Accord's office was more lavish than many I had seen in my years as leader of the Palanquin, and that was certainly saying something. Quite a few people that we had been employed by had high opinions of themselves to say the least.

Yet unlike any of those people, Accord displayed his wealth in a way that was not at all tacky and in fact somewhat tasteful. With beautiful paintings of scenery and ornately decorated lamps and pots, his taste was on full display as my crew and I sat in front of the man himself.

Accord was a rather short man, that I could tell even seated as he was. And yet despite his stature he didn't seem any smaller for it, still as imposing as his reputation suggested he would be, with his well pressed suit and segmented mask giving an air of importance around him.

Slightly behind and to the right of the man, stood a woman in a golden gown, with similarly painted lips and golden earrings. A golden half-mask covered the top half of her face with its ornate designs, glinting in the light emerging from the window. Citrine, Accord's right hand in the Ambassadors. She stood primly behind her leader, hands folded in front of her as she stared forward with a placid expression on her face.

On the opposite side of Accord, similarly to Citrine, was Othello. He stood with his hands behind his back, an expressionless mirrored mask so similar to Aspect's first observing us with indiscernible intent. Unlike his fellow Ambassador, his well-pressed suit lacked color completely, comprised instead of all black and white that complimented his dusky skin.

Mirroring the Ambassadors, my own crew were in similar positions around me; Gregor standing to my right and Aspect on my left, standing in silent vigil. Newter had taken me up on my offer to simply sit the meeting out and as such was not present. It was an extreme coincidence that Elle happened to be having one of her 'bad' days, barely lucid to the world around her, and so the teen was simply watching over her instead and also giving me a useful excuse for the lack of their presence in the meeting in the process.

Spitfire was standing by the door, hands behind her back in a makeshift parade rest as she studiously stared forward just like Citrine. Considering how new she was to the crew, I had offered her the choice to sit the meeting out alongside Newter and Elle, but the girl had requested to be present for the meeting so she could get a feel for how these things worked.

It was an admirable request and one that showed a great deal of forward thinking and so despite my hesitance, I had acquiesced to her request, and had told her to stand silently out of the way while business was dealt with. Something she was taking very seriously.

Her costume was rather simple, basically a dark red and black hazmat suit with a gas mask. The cloak Aspect had bought for her was wrapped around her shoulders, obscuring a good portion of her form from view as it hung around her calves. All in all, she looked relatively professional, no longer wearing her make-shift rags from before, and apparently Accord believed so too as he had yet to make a comment on her presence in the meeting.

I turned my attention back to Accord as the man cleared his throat.

"Faultline. I am glad you could make it in such a timely manner. I trust you aren't enjoying your stay in my territory?" He questioned, clearly in an attempt to clear the slightly tense air in the office.

I decided to play along, "Charleston is lovely, your doing no doubt. While I haven't had much of a chance to look around, what I have seen is leagues above anything in the Bay."

The man could clearly see the blatant flattery for what it was, but he made no move to comment, instead taking my words in stride as he nodded genially, "That is good to hear. If you are having difficulties with the employees at your suite, do not hesitate to inform me and I will have it taken care of."

That was a bit of a surprise, but I suppose it made sense that someone like Accord would like to have all his ducks in a row when it came to the people he employed. Disgruntled employees more often than not gave a substandard performance after all, and substandard was something Accord would likely avoid at all costs.

I gave him a thankful nod that was much less fake than our earlier conversation, "That is very much appreciated. If we have any issues I will be sure to let you know."

"Now that pleasantries are over and done with, let us get to business."

I nodded in agreement, already tired of the little bit of byplay that was practically required in this line of work. "That would be excellent."

Accord gestured behind him toward the man in the mirrored mask, "Othello, the files."

Othella gave a short nod, "Yes sir." and turned to open a small filing cabinet just behind him, retrieving a manilla folder as Accord turned back to me.

"My little rat problem has become more and more of a headache as of recently." Accord spoke gravely, "His blatant kidnapping and murder of Case-53s has been causing unrest in my normally ordered territory. The Protectorate has been snooping around more and more frequently and their presence will only attract trouble, trouble I do not want."

"Luckily for both of us, individuals in my employ have managed to gather a great deal of information on Darwin, namely his origins and name." Accord said as his subordinated placed the file on the desk in front of him, "Citrine?"

"Darwin's civilian name is Antoni Alekseev. He was a former citizen of the Russian Federation who snuck his way into the United States aboard a private jet he managed to acquire through unknown means." Citrine spoke softly as Othello moved to stand behind his boss once more, "According to our sources, he'd been in the country silently for a little over a year before he began making trouble in our territory."

Accord nodded as he opened the folder and began to retrieve the documents inside, "Given how the Federation tends to treat its Parahuman citizens, fleeing is somewhat understandable. Many newly triggered capes tend to prioritize leaving the country the moment their powers make themselves known and for a biotinker, it is either that or likely death. That was not the reason Antoni left. In fact, he triggered over five years ago and was seemingly content to stay in Russia until recently."

There was a slight lull in the conversation, and I realized Accord was giving me the time to ask any questions I may have had. I took the opportunity as it presented itself.

"Do you have information on what he was doing during that time?" I questioned.

Accord hummed quietly at the question, "Somewhat. We know he was employed by the Russian Federation for a time, though we were not able to recover any information on what exactly his role was. Research, experimentation, we are not sure."

"Do we at least have information on his specialty? Do we know why he is targeting Case 53s specifically?"I asked curiously, hoping for some insight into Darwin's mind.

Accord steepled his hands in front of him, the shadows of his mask giving him an even more intimidating appearance despite his short stature, "According to the Russian Federation's records, Darwin's specialty was documented to be centered around genetics. Mutations specifically. I am sure you can extrapolate the rest."

I could just hear both Gregor and Aspect intake sharp breaths on either side of me and just barely held back from doing the same. Mutations. A biotinker with a Mutations specialty was kidnapping Case-53s and doing who knows what to them. Lord have mercy.

I kept a careful calm in my voice as I asked my next question, "Do we know where his lair is located?"

Instead of answering, Accord slid the documents he had been perusing across the table, motioning for me to pick them up.

"Darwin's lair is not actually in Charleston itself." Accord explained as I opened the file, reading its contents, "Utilizing the city's shipping records and looking for similarities in specific chemicals and medical instruments, as well as cross referencing the locations of the bodies that were found, the investigators I hired were able to pinpoint his approximate location as a small building just outside of the region, near the city limits."

I nodded at his words as I examined the documents. There were several photos as well as descriptions of the general area. The building itself was a ramshackle, rundown gas station that clearly hadn't seen use in several years, the pumps outside rusted and nozzles missing.

"The actual building itself is a cover." Accord continued, "My agents reported substantial seismic activity in the general area. It is likely Darwin has created his actual base underground, below the gas station and away from prying eyes."

I grimaced as I took in the information. If Darwin had truly decided to make his base underground, that meant it would be even more difficult to infiltrate. Tinker lairs were already some of the most dangerous to approach, and the lair being underground would do nothing but make it even moreso.

Spitfire's power would be near useless depending on how ventilated the lair was, and Labyrinth would be liable to cause a cave-in if her power affected the surroundings in the wrong way.

The less said about my own abilities, the better.

This would take careful planning. Many things would need to be accounted for, possible traps, hidden exits and entrances, escape plans, everything would have to be absolutely perfect before we even attempted to approach the lair.

Already I could feel a headache coming on from the multiple sleepless nights that were no doubt in my future. Great.

Accord seemingly didn't notice my internal musings or he didn't care, as the man began speaking once more.

"I want him out of my territory before the month is over Faultline." His voice took on a sharp edge, "Incarcerated, vanished, deceased, I do not care. I want him gone, his findings retrieved, and his little rat-hole destroyed. I trust your crew is up to the task?" he asked rhetorically.

I nodded firmly as my mind began formulating a rough plan of attack, "It's what you are paying us for. We'll get it done" Even in spite of the dangers presented, there was no way anyone in my crew would be willing to let the man go after all the information that had been given to us. Myself included.

He stared at me for a long moment before he nodded in satisfaction, "That is good to hear. I leave it in your capable hands. Should you require any more information, Citrine will be on call."

He stood and leaned across the desk, extending a hand to shake, "I look forward to your results, Faultline. In the meantime, enjoy your stay in Charleston."

I nodded happily, clearing my thoughts as I stood to meet him halfway in a firm handshake, "I intend to, and I look forward to working with you, Accord."

"And I you. Good luck. Othello will see you out."