[Sodium_noir] Hell is Other People

[Josh]

Buford, Ashlar, Gaspare
  Three vampires
  The Conservatory of the Sinclair Mansion
   
  “Montoya has been eager to improve his relationship with Old Man Dusk, but his investment in Melcom stock seems to have queered that deal. He is currently sitting on the fence, waiting to see which of the two rival mega-corporations he ought to favour I believe."
   
  Buford turned back towards the other two vampires, leaving his hands cinched behind him while mentally filing away Ashlar’s remark about Montoya’s relationship with the Bruja.  Montoya must have a significant investment in Melcom for Mr. Dusk to be making an issue of it.  That, or Dusk was simply a victim of good old-fashioned kindred paranoia.  Buford made another mental note to look into the list of Melcom stakeholders and shareholders to see if any of them could be traced back to the Prince.
   
  “Well, my daddy used to tell me that, all things being equal, there was only one way to back a winning horse.”  He looked from Ashlar to Gaspare, waiting for either of them to volunteer an answer.  His lips curled into an impish smile before giving them the answer, a normally endearing expression turned into something else, an un-namable horror that caused the extremities to go numb and blood to frost.  “And that’s to cheat.”
   
  He let a gruff laugh slip, a throat-clearing sound that reminded Gaspare of the old men back in Italy who sat in the café and drank espresso, watching the world go by in a self-contented sort of way.  Buford made his way to a chair next to a well-appointed couch and gestured to it with aplomb.  “My dear lady, though it isn’t my home, I feel remiss in that no one has yet offered you a seat.   Please, sit so that we can continue our discussion in a more comfortable fashion.”
   
  After all three were settled comfortably, Buford continued.  “Unfortunately, we don’t know if Dusk and Melcom are actually equal.  We know who, or in our case, what runs Dusk Industries, and the Prince certainly knows what they are and are not capable of doing.  But Melcom’s a mystery.  We know that they’re big, and if the stories you’ve heard are true, their hands are in as many pockets as ours.”  Buford fiddled with his pipe while he thought, re-packing the tobacco and clearing a small air hole using the same small clever tool for both tasks.  He lit the bowl again, taking care to keep the flame away from Ashlar and Gaspare while he did so.  Once that was accomplished he leaned back, taking in the scene of the two old souls in young skin before him.
   
  “The only thing more dangerous than a mad dog that’s killed someone is one that hasn’t bit anyone yet.  At least with the first one, you know where you stand and what’s going to happen to your hand if you try to pet it.”  He took a slow pull from his pipe, watching the embers reflect in the eyes of the two vampires on the couch while the English Cavendish clouded the air between them.  “So who knows anyone willing to try and pet Melcom?”
   
  [Tag & Dagger] 

 
---------------------------------
Need a quick answer? Get one in minutes from people who know. Ask your question on Yahoo! Answers.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: /pipermail/sodium_noir_elsinore.net/attachments/20061204/23245708/attachment.html