05-25-2018, 04:22 PM
Ivan had waited. And waited. And waited. The hours had ticked by and he'd hugged his jacket around him to stave off the cold of later spring. Periodically he'd seized the power and scanned the tunnels, sending tendrils of air out, feeling for movement. Over time, he'd found he was able to send them out farther and farther, feelers, whiskers. But for some reason, when he'd tried to make it turn a corner, like the optics that SWAT used to peer under doors too thick for thermal imaging.
Instead, the weaves had fallen apart when it turned the corner and he couldn't see the whole thing. Which was weird. Normally, he might have wanted to figure out the mechanics of the this. Not now though. It seemed like the lead had settled into a pit in his stomach. Yun Kao.
It was close to 2 am when he'd gotten home. And while he'd wanted to go right to sleep, worry about his family and trying to figure out how to get out kept his mind racing. It took a few shots of whiskey to quiet his mind enough. Well, to be honest, he'd just sort of passed out on the couch. And it was more than a few. The full bottle had been drained to just a quarter.
Which meant that morning he'd awakened still drunk, dehydrated and a monster of a headache coming on. After a few pills that did nothing later, he'd called in sick and tried to go back to sleep. Small mercies- it'd worked.
The next few days he was a zombie, just going through the motions. A few people asked him if he was ok. Alex had pulled him aside and talked to him. But there was nothing other than telling her he was trapped. She'd listened and tried to pick his spirits up. Well, again, to be honest, she had. For a little while anyway. And in the quiet of her room, feeling the warmth of her in his arms, he did feel some sense of peace return to him. But always only temporarily.
And then he'd received a message from the Office of the Ascendancy. A ball. Seriously? What the hell would he do at a ball? For that matter, why would he need to be there? Ascendancy was fantastically powerful, as were those others around him. General Vellas. Consul Dubois.
Not like he could refuse. So he'd paid for a rental tux (like he owned one.) For a moment, a light of humor had cut through him and he thought about getting a light blue or light orange one, complete with ruffles on the shirt. But nah. He knew better. And he really wasn't in the mood. Though it did make him smile to at least imagine it.
Whatever help Alex had given though had evaporated at the message he received from Yun. That lead in his stomach became heavier. Not like she wanted him to do anything big. But...doing anything for her was bad. He knew how the game was played. Give him small easy jobs, each one innocent enough. In this case, nothing illegal in the slightest. But he wasn't a fool. Each step would wind another thread around him. A spider and he was the goddamn fly.
Except....no. He'd figure out a way. He had too.
So eventually he found himself being scanned in and heading into a room filled with preening assholes, men and women who'd paid the requisite millions in order to hob knob with the Ascedancy. The man would be here, he knew. But fat chance he'd get to him. He took a glass of champagne from one of the servers and held it after a sip. He'd have to be careful. He couldn't let himself lose his wits. The opulence of the room was lost on him- in this mood anyway.
He knew none of these people and so only wandered around. He kept alert, though, watching for his target even as he ground his teeth. That silk thread was weak and easy to break. But he couldn't take the chance. Not until he had help.
Not from Ascendancy. But he remembered he DID know someone here, if only through one brief encounter.
Two faces to look for then.
Instead, the weaves had fallen apart when it turned the corner and he couldn't see the whole thing. Which was weird. Normally, he might have wanted to figure out the mechanics of the this. Not now though. It seemed like the lead had settled into a pit in his stomach. Yun Kao.
It was close to 2 am when he'd gotten home. And while he'd wanted to go right to sleep, worry about his family and trying to figure out how to get out kept his mind racing. It took a few shots of whiskey to quiet his mind enough. Well, to be honest, he'd just sort of passed out on the couch. And it was more than a few. The full bottle had been drained to just a quarter.
Which meant that morning he'd awakened still drunk, dehydrated and a monster of a headache coming on. After a few pills that did nothing later, he'd called in sick and tried to go back to sleep. Small mercies- it'd worked.
The next few days he was a zombie, just going through the motions. A few people asked him if he was ok. Alex had pulled him aside and talked to him. But there was nothing other than telling her he was trapped. She'd listened and tried to pick his spirits up. Well, again, to be honest, she had. For a little while anyway. And in the quiet of her room, feeling the warmth of her in his arms, he did feel some sense of peace return to him. But always only temporarily.
And then he'd received a message from the Office of the Ascendancy. A ball. Seriously? What the hell would he do at a ball? For that matter, why would he need to be there? Ascendancy was fantastically powerful, as were those others around him. General Vellas. Consul Dubois.
Not like he could refuse. So he'd paid for a rental tux (like he owned one.) For a moment, a light of humor had cut through him and he thought about getting a light blue or light orange one, complete with ruffles on the shirt. But nah. He knew better. And he really wasn't in the mood. Though it did make him smile to at least imagine it.
Whatever help Alex had given though had evaporated at the message he received from Yun. That lead in his stomach became heavier. Not like she wanted him to do anything big. But...doing anything for her was bad. He knew how the game was played. Give him small easy jobs, each one innocent enough. In this case, nothing illegal in the slightest. But he wasn't a fool. Each step would wind another thread around him. A spider and he was the goddamn fly.
Except....no. He'd figure out a way. He had too.
So eventually he found himself being scanned in and heading into a room filled with preening assholes, men and women who'd paid the requisite millions in order to hob knob with the Ascedancy. The man would be here, he knew. But fat chance he'd get to him. He took a glass of champagne from one of the servers and held it after a sip. He'd have to be careful. He couldn't let himself lose his wits. The opulence of the room was lost on him- in this mood anyway.
He knew none of these people and so only wandered around. He kept alert, though, watching for his target even as he ground his teeth. That silk thread was weak and easy to break. But he couldn't take the chance. Not until he had help.
Not from Ascendancy. But he remembered he DID know someone here, if only through one brief encounter.
Two faces to look for then.