Assassin's Creed [Cedric Costello]

[Blair (DELETED 8879)]

Blair was a little confused as to why no one was paying attention to the couple. Her knee connecting hadn't been as concealed as she would have liked. It also wasn't as strong as she had hoped for because the male hadn't let go of her and she hadn't been able to grab her gun. However, would her gun really work in this situation? The odds weren't starting to look good for her either. This hadn't been in the files or she would have came more prepared, probably with some hoodoo voodoo **** too. She didn't have anything to help her. She figured this would have been an open and shut case. Tag 'em and bag 'em as she often liked to say.

"You're right it's such a damned shame." Blair never went down with a fight. The male was a looker himself. On any normal night, she would have flirted, had a few drinks, maybe a few rounds in the sack and would have been done. Tonight wasn't one of those nights. He was her target. Simple as that.

Blonde hadn't been prepared for what happened neck. Luckily, her shirt was black so the blood wouldn't be as easily noticed. "****, you ******." She growled out through clenched teeth. It hadn't hit a vital organ but it still hurt. Obviously. The blonde continued to dig her nails into his skin and used her free hand to reach for her back pocket. She had forgot she had another hand. "God, you're such a ********." She was mad now and losing blood. Her movement wasn't as quick, but the blonde still drawled her gun and pressed the barrel against his side.

"I don't know what you are but we can make a deal. I won't kill you right now if you tell me how you just did what you did." The blonde spoke again through gritted teeth. Her torso was throbbing.

[Cedric Costello]

Cedric laughed. It wasn’t a small laugh. It wasn’t a chuckle or a snicker. It was a full-throated bellow of amusement. She kept saying that. Over and over, in different ways. You’re going to die. When I kill you. I won’t kill you if… Any hold that he had on the slight blonde was released. No attempt was made to take the gun from her grasp.

”…says the woman who keeps threatening to kill me,” he said. She called him a ********. She swore at him as if he were the one to instigate this little scuffle. He was such a ******** for defending himself! He found it so very amusing – that, alongside the threats that continue to slide from his back like fish off an oily slope.

”The same way that any bullet you fire into my flesh isn’t going to do anything. If you want to kill me? It’s going to take a lot more than a few bullets. Maybe… beheading. Fire? A few friends, maybe, to help you out,” he said. He tilted his chin, head canted sideways as he regarded the woman; he could smell her blood. He could smell the heat of her, feel it as it throbbed from her. They were still standing intimately close. Cedric reached around to swipe his fingers over her wound, to press his grip against it, to smother the tips of his digits in the crimson delicacy.

”So you’re telling me…” he started, bringing one finger to his lips to suck the blood from the skin. ”That you’re here to kill me for reasons other… than what I am?” he asked. He found it hard to believe. And, given the state of the world and the current situation surrounding vampires – he wondered at the fact that she had not guessed.

”Instead, I think that I should be asking you to give me a good reason why I should not drain you dry, right here in the middle of the mall…”

[Blair (DELETED 8879)]

Blair almost stepped back when Cedric let go of her. The thought ran in her mind on how far she would get before he caught up to her. From his strength, she wouldn't have made it very fair. Pure rage fell over the blonde's beautiful features. He was laughing at her. Mocking her. She wasn't amused like he apparently was. The blonde was ******* pissed.

"I think I can have that arranged." The blonde fired off about a beheading. Right now all she wanted to do was wipe that stupid look off his face. When she felt the fingers on her wound, she instantly stiffened. When he pressed them into the wound, her face went a sheen of white and a few choice words left her lips.

"What the ****!"

She had more to say but then he was pressing his fingers to his lips and she was utterly flabbergasted. That was gross! "Yes you dumbass. I'm here to kill you for other reasons. You're crooked." She found the words and they flew out of her mouth like word vomit. She couldn't help it and he'd probably make her regret them later, but it felt good to get it out of her system. She was mad and disgusted.

"What the hell are you? Why did you just taste my blood. Oh my God, you're some kind of freak." She stepped back, hissing at the pain. The dagger had done a pretty nasty job. "We both know you're not going to kill me because you want to know who's after you and I'm the only one who knows and I'm not going to give that information up so easily."
A smirk fell back on her lips.

"I'm not that stupid."

[Cedric Costello]

Crooked, she said, and Cedric wanted to bet that she didn’t even know what it was that he had done. His stunt with the blood was a test – clearly, she wasn’t there because he was a vampire and he believed that all vampires should be slaughtered. Maybe she did think that, but that wasn’t the reason she was here. So, it either had something to do with his serial one-night-stand-slash-murders, or it had something to do with his past, with Brussels, and the troubles that he had left behind.

Maybe his wife, ex, finally decided that he should be dead to keep him from ever seeking out their daughter. She’d probably already lied and told Alaya that her father was dead, and now she was just turning it into the truth. Or maybe she had nothing to do with it. It could be Rayan – he was a man who didn’t like to leave any loose ends. Took him long enough, but Cedric had done good, keeping his head down.

”You say freak, I say demi-god who could crush this measly assassin between his thumb and forefinger,” he said with a purr and a slow shrug.

”We can take this little tete-a-tete elsewhere and chat, if that’s how you’re inclined. I have a good idea about who’s behind this, however, so don’t relax just yet. You’re not out of the woods if I feel like a more robust snack,” he said. And yet, a snack out in the middle of the mall was more riske than Cedric was willing to risk. Better to get this blonde somewhere private – it was a shame, but he doubted he’d be able to talk her into a bed when she’d been sent here to kill him. A snack would just have to do.

Killing her just for the sake of killing her would be such a waste.

[Blair (DELETED 8879)]

"I still say you're a freak." The blonde snapped off. She wasn't amused with his comment about crushing her. He'd have to do better than some knife in her stomach. This guy was pissing her off every turn. She was slowly starting to regret thinking he was handsome. Blair pushed him a little from her and regained her composure.

"You have no idea who wants you dead and killing me isn't going to help you. They'll just send more and more. It'll catch up to you sooner than you think, Cedric." The blonde said his name with disdain and pushed her hand up against her bleeding wound. She'd have to get it patched up soon or it would be bad for her.

She let out a small growl and then looked up at the man. "Alright, where are we going then?" She didn't have a spot for them, she didn't live in Harper Rock. She definitely wasn't taking the man back to her hotel room. So she'd have to end up going where he wanted. It probably wouldn't be a good idea, but this man was strong and she was trying to stall so he wouldn't outright kill her.

[Cedric Costello]

Cedric nodded in the direction of The Cocoa Bean -- a strange name for what was dressed up as a 20s piano bar, but it did serve as a cafe during the day. Cedric had made sure to source the best coffee in the world. He made as much money from the coffee as he did from the cocktails at night. Next door to The Cocoa Bean was Black Cat Music -- a record store, which at this time of night was generally quieter than the bar. It would soon be tainted by all the blood he had spilled within -- inadvertently or not. But home was too far away. And though she probably knew where he lived already, why would he take a would-be assassin home with him? That was one hell of a nasty stray.

"I have an office," he said. It brooked no argument. He was already leading the way, his grasp strong as he clutched the woman's upper arm and all but attempted to drag her along with him. They would need to be quick. If she was dripping blood, there was no way he could mask the trail. He'd prefer if there wasn't a trail.

"They will keep coming, but I am not alone. I will have help, if it is needed. More than you will die," he said with a pleased smile. All amusement was gone, his tone and features now deadly serious. "That wound of yours will kill you, very very slowly, and I am the only one who can help. So I suggest you are forthcoming with your information," he said. Wasn't there some ethos surrounding assassins? Some lack of fear of death? Maybe this one didn't care if she died. Cedric could not know. Nor was he inclined to care -- deathly curious or not.

[Blair (DELETED 8879)]

Blair hissed when he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards where his office was. She wasn't amused with the pulling. She would have went anyways, she was curious to find out more about what he was and why he wouldn't be as easy to kill as she had thought. The blonde let out an indignant snort and pushed her feet into the ground so he would have to drag her. At least it would look like she was putting up a struggle. In turn, the dragging caused small droplets of blood to hit the ground.

"That's going to be hard to mask." She spoke under her breath.

"You kill me? If you do, there will only be more upon more coming after you and one day one of them just might succeed. That'd suck for you. So unless you want to work out some deal, I'd suggest you stop threatening me." The blonde huffed out, breaths getting harder to make. The wound would kill her, she was loosing too much blonde and had nothing to patch it up.

Blair didn't necessarily fear death. What she feared was not getting her revenge. She didn't want to let her parents down. She wanted to avenge their death.

Maybe this Cedric Costello guy was her only hope.

For now she'd play along.

[Cedric Costello]

Cedric rolled his eyes.

"We're talking around in circles, girl," he growled, the shadows dropping from them as soon as they were safe within the doors of the record shop. Cedric had got inside without keys, the shop having closed already while the bar remained open beside it. Through the shop and into the office, Cedric slammed the door shut and locked it, though it would only serve as a slight barrier were she to try to escape. Given her laboured breathing, Cedric did not think that she would make it very far.

He deposited the would-be assassin into one of the armchairs before circling away from her, eyeing her sideways as he paced.

"Again, your threads do not scare me. Keep that in mind. You have no leverage, and there is no reason why I should not snap your neck and throw you in the river except that you intrigue me. What deal is it that you want? And after you have told me that, please do enlighten me as to why I should honour it," he said, slowly coming to a halt to perch at the edge of the desk, arms crossed over his chest.

Cedric could be a patient man, sometimes. But in this situation his patience was running out. The trail of blood that led to this shop would not be ignored for long -- he would have to have some story prepared, should anyone come looking. That hurdle would be jumped when and if someone came looking.

[Blair (DELETED 8879)]

Blair growled, albeit a low one, but she still did it when he threw her into an armchair. Some words were uttered under her breath. "Asshole." The blonde was not amused at the throwing of her. In fact, it had hurt and caused more blood to escape her body. She was starting to loose her strength. She needed to go to a hospital, but it didn't look like that was an option tonight.

"I'm not falling for that ****. You won't be getting me into your bed." The blonde snarled at the man. Despite his looks, she wasn't going to fall into bed with the enemy. She didn't believe in keeping your enemies close. They were enemies for a reason. And this guy was one of hers.

"What are you then? Clearly you're stronger than me. I want to know why. I've trained for years, upon years and am damn good at what I do. How is it, someone like you can do what you did? I want to know so that maybe I can use that **** too. To be better than anything that would come my way."

Blair was getting too vulnerable. Too weak. Her eyes fluttered. It wouldn't be long before she would pass out and then just die.

She had pretty much asked to become like him. He just had to take the bait now.

[Cedric Costello]

Cedric arched a brow. Yes, he had admired the girl earlier but what, in what he had said and done, could have given her the impression that he was trying to charm her into bed? That was the last thing on his mind right now. He could be sadistic when he wanted to be, but he wasn’t the kind of man to sleep with a woman who was bleeding out, on the verge of death. He bled them out afterwards, when the deed was already done. And he didn’t make a mess.

”Do you not know?” he asked, turning on her.

”It has been all over the media. The existence of vampires. Honestly, I thought that was why you had come for me,” he said, failing to tell her exactly why. Not all vampires were bad. Some of them went out of their way to do the least damage possible, to make sure no humans died in order to further their own lives.

He approached the armchair and leaned over it, leaned over the woman within it. He put himself in close proximity to the assassin who’d come to take his life – but he did not fear for his life. Clearly.

”In order to use what I have, you have to become what I am. You drink blood to survive, you never see the sunlight. You suffer the consequences of exponential power. It is something that I would have to give to you. But, you did not answer the second part of my query. You told me what you want. Now, tell me why I should honour it?” he asked.

She’d come for his life and treated him like the devil because he’d defended it. She swore at him, insulted him. He shook his head.

”And do not tell me that you should live because you look nice. That will not save you now,” he said. Perhaps she would be worth saving – a personality and dedication like hers, it could do his small but growing little family a service. Only if she didn’t use that power to come after him, that was. What loyalty could she promise?