The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon, creating a silhouette of the skyline outlined in bright red and gold while the violet curtain of evening crept slowly across the eastern sky. It was the perfect time of day, the intensity of noon had long since faded and everything was illuminated in soft orange light. Rush hour traffic had cleared away and only a few pedestrians bothered to be out this late, walking their dogs and their spouses. A warm breeze blew a stray plastic bag into the path of a middle-aged man as he stoically marched along, the foot of his polished hickory walking stick--he disliked referring to it as a cane. He pinned the fluttering trash to the sun-bleached sidewalk, bent to pick it up, and then deposited it into a nearby trash bin.
The man had the appearance of any local businessman, though it may have seemed odd for a businessman to be out and about on foot at just around eight-o-clock in the evening. He wore a fitted black suit and tie, unremarkable, though the fedora that crowned his white hair gave him the appearance of someone who belonged to a slightly different time period. He paused for a moment near a park bench and withdrew a rolled cigar from his inside jacket pocket, lit it, and took a long draw. Exhalation produced a small white cloud of sweet-smelling smoke that swirled about his shoulders before dissipating. He continued on his journey, puffing away like a steam engine until he came to the entrance of a mirror-sided high rise at which point he extinguished the cigar before letting himself into the building.
He was greeted cheerily by a young woman with short auburn hair who seemed to be managing the front desk. She looked up and smiled as he entered, "Mr. Smith, how was your walk?"
"Superb, Ms. Hamill." Smith tipped his hat, "Have they arrived?"
"All but two, from what I know their flights were delayed."
Smith grunted his acknowledgment. He flashed his identification and she pressed a button, the elevator dinged. "Always a pleasure," he nodded as he boarded and the doors slid silently closed behind him, and pressed the button for the seventh floor. His watch read 8:11 PM, the meeting for orientation of the new recruits was to begin at the half-hour mark.
By now, those who had arrived would have had time to settle in to their respective apartments, perhaps even caught a nap to counteract the jet lag. Smith disliked afternoon naps, he preferred to get up early and if he was to nap it must be before noon. He supposed it was his age, but if he napped in the afternoon he would be awake all night long. And that's no fun alone… he chuckled at the thought, then shook his head.
The board room, #703, was dominated by a long black table. There were small paper nameplates in front of each seat, and there were only enough seats for those who were supposed to be present. Aside from the cards were shiny new laptop computers, one to each name, and each embossed with the B.U.C. logo. Smith took the seat at the head of the table after fetching himself a steaming cup of coffee from the convenience stand in the corner of the room. He waited patiently, watching the steam curl up from the ceramic mug, as the recruits filed in one at a time. He waited until all but the two delayed were accounted for before taking a last sip of coffee, clearing his throat, and introducing himself.
"Thank you all for coming today, first off I would like to commend you for coming so far on so little information," he spoke in a pronounced English accent, taking time to look each person in the eye, "My name is Nicolai J. Smith, and I am the Director of this association. I hope to answer any questions you may have, but before we launch into the orientation I would like you each to introduce yourself to the rest of us. Somehow, reading place names just seems so impersonal." He nodded, "Now, who would like to go first?" His piercing grey eyes probed the faces in the room. "Biermann," he said, turning to the man on his right who had arrived several days ahead of the rest, "Seeing as you've been appointed head Detective, it seems only right."
