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Kalamiel nods, "Who gave you the mission and what was the target?"
"In exchange for Essence," says the Vampire. "A handful for the name, a handful for a description of the device."
[J's resonance: He believes that in exchange for Essence he will be able to not only rat out the demon who treated him so poorly (and who also gave him the job/mission), but if he sacrifices the description of the device, but the extra Essence might be enough to earn him a favor from a friend of Laura Haverly who might be able to heal his sister's mental illness permanently without him having to turn to the Church/Heaven/Angels for aid.]
Jezreel remains quiet, waiting to see how Michnelion and Adonikam
react to the deal.
Michnelion looks to the two Malakim. Adam looks at Kalamiel and arches an eyebrow in query. (in query? can you say that?)
"Agreed, but," she glances at the other interrogators, "the
answers must be accurate, complete and unstinting. The Seraph can
confirm your honesty. Also, you must agree not to use any Essence
while in our presence tonight. An escape attempt or the use of
other powers would be . . . regrettable. Do you agree?"
Jezreel turns questioningly to Michnelion, unsure of whether this sort of
deal is permitted, let alone wise.
Michnelion clears his throat and says, "I believe that this sort of decision would normally fall to the individual of highest rank or Seraph of equal rank. In this case, that decision is mine to make."
"I assume that there will no attempt to escape on your part . . ." He sets the bag down, unsheathes his pistol and trains it on the undead. Detective Ross follows suit.
[Michnelion]
". . . and so I agree to this deal."
[Fury]
Xery clears her throat. "I've got a question too, and I'm willing to pay
for it. Can I get an addendum tacked on?"
Michnelon says over his shoulder, his gun still causually trained on the vampire, "What sort of addendum Fury?"
"I'm looking for someone, name of Shije. I need to know if this guy's seen him."
Jezreel nods at the mention of Shije's name. After all, finding the
Kyriotate was part of the reason that Michnelion brought her here. Jezreel
is curious what Fury's interest in the case is, but right now she is
mindful of the need to put up a united front. She can, she figures, ask
Fury about it later once they learn what Mr. Henderson has to say.
So, for now Jezreel is still basically in watch and wait mode. She's
concentrating primarily on Mr. Henderson, continuing to see what insights
her Resonance will give her into the Truth of the undead man's words...
The undead's eyebrow furrow in confusion at the mentioning of the name.
Wanting to get a definitive answer from him on this question so that she
can use her Resonance to verify his reaction, Jezreel asks, "From your
reaction, Mr. Henderson, it would appear that you are not aware of ever
having met or heard of Shije. Is my assumption correct, sir?" The young
Seraph shrugs. "I am not very good yet at reading Human expressions," she
explains, "And I want to be certain I am reading you correctly."
"Human expressions?" whispers Xery to herself. She lets the vampire have a
chance at responding, though, before she voices her comments.
[Jezreel]
OOC: Does Fury say this loud enough for Jezreel to hear?
[Fury]
OOC: It's almost subvocal, so unless Jezreel has insane Perception, no. ^_^
[Jezreel]
OOC: Nope, just a plain old 6. No biggie. I just wanted to know whether
or not I should have her respond to that because as an adopted
Revelationist, she would reply if she had heard it. But from long
experience in PBEM, I've learned that different people mean different
things by 'whisper'. Some get really bent if you ignore it while others
don't expect you to react. So I've gotten in the habit of asking in cases
like this... :)
"Uh," says the vampire nervously, "Look, just make essence for the device and the name of who gave the mission, okay?
Ordinarily Xery would have to strive mightily to keep from laughing at a
phrase like "make Essence", but she's too annoyed to be amused by it. She
reaches into her pocket, pulls out a Bic lighter, and begins flicking the
wheel. The way she's doing it implies that she barely realizes it.
"I wouldn't," she says, "try to hide something from me, if I were you. I
don't know what you're so nervous about, but I aim to find out. Now, if you
like, you can tell us what you know about Shije - like I said, I'm willing
to pay for it - and the details my friends here asked for. All I'm adding
to the deal is the information about Shije." She grins, and there is fire
dancing behind her irises. "Or, you can just make the deal with them. I'm
sure they'll be happy to leave me alone with you for a while afterwards."
Not liking the turn this seems to be taking, Jezreel says to the room at
large, "He's telling the truth about the deal. He's willing to stick to
it." Looking back at Fury, she adds, "And you can put that thing away. He
was scared enough without it..."
Xery glances down, the shadow of a look of surprise crossing her face. "Oh,
sorry." She puts the lighter away. "An' I'm sure he's willing to stick to
the deal. I just want to know what he knows about Shije. Makes my life
easier, y'know?"
Jezreel nods slowly.
Then realizing, belatedly, that she's just contradicted Fury against
Michnelion's direct orders, she flushes slightly and gives an apologetic
shrug. "Sorry," she says, by way of explanation, "But that's the truth."
"Hey, no problem," says Xery with a smile. "Just doing your job. Nobody
appreciates you guys enough."
The guilty on Jezreel's face fades into confusion. Overt respect in
response to her disobedience was certainly *not* what she had
expected. Idly she wonders how Dodai *ever* figures out reactions --
Celestial, human, or otherwise.
Not really sure what to say, Jezreel decides that polite acceptance is as
good a response as any. "Thanks for understanding," she says carefully.
[Charybdis]
OOC: Actually, I figure the only reason that Michnelion isn't intervening
as Jezreel blunders along is because it makes a pretty good game of good
cop/bad cop. Not that Jezreel is aware of it, of course, or would
understand the concept if it were explained to her, or (quite frankly)
would willingly participate in such a ruse if she knew it was going on...
Ahh... The value of naivety. :)
[Michnelion]
"Description of the demon, description of the device, and what you know of
Shije?" Michnelion looks to Fury and the vampire to comfirm this.
"Fine."
[Fury]
"Sounds right to me."
Jezreel nods to Michnelion to let him know that all is on the up and up...
Kalamiel says gravely, "Since we agreed then, please begin. Note that
part of the agreement continues to be that you will not try to escape
or use the Essence while you are here."
"Uh, okay," says the vampire. "Essence first."
[Jezreel's Resonance: He believes at this moment in time that he wants the Essence first so that he knows he's not doing to get screwed over by the Church's agents, since he already believes that the Church has lied to him thus far, why should they be telling the truth now?]
Jezreel nods again. Turning to Michnelion, the young Seraph says, "He
intends to hold up his end of the bargain, and it would be a good show of
good faith on our part."
Xery simply nods, balling up a handful of energy in her mind and preparing
it for transfer. She waits for the word from Michnelion.
Michenlion nods, motioning forb the essence to be delivered.
Kalamiel touches the man lightly on the arm and transfers
him some essence without further ado.
Fury follows Kalamiel's example and rests her hand on the vampire's
shoulder, transferring the ball of Essence she'd been preparing.
Michnelion reaches over and funnels a point of essence into him.
The Vampire appears to relax a bit, and says "Okay, here's what I know.
the demon I was working for, the one who lead the mission, is named Ruax. I
have no idea who serves, but I definitely had the impression that he
hadn't been to earth for a while, that and he used a Song I've ever heard sung
before, it like coated his Tail in some sort of venem of something."
[Kalamiel]
"Please try to remember anything about him that would
help us identify him. His physical description, yes, but
also mannerisms, places he frequented and so on." She smiles
a bit, "His demise is in your best interests, after all, and
we have no intention of telling him that you gave the information."
The vampire almost laughs, "He's big, tall, and he's got thick, scaly, greyish skin, pretty hard to miss."
"The target was this chair thing, it's like covered in all sorts of wires
that plugged into the angel's head that Ruax had brought along, all doped
up or something."
"Jediael," whispers Adam.
"I'm pretty sure it's an artifact, but I have no idea what it does," says
the vampire.
"And, uh," he says nervously, "I've never heard of Shije."
Fury turns to Jezreel. "Is he a really bad liar, or is something else
around here scaring the shit out of him?" She pauses as something occurs to
her. "...Idiom," she finishes.
[Jezreel]
Her expression gravely serious, Jezreel says, "No, Fury, he is telling the
complete Truth as far as he know it..."
[Fury]
"Seriously?" Fury grimaces. "Of course you're being serious. Okay, so
this tells me nothing I didn't know already. You're welcome for the
Essence."
Jezreel looks a bit confused by this. "You already knew about Raux and
the artifact?" she asks.
The vampire is confused now, and looks none too happy. *Is she serious?* he thinks to himself about Fury.
Jezreel herself seems both lost and confused. She looks to Michnelion
questioningly, clearly unsure of what to do next...
[Chary]
OOC: No problem... We knew what you meant... :)
[Jezreel]
IC: Seeing that neither Michnelion or Fury seem to be giving her any help,
Jezreel asks the vampire about the thing that it most on her mind. "Mr.
Henderson?" she asks, "My father was trying to warn me about some major
Demonic offensive being launched on the area. He said that the incident at
Science World was only the first step. Do you have any idea what he was
talking about?"
The young Seraph listens carefully both to Mr. Henderson's reply and to
the whispered wisdom of the Symphony, hoping that hearing about it from any
source other than her father might help her to get a clearer vision of the
Truth.
[GM]
"Major Offensive?" says the vampire, obviously surprised. "No, I haven't
heard of any major offensive against Heaven."
[Jezreel's Resonance: he believes himself to be speaking the truth; he chooses
to speak the truth in fear of being punished if he doesn't. His cool attitude
is a lie, he's actually pretty frightened, but the active false bravado gives
him some comfort.
He believes that instead of a major offensive against Heaven the reverse may be
likely, since he overheard Ruax speaking with a figure about the strong
possibility of newly arrived Angels of War in the city.]
[Jezreel]
Jezreel seems somewhat confused by this, and though she seems relieved by
this statement, there is a hint of disappointment in her tone as
well. Turning to Michnelion, the young Seraph says, "Mr. Henderson is
telling the Truth, sir. He is not aware of any major offensive; in fact,
he thinks the reverse might be true."
"The reverse? You have evidence or a rumor that says _Heaven_ is planning an offensive?"
"The reverse?" asks the Elohite, first looking at Jezreel, then at Jonathon Henderson, undead vampire and hellsworn agent.
Jezreel flushing with embarrassment that her imprecise language is leading
the discussion further from the Truth, but she doesn't have a chance to
clarify before Michnelion and Mr. Henderson are deep in conversation.
The prisoner appears to become more nervous again.
"Mr. Henderson," says Michnelion, "You have very little to fear from me at the moment. I can promise you protection from Hell's agents within Vancouver's Tether to Yves if you so wish."
"Not going to happen," says the vampire, "I can handle demons."
Cutting to the chase, Michnelion says, "Tell us about Heaven's offensive, Mr. Henderson."
"All I know is that I overheard Ruax being informed about suspected Agents of War here in Vancouver, or was it The War? Shit, I can't remember. That doesn't make any sense, it must have been The War . . ."
Shaken by embarrassment and struggling with the disturbing realization
that Mr. Henderson's imprecise memory really can distort the Truth, Jezreel
mumbles a vague apology. "Sorry for the confusion," she says. "That's
what I meant by the reverse... That he thought Hell might be retreating due
to Angels of War arriving, not that Heaven was advancing... But..." The
confusion in her soul is written all over the young Seraph's face and heavy
in her tone as she goes on, "He really doesn't remember the discussion very
clearly..." She trails off, not really sure what else to say, and lapses
into her own disturbed thoughts.
"But at any rate, you," Michnelion says to the vampire, "do believe you heard a conversion about angels, fallen or otherwise, whose chief motive is war." The chief detective stands up and sets down his gun. "I do believe I have no further questions, I'm sure we can find you again, Mr. Henderson, if we so desire."
"Unless anyone has any further questions?" Michnelion looks to the others present.
[Jezreel]
"Just one," Jezreel says slowly pulling herself out of her pondering to
bring up one other issue. "There was a Demonic assault made at the home of
Damien Morris which destroyed his personal property and injured his dog...
Do you know who did it?"
The vampire ponders for a moment, "Well, that guy who mentioned agents of War or the War or whatever, he was late to meet Ruax and, well, he said that he'd been bitten by a some dog and he'd had to take care of it."
[Jezreel]
"Do you know 'that guy's' name?" Jezreel asks. "Or, if not, can you at
least give me us a description?"
The vampires becomes, very, very uncomfortable. His eyes shift to Detective Ross, Michnelion, Fury, Adonikam, Kalamiel, and says, "I can't remember."
[Jezreel's resonance: he believes himself to be lying. The dark, black, conscious lie is like a seething, putresecent, mass of words that seems to roll out of his mouth, almost in slow motion to Jezreel's senses, as she can sense both the meanings of the words he is speaking at exact same moment that she feels the intential lie.
The part of the statement he knows to be most false is that he can't remember. The lie has been spoken in order to selfishly protect himself against the wrath of the demon he would have betrayed had he given his name.
He believes his name to be Cozbi.]
[Jezreel]
At the vampire's words, Jezreel looks up as if slapped. Her color goes
vaguely green, and she starts trembling with the effort to blink back
tears. Stunned she doesn't even quite realize that in this case, the
knowledge of the Truth has hit her far harder than the filthy nature of the
lie.
Kalamiel shakes her head. Even without the confirmation of
the Seraph, the lie was obvious on his face.
The young Seraph starts for the door, wanting to step outside to collect
herself before she falls apart in front of the prisoner -- and all the
other senior Angels, she reluctantly admits to herself, not allowing
herself even the slightest bit of self-deception.
Turning to Michnelion, Jezreel says only, "He's lying, sir," before she
steps out the door into the hallway. Closing the door behind her, Jezreel
leans against the wall and slides down it into a sitting position before
hunching over and letting the tears come.
Detective Ross hesitates, wanting to calm down Jezreel, while at the same time wanted to retaliate against the prisoner. He looks to Kalamiel and Adam.
Adam just shrugs his shoulders.
Fury stares after Jezreel, slack-jawed. Slowly she turns back to the
vampire, curiosity mixed with righteous anger in her eyes. "What did you
/do/ to her?" she asks quietly. "That must have been one hell of a lie."
The vampire's eye grow with fear as Fury's anger, he just tries desperately to shrink the chair where he sits and says hoarsely, "I remember, I remember, I'll tell you, just don't . . . don't do anything to me!"
Fury's jaw is clenched. "If you tell me everything you know about the
situation in the city, I can guarantee you safe passage to wherever you want
to go. You've got five seconds to start talking. I wouldn't suggest lying
again."
Adam grins an evil grin at the vampire.
The vampire just cuts loose with it, it sounds like he'd just spilling guts.
Michnelion appears to be quite impressed.
(1) a Vapulean stronghold exists beneath Science World. The device which Ruax has was stolen from there, with the aid of Mr. Henderson here as well as a bunch of other humans that Adam killed.
(2) there's a group of 'servitors of the War' which Ruax plans on meeting with today (as in sometime in the next 24 hours), an exchange of some sort
(3) he serves a Lilim of Death named Labana who fixed him with with Ruax, he was supposed to received pay, but he doesn't know if he's going to get it or not. He's from out of town, and barely knows he way around the city.
[OOGM: and other questions you want to ask the babbling fountain of information before he shits his pants and stinks up the room?]
[Fury]
"I figured as much. Any ideas as to where we might find Ruax?"
The vampire just shakes his head.
"And who's
this Cozbi guy?" She looks at Adam and Michnelion. "You guys know why Jez
was so upset? I figure it's got somethin' to do with the Coz, but..."
[Michnelion]
"Cozbi was once the Seraph known as Cosam, and is Jezreel's Father."
[Fury]
"Oh. That'd explain it." She appears to think for a minute. "Any other
questions you guys wanna ask Lestat here before he gets spirited off
elsewhere?"
Michnelion shakes his head, "I think we've bothered him long enough. Detective Ross, would you please show him out."
Detective Ross nods and takes the vampire outside.
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