To Rule In Shadow

It didn't take long for Adrian to memorize the few lines of the Bureau's creed, and in fact, he had it down before they had even arrived at the elevator which would take them to the Esoteric Order's gathering. He'd just finished mentally reciting the words while stepping in, and switched to considering what conversation topics would cause the Bureau agents to reveal more pertinent information. So far, he'd learned quite a bit, but had yet to get any clear idea of what sort of structure the organization operated under.

While deliberating on the subject, he watched Cornelius pull out a key card and slot it into an inconspicuous reader on the elevator's panel. As soon as he did, the doors slid shut and they started descending. Supposedly, the event was being held on level B3, but there were only buttons for B1 and B2. He wasn't surprised that the convention center had a floor that was hidden from the general public, most places like this did, but he did take note of the fact that the Bureau agent was so familiar with the process.

[I suppose they must be called upon to do these kinds of things quite often.]

Deciding to begin by probing for weakness, he turned towards Abby, who was staring at the mirrored surface of the elevator walls with a bored expression on her face. "So Abby, out of curiosity, are you a Practitioner like your senior? You don't quite give off the same vibe."

She grimaced at the question, but answered nonetheless, "No, I'm a Knacked."

"I see." He nodded, before putting on his best ingratiating smile. "Do you mind if I ask what your Knack is?"

"I'd rather not answer that..." She replied while awkwardly looking away. Evidently, this line of questioning was effective in eliciting the response he wanted.

"Mr. Veldt, one's Knack is something of a s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e subject for members of the Underworld. It would be tantamount to asking someone to explain their strengths and weaknesses in detail." Cornelius broke in dryly.

Adrian rubbed the back of his head while making sure to keep his body posture relaxed. "I understand that, of course, but it would be strange for a junior member of your team to not have some idea of what the two of you are capable of. I know Cornelius is a Practitioner, and therefore is likely capable of a number of things, but I have no idea of what miss Abby here can do."

The senior agent frowned, "That is a good point, but the fact remains, you are not actually part of our organization. Therefore, we cannot trust you with privileged information that could later be used against us."

"Oh? But I've done nothing but show good faith to the Bureau. In fact, if you all had approached me in a less hostile manner in the first place, I might very well have already become your ally already. That's why you are doing all this, right?"

Flinching slightly at the dig that was not so subtly hidden in his statement, Abby gritted her teeth, "Fine! I'll tell you."

Cornelius looked at her, face softening slightly, "Abby, you don't have to. He doesn't..."

"No, its alright." She cut him off. "If this is what it will take for him to trust us, then so be it."

At this point, the elevator dinged, and the doors opened into a deserted foyer. A sign reading, 'Five Hundredth Conclave of the Esoteric Order,' was set up in the center of the room with an arrow pointing directly ahead through an open hallway. By unspoken consent, they stepped out into the foyer, and stopped.

[This feels strangely pedestrian.] Adrian thought as he took a moment to glance at the sign before turning to face Abby with an expectant look.

After a few seconds of hesitation, the junior agent began speaking. "My ability is called Spatial Sight. With it, I can gain a perfect understanding of the space around me and all the objects within it."

He waited, but that was all she was planning on saying apparently. Not wanting to pass up on this opportunity, he pushed a little further. "That sounds useful, but it must be pretty bewildering to have all that information on hand all the time. How do you cope with it?"

That elicited a bitter chuckle from her. "Easy, I don't. I've spent years training to block out the vast majority of sensory data that has no immediate use, and focus on the things I want to understand. While I've made great strides, I'm still far from being able to master my ability, so I only make use of it in short bursts. But that is usually enough."

She pulled a rock out of her pocket and held it up for him to see, "Let me demonstrate."

She tossed it up into the air, caught it again, and then threw it underhanded back into the elevator. It bounced off two of the walls, ricocheting with loud 'ping' noises, before striking one of the buttons on the panel, causing the doors to close as the elevator began to ascend.

"Now just imagine if I was using a real weapon." She said with a c.o.c.ky smirk.

"Hm, pretty useful indeed." Adrian started, fully planning on asking about the specifics of her ability, but Cornelius chose that moment to break in.

"We should hurry. The event will begin soon, and it wouldn't do to have the Bureau's representatives be late."

Acceding to the old man's meddling, Adrian followed him as he lead the trio through the hallway and towards a set of double doors marked 'Conference Room 6.' A table was set up out front with a pair of men dressed in suits seated behind it. Rows of plastic badges with string lanyards were neatly placed on the table top, but didn't appear to have any name or information included on them.

One of the two, an older guy who looked to be in his late forties and was dealing with a noticeably receding hairline, stood up as they approached. He seemed to recognize Cornelius, because he immediately flashed a friendly grin.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here. You nearly missed the opening ceremony. If you took much longer, I would have had to send the rookie here looking for you." He spoke with seemingly genuine warmth, but pointedly ignored the resulting expression of annoyance on his colleague's.

"My apologies, Tyler, we had some business to take care off." Cornelius answered, before waving at the pair behind him. "I'll need badges for the three of us. This Abby, my partner, and Adrian, a trainee that will be observing the event."

Tyler nodded, before giving his partner a 'hurry up' gesture. "Looks like the Bureau's having you babysit tonight. I can sympathize. I wish the Order would stop fobbing the youngbloods off on me just because I'm more patient than the others."

The as of yet unnamed man still sitting at the table clenched his jaw in obvious anger, but thought better of saying something about it. Instead, he grabbed three of the badges and laid them in front of him. Then, while staring at Cornelius he held his index finger against one of them. There was a momentary flash of light, and picture of the agent appeared on the badge's white surface, along with his name and the words ' The Bureau' underneath. He then repeated this process with both Abby and Adrian.

[Magic security badges? Interesting.]

"I'm sure it is due to your superior teaching methods, Tyler." Cornelius replied in a tone that was a little too friendly to be sincere. "Clearly, the elders felt you could best serve the Order by showing the next generation the proper way of things."

The other man waved his hand dismissively. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm well aware of how they think of me. They probably just wanted to throw me somewhere I wouldn't cause too much trouble for them. After all, I'm not good for much besides fighting."

Despite his protestations, it was clear that Tyler was still enjoying the praise.

[Its a bit overdone, but I guess this smooths the way a bit. Words are free after all.]

Once they had gotten their badges, the junior member of the entrance team stood and opened the door for them. "Welcome to the Conclave of the Esoteric Order. While you may be members of the Bureau, please note that violence on the premise is strictly forbidden. Until you leave through these doors once more, please refrain from any such action."

"Come on now, Greg. There isn't any call for that. I've known Cornelius for years. They aren't the type to cause a fuss." Tyler protested with a frown. "Jeez, you can't just go around treating important people like common criminals."

This caused the man named Greg to snap, fury written on his face. "I'm just following the procedure!"

Tyler chuckled, "There is a time and a place for standard procedure. If you can't learn when to ignore it, then you'll be stuck doing things like guarding doors for the rest of your life."

"But its just....Argh!"

Cornelius took this opportunity to break in, "Now, now, there is no need for this, Tyler." He turned towards Greg, "While I cannot promise that we won't rely on violence to defend ourselves or our lives, you have my word that we will not be the ones to start any fight."

The younger man nodded, looking mollified, "Thank you. Now, if you'll please step this way, I'll direct you to the meeting hall. We have a few events planned before the main gathering..."

Adrian only half listened to Greg's explanation, as he followed the other two through the double doors. As soon as he passed the threshold, he felt a strange tingling sensation pass over his entire body, but it faded soon after.

[So they have a defensive field of some kind. Good thing I chose the peaceful method of entering. Not sure what this thing might have done if I tried to force my way in.]

He knew he was a bit out of his depth, dealing with forces he didn't fully understand just yet, but he wasn't worried. After all, the heavy presence in his shadow showed that even the Order's defenses weren't foolproof.

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

Tyler sighed as he sat down again.

This was the part he disliked the most. Specifically, the short period of time between when Greg left to escort the guests to their next destination, and when he returned to resume his usual duties. In the meantime, Tyler would be expected to fulfill all of the responsibilities for door duty, to include making badges, something he still had a bit of trouble with.

Their implementation was relatively recent, only a few decades ago or so, and he still hadn't quite gotten down the method of recording visual images. The elders knew as much, which is why they assigned Greg, who was relatively talented in mana control, to him as an assistant. Yet this didn't help him when the young fool hared off on his own.

[You better not be dallying again.] Tyler thought angrily.

There had already been a couple instances where the younger practitioner had taken far too long while escorting guests, almost forcing him to actually try and make a badge for some impatient visitors. He was currently living in fear of the mockery he'd be subjected to, should he attempt it and fail. His standing in the Order would be ruined if it got out that he couldn't manage something so simple.

It never occurred to him that his harsh treatment of Greg might be the reason the younger man was taking every excuse to stay away, or that he could take up the role of guide himself, and avoid the problem entirely.

The elevator dinged, signalling another guest's arrival, and Tyler felt his heart sink.

"Crap..." He muttered to himself. It hadn't been more than a few minutes since his protegee's departure. It would be unlikely for him to return any time soon.

He stood before the doors even opened, fully prepared to greet the new guest, whoever they might be, and hopefully distract them with conversation for the next few minutes. "Hello, and welcome to the Conclave of the Esoteric Order. If you would be so kind..." His words trailed off as he realized that there wasn't anyone he could see in the elevator.

[What the hell? Some kind of glitch?] He thought, although his instincts were telling him that something wasn't right.

Although he may not look like it, he was an experienced practitioner who'd survived over a century in the Underworld. One didn't get to this point without developing some skills. As a third degree master of the Gentle Fist Style, he could arguably be referred to as an expert by the standards of the Esoteric Order, albeit one of the weaker ones.

Tyler settled into a combat stance and released his qi, allowing it to spread throughout the hallway and into the foyer. If something or someone was attempting to approach invisibly, then he would be able to detect it by the subtle vibrations in his qi when it impacted the life force of another.

"Come out! I know you are there. Do not think to test this master!" He shouted, hoping to flush his enemy out.

After a full minute of silence, in which he still didn't detect or see anything unusual, he sighed, relaxing slightly. He still didn't quite feel at ease, something about the whole situation was leaving him deeply concerned, but he guessed he must be imagining it. He turned and went to sit back down, only to notice that the door to the convention center was open slightly.

[Didn't Greg close that?] He distinctly recalled the younger man pulling the door shut. After all, it was protocol to keep the entrance closed whenever possible. The door being left open, even slightly could only mean one thing.

"Shit..." He cursed under his breath before pulling out his phone and quickly dialing a number.

"Sir? Yes, its Tyler. I think we have a problem."