the very idea of this mission was something slightly outside of vlad’s expertise , but nonetheless a charge he wouldn’t dare think of deviating from . his use through the years had primarily seen him on the front lines , using brute force and strength to hold his own while his compatriots had either his back or fought by his side . covert ops as a guerrilla force once trench warfare no longer remained vogue , like some passing fancy . nowadays , everything was scattered and utterly unlike how he was used to being at least trained . though , it did make him reminisce of olden times when he’d engaged in one of the earliest forms of this warfare , considered ahead of his time . battles of the main sort were his expertise , but tracking and hunting ? subjects the vampire was more accustomed to in his times of personal hunts , of evading the band of heroes and seeking one mina harker for the emblematic symbol of his hatred against them to defile with a damning transformation . though he certainly had been used in such ventures before , it was merely … something new , to say the least .
as far as he was aware , vlad was to be partnered with a fellow eastern european , which brought a bit of relief despite not having truly been within eastern europe since at least the cold war , when his homeland had been part of the soviet bloc . still , there was familiarity he hope might still be attainable , despite not having been to romania properly in well over a century , nevermind actually living there . funnily enough , judging by his compatriot’s name , they seemed to bear similar heritage as well – vlad himself being more slavic than romanian , something which had surprised him to learn when he had what with the battery of tests he’d been submitted to and routinely was . as if his constitution was ever-changing compared to humans whose lives were such brief winks between two periods of darkness , even if his own long-life had yet to be considered truly ancient , a title that seemed remanded mostly to those over a thousand years old . these thoughts , though an idle distraction , did keep his mind from anticipating this mission too much .
and of course , amani would be there to fill him in and especially on the entire journey there . the sudanese vampire , though still aligned with DAIS , was someone who often still accompanied him on ventures such as these as an informant and someone to brief him ; a role that had taken some convincing due to her history that was almost as old as vlad himself . his first love , and now his true one , journeying with her to moscow would be far more pleasant than if he were alone . and , of course , as was protocol did his superiors who possessed the seal of solomon was the mission practically branded within his mind , alongside the protocols that would have to be adhered to once they were in russia proper after what would be a fairly long flight . which it certainly was , but traveling by day meant he and aman had time to sleep through the night together , until the chilly and foggy skyline of moscow came into view . vlad had family from long before here , distantly wondering if they didn’t still exist or if there was any surviving lineages . an idle contemplation that didn’t have much of anything to do with him .
by the following evening , he was escorted alone via a black-tinted car to the purported meeting place , leaving amani behind at the hotel where she would act as his reconnaissance agent and the source of intel if he needed it , connected via a purposefully planted bug within his shirt’s collar . unseen , but able to be utilized if absolutely necessary . though , part of him wondered if that wouldn’t even need to be the case . the sleet-driven streets and the miserable cold a post-christmas moscow reflected as poignantly as if he were still in new york . a colorlessness permeated the streets , chill shown in those who huddled into their coats if they weren’t braving the weather with rays of headlights showcasing the the snow that was falling headily , likely a blizzard if it wasn’t coming or only recently past . regardless , if he needed to , vlad could simply distort the weather to suit his needs . a power that his superiors had allowed him to utilize if need be .
the place of question wouldn’t see him exactly dropped off at the front . a few blocks away , within a darkened alley , he disembarked from the location while the driver sped off into traffic . there , vlad shapeshifted into fog and blended fairly well with the weather as he traveled as a puff of steam above the head of unsuspecting passerby , appearing to be nothing more than the emissions from the myriad exhaust vents caught in traffic . once the location was ascertained , the vampire slipped easily past ant inferior security , diffusing beneath the threshold of the door and manifesting again within a dark corner , stepping from it as though he were ubiquitous to the shadows . ‘ adrik , is it ? ‘ vlad greeted with a canted head , his mouth kept in a stern line and a sort of inscrutable look within his eyes . ‘ i’m vlad , but i certainly hope you knew that . now , are we going to brief ourselves or can we begin this hunt to track and hunt down this bastard ? ‘ as if he were playing some common game of fetch . as only a dog of the government only could . though , he wondered why his own presence was necessary . if it was just a common game of cat-and-mouse , why not hire some human bounty hunter ? hm … whatever . as long as the mission wasn’t painfully simple , it would be fortunate if it didn’t prove to be some wasted day and night from the journey from the states .
Pure dumb luck - the only reason he had not seen the man manifest from thin air in the darkest corner of the room. What separated any form of view he might’ve had upon the display was obstructed by a single large brick pillar that separated the main room from a makeshift kitchen, beyond that was the simple fact that Adrik had been facing the wrong direction. Pure dumb luck separated a man who believed in a simplistic belief of Heaven and Hell from the actuality of either of the two or even both. Adrik had flipped a coin without knowing it and he would remain oblivious to the monster who appeared as a man.
His reaction would be to the man’s voice rather than the opening of a door or even a knock. Outwardly, he was a statue - he would simply turn, twisting his frame around so that his gaze fell upon invited guest while inwardly he - he all but shrieked. A single door, a single entrance; there was only one way in and one way out. No click of a lock, no gentle turning of a nob nor even the creek of old, rusty hinges as weight was applied with a delicate push. Silence had flooded the cellar (and while some audible noise fell from the floor above), such noises were drowned out by the density of two feet of solid concrete. So how was it that Adrik now stood utterly shocked in surprise?
Shifting where he stood his gaze would fixated upon the man he now shared the cellar with. Of the two folders in his hand the darker blue was opened, a few pages already flipped to their back. If the other was to crane his neck up but a bit and give his gaze a few extras inches he might see shaded photo on the corner of the page and the remnants of a few sentences. This was the second time he had read over Vlad’s file and while most of it was stained with lines of black ink, it still painted a somewhat clear picture. Working with what little knowledge it provided he could surmise that the man was as every bit as good as he, and thus fully capable of sneaking through that door in utter silence only to step forth from the shadows in a rather pompous fashion. Of course if he was to go with that route, it meant he himself was lacking in a very critical function - simple awareness.
Adrik would remain silent for only a moment longer; his mind tasked with winding back the last minute or so to explain why he hadn’t heard the man enter. “ Right... “ Sporting a hell of a poker face, he’d let out a reply in a low voice and a steady tone while he was still somewhat reeling from the shock. It was not often he stood baffled by someone else’s mastery of stealth; that being the man who taught him and the woman responsible for those teachings. And while he was still somewhat green under the gills he was not so green as to be entirely incapable of simple situational awareness. So while the man before him was spouting cocky lines of dialogue fit for some lousy film, Adrik was still dealing with being snuck up upon.
” - Vlad, yes. “ It took him a moment or two to speak up once more and thankfully he was capable of keeping his tone and voice in check as to not betray the now fading shock. He’d step forward once more, dropping the folders in hand upon the nearby table and leaving his file visible upon the top. “ Ahem. “ Clearing his throat he’d lean against the very pillar that had kept him so very ignorant of the monster before him, looking to his wrist for the time. 12:27pm. They weren’t on a strict time frame; their target was incapable of further movement for the time being, but they could not afford the possibility of him slipping through their fingers.
” -No... We should leave now, before my contact get’s suspicious. “ With a proper sentence spoken Adrik gave away little hint of the Russian flag plastered upon his back. No thick, brutish stereotypical ‘comrade’ accent upon his tongue, in fact one would need a talented ear to even pick up on the sprinkles of Slavic in his tone. Shifting; he’d depart from the brick pillar, opting to lean over the table of scattered necessities as he picked what he needed. A thick vanilla envelope; obviously full of cash, triplets of the mornings newspaper; for the sake of cover and the a pair of shades.
“ If you need any further briefing, we’ll do it on the way. “
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