The Chase, Trenton, NJ

[Jude]

Stepping out of a car that had pulled into the parking lot of Ghallager's pub stepped an older gentlemen, at least forty, with his reddish brown hair beginning to gray and coming to his shoulders with his beard neatly trimmed. He wore a suit vest, a collar shirt, a black tie, a pair of slacks, a trench-coat, and a pair of boots, all gray save for the white collar shirt and the black tie. He placed the keys from the car into his pocket, and began walking towards the pub.

Other agents of the Red Council were still in the car, they could come in if they wished to. They couldn't buy anything, cause this was America and according to the government you couldn't drink here unless you were twenty-one, unlike Europe, but they could follow him inside. They two newest members had the options of coming along with him, and that was fine with him, he could teach them a bit, rather him than some idiot who doesn't know what he's doing.

This job was supposed to be easy and quick, just track this guy down, ask him a few questions and report back. At least those were the exact orders from Headquarters. This guy apparently had his own plan in mind as to what to do with the guy after that. The man they were apparently hunting was named Lucas Saul, a guy in his mid-thirties originally from Ohio. Possibly a Meta with connections to the new organization 'LEGION'. He apparently had ties with the owner of the bar here, and this is also where he was last seen.

Any answers they were going to get here weren't going to be easy to get. However, they were under strict orders to operate under precedure restictions up to level four. Which meant that unless one of them actually died, there was no using inhuman abilities. The point here was to look like family of this guy, or if that was impossible to look like their interest in him was within the human realm. If this guy was a Meta he might put up a fight, and if he was with LEGION then he might have some back up, but all in all this was supposed to be fairly easy.

"You coming?" The older man asked looking to the car.

[Zephyr]

"You bet," was the quick reply from within the car. Out stepped a young lady who looked to be approaching twenty. She tossed her brown hair back over her shoulder with a hint of annoyance. Zephyr had never liked confined spaces, cars included. She stretched quickly upon reaching the pavement, glad to be out in open air again. Her grey eyes quickly scanned the immediate area. It was a reflex by this time. She wrinkled her nose slightly in distaste.

"Could you have parked a little closer to the dumpster, Saint?" she asked the older man. Saint wasn't much of a talker when on the job, that much she had learned. But she couldn't stop herself from letting her sarcastic comments fly. It was just part of the way she operated.

Zephyr removed her jacket and tossed it back into the car. It was a slightly windy night, but wind didn't bother her. She would be fine sticking with her hooded sweater and jeans. She too was dressed in mostly grey. It was easier to forget people who didn't wear bright colors. She quickly pulled her gloves out of her pockets and slipped them onto her hands. The fingers were open like biking gloves, so they didn't provide any warmth. She had other reasons for wearing gloves.

"So, this is the place, huh?" she said casually as they waited for the final member to exit the car. "Why is it always pubs with these guys?"

She stuck her hands in her pockets, fingers closing around a pair of sleek goggles. They were more like clear-lensed sunglasses in appearance. She probably wouldn't be using them, considering this was just a recon job at the moment. But you could never be too careful.

[Tolaris]

A slightly rough voice from inside the car responded," Might as well." The man who stepped out looked in his early to mid twenties. He had black hair that was combed to the side and bright green eyes that penetrated the darkness around them. He was well built for a man of 26 and wore black cargo pants, tennis shoes, and black hooded sweatshirt with the orange letters upon it spelling out "Princeton". He didn't have his hood on, but his face was still somewhat concealed by the darkness around them.

He cursed himself for his heightened senses as the spell of the garbage was amplified. He could see right through the darkness of the surrounding area and saw no one but the people he was with. He looked over to the pub, smiled, and said,” Perfect, I’m old enough to drink.” He shut the car door and put his hands in his pockets.

Thoughts raced through his head on times, dates, and profiles. He had heard that they were tracking some guy from Legion, but didn’t know how powerful this guy was or if he was even human. His fingers in his right pocket ran over the surface of his pocket knife. “Handy,” he thought,” in case things too rough.” He looked at Saint and said,” Alright, we’re here. What’s the deal with this guy?”

[Jude]

((OOC: Please note that you only have your powers of heightened senses, strength, speed, etc. When in your wolf-man form, not in your human form.))

The older man, Saint, looked at the younger man with a brow slightly raised in question, and then nodded and blinked slowly as he looked towards the pub. "That's right, you were never breifed." He sighed. "Father Hans should learn to do a better job instead of making me do it." He shook his head a bit before placing his silver broad rimmed hat on top of his head, almost like a cowboy hat, but more like a dick tracy hat.

"We're trying to track down a guy by the name of Lucas Saul. Cacuasian man in his early thirties, wanted for two murders, and possibly connected with Legion. He might be a Meta but we have no concrete confirmation of that yet. We're operating under heavy protocol levels, which means that unless one of your teammates here dies, you don't use any of your abilities. We're just three humans." He explained. "Let the girl do all the talking, you just stand there and try to look like a druggy once we get in there."

That right there had been the most talking Saint had ever done while on the job, the guy should feel lucky. For some reason he just wasn't in his working mood yet. He would be by the time they got in there though. "You just go up and ask the bartender if he's seen Luke around lately." Saint said turning to the girl. "I'll go in a few seconds earlier getting a drink at the bar, and Blake, you come in after she does, come up to me and we'll start talkin'. If the bartender bites we'll be followin'."

That was the entire plan as he had thought of it right there. He wished he had time to do some recon work, maybe check the place out upstairs first before he sent in his partners here, but if things got rough they could handle it. They were council members, this was going to be easy. If the circumstances changed then the protocols would be lifted, but for now they were facing humans, and this was going to be an even playing field. They couldn't risk exposing someone to the secrets of the night.

[Zephyr]

Zephyr smiled a little. "No problem there," she said lightly. "Talking is what I do best." She looked at the building again, scrutinizing it as best as she could from the outside. "So the pub itself is on this level," she said quietly, more to herself than the others. "Looks like either one or two rooms upstairs. One light on up there." She glanced back down near the dumpster. "Cellar doors. I'm guessing they keep their alcohol down there in the basement."

"The layout isn't too extensive from what I can tell, but we can't be too sure," she said simply, finally reverting into business mode. "I don't suppose Father Hans scrounged up any building plans or anything... blueprints... contracting records... He doesn't strike me as much of a hacker."

Zephyr shrugged it off. Some things just couldn't be helped. "Well, you first then, Saint," she said. "I'll wait a few minutes before going in. Good luck."

[Tolaris]

Blake nodded his head as he listened to Saint's briefing on the situation. This should be interesting...." he thought. "A Meta, eh?" Blake asked," This should be fun if he is what you say he is." Blake paused and thought the situation through. If Luke was in the building, it would make things even more dangerous than they already were."

He looked over at Zephyr and listened to her basic layout of the pub. He nodded his head slightly and said," Sounds easy enough to figure out. This should be a blue milke run."

He turned back to Saint and said," Alright man, good luck. I'll be in after Zephyr gets in and do my druggy thing. I'll see you there."

((OOC: Got it, powers only come in the wolfman form.))

[Jude]

Saint braced himself and then went inside, going up the steps and into the front door. It was dark in here, and the smell of smoke immeadately assualted him, he felt violated. Going up to the bar he knocked on it to get the bartender's attention. "A pint." He said with a firm and demanding tone. He was in his work mood now, finally. He had this odd aura of stiffness about him, he didn't like his surroundings. The clack of billard balls rang in his ears from the single table in the bar. This place wasn't all that big, other than the tables and chairs the only furnishings were the pool table and the juke box.

"A pint of what?" The bartender asked stiffly.

Saint thought for a moment. "Th'best thing ya've got." He had money from Father Hans for this mission, of course if Father Hans knew what he was using the money for... well let's just say he had no idea. Saint thought of what the girl out there had said, he was going to suggest that the Council recruit a computer operative to operate communication between agents and general schematics, somebody to work from the Castle.

"Here you go." The bartender placed his order in front of him and took the money that Saint gave him.

"What's your name?" A female voice came from behind him and to his left. Looking over his shoulder his eyes met with a girl that had to be younger than twenty one. Probably seventeen, at the most. Scantily clad, if clad at all. What was it with cities? He turned back around without answering and took a sip of his beer. "You know it's rude to just leave a girl hanging there like that."

"I'm old enough te'be your father, get lost." He said in a serious tone as he took another sip of his pint. He could hold his liquor well, after all he was a Scotsman, so he didn't need to worry about being tipsy for the job if this was all he had. The girl apparently followed his advice cause she wasn't there when he glanced over his shoulder. He breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued drinking, it was time for the plan to start.

[Zephyr]

Zephyr stayed put as she was told. There was a bit of an uneasy silence between herself and the werewolf. She had only met him a few times before at the Castle, and they had been brief instances. All she knew was that he was called Torres and he was a fullblood. So she focused not on him, but on what she would say. She tried to play out any possible situations that could arise if she mentioned this Lucas guy. In the end, she decided to wing it. Her best acts were put on when she was BS-ing the whole thing. When three minutes had passed, she exhaled loudly to relax herself. She stood up straight, gave Torres a little half salute, and walked casually through the door.

Upon entering, Zephyr thanked the lord she didn't have the greatest sense of smell. If it was normal, the smoke would have made her gag instantly, and the last thing she needed was to draw attention to herself. She stopped in the doorway and scanned the crowd curiously as though she was looking for someone, being careful not to allow her gaze to travel to Saint. With an impatient sigh, she strode over to the bar and flipped her hair over her shoulder with two fingers.

"Excuse me," she said, rapping her knuckles on the counter to get the attention of the bartender. She had decided to appear to be in a hurry of some kind. When asked brisk questions, people often gave short answers. She didn't need an introduction; she needed a location. The bartender grunted "in a minute" as he passed her to get a drink for a customer. Zephyr heaved another impatient sigh and began drumming her nails on the counter. She glanced over at Saint, who was two stools down, and then glanced the other way to make it seem more natural.

"Can I help you?" the bartender asked shortly.

"That depends," Zephyr replied. She stopped drumming her fingers and leaned against the counter a little. "Have you seen Luke around lately?" she asked with a kind of casual urgency. The bartender looked at her for a moment.

"I haven't seen you around before," he said slowly. "How do you know Luke?"

"He knew my mother," Zephyr said without a second's hesitation. She seemed to have picked the right lie, because the bartender didn't seem surprised. She waited for him to reply, never breaking eye contact with the man.

[Tolaris]

Blake saw Saint walk into the bar and he became somewhat tense. He didn't like the situation, there were too many people that could become witnesses. He felt the awkward silence between him and Zephyr sink in. He met her in the castle when he first joined the Council. She seemed nice when he had talked to her. However, she seemed like a bit of a workaholic, almost as if her job were her life. He didn't mind that, though. If anything he admired that quality, it showed dedication.

However, after a few minutes of silence he heard her take a deep a breath and start walking towards the bar. He said to her," Good luck Zeph. Do what you need to do." He returned her salute with the peace sign.

Now he was out here alone. He didn't feel threatened though. It didn't seem as if anyone around here could take down a werewolf in its transformed form. However, if anyone were to see him transform, he would be in a world of hurt and possibly even have to flee the country. The possibilities ran through his head, but he tried to force them out and clear his mind. He had to stay focused.

After a couple more minutes, Blake tilted his hea to each side, hearing it crack, and walked towards the bar. As he entered the familiar smell of cigarette smoke filled his nose and the sound of a jukebox playing rang in his ears. He smiled and walked over to the bar. He knocked on the wood and said," Hey! Bartender!"

However, the bartender was busy talking with someone. He looked down the bar and saw him in deep conversation with Zephyr. He looked away as if minding his own buisiness and looked around the room. He saw the usual bar crowd, no one stuck out like an inkblot. However, he saw a girl who was dressed like a whore. She looked as if she were younger than most of the others in the bar, maybe even under 18. She walked up to him tossing her hair and saying," Hey what's your name?"

Blake smiled, he was used to dealing with these kind, they were usually caught hanging around with some Princeton guys on campus and escorted off by security. He responded," Brian. Your's?" She replied," Grace. You mind buying me a drink?" Blake felt his smile fade somewhat when he said," I would, I really would, but I'm meeting someone here. Maybe another time, alright?" She tilted her head to the side, seeming disappointed, and said," Alright. Later Brian." With that she walked away.

Blake breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the room. He saw Saint hanging around farther down the bar. He walked over there acting as if he'd known the man his whole life. He pulled up the seat next to him and said," Wassup Mike? What're doing here?"

[Simon]

Simon leaned on the wooden bar in his right hand he gripped a piece of paper and in his left a small cup of orange juice, he quickly downed the last bit of orange juice in his cup and placed it back on the bar. He then opened up the paper that he was holding, it seemed to be a profile of the man he was to capture he stared at it intensely "Lucas Saul" he whispered to himself, the bang of the door hitting the wall as a women entering startled him and brought him back to reality the women walked straight to the bartender, "Have you seen Luke around lately?" She urgently said to the bartender. Simon listened closely for his reply.

(O.o.C: sorry about shortness compared to all yours.

[Jude]

((OOC: Don't worry about it. ))

Saint watched with a careful and unobvious eye the events happening in the bar. Mainly from the large wall mirror hanging behind the bar. Zephyr came in with almost flawless timing, as did Blake. Both played their parts excellently, that was one thing off Saint's mind that he didn't have to worry about anymore. He smiled and greeted Blake warmly as he came up. "How many times have I told you to call me Mick?" He said with a slight smile. "Hey bartender, another one of these!" He said gesturing to Blake.

The bartender looked up from his conversation and nodded. "Comin' up!" He looked back to the girl as if judging her for a second and then shrugged. "So Luke knew your mother eh?" For some reason he stressed the word 'knew' quite a bit. "I hope for your sake you ain't his kid or something along those lines." He shrugged. "Hey Gracie!" He called as he started filling up a pint with beer.

The scantly clad girl that had talked with both Saint and Blake as they had come in looked up for a second from the pool game she was playing with a guy that looked her age. "Yeah?"

"Girl here is lookin' for Luke." The bartender said as he placed the Pint in front of Blake, he didn't even ask him for ID.

The girl, Gracie, looked curious as she came up to Zephyr. "What's your name love? What do you want with pop?"

The bartender answered before she could. "Said he knew her mother."

Gracie seemed to think for a moment. "Oh? What's your name hun?"

[Zephyr]

Zephyr listened silently, thinking fast as the others spoke. She tucked her hair behind her ears quickly to give herself another half second to think before she turned to this... Gracie person. "I'm Anna," she said easily with a hint of a friendly smile. "And yes, my mother knew Luke. But no, he's not my father."

'Anna' bit her lip and looked down a little. "My father died very recently. He was a police officer and he was killed on the job." She paused for a moment, letting it sink in and pretending to compose herself. "I'm looking for Luke because I never knew my mother, but I know he did. I want to know more about her. She disappeared when I was little, and I'd like to find her. Apparently she and Luke were close somehow before I was born. I figured I'd start with him." Sob stories. Oldest trick in the book, and yet people always fell for it. The bar was silent for several seconds. Even 'Mick' and 'Brian' seemed to be listening.

Zephyr counted slowly under her breath. If it took too long for them to respond, they didn't believe her. If they replied too quickly, they were suspicious. There was timing in her line of work, and it needed to be perfect. Her mind didn't stop working on responses to anything they could possibly say in reply, and her thoughts continued reeling as she waited.

[Tolaris]

Blake smiled and responded to Saint," Sorry Mick. Keep forgetting about your little name problem." He took a seat by Saint and waited for his drink to come up. He overheard the entire conversation and saw Grace talking to Zephyr. When Blake heard Grace refer to Lucas as "pop", his muscles tensed in fear. If she were to see the three of them travelling together, she would be suspicious. However, after hearing Zephyr tell her story, he had to keep his jaw from dropping in amazement to that reaction.

He turned back to Saint and whispered to him," That's brilliant! I have no idea where she comes up with these things, but they're brilliant."

However, Blake realized the danger of the situation. She could have either jeopardized the whole mission or just saved it. He turned back towards the mirror and waited for their reactions.

[Jude]

Mick nodded as he waited for the bartender and Grace's answer. Quite suddenly the bartender just chuckled. "Luke's probably the guy that killed your dad." He said with a slight smirk. Grace glared at him and shut him up quite quickly. It was almost as if she had put him in his place, but wasn't he the one that owned this joint?

"Come on dearie." Grace said with a slight pity smile. "We'll help you out in anyway we can. Pops aint here, but I can get him a message maybe. So you can set up a meeting time, or something like that. Kay?" She asked with a sweet and somehow annoyingly chirpy smile.

[Zephyr]

It took every ounce of control Zephyr possessed to prevent herself from rolling her eyes. Girls like Grace were the reason she hadn't exacly enjoyed school when she had still lived here in the states. Instead she shook her head a little. "I'm not from around here, actually," she said. "I'm leaving tomorrow. Do you know where he is? I'd like to find him if I could."

Zephyr didn't like his place. It was rather small, and the air was thick and hot. It was all around uncomfortable. It was no secret that she didn't like confined spaces, and this wasn't any different. She was fast running out of patience. But she wouldn't let it show. This was the critical time. Their whole mission rested upon these two people, neither of which seemed too bright. But one couldn't be sure. For all she knew about these people, they were acting as well.