Nate was still adjusting to being a leader. Hell, for most of his life, he had shied away from being part of any team, group, or organization. Being part of something meant responsibility and commitment, and for a long time, those were strictly off-limits for Nate. Thieves worked best when they worked for themselves, by themselves.

Except Nate was no longer a thief. He was an actual member of society with an important role in Haven’s operations and a daughter to think about. There was a group bringing weapons into the city and pushing the belief that mutants were menaces to society. There were levels of crime, and some, Nate could respect. Organized crime seeking to destabilize a society and make like difficult for mutants deserved no respect. Nate did not want Norah, who was incredibly likely to one day develop her own mutation, to face judgment because someone chose to ruin things for the mutants of New York.

As The Creator, a member of Haven’s Inner Echelon, Nate could have relegated himself to a supervisory role, but he took his lead from the man who brought them all together. Considering his standing in the community and the organization, Devon could have stepped back and run things from the background, but he was surprisingly hands-on. The man might have been one of Nate’s friends, but he was also the man who gave him a second chance at building a respectable life. He reminded Nate that he was part of more than he ever gave himself credit for as a member of mutantkind.

Nate was doling out assignments to members of Haven, favoring pairs. Keeping his team safe was a priority, so he wanted everyone to have someone else’s back. They were a community, after all.

Except when all the missions were laid out before him, he would be left short one partner. He had a role to play, so he shuffled around names and assigned himself to team up with one of their younger members: Derek Menes.

Initially, they were going to gather information and develop contacts. The docks were rumored to be one of the preferred ways the organization was smuggling weapons to their members. Nate and Derek were going to speak to some dockworkers in hopes of getting an understanding of the operation: who was in charge and when did shipments get handled. There was no telling how resistant people would be to questions, but there was no way everyone around was okay with turning a blind eye to criminals making the city unsafe.

Haven had narrowed the location of shipments down to one shipping yard, which was helpful since the New York harbor was massive. Nate waited at the entrance to the dock, keeping an eye out for the young man who would be watching his back for the day.

This mission was incredibly important. Not only did he want to prove how useful he was to Haven, but he also needed to stop the hatred that was spreeding like wildfire. People were actually mutant baiting so that they could be seen in a negative light? Horrible. Despicable. Awful. All of those words and their synonyms.

The handsome piece of man candy, Devon Sexy Eyes, had briefed the Havenites on what was happening and apparently had given Mister Nate Hallow the duty of pairing everyone up. Of course, Derek's thirsty mind wanted to be partnered up with the weather manipulator himself, but instead he was paired up with the hot dark man. Dark as in personality not...anyway!

Speaking of, there was a lot that came to Derek's mind when he saw Nate. Pluto, Loki, Thanatos, even Czernobog. Though, none of those named fit except Lucifer. Of course he wasn't about to telll him that. The last thing he wanted was for one of the Inner People to feel uncomfortable around him.

Once Derek and Nate was paired up, they headed toward the docks. There mission changed from information gathering to informations gathering and taking care of the weapons. Derek was super excited about going on another official mission concerning Haven. His first was Sveta. The unofficial first was with Merida.

Derek's towncar dropped Derek off a block away from the location that he was supposed to meet Nate so it wouldn't be too suspicious. The twenty-year-old mutant was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, a v-neck green t-shirt, and sunglasses. After the block walk, he saw Nate standing there. With his happy smile, he walked up to the older, very attractive mutant.

"Creator?"Derek tried to sound all secretive and tough. "Hi. I'm...Animagus." Was that his official codename? He didn't know.

Derek did not leave Nate waiting, which was always appreciated. Part of Nate’s apprehension toward partners during his days as a criminal came from the challenge of keeping two people on a delicately-timed schedule. Their plans were less structured, but Nate still appreciated promptness.

His partner was a handsome young man with a friendly smile. It was no surprise Devon spoke so highly of him. Nate had chosen a blue short-sleeved button-down shirt and a pair of jeans, hoping to keep things more casual as they went undercover. The last thing he needed to be seen as was a potential investigator in a business suit.

Nate offered a hand in greeting to the young man, who introduced himself with his codename. It earned a grin from the ex-con. ”Nice to meet you. Though if we start calling ourselves Animagus and The Creator to Dockworkers, they might realize something’s off.” Codenames could be very helpful on certain missions. This would not be one of those missions.

”For the sake of exposing ourselves to the organization, we will be using aliases to keep things safe.” Nate had half a mind to use his birth name as an alias to go full circle, but it was still too easy to trace Stephen Graves to Nate Holloway. ”While we’re digging for information, I’m Thomas Dunn.”

Looking over the younger man, Nate smiled, folding his arms over his chest. ”And what am I calling the handsome young man who’ll be helping me charm information out of people today?”

>> "Nice to meet you. Though if we start calling ourselves Animagus and The Creator to Dockworkers, they might realize something’s off.”[/color]

Dammit! Already he was messing up. Derek took in a deep breath and nodded his head. "Right, right. I totally get that, no problem. I...got excited." Derek chewed on his bottom lip with a slight of nervousness to it. "Just Nate or just...not say your name." Derek took in a deep breath smiled. "Anyways, let's get started." Thankfully, Nate already had everything planned out.

>> "For the sake of exposing ourselves to the organization, we will be using aliases to keep things safe...While we’re digging for information, I’m Thomas Dunn.”

"Thomas Dunn is a nice alias." Derek sniffed and tried to think of what he would want to be called. Definitely not Dr. Doolittle.

>> "And what am I calling the handsome young man who’ll be helping me charm information out of people today?”[/color]

Handsome? Did Nate just call him handsome? Of course he was just being nice. They always was just being nice. "C-Charlemagne Thurgood." Yeah, that was perfect! No one would think that his really name is Derek Menes. "I've always loved the name Charlemagne. And Thurgood because Thurgood Marshall."

Derek was nervous. Of course, he was—he was twenty. They were asking a lot of him at such a young age, but he was an adult and he was a member of Haven. Everyone had to do their part for the cause, and Devon had faith in him, so Nate would follow suit.

Nervousness only got worse when Nate called Derek handsome. He really should have taken the professional path and avoided teasing or flustering his partner, but Nate did not do seriousness well. Besides, it was not just a taunt; Derek was genuinely attractive. It was no crime to point that out, even if it put the young man on edge. (He was also over a decade younger than Nate, but that was no reason to deny himself of some light-hearted fun.)

Derek picked out an alias, and Nate smiled warmly. He almost chuckled, but his old career left him in better control of his reactions than that. ”A fine, strong name with a lot of history behind it. I like it,” he said truthfully, before leaning into the realm of constructive criticism. ”When we get out there, though, I’m likely going to call you Charlie, if that’s fine. When you’re looking to blend in, you want to choose an unremarkable name that won’t stand out.” Charlemagne was a regal name, which made it remarkable and likely to raise an eyebrow or two.

Nate placed a hand on Derek’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. ”Consider that a trade secret.” Nate was not training Havenites to be thieves, but there was a surprising degree of experiential overlap between thieving, spying, and investigating.

”Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the open gate before leading the way into the shipyard.

Nate liked his alias? Amazing!

>> "When we get out there, though, I’m likely going to call you Charlie, if that’s fine. When you’re looking to blend in, you want to choose an unremarkable name that won’t stand out."

Derek nodded his head. "Right, noted," he sniffed and turned his gaze to "Charlie" after looking around the shipyard a bit, "and I'll call you...Tom-Tom. Y'know, since not that many people are called that." Derek didn't know! All he did know was that being undercover was a lot especially with remembering one's alias.

>> "Consider that a trade secret.”

"..." Derek blinked. "Hm? Oh! Yes! Trade secret locked and sealed." He would remember that the next time he went on a mission. If there was one thing that Derek was going to learn on this current mission with Nate was the importance of paying attention and not allowing yourself to get caught.

>> ”Shall we?”

"Got it! Let's go save the world." Derek gave Nate a wink and nudge before walking inside the shipyard. It was definitely intimidating with the large cargo carriers and heavy machinery around. The mutant looked over at Nate. "So, what's our cover story?" He felt like that would be just as important as an alias.

Nate chuckled, because Tom-Tom sounded more like a pet name than a nickname. He was not going to bother arguing the point, because he would likely be handling introductions anyway.

The criminal past Nate left behind was one of those secrets only certain members of Haven were aware of. Devon, Natalie, Noel, and Agnes all knew who he once was. The rest might find out in time. He was not actively keeping his past hidden (from Havenites, anyway,) but he was not going to throw it out in conversation where it was not relevant or beneficial.

They were walking amidst large shipping containers and heavy machinery, so it was important to watch where they were going. Nothing would make them seem more out-of-place and noticeable than an accidental injury.

Derek asked about their cover story, and Nate was prepared to answer when they were interrupted by a dock worker. “Hey, who are youse guys doing here?”

It was a shame, but Derek was going to have to learn on the fly. ”Good morning!” he started, his Southern accent noticeably gone and replaced with a more “standard” American dialect. Immediately forgettable. ”I’m Tom and this is my colleague, Charlie. We’re here as representatives from the union.”

The worker eyed them suspiciously. “Yeah? I thought we had some other guys.”

That was to be expected. Fortunately, Nate had done his research. ”Ross and Justin, of course. We had this check-in scheduled, but it didn’t work out for them, so we’re covering. Same questions, just two new faces.”

Nate was not looking to linger on the subject of the men they were “replacing,” so he moved the conversation forward. ”We’re here to just ask some typical questions about the state of things here. Are the bosses doing right by the workers, are conditions fair, are employees being asked to compromise their ethics for the higher ups. Standard stuff.”

“Ah. That’s… fair. Go ahead.” There was a minute flinch at the last suggestion. The man was well aware of compromising ethical positions, which meant he could either be useful or a total wall. They would see which way things went.

>> ”I’m Tom and this is my colleague, Charlie. We’re here as representatives from the union.”

Well, it was game time!

"Sup," Derek said as casually and straight as he knew how. He made it sure that it didn't sound fake.

Damn, Nate was good at this! Derek was taking mental notes about how to act and how to move from one subject to another without it seeming like he was avoiding something.

While Nate talked to the man, Derek made sure to study their surroundings. There were a couple of seagulls that were flying about which meant that Nate and Derek had a couple more extra pairs of eyes at their disposal. Derek's warm brown eyes found the worker's face again when the topic of asking questions came up.

"Oh, yes. How are you bein' treated and how well is your pay? It's important to us that everyone here has enough to survive off of." Derek wished that he had brought a notepad and pen with him. It would've made things look way more professional if they had.

Nate resisted the urge to quirk his eyebrow. Derek actually impressed him by jumping in with some surprisingly natural improvisation. The younger man seemed so genuine, which normally worried Nate in a situation where they were expecting to lie. His friendly warmth was apparently an asset when they were pretending to represent a union that took care if their own.

The comforting tone of Derek’s voice seemed to make the dock worker consider them more cordially. “They’s been paying us fine. Better than fine, lately.”

”That’s good to hear,” Nate replied warmly, hoping to match Derek’s sincerity. ”So there was a recent raise then?”

“Yeah,” the man admitted, but he winced like he was worried he admitted something unintentionally. “Just good business lately, I guess. So they say. Just spreading the wealth, ya know?” There was something uncertain about the way he was talking about the recent changes. Something about his raise gave him pause. Interesting.

”Good, good! Honest work, honest money,” Nate said with a chuckle. ”And the conditions? Hours are reasonable? The work is safe? No one’s putting you in any uncomfortable positions, right?”

The man had no poker face, showing conflict in his furrowed brow. “I… I mean, the conditions are great. It’s a lot of hours, but, ya know, no different than any other dock in New York. I…” It seemed like the man was coming close to admitting something, but he flinched and looked down at his feet. “Everything’s fine. I should really get back to work,” he said nervously.

They were close. He wanted to talk, but he was nervous. Who could blame him?

Derek nodded his head, as the conversation between "Tom" and the shipyard worker continued on. It was easy for him to look sympathetic because he was. He didn't want anything bad to happen to the men who were just doing their jobs. He was sure that they had families to feed and look after. Hopefully after this sting operation, they would be able to still get a paycheck.

He watched as the man started to fold into himself and look sad. Aw. That made Derek upset. He tried to keep his touch guy facade up, but it was hard to. Derek was too much of a cinnamon roll to not say something, "Hey, it's okay. We're here to help you. You're our first priority. You, your safety, and the good, hardworking men that you work along side." The twenty-year-old looked around the shipyard before patting the guy on the side of his shoulder. "But we need your help. To reach out to Tom and I." He stuffed his thumbs into his front pants and resisted the urge to shift his weight to one of his legs.

Derek was really the right man for the job they assigned him, or at least the part that involved talking to people. Nate understood he was some kind of animal empath, but his human empathy was impressive in its own right. The young man would excel as a social worker or maybe even a guidance counselor. Genuine interest, earnest charm, and a warm smile; he was a recipe for human comfort.

The dock worker was resisting, but the pat on his shoulder was too much to stand against. “Well… there is one thing.”

Nate nodded and reassured him, ”If you need to talk, we can swear your name will never come up in all of this. Totally anonymous and totally uninvolved.”

That seemed to help him push forward. “There are some… special shipments. Night shipments with no documentation. Strict orders not to open and inspect, and they bring in someone from outside the company to oversee.”

Nate’s brow furrowed. ”And you are concerned they’re using you guys to bring in something illegal?”

The man looked around to make sure no one else was listening, but he nodded. “Or dangerous, yeah. The bosses say it’s on the up-and-up, but they pay us extra for working them and say to keep the shipments out of our mouths and our books.”

Nate placed his own hand on the man’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. ”You did the right thing here. We need to keep you guys safe before this gets out and everyone goes down with the ship. When is the next shipment?”

“Tonight at Eleven.” That was an unexpected surprise. Nate was expecting to arrive at the docks to gather information, but he anticipated a little more time before the sting. Still, it was not like he could ask them to delay the shipment so Haven could be better prepared for it.

Nate was also very convincing when it came to sharing his concern over the welfare of the shipyard workers. Then again, that could just be because he was a good actor. Nate looked like he could be an actor. He has a very actor-esque personality and body. Anyways, back to the mission at hand.

"Thank you a lot for your help. I'll make sure that you're taken care of," Derek smiled warmly at the man and watched as he went back to work. He waited until the man was out of earshot before turning his attention to Nate.

"So, eleven o'clock. We come back at that time?" Derek asked, scratched the scruff that was growing on his chin.

They had a time, which was the main reason they needed to talk to someone on site. They were even lucky enough to get confirmation that the organization did send someone from within their ranks to oversee the special shipments. It was a start, and with the limited amount of time they had to plan, every little bit helped.

”We come back at eleven. In the meantime, I’ll need to make some calls. We’re just two men; we can only do so much to topple an elaborate criminal operation.” They would not be bringing in additional Havenites; the membership had their own assignments, and sneaking around the shipyard would be harder with an entourage. What they needed was police support. If they revealed the contraband being shipped, the police could act without a warrant. Conversely, without the police, getting the shipment into the open would do them a fat load of good.

Who would have expected Nate to be the one working to improve the relationship between Haven and the police?

Nate had work to get done, but it was mostly relegated to his phone calls, leaving a window of time to physically and mentally prepare. Translation: get food and avoid stress. ”Really though, Derek, you did great back there. I don’t think you could have been more caring if you were here on behalf of the union.”

The mission was not over yet, but the first part had been a success and warranted a reward. ”Come on, we have time to kill. Come on, dinner’s on me,” he pledged. ”If you don’t mind me making calls throughout, of course.” It was poor etiquette, but they had priorities.

---

A lobster roll, some fries, and a conversation later, Nate and Derek approached the outer gate of the shipyard. Nate had advised Derek to have a black outfit to change into, and Nate was wearing black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. Underneath his outfit, Nate had a skintight black bodysuit in case the job required shifting into his shadowform.

”Okay,” Nate started in a hushed voice, ”Police will be on scene in half an hour. We need to get to the shipments and have them exposed by then. We’re going to try being stealthy, but when that plan inevitably goes to ****, watch your back, Animagus.” Derek was a good kid. Nate would feel genuinely bad if he got shot or maimed.

Nate’s shadow emerged from the ground, powered by the bright streetlamps above them. It formed a staircase that stepped up from the ground and down from the peak of the fence. ”If you’re feeling ready to go, watch your step.”

Dinner was amazing to say the least and the conversation that he was able to have with Nate was definitely a bonus. However, now it was time to get back to work and to accomplish their goal. Derek changed his outfit to a black turtleneck and a pair of black jeans. Though, Derek being Derek, he couldn't pass up a chance to comment on his pants, "Nice outfit," he whispered with a grin.

Okay, back to business.

Derek listened to Nate explain what their time limit was and what their objective was. The mutant gave a head nod in understanding to the other. "Got it." He then watched as Nate's show came up from the concrete and formed staircases. That was convenient. Derek quickly followed after Nate up the stairs. He made sure not to trip and fall and instead kept a low profile. "I can get a couple of bats to help us out," he offered, "y'know, for extra pairs of eyes."

It was good to see Derek was still in high spirits as they started their mission. Joking was good for keeping spirits light and stress managed, but Nate did have to make sure his teammate understood the gravity of what they were hoping to do. They were dealing with a criminal organization; if they were caught off guard, it was unlikely they would be asked to leave politely. ”Eyes on the prize, Animagus,” he replied with a grin. ”And as a quick reminder, I am not the prize. The cargo is.”

Once Derek was carefully over the wall, Nate followed suit, using his shadow to lift him up over the wall, which he rolled over, trying to keep low like his teammate. They did not need stray eyes spotting them.

Nate was trying to mentally picture where the cargo might be getting unloaded, but Derek had a helpful suggestion thanks to his unique mutant gift. ”If your little friends would like to scout out where the cargo is being unloaded, I’d be all for that plan.” Bats got a bad rap, and if they were going to help Nate and Derek complete their mission, Nate could gladly set aside cultural biases.