Odd Bedfellows. Figuratively, of course. (Hiro)

[lucius]

Pubs had long been a place of both business and frivolity, ever since the days when it was discovered that men liked to gather around drink and food when engaging socially with others. The city had been one old town pub left, and it was a serene, relaxing place with a fine and safe atmosphere about it, attended daily and nightly by a wide range of people and races all going about their business. The smell of alcohol hung attached to every molecule in the air, as did--for those blessed with keener senses--the smell of the blood of a variety of creatures.

Sitting in a booth towards the center of the pub was a well-dressed, youthful-looking fellow, cutting politely at a piece of rare steak he had ordered. No, it was not nearly the best steak in the city; not at a place like this. But, it and its blood-red meat would do for this night. The taste of steak would not have meant much to most vampires anyways, but in his centuries of death, Lucius Erif had still retained his love for food. It was an odd lust of his, as food did absolutely nothing for his well-being and, more often than not, tended to make him feel a bit unwell after consuming it, but he loved cooking and would often douse his meals in blood.

Tonight, though, there would be none of that. He just sat there, cutting at the steak with a mug of beer in front of him (and a fond memory of times when he used to be able to get intoxicated). No, tonight he was not here for pleasure; it was strictly business. A few days ago, the media magnate had a letter delivered to the great Hiro, Lord of the Lycans. Lucius had, of course, heard all about the little operation that the Lycans and the psychic vampires had going on, and instantly saw a business opportunity there. He had requested a meeting with Hiro in order to work out some type of arrangement, sure that his services could be useful to the lycan.

Of course, it could have been a difficult decision to come to, given the distrust and antipathy between his kind and Hiro's. With centuries of practice behind him and a general apathy towards anything beyond him and those he personally cared for, Lucius was able to put this aversion behind them for the sake of a lucrative business proposition. He cared little for the fighting between the races; he operated on merely finding what was inevitable and expediting it in whatever way was most suitable for himself.

So, he sat in this public place, a safe an neutral location, awaiting the arrival of the great lycan and, with him, the hope of a profitable, if not strange, partnership.

[Deleted]

"101...102....103...." He counted doing his daily push-ups to keep himself fit for any task. When a messenger enters, with a letter written directly to him. That wasn't normal, everyone usually calls by phone, for any reason to hide eachother voices. "A elder vampire? Wants to meet me in person?" An odd thing to ask of an Anicent lycan as himself. Of course his reaction was not too trusting, it could be a trap or a good business call, but wasn't it forbidden for pure vampires to conduct business with lycans? Decisions, decisions. He chose to go to the meet but he wasn't going to be alone, and will not be unprepared for an attack. But nor did he want the stink of sweat and body odor to mock his races...Presentation, after all he was the leader of his race.

He takes a shower first, then gets dress with white silk, everything was white. His masks, his pants, and shirts. He didn't choose the color because it looked good on him, the color was seen as a ceasefire without the flag. In his pants were two magums strapped to his legs, and knives dipped in holy water strapped on his arm and of course his three century old katana. Body armor under his silk shirt. on Many creatures has have fallen to this mighty blade. He gave it a quickly glance before putting it on his hip. A lycan quickly enters the room hearing about the meeting. The lycan believed in the old ways, how vampires should not be allied by lycans and a old friend of his.

"My lord. Is this true? Are you really gonna go meet this vampire?" The lycan start. He only responds by nodding his head quietly. "But isn't he an elder? It could be a trap. We cannot lose our only leader! You fought to become the leader of all lycan and you fought against hundred of thousands vampires in your time. Why do you choose the begin trade now? Why go against everything our kind died for? In fact we became free ourselves only a few hundred years ago."

He turned and looked at his fellow lycan warrior. Walks up and placed his hand on shoulder. "I understand your point my lycan brother. We did fought our way out of slavery. Do you understand how?" "Our superior strength?" He shakes his head at the lycan's answer. "That is a part of the reason but no my brother. It was our will and determination and ability to adapt, use tactics if you will. And a good tactic and use our momentum to put us on the top. We can be as great as any vampire if not any greater." He lower his hands from the lycans should and begins his walk to the pub where he was suppose to meet him. "Right now we are only pawns, the middle men, for the different branches of vampire. We are still, in the sense slaves, but with more freedoms, like those....Humans under their 'government'." He laughs a bit knowing it was no laughing matter. But there are always situations where you can just laugh them off. "But as I was saying, we need profit. A good net income, the more income the things we can have for the others! Not to mention we could use the elder for our own needs."

He continues his walk to his white and red motorcycle, where five body guards mounted theirs. The lycan give him a look to be careful. Of course he had to be careful, a race was relying on him. He looked at his guards nodding his head. After that they all began their cycles and drives quickly to the pub. He dismounts the bike and entered the pub, scanned the area with his eyes and spotted the vampire. He turns his head back giving the guards the signal to stay out and guard the foor. They didn't like the idea but they did as they were told. He walked over and took a seat. "So....What is this partnership you spoke of?"

[lucius]

Lucius smelt him, felt him, sensed him before he walked through the door. The Alpha Lycan. The leader of the pack. The big bad wolf. But, Lucius did not acknowledge what he knew; it was unimportant to do so. No, he merely remained seated at his little booth, cutting away at the steak as the Lycan approached. He felt the concern and mistrust of the lycans standing watch outside, and the perplexing mood of the great one now approaching him. Such feelings were to be expected; this were highly unusual circumstances that they all found themselves under.

The blue eyes of the elder vampire fell upon Hiro as he approached, and Lucius curiously cocked his head to the side as Hiro took a seat. Rather than return an immediate answer tot he question, Lucius merely let out a small chuckle, relaxing back into his seat as he lifted his fork to his mouth and took another bite of his steak. He chewed the meat slowly, smiling at the man-wolf amusingly. "Ah, straight cut to the chase with no time wasted. Signs of a man who knows how to conduct cold and straightforward business," said Lucius, lowering his fork and beginning to cut another part of the meat, his gaze shifting down to his plate. "But I know you must be curious, Hiroshi the Ancient, Lord of Lycans, as to more than just the proposal I have to make, no? Of course you are. There is that nagging feeling there, I am sure. That one question--one word--in the back of your men's minds no doubt--- Why? Why am I willing to work with you."

Bringing the fork up again, Lucius stared at the piece of meet for a moment, as if contemplating its existence. "I know all that I can of you, Hiro. It is my most special gift. I have lived for almost two thousand years, and I remember every moment of it vividly. Everything I read, everything I see, smell, think, touch, or hear, I remember. Information is my speciality, and control of it is my power," said Lucius, bringing the meat to his mouth again and swallowing it down as he returned his gaze to the ancient lycan. "I know that you're the man with the plan. You fetch--forgive the euphemism--the unwitting prey for the psychic vampires, they use them, and then you sell them on the market and all make a lovely profit. I know what they give you in return."

He set his fork down on his plate, now folding his hands neatly in front of him on the table as he focused his gaze on Hiro. Now they were getting down to business. "I also know that the entire operation is a house of cards and its operations can be made public at any moment, as can its intentions. You don't want to have to get into fights you don't need to be in, nor endanger the pack you lead in any way. I believe that you and I can thus be mutually beneficial to each other," said Lucius, a charming smile on his handsome face. "You see, I care little for the blood feud between our species. It serves no purpose to me. I care only about business and what is best for it. You need to stay one step ahead of the White Angels who threaten to shut you down, and your operation needs to stay out of the public eyes. I control the news in this city; I can ensure it overlooks certain things, and keep my ears open for word on unfriendly plans towards the trade you are engaged in."

[Deleted]

This elder knew what he was doing, but he played like a little boy with a new toy. And for this little boy, slave trade was his little new toy. He didn't know how to treat his guest, all this was, was a game to him. No honor, no respect, all about the money. To tell the truth he really didn't need the help, the system was good. They had people in the police and even working for the president, the slaves, would just 'disappear'. No one had the proof to really argue with them. And whoever dared crossed them would be killed with no remorse or mercy. He looked into the vampires eyes, as if he was analyzing his true intentions. He could easily tell this vampire was no fighter, that was for certain.

He listen to each word carefully. Listening to his heart beat, he was trying to get on this lycan's good side. But he looked at vampire once more seeing him smiling as if he was looking at a dog staring at it's new master. "You know...Mr. Lucius." He said calmly. "It is rude, for a business man, such as yourself. To eat in front of a, maybe, future ally that can get you a lot of profit. Not to mention you insult my race, to sound like dogs fetching sticks for their masters. How vampiric of you dear boy." He chuckles at the vampire a bit before continuing. "I guess I can understand that view point though. You look at me and you see a dumb brute, a killer who doesn't know the meaning of business only killing."

He looks at him as Lucius stared at the steak then gonnle it up. This time he took his turn to taunt the vampire. He quickly refrined from doing so, he was a leader he had to show not all lycan's were angry brutes. "But mr. Lucius, we are here to conduct business. You have to offer me more than just that. I am not here to play defense and wait until a vampire strike on my people." He pauses for a moment. "Look I care about my people. Give me info on some vampire territories that I can strike to hurt operations. If you can give me that and any attacks on my kind by vampires, their slaves, and the seven sins lead by Daimon. Then we will have a deal. But are you willing to do so? Do you have enough honor to become loyal to me? If not the honor the money will be enough."

[lucius]

Lucius arched an eyebrow, that charming, business-proof smile remaining settled on his face as he looked at the lycan. "Oh! Quite the contrary. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but in my experience over my life, most civil conversations happen over food. Breaking bread and all that old chivalric stuff. It's not meant as an insult. It's meant as a sign that I trust you enough to let my guard down and eat with you," explained the vampire elder, a soft chuckle escaping his lips. "And I apologized for the euphemism. I could just think of no better way of describing it as that, though perhaps I could have tried harder, I suppose. Slip of the tongue, then." Rarely would Lucius Erif admit to a slip of the tongue. He silver tongue was one of his greatest gifts.

His blue eyes remaining focused on the lycan, a curious twinkle in them, he maintained his calm demeanor. "If I thought you were nothing more than a brute, I would not bother meeting with you, I assure you," said Lucius. Though he did hold no special feelings for the Lycans and tended to not prefer their company, he knew that there were capable ones among them. Cultured ones, even. In the ancient vampire's experience, there were not many; but there were a few. It was not surprising that these few tended to also become the leaders.

But, the deal Lucius had proposed was suddenly met by a rather more dangerous counter-proposal. The Lycan Lord wanted to embroil Lucius in this little war by revealing the locations of other vampires. He paused for a moment, his friendly smile faltering as he got into the more grime area of doing this type of business. The vampire leaned back in his seat somewhat, looking back at Hiro. "I will not assist in the genocide of my kind, I am sorry. It would negate my neutrality in this little blood war. And I am willing to treat you as an equal and honorable business partner, but I swear fealty to no one," said Lucius, setting the parameters of his partaking in these affairs. "Now, I will offer you all of my services to keep the slave trade out of the media, as I promised, and I will assist with the transferring and laundering of your monies in order to ensure that they cannot be tracked. I wield a lot of influence over city politicians and security forces, as you no doubt do as well, and I will pull strings to assist in these affairs. I will also give you advance warning if I learn of any impending attacks on your kind, as you requested, But I will not reveal the locations of other vampires for you to kill. I may appear to lack ethics, but there are certain lines even I shall not cross."

Relaxing once more, getting that rather forceful part out of him, the smile returned to his face. "I will help keep this trade secret from the public and secure from the enemies. In this game I play defense only. Offense is just outside of my boundaries," said Lucius. He was willing to help protect things, but he would not go assisting in attacking others unless they somehow posed a direct threat to his business interests.

[Deleted]

"You don't understand the word my boy." He said calmly. "If you did you would of bought me a meal." A laugh escaped his lips and disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He knew he rattled Lucius's cage, after all these years. He had to be a great warrior and business conductor. Knowing he had to be somewhat harsh all the lycans he had killed for the vampires race. In the time of the death wars, he was a living legend, there were only unproven stories now. Much before this elder's time. He continued with the proposal, if the boy wanted money he had to earn it.

"Then I am afraid the money get will be none. What you offer me is almost nothing. I am not afraid of humans knowing about us. Because well, it will reveal vampires, then the physic vampires. And the only thing you will profit will be a sword from a white angel in your heart. Or worse angry humans looking for how you tick. Because they will eventually find out your a vampire. And you are a part of this whole scandal." His noise grew very dark. "I am not taking just a piece. I want the whole thing. I want information. I'm not asking for weapons or slaves, just operations. They won't know it's you, the only people will know is me and you, no one else. Those wovles outside don't know what you look like or what your name is, only that your an elder. And there are many elders."

"I will admit something." A very rare thing for him to do, especially for an elder vampire. "You are very brave for having this meeting with me. Knowing all of the risks that come with it. Hell I could be one of those lycans who would torture you until you gave in. But lucky for you I'm not." He remains as he is, resting his arms on the table. "I respect that you will protect your kind and have some honor if any. But I have no real use for you unless you do this for me. All businesses need what? Money. And who has most of it? Me. Please now...." His voice become softer. "Help my cause, because I understand the racism between our kinds. Personally I hate racism. I only fight to protect my kind." He holds out his hand hoping for the deal to be seal. "How about this? You only reveal when it most desperate of times."

[lucius]

The blue eyes of the vampire elder focused in on the hand extended to him, thoughts flying through the keen mind of his. Prior to arranging the meeting, he had debated for a few moments the warning to watch who one got into bed with, or perhaps Benjamin Franklin's old lesson of lying with dogs and rising with fleas. There was the possibility of the Lycans dragging him deeper into a feud that he really had no interest in. He was a diplomat. Vampires and other species alike used him to negotiate settlements; here he was now being asked to aid in the destruction of his own kind. It was a precarious predicament to find oneself in.

Humans. Lucius had no fear of the humans in general discovering things. They had known in the past and, yes, things had gone poorly, but he did not care one bit. Lucius was quietly an advocate of revealing all. The only reason he didn't is because he got paid more and held more power by the underworld being kept a secret. The less the humans knew, the easier it was for him to have some control over the flow of manipulation. No, he held no fear of revelation, similar to the Lycan Lord. He always had assumed that the lesser-than-human-like creatures--werewolves mostly--would end up on the short end of the stick in that area.

"Then you must understand, Lord of Lycans, that any information that leads to the destruction of other vampires is going to be quite expensive, but I know you can afford to pay. So, I shall stress the other expense-- if I am made to be implicated in anything, despite your assurances to the contrary, information on the movements of your pack may very well go up on the market as well. Do not read me wrong--I do not mean that at all to be a threat. Just an insurance policy that men in my position are made to make, as I am sure you understand," said Lucius. "ZaneCorp will provide media cover--or, lack thereof-- and money laundering to the slave rings. Impending raids or attacks by White Angels, humans, or those opposed to your kind will be made known to you as soon as we hear about it. If negotiations are required between you Lycans or other races, my services will be provided as a middle man. In desperate times, coordinates of vampires will be sold to you. But, in those desperate times, any and all artifacts recovered from such attacks on vampires shall be given to ZaneCorp, and we reserve the right to grant certain persons of interest immunity from death in such attacks."

Lucius pledged protection to certain individuals now and then, and had personal friends in several covens. If he compromised a coven to Hiro, he was going to ensure that those he counted as friends or wards were spared from the bloodshed. And, sticking with his rather opportunistic attitude, he would lay claim to the books and artifacts of any compromised covens to throw into his vaults.

Thus, the vampire elder extended his own hand and took that of the ancient lycan, shaking it. "May our business be fruitful."

[Deleted]

He smiles a bit when he agrees to the deal. Quickly he grips his wrist takes out his katana and cuts his arcorss his palm, using a finger to take a drip of the blood. Then licks it the blood the smell and taste entered his memory. "There is no going back now. Dear boy." He said calmly. "Our deal is now a blood deal, I will know where you are at all times. Please don't take it as a threat. As you said, it is an insurance. I am forced to be somewhat cautious. You being a vampire and all, not to be rude or anything." He takes out a very nice cigar and hands it to Lucius. "A cigar, for our odd fellowship."

He stands ups putting his blade away. "Remember a deal is a deal." He turns his body and begins to walk away but makes a sudden stop. "I will be attacking the vampiric club pretty soon here. Because of all the money it makes, and I can do a lot more with it. And I am a pretty nice guy after all, and am not beastly as most people find me to be. So if any of your slaves are there. Friends or any family, I advise to warn them now. Oh and if you decide to warn the lord of vampires, be sure to tell him not to show up or his head will be on a platter."

He knew the attack on the club would most likey fail. It was a mostly a distraction, to build his own dock to ship goods and 'services'. And a huge home for all lycans and their slaves. But of course He couldn't let just anyone know that could he? He turns again and looks at the elder. "I kind of like you, and I have to say this...Don't screw that up." He turned once more continuing his walk outside. He wasn't trying to scare more of warning him. If he didn't want to be part of this war, then he shouldn't cross him. It was like he was, in a way, protecting him from the war.

[lucius]

Lucius did not wince or protest when the lycan took his hand and cut it, just looking on rather unenthusiastically at the exchange. He was not worried about the Lycan getting his scent and being able to track him; for his part, Lucius tended to have most of the city's bigwigs tracked so that he could keep tabs on where they were at all times, so he supposed that it was only fair that Hiro pull the same thing on him. Though, Lucius used other scents and technology, personally believing himself to have taken a step up from the necessary use of swords and cutting of skin and whatnot. But, he would not protest. Such things were trivial.

The vampire elder took the cigar, casting another glance to Hiro and nodding as the wolf man left the pub. Lucius lifted his hand before his face and watched as the wound started to heal and vanish. "Right. I get called rude for enjoying a cheap steak, and he gets off cutting my hand with a katana. There's justice for you," sighed Lucius under his breath, taking a napkin and wiping the blood from his hand. He stood up, casting a glare at some of the pub's patrons that suddenly took an interest in his booth when Hiro pulled out the sword. With the look, they all decided it was best to look away.

Stuffing the cigar into his jacket's inside pocket, Lucius threw a few bills onto the table and made his exit. Cyanide was going to be attacked, apparently, so Lucius needed to ensure his interests were protected. The lycan had not forbidden him from warning Kayen about the impending attack, so Lucius decided he would tell Kayen not to go. Not out of any particular fondness for the vampiric lord; Lucius personally found Lord Storm to be rather more brutish than many lycans. But, Kayen was useful and helped keep the balance of power in the city going well. It was not yet his time to die.