The office

[adrienne]

Adrienne moaned softly her headache not going away and the shakiness in her hands and body staying.."I-I'm fine...I'll be fine..it's been a very long time since I had a seizure that severe.."she said softly.looking up at Austin's face,hers plaer than it had been for a long time."Austin..will you take me to my quarters please?I think I need to lie down for a while.."she closed her eyes as another wave of pain went through her temples.

[Austin]

Austin kissed her forehead softly
"Can do"
he scooped her up easily and carried her towards the office door

[adrienne]

Adrienne rested her head against his shoulder,whispering a soft:"thank you love."she felt the world spinning again and closed her eyes,falling into darkness again as she slid into exhausted sleep.she'd been trying to do too much and had paid dearly for it in the seizure.her headache hadn't gone away yet but the shivering had partly.

[Hope Mêler]

Holding a vial in one hand, Hope fumbled with the card key that supposedly should open the door to Austin's office.

Please work, please work, please work, please work, she chanted internally while swiping it through the electronic lock. A red light went green and she squealed in excitement - it worked! Holding down the handle she stood still for a couple of seconds to make sure that no one was looking at her or had heard her shout out. The Circle's headquarters remained silent.

Hope opened the door without making a noise and walked inside the massive office. It was scarcely furnished, with only one desk and two chairs, making the room seem strangely cold and empty. Yet that made it easier for her to find the gem, should it be in the office. If it wasn't...well, then - then she was screwed.

Hope didn't let the door close completely, so if someone came she would hear it well beforehand. She scanned the room, looking for a likely place to put the gem, and decided that the desk was the only possible place, unless there was an entrance to a secret room hidden behind the white walls.

Smiling to herself she put the vial carefully on the desk to make sure that it wouldn't break. Then she started opening the drawers, one by one, working herself downwards.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Bingo!

Hope smirked as she picked up a small safe from the bottom drawer. She stopped a moment to listen if someone was coming before smashing the safe against the floor. The door popped open, and a green gem as well as some other items rolled onto the floor.

“That’s always been a very effective method!” She said smugly to herself and picked up the gem. “Never underestimate the power of... power.”

Putting the gem in her pocket she took the vial and dropped it. The glass broke, and the liquid started searing out. Hope left the office quickly and locked the door before an unbearable stench filled the room.

She returned to the resting room, only to find that Azrael was still sleeping there. She put the card key where he had left it, and grinned.

“Thank you! Aaand scene!” With that she left the resting room and the headquarters, heading towards the Devil’s Advocates.

[Austin]

An Hour Later
Austin burst into the office, the smell of the scent bomb had alerted him to the fact that his plan had worked, in a glance he took it all in; the broken vial on the floor (evidently someone was smart enough to know to hide their scent); the broken safe - that took some strength, Werewolf? Slayer? Demon? the latter seemed the most likely considering their enemy, but how could he have broken in and made it into the office undetected? was there really a mole in the circle who had been used to steal the gem? he cursed Drake's name silently; the assault on the circle's HQ had knocked out the building's cameras, otherwise he could know exactly who their insider was.

he leant against the wall and considered his options
Action stations? do i have any choice?

[adrienne]

Adrienne took out the bandana she kept in her pocket and covered her mouth and nose.she still gagged at the smell in the office.
"Oh shit."she said softly.her eyes turning stormy gray."what happened Commander?"she looked at the scene and then began to swear quietly in as many languages she knew.the second question had been stupid.she already knew.that would have taken alot of force to break open that safe.she shuddered and studied the scene more carefully.her mind beginning to click images into place.who? she thought coldly.

[Kunoichi]

Kunoichi arrived a second later, the smell almost knocking her off of her feet
"whoa... let me guess, scent bomb?"
she enquired, quickly finding a piece of thick material to cover her mouth and nose with
"we've been robbed?"

[Jaden Kalen]

Jaden came up next to Kunoichi the smell of the scent bomb making him stop and cough. He pulled the front of his shirt over his mouth and nose. "Austin whats happened? Is the Gem gone?" Jaden asked hoping his guess wasn't right.

[Austin]

Austin nodded solmnly, his nose having shut down to protect itself from the stench
"The Gem is gone and my guess about Rino's tactics has proven right; he has to have had an insider to get the gem this easily, unfortunately this bomb and Drake's attack means that we have very little way of knowing who the insider is"
he sighed
Demon tactics haven't changed much in 125 years
"Right, i want everyone in the resting room in 5 minutes, it's time to go to action stations, if he has the Gem there is no time to waste"

[Jaden Kalen]

Jaden nodded and ran to Alucards room quickly to get him, he got there and found he was still with his brother. He ran back to the office and went up to Austin, "Alucard's still out" He said.

[Leiana DarkFang]

Leiana walked into the office to see what was going on, she took one sniff of the scent bomb and ran out again to be sick in the toilets in the resting room

[adrienne]

Adrienne nodded and walked quietly out into the hallway.she bent over.taking deep breaths to control her shaking.she felt cold anger filling her then spiraling down into icy rage.she'd never let herself go cold like this.now she decided to let it be.she straightened and looked at her comrades."go on ahead.I need to talk to Austin."she spoke softly,a faint trace of emotion in her voice.she accepted the rank of Huntress in that moment.she leaned against the wall,waiting patiently.

[Alucard "Pyr0" Valentine]

Alucard marched in quickly, followed closely by his brother.
"Hey boss, you in-" He was cut off by the smell. He noticed the mess on the floor. "Well, this isn't the best thing to happen tonight. Someone stolen something?" he asked bluntly, expecting the answer to be about someones bad cooking.

[Azrael Jiraco]

Rino has the gem?

Azrael didn't like the looks of this at all.

[Austin]

"everyone wait in the resting room, I'll explain what I can there, I'll meet you all in a few minutes"
Austin replied, his plan unfirling in his head