Truth be told, Vivika had enjoyed a rather splendid day. She'd tended to Zach in the morning and gotten that all out of the way so she didn't have to lay eyes on him again for almost a full twenty-four hours; honestly that right there gave that Wednesday the 'good day' status. The raven-haired woman had then managed to increase the shipments of people for the blood farms by two per shipment, which may not have sounded like all that much of an increase, but when the number of transports per week were considered it became clear just how much of a remarkable difference two people really was. Yes, Vivika had been rather proud of herself for that one and she'd practically been preening at The Master's pleased expression when she'd informed him. 'You please me greatly with your progress, Vivika' had been his reply, a sentences full of muted praise for his more than human left hand.
After her meeting with The Master at what had become his lair she made her way back down onto the street as she wondered if could convince Thomas to have a little fun roleplay-wise by having him chain her in his – mostly – brand new dungeon and playing big, powerful and very evil Strigoi for her. Oh yes, that would finish off Vivika's perfect Wednesday really rather wonderfully.
The raven-haired semi-immortal walked calmly down the street, the sound of her heels echoed faintly as she walked along. Her plum colored coat gave her away as not being one of them, the rest of the human race, the people walking single file all nice and neatly like ants. No, Vivika hadn't been on the side of the humans since long before she'd met her darling husband and their Lord. The coat had a big black fur collar and a layered flare skirt which danced around her thighs as she walked; the lack of identification tag drew almost as many confused sideways glances as the coat itself. Yes, Vivika Eichhorst stood out rather boldly against the dark, bland colors everybody else wore. No one could have mistook her for one of them, not any longer, not just because of the coat, her make-up or lack of an identification arm band, but because of the way she held herself. She'd make no attempt to join a line, just carried on down the dusty sidewalk as she pleased. The guards would glance up at her every now and again as she passed by them only to realize who exactly Vivika was and quickly turn their heads away back to their jobs. The green-eyed woman enjoyed that, she'd spent so long-playing the chameleon, being invisible that Vivika really rather liked standing out at times; not constantly, just enough for her to feel special.
Vivika continued down the street with a tablet in hand as she tried to find out if she could come up with a new way of speeding up the experiments in Wing Three but frankly it didn't appear as though there was. While dealing with the organizing for their experiments was firmly Thomas' department and always would be, it was Vivika who supplied the people and had them transported; he demanded and she supplied. Still, Vivika liked to try and help where possible, be a good little wife to her husband and a loyal servant to The Master.
The sudden sound of thick metal snapping drew the green-eyed girl out of her inner thoughts abruptly and for a second she'd got no idea what she'd heard, only that the noise had come from behind her. She turned quickly to find a Mongrels had managed to break free of its leash and had taken off along the empty road towards her, or more correctly the people in the line behind her; ever since The Master's reward she'd smelt nothing like food to the Mongrels.
Screams started as guards chased after the loose Mongrel and a Strigoi who'd been patrolling one of the nearby rooftops leapt down and made to grab the broken chain that wafted around behind it. Before the twenty-two year old had even processed what was going on she latched onto the Mongrel's thick leather collar as it tried to scurry by her and the poor thing stopped instantly but it did look frightfully confused; the Mongrel wasn't the only one confused as to the fact her subconscious plan had actually worked.
"Sit!" She commanded and the creature obeyed, dropped down to sit as if it was a good puppy dog.
Vivika smirked to herself, she'd honestly not known if that would work or not. Not seeing her as food was one thing but controlling a Mongrel, a type of Strigoi even Eichhorst himself admitted were unstable and unpredictable, was rather another.
Finally the guards – three of them – managed to catch up along with the Strigoi from the roof, all of which stood looking at her wondering the same thing Vivika had wondered; how the hell had she managed this. Calmly she lifted the snapped chain and was quite surprised when the Mongrel pressed its face into her thigh so it could smell her awkwardly through its muzzle, as if trying to decipher what Vivika was exactly. It tickled.
It wasn't lost on the emerald-eyed beauty that everyone from both sides of the street had stopped to stare at her but Vivika didn't care, she just handed the broken leash to the Strigoi as she trusted him more than the human guards.
"Get the Mongrel a new leash and put him back to work." Vivika ordered without leaving room for argument.
The Strigoi nodded swiftly then yanked the creature away really rather forcefully; they'd never cared all that much if they hurt themselves or others. The other guards though, they just continued to stare at her for a few moments, to them she didn't smell any different to a regular human – though undoubtedly cleaner – so Vivika managing to stop a Mongrel in its tracks was even more out of the ordinary for them.
The shortest of the three managed to regain his ability to talk far faster than his co-workers.
"We're sorry, Ma'am, won't happen again."
Vivika turned her attention to the guard as she bushed her hands together ridding herself of the dust, however, she'd need a shower to get the feeling of Mongrel sweat off of her skin.
"Se that it doesn't." She told the men firmly. "Now, get these people back to their lines and carry on."
The three guards quickly obeyed and Vivika turned back in the direction she'd been heading in, her tablet tucked underneath her arm as she walked. Thomas had most certainly been right, something had to be done about the Mongrels and it needed to be done fucking soon. Telling it to sit has just been an instinct, she'd not really known if it would have worked or not; she'd gotten lucky. When she thought about it the only logical theory she could come up with as to why the Mongrel had obeyed quite so easily was down to her having such a high level of the White in her blood.
If this sort of thing happened again what was to say she'd have as much control, or that she'd even be there. The Partnership operated by having humans remain mostly calm and they needed it to stay that way. The Master's plan was to funnel a good proportion of humans into the blood farms – 'good proportion' meaning almost all – while the Partnership staff, guards, doctors, transporters, electricians, all oft would remain in the cities to control and operate any and all future experiments as well as maintaining the city. It would have been nice to lock all the humans away like the blood bags they were but The Master wasn't so stupid to forget he'd need someone to keep the cities operational. Although, if any of that was to reach fruition Thomas really would have to find a way to prevent the Mongrels trying to kill every human it saw until then.
"Thomas had better hurry the fuck up or we're going to have problems." Vivika grumbled to herself as she walked.
They still had Setrakian and his cohorts to deal with, still had to finish rounding up all the remaining nuclear weapons, still had fully complete the last of the blood farms. She, Thomas and The Master could have done without adding Mongrel attacks to the list of irritations.
~X~
Thomas knew it was late when he finally returned to the large penthouse he shared with his young wife but he honestly didn't care as to an actual time, he'd still not been able to make any progress in his search for the Jew and frankly the complete lack of any leads had started to get to him. As soon as he stepped through the door he knew his wanton Vivika would be around somewhere, the lights were on and Rock The Casbah blasted through the penthouse.
Slowly he walked through into the large living area where he found his wife really rather quickly, he stood silently just behind one of the sofas and watched as she danced happily around in that youthful way of hers; she looked happy, genuinely happy. Her dancing amused him so Thomas made sure to stand eerily still, remain silent and just watched her. Those green eyes he loved so much were closed and her hair swished around her as she danced, Vivika had always been so full of life.
Suddenly she paused and turned to face him, no doubt she'd felt his eyes on her. She didn't jump like she had when he'd first found her and always insisted on just appearing or loitering unseen, no Vivika had come to expect that of her husband.
"Enjoying yourself?" He asked, accent softer than usual.
His wife smiled up at him, green eyes sparkled like gemstones. "Always."
Vivika held her hand out to him and Thomas came close as the song neared its end. One hand slipped into his bride's while the other snaked around her waist possessively just like she always wanted and he kissed her lovingly. Before she could try and pull him into dancing with her – because he knew she would – Thomas clicked the music off and lifted Vivika into his arms so she was forced to sit in his lap when he sat down on the sofa. She gazed at him a moment as if trying to figure something out and then nodded slightly to herself.
"You're pissed off. Why?"
Vivika had no bite to her words, no irritation or disgruntlement, just curiosity as she snuggled against him knowing it would sooth Thomas.
Thomas let out an annoyed hum. "I am struggling to locate the Jew and his gang of miscreants."
"I'm waiting for us to find the Ukrainian, Fet."
That got Thomas to raise a fake eyebrow questioningly as he peered down at his devilish wife.
"Should I be concerned about him, my love?"
She giggled as an evil smile tugged its way onto her purple lips. "Nope." She admitted. "I just want to watch that 'we'll all get through this' confidence drain away. Oh, and I want to cut that bitch, Dutch, up into tiny, little pieces and watch the light leave her eyes as she slowly dies of shock and blood loss."
Vivika toyed with the sleeve of his handless arm. Sometimes he honestly wondered if Vivika was more dangerous than he was and Thomas was the Vampire. Instead of dwelling on such thoughts very long he turned his attention back to his beautiful girl and indulged her as he petted her hair softly.
"Don't worry, Thomas, we'll get them eventually. They can't hide forever no mater how desperately they try. The Master has won, darling, there are only so many places for rats to hide now."
She stretched up to kiss his make-up covered cheek then brushed a smudge of purple away with a tiny smile.
"I believe you are right, meine süße, but the waiting is starting to grate on me somewhat." The Strigoi grumbled.
"Oh, my poor Thomas." With that she pressed herself closer to his ever warm chest and rested her head upon his shoulder. "Shall we find someone to kill? If it's all getting too much I don't want you losing your shit, we could just find you an innocent bystander to beat to death with our bare hands."
Thomas breathed out a laugh. "While that would be nice we do have things to do." He paused a split second to press a kiss to her temple. "For example, you should be inspecting Desei at the facility."
She sighed. "I know but I got sidetracked by Zach and his whining and then I came here to change into something not drenched in tears and Rock The Casbah came and I love that song."
"Yes, I gathered."
"So I decided I'd let him wait in that office wondering where I am even longer."
Thomas looked her over then with a calculating eye and paused to take in a simple styled black dress and heeled ankle boots to match her lips.
"Are you wearing that to see Desei?" He asked without looking from her shoes to her face.
Vivika nodded. "Yes, why?"
"Go and put something-"
She cut him off. "Something more 'touch me and I'll kill you'?"
"No." He said quickly, accent thick once more. However, before he could say more than that one word Vivika had started to speak again.
"Something more 'you can look but you can't touch, in fact if you try my omnipotent, Strigoi husband will make you reap the day you were born because I'm his and only his'?"
"Yes."
Eichhorst answered simply with a perfectly straight face which only made Vivika's smirk grow all the more until it broke out into real laughter. She rewarded him with a soft kiss then stood to her full height and went to change, an act that didn't take her more than three minutes since she knew exactly the dress to wear; a jet black halter neck that showed practically all off her back and had a plunge neckline almost down to her navel; the one she didn't wear very often.
When she returned to the living room she found Thomas gone from the couch but as soon as she opened the door to his dungeon she found he'd taken her advice – at least somewhat – as he stood over a snivelling man. Said human's eyes snapped to her instantly and desperately.
"Help!"
"No." She breathed out without sparing the man a glance, she wasn't in the mood for that game. Besides, Vivika was far more focused on the way Thomas' eyes had darkened and become heavily focused on her. In less than a second Thomas had wrapped both arms around her waist. "I'll see you later then."
She kissed him fully aware he'd be debating if she'd taken his words a little too far or just far enough. This was her teasing him again, he knew it. One more kiss and then she turned to leave him to his attempt to let off steam with his captive.
Didn't take her long to reach the Bronx and even less to walk up to Desei's office, as soon as she entered the room the bearded man launched up from his chair and crossed the room to greet her, poor man didn't look as though he'd slept in a while; he'd probably started to worry Vivika had forgotten about him or that he was in trouble.
"Evening, Missus Eichhorst. Please take a seat."
Vivika didn't even look at him, just strutted straight passed and sat down in his desk chair where he'd been not five seconds earlier. Sanjay opened his mouth to speak but quickly thought better of himself because he stayed very quiet and instead sat down in one of the smaller chairs with his back to the large glass wall. She crossed her legs, leaned back in the leather chair and took out her tablet while he tried to figure out if she was pissed at him or not.
"Why are there only fifteen women in this facility when my Freedom Centres have identified a total of eighty-two B-positive women or breeding age?"
Sanjay paused blankly for a moment then cleared his throat and forced himself to relax – truthfully he feared Vivika more than Eichhorst, she was far more unpredictable and volatile than he was. He breathed out a small and short laugh jovially and put on his best smile.
"There are only fifteen in the facility because convincing them in isn't as simple as offering them a free pen." Oh she loved his attempts at sounding confident, admired him for it really. "Also, we've not delivered our first child yet so women still question if we are capable of delivering their children safely."
Vivika set her tablet down softly on the desk as Sanjay straightened his tie and did his best to look nonchalant.
"Either way I expect more than fifteen, Sanjay. I've provided you a list of women and I expect you to make far more use of it than you have." She leaned forwards a little forgetting she'd changed and provided Mister Desei an even better view of her cleavage, as soon as she realized she lamented Thomas not joining her. "Instead of offering them a free pen I suggest you sell it a little differently. Here there is a surplus of food for them, clean water and utterly wonderful medical care for both mother and child. These B-Positive women should be dripping for this place." Sanjay seemed a little taken aback by her suddenly licentious comment. "So, Mister Desei, what are you going to do?"
The bearded man took a moment to think of what exactly she wanted to hear, he really was more concerned about Vivika than Eichhorst.
"Em, double intake by next month?" Vivika raised an eyebrow and that was all he needed to correct himself. "Triple?"
That got a bold smile to emerge on Vivika's purple lips. While Sanjay wouldn't ever deny he found Vivika Eichhorst outstandingly beautiful in a mruder-y way, he had to admit that when she smiled any man could very easily believe her to be a perfectly innocent young girl.
"Good boy." She praised happily. "Thomas will be pleased."
A thought accrued to the bearded man then, a thought he was surprise hadn't popped into his mind ever before.
"Out of curiosity, what blood type are you, Missus Eichhorst?"
Her Strigoi lover had to be so possessive of her for some reason and Sanjay was fully aware of Strigoi physiology so he doubted it was for her mouth skills.
Vivika chuckled. "W."
W? That perplexed the elder man and he soon found his brow furrow to reflex it.
"That's not a blood group." He pointed out.
Vivika's smile didn't fade as she continued to look at him, she'd always thought him rather handsome.
"It is now." She told him dismissively.
With that she stood to her full height and went to gazed down through the glass wall. Sanjay wouldn't admit it but the view of her backside in that tight dress and virtually all of her smooth back would stay with him for a while.
Green eyes peered downwards at the deserted common area, this time of night the girls would be tucked up in their beds growing babies; or at least they would if they knew what was good for them.
"How has the processing facility been dealing with the extra numbers?" Her lyrical voice asked after a few seconds.
The suit clad human stood then and went to stand at her side, even in her four-inch heels he remained taller than the gorgeous woman beside his six-foot frame though he didn't for one second let himself think she was any less in charge.
"Quite well," he finally said to answer her question, "I'm pleased to say. Should we increase the numbers a further fifteen percent we shouldn't have an issue."
Those polished emeralds fluttered up at him in that way that could – and had undoubtedly – get a man to do whatever she wanted.
"Make it twenty percent, I like a round number." Sanjay's eyebrows shot up into his hairline when she suddenly looped their arms together and rested her head on his shoulder, he was fully aware Vivika wasn't coming on to him and that made him all the more cautious. "I'm having a final push on the B-Positive stock at my Freedom Centres. Once we're have a complete map of viable women you're going to find yourself a very busy man, Sanjay."
The dark-eyed man nodded. "I'll be prepared."
She squeezed his arm slightly obviously pleased with his reaction. "Good boy."
Vivika had praised him like that earlier as well and Sanjay Desei didn't quite know how to react to it. However, when it was all said and done he decided it better to be her favored dog than her slave or worse, Sanjay didn't like it but out of his options it was the one he'd choose.
"Is there anything else I can help you with, Missus Eichhorst? I can wake the girls up for you to inspect if you'd like."
"No." She shook her head and finally released his arm so she could turn to face him properly. "Those mothers need their sleep." He watched her with honeyed eyes as she went to retrieve her tablet then stepped towards the heavy door only to pause and look back at him over her shoulder. "Do have fun, Sanjay, but not too much fun." She teased. "There are lots of pretty young girls down there and you're A-Positive."
His mouth fluttered a second or two before words finally emerged; which only seemed to amuse her further.
"I'm married."
"I know." She responded smoothly.
Vivika left Sanjay stood in his office at fuck knew what time of night. He just continued to stand still for almost a full thirty seconds before he blinked and made a bee-line for the decanter. How did that woman always leave him guzzling spirits?