It is currently 08:42 Pacific Time on Sat Mar 6 2004.
Currently in Saint Claire, it is a cloudy day. The temperature is 37 degrees
Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius). The wind is calm today. The barometric
pressure reading is 30.33 and rising, and the relative humidity is 92
percent. The dewpoint is 35 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degrees Celsius.)
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full Moon phase (100% full).
[Cockroach Mansion]
Once given entrance, Dakota makes her way through the oak doors and into the
mansion. She lets out a soft sigh, and her eyes slowly look this way and
then that until they settle straight ahead.
Dakota pages: We can assume Dakota already called Salem and told him she needed
to talk.
Salem meets Dakota at the door, still dressed in the clothes he was wearing the
night before. Coffee cup in hand, he regards the young Gaian curiously.
"Morning. Shall we take this into the parlor?"
Dakota regards the Philodox and nods her head in a returning greeting. "Sure. I
apologize for stopping by this early, I just wanted to make sure I talked
to you before you left."
Salem replies with a single curt nod and precedes her into the parlor. "Have a
seat, then. Talk." He settles into an armchair and takes a sip of coffee.
Making his way down the stairs is Jeremy, having received the text messager
earlier from Dakota that she planned on stopping by. Rounding himself
past the well, he heads into the parlor, pulling his trench coat tightly
around him as he glances between the two Garou. He gives Dakota an odd
look, then pffs out a soft breath, letting a smile spill across his face.
Dakota takes a seat in a chair across from the Walker, resting her palms on the
arms of the chair. "Well, I wanted to talk to you, about Jeremy." She
says quietly, pausing a moment as Jeremy enters. She gives him a thankful
smile before she returns her attention to Salem, adding. "It's no suprise
now, after the party, what's going on between us."
Salem glances over at the kin, then back at Dakota, his expression turning wry.
He smirks faintly and nods.
Jeremy glances over to Dakota and raises up his brow somewhat, then turns his
attention to Salem, studying him silently as he folds his arms behind his
back.
The Theurge presses her lips together momentarilly, "I don't remember a whole
lot about what had happened at the party, but I remember you had been
asking when the wedding would be." Dakota glances once aside to Jeremy,
letting out a soft breath before saying, "Well, it was Tuesday."
Salem blinks, startled. His eyes snap toward Jeremy, his smirk fading into a
bit of a frown, and then shift back to Dakota. "That was... sudden."
Jeremy clears his throat and reaches out, sliding his hand into Dak's, fingers
squeezing. "It was." He says softly, swalowing.
Dakota folds her hands in her lap as she nods once, looking up to Salem. "I can
see now that eloping... wasn't the greatest idea. I don't regret getting
married, far from it, but I do regret not speaking to Alicia or you
first." She drops her eyes away, "And I apologize. I made a mistake, a
big one."
Salem sets his coffee cup aside and steeples his fingers. His face is grave,
and he's quiet for a moment before speaking. "I don't consider kinfolk to
be... 'territory'. I find that attitude to be demeaning, even insulting."
He looks back over at Jeremy, looking at him steadily. "I'll protect
them, react swiftly if anyone should hurt them... but their personal
lives are their own." He turns back to Dakota. "But I'm not the elder of
the Glass Walkers anymore, and so I'm not the one you should be speaking
to."
Nodding his head slowly, Jeremy lets out another breath as he gives Dakota's
hand another firm squeeze, offering a slight smile towards Salem. "If
anything, we are both happy with the decision." He says, tongue clicking
over his teeth.
Back in the kitchen the sliding door opens, then closes. There are a few
muffled noises, as of someone moving around.
Dakota nods her head in agreement to Jeremy's words, a soft smile touching her
face. "Well, you were when all of this happened. When I /should/ have
spoken to you. So I did want to make sure you were informed."
Salem grunts. "Make sure you speak to Natalie, though, and soon." He picks up
his coffee again and sips. "For what it's worth... congratulations."
"Thanks Jack." Jeremy says with a chuckle as he rubs the back of his neck with
the free hand, then glances over towards the movement out the door.
"We will." The Gaian says, offering a grin. "And it's worth a lot, even if
we're going to give some people heart attacks." She give's Jeremy's hand
a firm squeeze, squinting towards the door as he does.
The noises in the kitchen continue, complete with cupboards and the
refrigerator opening, then closing.
"Got a place yet?" Salem keeps his tone light, though his ease is more facade
than sincere; it's barely more than skin-deep.
"We haven't really thought of that yet. Kinda waiting for the Russian thing to
blow over." Jeremy says with a smile as he shrugs his shoulders.
"Yeah." Dakota says quietly, face falling a bit. "Until then, I'll just keep
livin' like a refugee, since Ali's place isn't safe anymore."
In time Natalie appears at the door to the parlor, glass of orange juice in
hand. Her tuneless whistling cuts off at seeing the place occupied, and
she looks between Philodox, Kin, and Theurge before coming further into
the room. "Morning."
Salem's expression quickly turns sour as he nods. Then he looks over toward
Natalie. "Good morning," he says blandly, and then glances significantly
at Dakota.
Jeremy tilts his head over towards Natalie and offers up a quick smile.
"G'morning. Dakota and I got married on Tuesday in Vegas, and I'm just
about done piecing together everything that I ripped off of Boris's
harddrive. I'm just doing Russian to English conversions which are taking
up time."
Dakota lifts up a brow at Jeremy, letting out a sigh as she looks over to
Natalie. "...yeah, what he said."
Nat stops as if she'd just walked into a wall. "Um?" Anything else she'd add -
more coherent, hopefully - is interrupted by the sound of the gate
buzzer. "...I'll get it." She ducks back into the hall, only to call a
moment later, "Anyone know this guy?"
There's a figure at the gates waiting to get buzzed in. He's wearing a long
black leather trenchcoat, collar pulled up. His face is distinctly Slavic
looking.
Salem gets up, leaving his coffee behind by his armchair, and goes to check the
monitor. He stares at the figure for a moment, and then says, flatly,
"Let him in. It's Konstantin."
"This will be interesting." Jermey says as he rises up from his seat, making
his way out after Salem, letting go of Dakota's hand. His face turns
buisness like, brows furrowing.
Natalie buzzes to let the gate open, the likewise the front door when the Lord
approaches it. "Mhm."
Dakota tilts her head slightly to one side and gets up from her seat. "...I
better be going, leave you guys to buisness. I gotta go talk to Alicia
anyway." She slips her hands in her pockets as she slips after everyone.
Konstantin takes his time coming up the front walk of the house. His head
swivels here and there, occassionally pausing to pick out this or that
detail. He finally arrives at the door, looking Natalie over.
"Konstantin," he tells her. He glances past her. "Suppose to see Natalie."
Salem stays in the background, his arms folded across his chest. If he's
surprised to see the Shadow Lord here (and under his own power) he
doesn't show it.
"Why don't you come in," Natalie offers mildly, dropping Dakota a nod as she
passes. "Have a seat in the parlor," she adds after closing the door. The
Walkers wouldn't have their Elder playing doorman, would they?
Konstantin lifts his eyes toward Salem with a nod. "Jack," he says, tersely.
"Got something for you." He pulls a brown paper sack from the pocket of
his trenchcoat. He sets it on a wing table as he passes into the parlor.
Salem arches an eyebrow at the sack. Glancing over at Natalie, he gives her a
nod, then goes over to examine the sack and its contents.
Jeremy glances over towards Dakota and nods his head slightly, offering a quick
smile to her. "Take care." He says, being polite as he can be as his eyes
drift once more towards Konstan, then to the package. "That going to blow
up or something if we open it?" He asks bluntly without much humor in his
voice. "That seems to happen more and more as we get unusual parcels."
Dakota gives a nod to Natalie in reply, a grin to Jeremy, and to Salem, a,
"Thanks for seeing me." Giving Konstantin only a curious squint, the
Gaian turns to the doors and heads out.
Konstantin pages: There are 10 bankwrapped stacks of $1,000 in 100s.
Konstantin finds a comfy chair in the parlor, draping his coat over the back of
it.
Natalie paces after Konstantin, orange juice in hand. When he sits she does as
well, choosing a seat across the room and turning it to faces his. "I'm
Natalie. Called Holds-The-Line. Galliard and Elder." All of it delivered
in a neutral tone. "You have something to tell us?"
Salem glances into the paper bag Konstantin provided, raises an eyebrow, then
folds the top over closed. He joins the others in the parlor a few
moments later, having left the (apparantly harmless) parcel there on the
wing table. He doesn't sit, but stands near the doorway, arms folded, his
gaze focussed on Konstantin.
Leaning into the doorway, the Gothic stares at Konstan silently now, chains
jingling lightly against his person as he stops moving. He swallows once,
allowing the collar around his throat to bob once.
"I have a debt to pay. After today, I consider it paid in full." The Shadow
Lord begins. "And, since we haven't met before, I'm Konstantin Romanovich
Radolenko, Stormcrow's Silent Wing, cliath Shadow Lord." He glances over
at Salem. "I was under the impression this'd be a private chat, not some
kind of recital."
"You know what they say about assuming," Salem says mildly.
"When you're ready," Natalie invites, settling back into her chair. "I believe
we require information of what happened to you since you infiltrated the
Russians."
"Sure," the Russian replies. His English is unaccented, upper Midwest bleeding
through sometimes. "What's happened? Well, I have been engaged in a lot
of business through out the city. I've been trying to work my way up the
ladder to meet the upper echelon of the mafia's organization. I've been
somewhat successful with that so far. There are certain things I have to
do to gain the trust of the leadership. I'm working on those things."
Jeremy tilts his head slightly as he listens, furrowing his brows.
Natalie listens silently, sipping her juice.
Salem keeps silent for now, his attention focussed on Kostya.
Konstantin steeples his fingers together. He doesn't seem inclined to continue
speaking without a question to speak to. He seems relaxed in his seat. He
crosses one leg casually.
Natalie says "Well, that was amazingly uninformative. Details." She leans
forward, elbows on her knees, juice glass cradled between her hands as
she eyes the Ragabash. "I want to know... everything that's happened
between when you first started infiltrating the Russians until now."
"Jeremy," she adds, glancing over at the Kin, "Could you tape this, please?"
Anthony lets himself in through the front door, taking a moment to put away his
jacket before proceeding on towards the parlor.
Jeremy offers a quick smile to Natalie, but otherwise he doesn't move from his
spot. His eyes look coy though.
Konstantin lifts an eyebrow, shakes his head faintly. Then he smirks. "Isn't it
already on tape?" he asks. His eyes dart around the room toward likely
spots for security cameras.
Salem might as well be a camera himself, a machine, for all that his stoic body
language and bland expression show. The only real sign of life is the
small tics and tension of a rigidly-controlled temper.
"Consider it a reminder," the Elder says, settling back in her chair.
Wherever Jeremy has the security buried at, he doesn't point it out or let his
eyes roam. He continues to lean into the doorway, eyes squinted some.
"Where do you tend to meet them at?" He asks curiously.
"A lot of different locations," the Shadow Lord answers. "Look. Just my being
here is a big advantage to you guys -- and since all this on tape forgive
me for speaking in generalities. You want specifics, then we go somewhere
neutral one on one with the Elder and no recording devices."
"Why would we need to go somewhere 'neutral', and one on one, when you are
among safer territory and allies?" Jeremy asks with a raise of the brow.
"Wouldn't it be easier to talk among your peers, when you have safer
enclosures to not only protect your neck, but ours as well?"
Konstantin snorts, faintly. He looks at Natalie, still keeping an even keel in
his tone and body language.
"Cute," Natalie offers, "But no. You made the deal with the Elder, you're
talking to the Elder. I'm right here, Konstantin. Talk."
Konstantin shrugs. "Fine. I'll tell what I'm willing to have recorded for
posterity."
Jeremy glances over to Salem. "This is getting us no where." He cuts in right
after Konstan. "I'm starting to wonder who's side he is on."
Natalie says "You'll tell us everything," crossing her ankles. "This isn't an
option."
Anthony opens the parlor door slightly, looking inside at the interrogation
momentarily before slipping inside.
"Yes, of course," Konstantin replies, smoothly. "So where were we?"
"You were telling the Don where you meet these people, as in, some locations.
Try some names too while you are at it." Jeremy says, fingers flexing
among his fingerless gloves. His voice is flat, eyes squinted some.
"Since you said you were 'climbing up the corporate' ladder, I do beleive
we are curious to which rung you have stopped on."
"I'm still a grunt," the Russian says. "I don't have any authority in the
group. I earn money -- usually a lot money. As for where we meet, I
already said, we meet all over the city. In cars, too. Public garages."
"What is this money used for and where does it go? What services are you
/providing/ them?" Jeremy asks with a faint narrow of his eyes as he
glances once to Natalie, boredly.
Natalie grunts, in a "I hear you," fashion, still watching the Lord.
Konstantin shakes his head at Jeremy. "Guess," he says, flatly.
"Do I look like Miss Cleo to you?" Jeremy says with a roll of his eyes. "I'm
not going to guess, because I don't have a clue. For all I know, you
could be trafficing drugs, or killing people for them." He says the last
almost accusingly.
Konstantin lifts his shoulders. "Could be," he says evenly. "Could be."
Salem shifts his weight, his frown deepening, impatience trying to leak through
the neutral mask. "Have you killed anyone for them?"
Konstantin shakes his head. "No," he answers, looking right at the philodox.
"So, you are pushing drugs then instead? Is that how you got tainted last
time?" Jeremy asks bluntly, soon as Konstan finishes his breath.
"No," the ragabash says. "That isn't how I got tainted."
"So how did you?" Jeremy asks as he fiddles with a chain on his pant leg.
"I honestly don't know," he says. He's still looking at Salem. "I was making
deliveries to a certain abandoned warehouse by the power plant. I don't
know what the deliveries were. And now there's nothing there where I'd
been sent. They moved somewhere else. Someone else is doing that job I
guess."
Anthony leans against the doorframe, folding his arms and drumming his fingers
on his sleeves impatiently, and occasionally taking his gaze off
Konstantin to roll his eyes at the other Ragabash's non-answers.
Jeremy glances over to Salem, as if silently asking him a question.
Natalie says "So you just woke up one morning and you were tainted. I see."
Salem grunts. Shifting his gaze briefly to Natalie, he says, "He's not lying.
Not that I can detect."
"I'm telling you the truth," he says, nodding at Natalie. "See?"
"No," Natalie corrects with a faint smile, "You're not lying. Continue."
"Just because he's not lying doesn't mean he's telling the whole truth,"
Anthony comments.
"The ground rules for this interview," Konstantin says, "is that I would tell
you everything, just as your Elder indicated."
"Moving on." Jeremy says. "Name." He states. "Who have you talked to, and don't
say you don't know, because I doubt they just walk up to you, give you a
package and walk off."
"I've talked to a lot of different individuals in the organization. As for the
deliveries for the warehouse? Those were blind drops. I get a phone call,
the voice says, "Pick up a package at such and such a place. The
destination's written on the package wrapping."
"So all this time, you don't got a single name?" Jermey asks again with a frown
on his face.
Konstantin says "About the warehouse? No." The ragabash shrugs. "Sorry. Wish I
could be more helpful.""
"You don't have /any names/ in general?" Jeremy asks again.
"Uh, sure. But not related to the business at that warehouse." Konstantin
reclines in his chair. "Nice house, by the way."
"Thanks." Jeremy says curtly. "So, the names of those who you /do/ know?"
"There's Tatianya. I sometimes drive her to appointments with her customers.
And Vasily. We meet up to share a bottle of vodka. Sometimes I get a call
on my phone from one of my clients. I like to keep myself free for any
sudden business which might come my way."
Natalie seems content to let the kin do the majority of the questioning. She
herself remains quietly in her chair, ankles crossed before her, watching
Konstanting and taking occasional sips of her juice.
Jeremy glances over to Salem again slightly.
"Have you _given_ them any names?" Salem asks. "Garou names, or those related
to Garou?"
Konstantin frowns deeply. "Fuck no," he says, with conviction.
"They know who Alicia is, where she lives at, and who she is married to, yet,
she hasn't been active in the city for four months." Jeremy says simply
as he stares at Konstan. "She went to compromise Boris's son at the
Temple the other day and he recognzied her immediately."
"Have you ever heard any of our names, Garou or kin, spoken by the Russians?"
Salem's gaze is direct, his voice bland. He doesn't act as though he's
even heard Jeremy.
Konstantin looks thoughtfully at Salem. "Didn't hear it from me," the Shadow
Lord replies to Jeremy. "I don't even know who you're talking about." He
takes a breath and then his brows bunch up as if he's in thought. "Aside
from what I told you in the park, Jack, no."
Salem makes a low 'mmm' noise, staring at the Shadow Lord thoughtfully, rubbing
absently at his stubbled chin as he does so. There are deep circles under
his eyes, though he doesn't act overly weary. "Have you witnessed
anything supernatural in your dealings with the Russians? _Personally_
witnessed?"
The Shadow Lord nods faintly. "At that warehouse, yes. Well, I /think/ it was
supernatural. It certainly wasn't a campfire jamboree." He glances at
Natalie. "Some kind of ritual chanting, a lot of really nasty stench. I
didn't want to get any deeper in that shit without a lot of backup, so I
made my deliveries and got the hell out."
"Anyone you recognized there?" Anthony asks, stepping away from the wall.
Natalie leans forward, bracing her elbows on her knees again. "How many people
did you see?"
Konstantin says "Didn't recognize anyone there. I just gave the packages to a
security guard inside the door and left. So I don't know."
Salem lapses back into silence, arms folded across his chest again, his
expression thoughtful, with narrowed eyes.
The kinfolk has slipped away from the group during the questioning, retreating
further into the house.
Natalie looks over to Salem, then Anthony. "Any other questions about that?"
"About the warehouse?" Salem shakes his head. "No."
Anthony steps back against the wall, shrugging slightly. "Not about the
warehouse."
Natalie says "Then if we know where this warehouse is..." She turns back to
Konstantin, settling into her chair again. "Was this when you found
yourself Tainted? After this delivery?"
"Ahhh, well, it wasn't just /one/ delivery, right? It was several. Just this
one delivery in particular was all messed up." The ragabash shrugs. "I
don't know when precisely I was tainted. It was like a cold -- built up
over a week or two."
The gate buzzes. Salem glances over at Anthony.
Anthony nods, and excuses himself from the parlor.
Natalie frowns to herself. "Did, hmn, any of what you saw look familiar?
Wanna-be Satanists, High Mass, that sort of thing?"
"It wasn't what I saw, so much as what I /smelled/ and /heard./ If it was
amovie or something, I would've guessed it was some kind of spell, or
something. But I don't know any more than I just said."
"He's in the parlor," Anthony says, holding the door for Signe. "Along with
Natalie and Konstantin."
Natalie nods slowly. "All right. Continue. Where was this... 'spell' in
relation to your tainting? Before, during, after? Did you ever hear
anyone mention Salem's name?"
Salem, still standing near the doorway, glances over toward the front hall, his
attention straying briefly from the Shadow Lord.
Signe makes her way in, scowling faintly at the mention of the Shdaow Lord. She
walks toward the parlor, nodding to Salem when he glances. For now,
though, she doesn't say anything, instead listening to Natalie's
questions.
Konstantin serves up a big smile for Signe. "Hi. Join the party," he says,
overly cheerfully. "It was before," he says. "A week? Ten days? I don't
remember. That whole period around the rescue is kind of fuzzy. And no, I
never heard Salem's name at the warehouse. It was like.. some kind of
foreign language. Thick guttural sounding."
"Lovely." She looks over to Signe when Konstaning does, her brows drawing down.
"I'm not sure this is a good time."
Signe looks from Kostya to Natalie. "I can come back later," she offers.
Anthony makes sure to shut the door before returning to the parlor, following
Signe.
"Please," the Elder replies. "Would you care to wait in the kitchen? You could
also go visit the greenhouse."
Signe nods.
Signe makes her way to the front doors of the mansion, passing through the
double doors and out to the rest of the estate.
Natalie turns back to Konstantin once the Get's left. "Did you ever hear anyone
mention Salem's name?"
Salem shifts his attention back onto Konstantin. He frowns minutely.
Anthony walks back into the parlor as Signe heads outside, retaking his spot
near the door.
Konstantin nods at the woman's question. "I heard from a guy I was working with
for a while -- a real bruiser -- name's Anatoly, I believe. He mentioned
Salem to me and I told him I didn't know the guy."
Nat asks, "What else did he say? Did he just mention it out of the blue?"
Konstantin nods at her. "He asked me if I knew this guy who matched Salem's
description. I said no, I'd never heard of him. He told me I ought to
avoid him -- that he was a bad news guy. I thanked him and we didn't talk
about it again."
"All right." Natalie's eyes go distant for a moment, then return to Tony and
Salem. "Either of you have any more questions?"
Salem's mouth thins, but he shakes his head.
"No, not really," Anthony says, shaking his head as well.
"Then thank you very much for your time, Konstantin." Nat stands, her hands
smoothing down her shirt. "And for your... cooperation."
"Yeah," he says, standing and collecting his long leather coat. "It's been a
pleasure." The ragabash shrugs into the garment. "I can see myself out.
Thanks."
"If you do think of anything else," she continues, turning to watch him move,
"Do be sure to keep us informed. Don't be a stranger."
"Give my regards to your elder," Salem says mildly.
Anthony doesn't have any last words, instead just nodding slightly to the
Russian.
"Oh, you guys are right at the /top/ of my list. Trust me," Konstantin answers
with a faint nod. "Jack," he murmurs with another respectful lift of his
chin toward the man.
Salem looks rather dubious, but nods to the Shadow Lord all the same.
Konstantin makes his way to the front doors of the mansion, passing through the
double doors and out to the rest of the estate.
Natalie drops back into her chair on an exhale, her eyes more than a bit
shell-shocked. "Well. Wasn't that fun."
"Every time I think I've got something figured out about this, I find out the
next day I'm all wrong," Anthony mutters, shuffling to the sofa.
Salem prowls over toward his usual chair and drops into it with a grunt. "In
summary, he hasn't found out dick-all and I doubt he's really tried. But
I don't think he's the source of our leak."
Natalie says "I don't think he is, either," watching Salem cross. "I take it he
didn't try and lie?"
Salem shakes his head. "Not a blip until that parting remark, before he left."
His nose wrinkles. "I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for anything
further from him."
"That's something, anyway. Tony? What do you think?" She crosses
her ankles out in front of her again, placing her juice on the floor to
one side."
"Sounded like he was more interested in the girls and booze than anything."
Tony slumps onto the sofa. "He only saw that ritual thing by coincidence."
"Then it sounds like we're agreed?" Natalie says as much as asks, glancing
between the two. "Konstantin was not the leak, and he doesn't know much
of anything else. I want to keep him on a leash, especially to see if
anything else trickles down about our attack on Boris."
Salem nods. "Don't leave Cutter out of the loop. Courtesy." He gets up again,
taking up his nearly-empty coffee mug. "I'm going out for a bit. I'll
tell Signe she can come in. Oh, and Natalie... you can move into the
office and the bedroom back there whenever you wish."
Natalie nods and resumes her 'thinking' pose, mulling over the morning's events.
"I'm gonna go too," Tony says, rising from the sofa. "I have some calls home
I'd like to make."
"Be seeing you," says the halfmoon, gathering his coat and heading out.
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