11-26-2013, 05:17 PM
The clicking sounds of high heels approached and Ulrich paused the battleship game that had occupied the duller minutes between visits just in time to straighten his shirt and square his shoulders.
A tapered heel and a long, pale leg reached around the corner, and he smiled warmly. Shin-pei gently laid an elaborate fur coat across the table and scanned the badge that accompanied it into the system.
"Here's another fur. Twelfth of the night. I guess that means you're winning,"
she smiled, playfully bitter to be losing their long-standing bet.
Ulrich waved his hands, "I tell truth, Shin-pei. Fur coats. They come back into style, yes? Yes."
He retrieved a velvet lined hanger, sturdy and thick and tucked it beneath the coat's shoulders.
Shin-pei shook her head. Ulrich's intel on the fashion trends came solely from these parties, or so he liked to claim, but she saw the way he smoothed his sleeves. Even in his most ordinary, he wore clothing like they were tuxedos: assured and confident.
Her earpiece alerted her to the door's opening again.
"You know fashion, Ulrich, but I know fashionably late!"
She tapped her watch. He'd estimated the guests would have all arrived forty-five minutes ago. Shin-pei's bet gave her another five minutes. She turned to go, "Looks like you'll be buying tacos tonight--"
but her chiming laughter was cut short by the sudden appearance of a broad-shouldered man in a long trench coat. Another was draped across his arms.
"--Oh! I am so sorry, sir. Please, allow me to take your coats!"
She began to take the item from him but despite her jolt, he was undisturbed by the tiny woman's presence. The lines around his mouth barely moved as he shook his head. He stepped around her, and placed the coat across the table.
Ulrich had come back from the coat room, frowning at their interaction.
"Shin-pei needs to scan your coat, so we can return it to you at the end of the night."
The stranger hadn't even removed his sunglasses, and as Ulric bent to grab a hanger, he saw the tiny sliver of an earpiece nestled behind the man's ear.
Ulrich slipped the coat carefully from the table. It was a cashmere-soft wool of slate gray. The lapel was lined with a narrow strip of black fur, soft as the velvet night.
"No need for scans." The man said, voice hard as iron. "I will be guarding it."
Shin-pei gawked with confusion, but Ulrich was on the verge of laughter. "Guarding a coat? Sir, I assure you of its safety in present company."
He unfurled the coat and dipped the hanger in the shoulders. That's when Ulrich saw the pin on the front: an orange and black crescent rimmed in gold.
He gaped and quickly hung it up. The agent, meanwhile, took a stance along the wall. Shin-pei lifted her shoulders, questioning the shock that unhinged Ulrich. He mouthed a word in response: "Ascendancy,"
and pointed down the hall.
***
Nikolai swept a gaze across the faces that slowly realized his presence. Some colored with anticipation, others drained with fear. Exactly the reaction he'd hoped for; as even the oligarchy needed to be reminded of their place in the world once in a while.
A tapered heel and a long, pale leg reached around the corner, and he smiled warmly. Shin-pei gently laid an elaborate fur coat across the table and scanned the badge that accompanied it into the system.
"Here's another fur. Twelfth of the night. I guess that means you're winning,"
she smiled, playfully bitter to be losing their long-standing bet.
Ulrich waved his hands, "I tell truth, Shin-pei. Fur coats. They come back into style, yes? Yes."
He retrieved a velvet lined hanger, sturdy and thick and tucked it beneath the coat's shoulders.
Shin-pei shook her head. Ulrich's intel on the fashion trends came solely from these parties, or so he liked to claim, but she saw the way he smoothed his sleeves. Even in his most ordinary, he wore clothing like they were tuxedos: assured and confident.
Her earpiece alerted her to the door's opening again.
"You know fashion, Ulrich, but I know fashionably late!"
She tapped her watch. He'd estimated the guests would have all arrived forty-five minutes ago. Shin-pei's bet gave her another five minutes. She turned to go, "Looks like you'll be buying tacos tonight--"
but her chiming laughter was cut short by the sudden appearance of a broad-shouldered man in a long trench coat. Another was draped across his arms.
"--Oh! I am so sorry, sir. Please, allow me to take your coats!"
She began to take the item from him but despite her jolt, he was undisturbed by the tiny woman's presence. The lines around his mouth barely moved as he shook his head. He stepped around her, and placed the coat across the table.
Ulrich had come back from the coat room, frowning at their interaction.
"Shin-pei needs to scan your coat, so we can return it to you at the end of the night."
The stranger hadn't even removed his sunglasses, and as Ulric bent to grab a hanger, he saw the tiny sliver of an earpiece nestled behind the man's ear.
Ulrich slipped the coat carefully from the table. It was a cashmere-soft wool of slate gray. The lapel was lined with a narrow strip of black fur, soft as the velvet night.
"No need for scans." The man said, voice hard as iron. "I will be guarding it."
Shin-pei gawked with confusion, but Ulrich was on the verge of laughter. "Guarding a coat? Sir, I assure you of its safety in present company."
He unfurled the coat and dipped the hanger in the shoulders. That's when Ulrich saw the pin on the front: an orange and black crescent rimmed in gold.
He gaped and quickly hung it up. The agent, meanwhile, took a stance along the wall. Shin-pei lifted her shoulders, questioning the shock that unhinged Ulrich. He mouthed a word in response: "Ascendancy,"
and pointed down the hall.
***
Nikolai swept a gaze across the faces that slowly realized his presence. Some colored with anticipation, others drained with fear. Exactly the reaction he'd hoped for; as even the oligarchy needed to be reminded of their place in the world once in a while.