Bargaining
After the various threads here
Between bringing Kara what she wanted and taking turns with Angel in the hospital, Darla tried to track down a woman she had last been in contact with more than a year ago. It wasn't too difficult, despite the fact they hadn't exactly parted on good terms; Nofret was a business woman to her core, and never could resist opening new shops that displayed her unique style.
Her voice sounded the same, too, when Darla talked to her while walking in the hospital grounds, catching fresh air and being far away from any interference.
"Paula Shea?" she asked. "You know, given the way your son behaved back then, I would never risk a former employee's life by revealing her address to a member of your family."
"Ah. So you killed her. I thought you might have."
"Same old Darla. So suspicious. What can I do for you?"
"You don't happen to have another of the late Ms. Shea's dolls, do you?"
"Let me get this straight," Nofret said, finally startled into sincere surprise. "You want another soul-sucking doll?"
"Male, if possible," Darla said coolly. "If it causes spectacularly unpleasant nightmares while it sucks, all the better."
There was silence at the other end. Then Nofret said: "I might have something. She was an artist, you know. And it would be a shame to waste an artist's handiwork. But her dolls really were all female. Her thing about her daughter, you know..."
Darla made an impatient noise. "Would it work on a man?"
"If," Nofret allowed, "you place it in his primary residence, and if you bring it into contact with something he voluntarily gave to someone else first."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Darla said, thinking of various presents given by Lex Luthor which were in Kara's room right now.
"I can throw in some nightmares as a bonus, no problem. But the doll is going to cost you, darling. Remember how much you paid me for the original doll? Double that. For annoyance with your offspring."
"The original doll was supposed to be a harmless present for my daughter which nearly killed her because you allowed your employee to mess with it. That puts you rather on the debt side of things, Nofret. If this one works out, I'll consider the debt cancelled."
"And why should I care if I owe you anything, Darla? You're human now. And your Angelus doesn't have his teeth anymore, does he? Such a soulsick puppy."
"You care. Otherwise you wouldn't waste your time talking to me. Very wise of you, too. I don't think eternal life would be much fun without access to the sun for your daily renewal, would it?"
It was something not many people knew about walking mummies, but then, most mummies had lost their wits in the rebirth process, and never made it through the millennia the way Nofret had.
"My boy has some issues about boxes and locking people up in them," Darla said sweetly. "Issues he'd be happy to settle with you."
It was the way you had to open negotiations with Nofret if you wanted her to take you seriously. An hour later, she had her down to a favour for a favour, which was just as well. It wasn't that she minded about money, but she didn't want anyone being able to track this back to her. There was a reason why she couldn't allow Angel to do the simple thing and flay Lex Luthor alive. The man wasn't stupid. He had to have taken precautions, precautions that would land her son back in the prison he had freed him from, and presumably her as well, if anything lethal happened to him.
But he was not familiar with magic. And he would not die. Well. His body would not. As for his mind, that would take a long time, too. As it should.
"Agreed, then," said Nofret. "When will you deliver?"
"After I have confirmation your little doll started to work on him. Not before. Forgive me, but I really want to be sure about the merchandise this time. It's not like I have that many years to spare, after all."
"But of course," Nofret purred. Given that she had just been promised the death of an old enemy, she had reason to be pleased.
Darla shut the phone. She would have to travel to fulfill her part of the bargain, and find some excuse to do so once Kara was better, but she fully intended to deliver. After all, you had to if you wanted something. And she really, really wanted Lex Luthor to suffer.
Making him slowly lose his soul to a doll while being plagued by nightmares seemed just the thing.
Between bringing Kara what she wanted and taking turns with Angel in the hospital, Darla tried to track down a woman she had last been in contact with more than a year ago. It wasn't too difficult, despite the fact they hadn't exactly parted on good terms; Nofret was a business woman to her core, and never could resist opening new shops that displayed her unique style.
Her voice sounded the same, too, when Darla talked to her while walking in the hospital grounds, catching fresh air and being far away from any interference.
"Paula Shea?" she asked. "You know, given the way your son behaved back then, I would never risk a former employee's life by revealing her address to a member of your family."
"Ah. So you killed her. I thought you might have."
"Same old Darla. So suspicious. What can I do for you?"
"You don't happen to have another of the late Ms. Shea's dolls, do you?"
"Let me get this straight," Nofret said, finally startled into sincere surprise. "You want another soul-sucking doll?"
"Male, if possible," Darla said coolly. "If it causes spectacularly unpleasant nightmares while it sucks, all the better."
There was silence at the other end. Then Nofret said: "I might have something. She was an artist, you know. And it would be a shame to waste an artist's handiwork. But her dolls really were all female. Her thing about her daughter, you know..."
Darla made an impatient noise. "Would it work on a man?"
"If," Nofret allowed, "you place it in his primary residence, and if you bring it into contact with something he voluntarily gave to someone else first."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Darla said, thinking of various presents given by Lex Luthor which were in Kara's room right now.
"I can throw in some nightmares as a bonus, no problem. But the doll is going to cost you, darling. Remember how much you paid me for the original doll? Double that. For annoyance with your offspring."
"The original doll was supposed to be a harmless present for my daughter which nearly killed her because you allowed your employee to mess with it. That puts you rather on the debt side of things, Nofret. If this one works out, I'll consider the debt cancelled."
"And why should I care if I owe you anything, Darla? You're human now. And your Angelus doesn't have his teeth anymore, does he? Such a soulsick puppy."
"You care. Otherwise you wouldn't waste your time talking to me. Very wise of you, too. I don't think eternal life would be much fun without access to the sun for your daily renewal, would it?"
It was something not many people knew about walking mummies, but then, most mummies had lost their wits in the rebirth process, and never made it through the millennia the way Nofret had.
"My boy has some issues about boxes and locking people up in them," Darla said sweetly. "Issues he'd be happy to settle with you."
It was the way you had to open negotiations with Nofret if you wanted her to take you seriously. An hour later, she had her down to a favour for a favour, which was just as well. It wasn't that she minded about money, but she didn't want anyone being able to track this back to her. There was a reason why she couldn't allow Angel to do the simple thing and flay Lex Luthor alive. The man wasn't stupid. He had to have taken precautions, precautions that would land her son back in the prison he had freed him from, and presumably her as well, if anything lethal happened to him.
But he was not familiar with magic. And he would not die. Well. His body would not. As for his mind, that would take a long time, too. As it should.
"Agreed, then," said Nofret. "When will you deliver?"
"After I have confirmation your little doll started to work on him. Not before. Forgive me, but I really want to be sure about the merchandise this time. It's not like I have that many years to spare, after all."
"But of course," Nofret purred. Given that she had just been promised the death of an old enemy, she had reason to be pleased.
Darla shut the phone. She would have to travel to fulfill her part of the bargain, and find some excuse to do so once Kara was better, but she fully intended to deliver. After all, you had to if you wanted something. And she really, really wanted Lex Luthor to suffer.
Making him slowly lose his soul to a doll while being plagued by nightmares seemed just the thing.