Gifts

Not knowing the situation happening across town, Leonard's air cab touched down back outside the run down warehouse of the Bloodhounds. They had already messaged him earlier that the goods he ordered were ready, and so he came right away, as soon as he left Priscillas office. The sooner he could get his hands on a separate identity the sooner he could start setting up some of his more outlandish plans, ones that would be very bad if linked back to him. 

He had several ideas on how to use it, although he did tell John, the member of the Bloodhounds he had met that he wanted to use it to transfer his money he didn't actually feel the need to. Although he would move over a portion of his money in order to keep up the ruse, he would still invest in some stocks his memories of the future told him would do well under his real name.

He planned to use his fake name to release any findings on the Bloodhounds connection to the Condor Kingdom to Bulwark as well as to conduct more unsavoury operations. 

The narrow passage between the side of the factory and its large exterior stone wall was still as overgrown as ever, although the beaten in dirt path was ever present. He racked his fist twice against the cold hard face of the large metal door, a small slit at eye level being pulled open. 

This time it seemed he was expected, the slit closed and the door opened with none of the mess that happened last time. The man behind the door was unfamiliar and simply pointed his arm out down the hallway. 

"The boss is expecting you." 

Leonard didn't wait around, taking the now familiar and simple route towards the rather extravagant office. John was sat on one of the two couches, two boxes placed in the small table between them. 

"Leonard," he got up, shaking his hand overenthusiastically, Leo got the image of a dirty car salesman from him. "So good to see you, the items you ordered are ready." 

He gestured towards one of the couches and sat at the other, pulling back out his ever present data pad. "Let's start with your new ID shall we?" 

He leaned forward and opened one of the two cases before turning it around for Leonard to see. Inside was a small card, nestled within a much too fancy silk red interior. Jared Hagoth, aged 32. The small rectangular image was of a completely different person to him, sprouting bright blonde hair instead of Leonard black. Wearing a pair of glasses the man looked much more dignified than he originally expected. 

However what he did expect was the country of birth, Citizen of the Condor Kingdom proudly displayed along the bottom of the card. 

"Who's the man in the photo?" Leonard had to ask, a fake ID was all well and good, however if he looked nothing like the man pictured inside it wouldn't get him very far. 

"That brings us to the second item," John popped open the last case, its insides once again lined with a red silk like fabric, nestled inside was an incredibly realistic looking face. One that bore a striking resemblance to the man imaged in the ID. "We couldn't find such a high class faceplate that could change appearance at will, so we had to model one ourselves." 

Leonard picked it up, the thin and flexible rubberlike faceplate's presentation side felt incredibly realistic, Leonard had to touch his own face to be able to notice the minute differences. The back side was lined with sensors, all lighting up as he positioned it infront of his face, the faceplate slightly morphing its size to better fit to him. 

It fit on incredibly snuggly, the very thin material almost feeling like it wasnt there. 

"You have to see it to believe it," John whistled as Leonards face completely changed right in front of his eyes. If he hadn't seen the process he would've believed they were two different people. "There's a mirror on the wall behind you, take a look." 

Leonard did just that, and he could scarcely believe what he saw. The man looking back at him was nothing like him, or at least the face. His hair and clothing hadn't changed, the technology wasnt that magical, however what it had changed was completely unrecognisable. He tilted his face and ran his fingers down where he could feel where the faceplate ended as his skin began, feeling the seem but not being able to see it. Even if his finger was directly on it. 

"Wow, I heard these things were incredible but I didn't understand until now." 

"I also got you a gift," John said, pulling out another case, inside holding a bright blonde wig. Leonard picked it up, the interior scalp filled with the same flashing sensors as the back of the faceplate he was wearing. It fit much the same as well, stretching over his head and pulling his hair back inside, leaving only the incredibly realistic blonde hair showing. 

Leonard looked like a completely different man, and after putting on a pair of basic glasses to complete the look he was no different from the Jared Hagoth pictured in his new ID. 

"How much does all of this cost?" Leonard asked, the high tech goods he received surely being expensive. 

"Ah don't worry about that," John said with a smile. "It's all on the house, we treat our friends and partners right after all."

If this was a normal deal with an underground organisation Leonard would have insisted on paying, even if that meant leaving the goods behind. Getting into a relationship with criminals wasn't the best idea. 

However in this case it was exactly what he wanted, he would never be able to find connections between the Bloodhounds and the Condor Kingdom if he didn't 

"Well I certainly appreciate your generosity," Leonard said, packing away the faceplate wig and ID into a briefcase he had brought with him. "But I can't leave you empty handed, please let me know if you ever need anything." 

John's smile widened slightly at his answer, clearly pleased with what he heard. 

"Of course, that's what friends are for," John said as the pair sat back down. "Speaking of, my boss is interested in meeting with you. It would be great if you joined him for dinner this evening." 

This outcome surprised him somewhat, however it was a good opportunity to work his way up the ladder, or dig further down into their underbelly, both ways of looking at it were fitting. 

"Of course," he easily agreed. "Just tell me where." 

John nodded pleased, "It's a restaurant uptown called Last Light, I can arrange for a car to pick you up if you'd like?" 

"That would be good, I assume you know where the estate is?" 

"Of course," John responded, tapping away at his tablet. "Don't worry about the car being traced back to us, we are very subtle when it comes to these things. The driver should arrive at 5pm, he'll park out front, he'll be expecting you." 

"Well that certainly makes things easier for me," Leonard said, getting back to his feet and shaking John's hand. "It's been a pleasure doing business so far." 

"Likewise, I hope our relationship can continue into the future." 

"I don't see why it couldn't." 

– 

Anna kept her head down as she made her way past the duo of White Skulls watching over the skybridge. It was very hard for her not to look at them as she walked past, forcing herself to look straight ahead and walk as normal as she could. 

She passed by with no incident, having blended in as much as she could into the crowd. The problem that she was more worried about was with Will. He was a little ways behind her, though she didn't try to turn around to look, simply taking the stairs down into the university grounds and hoping he would follow. 

She didn't hear any conflict, which she hoped was a good thing as she made her way to the small air taxi terminal. The inside was packed with people, everyone trying to get out as soon as possible. The university had armed security guards helping keep the peace, something that she never knew they had. 

As soon as she entered the terminal she felt safe to look around, however even after waiting a few minutes Willam was nowhere to be found. 

"Where are you Will?" She muttered under her breath as she kept looking around, watching the large sliding door for him to walk through. However even after the crowds began to thin and she had waited over 10 minutes he still did not show up. 

He had told her to leave if they got split up, however she wasn't just going to abandon the last family she had left. 

She racked her brain on what she could do, if by some chance he had gotten caught she alone would be of no help, more likely making the situation worse for him if she decided to show up.

However it was at this moment she remembered someone else, someone that was supposedly Will's friend who had come looking for him yesterday. Someone that could easily take out three armed thugs without breaking a sweat. Someone that might be able to help. 

Her fingers danced across her comm unit, searching through her contacts until she came across Leonard, and gave it a call.