The Lost

The Request

Annabeth greeted Elder Rich with a bow as they arrived outside of the banquet hall and they walked back to the curb, where there car was waiting for them. Tim was no longer with them. He had gone back with Elder Engrid, and the rest of the guards he had come with. He was most certainly being questioned, and she hadn't told Tim not to talk about what they had discussed. Why should she? Let them know what plans she had in regards to Tim.

Once they were all back in the car safely, and the doors were closed, Elder Rich turned to the driver, the lead guard. "Se the privacy standards and turn off recording. You are privileged as well as the others as my personal guard to be part of this conversation, and I need your input as well."

"But that's--" he stopped protesting at the look Elder Rich gave him and set the protocols for privacy. The speakers beeped and a few lights she had ignored earlier went out. Apparently those had been recorders. either cameras or microphones, or a combination of each. She would have to inquire about that later. The windows all darkened as well, and the outside was blocked from their site. The car was on auto-pilot, set to follow the safety regulations and a set path back to the facility.

Once everything was in place, they all turned to face inward and at Elder Rich. "Protocols set. We have until the doors open to have privacy."

Elder Rich nodded and turned to face Annabeth. "I wanted to congratulate, Anna. You showed to me that you have the intelligence without your computer enhancements to follow along and decipher vital information in a short span of time. You recognized in three minutes what took my analysts three days to confirm. You helped us set the course of action. and you made sure to make sure look invaluable."

She blushed only slightly at the praise. "Invaluable, you say? If it were not for your insistence, Elder Rich, I may not even have been considered for the task force if legal options.... fail." She stated, and kept her hands in her lap. She looked between The Curator and The Elder, waiting for the Elder to continue speaking.

Elder Rich recognized that she was waiting for him to continue. "I am happy, you see. You made this meeting one that went smoothly in probably months. your presence alone reigned in Elder Engrid. how did you like the garden at Mannings?" he inquired.

She smiled kingly, finally having a direct question she could answer. "The Garden was lovely, Elder Rich. Very private. If i may speak freely, sir?" She asked, wanting to have an open conversation since they had the privacy to do so.

He nodded, and indicated for her to continue. "Please, speak freely." He said and leaned back in his chair and kept his eyes on her.

She smiled relaxed, leaning back in her chair. "The guard, Tim, identification 554632. I was wondering if it would be possible to request him as my personal guard while at the facility?"

Elder Rich looked at his lead guard. "Did you write down his ID?"

"Yes sir, you will have a full report on his academics and background before dinner." Was the immediate response.

'Wow' she thought to herself. The Elder's guards were on point with their information gathering. It was recorded as soon as it had been spoken, and she hadn't needed to repeat herself. She could only hope that would receive the same from Tim if she were able to receive him as her personal guard.

Elder Rich looked back at her. "I will have Antonio look him over. His physical stats from his last examination as well as his academics. But why him? His rank insignia denotes he is still rather new."

She smiled kindly again. "My reasons would be my own. But to let you know why I have I have asked about him is because I got to know him while we were in the garden. I know what his ambitions are, what he says he has already learned and what he has done. He states his father used to be an ambassador and he wanted to some day follow in those footsteps, but since his father had passed, he had to find his own way in which to pay for the education."

Elder Rich nodded, and this information was confirmed to the Elder by a small nod from The Curator. "Very well, Annabeth. We will take this into consideration, and review the opportunity. It rests on Elder Engrid to grant the request, but if what you told me is to be true, then a recommendation of granting this request from me certainly won't hurt you." He smiled, and they stopped. The car had slowed down,

They had stopped outside one of the controlled checkpoints. They should be moving on momentarily, but others would have a different agenda.