Discovery Gaming Community

Lawrence leaned back slightly in his chair. The room's sitting area provided a more informal meeting environment that he was accustomed to on the Judgment, but his mood was lifted. The late afternoon sunlight streamed in over his right shoulder against the wall opposite their chairs, and the shadows of personal transports were cast long over the tapestry covering a majority of it's width. The faded threads across its face tracked the year's-long journey of the sun. It was a warmth he rarely felt in space, a good atmosphere to see old friends, but his time here would be short. The room was lightly furnished but large for what had become, in practice, a temporary space. Little served to personalize the desk and bookshelves, and the bland upper-class corporate feel could find itself duplicated thousands of times across the sector. Lawrence still enjoyed this particular office's flooring as the echo of his shoes was well subdued.

His thumb slipped behind the knot in his tie loosening it slightly.

"Frank conversation isn't something I get to enjoy often these days, so I do apologize if I enjoy it for a moment."

He placed his hands on his knees and stood to face the window. As he rose, his thigh grazed the ever-so-slightly open drawer of a sapele side table out from which peeked the edge of a picture frame. Liza, Mads, and Jack were never too far from him in one way or another. He forced it closed with his shin

"The Division isn't the same as it was, Wilhelm. I'm sure you may have heard, a downfall poetically caused by its own greed. I was younger then, more ambitious and foolish, certainly less understanding of what was going on than I have now, but for some reason I stayed when so many others left." He turned as the ringing in his right ear slowly grew to a crescendo, something he hoped for years was tied to his blood pressure. His right eye briefly twitched, but he moved to rest his hands on the back of his empty chair. "Interspace began 'recalling' insurance operations, the bottom fell out of both public and private inquiries, and for a time I thought I might be pulled back to the underwriting days."

He pushed his tongue into his left cheek and looked across at the shadows moving across the wall. At this point, he figured, perhaps it was best for the story to move on, and he turned his face to meet the Professor's.

"These days, to be honest, we've built some trust with a number of relatively anonymous donors and investors. I represent their interests through the Division, and we've managed to build what I'd call a successful portfolio. Most are folks who are either too invested in insurance, bonds, or other traditional forms of wealth-hoarding or others who are looking for a change of pace." His head turned back to the tapestry. "So to speak, anyways. Their funds are held anonymously, though they are familiar with me, and I do what I can to either protect or expand their interests. Many times, I'm not entirely privy to what those are, and in some cases, I'm sure its better that way. In the past five or six years, establishing a culture of discretion to build good will has proven to be more valuable than what I thought would have been our core business back in the day."

Looking back at Wilhelm, Lawrence gave a small tight-lipped smile. "I have no doubt my clients would be interested in what you and your crew can offer, but tell me a bit more about them before we get to brass tacks."

Tapping his fingers against the glass, Lawrence hummed to himself a bit. "To be honest, I could use people I trust across the entire sector. We rarely involve ourselves in logistic operations directly unless requested, but information is more of a concern. We also have certain unfriendly contacts that may need be to be removed from time to time."

His right ear started ringing again, but the whiskey seemed to help.

"You're welcome about the Judgment any time, but nobody else knows about the Division's participation. I'll reach out to you individually but can provide an alternate unmarked communication channel for your people if they have reports to make likely through my assistant, Amanda. She's good at those sort of things. I understand things worked off a retainer, but I will also provide job-specific payouts for completed operation to the members of your crew involved. Good people are hard to find and keep these days."

He put his hand on Wilhelm's shoulder.

"I don't want to ask you to put your boys in a bad spot. You gotta do what's right for your folks, I understand that. Just tell me you'll let me know when you can't take a job as easily as when you can. I don't want to promise my folks above my means, but I need eyes out there, Herr Professor."

"Tell me what you need, and you'll have it. "

"Done. Let Amanda know where to send the funds."

Lawrence walked back to the table with the whiskey decantur, and cradled it in his right hand in thought. "You might need a bit more of this at the end of the day, though." Working within the rules was something Lawrence had more experience that most would expect. The opportunities when they change are some of the best in the business.

He turned.

"Welcome to the Division, Herr Professor."