[FIN] Who Will it Be?

[TawnyAngel]

They were outside the building fairly soon, not as soon as he would have liked but good enough. The sky was still black, and his breath clouded in the air.

"This is the door," Zevran agreed with a nod. "How do you wish to approach this? We could give the knock she did, or perhaps look for another way in? I suspect if we are caught sneaking however we would be shot without hesitation." That's what he would do in the place of whoever was inside, anyone sneaking into a place like this was probably bad news for you as a resident or employee.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The blond leaned over the steering wheel a bit so he could get a slightly better view of the building while he shut his car off and pocketed his keys. "Oh yeah, definitely, I'm almost positive if we try to sneak in we'll get shot, no question," he replied readily, as if affirming an obvious fact like 'water is rather wet, yes.' He chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully a moment before he finally leaned back and removed his seatbelt. "Honestly the best way in is probably to knock how she did, although I don't know if we should really expect the same sort of response." Did they have a peephole of sorts? No, they probably had cameras, but as he opened his door and got out, he couldn't see any. It was too dark to see if there were, though he suspected that any that might be there would probably be difficult to notice unless one looked for them.

"I wonder if he's here yet," Abel murmured, his voice dropping to a quieter volume in deference to the situation's intensity rising as he shut his door and shoved his hands into his pockets for warmth before slowly approaching the door. This was serious. One wrong move could make things take a turn for the worse for him - or for both of them. They had to be cautious.

...s**t.

"D'you remember how exactly she knocked?" He asked his friend as he leaned towards him a bit, though kept his eyes focused on the door before them. "I think I do but I'm starting to doubt myself a little bit." Was it that important? Did they need to copy it exactly? Should they just knock normally instead, because surely they'd know... He'd never been in a position like this before, he didn't know what to do. s**t, he was so close and he could ruin everything if he made just one wrong move...  

[TawnyAngel]

"Humm." Zevran scratched his jaw as he turned the situation over in his mind. "I have knocked my share of secret knocks but having heard this one only once?... I suggest you try what you think it is on the hood of your car. We see if we agree and we go from there." What they would do if they didn't he wasn't sure but that was at least thirty seconds into the future so he didn't pay much mind to it.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ahh... Yeah," he ceded, turning and returning to the front of his car, "that's a good idea. Alright then." With this course of action in mind and feeling a bit more confident and self-assured for it, Abel's hand hovered over the hood of the car for a moment or two before he rapped out a pattern akin to the one Alyssa had used - or something close to it, at any rate. Once finished, he turned to look to his friend for confirmation. "Something like that, or was I off d'you think?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Was that right? It sounded right. Zevran nodded, though a slight frown wrinkled his brow at the same moment. "If it is not right then it is very close. It will attract attention at least and then perhaps we can pique interest?" It would be the same even if they had the knock exactly right, the man behind the door had clearly been careful establish Alyssa's identity.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, hopefully.. I think it's close enough.. I guess? I'm really not sure here," he admitted again, feeling that sudden surge of anxiety flare to life again. But it was okay, they had a plan - vague as it was, ending within the next thirty seconds, but still a plan - so he pushed the feeling of misgiving down as he approached the door again. He hesitated for another moment or two before he swallowed the nervousness and repeated the pattern of knocks that he'd performed on the car.

Towards the end of the short pattern of knocks, the door creaked open and Abel quickly withdrew his hand, staring at it for a few seconds. When the door didn't open further, nor did it slam shut - nothing at all happened, actually - the taller blond slowly turned to look at his friend, but for just a moment in case something did happen. This.. hadn't happened when Alyssa was here earlier. "This, uh.. What d'you think we should do?" He asked in a near whisper. s**t. Did they know already? Should they stay outside, or venture inside, or...? s**t.  

[TawnyAngel]

Progress!

Zevran turned to Abel and reached for his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze. "We be upfront," he murmured. "It is your call but if I were you I would ask for Mr. Dirksen and say that I wished to speak about Alyssa's takings for the month. Surely for that he would hear us out if he is here? We have three pieces of information: the knock, his name, and hers. If he is not interested in that then he is a stupid man indeed."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Zevran's hand found his; unconsciously Abel's fingers laced themselves through his, holding his hand like a lifeline, using it as a source of confidence to renew his own that had evaporated in the face of such a gaping black hole of uncertainty and fear. But there was a metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel, if only they could get there. They could do this; it would be okay. It had to be.

...holy s**t did he need a cigarette right now.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best." That meant opening the door further and actually going in, and was that really their best option? Probably, to be honest. s**t. "Though I'm sure of two of those. Honestly I don't think Alyssa is her real name, or the one she goes by here," the blond admitted as he tentatively reached out to pull the door open further. The interior of the building was black as night, darker even than the early morning around them - the very first few rays of sunlight had started to lighten the sky, but only just barely - and there wasn't a soul in sight. A very dim, orange light glowed ever so faintly, highlighting the outline of a door that stood ajar just a bit at the end of the darkened hallway. Ugh, he didn't like this... "Alright, here goes I guess," he mumbled as he took a deep, steadying breath and squeezed Zevran's hand more for his own assurance than anything else before leading them into the building. Should he try to call out for him here, or should they head for the obviously occupied room and see if someone was there to talk to...? He should probably start calling out here in the hallway, at least so they knew they had guests.

...though he couldn't help but think they'd known for a while now that they had company.  

[TawnyAngel]

Though he was unused to making decisions in situations like this - not his place - with Abel holding his hand but not speaking Zevran reached a decision. He cleared his throat noisily as he continued to walk towards the lit doorway. "Hello, is it possible to speak to Mr. Dirksen please? We have some intriguing information about one Alyssa, and the dues she owes." Keep it simple, for now at least.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel squeezed Zevran's hand again - gentle, appreciative, grateful - and continued his slow, tentative path towards the door.

A few moments later, the door behind them slammed shut.

The taller blond's steps faltered and he glanced behind them, though he couldn't see anything in the darkness. No other noises could be heard apart from the sound of their own breathing and heartbeats. "Alright, well," he murmured, "I guess there's no turning back now, yeah?" Of course there wasn't. He couldn't turn back now even if the door were still open - there was far too much at stake - though he longed to know why it closed... Sure it could've been the wind, but he didn't believe it was. Not for one minute.

"Hello?" He called out, continuing on towards the dimly lit doorway. "Michael Dirksen? My name is Abel Gray - I don't know if you've heard of me before or not," because it was entirely possible Alyssa had at least mentioned the people she blackmailed to him, if he didn't instruct her to or something, "but I've a couple important things to talk to you about."  

[TawnyAngel]

He had more than half expected the door to close behind them like a coffin lid but he still tensed involuntarily when it happened. No turning back. Zevran squeezed Abel's hand again. "Si, and I am with you gladly." And now at last they might be about to meet this employer or handler of Alyssa's and he did hope the man ordered her death preferably a slow, awful one. From what Abel had said and from what he had seen and heard he had drawn assumptions that pushed him through the heat of anger through into the ice of fury. If her handler fancied it he would happily end her himself.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Once more he gave Zevran's hand a grateful squeeze. What would he have done if his friend hadn't insisted on accompanying him? He would never have made it this far, that was for sure.

Having said what they needed to say, Abel continued silently for a few more slow steps before reaching the door. Once more he called out as he pushed it open, "Hello?" Just in case they hadn't heard before, because the last thing he wanted was to be shot immediately upon entering.

No gunshots sounded though. No other sounds could be heard, but the source of the faint orange light at last came into view. As the pair entered, a dark-colored Chandelure with orange flames kept dim and low watched them curiously, floating just a couple feet above the ground not too far away from them. "Lurrr?" It queried.  

[TawnyAngel]

As if it wasn't bad enough that they were locked in, now there was some kind if living lantern. Pokemon!

All the same Zevran smiled and nodded to the creature. "Hello, can you tell us if Michael Dirksen is available please? My friend here - Abel Gray - has some information for him, if you did not already hear as much." The man could very well already be in the room, lurking in the dark behind the strange pokemon. No doubt if he simply wanted them dead however they would already be so, and that was some reassurance.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The Chandelure made a thoughtful "nnn" noise before it floated towards them. Once it got close enough, however, it gained altitude and floated up over their heads, bathing both of them in a soft orange light before spinning in a gleeful circle. "Deeeh~"

Abel frowned softly, puzzled by its behavior. "What--"

Something further in the room - the pokemon's light didn't stretch that far - rumbled angrily, and the taller blond tensed. He repeated, "What--"

Once more he couldn't finish his sentence, but unlike stopping voluntarily the first time, this time a hissing noise interrupted him a second before something slammed into the door, causing it to practically crash shut behind them. "s**t, wha--hk," Abel said eloquently as a small group of thick vines - thicker than his arm - darted forward, wrapped around his midsection, and yanked him off his feet, tore his hand away from his friend's, and pulled him into the darkness beyond the Chandelure's small circle of faint orange light. A dull thud was muffled by more hissing sounds, shortly before a similar group of vines aimed straight for Zevran to do the same.  

[TawnyAngel]

The lantern thing was creepy and there was something else in here with them, unseen in the dark. When the door slammed shut behind them Zevran instinctively half turned towards the noise before freezing and then turning back to squint into the gloom. He had been about to make a comment to Abel about warm welcomes and their absence but before he could open his mouth some kind of tendrils - vines? - shot out of the blackness, grasped his friend, and yanked him away. Zevran cried out in protest and made to dive after him but another set of vines raced towards him, he ducked under them at first but a moment later the snared him all the same and lifted him off his feet.