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.

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.

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.

[brightwitch]

She shakes her head, still smiling. "You're impossible."

But she really doesn't have time, so he gets the briefest of kisses before she climbs out of bed.

"You're probably right not to rock the boat. We've done enough of that already." She disappears into the bathroom for a second or two before turning back to stick her head around the door. "I'm taking a shower. Coming?"

She doesn't wait for him to reply, instead disappearing again to go turn on the shower. Hey, she's got a morning routine to get through. After last night, she's up for a second round but it's got to fit in with her schedule.

[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.

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?"

[longterm]

Cesare holds no qualms about getting out of bed and padding over barefoot to join Samantha in the bathroom. He's a businessman. He understands the importance of time and he's definitely not going to turn down a quickie.

"Breakfast?" he asks, as he picks up the phone and begins dialling for room service. He looks over to her. "Coffee at least...? In a to-go cup...?" Look at him, being considerate and thoughtful. "Or a bloody mary? We had quite a bit to drink last night." Not that Cesare even remotely regrets it, though, of course.

[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?"

[brightwitch]

She's towelling her hair dry after their shower when he asks about breakfast. "Coffee to go," she confirms, and it is rather nice to have him taking care of these things for her. Makes her realise that she misses having a man around. Not that Cesare is in any way a suitable partner. They're working together, that's all.

At any rate, she gets dressed in a hurry, checking her phone for the time and the constant stream of messages. "Sylvia's not giving up her territory. I don't think she likes you."

Cesare can probably guess at what an understatement that is.

[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."

[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.

[longterm]

"Doesn't want to give up her territory or actually is able to keep a hold of it?" He asks, trying to sound slightly more casual than he actually is. This matters to him. He wants to do well. The more he can take from Sylvia now, the more power he has behind him later on.

He smirks when Samantha says she doesn't like him though. He had expected nothing less.

He orders the coffee for her and flops back on to the bed in his dressing gown, hands behind his head.

"She can hate me all she likes. The more loathing she spews, the better I look. I was a priest, you know. I can play pious." He flashes her a grin. To be honest, a rise to power based on honour and respectability is not ideal, but he'll take what he can get.

[brightwitch]

Sylvia gestures at the chair and nods. "Please, sit. There's a lot of hot air being blown about at the moment. I imagine you've heard."

This is stuff dredged up from decades ago. Ridiculous. And yet it's created a media storm. Whoever did this didn't just leak the news, they planned it.

[brightwitch]

Samantha shrugs. They'll decide that later today when they meet. She can't imagine that the Night Council would vote to act on the whim of a vampire, and she certainly won't be making the argument on Cesare's behalf. She doesn't want to draw any suspicions that they might be working together.

"She's not hating on you in public," Samantha replies distantly, now focusing on untangling the knots in her hair. "But it keeps her distracted. Feathers ruffled."

[outstandingbalance]

"And then some." Natasha figures there's someone behind this, and that person is getting exactly what they want. She can't say for sure yet who it was—but she can say who benefits.

She takes a seat.

"Still deciding what to make of it. Other than the fact someone really doesn't like you."

[brightwitch]

Yes, she's certainly right about that. But there's a power move going on here, one that has taken her by surprise, and right now all she can do is damage control.

Sylvia steeples her hands together. "Would you like to help?"

Words of comfort are one thing. What she could really do with is an ally to help fight the storm.

[outstandingbalance]

"That's more or less what I'm here to decide." Natasha offers a smile as she says it, the rueful kind that comes easily in times like this. It's an honest answer. She hopes that's the right play. "I'm leaning toward yes, if you give me a reason."

She sighs then, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Not defensive, but she has an inkling just how big this could get. "I don't like what's happening here. I don't like knowing it's just the first step."

[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."