Thursday, November 21, afternoon WHO: Nikolai Mason, Asaph Brown, & Brian Ruggles WHEN: Thursday, November 21, afternoon WHERE: First near HQB and then somewhere in Prague WHAT: Escorting a sad, lost little teleporter home RATING: Low STATUS: Incomplete/Closed
Nikolai’s text to Ferran yesterday proved uncanny in its accuracy: if it’s not one thing then it’s another. The student mission first caused him undue anxiety, worrying for his students but particularly his brothers, and then again when it all fell apart, requiring evac. Directly on the heels of that came Asher’s incredibly poorly timed power failure and resulting concussion. Now Brian’s power fluctuation-related disappearance had him preparing to travel to Prague in the middle of his work day. He supposed it could prove to be an exciting excursion, though he had every intention of making this trip as short as possible. The whole set of circumstances did keep him on his toes, that much he could admit, and the exhaustion he was sure to feel at the end of this week would be much appreciated. With that maybe his sleeplessness of the previous week would disappear entirely. Already his sleep schedule was correcting itself, a marked improvement from last Friday, but ideally he would like to sleep through the night again.
During lunch, Nikolai had returned to his apartment for a shared meal of soup and salad (making anything else was out of the question for a culinary-challenged man), but had been wholly unable to relax, tension threading through his shoulders even as he sat on the couch. He had done his best to lounge, hoping the casual posture would chase away some of his concerns. But when your best friend ignored your texts for hours, particularly those offering free food, worry was hard to eliminate completely. Sure, everything could be chalked up to a dead phone. Nikolai, however, was rarely one to accept the best case scenario without question, particularly considering their line of work and the problems on campus within the last few months. So even while he had eaten lunch, the gears of his mind wore on, enumerating possibilities, considering and reconsidering their plausibility. Your average person might worry about embarrassment should their anxiety be revealed as unnecessary, but that was something for which Nikolai never apologized. Paranoia, that’s how you stayed safe. Complacency, that’s how you got dead. And that’s why he had felt okay about involving Tessa, even when the urgency of the situation remained unclear.
On the off-chance Brian might show up at his office that afternoon, wearing a dumb grin after gallivanting off to who-knows-where without a warning, Nikolai grabbed his bagel and individual packet of cream cheese before he returned to the office for the afternoon. Good thing he did too. Once the his best friend contacted him and explained the situation, naturally the next thing on the telekinetic's mind was food. Fortunately, getting Brian the food and rescue could be done in a timely manner. If he involved someone with transportation powers, anyway. Asaph had come to mind almost immediately. The man had already seemingly breezed through assignments handed to him so far, apparently a competent and capable agent. Besides, Nikolai thoroughly appreciated the his wit.
Thank god Asa was so generous with his time. Not to mention prepared to jump into the situation at the drop of a hat. All in all, the telepath felt distinctly grateful.
After double-checking that he possessed all of the essentials, including travel documents and cash should something go horribly awry, plus one bagel and cream cheese, Nikolai left his office, exiting the building, and was unsurprised to find the agent waiting for him where he requested. Looking back down at his phone as he walked through the doorway, he sent off one last text before turning the ringer off and pocketing it.
“Punctual, Mr. Brown, I never would have guessed,” he greeted with the usual dose of dry humor as he closed the distance between the door and Asaph. “If the coordinates I provided are acceptable, shall we be off?” Pausing, he held up a finger to indicate he suddenly remembered he had more to share. “If and when Brian makes a fuss about traveling via portal, please feel free to deny him passage home until he apologizes.”