undergrounds | Cesare vs. Sylvia (Territory Claim)

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."

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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.

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.

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."

"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?"

"Gee, tell me how you really feel." He grins a little, and for once, it's not directed in a mocking way towards Cesare. He's got no love for Sylvia Redbright either. She'd always looked at him like he was just another immature little upstart of a vampire. Much like someone else currently sitting across from him, but that was neither here nor there. It was the convenience of the situation that had made him wonder what was going on.

Despite what Cesare thought about him, Cooper wasn't stupid. He could see patterns in the way things were run. "You've never been that good of a noble citizen. What's the angle?" He doesn't expect Cesare to just flat out tell him, but sometimes, direct questions prompt interesting responses in people.

Cesare's instinctive response at Cooper's question, though he doesn't voice it, is why should I tell you??? It's not as if they two have them have even vaguely got along in the past. If it weren't for Nancy, Cesare's fairly sure Cooper would be dead by now.

He pulls a face that makes it pretty clear that he thinks Cooper is asking stupid questions and making stupid statements.

"I was a priest, Mr. Cooper. A cardinal. Being moral is my forte."

That line of thinking gets a sharp bark of laughter from Cooper. He raises his eyebrows, giving Cesare a look that clearly says 'Really?'

"Yeah, and I was a farmer's son, but I left the rebellion life a long time ago." Not entirely true, considering he'd helped take Raymond Harris down, but these days Cooper only got involved in conflicts he was sure had a chance of winning. No more doomed idealistic crusades for him.

Cesare just about avoids throwing Cooper some sassy comment about him still dressing as if he's just come from the fields, leaning in on his forearms instead.

"But you still know how to plants crops and make them grow, don't you?" And Cesare knows how to play the priest. Old habits die hard.

"If I can get rid of some of the crooked politics in this city, then you can bet I'm going to do it." And he means it. He just doesn't intend on removing any of his own just yet. He thinks his is fair.

Cooper makes no comment in regards to that question, barely biting back a comment about how the Catholic Church had been corrupt going almost all the way back to Saint Peter.

"I'm so sure. 'N I bet there'll be no end result that's best for you when all is said 'n done. " He's not sure what game Cesare is playing at, but he's sure he'll see the end result of what's coming sooner rather than later. Politics in this city never sit still for too long. Something is bound to occur.

Cesare shrugs and smiles, resting his hands on the table and leaning back.

"If I can benefit from helping my community, I'm not going to turn it down. Someone needs to be the responsible adult." It's not a deliberate jab at Cooper, not this time. Instead it's more subconscious.

"But you understand that, I'm sure. Why else would you have run for Vampire Representative in the first place?"

The younger vampire nods slowly. "I went for it because I wanted t'make things better for the vampires in the city." That was the honest truth. The Nest had been a frightful mess when he'd come into power. Cooper likes to think that things have settled down partially due to his work.

Cooper stands back up. He's heard enough and gotten about all that he thinks he'll get out of Cesare. He pauses before adding on. "'N because I like power." He used to play that particular trait closer to the chest, but he's no longer shy in revealing that, not now that he was right where he wanted to be.

Cesare leans back in his chair and grins, giving Cooper an impressed look. At last, the child has found his teeth.

"That's the spirit. Don't we all?" Cesare is happy to admit that he thinks most people in politics are power hungry assholes. Perhaps that reflects more on him than it does everyone else, but he quite firmly believes that very few people enter this field because they want to change the world. Instead they want to control it.

"And do you think you've made things better, Cooper? Or have we just spent even more effort restricting and limiting our kind?" It's no secret that the majority of laws that have been introduced lately have been the vampires policing their own community. Cesare isn't exactly keen on that.

"Well, you certainly do." Cooper was under no delusions as to where Cesare's loyalties really lay. He would have tossed his own mother under the bus if he thought it would gain him more power. He sips at Irish coffee he's made.

"I've seen what having less restrictions has done for the Nest. I didn't like it." Harris' reign had nearly ended the Nest as they knew it. He won't mention his ultimate goal of wanting to restrict how many teenagers could get turned. If Cesare knew that, he'd get all outraged on Cooper, and try to do what he could to sabotage him. See, Cooper knew how to keep his mouth shut, even if everyone else thought he was a loudmouth.

Cesare vs. Sylvia (Territory Claim)

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