SOIKOS - the White Court +2 encounters the London Courts

[x-adrienne.livejournal.com]

The White Court (plus Adrienne) reconnoiter at a Hellfire Club function and explain the London Courts and some of its power players to Julian.

Manuel's laughter joined in time with a group of five women of perfectly sparkling white teeth that roared success by crushing those jaws down on any that stepped in their path. The five pairs of eyes were smitten with each other, smiles smitten with him and he forced a distracting look over his shoulder, nodded to Doug and turned back to the group.



"If you would excuse me ladies, I must depa--"'


"Really Manuel," a tall blond with craning neck intrupted. "Stay. We want to hear more."


"I am afraid I will have to duck from your clutches--" they seemed to beam at this. "--and tend to my party who is looking slightly lost. Perhaps you can prey on him when I am finished?" He nodded and turned, briskly leaving the girls behind but not their stares.


"If you.." He started in on Doug when he was within ear shot. "--dump those women on me again, I will be sure to impose someone equally insufferable back onto you when you least expect it."


"Oh Manuel, you say the nicest things to me," Doug replied teasingly. "I thought that you enjoyed all the attention that you get from the fairer sex?" He shrugged. "Besides, I had faith in your ability to shed their clutches."


"Shed their clothes but not them as a whole. Women are power in numbers," Manuel replied drily, eyes trained on a blackcourt member with an equally glaring stare as they retrieved a glass from a waiter.


"I've never had much problem with all the ones I work with," Doug volleyed back easily. "And with North out of the office long term, and Jake off doing whatever it is Jake does, it's practically just me and Remy versus all that estrogen." He shrugged. "I rather tend to enjoy the view most days."


"Poor you if that is all you have to look at," Manuel said and sipped at his drink. "I can slip poison into your drink - call it a mercy killing."



"I'll be sure to tell all your former conquests you said that. Maybe you'll be the one in need of a mercy killing after that," Doug shot back with a raised eyebrow and an insouciant grin.


"Ah," Manuel paused, looking down into his drink and tipped it towards him. "I forgot your loyalties to your skirt. Are you sure you do not dress like her when she is away?" he mused and cocked an eyebrow right back at Doug, although his red eyes glowed under the dampened lighting.


"Marie-Ange isn't the only one of your 'conquests' that works in the Snow Valley offices," Doug reminded Manuel, unperturbed at the slight bite to the Spaniard's teasing. "As for the rest, wouldn't you like to know."


"Actually," Manuel paused, thoughtful until he let an appalled expression creep across his face. "No, I would not. You, however, may keep your personal tastes to yourself, especially whatever it is that you and Marie-Ange do in the bedroom. Not all of us need to be that informed."


"You were the one that broached the subject, querido," Doug simpered with a limp wave of his hand. The banter had a biting edge to it, but it was comfortable in a way. Doug couldn't put his finger quite on when he and Manuel had started to tentatively get along, but they had something of a friendship these days that was surprising considering how they'd started off as students.


"You must join me in my protest of the champagne selection - it is poor, as poor as the appetizers that walk around serving them. I have yet to enjoy this free expense."


"There's no such thing as a free lunch, Manny," Doug told him. "You get what you pay for. You want quality, you pay for it. You get it free, it's not going to be the best. Besides, we can't all be as exacting as you. I've been rather enjoying the view."


"The view is questionable. Perhaps you need to have your eyes checked or then again, it could be the taste itself that needs adjustment," he teased.


"I so often hear you complaining about the standard of the staff and the food, Manuel. Perhaps I should include Personnel and Catering amongst the Bishop's duties. At least then we could ascertain what appeals to your jaded palate." Emma's voice was cool as she emerged from the depths of the soiree to stop by her Court members. "Perhaps your tastes now require a more toxic edge to stimulate them."



Adrienne made a face at Emma's comment as she sauntered up, champagne in hand. "Great, now I'm going to have the mental image of Cammie and Manuel stuck in my head," she grumbled, though her flippancy quickly died away as she focused on the reason she'd joined the White Court members. "Have any of you spoken to the members of the London delegation yet this evening? Their Blue Knight seems especially engaging, but I'm assuming there must be some deep dark secret there and figured one of you would know what it is." Adrienne had already formed her own opinions on both the Red and Blue Court member who were visiting New York this evening, but was hoping the White Court could give her their thoughts on the members of the overseas branch of the Club, assuming that Emma and probably Manuel had had dealings with them in the past.



Manuel exchanged a brief but challenging look with Emma, as though knowing she would do exactly that and load on more responsibilties as though he didn't have enough, but words needed not be conveyed here where everyone could see. Instead, he turned his gaze into the crowd, looking for Julian, whom he had set loose to mingle and see how he faired. Only his emotions had been keeping a check on the young man to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble.


"Keep your eye on them," Manuel said in a distracted tone to Adrienne, a sign that he seemed to be only paying half attention to. "Those types are dominated by magics, not mutant powers and they use it in every possible chance they get in corporate dealings. They are just as powerful as us," his eye caught Emma's again before he returned them to Adrienne. "Personally I have my eyes on their Rook. The Red Rook," he added. "She is quite stunning, our dear Jane Hampshire. Although I don't see her here. Last I heard, her father, Sir James Ransom Hampshire, passed away. Smart man, a British engineer and mechanical designer. I would have liked to see what secrets he had been hiding. "


The young ex-scion of the Keller family stumbled his way through the crowd, excusing himself as he accidentally spilled a glass of champagne on someone. Blush filled his cheeks as he caught sight of yet another one of the servers and grabbed a glass of whatever she was carrying before heading over toward Manuel. Silently he took a sip of the fizzing concoction and looked out over the crowd. Inwardly, an eyebrow arched as he was surprised by how much he enjoyed the drink. Leaning toward Manuel he smirked, "I could really get used to this place."


Manuel casually shifted to his other leg, setting down his drink to a passing waiter. "Yes well, be careful mixing business with pleasure. They often do not like each other at one point," he said, smoothing a hand over his jacket and nodding towards the blue knight. "There are two different courts here," he explained to his assistant. "London's upper class Hellfire Club that cater to the wealthy and very influential business men, your captains of industry," he waved with a dismissive gesture,"And the political maggots of society. They will know everything about you should you catch their eye or become anything of importance."



Nodding his understanding, Julian took another delighted sip of the bubbly brew in his hand. Silently, he followed Manuel's gaze and intently examined the members of the foreign courts. "Want me to chat any of them up in particular?"


Adrienne frowned at the drink in Julian's hand, wondering whether she should fail him on his next math test for drinking in front of his teacher, but she decided to let it go. He wasn't driving anywhere, after all. One drink wouldn't hurt. And Manuel wasn't stupid enough to let his underaged protegé get smashed in public. "The London Club," she explained, continuing Manuel's lesson to Julian, "began as some sort of secret cabal, an offshoot of John Dee's Invisible College, sometime in the sixteenth century. At least, that's what I got off the sigil ring the Blue Knight is wearing. The New York and London branches are interconnected in many ways, but their leadership is independent. It's too bad Hampshire isn't here, I wanted to meet her," she muttered to Manuel. "Her reputation proceeds her. Multiple degrees, multiple languages, and apparently she holds enough power in the Red Court to act as their right hand in many affairs."


"I've got someone you can chat up," she added to Julian as a figure caught her eye, "that redheaded woman over there. Her identity has been escaping us for some time."



"No." Manuel cut Adrienne off by rounding in front of Julian and placing a very protective hand over his assistant. "She is not someone for him to get involved with and you do not throw your young in with the lions to see if they are hungry - Julian, if you want to be useful, go present yourself to the Blue Knight and ask him to join us." Manuel threw a look over his shoulder to Adrienne before he ushered the boy off.


"I cannot stay," said Emma to Doug and Adrienne. "I need to talk to the Red King; we have some business to transact. And I have to work on breaking down his mind-shielding spell. I think there are flaws in it that I can slip through, but it may take more than one meeting. He hasn't sent anyone to assassinate Shaw and I in some time, but it's always good to check that he hasn't changed his mind again." Her smile was chilly, amused at Adrienne's expression. "The London Club still haven't forgiven Sebastian and I for our coup d'etat here in New York. Sometimes they like to test that we're still alert. I think delivering the bodies of the assassins back to London is more difficult than foiling their attacks. I am still trying to work out if the incompetence is deliberate or if it comes of relying too much on magic." She took a step to depart and then stepped back. "While I think of it, Doug, I believe you have some excellent contacts in the Middle East?"

Doug glanced up from his people-watching with a curious noise. He'd
been keeping half an ear on the byplay of his companions, and shaking
his head at Julian's rather blatant attempts to appear older and more
sophisticated. But then, Manuel seemed to have him in hand, and
besides, he remembered a particular underage outing when he'd been a
student himself. "Yes?" he replied, not precisely phrasing it as a
question, but the apparent non sequitur making him wonder.
"Quite a few," he acknowledged, while not revealing anything about
their nature.

"It's not Court work. Just - keep a close eye on them. Let me know if anything unusual crops up in the area." She smiled suddenly. "Well, more unusual than the usual unusual in that part of the world. It may be important." She inclined her head gracefully and then swept away back into the crowd, heading towards the Red King and the crowd of sycophants fawning around him.