The Questioning

Umbra was alert, gripping the wooden pole of his naginata with a clenched fist. Ever since Finch had led them into the expansive (but empty) bottom floor, he had been on full guard, ready to jump and defend he and Matthew.

Matthew, however, seemed not to have a care in the world, sitting on the concrete floor pouring over his cell phone. Occasionally he would crack and smile and attempt to show Umbra what was on the screen, but he was quickly shushed. Umbra had no time for Pinterest (or whatever app he was playing on.)

Umbra kept his eyes on Finch, and Finch kept his eyes on him. They were locked into a silent, bitter staring contest, each waiting for the other to give in. He gazed at Umbra critically, like he had never seen a naginata-wielding man wearing a sweater vest. This deeply bothered Umbra, as he would not tolerate some dowdy, smelly person judging his fashion sense. It was mostly that fact that kept Umbra glaring at him.

Aunora and Esper stuck to themselves on the other side of the room, crouching near the floor and talking amongst themselves. Esper was growing small, pastel colored flowers around his arm and systematically separating them from their base plant, placing them in a little pile next to him. Once he had amassed a large amount he charged Aunora with tying the stems together, eventually consummating in a flower crown that he placed on his head.

Umbra allowed himself to recline, resting a foot against the wall and loosening the tight muscles in his shoulders and back. He was beginning to bore, wishing that Finch would hurry up and give them something to do. He hadn't planned on this mission being so uneventful.

Looking around the room, Umbra found it quite anticlimactic. He had been told that high level prisoners were held here, but it was completely empty. All he saw were traces of past inhabitants, like discarded handcuffs and claw marks on the wall. To his disgust, he had even spotted what appeared to be blood stained deep in the concrete.

"Mr. Finch," Umbra murmured, "There are no prisons here." To ensure maximum dominance in the situation, he kept his voice deep and threatening.

Finch shrugged. "We shipped out the ones in this room this mornin'."

"If there was no danger, why couldn't my son come down here with us?" Umbra growled, irritation starting to surge through him. He hated having to leave Victor alone, and it infuriated him that he had done it for no reason.

"Calm down, geez. I just don't want the little kid being in here when Hawkins brings in the big haul. It could get messy, and I don't want him in the way."

"What do you mean by the 'big haul', dude? You got like an FBI's Most Wanted guy coming in here?" Aunora questioned, standing up and popping the vertebrae on her spine.

Finch smiled. "I guess you could say that. Anyway, I need you guys to be ready to restrain a very powerful foe. Not kill, just hold down long enough for Hawkins and I to cuff it. Can yah do that?"

Umbra smirked, spinning his naginata and relishing the glimmer of the purple blade in the dim light. "Of course I can," he said pompously, huffing. "I have several years of combat training. I'm sure I will be able to take down a petty criminal."

Aunora crossed her arms. "Hang on there, Finch. How powerful are we talkin'?"

Finch looked away. "A high-level energy being." he said quickly and softly, seemingly hoping not to be heard.

"Energy being?!" Aunora shouted, making Esper jump. "You expect us to fight an energy being?!" She glared at Matthew, who was still lost in his cell phone. "MATTHEW! Are you hearing any of this?! What have you gotten us into?!"

Matthew didn't respond, fingers still lightly tapping the glowing screen and a small smile on his lips.

"I don't think Phone Man's heard a word we've said." Finch remarked, raising his eyebrow.

"Matthew, pay attention!" Umbra hissed, nudging him with the butt of his polearm.

Matthew looked up, blinking in dull shock. "Ja? Was ist hier los? Uh, ich meine, uh, what's going on?"

"Matthew, please pay attention and try not to slip into German again. It confuses people. I don't even know what you're saying half of the time." Umbra muttered, making Matthew blush.

"Right, totally sorry about that. It just kinda slips out when I'm startled." Matthew giggled, slipping his phone into his pocket and waving his hand. "Anywho, like, what's going on?"

"Matthew, dear, do you think you can restrain a powerful energy being?" Umbra sighed, giving him a glowering, disapproving stare.

"I sure hope so, 'cause it seems like that's what this mission is gonna consist of!" Matthew said cheerfully, standing up and hooking his arm around Umbra's. "Hey, dude, can I show you this funny text post I saw on Tumblr earlier? I think you'll like it!"

Umbra groaned, tightening his grip on his weapon. "Matthew! This is off-topic and unnecessary, even for you! Focus, please."

Matthew didn't listen, pulling Umbra aside and shoving the phone into his hands. To Umbra's surprise, he found that there was no Tumblr-style text post, displayed on the screen instead was a paragraph typed in the 'Notes' application on his phone. He quickly scanned his eyes across the words, reading the passage in seconds.

Umbry, there's something fishy going on. I've been searching on Google trying bounty hunters with the names Finch and Hawkins, but nothing's come up. I don't think there's any bounty hunters signed under that name in America, nonetheless in Alcorith! But, the worst part is, their names came up in criminal databases. Laugh after you read this. We can't let him know we suspect anything. I'll try to make Aunora and Esper aware, too.

Following Matthew's instructions, Umbra cracked a smile and started to laugh, muttering something under his breath about Matthew's sense of humor.

"Are you two good now? No more distractions?" Finch said, regarding the two men with a judgemental glare.

Umbra nodded, becoming somber once more. "We're fine."

Author's Note- Uh oh...