My Little Ventrue Pt. 04 Ch. 05

When Viktor was around, he engaged in the artistry of dark rooms and imposing suits as Julias did, but he did not entertain the words of his subordinates. The right hands of the Invictus had no say in what they did. The senior Kindred below them had no say. The younger Kindred below them had no say, and doubly so for fledglings.

But now he was a part of that council, and he wanted to get Jessy, and the other senior Kindred involved in making decisions. Maria and Michael approved. Much as they were a royal pain in his ass, they weren't the dictator Viktor was.

They weren't in the meeting though. Maria was with Damien, discussing matters of how those two would be working together and starting the Second Estate. Sort of. It'd be years before the Prince acknowledged the Lancea et Sanctum as a functioning covenant of Dolareido. Decades perhaps. And Michael was playing his own games, mostly about expanding Xnomina in ways as to show off its power, and his prowess. If he wasn't careful, the company would be caught creating monopolies on certain software venues.

But Invictus lived for the thrill of such economic exploits. To successfully set up a monopoly and get away with it? To have the entire world eating out of the palm of their hand, forced to pay absurd amounts for something they could only get from Xnomina, was a pleasing thought. Capitalism and Kindred were kindred spirits. Predators feeding on prey, the strong get stronger and the weak perish as food.

Too cruel? Perhaps. But it was a tried and true system developed by mother nature herself. The Carthians could disagree with it all they wanted, but their obsession with searching for 'better' ways to govern territory and handle the economy was wishful thinking at best, dangerous delusions at worst.

He looked around at his fellow Kindred. Twelve of them, Jessy included, the entire population of the more older Kindred in the employ of the First Estate in Dolareido. Other cities had their own Invictus, and while they communicated with each other on occasion, cities were generally left to their own devices. So, for the Invictus in Dolareido, he had the twelve in front of him at his command.

"The Mirrden expansion is almost complete," he said. He had his hands in the small of his back, and head looking down slightly to put on his thoughtful look. "And none of you have reported any new conflicts with the Carthians."

Jessy nodded. "Seen a few of them hanging around. Last night, I think that Joe fuck tried to start something. Just barking though, nothing came of it."

"And you Vanna?"

Bruce Vanna, fellow Ventrue, with a good thirty or forty years embraced under his belt. Potential replacement for him and Natasha as his right hand. Maybe. The man had a habit of being a bit too indirect and passive about things. That was fine, and an elegant way of navigating a snake pit, but not the best approach when the council needed something done immediately, no questions asked.

The tall man tapped his fingers on the table a few times. "The werewolves showed up, a couple of them at least, according to James. Asked some questions about the burned buildings, but otherwise didn't seem to care about Mirrden."

"Makes sense they'd be wondering about the fires. We—"

"They... did ask James if he'd seen anything strange. The boy inquired, and they asked him if he'd seen any people acting out of character, or maybe movement in the corner of his eyes or in shadows. Asked if he'd seen things that vanished upon investigating." Vanna tapped his chin a few times too, before leaning forward to rest his elbows on the office table. "This was last night. I do wonder what they're looking for."

Isabella shrugged and gestured to some of the pictures on the table. While there were plenty of the Mirrden construction, there were also plenty of the Uratha. While the beast within Kindred was a master at deceiving cameras, film, and all forms of recording devices, the special ability of Uratha to distort what people saw — and recording devices according to some myths — only occurred when they were transformed or transforming. To take pictures of them while in their human form was easy enough.

"Perhaps another hunt?" she said. "Your childe Master Terry was quite adamant that the Uratha were helping us deal with a problem, instead of having brought it with them."

"Master Terry can be a bit naive in some ways, but also perceptive and objective in others," Julias said. "I trust his judgment with the Uratha. And, as much as we have a troubling history with Avery, don't forget it was her pack leader Simon who led to many of the issues we had with them, not Avery."

The group nodded, though Isabella didn't seem too convinced about the werewolves' leader. Understandable. She was just a young neonate when that chaos had started.

"So," he continued, "if the werewolves are asking about strangeness, then we should be looking for strangeness. Don't throw yourselves into any madness though; leave the wolves to hunt their hunts, and stay out of their way until I say otherwise. Understood?" The group nodded without missing a beat. "Good. Next point of discussion: living arrangements."

"I'm sorry, Mister Mire?" Vanna said.

"Barry's death and his burned down home are not accidents." He pointed to the pictures of the burned building Jack and Amanda had taken. A lot of duplicates on the table for the group to look at too. "Much as it's easy to dismiss his death, we're not going to do that. Something's happened. What happened, we don't know, but we're not going to simply ignore it. Some of us are investigating, as you can see, and as for the rest of us, we need to consider our lives in danger from an unknown threat. A threat that might be active during the day."

"Thralls? Ghouls?" Jessy said.

"Perhaps, but then we'd know it was a Kindred to blame, and we have no suspects. Mister Tones is unlikely to be the cause of this. Mister Burksen is just as unlikely. And the Prince? Or Jacob? The other covenants do not have a decent reason to kill someone like Barry, or burn down his nest."

Isabella tapped her fingers on the pictures a few times before raising one of them to examine it. "A shame they were not caught on camera."

Julias raised a brow. "They?"

"Two men, two women, two trench coats and two leather jackets. Kine who have been seen both near Mirrden, and once outside Bloodlust."

"Right," Jessy said. "I read that in Jack and Amanda's latest report about his investigation. Then again, I could put together a half dozen similar leads if I was willing to accept such vague and meaningless connections. I've got a sighting of a man with barbed wire tattoo around his neck at Mirrden on three separate occasions. Looked into that already. Turns out he's just a kine who lives nearby and hates the noise."

The Gangrel had a point. Still.

"Keep an eye open," he said. "But, back to the matter at hand. Everyone will need to start taking defensive measures with their sleeping dens. Those of you familiar with, or alive during the purge era of Lucas and our constant struggles with the Carthians will already know what to do. Those of you who have not found a sleeping nest that is secure, do so. Ask your fellow Invictus if you need help."

Gloria leaned forward and made a small, opening wave with her fingers. "How secure are we talking about?"

"Secure enough that I won't be sleeping in my normal bed anymore," he said. The mansion had a dungeon, secure, safe, with escape routes within. Perfect for Kindred to sleep during the day. "I should have started sleeping in my secure location already, but, like you, I've been in denial about the dangers approaching the city. The ball will soon be upon us, and the Prince has highly encouraged the peaceful state we've managed to acquire."

Jessy laughed. A real, deep laugh, that had the rest of the room smiling eventually. "She's even giving Lucas's childe a chance to bring back the Second Estate. She really wants peace."

"And I know some of you think that's an opportunity for us," Julias said. "And if you think you have a plan to usurp the Prince, by all means, bring it to me, so I can laugh at your idiocy." That destroyed some of the smiles in the room. Good. "Back to my point. We're in a limbo state. One half pushing for peace, while the other must now be careful of violence. From now on, everyone is to sleep in a safe nest. Instruct your childes or subordinates in this, or at least make sure they are taken care of."

He began to pace around, and put on his serious face, a face he could adopt in any situation, and bring everyone in the room into line. And they did. They knew better than to joke around when he was instructing.

Sometimes, he wondered if they considered him a second Viktor. Did they worry he might cross a line, and start hurting, perhaps killing Kindred who antagonized him? He wouldn't, but it was useful that they thought he might.

"Get thralls. I expect each of you to have at least a couple of kine to watch your assets during the day. But, as always, keep your thralls in the dark about any and all Kindred activity. Those of you with ghouls are expected to do the same, and expected to train them in some basic combat and marksmanship. All Invictus Kindred are being armed with silver knives, but these are not to be used except as a last resort. Remember, we don't have reason to suspect the wolves of anything yet. If the situation does arise that the wolves become our enemy, we will start arming people with silver bullets. And if the situation escalates beyond that, shotguns and fully automatic riles with silver ammunition are available. We're the Invictus, and we get the good toys." A smile told the group it was ok to smile as well, and they did, Jessy including a chuckle.

"Moving on. Azamel." That made him grimace, and everyone else too. "The deed is done. I will be meeting with the monster later tonight, along with Madam Turio and Mister McDonald. Some of you know the details, some of you don't, and it's to be kept that way. If she retaliates, report to your designated posts with your chosen weaponry. Understood?"

The group nodded, glancing between each other with worry on their faces. She could retaliate, and it could be as bad as last time Azamel decided to push her weight around. But not if he could help it.

"Dismissed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tunnels. He did not like the tunnels, but it was important for him to know them, and know them well. The same applied to every aspect of the city, but the tunnels were different. They were not only how many Kindred moved around the city without drawing attention to themselves, they were also occasionally shared. Carthians used them, and every so often the Invictus and Carthians ran into each other down in the Earth. So knowing the veins of the city's underground was paramount.

But he wasn't down here to deal with that. Part of him wanted to go check out the damage done by the monster as well, if only to see with his own eyes how much carnage these alien creatures had caused. The pictures had been thorough however, as was the clean-up. Reconstruction would have to wait, but at least the bodies, the webbing, all that was gone. The corpse of the Azlu creature was a pile of burnt flesh, unrecognizable in any fashion. The other one, the human half that remained, was disposed of. And no humans had access to these tunnels anyhow, but redundancy was the bedrock of consistency. You don't gamble or take risks with the Masquerade, you doubled up on every security precaution.

He wasn't down here to investigate the damage though. He, and the two elders beside him, were here to talk with Azamel.

Maria Turio, Julias Mire, and Michael McDonald. The two men wore suits, while Maria wore a rather ghostly dress of white that looked like it belonged in the 1920s, complete with long, ripped skirt that trailed along the tracks. Her mastery of the cloak of night was more than enough that any kine in the city would find their eyes sliding off of her, and any noises to fade into the background hum of the world. Just a ghost, wandering the darkness of the strange city.

Julias glanced back over his shoulder. There were ten people behind him, kine, thralls of Michael and Maria and his own. Each given three drops of Kindred blood to bind them, and no more, so they would forever crave the affection of their master without ever obtaining the immortality or strength of a ghoul. Cruel, but that was the way of Kindred. Each agent, seven men, three women, was a trained marksman, and each was armed with a fully automatic rifle of illegal make, using ammunition meant to pierce metal. They also wore an earpiece that matched their all-business suits. It was almost comical, as if he was seeing a scene from a movie, with professional agents ready to unleash a hailstorm of bullets or the full weight of the government's ire at any point.

The agents were needed. Bullets worked surprisingly well against most things, even monsters, when you used a few thousand of them at a time.

"Perhaps we should have brought your childe, Mister Mire?" Michael said. "He was the first Invictus to make true contact with her since her return. And he has been a successful intermediary with the Uratha, strangely enough."

"Maybe. But I'd prefer to let him think we're trying to be friends with everyone, Begotten included." True contact? What other Invictus had been sneaking down to speak to the old woman?

"The illusion you present him is not entirely incorrect," Maria said. "We're not visiting her to cause conflict."

"You don't think us oppressing her will lead to conflict?"

"Oppressing is a strong word." Michael frowned as he almost stepped in a puddle, before he stepped around it with a careful sway, like each step could land him in shit. Walking through dirty old tunnels was not the business of elders, but sometimes a hands-on approach was required. "I prefer to think of this as an exchange of priorities."

"You know full well she's not going to think of it like that." He sighed and pressed his hand to the sides of his suit jacket. Sword was there, as was the pistol, and the silver knife. Not that silver knives would be useful against a monster, but the mandate for silver on hand at all times was for everyone in the Invictus, him as well.

Maria shook her head, and gave him a small pat on the arm. "Your sire is not here this time, Julias. And, while you were always of great value to the Invictus, when you were young Mister Honors would often leave out important details. As for Azamel, your sire occasionally tried to force her into obeying his commands, even when such commands were to her detriment. She did not take it kindly."

Their voices weren't carrying like Julias would have expected. Maria, altering the perception of sound to keep their voices away from their little army. Such talk was not for the ears of kine, thralls or otherwise.

"You telling me Viktor was the one who drove her to violence?"

"After a fashion. Ultimately, she struck first," she said.

Michael sighed, loudly at that, and shrugged. "Azamel plays her games, and destroys that which opposes her. And, more than anything, the monster craved power. She wanted to rule her own little world, and as she tried to expand that to include Kindred, Viktor and her naturally conflicted."

"That," Maria said, "is why the Prince is not happy she has returned. It appears to be a part of her desire, her appetite, to rule others."

"I am aware." He nodded as they continued along. They'd discussed this all before, but now, they were trusting him with a few details they hadn't in the past. Slowly but surely, they were confiding in him. Slowly but surely, he'd worm his way into being an even partner in their council, and he'd force the two of them into peaceful compromises with the other covenants with far greater success.

Big plans take time. And Kindred had all the time in the world.

"What you are not aware of is how many times Viktor and Azamel came to blows." The Gangrel wasn't happy, but at least his anger wasn't directed at Julias. With unending frowns to join his chin strokes and thoughtful poses, he gestured to the path ahead of them. "And I am sure Lucas and the woman did as well."

"True," Maria said. "I will ask his childe if Lucas had anything to say about her, or perhaps left some information, or tool, for dealing with her. And you, Mr. Mire, has Viktor left any advice or tool for dealing with this tyrant? I fear your lack of addition to this conversation would mean no."

"Correct. Beyond our reports from our last encounter with Azamel so many years ago, I am as blind as anyone else in this endeavor." And no Ventrue was happy being blind. If he didn't know every possible detail about the scenario, manipulating people into doing what he wanted became exceedingly difficult. Azamel was a mystery, and that had to change.

The mission was simple enough. The three of them were to explain to Azamel that she was a visitor in the city, and the Invictus were the rulers. The old beast would respond with lies, or half truths, or straight defiance, and then it would be up to the council to force her to accept the situation, on the spot. Leaving with any degree of leeway in their role as rulers was unacceptable, not when the Invictus were finally stabilizing after the death of Viktor and Lucas. The Mirrden expansion was basically complete, and the Carthian's position in the city diminished appropriately; which invited retaliation. And before the inevitable shove from them, the Invictus triumvirate wanted a handle on the Azamel situation before that bit them in the ass.

One did not rule over millions of kine through procrastination and wishful thinking. You had to be proactive, hunt for opportunities, and squash problems before they cascaded into explosive consequences. Plans versus reactions. It was what separated the Invictus from the Carthians, the ability to consider the future, and plan ten or twenty steps ahead, whereas Garry and his impulsive covenant could barely plan where they'd sleep before the sun rose.

"Sure I shouldn't call for Herrington?" Michael said. "Girl might be an impulsive idiot, but she can throw a punch."

Julias shook his head. "I've worked with your childe many times, Mister McDonald, and I can personally confirm that a delicate situation such as this is better off without her."

The big guy nodded and wiped away the corner of his mouth with his thumb. "We need to repopulate the right hands of the Invictus. It will be some time before we can find or train people to be as useful as the three of you were together, Mister Mire, but it must be done eventually."

He nodded with the compliment, and took care to not look Maria's way, without giving away that he wasn't looking her way. The whole Natasha situation was still a sore spot.

The ghost woman sighed and brushed off a bit of dust from her shoulder, only for it to disappear into the subtle mist that fell from her body. "While you may feel it best to have this meeting in person, face to face with the monster, Mister Mire, it is proper for the council to delegate such tasks. The right hands would take care of this, and relay our wishes to Azamel."

Yeah well, they didn't have right hands anymore. They had to make do in the meantime.

"Madam Vendram and Madam Leauvion, as well as Mister Vanna are possibilities," he said. The others didn't look convinced.

"Vendram I believe is too impulsive," Maria said, "similar to Madam Herrington, except without the strength to enforce it. Perhaps, once her power grows to the required levels, she could join the right hands. Until then she is a liability. Leauvion... again, perhaps. The woman is more interested in her plays, her dramas, than pursuing Invictus superiority. And Mister Vanna is not skilled in the ways of combat."