<strong>Paris, France<br/>At the top most floor of the Eiffel Tower.</strong><br/><br/>Drake looked out over the city. It was said that Paris was the most beautiful city in the world. He smirked, his honey colored eyes flashing in the sun light. Paris was indeed beautiful with its wide, inviting streets and quaint architecture, but that wasn't why he'd decided to settle there for a time. It was the infinite opportunity to make money in the city of love. Drake had many criminal enterprises that he'd founded. He controlled them all from the shadows with an iron fist. He had to. What with nobody alive that could even remember his face if he wasn't right in front of them. But that was part of what made him so dangerous. He left no traces and he couldn't be tracked. It made another smirk cross his pale face. There had been so many times over the decades where he was certain someone would figure it out, but still he reigned. There was nobody who could keep up with him. Not the Templar Knights, not the Illuminati, and most certainly not those AEther Knights. The Sidhe were powerful contenders, but only barely equals in his empire he was building. And he would not be stopped. His "Brotherhood of Shadows" may sound like something out of a comic book, but soon enough the world would know them as their masters.<br/>"It only gets easier from here."<br/><br/>He turned, his deep red hair flying with the force of the motion. He liked to keep it long. It added to the effect when he revealed himself to people. As he strode towards the elevator, he noticed a small, mousy looking man standing close and looking scared. It was his contact with his Paris branch of the brotherhood. He walked towards the man with a saunter in his step that suggested dangerous confidence, And why shouldn't he This man was but a mere human. He couldn't grasp the fact that Drake had been around the age of twenty nine for ninety five years. Why would anything intimidate him now that he'd finally acquired the only means of killing him? The mousy fellow finally noticed him and jumped. He didn't know Drake by sight, but knew that he had to be the emissary for Shadow. That's what the brotherhood had decided to call him. He rather liked the sound of it. But Drake was all business now, he slipped his left hand into the pocked of his crisply tailored, black trench coat and heald his right hand out for the papers the man was carrying.<br/>"I take it you have a favorable report my brother? Shadow doesn't enjoy receiving bad news and he tends to find that punishing the messenger is a good way ot avoid it."<br/><br/>The mouse trembled at the thought and quickly handed over the file folder with the Paris report.<br/>"No sir. Everything is going as smoothly as Shadow expects. There were a few minor incidents with the local police, but the men in question have been taken care of."<br/>Drake was surprised at this statement. The mouse here was more ruthless that he seemed. That pleased him a great deal. He needed men who were going to be of use to him. He flipped open the file and began to read. It was mostly the usual business and financial tranactions, but there were a few entries of several of his rival groups snooping around in his operations. That gave him pause. He really didn't need his enemies doing too much digging too deeply. Not this early in his plans.<br/>"Why have the spies from the rival factions not been dealt with yet? Shadow is at a very delicate phase in his plans. He wants nothing to go wrong."<br/><br/>The mouse straightened his tie. He looked so much like some mild mannered accountant type. Drake was only starting to notice the signs of a deadly killer beneath the mousy exterior.<br/>"We're waiting for them to dig a little deeper. We don't want Shadows enemies to get the idea that we're hiding something huge just yet. It would give away too much to have them killed before the opportune moment."<br/>Drake nodded once and then turned to go. He didn't bother speaking to the mouse again. He knew the man was already moving back to the stairs. Drake punched the button on the elevator. The infernal contraption took forever to reach the top floor, but Drake wanted solitude on his trip down. Too many people frequented the stairs for his liking. He would have to arrange for a car to take him to his villa outside the city limits. There he could review the documents more closely and make his next move. For his business in Paris was, for the time being, concluded. He would have to make his way to Italy now. Another one of his favorite countries. The food was exquisites.