If one were to listen closely, one might have heard a whispered slithering of cloth against metal, high above their heads. That in and of itself was not necessarily something to be concerned about. The air and ventilation ducts and units had oft sucked something into their systems from the outside, and to have it tumble through the overhead passageways was unremarkable. Perhaps the most it would have garnered was a glance, a shrug, and then the observant person continuing on their way.No one knew just how long Dannell had been skulking about the ventilation ducts of New Rydynn Hospital ... indeed, it was doubtful that anyone knew he was even there. But there he was ... lurking ... watching ... listening. A valuable source of information he was, if anyone cared to ask him. He saw more than many, heard more than most, and understood things perhaps better than anyone. If someone were to ask him, it was highly unlikely that he would have divulged his library's worth of knowledge. You see, Dannell was not a social creature by nature. And that was the way he liked it .. .he preferred to slip amongst the shadows and observe. That, to him, was reward enough.
It was on this day that he again ventured through the ducts that travassed a wide span of the Hospital. Most rooms were invaded by these pipelines of air, and those that weren't were blocked off by huge fans that were unpassable. The cafeteria, lobby, most of the patient's rooms, the ER and the surgery auditoriums were easily accessed. His slow, slithering progress took him towards the cafeteria. He knew that people would be there ... there were always interesting things happening in a room where people gathered to eat. He paused for a moment, overhearing voices that to him were familiar even through the tinny echo the metal provided.
"Hmm ...", he thought to himself. "Bliss and Caine." He smiled and slunk his way to a corner to wait ... and to listen.
"I was hoping you would say that." This came from Caine, the notorious and reputed Crime Lord of the area. He fashioned himself a buisnessman ... no matter from what cloth the people he did 'business' with were cut. From the slitted vent, Dannell could see that Caine was, as always, impeccably dressed. Sierra was with him; not a great surprise, that cold, calculated husk of a woman. She was brutally efficient and not as gregarious as her employer. He saw Caine slip her a look, to which she answered by producing an envelope from her pocket.
Bliss took the proffered envelope. "And what is this? My first delivery?"
'Delivery?' though Dannell. So, Bliss is now working for Caine. Interesting.
"No", replied the gray-eyed man. "Just some things you will need to know so that you will be recognized at certain times. I wouldn't want that pretyt head of yours blown off over a mistaken identity, right?"
Bliss' lips delved into a smirk, and Dannell couldn't help but smile. "That would be a very bad thing", she said, tucking the envelope into a jacket pocket.
"You have the option of taking quarters at the compound, or keeping your own residence," Caine continued. Ahh, so Bliss was moving in was she? Quite the development.
"My residence is the back of my bike ... you know that. I will take the offered room, Caine, least until I can manage a place of my own."
"Excellent." By the gods, the man sounded almost jovial. "This should work out quite well."
A chair creaked as Bliss leaned back in it and smiled. Dannell busied himself mentally filing away all this newfound information as Bliss carried on the conversation. "Ran a gauntlet this afternoon. Now that was fun ... "
"Gauntlet?" Inquired Caine. Good thing too, as Dannell was wondering the same thing himself.
"Accidently ran across some rabit gang's turf", she explained with another smirk. "Had to outrun them on their own course." Of course ... she was talking about her motorcycle. He remembered her bragging of her riding and her bike. Some time in the future, he would have to venture out to an exit tunnel and see for himself.
"Ah, I know these activities ... runs on bikes and such. Gang games."
Sierra chirruped in with her own comment, "Some are very profitable."
Dannell smirked in the receded darkness. Always about the money with these two. He had expected such a comment from either one of them.
A rustle of cloth was heard and Dannell looked back again to see Caine glance up to Sierra. "I agree, Sierra. Sidebetting could be quite lucrative."
"Great," Dannell thought silently. "Another means by which he can get richer. As if he needs the help."
Caine must have caught a look from Bliss that Dannell missed. It was the only accounting for the man's next comment. "I don't care about 'them', Bliss. Profit is for those who grab it. They will just be the source."
"Oh, that's right," Bliss countered. "Your profit before everyone's elses."
Dannell smiled approvingly. She knew Caine to a tee ... he hadn't fooled her.
"Remember sporting events, Bliss? Well, those teams never got the profits. They were just the means."
The blonde-haired hospital favorite gave a small chuckle. "Remind me never to join a team. I like to keep the profit to myself."
Dannell frowned slightly at this. Bliss was perhaps more like Caine than he wanted to admit. Maybe that was the reason for their partnership. Of course, this was Sabbat, and he could not entirely begrudge someone their way of living, or the means by which they survived.
The spook in the proverbial belfry heard the slide of chair legs against the tile and glanced down again through the grating. Bliss had risen from her chair and both Caine's and Sierra's eyes were fixated on her as she announced her leave. "I'm going to head back to your place, Caine, and catch some sleep."
The man perpetually dressed for an ambassadorial event nodded to his newfound counterpart. "Good night, Bliss."
A voice as crisp as a freshly starched shirt and as precise as a thread piercing the eye of a needle on the first try spoke up. "The gates are expecting you." It was almost strange to hear Sierra speak ... it was not something she did with any great degree of regularity. "They were told of your arrival and new position before we left tonight."
"New position?" thought Dannell to himself. He almost wished he had arrived earlier to learn that little tidbit. But there was time ... he would learn it in time. For Dannell was nothing if not a patient creature.
"Thanks," replied Bliss. "I was about to ask about that. See you later, Caine."
"Good night, Miss Lovejoy", he said again.
And that was the last Bliss Lovejoy heard that night from her new employer. She spoke not another word, and not another was spoken to her as she headed out the front doors of New Rydynn Hospital. Dannell could not hear the roar of her bike from his hinding place as she sped off to her new residence. There was no more to be heard here tonight.
In some combination of crawling and wriggling forward on his belly, the silent archivist swept himself away to other parts of the Hospital, leaving Caine and Sierra to talk or leave or eat or do whatever it was they planned to do. Perhaps there was yet another conversation or goings on that might pique his interest ... his eyes bore to his right, towards the lobby and exam rooms.
"Hmm", he wondered. "I wonder if there is any ... " His thought trailed away as he set a new course through the catacombs above.