VIII-Come Now Follow [Daniel]

[Gabriel Constant]

Hamiyah seldom had visitors. Alex seemed to like it that way. Between caring for the twins and staying off the radar, Gabriel's wife had developed an apparent penchant for privacy. There were some who did stop by - Eliza, Gabriel's sister-in-law, had spent three months with them while their abilities were all inhibited. Without her ability, Eliza had been struck blind. They had essentially had to care for an additional person, but they had gotten through it with the help of the Babysitter, a smoking-hot redhead who had been looking after the twins since their birth.

Located on the island of Hawai'i in the similarly named state, Hamiyah was a large estate, custom built to suit the Constants' needs. Gabriel had drawn up the plans himself. He had been a regional planner and engineer, after all. Compared to irrigating deserts and designing cities, building a home had been easy.

When his visitor came calling, Alex was not home, and the Babysitter had the twins upstairs, where they were watching television. Gabriel had planned it that way. He knew Alex was no great fan of Daniel Briggs, and, though she trusted Gabriel's judgment - for the most part - he would probably be glad to miss his visit. As long as they both kept on their best behaviour.

Displeased with the organization's inactivity, Gabriel had dissolved GEIST in favor of a new plan. He had kept all his promises, paying those who needed to be paid, but only kept in touch with a select few members - his best friend Lucius, the power couple RyDele, his wife of course, and Daniel. Despite their rough beginnings, Daniel had proven reliable and hardworking, and had been one of a very few to actually complete the assignment Gabriel had given him. Daniel had kidnapped the daughter of the current President; the girl was now hidden away under Gabriel's protection until the time came to use her.

Just because he had dissolved GEIST did not mean he didn't have goals. That was just what Gabriel planned to talk about with Daniel - the future of their work relationship and also of any further projects they might take on. That, and Gabriel wanted someone to run his ideas past who wasn't Alex or Lucius. Daniel, he knew, would be brutally honest. So would his friends, but with them, there was a slight difference of perception, a bias.

Gabriel opened the front door just before Daniel appeared on the stoop. Being the precog that he was, Gabriel liked doing that. "Welcome to Hawaii, Mr. Briggs. Refreshments?" he asked, letting the man in and directing him to the spacious living room, where Daniel was free to take a seat.

[Deleted]

Gabe’s place wasn’t hard to find. To start, Daniel had a safe house in Hawaii. Well, he had one in every state, but still. He was actually able to rent a car and enjoy the nice weather on the way. He was dressed simply, as he usually was. A pair of black cargo pants, a grey long sleeved shirt, a pair of black boots, and plenty of knives. He didn’t usually carry a gun. Allowed him to travel much easier. But he did carry one pretty much any time he was expecting trouble. He also had one at each of his safe houses.

Pulling into the driveway, he didn’t bother to lock up his car. He didn’t have anything personal inside, and he had the insurance. That, and he doubted there would be common thieves in Gabriel’s neck of the woods. A new father would have picked the best area possible for his new family.

Daniel stepped up to knock on the door, only passingly surprised when Gabriel answered the door before he could tap it. He smirked slightly and walked inside when Gabe invited him. He took a look around and almost let out a low whistle. He’d been in big houses, sure, but this place was nice.

”Water would be great, thanks.” Daniel said. He liked to stay healthy. His idea of a night out drinking was having a few glasses of Pepsi.

[Gabriel Constant]

The area in which the Constant home had been built was fairly isolated. The beachfront property had once been a small hotel, nice enough but not world-class. It had held special importance to Gabriel and Alex, though, and they had bought the hotel and its land under aliases, then torn the hotel down and built this new house.

Alex did not like Daniel. Gabriel was not entirely sure what it was. It might have had to do with how the three of them had met. That had been an unpleasant experience all around, but Gabriel had gotten past it. Alex seemed to think that Daniel was too questionable, too slimy; but Gabriel would have used the exact same words to describe himself. Maybe that was why he and Daniel got along so well.

Gabriel had made promises to each of the former GEIST members, and he had fulfilled almost all of them, by paying off those who had joined for money, and protecting those who had asked for protection, and meeting all the other obligations he had incurred. He did not like leaving any loose ends.

At Daniel's request for water, Gabriel nodded and headed toward the kitchen. "Have a seat anywhere," he said as he poured a glass of water with a little ice. As a second thought, he poured a glass for himself as well. Then, joining Daniel again, he offered his guest a glass and took a sip from the other.

"How have things been?" he asked, as a sort of lead-in into the conversation he planned to have. He had an offer to make, but if Daniel already had plans, he would save the idea for another time.

[Deleted]

"Have a seat anywhere." Gabe said, and Daniel let out a small nod as he took a look around. He saw a big chair, probably Gabriel’s, and common sense dictated that that particular seat was off limits. He instead settled on a seat at the right end of the sofa, staying hunched forward as he took a look around. First and foremost, he looked for something reflective to keep an eye on his blind spot. Force of habit. He didn’t get that feeling he got when things went wrong here, but it was hard to stop doing one of the things that had saved his life several times.

He heard Gabe come back before he saw him, and watched him come back in the slight reflection of the glass in a picture of Gabriel and Alex. He was handed a glass of ice water and took it with a polite nod, tipping it toward his mouth and giving it a smell. He had a keen nose. He’d be able to smell most poisons, at least ones that were commonly used to kill a human being. It wasn’t hard, when you had worked with them before. But, nothing out of the ordinary. He opened his lips slightly, allowing the water that had been sitting against his closed mouth to slip into his mouth.

"How have things been?" Gabe asked as Daniel lowered his glass.

”Slow.” Daniel said as he stopped to take another sip of water. ”I took myself off the market when you asked me to join your group. When you disbanded them, I enjoyed the quiet time it gave me.” He said. Truth be told, Daniel hadn’t had a real contract in a very long time. He enjoyed the free time it gave him, but he hated sitting and doing nothing. He’d tried a few hobbies, but nothing quite felt as good as sinking a knife into some asshole’s spine… He briefly noted how psychotic a thought that was, and what it meant for his mental health, but he quickly waved it away. He’d been down that road. It didn’t lead anywhere.