10 --- 4

When Nate decided to take up the job of baron he thought it would be a whole of fighting and glory but there were a lot of boring stuff to do in between fighting. Like meeting a lot of people, for different reasons.

"The next person you are meeting is detective Pearson." Susan read the name name from a tablet in her hand.

"A cop?" Nate asked in confusion.

Susan nodded. "He was on Victor's payroll, I know you won't like it but we need guys like this to keep the things we don't want out in an investigation unit." She said the last bit in a low voice.

Nate frowned. She was right, he didn't like it but he could see meaning to her words.

"Wow, I guess it is true what they say about the NYPD." Samantha said. For some reason she had joined him and Susan in the office, the office that had once been Victor's. But Nate was making more use of it than he did.

He settled deeper into the comfortable leather chair. "Samantha, I see you have ditched training this morning."

"Fighting that monstrous Anna --"

"Xena." Susan corrected.

"Yeah whatever, you can't keep telling us to fight her and call it training."

Nate threw his hands out helplessly. "I can't help it if you don't understand the most important lesson and you are going to go up against willers a lot stronger than Xena if you want to work with me."

Samantha frowned. "Wait, what do you mean important lesson?"

Nate was saved from answering by someone entering the room. He guessed easily that the man was detective Pearson. He was an average looking guy with a beaky nose and a bit thick around the middle.

"I guess you must be the new boss around here." The detective drawled lazily and took a seat without being offered one. Nate hated him instantly.

He cleared his throat. "Detective Pearson, I understand you are used to working with my predecessor."

"Yeah, before you killed him." He said with a sneer.

Nate chose to let the comment pass. "I was hoping we could get right to business."

The sneer was still there. "If you want to get to business, then I will start by telling you my rates for our deal has increased.

*Rates?* Nate couldn't believe this guy, it was almost like he felt the bribe was his right. "Why is that?"

"Why?" He laughed like he had been told the best joke ever. Everybody else in the room cast glances at each other. "Victor kept things quiet and simple. I can't breathe twice in a day without hearing a willer fuck up in this city."

Nate was quickly losing patience with the detective. "What am I getting from you that I can't get from another dirty cop?"

He laughed again. "I see you are little slow on things, kid so I will explain things. I am a part of a special taskforce in the NYPD, we get all the willer related crimes in the city, our job is to investigate every case and report to someone up top, these reports find their way to Washington where it is passed on to those elders pals of yours."

Nate ruminated on the the very important information. "Hmmm.. and how many officers are on this taskforce?"

The sneer disappeared and detective Pearson's eyes turned hard like pebbles. "Now, kid if you think.."

"What?" Nate interrupted him. "That I will find another officer I can actually tolerate because I can't even think about the idea of working with you."

"If you think you are going to go behind my back in my department, I will have to remind you I am in a position to cause you a lot of trouble."

"I guess I will have to do something about that."

The detective paled visibly. "You would be crazy to hurt a cop."

Nate smiled savagely. "Detective Pearson, with my team, crazy is something I will never run out off." Nate felt a deep sense of satisfaction as the man's face turned even paler. "If you don't mind, I have other people to meet today, please see yourself out."

The three of them watched as detective Pearson got up and walked out on unsteady legs.

"Are you really going to hurt him?" Samantha spoke first.

"Nah, I was just threatening him." A quick look at Susan's face told him she didn't believe him. Pearson was going to be a problem, Nate wasn't going to solve it by being docile.

"Who's next?"

Susan was stopped from answering by the door suddenly being thrown open. It was Brutus, one of the guards at the front gate. "We have a problem, boss."

It took a while for Nate to realize he was talking to Susan and not him, an unfamiliar sensation swept through him but he ignored it, it was probably a good idea to put a line between his human employees and the powered ones.

"What is it?" Susan asked in a calm tone.

"Mr Merlyn has an unexpected visitor, it's Catherine Monroe."

The sudden intake from both Susan and Samantha told him he was missing something important. "Who is she?"

Samantha whirled around to face him with utter disbelief on her face. "How do you not know who Catherine Monroe is? Do you live under a rock?"

Nate sighed. "How about we skip to the part where you tell me who she is?"

"SHE is the number one pop musician in the country, she is only twenty five but she has enough awards to fill this office."

Nate cocked his head to the side in thought. "What is someone like that doing here?"

"Should I send her in?" Brutus asked, obviously losing interest in the conversation.

"Sure." Susan answered.

"No." Nate countered immediately.

Susan looked at him quizzically. "You don't want to see her?"

"I will, just not now."

Samantha looked at him with a horrified look on her face. "You are going to make Catherine Monroe wait?"

"She might be a popstar but she is in my house now. If her reason for coming is important, I'm sure she wouldn't mind waiting." He turned to face Brutus. "You are dismissed."

The big human grunted and left.

Samantha looked at him like he had murdered her cat, he ignored her and faced Susan. "Who is next?"

"A bank manager from New York's branch of Veltman bank."

Nate didn't bother asking what a bank manager wanted from him. "Send him in."

The man who entered was a balding man in his fifties, Nate noticed he was noticed he was nervous as he adjusted his glasses several times before he introduced himself as Greg Draxler.

"Ok, Mr Draxler, how can I help you?"

Greg cleared his throat. "I am here on the behalf of the board of directors at Veltman bank to discuss a problem we believe is right up your alley." Nate nodded as if to say 'get to the point'.

The man reached into his suitcase and presented a tablet to Nate, it already had a video queued up. He could feel Susan and Samantha move closer to watch as he tapped play.

It was a CCTV camera recording of a bank vault stacked with bills of cash. It remained undisturbed for a few seconds before a flash of light appeared right in front of the vault door. It was a portal, and a hooded person stepped through with an empty black bag. In a few seconds, the mystery person had stuffed the bag full of dollar bills and exited back through the portal just as it winked out of existence. The whole thing took less than a minute.

"Wow. That is genius." Samantha exclaimed. "I mean bad but also genius."

Greg was wiping his glasses nervously. "I'm sure you can understand the gravity of the situation here, Mr Merlyn.

We can't report this to the proper authorities because it would be a disaster if customers knew a willer continues to have access to our vault, we would be finished."

"Continues?" Nate perked up.

Greg looked down at the desk. "This has happened twice. The board has ordered the bank be emptied of money and other valuables but it cannot stay that way forever.

They sent me here because we can trust your discretion and are also ready to compensate you for your troubles."

Nate returned the tablet. "That won't be necessary, it is my job to catch this thief for you. As long as you continue to keep this silent."

Greg nodded several. "O-of course." He seemed to be very relieved at the way the conversation were going.

Nate asked a few questions about the time of the theft and also collected a copy of the video. Mr Draxler left looking a lot better than he came.

"This isn't good, is it?" Susan asked concerned.

"Using willer powers to rob a bank is a big no-no to the elders. The timing sucks. We have to make sure we take care of this before the conclave."

"This sounds concerning." Samantha chipped in. "But can we see Catherine Monroe now?"

Nate sighed in defeat. "Fine, let's have her next but if you so much as ask for an autograph, I will throw you out of this office myself." She nodded fervently, it looked like she would agree to anything just to see her her idol.

When she entered the office, Nate knew immediately that she was a superstar, her hair was so blonde, it looked white, it looked majestic as it pooled around her shoulders. Her stunning green eyes and her full lips made her look captivating. And he couldn't get enough of her figure in the dress that she wore

"Take a seat, Miss Monroe." Thankfully, Susan who still had control of her vocal cords brought him back to present.

"I am such a big fan." Samantha squealed. He glared at her even though he could understand her reaction.

"What can I do for you?" Nate asked like he had been asking all day.

She didn't look as nervous as the bank manager but it was still noticeable. "I need you to find my brother." Her voice was soft but audible.

It took a while for him to understand what she said. "Your brother?" He repeated. "Why would you need me to find your brother?"

"Because he is just like you."

"He is a willer?" Susan made the connection one second faster than he did.

"Wow, that is huge." Samantha whispered in shock.

"Nobody can know about this." Panic and a bit of steel was in Catherine's voice.

Nate smiled to reassure her. "It's okay, you can trust our discretion. How long did you say he has been missing?"

"Almost a month now. It was weird, it was like he just vanished off the face of the Earth and we have no idea where he could have gone."

"We?"

"My parents."

"Are they also aware of his *nature*?"

"Yes. It is a secret that had stayed in the family until now."

Nate thought hard about it. He had a lot going on right now including the conflict with King, helping her look for a brother, however sad, looked small compared to his other problems."

As if reading his mind, Catherine spoke up. "I know this isn't really important to you but you are my last resort. I wouldn't be here unless I was desperate. My parents are worried sick, we can't say anything to the police because we are afraid of outing him in the process. I really really need your help."

Nate sighed heavily, he would be the biggest asshole if he turned her away now. "Do you have anything that can help us find him faster?"

She reached into her bad and retrieved a folder that she dropped on the table, Nate opened it immediately. "You will find his phone and photos of him and his friends including their personal information. I will be ready to provide you with anything else you need."

Nate was flipping through the file, Ethan Monroe, he was the boy they were looking for, Nate noticed he looked nothing like his sister.

He switched his attention to the pictures on the phone but stopped suddenly at one image, his blood cold. It was a picture of Ethan smiling with a familiar face.

He turned the screen to Catherine. "Who is this with your brother?"

A frown marred her beautiful face. "I have no idea, I have never seen him before. He is probably a friend from school."

But Nate knew him. The face staring at him was Kurt, one of the teenagers abducted by Victor. The only one of them who died.