The White Rabbit was full of life tonight, as it's owner worked his way towards the elevator leading down to his home in the Rabbit Warrens. He'd been upstairs to kick off the weekly jock party; he'd ended up it's permanent host since Lisa-Joe said he needed to be more involved in the club. The boys were well on their way to sex, booze, and blood, and Jake felt satisfied his duty had been done. In truth, his mood was a foul one. His meeting with Zeus was only a few days behind him, and while the press coverage was mostly good for everyone, Jake still saw giving up the west as a humiliating loss. He'd always intended to transfer it over eventually, or at least he'd told himself that in the days since, but not now, and certainly not to Zeus. The smug, ugly mother fucker had broken into Jake's home, made demands at knife point, broken stuff and shirked any responsibility for his people's suffering. To hear Zeus talk it was like Jake had gone into the west and butchered thousands, burning their homes to the ground and salting the earth. Far more died in the days before Jake took over, then on the day he took it, and yet everything was somehow his fault.
He couldn't let it go, and he'd driven himself crazy having this fight with himself over and over again. On the other hand, he was glad to be rid of it, and hoped Zeus's threats would end there. He claimed to not want violence in the same meeting he'd threatened it, and that alone told Jake he wasn't trustworthy. It wasn't all bad though. His efforts in the north looked like they might bear fruit, and he decided to keep a watchful eye on the situation as it unfolded. The dark wolves weren't exactly thrilled a dark angel was their district leader, and Jake had sewn further seeds of doubt. Hopefully, Domink Lowe, or Keynigh would be the district leader in the north again. Let the dark angels nest together in the northwest. Nobody cared about the northwest anyways. He wondered if Zoheret was already in Greece. He'd gotten under her skin at the museum, and hoped it would create just enough doubt to get her out of the city for a while. Once Saraekiel was gone, then Jake would be happy for the city's pet bird to return.
The elevator pinged and Jake entered, taking it down lost in his thoughts. When he emerged in the Warrens he was met by Riley, one of his security officers.
"Hey boss, left something at your door. Don't shoot the delivery boy."
With that Riley raced away, leaving Jake wondering what would cause him to fear his ire. When he reached his door he found the reason. An elaborate fruit basket awaited, with all sorts of mortal treats. Apples, grapes, melons, pineapples, and kiwi made up the structure, and the arrangement was pleasing to the eye. Jake briefly wondered who would send a vampire a fruit basket, as he obviously couldn't eat it. As he reached for the card, he figured he'd take it upstairs and feed the bar with it, and would send a thank you to whomever sent it. Then he saw the handwriting, and the ridiculous looking Z.
Sorry for your loss.
Jake's fingers began to tremble and he crushed the card in his hand. He made sure he was alone in the hallway before taking the basket inside and placing it on an unoccupied piece of floor. He tore the card into a million pieces, and threw them into the air like confetti before cursing into the void.
"That stupid fucking bitch. I'll kill her. I'll pluck her wings off! I'll... Ugh.... Fucking... UGH!"
How dare she mock him. She had no ambition, no drive. Jake might've lost the west but at least he had the nerve to take it. What did she do? She obviously wasn't going to Greece, and he was sure she would've told Saraekiel all about their meeting. She was probably feeling so smug. She dared claim a victory she played no part in, or at least as far as Jake knew she played no part. He looked at the basket again. It was mocking him.
"Fucking, god damnit, mother fucking bitch. She thinks she's so fucking clever. I'll end her!"
This went on for several minutes, as Jake paced back and forth, the basket serving as a totem of evil. Eventually, he decided to take his rage out on it. He wouldn't dirty or disrespect Venom for such a task, but the 14th century English broadsword on his wall wasn't as lucky. He grabbed the blade, and drug it across the ground over to the offending totem. There was a pause, as his better angels told him this was childish, immature, exactly what Zoheret wanted to happen. He thought of Sam, and how she'd tell him not to let this get to him. Murphy would be embarrassed by Jake right now, and smug little Ben would say this kind of tantrum proved Jake wasn't qualified to rule. Sam meant well, and being better for Murphy was something Jake was working on, but both of them weren't here.
Fuck what Ben thinks and fuck what Zoheret wants. I need this, he rationalized.
With those thoughts in mind, he began to hack at the basket, first splitting it in two before proceeding to mash it into paste. He screamed curses at Zoheret, at Ben, at Zeus, and most of all... at Lazarus. "You fucking made me weak you blonde piece of shit," he said about either Laz or Zo. "I'm not weak. I'll show them. I'll end them all!" The basket was now kindling, and the fruit was ready for a baby's consumption. One final swing, and the sword broke off it's pommel, clanging on the ground. Jake tossed the hilt to the ground too, and went to the guest bedroom - where he'd been sleeping - and shut himself in for the rest of the night.