Repercussions

When the four vampires stepped into the giant ballroom, the seneschal was already sitting at his usual place, typing actively on his laptop. They were standing in front of the large throne for several moments before Charles Taylor noticed them and David seemed to get impatient. He was standing still saluting the old Nosferatu, desperately begging for attention. With a bemused look on his face, Tailor chose to reciprocate and asked for a status report. After they told him about the mall and what had transpired at Mike’s apartment, they were nervously anticipating a response. Killing another vampire was very much frowned upon amongst Kindred, but the seneschal appeased them by assuring them of the legality of their actions. “The coward has killed himself, so don’t worry about any repercussions. I will handle it from here. Was there anything else?” – “Sir, Yes Sir! We were intercepted by three soldiers on our way back to the base. They popped one of our tires and told us to abandon our mission or suffer the consequences. Strangely enough they also told us that the war is over, but I have not received such a report yet”, replied David without hesitation. Taylor shook his head as if he was trying to wake from a dream and turned towards the other three asking, “Anybody care to elaborate on that?” Victor took initiative and explained what had happened between the four investigators and the “Trio Infernale”. “This is rather unfortunate. I was under the impression that the three had understood when I told them that I didn’t like their methods and was looking to resolve the matter otherwise. Well apparently they haven’t and I must apologize for the misunderstanding. If you see them again, it would be wise to avoid them. They can be quite unpredictable, I’m afraid.” – “So that’s it Colonel? We are just supposed to “avoid” them? We were following orders all this time and you can’t even control your own squads? I…” But David’s rambling was cut short when he saw the expression in the eyes of his counterpart. He suddenly felt a chill coming over him and fell silent on the spot. His stance shifted from the solid position he had assumed to salute into a stoop and he took a step back.

The last few hours he had felt sick. It was a feeling as if he was imprisoned in a dark cellar, unable to control his own actions. He had often before lost control like this, but never for such a long period of time. It was embarrassing, each and every time he awoke from his trance and had to deal with the repercussions of his actions. But that was the point wasn’t it? They weren’t his actions, they were theirs. ‘Now is not the time to get weak’, David thought to himself, but sooner or later he had to stand up to his inner demons.

The Nosferatu had been lost in thought for a short moment after he had silenced the young man, looking at the screen of his laptop as if he tried to study the content by heart. He was muttering, “Well, well”, and it took several seconds until he resumed his reserved demeanor and continued, “since you have not yet discovered who is responsible for these horrible crimes, I think it best for you to visit Malik Quina in the Black Friar District. He has a club called ‘Old Church’ and a similar event to that at the mall has occurred there just yesterday. He will provide you with all the necessary access and information for your investigation. I will let him know that you are coming, so he should be waiting for you on your arrival.” Taylor gave the four a condescending look and turned his attention back to his notebook. Half annoyed and half obedient, the four vampires left the ballroom and headed back out towards their taxi. Moments later they were en route to the Black Friar District, hoping that this time, they would turn up more useful evidence than the last time.