[hr][i][h1][color=FFD700]Asuma Obokata[/color].[/h1][/i][sub][/sub][hr]
[i][u]Havenfield Market, Roseview.[/u][/i]

“Go on Asuma! Please! Show them the awesome trick!” pleaded Rexx who was, ironically, dressed as a T-Rex. The way in which he bobbed up and down with excitement caused the two little fake forearms to clap in a ridiculous manner. 

“Urgh…” groaned Asuma, having gotten bored of showing the trick. Asuma wore black boots, black trousers, a frilly black shirt, a black overcoat and a large pumpkin mask. He was of course dressed as the headless horseman. 

“Come onnnnnnn!” Rexx was unrelenting in his pursuit to show off his friend’s stupid little trick. The small group of Rexx’s old school mates seemed to be feeding off the build-up and looked genuinely excited to see what was going to happen. Rexx of course had introduced Asuma to the friends, but he forgot [i]all[/i] of their names instantly and would have to refer to them by whatever they were dressed as. 

“Fine.” Sighed Asuma, as he limbered himself up. The small group stood watching in silence until suddenly the large pumpkin mask began to glow a very bright orange. The group was obviously very easy to entertain, probably because the amount of booze they’d drunk had caused them to revert back into giggling school-kids. To top off the little trick, Asuma focussed the on the light emanating from his eyes so that it turned red. From an onlookers perspective, the headless horsemen’s pumpkin head was now glowing brightly with large menacing red eyes. It was a cool trick, if not a bit silly. “That’s enough…” Asuma said as the light quickly dimmed. He could have maintained it for a while, but the mask was sweaty enough as it was and he didn’t want to get any hotter. 

“You definitely need to show it to Jenny if we find her!” Rexx said he started leading the group off in a random direction, the T-Rex suit flopping side to side with each step. 

“Jennifer’s here?” quizzed Asuma, his interest suddenly piqued. 

“Well… she might be. I asked her earlier, but she seemed unsure. She did go home early though, so maybe not.” Rexx was definitive as always. 

“I hope so, I’d like to pass on that message from earlier.” 

[hr][i][h1][color=7bcdc8]Niklas Amundsson[/color].[/h1][/i][sub][/sub][hr]
[i][u]Washington DC[/u][/i]

“Senator Claire! Just the person I was looking for!” the booming low-pitch voice of the giant Niklas could be heard down the entire length of the large white corridor. Multiple suited individuals turned their heads at the sound, but only one of them was the individual that he was after. A stern looking woman in her early fifties, with a fading blonde bun, sharp angled glasses, and a modest navy blue suit-dress. This woman was Senator Madeline Claire, and she was responsible for Niklas being denied a warrant to search one of the Liu Pharmaceutical Company’s newest facilities.  

“Hello Mr. Amundsson.” Her loathing of him was clear in her tone, as she sounded pained by his mere presence “What is it that you want?”

“I prefer [i]Inspector Niklas[/i]. And I think you know what I want: I want an explanation as to why a senator is pulling strings to stop a United Nations Inspector from getting a warrant to search a private research facility.” His tone was equally confrontational, and the result was an atmosphere so thick with tension that you would need a saw to cut through it. 

Her initial response was nothing more than a simply smirk, a sly curl of the lips which showed both her contempt and her confidence. “I know where [i]you come from[/i] it’s a bit more communist, but here in America – in the land of the free – we respect the rights of our citizens! People have the right to liberty and to chase the American dream, and to have some god-damn privacy as they do so! Just because some stuck up beaurocrat thinks he has some authority, those rights should be impeded? I don’t think so.” Her patriotic rhetoric was nothing but methophoric feases to Niklas’ ears.

“That doesn’t exactly answer the question Senator.” He stated flatly. “May I remind you that TIMRA Inspectors were also blocked access to a number of facilities a couple of years ago that belonged to shell companies like ‘Mourning Dawn’ and ‘Fostech’, which we now know were Eco-Naturá facilities. By stopping us from carrying out these inspections, all you’re doing is increasing the likelihood of terrible, but preventable, events from occurring. It makes me wonder what your motivations are Senator…”

Senator Claires’ smile turned to a repressed snarl as other nearby congressmen seemed to overhear the nuanced accusation. “Watch your tone Inspector. You’re in my country now, and I can make life very difficult for you.” And with that she turned her back and began storming away, leaving her previously passive guards to stand to attention and block the way for Niklas. 

“Threatening a United Nation’s Inspector? You really do have a large pair of balls don’t you Senator?” he yelled the remark loud enough to ensure it would reach as many ears as possible. 

“That’s enough! You need to leave the building sir, or else we will have to use force.” The jar-headed guard spitting the order was a beefy guy, but he still stood a few inches short of Niklas. Niklas felt like trying the guard but resisted the temptation, knowing that should the other three guards step in (which they almost definitely would) that he would have the crap beat of him – if not worse. Without bothering to say anything else, Niklas turned and made his way towards the exit with the aggressive guards in toe. Once he was out of the building he would need to make his way to Baybridge and the DOVE HQ – the only place he was likely to get any sort of help.