World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - A Stroll by the Crescent Moon [Finished]

[Adrian Moss]

It doesn’t matter if you succeed by an inch or a mile, winning is winning.

Adrian was getting used to parking down the street and talking the long, scenic walks up to houses. It was something he would have to put on his resume. The house of Theodore “Theo” Hatcher was in a nice neighborhood, but not to swank or pretensions. It qualified as a small mansion. The Mekhet wouldn’t have minded staying there.

The first thing he noticed was the quality of the alarm service. Ouch, but it was tough. Bad news for Adrian, since his cat burglar skills were a bit thin. He opted for a sneak and peek instead. You could still find stuff out by looking in windows. It didn’t take long before he found two some ones moving through the house. He could only make out part of what they were saying, but he did get the words ‘getting him.’

Did they think Amber was a he?

Anyway, one of the women had a body builders build and blonde hair shaved on the sides, just like Amber had described. The other was younger, like Adrian, but dressed like Gwen – a law student? Both passed down the hallway and out of sight. Oh yeah, and this beast told him they were vampires too, both of them. Being outside sucked, but being inside had the capacity to be far, far worse.

In the next room there was nothing but some really stuffy furniture and a lot of books. It took a moment before he recognized them. They were various volumes of the Californian Legal Code. He made out Corporate, Criminal, and Tax Law. This guy was a serious law buff.

The man walking in caught Adrian off guard. He stopped in the door for a minute and looked out the window at Adrian. Adrian’s beast leapt up in his throat and begged him to run. This was definitely not good. With a great effort, the younger, weaker vampire bit down on his primal urge and held his ground. The man couldn’t see him. Adrian was sure of that.

The man shook his head and walked over to his desk. Adrian lost sight of him, but decided to move on less his luck change. His luck did change. There wasn’t anything else to see in the house, besides the nice furniture, fashionable drapes, and the appropriately hip entertainment equipment. Not kid friendly, but none of these people looked like the Wii type.

Damn. Adrian wished he could get in the house, but he knew it was beyond his skills. It would take a professional thief to get into that fortress, and then there were the vampires. He pulled out the phone as he approached the car. He had more news but not the best news. He dialed up Amber. When she answered he got down to business.

“Hey. Three kindred in the house and I saw the one you mentioned. She’s definitely a …”

[Adrian Moss]

“Another word and you’re dead, Mother-fucker!” a voice seethed from behind me. It was punctuated by the feel of a shotgun barrel being shoved against the back of my neck. I had heard about someone being decapitated by a shotgun blast, but never seen it. I certainly didn’t want to do witness one now. I slowly moved the phone away from my ear and kept my mouth shut. I didn’t hear Amber saying anything.

“Drop the call.”

I hung up the phone.

“Now we are going to walk across the street and talk to The Man. Do anything stupid, I’m going to cut you in half.”

I nod very, very slowly.

I’m searching for a way out of this as I walk back to the mansion. Nothing but my immediate demise comes to mind. I briefly think about just disappearing in front of this guy. It’s just one guy, right? Then it occurs to me that there must be a reason this guy got caught. He wasn’t in the street, or in the car, and he didn’t trip off my beast. That means he is definitely a vampire. I have no idea if he’s a Mekhet like me, or a Nosferatu. I can’t see him.

When we get to the door, little Ms. College Girl gets the door; she isn’t smiling but she’s not exactly scowling at me either. I can’t help myself.

“Avon calling,” I say with a grin. I really say the stupidest stuff when I’m terrified. The reached into my jacket and took my pistols. Placing one under her arm, she continued to search me until she found my baton. Now I was disarmed. Sweet.

“You have a disarming manner,” I blurt out nervously.

She doesn’t respond with a smile, but tilts her head slightly. The guy behind me pushes me inside. I can tell by the direction I’m being shoved we are going to the kitchen. The fact that its linoleum floors are easy to get blood off of isn’t lost on me. The Big Blonde and the Suite are in there waiting for me. The Big Blonde is starting to weird me out, so she must be a Nosferatu, though she’s still attractive. The Suite looks soft until you reach his eyes. He has old eyes and you don’t get to be an old leech without a serious, kick-ass bag of tricks.

“You try any mind tricks and I’ll dust your ass before you blink.”

I see how long it takes me to blink. I’m pretty desperate and intimidated. The gunman comes around and I can see him now. He’s a black man, well-built with a gangster chic thing going on. He loosens up his tie as she lays the shotgun against his shoulder. He looked a bit like he wanted to see me dead.

“Where is Dylan?” the blonde shouted out. I took a half step back.

“Who?” I managed to get out after a moment. The Suite studied my reaction. It was definitely uncomfortable.

“I don’t think he knows,” came from the girl behind me.

“He doesn’t,” confirmed the Suite. “Why don’t you tell us why you are here,” he addressed to me.

“Casing the house,” I came back lamely, “to rob it.”

The black guy lowered the shotgun menacingly. Suite shook his head. Blonde touched her face. As the hand came down it became a fist.

“You are a terrible liar, Mr. … Tell me your name.”

The words hit me like a thunderbolt. I feel a tidal wave of control washing over my mind. I mount my best defense along the bastion of my psyche.

“Adrian Moss.” My tongue stumbles over itself trying to get the words out.

”Tell me why you are here.”

I fight with everything I got. I dig deep like my own life depended upon it. The words well up in my throat … then I stop. Somehow, I’m able to keep my lips from opening and my tongue from wagging. I’m not sure what kind of victory that is, but it’s a quiet one for me.

“I came here tracking Theodore Hatcher down for a friend.”

At least I can control what truth I tell them. I’m still sure they can grind me down, or torture everything out of me, but I might be able to salvage something out of this. Something like Antoine’s identity and his relationship to Amber. I concentrate on that.

“You own Jefferson Reality Group, right?” I address to the Suite.

He studies me for another moment. The blonde takes the moment to punch me in the stomach and yell,

“So it was you there too, bitch!”

She steps back and touches her face again. She’s getting a lot less attractive by the moment. I hear a gun click behind me. I guess College Girl isn’t going to let me do something stupid.

“Moss,” the black man muses. “He’s with the Westwood Invictus – a real youngster. Sire is Ordo. I know him because he’s a Shadow.”

“Is this true?” he asks me. I can feel him holding the mental hammer back – for now.

“Yes, but I’m on here on my own time. I’m helping out a friend.”

“What does this have to do with the Jefferson Reality Group?”

[Adrian Moss]

“I don’t …” I lie then I see a major beat-down coming, “ … you are foreclosing on this friend’s home.”

“Wait,” says the Gangster Man. “The head of the Westwood is a Gangrel. Marion, he could have been the one to attack you.”

“Hold on,” speaks the Suite in an even, calming tone. “He is working for a friend, not the Invictus. It is unlikely he would consider Jorge a friend. So, Adrian, who is this Gangrel?”

Well, the Gangrel involved is named Sarah, by a long, convoluted route … sort of. I can’t bring myself to tell them. Besides, I’ve had enough. Maybe I should see just how much torture I can take.

“Who is this friend?”

Again with the sledgehammer of the mind; I don’t have much left to fight it with and I feel myself caving in. Sorry Amber. I feel his power washing over me and suddenly I don’t give a crap. I find the strength and it feels … liberating.

“Fuck off.”

This time Gangster Man beats me – shotgun to the side of the head, or he tries. I’m not taking this anymore. I know I don’t have a shot, but I really don’t feel like licking the bottoms of these people’s boots. He clips me anyway, but my vision isn’t swimming. College Girl steps up with one of my own guns and gets in a threatening position to shoot me. I glide past her deftly.

Now I’ve got all four of them in front of me, I think I got a chance. Blonde Sculpted Body is circling around the island in the kitchen to get behind me, and to get out of Gangsta-Man’s line of fire. I’m so ready to fuck someone up before I go down. The Suite steps forward.

“ Sit Down!”

I fall like a sack of beans. The Blonde comes around and grabs me by the back of my neck. She lifts me up like I weigh a lot less than I really do. She bounces me around. Gangsta Man gives the barest hint of a smile which quickly fades under the weight of a memory. College Girl moves out of the way.

“That’s enough of that,” says the Suite. “Now, I’m willing to take most of the night, if that’s what it takes. I will tell you know that you will lose. You are a neonate and I’m not. You really don’t have the age, power, or experience to hold me off forever. Be reasonable. All we want is information.”

I’m still aching mentally from that last mental bombast. I barely catch what he’s saying. All I can do is fight for time. Time for what, I have no idea.

“Let me go to my people and see if it’s okay what I say to you. I’ll be back. I promise.”

The Suite raises his hand halfway up to forestall a Gansta-beating. He’s too slow to stop the Blonde from squeezing my neck like … will like I was some sausage balloon. Damn, she’s strong.

“What is this person’s name?”

“Amber Wren.”

I’m fighting him all the way, but it’s like he said. I’m the pebble and he’s the crashing wave.

”What is Amber Wren’s Clan?”

Sometimes the pebble moves only a little bit.

“Bite me.”

The Blonde makes sure I won’t have to go to a chiropractor until the next of ever.

“Theo, give me one minute with an open flame and I’ll have your answers,” the Blonde growls.

“Honey,” I quip, “I hope our second date goes a whole lot better *gurk*,” I gasp, but gravelly, and bravely I carry on, “because this one really sucks.”

College Girl smiles at that one. Blonde stops squeezing. Maybe she realizes she’s about to pop my skull off my head. Maybe she wants a second date. Maybe my mind is too addled by the facts not in evidence to carry on in my own defense. Why am I even thinking this way.

Gangsta looks at the Blonde, or over my shoulder anyway, and says,

“Give me his hand. It’s all I need.”

Okay. They are either going to burn me, or break my bones. I’m running out of options.

“Seriously,” my voice is about to break, “let me give her a call and I’ll see what I can do. I don’t mean to be a hard-ass, but I have my Code.”

“Give him his phone,” The Suite tells them. “I think we have bigger problems than this small Mekhet and whomever he is working for.”

Gangsta reaches over and pulls my phone out from my pocket. He drops it in my hand. Thankfully I have good reflexes. I dial the phone and slowly put it up to my ear. Oh boy. How do I explain this? Help me? The guy you want kill has my by the short hairs. I can’t wait for her to answer.

[Adrian Moss]

“Um hello.”

“Well they caught me. Bad news for me, right?”

“Well, by human standards… Hell, I’m sorry. What can I say? Anything you want to pass on before you hang up?”

“No. All four of them are standing around me now,” and Gangsta tries to hit me, barely succeeding, “including Mr. Hatcher.” And then they rush me. I’m dodging and weaving like a champ, or a scared chicken.

“Sure thing,” I say, keeping the phone to my ear. “Sure you don’t want to talk to him right now, or do you need to be in his face?”

They stop for a moment. The Suite reaches out with his hand for the phone. I hold up my hand.

“See you soon Honey,” and she blesses me out as I knew she would. I look to the Suite. “Mr. Hatcher, she’s on her way.”

I look around the room. “I guess we can get comfortable now.”

Gangsta looks to The Suite, “Should we call some back-up?”

The Suite looks me over. “Yes. Marion call in some of your friends. Better safe than sorry.”

[z-Amber Wren]

Amber was already in her truck and winding her way to Santa Monica Blvd. As she waited impatiently for the traffic to clear so she could make her right turn, her phone rang again. She didn't want to admit it, but she was relieved to see Adrian's id on the screen. She opened it up and put it to her ear.

"Um hello." His voice was nervous, and Amber realized that he might have just dropped his phone or something odd. Her response was a bit more testy than it should have been.

"What happened?"

"Well, they caught me. Bad news for me, right?"

Now her irritation surged full force. "I thought you were good at this, damnit!"

"Well, by human standards ... Hell, I'm sorry. What can I say? Anything you want me to pass on before you hang up?" he asked, sounding like a kicked dog.

And despite wanted to do exactly that, she snarled, "Shut up. Did you escape?"

"No. All four of them are standing around me now - ow! - including Mr. Hatcher." There was a scuffling noise.

"Great. I've been wanting to talk to him. Tell him I'm on my way to get you out and have a chat with him," Amber replied, half a mind on the traffic she's navigating.

"Sure thing. Sure you don't want to talk to him right now, or do you need to be in his face?"

"C'mon, Adrian, you know I'm my best in person," she replied, jamming on the brakes for a second to avoid a collision. With one hand, she spun the wheel and jerked around the offending car with a burst of speed.

"See ya soon Honey."

"Don't call me honey, asshole," Amber snarled and closed her phone. She pushed the accelerator a little harder. She didn't like Adrian. She really didn't want to help him. But he had agreed to help her, and if she let him die, it wouldn't sit right with her. She was dumb, a complete moron for doing this, but she couldn't leave him alone there.

Thirty minutes later, Amber pulled up in front of the house. They knew she was coming, so there was no point in being subtle. She didn't bother knocking either. She just walked up, opened the door and stepped in.

A familiar woman was waiting for her, memorable right down to her rapidly-healing scars. Amber felt herself tense, but there was no smell of blood, nothing that triggered that desire for her blood. "Move," the blond said, waving her toward the back of the house. Amber moved along, aware that she was under-dressed in her loose sweats.

There was quite a scene in the kitchen; Adrian was on his knees with a shotgun pointed at his head. The shotgun was held by a bulky-looking black man. Another woman was in the room, a cute, young woman with auburn hair and the kind of body that men killed to possess. And the final person was clearly the leader; Amber recognized his power and presence from home. "You have to be Theodore Hatcher."

"Miss. Amber Wren?" he replied.

"Ms. but otherwise correct," Amber replied. It was strange, but staring at him was taking her back home. But she wasn't an underling groveling before an all-powerful werewolf. She was a powerful Uratha and this was just a leech. Her chin came up, just a little, and her shoulders came back as she met his eyes. They were hazel and intelligent and frighteningly old. She didn't notice his nice clothes, or his short-cut dirty blond hair.

"What do you want?" he asked, his tone thick with a Southern accent.

Amber took a deep breath. "I want to keep my apartment, but I can't pay the new rent. I wanted to work out a deal with you. Oh, and get Adrian back."

[Adrian Moss]

It was nice to be included, even at the end. Of course, his heart had nearly lept out of his chest when she came barging in like that. Then he remembered these were Carthians, not his Invicuts brethern. They had a different idea on hospitality, so maybe Amber's attitude would score her points. For a moment, he thought about trying something stupid like rolling out from under Gangsta Man's gun, but he hesitated and the moment passed.

Instead, he slowly turned to the Gangsta and said,

"I'm going to stand up now," in the steadiest tone he could manage.

"She's here now."

And he did it.

He felt like saying something snarky like " ... and I want my guns and baton back", but his two brain cells were still firing and he fell mum. Likewise, he felt like saying "Hey" to Amber, but he figured they would have a chance for them to talk, and her to yell at him, once they got out of this place alive.

[z-Amber Wren]

"All this effort to retain an apartment whose caliber is sub-grade?" Hatcher asked, his eyes narrowing. "That is very difficult to believe."

"It's my home, and if you'd just returned my requested call, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths," Amber pointed out, fairly reasonably in her own mind. "To be fair, I didn't know you were vampires to start, either."

Everyone in the room tensed. Amber's eyes narrowed as she curled her fists shut, instinctively responding to the increase in tension.

"She's not a mortal," Adrian quickly blurt out, correctly realizing the source of the vampires' anxiety. Now there was a different kind of tension, but it wasn't going to get Amber attacked or compelled immediately.

"What is she?" the blond woman asked.

"None of your business," Amber replied immediately, and ill-advisedly.

"To the contrary, you have violated my sanctity by your proxy's actions, and you wish me to create an exception for you in a business dealing," Theodore said, standing a bit taller. "I think that requires some disclosure on your part."

"Yeah, all we have is your name," the auburn-haired woman said. "And that you have no manners."

Amber pursed her lips and glanced quickly at Adrian. He made a gesture that could have been an expression of cluelessness or one of agreement. Her lips curled into a scowl before she admitted, "I'm a werewolf."

Once again, the tension was back in the room, but this time, it was accompanied by a fear so thick that Amber could taste it. "A werewolf," Theodore said, his tone careful, as if the words alone could hurt him.

"Fuck... you're the one who attacked me," Marion snarled suddenly. "I knew that was no ordinary dog!"

[Adrian Moss]

While blonde was getting her righteous anger on, Gangsta man moved to be more in the way of Amber and the Suite.

The Suites mind was acting the fastest and he was putting things together with the spoken word.

"That's why you hung onto that secret so diligently," he mused, gaining control over the fear he and his underlings felt.

I felt my eyes flicker over to Amber and worked really hard at making no sudden moves. Amber looked like her focus was balanced between the Alpha/The Suite and the Blonde who looked ready for round two.

For an instant I kid myself that this would make the odds for me better. It's to laugh. Then it occurs to me to warn Amber to not meet the Suite's gaze, but that would only ratchet up the tention to a higher, less acceptable level. Besides, that mind trick might not work on a Were, right?

"Why don't we all try and work this out, okay?" I say holding up my hands. "You guys ... and girls are being reasonable. Amber wants a reasonable thing. This can all work out with a few well-chosen words and a phone call. Then we will be gone and you never need see us ever again."

I look at The Suite.

"How about it?"

[z-Amber Wren]

"To a business man, what she asks isn't reasonable," Theodore replied, but there was a crafty glint in his eyes now as he looked at Amber. "It's very unreasonable. You could just move. There are plenty of cheaper apartments in the area."

Amber shook her head. "It's my home," she said stubbornly, unwilling to explain that she needed access to the building so that she could get into her locus. "I won't move."

Theodore's eyes narrowed as he stared at Amber for a moment. "I see. So the value of that apartment is very important? To you personally, I mean."

Amber started to reply, but there seemed no safe answer. She'd trapped herself neatly; if she said no, then it belied everything she'd done to this point. If she said yes, it gave them incredible leverage. "Let's put it this way. I plan to make things very hard for you if you don't work out a deal with me. Even knowing what you guys are - and hating that - I'm still willing to play fair with you. And you're gonna want to play fair with me."

"That a threat?" the blond woman snapped.

"That's a promise," Amber said softly, and not without a touch of a cringe at the cliche. Feeling the need to not leave it on that note, she added, "I have strong feelings regarding the keeping of one's word."

"Clearly, you don't have similiar feelings about unprovoked attacks," the blond mumbled. Before Amber could reply to that, Theodore held up his hand.

"I was born in a time when a man was his word," Theodore said. "I have found it to be a difficult habit to expunge. What I agree to, will be kept by me and mine." He glanced pointedly at Adrian.

Amber caught the look. "Adrian, go wait in my truck," she said. "If I don't come back, be sure that the others know." She wasn't sure which others those would be, but she was sure he'd at least tell Sarah, who would tell Dec, who would gather everyone for a strike. It'd be a werewolf version of the LAPD's beatdown on Rodney King. Her only regret was that it'd only happen if she was dead, and she'd completely miss seeing it.

[Adrian Moss]

"What?" Adrian would have jumped out of his seat if he'd been sitting down. "Now way!" I'm not ..."

Amber's glare was a plaitable fist to the face.

"... leaving you alone," he managed to get out.

"Fuck."

"I'll be outside if you need ... you know."

No one said a word as he made his way out the front door. Now his options were two-fold. He could hang out at the truck, ratchet up his senses to 11 and hear in on the conversation, or he could go to his car and get his shotgun. Then he could mask it and stick by the truck and ratchtet up his senses.

The odds of missing something were too great. He had to have Amber's back. If that meant he had to beat someone to death with a chair, stool, or vase, so be it.

The sound was painful. Adrian couldn't focus it so he was getting all kinds of background noise from the city all around them. Then he thought of something that might help. He concentrated on the house and listened for its lone, sole heart beat. Slowly he began to pick up the noises around her. Now Amber wasn't really alone.

[z-Amber Wren]

After Adrian had left, Amber turned to Theodore. "Let's deal," she said, mostly because she felt the need to take control of the situation.

"Alright," Theodore said, clasping his hands in front of him and taking a more relaxed stance, "what do you have to offer?"

"I'm a werewolf," Amber said. "What the hell do you think I offer?"

"So not manners," Theodore replied calmly. "This will go faster if you tell me what you can do, instead of requiring us to guess."

"I kill things," Amber snarled. "I kill them a lot."

"Can you defend?" Theodore asked. "As in, others. Have you experience bodyguarding?"

The blond woman gasped. "Theo, no!"

"Quick as ever, Marion," Theodore said, holding up a hand in a staying gesture again. "But she is an opprotunity, one which I will not pass by."

"What's going on?" Amber asked, her eyes narrowing.

"We have an internal argument that we are attempting to surmount favorably. You might be the key to completing that objective," Theodore explained. By now, the rest of his crew was gaping at him, either in surprise or disbelief.

"You're not telling me shit," Amber snapped.

"If you want to keep your apartment, you'll keep myself and the other people in this room alive." Theodore smiled. "Look at it this way. You get what you want, and you get to kill vampires, probably."

Her agreement was unsurprising.

[Adrian Moss]

Adrian was surprised. Surprised by the whole situation. After all what could be so terrible that The Suite and his coterie would be going to a were for help? He started piecing the conversation back together.

Amber would get the chance to kill Vampires. Did that mean they were making a move against somebody ... somebody like the Invictus?

No. The Suite was talking about defending them - bodyguard duty. Then who would be after the head of the Carthians? If it had been Invictus, his faction would have heard something about it, right?

Could this be something internal? That information might help him with the Invictus, but that might endanger Amber more. This smelled like something internal. Why bring in an outsider for security?

Maybe - maybe not. Adrian knew he was small fry. If that was the case, then his side couldn't blame him for helping out Amber, if Amber wanted any more of his help. She probably wouldn't, but he had to ask.

Adrian was still going over what he had figured out when he heard the door open. He quickly dialed down the senses so as not to be deafened when the door was slammed closed as expected. Amber didn't look happy, though she rarely ever looked happy around vampires. He leaned off her truck and teetered forward.

"So, what's up now? ... and thanks."

[z-Amber Wren]

The deal was fair, Amber mused as she skipped down the steps. She was actually an employed wolf now. Tomorrow she'd fill out the paperwork, though she was starting tonight. She needed to go home and get her one nice outfit - which she needed to have Dedicated as soon as possible. It was going to be a long night, but it would be worth it.

"Don't thank me," Amber growled. "I didn't do it for you." She walked around the side of the truck, opening it up. The werewolf paused and some of the irritatoin slipped away - or was at least subsumed. "Want a ride somewhere?"

She wasn't really thinking about Adrian or his lack of mobility. Her mind was on the fact that somehow, she'd done it. She'd saved her locus, so long as she kept up her end of the deal. Amber didn't really think she'd have any problems killing vampires.

[Adrian Moss]

"Ride? Nah. My car is down the street."

I wished I was a better judge of people. I couldn't tell how angry, or satisfied, Amber was. I certainly didn't know how far I could press her. I definitely knew I couldn't let on that I knew what had transpired in the house.

"You going to be okay now?"

The look she gave me ... it made me want to retract the statement, and me testicles. It was none of my business.

"Well, I'll be going then. I hope to be hearing from you soon, in case, you know, you need anything."

The look she gave me gave every indication of just how likely that would be.

"Well, Good Night then."

I nodded, turned and headed off toward my car. I would have to be getting more guns, but I had wanted to get a pair of revolvers ever since the spent casings incident. A new baton would be even easier to get.

Once I was back at his car and gotten things started did I consider what Amber had really done. She had stepped into the Kindred World - the Danse Macabre. They knew how to put pressure on her - what she valued and things would go on from there. Kindred could be insidious, I thought, not yet considering my own insidious influence on the life of others.

I drove off to my favorite gun shop, trying to put the failures of tonight behind me. Had anything really changed between Amber and I? I doubted it. Still, she owed me one, didn't she?