Dmitri and his thugs were sloppy, but effective. Cameron could not deny that for what they lacked in grace, they did deliver results. That Toreador Xavier Vega was so brazenly in collusion with Tyler DeFaulte that this mess in his precious club was well deserved; what was even better was that it would be seen as clearly lax security measures on his part.

Over all, Cameron Hastings considered this night a win. Both Tyler and the Sherriff were taken down a notch; it was perfectly fine they would likely survive, since their survival was now largely due to him –once again. They had dropped the proverbial ball and as usual it was he, Cameron Hastings, Seneschal of the City, which was crucial in cleaning up their mess (or so it would seem to the Court). To make it even more delectable was the fact that he would be facilitating their revival. Now he would have them deep in his debt for a very long time. Even the Prince's hound would soon enough be at his behest. At this rate, there was really nothing to stand in his way; especially with that ridiculous Miss Velour being reduced to a pile of ash.

Of course there was still the matter of ensuring that Dmitri the half-breed (how is such a creature even possible?) remained silent, but Cameron even had that well in hand now. Mercurio took him away and would keep him secured until the Ventrue could deal with him personally; which was exactly what he was on his way to do right that moment. He could not have asked for a better outcome.

Cameron climbed into his limousine and instructed the driver to take him to Mercurio. The ghoul had taken the Dhampir to the hotel where a part of the basement was converted to a holding cell. While on the way, he worked out exactly how we was going to complete this next part of his overall plan. This was, by far, the most delicate part. He would have to not only ensure that Dmitri remained silent on all he knew, but it was also important that his Dhampir was available to render his services. That meant Dmitri could not very well be executed or kept held prisoner for any length of time. Obviously, the most critical element to consider was to ensure that there was no way he could ever be known to be involved in Dmitri's escape. There was the most delicate part of this particular operation. The best way he could think to do that was to make the hunter disappear altogether; to help him become – for all intents and purposes other than his results – invisible.

The limo pulled up in front of the hotel and Cameron let himself out, dismissing the driver. He was greeted promptly by Ezra the moment he stepped in.

"Good evening, sir!" he said with enthusiasm. "Can I take your coat for you?"

In order to cover his urge to cringe at the ghoul's nasal tone, Cameron smiled warmly. "No, Ezra, that won't be necessary. Thank you." He said.

Ezra took a step back, a look of disappointment furrowing his brow. He then quickly brightened again, remembering something.

"Mister Mercurio left a message for you, sir. He said it was very important." Then Ezra inched closer to Cameron tentatively, not wanting to presume too much, but indicating clearly that was a message not meant for common ears. "He said that your special; guest is ready downstairs, and all arrangements are in place. He also made sure I understand that nobody other than you is to go downstairs until you are done. I've ensured that no staff or contractors will have access until you are finished with your guest."

"Very good, Ezra; you have done well." Cameron said. He then made his way hastily to the elevator. There was no need to ask if Mercurio was still there; he knew the answer to that. Mercurio was far too careful to leave someone like Dmitri alone. In fact, the only time he could recall the old ghoul ever made a mistake at all was over ten years ago, the night they first met. That was when he was under Sebastian. He took the elevator down to the basement, and when the doors opened, Mercurio was waiting for him.

"Hey boss, everything is set up just like you wanted it. I even got a hold of someone who can doctor up those fake ID's. Those should be ready day after tomorrow."

"That's excellent news." Cameron said. "And you have the...tool I requested?"

Mercurio patted his hip. "I got it right here under my coat. I don't mean to question you or nothin' like that, but you sure you wanna do this like this? I've seen this kind of thing before, it gets messy."

Cameron said, "I appreciate your concern, Mercurio. This isn't a matter of what I want to do; it is a matter of what his carelessness has made it necessary to do. I'm sure you of all people understand how that goes."

"You got that right!" Mercurio coughed with laughter. "I remember this one time back in Jersey..."

Cameron held up a hand to silence the old ghoul. "You can tell me some other time." They got to the door which held their quarry, and Cameron took out a key card to swipe across the locking mechanism. "Right now we have some work to do."

"Sure thing, boss" the old ghoul agreed.

Cameron opened the door and the pair stepped into the cell; which was more like a scaled down hotel room if one were to overlook the fact there were no windows. There was even halfway decent furniture for the occupant. No restroom facilities, of course; it wasn't really meant to hold any mortal occupants. Inside, Dmitri was lounging on the sofa; his head just starting to clear after the fight he was in with Xavier. He looked towards the door and saw Cameron and Mercurio.

"Why am I here, vampire?" he grumbled. "I have been taking down your enemies and letting you live, and now you put me in one of your jail cells? You call this cooperation?"

"I assure you, Dmitri, this is only a very temporary arrangement." Cameron replied calmly. "If I hadn't arranged this, the others would surely have tortured and killed you. In fact I was surprised that that Anarch had the sense to prevent your outright murder right there in the club."

Dmitri scoffed. "So now you put me in fancy prison. I remove your rival and this is my reward? I should have killed you too."

Cameron held up his arm to prevent Mercurio from stepping into the discussion. He did not need that kind elevation just now. Mercurio stayed back.

"You did a great service for me, which is true. You will be well compensated. As I said this is a temporary measure for your protection. I promised you would be kept out of reach, except when on actual missions, and that promise is being kept." He said. "And as for your threat to end my life," he paused, activating his Dominate. "You will not do that."

"No, I will not be killing you." Dmitri concurred.

"The Intelligence I provide is far too valuable to you and your overall cause."

"I know that! Without your intelligence, I would not be nearly as effective as I am."

Cameron nodded. "Of course, in order for this arrangement to work, it requires absolute silence from everyone in this room. We all understand this, correct?"

"It would be as dangerous for me for my people to know of our cooperation as it is would be for your people to know for you."

"Then we have an understanding." Cameron said, smiling his boardroom predator smile, which caused even Dmitri to flinch a little. Again, Cameron activated his Dominate. "Now, Dmitri, would you be kind enough to place your left hand on the table?" Dmitri complied. When Cameron told him to kindly spread his fingers apart, the Dhampir did that as well. "Thank you, Dmitri."

Then Cameron raised a single finger and waved it in a come here gesture at Mercurio. Mercurio undid his coat and pulled a meat cleaver out from his belt, muttering that he should have brought a trash bag. He moved in closer to the dominated hunter, raising the cleaver...