"Take them to my office for safe keeping. Vance will know where specifically." Adrian ordered the Ortega enforcers.
The leader of the team, a bruiser of a man that could easily be mistaken for a gorilla in the dark, nodded eagerly. "Y-y-yes, sir!"
They packed up the five unconscious captives and quickly loaded them into the black SUVs they brought with them. Then, without any further instruction, they left, taking the panel van with them.
[Could have at least offered me a ride. Not that I would have accepted.] Adrian thought while walking back to the alley he first arrived from. A quick door creation later, and he was back in his office, sinking into the comfortable chair behind his desk.
Despite his newfound physical prowess, he nevertheless found sitting still on the roof of a building for three hours annoying, so being able to relax as he pleased was a nice change of pace.
After getting comfortable, he called to his shadow. "Pavuk, report."
It took a few heartbeats before his shadow replied. "My lord, Miranda has negotiated a ceasefire with her attacker after Akula was victorious. By all appearances, the individual in question was a Myrkalfar on an investigation mission."
Adrian consulted his borrowed knowledge and surprisingly came back with an answer. The Myrkalfar were a type of Fae creature that inhabited the realm of Svartalfheim. As one of the three elvish races, they held a rather high position in the power structure of the realms, but they are well known for remaining strictly neutral, going so far as to violently attack those who try to drag them into conflicts.
There are only two reasons for a Myrkalfar to leave their home realm. One, to raid for human captives that they use for some unknown purpose. Two, to investigate something related to the Primordials, with whom they have a deep fascination.
Not much is known about their home realm, since no visitors are allowed, and any captives brought there are never allowed to leave. However, it is rumored that their entire society revolves around harvesting the resources produced by a captured Primordial.
[There's that word again.] Adrian thought once he'd reached the extent of his limited knowledge. [Now, what do I know about Primordials?]
For the second time, his borrowed memories obliged, albeit in a limited fashion.
The term Primordial is given as a label to truly ancient beings that existed near the creation of the universe. There are no standard descriptions for these creatures, and they were known to come in several different varieties, however they all had a few unifying traits. First, they were all of immense size, with even the smallest standing as tall as a mountain in their true form.
Second, they were able to channel the energy of the universe to perform wondrous things that go far beyond the scope of what could be accomplished by even the greatest practitioners of the modern era.
Finally, they are all unaffected by the passage of time. While there are records of a few Primordials dying as a result of violent injuries or something more esoteric like heartbreak, none would age.
As they either had no ability to reproduce or nor desire to do so, their numbers dwindled, eventually seeming to vanish entirely.
By the time mankind was capable of recording their own histories, the Primordials had become little more than memories. Nevertheless, it is believed that many of the original myths owe their origins to them.
[So ancient god-like beings that seemingly vanished mysteriously. Of course, the Myrkalfar's interest in the topic suggests that they might not be quite as vanished as most believe.]
Out of curiosity, he asked the Hall if it was one of the Primordials. The answer he got was ambivalent and vague. As much as he could understand the alien will that hung at the back of his mind, it seemed like the Hall either didn't care or didn't know the answer to that question.
Deciding that his musings weren't accomplishing anything, Adrian addressed his shadow again, "Is there anything else?"
"Merely that Miranda wants to set up a meeting for you tomorrow afternoon so you can speak with the Myrkalfar. Apparently she came to this realm with the intention of investigating you and your connection to the Hall of Shadows."
"I see. Very well."
He powered up his laptop and took some time to review for his sociology test that would be held later this week. Despite everything, he still had to maintain his status as an honor student. Any drop in grades would provide his step-father a reason to interfere in his business.
After about 20 minutes, the intercom crackled and Vance's uncertain voice echoed up. "Um, sir? Are you in there?"
[They made good time, all things considered.]
"Yes." Adrian waited for a few moments, before asking. "Did you need something?"
"Ah, yes, I mean no, I mean, I just wanted to let you know that your...uh...guests have arrived."
"Indeed. Place them in the holding cells and question them individually. If you have not already heard, these are the ones responsible for disrupting our business on the west side."
"...Yes sir, I am aware."
Adrian looked back over to his review materials, allowing a trace of dismissiveness to enter his voice. "Do what you have to, but don't kill them. I have a plan for them. Report back to me once you've gotten everything you can."
"Yes, sir. Is...is there anything in particular you'd like me to ask?"
"I think you know the drill. My only guidance is to not dismiss something for sounding unnatural. I expect that they have gotten tangled in something from my side,"
The intercom crackled for a few seconds before Vance finally replied, "Yes, sir. Of course, sir."
He gave the team a few minutes to get their captives in place before addressing his shadow again. "Keep an eye on our prisoners. I suspect that there will be a rescue attempt. As soon as you get any indication of such, let me know."
"Of course, My Lord. It shall be done."
[Now we wait.]
---------------------------------------------
The night passed uneventfully, and Adrian was able to attend classes as usual, enjoying a morning and afternoon of seeming normalcy before Vance finally contacted him.
After reviewing the vague text message from his subordinate, Adrian moved to a quiet part of campus and made a door to his office. He walked down to the basement, sparing only a little attention to note that Miranda was not in attendance. Likely, she was still tied up dealing with the resident problem child.
Descending the stairs he walked through the heavy security doors leading into the detainment complex. When he originally occupied this building, he'd utilized the Ortegas resources to remodel several floors to serve specific purposes. The basement had been converted into a discreet holding facility with ten reinforced rooms that could be used as cells.
Passing by a few enforcers, who had been apparently working in shifts to guard the prisoners, he went into the control room. Here a bank of monitors displayed the video feeds from the cells. Five of them were occupied.
Scanning the screens, Adrian noted that they weren't suffering from any obvious injuries. Clearly, they had talked almost immediately without much need for interrogation.
"Sir." Vance approached nervously. "We questioned them in depth."
"What did you learn?"
He hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking up, "This team is part of a larger movement. Based on their testimony, I suspect that we aren't the only organization being targeted. This particular group reports to an individual known as Lawrence, who seems to serve as a combination terrorist cell leader and drug dealer."
"Drugs?"
"As far as we can tell. They talk about something called Rapture or being enraptured and by their descriptions, it's clear that this is some kind of euphemism for a drug. However…a few aspects of their account are unusual."
"Such as?"
"Well the delivery method is the biggest. They claim that Lawrence is the only one capable of producing the 'Light of Rapture,' as they call it. Apparently, he shows up and actually, physically glows at them and that causes the drug-like effect."
Adrian nodded without commenting.
"Ahem...well, considering what we know, that could be some kind of supernatural drug. In any case, the effect of Rapture seems to differ a bit based on the subject. It typically impairs judgement and can induce a state of euphoria. Most concerning however, is that it seems to reinforce the subject's body in some way, making them temporarily superhumanly strong and near bulletproof. Thankfully, this benefit doesn't last long, around 15 minutes at the minimum, although the prisoners mentioned that the time limit to what they call a 'trance,' can be lengthened by maintaining a calm state of mind."
[The imagery seems religious in nature, but these kids are hardly fanatics. While it seems strange to say, it almost looks like a cult has been outsourcing to teenagers for the purposes of robbing gangs.]
The more Adrian thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Clearly he was missing something to make sense of this puzzle.
"Go on." He murmured.
"Ah, yes, of course. Unfortunately, they don't know much about the organization. Lawrence recruited them personally, and they never met anyone else. He seems to have prioritized personal loyalty over other forms of training, although that didn't last long after they were captured, but they had only the vaguest notion of proper raid tactics."
"Where did they get recruited?" Adrian interrupted.
"Hmm...I'm not sure if it could be called recruiting, at least at first. They all spoke of encountering Lawrence at a specific time or place. It differed for each person. One was at a house party, another had snuck into a club, two others were at a small gathering…You get the drift. After that, it seems there was little communication between them until Lawrence reached out to them "
"So it would be fair to say that each of them were identified at parties. I suspect they were targeted more for their risk taking behavior than anything else."
Vance looked a little confused. "I suppose that makes sense, but why is that important?"
"Don't you see? It paints a clear picture of Lawrence's priorities. He wanted a crew that was loyal to him alone, but wasn't competent enough to be a threat. They also had to be able to function enough to conduct the raids while exposed to a mind altering substance. Most importantly, however, they needed to be malleable enough to absorb the basic level of training in a short period of time. All this suggests to me that he was in a hurry."
"...Yes?"
"There were a number of better options assuming a sufficient amount of prep time. Even without factoring his resources into the equation, it's clear that he chose a risky, desperate method whose only redeeming quality is the speed of its implementation."
"I see."
"Basically, he was in need of some scapegoats to do his dirty work for him, so he recruited friends and acquaintances. He already knew they were risk takers and thrill seekers based on the context of their relationships, so he only needed to provide them the opportunity to do so while using his Rapture as both a means of removing any actual danger and binding them with addiction. That they don't know much about his organization means they are also disposable. Now the real question is to determine why he needed so much of our money. Have you sent anyone after this Lawrence?"
Vance nodded with a hint of relief in his face. He was probably glad to be back in comfortable territory. "We have, but he seems to be hiding somewhere besides his usual hangouts. My guess is that he assumed his operation was compromised as soon as the team failed to report in."
"Pass his description around, or better yet, see if any of our prisoners have a picture of him saved on their phones. We'll be offering a reward for any information leading to his capture."
"Should we keep it in house or make it a legitimate bounty?"
Adrian paused for a few seconds to consider. If they released the information, they would essentially be announcing that Lawrence had harmed their enterprises. On one hand, it would increase the chances of him being found, but on the other, it created the possibility that another group might take him in to use as leverage.
"There is no immediate hurry, so keep in house for the time being. If we don't hear anything in a few days, I'll consider the matter again."
"Understood." Vance acknowledged before lapsing into an uncertain silence.
"Did you have something else?"
"Actually, yes. The prisoners are beginning to show withdrawal symptoms. I know you wanted us to keep them alive, but we don't have much in the way of trained medical personnel, and the few we do are more experienced in dealing with traumatic injuries. I'm not sure how bad these withdrawals will be, but unless they get better medical care, I don't think I can guarantee their lives."
Glancing up at the monitors, Adrian noted that each of the five captives were exhibiting signs of agitation. At the moment they didn't appear to be in any danger, but that could change in short order.
Looking down at his shadow, he asked. "What can you do for them, Pavuk?"
"My lord, I am afraid that this is outside of my area of expertise. There are servants of the Hall that would be better suited to the matter, but they cannot be awakened right now."
Silence fell while Adrian considered that information. After a few seconds, his shadow spoke again.
"May I offer a suggestion, my lord?"
"Speak."
"You have created connections with both the Esoteric Order and the Bureau. Perhaps one of them might be more familiar with this situation."
Adrian grimaced. He'd been trying to avoid approaching either of them with a request, since he liked to keep the balance of power in his favor until he fully understood what their motivations were. Finally, he muttered. "I'll think about it. Any negotiation with either party would need to be carefully considered before I engaged in it."
"As you will, my lord. However, I do wish to warn you that I have witnessed this kind of condition in the past. Uninitiated humans without the potential to be practitioners are quite vulnerable to afflictions stemming from mana. I suspect that they will not last long without expert intervention."
Adrina focused his attention on one screen in particular, watching as Mary rushed over to a corner of her cell and began throwing up. It was clear, even without the audio, that she was in a rough state.
The Hall's presence tickled at the back of his awareness, reminding him of his most recent deal. While he had no inherent obligation to ensure the girl's safety, the idea of letting her perish irritated his professional pride.
"I'll keep that in mind."