James and the Terrible, No Good, Rotten Day (OPEN)

[youronlylaw]

A) Pre-trial

This trial could - in fact - go die in a fire as far as James was concerned. A month ago he was slightly excited to be defending a vampire in human court -something he would have never pictured himself doing. Now? He really hoped this asshole would just get staked in his cell and save James the trouble of doing this. He was going to lose, obviously. This was just about negotiating how long it'd be till he got out again. And the vampire had money to spare. And influence thanks to his age.

The fact that he was a serial killer was practically a footnote. He'd be out in a year or even less if he coughed up enough bail.

He had been cooped up in his own home trying to prep for this. The client, Stephan Alkaev, kept changing his mind on exactly what his demands were - James suspected it was just to see how far he could push him. While James didn't mind defending a vampire, his client wasn't exactly thrilled that a werewolf was defending him. He did anything in his power to irritated James.

God, just thinking about Alkaev's stupid smug face was enough to make him push away the noodles he was working on. James had found a Chinese place that was open 24/7 and, in a desperate bid for a change of pace the night before the trial date, he took the folder of material he wanted to review and ordered as much as he could fit onto the small table he had been seated at.

B) Day of Trial

There were a lot of cameras and press around. It wasn't anything new. This was a high profile event. He killed a lot of people's daughters. Of course there would be outrage. The crowd was practically frothing behind the barricades though and James tried to keep himself from making eye contact with anyone, just to avoid egging someone on accidentally.

His client couldn't get enough of it though. He walked to the steps of the courthouse with his head held high. James hoped he could shut him up in time if he decided he was going to talk about the supernatural community on national television, or make a case for the insanity plea. Anything. He had only mentioned telling the world once. Just once and never again but that didn't keep him from worrying about it.

He hadn't said a single word to the man today aside from the perfunctory 'Good morning, Mr. Alkaev' lest he tell him to go fuck himself. He kept up the pace with him as he went up the steps when suddenly there was a loud pop of noise like someone let a firecracker go off nearby and then

Blood was everywhere. He could smell it. On him, all over Alkaev and - there was a hole in the left side of his face the size of a golf ball. People were screaming and ducking and James was frozen and lucky he wasn't wearing any Moonlight jewelry today or he might have popped some claws and fangs out of fear.

C) In Shock

Shot through the head. Sniper perched on the parking garage across the courtyard. Cameras had been disabled. Only evidence is the weapon in question. An old fashioned gun. Something that should be impossible by human eyes.

That's what the police were saying. James didn't mean to listen but he couldn't keep himself from hearing. Not right now, sitting on the edge of an ambulance with a shock blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a child.

He still had blood spattered all over his face and suit. He hadn't even noticed. The only thought going through his mind was that this was a hit. Someone had Alkaev killed.

And it had been a message.

D) At Scotland Yard - for Lord Coward

Sitting in a spartan room being interrogated by the police after his client's gruesome death was not what James wanted to be doing this evening. And yet, here he was, wearing some bizarre scrubs in lieu of his bloodied clothing staring at a cup of lukewarm shit tea waiting for the next officer to come inside and either tell him he's being further detained or if he can go home.

Really, it's not ideal. He was tempted to ask for an attorney to do the talking for him - he hadn't said much beyond he had no idea what happened. A lot of people wanted Alkaev dead. Personally he wasn't going to miss the man too much, and it was probably a mistake to say as much to the police.

He thought being in shock was a good excuse for his filter disappearing.

E) Home

After finally being released by Coward, James took his clothes in a plastic bag and got a cab home. Rather an uneventful day's end for the insanity it began with. He wants to eat something disgusting, take a hot shower and crawl in bed for a few days to just sleep but he knows he's going to have to call into the office in the morning before work actually starts, tell the front desk he isn't going to be coming in today for obvious reasons and go to the police station to issue a real statement.

At least the full moon isn't coming for another ten days, but ten days is enough to start feeling the pressure of looking human again.

James comes home to a dark and cold loft. It's extremely unappealing and he looks at his phone with a bit of longing before thinking better. He wouldn't be any fun right now if he called Skip and she'd more than likely leave after ten minutes which would make him feel more like crap than he did already.

What a mess.

Comments

Scotland Yard

[occultdisciple]

Lord Coward was in a position to laugh off the idea of the defence attorney being behind the hit. The man wasn't connected at all to the murders, and he made no money off a dead client. It also didn't hurt (though he wouldn't admit it, certainly) that he knew exactly who had killed Alkaev. He'd gone through about a half dozen middlemen and, even then, never did anything to give himself away. All that mattered was that police had the gun that had been purchased and kept tucked away for a hundred years and that the shooter was, even now, on his way to a lovely house in the Riviera.

So, he calmly strolled into the interrogation room and unlocked the cuff around James's wrist that attached to the table.

"I would like to offer you my and the department's apologies for detaining you this long, Mister Memon. I'm sure you understand that we must be thorough. However, you're now free to go."

[youronlylaw]

He didn't look as if he actually believed Coward. For a moment. When the cuffs come off, James is more inclined to trust the man. Fangs and all. He stands from his seat instantly and rubs at his wrists - just because the feeling of chains on them was uncomfortable enough.

"Thank you. Do you know what happened?"

He doesn't mean what the press release says. He means what really happened.

[occultdisciple]

Coward smiles just a little and walks with him out of the station. Only then do his shoulders shrug. A simple, easy gesture. But his smile is just a bit out of place.

"A situation that would have been embarrassing to many fronts was taken care of."

[youronlylaw]

"You don't want to talk about it, I get it. But I at least deserve to know who had him killed."

He can guess the why - besides when has 'why' ever really mattered? And whoever did it themselves was of no consequence. Assassins were tools, that was it.

[occultdisciple]

"Someone untouchable."

He wasn't going to name Millicent, but... Well. A lawyer ought to be smart enough to piece that together with that statement. And the simple fact that the man had been a vampire about to expose them all.

Or try to, at least.

Home

[wolfmarked]

There are a few things Skip just doesn't do.

One: backstory.
Two: emotional scenes.

People get way too invested in way too many things, and she doesn't get why they're so bothered. Even less so why they care so much that she doesn't care. Sure, it means she can get people to do what they want, knowing what buttons to press. But that just makes them dumb. It doesn't make her wrong.

But her aunt insisted.

They were 'close.' Really, it was Aunt Jenny wanting to get in good with someone who seemed promising. But, well, whatever. It didn't really bother Skip. She didn't have much to do anyway. Tomorrow was just turning in her portfolio, so it wasn't like she needed sleep.

When she got to the door of his flat, she knocked. She held up the bottle of Fireball Whiskey to the peep hole.

It seemed like the most appropriate thing to bring over. Besides herself.

[youronlylaw]

James just came out of the shower when he hears the knock and he freezes. For a moment his brain conjures up images of an assassin coming to make sure he was taken care of too. He tries to tell himself that's ridiculous but...well. Vampires weren't exactly known for their pragmatic ways.

He's half tempted to grab a weapon - a kitchen knife would do nicely - but he reasons that he should be strong enough to take on whoever out there would try to kill him.

Boldly, he opens the door in a quick wide arch - hoping to catch whoever is on the other side unawares. It doesn't even occur to him to look through the peephole, so he looks rather surprised to see Skip.

"...What are you doing here?"

His brow furrows upon seeing her and he has to actually study the whiskey to figure it out - he's that out of it.

He should tell her to leave. That it's not a good time right now.

But how do you say no to Skip?

[wolfmarked]

"Aunt Jenny sent me."

She won't even bother trying to sound like she really wanted to come. This kind of thing? Nope. She'd leave someone to deal with it themselves. She'd want to do that. To just handle herself, not worry about anyone else. But, well.

"And I'd never have heard the end of it if I didn't."

Which was why she'd brought booze. If she was going to bother someone, she was going to offer them the chance to get drunk. Whether or not she enjoyed some too. Because if she was dismissed? She'd go happily and just party at a club for a few hours.

[youronlylaw]

"Well thanks, Aunt Jenny."

He smiles wryly, Skip couldn't have possibly made it more obvious she didn't want to be here right now. James reached for the whiskey to take it out of her hands and tried to look nice about it but he was sure he was only coming off as an ass.

For the first time since he met her, James didn't give a crap what she thought.

"You don't have to stay you know."

He practically snapped it.

[wolfmarked]

"Look." Her tone was just as short, though she didn't seem actually offended or angry. After all, she made no move to strike him, and she didn't throw anything. "This isn't something I do."

She didn't like dealing with people when she was emotional; she didn't like dealing with them when they were emotional.

"Sex? Booze? Totally down. This whole... thing? No. But she'd have had my hide if I hadn't come. So, I'm here, I've delivered alcohol. I'm glad to go."

In Shock

[whatmatters]

Ringer didn't often pay attention to criminal cases. Like most of the average populace, she only gave note to cases of great relevance or brutality. The Alkaev case had gotten her attention in such a manner - something about a rich serial killer never failed to piss her off - and she had been casually following it until rumor around Hillingdon House brought her attention to the fact that the defendant was a vampire.

Since then, the case had become one of exceeding interest to her and she wondered how many people knew: the barrister, the solicitors, the judge? The trial had finally come. It was background noise as she made herself lunch when the gunshot went off and the feed cut to a confused reporter in the studio scrambling to make sense of what they had just seen and broadcast on live television.

She wasted no time in making her way down there, fortunately living not too far. It was more difficult navigating the crowds of people that gathered there, some to help and others to catch a glimpse of blood. Ringer, instead, caught sight of the ambulance and made her way over in that direction, off to the side from the crime scene and significantly less crowded.

"You're the lawyer," she greeted the man seated there. It wasn't a question so much as a statement of fact. She glanced about to ensure no paramedics were listening in as she stopped near the edge of the open door, maintaining a meter or so between them. "Is he dead?"

[youronlylaw]

He's almost not surprised enough when she appears before him. James had to admit she had balls just walking up in the middle of all this. If you could look confident enough you could get in anywhere. But still - the girl had guts. If she had been here to kill him he would have been dead already.

James can only arch a brow as she asks her question and gesture plainly to the length of his suit - which is covered in blood and was previous coated in other unsavory bits.

"I don't know - is he?"

[whatmatters]

"Do you know what he was?" Was. If the man had been, well, a man, then it was obvious by the blood and non-answer that he was dead. Vampires, on the other hand, were another beast entirely - both literally and metaphorically. If Memon hadn't seen the vampire actually die, there was a possibility that the creature was playing possum until the cameras disappeared and he could make his escape. That was something Ringer couldn't allow. Thus there was no point beating around the bush.

There was also the question of how the attack had been carried out. Clearly an execution, or an attempted one, but who coordinated the attack was a mystery. "Are you alright?"

[youronlylaw]

James visibly bristles at her latest question and he tries to subtly scent her to figure out if she's some kind of shifter or a werewolf...but she smells human. Which could mean anything.

"Yes, of course. But the bullet was laced with silver or .. something."

It was the only other thing he could smell at the time of the attack. Blood and silver.

She didn't know that his law firm worked exclusively with the supernatural community and it's intersections with the human one in London - but not very many who didn't do business with them did.

"And...no. I don't think so." In an effort to keep himself from feeling too vunerable, James makes an attempt at humor. It's not a very good one, and he limply holds up the corner of the blanket wrapped around him. "They give these to you for a reason, don't they?"

[whatmatters]

Ringer was caught off guard by his pointed candor, surprise flashing across her expression before it returned to something more stoic and even. She considered his words. If he was certain that it was silver, the creature was almost certainly dead. Which left the possibilities of Memon working with the vampire to fake his death or conspiring to kill him. It was also possible the man was an innocent bystander, but that seemed less likely.

She gave a simple nod to acknowledge his remark about the blanket, making it unclear whether she understood the attempt at humor or not. In truth, she recognized the remark for the attempt at joking and for the honesty beneath it. "Are you hurt or is it psychological? Are you upset that he's dead?"

SHOCK

[knowstheworld]

Childermass was not technically supposed to be there, in the midst of a crime scene, but he has his ways of getting about. He has his ways of getting about a place, whether he is wanted there or not. Ways of keeping himself from being noticed until such a time as he cares to be, and so it is that Childermass makes his way through the scene now, taking in the story of what happened and the business of the people around him, before he stands by James. A familiar face, even if it takes him a moment to place him, from the coffee shop. A lawyer, is he? Indeed...

"I keep running into you under circumstances perhaps less than ideal," Childermass drawls at him. The moment he speaks, the spell used to keep him dissolved into the background of the scenery, as white noise, should fade. Not so much as though he had just appeared out of nowhere, but certainly as though he had been there all along and James had simply not recognized that fact before now.

He takes in the sight of him, perched on the edge of the ambulance, covered in blood, with the blanket tucked around his shoulders, before saying simply, "You look a mess."

[youronlylaw]

James jumps in perhaps the most undignified and human manner he possibly could at that moment. No one takes a second glance, thinking that the poor man is simply trying to process what has happened.

When Childermass materializes in front of him - James' surprise fades and he looks less than happy to see the man.

"Yes, we should do something about that," he drawls, wrapping the blanket on his shoulders tighter.

"What are you doing here?"

[knowstheworld]

It's a good question to ask. Childermass just shrugs. "Drew quite the crowd," is what he says instead. "Every man and his dog wanted to get a look at what was going on, a scene like this." It's an explanation enough, although it's probably not the explanation that James was looking for.

"You were the lawyer," he says. "Defending that man." He nods to the crime scene in front of them, where the police are currently working to secure the scene and clean things up, as it were. He glances back to him again. "The vampire."

[youronlylaw]

"Astute observation," he says dryly.

He can't help the bite to his words. At this point he's given up trying because there is no way today is going to try and keep himself from being an asshole right now - he thinks he's earned it.

"Is there a point you're trying to make?"

[knowstheworld]

Childermass shrugs slightly. He had wandered in to see what was going on. It had been a commotion, and he had been curious. He doesn't mean to be malicious, but any little piece of information that he can collect is relevant in the long run.

"Catching my bearings," he explains. "And trying to figure out where you fit in to all of this." And by that, it's clear that he doesn't just mean the scene around them, but in the supernatural underground besides.

Day of the Trial/shock/idk somewhere inbetween

[knightscode]

Of course, anywhere there's a supernatural incident the Night Council are soon all over it.

James should probably be grateful that, of all the Guardians to be sent to help with issue containment, he's ended up with the most sympathetic one. It's easy enough for him to slip through into the scene wearing his police uniform, and easy enough for him to not be noticed. It's why he made a good choice as a guardian -- he's already there at a crime scene often enough.

"Mr Memom," he says softly, and offers a weak smile. "Anyone offered you a cup of tea or coffee?"

He looks like he needs it.

[youronlylaw]

"No, but I've had plenty of visits."

He tries - genuinely - not to sound as if he's trying to stir shit up further, but considering the security that was around them it was pretty laughable that people on their side of the world could come and go as they pleased. If he was meant to be dead there would be no stopping them. It was terrifying.

He was rather grateful it wasn't someone he hadn't met before that the Guardians sent.

"Was there something you needed, sir?"

[knightscode]

"Lancelot is fine," he says, because sir makes him feel peculiarly old. "I'm just here to make sure this doesn't turn into more of a circus than it needs to be."

Which is to say, to make sure the Statue of Secrecy isn't broken now in the aftermath. That nobody panics and says something they shouldn't.

"Come on," he says more softly, "lets sit you down and get you a drink at least. What would you like?"

[youronlylaw]

"Lancelot, then."

It's dismissive, only a slight acknowledgement of his request. He's not in the mood to be all nice or anything right now, but habits are hard to break.

"Just tea. Thanks."

Tea is meant to sooth what ails you, right? His mom would always make some whenever there was a crisis of any kind.

[knightscode]

"Tea I can do," Lancelot says, and gently places a hand on James' arm to guide him to sit down on a bench. He gestures to wait a moment, vanishes away into the crowds then returns a few minutes later with two cups. The one he hands to James smells strongly of chamomile tea. Slipping to sit on the bench beside James he sets down his own drink -- something coffee related if the colour and scent of it is any clue -- and untucks something folded from under his arm. It's a blanket, brightly coloured from one of the ambulances, and he holds it out to James.

"Keep you warm," he supplies, and slips to sit beside James and sips his drink as he watches the chaos. "Feels silly but it will help."