Chapter three: can we be friends?
By Richard LeBlanc
The Wealthy Traveler - a high end hotel that caters to the cream of society. Throughout the entire world there are only six cities that can claim that they are affluent enough to be able to afford such a place - Eco, coincidentally just happens to be one of them.
In the garbage room in the basement of the Wealthy Traveler a scraped and bruised Snapps slowly pulled himself out from the garbage and flopped down to the floor below.
"I - hurt..." he slurred. He concentrated to the best of his ability to heal his more serious wounds - but even still, the pain was intense. He pulled himself up from the floor and limped towards the marked exit.
"Hurry! He mustn't escape!" a somewhat distant voice shouted from the other side. Snapps rolled his eyes in disbelief. He just woke up and already someone was after him.
"Not good - not good." He muttered as he scanned the room for another possible way out. He looked over and saw a window - it was a little high up - not to mention kind of small. He looked over at the shoot that was above the dumpster he fell in.
"A - or B." he muttered.
***
Moments later, the three women that were guarding upstairs arrived at the door. One tried to move it, but it was securely locked. The three smiled - he hadn't escaped. Just then they heard the sound of glass shattering - all smiles instantly vanished.
"The window!" one exclaimed. She placed her hand on the door and concentrated. Just then the metal door shattered inward. When the smoke cleared they saw bloody handprints that led up to the window. The three hurried over. As soon as they got there they saw someone run around the corner.
"Shit! If that brat gets loose - it will ruin everything!" one stated.
"Then we won't let that happen. Let's go!" one of the others stated as they hurried out of the room. Seconds later, the shoot began to rattle a bit. Just then Snapps was knocked down by several small bags of garbage.
"Ow?that hurt." He mumbled as he dug himself out of the dumpster again. As soon as his feet touched the floor he heard the sound of someone giggling.
"Oh - man - what now?" he asked hesitantly. He looked over at the tied up bags of garbage and saw a teenage girl exit from where she was hiding.
"That was funny." She said with a smile.
"Painful too." He retorted. He walked over and studied the girl.
"So - you?" he began nonchalantly. She giggled again and revealed her fangs. Snapps looked at the shards of metal that littered the floor, that earlier was once a metal door.
"Friends of yours?" he asked.
"No. They're too mean. They are all so serious about everything." She replied with disgust. Snapps shook his head and sighed.
"Sounds like you'd appreciate a good joke." He commented.
"Hmm? What do you got in mind?" she asked.
"Well, let's talk about it away from here. The last thing I want is for me to end up like that door." He suggested.
"Okay, by the way - I'm Pretty." She introduced.
"I'll give you that - so who are you?" he asked.
"Pretty." She replied.
"I know you are - but what's your name?" he asked.
"Pretty - my name is Pretty." She clarified.
"If your name is pretty - what is it?" he asked.
"P-r-e-t-t-y - that is my name." She spelled out.
"OH! Okay - I get it. I'm Snapps." He replied with a snap of his fingers. The two shook hands and then looked at the possible means of escape.
"I tried the shoot - bad idea." He stated.
"We'll use the window." She replied. He was going to comment when he began to float up. He looked over and saw Pretty smiling.
"How do you do that?" he asked curiously.
"Clan secret - out you go." She replied. Snapps floated through the broken window without so much as another scratch. Seconds later, she fly threw the window as well.
"We really should get going." She stated.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because those people that are hunting for you are also looking for me. I don't think I need to explain why I don't want to be found." She answered seriously.
"Hey, that's cool by me. So, where do you want to go?" he asked.
"I've only been here a short while. I tried to run away but that witch Julia was chasing me so I doubled back and hid in the garbage room. I figured that would be the last place they would look. Do you know your way around the city?" she asked innocently.
"About as well as the next person." He replied.
"How about it then? Will you be my date?" she teased with a smile.
"Well, when you put it like that - how can I refuse?" he replied sarcastically. Pretty began to giggle as she held onto his arm.
"Hopefully you can't." she answered.
"So much to see and do - where to begin? Ah, I know - let's get a bite to eat. I saw a bar a fair distance away that makes a real Bloody Mary." He suggested with a lunatic smile.
"Sounds like fun." She replied with a smile. The two continued to talk as they made their way out of the alley and discreetly made their way away from the Wealthy Traveler.
***
On the far side of Eco, far away from where Snapps and Pretty were, a large group of rugged looking men were gathered around a large campfire. All of them had been impatiently waiting since the sun had set that night.
"Damn it! Where is that bastard Ace? He was supposed to be here by now." One biker cursed loudly. Others began to voice similar concerns. Just then, the sound of a shotgun firing - silenced all of the voices. They all looked over and saw a large seven-foot tall man. In one hand he held a smoking shotgun - in the other a blood stained battleaxe that was five feet tall.
"Samson? What's wrong?" one among the group asked.
"Wrong? Wrong? One of my numbers has gone off to recruit - done so against my wishes. I know of Ace - are there any others?" the large man demanded. None dared speak.
"Do you know what happened to Ace?" one asked.
"Huh. The dumb bastard got what he deserved. When I learned of his sneaking off - I had my retainers follow him to the place they call the Warzone. He got into a fight with some local hotshot and won - then got into another fight and was taken apart." He replied coldly.
"Who did it?" another asked.
"Some Anarch named Skamms. From what I was told - Skamms recognized Ace as soon as he saw his face. That means he is either in with those whore-queen Dreamers - or our good friend the Archon learned where we are." Samson replied as he walked over to where the fire was. Just the mention of their wretched name caused an anger to burn in all of them.
"Is it true that the whore-queen known as Mother is actually within this city?" a voice asked seriously. Samson scowled and glared at the flames. Of all of the people that he had hated - none were more so that her.
"Of that I have no doubt. She's here - I can feel her like an approaching sickness. I will find her if I have to siege this stupid city - piece by piece - brick by brick - building by building - there is no where she can hide from me! The time for our vengance is almost upon us! Death to the whore-queen Dreamers!" Samson screamed out. Everyone chanted the same.
***
Back where Snapps and pretty were, the two had just run out of the bar after he had pulled one of his pranks. The two stopped running and took cover in an alley.
"That was cool." She said with a smile.
"I don't know - I still say I should have dotted the eyes." He remarked with a chuckle. He removed the bloody pen from his pocket and tossed it into a garbage can.
"I can't remember the last time I had this much fun." She commented.
"I try my best." He playfully replied. He was more than a little surprised when she put her arms around his shoulders and moved closer to him.
"Uh-what are you doing?" he asked nervously.
"You were alive once - you tell me." she replied. When she saw how he was shaking, she slowly stepped back. She looked at the timid looking teen before her and sighed.
"You never...?" she began.
"Uh-uh." He replied timidly.
"Never had a girlfriend?" she asked. He shook his head.
"Why?" she asked.
"Mom and dad were pretty strict about that sort of stuff." He answered quietly. Pretty reached forward and gently held his hand. The Malkavian watched as she moved his hand to her face and lightly kissed the palm of his hand.
"Old fashioned guys are kind of rare in today's society." She whispered. She released the hand and watched as Snapps slowly moved the hand before him and studied the spot that had lipstick on it.
"I just want to have fun Snapps. We won't let this get any more serious than you want okay?" she asked playfully with a wink. Snapps smiled and snapped himself out of his funk.
"Fun is what I'm about. Wanna play in traffic? Play dead in the cemetery? Mess up some crime scenes?" he suggested. Hearing him go on like this made her smile.
"How about we prank some people? I have this great idea involving a poison dart frog - a bubble machine - and a rock concert of your choice." She replied. Snapps whistled at the possibility.
"Wow - you have one of those?" he asked.
"I smuggled it in when me and the others had to leave the last place we were at. Pick a concert big boy and we can have us some real fun." She answered.
"I hear Kiss is having another tour. Should be in the city in three weeks. Promises to be huge - oh god - that would be so perfect!" he said with a mad giggle.
"It's a date." She added. She skipped out from the alley and froze.
"There she is!" a voice shouted. She ducked back in.
"It's them!" she muttered.
"Hit me with this and then jump in the dumpster." Snapps suggested. She looked over and saw him holding a garbage can lid. She nodded, grabbed the lid and slammed it against his face. He fell down, she dived into the dumpster - the three that were hunting for Skitts rounded the corner and saw the teen sprawled out in the alley not three seconds later.
"Where did she go?" one demanded.
"Ow - the bitch hit me and ran that way." He replied as he pointed to the far end of the alley. The three nodded and hurried away. Once he was sure that they were gone, he crawled over and lightly tapped on the dumpster and slowly pulled himself up.
"Quick thinking." She whispered.
"I try my best." He replied. Before he could say anything she reached forward and lightly kissed him on the lips. When she pulled away, he fell to the ground.
"We'll have to do this again sometime." She commented. She hopped out and looked down at the unmoving Malkavian. The kiss he was clearly not expecting.
"See you at the concert - three weeks." She whispered as she hurried away. A few moments later, Snapps slowly came to his senses. He looked around, but Pretty was gone. He looked in the dumpster but she wasn't there.
I wonder where she went. He thought.
***
In the Royal Palace, the Archon that had informed the prince of the current situation in the city had returned.
"Let me guess - you were misinformed - they aren't in the city." Axis sarcastically stated. The Archon smiled and shook his head. He walked over and sat down at his table.
"The situation is worse than we first believed." He replied.
"What a surprise." He retorted.
"This is no joking matter Axis." He stated.
"Do you see me laughing? Ever since you got here - I have been in the dark. I have been told barely enough information to get the job done - and I don't have the manpower to do anything about it because you told me to be wary of who I tell. If that is your idea of a punch line - fuck the joke." He replied.
"I told you all I was allowed to say at the time. Do you want the news - or do you want me to leave?" the Archon asked seriously. Axis glared at the Archon but shook his head.
"What have you got for me?" he asked seriously.
"We were expecting the odd handful of Kindred from both sides in the city by our counts maybe fifty total - the numbers have doubled and we are expecting more to rally here by the end of the week. To make matters worse, these aren't the young inexperienced ones either." He began. Axis watched as the Archon took some dossiers out from a briefcase.
"People you know?" he asked curiously.
"People we want dead. Remember how I said that these clans had destroyed several cities? Two people were the ringleaders of all that destruction. All of the stats we have are here. The first one is of the Iron Fist line. He goes by the alias Samson. Weapons of choice - shotgun and a battleaxe. He stands seven feet tall - weighs upwards of three hundred fifty pounds - and is by our records - seventh Gen. possibly lower." He began as he handed the file over to Axis. The prince studied the picture of an old wanted poster and a more current Polaroid of him in action.
"Looks like a handful." Axis stated.
"He is. Two Archons fell trying to bring that bastard down. That's why I am trying to do this the right way. I have no qualms about sacrificing my life to stop him - but if I do, I want to make sure that he stays stopped." He replied.
"Two?" Axis stated in modest disbelief.
"This is a serious issue. It goes deeper than the violations in the Traditions - it goes deeper than the extreme loss of life, profit and resources - this has become personal. One of the Archons that fell was childer to the Justicar himself." The Archon added.
"Shit. Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asked.
"As I said before - I told you all I was allowed to say at the time. Plus we weren't aware that he and his friend were in the city. His rival and enemy as we'll call her is a Dreamer that goes by the alias Mother. Her weapons of choice - manipulated pawns. She seeks out the rare and dangerous types of people and uses them like human torpedoes. She is about five feet tall and weighs about one twenty. Our records say that she is the same Gen. as Samson - possibly lower." He continued as he handed the second dossier over to the prince. As soon as he opened it up, he almost fell off his chair.
"What's wrong? Have you seen her?" he asked seriously.
"They could have been sisters..." Axis stated in disbelief.
"Explain." The Archon requested.
"Mother here is the spitting image of our old Tremere Primogen Nenia?" Axis stated. His mind flashed back to the outburst caused by Skamms.
"That's why she chose this city then. She could walk around almost unnoticed by any of your circle. When did your Nenia perish?" the Archon asked.
"Around a month or so ago." He replied.
"Have there been any sightings of her?" he asked.
"Just one - a Malkavian. Said that she was talking to him the other day." Axis replied seriously as his mind played back that scenario again.
"He reliable?" the Archon asked.
"Anything but. The only thing that he can be reliable for is being a complete and total pain in the ass. The punk goes by the alias Skamms." He answered seriously.
"Sounds serious - is it?" he asked.
"More confusing than serious. He said that he hates me and that he wants me dead, but on two separate occasions he has saved Eco - almost single handedly at that." He replied.
"Probably just trying to keep you off balance." The Archon stated.
"He's doing a good job of it." He admitted.
"If all you say is accurate, Mother must have chose him then." The Archon stated.
"She would have chosen wisely then." Axis stated.
"Why?" he asked.
"My sheriff is on talking terms with the self proclaimed anarch king. According to him, Skamms was in love with Nenia." He replied. The Archon shook his head.
"Not good. You have to find him and find him fast. If half of what you have told me is true, if she gets him to believe she is his Nenia - that boy will be a nightmare unlike any you have seen." The Archon warned.
"He already is." Axis retorted.
"Think of everything that he has done thus far - now imagine his rage more focused - his anger sharper - his only goal - destroy the Iron Fist at any cost. I have seen and faced people that were under her power - trust me, you have not seen him at his worse." He retorted.
"Great. So how do I get him here to explain this? I've tried summoning him on three separate occasions, he either evaded me or ignored it - I've sent people to track him down, every time they do, they lose him or they go missing - nothing seems to work." Axis replied.
"I'll put in a call to my boss and tell him the situation. With the numbers that are involved, back up will definitely be required. Whatever your efforts were in trying to find Skamms - double them. Good day to you sire. When next we see each other - I hope I will have better news to bring." The Archon stated as he got up and walked away. Once he was Axis shook his head.
"If there is a god - I won't ever see you again." He muttered in disgust as he began to look over the two dossiers that the Archon had left.
To be continued...
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