My Little Ventrue Pt. 06 Ch. 01

He put up his hands in surrender. "I'm not subtle?"

"You are about as subtle as lightning come nightfall, my love."

"Bleh."

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

"You're all fucking idiots."

Jack winced, and looked down. Yeah, that was true, but Avery could be a little nicer about it.

"Kid did alright," Noah said, adjusting the blinds so he could look out Eric's window better.

Avery, sitting on the couch with Clara, looked over her shoulder and frowned at the man. But Jack knew she didn't have much to say, if she was going to look for the specific flaws in their plan. There'd been flaws, but not in the choices they made once they were in the shit. They all knew it, too.

Except, Jessy wasn't content to just know. "They rescued me, your girl, and my boy here, because they went in guns blazing. What was the time, from when we vanished, to when you guys were in there after us, Jack?"

"Bit over an hour."

"That is fucking fast, considering he recruited two monsters and three werewolves, too." Jessy snapped her fingers, summarizing speed with the sound. She was leaning against the kitchen table, arms folded across her chest, and Eric was next to her. Two vampires and four werewolves, discussing the aftermath.

"I'm sorry, I'll rephrase." Avery pointed a finger at Jessy. "You're an idiot because you picked a fight whenever you could, instead of looking for information." A finger for Eric. "You're an idiot because you're still green and refuse to let us teach you anything." A finger for Clara. "You're an idiot for thinking it was a good idea to push forward, instead of waiting for backup." A finger for Noah. "You're an idiot for getting decked by an explosive behind a door. You're a planner. Plan better." And finally a finger for Jack, of course. "You're an idiot for going out of your way so hard, to help this Azamel monster."

He sighed, and leaned back in the recliner. Eric's apartment was a really nice place, massive, luxurious, and the repairs had been done quickly; Invictus money was a powerful thing indeed.

"Azamel has—"

"Done nothing." Avery threw up her hands before resting her forehead in one. "She has done nothing, but you continue to go to bat for her."

She had done something. She warned him about the inevitable threat Dolareido faced, something the Prince herself had not, despite her awareness of it. He understood why, but still.

"Fiona and Athalia helped rescue us," Eric said. "They work for her, and came because she asked them to go, I think." Everyone in the room looked at him, eyebrows raising. He wasn't in a pack or covenant, so talking at all was kind of bold. And the awkward, slightly annoyed expression matched what Jack knew of the man. He didn't want to be a part of any of this, but was getting dragged into it against his will. Poor guy.

"Eric is correct," Jack said. "As much as hunters being in Dolareido is largely her fault, she's trying to help."

Avery continued to sigh, but after a while, put her hand back down and leaned into the couch. "Sorry if I don't sound grateful. You saved my girl, and this fucker." She made a small wave in Eric's direction.

"I resent that," Eric said.

"Yeah, well, suck it up." Avery leaned in, elbows on her knees, facing Jack. "On the other side of the wall, the city is in a strange state. You got those three fuckers, Black Blood, Street-Tail King, and Red Tide, fighting for sections of the city, but these hunters have introduced... complications."

Jack put up a hand. "Why are you telling me this? Shadow World isn't exactly... well, you've made it abundantly clear you don't want vamps sticking their feet in it."

"That was before things started getting out of hand. Besides, you've proven you're willing to go the extra mile to make sure shit gets done. Saving Clara—"

"Don't forget," Noah said, "it was Jacob and Black Blood that saved us."

"Yeah, that has blurred the lines on a lot of shit too." Groaning, Avery got up, and started pacing around, arms across her chest and hand raised to hold her chin. Classic thinking pose, and Jack struggled to not smile as he watched the small, deadly woman walk around like she owned the place. "I'm not throwing my pack into a meat grinder, but the way things are going, it's looking like it'll be for the best if we help you out."

Jessy cheered. Everyone stared at her, until she lowered her hands.

"Thanks," Jack said. It was only a matter of time, he supposed. Avery wanted to stick around, to live in Dolareido, and she wouldn't be able to do that if the hunters ruined things. Now that it was clear the hunters had far more tools at their disposal than anyone could have predicted, she felt inclined to help.

Or, it was because Jeremiah mentioned her specifically, before Black Blood saved them. The others must have heard it, and heard how Jack had tried to lie to Jeremiah about who it was. Point for him, he supposed.

"Yeah don't thank us just yet." Avery walked over to him, and flicked him in the forehead. Familiar. "There is so much crap rolling your way, it's ridiculous. No wonder David guided us here. Every fucking day, the echoes of horrible shit hits everywhere nearby, in the Hisil. It's not a coincidence so much insanity is hitting this city in such a small amount of time. Enough Azlu for two full grown hosts? Then hunters show up, and they have a Begotten with them? Something is going on."

Something was going on, but no one knew what the fuck it was. He doubted the hunters knew, considering the nature of Azamel's warning. She didn't want him telling anyone else about it, paranoid about the information tipping someone off, and Jack couldn't fathom that having anything to do with an army of bloodthirsty hunters coming for her head.

If the sheriff had found anything, he wasn't sharing it, beyond his discoveries of Elen's rituals.

"The... Prince has a request," he said. And now for the hard part.

Avery rolled her yes, again, and sat back down with Clara. "Hit me."

"The covenants are going to start putting teams together of Kindred they trust to handle themselves. Three Kindred to a team. They're going to be doing sweeps of areas in the city, using what little we know to find them. And—"

"And you'd like one of my pack to come along with these teams."

"Yeah. You got the nose and the ears for hunting, in ways not even our Gangrels can match."

Jessy made a snort noise, but shrugged and looked to the window. "True enough."

Jack threw a smile her way. Jealous, of Uratha hunting abilities? Weird. But then, he wasn't a Gangrel. He didn't know what it was like to have the beast riding the edge of his consciousness, unless he was utterly starving. Maybe she had some professional envy.

Avery looked up, eyes rooting through her brain, and she touched her chin a couple times as she juggled the thoughts. "Has our relationship progressed to that point?"

Oh boy, negotiating, with a werewolf. This was going to be fun. Not.

"I like to think it has. We worked together to save our kind from the hunters, and we worked together well... more or less. And you just said you were willing to help, sort of."

"Kid's right," Noah said. "Not that I think we should be throwing ourselves into this war with these hunters. David brought us here for different reasons, and so far it's looking like they need our help. I vote we squeeze more out of them."

Ok, Avery was brutal, but Noah was heartless. God damn.

"This isn't about hitting them for money, Noah," Clara said.

"You sure? Having a few million dollars under our belt could help us make some city renovations."

Jack put up his hands. "The Invictus are willing to throw some money your way. Some. Millions might a bit much to ask..." Jack was making premium bank now, and he didn't have anywhere near that much saved up yet. Xnomina did, no doubt, but their funds weren't endless. "Far cheaper for us if you guys accepted assets that we—"

"Noah's just being a sarcastic ass, Jack." Avery wiped a hand aside, dismissing her comrade's words. "Besides, this is a request from big tits, right?"

"I, uh... yes." Big tits was not a nickname he expected Antoinette would appreciate. Not because it wasn't accurate, but the woman did not like the sort of friendly prattle or good-natured ribbing you found from people like the Uratha, or anyone in the Carthians. Jack could relate; he found it grating and juvenile, sometimes. This was one of those times, and he struggled to not frown. It could have been a test from Avery too, to see if he'd react, get defensive, and lower his guard.

"You let me see the teams, and let me choose which member goes with which team, and I'll do it."

Finally! Progress.

"Really?" Clara said.

"Yeah, really. But, you also have to convince Azamel to join in, have her buddies join some of these groups, too."

He winced, and looked down. "I'm meeting her later tonight. I'll run it by her. The Primogen and the Prince thought this might come up, but they're not sure. Azamel's half the reason the hunters are here at all"—if not the full reason—"and the elders aren't exactly keen on having them work beside us." As per usual, he pushed for allowing the Begotten to be a part of their efforts, as they were when they helped rescue Jessy. As per usual, the Primogen and Prince didn't like it, but they managed to understand his position, if only a little.

"Yeah, well, those are my terms. Take it or leave it. The hunters have a fucking monster working for them, and I'm not stupid enough to risk joining your sweepers without a little help from people who understand how one of them work."

"Understandable. I might be able to convince Azamel to get Mark to help, but Fiona's just a kid, and Athalia... well, yeah." It was easier to think about Angela without his insides turning to fire, if he didn't say her name out loud.

"Fiona's a kid?" Noah came to the couch with the rest of his buddies, and set his butt against its arm.

"She is," Eric said with a quiet grumble.

Noah shook his head. Forever calm, this man, such a juxtaposition to the fancy artwork of his tattoos. At first glance, he looked like a new age artist. The moment he opened his mouth, he sounded like a lawyer. "Last I checked, she's got a very high kill count. Higher than a lot of us in this room, I imagine, if we're looking at human kills only."

"She killed people who deserve it," Jack said, "but I see what you mean."

Avery shook her head, not satisfied. "Get Fiona and Mark, and get Athalia too. I have to know she's not going to stab me in the back, if we stumble across her insane daughter."

Fucking lovely.

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

"Jessy driving you to drink, yet?" he said, once they were outside.

"Heh, no. But she's definitely a handful."

Jack needed a buddy on his trip to see Azamel, for the buddy system, and Eric had offered. The man must have had an ulterior motive, something he wanted to ask of the old monster, but it was a good opportunity for Jack to learn more about the man. Knowledge was power; Julias rubbing off on him.

The two of them were in suits, Jack in his proper Invictus business suit, the sort used for deadly meetings, and seeing the other paranormals. Eric's suit was a little more casual, and befitting the fun nature of a night club. All his suits were for that purpose, he supposed.

"Yeah, handful is a nice way of putting it," Jack said.

Laughing, Eric shook his head, entertained by a memory.

The two of them walked the sidewalks, through the crowds of people, and past the glowing signs of open bars, casinos, and strip joints. Once, they'd been so intimidating. Now, they were a part of Jack's nightlife. Hell, if he wanted to, he could walk into one of the strip clubs, sit down, and only feel partially uncomfortable, instead of horribly. In a bar, he could manage to flirt a bit, catch a woman's eye, or a man's if needed, and draw them into conversation. A little conversation made it easy to use Dominate, and turn his prey into his puppet for a quick Kiss, once out of the bar and into an alley. That is, if he bothered with Dominate. A kind smile and a couple drinks was enough to get many people to trust him, he was discovering.

"How did a little guy like you hook up with a femme fatale like Antoinette? If you don't mind me asking."

"I showed up at Bloodlust, really hungry and looking for a meal. I didn't know what I was doing at the time, still brand new to being Kindred, but my sire wanted me to get used to taking advantage of the best place for finding a meal." Laughing, Jack looked up to the rooftops above, scanning for movement. "I was antisocial as fuck, and very much out of my element. I ran into her at the club, and she threw me a bone. We talked, and we got along."

"She seems... a bit of an ice queen."

Jack burst into laughter, and held out a hand against a street lamp to catch himself before he fell. "Y-Yeah, she can seem like that, until you get to know her. Except, unless you piss her off, then I suppose it's apt."

After a while, they drifted along and found one of the old street stairs down into the subway. No one looked at them for any longer than a second, likely thinking two guys in a suit walking down stairs to a locked door either wanted to chat in privacy, get a blowjob in privacy, or they had keys. People were so carefree in Dolareido. Vampire utopia, indeed.

As he went down, he looked up to the rooftops again, and continued scanning.

"Looking for something? Think we're being stalked?"

"I hope we are."

"Say what?"

"My—ah, there they are." Jack held out his arm, and gave Eric a small nod.

The man jumped back, eyes wide as two sets of black wings came out of no where, flying in from above as silent as a grave. Mulder and Scully perched on his arm, and then his shoulder once comfortable, Mulder hopping over to sit on his opposite shoulder.

"You two alright?" he said.

The two birds nodded, and pecked at his ears a few times with their beaks. Ow. It'd taken a lot of research to learn that birds pecked at each other for many reasons, often just to be friendly. Little nibbles were just a part of owning birds.

"You own crows?" Eric said.

"Not really own, no. But I started taking care of these two, not too long ago." He set a hand to Scully's head, and scratched gently under the feathers behind her skull. "Crows are damn smart."

"Yeah, but, pets? I can understand parrots."

"Not my pets. They're free to come and go, but I've established a connection with them." He leaned in toward Mulder, and the crow nestled his head against Jack's jaw, under his ear. "Vampires can communicate with animals, and control them. Gangrels like Jessy, and Ventrue like me, can do it easily." He wasn't sure if giving Eric info about Kindred was the best idea, but the man seemed alright to trust with basic info, at this point.

"Did you name them?"

"... I did."

"Pets."

Rolling his eyes, Jack opened the door to the abandoned subway with the key. "You two going to be ok?"

The two crows nodded, fluffed their feathers a bit, and snuggled in close to his neck for a second. A couple of caws to confirm, before Jack stepped into the underground.

The darkness of the tunnels. There were lights, but old and dingy. Mulder and Scully flapped their wings for a moment, before Mulder flew over to land on one of the many railings that sat on the abandoned platform. No subway cars. The ones that'd been destroyed by the Uratha were still fresh in his mind, many months later. Torn apart like toilet paper.

Jack pulled out some oats for the crows, but only a little. Hard to feed them and walk at the same time.

"Why you bringing them?" Eric said.

"They're my eyes and ears. And birds notice things humans, or vampires or werewolves, wouldn't. You never know."

"You didn't bring them to visit Avery."

"I did. They were watching from outside."

The crows nodded, and Mulder cawed from his perch, as Scully turned to make a few quiet croons. Jack clucked his tongue at her quietly, some light touches of the tongue tip against the roof of his mouth. A bit of vitae, raised to the surface, raised into his mind, to turn the croons his feather friend made, into images, sounds, and smells his brain could understand.

The images filled his mind. The outside of Eric's apartment, viewed from a great height. Then movement, as Scully flew down to find a perch on a nearby building. Eric's apartment was high, but Jack had pointed it out to them before he went in. The blinds were closed, but unlike the bedroom window, the living room and kitchen windows had normal blinds. With the lights on, the silhouettes of people were visible.

But as far as Jack could tell, nothing seemed out of the ordinary; except, for the unusual amount of people on the rooftops. Normally that number was zero, but the birds, more than just Mulder and Scully, noticed many new human faces up in the skies with them. Three were nearby in the bird's memory, each on a different rooftop. Two he knew as Invictus thralls, and trained snipers. The other though, was one of Antoinette's thrall.

A bird's eye view put the strange tension between the Ordo Dracul and the Invictus into perspective. Snipers on rooftops, and spies spying on each other. They shared Dolareido's sky, and had to get along. How Antoinette managed that, Jack would never understand, knowing how much of a totalitarian Viktor had been.

"You vamps like to think in sneaky ways," Eric said.

"Unfortunately, being sneaky is the only tried and true way to survive for centuries."

"I guess."

Jack looked at the man for a moment as they walked. He looked stressed. But then, he seemed like the kinda guy who was always stressed. Jack knew where some of his salary was going, too, considering it was all Invictus money. One of the joys of being a Right Hand, knowing where all the money went, except for council expenditures.

Ask him about his dad? No, that'd be way too weird. They barely knew each other. And besides, Jack's dad was dead, and this guy's dad was dying. Not the same thing.

"Gonna join Avery's pack?" There, much better topic of conversation. Valuable information, and something that Eric was undoubtedly thinking about.

"I doubt it."

Uh oh. Julias wanted him to follow Avery's lead. So did Antoinette.

"Why not?"

"I'm not interested in a new family. Got enough shit with my own family."

"I uh, don't think Avery's pack is really... no, you're right, they're a family. How about just taking some lessons from her, about the Shadow Realm?"

That managed to make the man twitch.

"I don't want anything to do with spirits."

"I got the impression you didn't really have a choice in the matter? Kinda like, I have to drink blood to survive. If I eat a salad or a piece of meat, I'll spend hours puking that up." He hadn't tried, but Julias had told him what happened to Kindred who had. And, by the grace of God or whoever, Jack seemed to have enough intelligence to not have to try something for himself to learn a lesson.

"Yeah, I guess. They... they're... yeah." Sighing, Eric stopped. Jack stopped as well, and raised a brow as he turned to look back at the man. "You seem like a smart kid."

"You could say that." Ah, the stroked ego. His Ventrue pride swelled, and Jack shook his head once to try and dislodge the feeling.

"I'm getting pulled in three directions. Really, I just want people to leave me alone. But I know that won't happen, so... what would you do?"

"What would I do? I can barely understand your predicament. I have... no idea what's it like, to suddenly be a werewolf. I know what it's like to wake up one night, dead, with a bunch of knife wounds in the stomach. I know what it's like to suddenly crave blood like it's heroin and I'm a junkie. I know what it's like to see every human around as a source of food, instead of people, when the hunger rises. I'm sure you have your own urges, things that weren't there before, things that dominate your mind now. Without help, without someone to explain to me what the fuck was going on, I would have been lost, and probably dead by now."