Inertia, Part 1

At this particular hour, I’m fitting my gloves snuggly onto my fingers in a long, dark alley. At the end of this alley is light, and I am quietly preparing for it. This is a business call, or rather two business calls. But now I’m putting my gloves on because I dislike the notion of exposed skin at this point. Mammon—he’s the target for the night—he’s one to enjoy *interacting* with his guests and I don’t want him getting a genetic sample on me. Actually it could be somewhat amusing as my DNA doesn’t tend to last long in other’s hands; the same concern applies to Brutus, his body guard. But I finish tightening the gloves and I pause for one last moment of reflection.

I feel the chill of the night, and while the hairs on the back of my neck still stand on end by habit it’s a strangely peaceful thing. There are no shadow men; Naga’s followers no longer pursue me now that I’ve safely stashed Naga’s hopes in a distant psychic’s mind. I’m blind now, yes; Naga’s followers got one last insult upon my being by disfiguring my eyes. But I think I’ll be getting new ones soon. They’re owed to me. And Echo, unknownst to himself at this point, is in league with me against Chaw’Haust, and I’ve been sending private investigators throughout history to study Chaw’Sah’Voh and soon Fenris will be in my employ—and, perhaps, even Mammon and Brutus. But the night is peaceful and pleasant in that I don’t have to run now.

From here on out, I think people will be running from me.

I step out of the alley into the well lit early evening street; Mammon’s place is posh. It fits his profile. He’s a conspicuous drake in that light, and it wasn’t particularly difficult to get in touch with him. I’ve set the holograph emitter to give me a decently normal looking set of hair, pulled tightly back in a businesslike fashion, and the pale grey tunic I wear covers up most of my neck with its mandarin collar. Minimal skin. Professional. Clinical. Surgical if necessary. There’s a lull in the traffic and I quickly walk across the boulevard, my shoes clicking softly on the floor, as I approach the door.

One of Mammon's bouncers stepped into my path, a large man dressed in all black and dark sunglasses, his scent neither of human or drake, but the faint smell of fire and brimstone, I could sense an aura of unnease and submission as it radiated off of him and to those humans which stood waiting outside behind me. Surely this power was a way to keep the humans in check, and I could expect the rest of Mammon's employees having a similar effect.

"Password" He said in a calm monotone.

There was some minor complexity here as, potentially, the password might have changed since Chaw'Haust was here. But I doubted that, and even then I knew that what I had in the tunic's left pocket would get me in well enough.

"I've been out of town for some time, but last time I visited it was party god, I think." I murmur softly, my holographic eyes making something like eye contact with whatever lay behind those thick shades.

"Hmm..." He took a moment before replying. I could feel him lean forward slightly, closer to me, and breathe deeply. he was looking for a scent, something to identify me by

Which, would of course, be ironic in its ineffectiveness. For reasons I couldn't quite place--perhaps a wish to unsettle?--I reciprocated, leaning in and breathing up his scent. Still couldn't pin him down as to quite what he was, but that wasn't the point--I wasn't letting him dominate socially.

"If I'd known you were interested I would have put some perfume on first," I mull flatly, beginning to unbutton that left breast pocket. "Do you need credentials, or are you just enjoying the night?"

He backed off. it worked.

"Credentials would be fine." He replied, returning to his original posture.

So the gloved hand goes into the pocket, and begins slowly retracting a chain--a chain at the end of which is one of the crystals of Naga's followers. I did it slowly because I was curious if he would recognize it before it was fully out.

"It's a business call. Perhaps we can talk more later, after I take care of the--" here I flex my free hand's fingers in a spiderlike fashion--"the nitty gritty."

He reared back and gave an inhuman growl. He wasted no time in his answer.

"Of course.... you may enter." He replied as he knocked on the door behind him. The complaints of the humans beside me perfectly audible, their angered questions quite amusing. The door opened wide, allowing me entry.

"Thank you." I reply softly, dropping the chain back into the pocket and holding a lone finger to my lips.

"We'll talk later," I lie, and then I pass through the threshold into the bustling club.

I could hear him growl behind me as the door closed. The club's interior was full of people, all enjoying the lights and sounds which deadened my own senses rather painfully. Too many people moving and dancing and talking and screaming in delight, the music was too loud, the ground seemed to vibrate.‏
 
I move through the pulsing crowd, and I hesitate in the middle of it for a moment--it occurs to me I'm going to want something warm, so I change course away from where I know the elevator is and move towards the bar. I order a larger glass of sakai, drop some casino chips on the counter--the bartender is curious, but it's legitimate currency in its own right--and with the tall glass in hand I move silently through the dance floor, sipping the warm rice wine as I make my way to the elevator. Outside the doors, I finish the drink and then set the glass down by the side of the elevator.

Once the doors close, I begin working.

"Feeling guilty yet, Fernis?" I inquire aloud as I begin unbuttoning my right sleeve--I roll the sleeve up to my elbow, exposing the gauntlet and removing any obstructions to the free travel of the plates. Already, the elevator is getting colder, and I'm thankful for the drink.‏

The elevator's temperature drops quickly around me. I could sense a presence, but from where I was unsure, just as it was in the desert.

"Yes, Little thief." I hear his voice say from beside me.‏

I smirk slightly. Little thief sounds an awful lot like a pet name. I'm thankful for the gloves and the minimum exposed skin at this point, and as my breath begins to hang in the air as Fenris materializes besides me I can feel a cool chill on my face and my nose and ears. Not so much on my eyes, obviously.

"You know where we are, I hope?"‏

"Yes" I hear him growl. "A temple dedicated to sin, disguised as a place of merry-making and celebration. A home of one of my 'brothers'."‏

The elevator is slowing now. It's a short, quick ride.

"It's strange how often my purpose brings me to places like this," I note softly, thinking of all the casinos I've passed through while either being hunted or hunting. "They do tend to wreak a little, don't they?"‏

The elevator halts.

"I'm taking you to your brother because Chaw'Haust met with him shortly before..." I hesitate here, my jaw clenching briefly with the anger of having had to let Fenris happen to my people for sake of the timeline,  "...you did your last job."‏

I hear him growl once more in acknowledgement.‏

The doors open, but I turn towards Fenris--he's finally materialized by this point, and the elevator feels more like a walk in freezer at this point--before leaving it.

"How many people did you take, Fenris?" I ask the question slowly, lowly, with the utmost calm I can muster but he, being like me and being able to read people like books, knows that really I'm harboring a cold fury.‏

"In my rage...." He hesitated. "...I lost count." He growled at the thought.‏

While the holographic eyes did not narrow, the holes where the real ones had once been narrowed as I considered just what he'd done. My people would never be able to forget it.

"You lost count." I repeat the word evenly, before looking back down the hallway. Through that blue corridor were gateways to parties across the ages, and at the end was Brutus guarding the door. He's probably watching us just as intently as I'm assessing him.

"You know the phrase 'vengeance is mine' Fenris? It's very true now. You work for me until Chaw'Haust ceases to exist. That's your penitence, understood?" I look back at Fenris now--not literally, but I see his shadows on the timelines and I face the legendary hunter.‏

I sense unease in the silence before his response. The cold was biting what little of my flesh was exposed. I hear a quiet growl. "I...." He stops to growl angrily once more. "I understand."‏

I hesitate for a moment, peering at his shadows, and I feel a faint hint of empathy for him. Gods aren't used to making mistakes, I suppose, so this must ride rather heavily on him.

"I know you don't believe me," I say at last as I regain my focus and tighten my collar, "but I'm confident we share very similar aims towards why we exist. We'll get through this, and the universe will be a better place when we're finished."

Then I turn from him and begin walking briskly towards Brutus.‏

I feel Fenris follow close behind, like a dog on an invisible leash. Brutus remained at his post like an emotionless statue, watching us through his animal hide wrappings and coat.‏

Halfway down the hall, I call out. I don't feel like waiting any longer to get things going.

"Brutus, we're here to see your employer!"‏

I position my right arm so that it is blocked, visually, by my body; the plates loosen unseen to Brutus and are prepared to go flying if the situation dictates. If Brutus recognizes Fenris--which is anticipatable--things might get messy.‏

"The boss isnt seeing anyone today." Brutus growled. "Go away."

"Move, you chimeric abomination, or by Apophis, I shall move you to Halo's court myself!" I hear Fenris behind me demand. Brutus only growled in defiance, remaining at his post.‏

"Are you sure?" I ask as I fish into that left breast pocket, dangling the crystal's chain between my fingers, "I was told he'd be eager to accommodate my presence." I'm not slowing my pace, and the distance between the two of us continues to close.‏


"I don't think," I murmur in the ancient Drake tongue, "he's going to be inclined to go quietly."‏

"Neither do I" I hear Fenris respond in drake.

"The boss is done dealing with the likes of you or his bretheren. Begone!" Brutus yelled. I hear a slithering sound come from under his cloak of animal skin and the quiet clink of chains behind me.

"Mammon! I know you're here! Come out and face me you cowardly tod!" Fenris roared.‏

"So much," I say at last to Fenris in that ancient tongue, "for small talk."

With a lazy arc, I swing the crystal at the end of the chain, and let go; it arcs upwards and it escapes my fingertips. One thing Naga's followers were quick to teach me was how to fight, and to fight fluidly. It was my only method of survival, after all; Naga made me a killer well beyond what I was prior to him. I suppose I ought to thank him for that.

So the crystal goes skywards towards Brutus slowly, lazily, and as we are want to do when something is flying towards us our eyes follow it. So Brutus watches the pendant fly upwards towards him, and he is not looking down, at me.

This is when we strike.