(Part 2 of the collab between myself and
@Unknown100, Deal with the Devil)
For a moment, “Tori” was silent, lips pursed as though she was pondering Jane’s words.
Well, well. Isn’t that interesting. Swinging her foot beneath the desk, she tilted her head and let her eyes drift to the ceiling. It was obvious that this girl didn’t have much experience dealing with negotiations. The… brusk manner in which she carried herself suggested that she was more used to solving her problems by beating them than talking to them.
So why, I wonder, did they send her to me? Did they think they could scare me with this… child?Bringing her attention back to her companion, she lounged back in her chair.
”Why?”For more than just a moment, Jane weighted the one word Tori had spoken.
“I don’t think I fully understand the question. Why what? .. why you would find Edge to be very generous? Cause there’s an easier way for you to get your answer: simply name a price.”“Tori” grinned.
“First of all, you must realize how absolutely daft your claim sounds. I mean really; a secret hideout filled with thousands of supernatural creatures? You honestly expect me to believe that ghosts and vampires are real? If you were talking to someone less, shall we say, open-minded, you’d have been laughed on to the street.” She started swiveling slightly in her chair, resting her head on one hand.
“But, for the sake of argument, let’s say you’re right, that such a group does exist and that I know how one might find them.” She leaned forward, a curious gleam in her eye.
“It would seem to me, that such a group would place a great deal of value on maintaining their privacy. After all, people don’t go into hiding because they want to be sociable. And I am in the business of making people happy. So,” her voice dropped slightly, and a very critical look formed on “Tori’s” face,
“Why are you so interested in them?”“You take one long look outside your establishment, and you’ll realize people don’t have much reason to laugh anymore. Not after a night like the one, we just had. Casually Jane had reached into her pocket and once more played the news on her phone.
“… a ruthlessness of unimaginable strength! And I ask: How do we protect ourselves, our love one, our children from such a threat? The Theater Incidence has taught us what happens when we lower our guard and don’t take a closer look at the person next to us. He or she could be Jane Doe! And he or she-“After a second for Tori to take in the message, Jane opened her mouth:
“This most likely will be the world from now on. In the medieval ages women were burned, and that’s the direction we are going from here on. People with… special abilities… have a right to defend themselves and need all the help they can get. And Edge is more than willing to fight for that right and reach out to help them. It’s about family; we are in this together. And families help each other. That’s why Edge is interested.”Jane scratched an itch on the back of her head. Sitting still always made her feel like an easy mark. Like a sniper scope was aiming right at her, and a still target was always the easiest to hit.
“Now... I bet you have a million other questions you think is relevant to ask, and my answers will probably make your cute smile even wider, but really I must be going. Places to be, people to meet. So at this point I… no, Edge must respectfully ask you: Are we in business or not? And what are your terms?”Talith remained silent, not so much listening to the other woman’s words as she was tasting them. No matter how well guarded someone kept their emotions, they couldn’t stop themselves from feeling at all. Here, Talith had the advantage; she could always tell when someone was trying to put one over her. And this… Jane, was making her more and more curious. At the very forefront was a sincerity that Talith found refreshing in someone that she had just met; she genuinely did wish to do what she said. And underneath it was a fire, a burning passion that made her horns tingle with delight.
She pursed her lips. Underneath it, however, was a slight current of frustration and distraction. Which, when combined with her little slip of the tongue, told Talith volumes.
Smiling, she bent down and pulled a sheet of paper out of a drawer. Tearing off a strip, she wrote something down, keeping it concealed from her companion, and folded it in half.
”You are correct in that I have more questions. If I’m going to be getting into bed with someone, I consider it common courtesy to at least get to know them a little. But…” She sighed wistfully,
“I suppose we would have to leave something for the second date.”
“So that settles the first question. As for the second,” “Tori” smiled coyly,
”There are three things I want, and all are non-negotiable. However, I think you’ll find them relatively easy to grant. First, I want you,” She let the sentence hang for just a moment, and her expression hardened slightly,
”To apologize to my employees. Burnie was only doing his job, and Beth is rather sensitive about her height. And I do not tolerate rudeness in my home. If you’re not going to be polite, then I don’t want to see you.”After looking at her hands for a bit, Jane answered:
“Sure, if that’s what you want. What’s number 2?””Second, the next time that this… Edge, as you call them, wants to do business with me, the only face I want to see is yours.” “Tori” settled back in her chair.
”Don’t think that we didn’t catch your little friend trying to sneak in. He’ll be waiting for you outside.” ”I suppose that…” Jane interrupted herself. And her voice became full of confusion.
“Hold on! What friend? What could you possibly be talking about now?” Somehow Tori’s last line seemed to have some weight to it. Jane recognized that this was not just another game.
“Tori” blinked, then smiled again.
”It seems a young man with scruffy brown hair and a tattoo of a spider on his neck tried to follow you inside. He seemed to be very good at not being seen, but unfortunately, Burnie and Joel are very good at what they do, and when they searched him they found a similar cufflink like the one you showed me. They weren’t particularly inclined to let him in after that, nor would I have allowed it in any case. I don’t know his name, nor do I care to find out. I have my own family to protect you know.” She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand.
”Is he not a friend of yours?” Her voice was the picture of innocence and curiosity.
Here was something that triggered a reaction in Jane and for a moment, she did nothing to hide it. Just sat there with her eyebrows raised.
Why would Edge send another? Don’t they trust me? And… I don’t remember a guy like the one, she just described.Jane shook off her expression of surprise and answered:
“That guy most definitely is not my friend, but I’m gonna look into it. The only face you’ll see is mine from now on. Got it.”Clapping her hands in delight, “Tori” felt pleased enough that she could almost kiss the girl. The combination of surprise, frustration, anger and suspicion, everything about this girl was delicious. There was such a
fire in her soul.
Oh, I’m going to enjoy this one. “Wonderful! As for the third condition,” she smiled coyly,
”I want a favour. To be named at a… later date.” She allowed a sly note to enter her voice, her hooded gaze locking eyes with the other girl.
That later date will need to come after your end of the bargain then. You acknowledge that, and you got yourself a deal there.” Though this kinda felt like selling your soul to the devil, Jane was ready to even shake on it. Then again, her partnership with the founders of
Edge had worked out great, so there probably wasn’t anything to worry about.
Rising from her chair, “Tori” sashayed around her desk and perched on the corner, holding out the piece of paper.
”It would seem that we do. I do love meeting new people.” As Jane reached out to take the paper, “Tori” suddenly flicked it back out of reach.
”There is one last thing, however. Call it a piece of friendly advice.”For a few seconds Jane merely sat there with her arm reaching out. Then very slowly she lowered it and looked right into Tori’s eyes without blinking.
Go... on... she mumbled just as slowly.
For the first time since laying eyes on Jane, “Tori’s” eyes grew hard and dangerous. The game was suspended now.
”Here’s the thing, my dear. When you walked in here tonight, you expected that I would know who you were and why you were apparently so important. The truth is that I’ve never heard of either you or your little group of friends.” She shrugged slightly.
”Though, to be fair, I don’t often pay much attention to the news. There’s always something going on in the world and it usually boils down to a dick measuring contest between fools, which gets dreadfully boring after a while.” Her eyes narrowed.
”That said, if you are any indication, then this… Edge, as you call them, aren’t very good at making a good first impression.” Talith leaned forward, her eyes glowing now and giving the Jane the impression that she was
much older than she appeared.
”Now, you have said that you are interested in this group because you believe that family should look out for one another, and I happen to believe you. In fact, that is something that we have in common, you and I. And there are those among this group that I consider to be family. I don’t know what you intend to do when you leave her, but know that I will be keeping an eye on things.” She inched closer, until she was nearly nose to nose with Jane.
”And if I find that your intentions are harmful, I will look after my family.”Abruptly, she withdrew, holding out the piece of paper and smiling pleasantly.
”So, do try to make a good first impression. You’d be surprised how far you can get by being nice to people. Trying to be intimidating all the time can be awfully tiresome.”“Playing endless games with people tend to be so too.” Jane shot a wink her way and took the piece of paper. Without looking down she folded it with little effort and put it in her pocket.
Jane wasn’t exactly surprised when girl’s eyes glowed, and she revealed herself to indeed be a Supernatural. However, for the first time since Jane got there, she did considered whether Tori indeed was someone who could take her on in a fight. Obviously, Tori did not look for a fight right now. Still the news made Jane tighten her body, as she would when facing a possible opponent, and assess the situation and threat level. Jane simply couldn’t help herself:
Tori had a home field advantage, and Jane was completely lost in this strange place. Whatever powers, Tori had, was not to be taken lightly, and Jane had not consumed a major power source before this meeting. That fact was supposed to be a sign of good faith, unfortunately it was completely lost on the owner of the place.
Jane took all these things into consideration, when she reminded herself of the other factors: Tori had absolutely no idea about what powers Jane processed or how to fight her, and Tori’s
home was teaming with electrical sources just there to be absorbed. In addition: People who were overly confident always fell the hardest, and Tori amazingly failed this lesson. Jane had seen such beings before, they all died with their eyes wide open; Their last moment had been a dreadful moment of clarity. Had Jane been much crueler, she would have considered Tori’s employees, or “pets”, a great weakness also. But that was one weakness Jane had not intentions of using against her.
Though no emotions escaped, Jane did feel a tiny bit of sorrow when looking back at Tori. Once the war started, places like Angel’s Embrace were the first to suffer, and so would her beloved “pets”. That confident smile might just be Tori’s undoing.
Jane threw the cufflink and watched it land perfectly on the table.
“My number is in the description… until Edge makes me change it again, that is. Oh well, I’m off to apologize to your people. Take care now. I’m glad we got to an understanding.” “Tori” chuckled to herself.
”Life is a game, my dear. It’s just one with very high stakes. I look forward to our next meeting.” She sent the wink right back.
”And do wear something a little nicer next time. The homeless look went out of style about a thousand years ago.”Watching the girl walk out of her office, Talith sighed and shivered.
Delicious. She did so enjoy having conversations like these, it made things so much more
fun. She did hope that the girl came back.
“Excuse me, Mistress?”
Talith cocked her head.
“Yes Abby?”“I think we’ve found who you’re looking for.”
The demoness’s smile widened, and she crossed her legs.
”Wonderful. Tell me about them.”