Nox was late to the meeting. He was never late. But there were other things - other priorities. And he'd lost track of time. The Ascendancy had dropped a load on him, and he was still processing what that meant. Nox watched Dorian and Ivan through the windows and wondered if he'd have to dress in clothes that weren't meant for hunting. He couldn't afford to dress even close to Dorian, and jeans probably weren't protocol. And the last thing Nox wanted was to piss of the Ascendancy. While there were moments of camaraderie Nox was still under the impression that if he stepped out of line the great and powerful would smite him down without blinking an eye. He was still expendable. But then again all Atharim were.
The stop before this had taken Nox to his weapons stash. Mostly to figure out what he might share, and what he wouldn't. But if they were going into the tunnels or hunting any monsters at all on this day they'd want to be ready. He had two land warriors and sighed when he threw both in bags. One had been Aria's and she was gone - she didn't need it anymore. Nox wondered where her sword had gotten to. She hadn't had it when he last saw her. And she never went anywhere without it. He also grabbed his sling and vials. Over the last couple days he'd replenished his stock, which included making a fresh batch of napalm goo. Stuff was sticky as shit and highly flammable. But Nox didn't know what he was going in for and he didn't want to carry mass of weapons with him. Just emergency.
A third man joined the officers. Nox hadn't met him, but Sage had told him about him. The pale officer who sorta hit on him. With a long drawn out breath Nox muttered to himself, "Now or never."
Nox walked into the coffee shop his bag slung over his shoulder and ordered cup of black coffee which he grabbed before making his way towards Dorian Vega. Nox knew his face was not the jovial happy-go-lucky one he wore dispite his attempt at it. He knew he was failing miserably. "Dorian." Nox turned to Ivan with a smile. It hadn't been too long since they last spoke, but his life had been different then. A whole hell of a lot different "Hey Ivan."
Nox sat down across from the pale man he didn't know. "Why are we here Dorian?" Nox smirked knowingly. "Next time it's alright to meet in the precinct, you'll get the orders soon I'm sure." Nox tuned to the man he didn't know and gave him a smile and a nod. "Nox." He said offering him his hand.
Ivan blinked. Definitely a cover up. Fuck but that pissed him off. But that's how it always went. Cover the organizations ass. Who cares if there is collateral damage. Fuckers! Pissed him off. Still, Dorian's description of Nox's toolkit was useful. It hadn't occurred to him, but in hindsight made perfect sense. He could do something similar. He'd gotten pretty good at controlling the power. Like his eyes or fingertips had become more sensitive.
He checked the time on his wallet- picture of Zara his home screen- and smiled absently to himself. Warmth and love pulsed in his chest. He met Dorian's gaze, quiet resolve filling him, and smiled. "Gotcha. With Nox."
Speak of the devil. Ivan saw Nox walk in the shop. Something had changed. He seemed more...beaten down? Haggard? Course Ivan probably looked the same with the bruises on his face. They were mostly healed and he actually felt pretty good. Still, he noticed it. He wondered what had happened to the guy.
Nox sat down at the table. "Hey man. Good to see you, Nox." He clapped the guy on the shoulder all buddy like, smiling. No need to tell him he looked like shit. No sense in making the him feel bad. "So Dorian has some secret mission and figured he'd call in the big guns. At the site of our first 'date', no less," and then Ivan winked at him with a smile.
“Violence and monsters,” Lih repeated the words as if they were unclean, ignoring Dorian’s chuckle. His brow creased as his mind raced. This was a dangerous game, and he knew it. Dorian had a certain pull over Nox now, but the atharim was still quite the most dangerous being Lih had ever encountered. Lih would test his new companion, but not too far. There was a line even Dorian would not cross.
He was about to ask more when a figure came up behind them. He wheeled around, his silenced pistol ready.
It was Nox.
The atharim was not, as Lih had begun to fear, some mutant hybrid of monster and human. At first sight at least, he appeared to be essentially normal.
That made him no less frightening. He was tall, a head taller than Lih. In his hoodie and jeans he could not be more different in appearance than the sharp well moneyed Dorian.
“Viktor Lih,” he murmured in astonishment, taking his gloved hand off his gun and shaking the other’s hand briefly. “Please look after me.”
He paused, if as wondering whether or not to let Nox in on some private information. He looked at Ivan and studied him curiously for a moment. It’s an unhappy situation Nox is in, despite all the services he’d provided Cruz and Ivan, he’d still be regarded as a difficult, dangerous person. Yet Ivan’s casual friendly attitude toward Nox convinced Lih to speak, “there’s been some preliminary investigation and the domovoi detectives are under pressure to produce results. We can’t do the tunnels without you sir and if we can clear these areas, it will make a big difference to the way we think about this Pavlo case.”
He swallowed hard. The sight of the atharim was kindling other recollections now. The apprehension of fighting, the rush of adrenaline. In the tunnels there’s one thing that’s keeping him and Ivan alive and that’s Nox.
He thought: If the team could survive as well as Ivan and Nox did in that hell hole labyrinth without breaking, then for the sake of the CCD and the protection of our people, I have to find out how and why.
Nox finally arrived carrying a duffle bag full of things. Dorian was sure that would get him into hot water if someone were to open it. But at least he was prepared. Better than he was himself Dorian gathered. The look the boy gave him was of complete distrust. He wouldn't put it past Nox to use the power in a way to protect himself, but Ivan seemed unphased by anything, surely if Nox was threatening his life in some way Ivan would have reacted, so Dorian relaxed as the boy sat down and introduced himself. He was full of smiles, but he was covering up his hurts. Dorian knew they were there, Cruz had said as much, so had Ana. They'd both spoken with him briefly, but even they couldn't get much out of him. Other than he was safe and happy. Happy doing what Dorian didn't know, and neither did they.
There was a mention of meeting places and Dorian thought about what he'd told the captain prior to this meeting, that was months ago. Was Nox privy to some new information that hadn't made it down to their level yet? Dorian would have to ask the Captain about it when he got back to the station. but for now everything was cordial. That was saying a lot since their last interaction. Nox wanted information. Why was he here. Viktor and Ivan both laid out what they knew but Nox looked to Dorian and waited for him to respond. Dorian expected hatred to vent back, but the smile hid it all - he was well practiced. Dorian wondered if Alex would get anywhere with him. She'd have to ask - though her temperment around the Atharim was rough. Speically Nox since he knew her half sister.
"When I was kidnapped and escaped their clutches the Atharim Inquisitor on my tail followed me into the tunnels. I had a vague memory of your maps and I lead him down into a trap. There I encountered one Alistair Pavlo. He's a scientist at VaiaPlus who'd gone missing. Officer Lih and I are looking into that disappearance. But when the uniforms went to collect the remains the body was gone. Cruz threw a fireball at him, and I shot the man three times in the head. But there was no blood splatter anywhere, no remains. Nothing. Do you monsters clean even the blood off the stone?" Dorian asked Nox. But Dorian knew the answer to that and kept going. "I need you to take Ivan and Viktor into the tunnels and train in the lore of the Atharim, Lih cannot channel, but he's gone up against rougarou's and come out alive and better equipped to handled the stress than any other man in Domovoi. Most of us haven't really gone up against the strange and weird in one on one sense. We'll get more like Ivan, but we need more who can handle the pressure."
Ivan greeted him with welcome and Nox's smile wasn't faked. The other man looked nervous. Like he'd bite him or something. If this weren't a serious thing Nox might have scared the poor thing. Despite the fact that he was likely older than he was just by being a cop alone he felt like such a kid - maybe it was the rookie vibe every green person has. Nox shrugged. It didn't really matter.
Well it didn't matter until he called him sir. "My name is Nox. Not sir. Don't call me sir, I'm probably a lot younger than you think I am." Nox smirked. Sir... yeah he was sir. He wasn't a big gun either but he wasn't going to correct Ivan on that. Specially now with his own personal career advancement. The first job he could do, and he was doing exactly what the Ascendancy wanted - training the new guys. Ivan had gone down into the tunnels before - the site of their first date. The thought made Nox chuckle hell of a first date. Thoughts of Raffe drifted into his head and he quickly pushed them aside and paid attention to Dorian's story. He'd known all of that. Everything except for the body which made Nox sit up straight. "He channeled at you right? That's what Cruz said." Nox was proud he said that with out flinching. The word was so foreign to him. A channeler... channeling...
"And he was one of those creatures. That's what you told me. He was degrading like them. And he channeled." Holy fuck! "And you don't know if he's alive or dead.Or if there are more like him?"
"That's why I need you here. Figure out if he's a live or dead. And find whatever else they are doing down there. I'd give you more fire power if we had more trained channelers. To go with them. Four might be too many. You tell me what you need and I'll get it."
"Give the rookie whatever non-automatic guns he can carry, if he can shoot a cross bow even better, since sometimes it's the better choice. Three is fine, too many greenback and all we'll be doing is protecting them, and not doing the job." Nox looked to Ivan and Viktor. "Any questions?"
Ivan frowned. So the guy- Pavlo- could channel and was also becoming one of those things. or whatever Nox had said. Yeah, he echoed Nox's concern. Bad enough to have shit like that around. But who knew what those lab rats were up to. He sighed. "What the fuck is wrong with these people? I mean I get the desire to experiment and learn and shit. But fuck! If Pavlo was a channeler and was like the things you-" he nodded at Nox "- and I saw the last time- if that was what they were making....Fuck!" He didn't need to finish his sentence. Bad enough they were those things. But adding in the power? Yeah, buncha chuckle-fucks who seriously needed their heads cracked, that was for sure. Like yesterday.
He looked at Lih. To his credit, the kid- well, to be fair, they were probably the same age. Yet there was something slightly...submissive maybe? about him. Unsure. Still, as he was thinking, to Lih's credit he was willing despite any underlying fear. You couldn't always help fear. He sure as shit felt it watching his ma and pop and sisters and brothers with guns to their head in Yun's office. Fear definitely, along with rage. With Danya- and even moreso, Zara- that fear would turn to full blown terror.
But that just pissed him off- like seriously, I'm not even joking- and made him even more determined to get free. So it wasn't bad the fear was in Lih. At least the guy didn't let it hold him back. He smiled reassuringly though addressed his words to Dorian. "Yeah, I agree with Nox. Nox and I will be enough muscle, for now, along with Lih. Anymore and we have too many moving parts to keep track of. The power is good. And I've got my gun. And maybe Nox will let me peek to see what he has in his bag. I mean, aside from his porn collection, anyway." A grin. This was serious and all. But that's why you had to cut the tension. It was a way of dealing with stress.
He paused, considering. Eventually, he'd speak to consul DuBois. But Dorian had connections- not just as Domovoi and a cop for decades. As Atharim. "But I'd like something from you, Dorian, in return. There's a certain....person who's shown up on my radar. She's causing trouble for me." He stopped, looking at Nox and Lih, trying to decide. Likely, they wouldn't know what he was talking about. It was just a name, after all. "Woman by the name of Yun Kao." He could give more, of course. The Syndicate. Dirty cops. All that stuff. But the single name should be enough to get him something. "You think you can help me out?"
Stiff and slow, Lih rose to his feet. He walked across to Dorian and then stood at his side, facing Nox and Ivan. His mind felt as numb and pinched as his body. He flexed his gloved hands in front of his face. Sense was slowly returning. He was dreaming.
He saw his lenses fill up with blood, and saw the world through blood; only blood, over and over.
He chilled with sweat. His limbs quivered. He had to touch his own face, bare and lenses-free, to believe there was no blood upon it.
Suddenly his legs went numb, without feeling. He bent down, hands braced against his thighs, panting hard and trying not to be sick from the effort.
Lih closed his eyes, paused, opened them again. He was standing at the back of the room, leaning against the wall to recover his breathing and his wits. Dorian’s kidnapping. Lih did not ask and had not been told. If it helps, it seemed news to Ivan and Nox too.
Lih was silent for a while. Why was Dorian only telling them this now? He would support Dorian, and trust the other to work him as hard as possible. As such, he nodded urgently at his senior officer’s words. In terms of necessity alone, Dorian was making a sound decision. And he would obey, even if his duty was hard.
He sighed and straightened the front of his uniform jacket, pulling his slender frame upright his cap clutched in his gloves. He didn’t want Dorian to risk his life or to lose his partner. For all the dishonor his open admission would be, he wanted the other two to know he was ready, willing and able to take Dorian’s place in the tunnels.
“I also have a condition,” he called out, his voice was hoarse and full of alarm. He’d never negotiated before, but Ivan’s request showed him of the way forward. He admired Ivan for not being afraid of questioning the demands of command.
“Um, Nox I…” Lih said, slightly embarrassed to be mentioning it. “I’ve used crossbows in training a number of times. Against terrorists, as we were taught. But... my eyes… my accuracy isn’t good. Please consider all our options and let me carry the automatics, too.”
He turned and gazed imploringly at Dorian. “after the disaster at Boda’s, I’m thankful to you for this mission, sir and I’ve admired how you’ve made command choices that would have been beyond lesser men. I’m sorry that … non channelers like us are caught in this mess. But what you’re doing is right, and I just wanted you to appreciate the whole picture. I don’t want the others to shoulder the burden to cover for my own lack of ability.”
He looked around at Ivan, and then his gaze returned to Nox, wondering what kind of man the atharim was. “Don’t I deserve a chance to prove myself, Nox?”
This was a technique the CCDPD favored, mixing veteran officers— in this case, men like Dorian and Ivan—in cases with newcomers. The recent officers like Lih and Costa would receive invaluable experience as a result, and the veterans would overcome any complacency by compensating of the fact that some of the men around them were relatively inexperienced. It was an alloy that often brings out the best in a team. He thought it'd be good if Nox would take the time to reconsider and change his mind.
The mention of Yun Kao's name made Nox sit up straight and glare at Dorian. He held his finger up in front of the boy before he could go off the handle and whatever tirade he was about to spout. And at further wrath from the young man asking Dorian spoke the truth. "I am aware of your situation. But it is my suggestion you go with it. It's the safest path for all involved. Why do you think your father went with it?" Dorian asked.
Ivan's face hardened, all sense of camaraderie disappearing instantly. Instead, anger flushed him and his eyes narrow. He seized the power and filled himself with it, a bubble of emptiness surrounding him.
How dare he? How fucking dare he? His jaws clenched for a moment, the icy rage boiling his blood, freezing his heart. His glacial blue eyes blazed. His voice was barely a whisper, but it was laced with hatred and anger. "Fuck you, Vega."
Zara's face hovered in his mind. "Fuck you and fuck her and fuck that." He stood, looking at Nox, eyes narrowing. Nox would know he held the power, was holding all the power he was able. But was Nox on Dorian's side?
"Sit down, Officer Sarkozy. We are not here on personal or Syndicate business. There is nothing I can do to help you. Like you my family is held over me so just sit down." Dorian stood up, he never looked at Nox's reaction. He didn't need to. "The reason I'm not going with either of you is because I know you won't trust me at your back, Lih needs training. Ivan can keep this going in the professional manner it needs to. But it's Nox's game."
Dorian had never claimed to be a good man. Never once said he wasn't a selfish prick, or tried to be the hero. He was looking out for him, and his family. That was it. Even though he rebelled against everything that made his family his family. It was all he lived for. He understood Ivan's anger, but he couldn't help the man. Betrayal or not, didn't matter, Yun could easily dispatch his own family. And Dorian had no problems being under the finger of another. If it wasn't the Atharim it would have been someone other than the Syndicate. He looked over at Lih as he made his own request and then back to Nox. The boy god could handle it all. "I expect you three can handle the situation and don't me present any longer." Dorian dropped a office card on the table to pay for their expenses. "Keep the receipts." And he walked out of the coffee shop and back to the precinct. He had made his life both easier and harder. But it was his life.
[[ with Ivan ]]
That Bitch!
The thing that pissed Nox off more was that Dorian knew. He knew Yun Kao held Ivan's family over a barrel and was alright with that situation. But Dorian had betrayed him for the same reason - to keep his family safe. Nox didn't like it at all but there was a firm understanding between them. Nox didn't need Dorian's help in this. Fuck, with Ascendnacy's new 'order' Nox could do this without Dorian at all. This was precisely the reason he would be working with Domovoi - not for - with! Dorian would learn soon enough.
But Ivan grasped the power, it raged around him like the look in his eyes and Nox pulled at his own power. He wove the shield in front of Ivan's face but did not drop the net over the other man. He would not start a war in the middle of the coffee shop. Nox realized at that moment the power hadn't stabbed at him, though now it hurt once he realized it. The fears coursing through his veins even as he was confident he could do this all with ease.
Dorian stood up and took his leave, leaving Lih cringing in the back asking to take automatic weapons into a confined space where bullets could ricochet, that wasn't going to work for Nox.
Ivan felt Nox take the power and weave a net he'd used on him previously. He glared at Nox hard, daring him. Vega stood, speaking. Ivan still felt rage, but the words tempered it a bit. Vega had family too. Still didn't clear the guy. Ivan still wanted to fuck him up.
The man stood, closing out his side of the meetup. Ivan watched him go, ignoring Nox, feeling the anger leave- at least a bit. The fire was there but the roar had died down a little. He looked at Nox, eyes narrowed. "Let it go. I'm not gonna fight you in here with all these people."
Nox shook his head. "I will not let it go until you do. I'm only protecting people. I understand your problem better than you think, but right now, if you don't sit down and drop it, we'll have to see who's the bigger gun here." Nox was not threatening Ivan, just stating a fact. He sat calmly in his chair and made no move to do anything other than let the power go.
Ivan glared at Nox. He'd felt that net. And Nox was more experienced. Still....part of him didn't want to let go. Not that he was going to lash out at him now. Vega was gone. And he knew Nox. The guy was just trying to keep him from doing something.
Still....he held on to the power for a moment. Watched Nox sitting, as if not threatened. No. That wasn't true. His tension had nothing to do with Nox.
No. But Nox wasn't his target. Vega was. And then Yun.
He nodded and dropped the power, sitting down but leaning forward, his broad frame covering half the table. "I won't let Vega or Yun Kao hold my family hostage. If that means going through you, you better believe I will."
Nox smirked even as he let go of the power. "Go after anyone you want, but I won't let you do it while there are innocents around. I have no love for Yun Kao or Dorian at the moment. And I'm sure you know you won't get away with it, specially now that you've done what you did in front of the young pale officer over there. And I don't think the Ascendancy would like me letting the very thing I'm supposed to be stopping at the very start of this so-called new job he gave me." Nox shrugged. "Not that anyone saw more than swearing and grand standing - except me. But that's for later, we have a job to do."
Nox looked over at the panicked officer. "You are going to have to start manning up if you intend to find monsters. They aren't going to let you have a panic attack." And he should know. It was a dangerous thing when you froze up. He had a few scars to show as proof. "But I'm going to have say that's a hard no on the automatic weapons. We are going down into the tunnels were the space is tight, and I'm not going to have you shoot me by accident because you have shit aim." Nox sighed. "No automatic weapons. But I can give you a pair of contacts that will function as sight and aim among other things. They aren't as good as the land warriors as you have much more limited control of the settings on the fly." Nox was grateful for Sage's gifts even if he couldn't really use them himself.
"I don't have the lenses on me, and I think an early start with less stressors on us is a better than going into the tunnels with a hot head." Nox didn't look to Ivan, but that was who he meant. "Or with panic in our hearts. 8am at the location Dorian's car was found is where we'll start the search for Alistair Pavlo." Nox looked to the other two men. "Anything else?"
[[ with Ivan ]]
Dorian repeated once again for Ivan to keep private affairs out and act professional. What went unsaid was his unequivocal denial that the syndicate had committed any of the crimes of which it stood accused. He told Ivan it was the safest path for all involved and then walked out. Then, unbidden, Lih thought of a discussion at the Vega estate between Cruz and Dorian regarding an intruder and turned to stare at Ivan.
This advice Dorian gave about the syndicate’s hold over Ivan’s family was not well received. On that day in the bustle of the cafe, the youngster got his first taste of the power of the gods. In the years to come, he would experience a good deal more.
Ivan was in a wrathful mood, so much so that Nox had to rein him back. Nox was a good leader, Lih could see that as he watched Nox speak to Ivan, coaching, assuring, priming. Far too much history and emotions were wrought for relations between Dorian and Ivan to be soothed by Nox’s diplomacy. Nevertheless, Nox told the big officer that, upon reflection, he had reconsidered the importance of defining his role, and the relationship of the Ascendancy to that new role. Though Lih was unlikely to ever meet that great man, he’d knelt by Costa’s hospital bed plenty times and secretly thanked the Ascendancy, praising him for giving strong and honorable men to protect the CCD.
As the CCD’s proxy, he’d never questioned Dorian. It wasn’t his job. But seeing Ivan there, seeing what he was trying to do, Lih was no longer sure his new partner made the right choice. For f—’s sake, Dorian and Ivan, police officers, both, but they couldn’t even protect their loved ones. Ivan tried. He tried and asked for Dorian’s help. It was a brave thing, a noble thing to attempt. Monsters would have been easier. But it failed. And that was all.
Nox smirked. Something just happened between Ivan and Nox, and even though Lih didn’t know what, he could take a guess it had to do with their powers. Speaking of ill will, it seemed from Nox’s reaction that Ivan wasn’t the only one Dorian offended. But it drew the two of them close?
Lih silently expressed his bitter regret at this turn of the events, lamented his partner for acting with such a heavy hand, and overstretch himself by clasping the man’s hand tightly. But he did nothing of the kind to his fellow officer as unsolicited sympathy might not be appreciated, despite how he imagined clasping Ivan’s hand and speaking private words of commiseration.
Of course, Nox made sure Lih was put correctly in place regarding his stupid request. Lih was told off by Nox and approved the other’s decision, before turning back to the receipts Dorian told them to keep. Nox had told them he wanted them sharp for the moment they arrived tomorrow. Lih knew the real reason was more complex.
Still, he’d have preferred to fight while fresh now, rather than spend the whole night pacing and fretting and feeling impatient. Such worn out trainee’s were no use in the tunnels. But again, Nox was right. Better to sleep and wake the next morning with a clear head and heart.
“My interference seems unnecessary,” he nodded at Ivan, who’d backed off “but officer Vega wronged you, officer Sarkozy, it clearly wasn’t honorable” he said, refraining from mentioning that he was still unable to reconcile this unclean side of Dorian with the person he admired. It made no sense yet, but what Ivan told them made some of the pieces fit together. He would consider this further, now he had details to contemplate, and though it would take him some time, he was sure he’d figure it out some day.
“And Nox you were right to whip me up and down about the weapons and my attitude. According to the stories, you’re all much, much braver and tougher than me. And maybe I’m still not good enough even with new lenses you’ll give me.”
He shrugged, “But I can learn, train and improve my performance. And we’re going to the tunnels, for better or worse. In the fire of combat, I trust you both to be clear hearted and strong in leadership. And I say you better prove it to me tomorrow,” he smiled, “No grudges, no ill will. If you do hold grudges, set them aside. Take them up again when we return to the office, for all I care. But leave them here for now. That’s all I want to convey.”
Later that night, in his cold bedroom, Lih sank a drink to the protection of his people, and Ivan’s family in particular, and then had another one just to be sure. He saw the vapors of his breath break around his drinking glass. The pale man took a look back down at the bottle, and then padded, barefoot, to the door, pushed it open and went through. Sensing his movement, the lights in the hallway flickered on. It was warmer here, a dry artificial heat. He walked across the tatami matting and took out his gear from a case.
By the light, he held the unfamiliar weapon up and checked it. The metal was rippled along its tip, grey like flint, and caught the light with a diamond like glitter. A fine thing. A beautiful thing. A life changing thing. His heart began to beat faster. He murmured his devotions, his thanks and his blessings, his request for protection, guidance, and good fortune. It wasn’t standard practice, but before proper combat, since he’d been a jittery, eager trainee for every CCDPD certified gear he cleaned, oiled, and checked the practice range and smallest components of, he liked to take the time to rein in his enthusiasm by praying. Imagining glories yet to come. He studied the crossbow, shaking it with effort, and felt it heavy and unbalanced in his hands.
Slowly, Lih lowered the crossbow, placed it in its case, and closed the lid.
He was due to rendezvous with Ivan and Nox in the morning, at where Dorian’s car was found, prior to their mission, but on the way, he’d make a brief detour. He’d taken up powder and a cloth, and was working at the scratches and gouges on his chestplate, knowing full well the scars were too deep this time. He’d have to fetch a new one.