It is currently 09:19 Pacific Time on Thu Mar 4 2004.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is partly sunny. The temperature is 46 degrees
Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius). The wind is currently coming in from the
southwest at 10 mph. The barometric pressure reading is 29.88 and rising,
and the relative humidity is 55 percent. The dewpoint is 31 degrees
Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius.)
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (86% full).
[Dominion, Elder's office.]
Natalie knocks a brief rat-a-tat on the door, then pokes her head in without
waiting (long) for a reply.
The unobtrusive speakers fill the room with some muted Chopin. The office is
empty, the curtains opened wide to show off the view of the grounds, and
the door to the bedroom is open. That's where Salem is, busy amidst some
half-packed cardboard boxes. He looks up from a notebook he's flipping
through, then gives the Galliard a nod. "Morning."
"Morning," she agrees soberly, stepping all the way into the room and
half-closing the door behind her. "You have time to talk? I've got a
couple things that've come up, and I really need your advice. Well, one I
need advice on, the other I need a Philodox."
Salem nods. "Time, I have." He gets up from where he was kneeling on the floor
and stretches. "By the way, you should be able to move in here by the end
of the week. If not sooner. Going to have most of this stored anyway." He
eyes the collection of stuff wryly. He's certainly not a packrat; in fact
there's precious little being packed, considering he's been in town for
years.
Natalie says "I will... or Leala will. That's the first thing. She came out
of... wherever yesterday, got... well. We both were a little hot under
the collar. Suffice it to say, she's challenged me for Elder. You know
her better than I do: is it in the Tribe's best interest to have her be
Elder? If it is, I'm willing to step aside. I didn't want it in the first
place."
Salem arches an eyebrow, then frowns. "Leala goes to Sept moots, helped Jeremy
kidnap Joshua, and most recently helped him plant bugs on that Russian's
house. She's never, in all the time I've known her, done anything that I
could consider... elder-ish."
Natalie grimaces and stuffs her hands in her pockets. "Damn. Well, then: if she
were Challenging /you/ for Elder, what would you have her do? Or... hey."
A thought strikes her; she pushes off the wall and starts to pace up and
down in front of the desk. "How about this for a Challenge. We were
saying we needed a Ragabash we could trust to trail one of those
Russians. Have her do it, and... I dunno, she needs to come up with
-useful- information we didn't already know. What do you think?"
Salem's eyes narrow. "Considering how little she's been involved in the day to
day activities of the tribe, I'd do more. She wants to lead... she should
show that she _can_."
Natalie's silent for a full 'up and back'. "Come up with useful information, a
plan to deal with 'em, and implement it? I dunno, that almost seems like
too much. Or maybe," she adds with a wry snort, "I just want a slice of
that pie."
Salem shrugs. "If she really wants it, she'll at least try. If she's suited to
the job, she'll succeed. New as you are here, I think you'd be a better
elder."
Natalie's immediate answer is a nod, and more pacing. "Right. Thank you. All
right, Philodox thing. I've been trying to decide if I went overboard,
number one, and number two, if you're the right one to approach. You
already know some of the backstory, and this isn't really a
Megan-as-Sept-Alpha thing, I don't think." She stops near the fireplace,
turns to face him. "Joshua. Right now I'm seriously considering seeing if
there's a way to boot him from the Tribe. Bas... He hasn't yet - that I
know of - tried to approach me to apologize. 'Course, it's a full moon;
he..." She closes her lips over whatever she was going to add and smiles
tightly.
Salem moves out from the bedroom into the office and takes a seat... in front
of the desk, not behind it as usual. The elder's chair, such as it is,
remains open and empty. "I met with Joshua last night at the park. The
problem is not that he hangs about in lupus. Cat does the same, if you
haven't noticed. The problem is that although now he's committed to
working within the city, he doesn't love it. He prefers the forests." He
stretches his legs, then props one foot on the opposite knee. "I told him
that a Glass Walker who'd rather be in the woods is like a Red Talon
who'd rather be in the city. That it won't work. He'll make a decision
and, I believe, leave on his own."
Natalie nods again and turns to study the veining of the marble, clearly
letting the words sink in. "...All right. No, I haven't noticed Cat -
seems wherever I am, he isn't. And it's not so much that Josh is in lupus
all the time but that he -doesn't- act like a Walker. I'm... I don't
wanna drive him off - when I can manage to think clearly about him, that
is - but if he doesn't change his attitude I don't want him around. I
don't feel like he knows what Tribe /is/. It's like he's... he's
disconnected from it. Like he's just here," she flicks her free hand at
the office walls, "because he thinks he has to be."
Salem nods, then exhales a sigh, rubbing at his eyes. "Yes, well... I suppose
that's as much my fault as anything. Little bastard was such a mess,
resisting us at every turn... then this damned inner wolf thing. The one
time I did try to sit down and talk seriously to him, he got sulky and...
it ended poorly." He grimaces, nose wrinkling, and shakes his head. "And,
yet, previous cubs have turned out just fine. They just... _understood_.
The tribe was in their blood, their spirit. Joshua might have been
kinfetched as a Glass Walker, but I don't think he really is. Despite his
knowledge of computers and such."
Natalie drums her fingers on the mantle for a moment before echoing his sigh.
"All right then. As a Philodox, what is your advice? Should I go to him
with a list of expectations he needs to follow? Welcome him back, no
strings? Leave him alone and wait for him to make the first move?"
Salem's lips thin. "Leave him alone for now. Let him think things over. Give it
a few days, but not too much more than that. Then make him decide." His
eyebrows rise. "If he decides to stay, then give him the list of
expectations. But if he decides to leave... keep it amiable. He won't be
family, but he could still be an asset. Like Signe or Alicia."
Jeremy pages to Salem and Natalie: The front doors open an slam, followed by
Jeremy calling out. "Salem!?"
Natalie snorts. "/Those/ assets I'm happy to have on the..." She turns at Jer's
call, glancing back at the Philodox. "Your call. I don't have anything
else I needed to bring up."
Salem's mouth thins. "There's one more thing that I have, but Jeremy could hear
it as well. Want me to call him in?"
Natalie crosses to the door and pushes it open in reply. "We're in here, Jer."
Jeremy steps into the office, looking a bit frustrated, his hair windblown and
blonde, strewn across his eyes. "Hey." He says, glancing between the pair.
Salem is sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk, dressed in sweats.
The bedroom beyond the office is in disarray, full of half-packed boxes.
Not that there's a great deal to pack. More signs and evidence that the
halfmoon Is Not Elder Anymore. Looking up, he gives Tony and Jeremy a nod.
Anthony follows after Jeremy bemusedly, shutting the office door behind him.
Natalie was at the door, but retreats to stand near the fireplace. She tucks her
fingers into her front pockets, leaving her thumbs free. "Hey Tony -
didn't see you out there. What's up, Jer?"
"You guys know that Josh is going after Konstan?" Jeremy blurts out. "Dude,
he's going to do something stupid.. or.. something.. you know?"
Salem arches an eyebrow, then leans back in the chair. "Already taken care of."
He looks at Natalie. "After I finished talking to Joshua, we ran into
Konstantin."
Natalie doesn't comment on Josh's possible mental acuity, just contents herself
with a pair of raised eyebrows and an encouraging, "Ah?"
Jeremy blinks his eyes a bit, then lets out a frustrated grunt, eyes staring up
at the ceiling silently.
"Really? Already?" Tony asks curiously, folding his arms and taking a couple
steps towards the desk.
Salem folds his arms across his chest. "He's still a smarmy little fuck and my
gut tells me he's hiding something... and that he has a _lot_ to hide. He
was evasive and smug." He scowls. "I told him that he needed to give a
full report... how he got tainted and _everything_ he's done in relation
to the Russians, and that if he doesn't give it to me or Natalie by the
end of the week, we'll hunt him down and force it out of him." His gaze
has travelled to the other two while speaking, but he focusses on Natalie
again. "If I'm not home when he comes by, call me... or someone else with
Truth of Gaia. The gift's not perfect, but it should catch _some_ of his
lies... if he does lie. And I think he will."
"Do you think he is leaking information about us? Maybe they are using some
brainwashing bullshit on him?" Jeremy asks. "I mean.. they know shit
about us that is deep. Hell.. knowing about Alicia and Tom is way out
there. He is practically a ghost since he is a Doctor outside of
Claire's, and Lisha.. well... you know why she hasn't been around." He
frowns some, shaking his head. "They attacked you, Cutter and Rina. I
think Kon is flapping his lips. You shoulda took him in last night and
beat the information out of him."
"Definitely," Nat promises Salem before looking to the others. "Jer, chill.
That's a possibility, but we gotta give him a chance to prove he's all
right, right? He comes in, meek as a lamb, and tells us everything,
that's one thing. He doesn't, and we have to hunt him down? That tells us
another. Plus there's a third option: he's not leaking secrets on
purpose. Now - when'd you hear about Josh wanting to hunt Konstantin? We
still have to worry about that, or no?"
"Didn't say he was going to hurt him, just hunt 'em down." Jermey says with a
huff. "I was afraid he'd do something way out there."
Salem grunts. "Well, he was quite restrained last night. Of course, he had a
lot to think about." He smiles thinly.
"I don't think they'd have, like, brainwashed Konstantin 'cause how would
they've known that ... I mean, uh ... how would they've known that he
knows what he knows?" Tony muses, none too clearly.
Natalie says "Interesting idea, Tony. Expand? What're you thinking?"
Jeremy tilts his head some, curious. "You saying.. how do they know he was a
Garou an had dirt on us?"
"Well, uh, if they knew Konstantin was Garou, wouldn't they've just killed him,
'cause they think they're like demons or something?" Tony pauses. "What
tribe's Konstantin in? And Cutter?"
"Cutter and Konstan are both Shadow Lords." Jermey says, furrowing his brows.
Natalie says "Except - isn't it smarter, if you've got a lead on someone and
they don't know you have it, to follow that lead instead of clipping it
off? I mean, that's what we're doing - trying to do - with all that
spyware, instead of just killing Boris out of hand."
"But how would the Russians know that Konstantin had this lead?" Tony asks in
reply. "If they had brainwashed him, wouldn't the hits be a little more,
I dunno, random?"
"Our Ragabash," Salem says quietly, "has a good point. I didn't immediately
drag Konstantin in because he may indeed have... reasons. But it does all
look highly suspicious."
Natalie resumes her pacing, this time along the wall with the fireplace.
"Depends. Maybe. What if he accidentally let something slip to them -
something to raise suspicions. Then whatever happens to him happens, and
poof, they've got a singing Shadow Lord on their hands." She snorts and
stops, turning to face the others. "Then again, we're... we're pretty
much making this up. It /looks/ like Konstantin's our leak, but we don't
have /anything/ to back that up. What's that thing, says to... Occam's
razor, that's right. Look for the simplest explanation."
"Well, unless Konstantin happened to make a very specific veil breach while he
was in the presence of those guys, I don't see why it's not the simplest
explanation..." Tony pauses, suddenly looking disappointed. "But that
doesn't explain the whole magic powers thing," he concedes.
Salem steeples his fingers, his expression turning narrow-eyed and thoughtful.
"Wait a minute - magic powers?" Nat shakes her head as if trying to dislodge a
fly. "I think I lost something somewhere. Tony, you're saying you don't
think Konstantin's the leak, is that it?"
"Nono.. the fact the Russian's are able to take bullets and leap over tall
buildings and what not." Jeremy explains.
"_One_ of them can, at least," says Salem.
"Well, maybe it's unrelated," Tony considers next. "Or maybe Konstantin went to
these guys /because/ they already could do that superhero crap."
Nat says, "We've got two things here, I think. Separate, but related. First,
we've got Russians who've watched too many comic books. Second, we have
Russians who know who we are, and where we live. I don't think the first
has anything to do with Konstantin."
"I think it'd be good to just drag Konstantin in now; if he's not singin' for
the Russians, then he'll understand why we needed to take him in, and if
he is ... well, then we figured it out," Tony concludes with a nod.
Salem gets up and moves back into the bedroom to continue his packing while the
others talk in the office. He keeps an ear open, listening, but doesn't
say anything more.
"I'm willing to give him a bit of leeway," the Galliard says, moving toward the
others as Salem retreats into his room. "That'll tell us something too.
If we drag him in now, all we know is that we dragged him in. But if we
haven't heard from him by Saturday, then all bets are off."
Anthony doesn't look quite convinced that waiting is the best option. "What
about you, Jeremy? What do you think?"
"This is how I see it." Jeremy says. "Salem went to him once, he didn't give
him shit. Salem has now went to him twice.. still.. nothing..." He trails
off. "How much more time do you want to go by, until we are all dead?"
"Saturday," Nat answers flatly. "He's got until Saturday, and then he's coming
in whether he wants to or not. Salem gave him until the end of the week,
and I'm not going to... trample on Salem's word just because I've got
itchy feet. The word of a Glass Walker -means- something, damn it. If you
two want to come along when we bring him in, you're more than welcome. In
fact, I'd welcome both of you being in on the planning party of how to
take him down."
"Then when you decide to bring him in, lets work out a way of doing it, that
doesn't involve bullets, claws and blood. No need to have a scene in the
street, you know?" Jeremy says.
Natalie sits on one corner of the desk, spreads her hands. "Suggestions?
There's a good old-fashioned kidnapping, only I don't think any of us own
a black Caddy with tinted windows. Salem's Yugo just won't have that
same... je n'est ce quoi."
Thinking for a moment, Jeremy asks. "We need to talk to Cutter, first, or
Jarred. Konstan isn't in our tribe, so we need permission first."
Natalie says "Give them warning that we're doing it? OK, to play devil's
advocate, what's to stop them from telling him and having him light out
of town?"
"Cutter's a Shadow Lord, too; why would he want to aid someone that might've
had a hand in attacking him?" Tony asks, getting back into the
conversation after a pensive lull.
Jeremy tilts his head to the side. "Cutter wouldn't. He's a straight arrow."
Natalie shoots back, "He's a Shadow Lord."
"So was Salem." Jeremy shoots back.
"The less people we talk to about it, the smaller a chance someone'll say
something dumb," Tony says. "I don't think we should go around announcing
our plans right now..."
Jer's announcement causes Natalie to do a doubletake. ".../Was/," she manages
after a moment's floundering, and a quick glance back at the open bedroom
door. "There's a world of difference between -is- and /was/. I agree with
you, Tony. I don't think we should tell anyone what our plans are,
especially considering the big ol' leak we've got going on now. Telling
one of them that we're planning -something- might even be enough to send
Konstantin for the hills. It's a damn fine line, but."
Natalie adds, "I might go ask Megan for her opinion - or blessing - as Sept
Alpha."
"Well, you know what, call me when you guys wanna work out some plans; I'm
gonna go take a walk," Tony declares. "I gotta think about some of this
stuff a little more."
"Think all you want - and then come talk to me about it" says Nat as she
stands. "You've got until, oh, tomorrow morning to give me more info, and
then I'm going to Megan. Inter-tribe kidnapping - or even interrogation -
is definitely something she needs to know about beforehand, I think. Oh -
and if you want to write in wet concrete, now's your time. If it doesn't
rain today it ought to be cured enough by tomorrow night that I can start
drilling holes for the frame."
Anthony nods at the deadline, then steps back out of the office.
Jeremy glances over towards Natalie and offers a slight smile. "You know..
without John and Roger, I think we're fucked."
Natalie's face darkens like a cloud drifting over the sun. "Well thank you for
that vote of confidence. Anything /useful/ to add?"
"That is useful. Its obvious that they have technological means over us. We
either have to find out who they are, and bring the entire Sept in on one
smooth, coordinated attack, or be picked off one by one." Jeremy says
bluntly, arms crossing over his chest. "One thing Roger taught me, was
that you don't sit on pins and needles and wait for them to come to you.
Obviously the spy stuff isn't working in the house, so, I suggest we
follow this Boris character, or his son, and see where he goes on a daily
basis. If Leala is lucky, she would have got snap shots of his day
planner or the paperwork inside the files. We need to know where they go,
who they are dealing with, and the best time to hit 'em without us being
caught off guard."
Natalie says only, "Hmnh. I've got more to say on that, but it's for Leala's
ears first. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go grab lunch. My blood
sugar's dropping, and it makes me cranky." A flash of teeth and she's
heading for the door.
"Pff. If that is what it takes, I"m going to start shoving candy bars down your
throat. Maybe I'll see you in a dress or something." Jeremy says, right
on her heels with a grin on his face.
[...]
Natalie, for the first time anyone's seen her, takes the Elder's chair, waving
the others to their seats. "OK, Jer, out with it. The rest of us, quiet,
unless we've got something to add. Data first, then questions." She
gestures to the Kin. "When you're ready. Dump."
Jeremy heads around the desk and places the computer on the top, opening it up.
He runs his finger along the touch pad to reveal the OS X platform. "I've
shut down the wireless in the mansion by the way, last week." He glances
to each of them for a moment, then holds out his hand to Tony, motioning
for the goods.
Anthony produces his CD player, clicking it open, then snapping out the DVD
inside, loosely handing it to Jeremy before sitting down.
Too nervous to sit, Leala stands behind the others, where she can see the
computer.
Jeremy takes the DVD from Tony and places it in his laptop, closing the rom
door behind it. Soon, a Quick time movie begins to run, the volume coming
out loud and clear. Its a few scene jumps. Its Boris in the basement,
excercising for about five minutes. In the next scene, he is banging some
underage girl on the couch. After another fade in, it shows Boris on the
computer typing away. This leads on for another ten minutes before the
screen fades away into a new one. It seems that Boris has another
stripper downstairs, except this time she doesn't want to go any further
than she has. He smacks her around a bit until she bolts for the stairs.
Soon, he leaps up to the ceiling, just like spider man and crawls across
it in a speed far faster than any Garou and drops down, snagging her up
in his arms. Soon, he begins to rape her as he hangs from the ceiling by
his feet, her screams echoing so loud it comes out in screeches from the
speakers. After he finishes with her, her neck is snapped and the body is
dropped to the ground. That scene fades out, then faces in once more as
it shows Boris studying the tape of the Harbor Park attack, watching
Cutter, Rina and Salem being attacked by an unknown force, and soon the
attacker running off, cops firing bullets off of him as he leaps over a
building.
After that part is finished, Jeremy clicks it off and glances to each of you.
"That is what the video picked up the past few days. I got the Audio part
next."
Not glad to have seen that footage again, Leala's face holds distaste and concern. She
paces softly a few steps.
Natalie scowls. "He'll die for that, if nothing else. All right, what's the
audio?"
Anthony's expressions range from nervous laughter to disgust to shock; he
doesn't comment out loud about what he thinks, but it's pretty clear what
he thinks of it.
Reaching over, Jeremy clicks another button on the laptop, soon, phone
conversations are played out. One conversation after the other moves on,
most of the accents Russian, except for one which sounds oddly Mexican,
perhaps Cuban. Most of the conversations revolve around Salem, spouting
on and on about how he is a demon and that they are moving a great deal
of family overseas to St. Claire's for a major offensive against Salem's
'family'. They keep talking about his family in the terms of fomori for
some reason or the other. A helpful tip is spread in the form of: Salem
can only be killed by fire, even though everything just about hurts him.
There is also talk about how Salem is fleeing the city and they are going
to try to find out where before he does. One conversation is amusing, yet
serious. They claim that if they can kill Salem, the city will be under
their control. One of the family members was recognized as Alicia and
that she has finally reappeared after hanging out with Salem many months
ago. They found out it was her when she tried to seduce, yet failed to,
one of the Boss's sons. They mention the name of Sergei Hederov, a
renowned Hacker in Russia who is being sent in to compromise Salem's very
own hacker and to counter his operations. The 'Doctor', the one who has
been preforming the genetic experimentation is heading into Cuba soon to
produce mass quantities of illegal fireamrs for the upcoming /war/. They
have also brought new information across the board that states Salem was
involved in the last few big explosions around St. Claire's, one of which
in the area where the last safe house was located. Rumor is they have
moved 'uptown' and they are preparing to investigate the area for the
coming invasion. After that, the audio ends, revealing only static.
Natalie's face closes down fractionally at each of the conversations. "Hell,"
she offers again, then, "Damn. When'd you pick this up, Jeremy? How
recent is it?"
"This is last week recent. I just got it cleaned up. This was when Leala and I
snuck into their house and planted bugs all over. Well.. Lee did... she
used her super raggie gifts to get in there undetected. I was just the
one with all the access codes." Jeremy bobs his head slightly. "We got
both phones tapped inside his house, and a video feed in his basement
office. Now.. on to the last thing.." He trails off with a wide grin.
"The good news."
"It better be some damn good news," Tony grumbles.
"I had Lee set up a keylogger on his computer. I got nothing but bullshit the
past couple of nights, until the other day he accessed his restricted
zones on the net. I got his passwords. I got the shit I could not break
into last time." Jeremy says proudly. "You thought I got the dish on them
last time? I"m going to give their hard drive night terrors. I'm about to
rip open /everything/ they are into."
Uncharacteristly, Leala lets out a hoot! "Woo! Yeah baby!"
Natalie says "When it rains..." She gives a smirk at Leala's outburst before
pushing out of her chair to pace again. "Well, at least now we know this
isn't an... isolated case. If we kill Boris, we're not going to fix
everything."
"We aren't, but its good to know that Konstan most likely isn't spilling the
beans. They don't know details 'bout us. They haven't found the Dominion
or the farm and bawn yet. So far, they are just zealous, thinking they
can get a piece of infamy by hunting down /demons/." Jermey says says in
an encouraging manner. "Its bad, but not /that/ bad yet."
"Jeremy, is there any way to find out who they have coming and whether they are
already here or not? Like airline records, local hotel check-ins, etc?"
Leala askes.
Jeremy nods his head slightly. "Long as I can get some names, I can definitly
do that." He says, glancing over to Natalie as well. "I was thinking of
editing that audio tape and sending word to Cuba, see if I can stop the
weapons and get that Doctor guy arrested upon arrival."
Natalie continues to pace, up and down, back and forth. The Galliard's
attention is only vaguely on the others; her attention is otherwise
inward.
"Well, at least we have a better idea of what's going on, but ... now it's just
more /waiting/," Anthony says, almost spitting out the last word. He's
definitely impatient about this.
Leala turns to Jeremy again. "So, when are you going to crack it open and peek
inside? We all want to know what he's got hidden in his restricted zone."
Jeremy glances up at the knocking of the front doors, then turns and makes his
out of the office. "Tonight.. door is knocking."
Natalie jerks a distracted thumb toward the front door. Someone, it seems, is
to open it.
"You think we should go out and see if there's something wrong?" Tony suggests.
"He's taking a pretty long time to answer the door."
Opens up the office door and steps inside quickly, heading for the desk, with
Megan and Dakota hot on his heels. "The Sept's Don has arrived." He says
simply enough, flopping down into a chair across from his laptop.
Natalie's pacing the length of the room, introspective and silent. The Elder's
chair sits empty, angled away from the desk. At Jer's announcement she
stops, startled, looking between Jer and the other Walkers, then Megan.
"She... what did you tell her, Jeremy?"
"Nothing yet." Jeremy says as he pulls the laptop closer, tapping away at the
keys for a moment. "I guess she'll find out now."
Natalie ahs. She swings 'round to face Megan with a terse explanation.
"Jeremy's got some information on the Russians. It ain't pretty. What I'd
like to know is, after you've seen this: is this still a Walker thing, or
do we want more guns? ...Metaphorically speaking."
Megan's nose is wrinkled and her expression is a scowl that she directs towards
Jeremy as she follows in on his heels, her gaze raking those gathered. It
lingers on Natalie, a look that generates a sigh, before she listens to
Natalie's words. The scowl returns. "This was never 'a Walker thing'. Not
in the possessive, this is my sandbox sense. Before we jump the gun, why
doesn't someone tell me what's going on, instead of playing Henny Penny?"
Dakota stands a few steps behind Megan like a shadow, a silent one. Her hands
in the pockets of her coat, the Child of Gaia listens to what's being
spoken, but says nothing.
Natalie gestures to Jeremy and the laptop in reply. "Best way to do that is to
show you. Jeremy, if you would?"
Having seen the footage twice already, Leala stands back so that the others can
get a close look.
Anthony sinks back in his chair a little as the words start flying, letting the
elders do all the talking they want.
"Megan, have you seen any of the footage about this paticular situation
regarding the Russian's?" Jeremy asks as he folds his hands across the
table in a diplomatic fashion. "I have new information that came to light
as of this morning. I would hate to leave you in the dark with certain
spots."
Megan puts her hands on her hips, elbows akimbo. "Some. I was shown a video
that came from you, about an attack at Harbor Park. I'd asked to figure
out where that video would've had to have been shot from, and figure out
how it could've been made, and that's the last I heard about it."
"For which I apologize, Megan. I completely forgot about it with all the other
crap that's been going on." Natalie? Apologizing, and gracefully at that?
"I don't think that should be too hard, though. However, I think this new
information will be equally important as the location of the cameraman."
"It seems to me that the person filming the action, is just as super enhanced
as its attacker. Regarding data recovered, it seems that the party in
general are all supernatural by either technological means, or, by the
Wyrm. Either way.. Leala and I got together a few weeks back and we
bugged Boris's house, who seems to be the mastermind here in Claire's.
I"ve came up empty handed until a few days ago. Now that I have enhanced
the audio and video recordings that I have obtained, we have at least
figured out their next greater steps." Jeremy turns the laptop towards
Megan, poking the space bar key once as a Quick Time file loads up, then
fills the screen.
Once more, the familar scene plays for the Walker's again, with crisp clear
audio.
Natalie snarls soundlessly in all the old familiar places.
Megan scowls angrily at the pornographic bits of the video, a scowl that turns
into an audible snarl at the demonstration of the man's supernatural
abilities. When the video comes to an end, the mantle of dominance is
firmly draped across her shoulders. "Freeze it on his face," she says to
Jeremy, and without looking away from the screen, asks the room at large,
"Opinions?"
Clicking a few buttons, Jeremy pulls up a copy of his Final Cut Pro and brings
the video into it. He uses a zoom features to bring in and then clear up
the resolution, giving everyone a stunning look at his mug.
Dakota watches it nearly unblinkingly, the muscles in her jaws visably
clenching. She apparently has nothing to say, since she doesn't speak up,
and instead continues to stare at the screen, and in particular the man's
face.
"Let's get him," Leala says softly.
Natalie steps around to where Megan can see both her and the screen. Once
again, the Galliard's arms are folded - a usual stance. "This is part of
what I mean when I ask if you still want this to be the Walkers' toy,
Megan. I was thinking of having dealing with this be Leala's Challenge
for elder, but if you say no..." She lifts a shoulder in a tense shrug.
"I'll think of something else."
"Care to hear the Audio conversations I recorded from his buisness line?"
Jeremy asks as he glances over to Megan.
Natalie says "I think she - they - should hear it, yes."
"You wouldn't want to hold back on the good new, Jer," Leala says
grimly."
"In a sec," the Fianna says to Jeremy, eyes not leaving Boris's face as yet.
It's another few seconds before her gaze does come up, first to Natalie,
then over to Leala, gauging, thinking. "Dakota gave me the impression
that this was end of the world critical. Are these audio files going to
outline a clearly planned and imminent attack at some target?"
"Yes." Jeremy says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Us, the /fomori/."
"I wonder where they heard that word from," Anthony muses aloud.
Natalie shows her teeth again in a humorless smile. "I still want to know how
they found out about Salem. Plus I'd like a pony."
"Well, their plan isn't /clear/ per se. It's imminent and they have a target,
but they don't know as much as they think they do," Leala ads.
Dakota frowns ever so slightly, though at what isn't noted. She turns to glance
at each of the various speakers, eyes narrowing in thought.
Megan's jaw clenches visibly, before she jerks her chin down in a nod at
Jeremy, wordless assent to begin. Her eyes return to the man on the
laptop screen, watching as she listens.
Jeremy reaches over and clicks the space bar again as he pulls up his Audible
program and lets out a breath.
Megan listens uninterrupted, expression darkening, until she growls at the end
of it. "I should only have to deal with shit like this once in my life,"
she snarls under her breath. A pause, then, "I assume you're the hacker,
Jeremy?"
"Yup. They figured that out after busting into my house and firing off a couple
rounds into my living room, before Salem, Tony." He motions to the
Ragabash. "And myself capp'd 'em and took them in for questioning."
Jeremy slips back into his seat some and closes the lid of his laptop
with a light click, the white apple ontop of the silver machine pulsing.
Megan closes her eyes in concentration, before opening them. "Taking them down
is an end goal, Leala, but we need to figure out how they know all this.
How do they know about Salem. How do they know about here. Where did they
pick up the term formoi. How do they fucking know Jack's *leaving*, when
I only found out about it a few days ago," she snarls out angrily. "If we
just went in there now, blind, we could be walking into an abatoir." She
pauses and frowns again, seeming to come to a decision. "I think this is
way too big to be the basis of an eldership challenge. You guys figure it
out someway else. Get it resolved. I'm not going to declare this a state
of war, but it's damn near close. We need everyone on the same page here.
We need more information. None of you are in packs, yet. Make one, a
temporary one, you can always split up later once this is resolved. If
you want to get an appropriate totem like cockroach, I'll see if Trevor
will run Rite of the Totem for you. I want to find out as much as you can
about how that video was shot at the Park, and as much as we can about
their leadership structure. And this 'Doc'. We can't let him get out, not
if he's doing experiments possibly on us." She then looks around, and
says, "Dammit. I need a drink. Do you guys still have the alcohol in the
library?"
Leala nods at Megan's decision, and says "The Sept as a whole is most
important, Rhya. We will settle this some other way."
"There's a case of beer in the fridge," Nat volunteers. "The lager. It's all
yours."
"Megan. I have a keylogger on his computer. Last time I hacked 'em, I nearly
got a shit load of stuff. Now I have all his passwords for the restricted
sites." Jeremy admits. "Tonight I plan on opening them up. I may aslo try
and alert Cuban intelligence of the good doctor and his plans and
hopefully send off the recording to them. If this hacker guy gets
involved... I may be meeting my match. So.. if you guys need shit done
/now, tell me and I'll work my fingers to the bone literally. Use me
until they abuse me."
Megan waves a hand at Jeremy in a weird combination of vague and peremptorily.
"You guys would know best how to utilize him. Utilize him. I'm going
after that beer. If you need more resources of the Sept, you'll have
them, but the plan's going to have to come from you. The city, the mobs,
the computers, this is your turf. Try to have some sort of skeleton of a
plan by the time I get back..." she says, trailing off as she heads for
the door.
Natalie runs both hands through her hair, gives Megan a terse nod. "Right. All
right..." She paces, stiff-legged, back to her abandoned chair and flings
herself into it. "So let's start brainstorming. To start: I like your
idea about the doctor, Jer. Boris - Mr. Happy on the tape. How much of a
kink will we throw into these plans by killing him now?"
Anthony sits back up as Megan starts to leave. "Is there any paper in here? I
wanna get this down in writing, just so I don't get confused," he says.
"He's the brains behind it all it seems. Just know that he and possibly his son
is both enhanced, and obviously one other." Jeremy says, reaching into
his laptop bag and tosses out a notebook to Anthony, followed by a ball
point pen.
Natalie checks through drawers, finally pulling out a legal pad - yellow - and
a mechanical pencil. She hands them both over.
Dakota doesn't follow Megan this time, instead staying in the room. The Theurge
lets out a slow sigh, cracking a few knuckles as a fist balls up, and
looks to Natalie as she speaks. "Would you like me to go, Rhya?" She asks
of the Walker elder, not wanting to intrude further upon tribal buisness
unless she's wanted.
"Won't kill him now just cause a firestorm? We should try to determine what
resources he's commiting and how he got his information," Leala says.
Anthony grabs Jeremy's notebook, but the tossed pen bounces out of his hands,
so he takes Natalie's offered pencil. "Thanks," he says, flipping halfway
through the notebook and starting to scrawl stuff down.
Natalie checks through drawers, but stops when Jer is the first to provide
note-age. "If you think you should, I'm not going to stop you, Dakota.
But I'm of the opinion that the more ideas here, the better."
Except Natalie hands Tony a pencil. Really.
Jeremy turns his eyes across the room to stare at Dakota, brow raising upwards
some. He shakes his head, pulling a chair to the side next to him.
"I'll stay and help if I can." Dakota replies to Natalie. She then looks over
to Jeremy, taking note of the chair, and walks over to sit down beside
him.
Natalie offers Dakota a faint smile and another, "Right. That'd be great, yes,
if we could figure that out." Her tone doesn't think it likely, though.
"But do we want to leave Boris and Junior running around playing
Spiderman? Would killing them - perhaps spectacularly - plus arresting
their good doctor throw enough of a wrence to give us breathing room?
Ideas? Comments?"
"I'm not sure why, but I don't think Junior's involved," Leala says. "I was in
the house. He seemed like an average kid. The office is in the basement.
It didn't seem like it was easy for him to get in or like he knew or
cared what was down there."
"Full Moon is coming up. You guys could slip in through the Umbra, come out and
kill 'em that way inside the house without making much of a boom. From
there, could send out information from his computer and possibly even
create a voice synthesizer to pretend we are Boris. Pull up a record of
his phone calls, in an outbound, then make a few calls of our own, glean
some information by pretending to be him.." Jeremy trails off some,
getting comfortable in the chair.
"Junior isn't innocent." Dakota says, "Alicia told me about him, and he was
just as ungodly fast. He also knew about her and Tom."
"Killing them might delay the attack," Anthony says, not looking up from his
notebook. "Or it might make them attack even faster. Though in that case,
they wouldn't be as well-organized..."
"Interesting idea Jer. Do we have enough info to pull it off?" Leala turns to
Dakota. "He may not be innocent, but he may not be in on it. We could nab
him and find out, maybe?"
Natalie says "...Do you have a voice synthesizer, Jer, that'd... Of course you
do. Huh. That could be dangerous - damned dangerous. I also like the idea
of just having 'Boris'," air quotes, "leaving a message that he's going
out of town, or something. Not that that'd be any less dangerous, but in
a different way."
Dakota shrugs her shoulders to Leala, "A possibility. You might be able to get
stuff out of him, but that's bound to piss folks off. That, and if
they're this strong, how do you take one or both down? Do we know exactly
what they're capable of?"
"I'd love to sneak in there and grab some genetic samples," Leala says
thoughtfully.
"You take 'em down in the way you know how to. If bullets bounce off 'em, claws
won't." Jeremy says with a soft breath as he opens up his laptop again.
"Or we can use something a lot worse. Roger left me behind something that
makes for a fun toy... they called it.. White fire."
Natalie tosses out, "What about killing them and either making it look
accidental, or framing someone else? We don't know everything they can
do, no, but at least one of them can go invisible, run at super speed,
and jump like a... well, like a spi... Huh."
Dakota presses her lips together, brows knitting together. "...wonder if this
is linked to those spiders Josh mentioned."
"This is a farfetched idea, but... Can we burn down the house and make it look
like an accident? Maybe paralyze them in their sleep so they can't
escape? There are drugs that will do it easily." Leala looks uncertain
about the idea but throws it out there anyway.
"Maybe.. so far they don't know where the Dominion is at and they have reported
to be making plans to do so." Jeremy says. "When you stomp on an ant
hill, guess what happens? They got all crazy and run around." He grins.
"We stomp on their ant hill, kill the Queen.."
"Spiders?" The pencil lead breaks. "Well, if we burned down the house, then
we'd lose everything inside, unless we pulled it all out beforehand, and
that might attract attention if we're not careful..."
"Jeremy should be able to download Boris's hard drive remotely," Leala shrugs.
"Tonight, I"m going to get /everything/." Jeremy admits slowly with a nod. "I
sure hope so at least."
"Yeah, but who knows what he's got that isn't on his computer; not everyone
keeps everything on their hard drive," Anthony says, advancing the lead
again and resuming his fervent notetaking.
Dakota taps her fingertip on her leg, glancing over to Anthony. "Yeah. Joshua
claimed to have seen a couple of gigantic Pattern Spiders. I'm just
wondering, since these guys seem to have been enhances biologically
and/or mechanically, maybe the Spiders were to. If we're being watched
this closely here, I wouldn't disregard the idea they might be watching
us just as closely from the Umbra. If not /them/, then maybe the higher
powers that did this to them." She lets out a breath, "...just a thought."
"This," Nat says, "Is where it'd be /real/ nice to have a Kin in the coroner's
office. I don't know how... -traceable- sleepy sleepy gas is, or even
where we'd pick some up. I'm assuming, Jer, that this White Fire of yours
goes boom crackle crackle? I'd /really/ like to make this look as
accidental as possible. They're probably paranoid. Neutralizing both
Boris and the doctor in the same week could be... bad. For us, that is."
Jeremy perks up a bit. "Tom is a Doctor, so is Alec..." He trails off. "So is
Dana.. I got connections on that end if you need that kinda stuff." He
says with a bob of his head.
"The drug I'm thinking of is untraceable. It's used an anaesthetic when you are
about to do a bypass. It completely paralyzes the victim for 5 minutes.
They can't even breathe. It's available in any surgical unit," Leala says.
Natalie says "So what about this White Fire? Will -that- look accidental? For
that matter, /do/ we want this to look accidental?"
"White Phospherous." Jeremy explains a bit as he leans back in the chair,
glancing to Dakota, then back to the others. He reaches out and taps a
few keys on his laptop. "It burns like no other. Shit hurts and can be
used to blind, like a flash grenade."
"Succiynlcholine is less than he deserves," Leala says with a hard look in her
eyes. "Whether it looks accidental or not."
"Maybe we should just disable them instead of killing them, outright ... maybe
use them as bargaining pawns, something underhanded like that, y'know,"
Tony suggests.
Jeremy glances over to Leala and nods, then looks to the Theurge Cog again.
"Where did he find these spiders at? Near by here?"
Leala pages to the room: My mom's a doctor and was watching it with me. She was
pretty blown away at how mean that lady was. LOL.
Dakota shrugs her shoulders softly, "He mentioned a bridge that shouldn't have
been able to support them. It may have been the park, but you'd have to
ask him the fine details."
"The only problem with taking them alive, as much as I'd like to grill them, is
that it takes the battle to us," Leala says.
Dakota adds, "He said Griphus wanted him to lead them out there, and I wanted
to check them out."
"We have the home field advantage," Anthony continues. "If we're fighting on
our turf, we'll have better chances."
Natalie says "Problem with that, Tony, is that if they're alive, they've got a
chance of escaping. Write it down, though - it's an idea."
"Is it worth the risk though? They don't know what we are. We don't have a veil
breach yet." Leala looks skeptical.
"Capturing them rather than killing them, I mean," Natalie adds.
Jeremy looks a bit confused and then props his chin up in the palm of his hand.
"I doubt they got spiritual ties, unless a Spiral is working with them
incognito." He says, then reaches out to squeeze Dakota's hand slightly.
"We captured three of 'em before. All they did was ramble about demons."
"The doctor may be the key. If he's the one who's making these modifications,
then he's the one we want to interrogate. He would know their
weaknesses," Leala says.
Dakota looks to Jeremy, frowning softly. "They might not have even known what
was going on. If some big nasty is working behing the scenes, he, or she,
could he screwing with their lackey's heads for that very reason. If they
get caught and interrogated, they can't spill the beans."
Natalie rakes fingers through her hair again. "All right. Do we have enough, do
you think, to hammer out some sort of a plan?"
"Honestly, I think it all hinges on what Jeremy finds in their computers
tonight. That information should give us a much clearer direction in
which to proceed." Leala looks intently at the laptop.
Jeremy lets out a breath. "Why not capture Boris and the son? Break their legs,
blind fold 'em, an chain 'em in the basement somewhere other than the
Dominion? Lee, where is that one place we got in case of emergencies?"
Natalie clears her throat pointedly at the Kin. "Plan, Jer. Do we have enough
to make a plan, like the nice Sept Alpha asked?"
Natalie adds, "I don't care what the plan -is- right now, just if we think we
can make one. If we need more info, that's another thing."
Dakota turns her attentions to Natalie. "I say take them alive, if at all
possible. It's risky, but the information you might get from them could
make all the difference. In the meantime, I say get some people together,
Josh among them, and check out the Umbra - for spies and any other clues."
"I'm not certain /where/ it is," Leala says pensively. "Salem and Rina know,
though."
"I say, wait for more information," Leala says. "It's not like we have to wait
weeks. He has the logins. He's going to do it tonight."
"So what day does full moon fall on?" Anthony asks, going back and crossing out
some things.
"Fine, I think we got enough for our plan. I want to capture one of the bigger
guys, and make 'em talk. If not, we kill 'em, then flush out the rest.
Start with the son, he likes the Temple." Jeremy says. "Move on to Boris
if we pop a ransom. This is our turf, we can beat 'em on it." He
explains. "Tonight though, I may have a lot to work with after I open up
their network and take it. Its up to you tho' Natalie, since you are
acting Alpha, of what you want me to go from there. But we need to push
back, instead of be pushed."
Natalie answers Tony. "Saturday."
Everyone's more or less where Megan left them, except that Dakota is now
sitting in the chair beside Jeremy. Tony's secretary; he's got a legal
pad and is taking notes.
Megan has settled herself to some of the offered lager, and there's a can in
her hand when she re-enters. She enters quietly, though, standing back to
catch up on the discussion.
"...All right," the Walker elder says slowly, thoughtfully. "I'm thinking this:
we come up with a plan now, subject to change depending on what Jeremy
finds tonight. Any problems with that?"
"Well, it's better than putting it off for later," Anthony says, flipping to
the next page in the notebook.
Jeremy types a few more things into the laptop. "No problem here. I'm hoping I
get addy's of the good Doctor and the others that are hiding about."
Leala nods, although she looks a little ruffled.
Dakota nods her head aswell, chewing on the inside of her cheek in thought as
she continues to mull over her theories.
Natalie's attention shifts to Megan's entrance. The Fianna gets a brusque nod,
but she turns back to the others soon enough. "...Right. OK, Tony, what
do we have for ideas so far? Kill both Boris and Junior, kill or kidnap
the doctor..."
"Um ... yeah, that's pretty much it," Anthony concludes, momentarily turning
back a page to check the notes. "Or, maybe kidnap Boris and Junior."
"I remembered something," Megan enters into the discussion. "Natalie, you
should talk to the Shadow Lord, Cutter, and to Konstantin, another Shadow
Lord. Konstantin's been working undercover in the Russian mafia for a
while now."
Jeremy lets out a breath at the sound of Konstan's name, glancing up to Megan
somewhat. He furrows his brows, then looks to Natalie.
Dakota narrows her eyes slightly at Megan's words, saying, "And if no one
objects, I also reccomend checking out the Umbra."
Natalie says "Already taken care of, Megan. Salem talked to him last night -
he's got until Saturday to talk to me. We no longer," she adds pointedly,
not looking at Jeremy, "Think he's the leak. It's an option, but not
likely."
"Oh, good," Megan replies breezily. "Why don't you think he's the leak?"
"They still don't have details about us." Jeremy explains. "They don't know
where we live at, really, and they know nothing of the Garou. They just
refer to us as demons who rule the city. I'm not even sure of Kon /is/
getting info. He could be dicking around as it is."
Natalie says "They know the word 'fomori', but they think that's /us/." Nat
stands, leaning forward on the desk. "I'm not going to be alpha on this
pack - if we do pack. Megan, everyone, excuse me. I've got an interview
with a possible employer for next week, and I really need the money. Jer,
you know the routine. You find anything I need to know immediately, wake
me up. Otherwise I'll see you tomorrow. Feel free to stay as long as you
need."
With that, Natalie heads for the door. A few moments later, and the front door
opens, then closes.
Megan raises an eyebrow at Natalie's pronouncement about the pack alphaship,
looking displeased, but then turns her gaze back onto the remaining
Garou. "So, anyone want to fill me in why you guys don't think they
learned everything from Konstantin? Especially given Cutter's involvement
at the Park?"
Having not heard the details either, Leala pipes in. "I'd like to know as well."
"I'm not convinced, yet," Tony says with a shrug. "If he was the leak, he
wasn't a very good one, but still, it just feels suspicious."
"They seem to be targetting Salem, and anyone affiliated with him." Jermey
pipes up with a spin of his laptop, facing the group. He has compiled a
timeline of attacks and when the phone calls and videos have been shot.
"Salem this, Salem that.. Alicia is involved only because she packed with
Salem and is quite the public known figure among our people. Cutter and
Rina happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." He cants his
head to one side. "I suppose this Saturday is when we find out. I'm all
for dragging him in now, but.. Salem wants him to wait."
Megan's expression turns confused. "Wants who to wait, Konstantin? And has
anything been figured out as to why they seem to be focusing so much on
Salem?"
"It seems like they think he rules the city," Leala says. "At least, that's
what their phone conversations imply. Where they got that idea, I don't
know."
"Salem wants to wait before we drag in Konstantin for questioning," Anthony
clarifies.
"Konstan got tainted once by them already.. and since then he won't report
anything to us. Salem gave him a week to come clean to us with the info,
before we go after him." Jermey says slowly.
"So if he's leaving," Megan speculates, "then that would eliminate his threat.
But I guess this is mob shit, isn't it," she says thoughtfully. She then
glances sidelong at Anthony. "If you 'drag' Konstantin in here for
questioning, with all that implies, you better be prepared for the Shadow
Lords coming down on your collective asses, too. Ask. And you'd be
advised to talk to Cutter, too. With Jarred acting as Warder, Cutter's
the Shadow Lord presence here in the city. Cutter's the one who got him
Cleansed."
Jeremy nods his head. "We planned on talking to Cutter first. That was
definitly in the works." He closes his laptop once more, and this time
slips it into his bag.
Leala rubs her temples and says, "I think a lot will hinge on what information
Jeremy finds tonight. So, he should get at it!" She smiles. "I'll be
around if you need anything," she says to Jeremy. "Rhya," she says,
nodding to Megan. "I will see the rest of you later." She waves to the
group and prepares to depart.
Megan nods sharply. "Then it sounds like you guys have a plan. Just...do me a
faovr. Try not to kill anyone without talking to me first. I'm just
afraid that their first death is going to call down all hell on us."
Dakota waves her hand, then used it to cover her mouth as she yawns. The Child
of Gaia sighs softly and leans back in her chair, running a hand back
through her hair.
"Don't want to waken a sleeping dragon." Jeremy says, standing up, sliding his
hand into Dakota's with a smile. "You want to get some coffee? I think we
gotta talk 'bout stuff." He says with a forced smile on his face.
Anthony lets out a nice long sigh as the meeting concludes, tossing the pad
full of scrawlings up onto the elder's desk.
"Believe me, I'd prefer to wait and prepare," she says softly and walks out the
door.
Dakota nods her head to Jeremy as she stands up out of the chair. "Coffee
sounds great. I need it."
Jeremy rises up from the chair and pushes it back into place. He smiles
slightly to Megan. "Thank you for coming by Megan Rhya."
Megan's expression turns wry, her tone dry. "Of course. Next time, let's see if
we can meet some place less likely to be under observation, under more
secure methods than a phone line. Let me know what you find out." And she
turns to head out herself.
Dakota watches Megan leave, the muscle under one of her eyes giving a faint
twitch. Letting out a long sigh, she looks aside to Jeremy. "I think we
should just pick up a whole can of coffee."
Jeremy nods his head and chuckles. "I think we shall. I'm going to need you to
stay up with me t'night when I hack. Tony, you with us?" He asks, turning
his head to the Ragabash.
Jeremy glances down at his phone and picks it up, blinking. "Hello?"
Jeremy chuckles slightly. "Dude, its you again. Whats up man? We just finished
up a mini moot."
Dakota tilts her head slightly at the phone call, but certainly doesn't pay
much further attention to it. The crescent-moon yawns again, glancing
over to Anthony.
Jeremy steps outside and continues to talk on the phone, smiling, tugging on
Dak's hand.
[...]
It is currently 23:52 Pacific Time on Thu Mar 4 2004.
Rina knocks quietly at the door, her voice muffled behind it. "Jack?" she says,
soft and tentative.
"It's open," comes his voice from inside. She can hear Vivaldi in the
background.
Her eyes are lowered, when she enters the room--the slow steps of someone
approaching the block. Staring at the floor, she says, quietly, "I owe
you an apology."
He's dressed in working clothes -- sweats, t-shirt, that sort of thing, and
when she enters he's in the middle of taking books and other items off
the shelves, stacking them into a box on the desk. The bedroom beyond
contains more boxes, though not as many as there might be; Jack was never
much of a packrat.
He regards her for a moment after she speaks, then sighs and runs a hand back
over his short black hair. "No. I do, I suppose. I should have told you
in person."
She looks toward him--and then lowers her eyes again, wincing at the signs of
packing. Her hands thrust into her pockets, and her shoulders hunch--the
defended posture of a teenager, strange on her twenty-something form. "Is
it 'cause of her?"
Salem hesitates, then walks past her and closes the door with a gentle click.
Then, quietly, "You... could say that. She's vanished." His back is to
her when he says this, and afterward he paces back toward the curtained
window.
Rina swallows, dark eyes flashing to him, concern and hard attention in them.
"You're going to look? Have you tried the Rite?"
He nods somewhat wearily. "Several times. Nothing." His mouth twists into a
faint grimace as he finds himself glowering at the empty chair behind the
desk. The circles under his eyes are dark. "Nothing if I try it in the
Umbra, either."
The tension climbs in her, an almost tangible link formed by the urge to go to
him--but she stays where she is, watching with those haunted eyes. "Maybe
it's something -- I mean, there are things that make people-- disappear
from that sort of sight."
Salem plucks something from the back of the chair. A bit of lint or a mote of
nothing. He nods faintly. "Yes. But I have to know." His mouth twists
into a humorless sort of way. "'Unfinished business,' I said to Megan.
And it is. Just not the kind that..." He trails off, his gaze flicking
toward her, apologetic.
Her eyes, pained and worried, return to the floor. "I'm sorry," she says
quietly. "You'll.. call me?"
"When I can, of course." His hand trails back and forth lightly over the back
of the elder-chair for a moment, and then he moves away abruptly and over
toward the doorway leading into the back bedroom. "Most of this is going
to go in storage," he says absently. "In the tower, I suppose."
"I'll help," she says, looking across to him. "Whenever you want."
Salem nods, still standing in the doorway between office and bedroom, arms
folded across his chest. "It's better this way in any case." He's
frowning pensively, eyebrows lowered. "Jeremy got some information from
the bugs finally, and this Russian crap... it's all about me. They're
targeting _me_, and anyone associated with me." He shakes his head. "They
even know I'm leaving, can you fucking believe that? They _know_."
"I don't know what they're tapped into..." She swallows, then, rubbing at the
back of her neck. "D'you know what the deal is, with Josh? Why he isn't
allowed here?"
Salem sighs, his head lowering slightly. "Joshua... may not be a Glass Walker.
He seems committed now to working in the city, but he doesn't love it and
he doesn't _care_ for it like we do. He prefers the forests."
Rina's brow furrows a little. "That doesn't necessarily mean we cast him out,
does it? I mean... there's other people like that. And we need the
manpower."
Salem looks at her, frowning. "He needs to decide where his loyalties lie. And
if he doesn't love the city, if he'd rather be out in the woods, he
doesn't belong with us. The decision's his."
Rina purses her lips, and answers with a grudging nod. "And then he renounces,"
she half-questions.
Salem grunts. "Renouncing's for auspice, not tribe, technically, but if Megan
knows Lone Wolf, or can get someone who does... Or we can adapt something
as long as he gets another tribe to take him in immediately."
Frowning, Rina lowers her eyes again, and nods.
"I'm still glad he passed his Rite," Salem says, leaning against the door
frame. "He's come a long way."
Rina nods. "Yeah." She looks at him, then, the dark eyes intent and purposeful.
"Kinda like some others I know."
He was looking at her, and their eyes meet for a brief moment before he shies
his away with a grunt.
Rina wets her lips nervously. "I... just let me know, if there's anything I can
do."
Salem shifts his weight against the doorframe a bit, studying the cold
fireplace. "Forgive me for leaving?" he murmurs, almost too quietly to
hear.
She presses her lips together for a moment, biting back the welling tears.
After a silence, she says, quietly, "Yeah."
"Thanks." The word is muted; his eyes are still shifted away from her.
She finally paces toward him, steadily, a hand offered palm-up. "Jack..."
Salem drags his gaze up toward hers; his eyes are raw with lack of sleep and
worry, though the rest of his face is rigid enough that if it weren't for
those eyes, he'd look perfectly calm, dead neutral.
All the emotion held back from his expression shines clear in hers--the dark
eyes brimming with concern and anxious love. Then she is hugging him, her
arms around his waist, holding him for a long moment as if to pour
strength and reassurance into his larger frame.
She can feel him grow tense within her grasp, his teeth clenching as he
swallows. After a while he lets his arms wrap around her, his hands
clasped loosely together. He's been smoking again; she can smell it on
his shirt.
"It'll be all right," she whispers. "It'll be okay, Jack. I know it will."
"I... hope so," he says carefully, as if he doesn't quite trust his own voice.
"I hope so."
Her hands stroke his back, as if to soothe away the hard tension there. "Don't
hope," she murmurs. "Know. I know you'll come back to us, and everything
will be okay."
Salem nods slowly. His arms tighten around her briefly, then loosen. "I
should... try to get some sleep, I suppose." He sighs. "This Russian
shit..."
"Yeah," Rina says quietly. "We'll work on it. It'll be okay."
Salem nods again. "Family's working on a plan. Natalie'll be a good elder." His
tone is vague, distant. "Jeremy got... a shitload of information, you
should talk to him. And maybe we'll finally get something out of
Konstantin."
Rina nods. "Tell them keep me in the loop. There's bound to be something I can
do." She releases him, and steps back. "When are you going?"
Salem rubs a hand across his scarred face. "Fifteenth."
Rina nods. "I'll be around," she says quietly. "Out of town a couple of days,
but I'll be back Saturday night."
"All right," he murmurs. "All right." He looks at her again with those raw eyes
of his. "Be careful."
Rina nods, meeting his gaze and then turning to go.
He lets her, though he watches her all the while. When she's gone, his
shoulders sag and he retreats into the bedroom full of boxes, and despite
being bone-tired, he has to swallow a sleeping pill to actually get some
rest.
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