Post by codeapathy on Mar 10, 2022 22:36:02 GMT -5
++Sometimes a certain level of pettiness and spite is required when dealing with sensitive situations. I kicked my Louboutins off and stretched out on the cream colored luxury couch. The material of my high waist vintage dress pants rustled against the conflicting material of the couch. Absolute quiet. A carafe sat on the glass table nearby. I lurched forward and poured myself a drink, swishing it in the fine crystal as I took a swig. As I sunk into a comfortable position, I crossed my legs, rubbing the bottom of my foot with my free hand. I exhaled hard as my forearm dangled over the arm of the sofa, leaving the crystal glass in a precariously perched position++
Elizabeth: Von Krauss. It has been some time I guess. I wonder if he planned a contingency for me or if he boldly assumed I was a non-factor. The game is afoot. I can’t imagine he nor that harpie are too amused. Good. I guess the first critical strike goes to me.
++I tilted my head back and smirked as I continued to rhythmically swish the port in my glass. It had been a minute since I indulged myself in Buenos Aires. Truth be told it was a beautiful city, in a beautiful country, with a rich and beautiful heritage that I honestly needed to drink in more. Of course mixing business with pleasure was always welcomed. Palacio Duhau. Park Hyatt. Buenos Aires. The most expensive, luxurious and 1% welcoming establishment in town. If I knew the Krauts, and the influence they clearly held over the companies owner, they would not stay in any place less that which afforded them the opulence their egoism demanded. They WOULD be booking suites here. Hope they don’t mind that I got first dibs. Enjoy the peon suites Krauss. I got the whole big spender suite to myself. Enjoy being beneath me, I know I will. I mean that was the whole point++
Elizabeth: Tarrasque. Still so big and dumb. Then again he hit his evolutionary peak about five seconds after he was born. God’s little inside joke. The monster, that’s manipulated, marketed for profit, and touted like some pet. You point and that glorified Lurch stunt double appeases. What a fucking disgusting mix of shame and furstration. There was a time when I pitied that pathetic Frakenstien. My hands are stained with blame for the parts I took in it sure. Absolute power, absolutely corrupts, or else I wouldn’t even be here right now.
++A significantly audible sigh escaped my wine colored lips. Krauss and I went back. I once played on the Von Krauss team for fucks sakes. His blood money still stained my bank account. What I didn’t spend, I donated. I knew it was all a figurative example in my head but it made my guilt burden a little less to know that filthy mint was going to something redeeming. I always kept my ear close to the ground once we parted ways. Some wars take time to fight, this was one of them. Trading professional shots and backhanded comments in the press. We ran in different circles, but he was the type of leech that never changed or loosened their grip on the skin. I had changed to some degree. I took another long sip and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, cupping both palms around the whiskey glass++
Elizabeth: You burned too many bridges Krauss. I bet Lazarus is asking questions you can’t answer right about now. You sold your goods wrapped in a pretty paper and dazzling bows and he bought it hook line and sinker. It sounded so good and such a safe bet, and then here I come to just fuck it all up and make you, and your whole group of vampires look like incompetent clowns. Delicious. I bet you are burning through connections trying to find out how I heard about that shady as fuck back room deal. You know someone on the inside sold you out but who? You know there is more of us and some of us haven’t forgotten.
++I set the glass down and twisted and waved my left hand in the air, dancing my fingers as my hand moved. My nails looked like spiders legs as the long tips scratched with each movement. I chuckled to myself and smirked++
Elizabeth: Not yet. Soon. He already knows what he’s up against. He knows who we are, what we are capable of.
++Indeed he knew. I pushed myself off the couch and walked towards the open balcony window. My feet plodded against the hardwood floor making a quiet plopping sound. I grabbed my vape pen from the nearby console table and took a long hard drag, blowing cherry flavored circles out into the crisp air++
Elizabeth: I wonder whens the last time someone broke Tarrasque like that. Fuck me that was stimulating. The sound the wood made when it started splintering and cracking as it collided with his back. The way his back muscles jerked wildly as the barbed wire tore into his rhino hide like skin. How DID it feel you muscle bound lap dog? Did MY boot taste good? And they just left you there like discarded trash. You’re like a badly scripted NPC on a crowd funded Steam Game. Then again, Von Krauss and the Dame get their moneys worth out of you. Don’t need to invest too much into a brainless zombie to get adequate returns. Such a sad display. The behemoth toppled by a mere woman. Or at least that’s how that sad sack of shit for a GM sees me. How dare I get involved? Oh darling…you have no idea…
++I gently rolled my neck from side to side, loosening the muscles. I could hear the quiet crack of the bones as I did. I took another deep inhale and blew the thick smoke out, watching it swirl around me and my general area, from the corners of my eyes. I drew deep through my nostrils, wafting the white dragon trails deep into the tissue, leaning forward against the outside railing. Twilight was setting in. The skyline from the suite was gorgeous. A sight most people could only ever dream of experiencing. This was a business trip for me. A normal exchange of culture and currency. These types of experiences and highs were an every day part of my life. As the vapors intoxicated me m stiletto nails tapped against the railing, a subtle thud with each consecutive tap++
Elizabeth: Your business is precisely why I am involved. I knew what you had planned for that girl. I knew what you all had intended to do. She was the example you intended to make. The vessel you would use to send a message loud and clear to the rest of that upstart and everyone watching that money talks, shit walks and that you were easily swayed by money, power and vain glory. Someone once tried to use me to make an example. Some shithole in Chicago. Shame they never paid their taxes. Tax evasion and fraud? Tsk. I digress. Joy was a dead duck. That reminds me…I should check with accounting and see if that check cleared. Have to keep my informants happy.
What a fucking schmuck. Cheap thrift store suit wearing, lemon car roof slapping, coke snorting con man with a “mr. serious” hair cut. Fucking Mr. Fantastic hair and a 1980’s power suit that says business in the front party in the back. He has ZERO fucking idea who I am and I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. Slicked back shuckster. He’s the type of cat to book a bingo hall in Minnesota, charm you to sign on without a pay advance, and then split town DURING the show, with the money and a burner phone. Just the type of stooges Krauss looks for. Lazlo thinks he bought Von Krauss and his services, but the truth is Krauss owns him. What was in the case was fucking wishing well change compared to the Scrooge McDuck sized deposits Krauss is sitting on.
His business, the business of CWF, became mine when interested parties on the inside reached out to me and asked me to step in. It became my business when I decided to MAKE it my business because I’ve been waiting a good long time to finish what Krauss started and this was just about the best time to strike a line through that. Helping Joy is more or less just a side benefit. She refused unwanted advances and paid a dear price for her integrity. That’s something I feel on a spiritual level. She’s no push over but she needs an…old God I guess you could say, in her corner backing her and everyone else who isn’t about to let Camp Lazlo run roughshod using Krauss and his goons to keep us all “in line”.
I’m Elizabeth Devereaux, I don’t fucking fall in line. I push the line, stretch it and pull it. I manipulate it and restructure it as I see fit but I never fucking fall in line. The line is my toy and I will play with it as I see fit. I should give Joy a call, invite her down here. This Hotel has a great gym we could use to work off of each other and get in sync. Reserve a suite for her. That’s one less for the Von Krauss gang. I need her to know that I am not looking to take her spot or steal her shine, but I am truly an ally. She seems level headed and reasonable. First impressions matter a great deal so the faster we are on the same page and I make my intentions clear, the less time spent dealing with assumptions and miscommunications. Always have to stay one step ahead of that brood. My wisdom is to her benefit.
Just one loose end…what to do. What to do. Hmm…ah…yes.
++The wide legs of my pants gently brushed the tile as I turned on my heels, holding my vape pen like a fancy cigarette, and moving back inside, past the small living room, past the fully stocked kitchen and mini bar and into the california king sized suite where my Apple speaker sat, Siri a moment away to do my tasks. I plopped down on the side of the bed and rustled through my carry on nearby as I casually made a request to Siri++
Elizabeth: Siri, call Papa.
++As Siri acknowledged my request and made the call I pulled out a bottle of fresh polish and primer, some polish wipes and a corrector pen. As the call rang through he finally picked up++
Elizabeth: Bonjour Papa, Comment vas-tu?
Alphonse: Ma petite fleur! Tout va bien, tout va bien. Et vous?
Elizabeth: Equitable. Jusqu'à pas de bon papa. Par Krauss.
Alphonse: Krauss? Ekelhafter Parasit. Was brauchen Sie? Ich stehe dir zur Verfügung, liebe Tochter.
Elizabeth: Jawohl. Es ist eine sichere Leitung, Queens English?
Alphonse: Very well. What do you need Lizbeth?
Elizabeth: Obviously Krauss is involved, but it doesn’t really concern him, yet. In due time. It has to do with The General. I know how ominous that sounds but it truly isn’t. He’s a stooge in a bigger game that he’s just a pathetic pawn in. He has a blind loyalty to his master. I need some outside influence to rattle him. Would it interest you to know he is a former military trainer for Lithuania?
Alphonse: Intriguing. There are indeed a few people, now retired of course, who have been wanting to catch up with me and they were involved with the Lithuanian military. Old war table buddies. Send me the dossier as per usual. Codename?
Elizabeth: Kabosh. Codename Kabosh. I’ll send it encrypted shortly. Thank you for your assistance Papa. I just need a little inside information on his type of training, etcetera. I hate unknown variables. Also might come in handy if he gets bold and decides to win some brownie points with his handler. Blackmail is an artform that I am not above. I figured you were a bit bored anyways, how is the hip healing? Mistress Keiko says you are doing well, grumpy and moody of course, but recovering well. Titanium I assume?
Alphonse: Or course. If I can afford top one percent health care why should I not indulge that? Besides, I’m not ready to cut down on my activity yet. There are still so many plans in place and goals left unachieved. I’ll slow down precisely when I mean too and not before.
Elizabeth: That diatribe sounds so familiar, ah…yes. Those same sentiments have left my own lips more than once. You don’t need to justify it to me, of all people Papa. I understand and support you wholeheartedly. Nobody should ever end your story but you. That last punctuation mark is yours and yours alone. We both know I am in the same boat. I was enjoying the small breather I took but knowing Von Krauss is shuffling around, I had to get involved. Unfinished business and all.
Alphonse: It’s a huge risk on your part dear daughter. The exposure risk is enormous. Is it truly worth it?
Elizabeth: He knows who I am, what I am capable of. He knows what lies dormant inside and the memories I hold. Tabitha is skulking around as well. She is less conservative. If I can conduct these wargames with minimal exposure risk I will, but if one must remove the mask so to speak, then so be it. We have the fixers on speed dial. Illuminati, One World Government, all that smoke and mirrors jazz. We will play it by ear for now. I will expect contact by one of your representatives within the next few hours.
Non sine ultione gloria.
Alphonse: Non sine ultione gloria. Glóir do Elysia.
Elizabeth: Von Krauss. It has been some time I guess. I wonder if he planned a contingency for me or if he boldly assumed I was a non-factor. The game is afoot. I can’t imagine he nor that harpie are too amused. Good. I guess the first critical strike goes to me.
++I tilted my head back and smirked as I continued to rhythmically swish the port in my glass. It had been a minute since I indulged myself in Buenos Aires. Truth be told it was a beautiful city, in a beautiful country, with a rich and beautiful heritage that I honestly needed to drink in more. Of course mixing business with pleasure was always welcomed. Palacio Duhau. Park Hyatt. Buenos Aires. The most expensive, luxurious and 1% welcoming establishment in town. If I knew the Krauts, and the influence they clearly held over the companies owner, they would not stay in any place less that which afforded them the opulence their egoism demanded. They WOULD be booking suites here. Hope they don’t mind that I got first dibs. Enjoy the peon suites Krauss. I got the whole big spender suite to myself. Enjoy being beneath me, I know I will. I mean that was the whole point++
Elizabeth: Tarrasque. Still so big and dumb. Then again he hit his evolutionary peak about five seconds after he was born. God’s little inside joke. The monster, that’s manipulated, marketed for profit, and touted like some pet. You point and that glorified Lurch stunt double appeases. What a fucking disgusting mix of shame and furstration. There was a time when I pitied that pathetic Frakenstien. My hands are stained with blame for the parts I took in it sure. Absolute power, absolutely corrupts, or else I wouldn’t even be here right now.
++A significantly audible sigh escaped my wine colored lips. Krauss and I went back. I once played on the Von Krauss team for fucks sakes. His blood money still stained my bank account. What I didn’t spend, I donated. I knew it was all a figurative example in my head but it made my guilt burden a little less to know that filthy mint was going to something redeeming. I always kept my ear close to the ground once we parted ways. Some wars take time to fight, this was one of them. Trading professional shots and backhanded comments in the press. We ran in different circles, but he was the type of leech that never changed or loosened their grip on the skin. I had changed to some degree. I took another long sip and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, cupping both palms around the whiskey glass++
Elizabeth: You burned too many bridges Krauss. I bet Lazarus is asking questions you can’t answer right about now. You sold your goods wrapped in a pretty paper and dazzling bows and he bought it hook line and sinker. It sounded so good and such a safe bet, and then here I come to just fuck it all up and make you, and your whole group of vampires look like incompetent clowns. Delicious. I bet you are burning through connections trying to find out how I heard about that shady as fuck back room deal. You know someone on the inside sold you out but who? You know there is more of us and some of us haven’t forgotten.
++I set the glass down and twisted and waved my left hand in the air, dancing my fingers as my hand moved. My nails looked like spiders legs as the long tips scratched with each movement. I chuckled to myself and smirked++
Elizabeth: Not yet. Soon. He already knows what he’s up against. He knows who we are, what we are capable of.
++Indeed he knew. I pushed myself off the couch and walked towards the open balcony window. My feet plodded against the hardwood floor making a quiet plopping sound. I grabbed my vape pen from the nearby console table and took a long hard drag, blowing cherry flavored circles out into the crisp air++
Elizabeth: I wonder whens the last time someone broke Tarrasque like that. Fuck me that was stimulating. The sound the wood made when it started splintering and cracking as it collided with his back. The way his back muscles jerked wildly as the barbed wire tore into his rhino hide like skin. How DID it feel you muscle bound lap dog? Did MY boot taste good? And they just left you there like discarded trash. You’re like a badly scripted NPC on a crowd funded Steam Game. Then again, Von Krauss and the Dame get their moneys worth out of you. Don’t need to invest too much into a brainless zombie to get adequate returns. Such a sad display. The behemoth toppled by a mere woman. Or at least that’s how that sad sack of shit for a GM sees me. How dare I get involved? Oh darling…you have no idea…
++I gently rolled my neck from side to side, loosening the muscles. I could hear the quiet crack of the bones as I did. I took another deep inhale and blew the thick smoke out, watching it swirl around me and my general area, from the corners of my eyes. I drew deep through my nostrils, wafting the white dragon trails deep into the tissue, leaning forward against the outside railing. Twilight was setting in. The skyline from the suite was gorgeous. A sight most people could only ever dream of experiencing. This was a business trip for me. A normal exchange of culture and currency. These types of experiences and highs were an every day part of my life. As the vapors intoxicated me m stiletto nails tapped against the railing, a subtle thud with each consecutive tap++
Elizabeth: Your business is precisely why I am involved. I knew what you had planned for that girl. I knew what you all had intended to do. She was the example you intended to make. The vessel you would use to send a message loud and clear to the rest of that upstart and everyone watching that money talks, shit walks and that you were easily swayed by money, power and vain glory. Someone once tried to use me to make an example. Some shithole in Chicago. Shame they never paid their taxes. Tax evasion and fraud? Tsk. I digress. Joy was a dead duck. That reminds me…I should check with accounting and see if that check cleared. Have to keep my informants happy.
What a fucking schmuck. Cheap thrift store suit wearing, lemon car roof slapping, coke snorting con man with a “mr. serious” hair cut. Fucking Mr. Fantastic hair and a 1980’s power suit that says business in the front party in the back. He has ZERO fucking idea who I am and I almost feel sorry for him. Almost. Slicked back shuckster. He’s the type of cat to book a bingo hall in Minnesota, charm you to sign on without a pay advance, and then split town DURING the show, with the money and a burner phone. Just the type of stooges Krauss looks for. Lazlo thinks he bought Von Krauss and his services, but the truth is Krauss owns him. What was in the case was fucking wishing well change compared to the Scrooge McDuck sized deposits Krauss is sitting on.
His business, the business of CWF, became mine when interested parties on the inside reached out to me and asked me to step in. It became my business when I decided to MAKE it my business because I’ve been waiting a good long time to finish what Krauss started and this was just about the best time to strike a line through that. Helping Joy is more or less just a side benefit. She refused unwanted advances and paid a dear price for her integrity. That’s something I feel on a spiritual level. She’s no push over but she needs an…old God I guess you could say, in her corner backing her and everyone else who isn’t about to let Camp Lazlo run roughshod using Krauss and his goons to keep us all “in line”.
I’m Elizabeth Devereaux, I don’t fucking fall in line. I push the line, stretch it and pull it. I manipulate it and restructure it as I see fit but I never fucking fall in line. The line is my toy and I will play with it as I see fit. I should give Joy a call, invite her down here. This Hotel has a great gym we could use to work off of each other and get in sync. Reserve a suite for her. That’s one less for the Von Krauss gang. I need her to know that I am not looking to take her spot or steal her shine, but I am truly an ally. She seems level headed and reasonable. First impressions matter a great deal so the faster we are on the same page and I make my intentions clear, the less time spent dealing with assumptions and miscommunications. Always have to stay one step ahead of that brood. My wisdom is to her benefit.
Just one loose end…what to do. What to do. Hmm…ah…yes.
++The wide legs of my pants gently brushed the tile as I turned on my heels, holding my vape pen like a fancy cigarette, and moving back inside, past the small living room, past the fully stocked kitchen and mini bar and into the california king sized suite where my Apple speaker sat, Siri a moment away to do my tasks. I plopped down on the side of the bed and rustled through my carry on nearby as I casually made a request to Siri++
Elizabeth: Siri, call Papa.
++As Siri acknowledged my request and made the call I pulled out a bottle of fresh polish and primer, some polish wipes and a corrector pen. As the call rang through he finally picked up++
Elizabeth: Bonjour Papa, Comment vas-tu?
Alphonse: Ma petite fleur! Tout va bien, tout va bien. Et vous?
Elizabeth: Equitable. Jusqu'à pas de bon papa. Par Krauss.
Alphonse: Krauss? Ekelhafter Parasit. Was brauchen Sie? Ich stehe dir zur Verfügung, liebe Tochter.
Elizabeth: Jawohl. Es ist eine sichere Leitung, Queens English?
Alphonse: Very well. What do you need Lizbeth?
Elizabeth: Obviously Krauss is involved, but it doesn’t really concern him, yet. In due time. It has to do with The General. I know how ominous that sounds but it truly isn’t. He’s a stooge in a bigger game that he’s just a pathetic pawn in. He has a blind loyalty to his master. I need some outside influence to rattle him. Would it interest you to know he is a former military trainer for Lithuania?
Alphonse: Intriguing. There are indeed a few people, now retired of course, who have been wanting to catch up with me and they were involved with the Lithuanian military. Old war table buddies. Send me the dossier as per usual. Codename?
Elizabeth: Kabosh. Codename Kabosh. I’ll send it encrypted shortly. Thank you for your assistance Papa. I just need a little inside information on his type of training, etcetera. I hate unknown variables. Also might come in handy if he gets bold and decides to win some brownie points with his handler. Blackmail is an artform that I am not above. I figured you were a bit bored anyways, how is the hip healing? Mistress Keiko says you are doing well, grumpy and moody of course, but recovering well. Titanium I assume?
Alphonse: Or course. If I can afford top one percent health care why should I not indulge that? Besides, I’m not ready to cut down on my activity yet. There are still so many plans in place and goals left unachieved. I’ll slow down precisely when I mean too and not before.
Elizabeth: That diatribe sounds so familiar, ah…yes. Those same sentiments have left my own lips more than once. You don’t need to justify it to me, of all people Papa. I understand and support you wholeheartedly. Nobody should ever end your story but you. That last punctuation mark is yours and yours alone. We both know I am in the same boat. I was enjoying the small breather I took but knowing Von Krauss is shuffling around, I had to get involved. Unfinished business and all.
Alphonse: It’s a huge risk on your part dear daughter. The exposure risk is enormous. Is it truly worth it?
Elizabeth: He knows who I am, what I am capable of. He knows what lies dormant inside and the memories I hold. Tabitha is skulking around as well. She is less conservative. If I can conduct these wargames with minimal exposure risk I will, but if one must remove the mask so to speak, then so be it. We have the fixers on speed dial. Illuminati, One World Government, all that smoke and mirrors jazz. We will play it by ear for now. I will expect contact by one of your representatives within the next few hours.
Non sine ultione gloria.
Alphonse: Non sine ultione gloria. Glóir do Elysia.