The woman (Christiane was her name) didn't move an inch from her chair, even as Lawrence jumped back. Instead, she stayed there, observing. There wasn't a single thing in the way she carried herself that pointed out hostility, but as Lawrence had already noticed, this woman was unpredictable. Her saintly smile never faded away.

"Interesting" she said. "Is that Krav maga? Have you taken lessons before?"

"Who knows" was all she got from him. Which, at least as he was concerned, was good enough. Facade would avoid any information leaks on his side. And he had closed the door, which meant Mika wouldn't interrupt them.

For better or for worse.

To be honest, the only reason he was in that stance right now was because his instinct told him so. Maybe the other effect of Evileye?

"Mr. Lakewood, I have no intention to fight" she raised her hands in the air, as if saying "look at me, I'm harmless as one can be", but there was something in her eyes that Lawrence didn't like.

"And I should trust you because..."

"Because I am an ally" she said. "And I know your plan, and I want to help you with it."

Sweet words. Too sweet, even. And dangerous. What plan? Lawrence didn't even have a plan yet. Maybe she was talking about the Exodus thing? And if so, how on earth did she know?

Every single thing he learned about Christiane only helped made him warier.

"Says the mysterious woman with unknown abilities."

For a second, her eyes went wide, and she looked truly surprised. "You know...?"

"Miss, I'm this close to thinking taking you down is my best option at the moment. So, unless you enjoy being used as a knife rack, I would suggest you to give me a reason to change my mind. " Now that was some big pile of empty threats. He wasn't even sure he could lay a hand on her. Set aside actually taking her down in a melee.

Christiane closed her eyes, thinking.

Then she talked. "My power."

Lawrence frowned. "What about it?"

"I will let you see how my power works, and then I will tell you the reason for my visit. Then you can decide what to do from there. What do you think, Mr. Lakewood?"

Lawrence pondered. That did sound like a position of submission. If he figured out how her power worked, she would lose the surprise element. Doesn't mean she would be harmless, but it would help in case of a fight.

Besides, he was curious about her. Wasn't that why he let her in in the first place?

He nodded, slowly. Then, he went back to his chair, putting it up again and sitting. "Sounds like a decent start."

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"Very well" she said. She shut her eyes once again, whispering "Toggle" and then, a holographic window like the Root always showed to Lawrence floated up in the half-here-half-not way it usually did.

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Christiane Agatha --- Villain

Meta-ability:

Schemer --- Boosts information gathering and processing abilities (Grade: C)

---

Features:

-Mind's Eye: Displays critical information about a person. Cooldown: 48 hours.

-The Hoax: Boosts manipulation ability.

-Untraceable: Shields against most spying meta-abilities.

---

Pending Tasks:

-And The Devil Joins Them

---

10 FP

----------------------------------------

"..."

"What does it look like?" She asked with an innocent smile.

Looks like the next mafia boss's status, that's what it looks like! Lawrence gulped. His first impression of her being dangerous wasn't wrong, after all. It was like looking at his own status, but even more criminal-focused.

Hell, with that status, she could easily get a seat on the State. Go multimillionaire. Become famous influencer. Whatever she wanted, she would almost certainly triumph on it. There was virtually nothing that could stop her.

Instead of hinting any of this, Lawrence cleared his throat. "Quite the femme fatale we have here."

She smiled. "Why, that's not a nice term to use, is it, Mr. Lakewood?"

And that was how she knew his name. Probably used that whatever-eye skill on him. But why? How did she know she had to look for him of all people?

"This still doesn't answer my question, does it? Why are you here, Christiane?"

"First name terms now, are? My, my, you're quite daring..."

"Answer the question" Lawrence said, and this time, he gave her the look, or at least he tried.

Christiane took her glasses off, her hair swaying in the wind, looked straight at Lawrence.

"I'm here, Lawrence, because I know what you are trying to do."

She did?

"You want to carry on a purge. Statewide. Nationwide Global, even. You want to create an utopia, and you want to be at the top of it."

Well... that was kind of the truth, if not exactly it.

"And you" she said "already started moving. Powerful, yet subtle. All of them so scattered, apparently disconnected. All part of the master plan." She laughed. "To be honest, even I, with all of my abilities, cannot fully understand the whole extent of your plans. I can, however, look at the big picture. And the big picture tells me that you, Lawrence Lakewood, have what it takes to rule. I am here, Lawrence, because I want in. I am interested on you, and what you have planned for the world. I want to see how far you can go, and in the case you make it to the top of the world, I want to be one of yours."

The sun leaked through the window, hitting the glasses and the bottle and making a lightshow on the guestroom. Christiane's eyes shone with resolution.

"So I ask you, Lawrence Lakewood. Am I in?"

He pondered.

She was bad news. She was too smart. And she also completely overestimated him. In the case he let her in, what would happen when she noticed he wasn't the great mastermind she thought he was?

On the other hand. Wasn't he?

He had the power. He had a minion, and, if God wanted it, a lot more on their way. All he needed was conviction. And the will to carry on.

And all the sudden, world domination wasn't a dream anymore. It was a goal.

A goal he planned to achieve.

His face changed. His eyes seemed to darken, turning a blackish shadow of brown, purplish, even. Colder. A smirk drew on his face. Christiane saw it, and it sent a chill running down her spine. It was fear, and excitement.

He was no longer Lawrence Lakewood, the part-time programmer.

He was Lawrence Lakewood, future governor of the world.

"Get up, minion" he said. "I want a report on everything you know, and I want it yesterday"

"Yes, master" Christiane stood up, excitement starting to creep in.

And so began the story of the greatest Criminal Mastermind.