sighed while rubbing his eyes. "Where am I supposed to meet them?"

"They said they would find-" Pavuk started before he was cut off by a person suddenly invading Adrian's personal space.

"There you are. You never did visit. I have to admit its a little frustrating to be ignored like that."

[Speak of the devil and he shall appear, as they say.]

Taking a step back, Adrian regarded the young woman, who was once again wearing a sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, although this one was a light shade of gray. "Does it make sense to accept the invitation of someone who broke into your home and proceeded to talk about your intimate secrets?"

Shrugging as if to say that it didn't matter, she replied nonchalantly. "That's fair. I've been told I have a bad habit of scaring off potential allies that way."

"Then why do you do it?"

She grinned. "If a little prodding was enough to frighten them, then they really aren't worth the trouble of recruiting."

He favored her with a light smile while scanning the room. As far as he could tell, no one was paying any attention to them, but his instincts told him he was being watched. "I see we disagree on the nature of courage and wisdom. Anyway, by that logic there should be no reason for you to approach me again."

"You're a special case. Its been so long since someones been in full control of the Hall, nobody is quite sure what to make of you. Most of the major players are still observing at the moment, but its just a matter of time before some of them begin seeking you out."

[Hm, unless she's lying, this means my expectations regarding the supernatural world are more or less accurate. Luckily, it sounds like I'm enough of a threat to keep them from acting out of hand. Now I just need to secure a solid source of information...Is it worth it to deal with this Bureau?]

He considered the matter and came to a decision. Without saying anything, he started walking towards the room's exit. The girl in the hoodie was thrown off for a moment, but fell into step beside him.

"Huh? Where you going?"

"You are providing me entry into the other event taking place here tonight, right? Then lets get started. I believe the elevator down to the lower levels was in the west wing..." He commented dryly as he moved quickly in the indicated direction.

"Hold on a second," the girl started, looking a little fl.u.s.tered, "we aren't quite ready to go yet. Give us ten...no, twenty minutes, and it should be good."

Adrian shrugged. "Too bad. I don't really have the time. I guess I'll just force my way in."

He could almost see her eyes spinning. "Wait...y-you can't."

Adrian was forced to stop when a man stepped in front of him. "I must apologize Mr. Veldt, but I'm afraid we can't allow you to do that."

The speaker was an older man, looking to be in his fifties, and was dressed in an immaculate, if somewhat dated, suit. His steel grey hair was slicked back against his head, which created a smooth contour line that matched with his well-trimmed beard. Although he didn't appear particularly dangerous, something about the way he carried himself was setting off warning bells in Adrian's head.

"I take it you are the senior member of the Bureau's delegation?" He asked, glad that his bluff had succeeded in drawing the man out.

That earned a small smile from the gentleman. "Indeed."

"Good. We have business to discuss."