Rumors: What Needs to be Done (Tiao)

[Darren Blayne]

In the middle of a little San Francisco corner cafe, the activity was about as busy as could be expected. The patrons numbered highly, yet the place still retained that sort of peacefulness that the Californa city was known for. Light conversation could be overheard, if one was listening closely enough. All in all, the little diner had a rather quaint feel to the whole thing.

In the midst of all the quiet hubbub, however, one lone young man at a small booth, meant to seat anywhere from two to four patrons, quietly taking spoonfuls from a bowl of tomato basil soup and putting them into his mouth. Dressed in all white, with a black undershirt underneath his white coat, the student pushed his glasses further up his nose and took another sip of his soup. He had requested, no, ordered that his subordinate meet him here soon, so they could speak on the newest matters that could pose a threat to their school.

The subordinate would show soon. He never backed out on an order from his School Captain.

[Tiao Lei Shen]

San Francisco.

What a beautiful city this was. The children are the future, and a certain student by the name Tiao Lei Shen helped keep those students tranquil. In a way, Tiao Lei Shen shapes the future of this city.

Under the guidance of the School Captain Darren Blayne of course.

In his usual custom fit clothes and Hircine High team ball cap, Tiao was skateboarding down the nearly empty sidewalk, swaying his hips and doing ollies to avoid people and curbs as necessary. Darren had told him something was up and while it probably wasn't all that urgent, Tiao wasted no haste. He was always looking to apply himself where it was needed, and Darren always found where that place was.

Nonchalantly kickflipping his board up into his hand, Tiao slung the board over his shoulder as he brought his other hand up to open the door to the cafe. This was a nice place, of course every place Darren and Tiao went ended up becoming nice one way or another.

Tiao spotted Darren in a booth, and bouncing into step he began to walk towards him, a grin blatant on his face. Setting the board in on the seat before he took a seat himself, Tiao spoke. "Whats the news Cap'n?"

[Darren Blayne]

"Transfers."

The School Captain spoke only a single word at first, his cool, crisp voice piercing through the air and letting Tiao know what was going to happen. Even so, the student's placated face, seemingly a symbol for the peace that he had instilled upon his school, Hircine High, showed no outward signs of emotion in any way. It could not be seen from facial expressions whether this was good news to the Captain or bad news. Thus, he chose to further explain himself using what tools he worked with best: His words.

"This year, there are going to be a very large number of new students entering our campus. Reports estimate at nearly two hundred, if not more. Normally, this is nothing special. Schools get new transfers all the time, correct?"

Darren paused and took another spoonful of his soup, letting the first thoughts sink into Tiao's mind. Darren knew that his subordinate was no fool, but at the very least, he granted him this time to fully work over what had been said thus far, before his words took an even more drastic turn.

"There is something you should know about these new transfers, however, Tiao. They all come from the same school. A school that was only recently shut down, due to overwhelming violence issues."

Another pause, this time Darren's eyes never left Tiao's, looking for the facial reaction which would come as a result of his sudden news. Finally, after another mouthful of soup, Darren asked what could be considered the million-dollar question, his cool gaze and tone never wavering.

"Tell me this, Tiao: Have you ever heard of Varron Academy?"

[Tiao Lei Shen]

"Yeah?" Tiao asked lightly as he plopped into his seat. He said nothing more, knowing full well Darren would elaborate.

As expected, Darren continued to speak explaining what sounded to be quite a large transfer. The largest in what was likely a decade in Tiao's mind. A school that was shut down due to overwhelming violence was not out of the ordinary in this day an age. Schools were constantly being reformatted and closed, trying to dilute the bad populations.

"Varron Academy? Yeah...yeah. I read something about it in TIME when I was at the orthopedics. There were some mean guys there from what it said. Something about gang warfare or something."

[Darren Blayne]

"It was beyond just gang warfare, Tiao. Government agents had be called in. Not just police, or even SWAT. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had to deal with the matters directly."

From inside his coat, Darren produced a clipboard, setting it down across the table in a position with which Tiao could read it easily. Knowing Tiao would take it and begin to read, Darren continued to speak, certain that his Pillar could read and listen at the same time.

"There's not a student there that doesn't have at least one major felony on their permanent record. A school utterly filled with orphans, juvenile delinquints in the worst possible cases, rumors say some of them come straight from the psych wards. Whether they were released, or escaped, I've no clue."

While Tiao read on, Darren found a pen in his pocket and absentmindedly threaded it through his fingers, spinning it about over and over with the speed of some with great manual dexterity.

"As you can tell, these students are going to pose a problem. I've never been one to hold the iron fist above the heads of the students, but I fear that these Varronites are going to need to be broken, and soon. What do you think?"

Darren continued to play with his pen as he waited for Tiao to read the rest of the document before him, and give him his answer. The young Senior Captain elicited a small sigh, the dark cloud of the incoming transfers looming over him.

This was going to be a long year...

[Tiao Lei Shen]

"The FBI? Damn, those kids really are a piece aren't they?" Tiao shook his head, reaching out and grabbing the clipboard Darren slid accross the table.

Tiao scanned his eyes over the information, skimming and reading in debt the parts that caught his eye. Every few lines Tiao would pause his reading and bring his eyes up to the school captain as he spoke. Whistling at the colorful resumes Darren spoke of, Tiao moved his eyes back down to the clipboard, quickly finishing the last page.

Darren spoke once again, taking out his pen and twirling it as usual. Finishing the reading, Tiao slid the clipboard back to Darren to avoid letting it sit for prying eyes. Sighing, Tiao brought his right elbow up on the table, placing his chin inbetween his thumb and index finger as he thought.

"...I think we need to lay out a few examples for all to see."

[Darren Blayne]

"Then our minds are in accordance," Darren said, pocketing his pen, taking the clipboard and standing, dropping a few dollar bills upon the table for his soup. He expected Tiao would do the same thing, considering their meeting here was all but finished.

"I'll leave that particular aspect to you, however," Darren said, a smile playing upon his face. "After all, you do enjoy the thrill of battle more than I, and it would be... shall we say... unwise to let them get a taste of the Captain's ability so early in year, correct?"

There was little else to be said during this exchange by this point. Darren, catching Tiao's eye one last time, nodded his leave of him. "Then you know what to do. However, do not commence your attacking. Instigate if you must, but ensure that they are throwing the first blow. Furthermore, fight, but do not injure any of them, not yet. If you can, humiliate them, show them your superiority, and then walk away. Finally, and this is key, as soon as you are able, once finished, report to me. Tell me about the encounter. Every little bit and piece of it. Until then, Tiao." Darren's right hand came up, clapping his Pillar on the shoulder in a show of friendship and respect, before Darren took off, moving past the standing form of Tiao and heading out of the cafe. The little bell twinkled as the door swung open, and he waved a curt 'goodbye' over his shoulder to the waitress on duty as he did so.

There was little time to waste. The Captain had work to do.

Thread Closed

[/u][/center]