-1As it had been planned, that next Thursday night found both Laurel and Shadow in their over starched, over pressed formal dress uniforms at the dinner being hosted for probably buyers.

Shadow was clearly uncomfortable, constantly adjusting the placement of her waistcoat and shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "How much longer do I have to be in this damned monkey suit?" She growled quietly.

The two had been picked up earlier in the evening at the barracks by a black limousine. Mr. Diamante was seated inside. He wore a dark blue suit, that probably cost more than either defense force member's monthly salary. The suit's cut seemed to accentuate his angular, long body and with his blonde hair slicked back and slightly aggravated expression, Mr. Diamante's presence seemed much more sinister than it had while in the city.

"I do hope you two enjoy yourselves tonight." He started in a cool, unemotional voice. "You're going to be honored guests. Having been the only two to have experienced an encounter with Diva in the field, I'm sure you'll be asked a good number of questions. Which brings me to say this." His expression turned serious and his voice cold. "You are to only answer questions with 'yes' and 'no'. Do not go into any details and try to keep the subject on Diva itself. We're trying to sell this to our allies, we're in this to make money. Do you understand?"

They both answered with a firm, "Yes, Sir."

The party was being held at Vesta's corporate headquarters in the city. As the limousine came to a stop outside of the building, a tuxedo dressed attendant opened the door. Mr. Diamante stepped out, greeting a number of the other people who were also gathered outside. Before either Laurel or Shadow had a chance to exit, the attendant shut the door. The limousine drove around to the back of the building where they were dropped off and then escorted into the party by two guards.

From there Mr. Diamante introduced them to foreign delegates from several allied nations. As the two were questioned they stuck to Mr. Diamante's instructions, quickly excusing themselves if the questions being answered were to intrusive or veered from the Diva project. They could see Mr. Diamante's sister making rounds, talking with delegates and politicians alike. As it turned out, she was part of the lead field research team, which would explain why she was the one who had been collecting the data from the Diva progenitor virus.

As the night progressed the party moved to inside. Waiters weaved their way through the crowd, platters full of champagne flutes and h'orderves being offered to the guests. That's where the two defense force commandos currently found themselves. Against the far wall, watching as the party goers wined and dined. This was where the deals were made, money exchanging hands so many times, that when it was finally documented, it would be clean.

"Stop fidgeting, that's an order." Laurel sighed as she took a flute of champagne from one of the passing waiters. She might as well enjoy herself.

Leaving the wall she went to mingle with the other party members. Looking around she caught sight of a familiar coif of orange hair. Cosmo, the Judas of the Electro City mission. He had infected Ace's pet panther with the Diva virus, but what was he doing here now? She quietly walked up behind the man and waited for a moment before making her presence known to him.

"You've cut your hair." She said dryly. His hair once sticking out in several inch spikes was now neatly trimmed and controlled. While he had seemed younger in the city, he now looked to be in his mid 20's.

"A condition of my employment with Diamante computer developers." He said flatly. "Should you be drinking while in uniform?" He noted the half filled champagne flute in her hand.

"I'm not officially on duty," was her response. "So…you sold your friend out for a job?"

"I was getting sick of being in that pretentious prick's shadow. For years I tried to get out on my own, to make a name for myself, but no matter where I went or what I tried, I was still always referred to as 'Ace Cooper's assistant'." He sighed, "That, was all payback. Besides, I can't help it if the Diva virus is communicable to humans. It was an unseen occurrence. I'm sure the scientists are treating him like a good little gunni pig though, with a nice big cage separated from the rest of the lab rats."

Laurel suddenly feeling ill, turned to leave. "I do hope you enjoy your 30 pieces of silver, Sir." Finishing her champagne, the lieutenant headed back over Shadow.

While alone, the Sergeant had been doing some of her own investigation. As it turned out, Mr. Diamante had worked as a private body guard for Electro City's notorious crime lord, "Black" Jack Malone for quite sometime until he ultimately left to run his family's company. He had been the one who had placed the combat-data recorders in the casino. Exactly how long had the 'accident' been planned? And as it stood, Mr. Diamante was also planning to buy the now bankrupt casino company from Mr. Malone. She gave an involuntary shudder and looked over to Laurel who had rejoined her.

"The company out there wasn't sitting well with me."

Shadow just chuckled a bit. "I know the feeling."

As the party began to dissipate, the two were once again shown out the back door to a waiting limo. This time they were alone though and the driver was quick in returning them back to the Vesta barracks. As the two headed inside, Shadow looked to Laurel.

"Hey El-Te, what exactly have we gotten ourselves into here?" Shadow asked

"It's not our place to ask those questions." She answered. "It's safer if we don't know anything."