Cesare vs. Sylvia (Territory Claim)

[longterm]

Cesare was reading the paper, sipping his morning coffee when the news of the Sylvia Redbright scandal broke. Good. He appreciated that so far Samantha had held up to her end of the bargain. All things considered, he had hoped she would but certainly hadn't expected it from her. Over time, Cesare has learned that people can be slippery like that, especially when you give them an opportunity for it. So far, Samantha has been solid. He likes her.

That morning he arranges a meeting with the press in one of the private function rooms of his hotel, somewhere private, where he cannot be interrupted. He's dressed in a suit, though his normal, somewhat ostentatious cufflinks are traded in for something more modest, and he's standing at a lectern on which his speech is written, a speech that he had written weeks prior.

"I am not the representative for my Nest and I speak solely for myself. However, I am certain when I say that President Redbright's behaviour has been shocking, appalling and harrowing. She has lead not one, not two, but three of the most prominent factions within this city and she has done so with underhand deals, deception and subterfuge. It is dishonest. It is corrupt. And it is undiplomatic.

When given the opportunity to be the voice of the people, she has used this power not for good, but for her own crooked personal gain. She has betrayed the people she was charged with representing, and that is why it is only right that she surrender a portion of the territories that she has dishonestly acquired, and give them to the Night Council that she has cheated for so long.

I am asking not for my own personal gain, but as a concerned citizen who has had enough of her corruption. It is time that she be held to account for her actions."

Comments

Working at the office

[longterm]

Cesare is at his office, making plans. His campaign to discredit Sylvia and cause unrest is going well and he has carried out a series of interviews since his original press conference, in which he has said pretty much the same thing: Concerned citizen....Truly appalling behaviour....In need of much change, yes... Cesare does not expect a smooth ride on this, but so far it is all going according to plan. He's at his desk, reading letters from other fellow concerned citizens and signing pre-written heartfelt replies. A campaign like this takes precision and efficiency, after all.

[dredefulchilde]

Joscelin is hardly a paragon of virtue and goodness, but he is loyal to his friends. They are few, and Jean-Claude is first among them, but Cesare ranks somewhere in the list. So he feels like he owes him an in-person visit.

"What are you planning, Cesare Borgia?" he asks mildly, holding up the day's papers. "What's the end game?"

He's not going to take any of that "concerned citizen" bullshit.

[longterm]

Cesare pulls a wry apologetic smile and shakes his head as he continues working through his letters.

"I wish I could tell you, Joscelin. But, although you're a friend, I'm not entirely sure we share the same aims." The two of them have talked politics plenty and Cesare respects Joscelin. But he also knows that the only reason Joscelin can go outside right now is because Jean-Claude granted it to him. That means a lot and Cesare is not keen to take that for granted.

Whether Cesare likes it or not, he knows he can only trust Joscelin so far.

"No hard feelings though."

[dredefulchilde]

"None taken."

Someone else might be offended. Joscelin isn't. That's just the way things go around here.

This all feels a bit like a dismissal, though, and that is something Joscelin is a little less okay with. He could have just phoned if he'd wanted the brush-off, not taken the time for a personal visit. So he pulls a chair up to the desk and sits down. He's not going anywhere yet.

"Let me ask you this, then: does all your scheming mean I should have any concern for the Nest or its current leadership?"

[longterm]

"Not even remotely," Cesare replies honestly, with a small smile that he hopes is reassuring.

"My relationship with Jean-Claude can be strained at times, but I wish him no harm. And I have no interest in destroying my own faction. I have nothing to gain from that." No. He's interested in defeating a larger menace. In fact, if anything, Cesare needs Jean-Claude as an ally if it all pans out as planned.

"You can rest assured on that."

Having dinner

[longterm]

Cesare is having dinner with a deliberately diverse group of people. He's in public, in a restaurant that he doesn't own, but is friends with the owner. He knows he'll be seen here and that is the point, as he sits at a table with other vampires, witches and meta-humans. There might even be a witch in there who is a quarter wolf. It's a show really, a display to prove that Cesare gets along well with everyone, that he understands them and can represent them. Is it a little transparent? Perhaps. But politics is rarely subtle.

Visiting Haringey

[longterm]

Cesare is taking a well publicised trip to the Redbright Institute territories, specifically Haringey, the territory that he intends to claim. With cameras snapping around him, Cesare assesses the area, hands on his hips, eyes moving about the buildings. It's a stunt. It means little other than to give the press something to photograph and put in their papers. He settles at a coffee shop in Haringey and begins writing another reply to some of the letters he's been receiving.

[emotioneater]

Cesare may see a familiar face in the crowd of reporters. Cooper's hanging towards the back, not wanting anyone to notice him. If the Vampire Representative is seen here, the press will leap on it as his support of Cesare, even if it's just his very presence there. To that end, he's got a pair of large wraparound sunglasses, dressed a little sharper than he normally is and hair styled for once so that he can pass for nineteen or twenty. He's still wearing his usual boots.

He waits until Cesare is alone before approaching him. "Seems like someone's been in the paper quite a bit these days." Cooper's extra-sensory power of feeling out emotions has kicked into overdrive. He's interested to pick up what's really going on behind that easy smile and glad-handing he's showing the press.

[longterm]

Oh. It's Cooper. Ew. To be honest, Cesare has no wish whatsoever to engage with him. Eventually, though, he realises that he has little choice. He's packing up his bag of letters and notes when he finally speaks to Cooper, smiling but not looking at him.

"Mr Cooper. You're looking...stealthy. Worried to be seen taking an actual stance?" As much as Cooper's participated in the politics of this city and the Nest, Cesare will never see it as anything more than a child poorly playing games. In his eyes, Cooper is barely doing anything. Cesare intends to do something of real worth.

[emotioneater]

Cooper sits down and pulls out a flask, pouring some of it into the coffee that he's ordered. The sunglasses come off. "I'm not committing myself one way or the other till it all gets settled down." The situation showed just how precarious power could be.

He can sense some things going on beneath the surface with Cesare, things he's not showing to the public. There's barely contained excitement there, and anger, though who it's directed towards Cooper hasn't the slightest idea. "Someone seems t'be quite the concerned citizen lately."

[longterm]

"What can I say? I hate power hungry bitches who think they can manipulate their way into power and get away with it." He's telling the truth, but he's helpfully leaving out the reason why he feels that way. After all, he's mostly mad that he wasn't the one to do it himself. Sylvia got there before him. He'll fix that though.

He considers making a cheap jab about Cooper's flask, something to do with how Nancy drinks so heavily and they must enable each other, but he thinks better of it. Just this once, Cesare thinks he should probably get along ok with Cooper. Besides, when Nancy spent her nights with him, he didn't exactly discourage her.

"Call me odd, but I don't think a stance against corruption is particularly mind boggling. Don't you want to clean up our fine city?"

Roll again

[longterm]

None of these take your fancy? Got another thing in mind? Let's do it! <3

how about a smug morning after at Cesare's place?

[brightwitch]

"Look at you being all elder statesman."

She's flipping through an article on her phone where there's a video of Cesare looking very dapper in a suit. And putting on his serious politics face, of course. The demand he's making seems like an amusing distraction to her, but it is adding more fuel to the fire.

Samantha sighs as her inbox pings yet again. "Another emergency meeting. Gotta decide the party line. That woman works us hard."

It does mean she'll have to get up which is a pity when the sheets are so warm and comfortable, but there's work to be done. She sits up, pushing back her hair which is all mussed, and eyes the bathroom. Quick shower, get dressed, morning coffee... she can be over at Westminster in less than an hour. No time to even check in on the school run and that does prick at her heart a little, but this is more important.

Living for it!

[longterm]

Cesare yawns and stretches a little, squinting at the morning sun that peers through the curtains.

"I'm a concerned citizen, Ms. Okeke. Something simply must be done about all this corruption in our dear city," he replies, reenacting an exaggerated form of the same speech he's given over the past week. "Who will do it if I do not?" He is well aware of the irony of it all, the fact that he's complaining of underhand deals and then spending his night with Samantha, discussing politics between hitched breaths. He never claimed that it was fair.

He sits up on his elbows and looks over her for a moment.

"How long do you have?" he asks, clearly thinking of other activities that they could be getting up to.

[brightwitch]

She rolls her eyes in amusement. He does have the speech down pat. She finishes texting a reply then puts the phone down before leaning over to squeeze his shoulder.

"She wants us there by eight. No time for games." She wishes they had, though. But there is something else... Her eyes meet his. "Cooper's not answering. Did you bump him off?"

[longterm]

Cesare laughs and flops back into the sheets.

"Not yet. Do you want me to? I'll admit, the idea does sound very appealing indeed." Cesare and Cooper have hardly got along at the best of times. Cesare is still furious about the time when Cooper came to his hotel and started yelling horrific things about him and his sister. They were all true but that wasn't the point. Cooper very nearly lost his life that night, and likely would have if Nancy hadn't intervened.

"But I'm trying to avoid any sudden brash moves in case you think I'm volatile." It wouldn't be helpful for Samantha to panic and think him untrustworthy. Cesare is trying to be reliable as he possibly can for her, within reason, with the hope that she'll do the same for him.

He looks up gives her another look and a smirk. "Are you sure we don't have time? I don't think it would take that long..." Cesare is exceedingly confident in his prowess with her, particularly if last night was any indication.

Sylvia

[outstandingbalance]

When the news breaks, Natasha isn't the first to know. She might not be shocked, but she's not prepared. She's not a fan of that. If she's honest with herself, she focuses on that more than on the news itself, deferring the question of whether or not she believes it (or if it even matters) in favor of trying to process what kind of damage control might be run.

It's in this state, turning the situation over in her head to try to find an angle, a way to scrape out some continuity, that she comes to Sylvia's office. Her knock is soft but brisk.

"Do you have a minute for me?"

[brightwitch]

Sylvia replies with a soft "come in" and when Natasha enters she'll find her at her desk, looking... well, worn-out. She feels as though she has spent the entire day reading newspaper articles and comments and fielding an avalanche of messages that range from concerned to outright threatening.

She could happily murder whoever leaked this story. Happily.

"Natasha," she says, with a tired smile. "How goes it?"

[outstandingbalance]

"I've had better days. Still on the scale of things... could be worse." Natasha's tactic is colored by concern, but ultimately pragmatic. She knows who's having a worse day in this room. "If you have some scotch hiding in here somewhere, I'd be happy to pour you one."

[brightwitch]

"Scotch," she repeats, lips quirking. "Chance would be a fine thing. I'm all out and living on coffee." She shakes her head. "What can I do for you?"

Whatever happens, she's still in charge of this school. That responsibility hasn't been taken away from her yet.

[outstandingbalance]

"I know I'm not the first person who'd like a chat with you today, but if you have time for a few words...?"

Natasha glances at a chair, but pointedly waits for permission before she sits.

"Be nice to know where things stand."

Cesare

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha is good to her word. After her conversation with Sylvia, when the news breaks, she reaches out to Cesare—she leaves a message for him, letting know she'll be by around 1am, if he's free for a visit. He might not be, she knows that.

But she says it's about Sylvia.

She doesn't think he'll pass up the opportunity to gloat.

Whether or not he opts to join her, Natasha shows up at the hotel promptly and heads for the bar to wait.

[longterm]

Cesare does love a good opportunity to gloat.

So when Natasha arrives, Cesare is there after a few minutes, sliding up next to her at the bar and ordering the two of them drinks. It's fairly quiet now. Neither of them have to worry about being overheard.

"Are you here to switch sides now or try to get me to let up on Sylvia?" Cesare asks with a smile as he sits himself down. He knows well at this point that Natasha has been firmly on the side of the Redbright Institute, despite his attempts to the contrary.

[outstandingbalance]

"Officially? Neither." Natasha turns toward him slightly, not to face him straight on, but three quarters, something like that. "Officially, Sylvia asked me to let you know she doesn't have any intention of submitting to your demands."

Her mouth turns up ruefully. She doesn't have to feign her discomfort with the situation. That's the trick to doing what she does: the emotions are real, because she's not entirely comfortable with the situation. She's not happy to have tied her fortune to Sylvia here then have scandal come out. That doesn't mean she's not loyal or that she has any intention of actually changing sides, but that part, Cesare doesn't have to know.

The fact she's disappointed in her faction's leadership is enough.

"Unofficially... Maybe a little of column A, little of column B."

[longterm]

Cesare looks down at his drink and smiles.

"I've played this game before, Ms. Romanoff. I know it ends in heartache." She's lead him on for long enough in the past that he knows that no matter the level of disappointment she feigns right now, she's ultimately on the side of Redbright. She's Rebdright's woman through and through and if Natasha wants to convince Cesare of otherwise, she's going to have to do something pretty brash.

"Though tell Sylvia I look forward to our next meeting. She barely paid attention to me last time we spoke. Perhaps this time she will."