The First Official District Leader Meeting

[Seragil]

He lit Jake’s cigarette with a small, normal looking flame and continued to observe the vampire before him as he himself was being observed. Jake's pout was cute, but his eyes were as cold and calculating as all serpents were.

“Threats? There is no need for such theatrics Mr McCloud, we are both civilized, law abiding creatures after all.” His tone was slightly mocking as he leaned further back into his seat. What he really wanted to do was get out of it and walk around the room. A room without windows or view of the sky. Why must everything be so damn coffin like with these creatures? Not that the demons were any better. Zeus’ bunker was nothing more than a cement crypt filled with demonic shadows and dead air. He needed space and fresh air to breath and an open sky at his back, even if it was viewable only through glass.

As for Zeus, well Jake had asked if he had felt betrayed and he had answered honestly, he didn’t, but, he had felt slightly used and he didn’t really appreciate it. He was no creatures tool and certainly not someone’s tame stalking horse. Zoheret was a special case, but Zeus? He owed him no special courtesy or allegiance.

“ I don’t know the history between you all and so I am assuming your earlier comment about only Zeus having a valid grudge against you is about your little land grab from earlier this year, and not some long ago and boring past transgression that quite frankly I don’t give a damn about?”

The question was rhetorical, but he gives Jake a moment to indicate that his assumption was correct or to indicate nothing at all before he continued.

“If so, my advice is this. You don’t owe Chtahzus'aak a damn thing. The West was Leaderless when you errr, tried to expand your borders.” He carefully omitted the fact that the West was actually under Ward control at the time. That was for someone else to use, if they thought of it. “You claimed the West by using the blood, terror and fear of the demons that lived there. Zeus has claimed it by using their sorrow, grief, their thirst for revenge…and their need for justice.” He looked at Jake with a raised eyebrow, silently acknowledging that he himself had taken the North the same way, by using the fear and confusion, the unrest Jake’s power grab had spread throughout the entire city. Albeit the North was already a broken district, neglected, it’s people abused and overlooked long before Jake killed the first demon in the west, however, his actions had been the tool Saraekiel had used to lay the final nail and then reused to forge his claim

“Infact, little birds have told me that the western demons were and are quite wroth at Chtahzus'aak, for it would seem he sat huddled in his bunker, safe and sound with his horde of personal demons as you laid waste to the West, and did nothing to stop it.”

He pushed up and out of his seat, the need to move and to relieve the pressure of the chair pressing against his back had become more then he could bear any longer. He started to make his way towards the closed door and the elevator when he finally made his point

“Here is some food for thought, Mr McCloud. How upset would the demons of the west be if they learned that Zeus had the opportunity tonight to argue for your termination, that he could have stood here before the entire City Council of Leaders and used the very laws you all made to demand your removal from power? To even argue for your very death. But instead, he once again did sweet fuck all for his so-called people?” He turned before he reached the door and once again looked at Jake, catching his eyes with his own thoughtful gaze.

“Or, more to the point, maybe you should give some serious consideration as to why he didn’t. If what you say is true, and the only way you all operate is by stabbing each other in the back, and only from the shadows at that.” His smile when he offered it was playful, but his eyes were hard and cold. “I say those that operate only from the shadows aren’t tacticians Mr McCloud, but merely cowards. It’s those that know there is a time and place for everything and aren’t afraid to make the necessary strike that you should seriously worry about.” Jake was free to take that however he may.

He snuffed out the cherry on his stolen cigarette and stuck what was left of it behind his ear, mirroring Jake’s move from earlier, before he turned and opened the door behind him. His fingers drumming ever so slightly on the doorframe before he glanced back over his shoulder.

“Tell me Mr McCloud, do you serve whiskey at that bar of yours? Good whiskey?”

[Black Philip]

Jake leaned in, and held Saraekiel's eyes as he lit his cigarette. He took a deep pull, and felt the artificial warmth that acrid smoke brought to a cold body. He blew a smoke ring, perfectly formed and pretty, and it made Saraekeil look like he was wearing a black, tar filled halo. Jake smiled deeply at the dark angel having such a fitting crown, and actually laid down on the table. He blew smoke up at the ceiling, and by now the room was a hot box. He made no reaction as Saraekeil implied his feud with Zeus was one thing, but not another. He was right of course, but Jake gained nothing giving him that win. Besides, it was more mysterious if Sara left with some idea that Zeus and Jake's feud went back centuries. It was almost romantic.

His advice about Zeus really got Jake's attention, and he raised his head to listen better. Whatever else could be said of Saraekiel, he seemed willing to acknowledge the game that was being played. He was right in both how the west was claimed and how the west was freed.

I offered it without a fight, and still somehow got one any way. Bloody Zeus.

The real information was that Zeus had been home the whole time. Now that was potentially useful. Jake had seen misery and chaos in the west, and the idea that Zeus was picking his toes while his people slaughtered one another was hilarious and sad. Jake almost wanted to call Zeus up right now and ask. However, then he considered why Saraekeil wanted him to have this information. Was he mad at Zeus and lashing out? Most likely. However, as Saraekeil kept speaking Jake wondered if this was all Zeus's doing. Did he want Jake to confront him? It made sense to an extent. It was hard at this point for Zeus to justify more strife with the Central District, but if Jake could be counted on to throw the first punch...

He'd have no choice but to punch back.

This could also have been Zoheret's doing. She knew Jake was the type to go in guns first, questions second. The waters were laced in treachery, and Jake decided the best thing to do, for now, was to store the information for later use. Gossip, true or false, was useful information to have. Saraekiel's last point was also heard. There was truth that too much back dealing made you look like a snake, and he honestly thought of Charon. It was a balance to be sure, but perhaps they'd both heard useful things from the other; perhaps not. As Sara walked away, leaving a delicious looking Jake lying on a table, the vampire wondered if Sara just didn't like boys. There was no other explanation why he hadn't crawled right on top. His question about whiskey got a raised brow.

"We're a biker bar, we have 99 bottles of shit," he began. "But I do keep some excellent whiskey in my private stock. Want to join me for a drink?"

He ashed his cigarette directly on the table, leaving an ugly scar. He hoped up and headed towards the door too. "Otherwise I have to go have a campaign meeting, and I want to be done with work for tonight."

[Seragil]

It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed Jake sprawled out on the table like some delectable undead sushi buffet but more that he had. Sex, desire, lust, they were all familiar and beloved tools of a Dark Angels repertoire; he also suspected it was part of Jake’s little arsenal as well. How many victims did Jake conquer with his pretty boy act? How many were lured in only to break themselves upon the coldness that was McCloud? How many had he, himself broken and conquered using the same tactics?

And so he ignored him. A small smile playing over his lips once he had completely passed the reposed and very alluring, yet deadly honey trap so temptingly displayed on the table, just begging to be tasted.

When Jake approached and invited him for a drink of his private stock, he turned fully around, his back now pressed against the door frame behind him, his grey eyes burned bright with a sudden flash of heat, quickly gone but unmistakable as he watched Jake approach.

“I would love to put your personal stock to the test Mr McCloud.” He said softly as he positioned his body just so, Jake’s body now directly opposite his, both now pressed up against their separate side of the door, their bodies once again having but a hairs width between them.

Saraekiel’s aura became tinged with lust and his body flush with sudden heat and arousal, which he quickly suppressed and controlled, but it was there long enough for those with the ability to read, feel and smell such emotional changes. He lowered his eyes from Jake’s face, almost like he was embarrassed by his attraction, there was a strand of hair that had fallen forward across Jake’s forehead and Saraekiel's fingers twitched with the desire to straighten it for him, to touch him, even for a moment.

He lifted his eyes and searched Jake’s. How badly would this vampire play him he wondered, his uncertainty glinting in his smoke coloured eyes as he gave in to the temptation and gently brushed Jake’s hair out of his eyes, his fingertips lightly brushing the vampires face.

“But I fear I must decline for now.’ His voice as soft as his touch as he once again trailed his eyes over Jake’s visage before he started to slide past him, his eyes dilated and his heart beating loud and fast in his chest with desire as he took a single step backwards towards the elevator.

[Saiketsu]

Damien Evans had chosen a seat on a bench a few doors away from the only closed conference room on the floor. He settled himself cross-legged and took out a report that had been accumulated during the construction of the medical facility in the North District; zoning reports, budgets, expenditures, and several other important documents that needed Damien's immediate approval. He set to work on them while the District Leaders' meeting ran its course, trying not to focus on the buzz of muted language from the room down the hallway.

From what Damien could tell the rest of the floor was vacant. A few other immortals lingered in the hallway with him, standing still near the windows or distracted with their phones. He naturally assumed that these were the personal secretaries, receptionists, and assistants of the other District Leaders. Nonetheless, none of them spoke to each other and Damien preferred the silence to any conversation he could make in such a tense environment.

It was nearly an hour before the shuffling of chairs and a cease in conversation took hold of the area. Like magnets, all of their heads were drawn in the direction of the conference room, Damien being the furthest from the door itself, though with a fair view of the door from his bench. The door opened to reveal first a very displeased ancient vampire that Damien recognized was the patron of his own district. Close behind him was the tall figure of a beautifully terrifying woman he knew as Saint Sabrina, and then followed moments later by the once-Oligarch for demons, Chtahzus'aak, the latter of whom paused a moment to discuss something with one of the assistants in the hallway in a deep tone under his breath. He watched peripherally from his report as the two walked down the hallway with heads bowed inwards. The angry clacking of heels distracted him from watching Zeus as the dark angel stormed passed him towards the elevators. His eyes followed her angry path but he otherwise didn't move. No other Leader emerged and Damien returned to his report for another few moments.

When Damien finished the section he was on and neither Jake nor Ben - for surely he was here too - emerged from the conference room, the vampire returned the report to his padfolio and stood. Lingering for a brief moment, he adjusted his clothes and walked casually towards the conference room to collect Jake, fearing that he was about to engage in some kind of confrontation with Galvin's fledge. Instead, what he saw surprised him.

He watched as the North District Leader touched Jake's face briefly, answering him in a volume Damien struggled to hear. The two men were caught in a tense moment of toeing each other up, though as foes or lovers, he couldn't be quite sure. The dark angel's heart was beating fast and Damien could smell the arousal chemicals in his blood, but his expression didn't match.

"Mr. McCloud." Damien announced his presence quietly but firmly, catching Jake's eyes when they fell upon him, just in time to see Saraekiel take his step backwards. He had the padfolio tucked up against his wrist, flush against his hip and he intently watched the rest of the transaction. With Jake wearing the ring, there was no telling what either one of them was about to do. Would Saraekiel back down now that there was an audience? Would he back away from Jake? Or would Jake make a foolish move towards the other, forgetting the rigorous training that Damien had put him through? Damien's eyes flickered down to the ring on Jake's hand, peeved that he couldn't speak to him directly without the dark angel knowing his words.

[Black Philip]

The touch was electrifying, Jake feeling a tremble down his spine. This game had proved exciting, and more than that, useful. He made a sad expression as Saraekiel denied his request for a drink, but winked at him at him as he took his step back. He turned slowly as Damien called to him, looking quite pleased with himself. He hadn't felt Damien approach. The ring had it's disadvantages as well. He had the look of a kid caught making out behind the bleachers - although nothing of the sort had actually occurred.

"Damien," Jake said in a warm, but not overly friendly tone. "Please call me Jake. This is Saraekiel, leader in the North. We were just discussing a time to get together. We've never had a one on one chat."

They had now. Jake turned to Sara.

"This is Damien Evans, CEO and owner of Aquillia Industries, a leading member of our community and my campaign manager."

Once the men had said their introductions - or chosen not to - Jake turned back to his peer. "Perhaps another time then. We know where to find one another. Good evening, and your fly is down."

Jake hadn't actually seen if it was or not, but he was hoping for one final jump out of the sexy dark angel. Without another word he turned to Damien.

"Shall we? We have a lot to discuss."

While with the ring it was impossible to know what Jake was really feeling, his expression and overall carriage suggested that things went well. Jake was not very good at stifling his anger.

[Seragil]

Saraekiel kept his face calm but added a little colour to his cheeks as Damien called out, effectively pulling Jake's attention away from him. not that it mattered as the game had well and truly begun. Jake's external responses had been pleasing but that damned ring of his truly helped to keep the deeper stuff hidden. Trying to get an emotional read was near impossible. jake, he could tell was going to be a long game indeed. Good, he needed a distraction, a focus to keep his chaotic nature under control.

He turned and offered the new vampire a smile and nod of his head in greeting. He had meet Damien Evans at Charon's little gala and had spoken very briefly to him then as well " A pleasure to meet you again Mr Evens. Aquillia Industries did you say?" His brow furrowed ever so slightly as his eyes did the same. " How very interesting, I hear you are attempting to expand your business into the North." his smile was warm, even friendly but his eyes cold. "Your people should call my people and we should meet some time and discuss it."

He waited for Damien to reply, if he chose to do so, before turning his attention back to Jake. "I think i would like that, Jake" he said softly before making himself blush once more at the fly remark, although he made no attempt to cover himself if it were, knowing full well that it wasn't. He did however half turn his body away for the act of modesty. " Ummm, yes, good evening." he said hastily as the two wondered away and entered the elevator.

Once the doors had closed and the lift descending, he straightened up and smiled with dark satisfaction. The lust emanating from his body and permeating the air dissolved quicker then it appeared, like it had never been.

He stuck his hands in his pants pockets and whistled softly as he meandered his way to the lift and waited patiently before pushing the button to call it back up. Making sure Jake and Damien had plenty of time to exit the building before he too left.

[Saiketsu]

Damien nodded in greeting, not feeling it appropriate to reach out and shake hands with a man who stood so threateningly close to Jake. "District Leader." There was some kind of pull inside of him upon looking directly at Saraekiel. He was one of the most attractive men Damien had ever seen and something deep inside of him felt insecure in the dark angel's presence, his own countenance young and cold. Had Jake not been standing there, Damien may have even felt intimidated, the memory of his Christian days where such creatures were praised as the Messengers of God pushing past his own sense of propriety. Being as old as he was, with as much distance between his human life and his current position in the city, Damien could maintain a perfect mask, knowing that the creature before him was no more a Messenger of God than he was.

Dark angels were as likely to try to scald as they were to try to advance their own positions in this world. In his opinion, they were slippery, cunning creatures who demanded respect and needed as much distance as possible. Damien made a habit of happily obliging.

When Saraekiel mentioned knowing of Aquillia Industries, a flare of protectiveness puffed his chest, reminding Damien to keep his features unchanged and his emotions contained. His expansion into the North was almost complete if truth be told, the process having started well before the dark angel crowned himself. He was loathe to think that the dark angel had anything to say about his business practices and properties, especially when he had established his property on ten-neutral ground, a building permit obtained from city hall more than a year ago. Did he even know what the building was? Damien had serious doubts and kept them to himself. "I'll see that it is done. Good evening, District Leader."

He walked side by side with Jake towards the elevators in silence until the doors of the cab closed around them. "Not a serious word until we are in the privacy of the car." He wished that Jake would take off the ring and converse with him mentally but understood also that the threat of being overheard or Dominated was too real, especially if the meeting hadn't gone favorably.

The elevator took them down to the garage lot, Damien's Lexus plainly visible as they stepped out of the cab. He chirped the lock button as they approached, stepping in and sitting in the driver's seat and expecting Jake to sit next to him in the passenger side. "What was that about? With Saraekiel?" His question was less a forceful inquisition and more a curious query to see if he had interpreted the situation properly.

[Black Philip]

Jake walked all the way to Damien's car with a shit eating grin plastered across his pretty face. He nodded at Damien's command for no serious words and had none to give as they worked their way to Damien's parked Lexus. He pulled himself into the passenger seat, and one the door was over turned to reply to Damien's question.

"I'm not sure exactly," he informed. "But I'm pretty sure he's a huge threat, not to just me, or you," he said, indicating Saraekiel's interest in Damien's company. "The moment of tension there was us sizing one another up."

He took off his beanie cap, revealing messy but adorable hair. He ran his hands through it to even out the flattened parts. "Your place or mine," he asked, as they drove out of the Luminary garage and onto the streets of the busy city.

/end