[b]"Hold fire for a bit, Diego."[/b] Julius admonished his friend, laying a calming hand on the other young man's shoulder. [b]"She deliberately allowed me to detect her when she entered the building; she has no intention of starting any violence here. Am I right, ma'am?"[/b] He smiled gentle at the new entrant; his easy and gentle expression as much a mask as her neutral one. The happy reunion of moments ago had turned back to business and while he felt some regret at the lost of the moment, Julius knew how dangerous a predicament they were all in. This was a safe place to stay... if they played their cards right. He had prepared for this ahead of time; one of the few things he had managed when he realised lasting peace would not be possible in the short term. Julius turned to Diego and shrugged as he brought his friend up to speed; Brooklyn had its own set of rules now.

[b]"New rules have been made to prevent we Empowered unnecessarily clashing in this area, Diego. I made contact before to notify them we'd be here, or else they'd try to eject us from this territory immediately. This is their turf so it's only fair to obey by their rules while we're here. There's no sense in starting a fight when we could avoid one all together with a little diplomacy."[/b] He turned to the young woman and gestured outside. 

[b]"There's an old office room down there, I'm sure you're familiar with it. We can speak there, if you'd rather some privacy. Like Diego said, I'll be passing on the entirety of our conversation to them but it may be simpler without an audience."[/b] Julius picked up his laptop and the files he had brought with him from the table where he had placed them, sliding them under one arm as he limped towards the door, using furniture to support his left side where possible. As he passed Diego to walk out of the conference room he spoke more quietly so only he could hear.

[b]"They have the home advantage here and they could be useful allies. Let's play nice for now. Besides... I'm sure you and Mari could do with some private catching up of your own. Let me handle this one."[/b] Julius joined Nilin in the doorway and gestured down the hallway.

[b]"Well then, here with all of us or in the office down there for a little privacy; the choice is yours."[/b]