Isabella felt uncharacteristically nervous as she took her seat around the small conference table. This had the potential to turn incredibly ugly. Fast. Percy had promised that he would be there just in case, but that hadn't done anything to alleviate her anxiety. Not the least because he refused to explain exactly how the hell he was expecting to do that. Still, he had mentioned that he had managed to listen in on their conversations before, and given what she had seen him do, it wasn't exactly an impossibility.
She was early to the meeting, as only Brok and Thailor had thus far arrived. Neither looked up from their respective work as Isabella made herself comfortable. She smelled a small hint of sea spray and felt an odd weight on her shoulder. She fought off an involuntary shudder as Percy, somehow invisible to the others, took his hand off her shoulder and disappeared from her senses.
A moment later, a disheveled Kassandra skulked into the room. She looked a sight. Her normally well-groomed and put-together appearance was disheveled. As though she hadn't gotten sleep in weeks. Her face was sunken, and even under the heavy application of makeup, Isabella could see the bags under the nymph's eyes.
Kassandra looked up as she entered, meeting Isabella's gaze before her eyes darted over to a corner of the room. Her body stiffened tightly and she quickly averted her gaze and shuffled over to her seat beside Isabella.
That had been…curious. Isabella glanced over to the corner that Kassandra had been looking at but could see nothing there. She sniffed tentatively at the air, but Percy's scent had disappeared. Out of the corner of her eye, she tried to observe Kassandra as she took her seat. She looked like she was fighting the impulse to flee from the room. Did she know Percy was in there? No, that was an impossibility. Surely. Isabella was merely on edge herself. Seeing things in someone that weren't there. There are millions of other things that could have been going on in the woman's life that had absolutely nothing to do with the cause of the meeting.
Isabella nearly jumped out of her seat when she felt something slither up her leg. She glanced down under the table, to see a small, earthy vine had coiled itself around her leg. The end of the vine, looking oddly like the hand of a small child, placed a small post-it note on her thigh before slithering down and retreating under the hem of Kassandra's skirt. Isabella fought off the impulse to glance at the woman before glancing at the note, under the pretense of checking her phone under the table.
We need to talk. Jackson is not what you think he is.
Isabella's heart quickened. She felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of her neck. What did the woman know that Isabella didn't? Did she truly know what Percy was? Had he done something to the woman? Was the explanation for her disheveled appearance? But Isabella didn't have time to consider the matter further, as the doors opened again, and the rest of the council poured in.
If Kassandra looked bad, then Isabella lacked the words to describe Packard. He looked like a man at the end of his sanity. He had the patchy beard and tangled hair of a man who hadn't had either the time or willpower to practice basic hygiene in some time. As he took his seat, he didn't even bother to hide his rage as he turned his glare on her.
"All right Ms. Connors," said Jed heavily as he took his seat, "You called this emergency session, so the floor is yours."
"Thank you, Jed," said Isabella. She took a heavy breath and tried to steady her nerves. "As most of you might be aware, last night there was a fire at the Jackson farm. It was not an accident, but an intentional attack by the O'Sullivan Family. Seven members of the pack set fire to the horse stalls, and were subsequently killed by Mr. Jackson in retaliation."
Thick, heavy silence. If possible, Packard's glare intensified.
"I'd like some fucking proof of that accusation," seethed Packard. "Considering you are accusing me of disobeying an order of this council."
"That's an interesting about-face," Observed Hei casually, "Considering you, only a few months ago, admitted to happily disobeying a council decree for your satisfaction."
"I had considered him a threat and acted on it," snarled Packard through gritted teeth. "But I recognize the authority of this council, and Jed, and respected such."
"Interesting," said Isabella, doing her best to appear casual. "Considering my daughter was in Mr. Jackson's house when the blaze began." She didn't even have to feign fury as she spoke. The knowledge that her daughter had been put in harm's way because of the arrogance of the man was enough.
Once again, silence.
"Is the girl okay?" Asked Brok softly.
"She is fine," said Isabella acidly. "If she weren't, we wouldn't be here. I would have forgone the formalities and brought the full weight of the family against Mr. Packard in retaliation, as is justified by the terms of the Agreement."
Packard looked torn between lunging at her and running. His eyes darted along the room, glancing to his side towards the exit.
"I…I am sorry to hear that your daughter was near such a catastrophe," he began diplomatically. "But I fail to see how her presence is enough to prove that-"
"Cut the shit Bradley," spat Isabella. "I saw the bodies myself. And was with Percy when he interrogated Frank."
"You what?!" Snapped Packard. His eyes grew wild as he shot to his feet, staring disbelievingly at her.
"Frank Dempsey," said Isabella. "Percy left him alive. He felt that, since Cassidy had been put in danger, I deserved to be there to hear why. A decision I'm happy with."
"Mr. Dempsey is dead then?" Asked Hei. Though his tone was neutral, Isabella could see a hint of a smirk on the man's face.
"Yes," nodded Isabella. "But not until he'd blabbed the location of the Family home and safe houses in Jersey. Percy dragged that out of him"
"And you just let him?" Roared Packard, slamming his hand into the table, leaving a rather sizable dent into the heavy wood.
Isabella met his gaze as cooly as she could muster.
"Your childish vendetta put my daughter in harm's way. Of course, I would side with the man who kept her safe."
"Well, she wouldn't have been in any danger if that bastard hadn't brought her there in the first place!"
Isabella didn't think she needed to point out the lack of real logic in that statement.
"Ms. Connors," Jed's calming voice called out over the din, and even Packard fell silent as their attention turned his way. "Is this your way of announcing to the council that your family is breaking the terms of the Agreement? That you will be going to war with the O'Sullivan Family?"
"Not at all," said Isabella. "On the contrary, open warfare is precisely what I am looking to avoid. I am merely here as a messenger."
"A what?" Spluttered Packard.
"A messenger," Isabella said again. "Percy has made it clear to me that he will not be taking this abuse sitting down. He thought the first incident would have been enough of a message to get Packard off his back, but not." She turned to Packard.
"Percy is going to kill every last one of you. He is going to tear the roof of your house and destroy everything your father built, and you broke. Consider this your only warning, and consider my duty and obligation to this council, and to the Agreement, fulfilled."
The room fell still, but Isabella hardly noticed. She continued to stare at Packard. A vicious sense of victory and vindication washed over her. How long had she put up with the petulant pup? Dealt with his swaggering about town, playing at being a cop because he thought it was funny? To his credit, Packard didn't respond. He simply stared back. His eyes were wide, sweat dribbling down the side of his throbbing temple.
Without another word to anyone, Packard turned on his heel and fled from the office. Isabella watched him flee, no doubt to prepare his home for the coming invasion. With a huff, Isabella dropped back into her seat.
"Well…" said Jed carefully. "This proves to be a rather…interesting development."
"Should we be concerned about reprisal from the DSI?" The room turned to look at Daiyo. "I am far from being a supporter of Packard and his ilk, but the DSI will not be able to ignore the murder of an entire family. Supposing Jackson can even do it in the first place."
"He can," surprisingly, it had been Kassandra to say it, not Isabella. She turned and stared at the woman, who steadfastly ignored her. "Jackson has categorically killed nearly two dozen shifters on his own. I have no doubts that he will tear them apart piece by piece."
"I can't believe I'm suggesting this," sighed Hei. "But would it be in our best interest to protect Packard? Daiyo is quite right, regardless of whether or not we like the bastard, the DSI will look to us before anyone else for their disappearance."
"If it's any consolation, Percy said that he would speak to his contacts about what he's going to do."
He snorted at her, "And we are supposed to take his word for that? You might be spreading your legs for him-"
He stopped abruptly, as his head suddenly slammed forward, crashing into the table. The table splintered and broke under the force of the blow. Blood flowed from a very broken nose, and a piece of shattered tooth clattered across the table. Something ripped back on his long black hair and slammed his head back into the table two more times before hoisting him into the air and bodily throwing him across the room. He crashed into the wall behind Isabella, before crumpling to the ground in a heap.
Isabella turned to the other side of the room, as Percy materialized out of nothingness. As though he had been there the entire time. He picked Hei's discarded chair up off of the ground, dusted some stray teeth off of the table, and took a seat. Nobody in the room reacted to the outburst of extreme violence. Too stunned and alarmed to be able to comprehend what had just occurred.
Percy's eyes swept across the room, his flat gaze meeting them all in turn.
"Sorry about that, my mom always said I had my father's temper," he leaned back in his chair, kicking his feet up on the table. "But I don't care for someone calling my friend a whore." He idly began rolling his wrist around in the air, and a small tendril of water materialized, dancing along his fingertips. The room watched the display, mesmerized by the casual display of magical power.
"Now, as far as the DSI goes, I meant what I said. I will speak to my contacts inside."
"And we are supposed to simply trust you on your word that you will? More importantly, that they will listen?" Jed seemed to be the only one not thrown off by the display, though Isabella could see his knuckles tensing.
"A fair concern," Percy conceded.
"Odd coming from the guy who just caved a man's head in," muttered Thailor.
Percy snorted, "We both know that his concerns about my credentials aren't why he's going to be breathing through a tube for a couple of days." The water around his fingers began to dance, sliding in and out of the gaps of his fingers like a watery snake.
"But I can assure you, that when I tell my people at the DSI that I will be killing Packard, they will treat it very seriously."
"But why?" Pressed Jed, "We've seen your records. There is nothing in them to indicate you have any sway over their decisions. I would like an answer as to why we shouldn't kill you here and now and be done with it."
Isabella tensed, her nails elongating under the table.
"Aside from the fact that you wouldn't make it out of this room alive?" Percy snorted, "Because I was a Cleaner."
Jed's face drained, and the tension in his knuckles dissipated. He sagged back into his chair.
Percy glanced over at Isabella and explained. "A Cleaner is the first guy in, last one out, to the shittiest situations in the country. I didn't deal with tiny shit - drug running, murder, prostitution, stuff like that. I handled the things that the DSI didn't want to risk their men for. Trolls, Ogres, the odd dragon, or skin-walker. You hear about that coven of vampires out in Washington a couple of years ago?"
Isabella frowned, then nodded. "Heard some rumors, had taken over the entire town, was using the people there as cattle stock or something."
"Yup," nodded Percy, "Thirteen of the bastards. That was a nasty business, but they were sloppy."
"You make yourself out to be some kind of boogeyman," scoffed Thailor. Percy didn't need to answer, Jed did it for him.
"It's not a joke," all eyes turned to the man. "They're not some kind of boogeyman. They are the fucking boogeyman. When the DSI came down on us…who do you think led the operation? One Cleaner. One fucking Cleaner was all that they needed. Because they're monsters. The DSI finds the most powerful, most dangerous people alive. They find them, and they fucking buy them. It gives them an out when they inevitably go off the reservation." He turned his eyes back to Percy.
"Which begs the question…what exactly kind of monster are you?"
Percy smiled. It was a predatory expression.
"And why should we believe that he is one of these…ultimate badasses?" Asked Thailor. For the first time, at that meeting, Brok spoke up, a subdued expression on his face.
"They don't advertise Cleaners…it's not something the DSI releases to the public. The number of people who even know about their existence…I'd wager at least twenty percent of them are in this room." He glanced at Percy, and Isabella thought she saw something flash in his golden eyes.
"Now that we've cleared that up," said Percy, getting to his feet. "And now that we're all on the same page, you'll be happy to know that I've already told my people at the DSI what I'm going to do."
The air in the room grew tense. Even Isabella, who had full faith in Percy to handle the situation appropriately, felt her spine stiffen.
"Geez guys, who died?" Percy chuckled, "You'll look so scared."
"Percy!" Isabella hissed, and Percy shrugged at her.
"Look Isabella, I get why you feel the way you do, but you got to look at it from their perspective. An outsider is doing the DSI's dirty work." He barked out a laugh. "They're all too happy to step aside and let me do what needs doing." He rolled his shoulders.
"And what needs doing? Is putting that bastard in the dirt."
BN: Good morning, last chapter, for now, and there'll be a bit of a hiatus on all of LDBs stories for the foreseeable future while some things go on BTS. Hope you all have a great holiday, and if I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. :)