For a few minutes, Kiara allowed herself to think that they would actually reach their destination without anything going wrong. Maeve wouldn't disappear on her to go hit on some drunken woman, or to go drink more, or to cause mayhem in general. Someimtes, it was far to much of a chore to keep her partner around. Regardless, she allowed herself to indulge in that little fantasy for a few minutes. It was nice, and it lasted far longer than she expected. And then it abruptly ended when she felt a familair grip on her elbow and she was tugged to the side with a yelp.
 
"Where are we going?" She demanded, trying to resist her partner's pulling. Trying and failing. Maeve was the stronger of the two of them. When Maeve didn't respond, Kiara tried again. "Maeve! Whe-oh. No! We are not going there!" Her eyes had finally drifted past her partner and towards the pulsing light of the club they were heading into, and the sound of muffled, blaring music. "I said we were going to meet the people we were working with! Not go into a club!" Maeve finally glanced back, a grin on her face. "But there are other AMROs in there. At least four." At Kiara's sceptical look, she added, "Just start feeling for them. You'll see I'm not lying." 
 
Muttering under her breath, Kiara did as her partner asked, stretching out her 'sixth sense'. The first she came across was Maeve, as expected. Stretching farther in she sensed the usual people, the party goers in the club. Then, much to her surprise, she felt them. Two of them, heading towards another two. Grudgingly, as she retrached her sense, she said, "You're right. But don't think for a second that I believe this is entirely based upon the fact that other AMROs are there!" 
 
Maeve laughed, still dragging Kiara forward through the crowd, ignoring any rude comments shouted after them. The club doors were growing ever closer. "Well, of course not. There's likely going to be a significant amount of alcohol and beautiful women in there." She winked as Kiara rolled her eyes. They pushed there way in and were momentarily blinded by the lights and deafened by the music. What seemed to be like a human sea of party goers danced around them. 
 
For a regular person, finding people in the club would have been nearly impossible. For the two Asylums, however, it was a simple matter. Kiara followed in Maeve's wake as the Celtic woman pushed her way through the crowd. It was only a few moments before they were next to the Broken Pendulum. Maeve's eyes lit up when she saw Vail. Kiara, sensing her partner's intentions, hissed "Don't even think about it. She's a partner." Maeve didn't even look at her as she responded, "No, [i]you're[/i] my partner. [i]She's[/i] fair game." 
 
Before Kiara could stop her, Maeve had sidled up to Vail, practically purring, "And who might you be?" Kiara groaned and snapped, seemingly to no one, "Shut up! I couldn't stop her and you know it! Yes, we will just have to see won't we?" She walked a bit closer to Maeve, ready to yank her out of the club by the collar if need be.
 
Vail, however, was already intrigued by the pretty woman who had stated to chat her up and no force on Earth or the heavens would be able to drag her away. While few had ever said Vail's span of concentration was a long one, most who knew Vail also knew well that it was almost impossible to tear her away from anything that she considered a curiousity. This woman, Maeve as she would later know her, stunk of alchemy with energy oozing from every pore. If Vail could tell this about the woman then she knew that her own aura was being analysed, meaning that she was speaking to Vail for more than her dazzling good looks. They were both alchemists and they knew it.
 
That is what made this woman, and her friend behind her to a lesser extent, a curiousity. Vail felt compelled to explore further and, considering their clear alchemical ability, it was very likely that the two of them were part of the group that the Broken Pendulum was scheduled to meet up with. Usually Alistair would have complained if Vail tried to flirt on the job but, considering her new target was an alchemist, she had every reason to. She bit her lower lip softly and moved to pick up her drink.
 
Taking a sip of the bright green concoction from a wide cocktail glass, Vail slowly turned her head towards the woman who had spoken to her. She licked her lips as seductively as she could.
 
"Vail," she said. "And you? It's not often you find such a pretty alchemist all alone."
 
Her eyes flicked towards the woman's companion. "Although with another alchemist? That's something else entirely."
 
Maeve smiled at the compliment, pleasantly surprised to see that her advances were being returned by this woman. Usually it was abrupt rebuttal, when it came to other Alchemists. As Vail licked her lips, Maeve's eyes briefly dropped from the woman's face, before returning upwards at her question. "Maeve. My companion is Kiara. We're here on AMRO business. As, I suspect, are you." She glanced around at the crowd around them, before returning her gaze to Vail. "But, I'm of the opinion that pleasure should come before business. Especially with such a beautiful woman as yourself to keep me company." Seeing the bartender approaching, Maeve asked, "Any drinks to recommend?" The fact that things were going so well called for a drink. Then again, she would have gotten a drink even if things had went downhill.
 
"This," replied the raven haired woman, lifting up her glass. "It tastes of lime, vodka, and very little else. Doesn't get much better."
 
She waved over the bartender, ordering an identical drink for the woman beside her. Maeve was handed the drink remarkably quickly, the same bright green that Vail had almost finished.
 
Kiara, for her part, gave up on her companion with a sigh. It was quite obvious that she wasn't going to be able to move Maeve from her position. Not even if she had had all the powers of AMRO at her back. So, she settled down for a long wait, hoping that they would make things quick. They did have a meeting to keep after all.
 
"They get on like a house on fire, don't they?" asked Alistair, slowly moving from behind Kiara to beside her. He held out his free hand to the side to shake, the other holding a particularly stiff drink (tap water). He smiled. "Delacour. Alistair Delacour."
 
"Can't you ever just say 'Hi'?" Vail asked, looking over her shoulder to the two more sensible alchemists.
 
Alistair rolled his eyes. "She's a charmer once you get to know her, honest." Sarcasm tinged every word.
 
"I heard that!" Vail yelled back.
 
"That was the point, m'dear."
 
"To answer your companion's query," continued Alistair. "As you suspected, we too are AMRO agents. The Broken Pendulum, if I am to be more specific. While I may be jumping to conclusions here I would not be surprised if we are both in this city for the same reason. If that is indeed the case then I am happy to have been introduced to you before the, as my associate would put it, 'fun' begins."
 
Maeve, back at the bar, grinned. "Vodka and Lime? That's a combination and I can get behind!" She thanked both the bartender for the drink and Vail for getting it for her, before downing it in one go. The club becoming too warm for her to continue to wear her leather jacket so Maeve removed it, and was about to just set it on the bar when Kiara resignedly held out a hand. Her partner, it seemed, was willing to make sure she didn't misplace or lose her jacket. Or Arwan, for that matter. As Kiara caught the jacket and the shotgun hidden in it, Maeve turned to Vail. Rubbing her choker necklace for luck as much as habit, she asked, "Care for a dance?"
 
"If you think you can handle it... or me," teased Vail, mimicking the girl in front of her by tipping back her drink and swallowing it in a single mouthful. She pushed herself up from the bar, holding Maeve's hand gently and leading her off into the crowd of dancing people with a shake of her hips.
 
Kiara briefly glanced at Alistair, replying, "My only only concern is that we're in the house." She shook his hand, catching Maeve's jacket with the other. "Kiara. Of the Bean Sidhes if you want us to be specific too. The Banshee's if you prefer." Maeve didn't even glance over as she said, "No. Just the Bean Sidhes."

Kiara snorted. "Try to avoid calling us the Banshees around her. She hates the translation for some reason. Probably the same one why she's only told me her real name." [i]Don't you [b]dare.[/b][/i] Maeve's face remained smiling as she walked away, following Vail's footsteps eagerly, but her thought jab at Kiara was far from happy.
 
Alistair shot his partner a look as she faded into the crowd, an attempt to convince her to be sensible for the first time in her life. It never worked and, with a great grin on her face, Vail vanished just out of sight, occasionally flicking back into his field of view as people parted before being hidden by the crowds again. '[I]Please don't get too distracted, my dear. We are here on business[/I]' thought Alistair, every word chiming in the back of Vail's mind.
 
The first and last response he got was a devilish smirk as Vail's head popped back into view, only to sink back into the sea of people.
 
Maeve was smiling as she danced with Vail. The other woman certainly knew how to dance, even in high heels and a dress. For a trip into Vegas that was supposed to be business, this was turning out to be far more fun than she had originally anticipated. Here she was, dancing with a beautiful vixen in a dress, and the mission wasn’t even over yet. “So,” she began as they danced through the crowd, “Is there anywhere I can visit you after this is all over? There tends to be a lot of downtime between missions and I find it rather…boring. And I’m sure between the two of us we could find something fun to do.”
 
Although surprised at how forward Maeve was being, Vail had no complaints at all. The other woman was an intriguing sight to say the least and Vail had always felt much more comfortable around fellow alchemists. She imagined that every alchemist felt some comfort by being around their own kind, even if it was minimal.
 
Vail bit her lower lip softly. "There are plenty of places you can visit me," she teased, leaning in to whisper it into Maeve's ear. Oh, how she was enjoying this. "Just don't get beat up too badly. It'd be a shame to find you can't keep up."
 
Maeve shivered as she felt Vail’s warm breath against her ear. This girl was far different from the usual ones she managed to find. Maybe it was because she was an alchemist. Maybe not. Maeve didn’t particularly care, truth be told. She smirked and then leaned in to whisper her response in Vail’s ear. “I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. When this is all over, then we’ll just have to see who can out last who, hmm?” 
 
She moved over till her lips were hovering a few inches over Vail's own. She stayed there a moment and then pulled away. Tempting as it was, she'd have to wait.
 
Alistair, a little further away from the two dancing alchemists, rolled his eyes as he saw them pass by his vision once more. "Regardless, it is a pleasure to meet the two of you and I hope that we can work well together as a team," said the man in the pink suit, a wide smile growing across his face, to Kiara. "The name Bansh- Bean Sidhes rings a bell, I do believe. I'm sure that memories of your escapades that have echoed through the organisation will flood back to me in a short while."
 
Kiara didn’t bother trying to contact Maeve, as she knew from experience her partner would completely ignore her. The Celtic woman had things of far more interest to her on her mind than the prodding of her partner. Kiara turned to Alistair, more focused on the task at hand. “The pleasure is all mine. As for the teamwork, well, they certainly seem to be getting along well enough for fluid teamwork.” She nodded towards their dancing partners, before the other two Asylum’s were swallowed by the crowd again. 
 
She laughed softly. “For your memories, anything that involves screaming and/or a level of destruction that was unneeded, that would be us. There have been a few shining moments where I’ve managed to convince Maeve that the subtle approach is better than her usual approach, but they’re few and far in between. I must confess I haven’t heard of the Broken Pendulum, but I’m sure you’ve your own tales to tell.”
 
"I know that feeling all too well. I love Vail with all my heart and yet despite my best intentions to curb her nature she is still as loose a cannon as she was the day we met. I could tell you many a tale involving vast amounts of collateral damage, mostly her fault," Alistair replied. "And here I was, believing Vail may have been the source of some infamy. No matter! We have much time to change that."
 
Smiling, Kiara changed the subject. "Know any of the other teams we're paired with? I somehow doubt that it'll be just the four of us, doing this mission." Her eyes flicked over to Vail and Maeve. "Two of us, if Maeve was allowed to have her way."
 
"I am unaware of any of the other teams we will be working with. I apologise." Alistair's voice brought Kiara back from her worries. "It seems as if we've all been left in the dark on this mission, I'm afraid. I was worried that it had only been us without a clue, although I'm not sure if our shared lack of knowledge is comforting or distressing. Only time will tell." 
 
At his final remark she said, “It’s both. Comforting that we’re not the only team left in the dark, and distressing because we have no idea what we’re getting into. All I know is that we’ve been requested to investigate the Circus.” Her eyes glanced over to the crowd where Maeve and Vail had disappeared into. “Though, given Maeve’s penchant for violence, I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be doing simple reconnaissance. They’re expecting a fight, otherwise they would have sent the more stealth and infiltration based Asylums. “She suddenly glared at her shadow, which anyone could see was definitely male and definitely not her natural shadow. “Well, yes, we both know that’s going to happen, don’t we? You really think she’s going to fail that miserably given her track record? True, there is Brazil to think of. But I sincerely doubt Vail is like that. You don’t trust anyone who isn’t me or Maeve!” She glanced back at Alistair, looking apologetic. “Sorry. Sometimes it is more of a hassle then a benefit to have a sentient shadow.”
 
[I]A sentient shadow?[/I] Alistair thought. There came a point in every alchemists' life where they realised nothing surprised them any longer, although a sentient shadow came particularly close to breaking that streak. Alistair inspected it, the shadow flickering as the club lights battered against it, but it was indeed there. It took a shape quite different to Kiara's own form, confirming her statement. He was tempted to question further but restrained himself.
 
"I consider it a point of intrigue," he said. "But I think that if Maeve is as destructive as you say then it may be sufficient to point her and Vail towards our goal and let them handle it. I'm sure that way we can deny accountability and avoiding having to clean up afterwards. Vail has the unfortunate habit of leaving a mess whenever she fights."
 
As Maeve and Vail reappeared in sight once more Kiara mused, “You think if we set off the fire sprinklers and caused everyone in here to run for their lives, we’d be able to make them focus on the job we’ve been assigned?”
 
Alistair laughed. "No, dear. I think they'd consider it an excuse to get out of their clothes."