Brayden Drake's Story

This was a stupid place to meet up for an interview for a job offer. Completely and utterly stupid. And totally unprofessional. It put Brayden on edge immediately. They were out in the open, though it was a public place, indoors and bursting with people coming in to grab a bite to eat. Why had he agreed to meet her here? Why not at her offices? This was stupid to even begin with. Sitting in this stupid chair in this stupid cafe had being one giant mistake.

His dark eyes scanned the area for any threat. Nothing. Brayden couldn't relax his six foot four frame though. He sat awkward and tense, even as one of the waitresses came to take his order, he spoke awkwardly not even looking at her or the menu. She acted just as awkward back, only speaking once to ask him for his drink order as well before leaving. Leaving Brayden to continue to stare out the window waiting for the person that was going to interview him for the PI job.

Bray had to hide himself elsewhere. He couldn't be known or seen in any other work areas that he knew. But he still wanted to do something that he was good at rather than sit around his house all day and risk being found and killed, not that people could kill him easily anyway. Ten years as an undercover cop had him well trained for fights.

Brayden had seen and done everything. Crossed the line and crossed back again. He'd crossed, double-crossed and triple-crossed people without a second though. Undercover killed all thought processes and emotions. You did what you had to to get information and survive to gather more information.

And Bray had done it well.

He looked out the window once more, and saw the woman who he was supposed to be meeting. Great, a stuck up rich bitch was the one interviewing him. If he'd known that before he wouldn't have bothered coming. Maybe he could sneak out without her seeing him - he'd given in a picture along with his extensive resume. But it was busy enough to sneak out. The last thing he wanted was some snooty tooty, (no matter how hot she may or may not have looked) sitting at his table and grilling him in her Armani suit and designer bag.

Even so, Brayden didn't move from the table. If he didn't get this job, then he'd start searching for everything that wasn't involved with anyone that was designer and rich, that was for sure. This day couldn't get any fucking worse.

As Alyssa entered into the Riverside Cafe she spotted her man immediately. He looked completely out of place. He stuck out like a sore thumb and he looked just like the picture he had sent in with his impressive resume. Alyssa was there today to figure out if that resume had been truthful or not.

"Well, here goes nothing," said Alyssa as she made her way through the various tables. She pulled out a chair opposite Brayden and sat herself down. A waiter set a glass of water out for her.

"Sorry I was late. I had some car difficulties. I hope you weren't waiting too long," Alyssa apologized to Brayden. "Now, I am sure you have a lot of things to get done today so we'll make this as quick and painless as possible." The woman flashed a beautiful but curt smile at Brayden. She opened her bag and pulled out a packet that was going to help her with the interview. Alyssa hated interviews. She was bad at it.

It also did not help that she was totally distracted by the overwhelming sensation of needing to call her ex-husband. It kept nagging at the back of her mind.

"So, Brayden, tell me about you," said Alyssa as she turned her dark eyes back onto him. God, the man was gorgeous but sleeping with a potential employee was extremely irresponsible. Maybe her therapist was right. It was just possible that Alyssa had serious problems with the opposite sex.

Brayden straightened himself up a little as the woman sat down opposite him. He felt more uncomfortable now than before. She was smart... he was sitting there in jeans, a black t-shirt and grey hooded sweater with the words EAGLE 472 written in navy writing on the front. He was rough and rugged. She was smart and controlled - everything that he wasn't.

"That's fine." Brayden found himself replying to her excuse for being late. And then she asked him to tell her about him. It was all written down there. Why did she have to ask him?

"It's all there in my resume." He shrugged. "Joined the police force at eighteen once I'd done college. worked myself up the ranks until I was twenty six and then volunteered for my first undercover work. They needed someone young. I was young. I spent a year training before being sent undercover and spent ten years doing that job before pulling out." He simply told her awkwardly. Brayden once again glanced around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation, though he talked quietly and only stopped when the waitress dropped off his bacon salad.

"Anything else you want to know?"

It was more than clear that the man was unprofessional. He was wild and untamed. There was power in his build that Alyssa could see with her sharp eyes, despite it being hidden behind that ugly sweater. The weather was temperate today and it made Alyssa wonder if he was carrying a firearm in that bulky sweater.

When the waitress came by the drop off Brayden's salad, Alyssa ordered a modest Cobb Salad with blue cheese. After she took a sip of water she asked, "So why did you leave the force? And what exactly do you think you'll gain from working in my firm and how do you plan to contribute to the company that I've built so far?"

Alyssa drew up her yellow legal pad and started to jot down notes.

• Attentive to surroundings
• Healthy and in shape
• Impressive work history
• Super hot

Alyssa stared at her last bullet and then hastily erased it. That was definitely unprofessional. Her therapist was really starting to make a point.

Brayden frowned. "I left the force because I wanted to." He simply told her. And that's all he was going to tell for now regarding why he left. "And it's more what I'll give your company. You probably won't give me much but I will give you and the clients a lot. I did undercover work for ten years. Need someone or something found, I'll find it. I'm the best. You won't get better than me. It's that simple." He kept his answers short and sweet. To the point.

Yes, it was arrogant but he knew he was. He was confident. And he knew it. He had a lot more to give them then they had to give him. But he needed to keep ahead of things. He needed to make sure he was one step ahead and this was the way to go. This was the job that would still keep him informed.

They'd be stupid not to hire him.

Alyssa knew that she would be stupid not to hire this man sitting in front of her. But he was arrogant and far too confident. He saw himself as better than everyone else around him. She could see it in his eyes. The man was going to be difficult to control if he was hired into The Private Eye but she was good at controlling people. The skills listed on his resume were too impressive to let him walk out of the cafe without immediately becoming an employee.

Alyssa took a moment to stare at Brayden before she looked down at her notes. She tore the paper off the pad and crumpled it up into a wad.

"Alright, Brayden. I will take a chance on you, but let me be real for a minute," said Alyssa as she leaned in across the table.

"You fuck with my business and you fuck with me. I don't need some hot head who thinks he knows everything because he's done it all. I need a man with a level head that can get the damn job done, do you understand me?"

She'd been right about him having firearms concealed on his body. He had three concealed. But he wasn't going to tell her. Or show her. "You think I'm here to fuck with your business? I'm here to do a job. I have better things to do then fuck up people's businesses." He growled.

He smirked though as he mulled over her words. "You think I'm a hot head because I think I know everything? I know I know everything for what I do. I don't fail anything. I'm an expert. I don't do shit for the fun of it or so that I fuck it up. I get the job done. I never fail. That's what I'm getting straight right now."

He wasn't impressed. Who would get a job just to fuck with someone's business. "Now, when do you want me to start?"

"Today," Alyssa said with a small triumphant smile. She sat back in her seat and reached back into her bag.

"Pay is based on commission and a base annual salary of eighty-five thousand dollars. We have a full benefits package with a 401K retirement plan," said Alyssa. She babbled more details about the hiring process and handed Brayden his hiring package.

"I have a meeting with a client later on in the day. I will be pulling you onto that case when I receive the details," Alyssa told Brayden as she pulled out her check book. She started filling one out.

"I'm giving you a starting bonus of one-thousand five hundred dollars. Buy some nice suits and a pair of decent shoes. You'll need proper holsters for your firearms." Alyssa gave his sweater a pointed look and then him. She ripped the check out and held it out for him to take.

"Acceptable?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Brayden didn't take much notice of the finer details about pay and everything. Whatever he got was good enough for me. Bray took the package and skimmed through it as she spoke about meeting a client. "Just email me the details when you're done. Email is on the resume. I can go from there. Or do I have an office to work in and stuff?" He asked.

"Wait. I have to dress in suits? Aren't I just going to be spying here and there... Aren't suits and all that what make you people stick out like sore thumbs? I mean dressed like this I fit right in. And I can hide my holster under here too." He really didn't like the idea of suits. They were stuffy and he'd had to wear a lot of them undercover.

"I have a suit in storage if I need to meet a client. I can do that, but other than that can't I run around in my own clothes?"

"Fine," Alyssa said in compromise to Brayden's wishes. "But you will put a suit on when you meet with clients. No exceptions. Now, I have another appointment to make." She totally forgot about the salad she ordered. Alyssa wasn't going to stiff Brayden with the bill, however. A few bills were dug out of her wallet and she laid them on the table.

"Come by the office on Monday next week. You can pick up your equipment there. You may use your own but you will be required to carry a work cell phone," said Alyssa as she stood up from her seat.

"It was a pleasure Mister Drake. I look forward to working with you."

Bray couldn't help but smirk as he won over the suit issue. It would be easy to work out any other issues in his favour. "Work phone is fine. I can do that." At least then he could keep everything else private on his own phone. He had certain things he didn't want people to see or hear. And that was that.

"Week Monday. Right." He added, as if reminding himself of the day. "And call me Bray. Mister Drake sounds old and horrible." He told her. "And I guess I look forward to working with you too." He replied.

Bray then started to eat his salad finally, deciding that was really quick and painless. It had taken very little time in fact. No detailed interview. No references asked for. No criminal record asked for. It seemed... stupid. Maybe she was stupid not to check into him. Or maybe she already had. Though most of his past was locked up and classified.

Once she'd left, Bray finished eating before paying for the food, pocketing her bills before hand, intending to hand them back when he saw her next, along with the check that was no longer needed for the clothes. He had one suit. It wasn't anything like hers. Not as expensive and a little worn, but he wasn't going to waste a shit load of money on a stupid suit and shoes. As long as he did the job it didn't matter what clothes he wore. And ten years of being stuck in suits except for sleeping - which was 3-4 hours every night, made you sick of them, fast.

The day after the accident Jack found himself back at The Private Eye. He was going to find the assailant that had hit Cally and almost killed her. But in order to do that he needed resources which meant that he was going to have to hire a private investigator. He believed that Wing City's police force was far too understaffed and overloaded. He couldn't trust them just as he couldn't trust the military to protect them from when the Aschen had invaded several years ago.

It was futile to let Wing City or Terra protect you unless it was backed by the Federation. The Federation you could trust.

"Hello, are you Mister Mercer?" asked Alyssa.

"I am," he replied.

"Please, have a seat. This is one of my detectives that will be handling the case, Mister Drake," Alyssa introduced to Jack. The man nodded at Brayden and then took a seat. He looked at his cellphone expecting a call. He turned the ringer on vibration as to not be rude during the interview.

Alyssa also motioned for Brayden to take the chair next to her. She sat down in the plush leather desk chair. There was a simple yellow legal pad and a pen on the desk between her and Jack.

"Would you like to ask the opening questions, Detective Drake?" asked Alyssa.

This morning, when Bray had gotten out of bed, he was so tempted to go to work in his jeans and shirt, despite knowing that they were meeting a client. He'd dug his suit out of storage though, deciding that he better behave for his first case. Part of him wanted to do it to wind Alyssa up, but he refrained. So that morning, he got dressed in his grey dress trousers, previously white, now a very light grey shirt, and a darker grey jacket.

The only thing he didn't have was a matching tie and good shoes so he put on his white Nike running shoes and found a navy blue tie. By the time he'd made it into the office he still looked rough and scruffy, even in a suit. In his undercover work he'd looked rough but neat and smart. Now he wanted to relax in his clothes. It was bad enough having to wear a suit. The least he could do was wear it how he wanted.

By the time he made it to the interview room, he looked a little disheveled and was shoving his tie unceremoniously down his jacket. He looked at both Alyssa, who he grinned at, and then at the client.

"Hey Jack. Call me Bray." Enough with the formalities.

He took a seat after Jack had and simply opened the folder, glancing briefly at the notes. "So, fill me in on what happened will ya? I just need to know what you saw and heard. Nothing else. Nothing else matters. I don't need this to be a long drawn out story of every little thing you did. Just tell me where you were. What car hit you. What you were doing at that moment. Anything unusual. And that kinda thing. Not that an old woman was across the road. Though, if a guy was shooting at you, feel free to add that in. Something like that is important."

Direct and straight to the point.

"Mister Mercer wasn't the one that was hit. He saved the victim last night with the help of Randin Kaye, a Wing City officer, and now he wants to find the perpetrator," Alyssa informed Brayden in a quiet tone. She righted herself in her chair and smiled at Jack.

"Right," said Jack. "Two nights ago I was heading down Main Street here in Wing City. A white truck with Tech Cons name on it was hit by a black SUV. I was able to get partial plates. They are BT27-90."

Alyssa wrote down the partial plate number. She encouraged him to continue describing the event.

"The SUV took off and the truck slammed into a light pole. Cally Henderson was inside. She's an Aschen citizen and I'm sure she works for TechCon. She was unconscious when we found her. Randin and I pulled her out of the truck before it exploded. There was a gasoline leak and that particular truck is powered by a fission battery. At least that's what Randin explained to me."

"And then the ambulance came and Cally was taken to Wing City Hospital," Jack finished. "That's all the information that I have."

Alyssa nodded and took down some more notes. She stared down at the partial plate number.

"Did you talk to Randin about the plate?" asked Alyssa.

"No. Not yet. I've been busy staying with Cally at the hospital," Jack said to Alyssa. It was obvious since the man was wearing a scrub top instead of a shirt. He had used his shirt to stop Cally's bleeding.

"That's alright. I can get into contact with Randin. We used to be colleages," said Alyssa.

"Oh yeah, right. Says so here. I just assumed." Bray simply nodded, reading the file while listening to the story that Jack said. "Right. I'm going to get to work on these plates. I know some contacts around that should be able to get results for me." He simply told Alyssa, not waiting to be given a job himself. "I'll have my men on it. I'm sure Randin is a busy guy, but he might have seen more. I'll check the police systems too, maybe it's already on record." He told her.

"Oh... did you notice anything else about the van? Anything unusual that might help us identify it?" He asked Jack as he stood up. He pulled out a card and wrote his work number on it. "Call me if you think of anything regarding the van or if you cross it again in your travels. Black SUV's are common, they might take a chance of hanging around here still."

"You should also talk to Cally. Maybe she got a look at the driver." Bray told Alyssa, calling the shots instead. He was a man used to being in charge, obviously.

Alyssa gave Brayden a look that was displeased. He was attempting to call the shots in her agency which did not sit well with the woman. All her life she had been given orders in the station and Alyssa wasn't going to take it anymore. She had built this company and it belonged to her. The woman was not about to allow some hot-shot take it from her.

"I will deal with Randin Kaye and the plates. I want you to go down an interview Cally Henderson if the doctors decide that it is a good idea," Alyssa said to Brayden.

Jack looked between Alyssa and Brayden. There seemed to be some tension between them two of them. Maybe they had slept together or were sleeping together. Jack assumed that's where the work place tension was placed. It wasn't his business so Jack didn't pry further. He checked his watch. Jack wanted to get back to the hospital and check on Cally to see how she was holding up.

"I guess I will leave you the first check, now or ...?" asked Jack.

"Now will be fine," said Alyssa. "Brayden, help Jack process his first payment. I'm going to go make a call to Randin and see if I can't get this plate run."

"I really am sick of people helping the bugger." Arros growled to his squad mate.

"Boss, he can't run forever, we'll get him. It's not like this is the first time he's run away."

"Shut it, I'm thinking!" Arros said as he stared at the man they knew had helped Kael escape.

They had intercepted him and taken him down a quieter street so they could work. If the police interfered, they weren't worried about it, otherwise this interrogation would have taken place on Arros' ship.

"I told you I don't know anything!" The man pleaded.

"You must take me for a fool huh?" Arros said as he paced in front of the man whose back was against the brick wall of a building.

"He asked for my help and I called him a ca-"

"I heard every word you said to him! Don't bull shit me!" Arros interupted while extending a black baton from his belt.

"Mate, you better make this easy on yerself." The squad mate growled.

"I'm not telling you anything! I know who you monsters are."

Arros approached the man with a casual demeanor, but upon reaching him he struck the man across his arms and down the top of his head until the man was on the ground. His combat boot hit hard as he kicked the man in the stomach then stomped on his groin.

"You better tell me or I'll cut you to pieces!"

"You...can't...do this!" The man screamed between kicks.

"I'm authorized mate, I can do whatever I have to to get that boy back."

Arros grabbed the man by the arm, extended it and glared at him. "I'll do it mate, I'll break your arm. Why you gunna let me do that? All for some kid? You don't even know him."

"He told me about you, about the man who hired you! You're was-" The man was interupted and started screaming as Arros kicked him in the armpit and stomped on the side of his torso while still keeping his arm extended.

"Sir, beating hims not gunna do much."

"We're applying pressure in the wrong area." Arros said as he dropped the man.

The man writhed in pain and backed up against the wall once more, trying to distance himself from Arros.

"We'll do the hand, if that don't work then we'll do his family. Something will make him talk."

"Do you want me to get Mikaet to bring them?"

"No, have him get the bird in the air, we'll take them some place quieter if this don't work."

"What are you...talking about?" The man forced himself to say through the pain.

"Mate, if I can't get answers out of you, I'm gunna have you wife and children brought here. It'd be a shame if their blood was on your hands because you selfishly couldn't give up some punk you don't even know."

"We'll bide him an hour, if no talking by then, go grab his family." Arros whispered to his squad mate.

"Don't! They have nothing to do with this. You don't have to chase this kid, let him run! What's it to you?"

Arros turned back to the man and pulled out a nine-inch blade. He held it to the man's fingers and didn't say a word. He started cutting. When the man tried to recoil his arm, Arros broke his hand with a sharp jerk. The man was screaming in agony while his thumb was being cut off.

"You can make it easy on yourself, just tell me where and I'll let you keep your thumb! I'll ask you ten times, then we go get your family!" Arros shouted and spat in the man's face.

Bray stared at Alyssa for a few moments, his jaw tight, his eyebrows knitting together as he debated whether to challenge or not. In the end he looked at Jack with a simple 'fine' leaving his lips as he moved out of the office with Jack and got the check settled. As soon as he was done though, he was out of the office and on his way to the hospital - first he was going to change clothes though which gave him the opportunity to phone around and ask about a black SUV and some plates. He was going to do secret work if Alyssa wasn't going to allow him to play how he wanted to. He'd do what she wanted, and what he wanted. It was that simple.

He soon got off the phone and was at his apartment. The great thing was that he didn't need a car - well, until he was going to the hospital. He moved inside and changed to a hooded sweater and jeans again, he was only going to a hospital after all, not like he needed to be suited and booted for that, before leaving his apartment again feeling a lot better off in comfortable clothing.

He was just on his way to his car when he heard a disturbance in a nearby alley and frowned. Drawing one of his guns, he moved into place, seeing three people there. He heard the threats.

"I'd let him go, if I were you. And I wouldn't touch his family either or I'll put a bullet in both of your faces. You don't want to mess with me. So I'd do as I say and piss off, before you piss me off." With that, Bray had two guns in his hands pointing at the two men pinning the other man.

"Alright mate, you got me, but before you interfere allow me to share with you some identification." Aross opened his palm, opening a screen that displayed a list of certifications and government authorizations in multiple cities, states, countries, planets, and star systems to do work for the Masius Corporation.

"I'll see you at the bird, sir." His squad mate said before vanishing in a field of teleportation particles.

"You should just let me do my job. Then I can leave. I'm just looking for my bosses son."

Bray had done a lot of bad things in the last ten years. A lot of bad things. He'd crossed, double-crossed and triple-crossed people. He'd done unethical and immoral things. Much like this guy seemed to be doing. But Bray wasn't going to let it happen.

"You're looking for his bosses son?" He aimed both guns at the man, glancing only for a second at the identification. He didn't give a fucking damn who or what he did and worked for.

"So his wife and children, innocent people who know nothing about this, are going to be traumatised, hurt and probably killed because of his fuck up? Nice work. Great way for a woman and child's life to end." He said. "Just let him go. I'm sure he'll talk if he knows anything now that he knows his wife and children's lives are about to end."