Diplomatic Talks

JP with Jaxx, Redsword, Trustno1 and Cindy

Meanwhile Agent Powers and Ekaterina had just finished getting dressed after a rather passionate game of “hide the zucchini” in her room. Poor Agent Powers was unsure what to say or do after being used as a love toy by the princess. Behind closed doors she was quite aggressive and naughty as she took advantage of Agent Powers’ innocence. Ironically they missed all the drama that happened earlier downstairs. As they left their room they heard a nearby door closed. However they didn’t see anyone in the hallway so they figured they missed whoever it was. Then the two made their way downstairs to get some food. As they came down they saw Alyssa and Peter.

Alyssa was walking out of the room with some food. "Lunch is set up. Feel free to help yourselves." She was about to leave but then stopped. "Actually can I talk to both of you for a moment?" She then looked at Peter wondering if he'd stay or leave but thinking this might be easier if he wasn't here.

Sartre headed to their room.

Agent Powers gave Alyssa a smolder as he was not sure what if this was related to what Ekaterina and he were doing not to long ago. Then he looked at Ekaterina who elegantly replied, “Of course. Did you learn something new about the mission?” Seeing Ekaterina was willing to talk he nodded and replied, “Uh sure.”

"No, this isn't about the mission but it is about the team." Alyssa explained. "It came out, to Dahlia and Choi, that Peter's ability is profiling people. In essence he can read minds. He knew things about the meeting in the library that Choi and Dahlia had with the vampire that he couldn't have known. Well, long story short, Dahlia or I'm sure both of them probably, mistakingly think that Peter read their minds. He actually read the mind of the vampire that they met with. Well,Dahlia stormed off up to her room, Choi went after her." Alyssa paused, "I don't know if Dahlia will believe that Peter didn't read her mind, I'm not even sure what to say to her. Either way you both needed to know what was going on as it might affect the team. Ekaterina I know you and Dahlia are close so especially you needed to know.”

Alyssa got a response from Choi, but the "not now" wouldn't sit. She responded. Well, you might be interested to know he didn't read her mind or yours. Not knowing if he'd even bother to read it. At least they could have waited for an explanation.

Agent Powers gave Alyssa a smolder and paused for a bit. Then he looked at Ekaterina then back at Alyssa as he replied, “I see. That does explain a lot.” Ekaterina raised an eyebrow at Alyssa and then Agent Powers as she asked him, “Did you know about this?” Agent Powers shook his head no and replied, “ Nope. This is my first team mission and I don’t know much about anyone. My job is to protect Alyssa and help the team complete their mission.” Ekaterina looked at Agent Powers as she was checking on his expressions to see if he was lying but could clearly see that Agent Powers was an open book to her. Then she elegantly replied to Alyssa, “Well this does complicate things.”

"It does, but profiling isn't a safe thing to do. It's less safe when someone doesn't have permission because failures can lead to all sorts of complications, some possibly life threatening. No one uses an ability like that without the precaution of asking, if it can be helped. He couldn't go ask the vamp and took a huge chance but the team no, there's no reason to take that chance." She hoped she was making sense.

Agent Powers rubbed his chin as he pondered a bit then asked, “I am not worried about myself since you already have my records but I can see why it would be a problem for the Templars and Dragons.” Ekaterina elegantly nodded and replied, “ Indeed Mr. Powers you are correct. It would be troublesome if my family secrets were leaked as well as my contacts in the Templars and that goes double for Dahlia.” Ekaterina sighed and then said, “I am concerned Mr. Sartre has painted a rather large target on his back by even bringing this up at this point in time. We may need an arbiter and a contract of sorts to keep the peace. So does Mr. Sung and Ms. Eun-Ji know of this yet?”

"I don't think anyone has spoken to Eun-Ji in a while. Sung has not been updated as far as I know. I, for obvious reasons, can't be the arbiter. The only person who might fit the role is Sung, unless we bring someone in from the outside. Like trying to get another agent here from The Council of Venice.”

Agent Powers rubbed the back of his head as he sighed. Then he said, “Well if this can’t be settled peacefully then there is a big chance it will end in violence. Even though Sartre is an Illuminati, I was only tasked to protect you Alyssa.” Ekaterina elegantly smirked and said, “Let’s hope we can resolve this peacefully since we still have the vampires and werewolves to deal with.”

"There shouldn't be a need for violence. Especially, being Peter really didn't do anything wrong. I mean he has an ability that he hasn't used against any of us. Choi, I'm pretty sure ignored my last text, so clearly it probably won't matter what I say on the issue to them." Alyssa paused. "But personally, I don't know about the rest of you but I didn't have any choice on what powers I got when I swallowed the bee. I doubt any of us did, which includes Peter.”

Ekaterina elegantly nodded and then replied, “I understand your perspective, but could you still see it that way if one of the Dragons or Templars hacked your computers or even your mind? Such an invasion of privacy can be seen as a threat by such circumstances.” Then she looked at Agent Powers and asked, “Agent Powers how many hackers have you had to hunt down in your service?” Agent Powers rubbed his chin as he counted in his head and then answered, “Oh at least 200. They were a combination of information thieves, Shadow Brokers, Cyber Terrorists and spies. My father deemed them a threat to the Illuminati and the world so I tracked them down and killed them.” Ekaterina then looked at Alyssa as she said, “I am sure there are others Agents like Mr. Powers in the Dragons and Templars, who would find Agent Sartre as a similar threat.” Ekaterina was being very diplomatic with Alyssa in hopes to get her point across.

"So, am I a threat because I can hack everyone's computer?" Then the hacker turned that question around. "Or aren't we all threats to each other, in one way or the other? So, should I be tracked down? Should we all be?" She paused. "I realize you're trying to be diplomatic but it sounds an awful lot like we can never really trust each other - which leads to the question of how can we all possibly continue to work together?” Alyssa wasn't mad, actually her voice was calm but logically one thing led to the next.

Ekaterina nodded elegantly as she answered, “And that is most likely the same thoughts Dahlia and Choi are contemplating as we speak. I cannot speak for the Dragons but I know enough about my friend Dahlia who has a lot of secrets that should remain buried and never see the light of day. I myself struggle with being both a member of the Royal family in the spotlight as well as a Templar working in the shadows. For a long time I thought I was not allowed to be happy but Dahlia made it a point to allow me brief moments of joy in my life. I cherish those few moments where the shackles of my position are removed and I am saddened knowing that I will have to put them on again. In my world betrayal, theft, gossip, paparazzi and duty are common burdens I must deal with on a daily basis, which is why I can remain calm in this matter. So knowing that we are all treading on thin ice, how do we recover from this news and continue our mission?” Agent Powers replied, “Wow. You both are pretty smart.”

Alyssa sighed and shook her head, "I'm afraid this is where my lack of having to deal with a lot of people, and certainly never having to mediate between them leaves me at a loss. I mean we could have an agreement of some sort but how will that work, if they don't trust him?”

Agent Powers nodded and replied,”Same here. I am also new to working in a team.” Ekaterina then said, “Understandable. It is not easy to trust a stranger. We have some options we can explore in a group discussion such as making a strict contract punishable by death, have Agent Sartre confess a way to block his skills or have Agent Sartre share an equally dangerous secret with the team to restore the balance of the team. Sadly we lack the time to resolve this issue and need to discuss it with the others.” Agent Powers nodded in agreement and said, “It sounds reasonable if everyone agrees.”

"What dangerous secret? This is the thing. All he knows is what the vampire showed him. I think he's the one that exposed a dangerous secret and not everyone else." Alyssa replied. "The balance is against Peter, so, how would confessing anything be fair?” She thought. "Maybe we should all confess something." Glancing at Max, "Well, Max you might be exempt. I'm not sure you have much to confess to.”

With everything, Sung just sat more in the background, looking and listening to what people were saying. To Sung, they all said a lot about themselves. Now, he is a little more understanding of the team, but just a little. Sung continued to tear apart his food with his chopsticks. He just wanted to see if he could eat a burger that way. It was slow but working.

Sung understood how some could feel validated by the whole psychic thing. He did not think anything of it. If it got too invasive, Sung would deal with it one-on-one. The others on the team would have to work through it as well. Now, Sung understands something more about the file on Peter.

Sung considered how to deal with someone with that type of ability. The last time he did it, the person was never quite the same. Sung took a deep breath and meditated for a moment. As he let his breath out slowly, he could feel some tension and anger in the house. With this information, we might need a team meeting to settle the problem.

Alyssa hadn't noticed Sung slip into the kitchen, it was just like he was suddenly there. That was disarming, but she figured if and when the man had anything to say he would. Alyssa put her food down, for once she had lost her appetite. It felt very much like the walls were closing in around Peter and what if he had to leave the group, what then? Their kind of relationship was just so new to her, she didn't know what to expect.

Sartre just waited for Alyssa in their room.