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

[longterm]

Cesare grins broadly at her when she looks at him.

"Better than sex, hmm?" he asks, knowing damn well that it is. At least it always is for him. Personally, though, he has always had a penchant for mixing the two when he could. That's part of the reason why he so rarely dates other vampires: half of the fun in the bedroom is gone when there's no blood worth drinking pulsing through their veins.

"I can send you some to take home, if you'd like." He's already standing up again, moving to grab her another drink from the fridge under the desk.

"And you have blood on your shirt."

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha can't even argue that. She doesn't say it, but the flush in her cheeks is agreement enough. Her eyes snap open at his words, though, then she glances down at her shirt, the blood dribbled down from her chin.

She wipes her face in a daze and shakes her head.

"Thanks," she says, her attention going to Jessica then. "Don't know if that'll be necessary."

She's not sure it won't be. Is she really supposed to go back to pig blood after that?

[longterm]

"Sure," Cesare responds, just about humoring her but clearly not believing a word. He pulls out a bottle from the fridge and makes his way back to her, holding out the bottle to place into her palm.

"Just a nightcap then," he says with a reassuring smile. "For when you're feeling peckish. We should make this a regular thing, if you'd like..." That's what Natasha wants after all, isn't it? To spend time with him? Hope that she convince him of things? The least he can do is give her an opportunity.

[outstandingbalance]

"I'm not sure I'm trying to make this a regular thing," Natasha says, but slowly. It's real confusion that she lets cross her face, though she deploys it with intention. He's right that she's trying to get a finger hold on his time. With that, she has room to work.

She doesn't expect him to change his mind though.

Mostly she hopes he'll try to change hers, and drop some information along the way. If he listens to her every so often along the way, it would be a bonus but nothing she counts on. She knows she doesn't have that kind of pull.

"It just seemed like a good night to fall of the wagon. It's been..." She shrugs. "I guess it makes you wonder if Redbright is quite as admirable as it seems. The institute, not the person."

The person, Natasha holds no illusions about.

[longterm]

Cesare smiles and nods as he sits back next to Jessica and patting her on the shoulder. He's not sure if Natasha is merely paying lip service to his views or finally agreeing with him. He's happy either way.

"You can say that again. It would be smart to remember that they only let our kind in there very recently indeed. Redbright is not there to help vampires. It allows them."

He gives Jessica a wink and, with a smile, she gets up to leave the room, leaving the two of them to talk in private.

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha doesn't imagine he trusts her. She doesn't for a moment imagine that he believes she's come over to his side.

But he doesn't need to. He just has to be interested enough to keep the communication open between them, to give her opportunities. That comes with a risk. It comes with greater temptation for herself.

"I know how you feel about that, but there are worse things than allowing vampires. It's a start. I think—I thought, at least—that it could grow from there."

[longterm]

His eyes turn to her for a second and he smirks.

"Vying for the roll of Chancellor are you? I confess: the Romanoff Institute does have a ring to it." He's joking. For now at least. If Natasha turned around and told him she was hoping to overthrow Sylvia though, he would help her without question, as long as he didn't have to get his hands dirty. Cesare has always hated Sylvia. He doesn't try to hide that. At least he won't to Natasha.

See? There's an opportunity. It's working already.

[outstandingbalance]

"That's a little beyond my ambitions at this point." She says it with a tired smile, seeing it for the joke but also seeing the suggestion in it. He might not believe she'll take it, not now, but she knows that if Cesare thought he could install Natasha in Redbright, he would be behind it in a moment.

She might not be part of a nest, but he'd definitely love to have a vampire installed in another position of power in London.

"I don't think the school is quite ready for that."

[longterm]

"Why not? It's only ready when someone says it is. Why wait for someone else to make the first move?" Cesare asks with a shrug. He's always been the type to lead by example. The norm always begins as change at first. Then people get used to it, they adapt and they wonder how it was ever any different.

"Not that I would kick poor Sylvia while she's down, of course," he says with an amused smile that shows he doesn't mean a word of it.

[outstandingbalance]

"Of course not." Natasha sghs, considering the situation. She shakes her head, considering the bottle of blood that he's left out for her. "You're too kind for that. But kindness aside... the optics would be terrible. A vampire climbing the ranks outside of the nest would have more or less everyone up in arms against it."