A Gnawing Concern

[Existentially Odd]

Although he\'d decided already that he was in no mood for work, Kerr descended in the high-powered lift once more after he\'d finished speaking with Ichabod, planning on returning as soon as he was able.  Things... things were gnawing at him, distracting him from resting peacefully even if he tried.

There was a burning desire to punch straight through a wall for one thing, and an intense need for knowledge for another.  Lazarus had to have been back in the city for multiple nights to have been so confident with the themed rooms at Risk, and that meant Kerr had had multiple opportunities to be informed of the cunt\'s presence.  But he hadn\'t been.

Either things weren\'t as they seemed or his spy network had failed in its duty, and he really wanted to know the truth.  He also wanted to locate Halwyn Doyle, so that he could rub the other half of the coin and see if a genie popped up... so to speak.

Instead of just going to his office on the third floor, then, he hit the button that said \'B2\' and headed for the general offices, knowing he could access a computer there and also looking for one woman in particular - Brianna.  She had always promised him fealty, had sworn never to let him down, had bonded with him over mortals at Risk.  He didn\'t like to think she was responsible for this failure, but someone was, and though his foul mood had ebbed when he\'d spoken separately to his very aggravating progeny, his blood rose once more as the lift descended.

He wanted answers.

When he arrived at the sub-ground level, he headed into the offices without preamble or deviation. Employees were shuffling about, sitting up suddenly straighter when they saw him striding past them, as if he was here inspecting their posture, rather than on business.  At the first free terminal he found, he sat, logging onto the network with his username and password and going to the records database.  A few keystrokes of query later, he had what he wanted, surprised to find out that Halwyn actually lived in the Capital Building.  Of all the irony!

Once he logged off, he got up and pursued his second item of business - a meeting with Brianna.  He headed for where he knew her desk to be, doubting the ancient would be there (if she was any good at her job, he supposed she wouldn\'t be), and intending to give her a little time before he got his phone out and messaged her.  He\'d sit in her chair for a little while first, if it was necessary, to see if she\'d come back before he made any hasty decisions.

[Idrial]

Brianna combed the streets of the city in silence; she was a ghost in this vast city that was consumed by the dark. Her eye’s and ears open while her mouth remained shut in a tight line. A few light posts remained lit as if it gave false hope to the poor souls that remained huddled near them or underneath. Not even the light could save these unfortunate people for should anything happen to them in the night.
 
She turned down an alleyway; the darkness consumed her like a shroud. Her eye’s scanning the possible places that someone could hide; friend or foe although she preferred friend. Although a foe would mean one less enemy to worry about in her up coming days.
 
Her destination was Risk; Lazarus had been on Brianna’s mind since he first entered the City. The man had no business here, overthrown by mutiny thus arose their new leader Kerr Galvin. Yet the eye sore of the city Lazarus still remained, she wanted him out for he has caused this city enough heartbreak and misery. Bringing the city to its knees not once but twice and a mess that Brianna was forced to clean up after his mistakes.
 
Arriving at the edge of the alleyway she stayed within the darkness as she spied upon the entrance of Risk. A cigarette was much needed but she knew the smell would give away her location; it would remain in her back pocket for now. It seemed to be a busy night, so far no sign of Lazarus. How she hoped to catch a glimpse of him that waste of flesh and bones.
 
He was a tyrant then and a pain in her ass currently, now she would wait for the time being. Until she was called back to her desk or told that she had another matter to deal with presently. Now she stayed put for the time being as she watched immortals and their playmates entered and exited the club.

[Existentially Odd]

Despite his best intentions, Kerr lasted about two minutes before he pulled his phone out and sent a message, impatient to get this over with and his night concluded.  It really hadn\'t been the best.

His message was simple:

At your desk.  Get here a.s.a.p., need to speak with you. Kerr

His fingers drummed angrily on her desk as he waited for her reply - or, ideally, Brianna to simply appear nearby.

[Idrial]

Brianna’s eyes flashed downwards; a faint light could be seen shining through the top of her pocket. She stepped backwards into the shadows, concealing herself around a corner before flipping it open. Kerr’s message on her screen she hit reply and sent him a blank text. Calmly, she returned the phone back in her pocket as she hastened her steps; disappointed in not seeing the ‘eye sore’ of the city.
 
“This night”, she whispered.
 
The streets were bare this dead of night; she was merely a sound of gusting wind as she made her way through the sinister alleyways. Knowing if she kept him waiting any longer it would sour whatever mood he was in this time. Things had not been easy for Kerr, she accepted that and remained understanding of his situation.
 
She stepped through the main doors, the demons not giving her a second look as she passed through. Directly she went to the elevator and watched as the button B2 light up under her finger. She was nervous, she stepped inside and began her descend underground.
 
The doors popped open and she stepped through with celerity, her office down the hall. She halted in the entrance way, Kerr was sitting in her chair his fingers strumming her desk irritably. He was already worked up, not a very good sign; so she decided to tread lightly with him.
 
“You wish too see me,” she simply stated still standing at the door way. This may have been her office for years; but this was his building for as long as he was their Luminary.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr swung to face the ancient, his right leg propped up on his left knee (foot twitching like an annoyed cat\'s tail), elbows moving to rest on the arms of the chair and his fingers to steeple in front of his body (fingers tapping immediately) as he looked up at Brianna.  His cowering instincts flared but, as it had been with Lazarus earlier in the evening, his anger dampened the effect of it so that he didn\'t slide off the chair and to his knees before her.

"That would be why I sent you a text," he responded irritably, "with words in it."  His glower told her that he had not appreciated receiving a blank text in response to his.  Who the fuck sent back a blank text, in fact?  What was the point?!  "Anyway.  I need to talk to you about your general lack of professionalism and the pathetic manner in which either you or your colleagues are doing your jobs, lately.  Tell me; how was it that I was told by one of your lackeys just this evening that Lazarus is back in the city, yet he seems to have been here for fucking nights?!"

At first, his voice had been terse, then silky, but he sounded nothing but furious by the time he finished demanding to know how his spy network had failed him so spectacularly.  His expression matched it perfectly in terms of black anger.

[Idrial]

His tone of voice did not flatter Brianna in the least, his temper fuming like an oncoming train. It amused her somewhat that he was worked up over sniveling snot like Lazarus; but her face remained like a slab of stone. Intimidation and childish actions would not work with Brianna and so she held her ground with Kerr. His anger would not surrender her into submission; anger only made things worse.  

She stepped into the office, her hands laced behind her back loosely. Her shoulders and back straight with her chin held up; neck exposed. She stood away from him but still within the room; she was not one to poke an angry tiger with a stick. He should however be hit over the nose with one in her opinion for his unnecessary outburst.

“I did not think that you wanted to be bothered with the man that terrorized us for years and is a monstrosity to this city,” stating respectfully. “He is in town yes I know that, long before my ‘lackey’ came to you.” How she wanted to grit her teeth for calling her staff such names. He had no right to undermine them over her mistake. “I know that you and you fledglings were there with him,” she glared at him softly.

She sighed; her arms now crossed across her chest, “But you were alone in a room with him for some of the part.” She knew not of the conversation that had taken place. Spies were used in Risk many times, that fact should not surprise him at least one bit. What surprised Brianna was Kerr was so stupid to go in a room alone with that man. She wanted to cuff him upside the head but she remained in her current stance.

If he knew her well he would know where this conversation was going; angered by his stupidity. Whether he had back up or not unless someone was in the room with him \'tethered to his side\' there was no excuse for his actions. There was no excuse for hers as well; he should have been informed but she would rather have a calm Kerr rather than a Kerr in a tantrum over Lazarus; of all things.        

[Existentially Odd]

"I didn\'t want to be bothered?" Kerr screeched, propelling himself from the seat and taking a step towards her (though not too close, for he was far younger than she, and he didn\'t wish to be distracted by the fealty that would arise within him, with decreased proximity), pounding both fists onto the desk and leaning across it for emphasis.  He\'d barely heard the rest of what she\'d said, though it had registered and he was mentally processing it.

"I had a fucking priority alert on the fucker for a fucking reason!" he bellowed, swinging away from the desk and planting his fists on his hips as he glared at the wall in disgust.  How could people that counted themselves as professionals not know this, when he\'d made it very clear?  The computer network in the Oligarchy was commonly accessed, it would\'ve taken being blind and stupid to have ignored the alert issued.  Lazarus had taken the Oligarchy once, why would Kerr not be interested in the cunt\'s every move?!

"And don\'t you dare tell me I was alone in the room with him, like you\'re reprimanding a fucking child," he spat as he spun back to glare at Brianna instead.  "Someone had to do your job!  Answer my fucking question:  how long has that filth actually been back in the fucking city?!  Because the familiar way he was swanning about Risk makes me think it\'s been a fucking week... and I want to know who should be fired for letting him slip in!"  Kerr\'s brown eyes were practically shooting sparks as he bared his fury for Brianna to plainly see.

[Idrial]

“Kerr Galvin you are acting like a child.” She raised her voice at him. “Pounding your fists and yelling at me and going off in dangerous situations.” Her arms uncrossed from the front of her chest with her hands on her hips; her patience was wearing thin with this one. He was their leader and he should start acting like it; not like a child that had missed out on a piece of cake; a dire tasting cake.
 
“As for my job, you\'re right IT IS my job.” Enforcing that fact that he should not have been alone with that man, gathering information was not his job. The fact that he had done her job was once again lack of common sense on his part. “I know that he was on the priority list but I needed more information. More than just he’s been hanging around Risk. I need places he’s staying, people he’s gotten in contact with.” Halwyn came to her mind immediately.
 
She narrowed her gaze towards him, “He didn’t slip in. He’s been watched since he entered the city little more than a day ago. There is no need for firing anyone.” She shook her head, Lazarus always thought this was his City; it\'s no wonder he flaunted around like he had been here longer. “As for your childish actions I suggest strongly that you calm down.” A hard sharp glare was passed his way.
 
“I put up with that obnoxious shit with Lazarus and I will not put up with it with you Kerr. Be angry fine that is your right, but do not dismantle this office in the process.” She would expect this behavior from someone who is one hundred not one barely over four hundred years. Sometimes she wondered about the younglings and especially this one.

[Existentially Odd]

(ooc: You really should have read the first post in this thread before you replied - Lazarus has only been in the city one night, not a week.  Please change your last post accordingly.  Thank you)

He blinked at her, still reeling from being told that he was acting like an obnoxious child, when she told him she wouldn\'t be putting... up... with... his shit?  Was she for real?  He\'d hit the desk in his fury that something he\'d specifically ordered hadn\'t been accomplished.  She was correct; he was very angry.  And it was his right.

But he didn\'t need her telling him that.  He respected the job she\'d done; he had respected her.  Until now.  She\'d told him that Lazarus had been in the city one additional night and that reassured him somewhat  - the lines of observation hadn\'t broken down completely, then... he\'d just... not been told last night.  He\'d been told tonight instead.  Because Brianna had decided it was more important she gather intelligence, rather than obeying a directive.  From her Luminary.

Well.

His anger was a white haze at the edge of his vision as he stared at her, his hands no longer planted on his hips but dangling by his sides, his body still as a statue.  He wanted to take a moment, to process all this and consider his options, to run through everything she\'d just told him a few more times, to be absolutely sure he\'d heard her correctly.

She\'d told him he was acting like a child, rather than respecting his anger.
She\'d condescendingly told him he\'d taken risks she should\'ve taken on his behalf.
She\'d told him she\'d ignored his command, kept the information of Lazarus\' re-entry to herself and decided to \'watch him\' instead.
She\'d told him his actions were childish and he should calm down.
She\'d called him obnoxious, told him she wasn\'t going to put up with him, and ordered him not to destruct her insignificant, barely-above-a-cubicle office.
She\'d admitted she hadn\'t done her job according to his wishes, but her own, implying she was both smarter and more important than he was.
She\'d told him there was no need for firing anyone.

He disagreed.  On every count.

Before he spoke, Kerr turned to face her fully, looking her in the eye, taking a moment to look over her one last time.  Mentally, he was reaching, requesting readiness from those who never far away from him, eager to help.  Eager to carry out his wishes.  Because he was their Luminary, and it was his right.  It was his fucking right.  Contact was made but he whispered patience, hoping that this would end decorously, rather than messily, his preparation unnecessary.

"Brianna," Kerr eventually said, his voice thick with anger, words entering the room muffled due to his teeth being clenched together.  "You\'re not here to do the job your way.  You do it my way.  It\'s not childish, my demands are not obnoxious. They\'re realistic and necessarily cautious. You speak above your station.  You speak loosely and I do not approve.  I can\'t have you acting outside and beyond my wishes; there\'s no place in this organisation for the amount of disrespect and insubordination you\'ve just shown me.  You\'re no longer welcome here.  You are fired.  Clear out your things and leave.  Tonight.  Have I made myself clear?" he finished mildly, still tense and awaiting her reaction.

He didn\'t know what to expect and he was somewhat surprised that it had come down to this, but there was no room on a team for individuals who believed themselves above directives and who openly admitted to roguish behaviour.  She was untrustworthy, that was the essence of it.  If he couldn\'t trust her, he damn well wouldn\'t employ her.

[Idrial]

Starring at him with an uneasy calm, she moved towards him slow and steady only stopping a few feet away from Kerr. Her voice soft and reassuring to the hot water they had gotten themselves into; Kerr his anger and Brianna not reporting to him when he had arrived in his city.
 
“Kerr your rage has blinded you from the truth that is plain in sight,” she said into his eyes calmly. “Lazarus wants this and you’re playing into his hands. He wants you to get angry and fight with the people close to you. He wants you to let people go and with that the structural integrity of our government will fall. So that he may worm his way into it.”
 
Instant she was mad, not with Kerr but with Lazarus and his mischievous way of getting what her wanted. He had toyed with for the last time; now Brianna must make a stand for she wasn’t going out without a fight.
 
“It is my fault that I did not tell you of his ‘lovely’ arrival but I had nothing. Only the date, time and location of his entrance into the city but,” she paused, “I needed something more than just he entered the city.” She looked down at herself, “Funny thing is Lazarus knows how I work. I gather large amounts of information over time instead of quick, short answers.” Her minor mistake hopefully was not the end of her time here.
 
She gazed at him once more, “Kerr I meant no disrespect on your part but things are being done your way. Just not in the timely fashion you or I want but getting this information in proper order is a delicate process.” This was still ongoing at the moment.
 
She sighed for a moment, “Yes he has been here for a day but I thought I would get something worth while other than the announcement of his petty arrival here. It’s not as if I kept this from you intentionally or even for a long period of time.” Just that someone had beaten her too it.
 
“I did not say you were obnoxious I said Lazarus was not you. As for your actions no they are not childish you misunderstood my point entirely.” Blinded with rage he was only hearing half of her point.
 
“Put yourself in my shoes for one moment,” she crossed her arms across her chest. “If I had displayed the same angry actions you had just now about a situation you would call me a child. But you would not call my intentions or the demands behind it childish and neither am I. But there is a professional and a non professional way to display your anger with me. As I said it is your right to be angry.” She hoped this clarity would calm him down just a bit and maybe keep her job.
 
(Occ: I changed the post like you. I\'m liking this thread.)

[Existentially Odd]

He might have backed down if he\'d got an apology.  Maybe.  But still she lectured him, twisting words and hypothesising others\' intentions - hypothesising incorrectly, at that.  She still believed it was her job to tell him how to do things, to make decisions, to look at his commands as requests, rather than absolute.  She still insisted he should consider things from her perspective, and he wouldn\'t.  She\'d lost that privilege the moment she\'d berated him.

"And there\'s a professional way for you to speak to me, which you\'ve ignored.  I don\'t appreciate you lecturing me, Brianna, and I won\'t have your attitude here any longer.  Lazarus couldn\'t give two shits about \'our government\' and that was all I needed to know - immediately, without paperwork and other unnecessary information.  I no longer care for your lectures or your insubordinate work methods.  How long will it take you to clear out your desk?  I\'ll notify payroll to ready your termination package, so that you can collect the check on your way out."

Being civil to her was akin to chewing glass.  She really needed to stop inviting him to partake in his rightful anger, for he was only just managing to speak calmly - even if it was through clenched teeth - and resist the urge to have a mimic demon come in here and bodily remove her.  He glanced towards her desk as he asked how long it would take her to gather her things, his phone very quickly in his hand as he prepared to call payroll.

Whatever she believed she was accomplishing, it should be crystal clear to her now that he meant every word.  He didn\'t want her employed by the Oligarchy any longer, he didn\'t trust her and he wanted her out.  It didn\'t matter how calmly she was speaking now, nor how she tried to justify her previous words, she\'d insulted him, his methods and disdainfully announced she was above him because she was older and, apparently, wiser.  In the mood he was in, after the night he\'d had, it was just one thing too many and she was going to suffer for her loose tongue and all the shit Lazarus, Ben and Ichabod had put him through earlier.  She was going to leave the building and not be invited back, her passkey revoked and her welcome detracted.

His only concession, as a sign of respect, would be that the termination package would be generous.  It was the least he could do, for her previous efforts. His feet turned towards the door as he waited for her to give him a time frame, his intention to leave as soon as she spoke announced subtly.

[Idrial]

She was disheartened by his actions; she had been fired before but only for it to be retracted. This was his wish and now she must follow it, easier to be said than done. She has called this place home and now it would end, but her work would never stop. At the moment of her siring she had been entrusted to protect life, this was her primary job. The skills of a spy only enforced those beliefs that drove her to collect the information that could save lives. Lazarus, she nearly spit at the thought of his name; may not be interested in their government’s cause but Kerr’s personal life would be a main interest.
 
“If that is your command then I must follow it,” cleaning her office wouldn’t take long. “But you have lost \'my connections\' effective immediately.” She started with her desk, taking files that belonged to Brianna not the Oligarchy itself. It was an insurance policy she had taken out when she first was mysteriously hired as a spy for the Oligarchy. Years before Halen and Lazarus, as long as Brianna had sworn fealty to the Luminary her connections would unofficially be loyal to Oligarchy. Only problem was she was no longer employed and so her connections over the years was now only loyal to Brianna.
 
“Your personal vendetta with Lazarus,” now cleaning out her filing cabinet for more documents. “It will alter you, pushing you away from the people that rely on you most,” She shut the first drawer before opening the second, “It is my job to protect you from such things, so that you may see the truth and keep those that you cherish close to you,” the third and final drawer. “You may see me as disobedient and untrustworthy. Someone who was running the show and my lectures unwanted … truth is I only wanted to protect you.” The door screeched shut as she stood up with files in hand; she set them on the desk near him.
 
She unsheathed her dirk that was firmly attached to her hip; she held it out to him her face soft and accepting now. He knew what must be done, “You will be the one to remove it Kerr, this is you decision after all.” Her voice was very supple, he could not deny that this was his verdict and now it was time he went through with it.
 
Brianna had no reason to fight his decision anymore; although she was no longer welcome she would still fight for the same cause that Kerr believed in; his words of distrust would one day be proven wrong.

[Existentially Odd]

While she worked at clearing out her work space, a demon walked through the partitioned office behind Kerr, summoned by him when he saw the files Brianna intended to \'take\'.  Kerr wasn\'t about to let that happen, however, for as her employer, Brianna\'s intellectual property was also his to use as he saw fit - simply because she\'d stored it on the Oligarchy\'s property.  Figuring she\'d object, he\'d mentally summoned the demon, who took a moment as the third drawer was emptied to match Brianna\'s powers, before stepping into the office beside Kerr.

When she held the knife out towards him, he looked dourly from it up to her beautiful face.  "That won\'t be necessary.  I won\'t inflict unnecessary pain on you.  The enchantment in your tattoo will simply be cancelled and it will be gone within minutes; possibly even seconds, I imagine your body would heal the ink very quickly," he informed her coolly, waving the knife away.

"Now, I\'ll inform the necessary people of this situation," he announced, swirling an airy finger (on the hand not holding his phone at the ready to accomplish everything he said) around to include the cubicle of an office they were all in, "but, before you go, I\'ll require copies of all those files... just so we\'re on the same page.  I\'m quite interested in protecting me, too, as it turns out, and anything you\'ve got here on Oligarchy property, we have rights to," he smiled brittly.  "My friend here will help you, so the process goes faster.  Or insist, if you object.  Either way, take everything by all means, but only after you\'ve shared.  Take care of yourself, Brianna."

Kerr turned and strode away from them, ignoring anything she might have said and leaving the mimic demon eyeing Brianna off thoughtfully.  He gave a few more mental instructions to the demon, too pissed off with her to stay anywhere near her for another second.  It was disappointment mostly; bitter and sticking in his throat.  He would never have considered his situation with Lazarus a \'vendetta\', nor consider his concern with monitoring the cockhead a detriment to those he cared about but he would think on that.  Later, when he was calmer.

The elevator arrived swiftly and Brianna\'s termination payout and tattoo enchantment removal were already in the works by the time it stopped again and he stepped off at the library level, to speak with Ben.  He pushed her from his thoughts and focussed forward instead.

[Idrial]

The demon was not needed; it infuriated Brianna as she felt her essence being copied. She sheathed her dirk; his refusal to ‘cut’ her tattoo out her was more than enough say. Her influence was gone and the talk about copying her files was one that was useless, she was not stupid. An insurance policy meant confidentiality; it made her smile that he wouldn’t know of such things. “Kerr”, she only shook her head. He would be furious when finally read the files; there was nothing present on the paper. Her nearly ancient form had come up with tricks to ensure the privacy on her allies, contacts even her enemies. Her talents and skills involving the mind are not of the ordinary; her sire had always ensured her of that at the moment she was embraced.

She remembered the lemon and heat trick; write on the paper with lemon, let it dry. Expose it to medium heat and viola! You get words. But this was much more complicated and he would need Brianna herself (not a demon) to ‘magically’ make the words appear. A satisfied smile lingered on her lips; she left the files on the desk. His words of property was his right, those files belonged to him now. But the key to the files was no longer, she stifled a laugh. Those few files would rattle his mind; too bad he wouldn’t have a chance to read them.  

The demon eyed her like a piece of candy; it was comical really. “You can have this office and what is within it. Here,” she placed every single file on the desk in its arms. “Take the originals to Kerr himself later; you see that I have taken nothing. Now, I’m leaving.” The sassy demon smiled, he really thought he had won. She placed her pass key and phone on the desk before whisking herself down the hallway. She hadn’t even felt the removal of her own tattoo, but she felt slightly naked without it.

Her exiting the oligarchy took a matter of minutes, for her to disappear …. seconds. Brianna was now on her own mission and she was sure once those files reached Kerr’s hands. He would send someone looking for her, a thought that warmed her too the bone. It wouldn’t take her long to find her back up phone in the streets of the city; she wasn’t dim-witted enough to program her own clients into a phone owned by the Oligarchy. She called her clients; they were to pack up, communications severed immediately for she needed time to re-group. She knew of the word privacy, now Kerr would know of the word of ‘not being found’ and being left in the dark.