[FIN] Who Will it Be?

[BlackFireKitsune]

Alyssa frowned. "What time in the morning?"

"Oh early, probably," he replied with a thoughtful expression, and he reached up to rub his stubbly chin. "Probably around five or so maybe? Why?"

"I need to talk to him," she replied coolly, shifting her weight to her other foot. "It's important."

"Well," his thoughtful frown deepened and hints of curiosity and skepticism flitted into his expression, "if it's that important you can give his wife a call later on and ask her if he's free, she'll know. Don't call him because he's taking care of something right now though and it'll probably take a while."

"Ohh, what sort of business is it?" Curiosity was evident in her tones and her expression; curiosity that would not be sated.

"S'classified," the man replied curtly, his voice somewhat gruff.

The pair shared a silent staring contest for a few moments before Alyssa shrugged and turned away. "Alright, I guess I'll give him a call later. I'll stop by in the morning if I can't get a hold of him."

"Okay," he said in the tone of one who wondered why they needed to be told something that didn't apply to them. If Alyssa noticed the tone of voice she didn't show it; she turned on her heel and walked back towards the street as the man shrugged and shut the door behind her.  

[TawnyAngel]

Very interesting. Wherever Alyssa was going next he doubted it was as interesting as this place suddenly was but that was a call to leave to Abel. Zevran squeezed his friend's arm to get his attention and looked up at him for a cue on what to do next. Even in the not so great light of the evening Abel looked awful but all he could do about it right now was slide his hand up to his shoulder and squeeze again, this time to offer some measure of comfort.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Ah s**t, she was moving again. He still hadn't caught his breath yet... Abel turned and reached his free hand up to curl around Zevran's arm for a moment or two as he debated their next course of action. Not that there was much to debate; the door had closed and presumably locked, and Alyssa had already turned the corner. Decision made, the blond pushed himself away from the brick wall and followed after her, both his pokemon following closely at his heels.

Back out on the street, Alyssa's pace had slowed considerably, and she glanced around the street, her eyes alighting on a few buildings in turn before a thoughtful frown crossed her face. She halted in the middle of the sidewalk then and pulled out her phone; grateful for the pause so soon after leaving the alley, Abel eagerly slumped against the nearest wall to finish trying to compose himself while waiting for their quarry to continue. They didn't need to wait too long - only another minute or two - before she put away her phone and started walking with purpose -- which meant her usual quick pace. With a quiet groan, the blond pushed away from the wall and followed after her again.

Alyssa's path, far less winding than before, ultimately led them after a few minutes' walk to a cafe back in the better part of Camphoreon. Despite the late hour, it was still open; a sign posted on the window with its operating hours indicated it would continue to be for some time yet. The redhead eagerly pushed the door open and entered; Sonia hastily trotted after her and held the door open so it wouldn't close and potentially ring any bells or anything, and once the group entered she let it close. The sparse patrons and employees in the cafe would notice no such thing. If anything, they might notice the chill from the door lasted a little bit longer than it normally did; nothing suspicious. "...huh," Abel said thoughtfully - huffed might've been a better word - as he watched Alyssa head to the counter to order something, then he glanced around at the mostly empty booths. Why was she here, and how long did she plan to stay? Not that he'd mind actually sitting for a while instead of hurrying to follow her all over the city.  

[TawnyAngel]

So they were continuing after Alyssa, fair enough. He would remember this place though and perhaps return at a later date, cautiously of course.

With a regretful glance over his shoulder Zevran set off beside Abel once again. Seen as there didn't seem to be much chance of losing Alyssa he kept most of his attention on his friend, the last thing they needed was for Abel to trip and fall or something else that might draw attention to them. It was more than a bit of a relief when Alyssa headed into the cafe, even if she was only here for a few minutes it would give Abel a chance to recover a bit.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

It didn't take long at all for Alyssa to order and receive her drink and a small pastry; she took both and turned to head for a booth in the corner. Abel and his pokemon followed. The blond slipped into the booth behind her, the ever alert Sonia slid onto the bench opposite him, and Caleb trotted underneath the table to lie down there. Abel frowned a bit as he half-twisted in his seat so he could watch her and, more importantly, watch as she pulled out her phone. She could be doing something important...

...like play an inconsequential game on it.

"I wonder how long she's going to stay here," he murmured quietly. He didn't mind sitting for a while, especially after how difficult it was to keep up with her and to catch his breath, but watching her play games on her phone while sipping expensive coffee didn't really help him figure out how to get rid of her once and for all. Quite the opposite in fact; all it was doing was wasting his precious time.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran shrugged ignorance as he moved to join Abel in peering at Alyssa's phone screen, nothing interesting yet but that could change at any time. While his eyes and most of his mind remained focused on Alyssa Zevran's hand wandered over to find Abel's, lace their fingers together and give a reassuring squeeze. "She will give us something, sooner or later," Zevran murmured, and his belief in the truth of the statement was evident even in his hushed tones.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel's fingers twitched before they curled around Zevran's. He didn't take his eyes off Alyssa's screen either though. It took him a moment to quell the disquiet that threatened to turn his stomach again before he whispered, "I hope so."

Over the course of an hour or more, Alyssa continued to sip at her coffee and nibble on her pastry until both were gone, all the while playing various games on her phone. Her home screen showed little of interest - save for the background picture of a grumpy-looking Houndoom wearing a red bow it clearly did not want to wear - and even though a small part of him appreciated getting to sit and spy on her rather than having to run around, Abel mostly felt more and more restless and uneasy. He was wasting time sitting here, she wasn't even doing anything - nothing - and how was that going to help him? He only had until 6:30am before he had to meet her and go on the boat. He only had until then to find something definitive and figure out where to take that something to get her off his case. How could he manage that just.. just sitting here in a cafe, watching her play games on her phone?

Scarcely after he finished the thought, the redhead checked the time on her phone, dimmed the screen, pocketed it, and slid out of her booth. The moment she headed for the exit rather than the restroom, Sonia and Caleb jumped up to follow. Once Zev vacated the booth Abel followed suit. Back out in the chilly night air, Alyssa led the small group on another slow, winding path through the city; through intersections, down dimly-lit sidewalks, and into a small convenience store just long enough to buy a couple snacks. After making her small purchase she set out again, and this time her path ultimately led them into a rather expensive-looking condominium. Abel frowned as they deftly followed after her into the building's lobby with Sonia's illusion work. "Good to know we've been helping her afford her rent here," he noted somewhat bitterly, his hands shoved deep into his pockets as his stomach continued to flipflop miserably. He could only hope they could follow her inside. How could they find anything if they ended up locked out?  

[TawnyAngel]

He could really have done with a coffee and a pastry watching Alyssa slowly consume hers but leaving the bubble of illusion was hardly an option and so he waited quietly, occasionally rubbing his thumb over Abel's to reassure his friend of his continued attention.

When they were on the move again it was something of a relief to him, though it put a niggle of worry in his mind for Abel who hadn't eaten now in how long? hopefully adrenaline would sustain him.

The place Alyssa led them to was hardly a surprise, surprise or not though it sparked a tinge of envy and a far hotter and brighter flare of anger in his heart. She had taken Abel's money, left him unable even to feed himself, and here she sat like a queen on the throne and just as uncaring of those she stepped on in the gutter.

There was no time to dwell though, at last things seemed to be moving in a useful direction. "Are we to follow her inside, or enter later?" Zevran asked softly. "I can send Cloud in there to watch until she leaves the entry, alert us, and then pick the lock?... Unless it is electronic." As soon as he had got his new winter coat he had transferred his set of picks into an inside pocket, a normal lock seemed most likely for a place like this - easy and secure against all but a dedicated professional - but you could never be sure.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Uh.." Abel frowned thoughtfully as they followed Alyssa through the lobby and onto the otherwise empty elevator, still trying to catch his breath while beads of sweat dripped down his temples. Being in an enclosed space with her, without her knowledge, left him more than a little anxious. What if she discovered them? "I guess it depends on if we can follow her in easily or not... Who's Cloud?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Oh, he hadn't introduced them? Perhaps not, things had been busy of late. "Ghost balloon," he muttered, hovering one hand just behind Abel again in case he stumbled.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Ghost balloon?" He echoed softly with a slightly puzzled frown as he leaned heavily on the railings that circled the elevator's interior. "You mean a Drifloon?"

Presently the elevator came to a halt on one of the upper floors. Alyssa stepped out and walked briskly down the hall that, despite its length only had two doors on either side, spaced quite a ways apart. The redhead stopped at the far door, pulled her keys out of her pocket, unlocked it, and pushed the door open. The small group would catch the briefest of glimpses of the posh interior before Alyssa slipped inside and promptly shut and locked the door behind her.

The door slamming in their faces felt to Abel like a punch straight to the gut. "Ah, yeah," he mumbled abruptly, fumbling for Zevran's wrist as panic started to well up in him again now that Alyssa was out of sight, "send Cloud. Please." If she was out of sight and earshot, she could do or say something important and they would miss it, he would miss it and then what would he do? He'd be lucky if she did or said anything useful once, he couldn't count on her doing it more than once.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran gave a half shrug and nodded; "Ah, yes I think that's it." He had looked it up at one point and he was pretty sure that was correct.

There were only a couple of doors on the corridor they stepped out into, given the size of the building that must mean that the apartments were a good size. Again, no surprise there. It also was not much of a surprise when Alyssa slipped inside and quickly closed the door behind her; most people didn't just conveniently leave their doors wide open but that was what windows were for, or in this case lockpicks.

"Si," Zevran agreed, twisting his wrist out of Abel's grip but only in order to take his hand instead. His free hand meanwhile reached into one of his pockets for a pokeball and quickly located the one with the correct pattern of notches on the surface.

A moment later the small balloon-like pokemon appeared before the pair of humans and blinked amiably at them.

Zevran gestured to the door and raised a finger to his lips. "I need you to go in there, don't be seen or heard. When the women inside and any pokemon are far away from the door unlock it if you can, but whether you can or not come back out and tell us." It would be faster if Cloud could unlock the door himself but his appendages were not the best at gripping small things like latches.

Cloud saluted with one tendril and then silently faded from view.

Zevran exhaled softly and gave Abel's hand a squeeze, all they could do now was wait.

Fortunately they were not kept waiting long, it was only a minute or so later when Cloud reappeared in front of the door, raised one tendril to the yellow cross in the centre of his face and gestured to the door with the other.

Zevran nodded and squeezed Abel's hand again before letting go and moving to crouch in front of the door. "Let's see about this then," he muttered as he produced a set of slim picks from inside his coat and slipped on into the lock, silently hoping that he wasn't rusty at this.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel's fingers flexed uncertainly around Zevran's. This was awful, this whole thing was terrible, but at least he wasn't alone. With every passing moment, he felt more and more grateful not to have to try and handle this by himself. He wouldn't have been able to; he knew that now. Especially not...

"I didn't know you had a lock pick set," the taller blond said with a faint, perplexed frown. Now what did he need those for? If a thief was the worst his friend was, though, he wasn't about to say a word. Especially not when he himself had done infinitely worse.

While it wasn't a quick or easy process at all, the lock eventually, finally ceded and unlocked. The moment the door opened even a crack Sonia took over, darting forward and pushing her nose - her face - through the space, her illusions spilling over and around the threshold to block them from view because Alyssa or her pokemon could appear at any moment.

She didn't; instead, the faraway sounds of running water hitting tile hinted at her current whereabouts. There were no pokemon to be seen. The interior of her posh condo practically screamed 'spoiled'; brand-name items from purses to shoes littered the entryway and front hall, while decorations leaning a little more on the extravagant side were placed in strategic spots in the same areas. A lush carpet met the tile flooring at the end of the hallway, and the glimpse of the living area just beyond the threshold hinted at similarly expensive furnishings.  

[TawnyAngel]

Zevran shrugged as he worked. "Old habits die hard," he said, which wasn't really an explanation but he was concentrating and this wasn't the time in any case. When the final pin inside the lock finally turned Zevran pushed the door open slightly with one gloved hand and then stepped aside to allow Sonia to enter first. Once he had pocketed his tools again he followed her and Abel inside and then closed the door quietly behind them.

There was a coat hanging on the back of the door, the brand was exclusive and the fur collar looked luxurious but it dangled there carelessly as though it were replaceable. Perhaps it was replaceable looking at the rest of the place. Just how much money was she getting from Abel and Taavi? Was she also getting money from other people? If she was that would be another thing he was unsurprised about.

"Time to search?" Zevran murmured to Abel, just in case a keen-eared pokemon was somewhere out of sight. "Perhaps she has a desk, or a folder of documents?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Old habits die hard - now that was the most accurate statement he'd heard in a while. He knew exactly how that was, not that he would admit it.

Now that they were actually inside her apartment - her condo, apparently - all the anxiousness and panic surged up and crashed into him so hard it left him momentarily breathless and cold. He was dead. He was so dead if she found him -- but then if she didn't find him, if he didn't find anything, he would be just as dead. s**t. <******** pressed his hands to his eyes, dragged them down his face, then pushed his fingers up through his hair as he tried to pull himself together, tried to think, "Uhh.." Search; searching sounded good. Yes, they needed to search, to find out something -- anything. "Y-es, yeah," he agreed softly after a moment, his arms dropping back to his sides again, "something. Anything. We just have to stick together, Sonia can't cover all of us if we're too far apart."