OOM - Fangtasia, Eric's office

[onceaviking]

Dusk falls.

Eric is still seated in his chair. Blood is dripping from his nostrils and his ears. His eyes.
Occasionally, he dabs at his face with a towel from the staff bathroom. It was white. Once.

The first couple of hours had been spent in a state of near panic.
He'd made a gambit - and he had no idea whether he had lost or won. He'd only exposed himself because he'd hoped that the threat to The Authority itself would be enough to persuade them to go after Edgington.

The hesitation was - worrisome.

A fair hearing. Was it Nora perhaps? Trying to persuade the others?
Or had she turned her back on him, disgusted by his weakness?

And Pam?

And then he hadn't been able to think for a while. Pam.

But he was calm now.

There was a possibility that they would pin it on him. He was already in captivity and in bad standing.
But he would meet his end unflinchingly.
He would not look away.

And he would talk with Pam. This was his fate, not hers. She would have to go on. Continue their line.
Godric's line.

And now he is here. And it is almost time.

Comments

[lazy_but_loyal]

Guards are still posted at every doorway in the bar. Pam thinks it's overkill. This is what their tax dollars are paying for.

When Eric sits down, she sweeps her hand across the back of his shoulders before perching on a stool at the neighboring table.

And then they wait.


Outside, the parking lot is lined with armed guards. They're also waiting.

In due time, two glossy black luxury SUVs pull in. More V-Feds exit them, along with Nan Flanagan. She's looking somewhat less severe tonight, in a gray business suit and her hair down, but she is no less in a bitchy mood.

She confers with one of the guards, who confirms that Eric is indeed still inside.

[onceaviking]

And on a rooftop nearby is a pale presence with dark eyes filled with madness.
Cradling a lidded, crystal urn filled with a startlingly red and sluggish liquid. Caressing it with his gloved hands. Pressing his lips to it now and again. Soft, doting kisses.

"Is he inside? Oh, Talbot, Talbot. Look," the mad King whispers to his dead lover. His lips close to the glass.

"The American Vampire League protects your murderer. Perhaps they even sent him."

Yes, yes, yes, that makes sense.

He exhales softly as it all becomes clear to him.

"Oh. They will suffer for their sins, my beloved. I swear to you they will suffer."

And he laughs as he sobs as he soars, into the darkness.

They will suffer.

[dobadthings]

There's an odd gust of wind, a soft sound of rushing air. Perhaps a distant echo of laughter.

Nan glances upward.

Fucking weather.

A guard holds open the door to the club and Nan walks inside.

"You look like shit," she greets Eric.

[onceaviking]

He's low in his chair, resting his arms (and most of his body, and almost his head) on the table, but as Nan enters, he pushes himself upright.

"Well, I feel fantastic," he replies. Sarcastically.

He does look like shit.
But he is calm.

Either they agree that Edgington is a threat and throw their full might at him. Or -

He hopes they won't make Pam watch.
He She couldn't bear it.

(frozen)

[dobadthings]

The faster Nan can get away from Eric's sarcasm, the better. So she unfolds a sheet of paper. It has an official letterhead on it.

"The ruling is as follows," she says straightforwardly, glancing from Eric to Pam, and back down at the letter. "The Authority disavows any knowledge of our interview, your statement, or indeed, this ruling itself. None of this ever happened."

...And suddenly Pam sits up a little straighter, a bewildered what the fuck expression on her face. She looks from Nan to Eric. Did she just hear that right?

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

Pam's bewilderment is nothing compared to Eric's.
Nan's words make no sense at all.
At all.

He looks up at her, borderline slack jawed.
"What?"

(frozen)

[dobadthings]

Nan folds the letter back up, seemingly done with this whole situation.

"Missing royals, dead magisters -- it's a political tarbaby no one wants to touch," she explains. "Not with the VRA this close to ratification."

In other words, they're claiming ignorance. It's none of their business and it's not their responsibility.

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

Eric automatically holds out his hand as Nan hands him the neatly folded letter.

Then he gets up off the chair, scanning it quickly, as he strides away.

She's right. That is what it says.
But it makes no fucking sense.

He turns, looking straight at her.
"Russell will not stop killing," he says.
Why don't they understand?

"What if the human public finds out?"
Surely, they gotta care about that.

(frozen)

[dobadthings]

And she looks him straight in the eye.

"That's why you're going to take care of it."

Her tone is low and even, almost patient. As if she's graciously giving this opportunity to him instead of dumping it on him.

"Quietly. Discreetly. And most important of all, completely off the books."

She takes the letter back.

"You wanted revenge? It's yours."

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

He is reeling.

This is not at all what he had prepared himself for.

But now the opportunity is there. Now he can plan. If they give him command of just a handful or two of their best people ..

"What resources ado I get?" he asks.

(frozen)

[dobadthings]

"None," she says, back to no-nonsense, and she starts walking away from Eric, heading for the exit.

"We're not getting near it."

The whole claiming ignorance thing. It's what a bureaucracy does best.

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

"How do you expect me to kill him?" he asks, sounding both frustrated and disbelieving.
"He is three times my age!"

He's never voiced this in front of Pam before. His doubts.

(frozen)

[dobadthings]

That's when Nan's carefully controlled semblance of patience comes undone, and she turns on him like a viper.

"Listen, you whiny little bitch," she snaps coldly, staring him in the face.

"The only link between Sophie-Anne, Russell, and the Magister is you. You brought us this steaming pile of shit, and you're going to make it go away. Bring me his fangs -- or I will have yours."

With that ultimatum, she whips around and stalks toward the exit, leaving even more pissed off than when she arrived, and the V-Feds follow her and file out of the nightclub. The door slams shut behind them.


Pam is left stunned. If Nan wasn't in the position she's in, she would've gotten her head ripped off before she could finish saying the word bitch.

She looks to Eric.

Technically, their situation has not improved.

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

In reality, their situation have just gotten a lot worse, as far as Eric is concerned.

He is back to looking stunned.
And worn. And pale.

He runs both hands over his face and mutters, "I fucking Hates Nan Flanagan.

But even that emotion feels -weak.
He's numb.

Pam shouldn't have seen this.

(frozen)

[lazy_but_loyal]

Pam slowly turns in her seat to rest both elbows on the table. She presses her fingers to her lips, staring at Eric.

And with a flick of her eyelashes, she shifts her gaze away, toward nothing in particular, her brows knitted in deep, deep worry.

"Oh my god," she whispers.

"What are we gonna do?"

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

"I'll take care of it," he says. Automatically.

He'll have to see about having that will drawn up. It was a good thing Jay stopped by.

"I'll -"
He turns abruptly and walk over to where she is seated, to put his arms around her.
"I'll take care of it."
And then, after a short pause, "I need to feed."

(frozen)

[lazy_but_loyal]

She barely moves when he wraps his arms around her, only leaning back against his body and covering one of his hands with hers.

He'll take care of it.

He doesn't sound too sure of how exactly he's going to take care of it. That's probably more worrisome than anything.

She turns her head and looks up at him. He's extremely pale, his arms heavy and lethargic.

"Then let's get out of here. It'll buy us some more time."

And to think they'd only just returned from Milliways. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

(frozen)

[onceaviking]

"Yes, let's," he says, giving her a final squeeze.

It'll buy him a little time. He needs to think.

(frozen)

[lazy_but_loyal]

She nods, her palm sliding over his forearm as he lets her go, and she slips off the stool.

Together they head for Eric's office -- and a different kind of sanctuary, one at the end of the universe.