Path of the Vampire forum

♠ ♠ ♠ In a town as close-knit (if it could truly be called that) as Harper Rock, word travelled fast. The grapevine here grew faster than any other township of its size. It was almost as if the entire place was constantly on edge, paranoid, whispering away even when the waters were still. It was a surprise, really, that the town hadn't been reduced to dust and debris yet by the weight of its own gossip and psychosis. (Maybe it was something in the water.) So it came as no real surprise when word got around to the crew at Comedia that there had been some trouble down in Stag Heath. It wasn't particularly unusual or new to hear that that part of the city was alight again with the flames of discord. That was where the slums were, where most of the gangsters seem to gather and create a world of their own. If it wasn't calamity between the thugs themselves, it was the authorities storming in. Normally, it wasn't something at Baxter paid a lot of attention to.

Monroe Fairchild shifted from one foot to the other within the closed space of the office. Renato had been kind enough to bring him some water while he waited for the arrival of the man he'd been set to meet with. This was the first time he'd be meeting with Kendal Baxter face-to-face. He'd met with Renato before, several times even, a man who he had heard about through the grapevine (there was that generalized appetite for gossip again) from one of the girls at the club. He never fully knew what his role was though. He seemed to be the manager of Comedia, the guy that everyone seemed to go to if they needed something or had an issue. In fact, that was what Roe had assumed his deal was. But nowadays it seemed more like the man was some kind of a PA or bottom ***** boy for the establishment. And Roe didn't answer to no one but Leks. Maybe Nails. Sometimes. Still. Renato had been an accommodating employer and he could respect that. Even if his job was part time here.

The whole deal here was that recently, there had been some kerfuffling in Stag Heath. Again, not something new. Something was always going down there. But most people knew which crew had territory where and who to avoid. But now there was news there was some rogue holy man running around cutting gangsters up. This wasn't something entirely surprising either. Some time last winter, there had been another Paladin that had been going around attacking people. But that incident had only involved vampires as victims. Not only that but, back then, Baxter didn't have his hand so deep in the criminal activity cookie jar. But now he had liabilities, things he had to look after for the sake of his own success. He couldn't just ignore a possible threat to Stag Heath. Roe was here because he'd brought the news to Renato, not thinking this was a big deal. His entire job was to gossip, really. He hadn't expected to be summoned in by the owner.

Monroe glanced up as the door opened and a figure much taller than he walked in. They had met before, just once... not that the younger man remembered that though.

"Did you give the paladin the message?" came the voice from the man as he went straight to the heavy oak desk that was the centrepiece of the entire chamber.

Not even a greeting. Monroe scowled briefly before his expression relaxed and he nodded. "Yeah, I had someone send him the message." he shifted. There was a stretch of silence between them when it seemed like Baxter wasn't going to speak anymore so Roe cleared his throat. "You… you want me to like, leave or…?"

"Hm," came Baxter's acknowledgment. "Go ask Rene what Grey's status is."

Monroe blinked in surprise and frowned briefly again. Not even a please or thank you. He let out a quick soundless breath and put on a smile before saluting the man. "Aye aye, cap'n." he replied before turning to head out of the office, shutting the door behind him.

Lockland had spent a good deal of time in the slums, taking down gangsters and their enforces, he'd played his hand at some of the triads a few times but they were a bit more difficult. The gangsters however, were easy. So much so he couldn't remember the last time he failed to beat one, or even a couple of them. It wasn't a purge per say, but it was close, if he knew you killed and still were endangering others, you might end up his target. He had learned fast how to take these suckers on. They were nothing compared to the few demi fae he'd fought, or mooncalves.

However, it seemed his exploits had not gone unnoticed. Whether that was good or bad, he wasn't sure, what he knew was that he had been informed someone wanted to meet with him. He took his weapons with him, his Rialto on his belt under his long sleeveless jacket, and his master blade across his back. Neither were hidden, neither was Lockland's constant searching of every single person he saw, every room. He walked with strides that were not those of a proud man, but certainly those of one who was only here because he felt he had a duty to full-fill.

He was looking for whoever sent the message, the name would only be important after he heard what he had to say. If it comes to a fight, I could probably slaughter a good number of them easily. If a discussion, well, I'm no professional at that but I'm no fool either. If I have to make a wager though, I'll either be threatened or bribed. Lockland thought as he came to what he was pretty sure was where he was headed, In that case I'll either have to lie, or possibly end up with them trying to kill me because I didn't do as they want. Unless they're trying to get me to kill someone, that would be a totally different surprise of its own. I haven't exactly given many signs that I'm any sort of hitman so I can't imagine they'd expect that of me.

The evening had been a largely uneventful one. Had been, until Cadence, who had sampled roughly a quarter of her bottle hours before before expressing her dissatisfaction, woke with the shrill violence of a downpour in a Floridian summer. It was hardly a shock. At nearly two months, Kady had quickly proven herself to be more mercurial than her twin. The infants were like night and day. While Cadence was fair haired, her fine locks a muddied shade somewhere between a honey blonde and darker highlights of brunette, Knox Aleksander's hair was ink dark. It was thick; sporting the barest suggestion of waves that turned out damp and mussed into bristling cowlicks after a nap. His eyes held a quiet intensity; able to shift from wide-eyed wonder to a brooding seriousness comically out of place for his age in their depths. His gaze was a curious shade of gray; impossibly bright, tinged with darker flecks of blue. He was quiet where his twin was loud; content to muffle a sigh against his parent's chest and burrow against them.

Grey had retreated to the kitchen, absently running Kady's half-finished bottle under the tap in an effort to warm it to a rough approximation of something palatable, wincing as her impressive vocal range triggered an echoing wail from her twin. "Keep it up and maybe your head'll start spinning around," he muttered under his breath. He'd twisted the protective cover of the bottle off with more violence than necessary, upending it over the back of his hand. A drop of milk struck his skin, a few degrees above room temperature. It would have to do. He'd only just returned to the living room - Kady, her stomach full - half-drowsing in a stupor, Grey's bare foot braced against the edge of the bassinet that housed Knox, rocking it gently, when the screen of his phone illuminated. It was a newer model than his personal phone, purchased for a singular, specific person. There were exactly two people in HR with access to the number.

“****,” hissed, snatching it up from where it rested against the armrest of the couch, before the low frequency of the vibrations could wake either twin. Thirty minutes later saw him outside of Comedia, an encrypted flash drive safely tucked into his pocket. He’d idled long enough to send a text - polite, for all of its straightforward brevity - to Renato, before killing the engine of the Zero. Another six saw him escorted inside, pausing to knock, despite Renato’s presence, out of habit once outside of Baxter office.

“I believe this is yours,” he announced moments later, retrieving the flash drive from his pocket, holding it aloft as he stepped inside.

When Grey arrived at the club, Baxter was alerted not by Monroe, who had dutifully gone off to ask about the man's ETA, but rather by Renato, who had contacted Baxter via telepathy. It was still something the man was getting used to, having someone very suddenly break through the barriers he prefered to isolate his mind behind, piercing through the heavily fortified walls that only grew thicker as he grew older. But this was the cost of having hired a Telepathic vampire as his righthand man. He'd granted Renato the privilege to invade his fortress in exchange for his servitude, so long as the vampire knew to keep his trap shut regarding the horrors he was likely witness within.

Approximately three minutes passed before he heard the tapping against the heavy oak before it swung inward, revealing a familiar face. Grey Weston was a man Baxter had met few months prior, shortly after he'd found Felix… or Merry, rather, in Felix's apartment. As the case was, Felix had gotten up to some mischief and Merry, being a Mystic, arrived in Felix's body upon her return (yes, her return, the poor sod) and was forced to take the brunt of the law enforcement's penalties against Felix. It was all a rather confounding and irritating situation to Kendal Baxter, who prefered to isolate himself and more importantly, prefered not getting involved with the authorities. So it had been in his best interest to hire Grey, a highly skilled… uh, computer genius to "visit" law enforcement databases and do a little "spring cleaning". And with that, Grey was able to free Merry of any of Felix's charges. Over the months, Baxter had come to, surprisingly, enjoy Grey's company in that the man wasn't someone who asked too many questions or expected too much from him. He was competent and straightforward with skills that Baxter was willing to pay him for. It had become the beginning of a beautiful acquaintanceship; he liked the company of people who were useful.

"Ah, Grey." he greeted, glancing up from his computer. "Did you find much?" he asked as he rose from his seat to take the USB stick before settling back down to plug it into his computer, waiting for the system to recognize the device. "I imagine there might have been something on him with the cops, if he's out going postal on gangsters."

---

Renato smiled a little at Grey as the man entered the room and he shut the door behind him before hurrying back down the narrow, dark corridor, taking the stairs to the ground floor before following a much wider, much longer and more neon hall to the back of the bar at the club. It was another regular night at Comedia. The girls were already up on the stage, performing for a crowd of parched hyenas. Some of them were regulars. People Renato addressed politely by their names when they came up to the bar to order sixth glass of bourbon, much to their delight.

"Look alive, Rene, our boy is here." Roe's familiar voice was near his ear as the Crow brushed past him. He glanced over his shoulder once and flashed the vampire a slight grin. "Get it? Look alive." he added quietly before he was gone, headed in the direction of the washrooms near the back. Renato shook his head before looking up, catching sight of the man who had just walked into the venue. He scratched his jaw lightly before putting on a cheery disposition and stepping out from behind the counter, letting the other barkeep handle things as he briskly walked over to the Paladin.

"You must be Lockland." he greeted with a smile. "My name is Renato Devin. Allow me to escort you to Mr. Baxter." he said before leading the way through the same maze-like path he'd taken only minutes before.

"Aye." He answered simply following behind Renato, with his eyes narrowed for a moment. He was extremely suspicious of this one. The ones that smile were always the ones to either look out for, or who would simply be the most irritating to deal with. Well, most of the time anyway.

He would not be distracted by the ongoings of Comedia, his mind he kept solidly focused on the task at hand. Stage girls, drinks, didn't matter, most of it was ignored. Or else it was only taken in as a matter of fact. A thing that existed that he took into account but didn't dwell on.

As they moved, Lockland decided to speak, whether or not they wanted him to speak first or not, "Don't know what is expected to be gained by this, just as long as it doesn't involve any tricks things may stay on...at least non violent terms." he said simply.

He had no clue about that they had attempted to drag in any information on Lockland they could find. He didn't too often commit crimes, but most of the time, the ones he did, were essentially vigilante justice. That was why he ended up here anyway, because he'd been going after gangsters.

In a place like this, a lot could go down without people noticing. It made him ever the more suspicious and wary of whatever he was getting into. And whether or not this was a good idea. He was not generally as skeptical as he was now, but generally he found things to be black and white. Right now it wasn't quite the case, it was a more indiscernible line, as he just hadn't seen all there was too know about this just yet.