Thanks in part to Cameron's connections with the cops; investigations into the events at the Pit were at best cursory. Now Xavier Vega was in a step deeper with that Ventrue prick. Wasn't that wonderful? At least he was able to access the place without any real trouble; that meant he could oversee the repairs directly.
The Pit would be shut down to the public for awhile; there was nothing that could be done to change that. As for Norton's proposal to put Cameron Hastings in power in order to corner him into granting and advocating in favor of an Anarch State, Xavier was the one who felt cornered right now. If there was a way to set up Sovereign State without having to play nice with that son of a bitch he'd take it. One thing was certain; VV would never have gone with setting up a Hastings Domain. Maybe that was why Norton kept quiet about that part of his little scheme. Or maybe he and VV talked, and she convinced him to come up with some kind alternative. Xavier would never know now; VV was a pile of ashes and Norton was back on track with his original plan. What was even worse, Xavier couldn't see a way out.
Xavier Vega looked up from contemplations when he heard the front doors of his club open. Damsel was stomping in; it occurred to him just then that Damsel is always stomping when she moves. She also always seemed to wear a permanent scowl on her face; he couldn't recall any time he saw with an actual smile on her face. She may have offered a menacing grin from time to time; and in those cases she still managed to look pissed off. Even the one time they had anything like a heart to heart she maintained an appearance that said she was at least mildly peeved. That time, back when he chaperoned her after that Assamite tried to frame her for Isaac's assassination and the conversation they had after that was about the softest he ever saw her features. Right now she was trying to replicate that, with some success. He recalled then actually feeling somewhat attracted to her; for some reason he couldn't quite understand, the feelings this time around weren't quite there. He could see quite plainly she was attractive; he understood very well why Tyler liked her as much as he did. There was no denying that Damsel was what the mortals called 'hot'; there was a time not long ago he would have said so himself. For all her rage and discontent, Damsel was remarkably focused. She was also admirably passionate and protective of her own; she truly deserved the title of den mother.
"Hey, are you gonna say something or just gawk and drool all night?" Damsel broke his train of thought. "I got a topless pinup kicking around somewhere I can give you. It'll last longer!"
"I'm sorry." Xavier said. "I guess I got my Toreador on for a minute there. How can I help you tonight, Damsel?"
Damsel rolled her eyes in a manner that Xavier guessed was her best attempt at being lighthearted or flippant, and then immediately went to her default expression of contemptuous discontent.
"We gotta talk." She said. "Word is that you and your rock and roll bromance buddy are planning on putting Cammie up as the Prince of this city."
The Toreador didn't expect the Brujah to know that, but he saw no point in trying to lie about it. He did, however, make a point of not showing his surprise. He thought for a moment to inquire where she heard that, but dismissed the notion just as quickly; it didn't really matter. It was most likely the Nosferatu, though he doubted that the Brujah would reveal her sources. What did matter, however, is whether this was a call as Den Mother to the LA Brujah, or as Sherriff of Prince Therese Vooreman.
"Let me ask you something," Xavier replied, "do you approach me with this as Den Mother, or do you come to the Toreador Primogen as Sherriff?"
"What fucking difference does that make?" Damsel nearly snarled at him. That was almost answered his question by itself. "Either way, the idea that you would back Cammie of all people, is almost enough to make me want to fucking vomit. Is it true or not?"
"It makes a big difference." Xavier countered. "I need to know if I need to propose to the Primogen Council to have you removed for slander or to agree that Cameron as Prince is the worst possible thing I can imagine."
"Oh, that's real," Damsel scoffed. "Nice way to say nothing without missing a word. Look, I've been on board with restabilising LA as a Free State all along. If that doesn't tell you that I could give a flying crap what happens to Therese, nothing will. Whatever capacity I come to you in, the fact doesn't change; Cammie as Prince is worse than Therese, and it makes no difference that Hastings regimes work out to accommodate Sovereign States."
So the Brujah were not in favor of this part of Norton's plan, either. That was the first bit of good news that Xavier heard since VV was taken from him. It occurred to him then that they would not have sent Damsel in here unless they thought had some kind of alternative in mind.
"Did you come here to complain," Xavier asked, "or do you come with an option?"
"What do you think?" the Brujah asked back. "First I need to know if you're down with leaving your butt-boy's plan well enough alone. We're cool with his model for a Sovereign State, but now we think it's time to quit with his whole scheme of playing nice neighbor bullshit. It's time we take back LA. It should be ours like it was before that douche bag Lacroix rolled in."
"We rousted him." Xavier said. "We can get past this. And yes, I like the idea of LA being Anarch turf."
"Then you better come with me to the Last Round." Damsel said. "Jack got word from the Nosferatu about your buddy's game. He said he figured they must have your places bugged. If we're gonna work out a plan, then we gotta be careful."
"That's fair enough." The Toreador relented. She was right, of course. Xavier had always been careful about security; VV was so much more relaxed about that sort of thing. He really should have swept Vesuvius after she died. He stood up from his chair. "Let's get going, then."
