A Game of Chess, Chapter 20 -- PG-13

[librarian_7]

The next move in the game…

A Game of Chess

Chapter 20

Josef was cautious as he passed Quince in the hall, even though the big man’s body language conveyed no threat, and there was no hint of aggression in his scent. Josef had run across humans who were skilled enough to hide any emotion in their faces, but it was harder to conceal in bodies, and impossible in smell. Much in the way he could smell the gunpowder in a loaded pistol, he could smell a human planning to strike. Quince might be ready to spring into action, if the situation warranted, but he wasn’t planning on anything happening at once. That wasn’t enough to allow Josef to drop his guard, but he was a little less inclined to believe he was under imminent threat of violence. And he did want to enjoy the view of Madame Rose’s eternally pert behind swaying up the stairs, her long skirt lifted enough to give Josef the occasional glimpse of her slender ankles.

Rose’s office was brighter than on his previous visit, the lamps at a level to provide better light for human eyes. Josef had expected Patrick Thornton to be seated behind Rose’s desk, taking the power position in the room, but instead, he stood before the tall bookcase, leafing through the freshly cut pages of the first volume of a current novel.

“Mother,” he commented as Josef and Rose entered the room, “you really shouldn’t waste your time on this rubbish. Aren’t there better books you could be reading?”

She answered him with a fetching pout. “The nights get very long, Patrick. And I do like to be au courant with what the fashionable set is reading.”

“And since when do you mix with the fashionable set?”

Rose gave him a long look, her blue eyes colder than usual. “You’d be surprised at who a woman of business has to deal with in this town, my love.” She turned away, deliberately, to busy herself at her desk with a ledger, draping her full skirts around her with practiced artlessness.

Patrick made no immediate answer, but he closed the book and replaced it on the shelf, taking a few moments to size up his mother’s old friend. “So,” he said with calculated insolence, “what name are you using tonight?”

Josef didn’t answer at once. Taking a seat in a high-backed leather chair, he arranged himself carefully, crossing his legs and unbuttoning the lower buttons of his jacket. The attitude of casual superiority and power came naturally, but a little staging never hurt. Rose would certainly understand that, he thought, even if it might be lost on her son. “What name would you suppose me to use?”

Thornton shrugged. “I’ve heard that Josef Fitzgerald and Oliver Madigan bear a striking resemblance to each other. Not that Sullivan’s figured it out yet.” He chuckled. “But then, no one ever accused the Eagle of having overmuch by way of brains.”

“You have—advantages of information that he does not.” He gave Thornton one of his usual lopsided smiles, but there was no humor in his eyes. “Had I known of your relationship to my dear friend, here, it might have influenced my actions.”

Thornton exchanged a quick look with his mother, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. “I might say the same.”

“Or you might not.” Thornton, Josef thought, had the flat emotionless eyes of a gambler, or a killer. He was going to make a fine vampire someday; he was halfway there already. In the meantime, however, he was still operating out of a human viewpoint, and that made him less predictable. Part of the price of business, dealing with mortal mutability, he supposed. Which made it no less annoying.

The conversation lagged, both men waiting for the other to speak first. Josef had the patience of the dead, when he chose, but he had other plans for the evening, and wanted to further his business here as expeditiously as possible. They’d already wasted too much time on preliminaries.

“Night Wind Trading,” Josef said, dropping the name into the silence like a stone into a pond. “Why is my company being singled out?”

Thornton made a little motion with his mouth and shoulders. “It’s business. You shouldn’t take it personally.”

“My company is not such a large concern that it should inconvenience anyone. And there are other small importers that are not suffering from arson and, if you’ll pardon me saying so, gang attacks.”

The younger man smiled. “No reason I should take offense,” he replied. “I know what the Blood Hand is. I built it from the ground, and I’m not ashamed of it.”

Josef nodded. This was interesting, but not on topic. “According to my consultants, I have paid every fee—both legally required and the more informal type—which I should have. So the targeting does start to seem a little personal.”

“I can’t speak to that. I got a job, and I’ve been carrying it out.”

“And you aren’t at liberty to discuss your employer?”

“You’d want it that way, if it were you, wouldn’t you?”

Josef inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement of the point. “I can pay you more.”

Thornton smiled. “Ah, but there’s a difference between taking that sort of bribe from a newcomer, and from someone more—established, you see. And you’ve already shown yourself open to enlisting help from the Eagle Boys.”

“Yes, well, that was the recommendation, since your services were not available.” Josef sat back and steepled his fingers. “I do have a proposal, however.”

“I’ll listen, but it’s unlikely you can offer me enough money to make it worth my while to go against the bosses in this town. And still keep a profit for yourself, I mean.” Thornton finally ceased his restless movements, and took a chair opposite Josef. It was time to stop fidgeting, and get down to business.

“You might do well to consider that my interests tend to be…longer range, than the men who hired you. I founded Night Wind,” and he slid his eyes over at Rose, not wanting to give his true age away, “over 100 years ago. I expect it to be a going concern a hundred years hence. But I cannot stay in business in this port, if these attacks continue.”

Thornton shifted in his seat. “I understand your outlook,” he said, gesturing toward his mother. “But you see, I have to deal in the here and now. And if it were known that the Blood Hand could be bought off, my here and now is considerably shortened.” He paused. “You realized that, for sure. In fact, I’m not so sure what you hoped to achieve with this talk.”

Josef stilled, his smile slightly frozen. His first impulse, to glance sharply at Rose Thorne, and ask her what she was playing at, he conquered with a small effort. He hadn’t lived so long by being impulsive. Best to play out the scene, and see what she was after.

He didn’t have long to wait. With a soft rustle of her graceful skirts, Rose stood, coming out from behind her desk to join them. Josef tensed as she stepped behind his chair, but it was only so she could lay her soft, cool hands on his shoulders, the fall of lace from the sleeves of her bodice trailing down his chest. At least, he thought, she hasn’t forgotten her coaxing ways.

“You know, Fitz,” she said, “I have been urging Patrick to…come over to our way of thinking…for some time now. You have to allow, he’d make a fine addition to the club.” Josef could picture the look of maternal pride on her face. “I’d been planning to turn him myself, but it occurs to me—”

“That it never hurts to have the most powerful sire you can manage?” Josef’s tone was wry. He didn’t think of himself as particularly powerful. He’d come from Europe, and been back a few times, and he’d seen vampires whose power made him feel like a newly-turned fledgling. Still, he supposed that here in the United States, with a limited population of older vamps, he was part of the upper echelon. His business success didn’t hurt with that, either. “How very foresighted of you.”

“Mother!” Patrick exclaimed. “What are you saying?”

Josef gave him a crooked smile. “She wants me to agree to turn you. In exchange for your cooperation with my business concerns. Which rather nullifies my ideas.”

Thornton sputtered. “I had no idea—I didn’t condone—”

Josef reached up across his chest, and laid a hand on Rose’s wrist, gripping her. He pulled gently, to bring her around in front of him. It was an old move, and if she’d been a swallow, he could have either pulled her into his lap, or, if he thought she needed disciplining, across his knees. In his many nights, he’d done both. Yet, neither action seemed suitable, in the circumstances, so as she came to face him, he rose, looming over her, his hand forcing her arm behind her as if they were performing some complicated dance. “Did you really think,” he asked, “that I could be coerced so easily?”

Rose went still, that peculiar stillness that only the undead could achieve. It was like having a statue by the arm. A human would have undulated against him, pressed her body closer, hoping for a reaction from him, a signal of distraction. “I’d hardly call it coercion,” she breathed. “Tell me, Fitz, how many vampires do you think are in this city?”

He tilted his head to one side, thinking. “I don’t know,” he said, “but clearly, there are enough to support your establishment.”

“Mine, and three other birdcages, that I know of. There are always a couple of low-rent, fly-by-night places. They set up, operate for a few weeks, or a few months, and then disappear.” She smiled up at him, winsomely.

“Your point being, of course, that there’s a sizeable population locally. And I’m assuming you’re not including the lesser boroughs?”

“Of course not.” She paused. “And how many of this sizeable population have you met, so far?”

He frowned. “Damn few, now that you mention it.” He had actually wondered about that, and put it down, partially, to the season. Summer was no time for anyone to stay in the city, and he’d assumed that was true of the vampire inhabitants as well. “I’m guessing you’re going to enlighten me about that.”

Her laugh was as artificial as the corkscrew curls that framed her face. “I do have some theories. The others are afraid of you. Your reputation precedes you. They figure the best way not to cross you, is not to cross your path. ”

“And here I was, thinking it was something I said.” He glanced away from Rose, over to Patrick. “What sort of terms were you thinking, to procure my services as a sire?”

Patrick shook his head. “Do not look at me. I had no idea she was angling for this.”

Rose fluttered her eyelids. “I’m sure, if you’re willing, a simple handshake would seal the deal. We can work out particulars later.”

Patrick rose, carefully. “Mother, I think you’re going to need to explain some things to me. Like what the hell you’re talking about. What terms?”

“If Fitz, here, agrees to turn you, he will be assuming a financial obligation,” Rose replied, not turning to look at her son. “Most sires settle a bit of money on their get.”

“Did yours?” Patrick asked, bluntly.

She did stop and look at him, then. “No, he did not. Not as much as he should’ve, at any rate. I had to scrabble and fight to make my way in the world, darling, and I want better for you. Fitz can afford to be generous, especially if you’re helping him with his business problems.” She looked back at Josef, her blue eyes wide. “If you agree to it, of course.”

Josef released her, and sat down again, studying the man across from him. “I hadn’t planned on guiding any—protégées, right at the moment. This seems like a rather permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

Rose walked over to Patrick, “I’m not really asking you to do that, Fitz,” she said. “I can teach him what he needs to know. As long as you are willing to acknowledge him as your get, I’m sure all the rest would fall into place.” She reached out to caress Patrick’s cheek, and he knocked her hand away.

“I’ve not agreed to this, Mother,” he grated out.

Her reaction was immediate. The caressing hand dealt a punishing slap to his face, and Patrick reeled with the force of it, as she’d meant him to. “You will do what I decide is best for you, my darling son.”

Recovering himself, Thornton set his lips in a thin line, the mark of his mother’s hand standing out starkly on his cheek. Their eyes locked for a long few moments, and Josef could see the bridled rage in Patrick’s face. “Then again,” he said, his voice filled with a cold venom, “I’m thinking, if this is to happen, it would be as well for my dam, not to be my sire.” He shifted his gaze to Josef. “If you’re willing, and we can come to an agreement, then I accept, Mr. Fitzgerald.”

Josef nodded, his smile wry, and stood up to shake Patrick Thornton’s hand. “I will say, Rose, coming to your house is never boring.”

[francis]

Coming to your Office is also never boring, my dear Lucky.
So now he found himself a fledgling, but will this be the best to do in this Situation? Patrick was going from "No Way" to "Okay" in a very short time. I guess he has some other idea than to do what his mother wants. Maybe he sees it as a Chance to get away from her.
And who pays him and his gang? I would almost guess Coraline but I could be wrong.

[jen]

Wonderfully complex and Josef clearly enjoys the game.

Thank you, Lucky!!!!

Jenna

[darkstarrising]

And the game becomes more complex, and I dare say more dangerous, if all parties proceed with the suggested liaison. Somehow, I get the feeling that while Patrick admires his mother, he resents being used as a pawn in this game. I wonder if move will come back to bite Rose and/or Josef in the future.

Wonderful story, Lucky, with many delicious layers

[jen]

Right now this feels more like poker than chess.

Ante up! (Who is bluffing and who can afford to walk away from the table?)

[allegrita]

Ooooh, Rose is so Machiavellian! (No wonder Josef admires her.) But this is a very, very deep game, and I'm not sure she'll like the consequences of this move. Patrick is not a chess piece.

Short-term, Josef would really benefit from this arrangement. But turning a vampire is not a short-term strategy. So... I'm very interested to see what will happen as a result of this little arrangement... or if it will happen at all. And yeah, how is Coraline involved in this, if she's involved at all...?

[cassysj]

I'm with Jen it's more like poker than chess. I'm not sure if Rose fully understands all the consequences. It's always great to have an update in your office.