[Giuliana] Cause and Effect (March 20, 2010)
She spots the two Gangrel waiting for her on the tarmac as the jet taxis to a stop, powering down its engines. Natoli and Aidan approach as she disembarks, escorting their liege to the waiting car quickly, and they’re off, on the way to the gathering.
On the way, she gets a call from Dennis Nolan, the Harpy, and one of the two Invictus who’d been torpored and kidnapped last month by the Liberty Stone impersonator (probably Brood or VII). He wants to meet with her before the gathering, so she agrees, changing their course.
Instructing Natoli to keep watch outside, she enters the building with Aidan, stopping short as she hears the click of the lock by Dennis’ hand, and spots Mia Thompson in the corner of the room, arms crossed. Immediately a red flag goes up, this is a known Invictus killer, why would Dennis lock us in here? But before she can react, the notorious Daeva scowls at the Harpy, “That is unnecessary.”
Giuliana’s eyes narrow, and she looks behind her at Dennis, her vision focusing. The intense color of his aura only confirms her suspicions, and she looks back at Mia, “What is this about?”
Mia smiles tightly, “I figured you wouldn’t meet with me privately, so this is how I arranged it.”
Giuliana arches a brow, and they continue to talk. Afterwards, on the way to the gathering, Giuliana contemplates what Mia told her. She knows that the Daeva lied to her, but there are parts, small bits of information, that ring true.
---------
Her eyes fixed on the visitors, back towards the wall, Natoli on one side and Aidan on the other, Giuliana watches them as they circle the gathering, boisterous and loud. They joke around obnoxiously, making lewd gestures, and the Mekhet narrows her eyes slightly as Prince Slim laughs in amusement at their antics.
Dennis approaches her yet again, and she leans in close to him before he can speak, her eyes still fixed on the two men, “Find out who they are.”
He follows her gaze, nodding quickly, and turns around again, going in their direction. She straightens, glancing at Aidan before going back to watching the gathering. Dennis is trying to spy on her activities, she knows it. He’s trying to find out what she talks about, what she does, and she’s on to him, which is why she keeps sending him away.
The Harpy returns in minutes, “Madam Seneschal la Porta, their names are Abbatoir and Chazz Darling.”
She nods once, making a mental note of it as her phone buzzes silently. She glances down, seeing that it is Lydia calling, “Si, Sheriff Montgomery?”
“Madam Seneschal, we have a problem down in Ybor. I got calls from my contacts telling me that some guy is throwing people into cars down there.”
“Do you have a description?” Lydia’s description sounds just like Liberty Stone, and Giuliana curses out loud in Italian, her tone enough to draw looks from people even if they don’t know exactly what she said. “Get down there now. Take a couple of people with you. And keep me updated.”
About half an hour later, the phone buzzes again, “Madam Seneschal, we’ve lost him. We can’t find his trail. I’ve got people working on publicity.”
“Fine. I’ll be right there.”
Despite the protests of a handful of people, she heads out, and about half the City joins her, going into downtown Ybor. She sighs at the sight of a car embedded into the side of a building, on fire. Joining the Sheriff, she quickly scans the area, and begins working towards tracking down a trail.
Her phone buzzes again. This time, it’s Violet, the local Father of the Circle. She informs Giuliana that there has been another sighting in a park near downtown Tampa, and she’s on the way there. Immediately, she notifies the others that are present, and they head in that direction. On the way, she gets a message from Diamondtrim: These guys Chazz and Abbatoir are crazy, can you come deal with them? She arches a brow, replying with a short: I'm out dealing with a Masquerade breach. You deal with them, they're your guests.
Seriously?
Upon arrival, they find two dead homeless mortals, and a pentagram drawn in blood on the side of a building. Giuliana steps forward, reaching out to touch it, and recoils immediately in response to the strong impression of pain and fear left on it.
She glances around, peering into the darkness around them, and spots a figure hiding in the bushes watching the group. Imediately, she gestures at the figure, and Christian van Bourne, Aidan, and Natoli open fire.
Giuliana draws her own weapon as Violet appears behind the figure, grappling him and biting into him with a fierce maw. The creature is reduced to ash almost immediately, ruining any opportunity for interrogation, but at least everyone is safe and one of the Liberty Stone impersonators is off the streets.
As Giuliana is gathering the ashes, her phone buzzes, yet again. This time it is Lyle, “Prince Slim has been kidnapped, and they’re probably going to sodomize him.”
Giuliana freezes, blinking, “Say what?”
Lyle repeats himself, and Giuliana glances up at the rest of her group, all of them staring at her curiously, “Who took him?” She stands, heading towards her car at a fast pace and gesturing for the others to follow. The text messages. She curses silently to herself.
-----
Mia’s motorcycle zips down the dark road, Giuliana on her tail in the silver sports car, and another car behind hers, following the direction Abbatoir and Chazz took after jumping out the window with Diamondtrim’s body. When a car coming the opposite direction suddenly swerves in front of them and comes to a stop, she isn’t surprised.
Mia slides off the bike, confronting the female driver who gets out of the car. As they argue about where Diamondtrim is, Giuliana watches, saying quietly to the people in her car, “Stay in the car for now, see what she does.”
Suddenly, she has an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she glances back out the rear passenger side window to see Abbatoir standing there, peering in. There is a flurry of surprise from the occupants of the car, and intense fear takes over, forcing Giuliana out of the car and into the depths of the woods bordering the road, flying through them at an inhuman speed. The only thought in her mind is escape.
-----
She can feel the pull of a summons from Mihail Voda, Lydia’s sire, and she shifts her course, walking north along the edge of the road, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. She’s angry, angry at herself for succumbing to her Beast, angry that her new stilettos were now ruined from running through the woods and then walking for a mile now. She’d dropped her phone, and she’s retracing her steps… ah… there it is.
A bunch of missed calls, from Natoli, Aidan, Mihail, Jachin, and a few others. She returns Mihail’s call first, “I am coming to you, Signor Voda.”
“Where are you, Madam Seneschal? I will come pick you up.”
She gives her location, and her car pulls up within minutes, driven by the Sheriff. Giuliana’s jaw clenches, about to ask her to move out of the driver’s seat, but she says nothing and slides in on the other side, glancing back at Mihail, Aidan, and Natoli in the back.
Back at the gathering, she looks at the members of the City present, announcing calmly, “Due to Prince Slim’s kidnapping, I am stepping forward to act in his stead until we determine his disposition.” No one questions it.
On the way, she gets a call from Dennis Nolan, the Harpy, and one of the two Invictus who’d been torpored and kidnapped last month by the Liberty Stone impersonator (probably Brood or VII). He wants to meet with her before the gathering, so she agrees, changing their course.
Instructing Natoli to keep watch outside, she enters the building with Aidan, stopping short as she hears the click of the lock by Dennis’ hand, and spots Mia Thompson in the corner of the room, arms crossed. Immediately a red flag goes up, this is a known Invictus killer, why would Dennis lock us in here? But before she can react, the notorious Daeva scowls at the Harpy, “That is unnecessary.”
Giuliana’s eyes narrow, and she looks behind her at Dennis, her vision focusing. The intense color of his aura only confirms her suspicions, and she looks back at Mia, “What is this about?”
Mia smiles tightly, “I figured you wouldn’t meet with me privately, so this is how I arranged it.”
Giuliana arches a brow, and they continue to talk. Afterwards, on the way to the gathering, Giuliana contemplates what Mia told her. She knows that the Daeva lied to her, but there are parts, small bits of information, that ring true.
---------
Her eyes fixed on the visitors, back towards the wall, Natoli on one side and Aidan on the other, Giuliana watches them as they circle the gathering, boisterous and loud. They joke around obnoxiously, making lewd gestures, and the Mekhet narrows her eyes slightly as Prince Slim laughs in amusement at their antics.
Dennis approaches her yet again, and she leans in close to him before he can speak, her eyes still fixed on the two men, “Find out who they are.”
He follows her gaze, nodding quickly, and turns around again, going in their direction. She straightens, glancing at Aidan before going back to watching the gathering. Dennis is trying to spy on her activities, she knows it. He’s trying to find out what she talks about, what she does, and she’s on to him, which is why she keeps sending him away.
The Harpy returns in minutes, “Madam Seneschal la Porta, their names are Abbatoir and Chazz Darling.”
She nods once, making a mental note of it as her phone buzzes silently. She glances down, seeing that it is Lydia calling, “Si, Sheriff Montgomery?”
“Madam Seneschal, we have a problem down in Ybor. I got calls from my contacts telling me that some guy is throwing people into cars down there.”
“Do you have a description?” Lydia’s description sounds just like Liberty Stone, and Giuliana curses out loud in Italian, her tone enough to draw looks from people even if they don’t know exactly what she said. “Get down there now. Take a couple of people with you. And keep me updated.”
About half an hour later, the phone buzzes again, “Madam Seneschal, we’ve lost him. We can’t find his trail. I’ve got people working on publicity.”
“Fine. I’ll be right there.”
Despite the protests of a handful of people, she heads out, and about half the City joins her, going into downtown Ybor. She sighs at the sight of a car embedded into the side of a building, on fire. Joining the Sheriff, she quickly scans the area, and begins working towards tracking down a trail.
Her phone buzzes again. This time, it’s Violet, the local Father of the Circle. She informs Giuliana that there has been another sighting in a park near downtown Tampa, and she’s on the way there. Immediately, she notifies the others that are present, and they head in that direction. On the way, she gets a message from Diamondtrim: These guys Chazz and Abbatoir are crazy, can you come deal with them? She arches a brow, replying with a short: I'm out dealing with a Masquerade breach. You deal with them, they're your guests.
Seriously?
Upon arrival, they find two dead homeless mortals, and a pentagram drawn in blood on the side of a building. Giuliana steps forward, reaching out to touch it, and recoils immediately in response to the strong impression of pain and fear left on it.
She glances around, peering into the darkness around them, and spots a figure hiding in the bushes watching the group. Imediately, she gestures at the figure, and Christian van Bourne, Aidan, and Natoli open fire.
Giuliana draws her own weapon as Violet appears behind the figure, grappling him and biting into him with a fierce maw. The creature is reduced to ash almost immediately, ruining any opportunity for interrogation, but at least everyone is safe and one of the Liberty Stone impersonators is off the streets.
As Giuliana is gathering the ashes, her phone buzzes, yet again. This time it is Lyle, “Prince Slim has been kidnapped, and they’re probably going to sodomize him.”
Giuliana freezes, blinking, “Say what?”
Lyle repeats himself, and Giuliana glances up at the rest of her group, all of them staring at her curiously, “Who took him?” She stands, heading towards her car at a fast pace and gesturing for the others to follow. The text messages. She curses silently to herself.
-----
Mia’s motorcycle zips down the dark road, Giuliana on her tail in the silver sports car, and another car behind hers, following the direction Abbatoir and Chazz took after jumping out the window with Diamondtrim’s body. When a car coming the opposite direction suddenly swerves in front of them and comes to a stop, she isn’t surprised.
Mia slides off the bike, confronting the female driver who gets out of the car. As they argue about where Diamondtrim is, Giuliana watches, saying quietly to the people in her car, “Stay in the car for now, see what she does.”
Suddenly, she has an overwhelming sense that something terrible is about to happen. The hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she glances back out the rear passenger side window to see Abbatoir standing there, peering in. There is a flurry of surprise from the occupants of the car, and intense fear takes over, forcing Giuliana out of the car and into the depths of the woods bordering the road, flying through them at an inhuman speed. The only thought in her mind is escape.
-----
She can feel the pull of a summons from Mihail Voda, Lydia’s sire, and she shifts her course, walking north along the edge of the road, sticking to the shadows as much as possible. She’s angry, angry at herself for succumbing to her Beast, angry that her new stilettos were now ruined from running through the woods and then walking for a mile now. She’d dropped her phone, and she’s retracing her steps… ah… there it is.
A bunch of missed calls, from Natoli, Aidan, Mihail, Jachin, and a few others. She returns Mihail’s call first, “I am coming to you, Signor Voda.”
“Where are you, Madam Seneschal? I will come pick you up.”
She gives her location, and her car pulls up within minutes, driven by the Sheriff. Giuliana’s jaw clenches, about to ask her to move out of the driver’s seat, but she says nothing and slides in on the other side, glancing back at Mihail, Aidan, and Natoli in the back.
Back at the gathering, she looks at the members of the City present, announcing calmly, “Due to Prince Slim’s kidnapping, I am stepping forward to act in his stead until we determine his disposition.” No one questions it.