NationStates Jolt Archive

He stands on a dimly-lit street corner, his wide-brimmed black hat and black coat hiding his slim features from the streetlight overhead. His hands rest comfortably in his pockets, and a toothy grin can be vaguely seen on the shadow covering his face, along with two specks of light where the lamplight reflects off his eyes. He looks both ways, then crosses the street. As a cold drizzle starts, he enters a small bar and takes a seat on a stool. Holding up his index finger he speaks in a deep, mysterious voice. "A bloody mary, if you please." The bartender, a portly old fellow with a wide mustache, nods and goes to work. Xanthal looks about himself, even the lights on the tables in the bar seem to be unable to penetrate the shadows that hide his identity. He has become a master of moving with the shadows over the many years of hunting, and can walk in broad daylight yet never show his face. Many know of him, few know him. He is Agent Xanthal, the seeker of the Truth of the universe. Some believe him to be a partner of the Smoking Man, others see him as a government spook. Few see him for what he is: a non-aligned rogue agent with connections. The bar is almost completely deserted, but a few men and women dot the interior. His drink arrives and he swivels around, paying the bartender with exact change that seems to magically appear in his hand. He takes a sip of the bitter concoction, thinking to himself. As the rain outside intensifies he smiles. This night the tension in the air crackled almost as tangibly as the lightning in the distance. Something was going to happen, and he could hardly wait to find out what. He takes another sip of his drink and waits.

OOC: Anyone can join in with their own character, but they must be serious about it. And no killing without running it by me first. Try to keep any characters you put in to the profile of a classic detective story. You know, a carefree yet serious lass, a shady police officer, a citizen with a story... Make it interesting, but no crazies. Also, I'll close this after I get a partner, just because I want it to be a slow-paced and thoughtful RP, not something you have to hurry on. If you join though, don't quit. I want this to last. I've invited Steel Butterfly and The Smoking Man specially, so I want to be sure there's room for them if they want in on it.

OOC: This would be only my second major RP, if you could count that "Letters From A Half-Elf Soldiers" bit I'm doing as an RP. If not, this is my first RP I've tried for. The name I'm using is from a Name Generator.

Name: Arwen Cathleen El'Johnson.
Gender: Female.
Height: 5'7.
Weight: 145 lbs.
Hair Color: Red.
Eye Color: Green.
Occupation: Police Officer.

OOC: Is this sort of thing OK?

A man dressed in a battered blue overcoat enters the bar. He sits near Agent Xanthal and orders a beer. After he gets it, he turns to Agent Xanthal-

"You are the one I seek?"

Emerald Winter: OOC: That's fine. You can come in when you want, but not now. I don't need a crowd straight off. You can enter in after a few posts.

IC: Xanthal's smile gets even broader. "Mabye. That depends on who you're looking for."

AX: Sure.

"I'm looking for a reliable agent that can smuggle something out of a country and into another. The pay is good although the danger's high. You interested?"

Xanthal turns to face the man, finishing his drink. "I'm not in the business of smuggling, not unless it furthers my own cause."

The man pulls out a bag and lets Agent Xanthal have a peek. Inside is a whole lot of gold. In the other hand he holds three packets of twenty 100 dollar bills in US currency.

"Take your pick."

OOC: Waiting for the incompetent police officer bit...

Xanthal sighs and gets up. "I don't need money. I need the Truth. The Truth that will explain everything that has happened since that day. There's no secret as well-kept. There are those that know, but they do not tell. They fear the Truth. Most do. I myself may be destroyed by it, yet I must find it. My mission." He tips his hat and exits the bar, walking out into the heavy rain which pours around him as his waterproof clothing sheds it onto the street below.

OOC: You can follow me if you'd like, but it may be better to just pick a new character and jump in again in a few posts. Your current persona isn't going to get anywhere with his smuggling task.

The bag of gold and packet of money vanish in the overcoat. The man quickly pulls out a cell phone and exchanges some dialogue with an unseen responder. After 5 minutes has passed, the phone vanishes, and the man in the overcoat leaves the bar.

--1 block away from Agent Xanthal's current position-

Another man dressed in a blue overcoat gets out of a large white van, accompanied by a companion who is wearing similar clothes as Agent Xanthal. Upon seeing the Agent come close, the second overcoat man's companion vanishes. The second overcoat man opens an umbrella and moves to Agent Xanthal.

"Greetings Agent Xanthal. We have heard a lot about you. Would you like to be our truth seeker for us?"

Xanthal can't contain a short, barking laugh. He composes himself quickly though, and faces his latest antagonist. "Your truth seeker? What truth do you seek?"

"It is a truth that we seek of our nation. We believe that there is a group concerning itself to overthrow the Prime Minister and replace him with a puppet. That is the truth we seek."

Xanthal nods. "I'm not really a private agent, but yours may help my own mission. I'll meet you in the bar tomorrow night, same time. I should have your information by then. Mind, it is not the truth you seek, it is merely information. The truth is the whole, and the Truth is the whole of the whole. Until tomorrow." Xanthal receeds into an alleyway and is gone with the shadows, almost as if he was never there at all. A few hours later finds him on the other side of town. The heavy rain has abated to a light drizzle, and the Agent sits in a dusty old bus station. His only company there is a serious-looking police officer. Xanthal ignores the policeman though, his attention focused on a daily newspaper he reads with quiet concentration.

The police officer looked out at the rain-swept streets. "God oh-mighty, it's cold and wet out there." He sighed. "On some of these streets a man must walk." He pulled out a cup of coffee, and sipped at it. "And I have the late shift. Something about terrorist threat, or like that."

OOC: I'm jumping in here, as I got Xanthal's TG a bit late.

IC: Arwen cursed the weather as she rode the Police Motorbike down the road. She was cold, wet, and desperatley needed to relieve herself. She spotted a Bus Station and pulled over to it after deciding she needed to dry off. Parking close by under an overhang, she dis-mounted her vehicle and walked inside. She noticed another Police Officer inside and waved, then removed her helmet.

Xanthal frowns. Too much company was never appreciated, especially when that company consisted of law enforcement. He rises to leave, folding the paper under his arm.

"Patrol Officer Arwen?" The man blinked. He watched the agent leave. "Interesting... he seem familiar to you?" Captain Douglas sighed. "It's not important. Want a doughnut?" He said, holding up a box.

OOC: Incompetence is always better to play than shadiness. Is the Agent a PI?

IC: "Why not? I've not eaten a bite in the last 12 hours" Arwen said, quickly lifting a doughnut out of the box with two fingers. She paused for a moment, then took off her out-door coat to shake it off, revealing the stripes of a Police Sergeant on her arm.

From on the rooftop of a building, a man dressed in a blue overcoat scopes out Agent Xanthal's movement. He turns to the bus station. He puts down the binoculars, writes something down in a small spiral notebook, and turns to see where the Agent is going. The notebook vanishes into one of his pockets. He moves from the edge of the building, silently following the Agent, all the while tapping something inside one of his pockets.

Adderton: OOC: You just don't go away, do you?

IC: Xanthal catches the next bus that passes, annoyed at being followed.

Captain Douglas nods to himself. "Man, it's cold out here... why don't we go back to the station? Room for another on board that cycle? I... kinda... lost my keys... to my patrol car..."

Captain Douglas nods to himself. "Man, it's cold out here... why don't we go back to the station? Room for another on board that cycle? I... kinda... lost my keys... to my patrol car..."

OOC: Me? *shakes head and assumes angel look :)

The bus takes him only a few miles into downtown before the driver calls end of the line. Xanthal pays his fare and disappears into a government-owned highrise.