Part five: ghosts
By Richard LeBlanc
In his tower complex the next night - the Ventrue prince was listening to the report that was being given to him by one of his underlings. It wasn't something he wanted to hear.
"What - do you mean - he hasn't showed?" he demanded.
"When we hit the place last time - we found next to nothing. If he went back and saw the place ravaged - I doubt he would have returned," the underling stated.
"Their kind is very territorial. They don't wander far from the nest. Find out where Toenail is hiding - and bring him to me. That - rat - knows something more than he is letting on - and I will know all of it," he stated as the underling sighed and hurried away.
"The others of his clan will not be pleased with all of your attention in their sewers," one of the more elderly looking Ventrue stated. Esamuel looked over at him and shook his head.
"The city is mine. The right of Domain - is mine alone," he retorted.
"Explain that to them. Explain that to the Brujah that will run rampant and disrupt business - or the Gangrels - who might ally themselves with the Lupine sects. You are drawing a lot of lines in the sand and you are trapping yourself in a tiny box because of it. The snake had a point - running a city - is different from a family - a clan - or a business. If but one of the disgruntled calls out - or an Archon happens by the city. How will you explain to them how you have no council?" he asked.
"I have council - they just have no status," he rebutted.
"No status - no voice. I am loyal - and even I wouldn't buy that. You cannot treat Eco as your own company - treat it as a newly acquired one. The employees - are nervous about their place here - their future. It is your duty - to make sure that they think - and feel as though their piece of the pie - is as secure as it was - when that gutter trash Brujah ran the city," the elder stated. Esamuel sighed and shook his head.
"So you would have me renounce the edicts I have passed?" he asked in modest disbelief.
"You needn't revoke all - just your - harsh - treatment of the council. Remember - they are the union from the old company. Don't expect them to embrace you with open arms. This is a time of transition after all," the elder added.
"I don't like it," he muttered.
"You don't have to. How do you think that fool Axis acquired so much from so many? He took it a little at a time - the same way - you built your fortune. And while you are at it - get your agents out of the sewers," he stated.
"How will?" he began.
"You don't. You lost him - know when to walk away. We have been through this before. You moved to fast on the haven when you found it and came up empty. Live and learn. The time for damage control is at hand. Eco is a big city that needs many hands running it. If outside forces learn of your strife - how will you combat the menace without appropriate cannon fodder?" he replied seriously. The prince groaned and walked over to the window.
"As usual - you are right. Send an agent to each of my council - requesting an audience," he admitted reluctantly.
"It will be done," the elder stated as he bowed politely and left the room.
Later that night - all of the council - save Toenail was present before the prince. This time - instead of meeting in his tower - they met at the old Prince's meeting ground - the Royal Palace.
"This had better be good - my people are preparing for war," Man Basher warned.
"No doubt. I - wanted to apologize. My behavior - the other night - it was - unprofessional to say the least. I tried to run you people as I do my companies - something I know now - will not work," Esamuel stated seriously - surprising most.
"Is this going somewhere blue blood?" the Gangrel asked lowly - with a feral growl.
"Just this - the status that was taken away - is returned. This will be - a difficult transition for all of us," he began as Grater entered the room. "Hello Grater - where is Toenail?" he asked curiously.
"He feared for his safety - for some reason. So I am here as his voice," he replied.
"Feared? Safety?" the prince asked hesitantly.
"Yes - you see - his haven - it was ransacked by men in suits. Plus there have been odd happenings in the tunnels that have been declared - Nosforatu territory," Grater stated sternly.
"That? Okay - yes. I did have men in the sewers looking for him. And my people did find his haven. This is not common knowledge - but Axis - and a small band - of nameless kindred - did some deeds that were blatant violations of tradition. I mean - if word got out - the Inquisition would have come down on us all. Such is why I was seeking him - if someone had something on Axis - he of all people would know," he replied calmly.
"And your dealings in the asylums - hospitals?" Grater asked.
"Apparently - your mentor wasn't the only one in the know. Malkavians - they possess a special insight that many overlook due to their - special nature. I had hoped that Slap Happy and his crew could unearth some clue or lead - but it was not to be," he justified.
"You want peace with the Nosforatu - you stay out of our sewers and tunnels. We find any blue blood down there - it will be spilled," Grater stated seriously. Slap Happy stepped forward.
"You want peace with my people - we want the same," he added.
"Done. Gangrel - Brujah? Is there a way to end this peacefully - or must it be war?" he asked curiously. The Gangrel stalked over and towered over the stone faced Ventrue prince.
"Ventrue - has nothing we desire. But if you do not presume station over us - we will remain - neutral," he stated with a snort - he then stalked away from the prince. Man Basher looked at the others and then over at the prince.
"Still want war?" the prince asked.
"Try me," she retorted.
"I don't want that. I want a unified city," he stated as he snapped his fingers. One of his minions walked over and handed an envelope to him. "I would never be so presumptuous as to presume to buy the loyalty of the Brujah. I am not that foolish. But here," he stated as he extended the envelope to the Brujah Primogen. She hesitantly opened it and slid out the documents within.
"Deeds - these are all of Axis' old haunts," she stated as she looked through the twenty deeds and certificates.
"The banks were going to foreclose on them - I bought them. Know that even though - Eco is now - a Ventrue city - there will always be a place in it - for the Brujah," he stated diplomatically. She shook her head and stormed out of the room. "Well - that went better than I thought," he added with a smirk.
"Does the blood hunt still stand?" Slap Happy asked.
"On Skamms - yes. He is still a threat to my city. He has still violated the traditions time and time again. He will not play by the rules - and he is too dangerous to be allowed to run free. The hunt stands - and the fate of the hunt - will be shared with any that aid him in evading my justice. We must move forward - to make Eco even better than it was before - but to do so - we must step away from the past," he justified.
"Okay - fair enough. But exactly how are we supposed to bring him down? Axis tried just about every trick he knew to get his mitts on the boy and came up empty - and that is overlooking some of the crazy shit that he has pulled off," Slap Happy stated seriously.
"If I may - he is not as all powerful as many believe. When he took down the demon - he was in the possession of a rare and powerful artifact. As he was when he took down the Fay Tinker Geddon," the Tremere Primogen replied calmly.
"What about when he took down the Dreamers and Iron Fist punks? How did he walk through that napalm fire wash unscathed? Some of us can take a little heat - but not that much," the Gangrel asked. The Tremere looked away and reluctantly sat down.
"The kindred Skamms - will not become less dangerous as time goes by - he will become more powerful and harder to deal with. We have no records of any kind about him - just hearsay and rumors that the boy could have started himself to confuse the masses. There is no rhyme or reason to what he does or why. If he was messed up enough to take down an Archon - what is to stop him - from visiting your Chantry - or the theatre - the answer - nothing," Esamuel replied.
"He has no reason to come at us. If he did - he would have done so already. I understand where you are coming from Banks - and why you have made this happen. But the only one at risk - is you," Slap Happy stated.
"Me?" he replied.
"Yes. Even if you had no hand in the death of the old prince - he wanted the old prince bad - and he will think you did it. And we have heard time and time again - that if anyone tried to deal with Axis - they would have to deal with him. Do as you must Banks. But leave me and my clan - out of it," Slap Happy said calmly.
"Fair enough - but you are not to offer him sanctuary," he retorted.
"In all his time here - never has he come to me," he rebutted.
"He never needed to," he replied.
"Noted," Slap Happy stated as he walked out of the room.
"You think he listened?" Glare asked.
"I doubt it. He still believes that I am trying to weed his clan out of Eco but we can hope," he replied as he returned his attention to the rest of the council.
Moments later - at the hospital that Slap happy called home - he returned. He casually slipped by the unattentive personal until he reached the area that he called his. He walked over to his broken wall mirror and looked at his distorted reflection.
"Was wondering when you would get here," a familiar voice stated. Slap Happy tensed up. His eyes panned from one shard to the next until he saw the faint reflection of a person sitting on a desk behind him.
"How did you find my place?" he asked calmly.
"Knew about it for a while. You aren't as subtle as you like to think," the person stated.
"Never thought you would come here," Slap Happy commented. The lights in the room flickered until they went on. The reflection was clear. Skamms was behind him. he slowly turned and saw the Malkavian holding a shotgun across his lap.
"Been out of the loop for a bit - wanted to find someone in the know - you were the closest to where I was," he replied. He hopped up and walked over to where the Primogen was and smiled.
"What - is the last thing you remember?" he asked.
"Dunno. Everything after I tussled with that Thor guy is a blur," he answered.
"Then - you haven't heard?" he asked.
"Heard what?" he asked. Almost instantly - Skamms was stone cold serious.
"About the prince?" Slap Happy asked.
"What about him?" Skamms asked.
"He was assassinated - cut down," Slap Happy replied. All color drained from Skamms. The gun fell from his hand as he slowly walked over to the far wall. The reaction completely surprised the Primogen.
"He's gone?" he asked hesitantly.
"Yeah - that Ventrue guy - he took over," Slap Happy answered. Skamms shook his head and walked over to where he had dropped his gun.
"Great. So when did he call the blood hunt on my ass?" he asked.
"You know about that?" he asked.
"My people told me he wanted a piece of me after that Thor thing went down. He is up to something - oh ho - the naughty boy," he muttered as a smirk appeared on his face.
"What?" Slap Happy hesitantly asked.
"He must have had some part in the dealing with Axis. If he did - his ass is mine," he began as he stormed towards the exit. Before he got there - Slap Happy rushed over and grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Easy big guy - blood hunt in effect," he reminded.
"Where is the sheriff? Claws?" he asked.
"He - was with the prince," he answered.
"How quaint. Forget you saw me," Skamms stated to the Primogen. Slap Happy groaned and fell unconscious to the floor. Skamms looked down at him and shook his head. "This is going to be messy," he added as he vanished into the shadows of the room.
To be continued...
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