[center][sub][h3]Kayla[/h3][/sub][/center][hr] The ride up the elevator had been rather comfortable. While everyone else had been hot and overheating in an elevator that lacked environmental temperature control... Kayla had been allowing her mind to wander. The Florida heat addled the mind, inducing dehydration and heat stroke and generally sun-baking the brain in all sorts of unpleasant ways. Perhaps up north she wouldn't get away with nearly as much as she did down here, where her fireproof mind immunized her from the countryside microwave. Kayla felt a poke in the ribs, and instinctually her offhand rose, reaching for the holster of her revolver. Crowded elevator full of people, unfamiliar place, unfamiliar faces. It wouldn't be the first time she had been stabbed, and she wasn't going to ask any questions in putting someone down first if she needed to. She- [i]"I don't trust this. I'm getting a bad about this man. A deal with him is one with the devil."[/i] Herik's gentle voice carried down to her, and the fingers that had just brushed up against the rubber grip of her gun eased. It was Herik, who wouldn't hurt a fly unless she told him to- let alone hurt her. Big and attention drawing but mostly harmless. Her nervous mind eased when she realized it wasn't some strange assailant ready to take her life for reasons unknown. She tilted her head up and over in his direction, just enough to see over her shoulder. Her eyes flashed red to the man. "Herik, where do you think I'm from?" When she exited the elevator, Kayla dropped her aviators over her eyes. It was open and the sun was shining clear as day, so the glare of sun made for a perfect excuse to use them for their primary purpose- concealing her eyes. The eyes were windows into the soul, and any amount of her face that she could obscure made her harder to read for Schmidt. She was working with a businessman, and a good one at that. The head of the snake, and any advantage she could get she would take. The place was nice. Posh and green and exactly what she expected the top one percent's rooftop pool to look like. Kayla wished she had this kind of money. Maybe then she'd be able to do something more with herself than what she'd be doing. Wishful thinking, she supposed. [i]"Ahhhh, so you all must be the Coven I heard so much about. Glad you all decided to attend, come, come, take a seat. Get comfortable! We're going to be here for a while... If you all decide to play ball, but this is my beautiful wife Phillis." "This is Kayla, our leader, and Lyss, the... second in command." “So, what exactly is it that you want from us? It must be more than just magic powers if we’ll be talking a while...”[/i] Emily was chipper. It was fake, and everyone who knew her knew that. Not that Kayla minded, because Emily acting kind for once wasn't exactly a bad thing. They were both cut throat women who knew how to get what they wanted, and all things considered they undoubtably had a respect for one another in that way. Yes, Emily [i]did[/i] have a mean streak that was somewhat unnecessary at times, but Kayla herself wasn't beyond lashing out either. She was all business, concise and to the point. In a way she was glad that Emily had pioneered the deal, because for all her grand standing and snarky attitude, she cared about whether or not it fell through. Kayla liked that. Someone else with a horse in the race was a good thing. Maya was also a welcome player to their game, acting as Kayla's voice so that she need not even speak. Kayla had been given the general top-down view of the agreement, but hearing it from the horses mouth and having questions answered that Kayla herself intended to ask not only saved her breath, but also reduced how many potential negotiation mistakes she could make. Diplomacy was a difficult subject, and even the slight errant word could alter the deal. Schmidt's wife seemed on edge. She was a bargaining card, and could be used for leverage later. No matter how rich the man was, so long as there wasn't a prenup involved, she was entitled to fifty percent of what the man owned. A sizable chunk of any one man's net worth, and an excellent insurance policy. There was commotion behind them. Her other half determined it to be Madison, still drunk as ever. If she was too loud, things could sour quickly. There was no controlling the chaos, that was Agatha's folly. Kayla intended to aim it. With Emily and Maya bickering the immediate attention was taken off of her. She turned her head over her shoulder and gave a low, short whistle to new girls- Taylor, Ashley, and Vashti, and motioned in Madison's direction with a hand she had draped over the back of her seat as to not garner the man's attention. Taylor was slick enough, and the other two were smart. They'd get the idea. Distract Madison. The more people over there to force food or entertainment down the woman's throat would keep her from stumbling over here and making comments or doing things that would endanger the deals being struck. Madison being drunk and belligerent was dangerous, as she had demonstrated, willingly and regularly using her ability in public with little regard for who saw. [i]Or could see.[/i] Kayla reminded herself. She pulled her arm back over the seat when she was sure the other three had seen her directions, and smoothly pulled her phone out, deftly typing out a short text to Maya as she did so. Mrs. Schmidt's behavior when the rumors were brought up were telling. Time to get a woman on the inside. [quote=Kayla]"Phillis Schmidt looks angry. Find out if the rumors are true. Do what you do best- make friends."[/quote] Maya could befriend a brick wall, and if there was anyone who could crack that woman it would be Maya. If the girl was able to get in cahoots with her, well, in this situation the man may bring home the bacon but mother superior ruled the roost. It accomplished a few things: primarily gaining further leverage and secondarily removing Maya from the situation so Emily didn't blow her lid. Kayla liked Maya, she did. She was asking good questions and generally being surprisingly useful and well mannered... but Emily was having none of it. [i]"All [b]I[/b] want is one of those magical abilities that you all are so keen on flaunting. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm willing to pay top dollar for one and if you all are willing, I'm willing to offer employment because I'm looking for enforcers to protect myself, my family, and my assets from the supernatural. How does that grab you? You all are free to turn away and leave if this isn't appealing and I'll pry elsewhere but think about it... do you know how many other supernatural organizations would jump at this chance? This opportunity!?" [/i] Babylon had a cheshire grin, which was never a good thing. Should they agree too early, they could end up doing something dangerous. Something illegal that they weren't ready for. Kayla hummed to herself and crossed her arms across her breast. This felt like a used car salesman's pitch more than it did a business deal, and furthermore she'd want it in writing. A binding agreement. She was immune to fire, but she had been burned many times by verbal agreements gone wrong. "You didn't go to those other organizations." Kayla said matter of factly, finally breaking her own silence with carefully chosen words. It didn't matter how many other organizations would take the job if he had no way of finding them or proving their validity. All that glitters was not gold, and not every street performer was paranormal. "Let me be clear, Mr. Schmidt, we can't help you get supernatural abilities of your own. At least, I wont let my girls help you there," she began. "A few of them have lost who they were due to the nature of their abilities. I hope you understand, I do not intend to make a deal with a friend..." she began, a hand moving and motioning to Blake. "...Only to lose them to a profane genie in a bottle looking for a meat puppet. Any abilities you wish to procure of your own, you'll do so on your own time and of your own risk." It was said more matter of factly than anything else. A statement. A line in the sand that was more relate to the man's personal safety than it was anything else. If he was so dead set on risking who he was to the point where her statement was a deal breaker, then frankly he wasn't the type she would want to make a deal with anyway. The unhinged were never worth the risk. You didn't sell to a Florida crackhead and take IOU's, just like you didn't make deals with power-mad millionaires until they proved they weren't power-mad. "Enforcing and asset protection is another matter. One I'm more than willing to hear out." Kayla purred, but her face remained relatively emotionless. All business, pleasure later if and when celebrations were in order. "But I want a contract. Written agreement of what you want us to do, how far you want us to go, and what we'd be protecting, and how we're being compensated. To the letter, for [b]each[/b] job. I'll also want an attorney. I don't mind getting my hands dirty for the right reasons, but if the law gets involved, I don't want my girls going to jail." Kayla sat back against the chair. "I'm sure you'll want some sort of demonstration, too, yeah? To know what you're paying for?"