|
Vincent Drake:
Vincent was currently in a abandoned. . .well, not abandoned seeing how he was overlooking what seemed to be a renovation, building. He called Arthur Franklin about an hour ago asking him to see him about business, currently he was in a custom open suit jacket, tie, dress pants and black shirt, business was on the brain today.
"No no, privacy glass, ok, good, just get them here by Friday, we're already a bit behind schedule, thanks." he said as he pocketed his phone, and looking over the work
Arthur Franklin:
Arthur made his way into the building a few minutes before the appointed time, dressed neatly in black slacks, a white dress shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled to the elbows and jacket slung over one shoulder all tasteful-like. He scanned the area for the good Mr. Drake, offering him a bright smile as he approached. "Evening. Finally getting things set up, yeah?"
Vincent Drake:
"Arthur!" he waved as he walked over, "Good to see ya, yes everything's getting set up, walk with me." he gestured for him to follow as he led him through the work in progress, "The first two floors here will be the main club, dance floor, wide spaces, walkways overlooking the club," he gestured the the balconies walkways overlooking the sides of the place, "With VIP rooms, soundproof walls and privacy glass for some near-public fucks," he chuckled, "But the club you'd be intrested in is this way." he led him to an area where an elevator was, it was a bit more out of the way and they had to go though a winding and confusing hallway, "Need some help from either you or the wizards, make sure it's properly magically secret." he said he entered a pin that made them go down
Arthur Franklin:
Arthur kept pace with Vincent easily as they headed through the building, eyeing the progress curiously and nodding along with the description. "That'd be more of a wizard thing, I think. Don't have that particular trick up my sleeve personally."
Vincent Drake:
the elevator took them down, it seemed like about 3 or 4 floors worth of down before it opened, revealing another room currently under renovation, it was smaller then the main club but had a decent dance floor and space, a bar where an Acanthus recomended it should go. and overlooking it a stain glass portrait of a roman looking woman above the bar.
"Blessed Concord." he muttered, "So, this is going to be it, the White Corax, a place for common ground and meeting out social contracts, as well as the base of operations for our little group." he smirked
Arthur Franklin:
"Ah hah..." He gave the space a once over with an appraising eye, nodding quietly. "I like it."
Vincent Drake:
"I'll have an office on the fourth floor, it'll also act as a private club for our association and for my own Court." he translated Covenant to Lost terms, "You're an Autumn man, correct?" he turned and looked at him, the look on Vincent's face to Arthur was that of pure comradire, he's signed onto Vincent's dream, as far as the vampire was concerned, he was part of his people now
Arthur Franklin:
"Sounds like a plan." He found a convenient pillar or whatnot to lean against, nodding at the question that followed. "I am indeed."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent nodded, "Ok, so let's go over then, what your capabilties are, how best can you be used in this group." he thought, "I'll give you my stats for instance, my powers included super charisma, shape shifting, speed, strength, durability, 6th sense, animal control, I also am supernatural connected to the City itself, if that makes sense, otherwise I'm learning how to fight with a sword, got amazing people's skills and I'm good and dirt digging." he relayed his own skill set, "So, what about you, we're working together to build an empire, we should know what the other brings, I even know you Lost have you're. . .frailties, me, I'm weak when I leave the city limits, that's my. . .Taboo?" he tries to remember Avery's terms
Arthur Franklin:
"Skill-wise, I'm best at reading people, talking their ears off and shouting them down if they get too pushy. I'm alright in a fight but if it comes to that then I've done something seriously wrong." He added with a small chuckle. "I also know my way around bureaucratic bullshit, so getting things moving from point A to B is easier in the long run."
"As far as the Wyrd stuff goes I've got a little bit of everything. Reading a room to see what's gone on inside of it, making things work better, cloaking myself or getting out of Dodge when things get hairy. And, more notably to you, I imagine, is reading a person's notable debts and being able to nuke their ability to properly use anything they didn't make by hand themselves, including cash."
Vincent Drake:
he nodded, "That's. . .fuck that's going to be useful, so you're a negotiater rather than a fighter, that's a damn fine useful skill for this thing we got." he nodded, "I got a mage on board, she's a bit of a wildcard but she can magically enforce oaths like we talked about, goes by Kenzie, she's good people and someone I've come to trust. . .just a bit of a wild card." he shrugged, "I was wondering if their's anything you thing we should add to the club as well as anything ya think ya can supply, but with your skill set I'm not thinking, ya don't want a spot at the table sure, but I need some good lieutenants?"
Arthur Franklin:
"Funny that, I just met her earlier today." He nodded, thinking for a moment as he looked over the space. "As far as reading the room goes I'd need mirrors to do it, so if you want certain places monitored that'd be one thing to add. Other people with the same Contract can do it as well, though, so keep that in mind."
"What all would that entail, exactly?"
Vincent Drake:
"Privacy glass is a mirror." he smiled, imagining the possibilities, "Basically, I can't be everywhere at once, what I'd want from you is to act as a diplomat and surveyor of sorts, be the guy who handles deals when I'm not able to, that sound reasonable?"
Arthur Franklin:
"True enough." He allowed himself a smirk in return, nodding as Vincent continued. "It does, yeah. I'd be up for that."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent grinned as he offered a hand, "When our members grow we'll work out a proper hierarchy, for now, we got like what, five members that have powers and proper influence and the pulled muscle between us." he shrugged, "I don't even know what to name it, Kenz said 'The Guild' is a sucky name and maybe it's not best to have a name, no paper trail and ya can't arrest whispers and such." he chuckled, "But yeah, we can fit decorative mirrors around the place, so yeah have an eye on things."
Arthur Franklin:
"Yeah, that's a little too obvious, I'd think." He smiled that kilowatt smile of his, taking the offered hand and shaking it firmly. "Sounds good to me. If you need anything else during construction let me know and I'll see what I can do."
Vincent Drake:
"Could use some recomendations for workers who know the keep their mouth shut," he looked around the room, "may need to hire someone already in the know to tend bar down here, another vamp or a Lost maybe." he mused
Arthur Franklin:
"If you pay 'em enough anyone will work on that front." He replied, eyeing the bar and suppressing a shudder at the thought before looking back to Vincent with a nod. "Probably not a bad idea."
Vincent Drake:
"Got something against bartending?" he chuckled
Arthur Franklin:
"You couldn't pay me enough to do it again." He shook his head firmly. "That was part of what I got stuck doing over There, playing every barkeep and shop vendor you can imagine selling things that didn't work to people who had no choice to buy them for the chance that the might actually do something this time."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent went a bit wide eyed at that, "I'm sorry." he said, "What happened to you, all the Lost. . .I'm sorry." he said simply, "Is their anything I need to know, to avoid Clarity damage?" he asked, his tone shifting that that of a concerned friend
Arthur Franklin:
"Nothing you need to apologize for, but I appreciate it." He gave a genuinely thankful look, pausing a moment at the question posed. "Don't surprise me. No coming up from behind, dropping something randomly in my lap literally or metaphorically, things like that. Can throw me off something fierce."
Vincent Drake:
he nodded "Ok, I won't do any of...well that." he shrugged, "Part of why we're doing this if for the Freehold, not going to tell them that but think of it, if we run the Underworld how many pies would we get our fingers in, cops and politicians, what if we could deal with those Slavers by calling a SWAT team in our pocket?"
Arthur Franklin:
"Appreciate it." He nodded, eyeing Vincent for a moment. "Could be useful, yeah. I'd wager we have our own inroads on that front, mind."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent shrugged, "True, but most people seem to agree all cops are bastards, I just like to use said bastards." he smirked, "Already have a micro-project, need to find the right hands to grease to fight hostile architecture, who do I have to blackmail and all that jazz."
Arthur Franklin:
"Once you pin down who to talk to let me know, may be able to smooth out the process of getting it done."
Vincent Drake:
he nodded, "Aye, now I know who to send for diplomacy." he smiled, "I'll call you again, when I have something, until then continue to make profit, I'll make these meetings more regular." he said, gesturing to follow him to the elevator out
Arthur Franklin:
He made a bit of a face at that, moving to follow Vincent to the elevator. "Remember that whole 'no front-facing positions' thing? I can grease wheels without being in the room, just need to know who to talk to."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent nodded, "Sorry, didn't mean to offend or anything." he quickly said, "Phase one, we need to unite the street gangs, so we should do research on who runs what." he explained, "I already have the Night Howlers but if we're doing this right, we need to diplo our way to unification rather than violence, think you can use your contacts to dig into who calls the street shots, so we can apraise and plan?"
Arthur Franklin:
"No offense taken, I just know my limitations on that front." He nodded, getting settled in the elevator car as it headed up. "Can do."
Vincent Drake:
Vincent pressed the button that took them back up, "If it comes to it, we need manpower, untill then it's going to be building softpower and getting the talent, you're market, can you provide firepower?"
Arthur Franklin:
"...eh." he rocked his hand in a so-so fashion. "I work in items, not so much with people. I have a security team for my holdings, but that came recommended from someone else."
Vincent Drake:
"I mean fire arms, those kind of items." he said, covertly asking if he's also an arms dealer
Arthur Franklin:
"Ah hah." He allowed a small smirk to form. "Not currently, no, but I can look into it."
Vincent Drake:
"If you're up for it, I hope to rely on you as the primary supplier for our little thing, don't want to put pressure on ya."
Arthur Franklin:
"I'm more focused on the luxuries side of things at the moment. I know someone to talk to on that front, though."
Vincent Drake:
"Oh?" he raised a brow, "Who would that be, and does that mean ya can get me some Cubans?" he chuckled
Arthur Franklin:
"Let me talk with them first to see if they're interested, then I'll let you know." He said with a smirk. "I can, if you'd like."
Vincent Drake:
he chuckled as the elevator opened to the main floor, "I could use some nice cigars." he simply said, "I trust your judgement to bring like minded people into this." he smiled, "If you think their good, feel free to bring me the name."
Arthur Franklin:
"You got it, on both counts."
Vincent Drake:
he exited the elevator, "I'll be seeing you then, when it's finished feel free to come to the 4th floor, it's going to be the office and the 'base' part of this, nerve center and all that jazz." he said as he walked out of the elevator, "Well be a proper organization soon enough."
Arthur Franklin:
"Looking forward to it." He nodded as they exited the elevator. "Will see you around."
|