Rumor has it... (open)

[Carlo Fachiano]

He never said much, never needed a reason to, unless he needed one. Tonight, he would sit on this cheap a$$ wooden stool until the joint lit up like the sun. Maybe he might talk a bit. It all depended on the type of fellas that walked through the door. If the right squealer come about. He had a good spot of the door. So far, there were not very many customers. Very few usuals or what he could read from their nonchalant composure in this mid-sized hole in the wall. He was not particularly fond of many places, but this one. This one as the sideways, shattered, and bloodstained beer signs hung by their teeth. Floor unswept for days. Broken highballs in the corner. Inconspicuous corners with mystery doors. There-a bit of gold tooth. Musta been one hella night.

Carlo knew this was a hot place. Cops be poking their piece at anyone who looked off. Lucky for him, he had a piece of his own. Bullets shall not be feared. No, sir. His fists or the short iron pipe in his pocket just might. Them pigs had nothing on this capo. Nothing-yet. The Italian man was not lookin for trouble. Gotta blend in and he was listening for a good word. They say here in the Gangland Slums Clubhouse folks be talking about all sorts of rumors. One of them be the very migration of his crime family, Lionelli. Normal vamps stomping all over the castle they settled in. In all, there was a reason Carlo was in town. A specific reason, but he wouldn't spoil the milk yet.

Gin and tonic sat untouched on the bar. Worn fists sat to either side before an ashtray with a slow burn Cuban cigar and black Onyx zippo lighter. He wore a basic black tag-less comfort fit t-shirt beneath a short sleeved button down. It showed taut flesh over forty-five year old bone, bearing thirty-nine year seasoned muscle and combination of tattoos. A pair of relaxed fit jeans, pocket chain attached to his wallet firmly fit into his backside. So he always sat leaned to his left. Pressure off his bad right knee.

[Zodiac]

She entered he poor excuse for a club house and scanned the room till she found who she was looking for. A quick stop at the bar to buy a couple of beers and she made her way deeper into the club and took a seat next to the redheaded girl at a table.

"Fancy meeting you in a dive like this," the dark haired gypsy smirked.

"Hey, I go where the boss tells me to go," Jennifer replied as she unzips a large tote sitting in the chair sitting next to her before taking the offered beer. The gypsy looked into the bag and inspected the girl's gatherings. "Nice pickings so far tonight." She kept her voice low as to not attract attention to them.

"So I see. Only in Canada do they leave guns laying around like trash in the slums. People I know in Texas would think they had come to the promised land if they saw this." She transferred the sack of used syringes and a couple of the dime bags to her own pack. "Sell the rest and keep the money."

"Seriously?"

"Why not? Get yourself something nice for that new apartment of yours. I took what I needed."

"Thanks," the girl smiled. "So tell me, boss. Aren't you worried anyone will recognize you in this place? Mistress Zodiac comes to Crackville and all that?"

"And why should I? I am simply here ministering to the less fortunate and to the souls beyond hope." she laughed as Jennifer almost choked on her beer. "What? I am a licensed minister. Is what I do for a living so what perfect cover for me being here." Zodiac looked over the collection of misfits sitting in the club till she noticed one in particular at the bar. "What have you noticed about that one?" she nodded slightly at the older man.

"Him? He was here when I got here. Don't think he has said two words the entire time."

"He smells funny,"

"Huh?"

"I do not mean an actual scent. He's different. Not from around here." she studied the man for a few moments before turning away. He was of the night, obviously. Like a deceptive coiled spring hiding yet ready to explode at the right moment. "Finish your business here and leave," she told Jennifer. "I am not getting a good vibe from that one." She stood up smoothly.

"No problems, boss." the girl replied as she finished her beer. She had worked too long with the mystic to ignore her warnings when it came to people or situations. Zodiac nodded and left the club just as quietly as she arrived.

[Carlo Fachiano]

Clockwork. Carlo’s head tilted toward the bartender who just had some secret society exchange with a rather uniquely dressed, young female. His eye, followed back to his waiting Gin and Tonic. He watched her move through the mirrored wall of alcohol behind the bar until she disappeared into a seat. He was curious as to why a spectacle like herself would be entering a rat-hole like this. Unless-unless she was up to no good. She sat with another female. Two-for-one special. Carlo grinned.

“Can I get you something else?” Barman gestured.
“A beer for the ladies.”

Carlo got up from the stool. It wobbled on all fours before his foot steadied the wood. He walked with a slow heavy stride, drink in his left hand. Towards the men’s room. Now rarely, would a man take a drink with him, but he wasn’t planning on returning to his seat yet. The door swung shut. He done his business, washed the rough patches of his fingers. He opened it back up and stood there in the frame. Looked left than right to the table where the females; now female. Singular. Sat. Perfect.

“This seat taken?” He sat anyway, placed Gin and Tonic to the table before the human. He knew she was human. The pulse of her veins practically screamed out to him. The warmth in the space between them. And the not so warm spot from the female before.

“So, whatcha tell me about Star Brite?” His hand met to the table. Firm grip on the drink in the other.

[Zodiac]

Jennifer has just finished her beer (actually she played a game of switch and was finishing the one Zo had gotten herself) when two more arrived. That was odd. Zodiac had brought the ones she had just finished and neither of them ordered more. She looked along the bar and saw no one taking in interest in her, which was a good thing in her view. She wasn't worried. She knew her employer would be watching outside for her to leave. Was all part of a pre planned system they had come up with over time. You didn't arrive together, you didn't leave together. It kept anyone who had an interest in the pair divided on which one to follow. Besides, she had 'panic button' keyed into her phone that rang the mystic's phone-basically saying 'Help!'. She was considering grabbing her bag when there was a sudden presence at the table with her.

“This seat taken?”

The man asked after he sat down. Having worked with someone like Zodiac for years, she barely blinked an eye at the appearance of the man her employer said 'smelled funny'. Considering the types she had walk into Pandora's at all hours, she could stay calm.

"No, is open." she answered while pulling out a pack of smokes and a lighter from her coat pocket. Her fingertips making sure her gun was in place in the process. She lit one up and, as an afterthought, slid the pack and lighter towards the man. Be nice, be cool. Actually the man did not look malevolent to her. Kinda a Rutger Hauer type, which could be good or bad depending on what movie they was in. She smiled and was about to ask if he was the reason two more beers had appeared at her table when he spoke again.

“So, whatcha tell me about Star Brite?”

"Star Brite, Rainbow Brite?" she replied automatically. He had to mean Zodiac. Okay, this wasn't good. Direct questions usually weren't. "You mean the woman sitting with me? Oh," Jennifer reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of business cards and her phone. She quick checked the screen and hit the star key and two digits and hit send. "Need to answer that later," she muttered as if he wasn't there, then pulled a card from the pack and laid it in front of him.

"That was the amazing Mistress Zodiac. 'The all seeing, all knowing eyes of the past, present and future' so she says. Professional fortune teller, spiritual advisor, potions and charms maker, and registered minister." she said nothing that could not be confirmed on the card or a quick search on the internet. "She nearly has the market cornered on that sort of thing in this town."

***

Outside the clubhouse, Zodiac stood in the alcove of a building that gave her a clear view of the doorway watching for Jennifer to leave. 'What the hell you doing in there, getting a date?' she thought to herself. The man she had spotted literally screamed bad news to her and she was not going to leave till she was sure her friend was on her way as well.

Her phone began to trill away in her pocket. Zodiac pulled it out and checked and saw Jenn's panic code on the screen. 'In less than a minute you get in trouble? How?'

She slipped back across the street and peeked into the window and saw Jennifer sitting with the very reason she told her to get the hell of there to begin with. She turned away from the window, leaned back against the wall of the clubhouse and banged her head against the wall. 'Damn it! I don't want to deal with the spooky man!' she thought. She took a moment to calm down then sent her thoughts to Jennifer.

"Never knew you had such interesting tastes in men, my love," she purred into her thoughts. "Keep him talking since you are there and see what you can find out." I am just outside and will come back in if needed."

***

"Oh, I could go on all night about the kind of work she does for people and this community," Jennifer smiled at the man. "I'm surprised she's not a household name. You must not be from around here. What brings you to Harper Rock?"

[Carlo Fachiano]

Inhalants wouldn’t kill him, menthol flavor was now a substance he could barely taste, and one Carlo struggled with his first few days as an immortal. He was determined not to give an old habit the boot just because its effects which formerly settled nausea, now caused it. Even as nicotine didn’t take hold of his system like it should. Next came the need to eat more often, followed by more nausea. He felt as if he was put on an addiction program by force. If the rumors were true about adjusting to one’s body, he would get over this a little at a time.

He was waiting for response to his first question, he picked up the pack. Carlo popped one cigarette behind his ear, lit a second than pushed the box back across the table. Not being greedy-one for each beer. He called it even. He called it a distraction-from her ever-beating heart across the table.

A thin eyebrow arched upward as he read the business card description while she mimicked it word for word. She had it pretty well rehearsed. He concluded she must know the vivid woman well or (from his experience with his line of work) she was her protégé. For now he left it where it was placed. Her response did not answer his question, but he was getting somewhere. Beats nothing at all or a get lost attitude that he wouldn’t put up with. Many gangsters around, many butts have been kicked into these walls. Another human getting knocked around wouldn’t turn many heads.

“So she says?” A plume of smoke lingered across the table. He clarified the last part of her first sentence as if she didn’t have complete confidence in what this “Mistress Zodiac” titled herself to be.

“Maybe you just ain’t seen me before. Lot of folks in this town.”

A man of few words. This type of conversation would go on for hours. He’d predict a lot of tit for tat. It was intentional so he can read his subject before pressing forward. However, he was not about to waste time beating around the bush. “What have you heard about what this Administrator is talking about, these rift things?”

[Zodiac]

“So she says?”

So he was paying attention. The point caught her off guard for a moment. "Well, she says she can tell the future. Can she really? All I know is a boat load of people come to her and keep coming back to her to have their cards done. She done mine a couple times and scared the hell out of me what she was saying. To be fair, she has known me for years, so I could assume she just knows me well enough to make some claims. Educated guessing on her part. But others who she has never met before and she manages the same reactions from them, and they start returning periodically for more?" Jennifer let the thought hang. Zodiac had told her many times you can never convince anyone of something like telling the future unless they experience themselves.

“Maybe you just ain’t seen me before. Lot of folks in this town.”

That could be true, however that did not explain Zodiac's reaction to him when she focused on him. ' He's different. Not from around here.' she had said. That was good enough for her. "Yeah, you're probably right. This town seems to be getting bigger by the day sometimes." It was not a lie on her part. A small population boom was taking place now and the mystic told her she kept seeing new vampires almost nightly now.

She took a drink from her beer. So far she did not feel threatened by the man, so maybe this would turn out okay. She knew Zo was close by and was actually beginning to wonder if she should have hit the panic code.

“What have you heard about what this Administrator is talking about, these rift things?”

Or maybe not. This guy didn't pull any punches and subtlety was not in his skill sets apparently. She had heard the gypsy talking about this with others in passing. To Zodiac, the 'Administrator' was a danger to them all and the idea of the rifts had her turning the shops into fortresses for some reason. She took another drink, then looked at the man with calm eyes.

"I am going to assume you prefer the truth in things." she began. "And hopefully when I am done I'll still be able to walk out the door alive and in one piece. She knows what you are, and I am guessing you know what she is as well. She is who you need to be asking questions like that from." Jennifer reached out and tapped the card. "I just help run the store. She's the one you need to ask those kind of questions of. Not me."