swift as a shadow (QUEST) | melanie

The city that never sleeps. It has been a while since Deacon had seen anything other than Concordia. In fact, it's been about five years. He idled on the roof where he was supposed to meet this intelligence officer. Supposedly she was in charge of the entire intelligence division of the Garrison. He hadn't met her yet because when Commander Craddock had briefed him on the quest, she had already been on a mission. The night was falling quickly. The meeting time was set for just after dark, which he assumed was for the sake of obscurity. Little did he know that he knew exactly who was coming his way.

While the sun fell below the horizon, an image of the Empire State building against the orange and pink sky made him feel like maybe he was closer to home. He wondered what his mother was doing right that second. He wondered if she knew he was here, looking upon Mount Olympus longingly. Probably not. He shook head and sighed as the last light of day disappeared into darkness. The lights of New York City were glittering like lightning bugs all around him and the buzz of the crowds below him on the street hummed. He hoped that he hadn't been wrong when he told the Commander that he believed Camp Bast was near New York.

In fact, the longer he stood over the city, the more ridiculous it seemed that Camp Bast would be built over the top of Camp Half-Bloods remains, but it was really the only option they had since he was told Camp Jupiter had already been checked. Surely they had an American base camp. It was hard to believe they were operating completely from the Nile River. In fact, that made less sense then the group being in New York. He supposed that was the reason why they were hear in the first place.

@accaila

Slipping silently through the shadows, Melanie made her way towards the designated meeting point. She had no idea who or what she would find there, as her briefing had been short and over a secure line. All she had been told was that there had been a break in the camp Bast investigation and it was serious enough that they were sending back up from the main Garrison instead of from intelligence. Sure, she would've rather had one of her own over whoever the Commander sent out this time, but she hadn't been asked and she would follow whatever directives came with them.

With night quickly falling, the shadows allowed her to bypass the crowds and slide by unnoticed, an advantage for this kind of work. They were operating so close to Mount Olympus that they couldn't afford detection. Surely the Titans would expect them to be sticking close to their godly parents, even if that was far from the truth. Still, they would be easier to detect here and the potential for spies would be heightened even if Camp Bast was half way across the world.

The meeting point was in sight when night completely fell across the city. The man standing there looked familiar, so she crept closer in order to make certain she knew him. The way he stood suggested Garrison training, his guard was up, and he was obviously waiting on someone. No. It couldn't be. Son of a--.

Melanie was cursing to herself when she reached the very edge of the meeting place. Of course, Deacon couldn't see her through the thick shadows she had summoned to shield herself upon entering the state, much less the city. She was only a few feet away and he likely had no idea that she was there. Of all the people, why would they send him? Why, why, why...

With a sigh, Melanie stepped out of the shadows just behind Deacon, allowing her cloak of darkness to slip away to it's rightful place. "Jacoby, what brings you so far away from the island?" She asked, making her presence known.

He hadn't been waiting too long before a voice sounded from behind him. If it wasn't for his relatively calm nature, he probably would have jumped from shock at her sudden appearance behind him. Instead, he began to calculate what sort of power she had that made her capable of sneaking up on one of the better trained officers of the demi-god Garrison.

As a daughter of Hades, she probably had one of two powers. She was either invisible, or she shrouded herself in darkness on her approach. Since their meeting had been scheduled for just after dark, he assumed that she probably controlled the shadows. After all, someone who could become invisibly would not need the cover of night to hide the dark, shadowy entity that would be created by immersing ones self in shadows.

Because of this, he would be lying if he said that he was terribly surprised that Melanie Thorn was the head of Intelligence. After all, it had been long rumored that she was some sort of spy and her extended absences definitely suggest that she left the island more often than any other Demi-God, "I assume the same thing that brought you here, Thorn."

@accaila

"Well, considering only one of us knows exactly what that is, I'll have to take your word for it until we get to the safe house. It isn't safe to talk here." She explained, scanning the area as she talked. The safe house wasn't exactly a house, but more of an apartment. The intelligence crew kept it up, made sure it was well stocked and secure. One of the reasons she had waited to come was so that she could give it a personal check to ensure that no bugs or nasty surprises had been placed while they had been away.

Stepping back towards the darkened wall, Melanie held her hand out towards Deacon, motioning for him to come closer. "You'll have to hold my hand or my jacket, since you won't be able to see, but this is how we move around the city whenever we can. It keeps us away from the prying eyes, as well as anything else." This was always the awkward part of her power. She could see through the shadows while she manipulated them, but they would render anyone else completely helpless while inside. Normally Melanie would have trained Deacon on how it worked, slowly getting him used to the all encompassing darkness of the shadows. Tonight, they just didn't have time.

Curious, Deacon grinned, "Whatever you say." He maneuvered himself so he was standing behind her and put one hand on each of her shoulders, "Will this work?" He asked, certain that she controlled the shadows now. Once again he was congratulating himself for a job well done. Although he knew it was petty, he was always proud of himself when he guessed things correctly. Of course, it took a lot to really surprise him anymore.

While waiting to Melanie's response, Deacon wondered if she missed a time when she didn't have to hide in the shadows just to take a walk. It made him wonder about Melanie a little bit. What was she like before the attack at Camp? Why didn't he remember her more clearly? He definitely had an image of her sitting outside the Hades cabin with that loud Aphrodite girl with the empathetic powers, but beyond that he didn't have many memories of her, which was odd.

@accaila

"That'll be fine. You can talk if you want to, but keep it low. I can hear you and I've heard it helps some times when you start feeling disoriented. Just don't let go or make any sudden movements." Melanie relayed as she surveyed the area one last time. The trouble with cloaking was making sure no one saw her before she went under, but as long as she was certain that no one was there she could go on ahead with the procedure.

Calling up the shadows, she first made sure that she herself was covered. Once she was surrounded she could manipulate them more easily, using the shadows themselves to feel out where Deacon was without having to turn around and actually look at him. As soon as he was covered, she took a tentative step forward. He would have to get used to walking without his eyesight and most of his hearing, so she knew they wouldn't be able to run for now, if ever, especially not like this.

"The apartment isn't far, so just hang in there for a while." She whispered into the darkness, wondering again what was so important that they would bring Deacon here, now.

Lucky for Deacon, he could perfectly recreate most of their trip to the apartment. He had walked the streets of New York enough times that his photographic memory told him exactly what it was he needed to do and where he needed to walk. It was nice that he had the power, made everything a little less disorienting than he imagined it would be otherwise.

@accaila

Once inside the building, Melanie dropped the shadows before turning to Deacon. He didn't look as distraught as most people usually were after an extended period in the darkness. "Not bad Jacoby, especially not for a first timer. The apartment is on the sixth floor, we'll talk there." She relayed, heading up the stairs to their current destination. The walk was short and before long they were standing outside the door. It was a simple keyed entry until you got into the hallway. The door at the end of that was much more tricky to get through.


State your full name

Thorn, Melanthios Alessa

State your passcode

LDA1562

Voice recognition accepted

with a final thumb print, the system was finally satisfied and allowed them through the door. Stupid machine. "Well, now that that's over, allow me to welcome you to one of my homes away from home, Captain Jacoby."

Deacon couldn't help but don a cocky smile, "Well, what can I say? Some people don't need coddling." He laughed and watched Melanie suffer through what seemed to be the most secure apartment in all of America. Once they were finally in, he noted that it was basically everything he had expected. Nothing too extravagant, but it serves it purpose. It was almost as if he had chosen the place himself.

Deacon grinned, "Well, it's pretty nice for something you only visit once in a while." He stated before pulled an envelope out of his pocket. It was folded twice so it would fit nicely. He unfolded the paper and started to rip open the seal that said plainly in large red letter, DO NOT OPEN BEFORE ARRIVING AT THE SAFE HOUSE. Of course, Deacon already knew what was inside since he helped write the letter, but Commander Craddock had insisted that he issue official orders to Melanie like he knew she would feel uncomfortable simply taking Deacon's word for it.

The letter inside detailed evidence that Camp Bast was in the New York area, perhaps built over the ruins of Camp Half-Blood. Their mission would be to scope out the area and determine whether it would be safe to return for tools and supplies, or if they would need to mark the location under enemy occupation and fortify their spy with this knowledge.

Watching Deacon pull out the letter, Melanie felt herself relax a little bit. Official orders were a necessary part of a mission, as every good intelligence agent knew better than to completely trust anyone out in the field, even each other. Her sister could walk up and tell her the sky was blue and Melanie wouldn't believe her without signed documentation from commander Craddock.

Motioning for Deacon to hand her the paper, Melanie scanned it quickly to find any important information before setting it down to read over again later. All she really had needed to know was that Deacon had been assigned to the case and whether or not he would be joining her for the duration, which apparently he was.

"So the big question for me right now that this doesn't answer is, why are you here?" She asked, genuinely curious. "I mean, I get that you have to be good at what you do, I just don't get why they would randomly send you to the mainland. No offense."

Deacon narrowed his eyes and grabbed the paper off the desk, "I'm here because of this." He flipped the page to it's back and point at the words typed across the center of the page.

DAYTONA.

"I assume you have never been to the Demi-God stronghold in Daytona, since it is for only the highest ranking Heroes among us. Honestly, I have never been there either. But there is a map in the Commander's possession that will tell us the location of Daytona." Deacon started to explain, hoping she would just take his word for it. Any more information about Daytona would be a violation of some of the most ancient Demi-God laws, "The thing is, The map can't leave the Commander's personal possession." He looked at her, knowing that didn't really explain why he had to be there instead of someone else. In fact, it didn't even explain why Daytona was even relevennt, if they didn't have the map that could reach it.

"So your here because of a map that we don't have to go to a place no one on Concordia except for maybe the chancellor and the commander has ever been, to do who knows what in relation to a camp that may not exist." Melanie retorted, more than slightly annoyed. This didn't sound like a good plan. This was the kind of plan where people didn't come home and major mistakes were made. This didn't sound like Deacon, unless he was making snap decisions again and that never went well.

"Would you like to clarify some more or do we just try to get this freak show on the road now?" She enquires, removing her jacket and laying the majority of her weapons on the table. She had no intention of completely disarming in the middle of New York, even with the security of the apartment, but she would at least be able to sit comfortably. Choosing the living room couch to rest on, she waited patiently for Deacon's reply, hoping that he would be a little less critic this time.

Deacon rolled his eyes, "I have seen the map. I have eidetic memory. We basically have the map with us." He explained, tossing his leather coat into a chair and leaning against the wall shaking his head, "It's the only reason I was sanctioned for the trip. I am the only one who can go someplace without having the physical map. Make sense now?" He was annoyed with how much she seemed to dislike his assignment here. It was almost as if she felt reconnaissance was none of his business. He knew that wasn't what she was thinking in all honesty, but something about her tone suggested that he wasn't welcome and that made him a little defensive.

That made more sense, significantly more to be honest. Yes, she and the other agents trained to retain as much information as possible in the least amount of time, but this was significantly different. Where she would remember some landmarks or big indicators, Deacon would be able to remember absolutely everything like the map was still sitting in front of him. It would be useful, she had to admit. Maybe if he proved useful on this mission, she would try to convince the Commander to let him off base more often. The stance he was taking against the wall wasn't comforting however, and she knew she had upset him.

"That's the kind of information you lead with, but yes that does make more sense." She replied, taking in his posture and placement as she did so. Melanie had years of practice reading people, and what she saw suggested that Deacon was uncomfortable. That would need to change, and as she knew it was her fault Melanie would have to extend the olive branch in order to get things working harmoniously. "Please, have a seat so we can discuss the particulars and come up with a strategy." Motioning to the seat across the coffee table from her, Melanie stood and grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator before returning to the table.

Deacon nodded, not one to hold grudges. He sat across from Melanie, suddenly in the zone. When it came to work, he took everything he did very seriously and didn't appreciate being doubted simply due to one mistake over a stupid rock wall. It was like an insult to his intelligence, which was not something he took kindly to. He sat up tall and placed the blank sheet of paper on the table in front of him. Deacon then reached into his bag and yanked out a pen. It wasn't a normal pen, though, it was once of those pens that they used to sell to pre-teen girls s their diary was in invisible ink. On the end of the pen, instead of a cap fitting over the top, there was a small, UV light that made the ink glow.

He looked at the paper and positioned his pen before closing his eyes. He started drawing along the curves of what was going to be an invisible map of Daytona they could look at before destroying it per the Commander's orders. They were not to carry a copy of the map with them at any time, in case it feel into the hands of the Titans. When he was finished, he opened his eyes and pushed the seemingly blank paper over to Melanie, "This is Daytona. First we should discuss our mission to Camp Half-Blood. We need to scout the area and make sure it is secure."