Spy Criminal Watch [Job: Alexei, Aster, Bea, Malm]

Criminal Watch:

It was a beautiful spring morning and Bea sat cross legged on the porch swing waiting for her teammates to show up. It had been quiet recently since three other mages and herself had formed a team- a guildless team at that. So far, she did not regret a thing about it. Bea rocked herself lazily back and forth on the swing with one foot. She still hadn't gone inside the house to talk to the owner for she was waiting for them all to show up. She just hoped it wouldn't be long. Bea looked down at her hound and patted his head. It seemed that Cerberus had taken a liking to the sunny spot on the porch. The client's mansion was of grand size and the courtyard was incredibly beautiful for it was filled with many different types of flora that complemented each other very well. The young freedom fighter sat back and watched as the butterflies fluttered about in the breeze and the birds chirped happily in the trees. The team had decided to take on the job for its adventurous feel and for the need of extra jewels. Plus, it wasn't every day that you were paid to trail someone and observe his every move. It was something that she excelled in and was happy to lend her skills. Bea wasn't very fond of those who had everything handed to them in a silver platter and never worked in it, but for now she would not say anything. She looked up and watched as Alexei, Malm, and Aster walk towards them. "You're here early," she said with a smile and a twinkle in her eyes as soon as the mages had reached them, "Let's go inside. The client is waiting."

Aster nodded as Bea suggested that they head inside. He was overtaken by the beauty of the flora covering his every step, it was almost indescribable. With every step on the path it seemed that the garden was filled with flowers of every kind, it did upset Aster, though, that the owner didn't seem to have a pond. He walked up the steps and examined the porch. It was quite elegant. A swing on one side behind a small white iron railing that went all the way around. On the other end resided a benched area. In the middle was a gate opening just large enough for two people to enter. The windows by the porch gorgeously shadowed ornate crosses inside of them. Whoever the owner was, they cared quite a bit for appearances.

Aster looked at his almost gothic looking companion. "This is a beautiful setting, although there is one thing I would like to do..." He said as he placed a hand on the white porch and trellis. A few moments later a magic circle appeared and a wisteria vine with gorgeous purple blossoms overtook the porch covering. The trellis was a mix of green, white, and purple. The blossoms hung over the front just enough to be seen. Aster looked back at the girl and smiled. He wasn't sure about the mechanical dog, but he'd figured that he might as well get used to her, although she wasn't exactly the type of person he would normally hang out with.

So today was the day. Malm had to admit, he was a bit excited about this. Today was going to be the day when he takes on his first, and with a team no less. Sure, he wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of spying on someone, but he was willing to help the client find out exactly what was happening with his money.

As Malm arrived at the mansion, took a quick look around. It seemed that the mansion's courtyard was fairly well kept with flowers of varying types surrounding the path. This made Malm think back to his family and wonder how they were doing. Maybe after this job, he should look at writing them a letter telling them how he was doing.

As Malm had finally reached the porch, he saw that Bea, Cerberus, and Aster were already here. "Well it seems I'm not as early as I could of been." He told the girl lightheartedly before noticing what Aster was doing.

"Uhh... Aster. I know you mean well, but perhaps you shouldn't do that without the ma..." Malm quickly caught himself before quickly faking a small cough into his hand, hoping that no one would take notice of the small slip up. "Owner's approval. We don't exactly want to cause any unnecessary problems with our client, especially before we even got to meet him." He told the flora mage in hopes that he would understand what Malm was saying.

Alexei walked up to the porch after the other two, watching them talk about something Aster had done with the plants. He never understood most Plant Mages; sure, plants can be beautiful, but so can most other things. For Alexei, at least, a well crafted chunk of steel was more beautiful than anything some trees or plants could dream up. It wasn't like the courtyard itself needed any more garnishing, too; the courtyard and the house itself were already almost too gaudy for Alexei to handle. 
Still, the mission seemed to be as interesting as Bea had promised: Stealth was always something Alexei enjoyed, and being paid to be stealthy was a worthwhile trade. He had some doubts as to whether the four of them would be able to remain inconspicuous on the mission, but that would be a worry for another day. Moving through the porch, he took his seat on the opposite side of the bench from Bea, giving her a nod and a smile as he did so. She was the one he trusted the most on the team; he didn't expect the plant mages to know much about stealth and espionage, but something about Bea's demeanor told him he could trust her. Leaning back, he awaited the arrival of their client.

Everyone came up to them one by one and to her delight, they were all on time. She looked around at the three other mages and smiled. She had gotten to know her fellow comrades fairly well, perhaps Astet not as much, but she figured they would get along just fine. Seeing as they were acquainted, Bea was just about to stand up when the owner of the mansion came running towards them. He seemed to emerge from overgrown flowers that Aster had created. "Who are you people? Scram! Before I call the police!" The man was around his late middle ages with already greying hair. His face appeared angry, but his eyes betrayed his nervousness and wariness. This man was definitely the client. "Greetings, Mr. Rhodes. We are the mages that you hired." As the client hadn't given them a name upon contracting him, she had taken the liberty to delve into his background. It was very colorful which surprised her as he was a bit paranoid. "We will be needing a bit more information before we start our investigation." she said calmly clearly amused at the man's flabbergasted face. "After we have that, we shall get to the bottom of the situation as soon as we can." Out of her fellow comrades, she was confident that Alexei was suited for this job although she couldn't wait for the rest of them to surprise her.

(OOC: didn't know how to continue... Sorry...)

Malm looked over at Aster as something seemed to have gotten the flora mage's attention. He then apologize to the group as he told them that he had to go. And with that, Aster made his leave.

It seemed all the excitement going on had captured the attention of whom appeared to be their client. He didn't seem quite so happy to see them though. Bea had taken the initiative in telling the man that they the ones who took his job and wanted more info before they start. Seeing nothing to really add to the conversation, Malm decided to hang back and let those with more experience with this type of things.

Something did strike Malm kind of odd though. Why would the client check what's going on his porch himself? It's obvious from the front yard alone that not only did their client have money, but also had help that took care of it. So wouldn't it stand to reason that the man talking to them now wasn't actually the client, but instead a butler of his that either was requested to check out what was going on outside or went to check it out on his accord?

Though then again, Malm could just be over thinking the whole situation. The man in front of them could very well be the client who had posted the job. It was mostly only prior experience that had told Malm any different.

((Sorry for the short post. I tried to think of something else to add to this, but I couldn't. Also, for those who happen to be reading this, iMuse has decided to leave the site for good, which is why I had bunnymodded his character. Sorry for any inconveniences this may cause.))

Alexei watched as Aster made some form of excuse and hurried away, making an inaudible scoffing sound as the plant mage did so. This was part of why he disliked plant mages so much; they were always cheating out of things, for the purposes of nature or something crazy like that. One such mage he knew had even left Alexei and his friend for something like that...but not wasn't the time to be focused on that. He wanted to do this job, since it was interesting and all. 
He watched with an amused face as Bea referred to the man by his actual name despite the request being anonymous; he had also done a little bit of research into the client's background, although he wasn't much surprised with what he saw. Most men with this much status had shady histories. Noticing that Bea was talking, he stepped back a bit to admire the conversation; she had the man completely caught off guard, which was an excellent tactic for negotiations. If she wanted, she could probably get him to give them more money as a reward now; not that Alexei particularly wanted said money, but that kind of negotiation could help in the long run. He rustled the contents of the bag idly, waiting for Bea to finish; he didn't want to intrude in the conversation, but he was getting somewhat impatient to start.

Bea waited patiently as the client began mumbling unintelligently before even speaking directly to her. He seemed quite anxious as his eyes kept darting back and forth. "I-I shall be back..." he said before rushing off towards his mansion. Bea glanced over at Malm and Alexei wondering if they could come up with some sort of explanation for what had just happened. Not long after, the client reappeared but his posture and composition was quite different. Instead of the worrisome and anxious gestures as he previous demonstrated, he stood almost regally and indifferent towards them. His clothes remained very much the same as when he first greeted them. Before Bea could say a word, he was quick and straight to the point. "About the scum who keeps robbing me of my money... All I know is that he is a short fellow wearing a black coat of sorts." he was silent for a small moment before speaking yet again. "He stands in the middle of the square whistling suspiciously every time someone of the law passes and looking intensely at the [i]wealthier population. He is always in Oak Town."[/b] Bea nodded. Still the same information, but she might as well manage with it. She wasn't going to get anything.else. The client then suddenly bid goodbye and went back inside the house. Bea shook her head and turned towards Malm and Alexei. "Shall we continue as planned?" she asked them. Now that Aster had gone, the plan had to be adjusted slightly. Still, last minute changes were soemthing she did not at all like.

Malm listened intently as the man gave them some more information for their job. It wasn't much, but it did give them a bit more to go on. What was odd though was the man's mannerisms. He had headed inside the house and came out acting almost completely differently. Malm had a good guess why, but decided to keep it to himself for the time being. It was better if they focus on the job right now.

"Short Fellow. Black Coat. Middle of time square. Got it." He repeated as he committed the information to memory, "He should be easy enough to spot."

Malm then turned to look at Bea as she asked if they would continued as planned. Malm took a few seconds to think about it before answering. "I don't see any reason why not. Aster was mainly only going to be a distraction, which I don't think we really need. And if we happen to need a distraction, I guess I could fill in. Though I'm afraid my magic won't be anywhere near as flashy as Aster's is."

Malm paused for a second as he remembered something. "Oh yeah. I can't believe I almost forgot." He said as he went to grab a few leaves from the vine that Aster had grew before handing some of them to Alexei and Bea, "Now if either of us are able to get one of these, or plant life of any kind, on our suspect, I should be able to easily follow them wherever they go." Malm reminded them. He doubted the leaves would prove to be all that necessary, but it better safe then sorry.

"So anything else we need to discuss before we head out?"

Alexei listened as Bea questioned the need for Aster, as well as Malm's response. "Aster was unnecessary," he added after Malm was done. "A distraction isn't needed; all we need are sharp eyes and diligence, which I'm certain we all have." He took the leaf from Malm when it was handed to him, nodding; the idea of getting some greenery on the man so that Malm could track him was a good idea, he had to admit. He placed the leaf gingerly in a side pocket of his bag so as not to crush it before standing up, looking at his two group members. "We should all approach the town from different directions so as not to attract attention with three mages walking together," he suggested. "In a mission like this, we should take every precaution to stay as low-key as possible."
He turned around and began walking down the steps, not looking to see if the others were following. "At the very least, Bea should walk in by herself; Cerberus will certainly draw some attention. I'll enter the square from the north; Malm, you use the Plant Sense to tell when we're all in since we all have plants right now, and we'll start the search then." He continued out the door, not looking back.

Bea gave her team a quick nod. Fair enough. The disappearance of one would not at all affect what they had decided upon and the outcome, [i]but[/b] it was always good to confirm. Bea stood up and with a snap of her fingers, Cerberus obediently made his way towards her. She followed Alexei and Malm out of the grounds before turning away from the group. Her route was a lot shorter, but for the sake of this exercise she would slow it down so as to give the other mages time to arrive. "Well, Cerberus. It seems that we're back in action..." she said distractedly. Cerberus looked up at her and back in front of them. Bea sighed. She remained silent until they reached their destination. As Alexei had predicted, Cerberus grabbed a lot of attention from the people populating the square. The young freedom fightet smiled and answered most of the people's questions as she secretly scanned her surroundings. She spotted Malm and Alexei coming from seperate directions. Not only that, but the man they were looking for was there as expecred. The man stood out in the center of the square but did nothing unusual yet, so she kept to her place. For now, she would watch what her teammates were going to do and the actions the man did. Bea bid adieu to the passerbyers and took a seat at nearby cafe as to not draw attention. The man still did nothing and so she began to wonder if the man really was a thief or if she had seen another man fitting the description the client had given them.

"Only one problem with that Alexei. How do you plan on me informing the both of you that your both in without arousing suspicion. Just because I can sense where you two are because of those plants doesn't mean I can communicate through them too." Malm criticised as he followed Alexei. He wanted to know if the steel wizard had thought of something Malm didn't think about, or if the steel wizard had just been making assumptions.

It wasn't long before the group split off into three different paths. Malm easily kept track of his companions though through the leaves he gave them. It was funny how much moving plant life stands out compared to everything else. The only bump in the plan seemed to be when one of his companions had stepped just outside of his sense, but they had soon reappeared a few seconds later.

After a short walk, Malm climbed up a set of concrete stairs that led to the town square. His eyes gaze at the crowd for a quick second before he started walking along the square as he would if he was just a tourist. He looked over at the many shops and stands throughout the square, and more or less seemed to be window shopping. Judging from the leaves he gave his companions, Alexei and Bea were both here as well. It seemed like everything was going pretty well. All they needed to do now is see if any of them could spot the supposed thief in this crowd.

"Bea is easy to notice with that robo-dog following her around," Alexei responded to Malm as he kept walking. "It won't be too hard to notify each other, regardless whether or not you can contact us through the leaves." He continued moving, not really worrying about the mission; as long as everybody did as they were supposed to, everything would turn out all right. The north entrance was the most roundabout one, as well, ensuring that Alexei had plenty of time to himself as he walked through the city streets.
This mission was a bizarre one, Alexei had to admit. He was very unused to working with others, so this was an almost entirely new experience for him. He didn't want to give away many details about himself, even to his own comrades; as such, he wasn't quite sure group missions like this were for him. They seemed trustworthy enough, but he wanted to make sure he knew them well enough before revealing too much.
Eventually, Alexei came upon the north gate to the town square. Entering, his eyes almost immediately picked out Cerberus in the crowd; Bea's dog was attracting more attention than Alexei had thought. She was almost as much of a distraction as Aster would have been, he thought with a smile. Malm was harder to find, although not impossible; he was glancing at the windows of the various stores, looking nonchalant. The final person to find, the person they were supposed to track, was easier to find than Alexei had thought; in this bright weather, the man's black cloak stuck out like a sore thumb. Alexei settled into position, waiting for a chance to plant the leaf on the man.

Bea sighed and made her way slowly through the crowd. With a click of her tongue, she sent her mechanical companion on its way. She would call Cerberus if she needed him, but right now, she was fine on her own. She saw a bench not a few feet away from where she was and made her way there. It would not only provide a perfect view of the unsub, but she would get her long desired leisure time. She pulled a book from her bag and began to scan the pages all the while glancing up at the supposed culprit. He did nothing, but stand there whilst whistling nonchalantly to himself. Then, as if with no alternative reason, he whipped his head towards her and made his way to the bench. Bea lowered her eyes unsuspiciously and turned the page in her book. Taking a seat next to her, the black clad man smiled and peered at her book. "Fahrenheit 451... A fascinating read..." He said smiling cheekily. Bea looked at the man who appeared in his early thirties with a raised eyebrow, "I've always thought myself to be of a mix between Montag and the Chief." She said as she caught a slight movement of his hand going into her bag, but she didn't hint that she knew. The two talked casually and it provided Bea the opportunity to profile the man. He was definitely in his early thirties dressed, obviously, in black. He did nothing to hide his appearance, yet his clothes concealed who he was as it gave various people different impressions of him. His glasses brought attention to his face, yet at the same time, it concealed his facial features. Still, he was an amatuer and she felt the urge to give this man a few pointers. Bea instead pulled a leaf from her pocket and gracefully handed it to the man. "Nature is a man's greatest gift." The man was slightly started but took the leaf gratefully. "And so are women." The man grinned and winked before glancing at his watch, "Well... The time is short and I must run." With that he stood up, putting the leaf into his pant pocket and made his way towards the crowd. She sat back on her bench and decided to go on the move as soon as the man disappeared. She only hoped that Malm and Alexei were ready.

Malm had to admit, it was a wonderful day to be outside. It was just at that perfect temperture where it wasn't to warm, nor was it to cold. Sure Malm understood that he had a job to do, but nothing said he couldn't enjoy the weather while he was doing it. As long as he was keeping a careful eye out, he should be fine.

Malm eventually came across a hat kiosk that caught his interest. It was weird seeing someone selling hats outside and he had to go check them out. The man running the stand saw Malm coming and greeted the teen before asking if Malm needed any assistance. Before Malm could politely say no however, the man was already talking his ear off about all the many different hats he had for sell.

Malm sighed as he didn't have it in him to stop the man before taking notice of something slightly more interesting. It seemed like a leaf has been exchanged from Bea to someone else. It was admittedly a bit quicker then he expected, but it appears she had found their suspect.

"Thank you sir, but I'm sorry to say that I have somewhere to be." Malm said to the man running the Kiosk before walking away. Malm kept focused on the leaf the man carried as he moved through the crowd. He couldn't risk getting close to the man yet, but he'll at least be close enough to act if he needed to.

Alexei continued to scan the crowd, his mind abuzz. There were several things on his mind: The competency of his comrades, the various shops and stalls that lined the square, and looking for the suspicious man were all things that passed through his brain as he continued to make his way through the crowd. With all of these things on his mind, he forgot to pay attention to where he was going; he ran into strangers several times on his way through, causing them to give him accusing glares when he didn't even stop to apologize. His entire mind was focused on finding this criminal, for his sake and for the others.

After a few minutes, Alexei caught a flurry of green out of the corner of his eye. He whirled around, forcing a few people to jump out of the way or get hit by his cloak. Ignoring the glances again, Alexei picked out Malm moving quickly from the other side of the square. He made his way over to the plant mage; if he had sped up, that meant that he had either found their target or that something had gone wrong. He caught up with Malm and gave his companion a reassuring nod before falling into step behind the other mage, following him out of the square as he tracked their mark.

Bea sighed as she leaned back against the cold metal bench and flipped through her book, Fahrenheit 451, to a random page. She had decided that she would stay where she for a few more minutes as to not raise any sort of suspicion from the thief and those in the surrounding area. Plus, she was confident that Malm and Alexei were on the move and could take care of everything for a few minutes. It was not long before her mind was soon occupied with thoughts about the book. "They should have renamed it Kelvin 505.9..." she muttered to herself as she briefly shook her head, "Hm... Perhaps it would make a nice parody or sequel...".She made a mental note to write one herself. After all, she had a few ideas in which direction the the book could head towards. A mechanical bark was soon heard and so she swiftly closed her book and stood up in search for her mechanical hound. Cerberus came bounding towards her and sat at her heels. "What's wrong, Cerberus? What's bugging you..?" Cerberus just stared at her with his glowing eyes and growled softly. "Well, if you say so..." she said standing up, "Let's go find them..."