Teach My Hands to War.....(Ella Tate)

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent Romanov's office. Nothing grand or special, just another room in a building full of rooms. A small desk sat near the back wall which was home to a computer and small desk lamp along with several post it notes and some papers detailing this and that. Along the east wall was several large gun cases housing all sorts of defensive weaponry. Of course, Claude would never allow firearms on school property and for good reason. Vincent was too keen on the idea of bringing such dangerous weaponry near children either, especially those who could utilize mind control to cause other students or teachers to do who knows what. Besides, having a campus full of meta-humans was dangerous enough and no one wanted anymore dangers to add to the list. The weapons which Vincent did and was allowed to have were nothing dangerous, just weapons of caution. Stun guns and batons, gas canisters, tranquilizer darts, sonic weaponry which would cause vertigo in its target and a few other questionable things. None of these would ever be used on the students here at Hammel, at least not on Vincent's watch or during Claude's reign as head master. These weapons were a last resort in case of some rogue attack from mindless bigots or crazed meta-humans bent on using Hammel for their own nefarious intent. Hammel's first line of defense was always it meta teachers and security team.

Along the south side of the room were two windows which overlooked this portion of the grounds. An American flag was situated between the windows with framed pictures flanking the perimeters of the window panes. The pictures were of Vincent's old squad mates and a few from some of the tours he was served in over in the Middle East. One or two of the pictures was of a much younger Vincent, taken during his time at boot camp. The north and west side of the room housed some chairs and bookshelves and several filing cabinets. There really wasn't anything at all flashy about Vincent's office and that was the way he liked it. He wasn't here to impress, but rather to protect and a fancy office wouldn't protect anyone.

Sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen, Vincent took a deep breath and then rubbed his eyes. He pushed the power button on the monitor and sat back in his chair. A smile spread across his face as he looked at a framed picture of his mother and sister taken a few summers back. The Romanov's were a very close and tightly knit family and sometimes being so far away from them tugged at Vincent's heart strings. His mother had been living with his sister for quite a number of years, ever since his father's death. Natalie, his sister, did a wonderful job of caring for their mother and Vincent sent what money he could every paycheck. His mother was still able to care for herself, but enjoyed Natalie's company. Hopefully he could make it out to them in another month or two with the long vacation he was due.

With another sigh, Vincent looked around his office. There wasn't really anything on his schedule for today. The technopaths on his team were still trying to track down the source of the information leak inside Hammel and as such, Vincent couldn't do anything but wait. The door to his office was open, as usual and Vincent had no intention of closing it anytime soon. He turned his head and gazed outside. The weather looked good today and that meant a stop by the local youth club on his way home this evening. Vincent liked to volunteer at the club whenever he could, after all, kids were easier to deal with than adults any day.

[Ella Tate]

It had been a couple months since Ella came back to Hammel and things had changed from when she had first started. The teachers were new. There were new offices. New faces everywhere. It was daunting to the new recruiter but she got out of her small office just to get her muscles to work.

Warming up against the cold winter air, Ella plugged her ears with her MP3 player, letting the smooth voice of her favourite Jazz singer drown out everything else as she started running across the quad. In the meanwhile, her eyes took in Hammel's compound, drinking in every detail of the establishment.

Her ponytail whipped her back and the sides of her face in the wind as her running slowed down to a jog an hour circling the block. She was halfway to the entrance in front of a small building marked security. She gazed upon a man looking out the window almost wistfully. But what drew her in was a small case in the room that held things she hadn't actually seen before up close.

Rubbing her nose with a gloved hand, Ella went around to see the door to the man's office was open. She took out her earphones and gloves to knock on the door. "Hey dude? Um, do you mind if I come in? I saw your collection...couldn't help myself." She grinned sheepishly at the man behind the desk as she pushed some stray hair that had escaped her ponytail in the run.

[OOC: Sorry for the vagueness. I wasn't entirely sure how the office looks like and whatnot >_< Hope that was a satisfying response tho!]

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent watched a few people come and go outside, but only one stopped and looked back.A young woman, not readily familiar, who seemed a bit too interested in him and his office. Not recognizing someone on Hammel's grounds usually made Vincent nervous, especially when they were adults. All sorts of kids came and went here at Hammel so not recognizing some of their faces wasn't rare, but adults, they were only so many of them here and when a face was odd, it meant something. Leaning over to his desk, Vincent trained his eyes on his computer monitor and turned it back on. The soft glow of the screen came to life quickly and Vincent moved the mouse around, finding what files he needed. He accessed the employee files first, hesitating on which group to search first. He hadn't recalled any new teachers being brought in as of late or seeing any papers requesting background checks crossing his desk either. So, Vincent chose to search the staff section, bringing up a new set of options there. Recruiters, doctors, general staff, and even security. These options stared back at Vincent and he began to systematically eliminate them one by one in his mind. Security was certainly out of the running as he was the final say who joined his team. The girl looked different from general staff, not saying they were less than the other staff members, but they were just different, like Vincent. Those who occupied the labor field were a simplier people, people who knew another side of life. You could see it in their eyes and the way they held themselves. This young woman, had something else about her.

Noise from the hallway and then a figure at his door meant Vincent was going to meet this young inquisitor first hand. His hand still on the mouse, Vincent quirked an eyebrow at the greeting. Okay, maybe Vincent was wrong about her being general staff, she seemed way to laid back to be a recruiter or doctor. Those guys were uptight and twitchy, like they were just waiting on the world to explode any minute. With a quick click, Vincent opened the general staff file, his eyes darting to the names there and then back to the young woman. "Collection?," he asked her with an awkward smile. "You don't look like a student of war," he said oddly, his eyes darting to the screen again, only seeing names he recognized. Looking back up, Vincent took a deep breath and finally stood to his feet, pushing his chair back as he did so. He towered over the young woman, as he usually did with everyone, and he stood tall, trying to be intimidating as he could be. It was part of his job and who he was, but this girl might not be the intimidated sort.

Moving around his desk, Vincent watched the woman closely as here at Hammel, everyone was dangerous in one way or another. "Can I help you miss?," he asked, hinting for the woman's name and perhaps who she was here at Hammel. "Makes me a bit nervous when I don't recognize a face," he added with a chuckle, taking a few steps closer to Elle.

[Ella Tate]

The darting eyes was something Ella didn't imagine a guy that...menacing looking would be able to do. If anything, he should be the one making her eyes dart like that. But Ella didn't ponder on it for too long. Especially when the guy gave her an awkward smile. Something in that smile made Ella think he didn't do much of it. Of course, security guys didn't have much reason to smile did they?

"Student?" Ella tilted her head with an amused grin. "Of war?" She chuckled as she stepped further into the office. Several locks of her hair fell to the side of her face, alerting the young recruiter to the state of her ponytail. She tugged her hair band and let the rest of her hair fall in soft waves before quickly tying it up into a tighter ponytail. "God no. I'm just a little curious."

Understatement of the year.

When the man stood up at an intimidating height that could have made anybody else take at least a step back, Ella straightened her own back to seem taller. It wasn't out of defense but more out of habit. She was taught not to slouch when people made the effort to stand straight.

The formal title the man gave her was frowned lightly upon. "I'm not that young, dude. Name's Ella." She stuck her hand out to shake his. "And you can help by showing me what those things do." Without dropping her hand, she nudged her head at the case that held his collection of weapons for temporary paralysis. His admittance to being nervous having not recognise her made Ella switch to her teasing mode.

"Should I be worried that the..." she let her eyes wander to the plaque sitting in the middle of the man's desk wedged in between a tiny American flag and miniature statue of liberty before looking back up to the man. "...head of security is nervous to see a new face? That's really not comforting." She put on a smile to show the man that she was only joking.

Ella was sure the man did an excellent job since she had so far never met with a threat.

[OOC: Not gonna lie, I got distracted way too much by your character banner >_<]

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent took Elle's offered hand firmly but not enough to break any bones. He always had to cautious about how he touched others as his ability endowed him with enough strength to life a small car sometimes. He was naturally a strong man to begin with and to push him over the edge into superhuman didn't take quite as much kinetic energy as some might think. He had broke countless coffee mugs and ripped off more door handles than he could even recall. Trying to reign that strength in had been a pain in the ass when he was younger, back when he was a student here at Hammel himself. It was perhaps the hardest thing for him to learn as it called for him to always be aware of every action he took. He had remembered breaking one of his friend's arms in a wrestling match one time, and the blood curdling scream which went with it. That was the point which earned him a scheduled spot with a trainer.

"Nothing personal Elle, but I'm sort of cautious of faces I don't know," he added at her remark, "Kind of comes with the territory I guess," he added, letting go of Elle's hand and then crossing his arms. "You can call me Vincent if you want," he said, smiling now, but still watching Elle carefully. She was pretty and had this disarming charm about her. Vincent wasn't usually calmed this easily when around new people, but Elle just radiated a casual aura. "Of course, you've got to admit that if you were in my shoes, you'd be cautious too. I mean, a stranger strolls into your office and asks for a tour of your armory," he went on, his smile dropping just a bit. His paranoia was well within parameters and Vincent sort of had a solid point.....In his mind anyway. He had seen too much violence in his life and had been the target of countless hit squads over seas. Finding danger in everyone around him was a survival trait and what made him so good at his job now. No doubt Claude saw this trait as well and was why the old man put him where he was at now. Being head of security wasn't exactly on Vincent's mind when he showed up here ten years ago. He was just looking for work with the security team. Imagine his surprise when Clause offered him the chance to lead Hammel's security team.

"Tell you what, you can tell me a bit about yourself while I give you a tour so to speak," he said, jerking his head to the side in an indication for Elle to follow him. "Claude doesn't like firearms on the school grounds and neither do I. However, some sort of defensive weaponry is called for," he said, walking over to the gun case which held the stun guns and other paralyzing weaponry. There was a small box on the door of the cabinet which had one tiny red light. Vincent leaned forward and spoke, "Teach my hands to war," he said slowly, not seemingly worried about revealing the code, "It only works with my voice and my number one," he said, looking over his shoulder to Elle. After a second, the red light turned green and the door to the case unlocked, letting the doors swing open. Stepping to the side, Vincent nodded to the weapons found there. "You familiar with any of these?," he asked Elle. The shelves in the cabinet where lined with different tazers, a few stun batons, dart guns with tranquilizers darts nestled safely in cases beside the guns, and on the bottom shelf by itself, a large box which resembled a radio maybe.

[Ella Tate]

He had an unsurprisingly strong grip, something Ella found way too comforting in a man. She hid her hand behind her back, flexing it as the head of security gestured for her to follow him. "Oh, dude none taken. I get it. Was just jokin' around." She held her hand up in defense with a little lopsided smile. "Vincent. That's a very...apt name." Ella knew the name meant something strong and impressive so for someone whose title is head of security, it was quite apropos she thought.

The drop of Vincent's smile made Ella want to bring it back so she patted his back as she followed him from behind. "Dude, no worries. I'm one of the good guys. Just...curious." His quest in her opening up was met with a big grin. She didn't particular like talking about herself but it wasn't like her life was one big secret. She didn't really have any kind of dramatic backstory. Besides, she was sure he just wanted to know who he was showing his armory to.

His reveal of the code to his little box of curious goodies and the fact that it was secure even if anyone wanted to break in had Ella grinning widely. She thought that was pretty cool. "I'm from a small town in South Carolina. Moved here when I was thirteen with my mom. Graduated from Brown with a double BA in journalism and public relations. What else...uh..." Ella was about to give him more when the door opened and revealed the things inside.

"Whoa," she breathed, her hand itching to touch the guns but she held back. Vincent's question was met with a slow shake of her head. "Nope." She answered simply. "Wait, I think I know this one." She pointed to the tranq gun. "This is a tranquiliser gun, yeah?" She asked, looking up at Vincent with her eyes shining with delight, like a little kid who just discovered a candy store.

[Vincent Romanov]

Ella's interest in Vincent's cache of goodies amused Hammel's gruff watch dog. Seeing someone as small and feminine as Ella interested in weaponry struck Vincent's funny bone, disarming his defenses even more. It was a nice change though as Vincent had been becoming more rigid in his ways as of late. He had been on his own for far too long, no friends outside his family and one or two people on the security team. A man wasn't meant to always be alone. Having someone you could just joke around with did amazing things, even if that person was someone you didn't know. Perhaps it was time to hit the social scene once again. Yeah, he volunteered all sorts of time down at the youth center, but that really didn't count. He only saw those kids on the weekends and even then for just a few hours. Vincent needed some dependable social interaction. He supposed he could look Clarisse up, but wasn't she seeing one of the other teachers? No, Vincent needed someone new to the scene here at Hammel...someone like Ella here.

Putting his hands behind his back, Vincent stepped back a little to give Ella plenty of room to please her eager eyes. "Go ahead, you can take the tranq gun out, its not loaded," he said with a smile and a nod. Normally, no one was allowed to see these things up close and personal, much less take them out. However, Vincent was head of security and could bend the rules a bit easier than anyone else. Truth be told, there wasn't much Ella could to even if she did try to shoot Vincent with the gun. His power wouldn't let the dart pierce his skin but more importantly, with his training, he could easily disarm Ella from this distance. Unfortunately for Vincent, he didn't know Ella could render his kinetic absorption ability null and void. He had never come across someone who could cancel out another's meta abilities before. The thought had never even crossed his mind actually. How surprised would he be when he actually felt something hit him?

"The gun holds four darts and shoots one dart at a time. Its got a medium range to it, about fifteen yards or so," he said, looking to the gun and then back to Ella, "Its strictly a defensive weapon and considering the time frame it takes the sedative in the dart to react in the targets system, its not a primary defensive weapon. We use mainly to wear down the target and let them pass out on their own so as not to get anyone hurt," he added in a casual tone. "Almost every incident here though is handled with the team's meta abilities, but even those incidences are rare. The biggest threat we deal with usually is kids sneaking out into town after curfew or some young technopath trying to hack the system to change grades," he said, clearing his throat in a nervous fashion. Vincent hadn't had a need to be social in a while and was rusty at the whole good host thing.

[Ella Tate]

She turned to Vincent quicker than she had intended as her eyes bulged out when the man offered her the chance to take the gun out. She had never been in a situation where she had to handle a gun of any kind. Ella turned back to the gun with a smile and as Vincent explained how it worked, her fingers curled around the handle and pulled it out of the case.

It was heavier than it looked but it fit in her hand nicely. She turned it over in her hand, sliding her hand over it before pointing it to the filing cabinet beside Vincent's desk and a soft 'pew pew' came from her lips. "Man this is cool." She brought the gun to her once more and laughed when Vincent spoke of the 'crimes' that happen in Hammel.

Ella put the gun back and looked at the shells for the tranquiliser gun. Her eyes went from one equipment to the other, scanning it in detail. "So how long have you been in security? I can't say I've seen you around even when I was here." She asked, looking at him awhile before going back to his little armory case. Her skin tingled as her power went into overdrive. It usually did whenever she was in the presence of a powerful meta.

The sensation had been gradual, which was why she didn't feel it at first when she came into the office but being in close distance with the man was making it harder for her not to notice. She felt headache come in small waves as she tried to suppress her own power so he wouldn't feel his weakening.

[Vincent Romanov]

Firearms of any sort were a peculiar thing for everyone. Some people, such as Vincent seemed to have a natural affinity for them. Sure, he had to learn how to hold one, aim, load, and clean each piece of firearm he came across, but each one of those lessons were easy. He just understood firearms, felt familiar and drawn to them. Vincent never feared a gun, but had fear of what they could do. Respect was more of the word, the sort of respect you had to give to other things in the world such as fire or electricity. Anything which could kill you, demanded respect and only fools would deny that philosophy. As a result of his affinity for firearms, Vincent found it hard to understood the fear others had of them. The noise alone was enough to make some people scream or even cry, but in the end it wasn't nothing more than just noise. Society had tried its best to make people hate firearms despite the American stand on the right to own them. As a result of that wayward way to thinking, most Americans had developed an irrational fear of firearms. This fear didn't seem to hold true for Ella Tate and that was a plus in Vincent's book.

It was like watching a kid in a candy store as Ella took the tranq. gun, turning it over in her hand and pointing it about. The girl even went as far as to make sounds with her mouth, like some kid playing cowboys and Indians. A small chuckle escaped Vincent's mouth, as did a slight feeling of being tired. It wasn't an unusual feeling, but Vincent had enough kinetic energy stored up to keep him running for another day and a half. This feeling he felt was like he didn't have anything in him and that was odd. He shook his head as the sensation lessened, chalking it up to stress maybe. He had a lot on his mind lately and despite all the energy in the world, it wouldn't shield his body from stress side effects. It took Vincent a second to realize Ella had asked him a question, something else which raised a little red flag in his head. He usually paid more attention than this, especially in topics which interested him. It wasn't exactly clear just yet, but deep in the back of his mind, Ella was beginning to seem suspect.

"Sorry," he said as he cleared his throat and furrowed his brow as if thinking hard. "I've been running security here at Hammel for about ten years...minus some time here and there for personal leave," he said, still feeling some fatigue or better yet, a lack of energy. "And if you didn't meet me when you were attending here," he said with another smile, "That might have been a good thing. Either you were the good student or you just never got caught," he added with a small chuckle. "What years were you here at Hammel? That might help open a better picture for me," he asked, fishing for any details and information he could get out of Ella.

[Ella Tate]

Ella didn't seem to notice when the man chuckled at her but she did pay attention when he started to answer her question. Ten years? She must have met him before. However briefly but she must have met him so why didn't she remember him? A bubble of laughter escaped her throat when he stated the fact that she might have been one of the good ones when she was still in Hammel.

"I think it's more likely that I was the latter. Not to undermine your authority or whatever because I was not the good student. Not at all." She shook her head in amusement. Tilting it sideways a little at his question about which year she had been in, Ella mused on it before remembering that she graduated eight years ago. Which meant she would definitely have met Vincent. Peculiar...

"I graduated about eight years ago. It's odd that I don't remember you. I would have. I mean you're kind of hard to miss." She emphasised her statement by looking up and down. "Your height is menacing." She chuckled lightly. If she was aware he was just trying to get more information out of her, she didn't show it. Besides, if he wanted something out of her, he'll need to ask her straight out. She didn't like it when people beat around the bush.

"Are you married?"

Ella didn't think he was because one, no ring on his finger. Two, no pictures besides the two on his shelf that were obviously family. Too much resemblance to be anything but.

[Vincent Romanov]

Eight years ago would put Ella much younger than Vincent and certainly should have meant they could have crossed paths in the past. Of course, Hammel had churned out thousands of students in its years and Vincent's reign as head of security wouldn't have been any different. He couldn't know every face to come in and out of Hammel over the decade, although some people here might have had that ability. It was too bad that Vincent and Ella hadn't crossed paths before, she seemed like she might be one of the few students who could have found her way onto Vincent's good side. He had formed a few bonds with students over the years, seeing in each one of them something which set them far apart from the crowd here. Some of those kids had moved on and grown up, finding jobs in law enforcement of some type, crediting Vincent for their decision. Others had just found the stability they needed from Vincent's black and white view of the world, along with his demand for perfection when it came to using their powers. He had a glimpse of what the teachers here at Hammel must have felt whenever they saw one of their old students doing something spectacular with their lives.

Ella readily admitted her taste for the more mischievous side of youth, which wasn't really a surprise. Ella might have had a pretty face and innocent looking smile, but in his years of experience, Vincent knew these were the ones to really watch. However, with that fact in mind, Vincent still couldn't help but stand a bit taller as Ella stroked his ego some. She commented on his height and how menacing it was, which to someone like Vincent, was a compliment. "If your as quick with words and compliment as you are now, its no wonder you never graced the security teams before," he said still smiling and his face turning a soft pink. Vincent was rough and gruff, but he still had the simple boy next door way about him. He never had been one to think himself all that important or special and sort of was backward in a lot of things.

Ella's next question was rather quick to ask and caught Vincent's off guard for a moment. He wasn't ashamed by his bachelor lifestyle, just found the question odd to be asked so soon in a conversation. Holding his left hand up to reveal no sign of a ring, Vincent shook his head, "Afraid not. Just haven't found the girl yet I guess," he said as he dropped his hand down to his side once again, "Of course, I haven't really made the time either," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "What about you Ella? As pretty as you are, you probably snagged you a fine guy just by flashing a smile."

[Ella Tate]

Ella simply shrugged with a little sideways smile when the head of security complimented her. "I try," she had sated her curiosity with his little box of wonders so she nosily moved around in his office. It was plain as far as she could see, said how practical the man was. That was a good trait for a guy, in Ella's opinion. It helped that the practicality was wrapped in a man who could probably cut steel with his defined jaw.

Yes, it didn't escape Ella that the man had a face that would make the angels weep.

She turned to face him as she leaned against his desk, crossing her arms over her chest. "With a position such as yours, I'd expect the girls to find you and not the other way around." She was aware that what she was doing was called flirting. Had it really been a long time since she did something like this? It had to be because that was the lamest thing she had ever said.

Giving Vincent a chuckle and another smile, Ella hid the blush at Vincent's compliment. Sure, she couldn't deny that she had her looks. She got them from her mother who was an amazingly beautiful woman but it didn't mean she was comfortable when people called her pretty. "Are you insinuating that that's the only way I can snag a fine guy?" She raised an eyebrow, glaring at him in mock offense.

[Vincent Romanov]

Ella seemed confident enough to make herself rather at home in Vincent's office. She casually leaned up against his desk, crossing her arms like she owned the place. Vincent just watched with a bit of wonderment at how Ella just seemed so calm with the situation. Not many people were this casual around Vincent as his job here and physical stature made him rather intimidating. It wasn't like he tried to push people around, it just came natural. Whenever authority presented itself, most people just became nervous, it was a natural reaction. Ella however, seemed to stray from that category and thus caught Vincent off guard. It was sort of nice to be dealing with someone who saw him as just Vincent and not the head of Hammel's security. The other teachers and staff might not have been afraid of him, but they sort of treated him different none the less. It was like they were afraid to be themselves in front of him in case he might use whatever secrets they revealed to him against them later.

Ella began to compliment him, or rather flirt with him. Vincent caught onto this rather quickly and he could feel his ears turn a bit red and no doubt so was his face. He didn't have much social interaction and had been a while since anyone had acted like this with him. He started to feel like a high school kid again. "You'd be surprised how many people tend to avoid you when your head of security. The job sort of alienates you from the general populace. People just don't respect authority like they used to," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, his eyes watching Ella curiously. He didn't bother him too much that his social life was non-existent, it meant he had no one asking him too many questions about why he seemed so deep in thought sometimes. Having no one at home with you meant not having to tell them why you keep waking up screaming every night, drenched in a cold sweat.

Giving another small smile, Vincent shook his head, "I doubt that smile is the only thing that attracts guys Ella," he said, turning to closed the weapons case. The lock clicked into place and the red light on the voice activated lock blinked once to indicate it was active. "Anyway," he said, turning back around to face Ella, "What exactly do you do here anyway Ella? Just visiting for old times sake or has Hammel called you back professionally?," he finally asked her straight out. If Ella was here as a new staff member, it meant some paperwork was slow in getting its way to Vincent and that was a problem which needed to be solved.

[Ella Tate]

She noticed the heat rising in Vincent's face, a small victory in Ella's books. He was probably the toughest guy around and she made him blush. Every girl's sweetest fantasies. Ella thought to herself sarcastically. A grin formed on her lips despite her being unsure of what to do next. What else was she supposed to do now that she had caught his attention? Flirt more? No, keep it cool, Ella. No need to rush this.

"I suppose you're right. You are kind of intimidating. I mean I personally don't mind but that's only me." She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. And for the most part, it really wasn't. Ella just wasn't the type to be intimidated by anything much. It wasn't in her curious nature. She would more likely try to calm a rabid dog than run from it. And if she knew what was going through Vincent's mind right then, she would have commended him on making the right choice. Not everyone was suited for the commitment lifestyle.

Then, the man opposite her gave her a small smile and made her raise an eyebrow at his comment. It was a good thing he turned away to lock his case or he would have been privy to her blush. She felt the heat rise rapidly but she quickly turned as soon as Vincent faced her. She went to the window and looked out, trying to calm herself down. What a rush. Just a couple of nice words from a good looking man and she was already back to being a high school girl with a crush on the senior jock.

Good thing he asked his question, at least now she can concentrate on something else other than her blush. "Hammel didn't call me back." Ella untied her hair and left it down for awhile. "I came back for the recruiting position." She smiled before tying her hair back up again to turn to Vincent. "I've only been on two recruiting missions. Those were tough assignments." She huffed, shaking her head as she was reminded of both her assignments.

[Vincent Romanov]

Vincent laughed at Ella lightly as she commented about coming back on her own, shaking his head slightly. Vincent knew the draw Hammel had for their kind and the power of its pull. No one ever truly left Hammel, not even in death. A few of the students who could converse with the other side had remarked in the past about other worlders who lurked the school grounds and some of those descriptions seemed very familiar to Vincent and the other teachers. Hammel was a meta magnet, pulling in every meta which dared to cross its path. "We never ever leave Hammel Ella, we just sort of go on vacation for a while. Sooner or later, it draws us all back...in this life or the next," he remarked shrugging his shoulders now, crossing his large arms over his chest and leaning back against the weapons case. Even when Vincent had been stationed on the other side of the world, his thoughts often drifted back to Hammel and its odd daily routines. He seemed to miss this place more than his own home at times.

At least Ella had revealed why she was back at Hammel now, to fill the recruiting position. Hammel employed several people in this position as it was one of the most important. Hammel recruited from all over the nation and even dipped into Canada on more than one occasion. It took an army of recruiters to keep on top of things and to make sure no meta slipped through the cracks of society. The head recruiter, James Campbell, did a fantastic job at keeping his subordinates in line and of finding young meta-humans spread across the nation. James never missed anything, every detail was logged away in that cluttered brain of his. Vincent thought the man rather fruity himself, but James had proven himself on more than one occasion and so, Vincent did have respect for the man.

The slight huff did not go unnoticed on Vincent's end, causing him to drop his smile. It seemed Ella's new job was a bit harder than she might have first thought and Vincent could relate. When he had first joined the Army, he had never expected just how hard a lifestyle it would be. Of course, Vincent wasn't the sort to give up or go down easily and after much pushing, both from himself and his drill sergeant, Vincent made it through boot camp. The military lifestyle brought a lot of disappointments to Vincent, but he learned from his mistakes, just as Ella would. "You'll figure it out in time Ella, all of us do. Just find your groove and eventually you'll find yourself wondering why you ever thought any of it was difficult to begin with," he said, offering some words of encouragement. Even with all of Vincent's military training, adapting to Hammel lifestyle again took some effort as did learning how to manage an entire team of people whose lives depending on his decisions.