A strange recruit

"No worries, these employees are paid not to ask too many questions. They know my business extends to more then just my business but not to the extent. I prefer keeping things quiet but I have redundant measures for that. There is no need to feel out of place is what I'm trying to say." Adam says as he invites her to sit down and listens in as she rambles.

"A Quincy persona would definitely allow you some anonymity amongst our ranks but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't desire your ability to change when needed. You seem like a private person and I'd hate to disrupt that. If you desire peace then I will bug you no more but if what you desire is comradery then I can provide that. Let me rephrase, what I want is you and if that means that you would feel more comfortable with a Quincy persona then let it be so." Adam declared.

She tried to follow what he was saying, frowning once or twice. The atmosphere in this place still made her feel awkward about her rather, in her own opinion, shlubby appearance, and the circumstances of the meeting furthered her nervous condition. "Uh... Alright." She said, understanding she shouldn't feel out of place no matter what else he said.

She crossed her arms, her nerves fading a little bit and focusing better on what he was saying. The truth was, camaraderie sort of scared her. Not that that would be a factor in working with him. It could easily be a persona's favorite part of a job. What he rephrased it as got a bigger reaction out of her. "M-Me?" Her face turned a little red. She remained quiet, her mouth pressed closed in a little flat line. "I... I would feel a lot more comfortable if I could just make a Quincy Persona.." She said quietly, hoping it wouldn't upset her now possible employer.

"That is acceptable." Adam said with a courties smile before adding. "There is another question that has been floating around in my head. I've been adament about getting you to join but now that an arraingement of sorts has been reached, I must ask you, why did you accept?"

Adam takes a sip of his wine eagerly waiting for her answer

She continued to look at him pensively for a second. He wanted to know why? She looked down. Probably something about camaraderie would be best? Or wanting to do something important? She looked back up, lips pursed. She decided to be honest. "Money, mostly. It takes a lot of money to keep up appearances for multiple identities. It sounds like a good opportunity, and I AM looking forward to meeting new people... But I'll be honest, the financial factor is a huge part of it..." She felt bad saying it, but it was really the only reason to complicate her life like this when she had so much freedom as is

He nodded knowingly. "I understand."

With that he stood up and prepared to leave. "So when can I expect to see 'you' again?"

She followed his lead, standing up. "Well... When would you like your new Quincy to report to you?" She asked thinking about how long it would take. Once inspiration hit her, it would only take an evening, although getting clothes, an apartment.... If he needed she could get it done in a day or two, though.

"As soon as possible I suppose. No time like the present eh?" Adam said with a small grin.

She had been thinking the same thing but was still flustered by the time demand. "Uh...I can... Maybe have one ready as soon as tomorrow? Maybe the next day?" She felt weird talking about a new Persona as if it were a crafts project she was selling on etsy.

"It sounds good to me. We should meet here again before going off into the office. It's best so people don't ask too many questions." Adam notes

"Y..Yeah... That sounds good." She gave a nod. "Uhh.." She awkwardly stood there for a second before taking a few steps towards the door, before turning quickly. "O-Oh! What time should we meet?"

Adam looks at notes to see when he had available. Upon seeing no opening tomorrow due to Selena's incredible time managing abilities he looked at a part of the schedule that said "3:00PM Lunch with your Great Aunt Mildred." and smiled. "How is 3:00 sound? PM that is."

She nodded. "3 PM. Here.. I'll be here.. I j-just... need to go start!" She looked confused about how to properly exit before simply giving Adam a little bow and rushing out the door. She headed down the street before hailing a taxi, heading towards one of her nearby apartments. She had her work cut out for her...

Thinking back on his previous job Adam was left to ponder. "Sir?" says his chauffeur. Adam waved him off with a, it's nothing, and got into his limo and they drove off. He wondered if his failure to hunt down the other force would come back to haunt him some day. These were thoughts that often plagued the mind of the King.

The next morning, the apartment felt unbearably hot. The figure in the bed tossed and rolled, as if in a fever. They muttered and groaned in their sleep, delirious. Finally, with a snap, they sat up, panting as if having awoken from a bad dream. They got out of the bed and stumbled to the kitchen, taking a sip of water before turning to head back to bed with the glass. A reflection in the sterling steel of the oven caught their eye and they took a few shaky steps over to it to get a better look.

A row of perfect teeth smiled.

---

It was the next day, at precisely 2:30, that the silver haired gentleman walked in. He reached up to adjust the ribbony bolo tie and ran his hands down the blue vest it laid over. Checking the cufflinks on his white collar shirt, he made his way to the seat. Outfit seemed in order. He frowned, still not quite feeling... himself. Julian Valentia had only existed for about 12 hours old, after all. Everything still felt... hazy to him. He could recall things from before his existence but they all seemed rather ephemeral. Memories of people he hadn't met yet. It was his understanding that protocol for a new persona was to let them stay active for a week or two entirely, so they could cement their personality.

While a fan of this, he was already anxious to become part of the little 'Vera clan' she had put together. That said, he was appreciative for the time, as well as to Meiko for not only clearing two weeks from their schedules, but appropriating funds for him to get these clothes tailored and dry cleaned in a matter of hours.

Well, she probably just meant for him to buy a suit or something, but he could already feel this was more fitting. And as a waitress approached, he also already knew what sort of response he wanted to give.

"Can I get you anything?"

He looked up at her, piercing blue eyes staring directly into hers before giving what he was under the impression, was the world's best smile. "A moment of your time, if I'm lucky." He said, before some knowledge in his mind informed him that waitresses usually just wanted to get their job done. "Apologies. I would like a coffee with...." He paused. Hrm... how did he take his coffee? He'd never HAD coffee.. "You know? If you could bring me some cream and sugar with that, it would be delightful." He gave her another happy smile.

From the back Adam came in his usual business attire carrying a serving tray with 2 cups of coffee along with cream and sugar. He looked down at the man and placed them in front of him along with his own coffee. He then sat down and took a drink out of his own.

"Cream and Sugar huh? I prefer mine Irish." The King smelled his cup for the alcohol and took a sip. Not too much alcohol but it should perk him up after an already long work day.

"So, who might you be?" Adam asked with a look of bemusement.

He looked up at Adam before giving him the same pleasant smile he'd given the waitress. "Ah.. My... Hrm.. I suppose you're Vera's employer?" The name felt weird to say in the third person. "I suppose to ME, you would be... My Liege?" He stood up and gave a deep bow, before looking up with a grin. "Julian Valentia, is the name, by the way." Once his bow was finished, he sat back down, picking up the coffee.

"I might try something more daring at some point in the future." He said flatly, taking a sip. His face scrunched up and he poured some sugar and creamer in, taking another sip and shaking his head. "Right now I'm not even sure how I like it..." He kept trying more combinations of the stuff.

"So, my liege... I believe you said I was to take some sort of tour, to meet my fellow members of the uh... Wandenreich, was it?"

"Yes, and Adam is fine or Sir as long as we are out in public. When with others of our kind then Liege or Grace is the norm." Adam said flatly as he looks over at a waiter who had only slightly raised his eyebrow. Adam waved him off.

"My name, is Adam Dumont... the fourth." Adam said extending his hand to shake Julians'.

"Yes, we will be heading off momentarily but we need to come up with a cover story. A new face won't raise too much suspicion but if I introduce you as one of our own it might be best if we have a say of where you are from." Adam points out.

"Ah. Well then, Adam." He sipped at the coffee. "Ah. That is lovely." He said, sipping it back and counting the coffee and creamers. Ah. Seemed moderate. It WAS missing a hint of something. Maybe some sort of flavoring? Yes. He liked flavored coffee, that much seemed OBVIOUS to him now. He looked back up. "Ah. Adam Dumont. King of the Quincies. It has a nice ring to it." He said, glancing sideways at the waiter who had left, seeing if he was still in earshot.

"Ah. A cover story? Hrm...I am still sorting myself out, but I believe I am vain enough to want to say we're cousins, but..." He twisted his mouth a little in thought. "I'm definitely smart enough to know it sounds silly." He frowned in thought. "AH! The child of a loyalist family sent away somewhere to avoid the fighting?" He said, before glancing to Adam. "Ah... Vera... is rather well informed on the general going ons of the spiritual world." He said, wondering if Adam was questioning his knowledge of the Quincy faction's history.

"Yes. Sent somewhere nice and Idyllic to train and be raised." He took another sip of his coffee. "France, I think."

"King of the Wandenreich" Adam corrected. "A small difference but there are some Quincies out in the world who are not part of my empire preferring to keep to their own solidarity instead of the King's Peace but we are the largest and if I do say so myself, the strongest."

"So it seems you are familiar with our war then." Adam then takes a drink. "Can you name the last two leaders of the conflict?"

"Well." He sat upright in his chair. "I think we could call those quincies fools." He sipped at his coffee lightly. "After all, if I'm going to be a part of an organization, I'm going to be proud of it." He said, raising an eyebrow at Adam's next question.

He took a long deep sip of the cup of coffee. "Of course not. There was of course Adam Dumont the third, but I couldn't possibly know the contender for the throne." He said calmly, sitting still with a smile. "After all, I was sent to the French countryside to be as far from the fighting as possible. I was merely a child during the war." He set his cup down, before giving Adam an intense gaze. "Is that satisfactory?"

That last bit made Adam smile but he didn't want to think about what a war with the other smaller factions would entail, they were kinsmen after all. Not that he didn't have the absolute confidence in his own forces, but not every single Quincy 'tribe' had been discovered since their diaspora so it was admittedly a small concern. Not that he was going to tell this new guy that. Not yet at least.

"It's acceptable but unlikely that you didn't hear their names at some point since they were the former Grandmasters. Their names, for the record, were Jonathan D'Esopo and Anthony Myers the third. Jonathan was my ward and the leader of the Wandenreich until I came of age. He was killed when we assaulted the safe house of the false king and previous grandmaster, Anthony."

"I'm sure I did, but I was young and a rather spoiled brat so they just didn't stick." He spread his hands and shrugged. "But I may be able to remember Jonathan D'Esopo and Andy Myers the whatever. I certainly wouldn't waste precious brain space remembering the name of a traitor." He smirked, figuring Adam would be satisfied with that answer.

"That's fine. With that said should we excuse ourselves to the office building?" Adam asks as he takes the last drink of coffee.

He took a napkin and wiped at his mouth, before standing up. "Well.. I believe we shall." He said, pulling some money out to leave a sizable tip. "I'm looking forward to meeting the... Hrm. Are we a team?" He rubbed his chin. "I think maybe you should fill me in on some of the operational procedures?" He suggested as they exited the cafe.

Adam waved him into the limo and got in the opposite side and spoke to the driver. "Back to the office."

Turning back to his companion. "We're a company. We do business both legitimate and not. Mostly we are about running other companies. Originally we were a banking firm but as we bought shares of other companies and began to 'manage' a great many more our focus shifted. It is estimated that something like 3% of all wealth in the world will pass through my hands. On my more egotistical days I like to consider that we run the world economy but that is probably pushing it. The truth of it is that there is almost nothing that we don't have our hands in from Kleenex to the projects of commercial shuttle crafts. These days most people at the company manage other companies. Our lowest ranking employees are still managing more smaller companies and cash flow then most people hope to see. The only question is, where do you fit in all this."