Simply business [Closed to Ruptor]

It started off as a normal day, a lazy one at that. Aaron had found his schedule lacking in business and that meant he could actually do something that did not involve managing the expenses of the vast Hale family. Sean went out for the day, though what he could possibly be doing in the city was beyond Aaron. All he knew was that he would likely come stumbling home drunk and horny; anything after that did not really require explanation. Today he had decided to dress surprisingly simple, though due to his lack of casual clothing, Aaron was forced to wear what little he had. In the way of casual clothing, he was wearing simple khaki colored cargo shorts, a simple white t-shirt and a blue plaid vest over it. Luckily Aaron had managed to find his favorite pair of leather sandals, something that was both comfortable and simple to wear.

The Chicago sky was a vibrant blue and few wispy white clouds would mar its near perfect visage, though the winds themselves could ruin such a perfect day. Usually the weather would have signaled a warm day but the winds added a certain chilling factor that made shorts somewhat unpleasant. To Aaron it was a nice time for a walk, maybe he could stop by a local bakery and sample something sweet. It was rare that he actually treated himself but today had a good feel to it. As long as he didn't have potential meta human hunters breathing down his neck, Aaron was sure that the day wouldn't go too badly. If they did, he knew he could defend himself against any form of mundane weaponry employed. Before he left, each magical defense of the home had to be checked, mostly precautions against thieves of any kind. Once that was done he would begin his day out.

He hadn't heard from Max in a while, something that troubled him slightly but he was sure that the soulless male was safe. If not, Aaron knew that he could find out soon enough the culprit of such a crime himself. He had a spell that would allow him to perform something like that, as long as the subject in question were dead.

The warm sunlight kissed his skin, followed by a quick breeze that chilled his skin and raised hairs. He pursed his lips tightly, thinking over something quickly before quickly stepping back through the front door and quickly grabbing his satchel, something that he was likely to need if anything went out of hand. He never knew if he would end up facing anything supernatural, they tended to find themselves attracted to his strange blood and the aura that it gave him to those that could feel it. It gave him an edge when enchanting was involved but made him a target. With the leather satchel slung around his shoulder, Aaron made his way first to a quaint little coffee shop, a place that sold some pastries as well as wonderful coffee.

Upon walking through the door, he heard the sound of a bell jingle; signaling his arrival to a young male working the counter. ”I'll have one coffee, black please.” Aaron reached into his satchel and pulled out a wad of bills, placing some of it down on the counter to pay for the coffee while the rest was thrown into a tip jar.

That was returned with a smile, though it was small as the young male went to fill in the small order. After only a moment he returned with the piping hot brew. “Here you go sir, one black coffee.” His voice sounded of a Brooklyn accent, something that was barely noticeable to someone that didn't know what it would sound like.

”Thank you.” Aaron said pleasantly before taking a seat at one of the many tables and began to sip on his drink.

The flight into Chicago, Illinois aboard the private jet of course provided by Dominus itself was a relatively quiet one that passed by fast. Now Pierre Guesta stood in the windy city that morning for what was to be done. This was not his first trip to this locale. He had been here several times before to be precise. The most recent was during a sweep of cities with a high rate of metahuman sightings in preparation for what was soon to come. The layout of this city and the others had been studied extensively. Major structures and roadways as well as areas where these sightings tended to occur most often. As for this day however he was here for a different reason. A meeting to be exact. One that was looking to be scheduled for sometime in the near future. Yes, Pierre Guesta, better known in some circles as Agent Ruptor would hopefully be heading over to the residence of the famous Hale family. The Hales were quite well known in association with the realm of the supernatural. They were also quite rich and influential in this area. One of the reasons why this meeting was desired was to try and ally with them. To influence the influential to side along with them. He had sent ahead despite the meeting not having been made official yet. Dominus was currently attempting to make contact even as he wandered through the city.

The weather in the city on this day was rather quite nice. Warm for this time of the year though not by much. Pierre ran his right hand over his head which remained devoid of even a follicle of hair for years now. He had started going bald at 19 and it went away pretty fast. Pierre did not mind however. Even while he still had it he had never truly cared for it at all anyways. Just now his head felt a little bit cooler than the rest of him did. Perhaps he should have packed a hat or something for this trip. He had done so last time he had been to Chicago.

The hat was hopefully the only thing he forgot to bring with him. He had been rushed out to take the flight pretty hurriedly. He would have to check his luggage sometime soon to see what if anything he might need may be missing. Weapons, hopefully he had on him but were something he would be rather pleased to not have to use. No, surely this must not require violence. The Hales were reportedly a pleasant bunch. Pierre figured himself to be the best among the agents for this task. He thought of his fellow agents. Some of which knew little to nothing about socially interacting with others on any level that was not basic discussion of their missions or methods that they used on such missions.

He arrived at the hotel where he was booked to stay out. According to his higher ups there was a chance he might wind up staying in town for more than just meeting with the Hales. Plus due to the meeting itself not actually having been made he might wind up having to wait anyways. "Fine, then." He thought. This was no trouble for him. It was more towards being an actual vacation compared to some of his other missions really. In his room he rummaged through what he had packed to see what he had managed to remember to bring. Upon doing so he moved a few things into a briefcase that he would bring with him to the actual meeting. Some very helpful things they were.

It was now just past noon as he sat in the back of a taxi cab heading for the Hale's residence. The cab driver unfortunately did not know the precise route to the place itself. Pierre wound up having to give him directions for the place. Thankfully he would not have to pay extra for this man getting them lost. After a brief but unnecessary delay he had arrived. He paid the driver only what he needed to and got out of the cab and walked up towards the residence itself. On the outside it looked like a splendid place to live. Pierre walked up to the front door and knocked loudly to greater increase the chances of being heard immediately. Now he stood there waiting for someone to answer.

The coffee was bitter but that was how he liked it. Sweet coffee was just not something that he was raised to enjoy, the black was bitter and kept him awake when he was forced to pull an allnighter. He drunk the hot beverage quickly, though he made sure that he didn't like the roof of his mouth get burned. The cup was drained in around thee minutes, with only a few drops sticking stubbornly to the bottom. ”Hrm that was a nice cup.” Aaron muttered to himself giving a content sigh. Honestly he wasn't even sure if he wanted to keep up the walk after this, perhaps he could read through one of the many dusty tomes within the Hale library, translate it into a more viable language.

It seemed that he had found what he would do for the rest of the day until Sean dragged himself back home. Standing from his seat, Aaron threw the plastic cup in the nearest trash can and made his way back to the Hale mansion. The cashier said something along the lines of have a nice day as the door slammed shut, the bell drowning out what he said. The large residence was easily visible from where he stood and was only a few minutes walking. In a few minutes he found himself home and within a stranger at his front door, knocking as if someone would answer him. He was unsure how to really react to the situation at hand.

”Excuse me. Can I help you?” He said, raising his voice so that the older male could hear him. Aaron approached him, but something about him kept him on edge. That was how it was with most strangers knocking on his door. Having your brothers trying to kill you for around two years tends to do that, makes a person overly cautious.

Pierre knocked on the door and awaited a response. One came, but not in the form of the door opening or a voice coming from inside asking who's there. Instead a voice came from behind him. Pierre slowly turned to the direction of the voice. A young man stood there. It seemed like he was a resident of this household. Perhaps, hopefully this was a Hale family member he was now looking at.

Pierre addressed him. "Yes, my name is Pierre Guesta. I have come here to speak to somebody from the Hale family about some important business. I was hoping to meet with at least one of them. Are you sir, by any chance part of the family?" Pierre asked him courteously.

”Yes, I am one of the Hales.” Aaron said plainly, the curiosity about who this man was beginning to rise. It wasn’t very often that he had someone come knocking to his door that didn’t recognize him, his being the head of the powerful Hale family. Either this man had heard of them and wanted something from them; an enchanted item to be sure. It was also likely that his business was not of the magical kind and he was unknowingly treading into a world that he had no comprehension of. Hopefully it was the first one, Aaron hated explaining things to people who knew next to nothing of the supernatural world that thrived around him but that made up most of America really.

This Atheistic time had really bred some real disbelief into people, especially when it came to the subject of magic. People had no idea that all around them was a world that was far beyond understanding and even science would find it hard to figure out. ”If you want to talk about any kind of business, I will be the person that you want to talk to.” he said taking a step forward and opening the door himself, wordlessly inviting the older male inside.

"Aah yes, good to meet you then sir." He said pleasantly after having been informed that this young man was indeed a member of the Hale family. Or so he says. Then again it was by far most likely to be true. Pierre figured, no knew that being proper and courteous was the best way to address this mission. He had wished he had been given more information on the Hales. Specifically its members. It would have made things easier to know exactly whom he should talk with. Nonetheless he would do with what was given unto him. All he really knew was that they were famous in the world of the supernatural.

The young man walked up to the door and opened it allowing him inside. Pierre followed him in. As he crossed the threshold of the doorway he could see that the interior was quite exquisite. They ventured further inwards and the opportunity to begin the discussion was presented. "Well sir, as I said earlier I am here to discuss some important business with your esteemed family. Perhaps we should sit down before getting into the main part of the discussion. If you're willing to do so that is." Pierre said to him in a friendly fashion.

”Of course.” he motioned for the Frenchman to follow after him to the mid size living room, sitting down on one of the many recliners that Sean had made sure to be placed. He waited for the male to take a seat before he would begin his barrage of questions, pointed and aiming for the truth of why he was here. ”My time if valuable and i'm sure yours is as well, so I won't waste any more of it than I need to.” He paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath as the words came to mind. ” What is it that you want with my family?”

The two gentlemen walked into the living room to discuss what Pierre had came here for. He waited first for his host as he could call him to sit down in one of the recliners before taking a seat himself. Once he had done so he made himself slightly comfortable in order to put himself and hopefully Mr. Hale as well at ease before proceeding with the discussion. A question came for Pierre to answer and answer did he ever. "Well sir, I've come on friendly terms on behalf of a little known government organization called Dominus. I'm here because we are hoping to befriend and ally with your prestigious family from here on out." He told the young man truthfully and waited a moment to let him process and consider what he had just said before continuing. "Dominus you see, is an organization tasked with dealing with a very specific threat. That threat is of what are commonly known as metahumans and how they use their abilities to endanger the public and the world at large. Now, your family is by no means being considered a threat by us. We in fact honor and respect you all. We are asking if your family would be willing to assist us in these efforts. If there's any conditions rest assured we are willing to meet them in order to gain your trust and assistance." he told him clearly. Each and every word spoken precisely in order to allow him to understand him entirely.

So this man had come representing a group known as Dominus. He had heard small bits of information about the group, but nothing that could really draw much alarm from the Hales. It seemed like he wanted the assistance of his family in whatever they were planning, something that he wasn't really sure of. It seemed like they were willing to negotiate, and that was enough for him, as long as they actually considered what he said.

”Your proposal is sound, but I do have to ask, will the meta humans you're group targets include the heroes?” He was never a real fan of heroism, but his partner Sean had found it his duty to save people, though that usually left a bloodbath in his wake. ” That aside, I think my family would be willing to help deal with the criminal element in the world, but there will be conditions of course.” He wondered if the members of his family would even count as a meta human, considering their claim to humanity was shallow at best.

”The first is that my family is allowed to operate as it has always done, without any interference from your group. The second will be that you keep your sights off of Sean Collin, I’m sure you have him on some sort of list, it wouldn't surprise me if you did. Lastly I would like to be informed of any Dominus activities within Chicago. I hope these terms aren't too difficult.”

Pierre had came right out and said what he came to say. There had been no point in delaying what was to eventually come. He was sure that he would be successful. One of the many things Pierre had been trained in was negotiation. He was one that was often trusted with dealing with such matters. He would simply have to listen to whatever requests came from Mr. Hale here and take them as is, addressing each properly in order to gain their alliance. Pierre wondered just what he might ask for in exchange. It was hard to initially determine. The Hales did not seem like they needed much in life that Dominus could provide. It was quite the wonder.

The conditions came but not until a question was asked of him. One that he had been expecting and was an important matter to him as well. It had become a somewhat discussed matter among the agents but most felt the same way. Pierre on the other hand had an idea of his own. One that he presented to his host. "We have every intent of coming to friendly terms with these heroic ones so we can ally with them. Hopefully they will understand where we are coming from and comply. If they do then truly they are as heroic as they portray themselves to be." He paused after saying that. He provided plenty of conviction behind his voice. It was important to stay calm and Pierre felt he was doing a good job. His heart was not racing and his breathing remained steady.

He continued on with what he would say."Surely we shall not interfere. We have no interest in doing so. Your family's business are your own. And of course we will keep in touch with you about our activities in this fair city. It is the home of those we wish to consider allies after all and Dominus is a very loyal organization." Pierre told him before pausing briefly to address the final condition presented before him. "As for your final condition it will be difficult to guarantee it if indeed he is someone we consider dangerous. Perhaps with your help since you seem to know him I can ensure his safety from our organization. If he is under your watch then we shall have no need to target him."

It seemed that the mysterious agent of Dominus was quite different than one would expect of the secretive organization types, but that could have just been this one. The only difficulty would of course be Sean, but that like any problem could be dealt with, Aaron was sure of that. Perhaps this was his chance to get Sean to perform his real duties, instead of running around with his moronic hero friends that insisted on endangering their lives for perfect strangers. ”If thats all, I think you won't have anything to worry about from him.” Sean was rather easy to persuade given the correct motivation. ”Your organization will have the support of the Hales.”

The young Mr. Hale had informed Pierre that he would be able to handle the one known as Sean Collin. This news left him in a positive state of mind. Surely this mean't that the Hales would make great allies for him and his fellow agents of Dominus to work with. This meeting was worth the trip after all. Now he would return to Headquarters to inform heads of the agency of this bit of information so they could proceed. "Glad to hear it Mr. Hale. It will be an honor to work with such an esteemed family if such a thing ever does come to pass. We'll be in touch, and I assure you your conditions will be met and held in high regard. I must be off now. Thank you for your time." Pierre got up and bowed slightly to him before leaving the mansion and would later on go somewhere else.

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