Madre de dios! I never thought that there would be such a huge response after my 8 month break. Thanks to Celeste (und dann auch noch so schnell! Wie hast du das Update mitbekommen?), dropletsoflight (missed you!), Shikangae (*whimpers scared*), sister-b (you know...men are so sensitive),Topgallant (it's refreshing to change views), rednightmare (thanks again for the warm welcome!) and Maellowyn (Mal sehen ob du nach dem Lesen noch denkst sie hat keinen Knacks weg von der Strafe *g*) for the reviews!
And now back to Kat!
Ashen taste of a foul substance still lingering in her mouth, savouring like rotten lettuce and roadkill, Katherine set foot into the Confession. Leaving Valerie and Tobias alone shouldn't be a problem. They were only Kine and even after turning her back on the Sabbat Katherine couldn't turn her back so easily on their teachings. Truth to be told: LaCroix did his deed to expel some of them during the time in his cabinet.
"We are Kindred, not Cainites! Never use that term again in my presence or in the presence of other Kindred."
A finger on the left hand itched, pounding like the beat of the music in her ears, the sentence literally cut into flesh. Every night the Prince and the Sheriff came back and after the third one she lost track about the time, losing herself in frenzy. Like Hargreaves told her: The Beast was a way to show power.
"Losing to the Beast is a sign of weakness."
After the incident, he didn't left some blood in the cabinet like he did in the past nights when leaving and Katherine realised soon, that it was a punishment and to observe how deep the lesson was also cut into her mind. Doubt arouse that it may have been a bad idea to underestimate Valerie and Tobias. Yes, they were easy to kill, fragile and weak but not long ago she had many encounters with mortals and they had no problems to reduce her to ashes. Well they were in groups and had guns, Valerie and Tobias are only two persons, plus it seemed like the issues were from the table. Valerie wouldn't ask her about LaCroix anymore and Tobias would go back to Germany. Case closed like the task from the Prince convincing Flayton to write an unfavourable article about the Cavoletti Cafe.
"Hey partner, your money's been piling up again and someone called Valerie asked for you." Venus never asked where she had been the past weeks. Venus never asked why and where. 'There are also useful Kine.' With lot of time for her to think about more issues, not only about the sick relationship she shared with the Prince, the conclusion was that Venus and Mercurio were useful but also food the same time but not like livestock. They weren't simply replaceable and in another sense they must to be more than just mere food.
"Yes, I know. Thanks anyway." Her share was upstairs in Venus's office. On the way Katherine gave a short nod to Simon who – of course – looked curious. With head shaking she gestured him that it was nothing to talk about. The Caitiff shifted on his feet and it wasn't hard to imagine a fitting displeased growl he made which was swallowed by the DJ's scratching of records to make an old 80's song more appealing for the audience. What attracted Katherine's attention was the missing Heather, however collecting money and the documents came first and given different circumstances she'd have brought a laptop along but at the moment she was still thinking, processing all the sentences LaCroix carved into her mind and how she could get back on his good side. 'He could at last have considered that his behaviour in regards of the sarcophagus wasn't very different either.' Katherine remembered his speech well before she was allowed to open it, his beast taking over with the lust for power. How could she dare to ask him?
She left the Confession, but not forgetting Simon and to ask him where Heather was. At last she learned also that it was not a good idea to leave others with too many questions, that's why he got a short explanation minus the details: A job for the Prince took a bit longer than expected. That she was able to take care of herself and having a new 'old' haven above Trip's pawn shop. Wishing her coterie member a good night who also didn't know where the missing red haired girl was, Katherine thought about how the Camarilla safe house has been her starting point after freshly joining the ranks of the damned, starting from there anew. More lessons from the Prince.
"You will move back into the Camarilla safe house in Santa Monica. From there wait, until you'll get an assignment from me. I strictly forbid you to accept any other bidding from other Kindred and I forbid you to go anywhere else until I say so or give you my permission. Your club is an exception but keep your visits as short as possible. You are allowed to go now. I will contact you if necessary and your monthly payment, less various disbursements, will be sent to you."
LaCroix seemed to be sure Katherine didn't want to leave L.A. anymore and he was correct. The little flea was gone, cut off.
"I am now your Sire."
The pronunciation, the way he hissed those words in her ear have been sharper than any knife or wire cutter could ever be, ripping the curtain of pain open with sheer horror and fear, because those words said I spared your life again. I own you. You are my property now. Katherine realised that this was the horror she brought upon herself. Not Sebastian LaCroix, not the Camarilla, the Sabbat or the Anarchs. It was Katherine Falkner. That's what scared her. She couldn't run away from herself.
Walking up the creaking wooden stairs to her used up haven, Katherine spotted the newest issue of the L.A. Sun what made her stomach nearly turn. Every time before the Sheriff cut one of her fingers LaCroix said a sentence for her to repeat and turned a page in his newspaper. The newest issue of the Sun. Hastily her legs began to move, out of the cramped floor into her cramped apartment. The last night she spent her time cleaning it, removing the strange stench and most important: the disgusting bed and mattress, spending the night on a bunch of blankets lying on the ground. An improvement over the last week where she spent the day, cramped in a corner to rise and wait for the Prince to pay her a visit. Once she even smiled but it was a pure cynical smile, comparing her situation with a rude step-child getting spanked by her daddy, the newspaper adding more to this bizarre scenery where the father appeared younger than the child. What a mindfuck.
Katherine slammed the door shut behind her, suppressing the vitae which crawled up her gullet. It helped to close the eyes and after a minute the feeling was gone, the laptop fired up and ready for work. First priority was of course informing the Prince that she met Tommy Flayton like he ordered and a negative review was as good as written. The Ventrue stared at the digital letter. Should she mention her meeting with Tobias? Was it even important to the Prince if she was meeting with Kine? Not hers to judge and a short sentence was added, mentioning the event. Done and send button hit. Now it was time for accounting, an activity which calmed her, something familiar. Old habits hardly die and Katherine was still in need of an anchor in some sort. Routine to clear her mind from all the thinking about complicated lessons, thinking about uncomplex chart of accounts until the laptop spoke to her with a soft female voice "You received mail," and the Prince's name as sender popped up in a small window. She didn't expect such a fast response.
From: Sebastian LaCroix
Subject: Assignment
We will discuss the meeting with your former fiancée at given time. More important matters are at hand. It has come to our attention that a sample of werewolf blood has made it into the hands of the local tabloid, and that they have sent it on to the clinic in Santa Monica for testing. The responsible party has been dealt with (most painfully, I can assure you), but for obvious reasons we can't have anyone testing the blood. Retrieve the blood sample from the clinic and leave it in your mailbox. –SL
He could have saved the tiny hint about the faith the poor bastard had received. Katherine flexed her fingers without noticing. The Santa Monica Medical Clinic was not far away and four hours until sunrise should be enough to retrieve the blood sample. Getting the Prince's assignment done as fast as possible should please him, not to mention there was no valid excuse for delaying them as long as she was grounded and what was the story with putting it in the mailbox? Blood needed to be cooled or else it wasn't usable anymore. Wasn't it easier if she'd wipe it out on the spot? 'Don't think about it, just do it like a good obedient soldier.' Less thinking about LaCroix's motives, less trouble when she had to deal with him. It worked the first time this way and why not the second? Indeed it was better to user her brain to solve other riddles. It was time to go. Her gun rested always in her shoulder holster even when she slept during the day. One more anchor of security.
On the short way to the hospital, Katherine was musing where the blood could be stored. First and most logic location obviously was the cellar where Vandal sold blood bags. He never let anybody into the backdoors but dominating the nut-bag wasn't the problem. The problem was to actually find the cursed blood sample in this mess! There was a Kine down there but questioning him about a specific blood bag should be very suspicious. 'Think again!' Sitting down on a brown box in the storage room, Katherine pondered. She wasn't from a medical unit, damn it and there wasn't time to search the whole hospital. She could simply kill the human after squeezing him out for knowledge. "Oh...I get it," Katherine jumped up from her box. "Another lesson, am I right my Prince?" She hissed.
"I said it once before, so listen carefully. It is the last time I repeat myself: Mortals are just as easy to deceive as they are to kill."
On the Dane she impersonated a reporter. Why not again? The sample was sent in by a tabloid anyway. Katherine opened one of the fridges, took a blood bag out of it and ripped the information sticker down. "Humanity..." did she really loosen the grip on it so much? Anyway it was now time for plan B, approaching the hospital from the front rather taking the backdoor. A 'Ventrue would never use the back entrance!' It was hard not to hear this particular thought accompanied by LaCroix's lecturing voice, while kneading her fingers to get rid of the itching.
The reception was crowded with mortals waiting in line, having any possible open wound she could imagine. Bleeding heads, slashing wounds and –she was just guessing - broken limbs as if there had been a gang war in Santa Monica. Katherine considered herself lucky not to be in need of a doctor and walked past the busy nurse.
"Hey lady, please, wait your turn and you'll be seen." Turning around, she faced the nurse who peeked at her. Obstacles this early weren't expected at all and the Ventrue was tempted to wipe this annoyance away. 'Don't forget: it's one of his trials.' What would she have done if she was still mortal?
"Oh sorry, I'm from the press. A co-worker sent in a blood sample today but it's the wrong one," Katherine held up the cold blood bag she lifted without a second thought from Vandal's stores. "Would you please be so kind and tell me to whom I can deliver the right one?" Wrinkles of wariness streaked through the nurse's face.
"I don't know about a blood sample." Killing seemed easier to Katherine, who stepped to the woman and leaned down, whispering in a low voice.
"It's something special. We sent it in for analysis because I doubt it's human," she poked into the blood bag, the voice becoming more urgent "This is evidence! I know you're surely dealing with a lot of lunatics but go on! Phone your colleagues or something. We sent in a blood sample for testing. Please tell me where you store them and who's responsible." To stay on the safe side, Katherine dominated the nurse a bit.
"Upstairs, second floor in the controlled substance room," she replied in a trance. Perfect! Now simply switch them and done. "Peter is responsible for the them. He's upstairs too." Not good, but if he was alone...no! No killing, even if it was the easier option. LaCroix would not be pleased and she did want to please him not only for the sake of her limbs, besides: was she really able to kill for such a minor reason? Feeding was another story or being attacked.
"Thank you and you now let me pass."
"Yes, of course. Here are the keys. The doors are locked." The nurse grabbed a single key from one of the drawers and gave it a satisfied smiling Katherine who heard a familiar voice from the first door she passed while walking down the sterile, white tiled floor.
"A doctor...please..." It sounded afraid, helpless and as the vampire opened the door, taking a curious look in, she frowned. It was the missing Heather, covered in blood with a huge wound in her stomach. As the girl recognised her, the eyes behind the glasses went wide. "Miss Falkner, please – get a doctor. My insides...it hurts so bad..." There was no time for this, but...would a mortal Miss Falkner ignore it? Yes, she was something different now, something better, still a whispering voice in her was pleading to help. She'd have done it a year ago! She spared the cops on the Dane, only whacking them K.O. also the guards in the museum. Everything without killing so why now? Because of Hargreaves? No, because she let the Beast rule her.
"Don't worry Heather, I'll find a doctor." Katherine walked down the floor in a hurry and then turned left where she found said white dressed doctor in a room. "Hey, my employee needs help. Now." Annoyed, the man turned around, glaring angrily at the disturber.
"I'm sorry, miss, but you're going to have to wait outside like everyone else. No exceptions."
"She's dying for god's sake!" What the hell was wrong with this country's health system? The doctor turned around, looking at the monitors while preparing an injection. Sweat was on his forehead, his thick dread locks swinging around because of the abrupt motion.
"See here now, I'm the only physician here at the moment. We got twice as many people as usual waiting for treatment. I'll look at her soon as possible. Try to talk to her, keep her awake." Naturally Katherine could dominate the man t do her bidding.
"Listen..." She wanted to grab his shoulder, forcing him to turn around so she could look into his eyes. Katherine's hand was slapped away.
"I got a man in there with a bullet in his head! My nurse paged Doctor Roberts a half-hour ago; he'll be here anytime. Till then, stay with your friend and make sure she doesn't go into shock and...damn!" Beeping machines interrupted the doctor's speech. Yes, she could still dominate him but then this man would most certainly die. Could she decide who shall live and who had die? Heather was still young and this man looked older. Katherine helped the girl during Damsel's little intrusion in the Confession, so what if Heather was attacked by the Anarchs because she worked for a Cammy? What if it was hear fault that Heather was dying? Could she bear another death on her shoulders? The Beast approved it. Of course she could. It's just a human. The whispering voice could not and Katherine knew this voice was her conscience. There was still a possibility. That's why Mercurio was very resilient, didn't age... hurrying back she found Heather still groaning in pain, mumbling that someone should call her grandmother.
"Heather?" The girl looked up as her eyes flattered, impending that she was near unconsciousness. Heather was so young but not her preferred blood. Could Katherine have use for her? Was it even the time do decide this yet? But once a mortal drunk the blood of a Kindred he was bound. Addicted. Would LaCroix even allow her a ghoul? "Fuck!" She slammed the door and wrenched open a drawer, searching for something sharp and slamming it back as no useful tool was inside. With the third one, she had luck. "Heather? Listen: drink this and you'll feel better." Using the found scalpel, Katherine slit her wrist and pressed it onto the dying girl's mouth. There was no reaction first but then she moved and swallowed some of the red, cold liquid. Slowly, then faster and more greedy until Katherine pulled her arm back, letting the wound heal and observed how the blood of Heather's wound stopped flowing out. "Better? How are you feeling?" Heather opened her eyes, groaning but obviously recovering.
"Miss Falkner...what did you do?"
"Nothing, I'll go now." Heather grabbed her coat.
"No - no you did something. I can feel it. It's... fixing me. You- I-I kissed your wrist. What did you do?" Crap. She thought Heather was nearly unconscious.
"I told you: nothing. Forget it, you'll be fine."
"I feel like you've always been with me...I just realised this." Oh no, not the Patty-syndrome! Katherine didn't have much experience with Ghouls and Mercurio was never behaving like a lovesick idiot. The reason for this could be of course the fact, that she never met him when his master was around. She even didn't know who his master was at all.
"I really have to go now. Sleep a bit, okay?" Heather nodded and fell almost immediately asleep. "Oh great, I have a Ghoul now." Katherine snorted and walked out, closing the door so she could resume her assignment from the Prince. Heather will surely pop up at the Confession and then Katherine could explain everything. Actually explaining it to LaCroix was more of a headache for her and she needed to think about it seriously after being done here. The key from the nurse fitted into the door's lock at the end of the floor and also in the lock of the door in the second floor. Katherine looked around and didn't spot anyone, so she took the floor to the right, only guessing where the controlled substance room could be and there were even more doors where the floor led to. Gladly they were labelled and to her right she spotted said room. Observing the surroundings a bit, she then stared right into a security camera. Shit!
"Stop miss! This is restricted area, hospital staff only!" Turning around, a guard was approaching her who came out of the door ahead, his hand resting on a holstered gun at his side.
"Oh the nurse downstairs gave me the keys. Are you...Peter by any chance? See, I'm from the press and we sent a blood sample today but it was the wrong one. I'm delivering the correct sample." Katherine wanted to grab into the pocked of her coat, showing the guard the 'real' deal.
"Keep your hands where they are and leave please. You can give it to the lab tomorrow." Damn was that guy kind of careful. Why weren't they all like Chunk?
"Okay...okay," she slowly dragged her hand back. "But I really need to deliver the correct sample."
"Sorry lady, I said no. Now please leave." Dominating? No use, she was on the security cam. 'You stupid, stupid girl!' Of course killing the guard was a possibility but it would be all on tape! Another lesson and she understood.
"Do not underestimate the Kine's use of modern technology."
It was actually even spoken with LaCroix's voice in her mind; he actually mentioned it when he talked about it once, how necessary the Camarilla was in the modern nights. Words of frustration flung at the guard's face.
"Oh then excuse me! I'm just trying doing my job!" Angry, cold Ventrue eyes darted through the mortal as she passed him, returning to the entrance.
"And I'm doing mine, miss. The keys please." And she slammed those in his opened palm, still trying to kill him with her stare but he didn't even flinch. The guard escorted the unwanted guest till the door and after she was outside, he locked it again. What now? Locked doors, security cameras and probably computers which needed a hack. She needed help and there was only one person who would help her in such a case and who posessed the right skills to do so: Barabus.
AN: Fast Cube's fast. Sometimes at last. But I didn't want to upset Shikangae, because you don't want to upset French people. They can be really...cruel sometimes, ya' know?