Snippet #2558990

Valentine took the dataslate swiftly, brows furrowing slightly as he studied it. He'd spotted five - the lady was good, that was for certain. Four she'd marked, plus one extra she'd missed; but it was rare that he missed something, even if the operatives were undercover. He was thankful for her assistance. After a momentary glance around the cafe to locate any additional targets and finding none, he swiftly transferred the map to his own dataslate. From there, he sent it off to Ghost in a few brisk taps, with a short attached message -

Targets are marked. Contact me when you're in position.

With that done, he turned back to the de Argentum girl. The pair exchanged inspecting glances; while small, she was clearly fit, and armed to boot. He found this gratifying; after all, she knew how to handle herself well enough. While the possibility remained that she was nothing more than a pretty face, this this already seemed unlikely, given how efficiently she'd identified the agents in the building - and her reputation.

"Thank you for saving me the effort," Valentine inclined his head in thanks, voice crisp and businesslike. "It is a pleasure to at last make your acquaintance, Miss de Argentum. At the very least, stories do not do you justice."

"You know me already, obviously, but I know nothing of you," she said. Valentine almost breathed a sigh of relief; he had little patience for pleasantries. Adam nodded, and when he spoke, his voice was faintly distant, ethereal - he'd little intention of making anything apparent to her, at least for the moment. There'd be time enough for such things later.

"The 'Valravn'," he explained, "is a myth of the Old World. A three-legged raven; yet it possesses the intelligence and wisdom of a man. It hunted the young, and upon its consumption of the heart of a child, it would transform - into a noble knight, clad in shining armour." He paused for a moment, exhaled, before proceeding - "Macabre story - yet important. Nobility - righteousness - justice - they all have their prices, Faustian though they may be."

His earpiece rumbled with a heavy voice - Ghost's, reporting in. The explosives were rigged to detonate; soldiers were in position and ready to act. Well, with that, Valentine deemed that it was best that he wrapped this conversation up as fast as possible. The second he had her sufficiently interested in what he had to say that she wouldn't spook and run when things intensified, they were getting out of here with all possible haste.

He turned his attention back to her. "Nevertheless, ancient myths do this city's poor little good, now do they? Thus, I propose an exchange," he said, steepling his fingers. "I represent a small but rather advanced group. You wish for equality. We can offer it." The beginnings of a confident smirk crossed his face as he proceeded -

"For a price, naturally."