[1] The Hunters

[Kaden]

Yeah, Kaden thought to himself, like I'm going to disagree with an alien who killed a guy just for being in the wrong elevator.

Though he tried to ignore it, Kaden couldn't help but feel guilty for the presumed scientist's death. It should have easy to warn the alien that there was someone already in the elevator. Despite the guilt, though, there wasn't much that could be down. Kaden hefted up the scientists body and set it in the corner opposite Szar. As Piper stepped into the elevator the doors shut behind her.

"So... I never actually caught your names," Kaden mentioned to his pro-tem allies.

"Piper," replied the woman with a short nod in Kaden's direction.

"... Szar." The changeling was slow to answer.

While it was comforting to know the names of people he was committing crimes with, Kaden felt more than a little unnerved by Piper's constant gaze. What she was watching for, Kaden had no idea. Regardless, the courier tried to give her as much room as the elevator would allow. Several seconds passed in an awkward silence before Kaden realized that no one had actually specified a floor. With a shrug, Kaden reached over the dead scientist and pressed a button marked "B2."

"Know where you're going?" Piper asked. Kaden couldn't be sure, but he thought he detected a slight edge to her voice.

"Kind of," Kaden admitted. "There are a bunch of people that way," Kaden pointed towards the second floor on the other side of the house, "so I figured going in the exact opposite direction couldn't be a bad idea."

"How many people?" Szar suddenly asked.

"Uh..." Kaden steadied himself against the elevator wall as it lurched to life. "I'm not really sure. They're... uh... pretty bright, though. If that makes sense."

"Bright?" Szar arched what would have been an eyebrow.

"Uh... they're probably pretty strong... I guess." Kaden hated having to be vague, but he was simply too inexperienced with his ability to say anything more definitive.

Fortunately, Kaden was spared having to say anything else that would make him sound like much more of an idiot that he actually was. With a light ding the elevator doors opened. The hallway that spread out before Kaden, Szar, and Piper was well lit and surprisingly... sterile. At least that's the best Kaden could come up with.

Unlike the foyer up above, this floor was stripped of the pomp and frills of the rest of the mansion. The white walls, clean floors, and non-descript doors every few yards reminded the courier of a hospital more than anything else. This was obvious not a space reserved for rest and relaxation.

Without actually realizing it, Kaden had stepped out of the elevator and was strolling down the hallway with Szar and Piper behind him. As this fact settled upon him, Kaden stopped in his tracks and allowed the changeling to pass. The courier shook his head as he fell in line behind the changeling, and focused on trying to sense anyone around them. It didn't seem like there was anyone in the immediate vicinity, so when Szar rested his hand on a random doornob and turned Kaden, the courier nodded.

Pushing open the door, Szar slid in with a surprising amount of... grace. As Kaden followed Szar in -- without bothering to do so much as tip-toe -- he took note of the rather small room. The entire room was white, and lit with a series of flouresent lights in the ceiling. Kaden found it to be almost blinding. Along one of the walls was a series of filing cabinets; the cabinets were labeled with some kind of numbering system that didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

Towards the back of the room, facing the door, a desk was set up with a laptop computer. Szar moved almost immediately to the computer and, pushing the high-back executive's chair out of the way, began poking at the keys. With no better idea of what to do, Kaden walked behind the desk and dropped himself into the chair that Szar had been so quick to abandon. It occured to the courier that having a tail might make it difficult to find a comfortable chair.

"So this Kai Demolic guy is some kind of criminal?" Kaden didn't really care who answered.

"I suspect he's involved in a crime," Szar took a deep breath and straightened up from the laptop. "There was a robbery on Kajin Rala. I'm looking for something that will link Kai to the robbery."

"Riiiiiight." Kaden leaned back in the chair and watched Piper as she inspected the file cabinets. "And then what? Just ask him to come along quietly?"

"I..." Szar stared down at the laptop, though it was obvious his mind was on something else. Shaking his head, the changeling leaned back towards the laptop and continued pecking away at the keys. "I'll deal with that when the time comes. If I find what I'm looking for, I'll... do whatever needs to be done."

There wasn't much more for Kaden to say, so he reached back and folded his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. Without really needing to be told, Kaden's job was to let the others know if someone was coming and if he was going to be an effective human radar he should probably concentrate.