California Love

Shinsuke had just gotten off of his plane to Los Angeles after a decent plane ride. The food was ok and the movie wasn't all that bad. He was finally able to catch some Zs for once. It had been quite a while since he had last visited California. In fact he hadn't been in 'The Golden State' since 2006. That was a couple decades ago. A lot had changed and yet was still familiar in the city of LA. He was tempted to do some site seeing but he figured he would be better off going to meet his new employers. He hadn't heard very much about this 'Queen Chelle' but from the sound of things she had a well organized mercenary group. The group checked out in not having too many disruptive causes linked to it which was a plus in Shinsuke's book. He hailed a cab and headed to the US headquarters for the Thrones. Not a very catchy name given the positions that he and his employer had. Queen, knight, he could've sworn he heard something about a Jester somewhere too. The Monarchy or something like that would've had a nicer ring too it. Maybe he'd talk to the Queen about it later.

After a long boring drive in which Shinsuke had to pay extra just to keep the driver from picking up other fares he was finally there. The villa was definitely an impressive site. It was huge, no huger than huge. It was a big change from the dinky little warehouse and abandoned train yard he used to work out of in Osaka and Hong Kong. Hopefully the rooms were as big as the house suggested they were. Shinsuke had a lot of stuff that he wanted to move inthere if he was gonna be operating from this place now. He grabbed his duffle bag and a suitcase from the trunk of the taxi and made his way to the massive gates of the Villa. As if he was expected the gates simply opened up and he was allowed to pass. He quickly entered teh villa and struck by a overwhelming sense of awe. The place was niceer than he thought. The last time he saw a building this elegant was way back when he stormed the castle of his emperor. He stood there looking around at all of the decor for a second.

I'm starting to like this place already. All I need is a butler and I'll be sold for life."

Spencer steped out of the dusty bus. Breathing a heavy sigh of relief. It had been about a day or two since he left from New Orleans. Looking for his employer. A woman he only knew as queen Chelle. The sun was bright and warm. Which he really enjoyed. Much better than the dark rainy days Sean loved. He was more of a sunny person. The streets were slightly crowded. Though Spencer was undaunted by it. Right now all that was on his mind was finding the location of the meeting. Hands dug deep in is pockets.

He wore the usual. A loose fitting blue t-shirt. Comfortable blue jeans, and faded nikes. Brown hair toussled yet unaffected by wind. Green eyes darting around. Looking for the location described to him. Apparently it was a villa of some kind. Which sounded nice and posh to him. Soencer always wanted to see a big extravagent house. After about an hour of searching he found a large looking house. It seemed to match the profile of what he was looking for. Swiftly he walked through the front gate. Heading towards the large front door. Examining it curiously. Holding an arm out in front of him. Pushing the door open. Which lead into an expansive looking house. Eyes like sparkeling emeralds gazed around. "Wow this place is huge." he said awestruck. Walking into the room. "Hello is anyone here? I'm looking for a queen Chelle."

Shinsuke had finally caught a hold of himself before he started contemplating stealing a few things and pawning them. He was in th emiddle of picking his stuff up off of the floor when he heard the door open. Another apparent new guy had walked through the door asking about chelle. He was definitely in the right place though it didn't look like he'd get any answer to that question soon. Shinsuke himself didn't notice anyone around that was supposed to meet him."Lot of that going around, take a number.I take you you one of the new guys too? I'm Shin." He figured he'd keep the introduction short and sweet. No one needed to know his whole name right now anyway. Afterall who was to say that everyone here had honorable agendas. For all he knew thi sguy could be some kind of mole. Not that he suspected him of anything , Shinsuke was just being a realist about the situation. He extended his hand for a hand shake nonetheless and gave a slight bow out of habit.

Apparently he wasn't the only one in this house. A guy appeared. He seemed asian. Spencer wondered what buisness he had in this house. Hopefully he didnt plan to steal from this "queen Chelle". Even though he never met the woman. Still she was his higher up. So he had to give her some respect. Then the guy introduced himself and bowed. Spencer gave a chrismatic smile. Grasping the mans hand firmly. "Glad to meet you Shino. My names Spencer. Spencer Suede." He had no problem with giving his full name. Afterall he had enough power to defend himself. "So your here about this Queen Chelle to? I'm a prince .Whats your rank?" Spencer had to be sure of the guys rank, or if he knew anything about the ranks. All he knew was what his rank was. Nothing more. Well he knew he was pretty high up in ranking. So he wondered if this guy was higher or lower in rank. Though he had no plans in bossing him around. That would just be rude.

Shinsuke was greeted with a firm handshake and a polite introduction. This guy seemed to be on the up and up. He had a very welcoming personality about him. Shinsuke figured they would get along pretty well. The mention of ranks was a little off putting, only because Shinsuke was so old that whatever rank he was given was grossly ill-proportioned to his experience and skill. Despite all that it wasn't a big deal to divulge that much to the man."Same here Spencer. My rank is Knight. I don't know how much pull that actually carried but I think its safe to say you outrank me. Don't let it go to your head though." He chuckled a bit and gave Spencer a playful punch in the shoulder. he looked around noticing the lack of a proper host. Its was starting to bother him. Were they supposed to just roam around and hope for the best."Yeah apparenly she doesn't like to greet her guests, or we're in the wrong place. You know anything about this lady?"

He seemed like a nice guy. Nice enough anyway. So Spence could trust him. Afterall they were supposed to be allies. Meaing working together was a must. They both came here searching for this mysterious queen Chelle. So SPencer planned to find her. Had to know his superiors. Epsecially the one in charge from what he could tell. The group seemed like the hiearchy was martiarchal. Which he didn't mind. Had plenty of female superiors in Project Perfection. Making this no different. "Sorry can't say i know anything about her. WIsh i could but im new to this organization myself." he laughed weakly. Feeling that even for his rank he was ill informed. Still no reason to complain. He had a feeling he would meet her soon. So all he needed was patience.

Seemed like this woman made damn sure no one had too much info. Spencer was ranked as Prince which as far as monarchies go carried a lot of weight in relation to a Queen. That said he at the least should've at least known who Chelle was or had more info about the place. Suddenly the villa seemed to loose its luster as Shinsuke began to wonder if this woman was nothing but style and fancy titles. There was definitely a vibe of unprofessionalism that was nagging at him. Then again maybe he was over reacting or just expected too much from this Queen. " Well this is starting to feel like a waste of time. She sends her minions out to hire us, makes us travel halfway across the globe to an empty house and the only people here are other people that were just hired. Oh well maybe there's a bar or something around here. Care to join me in a tour?" Obviously Shinsuke didn't know where anything was but he wasn't going to stand around all day waiting to be greeted. If Chelle didn't want anyone roaming around her Villa she should've had someone there to keep tabs on the place. Shinsuke headed off in the direction where he felt he was most likely to find alcohol not really checking to see if Spencer was following him or not.

Spencer was not into alchohol. That was what Sean was into. he prefered milkshakes and the such. Still he had no want to be left alone in this house. Afterall he half expected the owner of the house to appear at a moments notice. That was just the training in Project Perfection talking though. he didn't really expect danger. So he followed after Shino. Cautiously of course. Towards the bar. "So why did you join Throne? Any particular reason?" He was trying to make some conversation. Never did Spence like silence. Kinda grated on his nerves. So he wanted to keep up the talking as long as possible. So he kept any nerves he had at the moment.

Shinsuke continued on course for were he figured Chelle had her drinks stashed away. Shin wasn't an avid drinker but it was a good way to help himself loosen up a bit and socialize more freely. Spencer had decided to follow him after all which was something of a plus. It would've been a lot more boring to roam such a huge place all alone. The man asked Shin the big money question of why he joined Throne. Luckily for him it wasn't a really personal question or anything that required that much thought." I got tired of being stiffed when ever some jackass figured he could get rid of me. Freelance work is fun but there's no garauntee you'll get what you're owed without having to kill your boss. I figured working for a Merc group would make things easier than working solo. This Chelle lady seemed to be on the straight and narrow enough so I thought I'd try my hand at working for someone other than myself. what about you?"

He was about to answer Shinosuke's question when a voice interuppted his thoughts. It was female and unfamiliar. He turned to see a woman. She had an interesting taste in clothes. he had to give her that. Something Sean would wear. If he was a girl that is. From what Spencer could tell she had to be Chelle. The queen of the group called Thrones. The way she composed herself. How she spoke. All of it was a clear indication she was of high rank. Powerful to. He declined the offer for a drink. Since he didn't enjoy the taste of alcohol. Just didn't settle with him. Not one bit.

If she was the queen. Then at least his trip all the way to California wasn't a waste. He found who he was looking for. She suggested they head to a lounge area. Though Spencer felt wary about just following her there. He had to confirm his suspicions fist. He knew never to be too trusting. That could get him killed in the long run. " So your Queen Chelle? Nice to meet you i'm Spencer Suede. Prince apparently." he was trying to be friendly. While at the same time cautious. Now he had to see what Shino would do.

Finally the lady of the hour had made her appearance and just in time as Shinsuke and Spencer had come across the bar. She was an eccentric one. Her clothes were out of style by modern standards. Corsets were something only fetishists and cosplayers wore nowadays. She was a cutie though. Shinsuke gave her a slight bow and a wave to the woman. " Shinsuke Sarutobi. Its about time you popped up Lady Chelle. Soo what are we donig here? " He was a bit curious as to how the organization is supposed to work.