When Hsu instructed him to help du Pont, Snowman couldn't help but feel disappointed. He would surely miss out on participating in Doctor Ojuka's final moments, but he understood his old friend's orders and still shocked by his still far-from-well appearance didn't put up more than a token protest. Anyway, in the end, he would still be killing Watchers, and even better if it turned out these were the same ones involved in trying to kill Hsu Danmei.
He left the compound shortly after. This nest of Watchers was not far, but he could cover the distance far quicker, and far more quietly, than anyone else, and so he was soon close to the cabin at the GPS coordinates that Alex had provided. For a moment, he stood with the absolute stillness that only a vampire could as he took in the situation. Fangs showed beneath a snarl as he heard the unmistakable noises of a party from within the building. Snow concentrated harder, shifting his attention away from Watchers as he sought to find if they had a perimeter guard, but his senses picked up only one heartbeat not far from him.
Silently, and oblivious to the crisp night air, he moved closer to the source of that lone beating heart, guessing it must belong to Alex. It had to be, or the Watchers had sloppily had only one guard way too far from the cabin to raise an effective alarm. Reaching the base of a large tree, he looked up and saw a dark-clad figure perched up there.
Snowman readied himself to jump and take the man if, on the slim chance, he was wrong and needed to silence him quickly. For now, though, he called up, with a toothy grin. "Hello, I've heard the hunting is good in these woods."
Alexandre had been looking around, knowing that there was something out there. He didn't hear the newcomer, but he was good enough that he just knew that he was not alone. When Snow called up, he had his hand on his sword, ready to fight if need be. However, at the comment by the man, he chuckled softly. Alex had seen an American cartoon, and it came to mind. "We're here hunting wascally Watchers." That smile of his, the one where half his mouth turned up and half didn't, showed his sarcasm.. Quietly, he came down, dropping into the snow on the ground, light on his feet.
"Alexandre du Pont." Alex nodded, turning then to look at the cabin. "Your help here is much appreciated, Snowman. I have heard of you from Hsu Danmei, and he told me that you are his oldest and most trusted friend." Looking back, he measured up the man. The dual swords were definitely lethal, and he did know exactly what Xiao was, which was fascinating, as Alex had heard a lot about vampires, but only met one, a female, very briefly. "These Watchers seem to be of the Guild that plotted the destruction of our friend, and their celebration is obviously timed to coincide with his supposed death. I hope that you will enjoy crashing the party with me?"
Alex gestured to a spot that was good to watch the cabin, but hidden from direct view. "I believe another hour should do it, and they will be filled with food and drink, so much so that they will not even notice us, until it is too late." Alex sat on the tree stump, leaving room for Xiao, and pulled his black outercoat tighter around him. The leathers and fur kept him fairly warm, and he had on gloves, which were also supple leather. "Tell me, how is Hsu? Have you seen him?" Clearly, du Pont was worried, as very little information was given about his friend's condition. "I can imagine that he is not pleased." Alex grinned, knowing that this was an understatement to anyone who knew Hsu Danmei.
Death with Humourhsus_snowmanSeptember 10 2010, 13:19:50 UTC
Snowman bowed as Alex introduced himself. "Thank you. I am glad to give me help. And I have heard of you from Danmei and of the high regard he holds yourself and your loyalty in." As Alex sized him up, Snow did much the same, seeing clear evidence of why Hsu liked this man, capable, strong and trustworthy. He also felt himself studied, knowing he was not only being gauged as a warrior but as a vampire as well although it was something he was used to when people knew what he was.
"Good. I, for one, will be delighted to spoil their party. In truth, I was less than happy to leave. The man who poisoned Danmei is being interrogated and will soon die. I am sorry to miss that, but with these men being also involved, or the one's behind it, it will make up for that." Snow followed Alex, unclipping one of his swords so he could sit next to him with more ease. He agreed with the reasoning to wait. "Not that they seem very alert now. It sickens me how they are so confident that they feel no need even for sentries."
The cold night air had no effect on him, even though he wore no more than his usual armour. At the question, Xiao faced him, his expression clear that, yes, he had seen him and that he couldn't fully hide his worry, but he smiled just a little. "No, Milord Danmei is far from pleased. He does not make a good patient." The small shake of his head was more to himself than for Alex's benefit. "He is not yet well, even though he tries to appear otherwise. He would scold me for saying, but his weakness scares me. They so very nearly succeeded in killing him."
Re: Death with Humourice_cold_swordSeptember 18 2010, 17:37:23 UTC
"Hsu honors me with such praise, and with his friendship." Alex considered Hsu Danmei to be one of the few men whose opinion meant a great deal to him. Hsu was not some inbred snot, one who won the genetic lottery for a crown. Hsu was a self made, strong warrior. Someday, he hoped to see the warlord rule over his own country. When that day came, Alex would serve him, proudly.
Snowman's comments about the assassin truly pissed him off. "Coward...the coward's weapon is poison. These Watchers, scum, use others to do their dirty work. Fighting like a man, face to face? Take your chances with the sword? That...I could respect that." Alex would never cower or hide like that. A man dies fighting, right or wrong. Any other death was unacceptable.
Sitting, Alex looked at Snowman's lack of clothing. Vampires were cold blooded, he had heard, but this was a bitter night. At Xiao's understatement, Alex had to cover his mouth with his black leather covered fist, to avoid laughing out loud. "I should imagine that Hsu would be the most unpleasant of patients, even for his mother and student. Orestes and MacDonald have my sympathies."
The last words caused Alexandre to stare into the vampire's eyes, true worry on his face. "Is he taking care, Snowman? I know he has many to care for him, but given Hsu's nature, he may push himself too far." Noise from the cabin made Alex turn his head, hand reflexively going to his gun. But the place settled, and du Pont relaxed. "What do you think of the girl? And Hsu's son? I have met the lady, Cassandra, once. A great woman. Orestes is a superior fighter, and MacDonald, while older, is good for a mortal. I just never expected Hsu to take a student, or have his son. Are they good?" Snowman could be honest, here, and Alex would keep his confidence. "I care little for females, most are a treacherous lot."
Re: Death with Humourhsus_snowmanSeptember 18 2010, 19:24:49 UTC
Snowman nodded, in full agreement with Alex's assessment. "They are indeed cowards who know they cannot win in an open fight, so they resort to trickery. Instead, they use a man Danmei had raised financially, if not personally, against him." Not knowing how much Alex had been told of the attack or how it had affected Hsu, he explained. "The poison this doctor used buried his Quickening. There was no sign of it in his blood." He didn't say how he had discovered that, but knew Alex could probably guess. "And another which infected his chest and heart. If it wasn't for his son's blood, he would be dead." His fangs showed his anger once again. "And this doctor truly believes we are the monsters."
At Alex's smothered laugh, Xiao couldn't help glancing at him with a grin, liking the man's sense of humour. "He was indeed and certain he could still give orders and attempting to leave his bed. I understand that he was sick for a few days before truly succumbing to it, but naturally, made no mention of it." He didn't mention how the worrying really started when Hsu fell unconscious and his growling stopped.
In the same instant, Snow also turned at the noise, listening carefully, but they were still clearly celebrating in the cabin. He turned back to answer his question. "I believe he left his bed too early, at least Cassandra says as much. He interrogated the doctor, and I think he needed all his strength not to collapse again." Again he looked at the cabin. "Hsu Danmei saved my life. He trusted me and helped me when I barely knew what I was." Yellow eyes glinted in the moonlight. "We shall rip them to shreds."
Xiao looked Alex over once again, anger switching quickly to amusement. "I find females no more treacherous than anyone, but I have little to do with them. They've never interested me." Answering that gave him time to ponder the others. "I have great respect for Cassandra and also Orestes. MacDonald likes me little, I feel because he could never keep track of my comings and goings, but he is fun. The girl, Cody, I like her. True, at first, I wondered. I thought Danmei had let his desire rule as she is blonde, but over the years she is more than his student. He has molded her into the person he wants at his side, like us that he can trust, and who has equal hatred of the Watchers."
Daniel was more difficult as Xiao would never say anything disloyal of Hsu. "He is the one who saved Danmei's life, giving his blood to spark his Quickening back to life and proved himself, but the boy is spoiled and argumentative. Perhaps he will outgrow that. He is Danmei's weakness, but I cannot blame him with all the pain he went through."
Re: Death with Humourice_cold_swordSeptember 28 2010, 16:29:34 UTC
"It suppressed his Quickening?" Alexandre was horrified, and he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Even mortal, Hsu was a force to be reckoned with. However, for an aged Immortal? The loss of Quickening was terrifying. "Have they found this poison? All involved who know of it must die...quickly." Clearly, the vampire had tasted the blood, and he would know. Fascinating relationship, really, knowing Hsu. It seemed out of his character to allow a creature that might be able to truly harm him so close. It only brought Xiao up in Alex's eyes, because for Hsu to trust him, he must be exceptional.
"When we destroy them, Hsu will feel a bit of ease, at least. He will know that some of the filth has been taken to the bin." Alex's expression was a dark, very unattractive, sneer of contempt for those about to die. "I brought a camera." He pulled a small, digital one from his metal trimmed leather coat. "I think it will please our friend, to see traitors after they have been educated."
The comment about females made du Pont grow quiet. "A woman will not fight, with honor, not when they can use their charms to tear a man's heart out. I had a woman, when I was young, who used me. She wanted power and position, and...to be fair...it was the only way a woman could have that, in our time. But I gave her everything, and she used it to destroy me. I butchered her, and buried pieces of her on all four corners of my land." Snowman would see why Alex felt as he did. "Hsu's student is good, I hear. I have heard that she was abused by the Watcher scum. Orestes is good, MacDonald is exceptional, especially for a mortal."
He looked to the sky, thinking about Daniel. "When Hsu and I first met, we joined forces to protect a boy. We both had desired sons. I should think it would touch Hsu's heart for his boy to have given his blood to save his father. From what I have heard, the boy suffered. However, I agree with you, Xiao, one cannot spoil a boy, or he will never become a man. Hopefully, this will give the boy some maturity. If not, then perhaps we should spar with the whelp, put him on his arse a few times?" The Frenchman chuckled, and then stopped.
The cabin had grown quiet, and a few lights had but put out. Standing, Alex checked his weaponry, one last time. He always did so, before battle, checking his gun, and his swords. "There is a front door, and a back one. As a guest, I leave it to you to choose your entry." Blue eyes glittered with predatory glee. "It seems to me, mon ami, quite rude that we were not invited. I hope they left some food and drink...I am quite hungry. Are you?"
Re: Death with Humourhsus_snowmanOctober 26 2010, 14:26:46 UTC
Xiao nodded solemnly. "They have the man who created it and have his notes. Once Orestes has finished interrogating him, I doubt that he will live long at all. I am sorry I will miss it." He looked over to the cabin with a smile. "Still, this will be good compensation." His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out to look at the message. "Speaking of which, the names of the doctor's accomplices, which with any luck will match those in there. The camera will be most useful."
He listened as du Pont described the treachery of this woman that he had loved, he certainly could see why the man felt how he did. It was the description of her death that he enjoyed most. "And I can see why Danmei thinks so much of you. You share his sense of justice. Yes, Cody was held by those Watchers for some years and Danmei's men found her. They united their hate." He could do no more than agree with his assessment of Orestes and MacDonald.
"He told me of this boy, many years afterwards, and the support you gave him. Danmei has adopted many, but it was perhaps the one part of immortality he didn't care for, not fathering a child. And when he did, the cruelty done to him was shocking, even to me. The boy suffered, more than a child should, before Danmei found him, and perhaps even though he cannot remember, he is still affected by those years. And he is everything to his father, hence that he is his only weakness." Xiao sighed and then chuckled as well. "He has been trained well so far, but perhaps he does need more skilled warriors to test him and knock some cockiness from him.
He stopped as well as the cabin fell quiet and stood, fixing his sword back on. As they approached, Snowman's fangs showed fully and his eyes turned yellow. His senses were even sharper as he focused on the cabin. "There are three in the room nearest to us. The others...asleep, drunk. I will go to the back, surprise them and cut off any escape. Just the two of us, and they will not know what has hit them." He bowed deeply to du Pont and before silently making his way around the building, added. "I will see you on the killing field."
Re: Death with Humour - Front room 1ice_cold_swordOctober 27 2010, 22:09:51 UTC
"Two is all we need." Du Pont snarled, softly, though he acknowledged Xiao's comment about 'killing fields' with an incline of his dark head. Now he was focused, as an ancient warrior would be, on the battle ahead. No matter how well one prepared, there was always a chance of surprise. Alexandre also had not discounted the possibility that this could be a set up, a trap of some kind. However, nothing indicated any such preparation, as there was only one road in, one road out, and no vehicles in sight, other than the one used for arrival. All of his sense were alight, though he was a bit taken aback when Snowman changed, because he had never seen the full battle mode of a vampire.
First, du Pont went to the vehicle, and quietly assured himself that no keys were in the ignition, and that it was not one that could be started without them. Then he pulled out his custom Korth automatic pistol, and stepped silently around to the small porch. Suddenly, the porch light came on, and Alex stiffened, his breath hanging in the dark, frosty air, back pressed to the wall. A man stumbled out the door, and went over to the opposite side of the porch. From inside, du Pont heard another man call out to shut off the light, which someone did from within. Alexandre stuck his head around the corner, and he saw the drunken Watcher pissing off the porch in the moonlight, humming to himself and writing his name in the snow. The Frenchman slipped up under the rail, and crept up behind his target, making sure that the lone window to the front was curtained completely.
"One sound, one twitch, one quiver, and you are a dead man." He was a dead man, anyway, but as of right now, the Watcher had no idea who his attacker was. His limp member was still hanging out of his pants, as the frozen man raised his pale hands up in the air, thanks to the pistol in his ribs. Alex quickly checked him for weapons...well, besides the small one extended from his trousers...and then whispered in his ear. This Watcher was obviously not a field operative, as he was out of shape, balding and quite soft. "We're going to walk in, nice and quiet, and you will do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?" The man nodded franticly, and Alexandre propelled him towards the door, keeping well behind, but close, holding onto the collar of his victim.
The pair came through the door, just as one of the men inside called out, "Tony, what the fuck is taking so long? Can't find your pecker?", which another man laughed at in response. As they walked in, Alex's eyes adjusted to the light, and he quickly surveyed the room. One man was sitting at a small round table, shuffling a deck of cards, while another was reclined on a well worn burgandy sofa. There was a gun on the table, amidst a mess of empty beer bottles, plastic cups of wine and a small cake, half eaten. Obviously, they were celebrating the 'death' of their enemy, as though it were an office birthday party. Alex's expression turned to a sneer, as both men inside noticed their friend's terrified face, then the man in black leather holding him at gunpoint.
"Ah, ah, ah..." Alexandre du Pont shook his head slowly at the elder of the men, who reached for the pistol on the table. "...you don't really want to do that. Slide it, nice and slow, over here." The man seemed to debate internally, until the intense glare of Alex's blue eyes persuaded him to comply. Alex picked up the pistol with the hand he had been holding Tony with, but Tony didn't even try to move, while Alex tucked it into his coat pocket. "Now...all of you...move to the couch. Slowly...you wouldn't want for me to get nervous or twitchy, would you?"
The younger man, about twenty six or so, sat up slowly on the sofa, keeping his hands up. Both he and the one named Tony, seemed confused by the invasion. They obviously didn't know who he was, or they were too drunk to remember. However, the elder of the three clearly knew who he was dealing with, because his expression was one of hate, mixed with contempt.
Re: Death with Humour - Front Room 2ice_cold_swordOctober 27 2010, 22:10:48 UTC
When they were all seated, Alex ordered them to put their hands on their knees, which they did. Then du Pont went over to the table, gun aimed on the prisoners, and swiped his leather covered finger in the glossy frosting of the cake. He tasted it, then spat it out, wiping his finger clean on someone's very nice tweed jacket, hanging on the chair. "Merde..." Alex picked up the bottle of wine, examined the label, and sniffed it. "You arseholes are in France, and you eat this shit pastry and drink cheap German wine? Really? For that, alone, you should be punished."
"What do you want, du Pont?" The leader spoke forcefully, with a strong German accent.
"Well...now I guess I know who brought the pisswater wine." Alex turned fully towards his prisoners, trying to read who was who, in the food chain of Watcher command. "Name." The word was a question, and a command.
The leader ignored the question, instead bluffing. "Your boss is dead, freak. Hsu Danmei is dead. His brat, bodyguard and whore are next. You should be running."
Alexandre didn't answer...not yet. He wanted the Watcher's name, because he sensed that the German was fairly high ranking. So, instead, he aimed his gun at two older men, but quickly grabbed the youngest by the top of his red hair, and dragged him off the couch, to the floor, with one hand. Alex thumped the boy's head, ten times, before holding him firmly, and kneeling beside him, gun still aimed at the others. "Your name, boy?"
"M...m...Mitch. Mitchell Gurley." The redhaired kid had blood coming from his scalp.
Alex was amused. "Gurley? As in 'girly'?"
"Yessir." He must have been a new recruit, because he was not nearly seasoned enough to be stoic.
"You must have gotten beat up quite a bit, as a lad, with that surname." Alex never took his eyes off the men on the couch, but he did chuckle at his own black humour. "Now...be a good lad, Mitch, and give me the full name of your superior, or I will shoot you through the kneecap, which will hurt like a fucking bitch."
"Keep your mouth shut, fool!" The Senior Watcher ordered the boy, and the boy obeyed, which made him a good soldier, but also excellent cannon fodder.
Alex waited, for a moment, and when he saw that Mitch wouldn't comply, he nonchalantly shot him, point blank, in the knee. The young man screamed in agony, choking from the smoke and spittle in his mouth. "Let's try this again, Mitch, but be warned that you are running out of knees. Now, I want..."
"Adolf Klein!" Mitch shouted it out, grasping his bleeding leg and tossing back and forth on the hardwood floor, tears running down his freckled cheeks.
"Adolf? Talk about getting beat up on the schoolyard. Very good, Mitch. For that, you get a reward." Alex put the gun to the boy's temple, and before he could say anything, put a single bullet cleanly in his skull. It removed one combatant, one that was so low level, he would not possibly have any useful knowledge. The boy didn't even have a tatoo on his wrist. Plus, Alexandre du Pont was a man of his word. The boy had done what he was told, and he got off easy. His friends would not be so lucky.
"Murdering freak." Klein glared, while the chubby pisser just sat in slack jawed horror, his slack penis still poking out of his trousers.
Du Pont smirked, and rose to his feet. "Right back at you, Adolf."
"Do you think you can just come in here, alone, and kill us all?" Klein's gray eyes were lined, and Alex estimated he was in his late fifties, probably a Senior Field Supervisor, or even more. "We're not alone." He looked towards the door leading to the back sleeping room, where the others were passed out, drunk, but none of them came in to react to the noise. Alex just stood there, and waited, while Klein expected his comrades to come out and kill their attacker. After a minute or so, it seemed to dawn on him that reinforcements were not going to emerge.
"I'm not alone, either." The half smile on the French assassin's face was mocking, as a figure came through to join them. "And Hsu Danmei is not dead, Adolf. Looks like you've got problems."
Re: Death with Humourhsus_snowmanNovember 1 2010, 14:14:22 UTC
At first, Snowman stayed by the back door in case the men in the front room tried to flee. When it was obvious that Alex had things under control, the vampire silently entered, finding himself in the kitchen. He heard the voices from the front room, and for a few seconds he just listened to the conversation the French assassin was having with his prey. It told him more about this friend of Hsu, that he clearly enjoyed playing with his victim's, not that he minded that at all.
He moved on, drawing one of his swords slowly, and he moved towards the other door and opened it. It led to a pitch black hallway that didn't bother Snowman in the least. Around him, he could hear everyone's heartbeats. Those with Alex were pounding hard, no matter how cool they were trying to be. On the other side, the beats were steady and relaxed. These men were pathetic in their self-confidence, so drunk after their party they didn't even realize their nest had been invaded.
At the door, he waited a moment, knowing exactly where each one was by his heartbeat, and once he opened the door, by the soft snores. Snowman shook his head and entered, his sword pointed in front of him. Perhaps the man furthest from him was less drunk or maybe he just had the feeling of being watched, but he moved so that he looked straight at Snowman, even though it was utterly dark. "Mitch? That you?"
Snowman covered the remaining few feet in less than a second. The man was too surprised to shout out and then the sharp blade was pressing painfully at his throat. The vampire whispered in his ear. "Don't you know that you are missing the rest of the party? Stand!"
He guided the man slowly to his feet and was about to rouse the other two drunks when there was the loud bang of a gun. The light went on, which had all but Snowman blinking at the brightness. He threw the man he was holding at the smaller man and turned on the other, a heavy set man who was perhaps intended to be a guard. The man threw a punch that Snowman avoided easily as he pushed the him against the wall. That was when he really noticed his attacker's face. "Fuck! It's the pet vampire!" Snowman tore into his throat and by the time the other two struggled to their feet, the heavy was dead. Just as the second gunshot rang out, the first man dived back for his bed where he had his gun, but he had no chance. Snow's blade slashed down on his arm, severing it, and then he swung again, decapitating him.
Snow turned with a bloody smile and pointed to the door with his sword. "Unless you wish to be the next course, move!" There was a look of defiance on the small man's face, but the swiftness of the attack as well as the sight of those fangs dissuaded him. And as the vampire wasn't killing him yet, and he had recruited Ojuka. Perhaps that information would protect his life, sell out the doctor as the vampire avenged Hsu Danmei's death.
He pushed his two remaining victim through the door just as he heard Alex's statement. Xiao took in the scene, with a man dead on the ground and kicked his prisoner onto his knees, his sword positioned perfectly to swing down on his neck. Blood still stained his chin, and he shrugged at Alex. "I was peckish, and he called me a 'pet vampire'." Then his yellow eyes fell on the Senior Watcher. "Did you really think you could kill Milord?"
Re: Death with Humourice_cold_swordNovember 14 2010, 22:13:33 UTC
Alex just laughed at Snowman's explanation. "It had to be better than the shit they were celebrating with." He wasn't the least bit offended or freaked out by the vampire feeding off their victims. How could he be? Vampires drain blood...that was their nature. It was like being freaked out by a lion eating a zebra. "He called you a pet? Fuck, but they really are a stupid lot."
The Senior Watcher was remarkably cool, though Alexandre could tell that Xiao's appearance had him worried. The slight widening of his eyes, as well as the tightening of his hands on his knees, gave the sign of fear, as well as disgust. "Snowman is no one's pet. The student is not Hsu's whore. I am not his errand boy. We are his army, a loyal group of friends who believe in his cause." Du Pont pointed towards the vampire, and to the dead boy at his feet. "Do you think that these children can match us? Hsu Danmei is very much alive. You failed, Adolf. He survived, because the people around him banded together to keep him alive."
The leader of the Guild faction shook his head in denial. The other man on the couch was shaking his head more frantically, clearly shocked at the news. Klein snarled at them both, "You're both lying. Bluffing. There is no way that Hsu Danmei could have survived that formula. We tested it on dozens of Immortals."
Alexandre looked down at the wide open eyes of the boy, the kid at his feet, then at Snowman. His eyes were not like Hsu's, at that moment. They were not cold, but rather, they were full of fury and fire. However, his voice was very still, very calm. "Did you? You tested the formula on dozens of Immortals? You murdered them, just to make sure that your cowardly poison would kill Hsu? You aren't man enough to challenge him, face to face. But you are cowardly enough to inject innocent Immortals, like they were rats in a laboratory, so that you could assure yourselves that it would kill your greatest enemy?"
Du Pont leaned forward, putting the gun underneath Klein's chin, and he whispered so softly, it was a chilling sound. "You. Failed." Then, disturbingly, he smiled. "By the time that Xiao and I are through with you boys, I promise you, every Immortal you killed on your pathetic quest of cowardice will be avenged. But don't get this wrong, Adolf, I'm not going to shoot you like this...oh, no. That would be too easy. Snowman and I plan to make an example of you three, one that no Watcher will ever forget."
He looked up, and saw that there was a sturdy open beam in the log cabin. "What do you think, Xiao? Shall we turn this into a Mexican party? I love a good pinata. Without sticks to hit the pinata with, you and I might have to settle for these." He pulled out his sword, laughing. "Think what a pretty picture they will be, for Hsu...and for their comrades."
Re: Death with Humourhsus_snowmanNovember 18 2010, 12:24:51 UTC
Snow gave Alex a thin smile. "I don't know, I found it rather sour." To emphasize his point, he spat on the floor. "What do expect of people who know nothing of loyalty? It always amazes me how they've managed to survive this long."
He stood perfectly still as Alex spoke, his eyes never leaving Klein's. Only when the man snarled his reply did the vampire speak again. "Look at us, why would we lie? Why would we even bother talking with you now, if Danmei was dead? You would not even have the benefit of knowing your killers if he had died. We came here so you would know, in your last moments, that you failed." He glanced up at Alex. "His name is truly Adolf?"
Even though Alex's question was not directed to him, or even wanting an answer, Xiao took it up. "They should have realized that Milord would be far stronger than the poor, weak, innocent Immortals they tested it on." He felt sure that Hsu would not want mention that it was thanks to his son he had survived. Or how close to death he had really come. "No doubt those unfortunate lab rats were held captive just as Cody Jean Lane was until Danmei's men saved her, as the other children she was with were likewise murdered."
Xiao followed Alex's gaze towards the ceiling and smiled. "I think it is perfect, Alex. And I even have an extra 'stick'." He rested his hand on his other sword, still in its scabbard. "We should celebrate Milord's victory with some wine after." A flash of his fangs left no doubt what he meant by wine.
The man who had stayed on his knees since Snow had forced him onto them, certainly got Hsu's allies' meaning. "I have information, just don't kill me." His colleague's deaths both back in the bedroom and the boy on the floor had shaken him up. Adolf hissed at him to keep quiet, but he felt the cold steel of Xiao's katana press against his neck. "I can tell you who developed the virus, where you can find him." His voice was wavered with his fear.
Re: Death with Humourice_cold_swordNovember 28 2010, 21:52:24 UTC
"Adolf...obviously someone's mother had little hope for his future." Alexandre smirked, openly, shaking his head. "Watchers know nothing of loyalty. They skulk about, like cockroaches, spying on the lives of others, and then they have these fanatics, who fear us because they don't understand why we are Immortal." Du Pont stared at Klein, a snarl on his face and in his voice. "Had your kind left us alone, you would have had nothing to fear. But when you became murderers of innocent babies, and other Immortals, you signed your own death warrants. Hsu Danmei is very much alive, and with your foolish attempt to kill him, you have only united us, and made us stronger."
Klein looked from Alex to Xiao, seeing that they spoke the truth. He swore in German, clearly frustrated and furious that their carefully crafted plot had failed so miserably. "Hsu Danmei is a freak, and his little whore was lucky that she found him, to spread herself for his protection. Had those fools in New Jersey done their jobs..."
"Had they done their jobs? Killing the girl? As they killed other children?" Alexandre cared little for women, but what Snowman had told him of the young girl, she had been strong to survive. "No, Adolf, it was fate, and destiny, that one of your young victims found a savior and leader. Her hatred of your kind has made her a weapon. We are ALL weapons, soldiers in a just cause, to rid the world of every last stinking Watcher. We follow Hsu, and he lives, which should give you a clue that the Gods have decided in our favor."
He found a rope in a cabinet over the fireplace, which was common as a tool to bring in wood. There were two long, strong lengths. He tossed them to the prisoner who was offering to betray his friends. "Information? Really? Then perhaps you might really be useful alive." Klein growled a curse, ordering the man to shut his mouth, and Akexandre backhanded the leader, to shut him up. "Snowman, I fear that this wine may have turned to vinegar, but we will see. It can't be worse than that piss they were drinking." To the traitor, he smirked. "Make yourself necessary, and tie your friends' hands together, then pull the ropes over that beam, up there."
Alex saw no reason for Snowman or himself to do the manual labor, not when they had someone so eager to save his own wretched hide. "Be quick about it, and don't try anything. Snowman is feeling peckish." He grinned, evilly, at his new friend. "He knows who developed that virus, Xiao. What a clever little monkey he is, no?"
Re: Death with Humourhsus_snowmanDecember 9 2010, 15:42:30 UTC
"It really amuses me, Alex." Despite his words, it was obvious that Xiao was anything but amused. "That for thousands of years, you Immortals have been so occupied with fighting each other, yet these idiots do the one thing they say they seek to prevent, uniting Immortals against them. And now they get what they have feared, and all their own doing." He turned his gaze on Adolf. "You have threatened all Immortals with this virus, do you believe they will not flock to Milord's side when they learn of this? They will put aside their Game to fight such an insidious common enemy. And another thing you have not...considered, you are also drawing to his ranks other immortals, vampires, fae, because who of us knows where you will stop?"
He just snarled and shook his head at the freak comment. They clung to that insult as if it was some kind of talisman, especially when they had proved time again their determination to carry out inhuman acts. "You wanted a war and now you have it."
Looking down in surprise at the traitor, Xiao pulled back his sword a fraction as the rope landed in front of him. He was relieved and suddenly eager to please his captors in the belief that the information he had would save his neck. As he tied his colleague's wrists, he ignored Klein, still cursing him under his breath. Xiao came over to stand next to Alex. "Oh, it will be sour, I'll probably spit it out after, but it's all in the gesture, no?" Their prisoners' hands were secure, and the traitor was trying to throw the ropes over the beam. Xiao flashed his fangs to encourage him. "He is, indeed. I wonder if we should ask him here who this creator is, or let Hsu interrogate him personally." Finally, both ropes were over, and Xiao grinned, voice dripping with sarcasm. "There, what a good job. Now, I wonder who could have developed such a poison. I never thought Watchers had such eminent scientists in their midst."
He pulled on Klein's rope, testing it, but also lifting the man off his feet a few inches. "Nicely secured. Alex, I think you should have first honour." Keeping traitor in his sight, he put his sword away and pulled on the other man's rope as well.
The traitor stood back, he had heard the vampire's comment. "I'll talk now...then you can keep me until you find him and know I'm telling the truth." He had to cling to the hope, slim as it was, that these two would be willing to deal with him because he knew Hsu Danmei would never.
Re: Death with Humourice_cold_swordJanuary 3 2011, 15:13:23 UTC
"Truth..." Alex's voice sounded very much like Hsu's, when he was deadly quiet and facing an enemy. "Your lot would not know truth if it slapped you in your pudgy, useless faces." Alexandre roared as he swung his blade, and it hit the senior Watcher just under his arse, slicing through his thigh muscles, as the man jerked and twitched against the ropes. The wounds hurt like hell, but, to his credit, Adolf did not scream out. Alex gave grudging respect where it was due...in a way.
However, when Alexandre sliced open the back of the other man's knees, he was not so stoic, and screamed in agony, blubbering and begging to die quickly. Du Pont rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh, for fuck's sake, fool...be a man." He walked over and looked Klein in the eye. "Must be hard for you lot, getting new, decent operatives. Word is out on the street that this job is the most dangerous on the planet, nearly sure to end in death. I've heard that you've had to recruit Death Row inmates. Oh, yes, Adolf...there is little about your organization that we do not know."
Alex flexed his sword hand, and laughed, shaking his head. "I've heard that when the Spartans faced the Persians, at the Hot Gates, they held them off with 300 men, free and committed to a cause. I assure you, Adolf, that by the time my friend and I are done, no one will want to bear the title of Watcher. They will prefer the needle, to what we will reward them with." He turned to the traitor in the trio, and picked him up by the throat. "Talk? Let me guess...you think that if you talk, and tell us what you know, then we will...what? Let you go? Or perhaps grant you a quick, merciful death? Unfortunately, I have to enlighten you about how I feel about traitors..." Alex's smirk was nasty, and quite vile. "But I think I will let my new friend here enlighten you about our need for what you know."
He threw the man, after lifting him high, so that the man landed, again, at Snowman's feet. "When he's through taking his turn on the pinata...of course."
Re: Death with Humourhsus_snowmanJanuary 11 2011, 19:41:32 UTC
Snow tied off the rope onto a metal fixture on the fireplace, so he could join in with Alex's fun and drew his sword once again. The blood now running down both Watchers' legs fired his senses and he took no care to hide his fangs as he sniffed around them, sparing a quick look at the traitor, teeth bared. The man shrank back at the sight, looking away as the vampire hissed at him.
"Of course. It would be a shame if he wasn't able to see how his colleagues faced their deaths." He looked up at Adolf. "A brave one. One who will not humiliate himself by crying out in front of abominations as ourselves? I wish to see how well that lasts." The blade of his katana slipped under Adolf's shirt, never touching his back before he ripped the material away.
"Did Danmei ever mention how he killed that Watcher scum, Horton?" He would tell Alex anyway. "He skinned him alive, piece by piece. Like this." The blade scrapped down the man's back, cutting a large piece of flesh away. "Of course, it's a little more difficult with such a large blade." Unlike the cut to his legs, this was a different kind of pain, and Adolf did try and move away from the agony travelling down his back. When the first piece of flesh was cut free, Snowman threw it onto the floor in front of their enemies. The other Watcher struggled, fearful that he would suffer the same. By the time Snowman was cutting away the second piece, even Adolf's stoicism and contempt couldn't stop him from whimpering in pain as air touched raw nerve endings.
Then, to add insult to injury, Xiao licked over the exposed flesh. It caused Adolf to hurl out a string of abuse, calling both Immortal and vampire freaks and monsters. Xiao came to face the lowlife, smiling. "I should feed from you and your friends, then turn you. I'm sure you would enjoy such...afterlife, living as a monster." That had them doubling their efforts to free themselves in panic. The traitor edged against the wall, trying to put more distance between himself and bloodsucker, until he felt himself bump against du Pont's booted foot. "No, you monsters would not be welcomed among vampires.
Faster than the eye could almost see, his sword flashed twice, left then right as he expertly cut the tendons on both Adolf's shoulders. That caused him to scream as his body sagged from a weight it could not longer bare. Then he repeated the move on the other man to more screams.
"Yours again, my friend." He bowed to Alex and took hold of the traitor. "Now you. I want to hear what you have to tell me. Don't worry, you won't face their fate."
Now that he had tried to bargain this far, he felt sure that he had no chance of living, or even a pleasant death, but that if he didn't now talk, his death might be even worse. "The doctor...the doctor who created the virus. I can give you his name."
"Really? Did you hear that, Alex? He knows the doctor's name." His smile was very unpleasant. "Let me guess, is it Ojuka?"
He left the compound shortly after. This nest of Watchers was not far, but he could cover the distance far quicker, and far more quietly, than anyone else, and so he was soon close to the cabin at the GPS coordinates that Alex had provided. For a moment, he stood with the absolute stillness that only a vampire could as he took in the situation. Fangs showed beneath a snarl as he heard the unmistakable noises of a party from within the building. Snow concentrated harder, shifting his attention away from Watchers as he sought to find if they had a perimeter guard, but his senses picked up only one heartbeat not far from him.
Silently, and oblivious to the crisp night air, he moved closer to the source of that lone beating heart, guessing it must belong to Alex. It had to be, or the Watchers had sloppily had only one guard way too far from the cabin to raise an effective alarm. Reaching the base of a large tree, he looked up and saw a dark-clad figure perched up there.
Snowman readied himself to jump and take the man if, on the slim chance, he was wrong and needed to silence him quickly. For now, though, he called up, with a toothy grin. "Hello, I've heard the hunting is good in these woods."
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"Alexandre du Pont." Alex nodded, turning then to look at the cabin. "Your help here is much appreciated, Snowman. I have heard of you from Hsu Danmei, and he told me that you are his oldest and most trusted friend." Looking back, he measured up the man. The dual swords were definitely lethal, and he did know exactly what Xiao was, which was fascinating, as Alex had heard a lot about vampires, but only met one, a female, very briefly. "These Watchers seem to be of the Guild that plotted the destruction of our friend, and their celebration is obviously timed to coincide with his supposed death. I hope that you will enjoy crashing the party with me?"
Alex gestured to a spot that was good to watch the cabin, but hidden from direct view. "I believe another hour should do it, and they will be filled with food and drink, so much so that they will not even notice us, until it is too late." Alex sat on the tree stump, leaving room for Xiao, and pulled his black outercoat tighter around him. The leathers and fur kept him fairly warm, and he had on gloves, which were also supple leather. "Tell me, how is Hsu? Have you seen him?" Clearly, du Pont was worried, as very little information was given about his friend's condition. "I can imagine that he is not pleased." Alex grinned, knowing that this was an understatement to anyone who knew Hsu Danmei.
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"Good. I, for one, will be delighted to spoil their party. In truth, I was less than happy to leave. The man who poisoned Danmei is being interrogated and will soon die. I am sorry to miss that, but with these men being also involved, or the one's behind it, it will make up for that." Snow followed Alex, unclipping one of his swords so he could sit next to him with more ease. He agreed with the reasoning to wait. "Not that they seem very alert now. It sickens me how they are so confident that they feel no need even for sentries."
The cold night air had no effect on him, even though he wore no more than his usual armour. At the question, Xiao faced him, his expression clear that, yes, he had seen him and that he couldn't fully hide his worry, but he smiled just a little. "No, Milord Danmei is far from pleased. He does not make a good patient." The small shake of his head was more to himself than for Alex's benefit. "He is not yet well, even though he tries to appear otherwise. He would scold me for saying, but his weakness scares me. They so very nearly succeeded in killing him."
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Snowman's comments about the assassin truly pissed him off. "Coward...the coward's weapon is poison. These Watchers, scum, use others to do their dirty work. Fighting like a man, face to face? Take your chances with the sword? That...I could respect that." Alex would never cower or hide like that. A man dies fighting, right or wrong. Any other death was unacceptable.
Sitting, Alex looked at Snowman's lack of clothing. Vampires were cold blooded, he had heard, but this was a bitter night. At Xiao's understatement, Alex had to cover his mouth with his black leather covered fist, to avoid laughing out loud. "I should imagine that Hsu would be the most unpleasant of patients, even for his mother and student. Orestes and MacDonald have my sympathies."
The last words caused Alexandre to stare into the vampire's eyes, true worry on his face. "Is he taking care, Snowman? I know he has many to care for him, but given Hsu's nature, he may push himself too far." Noise from the cabin made Alex turn his head, hand reflexively going to his gun. But the place settled, and du Pont relaxed. "What do you think of the girl? And Hsu's son? I have met the lady, Cassandra, once. A great woman. Orestes is a superior fighter, and MacDonald, while older, is good for a mortal. I just never expected Hsu to take a student, or have his son. Are they good?" Snowman could be honest, here, and Alex would keep his confidence. "I care little for females, most are a treacherous lot."
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At Alex's smothered laugh, Xiao couldn't help glancing at him with a grin, liking the man's sense of humour. "He was indeed and certain he could still give orders and attempting to leave his bed. I understand that he was sick for a few days before truly succumbing to it, but naturally, made no mention of it." He didn't mention how the worrying really started when Hsu fell unconscious and his growling stopped.
In the same instant, Snow also turned at the noise, listening carefully, but they were still clearly celebrating in the cabin. He turned back to answer his question. "I believe he left his bed too early, at least Cassandra says as much. He interrogated the doctor, and I think he needed all his strength not to collapse again." Again he looked at the cabin. "Hsu Danmei saved my life. He trusted me and helped me when I barely knew what I was." Yellow eyes glinted in the moonlight. "We shall rip them to shreds."
Xiao looked Alex over once again, anger switching quickly to amusement. "I find females no more treacherous than anyone, but I have little to do with them. They've never interested me." Answering that gave him time to ponder the others. "I have great respect for Cassandra and also Orestes. MacDonald likes me little, I feel because he could never keep track of my comings and goings, but he is fun. The girl, Cody, I like her. True, at first, I wondered. I thought Danmei had let his desire rule as she is blonde, but over the years she is more than his student. He has molded her into the person he wants at his side, like us that he can trust, and who has equal hatred of the Watchers."
Daniel was more difficult as Xiao would never say anything disloyal of Hsu. "He is the one who saved Danmei's life, giving his blood to spark his Quickening back to life and proved himself, but the boy is spoiled and argumentative. Perhaps he will outgrow that. He is Danmei's weakness, but I cannot blame him with all the pain he went through."
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"When we destroy them, Hsu will feel a bit of ease, at least. He will know that some of the filth has been taken to the bin." Alex's expression was a dark, very unattractive, sneer of contempt for those about to die. "I brought a camera." He pulled a small, digital one from his metal trimmed leather coat. "I think it will please our friend, to see traitors after they have been educated."
The comment about females made du Pont grow quiet. "A woman will not fight, with honor, not when they can use their charms to tear a man's heart out. I had a woman, when I was young, who used me. She wanted power and position, and...to be fair...it was the only way a woman could have that, in our time. But I gave her everything, and she used it to destroy me. I butchered her, and buried pieces of her on all four corners of my land." Snowman would see why Alex felt as he did. "Hsu's student is good, I hear. I have heard that she was abused by the Watcher scum. Orestes is good, MacDonald is exceptional, especially for a mortal."
He looked to the sky, thinking about Daniel. "When Hsu and I first met, we joined forces to protect a boy. We both had desired sons. I should think it would touch Hsu's heart for his boy to have given his blood to save his father. From what I have heard, the boy suffered. However, I agree with you, Xiao, one cannot spoil a boy, or he will never become a man. Hopefully, this will give the boy some maturity. If not, then perhaps we should spar with the whelp, put him on his arse a few times?" The Frenchman chuckled, and then stopped.
The cabin had grown quiet, and a few lights had but put out. Standing, Alex checked his weaponry, one last time. He always did so, before battle, checking his gun, and his swords. "There is a front door, and a back one. As a guest, I leave it to you to choose your entry." Blue eyes glittered with predatory glee. "It seems to me, mon ami, quite rude that we were not invited. I hope they left some food and drink...I am quite hungry. Are you?"
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He listened as du Pont described the treachery of this woman that he had loved, he certainly could see why the man felt how he did. It was the description of her death that he enjoyed most. "And I can see why Danmei thinks so much of you. You share his sense of justice. Yes, Cody was held by those Watchers for some years and Danmei's men found her. They united their hate." He could do no more than agree with his assessment of Orestes and MacDonald.
"He told me of this boy, many years afterwards, and the support you gave him. Danmei has adopted many, but it was perhaps the one part of immortality he didn't care for, not fathering a child. And when he did, the cruelty done to him was shocking, even to me. The boy suffered, more than a child should, before Danmei found him, and perhaps even though he cannot remember, he is still affected by those years. And he is everything to his father, hence that he is his only weakness." Xiao sighed and then chuckled as well. "He has been trained well so far, but perhaps he does need more skilled warriors to test him and knock some cockiness from him.
He stopped as well as the cabin fell quiet and stood, fixing his sword back on. As they approached, Snowman's fangs showed fully and his eyes turned yellow. His senses were even sharper as he focused on the cabin. "There are three in the room nearest to us. The others...asleep, drunk. I will go to the back, surprise them and cut off any escape. Just the two of us, and they will not know what has hit them." He bowed deeply to du Pont and before silently making his way around the building, added. "I will see you on the killing field."
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"Two is all we need." Du Pont snarled, softly, though he acknowledged Xiao's comment about 'killing fields' with an incline of his dark head. Now he was focused, as an ancient warrior would be, on the battle ahead. No matter how well one prepared, there was always a chance of surprise. Alexandre also had not discounted the possibility that this could be a set up, a trap of some kind. However, nothing indicated any such preparation, as there was only one road in, one road out, and no vehicles in sight, other than the one used for arrival. All of his sense were alight, though he was a bit taken aback when Snowman changed, because he had never seen the full battle mode of a vampire.
First, du Pont went to the vehicle, and quietly assured himself that no keys were in the ignition, and that it was not one that could be started without them. Then he pulled out his custom Korth automatic pistol, and stepped silently around to the small porch. Suddenly, the porch light came on, and Alex stiffened, his breath hanging in the dark, frosty air, back pressed to the wall. A man stumbled out the door, and went over to the opposite side of the porch. From inside, du Pont heard another man call out to shut off the light, which someone did from within. Alexandre stuck his head around the corner, and he saw the drunken Watcher pissing off the porch in the moonlight, humming to himself and writing his name in the snow. The Frenchman slipped up under the rail, and crept up behind his target, making sure that the lone window to the front was curtained completely.
"One sound, one twitch, one quiver, and you are a dead man." He was a dead man, anyway, but as of right now, the Watcher had no idea who his attacker was. His limp member was still hanging out of his pants, as the frozen man raised his pale hands up in the air, thanks to the pistol in his ribs. Alex quickly checked him for weapons...well, besides the small one extended from his trousers...and then whispered in his ear. This Watcher was obviously not a field operative, as he was out of shape, balding and quite soft. "We're going to walk in, nice and quiet, and you will do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?" The man nodded franticly, and Alexandre propelled him towards the door, keeping well behind, but close, holding onto the collar of his victim.
The pair came through the door, just as one of the men inside called out, "Tony, what the fuck is taking so long? Can't find your pecker?", which another man laughed at in response. As they walked in, Alex's eyes adjusted to the light, and he quickly surveyed the room. One man was sitting at a small round table, shuffling a deck of cards, while another was reclined on a well worn burgandy sofa. There was a gun on the table, amidst a mess of empty beer bottles, plastic cups of wine and a small cake, half eaten. Obviously, they were celebrating the 'death' of their enemy, as though it were an office birthday party. Alex's expression turned to a sneer, as both men inside noticed their friend's terrified face, then the man in black leather holding him at gunpoint.
"Ah, ah, ah..." Alexandre du Pont shook his head slowly at the elder of the men, who reached for the pistol on the table. "...you don't really want to do that. Slide it, nice and slow, over here." The man seemed to debate internally, until the intense glare of Alex's blue eyes persuaded him to comply. Alex picked up the pistol with the hand he had been holding Tony with, but Tony didn't even try to move, while Alex tucked it into his coat pocket. "Now...all of you...move to the couch. Slowly...you wouldn't want for me to get nervous or twitchy, would you?"
The younger man, about twenty six or so, sat up slowly on the sofa, keeping his hands up. Both he and the one named Tony, seemed confused by the invasion. They obviously didn't know who he was, or they were too drunk to remember. However, the elder of the three clearly knew who he was dealing with, because his expression was one of hate, mixed with contempt.
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"What do you want, du Pont?" The leader spoke forcefully, with a strong German accent.
"Well...now I guess I know who brought the pisswater wine." Alex turned fully towards his prisoners, trying to read who was who, in the food chain of Watcher command. "Name." The word was a question, and a command.
The leader ignored the question, instead bluffing. "Your boss is dead, freak. Hsu Danmei is dead. His brat, bodyguard and whore are next. You should be running."
Alexandre didn't answer...not yet. He wanted the Watcher's name, because he sensed that the German was fairly high ranking. So, instead, he aimed his gun at two older men, but quickly grabbed the youngest by the top of his red hair, and dragged him off the couch, to the floor, with one hand. Alex thumped the boy's head, ten times, before holding him firmly, and kneeling beside him, gun still aimed at the others. "Your name, boy?"
"M...m...Mitch. Mitchell Gurley." The redhaired kid had blood coming from his scalp.
Alex was amused. "Gurley? As in 'girly'?"
"Yessir." He must have been a new recruit, because he was not nearly seasoned enough to be stoic.
"You must have gotten beat up quite a bit, as a lad, with that surname." Alex never took his eyes off the men on the couch, but he did chuckle at his own black humour. "Now...be a good lad, Mitch, and give me the full name of your superior, or I will shoot you through the kneecap, which will hurt like a fucking bitch."
"Keep your mouth shut, fool!" The Senior Watcher ordered the boy, and the boy obeyed, which made him a good soldier, but also excellent cannon fodder.
Alex waited, for a moment, and when he saw that Mitch wouldn't comply, he nonchalantly shot him, point blank, in the knee. The young man screamed in agony, choking from the smoke and spittle in his mouth. "Let's try this again, Mitch, but be warned that you are running out of knees. Now, I want..."
"Adolf Klein!" Mitch shouted it out, grasping his bleeding leg and tossing back and forth on the hardwood floor, tears running down his freckled cheeks.
"Adolf? Talk about getting beat up on the schoolyard. Very good, Mitch. For that, you get a reward." Alex put the gun to the boy's temple, and before he could say anything, put a single bullet cleanly in his skull. It removed one combatant, one that was so low level, he would not possibly have any useful knowledge. The boy didn't even have a tatoo on his wrist. Plus, Alexandre du Pont was a man of his word. The boy had done what he was told, and he got off easy. His friends would not be so lucky.
"Murdering freak." Klein glared, while the chubby pisser just sat in slack jawed horror, his slack penis still poking out of his trousers.
Du Pont smirked, and rose to his feet. "Right back at you, Adolf."
"Do you think you can just come in here, alone, and kill us all?" Klein's gray eyes were lined, and Alex estimated he was in his late fifties, probably a Senior Field Supervisor, or even more. "We're not alone." He looked towards the door leading to the back sleeping room, where the others were passed out, drunk, but none of them came in to react to the noise. Alex just stood there, and waited, while Klein expected his comrades to come out and kill their attacker. After a minute or so, it seemed to dawn on him that reinforcements were not going to emerge.
"I'm not alone, either." The half smile on the French assassin's face was mocking, as a figure came through to join them. "And Hsu Danmei is not dead, Adolf. Looks like you've got problems."
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He moved on, drawing one of his swords slowly, and he moved towards the other door and opened it. It led to a pitch black hallway that didn't bother Snowman in the least. Around him, he could hear everyone's heartbeats. Those with Alex were pounding hard, no matter how cool they were trying to be. On the other side, the beats were steady and relaxed. These men were pathetic in their self-confidence, so drunk after their party they didn't even realize their nest had been invaded.
At the door, he waited a moment, knowing exactly where each one was by his heartbeat, and once he opened the door, by the soft snores. Snowman shook his head and entered, his sword pointed in front of him. Perhaps the man furthest from him was less drunk or maybe he just had the feeling of being watched, but he moved so that he looked straight at Snowman, even though it was utterly dark. "Mitch? That you?"
Snowman covered the remaining few feet in less than a second. The man was too surprised to shout out and then the sharp blade was pressing painfully at his throat. The vampire whispered in his ear. "Don't you know that you are missing the rest of the party? Stand!"
He guided the man slowly to his feet and was about to rouse the other two drunks when there was the loud bang of a gun. The light went on, which had all but Snowman blinking at the brightness. He threw the man he was holding at the smaller man and turned on the other, a heavy set man who was perhaps intended to be a guard. The man threw a punch that Snowman avoided easily as he pushed the him against the wall. That was when he really noticed his attacker's face. "Fuck! It's the pet vampire!" Snowman tore into his throat and by the time the other two struggled to their feet, the heavy was dead. Just as the second gunshot rang out, the first man dived back for his bed where he had his gun, but he had no chance. Snow's blade slashed down on his arm, severing it, and then he swung again, decapitating him.
Snow turned with a bloody smile and pointed to the door with his sword. "Unless you wish to be the next course, move!" There was a look of defiance on the small man's face, but the swiftness of the attack as well as the sight of those fangs dissuaded him. And as the vampire wasn't killing him yet, and he had recruited Ojuka. Perhaps that information would protect his life, sell out the doctor as the vampire avenged Hsu Danmei's death.
He pushed his two remaining victim through the door just as he heard Alex's statement. Xiao took in the scene, with a man dead on the ground and kicked his prisoner onto his knees, his sword positioned perfectly to swing down on his neck. Blood still stained his chin, and he shrugged at Alex. "I was peckish, and he called me a 'pet vampire'." Then his yellow eyes fell on the Senior Watcher. "Did you really think you could kill Milord?"
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The Senior Watcher was remarkably cool, though Alexandre could tell that Xiao's appearance had him worried. The slight widening of his eyes, as well as the tightening of his hands on his knees, gave the sign of fear, as well as disgust. "Snowman is no one's pet. The student is not Hsu's whore. I am not his errand boy. We are his army, a loyal group of friends who believe in his cause." Du Pont pointed towards the vampire, and to the dead boy at his feet. "Do you think that these children can match us? Hsu Danmei is very much alive. You failed, Adolf. He survived, because the people around him banded together to keep him alive."
The leader of the Guild faction shook his head in denial. The other man on the couch was shaking his head more frantically, clearly shocked at the news. Klein snarled at them both, "You're both lying. Bluffing. There is no way that Hsu Danmei could have survived that formula. We tested it on dozens of Immortals."
Alexandre looked down at the wide open eyes of the boy, the kid at his feet, then at Snowman. His eyes were not like Hsu's, at that moment. They were not cold, but rather, they were full of fury and fire. However, his voice was very still, very calm. "Did you? You tested the formula on dozens of Immortals? You murdered them, just to make sure that your cowardly poison would kill Hsu? You aren't man enough to challenge him, face to face. But you are cowardly enough to inject innocent Immortals, like they were rats in a laboratory, so that you could assure yourselves that it would kill your greatest enemy?"
Du Pont leaned forward, putting the gun underneath Klein's chin, and he whispered so softly, it was a chilling sound. "You. Failed." Then, disturbingly, he smiled. "By the time that Xiao and I are through with you boys, I promise you, every Immortal you killed on your pathetic quest of cowardice will be avenged. But don't get this wrong, Adolf, I'm not going to shoot you like this...oh, no. That would be too easy. Snowman and I plan to make an example of you three, one that no Watcher will ever forget."
He looked up, and saw that there was a sturdy open beam in the log cabin. "What do you think, Xiao? Shall we turn this into a Mexican party? I love a good pinata. Without sticks to hit the pinata with, you and I might have to settle for these." He pulled out his sword, laughing. "Think what a pretty picture they will be, for Hsu...and for their comrades."
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He stood perfectly still as Alex spoke, his eyes never leaving Klein's. Only when the man snarled his reply did the vampire speak again. "Look at us, why would we lie? Why would we even bother talking with you now, if Danmei was dead? You would not even have the benefit of knowing your killers if he had died. We came here so you would know, in your last moments, that you failed." He glanced up at Alex. "His name is truly Adolf?"
Even though Alex's question was not directed to him, or even wanting an answer, Xiao took it up. "They should have realized that Milord would be far stronger than the poor, weak, innocent Immortals they tested it on." He felt sure that Hsu would not want mention that it was thanks to his son he had survived. Or how close to death he had really come. "No doubt those unfortunate lab rats were held captive just as Cody Jean Lane was until Danmei's men saved her, as the other children she was with were likewise murdered."
Xiao followed Alex's gaze towards the ceiling and smiled. "I think it is perfect, Alex. And I even have an extra 'stick'." He rested his hand on his other sword, still in its scabbard. "We should celebrate Milord's victory with some wine after." A flash of his fangs left no doubt what he meant by wine.
The man who had stayed on his knees since Snow had forced him onto them, certainly got Hsu's allies' meaning. "I have information, just don't kill me." His colleague's deaths both back in the bedroom and the boy on the floor had shaken him up. Adolf hissed at him to keep quiet, but he felt the cold steel of Xiao's katana press against his neck. "I can tell you who developed the virus, where you can find him." His voice was wavered with his fear.
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Klein looked from Alex to Xiao, seeing that they spoke the truth. He swore in German, clearly frustrated and furious that their carefully crafted plot had failed so miserably. "Hsu Danmei is a freak, and his little whore was lucky that she found him, to spread herself for his protection. Had those fools in New Jersey done their jobs..."
"Had they done their jobs? Killing the girl? As they killed other children?" Alexandre cared little for women, but what Snowman had told him of the young girl, she had been strong to survive. "No, Adolf, it was fate, and destiny, that one of your young victims found a savior and leader. Her hatred of your kind has made her a weapon. We are ALL weapons, soldiers in a just cause, to rid the world of every last stinking Watcher. We follow Hsu, and he lives, which should give you a clue that the Gods have decided in our favor."
He found a rope in a cabinet over the fireplace, which was common as a tool to bring in wood. There were two long, strong lengths. He tossed them to the prisoner who was offering to betray his friends. "Information? Really? Then perhaps you might really be useful alive." Klein growled a curse, ordering the man to shut his mouth, and Akexandre backhanded the leader, to shut him up. "Snowman, I fear that this wine may have turned to vinegar, but we will see. It can't be worse than that piss they were drinking." To the traitor, he smirked. "Make yourself necessary, and tie your friends' hands together, then pull the ropes over that beam, up there."
Alex saw no reason for Snowman or himself to do the manual labor, not when they had someone so eager to save his own wretched hide. "Be quick about it, and don't try anything. Snowman is feeling peckish." He grinned, evilly, at his new friend. "He knows who developed that virus, Xiao. What a clever little monkey he is, no?"
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He just snarled and shook his head at the freak comment. They clung to that insult as if it was some kind of talisman, especially when they had proved time again their determination to carry out inhuman acts. "You wanted a war and now you have it."
Looking down in surprise at the traitor, Xiao pulled back his sword a fraction as the rope landed in front of him. He was relieved and suddenly eager to please his captors in the belief that the information he had would save his neck. As he tied his colleague's wrists, he ignored Klein, still cursing him under his breath. Xiao came over to stand next to Alex. "Oh, it will be sour, I'll probably spit it out after, but it's all in the gesture, no?" Their prisoners' hands were secure, and the traitor was trying to throw the ropes over the beam. Xiao flashed his fangs to encourage him. "He is, indeed. I wonder if we should ask him here who this creator is, or let Hsu interrogate him personally." Finally, both ropes were over, and Xiao grinned, voice dripping with sarcasm. "There, what a good job. Now, I wonder who could have developed such a poison. I never thought Watchers had such eminent scientists in their midst."
He pulled on Klein's rope, testing it, but also lifting the man off his feet a few inches. "Nicely secured. Alex, I think you should have first honour." Keeping traitor in his sight, he put his sword away and pulled on the other man's rope as well.
The traitor stood back, he had heard the vampire's comment. "I'll talk now...then you can keep me until you find him and know I'm telling the truth." He had to cling to the hope, slim as it was, that these two would be willing to deal with him because he knew Hsu Danmei would never.
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However, when Alexandre sliced open the back of the other man's knees, he was not so stoic, and screamed in agony, blubbering and begging to die quickly. Du Pont rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh, for fuck's sake, fool...be a man." He walked over and looked Klein in the eye. "Must be hard for you lot, getting new, decent operatives. Word is out on the street that this job is the most dangerous on the planet, nearly sure to end in death. I've heard that you've had to recruit Death Row inmates. Oh, yes, Adolf...there is little about your organization that we do not know."
Alex flexed his sword hand, and laughed, shaking his head. "I've heard that when the Spartans faced the Persians, at the Hot Gates, they held them off with 300 men, free and committed to a cause. I assure you, Adolf, that by the time my friend and I are done, no one will want to bear the title of Watcher. They will prefer the needle, to what we will reward them with." He turned to the traitor in the trio, and picked him up by the throat. "Talk? Let me guess...you think that if you talk, and tell us what you know, then we will...what? Let you go? Or perhaps grant you a quick, merciful death? Unfortunately, I have to enlighten you about how I feel about traitors..." Alex's smirk was nasty, and quite vile. "But I think I will let my new friend here enlighten you about our need for what you know."
He threw the man, after lifting him high, so that the man landed, again, at Snowman's feet. "When he's through taking his turn on the pinata...of course."
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"Of course. It would be a shame if he wasn't able to see how his colleagues faced their deaths." He looked up at Adolf. "A brave one. One who will not humiliate himself by crying out in front of abominations as ourselves? I wish to see how well that lasts." The blade of his katana slipped under Adolf's shirt, never touching his back before he ripped the material away.
"Did Danmei ever mention how he killed that Watcher scum, Horton?" He would tell Alex anyway. "He skinned him alive, piece by piece. Like this." The blade scrapped down the man's back, cutting a large piece of flesh away. "Of course, it's a little more difficult with such a large blade." Unlike the cut to his legs, this was a different kind of pain, and Adolf did try and move away from the agony travelling down his back. When the first piece of flesh was cut free, Snowman threw it onto the floor in front of their enemies. The other Watcher struggled, fearful that he would suffer the same. By the time Snowman was cutting away the second piece, even Adolf's stoicism and contempt couldn't stop him from whimpering in pain as air touched raw nerve endings.
Then, to add insult to injury, Xiao licked over the exposed flesh. It caused Adolf to hurl out a string of abuse, calling both Immortal and vampire freaks and monsters. Xiao came to face the lowlife, smiling. "I should feed from you and your friends, then turn you. I'm sure you would enjoy such...afterlife, living as a monster." That had them doubling their efforts to free themselves in panic. The traitor edged against the wall, trying to put more distance between himself and bloodsucker, until he felt himself bump against du Pont's booted foot. "No, you monsters would not be welcomed among vampires.
Faster than the eye could almost see, his sword flashed twice, left then right as he expertly cut the tendons on both Adolf's shoulders. That caused him to scream as his body sagged from a weight it could not longer bare. Then he repeated the move on the other man to more screams.
"Yours again, my friend." He bowed to Alex and took hold of the traitor. "Now you. I want to hear what you have to tell me. Don't worry, you won't face their fate."
Now that he had tried to bargain this far, he felt sure that he had no chance of living, or even a pleasant death, but that if he didn't now talk, his death might be even worse. "The doctor...the doctor who created the virus. I can give you his name."
"Really? Did you hear that, Alex? He knows the doctor's name." His smile was very unpleasant. "Let me guess, is it Ojuka?"
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