Death ain't nothing but a heartbeat away [closed]

[aspectional]

He's late.

Being in the employ of Shannon Vaughn means that being late is a bad thing and Eli knew that well, but living with his father and having to deal with him meant that sometimes he ran late because of a conversation had gone on too long or he needed to go run an errand for him. Normally, he could cheat by just teleporting to get there on time, but he still wasn't familiar with this part of town and he didn't want to be seen by anyone who didn't know about his powers. Plus, he had been ordered to go to an alley and teleporting in would just be a bad idea all around in that case.

So Eli had to run all the way from the apartment he shared with his father to the specific alley he had been told to go to, nearly getting turned around at a couple of points due to the mental map he had of the area not being fully complete yet. But he successfully got to the street the alley was connected to only a few minutes late, looking like he had run all the way from home. He took a moment to slow down his breathing and heart rate and did his best to make himself presentable. Once that was taken care of, he slipped down the alley and did his best to try and make sure Shannon didn't notice when he got to where he was dealing with whatever unfortunate person who had gotten on the wrong side of his boss.

Comments

[privatematter]

It felt strange, like someone had suddenly put a balloon to his hair except also everywhere else at once. He took a moment to shake his head and clear his mind from the odd physical sensation and began to walk. He knew where they had parked, Taylor never parked anywhere else, and thus could place himself exactly within the building. Making it inside was simple, as was getting to the second floor.

He stopped when someone grabbed him by the shoulder and put on his best put-upon face. The someone was silent for a long moment, before they said, "You new here? Where you going?"

"Boss ordered a report," Shannon said with just enough snotty cockiness that he heard from the new recruits all the time. "You gettin' in my way?"

"No, no... nah, man. Just—forget it." He was let go, and the someone meandered off. Shannon waited a moment as if watching him go, then tilted his head just enough.

"I'll count that as an exception," he murmured for Eli's benefit. No one had yet stopped him with intent of speaking to Shannon Vaughn and that was the most important part. They continued onward and made it to the office without further incident. Shannon let himself in and paused at the threshold. With an annoyed tone, he ordered, "Jasper, get off the chair. You better not have shed on it."