"Holy hand grenade! Where in the name of Duncan MacCleod did you get that sword, man!?!" Tangris begins patting Kenneth down, just to make sure he doesn't have a RPG launcher or a MiG in there...
:)
Danny snorts.
"MacCleod WISHES he had a sword like that!"
Sal relaxes visibly at Kenneth's proclamation of non-vampirism and even grins at Tangris' antics. "Hey now! If there's a pat-down to be done, let the ladies handle it."
Kenneth says, "I picked it up at my flat? Remember, had tae run an errand and all that? Unless you mean earlier, in which case, a goddess gave it tae me."
He looks at the others and motions them to step away from the courier. As they approach, he begins, his voice low, "Aye, so, good news/ill news time. The good is that this yin is all braw, now. The taint is out frae him, he's back tae being his usual vanilla self... Though, I seem tae recall wanting tae ask him a few questions afore this bit of excitement started."
He looks at Bunny and Sal, his eyebrow raised, "He kin appreciate a mair soothing-sort of interrogations now that the bad man hae scared him? 'sides, I cannae imagine ony male with a pulse running away frae Bunny's bedside manner..."
He grins, then his expression quickly darkens, "The ill news, though, is that while 'twas was in his system, he was, in the ways that matter, as much a semi-demi-vamp as ony ither that's been sired.... and that, like ithers in the transition, feeding would hae taken him o'er the lip intae deep, mirk, skinsuit-wearing batland."
He scans each of them and then shrugs, "Or something close enough tae it... might make for a whole fresh strain, 'cause they'd nae been properly sired... and depending on the amount ay drug in their system there micht be some pure weird hybridization 'cause of their mortal nature... which could be worse in a lot ay ways."
He pauses, "Really,'tis hard tae ken for certain without seeing it happen... and I dinnae think ony ay us would much care for that."
He takes a deep breath, "However, the important bit is tha' this junk kin lead tae a whole lot more dead than a 'normal' ill batch hitting th' wynd -- it'll kill some ay its users, but worse, the newfangled fangers will feed... and they may even sire more ay themselves without knowing it. If naught else, it kin lead the wizards tae having tae take gey drastic action or risk being so outnumbered they cannae hope tae prevail."
He sighs, "We should probably warn the wizards... I'll call Laetitia.... And while we're making calls, does anybody ken the number for the Order ay St. Giles?"
Sal shakes her head at the name 'Order of St. Giles'. "I could give Trip a call, see if he knows," she volunteers, "Make myself useful for once."
He flips the phone open, stepping away from the others.
",... Hello?,..."
"Danny, Emissary of Summer?" The title is pronounced with a familiar skepticism and American accent. "The Powers that Be asked me to ferry you and Liverna around, all official-like. Nice car they want us to use, too." On her end, Morien emphasizes the comment by giving the car's exterior a last swipe with the chamois. "When and where do you want pickup?"
Of course, any stain of dishonour will make her more touchy and temperamental than less.
He flips the phone open, stepping away from the others.
",... Hello?,..."
"Danny, Emissary of Summer?" The title is pronounced with a familiar skepticism and American accent. "The Powers that Be asked me to ferry you and Liverna around, all official-like. Nice car they want us to use, too." On her end, Morien emphasizes the comment by giving the car's exterior a last swipe with the chamois. "When and where do you want pickup?"
Danny relaxes visibly. He looks thoughtful.
'I know that voice?'
"Well thanks very much. Um, I'm not sure exactly when yet, but I know the hotel she'll be staying at. Can I call you back in a little bit and let you know for sure? I have your number now miss,...?"
Danny relaxes visibly. He looks thoughtful.
'I know that voice?'
"Well thanks very much. Um, I'm not sure exactly when yet, but I know the hotel she'll be staying at. Can I call you back in a little bit and let you know for sure? I have your number now miss,...?"
"Morien. And that's not the question I asked. You and I are supposed to meet her at the southwest end of the Lendal Bridge, at seven in the morning." It's not clear whether the shade of tartness in her voice is from receiving an unexpected answer or being called by an honorific, or both. "Let me know when you make a decision."
Danny blinks.
"Morien? Morien Argall?? Morien! It's Danny! Danny Kaye? You know, from that little 'party' in Schlockholme? Small world! How have you been?! Yeah, of course, Lendal Bridge, 7am, right. I knew that. Yeah,... I should be done with this little errand by then. I hope. So I'll see you there? Wait,..."
"You have a car?!?" He asks, in exactly the same tone of voice a man crawling through the desert would ask about a glass of water.
Danny being Danny, he of course ignores any tones of unfriendliness from Morien. Even though he doesn't know her all that well, he's pretty sure that's just the way she talks. She doesn't really mean anything by it.
It's not like anyone could ever actually resist his charms. :)
"Took you long enough." Morien waits for the excited outpouring of words to end, rather than be spoken over.
"You have a car?!?" He asks, in exactly the same tone of voice a man crawling through the desert would ask about a glass of water.
"That's what I've been telling you, yes." She mentally ticks off '3' for 'duration to engage brain'. One faster than last time, if memory served. "Sounds like you need a ride after all?"
Letitia to Kenneth's call:
"Hello?" she answers her voice sleepy. "Who's calling at this time?"
Sal gets on her mobile too:
"Good Evening, Trip here. How may I be of assistance?" he answers in his cultured tones. Obviously used to being up this late, especially since his injury.
The dealer looks up at Tangris, the only bloke not on the phone - "I don't know what's going on here, I just pick up packages. I don't to sword-fighting."
Before Sal gets to her mobile, Kenneth shakes his head and corrects himself, "'Tis the Fellowship of St. Giles that you'll need tae be asking about."
He then quickly dials Letitia's number.
Kenneth smiles at her sleepy voice, Ach, and I bet she's all cute anf frumpled up, tae..., then responds, "'Evening, love, 'tis Kenneth. Sadly, I cannae say I'm calling for any of the fun reasons we might think ay at such an late hour. 'Tis serious business, no rest for the wicked and all that."
He says, "We've discovered that the red court seems tae be spiking heroin -- stuff that's being brought in fae Afghanistan by wey ay th' Poppy Court. At foremasit, we thought 'twas just with venom, which would be ill enow, givin themselves a muckle herd ay dependant-addicts tae manipulate and serve 'em.... But that's nae how come I'm calling."
He takes a breath, and jumps into the very bad news, "I'm calling 'cause now we've seen that they're using vamp blood. And when amped on the jump, bodies turn intae bairn-reds, complete with fast healin', strength... and the Hunger... which is doubly bad 'cause their ramped-up healing burns the drugs out ay their system sae that they're likely starting tae jones frae the drug and having an itch tae scratch while trying tae cope with their first taste ay the Hunger. End result, violenve and mayhem, but they big issue is that those that feed in that state will, like all red-bairns, make the change tae flesh-suit wearing fun. Mayhap not full reds, but close enow tae be a rather large problem... especially for a group that's at war with such. They'll be cranking out new soldiers by the dozen -- especially because this stuff with the strength and healing makes a body feel extra-good."
"Took you long enough." Morien waits for the excited outpouring of words to end, rather than be spoken over.
"You have a car?!?" He asks, in exactly the same tone of voice a man crawling through the desert would ask about a glass of water."That's what I've been telling you, yes." She mentally ticks off '3' for 'duration to engage brain'. One faster than last time, if memory served. "Sounds like you need a ride after all?"
Danny pulls his phone away from his ear and looks at it. Then he puts it back to his face.
"Yeah, you could say that. I mean, if you don't have anything else to do? I wouldn't want to be a bother or anything,..." Danny wheedles shamelessly.
At the first introduction Letitia is quiet, slightly embarrassed about last time they met.
However as Kenneth's words unfold this quickly changes with an exclamation: "Crap! I knew York wasn't an easy assignment. We don't want to let it completely fall to the reds." she hisses, then the full reality dawns on her.
"Who's helping this? We have to stop them before all heck breaks loose!" the rising panic in her voice is held in check only by her determination. "Stop the supply and the soldiers."
Kenneth says, "We've some leads on the drugs, both from a smuggler who has some suggestions as tae how they're coming in, and a runner that's being asked some pointed questions about the supply network as we speak. We'll keep running down the leads, but I was thinking ye might need some of your friends up in Auld Reekie tae make a day-trip and try tae contain the damage... I would think it best tae find the new-born fleshbats 'ere they figure themselves out.... or, better still, afore they feed and make the change."
Letitia sighs, a battle-weary expression; "I'll see what I can do... no promises. However this is really serious..." there's a deflated hint to her voice, but underneath that a steely determination.
"Yeah, you could say that. I mean, if you don't have anything else to do? I wouldn't want to be a bother or anything,..." Danny wheedles shamelessly.
Morien laughs at the wheedling, this time a not-unfriendly sound. "Where do I find you, and does it have coffee? An acquaintance from Winter woke me up for this less than an hour ago."
Sal is unaware that she snaps to attention when Trip answers the phone."Good evening, sir," Sal replies formally through force of long habit, "I hope your recovery is going well. Everything's fine on your estate. It's a great place. I can't believe you lent it to me. Thanks."
She takes a deep breath and plunges onward, knowing that he must know it was more than a social call. "But there have been some strange things going on here. Imports from Afghanistan that have users riding the white horse straight to redland, if that makes sense. Anyway, folks who understand thses things better than I said we might need the help of the, um, Fellowship of St. Giles? You wouldn't know anything about them or how to contact them, would you, sir?"
"Good to hear your voice, Sal. Sorry that I left you in the lurch like that." he says with a slight understatement and trying to deflect the questions away from his health.
The military bearing in his voice is clear, amidst the plummy upper-class English tones: "Check in the wine cellar, next to the sauvignon blanc there's a little present. C4 to checkmate."
"Might help you with this problem. But I'll see what I can do - I might know someone who knows someone. I'll call you back before morning...." he says seriously.
"Thank you, sir. Talk to you later." Sal snaps her phone shut, looking troubled, and waits until everyone else is finished with their various conversations, pinning the lookout with a steely glare in case he starts getting ideas about running.
"I need to buzz back to Trip's place, if somebody can give me a ride. He said there's something there that might help. He'll ring back later tonight if he finds anything for us about the Fellowship of St. Giles," she adds to the info the group is accumulating, "What do we do with Mr. Bitey here?"
"Hey miss, I'm fine.... I'm cool." he says slightly panicked at Sal's words. "I don't bite!" pupils are a pinprick of panic against the pink of his eyes.
"Sounds like, Danny's arranging a lift for some of us. Tangris has got that artists' car and Kenneth's got his bike." Bunny bounces happily. "It won't be a squeeze anymore, pity." she adds softly.
Kenneth asks, "Afore we head out, did we get everything we needed frae him -- like where he got the ill stuff?
"Me?" the courier says. "Well, I got it from t' bloke inside. It's the new stuff, picked it up at this lab in Hull. Top secret place, loads of nerds in lab-coats. They make you wait outside, bring you the 'package' then you leave again." his voice is slightly slurred from the years of drugs.
"Boss inside, transfers some dosh to the suppliers account." he says worriedly, hoping his helpfulness might save him.
Sal flips open the green book and offers it to Kenneth. "Names, addresses... you think that's sufficient?" She looks around at the group inquiringly. "If it is, do you mind giving me a lift to Trip's so I can fetch... well, whatever it is... before we go any further? Or are we calling it for tonight and meeting in the morning?"
"Yeah, you could say that. I mean, if you don't have anything else to do? I wouldn't want to be a bother or anything,..." Danny wheedles shamelessly.Morien laughs at the wheedling, this time a not-unfriendly sound. "Where do I find you, and does it have coffee? An acquaintance from Winter woke me up for this less than an hour ago."
Danny smiles,even though he knows that Morien can't see it.
"Well, Im not near a coffee shop. But if you can give me and a couple of friends a ride, I can promise you a gourmet cup of coffee for your trouble." He smiles again, hearing Sal mention needing to go to Trip's place.Covering the mouthpiece, he stage-whispers to Bunny. "If it makes you happy, I'll pretend like it's crowded. I don't mind. really." He winks.
Bunny smiles at Danny's quip. "I bet you will." her reply is light-hearted.
"Well, Im not near a coffee shop. But if you can give me and a couple of friends a ride, I can promise you a gourmet cup of coffee for your trouble." He smiles again, hearing Sal mention needing to go to Trip's place.
"Done deal." Morien shakes her head slightly, reflecting that so far as she knew Danny had never answered a question in full the first time it was asked. "So, where do I pick you up from?" she prompts. Hmm, no. Have to give him credit for yes/no questions with obvious context. Probably.
"Yeah, we're at,... wait, where are we again?! Oh yeah, we're at We'll meet you out front. Izzat cool? Oh, where are YOU at? How far away are you?" Danny asks, peering at the phone as if it had somehow decided to confuse him.
Bunny smiles at Danny's quip. "I bet you will." her reply is light-hearted.
Danny just grins that grin, the one that is found most particularly annoying by boyfriends and fiance's everywhere,...
"Good enough. I'm at Rowntree Park - not too far away." The sound of a car door closing makes it through the cell microphone and filtering, but the engine noise doesn't. On her end, the car purrs and Morien pats its steering wheel as if it were a pet. "Go ahead and tell your friends that my ETA is 'soon'. Over'n'out." Her use of radio protocol is without pretense; it's merely second nature.
Morien pockets the phone and gets moving.
"Awesome, Thanks!" Danny grins, then raises an eyebrow as he realizes that his thanks was spoken into the dial tone.
He shrugs and pockets his phone.
"Yep. It's Morien alright. Hey guys! Good news! I have a,... friend, coming to give us a ride. She'll be here soon. What?!?" He asks over-innocently at Sal, seeing the look Sal gave him at the mention of 'she'.
Kenneth smirks. "Dare I ask where the ride be going tae?"
"Is she hot?" Tangris perks up.
"She can give us a ride to Trip's, for starters. And all she's asked for in return is coffee. She and I have a meeting early in the morning. That we can. NOT. Miss."
Danny looks particularly, disgruntled at that thought.
"Just lucky that I already know her. It's going to make THAT particular little errand much easier to deal with." He says. sliding easily back into his usual cheerful demeanor.
"And yes, she is attractive. Although I wouldn't suggest commenting on it." Danny adds dryly to Tangris, rubbing one cheek ruefully as he remembers first meeting Morien.
Kenneth chuckles, "Aye, because he's shown such a gift for self-restraint tae date. Keep him away from the Courts, I can barely imagine the trouble he'd get intae around the fae nobles. So, then, have we decided tae nae follow the putrid stuff up the chain, or be this another one ay them splitting up times? Or dae the mortals need their pillows ere the rise ay the sun?"
As the group wait there's a light rumble of a high performance engine.
"I can hang if need be," Sal says uncertainly, "I've stayed up 'round the clock a few times in enemy territory. Of course, that was with some chemical assistance." She grimaces slightly. "No more of that for me. If we need to keep moving, I'm game. Otherwise, it would be nice to have a nap. Danny's got a meeting which we're not invited to, so we're either splitting up or hunkering down until after that."
She regards the box and book in her hands, musing. "I'd vote for resting, myself. I can get whatever little giftie Trip has left me - and change into something decent - then we can meet up after Danny's meeting is done, get on the road. But where? Should we check out this address?" She waves the green book, looking to her comrades for their reaction.
Kenneth says, "Ye should be good for a day, based on the draught I gave you earlier."
"Outstanding! I was expecting to crash hard in an hour or two, like with Red Bull. Then I'm up for anything! Did you find anything from your contact, Kenneth? I won't hear back about St. Giles for a few hours, probably." Sal beams at the tall bard.
Kenneth says, "It was more a warning for them that would be most troubled by all this than it was an attempt tae gain information. Might be worth making a quick nip out tae Hull, if you're feeling up tae it."
The engine noise resolves into a dark blue luxury sedan (a saloon, to the Brits) with a snowflake for the makers' mark. It parks at the roadside regardless of whether there's space in the driveway. The driver emerges from the UK-standard side of the vehicle and sizes up the area without bothering to hide the fact that she's doing so.
The driver is a tanned woman of solid build, with vaguely-European features and sandy hair pulled back into a simple braid. She's wearing a black polo shirt and blue jeans with no insignia at all. Her movements have the fluidity and habit of balance which speak of long training in the martial arts.
When she spots Danny, she gives him a nod in greeting. "Long time no see. Introduce me to your friends?"
"I can hang if need be," Sal says uncertainly, "I've stayed up 'round the clock a few times in enemy territory. Of course, that was with some chemical assistance." She grimaces slightly. "No more of that for me.
"Yeah coffee is yucky ♥ Bunny pouts and sticks the tip of her tongue out.
"But good to hear you are up for anything! ♥" She grins cheekily, eyes sparkling; "I'm game ♥ Well not game, but hunter. But 'I'm hunter' doesn't sound right." she adds vapidly.
Just then Moriens' car pulls up down the rear alleyway. Bunny takes a step back and the courier slides into a corner of the walled back-yard. The werewolf oooh's over the beautiful car, or maybe just Morien.
Kenneth chuckles at Bunny's correction, "We'll need tae think up a better wording. Dinnae fret, we ken what you meant."
He then turns at the sound of the engine, smiling appreciatively at first the a beautiful vehicle, and then the beautiful woman that emerges. Aye, blasted fae, trying to drown a man's soul and all that..
The courier's attempt to fade into the background catches Morien's attention and she gives the man a pointed 'I see you' kind of look, despite the darkness. Doesn't he look pistol-whipped. I wonder what he's done. The possibility that the answer might be "nothing" doesn't even cross her mind. Someone who looked like that has always done something. It's just a question of how recently.
Morien looks over the group, picking up on the tension in the air. She gives Bunny a confused nod, but it's only a moment before understanding shows on her face. Kenneth receives a quick scan before being labeled and filed, but her eyes linger on the sword-hilt visible above his shoulder.
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The short stocky kid with curly dark hair and a LOUD Hawaiian shirt steps forward and holds out his hand. "I'm Tangris. You're hot. So, you're a driver? Well, if you ever want to take me for a spin I've got a stick and all the gears you'll ever need!" The kid smiles a crooked grin and leers, his eyebrow wagging.