The office was dark through the glass paneled walls as Ellie walked down the corridor towards the door. She glanced at her wrist watch. Quarter past eight, hmm, he's late.


Barry, her secretary, a sweet older man of fifty-two, who lived across town in Ealing, usually arrived around eight. She frowned to herself as she balanced her bag and a paper cup of coffee in one hand, and wiggled her keys out of her pocket with the other, and unlocked the front door. She sometimes wondered why he bothered to make the arduous commute across the city every morning, but the old guy never complained of the decrepit tube lines, and was usually on time. Well, almost always. Ellie knew people his age had a hard time finding work, and his story about the loss of his wife six months before, and the desire to do something with his newly found time had struck a deep chord within her, so had happily offered him the position. Their arrangement was working out so far; he was organised where she was not, and that was exactly what she needed to make sure her business didn't fall on its head before it had even taken off.

She glanced at the freshly painted sign on the glass panel in front of her face, as she pushed the office door open. A swell of something akin to pride and regret rose in her, all mixed up in a bitter swirl.

FOWLES PRIVATE DETECTIVE AGENCY


Looks almost too professional,
she thought with a smirk, as she walked into the office space that made up both Barry’s reception desk and a semi-informal waiting area for her clients. She flipped the lights on, passing a quick eye over the room. Everything was as it was when she left it the night before. Barry’s neat and orderly desk covered in plants and succulents of a dozen varieties, the two brown leather couches, or sofas as Barry called them, the water cooler, chrome espresso coffee maker - good coffee was a luxury she couldn’t do without - the tall ferns that stood in each corner, the floor fan positioned in front of the small grimy window, to blow gusts of air around the room in the extreme summer heat that swamped London for months at a time.

Satisfied, she walked through the waiting room to the door of her personal office, twisting the doorknob and gently kicking the door open with a booted foot. She hit the light switch, and again glanced around, making sure nothing was amiss, then hung her bag on a hook by the door. She drained her coffee, and threw the cup in the trash bin next to her desk, then pulled her jacket off, draping it on the back of her chair, and unclipped her gun holster, placing it on her desk.

She walked back out into the waiting room, humming tunelessly to herself, and started to make herself and Barry some fresh coffee. Suddenly a loud bang came from the door, and she started in surprise, simultaneously turning and reaching for her gun. Which of course is on my fucking desk, nice one El
. She snorted in amusement though as she saw Barry, struggling to open the office door with something that looked like a new and rather large potted plant in his hands. She walked over quickly and yanked the door open, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Really, Barry?”
she asked with feigned mockery, in her still strong New York drawl. “More greenery? Damn, it’s gonna be a jungle in here soon.”


Barry looked sheepishly at her though the leaves of the plant held in front of his face. “Sorry I’m late Miss. Fowles. This one is a beauty,”
he said in his clipped Londoner accent, as he held it towards her. “Don’t you agree? I thought she would look splendid on your bookcase.”


She grinned, and shook her head. “Fine, fine, you just go ahead and put it wherever you want. And Barry?”


He stopped enroute to her office, and turned to look at her.

“It’s Ellanor, or Ellie. Please, for the love of the gods, stop calling me by my surname. Its just plain weird.”


He nodded in acquiescence, and she turned back to the coffee maker. Be damned if he is going to listen to me, I have told him a thousand times already.


A little while later, a fresh steaming latte on her desk, laptop open in front of her, Ellie got to work. She had just landed a new case, and was reading through the notes she had taken when she had met with the client, the son of an elderly socialite who lived in an estate in Sussex, and apparently a citizen the Dominance VII Custody, or the shitty and corrupt Met Police, didn’t seem to give a fuck about. Or maybe that they thought she was a crazy old coot, and had chosen to ignore her and her son’s repeated requests for help. Ellie didn’t mind that the Custody and the Met were pretty slack with this sort of thing, to be fair, because it meant all the more work for her.

The son of this woman had shown up at her office two weeks before, informing Ellie that his mother was extremely upset and would be willing to pay her a significant fee if she could solve the case. Along with a very handsome advance, and a promise to double it with the successful capture of the perp. She had whistled to herself internally as she watched him transfer the funds directly into her work account on her laptop, and had pretty much decided to take the job then and there, without even hearing the details of the case.

Perpetrator. Or perpetrators, she supposed, as she read over her notes. The case was all kinds of interesting, but the money made it more so. The poor woman’s precious and expensive horses and breeding dogs were being brutally slaughtered, and her son was at a complete loss to explain it. Probably a gang of local kids, getting wasted and fucking stuff up for kicks.


She gave up reading, and sat back, taking a sip of coffee. Anyway, whatever the case, this advance is a big thing
, she thought. She was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the work load; cases were coming in thick and fast. To be expected of a city as heavily populated as London, where the Custody gave little care about the lower poor folk trying to live their lives, and the Metropolitan police were a shadow of their former selves. She had told Barry to say yes to pretty much any job that came across his desk, but had approached a cross-roads. She had a choice - start turning down the jobs, or hire an assistant. She hated to say no to people that needed her help, so when this particularly well paying job fell into her lap, the latter seemed like an excellent choice.

Barry had placed an ad in the appropriate enforcement circles, and in the local press, and on notice boards near Met offices the week before. Today was interview day. Of the fifteen that had applied, only two candidates had passed her scrupulous requirements. The first, a guy in his thirties from Birmingham, who had worked as an undercover officer infiltrating some extreme socialist party, and the second was an ex-cop from the Met. The first was her preferred choice; older, more experienced, no doubt good in a tricky situation. The second, a kid really, she had chosen because of his London roots, and of course his experience with policing.

She glanced up from looking at her coffee as she heard the phone ring in Barry’s office, and listened to the man’s english lilt as he answered.

“Hello, you have reached Fowles Private Detective Agency, how may I help you today?...Ah, yes, and how are you?...Oh, oh dear, that is a shame….yes, yes I will inform Miss. Fowles right away...please, yes, you do that...no, anytime will be fine..very well, good bye.”


She sighed as she heard him walk towards her door, and knock gently. “Miss. Fowles? That was one of the interviewees. He won’t be able to make it today, says his mother has taken ill. He was very apologetic, and said he would call to re-arrange the interview.”


Esme tisked. “Goddamit. I bet it was the Birmingham guy, wasn’t it?”
He nodded softly, mouth twisted in regret.

“Fuck,”
she said loudly, then instantly regretted it. “Sorry, sorry, language. Ok, well, unless this Knight kid is a genius or something, or really really amazing, we can get the other guy down as soon as he can make it. Thanks, Barry.”


She glanced at her watch after the man had turned back to his desk. The kid's due in what, thirty minutes? Yep, just enough time to catch up on the news and finish my coffee. Sweet.


Edited by Ellie Fowles, Sep 8 2015, 11:26 PM.

[[ concurrent with Finding Aurora]]

Aria hide the amusement at Ayden's anger the boiled until near bursting. Aria didn't know why she was angry and it didn't really matter and she was playing the red head anger management issued girl to a T. Aria smirked as she left with possessive feelings floating amist the anger. If she only knew that she hid nothing.

Nox's concern was well placed as they headed towards their destination. There was no reason for her to be allowed in the building much less to Master De La Cruz' flat. But it was easy enough to do. Aria let her hair down and revealed a little more cleavage than necessary and tightened her leather coat around her to hid her swords and give her a little more mystery - what was underneath. She'd have opted for something other than her combat boots, but that was what she had. Aria laughed as Nox was at least getting an eye full. He was ever the boy with an eye for the girls.

Aria walked across the street checking the comms before she was at the door man. She smiled sweetly up at him, "I'm here to see Mr. De La Cruz."
Aria laid her hand on the man's ungloved one and Aria saw the moment of doubt flicker through his mind before he opened the door to admit her. Weak willed men were easily manipulated by a pretty face and a gentle touch, and with her gift even more so.

Aria walked in as gracefully as her boots would allow and up to the front desk. The man at the front desk watched her with a wary eye and she let her best smile slide on to her face. What she couldn't give for a little bit of fancy jewelry to add to the air.

The man asked, "Can I help you?"

Aria could feel that Aurora had been here all bubbling over with joy and fun and not a hint of the sadness at the apartment but her emotions were like flowers to a bee for Aria. She'd started tracking her and now she could find the littlest hint of her emotion as long as it wasn't months old. She'd never tried this after such a long time. "I'm looking for for Mr. De La Cruz."
Also in the lobby she could feel all sorts of excitement from giggling girls - the type of emotions that go with large crowds of fans. It was much the same in Vatican City except it was a bunch of pious idiots there to see the Pope or some other saintly character. "I'm not a fan. I have important business with Mr. De La Cruz."


The man's eyes flickered up and down her almost imperceptibly. It was evident he saw something distasteful and his eyebrow rose skeptically. "Business?" His tone made it clear he didn't believe her. "If you'd like to leave a message for MISTER De La Cruz, I would be willing to pass it along to his assistant."

Aria's smile widened and she reached across the counter and laid her hand on his with a little push in the right direction. "I need to talk to him. Can't you help a gal out?"
Aria hoped she didn't have to push too far, clingy men were annoying.

His eyes widened slightly and seemed to soften. He was an older, grandfatherly type. A small smile played on his lips. "My dear, I think perhaps you would be wise to leave Cruz alone." His tone became more tender. "The ways of men like that are things we must accept. Go home, dear. Let things be."

Well that was nice to know. Aria let her smile brighten and pushed a little harder. "Thank you for your concern."
Aria ran her fingers across the edged of his arm to his cheek. "I can take care of myself. I promise. I need to talk to him, it's important."


His face warmed and the concern left it as a new interpretation force itself into his mind. "An old friend then? I'm sure he will enjoy the surprise." He lowered his voice conspiratorially. "He's on the top floor, the penthouse. You should get up there with no problem." He winked at her. "Such a sweet thing. You take care of yourself, dearie."

Aria smiled again and caressed his rough cheek. "Thank you kindly."
Aria made sure to leave a lingering touch so he'd not call up immediately. He was weak but even the weak can fight easier without her touch. Depended on how much he believed her.

Aria headed for the elevators and pushed the button and was on her way up to the penthouse. She wondered what she was going to walk in on. She let her sense drift wide for any signs of Aurora but there was nothing active, only memories.
Edited by Aria, Sep 8 2015, 02:03 PM.

Name: Ellanor Fowles, also known as Ellie or El by her nearest and dearest

Occupation : Private Detective

Height: 5' 7"

Build: Athletic

Appearance: Ellie keeps herself toned and fit, and has long black hair. She is of Puerto Rican, Haitian and Lebanese ancestry. She prefers to wear casual muted garb that gives her the freedom to move quickly and disappear into a crowd; she can usually been seen wearing dark tight jeans, tank tops, a light jacket and Dr. Martens. She wears a Buddhist charm on a chain at all times; a present from her sister who lives in India since the death of their mother 7 years previously. She wears a handgun in a body holster; her preferred weapon is an antique SIG Sauer P226 9mm, lovingly restored with a carbon fibre grip.

Shrewd, sagacious and meticulous in her work, Ellie is highly intelligent with a Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from the Greater New York Metropolis University. She is generally reserved and skeptical, preferring to observe situations around her; these attributes make her particularly well suited to surveillance work. She is also somewhat dualistic in that her diligence in her work does not carry through to her personal life, which is chaotic. She is bisexual with a penchant for one night stands, mainly due to her reluctance to settle down after the loss of her fiance.

Ellie grew up in the Bronx in New York with her mom and sister, and developed a deep love for her people and her community. Her desire to protect the most vulnerable from the corruption forced upon them by the most powerful led her to pursue a career as a detective for the NYPD.

A year into the job she found she shared common interests with fellow detective Jamie Hanes, and they became lovers. Their relationship quickly escalated, and they were engaged ten months later.

Several months later. Ellie landed a big case - concerning the body trail of a local mob boss. As she drew closer to closing it, she uncovered evidence of large scale corruption among the ranks of her fellow officers, including that of her fiance. Horrifically torn between the love for Jamie and her morality, Ellie struggled to deal with the situation. Unable to make the decision, she handed the case over to her Superintendent, who swiftly brought an end to the careers of those implicated, leading to the arrest of the mob boss. Jaime was sentenced to prison, and he broke off their engagement. Upon finding out her connection to Jaime, in retaliation, the mob boss ordered his execution while in jail.

Ellie's job was no longer tenable, and her loss drove her to leave New York. She decided that London was far enough away for her purposes, and she used a contact in the DVII Capital Division Custody to network with, ensuring her free passage to set up her own agency.

Ellie is one of two employees at Fowles Detective Agency, based in Angel, Islington, London, where she works along with her secretary, Barry. Most of Ellie's work involves solving small time surveillance and domestic cases, but she works hard to keep herself distracted. She is a rational woman, and although has seen strange things in her line of work, remains skeptical about rumors of the unexplained.

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Edited by Ellie Fowles, Sep 7 2015, 07:21 PM.

Due to Ayden's intervention, Emily was feeling a lot better about herself. She had been kept quite busy as of late, but a good majority of her personal moving was done. Rachel had fully moved in and had started classes. Everything was going great.

Meeting Dorian had been fun and Emily was glad for her sister. She was sure that Rachel and Cruz were talking at school when they could and Rachel had gone out a couple of times dressed nice. It seemed like there were a few dates that were happening.

Emily turned on the news and watched. She had worked most of the day and was ready to turn in for the night, but she thought that a quick viewing of what was going on in the world would be helpful.

Once again, there was coverage of Sierra Leone, and Emily frowned. Jacques Danjou was essentially building his own army now. Something big was going to happen. Investors were angry and threatening lawsuits. Emily could understand. She had investments and those people were likely to lose profits. Emily would likely be angry too in that situation.

However, she felt for the people of Sierra Leone. Many had been killed and all so one man could gain power. It was sad. Danjou wanted to fight that injustice. Emily had a hard time deciding if it was right or not. She truthfully didn't know. But she wanted to do something.

Elyse wore all black with armor underneath her shirt. She was on a hunt. Rumors of a creature feeding on human flesh had perked up her ears and she decided to take a look and investigate.

After the incident outside of Moscow, Elyse had spoken with the police and the hospital staff. She told the truth, not speaking about the others that had been there, but as she was not guilty of any crime, she told them about the accident and the death of woman. After some questioning she was released.

The puppy now lived with her. Elyse had taken the poor thing to the veterinarian and got all of his shots up to date and got him some food. The little guy seemed happy at least. That was something.

Elyse had made sure to check into Atharim Headquarters, so the Moscow branch knew she was here. When she had heard the rumors, she headed to the underground city to investigate. Underneath her coat she carried both her pistol and her crossbow with extra ammunition and a bolts. She planned on getting more information and assessing the validity of the rumors and from there on out, making a plan.

If you've thought about buying the entire wheel of time collection in ebook format now is the time.

http://www.tor.com/2015/09/01/complete-w...kend-sale/

On sale for $44.99 this Labor Day weekend!

It really sucks because I have about 80% of them as my hubby started rereading them, and I have the end so I could finish. But all in one searchable format might be of use.

The world spun so out of control. There was little Nox could to do control anything. Ever since his mother had died, the world just kept through shitty events at him. She died. Their father died. They found out they were godlings. They crashed in a plane. Lost their memories. Now when things started looking up, they'd found their memories, each other, a home. Now things started going poorly again. This fucking roller coaster was making Nox sick.

Everyone wanted to help but Nox didn't know where to start. Aria could only track the car so much. It would become too difficult. Hunting monsters that way was easiest. It would take too long and it might already be too late. That thought sent Nox's mind reeling again back into despair. He'd lost his sister because he had been too busy with someone else - too busy in his new life. Now she might be hurt or worse - dead.

Aria's arms were wrapped around him, he could feel hear her heart beating in her chest. She had her own issues and she was fighting her own self just to help him. He had to get it together.

Nox pulled away from his friend and looked down at her. She frowned and he gave her a weak smile. It was going to be a tough ride the whole way through this. He pulled himself up and out of the arms of his friend. He could do this. He had to.

"Aria can talk to our new friend here."
He pointed at the man sitting on the holoscreen with a smile that was not very nice.


Edited by Nox, Sep 8 2015, 12:04 PM.

Ricky took a deep breath. He hadn't felt nervous until now waiting at the gate of Damien Oakland's estate. There were guards stationed on the outside. It was something he had anticipated. As he walked, he pulled out a picture of Marta at the zoo. He was doing this for her and all those like her. The picture gave him courage.

Ricky approached the guards, standing tall. He exhaled the breath he had taken and waited for the guards to acknowledge his presence. "My name is Enrique Salguero. I'm requesting to see Señor Oakland. Camila Muñoz sent me here."


Ricky had a brief meeting with Camila. The discussion led to this. Apparently she worked for Oakland and now Ricky was hoping to do the same. If the guards decided to check for weapons, they would find Ricky unarmed. If the rumors were true, then Ricky didn't want to in any way appear to be a threat. Besides, he wasn't here to harm Damien anyways. He was here to discuss a partnership.

(Camila with permission)
Edited by Enrique, Aug 24 2015, 11:18 AM.

http://www.gizoogle.net/

Use the texilizer to translate chunks of text.

Use the Web Tranzizzle to translate a URL page.

Trust me, you'll thank me once you try it.

Rajani Misra had taken the train from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City. It was not the location she sought, that would be Moscow. But it was the best way for her to travel. A plane would need identification, something Rajani had never been inclined to offer. Especially as the most known River of Magic user, in her estimation, was a wanted terrorist. The train went from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City to Beijing to Moscow. Not a straightforward path or a short trip compared to the ease of flight, but she had dealt with worse in the past.

It was daytime. Only a few short hours before the moon’s rising, but Rajani had wanted to at least walk around the city. Even if it was briefly, while she was temporarily there. It was good to feel the sun as well, even if it felt of betrayal. Before leaving Malaysia, she had not in truth ever been to a city and now she had been to two in just a few days. Granted her stay in Bangkok was short, her stay here would be even shorter. Rajani did not like for it to be noted about her failings though and would much prefer seeming to have much experience with great cities than none. Short ventures like this would make it all the more easier to pass off being knowledgeable.

Rounding to enter a park within the city, there were trees and flowers maintained to look wonderful along the shaded path. There were chants coming from a clearing and open grass area. She supposed it was a rally of some sort, but could not be concerned with the politics of Vietnam anymore. Rajani wondered for a moment if it was still called Vietnam within the CCD. It was a realization of knowing she knew too little of it all. That would need to be corrected.

Shaking her head, Rajani stood in the background and listened as a speaker went on with speakers reverberating his voice. The man spoke of unity and greater purpose of seeing the message within the muddled mess. Rajani was not truly interested in the religious speech, but something held her there as if she should at least make note of it. The man went on, “The world is united and embracing the path. But the True Path is the lesson all religions speak of. The True Path that was given to us to be exemplary, to be what humanity can be. All we must do is embrace it. This light given to us is more remarkable than…
”

Rajani was interested of a sort. Not in the religious nonsense, that was droll. But in the opportunity these fools did not realize they had. The CCD would look to unite cultures and create bonds throughout their empire. Before long they may have invented such a religion themselves to do so, or maybe they already had? An interesting though, but not one she believed. It was too small scale and too shoddily done for the government to be backing it, even underhandedly. The government would have seen to more press being in attendance at the least.

No, these were just fools who may actually believe their drivel. It did not matter so much to Rajani, but she was interested in the potential influence this could lead towards. Once the government did catch wind of an unifying religion, they may very well support it whole hardily. And at that point whatever leader came forward for this religious movement would have the ear of the CCD. An interesting thing to keep an eye on.

Her obsidian eyes captured those standing before the crowd. It was not a large gathering, nor were many on the impromptu stage. But Rajani was sure to remember each of their faces in case they ever became noteworthy. Not a good chance, but still a chance. With that, she continued on. Her next train would be departing in only a few hours, then she would be in Beijing. A step closer to Moscow and finding out about the River of Magic. Closer to learning how to be stronger with it.