Bed of Lies. [Closed]

[Godric (DELETED 5788)]

It had been a while since he was sired. He had silently vowed to take down the Cartel. They had fed him lies, they had told him that Remington – his now sire had killed his brother, which had driven him in a rage. He had accepted the contract to kill Remington, and set out to kill the man, only to find out he was a vampire. He had put the puzzle together piece by piece. He had to follow his contracts, it was part of the job – so he could find a spot in their routine which was easy for him to slip in, execute him and get out. Easy job.

Tonight though. Godric’s mind was on Cartel. He was sat within the Catacombs. Watching the Ancient Zombies, the Mooncalfs shuffle around as other vampires killed them. The sound of bullets echoed off the damp walls as he shifted, turning around and headed for the sewer entrance. He had decided that he wanted to go Mexico. Destroy the people that had destroyed him, taking the one person that he truly cared for.

An hour later Godric was entering a small building. He knew there was a raid within the walls. He had tracked his sire to this building. He knew he was just somewhere inside. It was just a matter of finding him. Pulling out his small handgun which really packed a punch, he began to make his way through the catacomb like building. The sound of zombie’s shuffling across the ground, their moans bouncing off the walls – as well as the sound of bullets. It was a lot like the Catacombs. It felt like he had come right back.

His gun raised to a few zombies that had gotten a little too close for his liking, he pulled the trigger only the once and the zombies went down. Forming a pile of decaying corpses, out of the corner of his eye he saw the tattoo’s that could only belong to the man he was tracking. A moment later he was behind Remi, grabbing his shoulder and swivelling him around to look at Godric.

“We are going to Mexico.” He said matter of factly. “We are going to take down the Cartel.” There was a pause. “You are going to help me.” Godric didn’t mess around, he didn’t sugar coat his words he was straight to the point. He wanted revenge, and he wanted Remington’s help to do it.

[Remington Rothfelder]

Remington was elbow deep inside of a feral vampire when he heard the words. Apparently the creature’s skin was not as tough as he had thought and he’d ‘overshot’, not only stabbing his entire sword through the thing, but his fist as well. It was ******* gross. The thing twitched and died on him so he had to use his foot to shove it off, enough power applied from behind his leg to send it flying off of his weapon and away from him. Which left him turning to face his childer, his first childe. There should have been some sort of sentimental attachment there, and on some level there was, but it wasn’t like that of a father and son, the way that some people seemed to present it. They were more like friends. Brothers even, when they had reason to be on the same side.

But there was a great deal that Remi did not know about the other man. He hated the Cartel, for one, which was a good thing because Remington wasn’t a huge fan of theirs either. Not after they had killed his father in cold blood. He had taken out their entire operation north of the Mexican border and was just as loathed by them as they were by him. Good times. Good times.

“Took you long enough.” He said before he glanced towards the door that led down. He wiped some of the muck that had gotten on his hand off on Godric’s shirt and then made his way to the exit. Thankfully he had picked up a key just a few minutes before, so it didn’t take more than ten or so to get out of the building altogether. He’d left his sports car by the curb, and popped the trunk with a button as he approached. In the back there was a collection of weapons that would have put an arms dealer to shame. He had everything from knives to guns, to grenades. He had been collecting for a while, because a guy never knew when he was going to have to kill some people.

He grabbed one of the cloths he had set aside for cleaning and wiped his blade before placing it carefully into a pre-selected sheath, slamming the trunk closed a second later. His phone came out next and he sent off a quick text to both Velveteen and Micah. ‘Gone for the weekend, be back soon.’ Not much in the way of detail, but he figured Bambi would place a call to him before he ever made it past the border. Then he was in the car, motioning for the other man to join him.

A flight would have been nice, but it was next to impossible to get anything across the border as far as weapons went, and he wasn’t about to draw that type of scrutiny to himself or to his progeny. Besides, a nice long car ride would be a great way for them to catch up. Remington wasn’t the type of sire to need to be involved in every aspect of a childe’s life. So long as they knew what they were supposed to do, and knew they could come to him when they needed or wanted him, that was generally good enough for him.

[Godric (DELETED 5788)]

Godric grunted when his sire used him as a towel, as he wiped the muck and odd coloured blood into his tee shirt. He needed to get a new top on now, how the **** was he supposed to explain the muck and blood on his shirt to some random human? He shook his head his trigger finger itched in his hand thought about shoot him with his little overpowered gun before pushing the gun into its holster with a large amount of effort on his part. “Took me long enough?” He shook his head. “You were the one that was above the first floor. I had to get up here you know.” Godric and Remington had an odd relationship. Their ‘I love you’s’ were usually digs at the other, that was how it went down every time.

Yet when Remington revealed the key they needed to get down to the main floor of the raid he followed without a word, he knew the man was older than him – and more experienced than him when it came to the whole immortality thing they had going on. Godric actually felt quite at home in his new skin. He actually felt like he was born for this kind of life – he hunted without remorse, didn’t get caught when he did feed from humans and had learn the powers of a Necromancer efficiently. He was feeling good about himself, so much that he was quite prideful.

They reached the exit, and they both left building together. He was greeted with the sight of the sports car, and wolf whistled. He remembered the vehicle from when he had been following the man back when he was going to kill him. Though, it turned out to go the other way. Remington had killed Godric, but he had wanted it in the end. He had been offered strength. Strength enough to ensure his revenge on those who had killed his brother. For that, he owed Remington.

The man’s boot was quite a gold mine, if you were into the whole guns, blades and bombs kind of guy. The man was prepared for any war it seemed. It was exactly what they were going into. A war, they were going to war with the Cartel. It was their gang against two vampires. What were the chances of a victory. Godric was smug enough to know they’d win. He took the signal from Remington and climbed into the front of the car, slammed the door shut after him and felt the car come alive beneath him.

“Nice ride.” He said, it was actually the first proper compliment he gave him. He paused he wasn’t good with saying nice things, he had been trained to be cold, unforgiving and merciless. “Thank you, for doing this..” He said and then turned his head the other to look at night as they drove.

[Remington Rothfelder]

“Thanks. I paid to have a few modifications made to it. There’s a blackout option that lets an alternate set of windows made from darkened steel slip into place of the regular glass. It creates an airtight seal and locks into place with a mechanism in the door so that we can sleep during the day without any fear of getting crispy fried. Try not to snore.” He commented when Godric dropped into the seat beside him. He revved the engine, and then they were tearing down the street. He was not particularly worried about the police. Sure, there were tons of them out on the streets, but his plates alternated regularly, and he was more than a hundred per cent confident that he could outpace any of them. Even when he had been a human, cars had been one of his loves. He’d stolen enough of them and had been in enough chases to be confident he would be fine.

Now, he had superior reflexes and senses on his side. Besides. The worst case scenario was that they got into a wreck and got ashed. In Harper Rock, that was…nothing. Some time in the shadow realm and then they would be back. It wasn’t even worth being called ‘killed’, because it never lasted all that long, unless one was weak of will. He would be marginally safer once they exited the city limits, but until then, he put the literal pedal to the metal. Though that reminded him that he needed to cover a few things with Godric on their trip. He had told the other man about the very basics of vampirism already. Namely, he’d told the other that if evidence of his vampirism ever got discovered by a human, he was going to get shot in the face. But other than that, he’d not done much.

Godric was an independent man. He didn’t need to be babysat. It was good to cover all the bases though.

“I wanted to do this. They killed my father, and even if they hadn’t, you’re my friend and my childe, my brother even. This is the kind of thing we do for each other; it’s how we survive.” He glanced towards Godric for a moment, and even chanced half of a smile before is attention turned back to the road. “How is the feeding going? The development of your powers? I know that I sometimes have trouble with keeping my…temper in check when I’m around blood. Do you have that problem?” He asked even as his hands tightened on the steering wheel. Lights flashed by them quickly. The night was very young, and they had hours ahead of them. Normally he would have just cranked some music, but he needed to try and be at least a little responsible if he planned to be a sire.

Which was to say that he wanted them to have a bond, a close one if at all possible, and that meant he needed to do his part. Show interest. Set boundaries. He wasn’t exactly good at those things, but it was worth the effort.

[Godric (DELETED 5788)]

Godric wasn’t the type of guy who was amazed by things; it usually took a lot to get him amazed, but the way Remington had thought of everything – had adjusted to a life such of this, did amaze Godric. He had blacked out windows for trips such as these. Godric shook his head in disbelief. Mane of rave hair bounced on his shoulders. The cartel ring still sat neatly on his finger. He didn’t know why he still wore it, perhaps a memento to his brother, a reminder to get his revenge – or to keep for a rainy day such as this, if they went to Mexico, and he flashed this ring at them he was sure to be greeted with opened arms. “I do not snore.” He said through gritted teeth, but there was no annoyance there, no he laughed a little. Showing a little humour.

He knew there would be a lot of talking on the way there, a lot of time to bond. The vampire’s didn’t know much about one another but it didn’t mean Godric didn’t want to know, actually he was almost looking forward to getting beneath that thick shell he kept around him. It was a challenge, but what Remington really wanted to know was about his vampirism, how he was adjusting. He shrugged his shoulders – the blood he didn’t have a problem with. Actually, he didn’t feed. He boosted his own blood. He was a necromancer – he knew about that path, he knew exacltly how he came to be a Necromancer in the life of a vampire. He had associated himself with death, dealt it. Played with it. That had to be the reason.

“I can do somethings.” He started. “I mean, I can boost my blood – that’s how I feed. Havn’t drank blood from a human yet. Fucked plenty of women since you turned me, the females here in Canada are quite. Head over heels for a Mexican like me.” He gave off a chuckle, and a knowing look – hoping he’d understand. Remi looked like someone who would catch the attention of all the ladies. “Rigormortis, I mean that one is fun to play with. Healing others. I can see things. I don’t know what they are, but I see them all around Harper Rock. They float. I had been meaning to ask you that, oh and I can raise dead vampires. Creeepy.” He paused, trying to think what else he could do. “Oh, I can submerse myself in the ground for day. I couldn’t get myself out though. “ He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in the leather of the car seat, his head looking at the others long enough to catch the glimpse of a smile there, hidden on his lips.

“Survive.” He repeated the word. “Are we truly immortal?” He asked casually. An odd question, but he had read books before – some lived out mortal lives, but just drank human blood. Some had a prolonged life, but did die eventually of old age, was immortality true or was it just a selling point to humans that wanted this curse, this gift – whatever it was.

[Remington Rothfelder]

Remington had taken note of the Cartel ring when the man had gotten into his car, though he hadn’t offered up an opinion on it – his assumption was that it was to help them get inside whatever compound the boss lived at. Traditionally, the best way to take out a sprawling organization was to take down the leader, cut the head off the snake so to speak. The only problem with that, was that there were multiple Dons underneath the big bossman, any of them ready and able to step up to take the role once he fell. Which meant they were going to have to take down every single one of the men in procession if they wanted to really cripple the enormous gang. Easier said than done, but they had time to plan.

“So you are coming into your abilities. That is very good. You seem to be taking to vampirism very well, but that doesn’t surprise me, I did as well. I think it may be a marker of our blood, because I would wager that my sire did the same. Which reminds me. You are going to need to meet Velveteen when all of this business is said and done. You know I’m very hands off because I know you can take care of yourself, but my lineage is important to me. I think you would be well suited at least getting to know some of them.” It was an invitation, and one that the other man could either accept or turn down. Remi was not one of those sires who felt the need to try and make happy families. He was content to build a bond, and let things go from there. It was Godric’s choice if he wanted to get involved with Andras.

“Which reminds me. Do yourself a favor and don’t hit on her if you do want to meet her. She’s married, and her husband will probably kill you.” And Remi wouldn’t try to stop him. Call it the ‘bro’ code or whatever, but one did not flirt with a taken woman. Well. Not when the one she was taken by was family at least. Remington didn't give much of a **** about anyone else or their claims.

“You are probably seeing spirits or wraiths. I have one of the latter. They are exactly what they sound like, things that are no longer living – the wraiths are usually only there at the bidding of vampire masters, though some of them are ancient and will teach you the things you need to know for another path or bridge.” He explained. He’d already been through the process a few times. And the whole being able to submerse one’s self in the ground sounded pretty cool. Remington had run into that recently when he’d sent Golgotha (his wraith) to go and find a target for a hunt. The wraith had reported back that he had tracked the man but could not find him, and all that had been left in the location was upturned earth.

That had been annoying.

“Yes and no.” He said, even as the city sign finally blazed by them. They were on the open road, and had a long way to go to get to Mexico. Thankfully, the roads were mostly empty, so they could hopefully make really good time every day until they got there. They had roughly 39 hours of travel ahead, which was about three and a fourth days if they went twelve hours solid a night. Which. Was exactly what Remington planned to do. “In Harper Rock, we are as immortal as you can imagine. We can be killed, but it isn’t permanent. We go to the Realm and come back a short time later through the veil. Rinse and repeat. Outside of Harper Rock? Not so much. If we die out here, we stay dead, so you’re going to want to keep on guard.”

[Godric (DELETED 5788)]

“You mean the hot Australian chick I heard you talking too, when I tapped your phone?” He said with a smug little look on his face, as he twisted in the car seat to look at the man. That smug smile of his would eventually be his downfall, but who knew – right now he could use it as an asset. “She’s claimed? Damn.” His lips turned from a smile, into a frown. Moss orb looked at his maker for a moment before he shifted back to his normal seated position his eyes on the road ahead of them. “I’ll meet her, can’t promise I’ll behave.” There was a warning etched in the man’s voice – the warning of death and Godric laughed that **** off. “He can try.” Yeah, Godric was putting himself up for a fall – that was sure for sure.

“What’s a bridge?” He asked – he knew what an actual bridge was, but he was sure the other vampire was on about something else. Something more vampire like, because the way he spoke he had a small twinkle to his eye, like there was something more to be said, dead spirits, yeah that was ******* normal – but who said being a vampire was normal either? He was now the thing you read about in books, and comic books, and Remington had made him one.

“To your earlier question. Sure, bring on the people you want me to meet. I’m sure they will love me. Who doesn’t? It’s my smile. Has to be, or my dazzling good looks.” Yeah, Godric was an ***. Egotistical too. The man reached out the small stereo system, and flicked the play button on it. You could always find out what kind of man the other was by the music they listened too, as he began to listen to the track playing and raised an eyebrow.

“What is this?” He asked. “It certainly isn’t rap.” There was a frown as he turned around to look at the man. “So you are saying even though I am a vampire, I can still die outside the confines of Harper Rock.” He frowned again, clearly not happy with this news. He would trapped in a city all the way up in Canada, not cool.

[Remington Rothfelder]

Those words, and that arrogance would one day get the **** kicked out of Godric, probably by Micah, who would inevitably dislike the attention the former Hitman paid to Velveteen. It was almost funny though in its own way, because there was a Vel look-alike running around, her features hidden under a bunny mask. A twin sister, the two of them having only recently learned of each other. Of course, Remington kept that to himself, topical as it might have been, because the mess they were in with her was on his head. He grunted faintly instead, a gruff sound that meshed discordantly with the chuckle that came afterwards. “Yes, yes it is. And yes she is. Be careful how you approach that situation. Micah is on the possessive side.” In fact, Bambi’s beau hadn’t been too fond of him for a short while after Remington had been sired. The two of them weren’t particularly close, but Remi respected him and the boundaries that existed there. Maybe that was enough.

There was a long stretch of road ahead of them. They had to get through two borders to get into Mexico, not that it was going to be much of a problem for Remington. The night was a time of darkness, and as a shadow, he had control over that peerless black. They would go as unseen as he wanted them too. A full tank of gas would take them into the States. He had opted to go the route as farthest from his home as possible. He didn’t even want to chance accidentally seeing someone from his old life. Velveteen had once asked him if he had any loose ends. The Cartel was one of them, and that was going to be wrapped up sooner rather than later. The other was his family.

“It’s like a mini-path between each path, the bridges link the different paths an you use them to get from one to the other. The whole thing creates an inverse wheel.” He replied as succinctly as possible. “I’m a Shadow. To either side I have the choice to travel either along the Fadewalker or Summoner bridges. We share Fadewalker in common, because the path in that direction leads to Necromancer.” Of course, he had some control over the progress of his powers and the way he learned them. His plan was to get to Seeker as soon as possible, because it seemed like those abilities were in high demand when it came to faction use. That was how Remington tended to think about the acquisition and use of the things he learned whilst a vampire. How they could benefit those few people he cared about.

Seconds later, the classic rock station he listened to came over the speakers. They picked it up in the middle of a commercial, though after it ended, Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith began to play. “You can travel outside of the city, for sure. You just have to be careful. You’re still going to be faster and stronger than almost any human by leaps and bounds. You can see the world, but be aware that if you die outside of Harper Rock, it’s permanent.” He paused a moment, enjoying the irony of Godric’s observation. Remington did actually listen to rap. Mainly during workouts though. “That’s why secrecy is so important to our kind. Picture a world in which humans know about us. They could evacuate and suddenly we wouldn’t have a food source. We’d wither and die. Or they might find a way to close the rift between our world and the Shadow Realm. Or they might just blow us off the face of the earth. Yeah. We would come back if we were in Harper Rock, but we would come back to a desolate and destroyed land.” And that was assuming they didn’t get run out of the city and slaughtered by the concerted effort of a military force. It was…dangerous. A dangerous game.

[Godric (DELETED 5788)]

He huffed. He did like a challenge when he could get his fingers around one. “I do like a pretty woman, and she did have a lovely accent over the phone when you were talking to her.” He paused, tapping his chin with his index finger. “Back when I tapped your phone, that was.” He waved his arm away and gave a smug smile. Ah, the days of just hanging out in his car with his feed on the dashboard, a carton of noodles in his lap. Stalking Remington. Yes, he did enjoy those days – he was also fascinated by him, the dealings he’d make. The people he’d meet up with. They intrigued him immensely. “Whoever this Micah is, can suck my dick.” Godric said that with such confidence but inside, yes there was something to be feared. The way he said Micah was possessive he didn’t say much more on the subject, he left it at that and listened to the music that slipped into the air, with an eyebrow raise. His hands lifted and ran through his jet black hair with a soft sigh he looked at the stretch of road.

“I’m Nuclear..” The man began to hum softly. A hand tapping against his knee in a sort of melody. He didn’t pay attention to much else, not until the man’s voice brought him back into reality. The melody ceased, and so did the tapping against the bone of his knee. Remington spoke about paths, fadewalking. It made the Necromancer’s head spin. Too much information, he was afraid his head might explode. Which he was sure it would.

“You are suggesting humans evacuate the world, and head to mars. Which won’t happen.” He leered at the man with a slight shake of his head. He wasn’t amused by the man’s explanation. He wouldn’t have a problem, he hadn’t fed off a human before. No, he had fed through his power. He did have a question. “Can we use our powers outside of Harper Rock. I mean, if I can’t. I’d have to drink from a human.” Which didn’t sound so bad, but could he feed without killing? He rubbed at his chin again. A habit when he was thinking, or nervous about something. He was terrible for it. Yet, this back and forth banter was what their drive entailed.

Godric spoke about his brother, his family over in Mexico. The small plantation he grew up – even his pet goat, Alfred. Which was sold to pay to pay for his plane ticket to get to the Cartel where he was hired to become a hitman for them. He even spoke about the woman he fell in love with in Spain, a sexy woman. That rejected him. Making him love her. It was banter, silly tid bits of conversation. It wasn’t brilliant but it was the start of something between the duo, a bond that would grow, and develop on this trip to Mexico.

Two days later, they had arrived in Mexico. Remington pulled into a petrol station and Godric sat in the leather seat and peered out the window, he could feel the heat – even at night. It felt weird, nice even to be back on his home territory. His land. It felt familiar. "Where too now, Rem." He said, as the man slipped back into the drivers seat after filling up the tank.

[Remington Rothfelder]

A sound rose from his chest, a low rumble that only served to grow in volume until he’d drawn a firearm from where it lay strapped just under his seat. The motion forced him to lean forward, and then when the metal was in the air, the scent of gunpowder intensified until it scratched at his nostrils. He had the thing aimed right at Godric’s head a second later, the bullet clicking into the chamber. His finger rested away from the trigger, but he was…fast. A lot faster than most people gave him credit for considering how muscular a creature he was. He rarely showed much in the way of emotion, but there was immediate displeasure that read in the thin line formed by his lips. “Look. If you want to **** talk just about anyone else, fine. Micah and Vel are off limits. You understand? And if you ever say that sort of disrespectful **** about a man I choose to follow again, I will put a bullet in you.”

Remington only had a few limits. A person could push him all they wanted, but when it came to vampiric secrecy, and his bloodline, he became less than pleasant to deal with. The last thing he wanted was to ruin their little trip down south with unnecessary injuries on their part though so soon he re-holstered his gun.

The conversation continued, and Remi got the impression that Godric wasn’t exactly happy with the limitation placed on his immortality. He didn’t really understand what the man was trying to say, so he chose not to comment. As far as he was concerned, immortality at all was a hell of a lot more than Godric’d had before. Maybe he just needed a few years to get used to the idea. “You should be able to, yeah. Being a vampire doesn’t change when you’re outside of Harper Rock. The only difference is that the rift is only under the Quarantine Zone, but the rest is essentially the same. Our powers are fueled by lifeforce, which we leech from humans through their blood. So long as you feed or…whatever daily, you should be able to sustain your mystical mumbo-jumbo stuff.” He wasn’t rightly sure how most of the magical element of vampirism worked. He’d been given an explanation once, and that was all he’d really gotten out of it.

The trip after that point was fairly direct. The two of them exchanged stories of their pasts, like Remington’s criminal history, how he had risen above that and come to own a dojo. He’d explained the way he had chosen to live his life with discipline to overcome the rage that so often welled up inside of him. He’d been disowned by his parents. That had come up too. And by the time they were arriving at a gas station on a stretch of desert land, the two of them had begun to develop something. “Well, the problem here isn’t going to be taking down one Don. It’s going to be finding a way to take down all of them at once.” Which was really the only way to cripple the Cartel. Otherwise, the fact of the matter was that someone would end up replacing the head honcho. “To do that, we are going to need someone on the inside to invite all of them to a gathering. The thing is, it’s going to have to be someone with some kind of clout or standing.” Which also made things difficult.

“I think the easiest route would be for us to build a connection with the Don’s daughter. Girl by the name of Adelita if my information is right. You are going to have to do that.” Mainly because Remington was supposed to be dead, and there was no way he could get close to that particular situation. In fact, he was going to have to lay low until things were in motion. By the time that he refueled, he was passing a disposable cell phone to the other man. He’d used them a lot in the four or so months he’d been away from Harper Rock. “Use this to keep me updated. I’ll have to stash the car somewhere safe until it’s time for us to move in with the big guns, and I’ll be a ghost for most of this trip.”

End.

To be continued in: The High Cost of Dying