Post Game Coverage

[Black Philip]

Jake and Damien drove with little conversation. Jake was mostly in his head about the meeting, but informed Damien he wanted to get back to the safety of the White Rabbit before going into any details. He did mention things went mostly well for him. Once parked, Jake entered the bar and found business was a little slow tonight. Lisa-Joe was upstairs, and Maria was out of town. Luke was likely on patrol, and so Jake grabbed them a table near the back. It was quiet enough that they wouldn't be distracted and he didn't feel like going down to his flat. Tyler tended bar, nodded, but otherwise made no attempt to approach.

"So what do you want to know first," Jake asked his campaign manager.

[Saiketsu]

"Well," Damien said as he shifted into his spot across from Jake, his tone quiet and serious, "was Ben there? Did you end up talking about how the election was going to take place?"

[Black Philip]

Jake nodded. He flagged a waiter, and ordered them both blood. If Damien didn't want his glass, Jake would consume both. He needed the hot liquid to calm his nerves. Now that he was gone, the sass he'd been giving Saraekiel faded, and Jake seemed more himself, or at least the himself Damien knew. He was happy Damien had asked him to meet after. He needed a sounding board.

"Yes, he called the meeting as I suspected," Jake began. "And the first bit of good news is that the election will take place only in the Central District. This favors us more than him. The other bit of good news regarding Ben is that he made a total fool of himself."

Jake explained the absolute toxic way Ben had run the meeting, barking orders, cutting off the other leaders, and then his exchange with Zoheret.

"He basically said she did nothing except go to Greece," Jake said, unable to contain his enjoyment of two of his foes locked in a fight. Also, Jake hated the very earth Ben walked on, but even Jake pitted Ben for now being on Zoheret's shit list. It wasn't a fun place to be.

"I held my tongue, and let him self destruct. Thank you for that advice." He smiled, now ready to answer any of Damien's questions.

[Saiketsu]

Damien listened with a thoughtful frown as Jake verbally relived the meeting for his sake, providing feedback in the form of small positive reinforcements and acknowledgements as the District Leader spoke. But as Jake spoke of Zoheret facing off with Ben, he lifted an eyebrow and quirked his head as if he didn't understand.

"Why would Zoheret go after Ben? Does she not want to see you out of your seat?" The dark angel was certainly one of the hurdles that Damien was looking forward to dealing with the least. He had heard of her hatred of Jake - as most of the city had - and figured that she would put up a sizeable resistance to Jake getting elected should the vote include the entire city. Her and Zeus. Thankfully they had decided that the vote would remain within Central District. "How did Zoheret and Zeus vote?"

Surely they wanted as many votes to go against Jake as possible and he couldn't imagine Zeus would simply not want his hoard of demons to have a say.

[Black Philip]

Jake agreed with Damien's line of questioning, his own post meeting thoughts centering on Zoheret's rare display of zeal. Her vote was less curious and more obvious to Jake, and he'd settled on his explanation since speaking with Saraekeil. Jake studied Damien's serious face, and suddenly felt like he should be less happy about the results of the meeting. He simmered down into a more thoughtful posture and tone.

"She and Zeus voted for the vote to be in the Central District. My guess is that she is afraid of what might happen to her position if her citizens got to vote. She doesn't share well. Zeus just got his position back. I think he's not interested in putting his own leadership on the ballet."

Jake felt like this was the area where his own expertise was greater than Damien. Jake had worked with them all before, and Zoheret in particular he knew well. Her behavior had not changed at all from the meeting when the Oligarhy fell. She was still transparently superficial and power hungry. Her interest in her people was make believed, and Jake theorized she'd throw any of them under the bus if they got in her way. In a fashion, Jake respected this. She understood ruthlessness was often a path to greatness, in small amounts at least. 

"Ben made the mistake of stepping on her toes," he further explained. "She is easy to tick off, and Ben treated her like she was just some sorority girl he didn't like. It was cathartic to watch someone else be enraged by fucking Ben.

[Saiketsu]

Damien considered Jake's words, chewing on the reasons why Zoheret and Zeus would vote in such a way. He could understand Zoheret's reluctance to allow the entire city to vote, but Zeus'?

"Is Ben so naive that he doesn't know who his audience was?" Even Damien knew enough not to talk down to a dark angel - hence his lack of response earlier as Saraekiel attempted his curious bully act. Surely Ben knew that Zoheret was Jake's opponent in almost every way - why would he do anything to provoke her wrath? It didn't sound like what he knew of his employer. But then again this was the young man who had announced his campaign at the opening ceremony of the Academy. Knowing Jake as he did now, Damien could recognize in retrospect how blindsided Jake had been by the declaration - though the Ventrue had held up a surprisingly good face at the time. Perhaps he really was as rash as Jake made him out to be.

It was strange to know that Jake was the one to dodge the anger of the other District Leaders for once. He had not fully expected this outcome when Jake had asked him for advice.

These young ones, Damien thought to himself with an inward sigh of annoyance.

"Tell me more. What else was decided about the election? What did the others have to say?"

[Black Philip]

"Well, you met the leader in the North," Jake began. He debated taking off the ring so he could share memories directly with Damien, but they were in public. The conventional wisdom around the ring was that it couldn't be taken off. Some of the Anarchs in the White Rabbit would remember Lazarus's futile struggle, and the ring worked better for him if people thought it couldn't come off.

"Saraekeil tired to have removed by a popular vote from the other leaders. He was soundly shut up. It seems even those who want me to go understand the perils of making things like that so simple. If that were the case, then being a District Leader would be a popularity contest, with likely the worst people winning."

At least the election would be fair. "The election will take place in three months. The ward will collect and do the official vote counting, but I'm going to petition the ward to allow both Ben and I to have a campaign representative present during the counting to ensure no funny business or even the illusion of unfairness. That meeting is one for me, Ben and the ward director, who wasn't there tonight."

"The only part of the meeting that didn't go well for me was my proposal regarding Chinatown, although only one District Leader seemed irked by me because of it. Charon smashed my phone to bits with his mind."

Jake didn't seem upset, annoyed or concerned. In fact, he looked relieved.

[Saiketsu]

Damien, on the other hand, looked astounded. "He did what?" He had no doubt that the ancient was capable of such feats of psychic power with thousands of years under him; Damien's concern was with the blatant act of disrespect and destruction that Charon had shown. It was the symbolism of the action and the aggression it suggested. Humans would likely call such an act assault. Everything else about what Jake had said slipped from his attention.

"Why would he do that?" Damien suspected an answer, knowing Jake's recklessness and temper. In some ways he hoped that Jake's arrogance was the thing that had angered the ancient. That would have at least been predictable, though completely detrimental to Jake's cause. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if there was some other reason for Charon to react so strongly to the proposal. If there was some other reason for Charon's aggression that had nothing to do with Jake's foolishness, they would probably have more things to concern themselves with. Why would Charon be so against the elevation of Chinatown? Or was there something else that Damien was missing. Even if Jake had told him, he suspected that an element would be missing from the tale. Damien's eyes glanced quickly down at the ring.

[Black Philip]

The startled nature of Damien's reaction, made Jake jump in his chair. He'd been so at peace, but now it looked as though Damien had poured water on him. He also saw Damien look to the ring, and wanted to communicate the next part clearly.

"Not here," he said, rising from the table they shared. "We'll use Lisa-Joe's office."

With no more words he began moving that direction, an expectation that Damien would follow. The older vampire did so, and within moments they were locked inside. He took off the ring, and placed it on a chain around his neck.

"I don't want to muddy my explanation by staying limited to verbal, subjective accounts."

Damien would feel the tendril of mental communication. It was little more than a bridge, an invitation for Damien to accept. Finding his mental touch was acceptable, Jake shared the memory of that part of the meeting. He showed the presentation of his argument, his desire to have more dialogue than Charon was interested in, and the stunned and silent reaction of the leaders. Zeus in particular stood out, his eyes moving from the phone to Charon. Zoheret's opposition was shown as well. For her it seemed as simple as math, but for Charon it seemed more than that.

Jake had interpreted Charon's action as him just being an ancient. That's always how they treated those younger than him. It's what Mithras would've done. Lazarus would've choked Jake out had he been Luminary. He'd threatened worse the night Jake first came to him. Jake shared those feelings with Damien as well, the image of the oppressive ancient Mithras being shared for the first time. It was mixed in with the image of Charon, and while Jake didn't see them as equals, it was clear Jake understood their motivations coming from a similar place of needing absolute control. All Jake had done was act petty. He saw no other flaws in what he'd done, or said.

"But you'll note nobody else seemed to enjoy that action," he said, except of course for Zoheret. Bitch.

[Saiketsu]

His frown deepened the more he watched Jake's montage of images recounting that part of the meeting. He watched as Jake's eyes moved over each district leader, listened with Jake's ears the temper of Charon, the lack of response - or knowledge - on the subject of Lan Bao by most of the others. A lot of reluctant refusals and nothing more - no solutions, no questions posed, no interest in what was at stake, no political discord. It confused him.

"Are you capable of showing me the rest of the meeting? Including Ben?" He asked cautiously, knowing that his own ability to communicate far outweighed Jake's. When the younger agreed, Damien prepared himself for the ride and strengthened the connection between them.

He watched the meeting through Jake's eyes, the younger nervous but steady and calm. Ben's natural state of command; admirable, if not a bit hasty. Jake made his points in a cool, detached fashion. Yes, good. Zeus and Zoheret agreeing with him and the consequential shock both on Ben's face and in Jake. Saraekiel's poorly hidden attempts to disrupt the flow of the meeting and burn Jake on a pyre. The voting pool set uncomfortably. The timeline established. Zoheret's anger at Ben was both terrifying and comical and he saw how she had gotten so offended by the young one's brazen steps to be so disgruntled - though he thought the reaction was a bit over the top. Saraekiel's long-winded speech, which drove Jake back into his phone where he lay semi-distracted for a moment.

But as Ben spoke of security, Damien made a mental note to look at it later, something irking him, telling him that something was not right, despite Jake's lack of response to it all. The meeting seemed to unravel from there, first with another shot of Zoheret's anger and then the lack of debate, response, or otherwise from the district leaders - very strange. Then he watched as Ben's temper and pettiness grew, the excitement of Jake growing. As Ben excused himself, Damien felt the tension in the room shift.

He cared little about the actual content discussed after Ben left the room, the discussion of what to do with the human witch. Damien broke his connection with the younger after rewatching the end of the meeting again, trying to absorb every detail he could. As he sat there, the details of Ben's comments playing over and over in his mind, Damien came to a few conclusions, none of which made him feel very confident in the way the meeting went.

"Well, no wonder he took your phone," Damien said out loud, casting a mildly disappointed look at the District Leader. "It is blatantly disrespectful of you."

[Black Philip]

Jake watched and felt the meeting over again, finding it curious to have Damien in his head. He wondered what the other thought of the whole meeting, and of the other leaders. He held nothing back, but was happy the viewing ended before his chat with Saraekiel. That had been personal anyways. He felt very pleased with his performance. He'd followed all of Damien's advice, and had avoided yelling, name calling, or any interactions like the one Ben and Zoheret had. He was shocked when Damien called him disrespectful and that he understood why Charon took his phone. He looked icy.

"I see," he said curtly, much of the warmth Damien had been getting revoked. "How exactly did I manage to do that? I hardly spoke to anyone."

[Saiketsu]

Damien looked puzzled, tilting his head as if he didn't quite catch what Jake had said. Was the young one being serious? He leaned back into the chair in front of Lisa-Joe's desk and crossed an ankle over his knee, assuming Jake was.

"The use of your phone during a business meeting such as this one provoked Charon." He had watched with his own eyes look down at his phone for what must have been minutes on end nearly a half-dozen times. Social media, articles, emails, Lovebite. If Damien had been in the room, he probably would have asked Jake to leave if he wasn't interested in paying attention to what was being said. "I can't say I blame him."

They had discussed how Jake could maintain his emotional neutrality in depth when he had come over to the White Rabbit - on Jake's request. To see him so distracted - though he was mostly listening to the things being said - would have made anyone who was already irritated, outright furious. Now the story of Charon taking and breaking Jake's phone made more sense, though in Damien's eyes, it was still a case for assault.

[Black Philip]

Jake's eyes widened and he looked like he'd been properly slapped. Was Damien being serious? Charon had destroyed his property, and had been the only district leader to do a show of power, because Jake had provoked him? He was floored. This was not reality. This is not how people actually thought and behaved. It was blaming the victim, and quite honestly the note about his phone in the meeting could've been given without any sympathy to Charon's motivations. It was as if Damien had just given him permission, and somehow made Jake the bad guy.

He was listening the whole time, and had used his phone like a fidget toy. It kept his emotions in check, and had worked up until Charon destroyed it. Perhaps it had been a crutch, but he'd only just started operating the way Damien asked. He was humiliated, and for the first time wondered if Damien even thought he should be District Leader. He also considered the ultimate outcome didn't matter to him. He wasn't even a constituent. Jake had been looking into Laurent, and he supposed once he had that data Damien might even leave the position. He felt like a hostage taker.

"So the note is leave the phone at home," he asked dryly. He'd felt good about the meeting up until now. Damien was basically implying he'd failed.

Why do I even want this job?

[Saiketsu]

The change in Jake's receptiveness and attitude had shifted and Damien could sense a face of that so-called Brat Prince persona surfacing. He sat patiently as Jake went through his natural reactions and proceeded to (mostly) ignore his comment about leaving the phone at home.

"A District Leader doesn't tuck himself into his phone during a meeting," Damien pointed out coolly. "You looked unprepared, unprofessional, and selfish. Charon's actions - if they were aimed at your behavior, which it seems like they were at the very least provoked by your behavior - were unnecessary and irrational at best. But none of the other Leaders had their phones anywhere near them when they disagreed with his opinions. It may seem fickle to you, but you just offended one of the most powerful allies you could have ever had.

"What's more, you gave your Zeus and Zoheret more fuel to add to the fires of their hatred and mistrust you." He paused to let the young one consider what he had said. Damien remained mostly unshielded, trusting that Jake would end up reading him somehow - purposely or not. He was disappointed and aggravated that the most basic signs of respect hadn't been observed. Yes, there had been progress in Jake's ability to control his emotions - no true outbursts, or name-calling, or insults slung - but if he needed to teach Jake basic decorum of functioning amongst his peers in professional situations, perhaps he had chosen the wrong candidate to support after all.

[Black Philip]

Jake was crushed, and furious, not sure which one he felt more. Damien had continued to unload on him, and he seriously wondered if his memory had played the wrong meeting. He'd used the phone as a crutch surely, but honestly didn't think Zoheret or Zeus gave a fucking wiff. Saraekiel and Ben had gotten her ire. The only one to get a look out of Zeus had been Charon, and Ben had impressed no one. Yet, none of that mattered. Jake was somehow an unprepared, unprofessional provoker. It was as if Ben had told Damien what to say. He had no reaction, as several comments were eaten up before escaping his mind. Damien would feel mental shields rise and himself pushed out of their connection. Jake debated putting the ring back on, but figured that might be a step too far.

"I did everything you told me too," he said through the tightest lips imaginable. "And I was obviously the only person in that room prepared other than Ben."

He wanted this meeting to be over. He was learning nothing from this. This wasn't advice. It was fucking parenting, and Damien's subjective opinions on the issue of the phone seemed to be the only thing of note he had to say. Jake longed for an excuse to present itself. He needed air, and wanted nothing more to do with Damien tonight. It was obvious Damien didn't want to be here. In fact, why was he even here?

"If the person you just described is the person you think I am then you can go," he said, pointing to the door. "I'll fulfill my end of our bargain, but you don't have to bother yourself with someone obviously so unqualified. I'll manage on my own. I always get by in the end."