Thanks to Topgallant (Jan LaCroix. Nuff' said *get's KO'ed with a baguette*), Maellowyn (of COURSE I am the finest here!), Sazei (dead? Me? Preposterous!), Zaekka (glares), Celeste (double-glares), rednightmare (Nosferatu BOOBS *get's KO'ed again*) and Brittany (Of course I'm different...wait a second! SHERIFF!) for the reviews!
That was really typical for this damn lighter! Katherine needed a few tries before getting a flame which lightened the cigarette. 'Do not think about it, it's nothing, just pull yourself together.' Easier said than done, because she could still feel the cold touch on her neck and LaCroix's thumb on her cheek.
"You look like you have seen dead people." Snickering, amused, Imalia stood in a dark shadowy corner at the wall of the tower. So much for the coverage and the cogs in Katherine's brain began working eagerly on a good explanation.
"Don't tell me you didn't hear about the Prince's new methods of leading the city?" Like Dean and James told her: LaCroix had set up European standards in terms of ruling. In the States, the Princes tend to be less harsh with their rule enforcement, while in Europe they are damn strict, like LaCroix is now. "And his new alias, le phénix rusé. So don't tell me it's much of a surprise that it's a bit disturbing to meet the Prince." Throwing up her arms in a dramatic manner, Katherine took a breath and exhaled the smoke out of her nose.
"Le phén--- what? What is that supposed to mean? I never heard of that." Did the Nosferatu want to play a joke on her? Katherine was sure that this name had already replaced the nickname 'Jester'.
"Le phénix rusé – the cunning phoenix. You must have heard of it." But Imalia's facial expression revealed that she really was hearing it for the first time. Oh Christ! Was it the dementation?
"I really don't know what you're talking about honey, but whatever. It sounds fancy and I think it's worth adapting. Good propaganda for the Prince could give us some benefits." Smiling widely, Imalia put her hands on her hips, while Katherine sighed in agony. Was she now responsible for this whole emperor thing? She'd just made her own delusion real and this alone was enough to give her a new headache for the rest of the night.
"Just do not mention that it was my stupid idea." Turning around, the Ventrue waved for a taxi. If LaCroix were to get wind of it, he'd probably punish her again with whatever his power-hungry ego could come up with.
Ah, Hollywood! Katherine really wanted to make a sightseeing tour for once, visiting all the famous places, but in the end she decided it was better to use the time to enhance her disciplines a bit. It couldn't hurt to improve her domination so it wouldn't fail on the more strong-minded humans she wanted to feed on, and besides James was kind enough to tell her about the third discipline of clan Ventrue in exchange for kicking some thugs' butt: Presence. After a month she finally got a grip on it but in her opinion it was pretty inaccurate. The individuals affected by presence were quite unpredictable but it was useful in combination with dominate. Still she preferred the exact and precise domination. Just like --- STOP! Bad thought. It was to jump out of the skin! She met the Prince only two times this night and everything of her regained and achieved self-confidence had been blown away like a sheet of paper in a tornado. She really needed to pull herself together, dammit! Better to go back to the important tasks at hand, and Katherine was surprised to find the key Imalia had lying in her lap. Smiling, she read on the key chain that it was from the Luckee Star Motel.
"Well, but first there's another task. I think the boy can wait, so it's better to visit the sweetheart." Muttering it silent, so that it seemed for the driver like she was thinking aloud, Imalia next to her probably understood what those words meant. It was not out of friendliness, but more to prove that she was trustworthy. Katherine would show the Nosferatu that they were on an equal level and that she would return every favour. At last it should look like that and making things easier for her later on.
"The bitch's apartment is right across from the Luckee Star. Just keep waiting there until I'm finished," Imalia whispered out of a dark corner as they arrived in Hollywood. Katherine simply nodded and took position in front of the motel, near a shadowy alley and lighted a new cigarette, so that she wouldn't look stupid. Furthermore she kept an eye on the people who were going in and out of the motel, always with a small glimpse of hope that she'd somehow recognise Muddy; however, Imalia was faster.
"Oh, I wanted to scratch that fat ugly whore's eyes out! But I want her to suffer! No fun without that." Clearly the Nosferatu's voice was again dripping with disgust. "Can you imagine that? She waggled her fat ass right in front of my face! I wanted to hurl!"
"Be happy she didn't fart." It was hard to suppress the amusement in her voice and Katherine started to laugh a bit to herself.
"Oh god, stop it!" Imalia was quite a riddle: showing so much concern about a bum but towards Tawni Sessions, she was very passionate with her hate. Guess it was jealousy and that was an emotion the Ventrue could perfectly understand. They were dead, but their feelings seemed to remain quite intact, and yet not consumed by the Beast. On the other hand this implied that even LaCroix had some feelings, despite his cold and manipulative nature. His obsession for the sarcophagus: wasn't that something human unlike Strauss had said? Was it really the Beast which consumed the Prince or was it despair like Katherine thought? She was drifting away again.
"Time to meet Muddy and get our cash." Flicking the cigarette away, it was finally time to bring this cursed hunt to an end! Speaking of cursed: it really was! Upon reaching the door of Muddy's room, there was a loud noise coming out of it. The breaking of glass, and a scream of horror. In a hurry, Katherine opened the door with the key and rested her hand on the gun. The room was dark and only a flickering bedside lamp on the ground gave off some light, showing blood stained walls. "Guess we're too late." She sighed and ventured further into the room, taking a look into the bathroom where the glass of a shattered window lay on the white tiles.
"That shitty Southland Slasher is starting to annoy me." Katherine couldn't agree more.
"At least the Prince probably wanted him neutralized. With Muddy dead, we could get a reward from him." They should have chased the killer, instead of chatting and Katherine felt like an idiot again.
"And we've got a clue." Imalia was like a dog with a nose for clues. The Nosferatu handed her a business card.
"Brother's Salvage? Isn't that in Santa Monica?" Oh god! More walking and they had this damn shit right at the start.
"You've got it honey." Giving her a wink, Imalia walked out of the room and vanished again. Great. If the damn Gangrel was there, Katherine would skin him! She was tired of running around, listening to Imalia's scratchy voice and complaints about Tawni. Well, she was useful, so things were bearable and by using the busy streets of Los Angeles her sewer rat company had to keep her mouth shut. She didn't want to point out that if her Tawni-hating hadn't gotten in the way, they would have caught Muddy alive. Katherine could have insisted they visit Muddy first. Her mistake and it made her a bit upset.
Gladly the huge gate to the car cemetery was open and everything seemed abandoned, only some dogs were barking. Hopefully they were locked away; else Katherine would just shoot them with all the suppressed anger in her stomach.
"You scout ahead," Katherine whispered silently and opened the door to the house. Nothing special, so she proceeded further in, the only possible route being to a door which led right into the backyard. Behind a fence the dogs they'd heard outside were strolling along it up and down. All of them started to bark as the Ventrue appeared, like she was some kind of offense. She'd never been good with animals but it was never this bad.
"Shut up, would you?" Hissing and baring her fangs, the animals weren't quite impressed, rather the opposite: they started to bark even louder. "Damn tykes!"
"Move!" Shouting over the barking, Imalia's voice was in a bit of a panic and Katherine turned her head around only to see an empty car frame flying in her direction. Finally the combat training took control of her actions, making her dive in a direction off to the side; however, she wasn't fast enough and an overhanging sharp piece of metal caught the fabric, dragging the helpless Ventrue harshly down. But a Ventrue wasn't easily pulled down by that. Not even feeling the slightest bit of numbness, despite hitting her head hard, Katherine jumped out of the entangled clothing and searched for cover.
"Only act on my signal." Wherever Imalia was, hopefully she was in hearing distance, because this graveyard was like a damn maze. Dark also, so Katherine had problems seeing properly but the killer seemed like it didn't affect him at all. Rushing from cover to cover in dark corners or niches, the cars flew in a precise arch right in her direction. At least those oversized projectiles were slow, giving her enough time to react properly without getting buried between the metal and ground like hamburger meat in between a bun. The first time he had her by surprise but that wasn't going to happen again and Katherine wasn't sure if she should give him credit for his stubbornness or think that he was plain dumb, ignoring the obvious fact that she wouldn't fall a second time for the trick.
"No! Back off, vampire. Stay the fuck back! I did nothing to you!" Gazing around a corner and seeing that the place was illuminated, she drew her gun but wasn't so reckless as to leave her cover.
"Well, let me count, asshole!" Did nothing? What a jerk! "First you killed my potential source for cash, you ruined my blazer and then you violated the Masquerade a dozen times. Any more questions before I blow your head off shitty Anarch punk?"
"You think your bullshit vampire rules mean a goddamn thing to me? Nothing matters to me. My work is done. I don't want to, but I'll fight you to the death." Daring to take another gaze toward where the voice of the man came, Katherine leaned to the side, spotting a man in a white muscle shirt and washed-out jeans.
"You think you're going away with murder? Afraid of an even fight, only able to kill weak kine? What kind of sad excuse for a Kindred are you?" He talked, that meant one logical fact: he was exhausted. Throwing around all those cars must have drained his blood, besides he'd had the opportunity to feed on Muddy and he didn't seem to be an old vampire. Leaving her corner and pointing the gun at the hissing killer, Katherine looked him straight in the eyes in case she needed to dominate him.
"What the hell do you care? I don't give a damn if you understand. So you can pass judgment on me? So you can decide if those murderers deserved to be gutted? You'll never know how it feels. NEVER!" Clenching his fists and shoulders shaking, he sounded very vehement and Katherine hesitated to simply kill him. Why? Because the cogs in her brain were set in motion. If people wanted to talk you could manipulate them. You just needed to search for a point.
"So you can decide it? Why? If they were murderers, you just lowered yourself to their level." Now Katherine knew what she was talking about. Wasn't it somehow the same case with her mother?
"My family, my children were butchered by small-time criminals just looking to rob a house, steal a car, take whatever. No sense to any of it, no plan, no ransom, just kill them because why? Because they were there, in the way? Not one of them paid. My whole family dead, my life gone. I'm supposed to let that happen!?!" Total hit in the right spot.
"So you butchered them out of revenge, killing them like pigs, endangering our kind. You feel better now? Is your family back alive, big bad vampire vigilante?" Lowering the gun, Katherine this time used a bit of her presence. James told her that people tended to lean toward your opinion more easily and started to like you somehow.
"I don't know. Butchering those bastards was the first time I've felt anything since my family was torn from me. I'm sure there are others out there whose crimes have gone unpunished." Oh dear, it still was pretty complicated.
"There are but you shouldn't meddle in mortal business, besides you have committed a crime yourself. Because you violated our laws, an innocent bum had to die. Is that your sense of justice? If you want to be of any use, obey the laws or be neutralized. I understand you, but it's not too late to try." Simple fact and she had just now a great idea.
"I'm supposed to owe allegiance to some vampire clan I know nothing about just because I was attacked and left to die?" A Caitiff. Great. He was garbage anyway, but even garbage could be useful.
"No, but to the laws of the Camarilla. I'm not the only one chasing you but most likely the only one who will listen to you. One of your hunters is a vampire, not a human. He committed the crime of robbery. Since he is a Kindred, we can deal with him. Subtle, not visible to mortal eyes. Are you with me or do you want to succumb to the Beast?" Suspicion was spotted in the Caitiff's fiery eyes and Katherine was about to eradicate it. "I'll give you a second chance. A new life, a reason but you need to listen to me, or else I can't protect you, understand?" And she needed a good bouncer. He looked like a good bouncer.
"Why should I trust you?" he snarled and the Ventrue holstered her gun.
"Because my family was in the way, just as yours was. I disobeyed the laws and they paid the price. My mother is dead, my father is a psychological wreck, and my fiancé is left with a broken heart and whatever. They are alive but for them I'm better off dead." It needed some time to get past her stubbornness, but Dean was right with his judgement that it was her own fault. Katherine had disobeyed an important rule of the Masquerade, however one thing wasn't past that wall of stubbornness: that LaCroix was also right. "Come on, you need to feed before we can go any further."
"You're kidding, right honey?" Her arms crossed in front of her chest, Imalia now made her appearance.
"What are you, monster?!" Hissing and snarling, the Caitiff made himself ready to attack the Nosferatu, but Katherine grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey! I may look not like a supermodel, but I was! And who's the monster anyway, butcher?" Pointing a disfigured finger at the aggressive vampire, Imalia took a few steps forward while the Caitiff made some backwards.
"I'm not kidding Imalia. He could be helpful and I understand why he did those acts. He deserves a second chance." For a second, Katherine thought Imalia was going to scratch the eyes out of the killer's face.
"What about your damn Ventrue speech of laws must be obeyed and blahblah? You killed the old man for this and now you're showing mercy for that damn Caitiff?" Well, the Nosferatu had a point.
"I'm not. He will work for it, right?" Katherine gave the man a short glance, hoping he was calming down. "If not, I'll deal with him personally."
"I'll stop it, I swear. My family won't be happy about what I've done." Actually he sounded very humble.
"I'll take care of him. He's lost, like I would have been after my sire's death. He will help us in bringing down someone who broke the rules." Imalia still looked pretty pissed but seemed to wager the new facts. "Okay, what's your name? I don't want to address you with Southland Slasher or Caitiff."
"Simon. Brother's Salvage belongs to me." Well that was a nice fact.
"Okay, the first thing is to let go of your past life. Nothing against memories but this here is connected to your mortal days. Sell it and a half of the money goes to Imalia and me to show us that you're really trying and because we need to live too. Without killing you, the Prince won't give us any reward." Thinking for a second that she'd gone a step too far too fast, Simon nodded to her surprise. "Excellent. I can give you instead a job as bouncer in my club and occasionally we'll be off to some duty to enforce the Camarilla's laws." If he ever were to think about it too much, Katherine could always blame his accidental embrace on the Anarchs.
"Okay, sounds fair, but I'll have an eye on him!" Turning around on her heels she did again her Nosferatu vanishing thing. It was fine with Katherine that Imalia had an eye on Simon.
"Well that was Imalia of clan Nosferatu. Never, ever talk to a Nosferatu about their appearance or they'll dig out dirty laundry about you you've even forgotten yourself." That's what made them powerful allies or enemies. No surprise that the Sabbat wanted to cut the Camarilla off from their source of information.
On their way out of the car dump, Katherine introduced herself, giving Simon some basics like Smiling Jack did with her after the theatre. Letting him feed without killing the human, some rules on how the Camarilla worked – despite Simon not having a very pleased face because they were strict – and finally asking him on the way to Downtown how he was able to aim so precisely in the darkness. It was a discipline typical of Gangrels. He didn't know the name, and Katherine didn't either but it already had her interested. So that's why Beckett had those strange eyes. It was some kind of irony, being a nocturnal predator and not able to see in pitch black darkness without the help of a discipline. Was it possible for a Ventrue to learn a discipline not natural to their clan? She needed to think about it and ask someone.
Finally arriving in Downtown and at The Last Round, Katherine's plan seemed solid to her.
"Simon, you're going in. Find a Kindred named Kent Alan Ryan. He's a Toreador with brown hair. Well-dressed and a pretty face. Lead him into the dark alley over there." One thing to make things waterproof was to dominate him now a bit. "Do not mention me." He was a Caitiff, so it must be easy to break his mind if the words were properly emphasized.
"I won't mention you," he said slowly and nodded.
"Good, and try not to be suspicious. It's Elysium so don't attack anyone. That's why we need him out here." If he were to fail, Simon would be blamed and not her. Good plan and it would be a shame if he died but that's how things were. It would also be easier if Imalia were able to follow him, however as a childe of Primogen Golden she would draw too much attention. Daring to venture into the wolves' den herself was for Katherine probably not healthy.
"Think that's a great idea honey?" It wasn't but at least it was their best option at the moment.
"Yes. I thought about all the options already. It's foolproof." Hopefully.
"Also Caitiff-proof?" Katherine gave Imalia a sharp look and the Nosferatu grinned.
"It'll work out, believe me." Waiting for their prey, Imalia and Katherine watched without pause the door of The Last Round and the Ventrue got a bit nervous after ten minutes without any sign from Simon.
"Think he blew it?" The silence was broken again by the Nosferatu.
"I don't think so. He had his instructions. Anarchs are all the-strongest-guy-is-right. If Ryan doesn't want to end up as a joke, Simon will be able to lure him out alone. Hey, there he is." And indeed it was only Simon and Kent Alan. Finally things were going as planned! Both were walking into the dark alley according to how Katherine wanted it to be. She followed them.
"Okay, you stinking ass. Come here. I'll take you out in seconds." Kent Alan had a melodic voice and a bright smile of confidence.
"Kent Alan Ryan. You betrayed the Camarilla by defecting to the Anarchs. The Prince didn't like that." Dragging out a gun faster than the eye could see, the Toreador pointed it at Katherine and Simon.
"Ahahah, I knew you would come. The Prince's little bunny...don't think I'm an idiot!" He bared his fangs, his face wearing an angry expression, eyes gleaming with the use of Auspex, yet still magnificent looking and swinging a brown streak of his hair back. Still, there was some nervousness in his voice. Who would think the Prince's protégé would have a Caitiff in her hands?
"You're alone in a dark alley, Kent. Surrender and we'll make it quick." Simon would rip his head from his shoulders and that's it.
"Fuck you, bitch!" Ever since Vick, Katherine had hated fighting against Toreadors. They were fast and so was Ryan, hailing a bullet into her direction which hit her stomach. Clenching her teeth, she ignored the pain. He would not flee!
"Don't let him out of here!" The Caitiff's fingers grew into sharp claws, blocking the way for the Toreador who constantly shot bullets into the Ventrue's dead flesh, then, realizing that Simon was more of a threat, changing the target. Katherine didn't want to waste her own bullets, knowing that the Toreador could dodge them. Finally Imalia made her dramatic appearance out of the shadows. Jumping furiously onto the back of Kent Alan, she tossed him into the dirty asphalt. Bones crunched at the hard impact and despite that, in a fast and swift movement, the opponent rolled on his back. Imalia attempted to charge at him again. Too slow.
"Simon!" Curse this swiftness of that clan! If Imalia had pinned him down, Kent Alan wouldn't have had a chance but now the barrel of his Desert Eagle was pointing right at Imalia's head; but Simon had understood Katherine's shout, sinking his claws deep into the beautiful marble face, destroying the beauty of it like a gone mad sculptor until it was no more than ash.
"That ass nearly blew my head off! Mine! I'm Imalia!" The Nosferatu kicked the ashen remains of the Toreador in a fury.
"See? Was a good idea to bring Simon along, wasn't it?" Shit! Her stomach hurt, but Katherine actually managed to tap Simon's back.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't want him to peel my face off with those nails. Aww, shit! I've got ash in between my toes!" Cursing a bit more, Imalia started to get rid of the remains.
"Hey, you're fine?" Simon reached a hand out to the Ventrue and supported her a bit. Those bullets really got her. If she had been alone, Kent Alan would have meant Final Death for the Ventrue.
"Give me a second to heal this mess." Fortitude was nice but what do you do against four straight shots from a Desert Eagle? Imalia's timing was perfect to say the least. "Good work everyone. Time to get the good news to the big boss." Not that she was all too eager meeting the Prince again, however the assignment was done, the treacherous Toreador dead and hopefully LaCroix would show some of his generosity in the form of green bills. Not to think about how she would look in front of Imalia and Simon if there were to be no reward.
AN: Okay, you'll be the star od the next chapter, I swear! Now can someone please call the ambulance before I bleed to death? Please?