The I-Bomb

[realworldweirdo]

"As I recall, mostly they do maintenance on standing enchantments. Keep the security net around the building charged, dispel cursed things that cause trouble in the city. They're one of the more fractious teams, but they do good work. I'd have to double check on the specifics, things get moved around a lot when I leave the building for a night."

By fractious, Conner meant that the vampire half didn't like working with the fae half and the feeling was mutual. There was a reason most of the teams were species segregated. Their magics mixed in interesting ways and worked well, so he kept them together and on a short leash. In the Ward, though, all assignments were effectively temporary. Things were still too unsettled. Ben might be able to calm down the volatile mix of races in that team, though. He'd seen students have that effect before.

In another century, but still. It might work.

Leaning forward, he spread his hands. "I can ask Loraine if she knows of anything else, but that's all I know of right off hand. I don't want to put you in the field, of course. You're too well known anyway, so it's not really an option."

[Trillian]

He was interested what kind of magic he'd be able to perform, with his lack of knowledge on the subject matter, as well as a low skill level (he assumed).  So low it was non-existant... but the idea of performing magical tasks and being taught how to wield it was enticing.  If it was possible, then it opened the door to lots more things.  Really, this was what Conner had mentioned when they'd been talking about the Academy - crossing abilities over, but Ben had thought it was just theories, for he'd seen the Academy as a purpose built University for supernaturals within their own fields of species, and learning about others for the sake of not being ignorant.  He'd failed to imagine the possibility of learning Fae magic, he'd only managed to grasp the idea of learning the abilities that the bloodline vampire species could do - the bloodlines like Conners, which he still didn't fully understand.

Not being in the field also sounded appealing to Ben, since he'd be learning the job and didn't like the idea of being thrown into the deep end.  He'd thrown himself into the deep end a number of times, with mixed results.  There was no point taking further risks now, that he seemed to be getting his life back on track.

"I'd like to do that.  It would help me understand the potential for the Academy, anyway.  Do you think a six month deadline for getting it up and running is too ambitious?" he prompted.  If they were using an already established area - at the Ward - then he didn't see why gathering resources when they already had a location would be difficult.

[realworldweirdo]

Conner's mind shuffled the information around, processing Ben's tentative acceptance and how it would influence the group's abilities. He knew from personal experience that certain things could be performed relatively easily by even young vampires, with proper instruction. He pulled one of his business cards and a short pencil from his pocket, scribbled a name and a number on it, and fiddled with it between his fingers.

"This is Loraine's number. She helps me with.... well, pretty much everything at the Ward. She's functionally the second in command right now. Call her to set up the details, she'll see to it that everything gets sorted out if you want to join the team. That's team four, for reference." The other teams call them Nitro, for nitroglycerine, behind their backs but he'll find that out soon enough.

On the matter of Ben's rather ambitious six month schedule for the Academy, he frowned pensively. Acquiring a library was a big leap. Establishing a curriculum would be another. The matter of finding instructors was sticky at best, despite the generous funding Ben was providing. Advertising for students would take six months at the very least unless they just started pulling fledglings, and with them their sires, off the streets. Things would have to be shuffled at Haven Crest; he couldn't know what Jonathon would make of this, he'd only mentioned it in passing. He scribbled another number and a name underneath the first.

"Six months is fast. I don't know if that's possible, but if you want to push hard it's just optimistic. The second number is Jonathon's office number. He owns the Haven Crest building and a few other properties. We'll have to arrange for space and facilities with him in order to have the Academy at Haven Crest. With the Ward there too, it might be a little hectic, but I'm sure it will work. If we crowd out the mortal businesses there, that would be fine with me. They're an impedance. So, tell me what you've got put together on your end so far."

[Trillian]

Tell Conner what he had so far?  Ben blinked and was silent for a moment.  He felt like an idiot.  All he had were designs on who to contact and what he would say.  All he had were notes on his laptop and ideas how to get started.  All he had were concepts and dreams.  How could he tell Conner that with a straight face?

"Just outlines.  I was thinking of setting up a couple of basic rooms with chairs and desks.  The biggest thing I need to do is talk to some people and find out if they'll be teachers.  Maybe hire a counsellor with supernatural... um, authority, to be available at the Ward for a few hours and take whatever appointments come their way.  Then I was going to place an ad for expressions of interest from potential students, first couple of classes free if they contacted us with their details.  Find out how many students we'd get and then set up the classes with the teacher and then give the students times and dates.  My biggest problem isn't setting up, it's getting the material to teach.  Could I make it so simple as to just leave it up to the teacher in question?  To simply tell them: This week is about mental domination, talk about how you do that.  Or, this week is about levitation, talk about how you do that.  Because if I manage to bring in a werewolf teacher or whatever, I wouldn't know the first thing about what they do other than scratch and howl."

He gave a little smile at the end, indicating he knew his last couple of things could be interpreted humourously, but this was a serious topic and Conner struck him as a serious guy - and Ben didn't have anything to offer him except his ideas.

Oh yeh, and his money.

[realworldweirdo]

Conner pondered this with unrestrained ambivalence. There was no precedent that he knew of for a supernatural school with anything like a classroom setting, and although he'd been out of the loop for a couple of centuries, he doubted he'd missed something like that. He'd been hoping that Ben would know more about how to manage the whole project than he did, but he guessed he'd been wrong now. Conner knew logistics, even if he didn't know modern academia. If they looked for students and teachers at the same time, who knew what ratio they'd end up with? Probably not the right one, whatever that was.

Then came the questions of the species, disciplines, sub-disciplines, and the complications of all that. Magic and telepathy were different fields, as were telekinesis as most beings used it and then there were the innate talents of certain species. How to organize that body of information seemed a monumental feat, and very few people possessed the scope of education to approach the task. He could, given the time - that was why he and Ben could make the attempt - but he didn't have the time to do it while running all aspects of the Ward.

"I need you to help me fill the Director positions at the Ward," he announced bluntly, having arrived at a suitable conclusion in his own mind, and he spoke with firm conviction. "You know everyone. I can't keep doing four jobs anyway, and certainly not while working on the Academy. It doesn't really matter if they don't like you, I'm sure you know someone I can at least call. Then I can devote some of the free time I gain to sorting out some of the academia for the curriculum structure. You don't seem to grasp how broad the fields involved are. They're staggering, so you know."

He took a sip of his cooling blood when he finished speaking and waited for Ben to agree so that they could move on.

[Trillian]

Ben stared at Connor as he spoke, concerned that he hadn't even attracted his opinion on what Ben had said so far.  He wouldn't even have cared if his ideas would've been shot down, as long as he knew if he was headed in the right direction or not.

"I know everyone?" he questioned, because this was news to him.  "I know of everyone.  I did my best to keep my head down at the Chambers, to not get involved.  Every time I made my presence felt I would offend someone else.  Weren't you the fucking spy?  Weren't you supposed to know everyone?"

It could've been the stress talking, it could've been grief.  It could've been Ben's natural go-to emotion, because he seemed to feel angry and hostile all the time.  As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted it, because this was the one guy who he wanted to keep on side.  Vincent had been right after all.  He was punishing himself, burning bridges wherever he went.  What the hell was wrong with him?

"Sorry," he said, breaking eye contact and staring at the coffee table in front of him.  His tone had shifted dramatically to humility.  "I'll help you where I can.  I'll approach whoever you like."  Now that his offer had been made, he looked back at Conner and changed the topic back to the matter of the Academy.  "I think you're thinking too far ahead.  I think we should start with just one class.  We only need one teacher, and a few students, to get going.  Fledgling training, to start with, because I understand it, and what's needed for it.  There's a lot of young vampires in this city.  I need one older vampire to train them.  We can't offer everything, all at once, at the start.  I know the scope.  I studied at the Chambers library."

Before the Mimics took it away with them

"We can add as we go, and where we see demand."

[realworldweirdo]

"They weren't supposed to know me though," he retorted, eyeing Ben as he spoke. "I know everyone. Including what and who they ate. I have files on who they spent their free time with, too. Where they slept. What they drove. What I do not have," and he leaned forward slightly for emphasis "is even the slightest goodwill from them. Remember it was my job to violate their privacy as much as possible. Nobody likes that. They're more likely to appreciate a young vampire with good bloodlines who shows that he's growing up."

He glowered sideways at Ben for a moment, then leaned back in his seat, placing his glass back on the table with psychokinesis rather than leaning forward to do so. It was little things like this that kept him advancing, and he was aware of it. The only reason he had the level of power he did was two hundred years of brute force training; he didn't want to lose that edge. With that thought running through the back of his mind, he spun the blood idly in the cup as he spoke.

"One class is too small, I think," he said flatly. "I don't think it'll get any attention, unless it's in a specialty field. Well," he paused. "Huh. I hadn't thought about it. There are a.... a LOT of very young vampires in this city without sires watching over them."

Thank whoever for Loraine and her population statistics.

"Did you have anyone in mind as the instructor?"

[Trillian]

Of course.  Conner's explanation made him feel like an idiot.  Not only had he been an angry little prick, but he'd also been wrong.  Conner was a good dose of reality.  Good bloodlines, he might have, but Kerr's influence sometimes stopped there.  He wasn't doing his sire's memory justice.

"I have a few people in mind," Ben said, thinking of Vincent but unsure if he'd go for it.  Just because he'd offered Ben training didn't mean he'd want to teach a whole class.  He also didn't want to lose out on his own personal training.  He also thought of Sam, who he knew didn't like him very much, but the ex-librarian might be interested in teaching needy fledges in a classroom environment.  There were also some of Sam's assistants, who he'd said hello to a few times but never really talked to.  He'd have to look up Conner's files on them.

"So who do you have in mind for me to approach about the Directorships?" Ben asked, thinking it unlikely Conner would have their details with him, but considering how important the positions were, he might have the information stored in his head.

[realworldweirdo]

A list of possible candidates - some less likely than others, but he was willing to take long shots at this point - was indeed available in Conner's mind, but he didn't have their contact information memorized. Some would have to be approached very carefully.

He brought the glass floating steadily back to his hand and took a drink before speaking, staring off into space as he thought. Would Ben be able to approach all of these individuals? Yes, with the backing of the Ward, he would. Whether or not he'd be able to convince them was another matter, but he had the advantage of being Kerr's progeny on his side and his bloodline's natural submissiveness to elders would serve him well. Provided he was escorted by guards. Which he would be.

Conner would just have to call it an entourage. Hell. What was being a politician doing to him? That thought never would have occurred to him four years ago. He grimaced at the idea, but held onto it as being useful.

"I'll provide you with the relevant information from their dossiers if you'll come by my office," he finally said. "Their qualifications, their background, et cetera. Also, the compensation we're willing to offer for their services. It's not as good as the Oligarch pay was, but we're a smaller organization" with a percentage of their resources "and the scope of responsibility is more limited."

"If you'd like, I can have someone pull up files on potential instructors, as well," he offered, looking helpful and guileless.

[Trillian]

He'd been consumed by his thoughts of networking and approaching different contacts as well as vampires who he'd met that fit the bill if Vincent said no (or if he decided not to ask Vincent at all - he might run it by Owen first as a show of good faith, in fact).  There was Sebastian, and Jenna herself - but he didn't know if she was capable of teaching her skills considering Kerr had mentioned she was fairly new at learning them herself.  She might have some names to give him though.  It seemed his list of contacts was greater than he'd thought.  Initially he'd noticed but not paid thoughtful attention to Conner's skills with the glass of blood, but now as his thoughts turned a corner and began approaching a different topic, he had time to notice the incredible mental feats before him, and to remember in hindsight what he'd already seen demonstrated.

He was grateful and suddenly awestruck by this seemingly simple man before him.  A good-looking, loyal to Kerr's memory and helpful guy who'd not taken Ben's shit but at the same time been gentle in his smackdown as well as not taken it personally.  He also hadn't let Ben off the hook about being a real contributor.  He was someone that Ben felt he needed right now, but he didn't feel like he could make an easy friend out of Conner.  They were both socially awkward, in an entirely different way to the usual.  Capable, intelligent, brutishly honest, socially able yet awkward guys.  It was a front, a facade to Ben, and there was a weird feeling that Conner was the same.  That Conner's professional face was the smooth exterior that Ben managed to also convey when he spoke to people calmly - even forcefully - but was an insecure mess inside.  He doubted the ex-Spy shared this personality facet, but there was a connection between them no less that had Ben feeling like Conner got him, that he understood where he was coming from.

He very suddenly didn't want to let that go, and it felt like things were winding down, with requests to pull up files and numbers and names being exchanged.

"Did you want to see the place?  I mean... Kerr built this house.  He renovated it, actually.  There's... stuff here you might find interesting.  If you had ten minutes to spare, I mean."

Ten minutes for a tour of this house?  Get real.  More like thirty minutes, if they didn't dawdle.

He gave an easy smile, but at the same time he felt -

Awkward.

[realworldweirdo]

Conner blinked, not sure how to take the change of subject, but he decided to take it as agreement. Partially because it was convenient to do so, partially because it seemed like Ben was actually willing to cooperate. He felt like he was, anyway.

"I planned on being out of the office for a while, actually," he replied after a slightly disoriented pause. "Needed time to relax a bit, before I threw someone out a window. I'd like to see it, since you're offering."

Something that didn't cause stress, involve dealing with Bryant's unpredictable needs, or a tedious rainforest's worth of paperwork would be welcome. What it was specifically didn't matter, and a tour sounded pleasant enough. He finished off his glass and placed it manually on the table again, then rose to his feet.

"At your leisure," he invited, settling his knives and equipment to more comfortable angles on his belt.

[Trillian]

Ben smiled genuine pleasure at being told he would have Conner's company for longer.  It was nice to have another vampire peer.  As wonderful as Murphy was, he couldn't provide the kind of educational sustenance that merely being with Vincent or Conner could.  He didn't know why it was important to him, it just was.  Perhaps he was missing the Oligarchy.  He certainly felt misplaced, and now that he was in a more advanced stage of his grief, he recognised that his displacement was due to more than Kerr's death.  His entire world had changed.

"Why do you carry those?" Ben asked, gesturing at the weapons once they were both on their feet.  All Ben could see were liabilities to having such items in plain sight.  Conner wouldn't be able to walk down a busy street unhindered.  They'd only be useful against mortals and younger vampires, as older vampires and other supernaturals wouldn't be affected greatly by them.  Unless they were magic - and with what little he knew of Conner's background, he suspected there was more to the story, which is why he asked his simple question and kept his mouth shut.

[realworldweirdo]

Conner glanced at his belt, considering. He didn't usually think about why he wore what he did, or carried certain items. It was thoughtless, almost reflexive. Two daggers, a canister of pepper spray, several small silver spikes that more closely resembled large nails, and a couple of small ammunition pouches that held a few objects he could use to his advantage against certain varieties of supernaturals. He followed Ben's lead as he considered why he carried the things he did.

Then why he didn't think about why he carried such things.

"I carry anything I think I might need depending on how I feel," he admitted. "I don't give it much thought. During my exile, I never had to explain to anyone why I did anything. Why I looked a certain way, dressed a certain way. Any sentient being I encountered, I killed or fled. Appearances don't matter much in those circumstances, and I spent a long time doing that. It took me a few years time before I started paying attention to dressing presentably again, and longer than that to care about my appearance. Scott used to help me from making mistakes, but Bryant doesn't give me as much feedback. Or too much."

The end of his explanation took a distinctly bitter tone, one edged with promises of pain for someone, when he mentioned Scott's name.

[Trillian]

Ben didn't know the story of Conner's exile, and he wasn't sure if it was a topic that was supposed to be talked about.  He was curious, and Conner had brought it up easily enough.  It was the way it ended, with the mention of Scott and Bryant, that he wasn't sure where the pain was coming from.  Ben didn't know the people behind either of those names, so that was something he certainly would avoid.

He started walking, gesturing with his head for Conner to come with, and they headed for the stairs.  Unlike Kerr's tour of the place, which had ended with the top-most room, Ben intended on starting with it and then making their way down.

"You look good," he said with a smile as they walked, then thought maybe his words might be taken as a flirt or meaning something beyond the simple words they were.  "I mean, I don't accessorise with weapons, but there's nice flashes of silver."

Like jewellery?
What the fuck are you talking about, Benny?

"Um, I guess you could just mind-wipe any cops that find you threatening to the general public, right?"

It was his roundabout way of asking Conner if he'd had any trouble because of his choice to wear his weapons on his body in view.  He glanced over at Conner beside him who was matching him step for step, already on their way up.

[realworldweirdo]

"Thanks," Conner replied with a small smile. "I guess it might be a little.... threatening, now that you mention it." Why the hell didn't he realize that he'd basically decked himself out in tactical gear before walking out the door? Not paying enough attention. Hell. Not really used to leaving the building, come to think of it. The drawback of literally living at work. "I could, but I don't usually run into trouble. People tend to think I'm human, and young, and that everything's some kind of prop. I get asked what game I play a lot. Usually I only have to use domination on police when I hit triple digits on the motorcycle, doing something for business."

He paused, taking in the house as they walked even though Ben wasn't pointing anything out yet. "This place is.... big," he observed, obviously somewhat impressed. "Maybe you should set up an armory in a guest bedroom or something. You know, in case you ever need some accessories."

Accessories? What the fuck is.... maybe he'll think it's a joke. Was I joking? Uhg.