Unwanted Imports

[Martin Le Roux]

Trains rolled into Chicago from all directions. Up from the mouth of the Mississippi, through New Orleans, or what was left of it. Out from the Western ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Seattle. New York, Miami, Charleston and Savannah shipped in from the East. Goods flowed in: grains, metal, petroleum, cars, other finished goods. Most were rerouted to other places. Trouble, however, was finding Chicago home lately.

Fiona had been home for a week, although Martin had not known. His friend came and went. Meetings were usually happy coincidences. Sometimes, they simply showed up at each other's houses, although always polite enough to knock.

Martin knocked, expecting to find Brigid with a beer bottle perched on her person. His Subaru had been fixed since the misadventure, but he had left it at home, instead taking the Skyline GT-R.

He put his hands in his pockets, waiting.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona opened the door and blinked, putting on her best poker face ::

"Do I know you, Sir?"

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin stared at her.

"No. May I come in?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She stared back at him before pouncing, giving him a fierce hug before inviting him in ::

"Tis great to see you again, Martin."

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin gave Fiona a kiss on the cheek before setting her down.

"I am glad you are back in Chicago. I have heard that things in England were complicated."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona gave a weary groan ::

"Very much so, but matters here are my main concern now."

[Martin Le Roux]

"No worse for the wear, I see." Martin gave her arm a gentle squeeze.

"I was here to see Brigid, but I suppose she is not here."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona raised a brow ::

"Brigid is off with her new friend. Anything I can help you with?"

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin paused for a moment, and then glanced at the couch. Fiona sat. She patted the seat next to her. Martin took the seat next to her.

"So." She said, looking at him expectantly. Martin frowned a little, with one corner of the mouth subtly lower than the other. Fiona knew that look. It meant bad news.

"There are new Sabbat in the City."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Do you suppose it's Rigaud?"

:: The one she referred to was Phillipe Rigaud, the Sabbat leader who narrowly escaped as his pack was destroyed fourteen years ago ::

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin shook his head.

"No. There is no subtlety here." Rigaud had been working on Chicago for years before even tilting his hand at all.

"I do feel there are larger forces at play. The old thousand man chess board is being tweaked."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Ah."

:: Her eyes widened knowingly ::

"Go on."

[Martin Le Roux]

"I don't have any details yet. But with the re-emergence of the Sabbat, especially a new pack, and, from what a friend told me, Spiral Dancers..." Martin paused to shudder "...but they are doing strange things. They are playing games with the Anarchs." Martin thought of Ghengis, who could recall the night he and Brigid were attacked about as well as he knew how to fly unaided.

"Brigid and I were attacked while I tried to find something that has been swallowed by time. Which was not random. But there have been random attacks from new, frenzied Kindred. This is a prelude to something larger."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Aye. Brigid and Nara slew a Spiral in the park while I was gone."

:: She rose to fetch a drink ::

"I suppose we'll have to get to the bottom of it then. Have you paid Ghengis a visit yet?"

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin nodded slowly. Fiona got along well with a few of the Anarchs.

"He had any memory of the event dominated out of him."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She sighed ::

"What exactly happened the night of the break in? I'd like to hear your side of things."

[Martin Le Roux]

“I was looking to complete most of a puzzle where those involved did not want the puzzle completed.” Martin smirked a little. "A newspaper article arranged the pawns clearly. It is well burried, even beyond my means."

“I was a target. I think it expected me to be incapacitated, and did not recognize Brigid for what she was. I was pushed toward the abyss. Brigid was angry at me because I did not want her to be a target too, so I refused to tell her everything. She saved my life anyway. She is wonderful like that.” Martin half smiled.

“Who's Nara?” He asked.

[Fiona Devlin]

"You frenzied." she countered, ignoring his question for the moment. "What's that about?" There was a mix of deep concern and anger on her face.

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin's eyes fell.

"Oui." Frenzy, especially for a Toreador, was shameful.

"I did not take failure well."

[Fiona Devlin]

"If you Ever start feeling like that again, you come to Me. Promise me, Martin."

[Martin Le Roux]

"I promise. You were not there, or I would have. It is not so easy to talk to Brigid sometimes. She is not as unconditional."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Her eyes remained intense ::

"Swear it again. I can't lose you."

[Martin Le Roux]

Fiona was rarely this intense. Martin was nearly taken aback. She was scared of loosing a friend. He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a firm hug.

"I promise."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She clung to him like a small child, afraid to let go ::

[Martin Le Roux]

Fiona held herself to him.

"You are a very special person, Fiona."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She lifted her head to look at him, and then turned away to hide her face. She retreated to the bathroom ::

[Martin Le Roux]

Fiona still could be confusing at times, so he let her go. He sighed. Martin did not mean to scare her, but he did not lie to Fiona.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: A minute later she returned, and sat quietly across from him ::

"Nara is a Garou."

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin blinked.

"Oh." He looked concerned.

"Should I go?" Martin would always strive to not be a source of strife in Fiona's house.

[Fiona Devlin]

"I wouldn't worry. She's young, but her heart is noble. She won't break the compact. There are dark things at play here and she's aware of it."

[Martin Le Roux]

Although Martin had nothing against the Garou, they were often deadly for a Vampire. The best one could expect was being told to run, right then, and pray their patience held.

"That's... interesting."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona looked at Martin for a long silence, then her eyes widened in revelation ::

"Oh ......... Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

:: She slapped her hands over her cheeks to hide them as they reddened ::

[Martin Le Roux]

"Brigid was not as restrained as you were." It was all Martin would say on the matter.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona cleared her throat and forced the visions of smut from her mind ::

"By Oak and Ash, I'll never tell."

:: She held her hand up in Scout's honor ::

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin laughed.

"Thank goodness for that!"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Just then, the phone rang. Fiona picked it up. Her face looked suspicious as she looked at Martin ::

"Alright. She said. "Tell him he has an appointment at 10 tomorrow evening."

:: She hung up ::

[Martin Le Roux]

"More trouble?" Martin asked. Chicago was in for a rough ride, but no one knew how rough yet.

[Fiona Devlin]

"Hector just told me someone wants to meet with me. Jason Dreggs. Something about rare paintings. He's an awful liar."

[Martin Le Roux]

It was true: Hector was an abysmal liar.

"An anarch." Martin said. Fiona shrugged. Hector would have said books if it was someone who actually wanted books.

"He's supposedly making waves in the Anarch community, but you know how that works." Martin sighed. Make waves, gather power, have power rejected/attracted too much attention, step one.

Fiona rolled her eyes.

"Have fun." Martin said. He'd had his dead heart dissapointed by Anarchs too many times.

[Fiona Devlin]

"What else do you know about him?"

[Martin Le Roux]

"Rumor has it he slew something powerful in Alexandria, but there is very little evidence one way or the other. I've heard something very old sired him, and he's a Brujah." Martin shrugged.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She shifted the topic again ::

"What's the Prince been up to?"

:: She said it with a sarcasm and derision that Martin had heard before. It wasn't for the title, but for the one who wore it ::

[Martin Le Roux]

"He's scrambling around trying to figure out what to do about our out-of towners. Ever since I mentioned Sabbat, and I suspect Brigid dropped word of the Spirals to the Gangrel, he's been rather jumpy, but without any sort of real plans, as usual." Peterson was a reactionary, usually with the wrong reaction beyond burying the story.

"I managed to convince him that the Anarchs have nothing to do with this, and to actually acknowledge a ball is a ball. For once." Martin nearly growled the last sentence out. Peterson was always too gung-ho about Vampire affairs that could be easily hidden. He was unpopular to say the least.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona smiled ::

"I think that before this is over, you might have another shot. Why not take it?"

[Martin Le Roux]

"Because then I couldn't come over at 1 in the morning and paint you, and perhaps your ami assez one day." Martin frowned and then smiled.

"You know I try to avoid politics, belle femme."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She laughed ::

"I suppose it's for the best, but I'd still like to have someone in the seat I could trust for once."

:: Fiona looked at him as amusement filled her eyes ::

"I am as always, your faithful subject."

[Martin Le Roux]

"I don't want to be another pawn in the game, but I see your point. Peterson decided to stretch his legs when we hoped he would not. I will be honest, Fiona, there are decisions that a Prince must make that I do not want to decide." Martin looked at the floor then.

"Do you really think I should?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She relected deeply a moment ::

"It is a tricky business, trying to stay out of this game, but we're in it. Between the two of them. I've done my best to remain a wild card. Perhaps it's time to present a third front."

[Martin Le Roux]

"So you want me to be what the Swiss claim to be." Martin chuckled.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She gave but a wink ::

"Think about it, what you could do. The worst of those who would contest you are gone."

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin paused. Several of the more likely canidates for Prince had perished, most who wanted power to be powerful and eliminate their enemies. Since the elimination of Ballard, Capone seemed likely, but his unpopularity coupled with Kevin Jackson's suprising competence at picking up the bits of Ballards's death prevented Capone's bid from being as sucessful as he wanted.

The remaining canidates either had too much history or not enough, or someone's agenda aligned against them. Capone didn't care for Martin very much, and his lack of known sire gave everyone pause until they remembered how much Martin had done and how many toes he had not stepped on. Several Kindred had privately asked Martin to make a push for the position. Martin had resisted.

Being Prince would paint a giant target on his back, though. Martin was not sure if he wanted that.

"Fiona, are you certain of this?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She knew that look ::

"You're worried about a giant target on your back, aren't you?"

:: She wrapped her arms about him from behind ::

"Not to worry, I'll keep it well-protected." :D

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin stood, grabbing her legs.

"Are you sure you won't be a horrible monkey on my back? Such a pretty monkey, though." Fiona rasberried in his ear.

"A cheeky monkey, I see." She clung, giggling.

"Fiona, I have never really given this serious thought because it was precisely what I did not want. I still do not want it. But I will do it, because I fear I am a far better choice than the alternatives."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She let go, dropping to her feet. Looking at him with sincerity, she spoke ::

"Aye. You can trust me in all things, Martin. I'll always be at your side when you need me."

[Martin Le Roux]

"I need a glass of wine." It was true, but what he really wanted was an attractive, black haired woman with brown eyes to be tipsy.

[Fiona Devlin]

"Name the vintage." she grinned. :D

[Martin Le Roux]

"Something from St. Emelion, 1990. I am not feeling overly particular." Martin trusted Fiona would choose well.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona scampered behind the bar, and presented Martin with a bottle of Château Cheval Blanc ::

[Martin Le Roux]

Martin deftly uncorked the bottle and pulled two glasses from a cabinet.

"To horrible ideas with the right people."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She waited until Martin poured the glasses, then raised hers in a toast ::

"Proscht." :mneh