"Please, do not use my surname; I prefer Joanna. Law is like a slap in the face at this point." I remark, my hand slipping away from his. He nods, and he motions for me to sit down. Geez, I'm never going to stop moving at this rate.
I do so, sinking into the sofa; which is surprisingly comfortable. Well, it also looked expensive, so I shouldn't have expected much less. And as expected, they go straight into business.
"Who's the new chick, huh?"
I turn my head to see who said that; it is the tan man. He's sat right next to me, and... well, I feel small next to him. Damnit.
"This would be Joanna Law," Lucas starts, "our new information gatherer."
Woah, woah, hang on, what? I know I was going to have a meeting with them, but it looks like I don't even have a choice! That's.... that's totally messed up.
"Do I have a say in this?" I inquire, loud enough that they will definitely hear me. Lucas turns to me, and nods.
"Indeed you do. We cannot force you to join us, although we would be very thankful if you do."
The tan man looks at Lucas. "I wouldn't. We have enough people as we are." He responds, which prompts a glare from Blondie on the other side of the room. "What? I'm having MY say in this. Kid ain't even trained in combat, as far as I am aware."
God, he's a total jerk.
"And you aren't exactly trained in gathering information, are you, Anchor?" the woman shoots back. At least someone has my back!
"I got the tip-off on the deal last time, you know." the man, presumably called Anchor - is that a code name of sorts? - rises while he says this, which makes me realise just how tall he really is. He's definitely a few heads taller than me, that's for sure.
"You damn near almost killed the guy. She can grab information with a snap of the finger." Alfred chirps up, signalling for Anchor to sit back down.
"Okay, hang on, hang on. At least let me know who you all are before arguing about me!"
That got them to shut up. Okay, that's a start.
I point to "Anchor". "You. Who are you?"
He stands up again. Oh god, this is going to be a huge, self-loving introduction.
"I am none other than the one and only Anchor Shot!"
Self-love. Yeah.
And his name is ACTUALLY Anchor. Okay. Great. I'm surrounded by weirdos.
"Okay, sit down, I don't care."
He looks so hurt, oh my god. I think I might have hurt his pride... Amazing. Nonetheless, he sits down, silent. I turn to look at Blondie and point to her.
"Your turn."
She stays seated, and looks back at me. "My name is Karen. I'm nothing special, I just handle all the technology here. So, you know, checking the citizen registry and stuff. I don't really have a special power like these fellows do... I suppose we would be working close together, though, if you are to work with information!"
She's humble, that's nice. Perhaps she's down to earth, too. I'd like that, if she was to be my partner.
I should introduce myself to them too.
"I've already been introduced, but... I'm Joanna. I'm a telepath, but I really am not as special as Alfred would say I a--"
"Good, we can kick her out!" Anchor interrupts me abruptly. God damn, what a douchebag!
Karen again glares at him. She looks so scary. Actually, she isn't just glaring... she's moving closer to him. Closer, closer, closer, and then there is a sharp smacking sound, followed by a yelp from Anchor. She has just slapped him.
"You absolute dog, do you have any respect for ANYONE?"
You can tell from her tone of voice that she is pretty upset. I wonder if anything has happened between the pair of them recently.
Before I get to say anything, though, Alfred steps in. "So, Miss Law-- I'm sorry, Joanna, would you like to join us?" He asks me, a hand outstretched. I gently bat it away and shake my head.
"I'm afraid I need to know more before I can make up my mind." I respond, my tone much more calm than Karen's was.
Speaking of Karen, she seems to be sulking now.
Alfred nods, standing up. "Of course, you DID just get here after all. I suppose I shall start from the beginning. We are what you would call the Society. We aren't a very secret organisation, but you would not be able to pick out members of our group at first glance. We have agents around, working in the field even now."
I nod, leaning towards him.
"But, should you join us, you will likely interact with the four of us the most. Most branches of the Society tend to be twelve or less in strength, to promote teamwork in a way that allows for tighter, coherent strategy and intel gathering. Teamwork that," he gestures to Karen and Anchor, "we seem to be lacking right now."
I nod again, looking at the two adults. Well, at this moment they might as well be children. And I thought I was the youngest here!
"Our jobs range from the mundane, like finding a lost item, to the serious, like solving crimes such as murders. As such, some of the things we deal with can be quite... gruelling on the mind, to say the least. Someone like you, that has come from the outside world, and has not been predisposed to the... ah, shall we say the wackiness, of this world, may find a lot of our jobs especially overwhelming, but... You seem to be someone that can adapt quickly. I trust that you will fit in well here, of course!"
It seems that he has finished his explanation. An organisation like this seems like something straight out of a comic book or a TV series, honestly... am I really suited for this? I don't think I am, but they did reach out to me. Does this mean that they have seen some form of potential in me? I don't think I have any potential whatsoever, but people are not very good judges of themselves.
However, I know for a fact that I do not want to mull this over. If the truth is to be told... I always wanted to join them from the moment they reached out to me. I never wanted to seem too eager, so I did what anyone would do, right? I asked them more about what they did. Of course I'm going to join them. I don't want to live a boring life. Nobody does, do they? If this opportunity came knocking on your door, I'm sure you would accept too.
"I, uhm... I'll do it, if you will accept me." I speak up after what seems to be a long time. I tried to wait, of course. I can't seem too eager! "I'll join you. Thank you for this opportunity."
A small round of applause from the group sounds throughout the room. A round of applause mixed with a groan. I would assume that to be from Anchor. A quick glance over to him confirms my suspicions. Not that it matters, I shouldn't be partnering with him, right?
"Amazing! Now, I am afraid we will have to put you straight into the field now; time is of the essence, and we don't have a lot of it." Alfred speaks up. It doesn't bother me at all that I will be going straight into fieldwork; I'd much rather do that anyway!
"Our current objective is to investigate a gang called the 'Diamonds'. Rumor has it they are the main dealer of a drug known as Barranax. For this mission, you will be investigating these deals, and the drug itself. Your partner will be Anchor."
Oh.
Oh my lord.
I don't think I should have accepted their offer at all.
