The man's eyes seemed to get lost, his face seeming more angular and jaundiced in the shadows. Now that the girl was gone it seemed the light had gone out of him. He seemed oblivious. His lip curled in distaste as he assessed the man. First lounging on that woman's strings, as if he were something special, a primate posturing. And now that she was gone, so was the energy and fight. Pathetic.
But that didn't mean he couldn't be useful. Either as a tool for himself or as an offering for Ascendancy. Now to decide which.
He raised his voice slightly, regarding him through heavy lidded eyes. "I said you were invited here. By her."
His words were clearly not a question. He was clearly an interloper. A prideful one. That could be useful. "What does one such as yourself do?"
Giovanni didn't really care what this man wanted. He was bored and tired of being here - ready to get going. Marcus really had no reason to be talking to him accept for the fact they could both use power. It was strange, sometimes he liked the man, and at others, like now - he was indifferent.
Mostly, Giovanni wasn't in the mood for games right now. "What do you want from me?"
is all Giovanni said in response to Marcus' question. If the man wanted to still play games, then Giovanni would leave.
Marcus looked at the drink in its "cup". Removing the glass shards would be easy enough but the liquid itself had covered the surface of the table only moments before. Not something he was interesting in drinking. Instead he let the shape toward the bottom go and the liquid spilled out slowly, as if the entire cylinder were melting. Another weave evaporated the moisture from the liquid until all that was left was a pile of glass, the platinum cubes, and some residue from the drinks.
By the end a slight smile had formed on his lips. The exercise itself was an idle one, simply something to do. But the process had relaxed him and let his mind wander over possibilities.
Still looking at the remains he spoke quietly, as if it were nothing, "Want? Nothing, of course. You have nothing I need."
A look into the man's eyes to make clear that truth. His smile remained as he went on. "However, an acquaintance of mine- a man of some note- has referred to men like you as one of the new gods. Are you a...god?"
Before the man could answer he went on, his voice a mixture of concerned pity. "Or are you...a lion studying to be...a mouse?"
He fixed the man with a serious look. "I think you are better than"
- waving to the crowd in the direction the woman had gone- "all of this. So I ask you, what is it you want?"
Giovanni didn't know what to think of this man - this Marcus. At times he liked him and at times he didn't. But then again it was the same with so many people. What did he want? Such a simple question, yet one he did not have an answer to. Caos and Ordine were quick to answer.
Power...
Caos voice was harsh.
Help...
Ordine pleaded.
Marcus was almost condescending, yet it pushed Giovanni to want to strive harder - to want to be something more. As Giovanni thought though, nothing came up. He had no clue.
"I don't know what I want."
he spoke simply and to the point.
Marcus regarded the man intently for a moment and the noise of the room all but disappeared to him. The shadows cut angles on his face, making him appear gaunt. The leanness to the man's face did not necessarily stem from lack of food. He was hungry...but he doubted the man knew for what. His words said as much.
He allowed a ghost of a smile to show.
"So many don't know.. Because they don't know themselves. They don't know their place. Their rights."
He gestured with his head to indicate the crowds, though it was less true here than most other places.
"Few are honest enough with themselves to acknowledge what they really seek. What all life seeks. Power. Control. Instead, the world tells them to be weak. To be small."
His gaze returned to the man pointedly.
"It's what I saw in you, when you were with that woman. You let yourself be tied to her, played with by a...superior."
It was an insult, but truth was unforgiving. And anger had its uses.
"So. Are you finished pretending to be a kitten, to be petted and fed and doted upon?"
He leaned forward, pulling in every last bit of the Force into himself, knowing he radiated menace and danger...and possibility. The man was smart enough to put two and two together. His power and the position he occupied- and the potential for far more. And if he wasn't, then he wasn't worth the effort, no matter the strength.
"Are you ready to take your rightful place....as a god?
Edited by
Marcus DuBois, Aug 6 2015, 03:42 PM.
Marcus was an articulate person. So many words were unnecessary. Maybe the man just loved the sound of his own voice. It didn't matter. The words resonated with Giovanni. What Marcus said was true. Power and control were what he sought, but manifested in what way?
Why Giovanni though? Marcus said Giovanni had nothing he needed. Giovanni still couldn't shake the feeling that entangling himself would just give another puppet master his strings. There was a price tag - even if Marcus didn't admit it.
"Let's say I am interested,"
Giovanni said, for the first time showing interest in Marcus's words. "What would this entail? And what's the price? Nothing is free."
A ghost of a smile touched Marcus' face as the man before him responded. Good. The man still had drive and ambition. That was key. Though how useful he could be still depended on more than that.
"It is true. There is always a price."
He paused. "But prices aren't always costly. Perhaps I can help you..."
-his eyes took in the off-the-rack suit again and the gaunt haunted look of his face-"become more than you are. To take your rightful place."
He shrugged. "If so, then we might be allies of a sort. I might need your help from time to time. Or information. Nothing more."
'Allies' was a useful term, though not necessarily accurate.
Suddenly, the club seemed mundane and boring. There would be no more fights tonight. And he was curious. He had no specific plans for this man. An idea, maybe. A hint of something. But at this point, that was enough.
He suddenly stood. All traces of alcohol had seemed to leave him long ago. Malik was once again just a voice whispering counsel in the back of his mind. He would come back here. He knew he would. But he had work to do. The sword in his apartment tantalized him and he knew he was close to something important. It needed more testing, though.
He paused, looking at the man. Yes. Before one knew how to use a tool or a weapon, one had to understand it. 'I can help you on that road. But for that you must come with me."
That ghost of a smile threatened to become more. But it was enough.
Giovanni leaned back in his chair with a casual air as Marcus spoke. As he listened the terms were agreeable - at least for now. Marcus seemed to want a partnership, although Giovanni wasn't stupid enough to think that the Sigma might desire to use him for his own ends just like Oriena. He was a young politician after all.
Taking his rightful place - that had been what finding the cultists had been about. Finding a base of power for himself. Giovanni had no doubt that he could find it, but the Sigma knew much - a lot that could be of use. He may wish to use Giovanni for things, but at least right now there would be payback.
"Fine"
Giovanni said, mimicking the other man's ghost of a smile. "Lead the way, Signore."
Giovanni stood with grace as Ordine whimpered in the back of his mind.
Marcus smiled as he stood and wound his way through the still milling crowds and up the stairs. There were obvious police and emergency responders but they just looked at him and allowed him through. More than likely the officer in charge from before had alerted them to let him through. If his new acquaintance didn't want to be stopped, he 'd stay close.
A car pulled up and the door opened. Marcus gestured for the man to follow after which so did he. To the driver he gave directions. It was a bit far but not unreasonable. For he wanted, it would be ideal. It would be well for him to assess this man before he decided where to go. It was a dangerous game to play. So many options and possibilities lay before him. Risks had to be worth it. He made sure the privacy glass was up.
He looked at the man, thinking. As he replayed their meeting in his mind, examined each event and word and gesture, a question occurred to him. "The man who attacked you. There was clearly something off about him."
Even without the power, Malik had sensed it. He had made a study of micro-expressions as part of his studying political manipulation. Evolution had sharpened to razor's edge man's ability to read and assess danger from a person's face. It was something that had taken software designers decades to overcome, that "uncanny valley" that tinged so many computer generated faces. With the power coursing through him, heightening his senses, it had to have been screaming at him. "And yet you seemed unsurprised. What was it?"
Giovanni followed, keeping close to Marcus. He wondered what this man had to offer him. A car pulled up and both men entered, the Sigma making sure that the privacy glass was up. Giovanni sensed some danger from this man and it was different from the threatening feeling he got from the man holding power, but danger was a part of the fun.
The man's question brought a grin to Giovanni's face. He was curious about the creature. "I doubt you would believe me if I told you."
Giovanni figured though that telling Marcus about monsters and what not wouldn't be a bad thing. The Sigma might think him crazy, but what did Giovanni care about that. Marcus knew that people with supernatural abilities existed, so it wouldn't actually be that far-fetched that other creatures might exist.
"Myths and folklore talk about monsters, creatures, whatever you want to call them. I would say that's the first time I've run into one that looks like a walking corpse, but I've seen others, including another with golden eyes like our other combatant."
Giovanni paused. "The last one I saw was nearby - almost translucent skin with large irises. That one feasted on blood. The point is, there really are things that go bump in the night."
Marcus might believe him or he might not. It really didn't matter to him.