My Little Ventrue Pt. 09 Ch. 07

~~Antoinette~~

"It burns?"

"Burns is too strong a word," Daniel's voice said over the phone. "But the contents burn. I witnessed some incendiary explosives as well."

"Terra Den's work."

"Undoubtedly."

She groaned as she rubbed her forehead. Seated in her beautiful chair, in her beautiful office, at the top of her beautiful tower, all she felt was rage. How dare Garry, how dare he flirt with the edges of her commands.

"Response from the city?" she asked.

"No police or firefighters yet. And I haven't heard any gunfire."

"And the Kindred?"

"I've seen nothing to suggest a Masquerade violation."

If someone violated the Masquerade, the situation would have been far easier to resolve. Execute the infidels, and silence those who complained. But the more Garry and Michael dodged her rules, the more her power slipped away. How much longer before the Carthians or Invictus proclaimed her an unworthy Prince?

Would that be so bad? Dolareido was her city, despite Jacob's claim of co-ownership. It was her experiment, her time and effort that had produced its balance. And for all its troubles, it was one of the more peaceful cities when it came to the covenants. She was proud of her work.

But the more things slipped through her fingers, the more she wondered if her efforts were in vain. Would it not be better to simply leave, establish a more secure power base in a smaller area with no other Kindred presence, and enjoy blissful centuries with Jack?

As much as the idea pleased her, she knew it would not be enough. Despite what absurd and juvenile romantic fairy tales suggested, one could not find contentment in romance alone. One needed to find their own reason to exist, something that drove them and gave them purpose. And while her research into realms of ephemera were of great interest to her, it was her quest to prepare for the future that drove her. Dolareido was the fruit of that preparation, and she would not abandon it on a flight of wistful whimsy, or disparaging anger.

If she had to kill Michael and Garry, and whomever believed in their cause, so be it.

"What do you think, old friend?" she said to the phone on her desk.

"I think Garry has been careful. Anyone who sees this will think the building's been attacked, but nothing here suggests paranormal activity." Doubtlessly, the man was giving one of his stone glares at the building as he spoke. "Conspiracy theorists and journalists alike will have fun theorizing about underworld crime, but nothing more."

"Daniel... do you consider Garry's attack to be a breach of my rules?"

"Much as I hate to say it, no."

"Do you think I should change my decree?" Kindred were staunchly advised to avoid killing each other in Dolareido. She had said as much in Primogen meetings and public gatherings alike. But there had been no official declaration. As long as they upheld the Masquerade, and did not interfere with her city on any meaningful scale, Kindred were allowed to kill each other. And indeed, sometimes they did, despite the assurance from the Carthians and Invictus that no murders had been performed. Pretty lies.

Cooperation, that was what she strived for in Dolareido. Cooperation. It was one of the reasons she kept as much distance from the covenants as she did. History and psychology alike taught the folly of a heavy hand. If she changed her ways and adopted the role of totalitarian, she knew it would end in disaster. Perhaps now, perhaps in another hundred years, it would eventually end in catastrophe.

"I think if you get between these two angry, fighting dogs, you're likely to get bit, Ann. Michael can probably pull ten, maybe twenty of his strongest to fight us, and Garry could likely convince most of his covenant that we should be disposed. And nothing unites people quite like a common enemy."

She groaned again as she cradled her forehead, and combed her hair over her shoulder with her other hand. "Agreed."

"I did see Sándor nearby."

"Understandable. If he is to replace Azamel, then I am sure he wishes to be aware of what the covenants do."

"Should I... ask him, about the tears?"

"No. Jack and his companions will handle the hunt from that angle. Natasha will approach it with the aid of the werewolves." Forced aid, but aid nonetheless. "We will continue our own pursuits as we have." Dangerous games and deadly uses of Daniel's Auspex.

"Understood." Daniel hung up, and Antoinette turned to her laptop.

Camera feeds showed the contents of several of her cells. Humans, kine she had abducted years ago, and rendered catatonic with drugs. Kine who deserved it. Would she sacrifice another, and summon Black Blood once more? The spirit refused to cooperate, but she was not without the power to force a discussion. The dark creature was not omnipotent.

Sighing once more, she shook her head and closed the laptop. A knock at her door announced Elaine's arrival, and Antoinette smiled.

"Come in, my dear."

"Ann," Elaine said as she entered. "Trouble?"

"As always."

"Garry being a pain in the ass, mm?"

"Naturally."

"I could seduce him, perhaps?"

"He is homosexual, Elaine. Quite immune to your charms, I suspect."

She rolled her eyes as she sat down at her desk across from her. "This is why you should abandon this city. It is slippery, and refuses to bow to your ideals. The Ordo would much prefer you focus on your studies."

"I am sure they would. But the Ordo remain blind to the future." Before Elaine could retort, Antoinette waved a dismissing hand. "How goes your attempt to steal Jack's curse for yourself?"

Elaine half grimaced, half smiled. "Come now, you know it is not that simple."

"Is it not?"

"No, it is not. Do not presume to know my intentions, or that I am so shallow as to be motivated by greed and nothing else." Her smile did not falter. "And besides, if you truly felt that way, you would not have let me as close to the boy as you have."

Antoinette grinned at her. "Do you think I ever let my guard down around you, old friend?"

"Why, yes, I believe you do." Elaine returned the grin as she leaned forward over the desk. "At least a little."

They laughed. It was good to laugh. The games they played, as insidious or manipulative as they may be, would not break their friendship. Others could not understand, but none of them had friendships as old as Antoinette and Elaine had theirs. What games Elaine played would come to light eventually, and until then, Antoinette would keep an eye on her. But she also trusted her, and had much more pressing concerns.

"Jack," Elaine asked, "is he not at Xnomina, and the fire?"

"No, he is elsewhere."

"If he were, would you interfere?"

"I have instructed Daniel that, if Jack is found in a situation where his death is inevitable, he is to save the boy. And from there, Jack will be prohibited from operating with the other covenants. Effectively dead."

"All to maintain your glorious neutrality and indifference."

Antoinette squinted her eyes at the woman. "I see you have come to make a point about something."

"Of course. I see this growing war between the suits and the anarchists, and I believe it is foolishness."

"Naturally."

"I meant your refusal to take sides."

Ah yes, this again.

"In the last city you laid claim to territory, what balance did the Kindred strike?" Antoinette was referring to Berlin, a city her old friend had taken up residence in for several decades during the 1900s. She also knew how this conversation would go, they had had it before, but such was the guilty pleasure of elders and elder kine alike, repeating conversations.

"The First estate ruled, and the Second Estate was their close ally, similar to Dolareido. But the Carthians outnumbered them, like a growing swarm of vermin. It is far easier for a lout to recruit a fellow lout, than for the others to grow their numbers."

"Did they fight?"

"Frequently. There was no active war, as per usual, but the Prince was always one transgression away from demanding it."

"And you saw no possibility for peace?"

"No."

"Then, which side would you have picked?"

Elaine leaned back in her chair as she looked down. "I am not sure. They left me to my pursuits, and I never interfered."

"Did you consider any of their views more worthy than the others?"

"No."

"Then--"

"I was not Prince of that city, Ann. You are Prince of this one. I did not care if Berlin's Kindred killed each other, nor if the city suffered for it. I only cared for my experiments. But Dolareido is your experiment, and you are the Prince of it."

"You ask me to play favorites, when that itself would damage my experiment."

"Better that than war."

"You said yourself that in Berlin, it did not come to war." True outright war was terribly rare among Kindred. Elders ruled, and elders were far too paranoid to risk their second lives in a struggle that, to them, was ultimately a fleeting moment in a lifespan measured in centuries. The purge Antoinette had herself enacted was an exception, not the norm.

Naturally, Elaine had been thinking of the purge as well.

"Ann, you fought Lucas and killed his bishops, and you did so because the man was a stone's throw away from assaulting you with over a hundred Kindred. If peace and cooperation was possible, then--"

"Cooperation is possible. It is simply a matter of time and effort to find the balance." And that time was running out. The fact her fellow Kindred could not appreciate the impact the exponential growth of technology would have on their futures, was forever infuriating.

"And if it is not?"

"Then we are all doomed, Elaine."

Elaine sighed and waved a dismissing hand of her own. "Do not be so negative. You have done well here, and the other dragons acknowledge that. But... we have both seen this behavior before, in other cities. Now that the Invictus are considerably weaker, with the Lancea et Sanctum essentially dead, Michael and Garry will fight, and many of the Kindred you are attempting to... herd, will die. Better you take a stand now, and bring one covenant to its knees."

"So that I may rule with fear, and begin the cycle of tyranny that has killed so many other cities?" And elders alike. She was not so foolish as to ignore the tinge of fear that crept up her spine at the idea of her city's Kindred rebelling and uniting against her. Such rebellions did happen, rarely, but they did. Kine were not unique in that regard, nor for their fondness of chopping the heads off their rulers.

Elaine frowned, but managed a slow nod, acknowledging the point. "There is a reason dragons rarely rule, Ann."

Antoinette leaned back as well, sighing as she combed her hair over her chest. "This squabble between the covenants is but a wound earned from tearing free of old traps around our legs. With time, the covenants will cooperate."

"And the Lancea et Sanctum?"

"I spoke with Maria. She is far more reasonable than her lover was. So is the boy."

"Lucas's childe?"

"Oui. He is... a pleasant surprise. As much as it pains me to admit, Damien is a perfect example of what I strive for, Elaine. He still holds to his beliefs, idiotic as they are, but he is also willing to cooperate with me, and understand the value in an open mind."

"Even if you somehow made these puppets dance to your tune, what of Jacob?"

"Jacob." Sighing, Antoinette looked down at her hair as she gently slid her fingers through it. "What do you think?"

"Of Jacob?" Elaine chuckled and licked a fang. "I am sure Samantha is enjoying herself."

"You know Jacob is likely connected to the strange ongoings in my city, to these dark veins pulsing within it."

"Yes, of course. But how dangerous do you truly consider them to be if you are willing to let Samantha... ah, of course. Not willing. Encouraging."

Antoinette closed her eyes for several moments before she offered her friend a questing gaze. "Do you trust Jacob with her?"

"You saw him with Minerva. His relationship with Samantha is not the same, but perhaps that is a good thing. If you are asking whether the man will drag her down into whatever dark games he plays with darker gods, then I would say no."

"And Samantha herself? I let her take those two artifacts."

"Why are you asking me? You know Beatrice's plan will fail."

"I am asking, because I doubt myself."

Elaine shook her head. "You are the Prince. You cannot let anyone know you doubt yourself."

"Then I hope you appreciate that I am willing to share this secret with you."

Her old friend smiled, and tapped her desk with a fingertip several times. "Allowing me to share a bed with your lover, hardly a challenge. But letting me see your weak side in regards to your precious city and its denizens, that required centuries of effort."

"Must you taunt me so?"

Elaine laughed, stood up, slipped around the desk, and leaned her butt against it by Antoinette as she smiled down at her. "I can provide my thoughts on this war between the Carthians and Invictus, but as for Jacob, Beatrice, and the dark arts they pursue? I am afraid I am as in the dark as you. You play dangerous games, Ann."

"I do. But there is a glimmer of hope."

"For Dolareido?"

"Do not be absurd. Dolareido has far more than a glimmer, and will be fine. If I have to personally bind and bury Black Blood to make it so, I will find a way. I meant... for Jacob." And, loath as she was to think it, God have mercy on her damned soul if Samantha paid the price for her plans.

Would Jack ever speak to her again, if something happened to her because of Antoinette?

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~~Jack~~

Jessy threw up her hands. "Ryan, the fuck are you doing?"

"What? She stuck around to spy on us. No one saw me grab her."

"So? We spy on each other all the time!"

"Yeah, but she tried to kill us. She tried to kill Mister Terry."

"They weren't trying to kill him! They were--"

Jessy and Ryan argued back and forth about the implications. Jack, on the other hand, paced in place and juggled information, while Mulder and Scully watched the chaos.

Crap. Crap Crap. Amanda, dead? Oh fuck. Oh fucking fuck. If that was true, then shit was officially going to hit the fan. People knew Amanda, Jack had worked with her. She was just a young Mekhet, Gloria's childe, and a damn nice woman. Pretty much the perfect person to kill if you... wanted... a war...

Jack squeezed his phone, but stopped himself short before he shattered it.

"Damien," he said, "tell me exactly what Michael said."

"He said little more, Jack. Just that Amanda had died in the fire."

"No more details?"

"No."

"And you didn't ask?" He couldn't keep the bite out of his voice.

But his anger rolled off Damien without a problem. Thank god for friends.

"Michael wasn't in the mood for talking. Understandable, I believe."

"Yeah, understandable." And a great way to avoid being questioned. "Is everyone else safe?"

"Yes. The fires are out. The attackers were quite thorough and managed to set many offices on fire, but ultimately the damage is just to decor. And... Amanda..."

"Damien, I need you to go full Mekhet mode. What else did you see? Spare no detail."

Damien didn't hesitate. He instantly went into painstaking detail, about his approach, about how Sándor had watched from afar, and how Isabella had been there, possibly to take advantage of the chaos and flames, and kill Michael. He talked about the fire, about the strange incendiary devices probably from Terra Den, about Gloria in the bunker, about finding some Kindred trapped by the fire that he saved, and finally about reaching Michael's office where the boss had dropped the horrible truth. Amanda was dead.

Jack didn't believe it for a fucking second. She may or may not have been dead, but he doubted she died to Garry's feint. No way in hell Garry told the fucks he sent to harass Xnomina with bullets and molotovs -- or whatever crazy shit they used from Terra Den that seemed to burn so damn well -- to be so aggressive they actually killed Kindred. The ones Damien saved would have probably been saved by the sprinklers. No, Garry's feint was just to make sure eyes were turned toward it while he came for an old fashioned brawl with Jack.

If Amanda was dead, Michael probably killed her, taking full advantage of the chaos so people would have to blame Garry. And if that was true, Jack was going to rip the man's head off.

"Thanks Damien." He put away his phone, and joined Ryan and Jessy. "Shit has officially hit the fan. Garry hit Xnomina, poking the bear to draw attention. But... Michael says Amanda's dead, died to fire."

Everyone stared at him, Tilly included. And slowly, the Daeva's eyes went wide as she realized what had just happened to her chances of living through this night.

Ryan let out a low whistle. "Amanda dead is pretty bad. Jesus. Think we should get revenge?" He gestured down to Tilly, and her eyes went even wider.

"Just start with how and why." He gestured to Tilly as he looked at Ryan and Jessy.

Jessy threw up her hands again. "Ryan got it in his head that after that the scuffle, gloves were off. So--"

"So, I was following Bella as she got Kathy and Tilly out of here. But Tilly stayed behind, probably to get a peek and see what we were up to, when Garry booked it. So I thought, might as well grab her and learn what she knows." Ryan nodded toward Jack. "You can do that, right?"

Jack shrugged. "You're the Mekhet. Isn't digging up secrets your deal?"

"Eh, sorta. Isn't Damien your buddy? Auspex doesn't let me just learn things at will. I have to point it in a direction, and it isn't exactly forthcoming with simple, direct answers."

That made sense. Mekhet and their ability to discover secrets were well known, but it wasn't like they could learn anything and everything. The Danse Macabre would be borderline pointless, otherwise.

Sighing, Jack squatted down in front of Tilly, and she shivered as she looked between him, and his two undead crows perched upon his shoulders.

"Tilly," he said.

"... Jack," she said. Her voice trembled.

A part of him loved that, the fear in her eyes, the obvious terror that she was so close to him, Jack, the Crow Lord, the Ripper, and a bunch of other nicknames he didn't particularly care for. But, a larger part of him hated it. Christ, couldn't they all just get along? Why the fuck did they have to fight this old mans' war?

"Tell me, when Garry sent his goons to attack Xnomina, did he give them instructions to avoid killing?"

"Y-Yes! Yes, he did. He gave us all a debrief. I mean, much as Garry really debriefs, you know? He said he wanted a piece of either this building, or you, and the others were to piss off Michael and Xnomina. No killing."

Every word came out stammering, and Jack struggled to keep his wince hidden. He loathed this.

"She lying, Ryan?"

Ryan eyed Tilly for a moment, concentrating, before he sighed and shrugged. "I don't think so."

"Don't think so?"

"Like I said, Auspex doesn't just hand me the answers on a silver platter, man."

Sighing, Jack eyed the woman as she squirmed. A beautiful Daeva, average height and ballerina build, short red hair, and a few freckles. The type who was perfectly comfortable using that body to make herself seem weak and meek. Of course, she was a vampire, just as strong as any male her age, and the look and squirming and lip trembling, it was all an act.

Except the fear. The fear behind it all was very real.

"D-Don't, Jack. Don't, I'm not lying, I'm not--"

"I'm not going to hurt you, calm down." He reached out, and grabbed her mind, same as he had not long ago. With the necklace on, the Ripper had no say, and the Beast wasn't a raging tide of insane strength. Breaking into her mind without shattering it was easier, and he didn't hesitate to punch through her mental barrier again, and grab hold of the little vampire hiding within.