The New Guy

[Trillian]

Reserved for Billiam and Existentially Odd
 
 
Lazarus hadn\'t been downstairs at the Chambers for months.  With Kerr and the other Oligarchs handling the workload, the Luminary hadn\'t had to pursue the political queries that came from running a city.  The last time he\'d had anything to do with the city, he\'d turned it into an anarchy.  Now, with a pet in his home that was the spitting image of his co-conspirator\'s brother and nemesis in general, he was finding more and more reasons to get away.
 
He really didn\'t think he had the right personality for a pet.  Over a hundred fledglings, always providing him with some entertainment, and now the third pet in a row that he was bored of after a few days.  They were either far too hostile or far too placid.  He was mostly bored with Skylar because there was no challenge.  The youth was like a walking zombie - Lazarus had to do everything, suggest everything, say everything.  It was fucking tiresome.
 
In the mood for antagonising Kerr - because it had been a while - he left the lifts and headed for the Chambers proper.  He peeked into the waiting area to see a number of supernaturals waiting for their turn to address the council.  Good, so there was something to do down here.  Hopefully he could have some fun.
 
Taking his chair - the tall-backed one in the middle of the horseshoe table - and glancing to his left to look at Kerr who was seated there, smirking at the reaction given him, he signalled for the next appointment to enter.

[Black Philip]

The day had finally arrived. Jake called in advance to announce he was coming. He sat in Dante\'s waiting until it was time. Much anticipation filled the Ventrue. It had finally come to pass.
 
Someone Jake wanted to meet very much was Kerr Galvin. His reputation preceded him. As for the prince, or Luminary as he was called, Jake knew only two things. His name was Lazarus and from the report of a scared Nosferatu spy Jake had sent, he was dangerous.

Jake arrived early and spent the extra time in Oligarchy security. Upon entering the foyer a young vampire asked him to give up all his weapons. As with classic movie scenes it took Jake several minutes to remove all his hardware which consisted of two magnums, a boot dagger, a crossbow with arrows, a silencer, a stake, flash bombs and brass knuckles. The vampire insisted Jake give up his sword. He hated to do it but he didn\'t want any problems. He gave it up with a sour expression.

Don\'t they trust anybody these days? Jake thought.  

He was meet by a impressive looking demon who told him he was first tonight. Jake was soon joined by several other supernaturals all with a problem. His last few minutes waiting were spent worrying. He thought about what would happen if the Oligarchy didn\'t help him or worse didn\'t take him seriously. The council\'s help was Jake\'s last chance to do this alone. Otherwise the Ventrue feared he would have to turn to someone he hated almost as much as the Sabbat, the Camarilla. Dismissing the thought he realized it was time. Jake entered to face the council.

Here goes everything.

[Existentially Odd]

What
the
fuck?

Kerr could hardly believe Lazarus\' cheek!  He\'d just got himself settled into his usual chair at the horseshoe table (immediately to the left of the head chair... and hadn\'t he bitterly pondered every night why he shouldn\'t sit in the bloody central chair, when he did all the fucking work?), arranged the tails of his black Nehru jacket so that he would be comfortable and not crease the material too much, pinched the shirt beneath\'s red silk cuffs and the part of the collar visible at his throat to be sure he was presented properly, when he walked in and took over.

He hadn\'t even had time to unstack the files placed before him - in order of slated appearance, admittedly, but still! - and read what he was faced with first, when Lazarus had fucking gestured the guy in!  Kerr could hardly believe it and his mouth fell open in shock as he gaped to his right at the man he despised.  The young vampire entered eagerly, too, so Kerr had to smartly shut his mouth and avert his gaze from Lazarus so that he could calm down - if the fucker hadn\'t been immune to mental contact, he\'d have been positively railing at him right then, but there was no possibility of that.

It fucking sucked, but all he could do was keep quiet, look away and watch numbly as his practiced hands neatly extracted the file from the top of the stack in front of him, open it and read.  Thankfully, there wasn\'t much to know about this meeting; Jake had requested it, the reasons were being kept close to the client\'s chest, apparently, and all that he had before him was a profile and some information the Oligarchy spies had managed to acquire about the boy since he\'d begged an audience.  Nothing much.

Kerr rolled his shoulders as he looked back up at the boy across from him, trying not to think about how long it had been since he\'d seen Lazarus - it had to have been close to a year, he doubted the Luminary even knew about what had happened with he and Ben (and Jack), nor why he\'d cut his hair and shaved his face - and focus instead on the task at hand.  "Good evening," he bade in his usual serious, opening tones, his accent less noticeable as he immersed himself in well-rehearsed formality, "I\'m Oligarch Kerr Galvin, please state your full name and business for the record."

As he said it, he gestured towards the right, where the stenographer sat, expertly and unobtrusively recording the details of the meeting on her little machine.  Jake would notice, if he looked, that said machine rattled of its own accord, the apparently-normal woman\'s hands resting in her lap while she stared intently at it.  Kerr didn\'t look over there, though, his gaze remained fixed on Jake, sliding up and down the vampire\'s length and assessing him  by his body language before he even opened his mouth to speak.

[Trillian]

Lazarus didn\'t know about Ben, or Jack, or anything that had affected Kerr\'s life while he\'d whittled away at his own personal time trying to collect a favourable pet.  He\'d noticed Kerr\'s hair was shorter, but didn\'t know what was different about his face - not that he cared either way.  Oblivious to Kerr\'s appearance other than to note he was finely dressed as he always was while Lazarus looked casual in a button-up white shirt (with rolled up sleeves) and jeans.
 
Slouching back in his chair, he watched with forced interest as the next appointment entered.  Kerr spoke, which had him glancing quickly in the other vampire\'s direction before his gaze roamed over the visitor in the room.  Long fingers of his right hand tapped a rhythm gently on the table before him, the amethest ring on his left hand out of sight, palm resting upon his thigh.

[Black Philip]

Jake walked in with determination. He wanted to show the Oligarchy he meant business. Jake looked around the room briefly, for a man addressed him after just glancing at his folder. This meant one of two things. They didn\'t care about him or they hadn\'t been able to dig up much on him. He hoped it was the later.

The man who spoke was Kerr Galvin. Jake spent a moment taking in the other Irish Kindred. He wasn\'t sure exactly but from everyone in the city Jake had talked to he guessed Kerr was around 450. Jake thought to himself how it was probably a good thing Mr. Galvin wasn\'t in Ireland back when he had been a hunter.

"My name is Jake McCloud. Should I state my clan and my affiliation\'s as well? Or are the unnecessary?"

A quick shot to the Luminary revealed him staring at Jake tapping his white fingers.

 He averted his gaze back to Mr. Galvin as he waited for an answer to his question.

[Existentially Odd]

A frown marred Kerr\'s forehead - mainly because Lazarus was annoying the fuck out of him by tapping on the desk, distracting him, but also because his instruction was questioned, rather than simply followed.  He set his jaw, determined not to look at Lazarus and give away how much he was pissing him off, focussing intently on Jake McCloud instead.

He waved his right hand across the table in an irreverant gesture, his shoulders lifting in the impression of a shrug.  "Whatever you feel is important for me to know," he invited, giving a nod that encouraged Jake to tell him everything.  Since the slightly younger vampire held all the cards, it made sense for him to give Kerr as much information as possible.

[Black Philip]

It seemed to Jake as if Mr. Galvin wanted him to just start talking. Since rambling was a bad habit of Jake\'s he decided to choose his words carefully and speak as slowly and as clearly as possible.

"I\'m a Ventrue. Also, I have a long history with the Anarch movement. I see my reputation does not precede me so I\'ll start by informing you of just who I am. I\'m from Ireland just like you, Mr. Galvin. I was sired by a Kindred named Sophie who was later beheaded. I\'ve worked as a Camarilla agent but have long since burned my ties with them. During the nineteen twenties I was the Anarch Baron of New York before being overthrown by the Camarilla in 1930. I came to this city in April but after a brief stay I was forced to go to L.A. Hollywood has long stood as an Anarch safe haven. In fact, at times, the entire west coast of California was an Anarch haven. The Camarilla left the city in 2004 after a brutal war with the Sabbat. The Anarchs pushed out what was left of the tattered Sabbat as well as confined the Kuei Jin to Chinatown. I was called in recently, however, to rule L.A. while the disgruntled Anarch barons elected a new leader. In truth I was ashamed that the Anarchs, the people who strive for as little government as possible, had such a hard time electing someone to call the shots. At one point I was asked to stay on permanently. I would have accepted the offer save for there was something that forced me to return here. That something is why I\'ve asked to speak with this council tonight. Before I continue are there any questions about what I\'ve just told you?"  

Jake was looking directly at the Luminary as he said this, a fierce gaze upon him. Mr. Galvin seemed to be listening with an appropriate degree of importance but Jake couldn\'t read the man\'s body language at all. He seemed truly lifeless. Jake, ever the mind reader, had to resist with all his free will not to try to see his thoughts. Jake knew even if he succeeded such an act would probably get him kicked out. That, he couldn\'t afford.

[Existentially Odd]

As the tale unfolded, Kerr\'s frown didn\'t abate - it deepened. What he heard even helped him ignore the annoyance that was Lazarus, for he\'d recently made a new friend who had told him an entirely different story to the one he was hearing from young Mister McCloud and it confused him greatly.
 
One of them had to be lying and he was of the opinion that it was Jake rather than Ash, for he knew his friend to be trustworthy - especially since what he\'d told him of his sire was told offhandedly and in a fashion that indicated it didn\'t matter whether Kerr believed him or not. There\'d been nothing to gain from talking about Isaac, after all - Kerr had not given two hoots about what an Anarch Baron was, at the time, let alone that his name was Isaac Abrams - but there was likely a lot more at stake as far as Jake was concerned, otherwise why was he here?
 
"Uh... yes, actually," he began cautiously, trying his best to phrase himself so that he didn\'t sound as suspicious and wary as he was feeling... while letting the Ventrue know that he knew exactly what he was talking about. "I happen to know of the Anarch Baron of Hollywood and his name is not Jake McCloud so... perhaps you could explain to me how your story differs so greatly to the one I was told by a very good friend of mine, who\'s just arrived from Hollywood?" he invited, eyebrows raising.
 
He wasn\'t angry and he wasn\'t planning to overreact to a lie, but he did want Jake to tell him the complete truth, or their dealings here tonight would be done far more quickly than Jake would like.

[Black Philip]

Jake laughed. Mr. Galvin was referring to Issac Abrams. Issac was the Anarch Baron of Hollywood.  and one of the contenders for the Baron of all of L.A. Since Jake left the city of the angels Issac had indeed been voted Anarch Baron of the whole city.

"Your friend is not lying. Issac Abrams, the Toreador  is the Baron, but his rise to power is only recent. For years Issac ruled over only the Hollywood area of the city. Bull shit with the Camarilla and the Kuei Jin kept his power from growing and the other Anarch leaders also wanted control. Maybe I should elaborate to ease your tensions. Since 2004 three Anarch Barons have fought for control of L.A.. One, or I should say two are Terese and Jennette Voerman. The two are Malkavian and inhabit the same body. They rule over Santa Monica and are aggressive in their lust for power. The second, and the man I would have picked, is Nines Rodriquez. Nines is a Brujah who survived the great depression. We worked together in New York and he comes from solid Anarch stock. He and I are good friends. The last contender was Mr. Abrams who you are somehow already familiar with. In 2004 a young fledgling and an Anarch named Smiling Jack killed a Camarilla prince named Sebastien Lacroix. Lacroix was the prince who pushed me out of New York in 1930. My only regret is I couldn\'t do the fucker in myself! Also the mystical Ankaran Sarcophagus proved to be nothing more than a box with a mummy. This was 2004 and it\'s now 2009. Since then the three Anarchs I just mentioned have been bickering and fighting for power like Camarilla dogs. Smiling Jack and an old friend named  of mine named Damsel contacted me and asked if I would come help straighten things out. So I left this city in order to do just that. I was forced to leave L.A. because of my need to return here so an emergency election was organized with the assurance a more stable one would be held later. The Anarchs elected Mr. Abrams. He rules intermezzo while the Anarchs decide whats to be done about there government. The Voermans still hold Santa Monica and Nines looks after downtown. Mr. Abrams has Hollywood but can call upon the other two if he ever needed them. L.A. is currently like Sweden; a confederation of states with a weak central government. If you don\'t believe me I would be more than happy to submit to mind reading. Or if its easier I have the numbers of Mr. Abrams and the Voerman sisters available in my phone. Nines doesn\'t have a cell phone but if I called Damsel I\'m sure she could find him."

 He tried to be calm as he spoke but be honest he was kinda offended. Jake didn\'t know who Mr. Galvin\'s source was but they just made him have to prove he wasn\'t a liar. Jake prided himself on his honesty. He considered honesty to separate him from the Camarilla who always worked in secret and lies. He wasn\'t angry he was just annoyed. He had much more pressing things to discuss than politics. A chance to bring Nines had existed at one time but Jake knew Nines was needed in L.A. He could handle the problems here.

[Existentially Odd]

Again, Kerr\'s hand waved across the table and he pulled a considering face as he dismissed the offer to contact people who could prove Jake\'s story correct.  Truthfully, he didn\'t know much about the situations clan vampires got themselves involved in - and, given the choice, he never would want to know about such complicated things but his position had unceremoniously thrust such awareness upon him long since - and it all seemed viable in its intricacy.

He could always check details with Ash if anything seemed awry but fr now he was content.

"No, that will be unnecessary, I can see where my confusion has come from, thank you," Kerr nodded, neatly putting the matter of Jake making him suspicious to bed once and for all.  He took a moment, as he spoke, to pick up the expensive silver pen on the desk near his right hand and write a few notes - the names he\'d just heard, so that he could either ask Ash or request a detail of spies head to Hollywood to get further information for him, if he thought it necessary.  "Please.  Continue.  Explain your... \'something\' to me," Kerr encouraged, looking up from his writing to watch Jake from beneath his lashes.  His hand continued moving but he didn\'t need to watch what it was writing, it was more important for him to keep his gaze directed at the vampire some four metres across the tiles from him.

Based on that last diatribe, he expected there to be a great deal of detail for him to have to attend to and he\'d likely need to make some more notes as it happened anyway; best to simply get into the hang of it all.

[Trillian]

What the fuck?
 
He\'d tried to concentrate on what was happening before him, between this Jake guy and Kerr, but he\'d been lost back at New York at the very beginning of the conversation, something to do with a Camel Village or some such thing.  Kerr seemed to know enough about what Jake was talking about to challenge him
 
fucking what now?
 
which had earned a long stare from Lazarus in his direction.
 
Why the hell had he come down here?  He\'d thought that some vampires would ask permissions to make a fledgling or keep a pet, and Lazarus was looking forward to toying with them.  Now there was this huge political shit about other cities that Lazarus had no interest in, about clans Lazarus had no idea about, and it was affecting this city how exactly?
 
"And get to the fucking point," Lazarus grumbled at the end of Kerr\'s polite request to hear the part that concerned them.

[Black Philip]

REALLY!!!!!!!!!!

Jake was livid. Who was this guy. At that very moment Jake wanted to leap up and rip his long blond hair out of his head. He grabbed for a blade that wasn\'t there. It was small so he hoped nobody saw him. After a brief pause and giving the Luminary one hell of a stare he spoke.

"The point, is that this city is in grave danger and if you and I don\'t do something about it soon this city could be covered in blood by the end of the month."

There he\'d said it. They knew now this meeting wasn\'t to play checkers. Jake shielded his mind as he thought.

Hopefully that will get this fucker\'s interest.

[Trillian]

Lazarus saw the move.  In a room containing vampires, there was little that could be hidden, especially when all eyes were focussed upon the central being.  He had no idea what the move was all about however, for he didn\'t know of Jake\'s swords, knives, guns or any other weapons the young vampire had surrendered prior to the meeting.
 
Good thing for Jake he didn\'t know, otherwise he\'d have a pissed off Ancient breathing down his neck - and Lazarus wasn\'t known for holding back.
 
Lazarus, meanwhile, listened to Jake\'s very important message, read it as self-righteous, and turned to look at Kerr.
 
"Are they all this fucking loony?"

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr\'s expression had switched from a comically annoyed glare when Lazarus had pompously instructed Jake to hurry up, to a rather surprised blink when the much younger (than the luminary) vampire had had the audacity to flinch and glare at the Ancient.  After that, his attention had been drawn back to the man himself when he was asked if all clan vampires were this loony; an image of Digital in full flight flashed into his mind and left him pressing his lips together harshly as he also glared into the grey eyes of his superior.

Even the looniest one he\'d ever met didn\'t hold a candle to Lazarus as far as compassion and usefulness went.

"It\'s not loony," he insisted through gritted teeth, "it\'s their organisation much as the Oligarchy is ours."  With a final recriminating look that told the flamboyant blonde to keep his mouth shut and his opinions to himself so that Kerr could do his job, the Oligarch looked at the Ventrue with the frown he couldn\'t seem to shake.  "That\'s an awfully melodramatic claim, Mister McCloud.  I think you\'ll need to tell me exactly what\'s going to happen to bathe a city this big in blood... and how we can stop it," he said seriously, cautious as ever.

In some ways he hoped the claim was a hysterical overreaction, because he didn\'t feel all that confident in the Oligarchy\'s ability to act as a cohesive whole against something that sounded as serious as what Jake was talking about.

[Black Philip]

Jake had begun to relax. He felt the tension leave his body and a nice calm began to settle over him. Despite just getting called loony but a fucking insolent pretty boy ancient, he was more at ease because Mr.Galvin seemed to take him seriously. To be honest, Jake didn\'t fear the Luminary in the slightest. He\'d dealt with enough Camarilla princes and Tremere regents to not fear those older than he. Jake had learned that age would only get you so far and that life experience was a vampires true test. Nines was less than a hundred but had risen to great power. Lacroix was younger than Jake and had achieved the title of prince. That\'s what clanless vampires failed to realize; its not the length of you life that counts, its what you do with it.

He decided for the time being to address only Mr. Galvin, who he felt actually wanted to hear about his position. He looked at Kerr with sad serious eyes much different from the glare he\'d shot the Luminary.

"Perhaps bathed in blood was a little over the top Mr. Galvin. However, what I bring is serious. Your city has been infiltrated by a vampire sect known as the Sabbat. The Sabbat to put simply are vampires who revel in their monstrous nature. They care nothing fo the Masquerade the rule of this council or for human life. They have no mercy, compassion, or any emotion at all. We all know there are no good guys in this curse we share, but the Sabbat are the bad guys. For months now they\'ve been slipping into the city. They have using sewers, rail cars, coffins, and several other forms of transportation to get themselves in. Since there arrival they\'ve been recruiting. Your homeless, your hookers and your left behinds are being turned. The Sabbat are siring people nobody would miss. They\'re building an army. I\'ve managed to figure out that their plan is to take this hotel by brute force. Once they feel their forces are sufficient they will attack the hotel. Now I\'ve heard rumors that the Oligarchy has an army. I\'m sure in the end if it came to open war in the streets that your body would win this fight. The cost is the amount of human and supernatural life that would be lost as a result. Also the breech to the Masquerade would be so obvious that it would make the morning news in every city in America. Hunters would come back to this city. More would die. Why the Sabbat have chosen this city I don\'t know. Who\'s leading them I have only rumors. If you act now and agree to help me find where they\'re hiding and make sure each one meets their final death than this whole crises can be averted. I already know one place their using to hide. I\'m sure a raid there would give us answers to the questions we don\'t know. This is no joke. I\'m very serious in what I tell you. If we act now we will save many lives and put this infestation to bed. If we do nothing than you will have open war. I can\'t do this alone."

Jake paused. The next words would almost kill him to say. "I- I need your help." He bowed his head to Mr. Galvin. He could only hope that the Oligarch believed him. He looked back up to meet his gaze and hope for a favorable response.