RP Log | Another Hitch in the Road

[histhornedrose]

[With lotterylucky, obscuritenoire, histhornedrose & loganthebrave | Follows THIS]

Buffy was becoming starkly aware that no one had said anything, but what was there to say. She just sat there with her jaw hanging open as she took in the fact that Logan Buchanan really did share his brother's genes, and then some. Their parents had to have been ridiculously good looking. And now, come to think of it, she was pretty sure Rory had never mentioned parents let alone a brother. A brother who was still waiting for someone to say something. She looked behind her at Riley who just looked like he wanted to pass out, and then glanced to where Graham was protecting Blaise and Juliette.

She stood up to nudge him out of the way a little. "Hey, just stand down, okay? This is Rory's brother. Does he look like he's ready to do some damage." Buffy moved over to Logan, ignoring the military escort he seemed to have picked up as she held out her hand. "Buffy Summers. I'm a friend of Rory's. Forgive the sudden lack of ability to speak on pretty much everyone's behalf but you're kind of a new twist in the Rory tale. One of those things no one was expecting. Rory hit Riley in the head. He usually is a lot smarter than this."


Juliette's eyes narrowed as she breathed in deep, trying to see if the new arrival smelt anything like Rory. Rory had a brother, and he'd never mentioned it. For all his need for there to be truth, he had never once mentioned the rest of his family. She turned her head to look at Riley. "Did you know about this?"

"Obviously nay, lassie. He's looking like he's been smacked in the face with a dead fish," Logan pointed out, unphased. He took the blonde woman's hand and shook it, needing to actually bite down on the inside of his cheek to fight temptation to pull the piss out of her name. Surely that was a hooker's name? She couldn't be offended if he asked her that, right? Hookers could be upper class these day. Or maybe she was a Singing Telegram. Now that would be cool. "Logan. Pleasure to meet you, Buffy Summers. I would say any friend of Rory's is a friend of mine but I doubt he'd give me that much leeway into his life. Look, I'm nay here to cause anyone any trouble. I just want to see my brother, make sure he's okay, and know why the hell he's unconscious in a military hospital. Oh, and to suggest that you fix the coffee machine down the hall. What's a laddie got to do to get a caffeine hit around here?" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a badge, holding it up once he released Buffy's hand. "Agent Buchanan, British SIS. You will give me the information I want, by the way."

Riley decided that someone on his team was going to pay for this, when he had the strength to deal with it. Who the hell was letting British National Security into their department without prior authorisation? Beyond squeaking 'What the fucking hell?!', Riley's brain was hitting a brick wall here... proverbially this time, thankfully. Why had Rory not mentioned a brother in SIS... in MI6, no less, from what Riley could see of the badge. There was no doubt this guy was Rory's brother. They looked very alike, had very similar eyes, and sounded so much alike, it was scary. "Who alerted you to his presence here, Agent Buchanan? I believe he has Airlie MacKenzie listed as his next of kin. There has been no mentions of family members."

Blaise chose to remain silent at this point. This man had some sort of Kindred signature on him, even if it was faint. In fact, it was probably something only Blaise himself would pick up on as Prince. He fought the urge to roll his eyes and rub his head at the mess this could potentially all dump them in. It seemed intriguingly odd that Rory would not mention a brother in any way. There had to have been ample opportunities to discuss the matter. A Kindred friend is brought into the circle, but no family. He could sense, however, that there was no immediate threat. "It is okay, solider. He is no threat," Blaise told Graham, and placed his hand on Juliette's arm to reassure her this would be okay. Whatever happened, the new arrival was right. There would be very little Riley could do to prevent access to Rory by a blood relative.

"Cheers, Mr President," Logan offered in return, figuring he had to be a politician of some sort if he was getting military protection. "Nice shirt, by the way. Cannae ever pull off silver, me. You must have the lassies creaming their panties over you, bro. And I'm sure you have very lovely panties too, Mrs President," he added with a nod of greeting to the brunette. But his attention turned firmly back to the Sergeant. "It was Miss MacKenzie who advised me of his presence, Serg. There's been nay mention of Elton John, either, but doesnae mean he doesnae exist."

Buffy bristled as Juliette was automatically assumed to be Mrs President and she clenched her jaw as she folded her arms under her chest. The mate thing she got, of course she did. Only apparently even an outsider could see that Buffy and Blaise clearly didn't fit as the perfect couple. She arched an eyebrow as she tried to ignore Juliette and Blaise for a moment, her gaze back on Logan. "How come Airlie didn't tell us Rory had a brother?" British Intelligence no less. Buffy's stomach clenched with a cold dread, not sure how this was ever going to end well. She was hardly about to assume a brother of Rory's didn't know about Kindred, but if he didn't, then this visit was going to get interesting.

Juliette caught Buffy's instant flare of jealousy and tried not to smile in amusement. Mortals could be so amusing with their emotions sometimes. She kept her hands to herself instead of touching Blaise in turn, also keenly aware that the brother would soon learn of Juliette's affection for Rory. How was that to be taken if she was seen to be intimate with Blaise? Even if he was her mate. "Because we are not so close to him as to be worthy of knowing, hm? Because Rory evidently wanted to keep it a secret, and so his best friend kept it for him. At least I assume that is how it goes?"

Logan threw up his hands. "Hey, hey, there, lassie. Just you damn well wait and quit making assumptions about my brother, aye. It doesnae have anything to do with that, and what is this all assuming he's being a bastard? What's this worthy bullshit? It isnae anything like that. Rory doesnae speak to us so much. Airlie has always known to call us if anything serious happens to him, as she's done. She lives near him and sees him often, we dinnae." He shot the brunette woman a look. "I doubt he's been deliberatably keeping anything a secret. I'm just guessing you all didnae ask. Some friends," he snorted.

Riley tilted his head little and couldn't help but nod in agreement. He knew for a fact he hadn't thought to ask Rory if he had family, but then, he met the guy face-to-face all of three times, and there was the whole awkward mutal sleeping with Buffy thing to keep them occupied. It did amuse him, however, how forward Rory's brother was. Maybe there needed to be more of that around this place. He had to fight not to giggle-snort at the President thing too, and Buffy's obvious annoyance with the fact. "Rory was attacked by people we have on a close security watch. As you can understand, I am unable to release you details, however you could probably access records if you needed them. He is here to try and avert suspicion from the faction responsible, however we are hoping he will go and stay with Monsieur Richelieu here, at his estate on the outskirts of Paris."

When Rory's brother turned and pierced Blaise with an intense gaze at this, a small smirk played on the corner of Blaise's lips. It was either recognition or sheer brotherly protectiveness at play here. Perhaps a mix of both. "He is more than welcome. Buffy and her friends are already staying. As is Miss MacKenzie. I believe he would be best protected there."

Buffy shook her head. "For the record, there have been questions about family, but obviously not the right sorts of questions. I know you're probably asking yourself why, but Blaise's place really is the safest option for Rory right now. And you can look us up or do whatever you need to do to try and get some idea of him being safe with us. Well, kinda safe. The attack clearly not looking like a good result here, and I'll just shut up now, okay? And just so you know, those attempted murder charges were totally dropped." Buffy covered her hand with her mouth as she moved away from everyone a little bit to make sure she did keep her mouth shut. Graham shot her another look and it was all she could do not to just kick his shins, or flip him off.

Juliette held a hand up. "Je suis desole, mon ami. I did not mean to imply anything about your brother. I was making assumptions and it was wrong of me. Now that you are here, we of course extend the invitation to you, Monsieur Buchanan to stay with us, and your brother."

Logan rested his tongue between his lips for a moment and then cleared his throat, shaking his head. "Nay, it's fine. But cheers for the offer. My partner and I are in town on business anyway, we're staying at accommodation in the city centre." He looked back at the blonde. "Attempted murder charges? Okay, who wants to take a number to convince me why I should leave my brother here and nay take him to a more secure government hospital ASAP? C'mon. It can be like Britain's Got Talent. You can each take a turn to convince me why my wee brother would be better off staying in the company of a bunch of strangers who have already managed to get him nearly killed? It's only answers I want, nay blood," he felt the urge to add, quirking an eyebrow slightly.

Shit, ass, fuck, damn, and more shit, Riley thought to himself. He did not need roadblocks like this. And why was he getting a feeling the brother knew about Kindred? There was something in the way he looked at Blaise, and they couldn't discount the Airlie factor, nor the fact he had just flippantly mentioned blood. But Riley couldn't make the mistake of a deep assumption like that. If he was wrong, it could open a really nasty can of worms that would be outside Riley's realm of control. "They're not strangers. I am, for sure, but the rest, they're friends. In fact, I'm pretty sure he had fucked two of the women in this room. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but really... not strangers."

Blaise closed his eyes briefly, keeping his cool despite Riley's painful attempt to keep his. Surely there could have been a way to resolve this without mentioning how many penises had been inside Buffy lately? In fact, even though he was Kindred and didn't need to breath, a small huff of a breath exited him and he kept his gaze on the Scot. If he looked elsewhere, he would definitely have a lot more to say on the fact. "And considering there is only two women in the room, that's some record," he added cynically.

"Look, enough about who slept with who. This is not about someone's extremely personal record that shouldn't even be brought up as much as it has, okay? This about someone that we all care about. Well, most of us. You want proof he should stay with us? Fine, here's my audition - I've known Rory for a couple of months now, and my best friend is dating his best friend. I earned his trust. It wasn't easy, but I did. I am his friend, I do care about him." Buffy's hands dropped from under her chest and she let them hang loosely by her side and avoided the urge to point. "And since Buchanans appreciate honestly, I freely admit that this could probably all get put back on me since I made him drive up here. We're all still trying to find the answers. That's why we're here. Only none of it can happen while Rory's trying to beat the crap outta anyone and anything put near him."

Juliette sat back down, but made sure she was still facing Logan as much as she could. Her green eyes flicked to each person in the room. "It was my fault. Riley's already made that quite plain, and I'm sure Rory will believe the same thing. I denied him entrance to our home, so he was forced to pull over when he could have just been safe inside. You may not want blood, but the people that went after your brother did."

Logan just blinked, his blue eyes bouncing back and forth between the two women. He couldn't deny he was impressed at the Buchanan prowess to have bedded both of them, but that wasn't a relevant point to his thought process. "You refused him entrance to your home? Yet, now the guilt trip has set in, you're changing your mind and you actually want him to come play happy families?" he shook his head and started to back away to the door. "Sorry, cannae buy that game. Nay buying it. Taking my brother... wellll away," he decided succinctly, already pulling his cell phone out of his pocket to try and make arrangements.

"That was my error, Agent Buchanan. I believed there was another external threat, and Rory got caught up in it. Juliette made an accidental and premature mistake in response to my own concerns, but I can assure you, she has your brother's best interests at heart. Very much so. Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to see him first before you make any rash decisions. I believe his health is in a percarious situation at the moment, and moving him to another foreign facility for no reason could only serve to confuse him more, non? Especially by your own admission that you and he do not speak often. Perhaps I can sit down with you and your partner to discuss the matter further?" Blaise suggested calmly. "Right now, there are a lot of mixed emotions at play here, most prominently concern about your brother. If you wish to take him to another facility, then please at least do so via correct avenues and with the authority of Sergeant Finn."

Logan turned around again with a sigh. "Hate to break it to you, mate, but as National Security, and my brother a British citizen, my authority outranks anyone's in this faciltiy. But please, forgive me for lacking confidence in any of your supposed care for him. Here we have a chick who supposedly had attemped murder charges again her, and another turning Rory oot on his arse for an error of judgement? Two guys who cannae tell me what happened without trying to run me aroond in circles with curly speech that doesnae tell me anything at-fucking-all. All I want is one of you to give me a reason why I should leave him in your care. Why you would even want him to be, after what you've all been saying."

Buffy came up beside Blaise and slipped her hand into his to give it a soft squeeze. "Can you please just tell him the truth? Even if he sees his brother, there's still going to be a need for explanations while Rory's knocked out."

Logan held his hand up quickly before anyone took it upon themselves to proverbially piss their pants. "Dinnae. I know the truth. Or I can guess. Our Airlie, and the Prince of Fashion here are Kindred, and I'm guessing Miss Poor Assumption there is too. The skin tone is a big teller. You and you, nay so much," he decided, pointing to Buffy and Riley. "You two havenae been as tricky with the curly talk as they have. Dead giveaway every time. Pardon the pun. Dinnae think I'm nay going to be wanting to know why all you caring souls of friends to my brother managed to let him get fed on to near death by a pack of Kindred. I will get to that, and when I do, I willnae be so pleasant," he warned and then tilted his head towards the door. "Can I see my brother now?"

Riley's mouth just dropped open and he really could only sit there and gape. Even Graham was doing the same, and he usually only succeeded in the expressionless bodyguard look. He gave his head the slightest of shakes to try and clear it. "I need a drink. A really huge drink."

Juliette was watching Logan before she locked gazes with Blaise. Well, at least Rory's brother was just as good with the deductive skills. She really did have plenty to say about those Buchanan genes. She also had to wonder if he only knew about Kindred because of Airlie, or if there was more to Logan than some SIS agent wanting to wave his badge around just to get his brother away from the motley crew trying to look after him. "Mon dieu, the jig is up. I suddenly feel so very old and out of date to have been revealed so quickly."

Buffy raised her eyebrows at how quickly the Masquerade had been blown and glanced up at Blaise before turning to look at Riley over her shoulder. "Maybe I should just take him down there, and you guys can finish working out the logistics."

"Absolutely not," Riley responded immediately, shooting Buffy a hint of a glare. "You can stay here with some of my team members, along with Juliette. I'll escort Blaise and Agent Buchanan down to the medical department. I am pretty sure we have things that need discussing anyway." It was still fresh in Riley's mind what happened once Buffy managed to get into the Iniative. He couldn't let her curiosity loose in this place. Miliatry weren't so forgiving. He went to stand up, but had to quickly sit back down in his seat again when he was hit with a wave of dizziness. "Actually, Graham can escort them. I'll get there eventually," he corrected.

Blaise nodded at Riley's 2IC, not surprised at Riley's request. Quite clearly there were things that needed discussing, and he was more than ready to assume it was the Kindred presence he was sensing on the other Buchanan brother. No doubt the male-female divide would piss the girls off, but at the end of the day, the whole situation was awkward and Blaise would bear the consequences later. He stepped over to where Logan was now standing with Graham. "Do not rush, Sergeant Finn. I am sure Agent Buchanan will appreciate some time with his brother."

"Awake, preferrably," Logan added, gesturing to Riley. "You can call your doctor people and tell them to quit on the sedatives. I'll wear any reactions to that. My partner will also be present. He is waiting in the foyer." He turned and nodded to the girls. "Pleasure, lassies. I would offer to give you the same hospitality as my brother, but I'm nay sure I'd live up to his skills."

This time it was Buffy and Juliette that exchanged glances, but the Slayer managed to keep her mouth shut as she dropped back down into her chair. She couldn't believe she was about to be babysat while everything went on without her. Again. "You don't need to worry about the hospitality, Agent Buchanan. I am definitely not looking for anything like that for a while. Totally hospitality free, but it was still nice to meet you."

Juliette stood up to nod in acknowledge of Logan. She did not think it wise that Rory was woken up with the brother in the room, but it was not her place to make the calls. She merely glanced at Blaise with an arch of her eyebrow. "The pleasure was mine. Go and be with your brother."