Evening Cruise

Casitive

It doesn't take long for Katya to find Cedar Fields, her GPS able to locate it with relative ease. Having recently left her office, she is still dressed in casual business attire which is simply a button up shirt without a tie and dress slacks. As always, in the back of her car is her bag of fun toys that are for her other job. She parks along the side and looks for David, unlocking the passenger side door for him to enter.

Heightening her senses, she cracks the window slightly and scans the area to check if anyone is watching her.

Discreetly scanning the cars on the street, David waits for Katya's familiar SUV to materialize into being. Looming over his bike, beneath a streetlamp, he's relatively easy to see for someone as plain and unassuming as he is. Seeing her stop a little ways down, David walks, hefting his bike off the ground, and moves to the passenger side-door.

His knuckles halt mid knock, as the flare of anger ignites in his blood. In David's thoughts, he imagines turning over his knuckles into a fist; smashing through the window; pulling Katya out of the car by her throat and out into the street. Eyes close and David instead sacrifices the thought to logic, refusing the hate and anger any quarter.

Knuckles rapping against the window, David then opens the door. “Ma'am,” David says with the soft-spoken tones that is persistent to him. “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice. May I stow my bike in the trunk?”

It wasn't too strange to see David's expression shift to rage as she watched him struggle with his Demon, but it wasn't a common thing she witnessed when interacting with kindred who were not Haunts or Shadows. She only wondered what the natural monster in David wished to do with her when it wasn't trained to being so formal.

When the door opens she bows to him and says "Of course. Here let me help you." she offers as she unbuckles her seatbelt and gets out. She leads him to the back and pops open the trunk, setting aside her duffel bag so there is room. She only helps as needed, helping to make sure it does not stick out in any awkward manner. Once David is satisfied with how the bike is secured, she will shut the door and walk back to the driver's side. She waits for him to shut the door before speaking "I'm glad you contacted me, I was not keen on walking in blindly to Court with this at our feet." with a heavy forced sigh out of her lifeless body she asks, "So what were your initial thoughts as to all the recommendations made?"

Safely ensconced in the car, David slides the pages of the memo out of his vest. “Like I said, I would have liked to have been contacted the night this happened. Waiting for Villiers to write this and hope we pick it up in a timely fashion seems...” Trailing off, David searches for a way to phrase it, “not ideal.” By now, Katya knows the Priscus' hesitance when it comes to Martha Villiers' way of doing things.

Deft fingers turn the pages of the memo over, skipping towards the recommendations to refresh his memory.

“Essentially, she's advocating the opening of another Elysium,” David states academically. “Not something I think the Court can or has the will to support as an entity. I'm also not surprised she feels the need to remind us how much she is 'keen' to hover over new arrivals.”

After another quick glance, David asides, “I hate that she has these 'safaris' it's like she's comparing kine to herd animals to be observed for our edutainment.” It especially irks him now as he thinks on those people he feeds from, thinks on Ava. He was a kine once and it gets back to a question David asked a long time ago 'How do you see those you feed from?'

Heavily sighing, David gets back on track.

“Having a team track and neutralize the gang is a good one. Roth is probably the best equipped to wrest control of the vacuum left by Hart, since he already has contacts and allies in with Underground; he might be able remove this gang's power base this way. If he does, Trax becomes largely redundant.”

Letting the pages fall closed and turning to look at Katya, David states, “But I think our immediate concern is Fringe and Priss. The fact of the matter is, they were poachers. Clemency for information and assistance?”

"Indeed, it's just by luck that we both found her memo at the same time. Although she didn't seem to leave one for the Reeve so I took liberty in leaving a copy in her mailbox given the security issue with the gang."

Her head shakes at the prospect that David suggests, "Agreed, the amount of effort it takes to maintain Nox is hard enough let alone trying to maintain a second one." at his comment on the safaris she says " Well, given the other dangers we have with Brady, these safaris are a risk without the accompaniment of a deputy." Priss and Fringe were cooperative, but what if that chose not to be on the night of their meet?

"Unless of course he sees Trax as an opportunity to open a business and that is what Martha recommended it, but if that is the case I would like to hear it from him before making that judgement." she says in regards to the gang and the defunct business "I would only recommend that Whip Antinori also be asked to help given her background with the criminal underworld as well."

She glances over her own copy of the memo once more before setting it down and looking to David. "Clemency has been granted for far worse poachers." then again, being staked might not be the same type of clemency in Cotouri's opinion. "Given this apparent void that was left in Miss Hart's death, relying on those two as we try to screen the rest of that area for stragglers does seem wise. However, before agreeing to this I want both of us to speak with them in private and assess if they are as agreeable now as Mistress Villiers states." even still, that seemed like a very loose leash. "I'm still hesitant to let them cruise by without any supervision, they aren't newcomers to Sacramento. Mistress Villiers offered to sponsor them, and while I think holding her to that would be a reliable way of keeping tabs, I'm thinking asking someone else who was there that night might provide a more "objective" assessment on whether or not those two would behave. What do you think?"

Gradual inclinations of David's head almost serve as punctuations for Katya's points. Each carries with it a touch of sense and the Shadow finds himself agreeing with the vast majority. A glance at the Seneschal notes that she takes the practical side of the whole 'safari' thing rather than the, some would say, sentimental position he does.

“If I was in your position about Trax, I'd say the same.” Conflicting thoughts about the woman who's worn as many hats as Dillon Connery flow through like the tide. Does Martha's recommendation work for or work against and does Roth rely on her version of 'nice' too much to get what he wants? “If Whip Antinori has that background, then she certainly should be able to assist.” A new bit of information about the Gangrel to be put away. “In fact, Roth might welcome the help.”

“And,” off of Katya's aside, “you are right. That precedent has been set already.” Turning his mousy brown eyes at her, “Is that the precedent you want to set?” Letting that settle David then says, “Anyway, yes, Villiers' optimism here should be tempered.” And when he says optimism, David means 'habitual Pollyanna-ish attitude.' “What about Marlon?” The Priscus suggests after glancing at the memo again.

So as not to be suspicious, Katya shifts into drive and moves out of her position, also so as not to get a ticket. As she drives, she doesn't let a break of silence in response to David.

"Then Trax will have to be a separate discussion we have with Priscus Roth and maybe Keeper Villiers to clarify their intentions after we deal with those two. Being that it's already closed, I'm content with putting that on the back burner until evidence suggests that area is secure." it seemed futile to open up a hub just for other vultures who stayed in Roxy's domain to go after it.

Then David poses a very good question, using a word she had relied on with regard to Marco's fate. That precedent ended in dramatically shifting things for the overall perception of the Domain. Did she really want to push things in the exact opposite direction?

"Clemency for information is fine. But Cotouri had vital information pertaining to enemies, unlike these two. It's possible we could have learned of the gang and swept Hart's domain ourselves, without sending a tacit message that there are no "real" consequences for poaching. Boons to the Keeper are unacceptable punishments, so for precadent, something needs to be in its place." she hits a stop light and takes that moment to think over what she would have liked to have decided had she been there that night. "Until we learn more information, these two seem unattached to any of our enemies. Since they were already allowed to stay, I think granting them a "temporary" acknowledgement during the time they are assisting us as a start. Whip Marlon is a fine candidate to supervise them and he can provide us a report about his thoughts on their behavior after that time. Since it is temporary, I think limiting them to the Barrens is something else that might send an appropriate precedent. After all, this isn't a job interview, they must prove to us that they are worthy of staying here. The only con to this is a security risk, since I am unsure of their temperaments and don't want to risk them giving into their primal natures and committ a breach."

A Domain's law is only as good as the will to enforce it. And a Domain's law is only there to protect the Masquerade and to veil the hunting of men under a pretense of civility. What weight does it have if transgressions against it are always forgiven? What weight does it have if the transgressions are enforced with a heavy hand? David mulls over those questions as he listens to Katya.

“I've always known the Domain to be firm but fair. That's the precedent I try to set with my family.” Nodding off of Katya's answer David says, “Perhaps we should call it 'Provisional' instead of 'Temporary' if we offer them this deal. I know it's burying them in semantics,” David admits, “but maybe 'provisional' will sound better to them.”

The punishments Katya sounds off are considered with due weight. “To lessen the sting to Marlon, he might need to be offered a boon to oversee the pair, something to be offered in private. The Barrens for the Duration is probably the best, though you are right to be concerned about the potential security risk. Something Marlon would have to watch for.” Dipping his head downwards, David looks inward, “But, I guess that would tell us if they are willing to play ball.”

"Provisional.." she repeats, nodding slowly as the ring to it sounds more appealing. "I think that is a wise idea. While I do want to seem firm, we must keep in mind that they might see our terms as a betrayal, a contradiction to whatever Martha might have promised them. So....softer the better."

Another boon is entered into the equation, but it was hard to expect Marlon to do this and risk his own safety without it. "I'm more comfortable keeping them to the Barrens if we do have an incentive for Garrick. If on the evening we speak with both of them we deduct that they are too unstable, then we can reassess the Barrens decision. As for the boon, I have several thoughts. Either you and I offer him one, one boon for each person he must monitor or, we ask Keeper Villiers to split one of her boons since we are recommending that the supervision be a divided task. Although, you did mention private, so perhaps we just let him know a boon will be available and decide the specifics of it after?" it was hard to decide on who fronts the bill for this as none of them seemed to be "fair." then again, nothing was in this existence.

“Indeed,” David replies simply. “Right now, I'm thinking that it's probably best that Keeper Villiers split hers with Marlon. I say private mostly so that Priss and Fringe aren't aware that their babysitter is getting a boon to watch them. Essentially.” A side-long glance towards Katya at the point. Who knows how they would react to the shady deals Kindred make.

“If we need to sweeten the pot by offering our own boons we'll probably have to cross that bridge when we get there.” David watches as they pass street-lamps and gas-stations, closed up shops and darkened homes. “Deciding particulars later is probably the best way to go, yes.”