xxthere’s a room where the light won't find you
xxholding hands while the walls come tumbling down
xxwhen they do I'll be right behind you
xxso glad we've almost made it
xx
xx
“Gentlemen, it’s a pleasure to see you here. Thank you so much for coming,” he called as he reached them. One of them made a movement, and Lucian rested a hand on his shoulder, an apparently friendly gesture that gave a warning. “You don’t want to try that. This is a charity event, after all. How would it look if you pulled a gun on the beloved host? Same goes for any backup you might call,” he said, keeping his tone light and conversational, the smile still fixed on his face, but not meeting his eyes. “Shall we move this conversation to a side room, gentlemen?” He asked. The gentlemen agreed, none of them smiling.
They stepped into a small hallway. It was narrow and only went in a single direction, with no twists or turns. Lucian could see the men scanning it. “Go ahead. Try running. You won’t get very far.” He said, his tone dropping to a warning for the first time. He could see them weighing up the decision, but once again, they apparently decided it wasn’t worth the risk. When Lucian reached the room, he held the door open for them and allowed them to filter in.
The room had been deceptively set up as a small reception room to cover themselves, but the men knew they weren’t there for canapés and polite conversation. Lucian held out his hand. “Your phones. And you will be searched by one of my colleagues for any communication devices or bugs, so I’d recommend handing them over now to save her having to search you. You might have heard of her. Goes by the name Isimir?” He said, raising an eyebrow and hoping Erin’s reputation was notorious enough to work. It appeared to be, as one of them plucked a button from his coat. Lucian crushed it underfoot without looking. He left their phones on a small side table, and positioned himself between them and the men.
“So. Gentlemen. I’m sure you know why you’re here, correct?”
They shook their heads, almost in unison. Lucian laughed, glancing at Markus and Erin and raising his eyebrows. “Interesting. Well, we were wondering if you happened to know anything about the Aegis Corporation? Or some missing homeless teenagers?” He asked, leaning against one of the tables they had set up. The men went pale. One of them bolted to his feet and made a run for the door.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Lucian said, lifting him into the air using his powers and throwing him back across the room. “No, none of you are leaving here until we’ve gotten some answers. If you tell us nicely, we’ll let you go, and you can go back out and enjoy the party. Of course, with the caveat that if the arrangements are changed, or if anyone finds out you told us, we will find you and kill you. There’s the hard way as well, of course, but we don’t need that, do we?” Lucian asked, raising an eyebrow.