No Shelter

[Enzo Dolan]

Drink makes men friendly, Enzo thought as he sat. He shook hands with the three as he did and introduced himself. "Enzo," he returned his name to each offered by the others. The most outgoing of them was the blonde, Tony.

He settled into a seat, posture relaxed, and waved a hand, "Work brings me to Moscow,"
he said. They undoubtedly noticed his the musical tilt to his accent. Theirs sounded like a bowstring scratched over the strings of a mistuned violin. He was going to add the nature of his career to the explanation, as one was ready. At first, the mistruth felt like lies, but Corrado set his perspective straight. He was a private investigator of sorts, if one was open to interpretation. However, before he could carry on, Tony's companions were suddenly drawn aside, a behavior Tony quickly apologized for. Enzo did not mind, although his gaze followed theirs toward the stage. He watched the girl as she performed a few moments. Her grace was befitting a ballerina, but Enzo looked away. Soraphine was so proud of her first ballet skirt, she wore it for a week straight. It was sickening to think of his daughter, a beautiful, graceful adult, objectified like this. The situation wasn't the same, he knew. His daughter was immortalized as her fourteen year old self in his mind, incomparable to these women. He didn't approve, but he let himself be drawn away by memories too long.

"Of course, they are distracting,"
he diffused the tension with a slight smile. The waitress brought his wine about then, the stem of which he toyed with while one of their number departed briefly.

In keeping with the theme, Enzo let his gaze wander the other patrons of the club. None fit the profile of a dreyken, although everyone was suspicious in his mind. The music drew to its end, and he waited to see whether it was appropriate to clap, or in any other way acknowledge the performance. How men sat in these venues for hours, he did not know. The woman that took the stage next was alluring in her own right, but was practically exactly the same as her predecessor.

He should take advantage of the situation, and investigate, as that was his supposed duty. "Do you come to Kallisti often? Or Manifesto, for that matter?"


It wasn't long after that someone joined their group without preamble or invitation. Enzo was taken aback when he recognized the fact. "Sébastien?!"
he queried, surprise apparent. This seemed like the sort of establishment he would frequent, but the coincidence was increasingly suspicious.

"The GUM,"
he reminded.

[Sebastian]

Bas sat there, the power humming in the background, painting each face as clearly as if they were out in the noon-day sun. There was a definite tension in the air. Little shifting of bodies, looks and such. For a moment, he felt as if he was surrounded by an enemy crew, waiting for the energy to ratchet up and then explode. He flexed his hold on the power and felt a measure of peace.

At wallet-guy's use of his name- though said in a way that would usually earn a fist in his eye- his eyes narrowed. He remembered now. The GUM, when he was shopping for his platinum suit. And when he first began to feel like he was being followed.

He gave the man a hard look. "Quite a coincidence, you being there and then being here."
His voice became softer. "Almost unbelievable"
The power writhed behind him and he soothed it, a snake coiled around his arm.

His eyes went around the table, momentarily resting on the guy who'd talked to Tatyana, but he spoke to wallet. "Friends of yours?"

[Enzo Dolan]

Sebastian's presence needled Enzo's nerves. The man he saw in GUM was flamboyant and forwardly friendly. This version of Sebastian ripped into Enzo like a devouring beast. The juxtaposition was shocking, and Enzo's brow furrowed, confused, as he crossed his arms and sat back in his seat. He pulled the wine glass close, resting it against his chest and the ledge of one arm. The depth of its scent wafted, but he refrained from taking a taste. Now more than ever he wanted his wits sharp.

"An incredible coincidence. I could say the same about you,"
he replied coolly. Sebastian did not recall, but there was a third chance encounter between them. Sebastian was gravely sick on the street as Enzo walked by. So ill, his memory was compromised. At the time, Enzo assumed a young man of wealth and loose responsibilities. Kallisti was a fitting place for Sebastian, as would be Manifesto he assumed. However, the sudden hostility was confounding his previous conclusion.

Enzo followed Sebastian's gaze to Tony.


((OOC: I think 'Wallet' is Tony, but correct me if I read that wrong.))

[Tony Soloyov]

Tony could virtually see the tension in the air as the one displaying his power like a body-builder displayed his muscles confronted them. With a gleam of a smile he sat back and watched the scene play out between the two strangers.

Veso and Hans were duly surprised, but they wouldn't do anything rash when they saw him. Dan had called it his 'crocodile smile'.

"Be careful of that smile,"
the dark man would say, his accent thickening. "It is the smile of a man who puts his hand in the jaws of a crocodile looking for gold."


For a long time he had them all convinced it was a proverb of his people, but when Yuri had asked, he flashed his white teeth and said. "My people are not all ancient. We have imaginations, just like your frozen men."


Apparently the two were acquainted, but it did not seem they were on friendly terms. Not that the abrasive one seemed like he would be on good terms with anyone. If he were reborn, it would be as a porcupine.

The development had lightened his mood. A chance meeting with two mysterious strangers with an equally mysterious relationship, and Tony was in the middle of it.

It felt just like the old days, when life was one ongoing intrigue.

Thus his smile widened as both men turned to him. It was equal parts innocent and welcoming with the gleam of humour shining in his eyes.

"I don't come here often, more's to pity"
he nodded to Enzo's earlier question before this Sebastian had heeded his call. "Nor the Manifesto. It is a special occasion tonight. A celebration."
the diffusion was as smooth as Enzo's wine.

"Sebastian was it?"
he continued, turning his eye on the one who still held the power. "You seem...tense... Please, sit. You are in good company. You look like you could use a drink."


"Unless,"
he added to both men, who seemed uncomfortable, even hostile towards each other, "there is some problem?"


No doubt there was. Tony counted on it.

It was not every day he encountered another of his kind in such interesting circumstances.

[Sebastian]

Bas turned from Wallet and followed his gaze to Goldilocks. Everyone was looking to him for some reason. Bas sized him up. Bit on the older side. Weak looking. But his face was strong and there was humor there. What this was, he wasn't sure.

But the power pulsed in him and gave him confidence. He could handle whatever this was. And, he realized, he was tired of running. This sneaking around was getting old. Not that he wasn't gonna go to Tatyana's tonight. Well, if she'd let him, anyway. Man I hope I didn't blow that, he thought.

At Goldilock's invitation, he sat down carefully, quite aware of the other men. His ribs hurt at the movement but he ignored it. He thought about ordering a drink but decided against it. He needed to concentrate. And his last experience drinking here still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"A problem?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not."
He gestured to Wallet while speaking to Goldilocks, half a smirk on his face. "All depends on how coincidental this all really is."
He leaned back seeming to relax, though he kept a tight grip on the power. Let them think him unarmed.

Casually he added. "Gustov does seem to have lots of friends of late."
He watched them to see if they gave anything away. Gustov might be only an under-lieutenant with the Kolomov's but that didn't mean he wasn't ambitious/

[Enzo Dolan]

Enzo's gaze shifted from Tony back to Sebastian. Strange how he found himself so comfortable in Tony's company and so strained in Sebastian's. These people are not my people, he told himself. The modern world viewed custom as something aligned with nationalism, ethnicity or rituals. In reality, customs were ingrained in every man's reality whether they assigned that word to it or not. It was in the way strangers greeted, the food they ate, and the flow of conversation at dinner. To Enzo, these Russians - which was how he thought of them - were the strange ones. Perhaps it was the country lifestyle in which Enzo was raised, or the steady wisdom of his mother's influence, but he was accustomed to people treating each other in a certain way. He briefly remembered his first few weeks in Rome, foolish as he had been. The romans were of a closer heart and mind to his own people, but the city warped lifestyles. How hard his transition had been, how rude the awakening. His travels in the years since took him through much of the mediterranean, yet the sea was a source of uniformity for everyone he met. His blue sea. Even in Egypt the sea was a source of unification. But in Moscow, he was surrounded by eastern men of wealth and influence trapped in a city so large it would take days to walk to the countryside on foot.

His intuition prickled defensively every time Sebastian looked at him. Tony probed for the source of contention between them, but for Enzo's part, there was none but what was fabricated from Sebastian's silent accusations. He could not understand their source. Enzo had been nothing but congenial since their meeting, if a little off-put by Sebastian's initial forwardness or in some of the way in which he treated Emily.

"I have no problem,"
Enzo replied, but did not wince away from the challenge in Sebastian's eyes. He knew a sense of confusion crossed his face at mention of some heretofore unnamed man.

The question on Enzo's face turned to Tony, or one of the other men, like they might hold the answer as to this Gustov's identity. Perhaps the question was really about Sebastian's sanity after all.

[Tony Soloyov]

Sebastian's display was remarkable. He showed all of the symptoms of a man entrenched in a murky scheme. By appearances, it was not one that would influence the trade market or shift billions from one hand to another, but Tony found this just as enthralling.

Both Enzo and Sebastian had the hard eyes of men used to hard work, not the lofty gaze of the elite. The mixture of intrigue and grittiness provided a more than adequate scene for Tony to work with.

With an arched eyebrow, he turned to Veso and Hans to see if they had heard of this 'Gustov' fellow. Tony knew many people took the name Gustov, but the way Sebastian stressed the name, Tony was sure he would have known exactly which man they were talking about.

As it was, neither of his two companions knew much. Veso just shook his head while Hans said, "No idea who this Gustov is. Sounds like trouble though."


With that said, Tony turned back to Sebastian. "I'm afraid it seems nobody knows your friend Gustov, Sebastian. I don't know what has you so wary, but as I said, you are in good company here."
Tony wondered if he would have to hit the man over the head with the power to get him to understand. "Coincidences happen as often as other strange phenomena. The world is full of them,"
he gave them all an encapsulating smile. "It is what makes life so interesting, no?"

[Sebastian]

Bas watched each man, hoping to see....he didn't know. Something, anyway, that might have said they knew Gustav. Instead, all he got were puzzled looks. He felt confused as they watched him warily. For a moment, the confusion bubbled and grew. He wanted to hit something, to pound and pound with his fists until it was gone, until it was shattered into a million pieces. He felt the power surge in his grip until he felt the prickle of pain. He hadn't felt that before and panic stabbed into his chest and he released.

The bubble popped and he was just sitting at a table, the thrum of music in the background coursing up his spine, but somehow thankfully, he didn't feel so overwhelmed with all the sensations coming in.

I have got to get control of myself. He saw the beads of condensation sliding down the glasses of the other men and suddenly felt very parched himself. More than that, he wanted a drink, he wanted to forget, to relax.

He looked over at the bar and waved over one of the serving girls. She came over with a smile that seemed for each one of them. Pretty, but he just wasn't in the mood. Which in itself should've sent him running. But he was suddenly tired of it all. He was tired of his old haunts and drinks and just all of it. In the end he just ordered a Mexican amber beer with lime. When she brought it back he downed about half in nothing flat, feeling his thirst quench and insides unclench.

When he lowered his drink, he felt batter. He smiled sheepishly. He was still on guard, he supposed. But perhaps it really was just coincidence. Nobody seemed put out or bothered by him. "Sorry about that. Had a run of bad luck lately. A few accidents. Makes a man paranoid."
He barked a laugh. "Still, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't trying to kill you."
He'd heard that somewhere and felt smart saying it.

[Enzo Dolan]

It seemed none of them understood the significance of Sebastian's reference. Indicating that either a gross miscommunication occurred, or Sebastian was fishing for something. Tony smoothed the tension, but reconciliation was not so easy for Enzo.

He recalled a time when suspicion and resentment were traits as foreign as English. Corrado counseled against cynicism, but since the loss of his mentor, a shroud of nothing else veiled his worldview. Sebastian hinted at threat to his life, Enzo would be wise to heed the possibility that maybe he was a victim rather than the perpetrator of such a plot.

"Paranoia changes you."
Enzo finally said in some sort of offering of peace, just as he cast a fresh look around the room. Finding nothing out of place, he relaxed his grip on the wine globe, even placing it aside. Perhaps he could help in some way.

But his phone beeped a message. He brought it out of a pocket. The holoscreen was always set to privacy mode, with the images broadcast at such an angle only the eyes directly before it could view the contents.

Considering the messenger, Enzo held the device to his chest and excused himself. "Pardon me for a moment, gentlemen,"[/color] he rose and moved away from the group.

Martin Borovsky was nobody to trifle with. Enzo knew the man primarily by reputation, but never had thought to find himself in such a position as to receive a message.

The message was a warning about a dangerous god, one whom Enzo happened to know the exact whereabouts.

His heart raced, but he was careful not to look from the screen at Sebastian. They were in grave danger, and Sebastian behaved like a cornered snake ready to strike. The man was admittedly paranoid, and a sudden message that spurred longcast glances would fuel his distrust. Apparently, Sebastian's alleged paranoia was not so alleged after all.

Enzo stopped himself from returning the call. Gods had powers that he could not fathom. Maybe Sebastian read his thoughts at this very moment. Enzo frantically willed himself to calmness, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His heart stilled and he put on a pleasant smile for a passing woman with long red hair.

He typed a response. 'I'm with him at this very moment. Hurry.'
Enzo included their location with the message. Kallisti was too public a place for the Atharim to fight a god, but Enzo was not one of the Regus's holy messengers. He was not willing to die in an uneven, ill-prepared fight with a god.

He tucked the Wallet away and returned to the the group. "Apologies. Work required my attention for a moment."
He sat with a sigh like the drama of the job was something he came to escape in the first place.

[Borovsky]

Martin received a very daunting message in return. One agent was in the presence of the god in question. They weren't ready. And they needed time to get there. Martin quickly sent a reply back.

"Do not engage. Monitor his whereabouts. We will take this outside at his leisure. Do not give yourself away."

[[ Finish ya'lls stuff, we'll see about chasing Bas when he leaves, still have to wrap up the meeting the hunters are currently in ]]