When Bill Tanner returned to the darkened compartment, Sorenti's eyes were still closed and his head bowed, he gave no recognition as Bill passed him to take his seat. Sorenti's mind slowly surfaced back to reality, his decision made. In a barely audible whisper he muttered "It must..........be now"

Bill looked up from the trashy magazine he had pulled from the courtesy rack, "I'm sorry sir?" he questioned. For a long while, nothing more came from Sorenti, just as Bill had begun to read again, he realised his employer was looking straight at him, he moved to say something, but was beaten to it.

"The time is now" Sorenti said quietly, "due to your exemplary employment, I will extend to you one final thing." Bill sat silently, listening, though a little disturbed by the ultimatum style as Sorenti continued while taking out his cheque book. Sorenti began to write carefully on a blank cheque as he spoke,

"Mister William Tanner, I am giving you three options, with no hard feelings on any....you may choose as you wish, but please, be certain before you decide! Do you understand what I have said?"

Bill nodded solemnly, not quite sure how to act, his usual flippant boss was now cold and deadly serious, it was plainly obvious why he was such a worthy adversary in any business matter.

"Ok, then I won't embellish more than necessary," Sorenti said, "The first option available to you is this......" he paused to make sure Bill was ready, then carried on. "Tonight, at the airport, you leave my employment and we part company forever. All your belongings will be transferred to a place of your designation, I will write you a cheque for $2 million, you will go with my good wishes and fondest memories. The money is in recognition of your service to me, not as a payment for your silence, which I am certain you will not break."

Bill's efforts to mask his shock failed miserably...leave? Why? What had he done? But he forced his mind to clear and nodded for Sorenti to go on.

"The second option open to you is this......if you feel you cannot keep the secrets you have seen while working for me, then you will be given a clean death.....the money will be sent in the guise of an insurance policy to any relatives you may still have, or anyone you should name. You may, of course, choose your own funeral arrangements...this may seem a little extreme, but you know full well what I am capable of and how much damage you could feasibly cause me. Of worthy note is that, should you not keep your silence, yet choose option 1, option 2 will be enforced." Sorenti waited for Bill to take in the information.

The thought of this one unnerved Bill far less, as they had often spoken of death, or matters which involved it...but the thought of no longer being employed by Sorenti unsettled him badly. Oh, he knew nothing lasted forever, even when working for an immortal boss, but in the 10 years, nothing had ever even given him the slightest inkling that he might ever be made redundant....perhaps to work in a burger bar or a local shooting range. Bill shuddered noticeably, steadied himself and looked back at Sorenti.

"And the third?" Bill asked

"The third......yes the third," Sorenti answered in a soft, lilting voice. "The third is far more complicated....it is a collage of options 1 and 2 with a hint of aristocracy, there is death, there is money, so much more and so much less..."

"Y..you would m...make me one of y..your kind?" Bill stuttered. He knew the answer by the fire burning in Sorenti's eyes.."b..but what of the Prince? Sh..shouldn't he be informed first?"

"Why? We are not in Cascadia, this is not his domain! Tell me the tradition Bill...tell me as accurately as you can!"

Without pausing for thought, Bill recited the tradition "That is the Third: Thou shalt sire another only with permission of thine Elder. If thou createst another without thine Elder's leave, both thou and thy progeny shalt be slain!" As he recited it, Sorenti realised for the first time that he had been grooming Bill for this very moment. In the 10 years of his employment, Sorenti had gradually been teaching Bill to the point where he could become a fine member of Kindred society, or die.

"So answer me this Bill," Sorenti said calmly "Who exactly IS my Elder right now?"

"Errrr.....I guess Morkarlov would be the only relevant true Elder, am I right to think that?" Bill answered after a pause for thought.

"You are indeed correct Bill......and he is already aware of what decision I have made. Now, I am in grave error by making you decide with haste, but I am left without choice....tell me your thoughts!"

Bill nodded, gathered his thoughts and then replied, "Being honest, though I am not afraid to die, I do not wish for it....I have no relatives of any worth and those I love have more than enough money already. Even without the money you offer, your generosity has been such that I could quite well afford to retire and live out my life in comparative luxury with what I already have. But.....but.....to leave your service in order to do it, that is hard, I have not always enjoyed the work you have given me, but the respect and friendship you have shown, from an employer, is unthinkable elsewhere....it....it means a lot to me. So, option 1 would seem the best."

Sorenti nodded slowly and began to write out the cheque.

"Wait...please...sir" Bill added, "though option 1 would seem to be the best, I owe you my life many times over and with all that you have taught me, it would be both stupidity and ingratitude were I to neglect the third choice. However, I know you do not wish for me to consider these things in my decision, so I shall not.....and my decision is still that I will not leave your service, no matter what......after all, who else could you get to do all the meaningless and thankless tasks?" Bill said with a smirk and a little chuckle, but Sorenti failed to see the joke.

"Once it is complete, there will be no meaningless tasks, as you put it, if I embrace you, it will be to make you as strong as I possibly can....however, you will still be a long way down the chain, so to speak.....you know the rules, should you get arrogant or carried away with your newfound gifts....you will be punished and I cannot intervene if you have not given respect where it is due." Sorenti said solemnly

"Of which I am already well aware sir, have I ever let you down before?" Bill questioned

"No William, you have not and that is precisely how you have come to face this decision. You know most of which you need, you know the rules I live by, the pros and cons and so on......the decision is yours alone."

"Then I choose to be one of you, whole-heartedly and without regret!" Bill answered

"Very well, though whether it is without regret, we will see......we will see." Sorenti said as he handed Bill a cheque for $5 million. To Bill's amazed and questioning eyes, Sorenti replied "Every Ventrue has to start somewhere.....tomorrow you can pay that into a new account, spend your last day in the sun, then come to me at sundown."

Bill had done as Sorenti suggested, he had opened up a new account into which he paid the cheque. Then he had spent the rest of the day just wandering in the sun, looking at people, how each one rushed about, concerned only with his or her own life. He had window-shopped, thought about what immortality would really mean, gone over every rule he could remember, had lunch in a Bistro-type establishment and checked that sundown was at 18:31. It was now 18:29, as his digital watch glowed at him and he made his way to where Sorenti had spent the day. He had expected his boss to be waiting for him, but when he entered the hidden building, there was no sign of anyone. He perched on the edge of a chair and waited.

About half an hour later, Bill jumped as he realised Sorenti was standing to one side of him, how or where he had come from, Bill had no idea. Bill could almost feel the power emanating from his boss, as he looked closer, Sorenti seemed to be glowing. Sorenti chuckled darkly,

"Oh come now William, surely you did not think I would try to embrace you without having fed well first?"

"To be honest, it didn't occur to me sir, I can't remember ever actually seeing you errr....feed" Bill replied.

"When you get to my age, it is not as important anymore," Sorenti said, again with the little chuckle. "Shall we begin? Are you truly ready?" To which Bill nodded eagerly. "Remember what you need to Bill, hang on to that you wish to keep, for you will undoubtedly become lost in me!"

Bill stood and braced himself for pain, but Sorenti merely kissed him, Bill stumbled and nearly fell from the shock of the intimacy between them, but the Ventrue held him firmly. Sorenti closed his eyes and bit deeply into his tongue, kissing Bill again and opening his mouth to let the blood flow over into Bill. Sorenti let him go and Bill wobbled backwards, the blood like fire in his throat, he coughed hard at first, then the blood mixed with his own and he fought hard not to pass out. As he gained a grip on things again, he saw Sorenti smiling at his actions, so he straightened up to show he was alright. With a small laugh, Sorenti repeated the kiss, only this time he made a large draught of blood for Bill, then sank his fangs into Bill's neck while Bill was still swimming in the power.

Sorenti let him go and moved away, watching every move Bill made as his head slowly cleared, "This is the big one Bill, I will take you to the point of death"

As Bill went to answer, Sorenti had him by the throat, drinking deeply as Bill's blood flowed into him, consuming his blood effortlessly. As the heart beats began to slow and he began to taste his own blood, Sorenti stopped and laid Bill on the floor.

"William? Bill? BILL!" Sorenti shouted to get a response. Bill's eyes opened slowly, but they were distant "Do you still wish to be like me?" Sorenti asked

"Y..yes, m..more th..than anything" Bill struggled

"Very well, then drink....drink from me now Bill" Sorenti said as he ran his nail across his own throat. He leaned over Bill as the blood from the gash welled, then spilled over, dripping into Bill's mouth. Bill sat up, his mouth following the blood to its source, then he latched onto the wound on Sorenti and began to drink in small gulps. Sorenti cradled Bill in his arms, cooing encouraging words as he felt pain wrack Bill's body. He explained to Bill that his body would die soon and give up mortal existence, but to just ignore it, he recited the Traditions softly, anything that would give Bill a tenable link to the real world. Then as he felt himself begin to weaken, Sorenti bowed his head and bit into Bill again, drinking as fast as Bill was, the blood circling between them.

When at last it was finished, Sorenti had no idea how many times the blood had gone round, having not done it so completely since his only childe Isaac, over a century before. But Isaac he had simply made Ventrue, Bill had to be strong, Sorenti simply did not have the time nor patience to fully train a fledgling, so he had given far more of himself. He raised himself up on his elbows to look at Bill, but Bill was already standing and marvelling at the intricacies of a fairly standard painting on the wall. Bill had never really looked at a painting and seen every stroke of the brush before, it amazed him. Sorenti chuckled quietly and stood, trying to remember just what it had been like the very night he had been embraced.

Softly, Sorenti drew La Magra and held it out to Bill,

"Here, try it" he said smiling

Bill looked at it, "I...I can't" he said, "it is too heavy, I..."

Sorenti simply placed it into his hands and gestured for him to swing it. Bill studied the shining blade with the glowing inscription, then he slowly made an arc in the air. How light and well balanced it was captivated Bill, he coaxed it this way and that before turning it on its hilt and sheathing it in one, fluid motion.

"Exactly," Sorenti said, knowing Bill's thoughts "now you CAN use it, but don't! Unless I am dead and you have to use it to escape the same fate."

Bill looked at Sorenti, wondering how on earth he had said that without moving his lips, then he realised he had heard it as clear as speech, but in his mind. Sorenti smiled warmly and put his hand on Bill's shoulder,

"Come, there is much for you to discover yet, we have a plane to catch and we must dine" Sorenti said.

Bill proved to be quite the natural, when it came to feeding, everything lacking control and finesse of course, but with Sorenti's guidance and small pointers here and there, Bill was learning fast. His preference differed immensely from Sorenti's, which made things all the easier. In a darkened cinema they took a young couple making out in the back row, cutting them with a knife and taking anything of value to look like a common mugging. Then they took another couple who were laying, looking at the stars, down by the river, how unfortunate that they had drowned while skinny-dipping. Bill thirsted for more, but Sorenti promised him that luxury once they were in Venice, being anxious to get to the airport and be on their way.

The flight was uneventful apart from Sorenti getting Bill to awe the stewardess so she would allow Sorenti to smoke discreetly. They stepped off the plane at about 11:15pm and Sorenti at once cautioned Bill.

"Be on your guard at all times William, there are no Ventrue here," he whispered, "A few Toreador, probably some Nos, but the Sabbat are strong in this area and the chances of us meeting any of our kind that openly admit to being Camarilla are very slim indeed! Keep your mind as closed as you can, be conscious of it!"

Bill nodded, he knew from his Sire's tone that he was deadly serious. He wondered exactly why they were in this dangerous place, but dare not voice it as they walked out across the field adjacent to the Venetian airport. Very soon they were in Venice itself, the grand palazzo's boxing them in, even in their open style. They headed for an abandoned gondola and Bill took the task of manoeuvering it along the canalways. Every so often, Sorenti would hold his hand up and Bill would slow the boat, or go in the direction his Sire indicated. Sorenti sat cross legged with his eyes closed, concentrating hard, suddenly he stood up and Bill had a hard time stopping the gondola, which seemed to have a mind of its own.

"Here!" Sorenti said and hopped from the boat to land on the walkway alongside the water.

Bill steered the gondola to the edge and fastened it securely to the mooring post. When he had finished, he noticed Sorenti was kneeling in the dirt, eyes closed, trance-like, just as he had been in the monastery. Bill rolled his eyes and then went as white as snow. Very faintly, inaudible to mortals, was a thump....then another one....and another, almost a minute between them, it sounded familiar and then Bill realised what it was...

"Yes Bill" said Sorenti quietly "it's a heartbeat"

"B..but it can't be" Bill whispered back "it's too quiet, yet so loud and persistent"

"It's in your mind, not your ears, come, we must move quickly!" Sorenti murmured as he jumped to his feet.

Taking to the rooftops, Sorenti began to move with incredible speed, making it almost impossible for Bill to keep sight of him, just as he thought he had lost Sorenti, Bill ran straight into him, bouncing off and landing on his backside. Sorenti turned slowly and looked at him,

"I do hope you are not always going to be this clumsy" Sorenti said with a smirk

Bill dusted himself off and with a sulky look, he smiled sarcastically at Sorenti, who chuckled and dropped soundlessly to the road below. They were well out of the rich quarter and almost out of Venice itself, the heartbeat was slightly stronger, but still faint. Sorenti moved away from the buildings and looked at the rocky landscape that lay ahead of them, then he began hopping from rock to rock, much as they had done across the rooftops. Bill followed, mystified but intrigued as to what the heartbeat noise was and what Sorenti was up to.

The pair climbed for a good half hour before they came to an overhang of rock, jutting out above them like a huge, grey porch. Sorenti stopped suddenly, looking up and Bill could hear the thumping noise pounding in his head, so loud was the sound that Bill tried to cover his ears in a vain effort to block it. Seeing his actions, Sorenti spoke to him mentally, telling him to focus on his sire's voice, to force his mind closed. Bill gave it every effort and it seemed to work, the drumming became bearable, not gone, but less intense at least, he lowered his hands and was about to ask Sorenti what it was when a voice came from behind them...

"And jutht what do you think you are doing ecthactly?" the voice was thick and unhurried, "you come to our thity, running around, unprethented! It jutht won't do, won't do at all....tho, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Nice lisp!" Bill said quietly "Want a limp to go with it?"

"Easy Bill, we are not common Brujah" Sorenti said telepathically to Bill, who nodded and stepped back slightly from the newcomer.

"You dare to challenge me whelp? On my own ground? Idiot! Now answer me!" the dark figure said.

Sorenti stepped forwards slightly, pronouncing each 's' deliberately "Firstly, what we are doing is none of your business! Secondly, we have not been in any city near here and thirdly, kindly remove yourself from our vicinity or you will find yourself removed from the rest of you!"

"You are Camarilla thcum and mutht die!" screamed the interrogator as he lunged at Sorenti, drawing his weapon.

Sorenti sidestepped neatly, drawing La Magra to meet the oncoming blade, but it never arrived. The aggressor was in mid air right in front of Sorenti, a somewhat bemused look on his face. Bill looked above him for any signs of wires, but before he could decide there were none, the figure began to rotate slowly in the air, about two feet off the ground. The three of them were too shocked to speak and an eerie silence hung. All of a sudden the dark, cloaked figure began to scream, but it was cut short as his flesh was ripped away from him, what was left in the air came crashing down with such force that the skeletal structure was literally blown apart. Sorenti looked around for any sign of anyone or anything else, finding no trace he looked at Bill. Bill stood stock still, staring at the bits and pieces that lay around, then he began to shake.

"What....what....what the fuck was that??" Bill said fearfully

"I honestly don't know Bill" Sorenti said simply with a shrug, trying to look as calm as possible for Bill's sake.

"Fuck honestly.....lie to me, lie to me.....tell me that didn't happen!"

Seeing Bill was close to serious panic, Sorenti put a hand on Bill's arm, turning him so he looked at his sire and not at the remnants of their would-be attacker.

"William, try to calm yourself. It DID happen, but it DIDN'T happen to us and that's what we should be thankful for, even if we don't have a clue what happened, at LEAST we know it didn't happen to us, ok?"

Bill nodded, but he still had that wild eyed look of a rabbit caught in the road. All kinds of reasoning went through Sorenti's mind, but none of it matched what had affected the intruder on their business. Bill had calmed somewhat and tugged on Sorenti's sleeve,

"Is that...errr....he....errrr, is it dead?" he asked tentatively pointing at the scattered entrails.

"I'd say pretty much so, though one never knows what a Cappadocian or twisted Tremere could manage with this mess.....he'll be dead if nobody has swept him up by sunrise" Sorenti said with a slightly cruel smirk.

Bill sat down hard, then jumped up to check he wasn't sitting on any segments of the unfortunate Cainite, satisfied he sat back down and struggled to take in what had happened, let alone what had caused it. Sorenti reluctantly sat next to him, wanting to press on, but firm in the knowledge that he would rather have a calm Bill Tanner than a panicky, trigger happy one.
_________________
"Be careful who you're talking to....they might just have the upper hand!!!"

(( I seem to be missing the next bit, but basically, Sor and Bill meet an old Vamp close to death who Sorenti has secretly shipped back to Cascadia for his protection. Continues with Cascadia Revisited))

[i:4672d9a6a7][b:4672d9a6a7]ooc:[/b:4672d9a6a7] Oh a delightful read it was, enjoyed it from word 1 until the end :D [/i:4672d9a6a7]

[i:a946180f1d][b:a946180f1d]ooc:[/b:a946180f1d] thankyou, i appreciate it![/i:a946180f1d]