Perfect Liar - Loki

Black Tie

Amira took no time debating the invite to the event in Stuttgart. She thrived at events like these, particularly those that worked in her favour. It mattered not if it was for the attention she received, or the sense of accomplishment it brought her; It was pointless analysing when she was aware both were contributing factors that fueled her ego.

She had allowed herself to drift into a peaceful sleep; it was a rarity for Amira to actually obtain a healthy amount of sleep per night, but such good news had settled her speeding mind for one night.

-

It was Friday evening, and Amira found herself hauling her unnecessary amount of luggage from her taxi after a dreary flight lasting around nine painfully long hours. Luckily for her, she had the financial privilege that came alongside expensive hotels within her expansive budget, to where carrying luggage only lasted but a few meters before service tended to it for her.

It took her very little time to reach her room, instructing the hotel staff member to let her luggage lay but a few feet into the doorway. With lack of adjustment to the time zone, and exhaustion from the flight, she allowed herself to be consumed by sleep within twenty minutes.

Amira found herself not waking until the afternoon of the next day: the day of the event. Glancing at her phone, she came to notice it was 1:35pm. Her tired eyes widened at the sight of the time, in but a few hours she should be preparing herself for the gala.

She jolted herself upright in her bed, painfully swinging her legs to the edge of the mattress to stand. After obtaining a coffee from the kitchen area, she took her antidote for fatigue out to the balcony of her room.

It was by no means hot enough to sit on a balcony, it was rather dull, However, Amira allowed herself to get lost in looking out over the city; yet another place she had considered home and abandoned, but admired it nonetheless.

Upon realising the time, Amira noticed it was most definitely late enough to begin getting herself ready. Undoubtedly, she made an effort to look her absolute best; some of these guests had not seen her in quite some time, and for others she needed to make a good first impression.

A satin black dress, settling fair above the knee, with a open side, encompassed her figure. To accompany it, she elected a large matte-black blazer with jewellery- a lot of jewellery. It didn't matter who an attendee was, it was unspoken code that one's appearance reflected their success at these events. Slipping on the appropriate footwear, Amira saw herself looking more than adequate to leave.

-

Arriving to the gala was much more strenuous than Amira had anticipated. It took place in a large museum. It was high security, of course and packed with guests coming in via extravagant vehicles that crowded the entrance. Once gaining entry through an unnecessary red carpeted entrance, she made it her first mission to find, and greet, the individual that invited her: Dr. Heinrich Schäfer, whom had assisted her in her studies very briefly in the biological sector of her course. Being a guest speaker, he seemed to have invited most people that he had worked with, considering she found herself greeting several other individuals that she did not recall the names of.

After the reunions with those she recognised, and uncomfortable exchanges of, "hello," and the insincere, "great to see you," expressions with whom she now considered complete strangers, she had very little to do. She came to the conclusion of walking across the immaculate, white marble hall to stand by a large pillared staircase, glass in hand.

It was most certainly rare for Amira to find herself feeling a loss of interest at such an event, the sheer amount of attendees managed to drown out any wish to normally seek out and converse with others. For the first time at one of these events, she felt bored.

Amira simply watched people in the crowd for longer than she would care to admit. Glancing over the magnificent hall they resided in, she analysed the guests before her, as much as she could, just to kill time. Once watching most intriguing people in her eyesight, she was in need of someone new.

With a sigh, she turned and looked to the balcony high above the staircase, and caught a glimpse of someone who most definitely seemed intriguing: A man with black hair, that sat messily- yet perfectly neat, at slightly below his shoulders, that were encased in a long black suit-jacket, complemented by a long, patterned scarf. Admittedly, he looked quite divine.

She noticed him scanning the far end of the room for but a few seconds. He backed away from the balcony and slightly, yet quickly, waved a tall object as he turned away. She didn't catch a very clear glimpse, but she he most definitely saw that said object was gold, with a blue glow radiating from the top-centre of it, somewhat resembling what she imagined would be the combination of a spear and staff- alongside it's peculiar nature, and craftsmanship of the object.

She was not yet afraid of whatever the man was holding; the wealthy tend carry the most absurd objects to complement themselves. However, she felt oddly compelled to move, she found herself pacing diagonally left, to lean casually near one of several white pillars that stood beside an exquisite tall, gold lamp that stood proudly. With peaked curiosity, she simply observed.

Only now that she saw him pacing down the stairs, with the upmost confidence, could she take in his features more clearly. His bone structure was that of a god, but somehow the sharpness of such features held both an expressive, yet sinister touch. Both his shoulders and walk combined exuded a sense of not just power- but he knew he had it.

Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, the man paced forward, nearing the side of the security guard looking out onto the floor. He expertly flipped the tall object in his grasp, catching it again with ease, before he sharply turned and struck the guard in the head, who fell down almost immediately.

Amira's eyes widened as she backed away slightly from the pillar, almost backing into the lamp, that had decent proximity to the man. She deemed him odd from the start, but did not anticipate an attack as such.

He spent no time rushing to one of the many science academics in the room, whom she realised to be Dr. Schäfer. The large group that the scientist had been addressing backed away, and Schäfer turned in confusion, only to be grabbed by the back of the neck.

Schäfer was slammed into laying on his back on a large sculpture that lay in the centre of the room. The man reached into his jacket to reveal an indescribable object that Amira could quite make out. However, said object began to glow and spin at the sharp centre, as he looked entirely in control and struck it down onto Schäfer's eye.

Almost immediately, crowds began flooding to the door. Being at the opposite end of the room, it took Amira slightly longer to cross the large hall. She caught a glimpse of the deranged individual.

He was smiling.

He was sadistically grinning at those running, and for a second, she could have sworn that momentary eye contact was made.