Sitting down at a Thai restaurant at the intersection between 6th St and 5th Ave, James carefully kept up the pretense of enjoying his meal.
It wasn’t that the drunken noodles were bad - they were quite good, in fact - but having to maintain Thakinetic Awareness active all the time as he waited to sense their target made it difficult to savor the dish.
The others around him seemed to have no trouble on that front, trusting him completely to alert them when the time to begin their performance arrived. They were all clothed in their dungeoneering garb, making it very easy to identify them as Awakeners.
With Ezekiel, Daniel, Lauren, and Maria all engaging in casual conversation and occasionally erupting into loud laughter, they painted a picture of a carefree group unwinding after some minor conquest. The aroma of spicy curry and the tang of lime filled the air, the bustling Brooklyn evening enveloping them in a warm, ambient noise that shielded their true intentions.
Inside, though, their senses were sharp, eyes flicking subtly toward the entrance every so often, ears straining to pick up anything unusual in the thrum of conversations surrounding them.
James’s magical senses were stretched out, feeling for the familiar energy signature of a specific person.
They had decided to start their plan from a seemingly vulnerable position: openly talking about their enemy in a public space, providing an easy target and baiting them into a confrontation that Team 0 could control.
James had to once again use Miss Walker’s access to secreted files to choose his victim, finally settling on one of the newest entries in the Guild, which he had noticed around these parts more than once.
After what felt like an eternity, James sensed it - a shiver of an energy signature that tugged at his awareness. The member of the Radiant Guild he had chosen, one known for his tendency to eavesdrop and report back to his superiors, was approaching the restaurant.
His name was Carter, a low-ranking Awakener with an overinflated sense of importance and a deeply rooted fear of being unnoticed by the higher-ups in the Guild.
Considering how badly things were going soon after he had joined up, James believed him to be desperate to score some points with the more experienced members.
With a subtle movement, he brought up his napkin over his mouth and nose, sneezing three times in the prearranged signal. The others didn’t twitch, but he knew they had gotten it.
Lauren was the first to shift the conversation, her voice taking on a sneering, confident tone. “I really thought the Radiant Guild would have put up more of a fight. With how they strut around, you’d think they’d at least try not to get disappeared the moment the Golden Sun isn’t here to cover their asses.”
Daniel chimed in, his voice louder than necessary, ensuring it carried through the ambient noise of the restaurant. “Yeah, and have you heard the rumors about them getting swallowed up by the Ten Thousand Eyes Guild? It’s like they’ve become nothing more than a small fry.”
Maria allowed a mocking laugh to escape, her tone tinged with dismissive amusement. “I almost feel bad for them. From being one of the most feared guilds in New York to now being on the brink of becoming just another subsidiary...How far the mighty have fallen.”
Well, they were always just another subsidiary, but they strutted around the place like they owned it, so it’s better to play along and pretend that they really once were what they thought they were.
The bait was set, and Carter, seated a few tables away at the bar nearby under the guise of enjoying a cold beer, pricked up his ears, evidently listening in.
The notion of his Guild having no recourse but to be gobbled up by another was humiliating and threatened his tenuous position within the Radiant. Who knew where he’d end up, after all.
James had chosen him precisely because of this. He knew Carter needed to relay this information - that other Awakeners were openly talking shit about them - back to his superiors immediately.
The subsequent actions of the Radiant Guild would likely be aggressive, possibly rash, making them malleable to Team 0’s orchestrations.
Ezekiel, playing his part with a smirk, added “And to think, soon they’ll be nothing more than a footnote in the books of the Ten Thousand Eyes. Just another way to expand their growing hold over the city. A once-proud Guild reduced to mere minions. It’s really pathetic.”
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Carter seemed to hardly believe his luck, quickly leaving some money on the table and hurrying away from the restaurant, widely grinning at having found a target for his superiors. He probably envisioned himself being praised, perhaps even promoted, for bringing this to the attention of the Guild leaders.
As he scurried away, eager to deliver the intelligence, James subtly nodded to his teammates, signaling that the first phase of their plan was successfully in motion. Now, they needed to prepare for the inevitable backlash.
“He will undoubtedly relay what he heard to his superiors, and knowing their pride and recent fragile state without a backer, they'll come looking for us.” James surmised, his eyes sharp with anticipation. “But we can’t be careless now. If we hang around for much longer, it’ll become evident that we were waiting for them to show up. We have to get them to lower their guards for the plan to work.”
The others all agreed. The initial part was in motion and things would start happening quickly, but they needed to remain in control at all times if they wanted the operation to end successfully.
We won’t get another chance like this.
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The next day found them wandering around near the same Thai restaurant, though they didn’t sit down there to not give the game away. Instead, they had decided to give the appearance of going for drinks, until James finally sensed Carter once again poking his mousy little face around.
Retreating from the bar, Team 0 moved with calculated casualness, their movements nonchalant and light-hearted on the surface while beneath, they harbored a coiled tension.
Brooklyn's lights stretched around, lively and undisturbed by the violence that was about to happen as they strolled through the borough. The distant hum of traffic and faint echoes of happy chatter formed a subtle symphony of city life.
James’ Thakinetic Awareness spread out, a sixth sense feeling for the presence of any Awakener.
They slowly made their way towards Prospect Park, ensuring to walk openly and conspicuously near the Thai restaurant first, just long enough to stoke the curiosity and bravado of any possible pursuers from the Radiant Guild.
Finally, others started appearing in his range and James had the confirmation that Carter had done his job. Several people from different directions converged on them but kept their distance, allowing team 0 to slowly meander toward the park.
James quickly cataloged the aura of each pursuer, gauging their capabilities. His mind rapidly categorized each one, translating the intensity and fluctuation of their energies into an understandable metric. Willpower wasn’t necessarily the best unit of measurement, but the intensity with which it shone did give some kind of danger sense.
G-rank...another G...H...H...and another G.
The energies were moderate, nothing that Team Zero couldn’t handle. James subtly informed his team, utilizing the covert language of hand gestures and little twitches they’d developed to communicate silently.
He brushed his fingers across his left eyebrow as they sauntered towards Prospect Park, signaling five pursuers. Then, he discreetly touched his wrist and ear, signifying their tails' ranks. His team, alert and attentive, caught his signals, immediately understanding the strength and number of the adversaries lurking in the shadows.
Although the scent of a trap might waft through the noses of smarter and more experienced Awakeners - which the Radiant Guild had luckily very few of, and even less available for this kind of punitive action - the G and H ranks shadowing them were likely too blinded by an opportunity for retribution and advancement to perceive it.
They saw a straightforward mission: confront, challenge, and obliterate Team 0 in a vehement display of Guild loyalty and power.
Lauren, flicking her hair in a seemingly vain manner, communicated back to James with her own subtle gestures that the message was received and understood. She was also keeping an eye out in case someone with a stealth skill that interfered with James’ Awareness was around, but she didn’t seem to find anything.
Their path was deliberate, leading their pursuers away from the denser urban area and towards Prospect Park's relatively open and dimly lit environs. At night, the park offered a serene juxtaposition to the bustling city life they had just navigated. The quiet rustling of trees and faint, distant murmurings of the few visitors painted a starkly different scene.
The few people around quickly noticed the Awakeners and, seeing another group following them - which now did not bothering to hide - swiftly packed up and departed, sensing the electric tension in the air.
Team 0 continued forward, their steps calm and measured, beckoning their pursuers into the metaphorical spider’s web they had woven.
The once lively park would become a secluded battlefield, lights from nearby lampposts casting long shadows upon the ground as nature unwittingly staged itself for an impending conflict between unseen forces.
The five Radiant Guild Awakeners, drawn into the calm, dark expansiveness, felt a temporary, illusory glee, believing they had cornered their prey.
James felt their energies draw nearer, all with a clear, shared intent. These people were not here to give warnings. No, the song of violence echoed strongly in their minds, alongside a need to prove themselves to the world.
Exactly as James had expected them to, this Radiant team was made up of insecure, afraid Awakeners who were mostly kept in the dark about the actual situation in their Guild, but who could feel things slipping. That frustration needed an outlet, and he was more than glad to provide it.
The tranquility of the park, now bereft of any ordinary visitor, was pierced by what should have been the sudden and dramatic appearance of the Radiant Guild members, emerging from the shadows with a boisterous, albeit forced, confidence.
The first sign that not all was as it appeared should have come when team 0 didn’t so much as twitch at their presence. That alone should have told the hooligans they had been expected, but by then, they were too drunk on their own supply.
“Good evening, gentlemen.” James said out loud, his voice echoing weirdly in the silent park. The sheer assuredness in his tone should have been another sign, but again, it was disregarded.
Young, dumb and frustrated as they were, the Radiant members only took it as false bravado.
“You AA dogs really should learn to read a fucking map. This is Radiant territory and you cannot just walk around here saying whatever shit comes to mind, especially not to talk shit about us.” One of them said. It was one of the G-ranks, and his slicked-back hair and crumpled white shirt gave him the appearance of a wannabe mobster.
Hs probably trying to replicate the Golden Sun guys. At least they had a bit of style. This is just pathetic.
“Do you understand? Answer me when I speak to you!” The same guy yelled, apparently not liking how James kept his silence with a slight smirk stretched on his lips.
“There is no need to yell.” Daniel interjected, sounding equally amused. “We can hear you just fine. What is it that you want with us?”
That, if anything, seemed to enrage them even more.
“Are you dumb? I fucking told you already! You can’t talk shit about us, especially in our territory. There are consequences!”
Lauren, never one to take such verbal abuse for long, scoffed derisively “I’d like to see you try, bitch.”