Mar 09 18:05:10 109 PA - Unexpected Response

From Chronicles

Mar 09 18:05:10 109 PA.

YAKOV'S DELI

Rasputin sits, his back to the wall, at his usual table, reading over a scroll. He is sipping from a small tea cup, as he takes a few notes but mostly is reviewing the scroll. The cafe is mostly empty, as it is around 14:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday.

Gabriel comes through the door, his warm winter clothing wide open; still providing shelter, but obviously getting ready for the change of seasons. He steps across to the counter, offering a basic greeting in Russian to the person on hand. Even orders up a cup of sweet coffee before asking softly, "I know that I always ask this, but can I disturb Rasputin right now, or is he pretty busy?"

The waitress behind the counter smiles, "Sure mister, just wander over and ask him." He smiles and puts your mug of coffee on a tray, "Or just follow me over." She wanders over and puts it down at the same table as Rasputin. Then she walks away, back behind the counter.

'Mister' follows the waitress over to Rasputin's table with quiet appreciation, but despite the fact that his own beverage is now on the dwarf's table, he doesn't just plop down and make himself comfortable. Still, as simply putting down a cup of coffee didn't seem to be enough, he does go to the extent of lightly tapping his friend on the shoulder as if waking him from a dream. "Rasputin? You conscious?"

Rasputin nods slowly and reviews the scroll a bit more, "No, I have enough tea for now." He rolls the scroll a little bit, and keeps reading. Then sips his tea and doesn't look up.

Gabriel tries a different tactic. "If your vampire hunting is getting rusty, I have an easy target for you to practice on that no one will miss."

Rasputin tugs his beard, "Mink dhoughts you already took cares of da dhampires in the Ivory Lady?" He still doesn't look up, but you can see the corners of his mouth pulling up into a smile, "Good afernoon Gabriel, please havink a seat. What can mink helpink you with?"

The man smiles and sits, making himself respectfully comfortable. "Rasputin, you do need to get out of those books sometime. Learning is great, but everything can be done to excess. But, technically we took care of the vampire *problem*. The master got away, but I'm fine with that for the moment - and that's a secret, as well. No, there's still another vampire, a very necessary one. Bella. She tipped off the vampires, which allowed the master to escape. To try to ambush us. I know she's just going to keep causing trouble, and with the club being rebuilt, I simply can't suffer having her walking the streets." He falls quiet then and sips at his coffee, waiting to see what the response might be.

Rasputin nods slowly, but doesn't look up from his scrolls. He thinks a bit, and takes another sip of tea, "Mink studies keepink me focused on a goal mink set long ago," He finally sighs and then rolls them up, sets them to the side, takes another sip and looks up. "Dhough, you have proof dhis Bella betrayed you and gave warnink to another dhampire?" He tugs his beard, "Or dis dhis speculations?"

"Proof as in photographs and first-person accounts? No, I do not," Gabriel admits quite frankly. "But in my business, sometimes the obvious answer really is the answer. She's been acting more erratically around the city. The way that she's been pushing me to see the club, it's suspicious. She's also the only person I know who had nothing to lose by warning them, and everything to gain." He hesitates. "Even if she didn't, she's evil, Rasputin, you must know that. Every night, she feeds. I'm not the one to tell you about vampires. You sound hesitant about fighting something that you say you live to destroy."

Rasputin thinks about dhis a moment, "Do you think dhat Bella belonged do dhis Master dhampire? Because dhat would explain a lot, dhough she would be unlikely to betray her own master." He sips his tea and then shakes his head, "And mink have net issue with dispatching da dhampire for beink a dhampire, but keep da reason at dhat. As if she wasn't a creation of dhis master, dhen she would want dhat master dead. She net wouldink want it to live. Competition, da." He takes another sip of his tea. Then he ponders a bit, "Dhough, in dis town, one would havink to be dery careful, as I net knowink of her breakink any laws. Do you?"

Gabriel quirks an eyebrow. "I'm not a lawyer. But I would think that drinking blood from a living human for the vampiric sustenance of the undead falls under breaking the law. Consorting with vampires is against the law," Gabriel says, leaning forward so that his arms are on the table. "Benefiting from the enslavement of women via strange vampiric methods? Probably against the law. Taking over a man's mind to puppet him into what she wants to do? That's probably against the law. All of these things we *DO* know happened." He shrugs his hands. "Beyond that, anyone can see the obvious interest with Donna and her ilk."

Rasputin shakes his head, "Dis is all well and goodink, but net can be provink. And beink a Dhampire alone, dis net illegal. Or at leastink mink do thinkink dit be. Besides, she is livink outside of da Dregs. And insides of da city, da? Dispatchink her would be dery public and important to be makink legal. Otherwise, dere is chance we become da bad peoples." He shrugs a bit.

"That's not a problem," Gabriel comments. On what, is perhaps unsaid. "It can be proven, though. Three people have seen her feed. Two people know directly that she worked with the vampires. One man was taken over and half a dozen people know it. I may have other reasons as well, but I wouldn't ever suggest cutting anyone's life short simply on supposition, my friend. But I don't want to keep you, I don't want to press an opinion on wise man." It's not said with sarcasm, it's said as between... two grown men who have seen life.

Rasputin nods slowly, "If dhese thinks can be proven, why take it upon your self. Why not have da city take her into custody. Or somethink like dhat?" He tugs his beard, "Or dis more personal, and dis worth da risk of both hers and KDPD perhaps takink her side?"

Gabriel raises an eyebrow, and focuses only on the first question for now. "How do you take a vampire into custody?" Then he does eventually go ahead with his second part. "The KDPD won't care if a vampire goes missing in the 'Dregs. Besides, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."

Rasputin smiles and says with a cold tone, "A stake through the heart, takes them into custody very quickly." His accent muted with intention and crispness, "Dhen, " the accent returns, "one can be takink her to da KDPD for trials."

The human chuckles. "Trials? If we were at my home and time, and she were human? I would put her on trial. But I don't trust the Kingsdale justice system, which seems to be largely absent. Besides, she's not going to be real happy with the people who stake her." Gabriel starts to stand, but with a genuine smile. "I'm sorry to have disturbed your studies, Rasputin."

Rasputin shrugs, "Dwell, Kingsdale Justice can be dery interestink." He shrugs a bit, "Do be careful to net run a fowl of dit." He takes another sip of his tea, "And beink careful of dis creature, if she beink as bad as you are sayink, dhen perhaps she has backup her self." Rasputin shrugs and then looks at his scrolls again, then back to you, "Careful out dhere," He looks to your coffee, "Do you need a to go cup?"

"No, no. Thank you," Gabriel says and moves off. "Good luck with the studies, Rasputin." He's then out the door along to whatever stop is next.