THE SWEENEY - Log 2
Apr. 17th, 2026 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThe Team arrives in London with an unwelcome addition.
The hotel was an old small boutique hotel, quietly expensive, with a well visited pub on the ground floor for which it was mostly known for. Not surprisingly, it had been Kevin's recommendation, passing along that the current owners were former SIS and there was an understanding with allied agencies that somehow had been stretched to include Snow Valley.
The pub was classic; an old dark wood bar dominating one half of the space, a collection of tables, chairs and overstuffed chairs filling the other half. A snooker table was crammed off to one side, surrounded by high chairs. All it needed was an order of fish and chips coming out to complete the stereotype. The pub wasn't technically open yet, although a few words to the owners gave them access, privacy and a round of drinks.
In a corner, wishing himself either absolutely anywhere else or capable of hiding completely behind his pint of Guinness was Adam Destine. It was the first time he'd been back to London since coming to this world and he'd been asked to assume the role of his other half. That meant ditching the jeans and work shirts he'd been wearing most days working for Tante to the dark suit, band shirt, heavy docs and bulky jewelry he now sported.
"Merde..." Marie-Ange had to steel herself. All the quick video calls over the last year had numbed her a bit; Adam in jeans and a t-shirt was - a little awkward, usually sweaty in New Orleans humidity, and half the time, carrying something heavy for Tante. "Well, I need a drink now." She shoved both hands in her coat, to lock down the instinctive urge to rub at her missing eye, and moved to the bar to get a glass of something rather stronger than a Guinness.
"Um... yeah. Sorry, I-" Adam started.
"'S all right." Amanda had been at Marie-Ange's elbow, one hand protectively on the small of her back, at least until the French woman bolted for the bar. She now slid into the seat next to Adam, giving him a nod. "'S just a disguise, yeah? Nothing to worry about." She indicated the seat on the other side to Clea, aware that Topaz was behind the red head and wanting to provide a buffer.
Clea never met Adam in person, but she heard a lot of stories about him and now seeing him in person - it was underwhelming. But she didn't let that thought cross her face as she had her usual calm expression when having a meeting in a pub. "Pleasure to finally put a face to the name." At least she would try to break the tension in the air.
Topaz said nothing. She didn't look at Adam. She sat beside Clea and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, her eyes searching out Marie-Ange at the bar, then flitting to Amanda, before fixing on the wall at a point over everyone's head.
"Hello," she said simply.
Half a gimlet later, Marie-Ange had a bit more composure. "Send a horrible selfie of your evil fashion next time please. I got used to you in sweaty cotton from the thrift store." She sat down at the table, opened her phone and flicked a set of files over to Adam's phone, which beeped. "So we have a missing spy, not enough of us to cover Magical London and so we've recruited. Clea, Adam. Adam, Clea. No flirting."
The file, over the secure share, had the information they'd been given by Sonya Falsworth, lightly encrypted until he tapped the phone. "That is the electronic version of the piece of paper I would ask you to eat or burn, so read quickly please."
While Adam scanned the file, the owner had approached and quietly gotten drinks orders. Now he returned, setting glasses on the table. Amanda, unconsciously matching Adam, reached for her Guiness and took a fortifying swallow. "So, here's the thing - with our man Stuart gone missing, the whole magical criminal underground is going to start flexing its muscles and testing boundaries. Which makes things a lot more tricky. We're going to have to be delicate about how much presence we have."
"It's a bit of a dumb crime when you think about it." Adam said, his accent milder than they remembered from their encounters with him, save of course in the alternate reality created by Roma. It was also momentarily jarring for him to approach the details analytically, before remembering that he'd been trained by Remy and Pete, but just those alternate versions of them. "What's the advantage? All taking him out does is put the government on alert. Make them start to dig and look for something to happen as opposed to catching them flat footed. I mean, they lose some intelligence at the street level but it doesn't seem worth the risk. I don't know Kamar-Taj much. Is that connection something that might make it a priority to take him out first?" He said, looking over to Strange.
"I wouldn't think so. It takes a bit more than a former student dropping out of sight -- no matter the part they play in the outside world -- to stir the Ancient One from the temple... and from what information they gave me when I asked, your man wasn't terribly gifted in a way that would threaten other players. More like he knew enough about everything to be able to keep his fingers in all the pies without getting himself in trouble. Meaning he wouldn't have had direct backing from Kamar-Taj, as evidenced by the fact that I'm only here as an adjunct magic user." Stephen shrugged, sending a pint down the table to Clea while Topaz received a peppermint chamomile tea. "Perhaps we're looking at more of a destabilization and taking him out of the picture is the easiest way to throw London and the greater UK/European magic users off their game."
Topaz nodded her thanks to Stephen, sipping her drink slowly.
"Or it's something personal," she said after a moment. "You don't get anywhere without making a few enemies. Especially in London. There are too many different magical factions running around with their own goals in this city."
"And either way we investigate the same. Look for body drop sites, look at anywhere people are filling in power gaps or bragging about taking out a chess piece, check on internet forums, see who we can dig up who will talk." Marie-Ange finished her drink. "Fortunately, I think between us, we hit almost all the socially acceptable factions and at least half the horrid ones. Apologies, Adam, you're going to have to dress evil for the entire trip. Amanda too, if that helps. Sorry, love."
Clea almost made a face at the mention of the Ancient One. The old fool only cared about himself. Bringing herself back to the conversation when Marie-Ange began talking, Clea nodded in agreement. "We can break off into pairs. We can cover more ground that way."
"Sounds best. There's some... people I used to know, that might know something," Amanda said, almost reluctantly. "Adam too - we used to have to run errands for..." She took a hasty swig of her beer and tried again. "Well, for Rack."
"Adam kept his hands in it right up until before the end. I mean, this Adam. Not, you know..." He trailed off a little lamely. "Oliver and the Hag. He's a monster and she's even worse, but if you want to kidnap a magic user and nullify their magic in the process, they're the ones to talk to. And magical muscle is always Louie OK. I'll talk to him directly." Adam said, speaking up. "I'll send the contact info." He sipped his Guinness that tasted like a past that wasn't his.
The hotel was an old small boutique hotel, quietly expensive, with a well visited pub on the ground floor for which it was mostly known for. Not surprisingly, it had been Kevin's recommendation, passing along that the current owners were former SIS and there was an understanding with allied agencies that somehow had been stretched to include Snow Valley.
The pub was classic; an old dark wood bar dominating one half of the space, a collection of tables, chairs and overstuffed chairs filling the other half. A snooker table was crammed off to one side, surrounded by high chairs. All it needed was an order of fish and chips coming out to complete the stereotype. The pub wasn't technically open yet, although a few words to the owners gave them access, privacy and a round of drinks.
In a corner, wishing himself either absolutely anywhere else or capable of hiding completely behind his pint of Guinness was Adam Destine. It was the first time he'd been back to London since coming to this world and he'd been asked to assume the role of his other half. That meant ditching the jeans and work shirts he'd been wearing most days working for Tante to the dark suit, band shirt, heavy docs and bulky jewelry he now sported.
"Merde..." Marie-Ange had to steel herself. All the quick video calls over the last year had numbed her a bit; Adam in jeans and a t-shirt was - a little awkward, usually sweaty in New Orleans humidity, and half the time, carrying something heavy for Tante. "Well, I need a drink now." She shoved both hands in her coat, to lock down the instinctive urge to rub at her missing eye, and moved to the bar to get a glass of something rather stronger than a Guinness.
"Um... yeah. Sorry, I-" Adam started.
"'S all right." Amanda had been at Marie-Ange's elbow, one hand protectively on the small of her back, at least until the French woman bolted for the bar. She now slid into the seat next to Adam, giving him a nod. "'S just a disguise, yeah? Nothing to worry about." She indicated the seat on the other side to Clea, aware that Topaz was behind the red head and wanting to provide a buffer.
Clea never met Adam in person, but she heard a lot of stories about him and now seeing him in person - it was underwhelming. But she didn't let that thought cross her face as she had her usual calm expression when having a meeting in a pub. "Pleasure to finally put a face to the name." At least she would try to break the tension in the air.
Topaz said nothing. She didn't look at Adam. She sat beside Clea and leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, her eyes searching out Marie-Ange at the bar, then flitting to Amanda, before fixing on the wall at a point over everyone's head.
"Hello," she said simply.
Half a gimlet later, Marie-Ange had a bit more composure. "Send a horrible selfie of your evil fashion next time please. I got used to you in sweaty cotton from the thrift store." She sat down at the table, opened her phone and flicked a set of files over to Adam's phone, which beeped. "So we have a missing spy, not enough of us to cover Magical London and so we've recruited. Clea, Adam. Adam, Clea. No flirting."
The file, over the secure share, had the information they'd been given by Sonya Falsworth, lightly encrypted until he tapped the phone. "That is the electronic version of the piece of paper I would ask you to eat or burn, so read quickly please."
While Adam scanned the file, the owner had approached and quietly gotten drinks orders. Now he returned, setting glasses on the table. Amanda, unconsciously matching Adam, reached for her Guiness and took a fortifying swallow. "So, here's the thing - with our man Stuart gone missing, the whole magical criminal underground is going to start flexing its muscles and testing boundaries. Which makes things a lot more tricky. We're going to have to be delicate about how much presence we have."
"It's a bit of a dumb crime when you think about it." Adam said, his accent milder than they remembered from their encounters with him, save of course in the alternate reality created by Roma. It was also momentarily jarring for him to approach the details analytically, before remembering that he'd been trained by Remy and Pete, but just those alternate versions of them. "What's the advantage? All taking him out does is put the government on alert. Make them start to dig and look for something to happen as opposed to catching them flat footed. I mean, they lose some intelligence at the street level but it doesn't seem worth the risk. I don't know Kamar-Taj much. Is that connection something that might make it a priority to take him out first?" He said, looking over to Strange.
"I wouldn't think so. It takes a bit more than a former student dropping out of sight -- no matter the part they play in the outside world -- to stir the Ancient One from the temple... and from what information they gave me when I asked, your man wasn't terribly gifted in a way that would threaten other players. More like he knew enough about everything to be able to keep his fingers in all the pies without getting himself in trouble. Meaning he wouldn't have had direct backing from Kamar-Taj, as evidenced by the fact that I'm only here as an adjunct magic user." Stephen shrugged, sending a pint down the table to Clea while Topaz received a peppermint chamomile tea. "Perhaps we're looking at more of a destabilization and taking him out of the picture is the easiest way to throw London and the greater UK/European magic users off their game."
Topaz nodded her thanks to Stephen, sipping her drink slowly.
"Or it's something personal," she said after a moment. "You don't get anywhere without making a few enemies. Especially in London. There are too many different magical factions running around with their own goals in this city."
"And either way we investigate the same. Look for body drop sites, look at anywhere people are filling in power gaps or bragging about taking out a chess piece, check on internet forums, see who we can dig up who will talk." Marie-Ange finished her drink. "Fortunately, I think between us, we hit almost all the socially acceptable factions and at least half the horrid ones. Apologies, Adam, you're going to have to dress evil for the entire trip. Amanda too, if that helps. Sorry, love."
Clea almost made a face at the mention of the Ancient One. The old fool only cared about himself. Bringing herself back to the conversation when Marie-Ange began talking, Clea nodded in agreement. "We can break off into pairs. We can cover more ground that way."
"Sounds best. There's some... people I used to know, that might know something," Amanda said, almost reluctantly. "Adam too - we used to have to run errands for..." She took a hasty swig of her beer and tried again. "Well, for Rack."
"Adam kept his hands in it right up until before the end. I mean, this Adam. Not, you know..." He trailed off a little lamely. "Oliver and the Hag. He's a monster and she's even worse, but if you want to kidnap a magic user and nullify their magic in the process, they're the ones to talk to. And magical muscle is always Louie OK. I'll talk to him directly." Adam said, speaking up. "I'll send the contact info." He sipped his Guinness that tasted like a past that wasn't his.
