Owner Pose
Sebastian Shaw Maya Lopez receives an invitation, out of the blue. There is little information on it, other than a date and time along with a location - the Hellfire Club. No indication what it was about, although the messenger who brought it was able to sign out one word - business. It is entirely possible that through her relationship with the Kingpin that Maya had heard that there was more to the Hellfire Club than rich people engaging in perverse activities. Or perhaps not. Either way, the invitation was clearly one that was expected to be followed.

At the appointed date and time, Sebastian Shaw is seated within the VIP Lounge of the Hellfire Club. Dressed typically in a Victorian era coat in purple with lace flowing from the collar and sleeves, he is at a table in the back corner. Seated next to him is an attractive young woman, wearing a fairly simple black dress. They are not speaking or otherwise engaged in activity - he is sipping at a glass of wine, his gaze casually drifting over the others coming and going within the VIP lounge.

If Maya arrives as requested, she would be shown to the VIP Lounge and directs towards Sebastian Shaw's table.
Maya Lopez The invitation did catch her by suprise. It certainly was not something she had been expecting. However, she had heard of Sebastian Shaw and the Hellfire club through her connections in the criminal underworld of the city and she decided to see what this was all about. Afterall, it was not everday that someone of Sebastian Shaw's status persoanlly requested your prescence.

Upon entering the VIP lounge, Maya pauses in the doorway a moment to take the room in, making note of the direction she was shown to where Sebastian was sitting. With a purposeful step, the woman saunters her way across the lounger, paying little mind to those who stare at her and question who she is. The other patrons are shown no attention at all, her focus on the man and the woman who sits with him at the table in the back.

When she reaches the table, the woman who is dressed in a simple black dress with her long black hair falling over one shoulder pauses beside the table and raises her finger to point to her lips and shakes her head. She is unsure if he is aware of her inability to speak.
Sebastian Shaw Inclining his head briefly, Sebastian is silent as the woman sitting to his left begins to gesture in impeccable ASL. "Sebastian would like to thank you for coming to meet him this evening. I will be able to translate for both of you, if you feel comfortable with such." She pauses, and Sebastian waves a hand to the seat in front of him.

The woman continues. "Please, feel free to have a seat. Would you like anything to drink? The Hellfire Club is happy to host you."
Maya Lopez A small smile comes to Maya's lips as the woman beside Sebastian immediatly begins to sign her welcome and greeting. You can visibly see the stress and worry leave her body as she inclines her head and signs back before seating. **I thank him for his invitation. And I thank you for making it possible for us to speak with one another."

She lowers herself into the seat with a sense of possibly unexpected grace and checks her posture as she continues her signing. **If you have a glass of white wine. I would like that." She turns her eyes to Sebastian and narrows her eyes, signing to his companion. **As long as I can see his lips I can tell what he is saying. Just do not drink behind the glass. I am most interested in why he has asked me to come here**
Sebastian Shaw Everything signed by Maya is repeated by the woman at Sebastian's side. He inclines his head at each thank you's. He then speaks, and for the moment, the interpreter does nothing, but watches Maya to gauge the accuracy of her understanding. "It is important to me as a host to ensure that our guests' needs are met, so Juliet here is one of many that we have at the Hellfire Club who are proficient at American Sign Language." She smiles as her name is mentioned.

Sebastian considers Maya for a moment, nodding again at her instruction. "I understand that you are quite a proficient business woman, and command the respect of a number of associates. I thought it might be time to have a conversation and see if you are willing to expand the reaches of your enterprise."

By the time he is done speaking, a glass of white wine has arrived and been offered to Maya. Juliet at his side does not drink, but continues to interpret for Sebastian all of the gestures that Maya is producing.
Maya Lopez Her hand gestrus are accompanied by facial expressions to show her intent and emotion of her words. Her posture is tall and her hands are well above the table to make it easier for Juliet to see them. <You are more considerate than many. That will go a long way with earning my trust Mr. Shaw. I will not forget the steps you took to make me feel comfortable.>

She taks a sip of the wine after giving a gesture of thanks to the server, lowering to the table so she can continue communicating with her hands free. <Expand the reaches of my enterprises? I am listening. What exactly did you have in mind? I am most pleased that my name has managed to reach your ears. It shows I may be a woman of great value outside of the circle I run in."

She folds her hands on the table and offers a smile to the man and the woman at his side. <So tell me Mr. Shaw. How can I further your ambitions?"
Sebastian Shaw Again, Sebastian nods. "There are many things said about me, some good and some bad. One thing that even my most ardent enemies agree upon is that I endeavor to make people feel comfortable - in a certain context." There is a bit of a smirk on his face as he says this.

A nod to the server as he slips away, and then Sebastian's attention is fully on Maya again. "We do not need to discuss in specifics, not here, of course, but I am fully aware of the expanse of your business. And I would like to share that I convene a group of like minded individuals, some of which I am sure that you are already acquainted with." A pause. "It is not my ambitions that I seek to further, but rather give you a means to further yours."

He looks her over for a long moment. "If you are interested in possibly joining with these like-minded folks, we can take the conversation to a place more suited to those sorts of ... negotiations." A pause. "If you are not interested, then you are free to enjoy my hospitality for the evening regardless."
Maya Lopez There is a moment while Maya seemingly considers Sebastian's words. Her hands remain entwined around the base of her wine glass, no effort to "speak" just yet a reply. She is simply watching him, studying him with that narrowed brown-eyed glance. Her hands slowly raises from the wine glass ans she offers her reply. <Nobody offers something for free Mr. Shaw. You may wish to to help me furth my ambitions, but clearly there are reasons that in the end benefit yourself. Nobody is like that. Especially with someone they only know by name.>

The man is given a charming smile as she raises her hand to tuck a strand of hair back behind her ear before continuing. <I am interested. Perhaps what you have in mind will greatly benefit me and in turn you as well. Lead on Mr. Shaw. I have not come all this way to listen to the music."
Sebastian Shaw Is it possible that the way Sebastian's gaze flickers over Maya's form is a betrayal of the sort of interest he may have. Or perhaps he is simply assessing her in a more generic way. "I never said it was free. Simply that it is not a matter of my ambitions being furthered. There are other satisfactions that I may draw from furthering the ambitions of others."

He returns the smile, and nods his head as Juliet translates Echo's gestures back towards him. "I was hoping that that would be your response." A nod from him, and Juliet slips out from the booth, followed by Sebastian himself. "Come, let us migrate this conversation to the more private locales within the Hellfire Club." Given that they are already in the most exclusive private lounge that anyone knows of...
Maya Lopez Maya nods her head in agreement and rises with a sense of unexpected elegance and grace, taking her wine with her and signing with her free hand as they walk to Juliet. <So tell me Mr. Shaw. What have you heard about me?" She walks beside Juliet, making sure she can see the hand gestures that are being given.

She takes a long sip of the wine while walking and having finished it, sets it down on a tray as she continues to follow. She reaches down now and slips off her shoes, clearly not comfortable in walking in them and carries them now in her left hand. <So you own this entire club? This is all yours? I have never been here before, but if things go well with our conversation I can promise you that I will be returning.>
Sebastian Shaw "I believe that I am rather familiar with the enterprise that you run, and that you are incredibly adept at doing so." Juliet pays careful attention to the conversation, but Shaw himself moves backwards so as to continue to face Maya. He seems comfortable doing so, and clearly knows where is going. Or seems to, as it appears he is walking directly back towards a wall.

"The entirety of the Hellfire Club building is, yes, my personal property. The staff and employees all work for me." As if in emphasis, one of them slips up and offers to take Maya's shoes, to free her hands. "And yes, I would hope that you find the club interesting enough to join." Before he can walk into the wall behind him, an attendant moves over and with a brief nudge, the wall slides away, revealing a hallway beyond. Shaw continues to walk into the hallway, which is dimly lit although there are sconces with light against the wall> Lit enough to be able to see his lips, at least, as they move.
Maya Lopez Where were they going? She did not know, but she continued to follow. She was most intrigued and the man and his sense of power did giver her a sense of importance. What did she want with him? Clearly he had heard of her. He must of known of her experience in running the Tracksuit Mafia, but why was she here? She could not shake the thought that he sought to also benefit from a potential arrangment.

As a woman comes up and takes her shoesm she gestures <thank you> and continues to walk along followin,g her now barefeet padding on the floor, feeling the vibrations of the music softly fading. <It is a most wonderful club Mr. Shaw. Yet I feel like a coin this club has two sides."
Sebastian Shaw "Of course it does. Such pleasures as exist out there pale in comparison to what can truly capture my attention." As Sebastian speaks he continues to walk backwards, until he is well within the hallway. Juliet slips along at his side, seemingly content as well to back pedal along with Sebastian. The light is dim, but enough to see the gestures and communicate on them.

The walls of the hallway are carved from wood, and generally speak to take on one of two aspects - images depicting victories of strength in battle, and those depicting intense carnal pleasures.

The door slowly slides closed behind them, and Sebastian speaks again. "The Hellfire Club that you have seen plays host to another group, the Council of Cardinals of the Hellfire Club. We are its governing body, and to put it bluntly, we are a hand that guides the affairs of mankind from behind the scenes. Both to extend our personal wealth and influence, as well as to help promote advancement the world over." Sebastian smiles. "We are an organization of like minded individuals, all of whom manage organizations much like your Tracksuits, some far greater. And we work together to the benefit of all of us."
Maya Lopez Maya follows them as they walk backwards, making sure she does not come up on them to close as she listens and pads her way down the hallway. She focues both on the hand gestures of Juliet and the lips of Sebastian, making sure she catches every word that is being said. She nods as the explaination of what the Hellfire CLub stands for, processing it and how it could bnefit her and her smaller-time operation with the Tracksuits.

Her hand sruns through her hair as she walks and she then bbegins signing again. "So if I were to work for you in certain aspects, do I maintain complete control over my Tracksuits? Or would I be at your command to have them do what you felt best?> She eyes him carefully and then continues with her hand communication. <If what you have to offer me benefits my organization, we may just reach an agreement."
Sebastian Shaw "We are more confederation than anything else," offers Sebastian. The word 'confederation' seems to give Juliet a slight struggle, and so she provides 'loose alliance'. "We would make sure we do not work against each other's interests, and from time to time, we would out each other's organizations, or collaborate on a single project."

The two continue to move backwards, and in the distance a bit of light starts to grow, as they draw nearer to some sort of chamber. "As far as being at my command, that would be something entirely more personal than involving your entire organization." A smile crosses Sebastian's lips. "We exist in a hierarchy, it is true, and I reign as the Black King. Those below me..." He considers what wording to use. "Let us just say that there is personal loyalty."
Maya Lopez Her hands move quickly as they start to move towards a chamber. Her steps moving to match the pace of her two companions. < I value loyalty Mr. shaw. Without loyalty what do you have? If your offer is one I consider worrhy of my time and organization, I can promise you complete loyalty without question."

She lets out a soft exhale as they get closer to the chamber. <Having someone to make sure you are not working against other grouo sinterest is most wise Mr. Shaw. It elkminates conflict and fighting from within. Something I am sure you are most aware of and would not be as successful as you are if you did not."
Sebastian Shaw "Of course. That is why we were started in the first place - to keep others like you and I from working against each other. Why expend resources fighting ourselves when we can instead use them against our foes?"

There are some vague sounds from the chamber that they are progressing to. To others, it might sound vague, but to Maya's superior hearing, it becomes clearer far quicker - there are multiple people in whatever chamber it is, and from the sounds they are enacting various scenes that can be found on the walls. Perhaps in keeping with the outward facing reputation of the Hellfire Club.

"I offer you the chance to sit on a board that includes the most influential people in the world. And while you may start at the bottom, someone of your skills can easily work her way towards the top. And membership, on its own, has its priviledges."
Maya Lopez As they continue to walk to wherever they are going, Maya continues to communicate, not sure where they are going and not sure exactly what they are walking to. Once more a hand goes to run thriugh her hair. <A position on the board? That is something I could cetainly leave open for consideration and I would not expect to start at the bottom. I earn everything I have Mr. Shaw. WIth that said, I would mak sure that if I found it to our mutual benefit I would do what needed to be done to climb the ladder within your organization."