Author note:
Please do comment and if you like the story, provide power stones.
*****
Oh god.
Arasaka is here.
Damn it, how did I not know? Wait, if they are here, who else could be here? If Arasaka is here, then…
" Is that so? Are there any ministers suspected of being from a Militech perhaps?" I try to ask as nonchalantly as possible.
Borrat nodded, a joyous smile on his face as though he were some high school gossip girl. "Where should I begin? It is suspected that half of all officials in the defence department have dealt with Militech at least once, with a few higher-ranking individuals having deeper connections."
" If this is the case, why does Mrs Black or Makanai not purge this blatant corruption?"
Borrat chuckled as though I had asked a foolish question. " The SAU, my friend. Militech's headquarters are located in the SAU, which has supplemented the country's defence forces, and Arbrau can't afford to be left behind. "
Bloody hell, how would this affect the possible war to come? How much has technology changed? A sudden realisation hit me. The symbol on my pistols. Top of the line…Militech. I needed to research this pronto.
I began earnestly enquiring about every backpocket deal, the old man was happy to share. He went over dozens of people, some suspected to be with Taiwaz, others with some companies I didn't know and a few that I was vaguely familiar with but not of any real importance.
" Last but not least, that person over there, Dr. Erens Frantelli, the former Arbrau health commissioner, now a VP at Abstergo's "Medical Outreach Initiative. I heard he's been looking to expand Abstergo's influence to Mars. You should expect him to visit you sometime."
Out of the oven and onto the frying pan.
" Abstergo you say. Interesting. "
The old man merely gave a snooty laugh. " Indeed. It's not often I get to share such interesting gossip. You see, I can sometimes be a bit of a chatterbox but I cannot help it."
I've noticed.
" Well, if you are still the head of intelligence, then you must be doing something right."
The bear of a man chuckled once more, clasping my shoulder. " Indeed. I wish to go into more depth but I cannot stand around talking to one person. Do visit me sometime Mr Kingston."
" Will do."
With that, the man took his leave, going to talk the ear off an innocent guest. Still, this party had been truly helpful.
Abstergo.
Arasaka.
Militech.
This doesn't even mention the likes of Teiwaz and Gjallarhorn. Those are the players that I know. I should probably count The Creed being here since there's no way they don't exist if Abstergo does. That brings up the question of where they are hiding. Are the Edens here?
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Now wasn't the time to speculate. I was still at a party and thus needed to continue socialising. There would be enough time to research.
*********
All in all, the evening went a lot better than I thought it would besides the bombshells, but in hindsight, I don't see how it could go bad. I was in a room of Makanai supporters, so at worst, they would merely talk smack behind my back, but they were going to do so no matter what.
They were politicians after all.
I could only hope there was more good than bad said about me.
Going for another round of non alcoholic sparkling champagne, I was a little surprised to spot a familiar blond head by the drinks table, the drink I was looking for in her hand. I wondered for a second why she was there, but the answer was so obvious I felt like an idiot for even wondering.
" Kudelia?"
When the girl turned toward me, I was a little surprised at how…well, how beautiful she was. She was in a well-fitting no-strap dress that, oh hey, also had floral patterns though silver coloured." Wow. I didn't know you could look even prettier than you normally look but it seems I was proven wrong." I complimented as I went to pick up the drink of my fancy.
The girl's cheeks pinkened a tad as she smiled. "Thank you." She gave my incredible suit a once-over. " Though I think the suit does more for you than any compliment could."
I gave a nod of thanks as I took a sip from my drink, the blond doing the same. "So," she began, tilting her head slightly, "military advisors to Arbrau. That's quite a step forward. You must be proud."
" Indeed. It's a big step not just for me but for all of us at Tekkaden. Though I'm happier that I'll likely be spending more time on earth. I know we'll both be a lot busier so its a good excuse to ensure we don't become strangers."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen but I keep no promises," she replied, her smile becoming more amused.
She looked down for a moment, her expression more thoughtful. "It's strange," she murmured, "how quickly everything changes. Only a day or so ago, I was on the edge of the city, half-frozen and praying we'd make it in time. Now I'm here, in this room, speaking to people with some of the most influence around."
She turned her attention back to me. " Yet somehow, you still manage to be there through both occasions. It will feel weird not being teased by you at least once during my day."
" It is quite a shame but I think I've brought your tolerance for teasing to an acceptable level to allow you to go out on your own."
That earned a rather undignified snort from the noble woman before she brought her glass up to mine, her expression becoming more sincere."To staying close, even if the world tries to pull us apart."
I clinked her glass. " Without a doubt."
After gulping down the rest of my drink, I checked the time and took a look around. The room was thinning and even Makanai seemed to have disappeared. " It's getting a bit late and it seems people are starting to take their leave. I think I'm going to take my leave too. Shall you be staying or?"
She looked around to then looked back at me, her fingers brushing the stem of her glass, and shook her head softly. "No, I think I've done what I needed to tonight. I'll head back too. It's been a long day."
I could see that she had more to say and to my surprise, she grabbed one of the alcoholic glasses and gulped it down in one go before setting her glass down and seemingly gathering her courage and fighting a growing blush. "Would you mind…walking me out?"
Oh, why did I expect, you know what, nevermind.
Smiling, I extended a forearm. " I'd love to."
Instead of merely taking her out to her chauffeur and saying goodnight, I decided to enter with her since she was staying close to where I was staying anyway. Plus, that old fart didn't mention how I was going to get back, just leaving like a ghost.
On our way to her residence, as I was staring out the window, my eyes caught something interesting along the city skyline. Seeing that the lights were still on, I decided to allow my spontaneity to take hold.
Taking off my tie, I offered it to her. " I just got an idea. You'll need to be blindfolded for this though."
She blinked thrice before just doing as told, putting the tie on as a blindfold.
Leaning forward, I whispered my desired destination to the chauffeur and he just nodded, changing the route on his GPS.
It didn't take too long to arrive. When we did, I guided the blindfolded woman forward till I stopped when I saw the staff of the place I was trying to go to lock up.
" Wait here."
Running forward, I called for the attention of everyone there, and a short stout man walked up to me. " Hey there son, whatcha doing here so late?"
" Look, I…" I looked back to Kudelia then to the man. " Sir, you see, me and my girlfriend back there, I was planning to propose tonight to her up there. I was going to come earlier but our dinner reservation took forever and our vacation here is coming to an end today and things have just been a mess and I just really need this so please sir..I beg you, I'll pay, just allow us to enter."
I was near having a feigned panic attack as I rambled on causing the man to place a hand on my shoulder. " Calm down young man. I understand."
He looked back at the other staff. " I'll handle this, you guys can go."
He turned back to me. " I can see how important this is to you. I won't mind opening this place up for a little while longer. Just dont tell anyone, alright."
I gave the man a grateful hug. " Thanks old man. This means…this means more than you could ever know."
Despite trying to look tough, he cracked a smile and broke the hug. " Give me a few minutes."
Watching the man open and enter the building, I went back to the silently waiting Kudelia and reassured her we were almost there. After three minutes or so, the stout man came out and gave me a thumbs up.
Taking Kudelia into the elevator and up, we were at the top in no time, only taking a few steps forward to reach the edge where I took off the blindfold. " Tada."
Kudelia blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting before she took a sharp breath of air. A panoramic view of the city sprawled beneath us, its lights sparkling like a sea of stars.
For those who have yet to get where I took her, it's the city vista.
"Darius, this is-" She paused, words failing her momentarily. She took a step closer to the railing, leaning over slightly to drink in the view "It's beautiful. "
She's making it too easy at this point.
I placed a hand over hers, her attention coming back to me. " It really is."
"Darius…" she said softly, an expectant look coming over her face. She didn't pull her hand away. Instead, she shifted just a little closer, letting her fingers tighten around mine.
Hook, line and sinker.
I leaned in, capturing her soft lips in an almost eager kiss.
One, after her slight surprise wore off, she returned in full.
I don't know hold long we kissed but when we parted, we were breathing heavily. The young woman's eyes were half lidded, her lips glistening and kiss swollen.
"Darius…" she whispered, voice low and breathless, "I…" She stopped, the words caught in her throat.
I closed what little distance was between us, wrapping my arms around her waist and pecked her lips. " You don't have to say anything you don't feel comfortable saying nor do we have to label this. We'll have more than enough time to explore this without some unnecessary added pressure."
Her tense body relaxed under my words. "Okay," she breathed like a weight had been lifted."I'd… I'd like that."
You and me both.