He walked across the room, listening with apparent interest as Nam explained her point. His eyes seemed glazed as she went on and on, pouring on the melodramatics. She was laying it on thick, like foundation scraped on with a trowel. He stopped by the mantle over the old fireplace, fidgeting with some african artefact, thinking.

Then he casually smashed it on the wooden floor and turned, eyes flaring, spittle flying in venomous strands as he finally lost the plot.

[i:690841a55a]“You have no fucking idea what you’re talking about! I let him walk around free and he’ll as quickly skullfuck you as he’ll buttfuck Kahn and me! He’s not your fucking friend, Nam. Get that through your fucking poncy arsed, feathered brained egg of a skull! The only thing he’s useful for till I say otherwise is as a fucking meatshield, should his friends or Emery come knocking! JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! There is one person in this room that I trust with my fucking hide and that’s Kahn! Till you show me reason enough to trust you, then your opinion means nothing. Nothing, you fucking got that!? Jesus fuck! You fucking owe me for fucking up my fucking brother’s life! Don’t forget that Nam, your fucking bloodbag is my fucking brother!

And as for you Tyler! You so much as fucking gasp at the wrong time and I’ll fucking feed your balls to Emery through a cunting drip!!”[/i:690841a55a]

Kahn looked on stunned.


((Apologies for the short length, didn't want to assume anyone's reactions :)

Tyler watched the tirade with stifled irritation, enveloping his inner Beast's urge to leap upon the loud mouthed Gangrel with pure will power. But with each slanderous affront, the Ventrue felt his ire rise. [i:beb6a5adb9]This one's a loose cannon. He's dust...[/i:beb6a5adb9]

Finally, the rogueish imp fell silent, contented to wallow in his own various furies. He peered at the pair with simmering, embers in his eyes, portals to the rage wrought on by a sympathetic ally. Tyler felt he had scored a victory in the explosion within the group. The further turmoil and anguish he could drum up within the coterie, the better.

Of course, the risk grew exponentially for the young Ventrue, but as far as he was concerned, his ass was already in the sling.

He held Finn's gaze for a few moments, and could feel the Gangrel's will vying against his own. Determined not to waver, Tyler fell back onto his elbows, adopting a leisurely nonchallant but retained the gaze.

[i:beb6a5adb9]"Touchy little bird, ain't he?"[/i:beb6a5adb9] he murmured to no one in particular.

Kahn's initial perplexion gave way to a mischievous half-smile. As smoldering hot a babe as Namaria was, she was beginning to get a a tad annoying. Or maybe he was actually a bit jealous of all the flirting the Prissy Ventrue was getting in his stead. Not that he would ever admit to that.

"Touchy little bird, ain't he?"

Kahn's smile faded as he turned at Tyler's remark. He walked up to the Ventrue and grabbed him by the blood-stained shirt, lifting him up from his elbows and to eye-level.

"He. Said. 'Shut. The FUCK..." The Ravnos' eyes were now an eerie and disheartening red on a fierce, feral grimace while his fangs seemed to double in size over a slight amount of saliva foam. Or at least it seemed that way to everyone with eyes. The effect [i:a17e01c59a]was[/i:a17e01c59a] quite intimidating "UP'!!"

He threw Tyler down away from the couch and on to the floor. The Ventrue landed on his back with a slight thud that was very quickly dimmed by the loud BANG of a revolver going off.

Kahn had shot Tyler's stomach with a lighting quick movement.

"OW..FUCK...whoresonbitchass...AGH!!" The Ventrue responded with a growl, putting his hands over the wound and contorting in pain.

Kahn turned to look at Finn's raised eyebrow.

"Aw, he'll be fine. He needs to practice being a shield. Plus," he added with a quick punt to the Ventrue's skull. "some manners."

Aria recognized a strategic retreat when she saw one. At Finn's tirade, she had lowered her lashes to half mast and pouted beautifully, with arms folded just under her breasts. Then squeezed hard enough to make them play peek-a-boo over the lowered neckline of her dress. Which,she had to admit, was now torn, dirty and had some spatters of blood on it.

Basking inwardly at the unparalled success of her by-play, she'd shifted from Tyler's side to Kahn's, as a more neutral ground. Until Kahn had had to show that he, too, could play rough. God how she liked it rough! Time to withdraw even more, she realized, when things started to go silent.

Repairing her sorry state of appearance was the next order of business, she decided, as she glanced down at her now bedraggled gown. Before she let on how much this macho crap was entertaining [b:ea96847adb]her[/b:ea96847adb]!! She grinned as she slipped into the bathroom and hoped that David had remembered to send over some clothing for her. It was going to get real interesting parading around in a towel. Or nothing at all.

She set the shower for something pulsating and [b:ea96847adb]hot[/b:ea96847adb]!! Then proceeded to sing. Slightly off-key, of course.

...shit...

His torso seemed to be ablaze in white hot pain. With each movement, fresh waves of agony poured over him, his back teeth pulsated with raw, straight anguish and he felt as though his brain was actually alive again with electrical impulses shrieking for release.

He rolled on the floor, soaking his fresh clothes in a widening pool of blood that smeared in arching patterns and clung to him. Shakily, he removed his hand ever so slightly to examine the wound, and found that thick, blackened blood was pouring from his stomach as water from a pitcher. It cascaded into his palms and oozed through his fingers.

He moaned and re-applied pressure, trying to use whatever reserves he retained to heal the wound. The torrent of vitae slowed, but did not stop completely, and the blood loss and expenditure was beginning to take it's toll.

Tyler's vision blurred and the room's finer features began to darken, as though he were looking through a veil. His limbs grew colder, well, colder than usual and responded less quickly to his impulses.

...oh that's it... he thought to himself ...if I survive, these bastards are going to be sorry.

The sound of footsteps across concrete drew his attention, and he watched as she left left the room towards the shower. Once she had disappeared, he glowered at Finn and Kahn, his face contorted in anguish.

"Helluva party!" he croaked before collapsing into the darkness completely.

Aria emerged, humming, from the bathroom, with nothing but a towel wrapped around her torso and another one around her hair, turban style. David had, indeed, packed something in the bag she had in hand but she felt it more useful to parade past the boys en deshabille. Or, at least, her version of it.

But the sight of Tyler's unconscious body left bleeding on the floor made her drop her bag and rush over, to kneel by his side. A quick assessment told her that he was slipping into torpor due to too much blood loss. This wouldn't do. At all. She needed him to keep the pot stirred and having only Kahn to rely on as a ladle wasn't going to work!!

She went to work immediately.

[i:f2676802a7]"Tyler? Tyler!!??"[/i:f2676802a7] Her demeanor telegraphed sympathy and fear for his well being as she reached out and patted the bleeding Ventrue's face with a visably trembling hand. She called out without looking to see if anyone was paying attention, [i:f2676802a7]"Finn, Kahn, Tyler needs blood, now, that is, [b:f2676802a7]if[/b:f2676802a7] you want to keep your hostage in good shape!!"[/i:f2676802a7] She gave a shot of disgust to her tone.

[i:f2676802a7]"Well now, that would be a waste of a good bullet, wouldn't it?"[/i:f2676802a7] Kahn growled. He didn't like the fact that she'd spent all of her time with Gabriel's mouthy childe, and not with him since he'd met up with her again. At her quick glare, he shrugged, [i:f2676802a7]"Wings, here,"[/i:f2676802a7] he gestured at the Gangrel, [i:f2676802a7]"told him to shut the fuck up. Guess he didn't want to listen."[/i:f2676802a7] The Ravnos shrugged and moved to prop himself up against a wall, near Finn. A blatant display of where his loyalties lay... for now, at any rate, Namaria mused.

[i:f2676802a7]"Besides,"[/i:f2676802a7] their host growled, [i:f2676802a7]"we don't have any here. Unless you also had David deliver some, that I don't know about."[/i:f2676802a7] The sarcasm was unmistakeable in his voice. Aria didn't bother to turn around this time, she just sat back and sighed. [i:f2676802a7]"Guess I'll just have to take care of it myself, then."[/i:f2676802a7] She punctured a vein in her right arm with an elegantly sharp nail and leaned over to drip some of the precious fluid into her victim's open mouth.

The Swan piped a quick cry of pain and shock as her arm was caught in a vise-like grip and she was thrown bodily away from Tyler. She found herself flat on her back, naked, in a pool of her own moonbeam hair, the toweling having flown the coop somewhere along the line. She looked up into violently swirling green eyes and nearly drowned in them, until she became aware of the thighs that pinned her there.

Lust flooded her features instantly and her muscles went pliant as she purred up at her raging captor. [i:f2676802a7]"Why, Finn!! I didn't know you were interested in playing [/i:f2676802a7]"tag"[i:f2676802a7]. If I had, I'd have obliged you much sooner, you know."[/i:f2676802a7] She wriggled suggestively beneath him and Finn was alarmed at how his own body ignored him and indicated it's eagerness to participate.

Since she wasn't allowed to wind her arms around that thick column of a neck, Aria arched her back so that her pert breasts almost brushed against his extended arms. Whereupon, the Gangrel yanked them back to his side, as if he would be scalded. His black scowl got even darker, as he backhanded her, leaving a small split in her lip. [i:f2676802a7]"Leave him be, you fucking bitch, I want him quiet! If he goes into torpor, then I won't have to listen to his irritating snipes!!"[/i:f2676802a7]

He managed to rake the rest of her body with a cold glare, but he wasn't quite sure if he was trying to convince her, or him, of his disinterest. He dismounted and stood, then stalked away, even more disturbed by his instant reaction to the pink flesh that darted out and licked up the small drop of blood that formed on her mouth. He wanted it to be his tongue that stroked it away!

Not sure who'd won that round, he watched sullenly as she climbed to her feet in sinuous movements, then leaned over to grab her towels, presenting him her ivory backside. Unable to resist the provided target, he swung as hard as his arm would allow and was rewarded by the brand of his handprint in her flesh. He smirk as satisfaction flooded his system and did much to cool his frayed temper.

Kahn gave a bark of delighted laughter and winked at him as Aria straightened suddenly and whipped around to glare at her tormentor. Then, rubbing at the stinging spot, she sauntered, deliberately swaying her hips, in the direction of her room, ostensibly ignoring both grinning monkeys. Or, at least, trying to.

Once behind the close door, she allowed her self a quick, self-congratulatory grin. Granted she would have to shelve further plans until Tyler was awake again but her plan hadn't been totally wasted. She now had a slightly jealous Kahn watching from the sidelines and was more than certain that Finn was definitely aroused. What more could a girl ask for?

He slammed the door to his room, throwing his .38 and his jacket onto the bed as he leaned on the desk and hissed loudly through his teeth. Clenching his fists till the action drew blood, he finally sat with a heaved sigh on his bed and lay back trying to find some respite from his wakened thoughts.

[i:37f61ab63f]His eyes snapped open as the door to his room cracked open. He could smell the sex in the air even before his keen avian sight saw her.

Her hair shimmered in the fog of low light and the infravision of his eyes. Cascading down her shoulders, masking the curve of her breast like some faerie-dust veil. He gasped as if to speak, falling silent as her delicate, ghostly finger rested upon his lips. She smiled then, before peeling the sheets back from him. Her cool, caressing touch bringing life into undead nerve endings.

He moved at last, his mouth brushing her neck as his fangs extended, grazing her porcelain skin, drawing a fevered moan from her as her head tilted, offering more flesh to be taken.

She lowered herself over him, her legs straddling his hips as she leaned into a deep, fanged kiss. Their cold, aching tongues meeting as they nipped and lapped at each other.

“Namaria, I.”

“Shush. We’re both adults here.,” she cooed. The sound of her voice stirring something in his loins. Her mouth travelled down his lightly feathered chest, tracing the path her body ached to follow.

She finally found him, hard and insistent. So she opened herself to his eagerness and began to thrust against him. Faster and faster, harder and harder. Till it was as rough as it was sensual. Driving him on until....[/i:37f61ab63f]

He jumped up in bed. His sheets soaked with bloodsweat. His mind falling over itself as he looked around the room.

[i:37f61ab63f]“WHAT THE FUCK?”[/i:37f61ab63f]

He was breathing...

His ribs ached, and the bullet wound send fresh pulses of blistering pain through his body, but still his drew breath. Each arduous lungful of air affirming that he was still functioning, at least somewhat.

Gradually, the rhythmic throb in his torso began to spread. His entire body felt warm, enveloped. The pain began to subside...no, not entirely...but it fused. It fused with an acute pleasure, as though he were gently being coaxed back to unlife.

Tyler was suddenly aware of the gentle touch of fingertips upon his bare shoulders. He tried to open his eyes, fighting through the resistant crust of dried blood. His left refused to obey, swollen shut by Kahn's boot. With his one good eye he saw a figure swaying gently before him.

As the world came into focus, so did Namaria's angelic face, her lips flush with stimulation. Her face was pink and full of life, eyelids slightly open in a mixture of sensuality and ecstacy. With each bobbing motion, Tyler shuddered, the sensation encompassing him.

The tempo built, gradually at first but then faster...faster...building towards a glorious, divine crescendo....

...

Tyler awoke with a start, jerking upwards from his slouched position against the wall. Gasping, he examined his situation. The wounds were as real as ever, but now the rest of his body was covered in a thin, sticky film of bloodsweat. His wound pulsated anew...it's fury awakened by the flash of sudden movement.

The Ventrue doubled over in pain, groaning through clenched teeth.

[i:19972f358d]"Ah...what the fuck?!"[/i:19972f358d]

All evidence of her hard night erased by a cleansing shower and repairs to appearnce and makeup, Aria slipped, au naturel, between the sweet smelling sheets. Not that she couldn't have just laid down on top of it all and just faded into torpor. No, she prefered to keep up all pretenses to her past humanity, whenever possible.

Smiling into the dark, she relived her triumph in the outer room, earlier. At last, ready to let go of those fond memories, she curled on her side, face to the room's entrance and closed her eyes. The quiet opening of her door had her sitting up in bed, the sheets firmly clamped across her chest while she waited for her visitor to announce his intentions.

Thinking that Kahn had decided to take up their relationship from where they'd last left off, when he just stood there, she held out her hand to him and allowed the sheet to do a slow slide into a mound at her nipped in waist. [i:17ee476998]"Come."[/i:17ee476998] Her voice was husky with desire. The swift intake of breath and the rapid approach of her guest told her that it wasn't Kahn, nor could it have been Tyler by any stretch of the imagination. That left only one other choice.

[i:17ee476998]"Let's take what we both know we want."[/i:17ee476998] The rasping growl in his throat caused her to tighten in places that had forgotten what it used to be like. She felt her own body flush with a pounding of blood that her mind had called up and a thrill ran up her spine.

She folded back the coverings in an unmistakeable age-old gesture and smelled raw sex on him as he slid between. He pushed back the silken veil of her hair from her neck and licked once, twice, before raining little nips up to her sensitive ear. His hands left a path of fire wherever they roamed. Then he scraped elongated fangs over her split lip before roughly lapping at the beads that formed there.

He moaned and she echoed it as he tore himself away from their sensuous kisses to rise above her. [i:17ee476998]"Namria... I..."[/i:17ee476998] She pressed a long slim finger gently to his lips. [i:17ee476998]"Shhh... We're just two bodies in the dark, taking mutual pleasure in each other. No more, no less."[/i:17ee476998] She buried her fingers in the tiny feathers that rubbed sensuously across her nipples as he slid on top of her and nestled between her thighs. Knowlingly she began a low humming that seemed to lift them both to another plateau of desire.

Reaching between them, she found him hard and eager for what she offered as she wrapped her long legs around him. She guided him in as he leaned down and took one breast into the heat of his mouth. Writhing beneath him at the double assault on her senses she began the climb to her peak. He followed behind, the willing worshipper at her altar.

She urged him on to stronger efforts as she trembled on the edge and prepared to take flight with him as their wings of ecstasy flared out, ready to launch into the void. She opened her eyes and smiled blissfully into Finn's green eyes.

Then shivered as his face melted into that of Kahn's, straining towards his own satisfaction. Her rapture fled as the Ravnos's countenance metamorphosed rapidly into the pain-racked look of Tyler's features.

With a small shriek, she sat up in her blood-soaked bed. [i:17ee476998][b:17ee476998]"What the fuck!??"[/b:17ee476998][/i:17ee476998] was whispered into the emptiness of her bedroom as she curled her throbbing flesh into a tormented ball, crimson tears streaking down her cheeks.

((Hi all. Great stuff. I'm really pushed for time at the moment, and having a bit of writers block. I'll have a go at writing some tonight but time isn't really my friend at the moment... :|

Quick blinked as his cell phone rang inside his coat pocket, Bobbi in the driver's seat, with him in the passenger's seat. The search for his target was proving frustrating at best. Some of the local vampires seemed to know, but were all too afraid of a vampire called Emery to talk about the prince that Quick was after.

[i:d2f8162fa0]"Quicksilver here, who the hell are you and why are you calling me?"[/i:d2f8162fa0] came his reply, knowing that only clients called his number. Since the vast majority of his clients couldn't afford not to put up with his attitude, he took advantage of that. His eyes glazing over with boredom as he listened. [i:d2f8162fa0]"Gangrel huh? Yeah, whatever. I don't give a shit, I'll do like you want. Building demolition is a bit out of the ordinary though. Eighty thousand; sixty for the hit, twenty for the cleanup work... Look, I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but my terms are not negotiable. You want to fucking argue about my prices, you'll do it from the inside of an urn.... yeah, knew you'd see it my way."[/i:d2f8162fa0] The phone closed, though he now had enough on the signal to trace the number when he needed it.

---------

An hour later, Quicksilver eyed the renovated warehouse, while wrapping corded fuses together and tying sticks of dynamite into one bundle. [i:d2f8162fa0]"I love dynamite,"[/i:d2f8162fa0] he said softly, looking over at Bobbi, who seemed distinctly nervous about the whole thing. [i:d2f8162fa0]"It isn't complicated. You place it and light the fuse, and it does the rest of the work. It doesn't jam when you need it the most, like a gun. It doesn't question your moral code, or what you do for a living, like a client or an ally would,"[/i:d2f8162fa0] he smiled before finishing, simultaneously putting the finishing touches on securing the dynamite together, [i:d2f8162fa0]"It just explodes."[/i:d2f8162fa0]

With that, he lit the fuse, pulled his arm around, and, in a display of strength and accuracy, threw the sixteen stick package cross the two lane street and directly through the only halfway open window, on the third floor, of the Musician's Rest. He then grabbed Bobbi by the scruff of the neck and pulled her down.

The reaction was nearly instantaneous; though there was time for vampires to get out through the myriad exits. It didn't matter, his contract had been specifically to blow up the building they were in, nothing more. And by the deafening noise and searing heat that suddenly rose, along with bits of flying glass, brick, and other, similar debris, he had very much done his job.

[i:d2f8162fa0]"You know what I hate about you Quick?"[/i:d2f8162fa0] Bobbi said irritably to him, eyeing him askance, [i:d2f8162fa0]"Whats that, Bobbi?"[/i:d2f8162fa0] Quicksilver asked calmly. [i:d2f8162fa0]"You always overdo it,"[/i:d2f8162fa0] she quickly snapped back.

[i:d2f8162fa0]"Yeah well, in my profession, thats a survival trait."[/i:d2f8162fa0]

Namaria and the others had been gone over an hour when Finn emerged from his room. He rubbed his nose, before making his way into the lounge. Sitting despondently he ruffled his quill and sighed.

[i:64d767319f]“It’s all gone to shit, Tappy. It’s all ash and ruin.”[/i:64d767319f]

[i:64d767319f]“Not quite, baby. You’ve still got me.” [/i:64d767319f] In his mind, Tapestry was speaking aloud from beyond the veil. But to anyone looking, his mouth moved as “her” voice came rolling out. Even his expression seemed different somehow. He shook his head.

[i:64d767319f]“That’s all as well, Tappy. But they’d think I was nuts if I told them I was taking advice from a ghost.”[/i:64d767319f] As he finished his sentence, his eyes glazed and his mouth pursed.

[i:64d767319f]“Is that what I am? A ghost? Hmm,” [/i:64d767319f] Her voice seemed somewhere between amused and hurt.

[i:64d767319f]“Sorry, Tappy. It’s just....Emery. That bastard, Tyler. Everything. It’s all bullshit. Some fucking crusade this turned out to be.”

“The avalanche has already begun. It is too late for the pebbles to vote.”[/i:64d767319f] Her voice went monotone suddenly, like she’d tuned into another frequency.

[i:64d767319f]“Eh? What the fuck does that mean? Too late? Wha’tha’fuck?”[/i:64d767319f]

At that the window to his left imploded as something came hurtling through.

The object bounced once, rolled six feet before it stopped at his feet. It was only then that he noticed the sparks dancing along the shortened fuses. He looked “at” Tapestry and shrugged as acceptance brought a smile to his face.

---------------------

Big Red stopped the other end of the street. The three Kindred jumped out, Kahn running to the ruined husk that had been the Musician’s Rest. Namaria and Tyler followed close behind, the young Ventrue surprised that he wasn’t smiling.

Kahn pulled at the shattered windowframes, hauling debris aside. His rodent passenger squeaked once. The meaning of his tiny statement all too obvious to those not gifted with animal-speak.

Kahn sank to his knees, flames licked at the crumbling wreckage. Nothing stirred. Nothing was coming out.

[i:64d767319f]“Finn!?”[/i:64d767319f]

The chilly, red steel of the van aroused Tyler slightly as Namaria braced the Ventrue against it, his back's nerve endings awakening slowly. Everything was lost in the milky haze the blast had induced. He tried to bring his hands up to rub his eyes clear of the dust and debris, but found that at some point in time, he had been effectively handcuffed.

He watched as Namaria's supple lips mouthed something that the ringing in his ears did not permit him to hear. But the panic was evident in her eyes. She turned away from him and joined the Ravnos in searching the rubble for what he could only assume was Finn's mangled body. The thought brought a smile...

He looked about. Curious onlookers watched helplessly with their collective hands to their mouths and on their forehead, concerned and horrified by the destruction brought to their own little slice of reality. Some of them lurched forward to help, others stood back, speechless and worthless.

Tyler summoned what strength he had and willed them forward. Initially, they barely reacted, shuffling only slightly closer...but close enough. He furthered his will, his dominance of their minds. Gradually, their eyes became more panicked and wide, the whites glistening now like great, ivory dinner plates.

They lurched forward en masse now, crowding the wreckage that had once been Namaria's haven, and desperately searching, each convinced that they had lost a loved one in the catastrophe. Tyler could barely register the looks of shock on Namaria and Kahn's faces before they too were obscurred from him by the crowd.

The ringing was fading, and he could hear the commotion caused by the rabble. The Ravnos' angry shouts and insults slowly materialized in his ears. He didn't hesitate a moment longer...

His first several steps were clumsy and tired, but gradually he found his balance despite being handcuffed and managed his way around the truck. Focusing his remaining vitae, the injured Ventrue inreased his speed, bolting down the street towards the town proper, hoping to become lost in the obscurity of suburbia...

...the battered figure practically collapsed into the tiny Vietnamese restaurant, doing all he could to avoid crumpling onto the dingy floor. The patrons stared up from their pho noodles with alarm, speaking to one another in alarmed words that he could not comprehend. He motioned to the apparent manager.

[i:06646b1456]"Can I use your phone?"[/i:06646b1456] he stared back blankly. [i:06646b1456]"Phone, PHONE!"[/i:06646b1456] the man repeated, holding his fingers up to the side of his head as if to mimic a phone. The manager nodded now and motioned for him to follow.

He followed through a bustling kitchen until he reached the phone, quickly dialing the numbers by memory. He nodded a thanks to the manager and listened as the line rang...

[i:06646b1456]"It's me. Yeah. Let me speak to Emery...I can help him find precisely what he's looking for..."[/i:06646b1456]

The manager ran out to the cashier's station to retrieve some paper towels for the man's wounds. By the time he returned, the man had already gone, the phone swinging aimlessly from it's cord, a pulsing dial tone keeping time faintly...

[i:aaba0b15b9]Philadeplhia.[/i:aaba0b15b9]

Stillman slithered through the shadows that filled Ramsay’s Gymnasium. His movements, though pained, methodical and precise. He watched the late nighters knocking themselves out in the ring. Pencil pushers whose shifts ended late enough that Ramsay’s was the only place they could get a decent workout without having to sidestep geriatric students of Yoga. He sniffed a withered lungful of the sweat from a young female banker, her sports bra just visible through the vest that clung to her thinly muscled back. She shivered unconsciously and carried on cycling on the exercise bike. Stillman grinned boyishly before silently blowing her a gentle kiss with his flaking lips.

“Flaky” Pete Stillman was Nosferatu through and through. The curse had left him with an earless, stretched skull of a face. His nose was long gone. He was completely hairless, no eyebrows, lashes, stubble. Nothing. To top it off his skin was constantly being shed. Patches ranging in size from a fistful to a thumbprints worth fell from his body every waking hour. He was hideous to be sure, but compared to some he’d seen in the Warrens below, he was a bit of a handsome rogue.

He seemed to liquify as he neared the small office at the gym’s rear. Away from the madding crowd he mused. His deft, crumbling fingers closed around the doorknob, turning it silently.

[i:aaba0b15b9]“Jesus, Stillman. I smelled you about ten minutes ago.”[/i:aaba0b15b9] Stillman scowled.

[i:aaba0b15b9]“And what [b:aaba0b15b9]were[/b:aaba0b15b9] you doing with that girl on the bike?”[/i:aaba0b15b9]

The Nosferatu replied petulantly, [i:aaba0b15b9]“Nuthin’”[/i:aaba0b15b9]

[i:aaba0b15b9]“Anyway. What’s up?”

“Got some gossip for you.”

“Spill.”

“Your swansong, Namaria. She’s got herself wrapped up in something dangerous. Some bigshot Ventrue is gunning for the crew she’s hanging with.”

“Typical. Where is she this time?“

“Well Schreknet is supposed to stay anonymous...”

“C’mon, Still. It’s me you’re talking to.”

“Denver. Ventrue is some high flier, murderous fuck called Emery. Heard of him?”

“Nope. And I don’t care to.”[/i:aaba0b15b9] Pace grinned before leaning back in his chair.

[i:aaba0b15b9]“Denver eh? Why can’t she stay local.”[/i:aaba0b15b9]