Business Among Old Acquaintances

(JP with Cindy and Jaxx)

Leon and Colette continued to discuss the best way to go about the investigation when Leon noticed Eddie looked to be free. Leon told Colette to come with him and the two walked over to Eddie.

"Bonjour, " Leon greeted Eddie, while Colette gave him a respectful but small nod.

The Nosferatu and the Gangrel got along alright. Which was common among the Camarilla, as they had no interests to fight over. Still, Leon hadn't seen Eddie in a while.

Eddie looked at Leon and nodded as he stopped from sipping his glass of blood. He looked at Leon and Colette and spoke up.

Eddie: Hey. So is this business or pleasure?

Eddie had been away from the political game for a good while so he was hesitant to dive back in. As he looked at the two Nosferatu he wondered if they wanted to be around him or if they just needed him to do a job. He figured he would wait to see which way the conversation went.
Eddie seemed to be a little on the cautious side, which made complete sense as far, as Leon was concerned.

Leon answered, with no reason to lie, "Full disclosure, both. I have not seen you in some time and catching up among old acquaintances is always a good thing." Which was true, as Leon was out of the country until recently. "I do promise the business is not of the political nature.". Also true. The Nosferatu weren't the political type, they tended to leave the backstabbing to others. Unless the situation was dire.

Leon did realize Eddie could decide he wasn't in the mood or he had no interest in any business outside that of building his clan back up but he was hoping the Gangrel would hear him out.

"Which would you prefer first? Catching up or business?" The Nosferatu decided to let Eddie decide the way the conversation went.

Eddie sipped his blood as he contemplated his answer. He was not upset with the Nosferatu but the past war left him nervous. He didn’t want to be treated like a beast on a leash like before. So he decided to hear them out but in order.

Eddie: Pleasure first then business.

Leon nodded, "Very good. How are things with you and your clan?" It was pretty common to ask that, which would be the equivalent of asking how the person and their family were. It wasn't paying instead this allowed Eddie to say only what he wanted to.

Eddie nodded before he replied.

Eddie: Not bad. I’m sure you already know we Gangrel fell on hard times after the war.

Eddie sipped his blood again as he looked upset.

Eddie: To be honest I gave up on the Camarilla having our backs. But then……… those two knocked some sense into us.

Eddie gestured his wine glass towards Adele and Jack. Then he sipped his blood again before he spoke.

Eddie: Thanks to them we should be back on our feet in a year. How about you guys?

Leon glanced towards Adele and Jack, those two were odd, for Toreadors. Which, in Leon's mind, was a good thing. He wasn't keen on Toredors like Lilly so much but she was very typical of them. Unlike Colette, Leon was better at not expressing those opinions out loud.

Leon replied, "Well, good thing then. We lost a lot of numbers but the business survived. You do know you can call upon us if you need anything of our nature but I am afraid we wouldn't be of much use with your business ventures. " Beyond the information brokerage, the Nosferatu had no other business nor did they care to know about such things. Their land was Leon and Colette's home and the area right near there and the sewers. They had one of the few businesses that worked in war and little assets beyond that.

The Nosferatu continued, "I was gone for a while and due to Colette's skills she was busy during the war but hopefully things have settled down for the moment. We still are running the homeless shelter and the children's home." To not do those last things would go against the very nature of Leon, Colette, and many of the Nosferatu but they ran those mostly with donations.

Eddie nodded at Leon as he finally heard why the Nos were out of his sight for all that time. Granted the Gangrel were living on the outskirts, they were clueless to what happened to the other clans. It was no surprise to see the other clans took a big hit as well. Seeing new Primogens from the outside meant the old ones were out of the picture or dead.

Eddie: So are you guys onboard with Adele's "Rebuilding" of New Orleans?

Leon responded, "Yes. I feel she has the best interest of New Orleans in mind so I am for her rebuilding." Adele hadn't given Leon a reason to not go with the plan so it seemed as if it was a good idea. As he spoke, he noticed how quiet Colette was, he glanced in her direction. He knew she didn't like being here but she also needed to suck it up. "Colette, what do you think of Adele's rebuild?"

Colette looked slightly surprised at the question, "It seems like a good idea."

A servant came by with glasses of blood. Leon took two handing one to Colette, who took it and sipped it.

Leon turned his attention back to Eddie, "I believe if the clans can work together, as much as would be reasonable, New Orleans can be rebuilt. It seems like that's what The Prince wants and what Adele has planned, so, the Nosferatu will back it."

Eddie nodded as he was glad to see the plan was bigger than just the Gangrel and Toreador. Adele and Jack were definitely not your standard Toreadors who only cared about vanity and status like Lily. It was refreshing to hear the Prince was also pushing the rebuilding of the city. He was not sure but it sounded like each clan was tasked with certain parts of the "Rebuild". To be sure he decided to probe Leon for more info.

Eddie: What of the Tremere, Brujah, and others?

Leon, "As far as I'm aware Adele hasn't approached everyone, yet. I don't believe the Brujah have been asked to do anything in particular but I know Quinn wants to rebuild the land casinos.". While Quinn was smart enough to go along with the Prince's rules, the Brujah were technically an outside fraction. He wondered if that was why Adele hadn't approached Quinn directly. "I believe the Tremere will be doing their usual with the Occult shops but the new one, "Making a nod towards Mira. "Will be running a spa and salon. That should help them build back up, they were hit pretty hard, as well. The Giovanni are getting back the riverboat casinos.". Going through the list of clans, in his mind, to make sure he hadn't forgotten anyone. "I have not heard much of the Ventrue beyond The Prince. They might have scattered."

Eddie nodded as he drank his blood from his wine glass.

Eddie: Interesting. A magical spa huh. Wow, the times sure have changed. I guess its no different since you will soon see the Gangrel running biker rallies and alligator farms.

Eddie nodded as he was thinking about what he learned.

Eddie: So what is this business proposal you mentioned?

On to the business then, Leon sipped his blood, then responded, "I am sure you have heard of the problem with the Butcher of Baker Street. The Nosferatu will be investigating it and we need some backup, muscle, if you will as it will be a dangerous undertaking. Of course, the job will be compensated."

Eddie looked at Leon then at the floor as he considered the job of dealing with the butcher. It could be an easy job if it was a human or a high-risk job if it was a Sabbat kindred. There was a lot of unknown with this job, however, it was still an opportunity for the Gangrel to improve their status on their own with an achievement. If they succeed in solving their problem then it would show that they are valuable among the clans.

Eddie: I think we can work something out. However, if this butcher turns out to be some leftover Sabbat then can I assume the other clans will back us up?

The Gangrel asked a valid question, one Leon had to think on before answering. "I believe they will. I don't think the Prince, along with the rest of the Camarilla, has much use for Sabbat. The Brujah will be more than willing to take down a Sabbat. I don't know how much use the other Toreadors will be but I can't imagine Adele and Jack letting anything like that run around in what they are trying to build up. The Giovanni we already know will do what Mario asks of them." Blood bonds weren't common knowledge outside one's clan but everyone knew the Giovanni were extremely loyal to their sire. "The Trimere I think would help. The Malkavians are unknown but when does one ever know what the Malkavians will do?"

Eddie nodded as Leon spoke up. It was reassuring to know he would not be left without backup if things went south. It made sense that Adele and Jack would jump in if Eddie was in over his head. Since he had first-hand experience with fighting Jack. It would not make much sense for Jack to show them mercy only to abandon them later on since he was a tough fighter.

Eddie: Good to hear. If that Jack guy is available as backup, then we should be fine. That guy ain’t normal. I don’t know how much you know about him, but he is crazy fast and strong.

Leon listened to what Eddie said about Jack, "I had some intel to that nature. Good to know it was accurate."

Leon hadn't seen Jack in action but, not surprisingly, Colette had both Adele and Jack checked out before they ever arrived in New Orleans. They had been told about Jack's abilities but being those were outside what Toredors usually focused on, Leon had been wondering if it was true.

Leon went on, "For the moment, we only need one or two Gangrel, to be with us when we question people. That can be yourself, of course, but I'll leave it for you to decide who it will be. Tomorrow we told the Giovanni that we will come with them to the morgue. They want to question the dead. So, the Gangrel can start tomorrow. I am not concerned about the dead but I am concerned about others that might not want them questioned."

Eddie nodded as he got the gist of the plan. He was getting a bigger picture of the job as he asked more questions.

Eddie: I see. So we are starting from the corpse. So from there we track down this butcher and report what we find till we get a green light to take 'em down?

Leon nodded, "That is the plan, at the moment. I do not want our new Prince upset at any clan for going rogue." Mr. Williams did not seem very likely to go easy on anyone who went against the plan with such things.

Eddie sipped his blood from the wine glass again and nodded at Leon.

Eddie: It's been a long time since we did anything by the books. I will take on this mission with one other Gangrel. We've been running wild too long and the others may have trouble listening to others outside the clan for now. Last thing I need is a hothead messing up our future plans.

Then Eddie pulled out his cell phone and showed it to Leon.

Eddie: I got a new phone so we can exchange numbers now for this mission.

Leon was actually relieved to hear that Eddie, himself, would be taking on this task. What Eddie said about the Gangrel made sense.

Leon pulled out his phone and the two exchanged numbers. "We can meet at Gomorrah. About 11?" There was no need to say 'at night' because it was obvious.

Eddie was glad to be accepted and welcomed by the Nosferatu on top of the Ventrue and Toreador. It was only a matter of time before he made contact with the other clans and go their numbers. Adele had already sent him the phone numbers of herself and her staff on top of the Prince so they could work together in the future.

Eddie: Gomorrah at 11? Sounds good. I'll text my guy then.

Eddie tapped the screen and texted the Gangrel he wanted to work with so they could meet at Gomorrah at 11. Then he looked back at Leon with a smirk.

Eddie: So are we leaving from here to Gomorrah?

Colette looked at Leon, and commented, half under her breath, "The sooner the better."

Leon, shook his head, "Colette, go find out if the Giovanni are good with that."

Colette wandered off in search of the Giovanni.

Leon spoke up again, "Yes. We'll leave from here." It was currently around 10 and they had been at the party for almost 3 hours. "I give Colette about 10 minutes before she reaches her limit of being here. So, you can leave when we do or you can meet us at 11 there either way works."

Eddie nodded as he could see poor Colette at her limit in the posh estate. He could relate since he was more at home in a bar than on a plantation.

Eddie: It would be better if I follow on my bike since it's been a while since I have been there. I'm not sure what to expect. Well, that and I am not too sure how to make my exit with all these big wigs here.

"As soon as Colette comes back we can go, I can get us out. Just say we are leaving on a business matter. Actually, we could say it's business related to the Butcher, everyone here shouldn't have a problem with it.". Leon commented.

Colette did come back a short time later, and said, "The Giovanni are fine with that."

Leon knew it was probably a good time to leave. He said to Eddie and Colette to wait there a moment. A moment later Leon returned with Lilly.

Lilly greeted Eddie with a respectful nod but just threw a glance at Colette. She then spoke to Eddie, "Well, Primogen I have been informed you are leaving. I do hope you enjoyed yourself."

Eddie gave Lilly a slight bow and a smile as he spoke, "Thank you for your hospitality." he learned this from his former elders who had worked with other clans. He was told to keep it nice and simple when giving a compliment to the Toreadors and Ventrue since they can drone on and on if you keep talking to them. Then he looked at Leon to lead the way.

Leon then said to Lilly, "Yes, thank you. It was a nice evening."

Lilly gave another nod to Leon. Then she glanced towards Colette who surprisingly did add, "Thank you, Lilly." Colette looked like she was about to say something else but with a look, Leon stopped her.

Lilly grinned as if she caught a prize by getting a 'thank you' from Colette. "Well, thank you all for coming."

Lilly then excused herself and wandered off.

Leon then had Eddie and Colette go with him. They made their way around the room and said their goodbyes. Most didn't ask why they were leaving. The ones that did either got a response of, they had business to take care of, or Butcher business if asked further. It took a few minutes but they were eventually able to leave.

They got outside and to Leon and Colette's car, Leon said to Eddie. "We'll pull out and wait for you."

Eddie nodded as he made his way to his chopper and started it up. Then he backed up his chopper and pulled up next to Leon’s car and stopped as he waited for Leon to lead the way.