The Blue Glow

Participants:

adam_icon.gif bao-wei_icon.gif liu_icon.gif kaylee_icon.gif song_icon.gif

Scene Title The Blue Glow
Synopsis Adam comes to the Triad with a business offer regarding the drug Refrain.
Date July 28, 2009

Golden Luck Dragon Restaurant, Red Cellar


Flesh begets flesh.

It is a phrase written above the primary entrance to an establishment known only by word of mouth as the Red Cellar. Situated below the heart of Chinatown, this invitation only club was once merely a place of sacred service to the Flying Dragons Triad during the reign of Chang Ye. Ever since Changs' demise, his heirs who forcibly took control of the organization turned in into the Sodom and Gammorah of New York City.

Beyond curtained archways, the pulsing throb of electronic music reverberates thorugh the brick walls. The clatter of distant chains, soft, hushed breathing and noises that harken to imagery of brothels on Staten Island more so than dignified meeting places make the darkly lit chambers all the more unsettling.

Business, however unlikely as it seems, is conducted in this very place. Past an iron security door and armed guards in sleek suits, one particular immortal has seen places like this come and go over the centuries — it never ends well. With a single woman at his side, he makes his way down the carpeted stairs and through the central hall, where heavily tattooed and sparsely dressed female servants of the Red Cellar escort Adam Monroe and his entourage through a narrow hall, past closed doors and into what may be the only legitimate conference room in the entire establishment.

Seated at the head of a long table that dominates the center of the room, Liu Ye at least looks the part of a Triad boss. Leaning back against the seat with his hands folded in front of his mouth, the remarkably young head of the New York Triads watches with marked scrutiny to the pair that enter. Behind his high-backed chair, a languid female form draped her arms around the wooden frame, long and straight dark hair framing her face, coal-black eyes staring up half lidded at Kaylee Thatcher as she steps in behind Adam.

"Welcome to the Red Cellar, mister Monroe." Both of Liu's brows rise, a hand motioning to the many empty seats. "I hope you do not mind our arrangements here, but tradition prohibits menial presence in these meetings. You and our aide are most welcome to take part of whatever you find down here after business has concluded. Your name alone is what has earned your entrance here… I've heard stories about you, Mister Monroe. I'm interested to hear what it is you came to talk about."

While her brother talks, Song Ye remains standing behind his chair, dark eyes following Kaylee's motions in the way a cat follows the motions of a field mouse. At least, in a place like this, Adam is in familiar company.

Adam never spent much time in China. He was there, certainly at times, but he never spent much time there, never bothered to pick up the language. But one thing Adam could always say for the Chinese is that they were always good at decorating their rooms for ambience. He's told both Kaylee and Michael to be on their best behaviors. Michael is used to being sort of a silent presence at the side of his boss…Kaylee…less so. But as always, he instructed Kaylee to get a sense of the people they're meeting.

For his part, Adam enters with a smile. He mms at the fact that stories have been heard about him. "Good stories I hope.." he pauses thoughtfully, "Or, at least convincing stories." and with that, bows respectfully before taking a seat. Michael takes a seat next to him and finally Adam speaks. "I have come across a rather…interesting product. A product for which I do not have the organization to distribute. And yet, it seems like such a wonderful business opportunity."

There is no fear evident on Kaylee's face as she follows, Adam into what people would say is the tiger's den. No, this woman is more openly curious then anything else, that ever present smirk gracing her lips. "Whoa." She murmurs softly to herself at all the dcor. She snaps her mouth shut and shoots Adam an apologetic look.

The woman behind the chair is noted, Kaylee has no problem looking right back at her. There is a slight movement as her head takes curious tilt, but she gives the woman bright smile. Yes, the mouse just smiles at the cat. It's a toothy grin. When Adam sits, Kaylee drops into a seat on the other side of him and settles in to listen to the conversation. Blue eyes move to Lui and of course first thought from Kaylee is.. Ooo. Don't drool girl. Takes her a moment to remember her purpose her and she lets her mind drift to scan the people across from them, though all they see is Kaylee's amused smirk as she tries to keep from outright gawking at the man.

Resting his head on one hand, Liu slouches against an arm of his chair, keeping a single brow raised as Adam speaks. "Convincing and intriguing stories. I've heard you making noises on Staten Island and here on the mainland, recruiting… different people." Though his dark eyes wander towards Michael's quiet form standing behind Adam's chair, they soon drift back towards Adam as he diverges the topic straight to the matter of business.

"Product?" Lifting his chin off of that hand, Liu leans forward and folds his hands on the table top. Subtle explanations reveal a great many truths, it is something his father tried to instill in him. That Adam lacks the distribution organization means, at least on a business level, he isn't a threat yet. This, quietly, brings a smile to Liu's face. Static of alternating Mandarin and Cantonese thoughts rattle around inside of Liu's mind, giving Kaylee little information outside of perhaps an inspiration to learn conversational Mandarin in her spare time.

"I'm pleased you came to us for this business endeavor, it is an honor to see that my family's reputation carries well where it is needed." Lifting one hand up, Liu motions to a wine bottle at the center of the table, upturning two fingers towards it as a stream of animate red wine slithers out from the neck of the bottle and coils its way through the air like a snake, before sloshing down inside of Liu's empty glass. He reaches up, bringing the glass over his shoulder towards Song, and the dark-haired woman leans in towards the glass and exhales a cold vapor from between pale lips, frosting the outside of the glass and chilling the wine.

"Tell me more about what it is you would like for us to do for you, and what — exactly — this product you have is." It's all a show, theatrics, something the Triads are famous for. Not only a show of force, but a show of stature and ability; posturing as it were. Having been around enough blocks, Adam's seen that style of theatrics before. A young leader, wanting to earn his keep, wanting to make a good name for himself. He doesn't need telepathy to be able to assess that this is just as good a business opportunity for Liu as it is for his own organization.

There would have been one inner dialogue that Kaylee would have picked up, should she have known that conversational Mandarin; Bao-Wei, watching them enter the cellar, and watching them as they made the entire trip back behind the entrance of the conference room. He talks to himself on several levels, inside that brilliant skull of his. When the closed door of the conference room opens again, the ambient noises filter through for a few seconds. A smoky smell comes with Doctor Cong, but not so much from him as it just happens to be clinging onto his dark suit.

He does not see the same need to posture in front of guests- he simply is that way to begin with. Liu may be the real boss, but he does not quite have the same look- older, wiser- probably missing the physical intimidation factor a bit, little Ye. Bao-Wei even knows how to naturally put on a show.

"I see you have a new guest." Even though Cong knows perfectly well who it is.

Adam turns for a moment to look over his shoulder at Bao-Wei as he makes his presence known. He pauses for a moment and then looks to Liu quietly as if to indicate he would prefer Bao-Wei to not be behind them. But he still says to Liu, "It's a product called Refrain." he pauses for some moments, "No one's seen anything like it before." he pauses, "I would like you to sell it for me. We will be partners in this endeavor. You have the organization, I have the product. And we will become quite rich."

Blond brows lift high on her head as she watches the display. Oh baby, is that hot.. er.. cool.. Luckily for Adam, the words don't make it to her mouth, though her lips to part a bit. Score one for Kaylee's brain tonight dispite the distraction and the languages going through her head.

The entrance of Bao-Wei doesn't pull her attention from the yummy Triad leader until he speaks, her body twisting about in her chair to look at the new arrival. Giving him a look over, she gives him an amused smile, before turning back around.

Somehow, Liu has doubts about the veracity of Adam's statements on wealth. "You're right, I've never heard of it either. From the, er, naming of it I'm taking that it is some form of drug?" Liu brings the wine up to his lips, tipping the glass up to take a sip before slowly letting it down, slouching to one side of his chair with a creak of the wood.

"If it is, I will request a sample for analysis before we agree to distribution rights. I would want to ensure that what I am pushing on the streets is not going to kill my clientele." Then, with a furrowing of his brows, Liu looks over to Bao-Wei with a subtle nod, directing him towards a seat near the head of the table.

"Furthermore, if you lack distribution venues, how are you manufacturing more of it?" Again, that dark brow slips up slowly. "The devil, as my father would say, is in the details mister Monroe. And I am a man who fancies himself with many devils." Colorfully stated; elaborate.

Bao-Wei watches Adam as he passes the chairs on his way to the other end of the table; Kaylee gets a secondary glance when she wears that smile. The look from Cong is enough to slap it right off of most. This is not a smiling place, after all. The large man sits in the chair offered to him, his eyes free of the silver-rimmed glasses and free to simply observe Mister Monroe and his pair of associates. What he is most curious about, however, is why Kaylee is here in the first place.

Bao-Wei's eyes rest momentarily on the siblings before adding quietly to the table, yet just loud enough- "The original source is thusfar a mystery, and mister Monroe does not impress upon me that he is quite the type to concoct his own drug." In better words, he is wanting to know where it came from. Analysis only will tell so much.

Adam leans forward and says, "Well, Refrain is a drug for….people of unusual talents." he opens his jacket and slips out a vial of neon blue liquid. He slides it onto the table in front of him. "This is refrain. I'm not a scientist. I have no means to continue to producing it. I would imagine that would fall on you. Meanwhile, I have a…" he turns to Kaylee as if to ask for a word. Then turns to Liu, "A buttload of the stuff." he chuckles at his use of the word. "It's highly addictive. And it's quite an experience, I'm told."

The smiles doesn't go away completely, it turns into more of an amused smirk as the blond watches Bao move to a seat. Kaylee's fingers silently tap out the beat of an Aerosmith song, since she's still only hearing some weird chatter in her brain.. It's annoying. It's boring. But she keeps waiting for anything that might stand out.

When Adam turns to her with that questioning look, she grins. She leans towards him and says softly. "I think crap load would be a better way to put it." Sounds more badass and less elementary, but she doesn't say that out loud. Seriously.. only 3rd graders say butt load when they want to look cool and hip.

Liu immediately looks to the luminous vial, then over to Bao-Wei with a puzzled expression. Song leans forward over the back of the chair, eyes going wide at the color of the luminous continer. Her lips spread slowly, a broad smile coming to her as she leans in and whispers in her brother's ear. Liu glances over to her, then motions towards the vial. It skitters across the table, bumping and rolling slowly as Liu commands the fluids inside to his will, dragging the glass vial with it.

Once it comes ot reach, he picks it up and rolls the vial around in his fingers, settling brown eyes back on Adam. "So you know it is addictive, and… an experience? I'm going to need to know what you know about this, and then have the Doctor here take a look at this sample," he wags it up and down between his fingers, giving the visual illusion of it bending in the same way a gradeschooler would do with a pencil.

"It is very blue…" Song adds helpfully, both her brows rising slowly as she leans in to the soft light the vial sheds, turning dark eyes up to Kaylee. "But blue like veins." Liu manages something of a hesitant smile at his sister's words, then sets the vial down on the table again.

"If you have a limited supply, and we will be handling production and distribution, perhaps you would prefer if I made an offer to buy your stock in this drug outright?" One dark brow rises, "It would be a larger lump sum, as with handling both production and distribution, I would see our split being something like… eighty-twenty in split."

Doctor Cong would rather the duo not have a minute of fondling the vial of apparently- a highly addictive Evolved drug- but there is little that he can do except wait for it to rest onto the table once more. It is then that he picks it up between his own fingers to examine it in a far more gentle manner than Liu. Perhaps only to show him how to handle toxic materials correctly while he already starts some sort of negotiation. There is suddenly a minute in Bao-Wei's thoughts where it is plain as day- English, finally.

Only, sadly, it is merely the doctor reciting something that seems to be from a medical text in his mind. "Who have you tested it on?" There are very few times that Bao-Wei would knowingly interject during a deal- one of them has come along.

Adam tilts his head for a moment. "It has to be injected intravenously. It focuses on the memory centers of the brain. It lets the person live through their finest memories…with…a small percentage chance for a bad trip. So to speak." At Liu's offer to just buy the supply, he frowns in thought. Glancing at Kaylee and then Michael. The truth is, he never really wanted to get into the drug business anyway. Too much scrutiny and worry about supply chains and what not. And then there's Sabrina, who will undoubtedly yell 'I didn't go to business school to be a drug dealer!' So, Adam turns to Liu and nods, "Perhaps you're right. Although, I'd also hope that some consideration would be earned if this goes well. Good will, help when I need it…that sort of thing." at Bao's question he says, "I didn't test it on anyone." he pauses, "Arthur Petrelli did."

Even though the smirk stays on her lips as if this whole situation is amusing, her eyes watch that vial like a hawk. Adam's pokerface exercises seem to be helping as she doesn't show the discomfort she feels about that drug. Watching the Triad cutie pick up the vial, brings his sister into view. The telepath watches her lean forward into the glow and the woman's words makes a corner of her mouth tug higher, her eyes seem to become lost in thought for a moment. The pass of draws her out of whatever it is and she watches Bao, handle that stuff.

Kaylee returns Adam's glance giving him a small smile. Yes, please do sell it all. Please… She still is able to stay silent, but her jaw clenches at the mention of the madman who's place they had raided, the memories still fresh enough in her mind. While so much didn't disturb her, some of it did.

One brown eye narrows, and Liu looks up to Song, then over to Bao-Wei, then back to Adam again. "I'm not sure I know who this… Arthur Petrelli is. He sounds Italian, and I am not particular fond of the Mafia." Because obviously all Italians are involved in the mafia. Liu can be just as racist as the next man. "Depending on the results of Doctor Bao-Wei's testing, I will be willing to make you an offer to negotiate outright buying of the drug, once we can set a price. If it is as unique as you say, it will have a smaller buying market than most narcotics, but the potential for use is…" he smiles faintly, "we shall see."

Shifting in his seat, Liu lets his eyes linger on Adam for a moment at the question of mutual back-scratching. "To bring something else to the table, could you perhaps sate a curiosity of mine, mister Monroe?" A smile starts to form on the young man's lips, "What are your feelings on Daniel Linderman, and his organization?" Now that is a question that Adam can speak volumes on.
"You are lying." Is the first thing that comes out of Doctor Cong's mouth even before Adam has time to answer Liu's next question. "And Petrelli was not with the Italians. Petrelli was with Linderman- his lawyer." The pause may give enough time to generate a buzz from the siblings, and possibly even one out of Adam.

"-that is, until he died. Now, mister Monroe, you are telling us that not only did a dead lawyer create this drug, but he tested it as well?" His closely examining eyes have not lifted from the blue vial, and the glow creates tiny rivulets of blue shadow over the lines of his face.

Adam outright laughs at Bao-Wei before he stifles himself, "I'm sorry. I'm not used to communicating with people so far out of the loop." he shakes his head, "You know what? Even if I was lying? Test the drug." he turns to Liu, "I think you'll find the effect will more than make up for the limiting nature of it's client base. And then we'll talk price." he leans back when Daniel Linderman is brought up, "As for Daniel, I suppose you could say I disapprove of him. Why do you ask?"

There's no amount of amusement on Liu's face when Adam calls him out of the loop. Glancing over to Bao-Wei, the Triad boss gives the doctor a long, silent stare. It's the same king that Song gives towards Kaylee, though far less predatory than the female half of the Triad's leadership is offering up. "I may have a further business offer for you, mister Monroe, but for now let's leave it at a meeting to come…"

Pushing the vial towards Bao-Wei with an unseen touch of hydrokinesis urging the vial over, Liu's eyes shift from the blue glow to Adam. "We will analyze what you have delivered to us, and then reconvene on price negotiations." Folding his hands, Liu offers a plaintive smile towards Adam, but the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. "It has been an honor to do business with you, Mister Monroe. Please, allow yourself and your associates to indulge themselves in what the Red Cellar has to offer as long as you like, you are our honored guests." A motion to the door in the meeting room politely indicates with all of the pleasantries of formal etiquette a very simple idea.

Leave.


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License